Free Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) by Benedict Jacka

Starbreeze, it’s Alex Verus, and I need you
right now
. Get me out of here!”
    There was a crash from the direction of the Great Court and the air lit up white. I’d picked the farthest corner I could find, but from the way the floor vibrated, it wasn’t far enough. “Starbreeze! Come on! Where are you?”
    Running footsteps echoed from where I’d come. I scanned, then snapped a quick look around the corner. Running through the gallery which held the Nereid Monument were two figures in dark clothes: Cinder and the woman. I ducked back and swore under my breath. “Why do these people keep
following
me?”
    “Who?” Starbreeze said in interest.
    I jumped and spun to see Starbreeze hovering right next to my face, the transparent lines of her face almost invisible in the darkness. Starbreeze giggled. “Scared you!” She pointed brightly back towards the Great Court. “Lightning man!”
    “Yeah, I noticed. Let’s get out of here!”
    “Stay and watch?”
    Around the corner, the sound of approaching footsteps had stopped. Dimly I heard Cinder’s voice, muttering, “—someone there.”
    “Khazad?” the woman’s voice muttered back.
    Why can’t they find their own place to hide?
“Let’s not,” I urged. “Look!” I rummaged through my pocket and came up with a silvered earring. “Here, Starbreeze.
Starbreeze!
”
    Starbreeze was floating five feet up in the air, gazing absently in the direction of the battle. She gave a look down at the earring, then shook her head and went back to staring at the wall happily. “Lightning’s pretty.”
    “Starbreeze, come on!”
    Starbreeze shook her head. “Unh-unh.”
    Over Starbreeze’s voice, I could just hear Cinder talking. “—not Khazad.”
    “Burn the room he’s in.”
    “Can’t tell which room.”
    “Burn them all, then.”
    As I heard those last words my precognition screamed. I went from a standing start to a dead run in one second flat, sprinting out through the exit on the right.
    There was a
whoompf!
and a wave of heat washed over me, followed by the wail of smoke alarms. I turned back to see that the gallery I’d been standing in was a cloud of ash and smoke. The edge of the blast had missed me by maybe ten feet.
    As I watched, the sprinkler system came on, water hissing as it struck the molten glass of the display cases. Starbreeze came zipping out of the smoke. “That hurt!” Her voice rippled, upset, and her form was shaky, specks of ash fluttering as she moved.
    “Then let’s
go
! Get us out of here!”
    Starbreeze swept down and around me, turned me into air, and whisked me up and out of sight. I had one fleeting glimpse of Cinder and the woman emerging from the smoke, then we were moving at Starbreeze’s full speed, and let me tell you, full speed for Starbreeze is
fast
. The museum blurred and before I had time to take a breath we were outside and soaring upwards, the dome of the British Museum turning into a speck beneath us as we vanished into the night.

    I had plenty to think about on the trip back. Whatever that statue was, it was valuable enough that the three Dark mages had been willing to take heavy risks to be the first to activate it. They’d tried to pick the lock and failed. It was obvious now why they’d wanted a diviner so badly: with my help, they wouldn’t have set off that trap. Now that they’dbotched their first attempt, the security on the museum would be doubled. That meant they’d have to either quit or come after me again. Somehow none of them struck me as the quitting type.
    Thinking about them made me think again about the woman. Something about her kept nagging at my memory. I was sure I’d met her before, but I couldn’t remember where.
    By the time I managed to persuade Starbreeze to take me home, the adrenaline rush from the battle had worn off and I was dead tired. Starbreeze dropped me off on my roof and swirled away as I climbed wearily down to my flat. I’d made some new enemies, given the