Undercover Magic

by Linsey Hall

  Blood.

  And the ground beneath my feet was wet. My stomach dropped. I glanced down.

  Water. It gleamed clear.

  Thank fates.

  Then fear replaced relief.

  “No.” Only one person that I’d met here fought with water. Caro.

  I ran faster, soon catching sight of a figure collapsed on the ground. Platinum hair gleamed in the light of the sconces.

  “Caro!” My heart thudded. I skidded to a halt at her side, falling to my knees.

  Ana dropped down next to me, panting.

  Caro was lying on her front, arms splayed. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my fear from making my hands shake, and carefully turned her over. Ana protected her head from the stone floor. Caro’s eyes were closed and her jaw slack.

  Blood smeared her forehead from a wound, and a slice across her chest soaked her clothes with blood. My breath heaved, ice racing through me.

  Oh, shit!

  I tore off my shirt, not even caring that it left me in a tiny camisole. Magic hid the four-pointed star mark at the top of my spine, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing it. I pressed my shirt to the wound on her chest.

  “Caro! Caro, can you hear me?” I demanded.

  Her eyes fluttered open, gleaming silver. Confusion glinted in them, then they cleared. “You.”

  “Me?”

  “Run.” Fear glinted in her eyes.

  “No.” I wouldn’t leave her!

  “I surprised him.” She winced.

  “Who?”

  She sucked in a ragged breath, her cheeks so pale that she looked ghostly.

  “Ana, hold the shirt. I’m going to go get help.” I surged to my feet.

  Thundering footsteps sounded from behind. I turned. People poured into the hallway, pushing me aside. They crowded around Caro, kneeling to help.

  I stepped back, flattening myself against the wall. Ana joined me.

  We looked on, silent and worried. Not part of the group. Which was fair. We were new. But Caro…

  I liked her so much.

  Fates, would she be okay? And who had done this?

  As soon as they took Caro away to the infirmary, I found another shirt and immediately started looking for clues. Others were on the job as well—Ali and Haris among them—but I couldn’t just do nothing.

  The attack had happened at five in the morning, meaning it was already light. The sleep I’d gotten gave me renewed energy, and I used it to scour the grounds, looking for whomever had broken in and hurt Caro. Unfortunately, the blood streaks had petered out and given us no clues, and there was no sign of the attacker themselves.

  “There’s no way they could have found us,” Haris said as we stood outside in the cold, near the forest. “We’re blocked by a spell that keeps us entirely invisible to those who would seek the Protectorate.”

  “So how the hell did they get in?” Ali asked.

  “No idea.” Haris scrubbed his face, looking weary and sad. “In and out like a ghost. No trace.”

  I paced, my mind racing. The sun now shone, but the day would feel cold until I knew that Caro was better. This felt bad. Like somehow, it was connected to me.

  When a bell sounded from the top of the castle’s highest tower, I spun around.

  “That’s our cue,” Ali said. “Meeting time.”

  We hurried back. My heart thundered as we entered the entry hall. Dozens of people were crowded around, dressed in a variety of clothes ranging from club wear to nightgowns.

  Many of them turned suspicious gazes on me and Ana.

  New girls.

  Ana grabbed my hand and squeezed.

  Cade descended the main stairs, his gaze worried, then gestured us forward. “Bree and Ana, come. The meeting is about to begin.”

  Oh, shit. But I nodded, stepping forward. I wanted answers, and maybe they needed our testimony after finding her.

  The crowd parted to let us pass. I felt every stare. I raced to catch up with Cade on the stairs. “How is Caro?”

  “Not well.”

  But not dead. I’d take it. “She’ll recover?”

  “Aye. She’s tough.”

  Cade led us down a winding hallway toward a large circular room. There was a huge round table and six people within, but my gaze went straight to Caro, who sat in a large chair with a blanket wrapped around her. She was still pale and weak-looking, but her head wound was bound and I couldn’t see her chest wound under her shirt. At least the cloth wasn’t bloody.

  Immediately, I went to her, ignoring the others in the room. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine,” she croaked. “Had worse than this a dozen times.

  “She insisted on coming,” Hedy said. “She should be in bed.”

  “Can’t keep me down,” Caro said.

  A small smile tugged at my lips, and I turned to inspect the room. Besides Cade and Caro, the five leaders of the divisions were here.

  I joined them at the table, sitting next to Ana. Worry spread through my chest like tar.

  “Do you feel well enough to tell us what happened?” asked Jude, the one with the star eyes who led the Paranormal Investigative Team.

  I gripped the armrest of my chair and looked at Caro.

  She sucked in a ragged breath and began. “I wasn’t the one he wanted. I shouldn’t have even been on that side of the castle, but I couldn’t sleep.”

  “And you ran into a man there?” Jude asked.

  “Yes. He was going toward Bree and Ana’s room. They’re the only ones in that wing. I just ran into him, coming around the corner. He slammed me into the wall and got me with his dagger by the time I realized he wasn’t from the Protectorate.” She shook her head. “That guy was fast. But before he could finish me, I got off one shot. Hit him right in the middle.”

  “It was enough,” Cade said. “He ran for it. There was no trace of him, other than blood and the transportation charm that he dropped.”

  “Transportation charm?” I asked.

  “Yes. Marked with Ricketts’s signature mark.”

  Oh no. Ricketts.

  Horrified, I turned wide eyes toward Ana, then the rest of the group. “He was after us.” Guilt stabbed me. “I’m so sorry.”

  Caro shook her head. “Don’t be.”

  “How did he get in?” Ana asked.

  “Stanley said the man found him while he was outside the walls, tracking moonflowers,” Jude said.

  Stanley. The man with the flyaway hair that we’d seen earlier today. The absentminded one.

  “He enchanted Stanley and forced him to help him through the gate,” Jude continued. “We found Stanley near the wall, the enchantment still on him. He remembered nothing but what the man had made him do.”

  “But that doesn’t explain how the intruder initially found the castle.” Cade’s voice was different than I’d ever heard it. Harsh, businesslike. “This place is hidden. He shouldn’t have even made it to this mountain.”

  “They found us because Bree and Ana are imbued with the most powerful tracking charms I’ve ever seen. They defeated even our concealment charms.” Hedy’s gaze was steady on ours, as if she were watching us to see if we knew anything about this. Jude was giving us the eagle eye as well.

  Since my heart and mind had just dropped to the floor in shock and horror, I think I passed her test.

  “How?” I whispered. “How is that even possible?”

  Ana gripped my hand.

  “When Ricketts put the concealment charm on you, did he use your blood?” Hedy asked.

  I nodded, remembering the procedure like it was yesterday. Charms could be placed several ways, just like curses. Some were imbued in objects or delivered in a liquid, but particularly strong ones were placed upon the person themselves by using their blood. Only a Blood Sorcerer could do it, and the process was pretty danged creepy.

  Hedy nodded. “As I thought. It took a while to run the tests on the sample of strange magic that I found on you yesterday. After
the attack, I checked the test and found that Ricketts added a parasite charm—one that piggybacked on the concealment charm that you actually paid for. The tracking charm.”

  My stomach lurched. “Oh no.”

  Ana clutched her head. “It ensured he’d always get his payment out of us.”

  “The intruder managed to find this place because they were looking for us. This place was just the bonus.” Wow. I felt like shit.

  “Well done.” Jude nodded. “On your deductions, at least. Not on leading a predator here.”

  I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight.

  I’d led a predator here. Me. I had done that to Caro. I had to fix it.

  “It’s odd that they’re going to such lengths to find you over a debt,” Jude said. “Whoever broke in meant to use that transportation charm to abduct you, we think.”

  She was right. Ricketts was throwing everything at us. Attacks, Lithica poison, kidnappers who could snatch us out of the air.

  “Do you have any idea why?” Cade asked.

  “It’s a lot of money.” Lie. Though it was, in fact, a lot of money, this had to be something else. This type of enthusiasm on his part indicated a remarkable shift. Did he know what we were?

  How could he?

  Even we didn’t really know. Just that we were something weird and powerful and that changes were coming.

  “Cade and I think he’s in Venice,” I said. “I’m going after them.”

  “We’ll leave soon,” Cade said.

  “I’m coming,” Ana said.

  Jude nodded at Cade and me, then leaned forward toward Ana. “Actually, we have a plan that you could help with. You have the charm on you, as well. So we’ll set you up in a safe house with guards. If they come for you again, we’ll catch them. We need to spread this net as far as we can.”

  “She’s bait?” I almost shrieked the words.

  Ana gripped my arm. “Chill, dude. I’ll be fine.” She nodded, clearly starting to like the plan. “It’s actually a good idea. We need to find him—fast. Or we’re dead too. If this means we can catch a goon and find out where Ricketts is, it’s worth it. You know I can handle this.”

  I scowled at her. She scowled back. Then I sighed and nodded. If she let me do dangerous shit without too much nagging, I owed her the same.

  Family.

  And she was right. If this lead didn’t pan out, we’d need her.

  I looked at Jude. “There will be guards on Ana? Lots of guards?”

  “Over two dozen,” Jude said. “We’ll pull out all the stops. This is our chance to get him. And you’re on our team now. We’ve got your back.”

  I nodded, both liking this and hating it.

  Cade met my gaze. “We’re going to have to kill Ricketts when we find him. As long as he lives, the tracking charm will be active on you. Which means you can’t return here unless he is dead.”

  I nodded.

  I was an unwitting mole. A time bomb inside the place that had offered me a job and what might be a decent life. Just because I wasn’t sure if I wanted that life didn’t mean I wanted to hurt this place. Especially considering that the world needed the Undercover Protectorate.

  Chapter Seven

  After the meeting, I said goodbye to Ana. “Be safe, okay? We’ll catch him, and this will all be over.”

  “Same. Watch out for yourself. And I love you, nerd.”

  “Back at you, double-nerd.” I turned to Cade. “Ready?”

  “Yes. We’ll stop at the armory to get that charm, then we’re off.”

  I followed him toward the main stairs, down into the main hall, and then down another wide hall that was paneled with purple silk above dark wood wainscoting.

  Magic hit me hard in the chest as we walked, an amazing signature that felt like joy and strength all rolled into one. It was so powerful that it almost made me feel like I was floating.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Um…” He searched for an answer. “You’ll find out eventually. It’s not my place.”

  “Does this place have a lot of secrets?”

  “Yes. Not many bad ones, though.” He led me through a heavy door and down wide stairs into the basement.

  “You aren’t locking me up, are you?” I hesitated on the stairs. Was this actually punishment for unwittingly bringing the attacker here?

  Cade stopped abruptly and turned, still towering over me despite the fact that he was on the lower stair. His gaze was intense. “No, Bree. I promise. We will not turn on you here. If you don’t make the grade, you won’t be able to stay. If you do something terrible, there could be disciplinary action. But there’d be a trial. We won’t just throw you in the dungeon without warning. We’re not the Order of the Magica.”

  My shoulders relaxed. I didn’t like the part about disciplinary action, but the rest made me feel better. “All right. Let’s get moving.”

  He nodded, then turned, leading me down to a wide stone hallway lit by golden torches. A massive wooden door with iron lattice on the front swelled with magic at his touch and spun open.

  The large room was full of weapons of every variety—both steel and magical. There were so many, and they were so fabulous, that I almost didn’t notice the man working in the corner, bent over a little table with a lamp glowing at the end.

  His head popped up, pale eyes gleaming. “Cade! It is almost done.”

  “Thank you, Coriandar.”

  “You must be Bree.” Coriandar smiled at me. “This amulet should help you control your magic. But its power is not infinite, so you will have to learn to control it yourself, eventually.”

  “Thank you.” I hated that both of these men now knew about my issues, but I stepped forward to take the amulet, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “Wear it well,” Coriandar said. “And it will serve you well.”

  I wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly, but he smiled when I slipped the necklace over my head, so I figured I was doing it all right. “Thank you.”

  As Cade led me out of the room, my gaze lingered on the weapons. I loved the katana that had been a gift from my mother, and all my other weapons had been specially chosen. But a girl could dream. One could never have too many weapons.

  As we climbed the stairs, Cade murmured, “Coriandar will not share your control issues with anyone else, but you must learn to manage your magic. You were chosen to join the Protectorate because of your determination and fighting ability, and the sheer wealth of magic that you house within you, but you must train hard to wield it well.”

  I hated hearing it—knowing that I was so flawed—but he was right. My magic was on the fritz, and I had to get it under control. “I know. I will.”

  When we reached the hall at the top of the stairs, I turned toward Cade. “Ready, now?”

  “Aye. I’ll lead.” He reached for my hand.

  I took it, gripping his much larger palm in my own. Heat zinged up my arm, and I averted my gaze, unwilling to make eye contact while dirty thoughts were racing through my head.

  Cade threw the charm on the ground, and a sparkling gray smoke rose up. He stepped inside and I followed, gasping as the ether sucked me in and flung me across space.

  When I stepped out, we were in a huge, bustling square that was full of people in fabulous costumes. Three massive, ornate buildings surrounded us, with a large body of water making up the fourth side of the square. A tall, beautiful bell tower tolled the hour—four o’clock.

  All around me, people jostled. Most were wearing fantastic masks to complete their jewel-toned costumes, and many were lining up in formation. For a parade?

  “St. Mark’s Square,” Cade said. “The central point of the city.”

  “Busy.” What a time of year to choose.

  “Aye. And the best place to get a boat. Come on.” He gripped my hand tighter and pulled me through the crowd.

  We wound through bodies as feathers from headdresses poked me in the face and glitter landed on m
y clothes. These Venetians sure knew how to party.

  We neared the water, which was actually an extremely large bay from what I could tell, and found rows of boats lined up. We passed the traditional gondolas with their curved ends and headed straight for a cluster of sleek wooden speedboats.

  “What, no gondolas?” I asked.

  “Those are for stealth. We need speed.”

  We jumped off the stone quay onto the floating wooden docks. An older man approached, his gray mustache fluttering in the breeze. He was even wearing the striped shirt of a gondolier. “Cade! Long time!”

  “Mario!” Cade reached out and shook the man’s hand. “We need your fast boat.”

  “For you, anything.” The man made the money motion by rubbing his fingers together. “Because I know you will pay.”

  “Always.” Cade smiled.

  “With damage deposit.”

  “Of course.”

  Mario gestured to a long, sleek boat built of gleaming wood. The cockpit was open, and it looked like the type of thing an old celebrity would ride around in. “Four hundred horsepower. Just what you’re looking for.”

  “Perfect.” Cade pulled a roll of cash out of his pocket and handed some of it over.

  My jaw dropped. I was used to seeing big wads of cash—we regularly charged 10k for a ride across Death Valley—and the roll he was carrying was a big chunk of change.

  Cade hopped down into the boat and I followed, my gaze sticking to the roll of money.

  “You always carry that much with you?” I whispered.

  “On jobs like this, aye.”

  “All right, then.” I found a spot next to the steering wheel and held on to the metal rail. There wasn’t much space in the boat—most of that was taken up by the engine compartment. Cade waved goodbye to Mario, who threw off the lines. He pulled us away from the dock, then we joined the rest of the boats in the harbor.

  It was slow going at first, weaving between the party boats that were full of dancing revelers.

  “Where are we going?” I shouted over the wind.

  “Poveglia Plague Island.”

  “Plague Island?!”

  “No longer. But it was once used as a quarantine. They say that half the soil is made of decomposing bodies.”