Shadow Legend (Shelving Magic #8)

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

S now pelted them, covering them in a thick blanket as they trudged along. Paige’s boots sank with every step, and she wrangled herself free with her walking sticks.

“Remind me why we couldn’t take the Cats closer?” she shouted over the whipping wind as she stopped to catch her breath.

In his thermal suit and perched on her shoulder, Dewey glanced at her through his snow goggles. “Because the rumbling would alert the people in the lair.”

“You mean the target?” Paige asked.

“Right, that.”

“Thank goodness Devon is carrying the bomb,” Paige said with a shake of her head. “Ugh.”

“Is there a problem?” Drucinda shouted from several feet in front of them.

“No!” Paige called back with a wave of her thickly gloved hand.

“Onward,” Dewey said.

“We should have brought a dog sled. This is the worst. ”

“You should have kept Drucinda’s body for this,” Dewey answered.

“Oh, yes,” Paige said as she let her head fall back. “Why didn’t I think ahead?”

“Really. I mean, this would have been a cake walk.”

“It really was so nice. I should work out more.”

“And eat less breadsticks,” Dewey added.

“Or I could just struggle every time we have to trudge through a snowstorm in the Arctic which isn’t that many times so…payoff really isn’t worth it.”

“I agree. I’d never give up the breadsticks.”

Paige wrinkled her nose. “I hope Devon doesn’t expect me to work out with him.”

“Oh yeah, you married a hot, beefy guy.”

“I did. I really hope my mom takes to him eventually.” Paige heaved a sigh, shaking her head as she recalled her mother’s reaction to her marriage.

“It’s got to be weird for her,” Dewey countered. “I mean…the last she saw Devon, he was delivering you after being called away from his playboy life by his good friend, Drucinda…Ohhhhhh.”

“What?” Paige asked.

“Oh wow. Oh my gosh. Oh, I really wish I would have brought my voice recorder.”

“What is it?”

Dewey patted her on the head. “Well…I was thinking…Your mom said Devon was a notorious playboy. But I wonder if…delivering you changed him in some way. Like suddenly, he was thrust into Dad mode. His playboy tendencies faded because he’d been given a new purpose, a new sense of self.”

Paige squashed her features. “Oh, that’s…kind of messed up. Like I changed Devon’s life when he delivered me be cause he felt like a dad relationship, and then we got married.”

“Walk faster, catch up with Devon…I’ve got to know if this is true.”

“No, I don’t want to know. I’m…disgusted.”

“Come on, Paige.” Dewey shimmied around on her shoulder before he cupped his paws around his mouth. “Devon! Devon!”

The man twisted to eye them before he trudged back to them. “You okay? Paige? Do you need a rest?”

“No, I don’t need a rest. Just…walk away from us.”

“Huh?” Devon screwed up his face.

“Listen, Muscles, I have a question for you,” Dewey said.

“Okay,” Devon answered as they continued forward through the blizzard.

“Would you say that delivering Paige changed your life.”

He tugged his lips into a smirk. “Well, obviously, since I married her.”

“Ugh,” Paige groaned.

“No,” Dewey said with a shake of his head. “Is delivering Paige the moment that made you give up your playboy ways and want to settle down?”

“Oh, uh, no. I mean, I wasn’t ever really that much of a playboy. I just…lots of women threw themselves at me because I’m a prince. It comes with the territory. But, you know, mostly I liked to hang out with Drucinda and playfight and stuff.”

“Wow, just wow,” Dewey answered. “I mean…look at you, the playboy prince with a heart of gold.”

Devon shot him a dimpled grin. “I like that. Hey, can you use that in the advertising for our book?”

“Oh-ho, yes, I can, buddy. All the ladies love a bad boy with a heart of gold. We’ll make a mint. ”

“I am so glad this is working out for you both. Meanwhile, my reputation is ruined.” Paige rolled her eyes.

“Aw, come on, Paige. It’s not. Everyone is just going to know that you’re…easily wooed by power, money, and washboard abs.”

Paige heaved a sigh, her lungs hurting from the cold weather. “You know what, I don’t even care. Whatever. Let’s just end this stupid thing with Higgins and focus on getting back to our future. My mom is alive, I’ve got my dream job…”

“You’ve got your dream husband,” Devon said with a grin.

Paige pressed her lips together. “Fine, okay, yes, you’re a good husband.”

Devon slid an arm around her shoulders. “Aw, Paige, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Love is in the air,” Dewey said. “And soon, so will my bomb. Now, let’s get moving so we can finish this.”

They continued their trek, finally approaching a lone igloo in the middle of the frozen tundra.

“Wow, that’s the lair?” Paige asked as they huddled a distance away, glancing through night vision binoculars at it.

“It’s underground. It spreads out underneath that igloo. We must enter there and search for the archive to blow it. Devon and I will handle the guards at the entrance. Once we’re inside, you two find the archive and set off the bomb. We will find Higgins and destroy him.”

“What about the Liches?” Paige asked.

“They’ll fall in line when they don’t have another option,” Drucinda answered as she stowed the binoculars in her backpack.

“Should we go with you? In case you need an assist with the guards?” Paige asked.

Drucinda chuckled, shooting Devon an amused glance. “Are you quite serious? ”

“Well, I mean…we’ve fought off werewolves and all kinds of stuff, actually. So…”

“Barely,” Drucinda answered. “I’m certain we’ll be fine.”

“Okay, fine. I’m not going to fight you on it. Just…hurry up. I’m cold.”

Drucinda rolled her eyes as she rose. “Let’s go, Devon. Your bride is cold.”

“I’ll warm you up later,” he said with a cheeky grin before he stood.

Paige and Dewey waited as they crept forward and disappeared into the igloo. “I can’t decide if I feel upset over being sidelined or glad.”

“Oh, I’m glad. Definitely. We can’t fight worth anything. I mean…we can scrap a little…protect ourselves, but as far as a strategic strike to take down a set of guards. Nah.”

“Good point, let them do the heavy lifting.”

“Yeah, we need to do the smart work. Like set off our bomb that is going to save the world and win us Best Library Team second year running.”

“Heck yeah,” Paige said, raising her hand for a high five.

They connected for a second time, and Dewey gave her a thumbs up. “We’re getting good at that.”

“I know. Because we’re awesome.”

They chuckled together before a light flashed in the distance at the entrance of the igloo.

“There’s our signal,” Paige said as she rose, hurrying through the snow toward it.

“Almost there,” Dewey said. “And then we’ll end this once and for all.”

“Can’t wait.”

They reached the entrance, ducking inside to find Devon tying up the second guard. He shifted the backpack with the bomb off his back and handed it to Paige.

“All right, you two, go set that bomb,” Drucinda said as she used one of the guard’s badges to open the heavy metal door.

A long set of dark stairs stretched in front of them. Paige frowned. “Ugh, they couldn’t have put in an elevator?”

“Maybe you ought to try a workout sometime, darling,” Drucinda answered before she disappeared down them.

“Just take your time, Paige. And if you run into any trouble…”

She tapped her radio. “I’ll call.”

He grinned at her before he descended the stairs.

Paige grabbed hold of the metal railing as she started her descent. “Why are there so many stairs?”

“Beats me. Higgins is sort of strange though.”

They finally spilled into a series of hallways. Paige slid her gaze down one hall, then the next. “So, which way?”

“Hmmm, right, left, or straight?” Dewey said. “Which way would the archive be? And please don’t ask the question about if you were an archive because– “

“I know, I know. I can’t be an archive.” She heaved a sigh and shrugged. “Let’s go left.”

Paige took a step in that direction.

“Wait, why?” Dewey asked.

“Why not?”

“Well…traditionally, most people would suggest right, or straight. But you suggested left.”

“Well, I just…I figured we’d start here and work our way around.”

Dewey rubbed his chin. “Why not start right and work our way around.”

“Then we’d be going counterclockwise, but in my version, we go clockwise.”

“Hmm.” Dewey narrows his eyes. “That’s a valid point. Okay, we’ll go left.”

Paige huffed out a breath as she entered the hall and traversed past a few doors that appeared to house laboratories.

“Those must be his spaces for creating the new magic,” Dewey said. “Oh, what beautiful facilities. If I wasn’t firmly team library, I’d defect.”

“Dewey!” Paige shouted. “You can’t go over to the dark side because they have nice labs.”

“I can…I bet they also have cookies, too.”

She clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes as she wandered further down the hall to a set of double doors at the end. “Oh, this could be the jackpot.”

“Could be. It would make sense if they put the archives at the end of the hall from the labs.”

“Yeah,” Paige said with a grin as she pushed the crash bar to open the doors. “Look at us picking the right way for once, huh?”

“It’s all coming together for us, Paige.” Dewey raised his eyebrows, an excited expression on his face.

“I know. All we need to do is set off this bomb, and we’re on easy street.”

Dewey threw his head back with a laugh. “Yep. Smooth sailing from here on out.”

“Oh, it’s going to be so nice. Just normal asset retrievals!”

“Can you imagine?” Dewey asked as they wandered further into the darkened space filled with shelving units. “Just run out and get a haunted necklace or something.”

Paige slapped her thighs with a laugh. “Kids’ stuff.”

“Child’s play,” Dewey answered.

Paige bobbed her head. “We’re going to be bored because we’d literally saved the world so many times that this will just be mundane.”

“I know,” Dewey answered. “But we can invent stuff to challenge ourselves. Like we invented this bomb. Clearly, we’re smart. ”

“Geniuses,” Paige said with a nod.

“Exactly,” Dewey agreed. “So, we’ll be able to be the leaders in inventing new technologies and ways to counterbalance the magic in the world.”

“It’s going to be so nice.” Paige glanced overhead. “Do you think this is the center of the room?”

“Mmm, looks close enough to me. Let’s drop the bomb and get this over with.”

Paige dropped to one knee, shifting the backpack off her back and onto the cold floor. “You brought a lighter, right?”

Dewey’s face went blank, his eyes going wide.

“Dewey!” Paige said, her voice sharp and shrill.

A grin spread across his face. “Kidding.” He unzipped a pocket in his snowsuit and pulled out a lighter. “See.”

Paige pressed a hand against her chest, breathing a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that. That’s the exact kind of stuff we normally do to screw up.”

“You forget,” Dewey said, poking a finger at her, “we’re not screw-ups anymore.”

“Oh, right. We’re awesome now.”

“Yep.”

Paige set the bomb on the floor, the wick pointing in the air. “Okay…all we need to do is light it and this entire nightmare is over.”

Dewey stared down at the homemade magic containment bomb. “Yep.”

He shoved the lighter toward Paige. “You do the honors. You deserve it.”

She pressed a hand against her heart. “Aww, thanks, Dewey.”

With a deep breath, she tightened her fingers around the lighter, her mind racing. After a second, she flicked the light to life. The flame danced, and she eyed it for a second before she lowered it to the wick .

“Burn, baby, burn,” Paige whispered as the flame lit the wick.

“Time to leave!” Dewey shouted.

Paige flung the backpack onto her back and raced away from the bomb, aiming for the double doors that would lead to the hall.

They made it to the door. Paige glanced back over her shoulder one last time before she tugged it open.

They escaped into the hall, grinning at each other as Paige made her way back toward the entrance.

After a few steps, she glanced over her shoulder again, her features pinching. “Is it…eerily quiet in here?”

Dewey rubbed his chin. “Yeah…sort of. Although, maybe it’s fine. Maybe those doors are soundproof or something.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Paige said, facing front again as she continued toward the exit. “Although…maybe…maybe we should check. Just be sure it destroyed everything and sucked up all the magic.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to peek in the doors, I guess,” Dewey said.

Paige whipped around and hurried back to the double doors. She pressed her ear against them before she shook her head. “Nothing. I hear nothing.”

“Just crack it open a little. The whirlwind is pretty strong, so we don’t want to get caught.”

Paige nodded as she inched the door back. A second later, she tugged it open fully. “Nothing. Nothing happened. Should we go in there?”

“Well, we have time if it didn’t go off. I mean, first it destroys the magic, then it sucks it in, so we can safely get out in time before the vortex happens.”

“Maybe something happened to the wick,” Paige suggested as she snaked her way toward the middle of the room .

As they rounded one of the shelves, she spotted the bomb with no active fire burning down its wick.

“Well, there we are. The wick must not have worked.”

“I brought an extra,” Dewey said. “We’ll just feed it in and relight it.”

“Nice,” Paige said as she approached it. “Now, we’re starting to use our brains.”

As Paige approached the bomb, it began to rumble. She furrowed her brow before glancing at Dewey. “Uh…”

“Is that…”

Paige’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening. “It’s going to blow!”

“Run!” Dewey shouted.

Paige spun her heel and raced back toward the door.

“Don’t worry, it destroys magic first, then sucks it in, so we’ll make it easily.”

Paige nodded as she continued to race toward the exit. A loud explosion sounded behind her, and she clapped her hands over her ears, her feet still propelling her forward.

She continued running but found herself not moving. Then, she began to slide backward. “Uhhh.”

“Oh, shoot,” Dewey said as he clung to Paige.

“What?”

“The stupid bomb is sucking in the magic, then destroying it!” Dewey cried.

“What?!” Paige glanced over her shoulder with a frightened expression. “OMG. We’re going to get sucked right into it!”