“Detrudo!” she exclaimed, then shoved it at Saladan, fully expecting him to deflect it.
“Rhombus!” Saladan countered, but his circle wouldn’t form because Randy and Daniel were lying too surely across the proposed barrier, their auras interfering. Her curse sped across the distance. Dark eyes wide, Saladan ducked and deflected it.
The charm ricocheted to hit Randy full in the chest. The officer fell back with a pained moan, collapsing into convulsions. Trisk was already moving, her hands glowing with loosed power as Daniel rolled away, free from the imprisoning weight.
Now Saladan’s circle formed, and Trisk skidded to a halt to keep from running into it. She’d wanted to slip past his forming circle, but having failed didn’t mean she was done.
Shaking, they stared at each other, stray imbalances of force skating like lightning across the molecule-thin barrier humming between them. “You dare to attack me? You little elf whelp?” Saladan said, his face red with anger.
“I’m not taking the blame for this, and neither will Daniel,” she said, her knees threatening to buckle. “Kalamack will.”
“Not likely.” Saladan frowned in disdain. “Even your enclave will look the other way.”
She scowled, knowing it to be true. “Perhaps, but I’m not the one hiding in a circle.” Her smile became wickedly satisfied, and Saladan’s look of confidence turned to affront, then alarm when she placed her palms against his circle, and . . . like a demon, pushed. Daniel has the plague, a tiny part of her thought, her heartache swelling. They must have forced it on him.
Saladan’s eye twitched as he strengthened his hold on the line. Trisk clenched her teeth at the sudden flash of pain arcing through her as Saladan drew more energy into maintaining his circle. She redoubled her force, a cry of frustration rising with the pain, stabbing knives striking her palms, diving to her core, and turning into glass shards with every heartbeat.
“Trisk, Stop!” Daniel shouted, edging forward with Orchid behind him.
Sweat broke out on her, but there was nothing but the small space between her hands as she forced her will against Saladan’s . . . until a tiny crack of doubt formed within his certainty. He was good, but she was an elf—and he’d hurt someone she cared about.
Screaming in defiance, she poured her will into it, widening the crack until, with a snap, she broke his circle.
She fell back into Daniel’s waiting arms, panting as she scrambled to stand on her own. Furious, she never took her eyes from Saladan. The tall man stared at her in sudden doubt. “You’re going to fry for killing Daniel,” she said again, her voice raw with heartache.
“Trisk, I’m okay,” Daniel said, tugging at her arm. “Orchid pixed me. It’s just dust!”
Her jaw dropped, and she blinked at his wide-eyed earnestness, only now seeing the blisters’ different texture. “You’re okay?” she warbled as Orchid nodded, and he smiled at her.
“Not for long,” Saladan said as he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “A no-account upstart isn’t going to stand between me and what I want.”
Her anger rushed back, and Trisk tucked down and into Saladan, flinging him over her back to slam into the break room floor. Groaning, the man reached for his back, unable to get up. “Me either,” she said, breathing hard but satisfied. Lip curling in disgust, she twitched her fingers into a binding spell, watching Saladan go still as it soaked past his aura and took hold.
Daniel inched up beside her, looking down at Saladan. “I didn’t know you could do that.” He grinned, giving her shoulder a little squeeze as if to test her muscle. “Real ninja-like.”
She gave him a grateful smile, so happy to see him alive and well it almost hurt. “You’re okay. I thought they’d made you eat a tomato,” she said, and then her expression fell.
“Where’s Kal?”
32
“Gone.” Orchid dropped from the light fixture to land on Daniel’s shoulder. “Kal saw he was losing and left.”
Rubbing his chafed wrists, Daniel grimaced at the tables slid out of place, the spilled coffee, and Saladan and Randy still on the floor. “We need to leave.”
“Not without Kal,” Trisk said, and Orchid gave a bark of pixy laughter.
“I’m not going anywhere with that slug snot,” Orchid said, wings moving to make a bright silver dust cascade down Daniel’s front. “No way, no how.”
“We need him,” Trisk said as she picked up Kal’s hat and handed it to Daniel.
“For what?” Daniel held the hat as if not knowing why she’d given it to him. “You going to use him as bait for the Were gangs outside?”
Jaw set, she brushed off the hat and put it on his head. Immediately Orchid hid herself under it. “Kal’s going to testify that you started the plague,” Trisk said. “He can’t do that if he’s with us. We have to find him before Ulbrine does.”
Orchid made a raspberry sound from under the hat. “Fine,” she said sourly.