by Hall, Linsey
Heart racing, I followed Nix and Del, sticking to the shadows and trying not to jostle anyone. Aidan stuck close behind, his steps silent as we snuck out of the museum.
Near the exit, I caught sight of the familiar red fire alarm. I waved Nix, Del, and Aidan out, then pulled the lever. I hated to interrupt the Nullifier’s memorial, but I wanted to interrupt Victor Orriodor’s plans, whatever they were.
The siren blared as I ran out the door and met my friends’ startled gazes.
“Good idea!” Nix said.
We took off, sprinting across the grass toward the parking lot. I’d snuck out like a coward.
But what was I going to do? Fight him with my questionable nullifying power? I’d practiced it but didn’t have any kind of reliable skill with it. I’d be putting hundreds of people at risk.
We’d reached Cecelia and Aidan’s car, which were conveniently parked next to each other, when my phone buzzed. I was so wired that I jumped and nearly screeched before I got it together enough to fumble my phone out of my pocket and look at the screen.
I read the name aloud. “Aerdeca.”
“What does she want?” Del asked.
“Don’t know.” I hadn’t spoken to the Blood Sorceress since last week, during the wayward portal disaster. But she’d been the one to recommend I go see Aethelred about finding a Nullifier to help destroy the portal. She knew I was looking for him now.
Maybe she’d found him!
I glanced around. We were hidden by the parked cars, and we had a minute before people arrived. More than likely, they’d stand in the museum’s yard and wait to see if the museum lit up like a bonfire.
I clicked the answer button. “Hello?”
“Cass?” Aerdeca’s clear voice filled my ear. “Meet me at the Assassin’s Brew. Darklane. Now.”
The line clicked.
I stared down at the phone. “Looks like we’re going to Darklane. I think Aerdeca and Mordaca have something to tell us.”
“You trust her?”
I shrugged. “Enough to go. They might have the info we need.”
CHAPTER THREE
Aidan and I followed Del and Nix to Darklane. By the time we pulled into the creepy neighborhood, I was nearly vibrating with nerves, hoping that Aerdeca and Mordaca would tell me where Aethelred had gone.
Aerdeca and her sister, Mordaca, ran the Apothecary’s Jungle, a shop in Darklane that specialized in Blood Sorcery, Aerdeca and Mordaca’s particular gifts. I’d gone to them for help once, but it’d been pricey. If they had info now, I wondered how much it would cost.
Dark figures lurked in shadows, watching our car as it drove slowly by. Buildings loomed on either side of the street, cutting out the last of the setting sun. Though they were only three stories high, they always seemed to block out the light. Even at high noon. Their historic fronts were covered with grime, lending the place its name.
Darklane was where you lived if you worked with magic’s darker side. The kind that harmed as well as helped. But that didn’t necessarily make it bad. It was all up to interpretation.
Though these supernaturals were occasionally on the wrong side of the law, most weren’t outright lawbreakers. The Magica didn’t tolerate that. Folks in Darklane walked the line with things like blood magic—illegal if done without the consent of the donor, but otherwise acceptable.
Aidan slowed the car to a crawl, and we rolled by the narrow buildings, looking for the sign for Assassin’s Brew. I’d never been to that bar because I liked to stay out of Darklane. Just because most people here weren’t outright criminals didn’t mean there wasn’t a higher percentage of them. Though it wasn’t the criminals I was worried about. It was the cops. More criminals equaled more cops, and I wasn’t about to hang out in a place where the Order of the Magica was more likely to be looking for wrongdoing.
My existence as a FireSoul meant that I was pretty much always guilty. No way in hell I was increasing my chances of getting tossed in the Prison for Magical Miscreants.
“There it is.” I pointed to a building that had once been blue. A sign hung over the door that read Assassin’s Brew. The letter A was formed with two daggers. Clever.
Aidan found a parking spot along the street, and we climbed out of the car. Ornate, Oliver Twistian street lamps shined yellow light on the grimy sidewalk.
I dodged a suspicious blue goo that stuck to the ground and met Nix and Del by the door. I couldn’t say my fingers didn’t twitch toward my knives even though I knew Darklane was mostly safe.
But in the magical world, you couldn’t take mostly to the bank. Without my magic, I felt a bit naked. I reminded myself that I’d spent most of my life relying on my wits and weapons, so I’d be fine now.
The windows on either side of the door glowed warmly. Inside, people crowded around the bar and hunched over small tables. I pulled open the heavy wooden door and slipped inside, Del, Nix, and Aidan at my back.
Voices were muted, and the ceiling was low. It was a real old-school pub with lots of wood and only a few taps. There were no blue liqueurs behind the bar, unless you counted the weird potions for sale. But nothing called Wicked or Sexxxy, like you’d find at a city club.
Aerdeca and Mordaca sat on bar stools near the wall, looking entirely too fabulous to be in a place like this. As usual, Mordaca looked like Elvira, with her plunging, slinky black dress, bouffant black hair, and mask-like eye makeup. Aerdeca was her golden opposite, wearing an elegant white pantsuit that she magically managed to pull off. I was beginning to wonder if that was her uniform in the same way that Elvira-chic was Mordaca’s.
They both waved at us, an identical flutter of their fingertips. Mordaca’s nails were black points, Aerdeca’s white.
“Those chicks have their shit together,” Del muttered as she eyed their outfits.
“Yep.” We were a different breed, that was for sure. But I still liked Mordaca and Aerdeca.
Yeah, they were a bit scary, but I respected that.
Aerdeca smiled serenely as we approached. Mordaca’s red lips remained straight and her gaze impassive.
“Cass. How’re you?” Aerdeca’s gaze was sharp. And curious.
We hadn’t told anyone what had happened to my magic, but she could probably sense my altered power signature and wondered about it.
“I’m great. You?”
“I’m well,” Aerdeca said.
I met Mordaca’s gaze. “You?”
“Fabulous.” But Mordaca’s dark gaze was haunted.
When the portal had frozen the museum, she’d been trapped inside. I got the impression she’d been conscious the whole time. Being trapped like that for days would give anyone nightmares. No wonder they hadn’t been at the memorial, even though the Nullifier’s sacrifice had saved Mordaca.
“You’re looking for Aethelred.” Mordaca raised her smoking gray cocktail to her lips and sipped.
She’d stated the obvious. We’d asked them to keep an eye out for him since they knew him, but Mordaca probably wanted me on edge, explaining myself.
“Yes. Aerdeca helped us before.”
Aerdeca sipped her clear martini—straight vodka served in a fancy glass with a couple olives, if I had to guess—and said, “No. I helped us.” She indicated herself and her sister. “You needed Aethelred to find the Nullifier, which in turn saved my sister.”
When Mordaca had been trapped by the expanding portal, Aerdeca had spat out Aethelred’s location real quick. Now that her sister was no longer in danger, I had a feeling she was about to be a lot more close-lipped.
“Right,” I said. “Which I did. And because I stopped the portal—and saved Mordaca, don’t forget—I now need Aethelred’s help. He knows things I need to know.”
“Well, he’s hiding for a reason,” Mordaca said, her raspy voice sounding like she smoked three packs a day. “Otherwise, he’d be back in town. Tuesdays are Black Bingo night, and he hasn’t missed one of those in a decade. So whatever has him staying away is serious.”
>
What the hell was Black Bingo? Probably something creepy, considering that this was Darklane. I wouldn’t ask.
“And you were the last person he saw before he left town last week,” Aerdeca said. “So, perhaps you’re the one he is hiding from.”
“All we did last week was talk,” I said. “About how to find the Nullifier to stop the portal. He said he’d answer my questions if I stopped the portal. I did that. Now I just want to see him.”
“Well, I’m not certain that your friend here can pay the right price.” Aerdeca ran her gaze over Aidan. She might look like the nicer one, with her white outfits and sweeter voice, but she was the scarier one in this pair.
Aidan turned to loom over them. “Oh, I’m certain I can. If not in money, then in threats.”
If I hadn’t known Aidan so well, the ice in his deep voice would have sent shivers across my skin.
Aerdeca’s gaze widened only a fraction, but it was enough to tell that she understood. And probably liked the scary side of Aidan.
“You have a lovely shop,” Aidan said. “Which I’m sure is entirely up to code.”
Meaning that it didn’t break any of the Order of the Magica’s dark magic laws.
Aerdeca’s brows lowered. “Of course it is.”
“Of course. Which means that a visit from my friend at the Order’s Magic Enforcement Division would be most welcome.”
Her knuckles whitened where she gripped the bar. “Absolutely. Or, you could pay us five grand and we’ll give you what you want.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Aidan’s mouth. “That sounds fair.”
“That sounds expensive,” I said.
“I imagine the answers you seek are worth far more to you,” Mordaca said. “Your magic smells…different.”
I snapped my mouth shut.
She was right.
The answers were worth my life. Five grand was measly compared to that. And technically, I had the money from a big job I’d done a few weeks ago.
“Fine. But I’ll pay it,” I said.
“Cash now,” Mordaca said.
I scowled. No way I carried that kind of money around.
Aidan pulled out his wallet. Of course he carried around that much cash. It wasn’t like anyone was going to mug the Origin.
He handed over a crisp stack of bills.
“Thanks,” I said to him. “I’ll pay you back.”
He glanced over, his expression making it clear how stupid he thought that idea was.
I scowled.
He totally wasn’t going to take the money. But Aerdeca opened her mouth to speak, and I pushed the concern away. I could deal with Aidan later.
“Aethelred is at his summer home, apparently,” Mordaca said.
“But he’s our friend,” Aerdeca said. “We’ll sell you a chance to talk to him, but we won’t sell him. We’ll blindfold you and take you to him. If he wants to see you, he will. And if you hurt him, you’re dead.”
“Dead in a really miserable manner.” Mordaca tapped her black claws on the bar, the threat clear.
“I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Well, he’s hiding for a reason.”
“Where is his summer home?” The back of my neck itched. Fiercely. That someone-is-watching feeling, but far worse. I shivered and glanced around, but saw no one. I turned back to Mordaca and Aerdeca, not wanting to miss a word.
But I couldn’t get over the feeling of someone watching.
“He lives in a tree?” I gazed at the enormous oak. Aerdeca had just removed my blindfold. A door and windows were carved into the trunk. Light glowed from the tiny window in the door. The branches and leaves above were green and vibrant. “Like those elves who make cookies?”
“I don’t make cookies!” a crotchety voice yelled from within. “And certainly not for you!”
“Moody,” I murmured to Aidan, who stood at my side.
Mordaca poked me in the back.
I scowled at her. But despite my joke, my heart raced. This was the man who had answers about my past. And who’d been hiding from me for some reason.
Aerdeca and Mordaca had been true to their word, blindfolding us and piling us into their little sports car, then driving about two hours. There hadn’t been enough space in Aerdeca’s tiny car, so Nix and Del had stayed behind.
From the size of these massive trees, we were in one of the woodland areas surrounding Magic’s Bend. Maybe near the coast. Glittering lights in the trees around us indicated pixies. We were in Wistman’s Wood, maybe, which was an old forest near the Oregon coast. It was haunted with pixies, hence its name, a derivative of Whistman, meaning one who has been pixie-led. We hadn’t seen any pixies so far, though, so maybe we were in one of the less well-known enchanted forests in Oregon.
“Can we come in, Aethelred?” I called.
He sighed so loudly that I could hear it through the door. “All right.”
The heavy wooden door creaked open slowly. Warm air gusted out, along with the very distinct smell of chocolate chip cookies.
My mouth watered.
“Really?” I asked the old man, whose long white beard reached nearly to his waist. “You don’t make cookies?”
“Sheer coincidence.” He huffed and adjusted his blue velour track suit.
Once again, he looked like Gandalf on his way to senior aerobics. This outfit was a slightly darker shade of blue than it had been last time, but I was noticing a theme.
He looked at Aerdeca and Mordaca, who stood to my left. “Will you come in?”
“No,” Mordaca said. “We’ve a colleague to see who lives on the other side of the hollow.”
Aerdeca looked at me. “Call us when you are done. We will come get you. We’ll see you later, Aethelred.”
“Yes. At Black Bingo.” He scowled at us.
He was huffier than he had been the last time we’d come to him for help. “I’m sorry about the Nullifier.”
The Nullifier had been his friend. Because I’d roped him into helping us save Magic’s Bend, he was dead. I wouldn’t blame Aethelred if he was angry with me. I was angry with me. I could have done a lot of things differently and maybe saved his life.
“Yes. So am I.” His blue gaze darkened. “I try to take heart in the fact that he chose his path willingly. And he’d lived a long time.”
Centuries, in fact. The Nullifier’s power also nullified death. Something it was doing for me, but I certainly didn’t want it. To watch my family and friends die around me? No thanks.
Trauma could kill me, like it had the Nullifier, but I didn’t want to die in battle or take my own life. I wanted to die an old lady, surrounded by a dozen fat cats wearing sweaters I’d crocheted for them.
“True, he did live a long time,” I said.
“But the bastard who killed him still lives?”
“Victor Orriodor, yes.” The Monster. No matter how many times I used his real name, I couldn’t help but think of him that way. “But I’ll find him eventually. And kill him.”
Aethelred’s sharp gaze zeroed in on Aidan. “And you? Have you come to return my transport charms?”
Aidan and I had borrowed three rare transport charms from Aethelred last week. We’d needed them to help us travel quickly enough to defeat the portal.
“Unfortunately, no,” Aidan said. “They’ve become even more scarce recently. I have men looking for them, going to each wizard who creates them, but they’ve all been sold to an unknown buyer. But I guarantee I will replace the ones we borrowed as soon as my men find some.”
“I do hope so.” He stepped back and gestured us in. “You might as well come in and get this over with.”
He seemed to be in a rush. “Why the hurry? And why haven’t you returned to Magic’s Bend?”
“You’re dangerous.” He turned and walked into the room. “It’s better for my life expectancy if I’m not around you.”
“Dangerous?” I followed him.
The inside of the tree was warm and
inviting, all golden wood tones and colorful fabric on the furniture. The space was round, which was fitting for a tree, with a small sitting area, a kitchen, a little table, and a spiral staircase leading up to a loft. Books cluttered the shelves, but it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as Aethelred’s place in Darklane.
“What do you mean, I’m dangerous?” I asked as Aidan and I took the couch he gestured toward. It sat near a small electric fireplace. Smart, considering we were in a tree. “Not to you.”
“No, but those who hunt you are dangerous.” He dropped heavily into the chair across from us.
“They can’t find me. I have a concealment charm.”
“Do you?” His sharp blue gaze met mine.
“What do you mean?”
“Have you felt odd lately? As if someone were watching you?”
The hair on my arms stood up. “How did you know?”
“Ever since you came to see me over a week ago, I’ve kept my inner eye on watch for you. I think your concealment charm may be failing. Enemies are circling you. And you don’t have long until you meet.”
“What?” My breath felt scarce.
“I can’t see it clearly. But a confrontation is coming. Someone seeks you to do harm. Their seer will find you soon enough, and then they will come.”
“They may already have.” The demons in the pyramid. Maybe they hadn’t been guards, but rather scouts sent by Victor when his seer caught sight of me. “Earlier today, some demons appeared. We killed them, but they haven’t come for me since.”
“As long as you possess the Nullifier’s power, your concealment charm will fail. As his power battles with your own, your concealment charm will go in and out. Perhaps the seer saw you for a moment and sent the demons. Now, he cannot see you.”
“But he could again.” Worry creased Aidan’s brow.
“He could. As long as you have the Nullifier’s power, you are at risk.”
“But why? I’ve learned how to control other new powers.” Lightning and illusion were my two favorites. “Why not the Nullifier’s power?”
“It is unnatural to try to mesh power with anti-power, which is essentially what the Nullifier’s gift is. They are canceling each other out. Fighting for supremacy. And with you, it is worse. There is something about your power that is strange. Something that conflicts even more than normal with the Nullifier’s anti-power. And you’re fighting your new power, not embracing it as you should be.”
