Outtakes from MLTF -- The Undercity, Part 2 of 3

For the rest of this week, I'll be posting a scene from Magic Lost, Trouble Found that didn't make it into the final version. (I posted the first part yesterday, so scroll down if you missed it.) I'd posted a different version of this scene last month -- that one took place in The Ruins; this scene is in Mermeia's Undercity. Karl Cradok, the crime lord of Mermeia, has kidnapped Quentin. If Raine gives Karl the amulet, she gets Quentin back in one piece. In streamlining the book, my editor and I decided that the Karl/Quentin subplot had to go. But both Karl & Quentin are still in reserves as characters to be included in future books. Karl's a slippery one, and Quentin's known for getting into everything--so who knows where they'll turn up? ; ) Enjoy!

"Are you alright?" Janek asked. No doubt my behavior was one of the stranger things he had witnessed this evening.

"It's the amulet, or the Saghred," Phaelan explained. "It's like being drunk without any of the fun parts."

"Except throwing up," I told the three Janeks that now wavered in my line of vision.

Feet shuffled away from my immediate vicinity. I didn't blame them. I wanted to leave my vicinity, too. To their credit, Eiliesor and Phaelan didn't move, though Phaelan's grip on my arm did loosen momentarily.

I took a deep breath, willing my stomach flip-flops to subside. It didn't listen, but it didn't do anything else either. That was good enough for now. I forced my eyes to focus.

"I'm better," I lied. "There are only one and a half of you now," I told Janek. I turned my head in the Guardian's direction. I don't know if it did it or not, but at least I tried. "I don't know if it was what you did or the beacon, but either way, the coast is clear. Karl's ward is gone and there's no one in the tunnel."

Eiliesor left me to Phaelan and checked for himself. I didn't blame him. I didn't trust the Saghred's work either.

"There's nothing left," he announced.

He looked at me. There was only one of him and he only had two eyes.

"If you're not well, you should stay here," he told me.

It sounded like an order. I've never been good with orders, especially the taking and following part.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "Last time this happened, I was fighting Khrynsani temple guards within two minutes. A minute after that I took on three of their shamans. Not too shabby."

Janek and Phaelan opened the trapdoor, revealing a yawning black pit.

The blond ax wielder, whose full name I'd discovered was Vegard Rolfgar, stepped up to the edge and looked down. "Lightglobes or torches?" he asked his commander.

"Globes," Eiliesor said. "Quicker to extinguish and no smoke for a sentry to smell."

The blue light illuminated walls of packed earth that looked to be none too stable. Eiliesor went down first, followed by Riston Kirkwode, the dark-haired Guardian from Tam's place, then Janek and Riggs. I followed with Phaelan. Four others followed at a distance to make sure no one snuck up on us from behind, the rest stayed in the shipping office to keep our exit clear.

Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of The Undercity outtake from MLTF.