It was so cold. I felt like I was trying to sleep in snow, and I was stuck between sleep and consciousness. My thoughts weren't quite full, but I could feel myself faintly. The cold was making it nearly impossible to feel anything besides my lungs burning. I wasn't moving -- wasn't breathing. My chest burned with fire because I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even tell if my heart was beating.

   Seconds trickled past. They had to become minutes at some point. I felt close to fainting. My body wanted to shake and give way to the sparks that danced behind my eyelids. I wanted to faint. I wanted to be unconscious. It was better than this burning panic that throbbed through my skull because I wasn't breathing. Every time my sluggish brain remembered that I couldn't breathe, it panicked. 

   My half-dead brain couldn't keep track of the minutes. It could have been five minutes or five days and I wouldn't have known the difference. Either way, it felt way too long. My brain went from panic to exhaustion to panic over and over.

   My gut wrenched. The distinct feeling of being in a nex line rushed past my nerves. Almost like I was being pulled from a freezing river, I was hauled into the open air. The invisible bonds on my lungs released and I was suddenly solid again. The moment my feet touched down, my knees buckled and I collapsed. Deep coughs wracked my body. 

   Someone made an impressed noise. "Well done, Dani."

   Simone . . . I looked up, gaze boring into Dani. She was leaning against the wall. We were in a small office. A man sat behind the desk. He had a salt-and-papper scruff with sunglasses and a baseball cap. My lip curled. "What did you do?" My voice was raspy.

   She didn't even bother to address me. She ignored me to talk to the guy. "It worked perfectly, honestly. You were right."

   I sat back onto my heels and realized that my hands were bound together. Dark magic kept them tightly wedged at my front. I couldn't even feel the skin. But I didn't need my hands. Crimson magic seeped off of my shoulders. The man looked my way, amused. "She's arching her back a bit."

   Dani looked down. "Oh, whatever. She's not a threat." She waved a hand dismissively and I got thrown backwards. The room vanished. I hit the ground again, seething. She was treating me like I was nothing but a mosquito. Panting, I struggled to move, and realized that I was breathing.

   The air was incredibly thin. Dani had transported me back. Something in her spell had gone wrong, because I was able to move a little. My lungs were able to suck in air. That, and I could see the room. I wasn't there. It was as if I was watching from an exact copy of the same room. Dani took a seat at the desk. The whole room was dark and I could barely see, but I was able to see anyway.

   The man's voice echoed. "So, the spell worked? No problems?"

   "None," said Dani. "It wasn't just the curse, either. Everything worked. The whole plan. From the very beginning, it's gone perfectly."

   The man hesitated. "You're sure that Reilly can't hear us?"

   "Positive." Dani raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be able to know that?"

   "She's not quite in our realm, Dani."

   She snickered. "I guess that's true. She's in that gap between the Mortal Realm and the barrier. And Albers was the one to give me the idea!" A cackle echoed from her lips. "This is rich."

   The  . . . gap? The lack of good air was starting to make my head ache. 

   "I should have given you more credit." Dani put her feet on the desk, even as the man made a face. "It worked perfectly. The little test in Boston was to make sure, but we should have believed you. The moment Reilly gets angry, she's crazy. She ran right into the trap. Literally into it. I didn't even have to restrain her or anything. Everyone gives that girl too much credit. She's a fool."

   "I told you before the plan in Memphis that this would be how it worked out," he said. "We just had to find the right target. It took nearly a year, but we found one."

   "Well, you haven't been right about everything." Dani snorted. "You didn't predict Albers taking the first shot."

   "I can't tell anything about that guy," sighed the guy. "He'd cloaked himself in enough magic that he was undetectable. Regardless of that, he's taken care of now. So, you can access your power? Did the curse work completely?"

   Dani snapped her fingers. Ice shot through my arm. My spine arched, but the pain was gone the moment it came. The black sparks faded from Dani's hand. "Yup. With her so close to the barrier my power is twice as strong."

   "Excellent. We can start to deploy this new ability soon." The man pushed his chair back. "I'm glad both of our trips were successful. I'm sorry you had to wait. Now, Karrae ought to be here in about two minutes."

   Dani's face darkened. "That girl is not pulling her weight. She's failed twice."

   "The second time, we set her up to fail," he replied smoothly. "She's got incredible potential. That girl, under the right circumstances, will become a massive asset. We cannot lose her."

   "Then you deal with her."

   The man rose and shook his head. "Trust me with this." He tipped his hat. Opening the door, he left the room. Dani groaned and hung her head over the seat. "What a prick," she muttered. Dani lifted her hand to her face. Icicles stabbed through my arm and pierced my heart as dark sparkles rained down from her fingertips. A strangled sound left my lips.

   Dani gazed at the magic trickling from her hand, fascinated. "Absolutely brilliant," she murmured before chuckling. "If only Alexie wasn't gone. I'd love to face him now." 

   There was a knock on the door. Dani didn't even bother to move. "What, Karrae?"

   It was the white-haired woman. Her skin had lost its sheen in the dark office. Her snow strands were braided and wound up around her head. Molten eyes darted across the room. "I heard that I am getting assigned to a new task."

   Dani grunted. "That would be news to me. You're not doing too well, are you?"

   Her tone was enough that Karrae's expression darkened. "That stupid mage is a lot more than she looks like. And that shapeshifter is a problem. He's too defensive of that mage."

   "Then how did I get that mage into my hands in less than thirty seconds?"

   Thirty seconds . . . My mind registered the words. Something akin to guilt curled around my innards. Was that how long it had been? Had I seriously been captured that fast? There was no way. . . right?

   Karrae bristled. "You have the full power of dark magic."

   "I didn't even use it except to conceal myself. And I didn't even do anything until that other mage took off the spell." Dani lifted up her head, annoyed. "You're making excuses. Kingsley actually thought you were going to be a good asset. And yet you haven't completed a single mission."

   The other woman gritted her teeth. "It's not easy for someone like me."

   "Blah blah blah." Dani rose to her feet. Karrae's posture tensed. "You're annoying me. You came to Kingsley and begged that you join us. You said that you'd be our greatest weapon. And you've been nothing but a burden."

   "Give me one more shot," said Karrae. "I'll go right now and kill that shapeshifter. I'll get him out of the way."

   Dani paused. Interest covered her features. "You know . . . what an idea. Tell you what. Give me a while to get my cards in order. And when I'm done . . . you will go after him. Kingsley said killing him wouldn't matter, so I'll let you enjoy it."

   Karrae's eyes gleamed. "You just tell me when, and he's dead."

Update 1/3. Continue on!