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But that was going to be difficult, because already I could hear voices coming from the floor below.

It sounded like it was dinnertime downstairs.

“Can you sense the crown, yet?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“I can’t,” said Lucien, “I don’t think I will until I’m close.”

“We don’t know how many of these people there are, how many will be mages, and how many will be humans. This could get really dicey.”

“I believe in you.”

“Believe in me?”

“Yeah. You’re our ticket in and out of this place.”

“What do you bring to the table, then?”

He paused. “Staggering good looks… and a firm hand.”

I swallowed. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable. Get your head in the game, we need to get down three floors, and I don’t think I want to phase through all of them. I should conserve some of my energy.”

Lucien nodded. “I’ll go first,” he said, “Stay behind me.”

I wasn’t about to argue. Lucien set out first, descending the first few stairs down the stairwell. The deeper we got into the building, the louder the voices grew. It sounded like there was an army down there; an army of people eating, talking, and living their lives, unaware of the two of us and our intentions.

At least, that was my hope… otherwise this infiltration was going to be short lived.

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

There were three floors between us and the crown, and each of them was likely swarming with Recondites right now. Our only saving grace was the fact that we were currently hiding in a stairwell with access to all of the building’s floors—presumably. From here, we would be able to reach the right floor without being caught.

Lucien and I moved down the first floor, away from the rooftop access and pushing deeper into the Recondite temple. Even from within the stairwell, I could hear the sounds of life happening on the other side of the walls. They were all there, living, working, eating.

How many of them are there?

It sounded like hundreds, but they couldn’t all have been mages; there were only a few mages left, mainly immediate families. Maybe these were all Recondite servants, their aides, their familiars… their flock.

Maybe the Recondites had convinced them they were better off in here. Either way, I didn’t like the idea of having to go up against any of them to find out, and by the tenseness I could sense coming off Lucien, I doubted if he wanted to go up against them either.

“What do you think?” I asked, keeping my voice barely above a whisper.

“Think?” asked Lucien.

“Is this a suicide mission, or not?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Why?”

“Because I think we’re two of the most powerful beings inside of this building. There probably aren’t many that could stand up to the abilities we have.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve never been in a magic fight before. Also, too many humans being around us complicates our magic.”