After a minute of rubbing sensation back into my feet, I stood. It wasn't actually that simple. It took me a good fifteen seconds to climb to my feet, swearing, and groaning all the way. But that's beside the point. As I waited for my circulation to come back, I had been thinking. How exactly did Trenton work magic? Ben mentioning Sarah staring out the window had made something click in my memory. Something Blondie had said before chasing me. "I was the next man for the job after the crazy bitch failed to bring you in. Hell, Trenton was so mad he actually gave her a mark. Not that he'd ever actually go through with it."

He hadn't batted an eye at killing his other goons. I was starting to think the only reason Trenton wouldn't go through with it was that Sarah was too useful to him. Combined with that was the thread I could feel connected to Trenton. It let me come to a conclusion. They had linked. I wasn't sure how they had done it, but they had formed some sort of mental link. Trenton was gathering up the magic, and Sarah was providing the spark and emotion to aspect it. So, if I wanted to cut Trenton off from his power, I could just knock Sarah out, which I could probably do, since she was so injured. At least now, the question of Trenton's magic wasn't driving me crazy. "Do you have a plan for what to do next? Or have you not thought that far ahead?" Ben asked as I brushed myself off. I glanced around until my gaze settled on the doorway across the room. I needed to get to those files. If I could destroy those, I could cripple Trenton, even if I died. And if I did end up dying, I would make sure to attempt to throw my power at the soul cage before I went. A blast of magic fueled by my entire shroud should be more than enough to completely destroy the damn thing. I noticed the ladder on the wall less than a dozen paces from the door. A ladder that led up to the catwalks. I looked around and saw there were several other ladders on each wall. And one of them was right next to the observation room. I turned and smiled at Ben. "Actually, I do have a plan." I paused before adding, "sort of." Ben didn't look reassured. I flicked my hand at him dismissively and started walking. "Come on, ye of little faith. I want to get this over with."

Nothing blocked our way as we ran to the observation room. Nothing living, anyway. I focused on my destination, making sure not to look down. Despite my best efforts, I still caught glimpses of the broken and twisted bodies littering the floor. Cheryl's kills weren't clean or pretty. The steps clattered under my weight as I raced up them. Only to pause halfway up and force down my desire to retch. The path up to the steps had smelled like fresh blood. The actual steps smelled like burnt hair and charred meat. I carefully stepped over what remained of the corpses and made my way to the door. I opened it cautiously after Ben went through and confirmed Sarah was still glaring out the window. The knife's wooden handle felt hot and slick in my hand. The door creaked slightly on its hinges, causing me to wince. Sarah didn't even twitch, her eyes staying locked on the window. The room was relatively plain. With enough room for six or so tables and a long counter that stretched the length of one wall.

I stepped inside it, expecting Sarah to turn around any second. The woman didn't move. She showed no sign that she was even aware of our presence. I focused on her, not with my eyes but with my senses. It was infinitely easier than it had ever been. I had never had my aura this unrestrained for so long. I could feel that thread stretching out from Sarah's head, straight through the window in front of her and, probably, to Trenton. That mental thread wasn't something I could affect with my aura, but if my guess was correct... Before I'd even finished the thought, I heard another explosion from outside. At the same time, I felt palpable anger rolling off Sarah. As in literally, I could sense it in the same way you could feel heat radiating from a fire. A pit of ice formed in my stomach as I realized I might have underestimated Trenton. The man was confusing; some of the things he did were so stupid; I found them hard to believe. But at other times, he was disturbingly cunning. Regardless of how he managed to forge a mental link, he had done it with the perfect person for his goals.

Sarah was not stable, that was pretty obvious. But that lack of stability could be extremely powerful in the hands of a mage. The hotter and the more fully an emotion consumed a mage; the more efficient and potent their magic would be. This had the downside of not being nearly as reliable and potentially deadly to the mage and those around them. A sudden spike of rage while using earth magic might superheat the rock or the air around you. Not to mention, there were dangers in switching between different types of magic quickly. I had been told that the backlash from doing it wrong could leave a mage emotionally numb, or permanently stuck in the grip of a certain emotion. Hearing things like that made me thankful I was a Telss sometimes. Sure, plenty of things would gladly eat me for dinner, and the mage clans would snap me up just as fast. But no matter how I used my magic, I was never going to end up permanently furious or stubborn, or what have you. Well, unless you absorb a memory that finally breaks you an unhelpful part of me added.

I shook those thoughts off and walked straight to a table at the back of the room. All of my gear was laid out there. I scooped up the shotgun and hugged it. "Oh, how I've missed you!" Ben looked at me with an equal mix of amusement and concern. "You good?" I shook my head and hugged the gun tighter. "Shut up. I'm having a moment here." Despite my joking tone, I felt myself relax slightly as I held the gun. It was a comforting weight, a symbol of security for me. It wouldn't do much against Cheryl, but it made me feel better all the same. I shook myself, throwing the gun strap over my shoulder after checking to make sure it was fully loaded. I grab the rest of my stuff then turned to face Sarah's back.

If my theory was correct, that I had every reason to believe it was, if I incapacitated Sarah, I would remove most of Trenton's ability to fight. But if I did that now, Cheryl wouldn't have anything to distract her from turning me into her dinner. Also Trenton with magic was simply too dangerous. I didn't know if I would be able to forge a link with him before he killed me or knocked me out. Besides, I didn't need to fight Trenton or Cheryl this second. What I needed was to get to the file room, as well as smash all the computers on my way there. Out of curiosity, I moved closer to Sarah, making sure my shotgun was ready in case she broke out of the trance she was in. I focused my senses on her, this time paying attention to the woman herself instead of the mental thread. She still didn't have any wards on her, but I could still feel magic on her person. After a few seconds of puzzled searching, I realized the magic was coming from her back. It felt like wards had been placed against her skin. Maybe the anchors for the mental link? I knew virtually nothing about wards being placed directly on people, aside from the fact that it was possible. I backed away. I wasn't willing to kill the woman in cold blood. While I could knock her out, I didn't want Trenton to lose his magic just yet...

I walked over to the counter, an idea forming. After a few seconds of searching, I found what I was looking for--a coffee pot, half-filled. For a second, I considered pouring myself a cup before shaking my head. Bad Alder, you don't have time for that. I unplugged the coffee pot and carried it over to a table that was right next to Sarah. Quickly finding an outlet, I plug the pot back in, checking the glass to make sure it was hot. It was. I turned to Ben. "Do you have enough power left to tip this coffee pot over?" Ben looked between me, the coffee pot, and the unresponsive Sarah. "Maybe, it would take the rest of what I've gathered, but I should be able to do something that simple. But... Why?" I pointed out the window towards Trenton, who is currently blasting fire onto the concrete around Cheryl-trying to burn her feet, maybe? "I'm almost certain she's the reason he's able to do magic like that. He is gathering up the power. Then she's sending the spark needed to aspect it through a mental link." Ben looked between the two of us and grimaced. "I can do it. You'll just need to give me a signal." I nodded and turned towards the door.

Agreeing to that had cost Ben something. He was pragmatic enough to understand this was a matter of life or death. But Ben was a good man, better than I was, and something like throwing scalding coffee onto someone would haunt him even if that person wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in my back. "What's the next step of this plan?" Ben asked as we stepped through the doorway. The sounds of blasting magic and crunching chitin that had been muffled by the walls seemed twice as loud after being away from it for a minute. I didn't turn as I headed straight towards the ladder. "We're going to get the high ground."