All Spell Breaks Loose by Lisa Shearin Read Free Book Online

couldn’t see past our meager lights into the rest of the cave, but that didn’t stop me from trying. “Why isn’t there a welcoming committee here? Not that I mind Nukpana being rude, but I do have a vested interest in why.”
    “And I have a vested interest in air,” said a muffled and all-too-familiar voice—from
inside
the crate. “Could someone let me out?”
    Never think that a situation couldn’t get any worse.
    Our crate contained something besides supplies.
    It had Talon stowed away inside.
    It probably should’ve taken a crowbar to get into that crate, but Tam ripped into it just fine with his bare hands—probably so he could wrap them around Talon’s neck. From the look on Tam’s face, the kid would have been better off staying in the box, air or no air. Once Talon got a look at his father’s face for himself, I think the kid agreed with me.
    Talon was even more scrunched up in the crate than I had been when I slammed into it. He’d wedged himself into one corner, his knees tight against his chest, head bent forward, hands clutching what looked like a small ham. My stomach rumbled.
    Tam was virtually shaking with suppressed rage, and for once, Talon did the smart thing and kept his mouth shut.
    “Cadet Nathrach,” Mychael said. “What a completely unpleasant and
unauthorized
surprise.”
    Talon looked from his dad to his commander. “I can explain.”
    “I seriously doubt that.” Tam reached in, grabbed his son by the front of his uniform, and, with a hard twist and pull, popped Talon free from the supplies, leaving a roughly Talon-shaped indentation in a stack of blankets. But Talon, being Talon, the moment he was out he started talking. Bad idea. It was like the kid couldn’t help himself.
    “I didn’t take any supplies out to make room for me.”
    I didn’t think Tam heard one word the kid said.
    Discipline—either of the self or the plain variety—wasn’t a big part of Talon’s thinking. He’d been on his own for much of his young life, and had used his magic any way he had to in order to survive. Talon was nearly as talented a spellsinger as Piaras, so the kid had some nifty tricks up those gray uniform sleeves, and he didn’t think twice about whipping any of them out. That there were consequences to his actions, especially to others, was just beginning to occur to him. If he ran into a problem, he had a trick to fix it. Magic wasn’t the cure-all solution to everything. Tam was trying to teach his son that. Regor was no place for Talon to continue his education.
    The kid was the proverbial loose cannon. Powerful but unfocused, the majority of his magic remained uncharted waters—deep uncharted waters. That description applied to Piaras, too.
    And both of them were stuck here with us.
    “If we survive this,” Tam growled, “we’re going to have a long and
very
meaningful talk.”
    “I’ll look forward to it, sir.”
    “No, you won’t. I can’t change that you’re here, but I can and
will
change your future attitude about reckless behavior. Do I make myself clear?”
    Talon glanced at Tam’s unyielding face and gulped audibly. “Completely, sir.”
    Mychael broke the silence. “Tam, you’re familiar with this cave; you’ll lead us out. Cadets Rivalin and Nathrach, our bad luck is your good. Three of our team members didn’t make it through the mirror. There’s a backpack for each of you. Let’s stock up and move out.”
    Just because there weren’t any Khrynsani here to meet us didn’t mean they weren’t on the way. We got our gear quickly and quietly.
    “Elves, get behind a goblin,” Tam ordered.
    Carnades stiffened. “What?”
    Tam spoke as if explaining the obvious, which he was. “Goblins can see in the dark; elves can’t. We can’t have any light, and we can’t make any sound.”
    Carnades struggled to get his pack over his shoulder. “Why not put Raine at the front? She can just obliterate anyone who comes at us.”
    I’d had enough of