I opened my shields. It was foolish, it gave the spell another way inside, but I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to see what was attacking me.
Aetheric energy washed over the world. The spell attacking me consisted of a tight network of red and orange magic spun into an angry net draped over me. Derrick’s charm was a thin coating of green energy holding the aggressive spell at bay, but I could see that green light dimming, growing weaker.
I could barely breathe. The air seemed superheated as I tried to draw it into my lungs around the spell. I was going to ignite. Die.
I dropped the bubble that kept me from touching other planes. Raking my hand over my arm, I sank my fingers into the red and orange energy and tugged. A handful of malicious magic pulled free. I flung it away from me. It hit the tiled floor and sizzled, bursting into a small flame that immediately burned itself out in a puff of black smoke.
I grabbed at where the burning spell was trying to smother me and pulled off another handful. Then another. My fingers felt like they were blistering. Small smudges of ash circled me. But my face was clear, no longer burning. And my arms. My chest.
At some point I realized it wasn’t just my hands pulling the spell free. Death knelt beside me, pulling the spell apart with his fingers. I must have been in true danger because the spell Death had tied to my life force only called him when I was in mortal peril.
My hands were burning, the skin angry, red. My fingernails were blackened at the tips. But we’d pulled apart enough of the spell that the rest dissolved, unable to sustain itself. As the burning along my body dissipated, I collapsed forward onto my hands and knees. I lowered my head to the cool tile floor, sucking down air that was no longer threatening to boil my lungs.
I realized it was snowing. Falin had conjured or glamoured snow in the interrogation room. I wasn’t sure which. It probably hadn’t helped, but it had been a nice effort and the cool flakes felt good as they touched the bare skin of my face.
Death ran a hand through my hair, murmuring soothing words in a language I didn’t know. He placed a cool hand on the back of my neck. It felt good against my still-too-hot flesh.
Death. Death was here. In the room with a walking corpse. As if my thoughts had drawn attention to her, I felt Death’s hand still. His gaze locked on Tiffany, his hazel eyes narrowing.
“Leave her. We’re still questioning her,” I whispered, the words almost lost against the tile where my cheek still rested.
Death heard me anyway. He glanced down at me, regret in his eyes, but shook his head. “I can’t.”
My head shot up. “Circle Tiffany.”
The words came out hoarse. Falin and Briar only looked at me.
“Get Tiffany in a circle,” I said, looking directly at Briar. “Now.”
She didn’t question me but vaulted over the interrogation table to land beside the massive body that held the ghost we didn’t want collected. She placed her hand to the ground by Tiffany’s feet, and magic snapped through the air. She hadn’t drawn a circle, but one crackled into place around her and Tiffany. It was impressive. I couldn’t have done it.
Death scowled, the look one of the most serious I’d ever seen on his face. “Alex, what have you done?”
“Protected my lead,” I said around shaky breaths.
“That’s a dead body. That soul can’t stay in there.” He rose to his feet effortlessly, taking a step forward.
“You’re right. But we need more time. The guy who just sent a killing spell after me? She’s our best bet for finding him. Please, we just need more time.”
Death looked away from me. “You’ll find another lead.”
“That’s the second spell he’s sent for me today. I don’t think I’ll survive a third.” The naked plea in my voice was clear even to my own ears, and I imagined I was a sad sight, slightly singed and still on my knees surrounded by melting snow and charred tiles. I didn’t care. I needed him to understand why this was so important. This wasn’t just me asking as his girlfriend for him to bend the rules and reveal secrets like his name because the secrets hurt. There were lives at stake. More than just mine.
Death hesitated. Then he squeezed his eyes shut. My chest constricted as I realized he wasn’t going to give us time to question Tiffany. He was bound by rules and duties, and even if he’d just disregarded both by helping me destroy a killing spell, he still had to follow most of those rules.
To hell with that. He chose to break the rules all the time. Our entire relationship was against the rules. I wasn’t asking him to forget about Tiffany’s soul forever. I needed an hour. And he wouldn’t give me that. Gauhter’s spell had failed, and once the necromancer realized I’d survived, he was likely to send another wave. Next time it could kill me. And I likely wouldn’t be the only victim if we didn’t find him today. Gauhter’s experimentation was accelerating. How many more would die if we didn’t locate him soon? But Death wouldn’t even delay an hour on a soul that had been walking around in a dead body for more than a week already. That stung.
“I can’t, Alex. Now that I’ve seen her. I can’t leave her here.” He didn’t say he was sorry about that fact, though I could hear the regret in his voice. “I’ll keep an eye on you. If he sends another spell . . . I will be there. But I have to take this soul now.”
He started forward.
Briar was kneeling on the ground inside the barrier, drawing a true circle. I didn’t know how strong the one she’d spontaneously erected was, but circles needed something physical to cling to. One created without something to cement it would be weak, prone to shattering if hit with too much. I doubted it would keep Death out long.
I had to stall him.
I jumped to my feet and grabbed his arm. I almost screamed as my blistered fingers touched him, but I didn’t let go.
He turned and frowned at me. I couldn’t hold him back physically, I knew that. I wasn’t strong enough, especially when my fingers barely agreed to move in their damaged state. Death looked at my hand on his bicep. We were precariously close to a line. We both knew it. The only question was, what would be one step too many?
Death shrugged away from me. Pain shot through my hand as his arm jerked from my fingers. One of the newly formed blisters tore open, oozing hot liquid.
I didn’t reach for him again. It wouldn’t have done any good. I could at least let Briar see he was approaching, let her know where the threat was. She had to be almost done with her circle. It wasn’t that big a circle.
I reached out with my magic and pulled Death into mortal reality. Once I would have had to be touching him to do it. I no longer needed that. I pulled, and everyone in the room could see him.
Falin stepped into Death’s path, his daggers appearing in his hands. “Leave the witness be.”
Death stared at him. “Get out of my way.”