And yeah, I needed to work on my poker face.
“—not with war mages,” the big guy was saying. “They’re trained to resist that kind of stuff.”
“They’re trained not to give you the combination, too!”
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The mage looked at her sardonically and then jerked the old man up. “Hadn’t planned to ask for it.”
He dragged his captive over to the wall, and I tried desperately to think. I could stop this—literally—but for how long? I didn’t know, because I didn’t know what the acolytes could do. And then there was the problem of what happened to me after I stopped time if I didn’t have Pritkin around to recharge my batteries. I did have Rhea, but one acolyte wasn’t likely to counter the massive drain of a Pythia’s greatest weapon, not when it had taken my whole court to power me up for a much easier spell. And if even one of the acolytes managed to pull out with me sitting on empty . . .
“What are you doing?” the redhead demanded as the mage shoved the painting out of the way again.
“There’s one way around any ward. Wear it out.”
“No. No!” The old mage had come to and was struggling again—and he was struggling hard. But the third mage got a spell off before he could, freezing him in place.
“Can’t you just use a chair or something?” the acolyte asked dryly.
“Wards can tell the difference,” the big man told her. “Maximum output demands maximum threat.”
“You’re the expert.” She shrugged and leaned against the wall.
The two mages hoisted the stiff body up, and the air forced out through his lungs sounded like a scream. My hands sank into the carpet in front of me as I fought to keep them still. We’re in the past, I told myself harshly. It’s done. It’s over.
But it wasn’t over. It was happening right now. And they were going to kill him, and then they were going to get the safe open, and if there were Tears in there . . . but there were four acolytes and five dark mages in the room and I couldn’t freeze them all, and—
And maybe I didn’t need to freeze them.
Maybe I didn’t need to do anything to them.
“Stay here. Stay low,” I told Rhea, who was watching me out of huge eyes.
“What are you going to do?”
“Something stupid.”
Chapter Eleven
The strain hit like a fist, immediate and terrible. Followed by the feeling of power pouring out of me, like blood out of the old man, only faster. This wasn’t going to last.
So I moved, jumping to my feet and then over the couch, praying that the time bubble I’d just thrown over myself would go, too.
Which it did, speeding up time inside the spell and my movements along with it, while it stayed normal everywhere else. But normal isn’t frozen, and I was spotted before I’d even cleared the sofa. The nearest mage jumped for me, probably lightning fast from his perspective—
And not nearly as slow as I’d have liked from mine.
I dodged him, but it was like avoiding someone strolling down a sidewalk when you’re running. Easy but not effortless, and there wasn’t just one of him. And all five had spotted me now.
I jumped over the remaining part of the sofa between me and the old man, hit the ground, and rolled like a hero in an action movie. Only they don’t usually end up running into someone’s boot, which was moving faster than I’d expected. But I managed to pull back at the last moment, jerking aside in what probably looked to him like a blur of motion, and turned a crushing blow into just another bruise.
Just as well I didn’t have that swimming pool, I thought vaguely. I’d look like hell in a bikini.
And then they were everywhere.
I twisted to avoid another boot, this one headed for my head, grabbed it as it passed and jerked, causing the owner to fall backward into another mage. That gave me enough time to get to my feet but not to get away, because the small Asian guy lashed out with a move worthy of Bruce Lee, fast enough to get an elbow in my ribs and hard enough that I almost lost breakfast. Instead I pulled away, bounced off the back of the sofa and sprang past him—
Into a flurry of fists that came at me all at once. The only thing that saved me was the fact that none of them were clutching weapons. I didn’t understand why for a second, but then it hit me.