A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)

“So it wasn’t retaliation,” Jax concluded.

“Not for what we did earlier.” I shrugged. “Maybe for the ass-kicking they got the night before when they broke into the prison, I’m thinking…”

“Either way, that was vicious. It also confirms our earlier suspicions,” Hansa said. “The daemons definitely know this city and its operations inside out. They knew how to infiltrate the Lords’ mansions without anyone noticing an explosive device. They knew about Master Dresdel’s ephelis reserve. I can’t help but wonder what else they know…”

“I need some sleep before I can try to answer that question,” I muttered, leaning against the window frame. My muscles were starting to liquefy, and my neck was quite stiff. Normally my stamina covered two to three days with no sleep, easily, but after the constant fighting since the night Fiona was taken, I needed a breather.

Caia and Blaze returned shortly afterward, followed by Fiona, who briefed us on Arrah and the successful extraction of her brother, Demios. Finally, a small win for our side…

“She promised she’ll find me by tomorrow night.” Fiona completed her account of Demios’s rescue and return to his sister. “Once he’s safe and hidden, Arrah will be able to talk to us. She feared her brother might have been mind-bent into spying on his own people, if released from prison, from what I understood.”

“Whoa, that’s some serious conspiracy stuff,” I exclaimed, finding it hard to imagine such a scenario after I’d seen Mara bodies being carried out of the rubble upstairs.

“We won’t know for sure until she speaks up,” Patrik said. “In the meantime, let’s set up a proper spell to protect this city. Caia, Blaze, all done on your end, right?”

“Absolutely,” Caia replied with a smirk. “We repainted the symbols around the Lords’ mansions, too. But we used trees this time, just to be sure.”

“Thank you both,” the Druid replied, and moved to the area in the middle of the room that had the spell paraphernalia and drawings prepared. He chanted the spell in a low voice and clapped his hands once, releasing an energy pulse. Golden light burst out of his body and spread out, disappearing beyond the walls of the infirmary. “I used samples from the daemon and the pit wolf collars to specify the threat that the spell needs to keep out.”

We all stood there, quiet for a while, enjoying the silence.

Jax then opened the door, calling out to the Correction Officers stationed outside:

“You there! Tell Lord Kifo that the protection spell is in place to cover the prison, too. However, you should have officers on the second and third floors for the rest of the night.” He then shifted his focus back to us, running a hand through his short black hair. “I’ll need all of us to get some sleep through what’s left of the night. We’re all pretty drained, judging by Harper’s face.”

His smirk made me straighten my back and cross my arms over my chest, exuding faux offence.

“Hah, speak for yourself,” I quipped.

“We have a route set up for the gorges tomorrow, but I trust Lord Kifo will be able to offer some valuable input after the funerals,” Jax continued. “We’ll meet back here at eight, as the procession starts at nine, from what Emilian told us. It’ll give us an hour to hash out details, let the Druid dispose of the daemon corpse, and prepare for what comes next.”

“To reiterate,” Hansa added, “Jax, Blaze, Caia, Harper, Lord Kifo, and I will infiltrate the gorges again tomorrow, after the funerals. The plan is to find and capture a daemon in there, and force him to reveal one of the access routes into their underground cities. Lord Kifo might be able to help with that, too. We’ll find out more once we have him all to ourselves.”

“And the rest of us will stay here.” Fiona nodded. “Understood. That being said, I would like to speak to Cynara sometime soon. Preferably tomorrow.”

“The servant girl from our first dinner with the Lords?” I asked, remembering the young Iman female and her fragile state, along with Hera, her sister.

“Yes. I’m hoping we can get some more information out of her,” Fiona replied, “about anything… Avril, Heron, would you be able to join me for this? I’m hoping we could maybe bypass some of her mind-bending blocks. Surely she must have some. It could lead to nothing, but then again, with so many questions we have yet to answer, she might surprise us… I don’t know.”

“That makes sense,” Heron replied. “I mean, like you said, it’s worth a shot. Worst-case scenario her brain is already mush, but we won’t know until we try. It’s a useful way to kill time while Jax and his team check the underground cities.”

“I agree,” Avril chimed in. “Speaking to Cynara could at least help us understand the extent of mind-bending in this city. After all, there is only so much that the Exiled Maras can justify as psychological treatment and forcing confessions out of criminals. It would be good to put the issue to rest, once and for all, especially after what happened tonight. Despite the warning signs, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to believe that the Maras have anything to do with the disappearances and the daemons. If anything, the Imen seem to know more about these creatures than anyone else.”

“Well, the Imen and Lord Kifo,” I muttered.

“Yeah, but he’s a very odd exception, and I’m hoping he’ll be willing to tell us more about it as soon as he gets the chance,” Hansa offered, then took a deep breath and glanced at each of us. “Okay, time to go to bed!”

We left the infirmary, with Patrik last. He locked the door and placed another protection spell on the building. I looked out onto the gorges in the distance and froze. Using my True Sight for just a little bit of a zoom, I could see the red eyes clearly—flickering defiantly in the absolute darkness of the limestone ravines.

“Hey, guys,” I breathed, “can you look out over there and tell me what you see?”

I kept my eyes on the Valley of Screams, determined not to let those red dots out of my sight this time. One by one, my teammates joined my side, following my gaze. Their eyes narrowed for a moment, then popped wide open.

“Lots of daemons out there tonight, I see,” Hansa growled, twisting her lips with disgust.

“Ah, so I’m not imagining this. Okay,” I muttered.

“No, and I am sorry we doubted you the other night.” Hansa gently nudged my shoulder with hers. “They’re getting more brazen now.”

“Hopefully GASP will be here soon,” Jax added. “We need more than one dragon to launch a serious offensive against the daemons. And that will be either to obliterate them or force them into some kind of armistice.”