“Why don’t you tell us?” asked Hannah. “How much power do you have?”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot. “Well, I’ve nothing like you two.” I scrunched up my eyes as if concentrating with all my strength. Magick flowed into me, but I kept most of it in reserve. I released the smallest amount. A spark of blue light flew across my palm. I slumped my shoulders, pretending to be winded. “See? It’s only a little power. Even so, it’s dangerous to have it.”
A ghost of a smile rounded Hannah’s mouth. “We can help you.”
“Really? When?”
“Right now,” answered Jonas. “The Vicomte has need of mages like you.”
Sure, so he can power his totem ring and take over the realm.
I worried my lower lip with my teeth. Pretending to be frightened was a surprisingly fatiguing activity. “Is it far? I wouldn’t want to leave Amelia for too long.”
“Why, it’s right below our feet.” Jonas pointed to the ground. “The Vicomte has a special infirmary set up for people like you.”
People like me.
The words sent a jolt of awareness straight up my spine. Could he be talking about Ada and Veronique? That couldn’t be possible. Quinn said they were all dead. My logical side jumped on that thought.
At the time, Quinn also seemed somewhat barking mad.
When I spoke again, my voice took on a hollow sound. “There are others? Here? Now?”
“Of course, there are.” Hannah reached for me. “Just come along and we’ll show you.”
The jangle of metal stopped me cold. Jonas had pulled enchanted manacles from the folds of his robes. I’d encountered those before. They could block the power of even the most advanced mage. Even worse, they hurt like hell to get off.
I still had plenty of magick left, so I put it to good use. I sent a blast of blue smoke from my left palm. It shot over to Hannah and Jonas, wrapping around them in a swirl of blue. When the haze disappeared, Jonas’s enchanted manacles had dissolved into sapphire-colored dust. The trick was to cast the dissolver spell before they got those irons on.
The elegant lines of Jonas’s face fell slack with shock. “How is this possible? The only Grand Mistresses left are Fantomes.”
Hannah sniffed. “It’s a low-level mage trick. The Vicomte warned us about her.” She reached into the folds of her robes, ready to pull out her own set of enchanted manacles. When she removed her hand again, her palm held a small pile of blue dust. She stared at it, open-mouthed. “What?”
“It’s a Grand Mistress level spell,” I said simply. “You didn’t think it would only effect Jonas, did you?”
I fought the urge to smile. People believed what they wanted to believe. I stood before these two mages, having just completed a rather complex spell. Still, this reality threatened their status as the greatest Necromancers around, so the two didn’t even think to start a counter-spell.
All the better for me.
Raising my arm, I released more of my magick. A glowing blue mist appeared by my feet. The haze quickly swirled up my body, solidifying into a suit of enchanted bone armor. Giant femurs protected my shoulders, the ball sockets covering my upper arms. Layers of heavy ribs shielded my torso. Carved fibulas encased the rest of me. Satisfaction warmed my chest. A perfect casting. This armor was impervious to most weapons. Even better, it would give me extra strength when fighting hand to hand.
Unfortunately, the casting itself took a toll. My head felt woozy and my legs were unsure. Still, I couldn’t pause to catch my breath. I marched toward Hannah, who had finally snapped out of her disbelief. Her shoulders straightened and malice lit up her brown eyes.
Excellent. I enjoy a good fight.
Hannah lifted her left hand, showing off the totem rings on her fingers. “Kill, destroy, burn.”
Hannah’s rings flared blue as her totem rings came to life. An array of tiny weapons sped toward me through the night. There were bone darts and small daggers. Fireballs and throwing stars. Hammers and arrows.
And all of them bounced off my armor harmlessly.
This really was one of my favorite spells.
Raising my arm high, I slammed my fist into the side of Hannah’s head. She dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Jonas whirled around to face me. “I don’t know who you are or how you escaped us for so long, but your power belongs to the Vicomte now.” I could tell that Jonas had been pulling magick into himself. Now, he quickly released his own mist and spell. I expected another volley of weapons. Instead, the glowing mist opened a small incision on the man’s neck. A chill of fear rolled across my shoulders. There was only one reason he’d open up his flesh like that.
Jonas was about to release his bone crawler. Why?
A memory appeared. Back at the Havilland’s gallery, Kamilla had said that some Fantomes were experimenting with their bone crawlers. Was Jonas one of them?