Elemental Thief

Chapter 31

Ridley's magic set the three of them down in a quiet street several blocks away from Brex Tower. She checked for passing drones, then pulled her magic back inside herself. The moment they were visible again, she reached for the masquerade mask—the mask that had looked so strangely familiar—and pulled it free, taking the beanie with it. At the sight of those blue eyes she knew almost as well as her own, her heart leaped. "Dad!" She dropped the mask and beanie and flung both arms around him. "You're okay," she whispered as tears stung her eyes.

He hugged her tightly. "We're both okay. Everything's okay."

"Not yet," Archer said from behind them. "I need to get to the mayor's house. Lawrence's computer needs to be destroyed."

"Already done," Dad said, pulling away from Ridley and looking at Archer.

"What?" she asked. "You ... what were you doing there?"

"Looking for you. I overheard the mayor's wife on her commscreen. Fortunately, Lawrence gave away enough information for me to know I needed to destroy his computer. And just before the call went dead, I heard him say your name. So I used a conjuration to crush the computer and all its component bits and pieces, then went straight to Brex Tower."

Archer exhaled, his shoulders relaxing. "Thank you, Mr. Kayne. That's a relief."

"But you still need to leave," Dad added. "Make sure you're seen somewhere else as soon as possible." He looked back in the direction of Brex Tower. "You definitely don't want to be linked to the murder of the mayor's son."

"Right. Of course not. You said you have the flash drive?" Archer asked Ridley. She nodded as she removed it from her pocket and handed it to him. He dropped it onto the sidewalk and ground his heel back and forth into it until it broke apart into numerous tiny pieces. Dad crouched down and did a quick conjuration—a conjuration! Her father was using magic!—that lit the remains of the flash drive on fire.

"And the envelope?" Archer asked as Dad straightened. "Because if that's still up there, we should go back for it. It might contain sensitive information."

Ridley paused for a fraction of a second before shaking her head. "It burned up."

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I managed to get hold of the flash drive, so it was protected when I became fire, but the envelope was on the table and it burned right through. It was nothing but ashes." She couldn't quite explain why she kept the truth from him. Perhaps it was that she still didn't fully trust Archer, or perhaps it was because he already knew too much about her. But whatever was inside her letter, she wanted to be the first to know it.

"Okay. Well, that's good. No one else can get hold of it." He looked over his shoulder, then back at her. "I guess I need to go make sure my face is seen somewhere far from Brex Tower."

"Yeah, just make sure you clean the blood up first," Ridley said. "And maybe get yourself into a bar fight as soon as possible so you have an explanation for your swollen nose. Actually—" She stepped closer to him. "Just come here. I'll fix it quickly." And for the second time that day, Ridley weaved her hands through the air in the conjuration that caused magic to fix broken bones. "I hope it's a broken bone," she muttered. "If it's something else—the cartilage?—then this probably won't help." She lowered her hands and stepped back when she was done, and only then did she think to look around to see if there was a drone nearby or a person looking out of a window. What was wrong with her? She was usually so careful.

"It's okay," Dad said. "I didn't see anyone."

"Thanks," Archer said, gesturing to his nose. "And thanks for helping me get the flash drive back. And I'm glad you're okay, Mr. Kayne." He glanced at Ridley's father, then back at Ridley. "I'm glad you're both okay." His eyes lingered on her face for several more moments before he turned and jogged away.