“Abomination.” Its voice was gravelly, its eyes trained on me as it reached for a dagger at its belt. “Power thief.”
I swung back and punched him in the nose, following it up with a knee to the gut. He bent over, wheezing. I was about to draw my sword and go for the kill shot when I pulled up short.
I couldn’t. Or I’d risk taking whatever power he had.
Roarke joined me.
The words burned as I asked, “Will you finish him off? I don’t want to take his powers.”
The demon lunged for me, knife outstretched and nose pouring blood. Roarke grabbed him and swiftly broke his neck, then dropped the body.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Any time.” Roarke gestured to a section of the wrought iron wall. “We can go in here.”
There was no gate. “We gonna jump over?” I stepped near and gasped. The electric prickle of a protection charm stung my skin.
“Not yet.” Roarke stepped up to the wall, then drew back his fist and slammed it into the invisible wall created by the protection charm. Bright white lines radiated out from his fist as he tore through the ether, and the enchantment broke. The prickling that had bothered me disappeared. My muscles relaxed just slightly.
“Now we jump over.” Roarke turned and cupped his hands low.
I stepped into them, and he hefted me up. I gripped the cold iron and pulled myself over.
With a heave, he tossed the demon’s body over the wall, then jumped over.
“What’d you do that for?” I asked as he landed silently beside me.
“Don’t want a human stumbling over him before he disappears. At least the campus is full of other supernaturals.”
Good point. I turned to face the campus, gasping at the sight. It hadn’t looked like this from the other side of the wall. Old-fashioned street lamps glittered with sparkly light. Magic light, not flame, like they were full of hundreds of fireflies. The light fell on the ornate old buildings, making them appear to glow. And though the snow gathered on the grass on either side of the walk, the pathways were clear and dry. Roses bloomed on bushes despite the freezing temperature. It gave the whole place an enchanted air.
The protection charm on the fence must have hidden the obvious signs of magic.
“Wow, maybe I should have studied harder.” Or gone to school at all. The fact that I could even read was a miracle, considering the only parts of my childhood that I could remember took place in a freaking dungeon.
Roarke shoved the body behind a snow-covered rosebush and glanced up at me. “You could still study here if you wanted. You’re smart enough.”
A smile tugged at my mouth as I imagined the libraries that this place must have. They’d be huge and old and beautiful. I loved my trove full of books, but there was nothing like that feeling of discovery in libraries.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.” His gaze was serious, but it moved away from mine quickly.
“How do we find your buddy?” I asked, determined to change the subject. It was hard to maintain any kind of objectivity around him when he was complimenting me.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “I’ve never been to his office. Just my, ah….friend.”
He’d been about to say brother. I was sure of it.
“I do know that his college is somewhere in the middle of campus,” he said. “The whole place is laid out as courtyards surrounded by buildings. Each is a college. A river that runs through the whole campus. I thought you could use your seeker sense to find it.”
Nerves skated through me. Of course he wanted me to use my dragon sense on the fly, something I wasn’t a huge fan of. I preferred to have my books to give me a boost.
“I can try.” My gaze roved the campus, noting the many buildings and alleys and tiny areas. It was a freaking maze—and that was just the part I could see from here. “But info helps me. And I know almost nothing about this guy.”
“I think he works at Boadica’s College. It’s dedicated to the pursuit of magical control. Horatio Penderren is a Mind Mage.”
“A Mind Mage? What kind?” They could be dangerous. Each controlled a different portion of the mind. Those who could manipulate the thalamus, for example, could cause great pain for their enemies.
“He can manipulate people’s self-control. Which means he could help you manage your magic.”
“Makes sense. Well, let me try.”
I closed my eyes and focused on what I knew, calling upon my dragon sense. The faintest quiver pulled at my middle, but not enough to get a target on where we were going. So I imagined how much I wanted to control this power. My dragon sense relied on desire as much as knowledge, so if I didn’t know enough to find this guy, then I was going to focus on how danged much I wanted to find him.
Controlling my magic was the only way I’d survive. With these demons after me, and now with the Order on my tail, I needed to get a handle on my magic fast. The desire to control my power was so strong that I could almost taste it. I imagined it tasted like boxed Merlot.
It did the trick.
The familiar tug about my middle directed me into the campus and slightly north.
“I’ve got something.” I set off down the path, momentarily pretending I was a student here. It was a lovely image, quickly replaced by the realization that I was hooked on my high-adrenaline lifestyle. I loved books, but I loved hunting treasure and demons just as much.
The thought of demons made me glance behind us to see if any followed. None did. But if someone saw us, would they realize we were intruders? I quickened my pace.
Roarke kept pace with me as we hurried by the ornate buildings, his gaze alert as he studied our surroundings. The deeper we walked into the university, the more obvious it became that this place was eight hundred years old. Lights glowed behind ancient, mullioned glass windows, shining on people bent over books. The feel of the magic grew stronger, too, varying signatures competing for dominance.
In addition to the usual Magica signatures, I got a whiff of fur and the feel of fangs nipping my skin.
“Do shifters study here, too?” I asked.
“Yes.”
The path we followed terminated at a massive wall of prickly green hedge. On either side loomed two tall, ancient buildings, their ornate stonework seeming to form eyes that glared down on us. There was nowhere to go but through the bushes or the buildings.
I called upon my dragon sense. It pulled toward the hedge. There was a small gap right in the middle.
“Twenty bucks that’s a hedge maze.”
“Not taking that bet. You’re right.”
“Let’s go.” I led the way in, following my dragon sense.
Inside, roses bloomed on the hedge walls. Snow crystalized their petals, but the scent was still rich. We were only a few feet in when the tall hedges cut out the light of the lamps that had dotted the main path. We had to rely upon moonlight, which there was precious little of. The snow clouds obscured most of its glow.
A moment later, glittering lights appeared ahead of us, leading the way. They were bright in the dark. Enchanting.