Lightning crackled through the air. Sweat dripped into Kate's eyes as she tried to maintain her shield.
"Is that the best you can do?" asked Abigail sweetly.
"Bite me," Kate snapped.
Abigail became confused just long enough for Kate to pull books forward in the air and throw them at her. One almost hit before it was incinerated.
"Boring," Abigail said.
She looked thoughtfully over where the rest of the group was battling Sun-Lok. Justin was unconscious but Craig had rallied magnificently and joined them. Kate had commanded them to leave her to her battle, knowing that together they stood a chance of bringing Sun-Lok down. She thought she'd had a shot at Abigail. Apparently she'd been wrong.
"Looks more interesting over there," she said, nodding her head towards Kate.
Before Kate could throw up her shield again she was knocked back into a bookcase. Her arms felt like lead and she had trouble blinking.
"Kate!" Ashley cried.
"Eyes forward!" snapped Kate, "I'm not going to die here."
"What makes you so certain?" Abigail frowned, looking irritated, "I'm still standing you know."
"Pfft," Kate said, "Destiny for one. That and it takes a lot more than you to kill me. John Steed didn't train no sissies."
Abigail's eyes flashed. She pulled a knife out of one of her pockets.
"You don't even get a magical death for your insult," she snapped.
Unimpressed Kate answered;
"You've got a knife? Who in their right mind gives a ten-year-old a knife?"
"I'm fifteen!"
"Liar."
Face turning scarlet Abigail approached. The door to the lounge opened and she twisted her head to look.
"'ello, missed the meeting so I thought that I'd-bleedin' hell!"
Drake Stone looked around the room in amazement.
"Some party you're having 'ere."
Never one to miss an opportunity Kate lashed out with her foot on Abigail's left side. She made sure that her stiletto heel caught Abigail in the throat. It twisted around her necklace and Kate pulled backwards directly after kicking her. The combined force knocked her backwards and broke the thin chain that the pentagram pendant rested on. The pendant flew into the air.
"Take that you little brat!" she snarled as she felt the bonds restraining her slacken.
Scrambling Abigail tried to get to her feet and her conductor but Drake casually placed a foot over her necklace.
"Horvath killed me to get you out you know," he said, "Or most o' me anyway. Doesn't look like 'e had much need of you either."
Before she could reply Kate had hurried over and punched her in the face. Abigail went down, unconscious. Breathing hard Kate snapped to Drake;
"Interesting timing. Now go get the twins. They're in the practice room. Tell them to get the black mirror and bring it in here, but to be careful with it."
She looked back at where the rest were fighting Sun-Lok. They were all using fire on her express commands, and he was weakening. Thank you Lacy.
"We're gonna need it," she said before hurrying to join the fight.
.
.
.
The car hurtled through the streets. Nothing stopped it, not stoplights, pedestrians, or even other cars. Dave wondered why this was happening to him again, and also if the seatbelts would hold if the car crashed at its current speed of 100+ miles an hour. With some foresight Balthazar had turned the car into a taxi to not stand out.
Still wondering if he was going to survive Dave risked a glance at the back seat. Excalibur rattled around there, hastily thrown in since he thought he might need it. Dave didn't want to contemplate what would happen if that got out of its sheath during the imagined crash. That thing cut through stone like butter.
"Balthazar, what's going on?" asked Dave.
Balthazar turned a corner sharply, nearly flipping the vehicle on its side. Dave's fingers dug into the dashboard for a grip.
"I told you," he said.
"You said we need to get to Becky's apartment," answered Dave, feeling as though he was about to be sick, "You never said why."
Never taking his eyes off the road Balthazar said;
"It's her grandmother. An emergency."
Dave felt himself go pale. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for a minute, trying to clear his head of the insane driving of the man next to him.
"Is she dead?" he asked.
The car turned another corner
"And why is that your first conclusion?" Balthazar asked.
"Well, it's just…she's so old and she's living by herself," Dave said, surprised, "If it's an emergency I just assumed. She seemed alright at Thanksgiving, but accidents around the house do happen-"
"It'd take much more than a household accident to kill John Steed's girl," snorted Balthazar.
Last week Dave had reached the 1920's in his Incantus. The name John Steed had been mentioned so often that it had stuck in his mind. He recalled a picture of the man holding a small child in the Incantus, and the names John and Lacy Steed under it. He hadn't thought much of it since Lacy was such a common name. Now though…
Feeling as though his insides were churning from the car ride and his head from the new information he said;
"I think you should probably start at the beginning."
"Probably."
.
.
.
Kate dragged Abigail towards the front of the room. She was regaining consciousness, so they'd have to act fast. Tabitha and Julian stood there waiting, holding the black mirror between them. She pushed Abigail forwards and she was sucked inside while uttering a not-very-puritanical curse. Jack put his hands over Julian and Tabitha's ears, but from their grins Kate could tell they had already heard.
Wiping sweat from her forehead Kate flopped back on the ruined couch. It wasn't enough that they had just defeated two of the most dangerous Morganians in history. After that they'd had to laboriously drag them into a mirror. Sun-Lok was much heavier than he looked. It was enough to drain anyone.
Still, she felt a good deal of pride in what they'd accomplished. Only New York Merlinians could have done it. Not to mention none of them, not even her, had even seen their first century yet. Now was time for some well-deserved rest. Just as she had started to close her eyes and consider a nap Justin was revived on the other end of the room.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Rolling her eyes Kate explained. He looked at the mirror.
"We're going to have to make necessary arrangements for that," he said, "Perhaps lock it away somewhere secret."
"And have some ignorant apprentice find it in a few years and accidentally free them?" Kate snapped, "I don't think so."
"Oh?" Justin said, turning around on her, "Then what do you suggest?"
Just when she was about to answer her phone rang. Cursing she picked it up.
"Kate Falstaff here, and for the record it is a really really really bad time right now," she said tiredly, "Just want you to know that. Now I can't be held responsible for anything I say."
"Sorry to disturb you. It's Lacy again," Lacy said on the other end, her voice a little high-pitched, "You need to get over to 361 Evergreen Apartments right now."
"One sec," answered Kate before pulling the phone away and saying, "Gotta go."
"Oh no you don't," Justin said, "You're helping clean up first."
"Clean up?" she said, "Says the guy who spent the whole battle in Snoozeville?"
Justin turned red and Tabitha began to giggle.
"That's a direct order as your Prime," he snapped.
She felt her muscles tense, but she said nothing. She couldn't disobey direct orders without challenging his position.
"Sorry honey," she said on the other end, "I have to stay here."
"No, no you don't," Lacy answered, hysteria creeping into her voice, "You need to take Tabitha and Julian and get down there."
"Lacy I can't," explained Kate, "It's orders."
"Defy them!"
"Calm down," Kate said, shocked that her soft-spoken sister/cousin-in-law was becoming so violent, "It can't be that important."
"Of course it's important!" Lacy wailed, "It's my granddaughter! The last vision I had she was in danger! Please!"
Kate felt herself go numb. Lacy's granddaughter. Robin's granddaughter. Danger. The words danced across her head. Any protestations she had were swept away. She couldn't be selfish anymore, not when his granddaughter was on the line. It was her blood, one of her last relatives. She wouldn't see them harmed at any price.
"I'm on it," she answered.
Folding up her phone she turned to go out.
"Where do you think you're going?" Justin hissed.
"316 Evergreen Apartments," she said, "Julian, Tabitha, come on."
The twins moved to obey.
"No you don't!" shrieked Justin.
Whirling around she punched him in the nose. The bones broke and he hit the floor. Kate strode towards him. She felt like the years she'd acquired as Kate melt away, all that she'd seen. She felt like Bianca again, a young sorcerer who wasn't going to take anything, who might one day be New York's first woman Prime. Kneeling down she grabbed his chin and forced his head up at her so that he looked.
"I'm going to go save John Steed's great-granddaughter," she said, "Try to stop me and I swear I'll kill you you miserable excuse for a Prime."
"That's…a…a…challenge," he muttered.
"I know," she said.
"Challenge to my…authority…my seat…"
"I know," she repeated, "And I don't want to be Prime and I know you know that. But what you don't know is that it doesn't matter what I want anymore. Right now I'm challenging you. So either on your feet and fight me or surrender your title."
Justin looked at the other sorcerers, but Kate knew they wouldn't help him. She'd trained most of them after all.
"…surrender…" he murmured.
"Good boy," she said, dropping his head and getting to her feet.
Breathing deeply she said;
"Everyone's coming with me. Leave him to heal his own nose."
They moved uncertainly. Squaring her shoulders she said;
"I'm Prime Bianca Kate Lawrence. And we're going downtown. Understand?"
There was a chorus of enthusiastic agreement.