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.This time, it looked as if she'd set a bomb to ensure their destruction.He looked quickly to the right, wondering where the hell his friends were.The van was half in and half out of the main entrance, the roller door still wrapped around it.Camille had jumped out, and was standing next to the door, reaching back into the van.Russell had thrust open the van's side door and had one foot on the ground, but he was more in the van than out.Neither of them appeared able to move any further.Frozen by magic, he thought, and smelled again the sting of fear, the sense of urgency.He ran towards them, looking at the parcel as he passed it but not daring to go any closer.He had no experience in dealing with bombs and no desire to go near it and risk blowing them all up.All he needed to know was the time they had left, and the clock showed that all too clearly—less than two minutes.Magic thrummed against his skin.He skidded to a stop, gaze sweeping the floor.Saw the wide semicircle drawn onto the concrete, and the wards spaced at regular intervals along that line.They'd had no hope.The minute they'd breached the warehouse's entrance, the spell had been activated.It had snared them the moment they touched the concrete.No doubt a similar spell had been set on the doors.No wonder Trina was still alive.It would have taken a tremendous amount of personal energy to set these spells, and it would take the witch more than a few hours to recover.He squatted, eyes narrowed, watching the slight ripple of energy cutting the air.Urgency beat at him, through him.Though he couldn't see the timer, he knew the seconds were slipping away too quickly.But if he hurried, if he touched this spell the wrong way, it would snare him too and they'd all be blown up.He studied the curve of energy to his right—it pulsed rich and strong, cutting the air as cleanly as a knife.But to his left, down near the entrance, the shield rippled.One of the wards had been knocked slightly off-line by the van's impact as it came through the door.All he had to do was knock it out of line completely, and the circle would be broken.He rose, putting away his gun and switching the knife to his right hand.Glanced at the clock and saw they had less than a minute.Sweat trickled down his back.He quickly followed the arc of energy and stopped near the ward.The knife wasn't long enough to break through the shield and reach it.He cursed vehemently.He certainly couldn't touch the circle.The minute he did, he'd be caught.And the energy would repel anything except silver.He glanced at the clock again.Forty seconds.No time, and no choice.He'd have to throw the knife and hope like hell the impact was enough to knock the ward off-line.Otherwise, they were all dead.He ran back until he was at the right angle and took aim.He threw the knife as hard and as fast as he could.It pieced the shield cleanly, light flaring like lightning down the blade as it arrowed toward the ward.It hit dead center, sliding the ward several inches sideways.Not far, but enough to break the circle.Energy exploded, a wave of heat and power that knocked him off his feet.Hands grabbed him, hauled him upright.“Ten seconds!” Russell yelled.“Move, Camille."Doyle pulled away from Russell's grip.“I'm okay.Go."He thrust Russell forward, then grabbed his knife and followed him.Behind them, the timer beeped.For several heartbeats, nothing happened.Relief swept through him.Maybe the witch wasn't as clever as she liked to think.The bomb blew.A fiery wave of destruction picked him up, thrusting him sideways.A second later, the heat hit, searing across his skin.Pain surged, and a scream tore up his throat.Then the darkness encased him and he knew no more.Chapter SeventeenKirby stepped into the shadow of an old elm and studied the building halfway down the street.It was nothing spectacular—a square, five-story brick affair, surrounded by a high, chain-link fence that almost looked solid, thanks to the weeds and rubbish that clogged it.If the smashed state of the windows and the amount of graffiti scrawled across the walls was anything to go by, the building had obviously been abandoned for some time.Why here? It seemed a strange sort of place for a witch to be conducting a spell
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