“How often do people in the Brink rise up?” He ducked under a branch and swerved around a group of unicorns munching grass. “When you are on the correct side, the elves are fair, usually.”
“Which side is the correct side?”
“The one that bows to them.”
“Which side are you on?” I could already guess the answer.
He slowed as we reached the other side in record time. Gently, he put me down and waited until I was steady before stepping away. “Vlad’s.”
“My guess is, Vlad doesn’t bow.”
“Of course he does, as do we all—when we have to. That is why we still exist. But we won’t bow forever. The elves want to rid this Realm of the temptation of the unicorns, and, with them, us. They have not acted yet, but they will. When they do, we will be ready.” He looked down at the visible boot. He’d left the bait, his own kind, to save me. “Can you tell if she lives?”
“Well…I don’t know about lives, since she’s a vampire, but…” I grimaced at his straight face. Not the time for that sort of joke. “The short answer is…maybe.”
I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and walked closer to the boot. Immediately, I could tell that it was a form of the freezing spell the mage had used on the unicorn, but with a burning type of twist, making it more powerful. I had this mage’s number now. After saying as much to Darius, I added, “If she’s alive, she won’t be for long. I’d wager her skin was blackening like yours did after you touched the first spell. The mage froze her before she died.”
“This mage knows us well.” Darius looked into his satchel.
“If he’s partnering with a vampire, then of course he does.”
“There is a difference between being told our traits, even seeing them, and knowing how to work a spell to freeze us at the exact right moment. He must know that it is taking everything in my power not to try and rip into that spell to see if she still lives.”
“I wouldn’t advise that.”
“My point exactly. This is the perfect bait, as you said. He is dangerous, this mage.”
“Okay. Let’s find him, then.”
Darius nodded and motioned at the path where the barely lingering residual magic was the only thing left of the barrier spell I’d taken down. “Wait there.”
I really didn’t want to.
Like a sulky teenager, I trudged onto the path of death where that overanxious serpent was probably still waiting for me to dip a toe in the water. I sat in the very middle with shifty eyes, half terrified the thing would catapult out and attach its face to mine. I didn’t have the energy to fight it off.
Muttering caught my attention, and I looked Darius’s way in time to catch him cracking open the final capsule in his cocktail. The spell sifted down onto the ones he’d already opened and crystalized, partially blocking the way. The other vampire probably knew how Darius worked, and would know how to edge around the area.
“Will the trap do anything besides getting to know the mage’s magic, which I already have a pretty good handle on?” I asked, rising.
“I altered my plans for this spell, given your extraordinary senses.” I half preened at the compliment. He didn’t give them out often. Not without a slap in the face to accompany them. “The goal of this mix of spells is to attach a piece of tracking magic to the mage.” Darius picked me up again. Without warning, he started running. I did squeal this time, with a huge smile on my face.
“How do you hope to—”
“I am right here, Reagan. There is no need to shout.”
“Sorry. With all the wind whipping by us, I didn’t know if you’d hear. Anyway, how do you hope to attach it?”
“The spell is an intricate offensive one that should explode when another magic worker comes in contact with it.”
“One of those, huh?”
“Intricate, I said. I created it from a lot of different spells, so it should take hardly a moment for someone of higher-caliber magic to disable it. He will laugh at me, surely. I am hoping his ego masks his ability to notice smaller details, like that tracker.”
“If there is anyone who knows about egos, it’s you.” I laughed.
“Do humans find you humorous?”
We passed the first circular area. I could still see the disturbance of our tracks. That was a good sign. “Yes. Well, they don’t laugh out loud, but I’m pretty sure they laugh inside.”
A little over a minute later—by my rough timekeeping—we were passing the other circular area. “Wow. You really move. I’m starting to get a little jealous.”
“We need to plan what is next,” Darius said, ignoring me.
“Easy. Get those casings checked out and ask around about an extremely powerful mage. The latter should be easy. There is no way that much power has gone unnoticed.”
“I can arrange a meeting with my most trusted contact.”
“No.” I shook my head as we neared the Dungeon. “If he hasn’t told you anything by now, he either doesn’t know or is holding back—believe that. No, you hired me for a reason. This is what I specialize in. I can think of a dozen people to shake information out of. But first I need sleep.”
“You will sleep in my chambers while I attend to some business.”
I sure hoped that bed was as comfortable as it looked.
Chapter Eleven
“Did you leave your house in this state?” Darius asked from beside me as we stood on the sidewalk in front of my home.
My brow furrowed as I stared at my front door. It had been ripped off the frame, and leaned against the chairs on my front porch. The screen lay in my yard among the weeds, the metal framing twisted.