Only the Strong, стр. 47
“Hit the stairs,” she ordered, directing her magic toward the shelf on the wall. She made a grunting sound as she used her powers to lift the shelf — which had to weigh at least five hundred pounds — and hurled it at the gate. The revenants, who were obviously following, cried out when the shelf struck them.
“Come on, mage,” Cernunnos ordered as he carried me up the stairs. He looked desperate for her to follow. “Don’t be a hero.”
“Shut your hole,” Zoe muttered, narrowing her eyes as she balanced her hands in front of her, magic building in her fingertips. They started out purple and then glowed red before turning a sick black color. “Here it comes.”
The magic unloaded in a steady assault, sparks flying as she narrowed her eyes. Smoke wafted through the air and I clutched Cernunnos’ shoulder tightly when it became apparent she wasn’t going to stop.
“It’s not working,” I called out, coughing as the shelf caught fire and started filling the room with overbearing smoke. “Leave it.”
Zoe shook her head. “Just a little more.”
“She’s right, Zoe Lake,” Cernunnos snapped. “Whatever you’re doing won’t bring down the gate. We have to run before reinforcements from above show up.”
Zoe looked as if she wanted to argue further but, ultimately, she sent one more tidal wave of magic toward the door and then hit the stairs. “Move!”
Her tone was so commanding that Cernunnos didn’t offer up a single word of argument. Once on the main floor, she blew past him and opened the door that led outside, landing on the front steps in a wide stance, ready for action.
When nobody hopped out of the bushes or started flinging magic at her, she rummaged in my pocket until she came up with the keys. “I’ll drive.” She flashed a smile and threw up a dome as we sped down the sidewalk. She didn’t stop glaring at every bush until we were safely inside the vehicle and she’d thrown it into drive. She waited until we were at the end of the street to speak again.
“That was kind of fun, huh?”
I shot her a dirty look from the back seat but Cernunnos, who sat beside me, was the one to answer.
“It was. It reminded me of old times.”
“You were never with us during the messy part,” she countered.
“I was with you. You just didn’t see me.”
She looked surprised by his response. “Well, you could’ve helped. Some of that stuff got messy.”
“Why do you think I enjoyed watching you do the heavy lifting?”
“You’re kind of a turd. Has anybody ever told you that?”
“You’re the only one with the guts. Well, you and Mistress Mouth. I thought you were intolerable with the things you said. However, she might have you beat.”
“Maybe I should spend more time with her.”
“The world will surely end if you do.”
“You’re just making it sound more appealing.”
“I figured you would say that.”
I INSISTED ON WALKING INTO GRIMLOCK MANOR on my own even though Cernunnos gallantly offered to serve as my human taxicab. I was feeling better — almost back to normal, other than an ache in my back from hitting the ground — so I refused his offer.
I hoped we would be able to make a low-key entrance upon our arrival but that went out the window when Sami looked up from her hip check on Redmond, whom she’d managed to slam into the staircase thanks to her magic, and went agape.
“I told you I should’ve gone with you!”
Zoe shot her daughter a withering look. “What makes you think our outing wasn’t a rousing success?”
“You have a hole in the seat of your pants.”
“Seriously?” Zoe made a face as her hand automatically went to her rear end. “Well, that sucks. These were new and everything.”
Aisling appeared in the doorway, several weird clips in her hair. “You can borrow some of my pants. You’ll want something comfortable, I assume.”
“Thank you.”
It was only then that I noticed Sami had the same brightly colored clips in her hair. “What’s going on? Have you guys been playing beauty parlor or something?”
Sami nodded enthusiastically. “Jerry’s been doing our hair. I think it looks sophisticated.”
Zoe snorted. “You never let me do your hair when you were younger. In fact, you told your teacher you would rather die than let me do a braid.”
“That’s because you don’t do it right.” Sami forgot her game with Redmond and fell into step with her mother. “What’s that smell?” She leaned close and sniffed her mother, making a face. “Did someone die?”
“Actually, no, and I’m really upset about it.” Zoe strolled into the parlor and pulled up short when she found Aric reclining on one of the sofas, a magazine in his hand, a pink clip in his hair, and baby Lily sleeping on his chest. “Oh, this reminds me of when you were little and made your dad go to tea parties, Sami.”
Aric looked up and smiled, although the expression vacated his face almost as fast as it had appeared. “Why do you look like you’ve been through a war?”
“Calm down.” Zoe held up a hand to still him before moving toward the bar cart. “We’re technically on vacation, right? It doesn’t make me a bad mother if I day-drink two days in a row, does it?”
“Of course not,” Jerry reassured her from the floor, where he was working on Cillian’s hair. For his part, the quietest Grimlock brother appeared to be absorbed in an old book and was barely paying attention to the ribbon Jerry was weaving through his top braid. “Day-drinking is perfectly fine in every society except ours.”
Zoe’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure that’s the answer I was looking for.”
“All I’m saying is that it’s five o’clock somewhere