Magic at the Gate by Devon Monk Page B

eyebrow. “That,” I said, “any idiot knows.”
    My dad, Old Dad, shook his head and refused to make eye contact. Like I’d used the wrong spoon at a dinner with an important business client. He had something riding on this. Something important to him.
    “For the right price,” Mikhail went on with a little less thrum and a little more boom, “I will allow you to leave this realm of death, with the guardian’s soul. I will open the doorway for you. Near enough the guardian’s body that you may return his soul.”
    Why did I feel like I was making a deal with the devil?
    Oh, right. Because I was.
    “What’s the price?”
    “You will give up to me, willingly, the magic you hold within you.”
    I did not like that idea. Not at all. But carrying magic in my body was a new thing for me. I’d always had a small magic in me, just a candle-flame’s worth in my soul that I could use for maybe one spell. Cody Miller had pulled more magic into me when he was dying and created lines and paths and channels so that magic filled me—sometimes too much. It might be a good thing not to have to worry about burning down the city every time I cast a spell.
    “The magic in my body?” I asked, just to make sure I knew what kind of deal we were making.
    “No,” he said. “Not the magic in your body. I want the small magic in your soul.”

Chapter Four
    M ikhail folded his hands. He didn’t seem angry. He seemed resigned, as if he had seen too much pain and knew there would always be more pain to see.
    He did not look like a world-crushing, magic-hungry maniac.
    Then again, he was the first world-crushing, magic-hungry maniac I’d met.
    “You can’t take my small magic from me. It’s mine. It’s always been mine.” It felt like my nightmare was having nightmares. Dad had stuck his hands in me and messed with my small magic already today. I never wanted to feel that again.
    “That is true. I cannot take it from you. But you can give it to me. Willingly.”
    Yeah, give him my magic so he could break open the gates between life and death again and do what? Unleash those holy terrors upon my city and friends. He would use my magic to kill and destroy. I couldn’t let him do that.
    “No. A million times no.” I wasn’t going to put the entire world in danger.
    Dad closed his eyes. “There are moments when I regret I allowed you to slip my control.”
    “If I have to pay a price, that’s fine,” I said. “Ask for something else. I’ll give you a two-for-one deal on my dad’s soul.”
    “There is nothing else I want. If you wish to take the guardian’s soul back to life, if you want to live, you will give me the magic in your soul. It is the only way you will leave this realm.”
    “No deal.” I reached out for Zayvion again, my hand and blood dagger against his chest.
    Want to help me out with this? I thought. My heart was racing. As soon as I touched him, his fear mixed with mine and only made things worse.
    Don’t sacrifice yourself, he said. Don’t give him your magic. Negotiate to open a gate and go home. I’ll return to you.
    You’re chained down. They have you trapped, Zay. You can’t get out of this. They’re drinking you dry. I couldn’t say any more, couldn’t tell him he was dying in death. But I knew he felt my fear.
    He was quiet for a moment, sorting our fear, weighing our chances. Then, calmly, Leave me here, Allie. I am already dead. You can still live.
    Great. Zay had turned martyr on me. Not helpful.
    I didn’t know what to do. I truly, truly didn’t.
    “I know you don’t trust me,” New Dad said. “And probably don’t like me since you just tried to sell my soul. But let me say this: I don’t want you to stay here. I’ve worked very hard. . . . ” He glanced over at Old Dad. “I’ve worked very hard for a long time to make sure you would be safe if this day ever came. I never wanted this to happen, but life and death rarely go according to plan. This is the only way you can