I drew my circle on the stable walls, going over it several times with the rock until the lines were clear enough to see. I’d never done a cloaking spell before, and I did not know how many men Tobin had about the estate. But I opened Tobin’s drawing of the layout and began building the spell for the entire house, instead of muffling each individual man.
There was no way to tell if my spell was working, even as I built it. I could only hope for the best and carry forward a faith in myself and my abilities. I kept the entire layout firmly in my mind and thought mostly of that pressure that filled the library the time I pulled a demon—or goblin, whatever Renaud said it was—through. The way that atmosphere had filled my ears, filled the room, deadening everything else. I added symbols for forgetting, using the bandits’ natural abilities to be discreet and weaving a way for them to disappear in plain sight. I did the best I could, pressed against the stall door with the smell of horse and manure all around me.
For a long while, it seemed to go well. There was no alert from the guards, only a few stable hands wandering in and out. No one looked inside my stall. I was able to relax a little and focused on maintaining what I had built, adding to it now and then. I still watched the roofline, except to duck when I heard footfalls.
After maybe thirty minutes, something changed. Hoofbeats rang through the gravel and onto the cobblestone. A man’s voice called out for the groom and a flurry of steps followed.
Had the Baron returned already? Still holding on to the spell, I looked for Tobin or any of his men to warn. There was no sign of them and no way to find them without endangering them all. I clutched my knees to my chest and thought about running back into the wood. Finally, Tobin’s head appeared over the stall door.
“Hurry,” I mouthed, my eyes frantically trying to communicate that we needed to leave.
He gestured for me to be silent, and taking my hand, he pulled me out of the stall. I kept the spell held as best I could as we ran out from cover, into the grass, and struggled up the hill on our hands and feet, crouching until we slipped into the welcome shadows of the waiting trees.
“Did you find anything?” I demanded the moment we stepped under cover.
He shook his head. “Nothing at all.”
“How can that be? He must be keeping them in an outbuilding. Did you check all the grounds?”
Tobin shrugged. “We’d already searched the grounds. There is no sign of anyone. You could not hide so many bodies without some sign.”
It sounded almost like he was giving up. Like this was over for him. “But you must find them. You must. Your theory makes sense, the women only started disappearing once the Baron arrived. And you’re right, there have been no bodies, no messages. They must be held somewhere.”
Tobin nodded. “Yes,” he said, but it didn’t sound convincing orsatisfying. Were men so easily dissuaded from a mandate from the gods? I wanted to smack him, but I would have to fight another day—the sun was dropping, and I still needed to go to the village.
We came to the stone wall and the waiting horse, and Tobin threw out his arm for me to climb up behind him. Once settled, Tobin turned the horse into the trees with a soft touch and a word. A small trickle of relief eased some of my stress. We were finally on the way to Dacia.
Tobin did not seem to push the horse as hard as he had that morning, and there was a lack of interest, a kind of distraction, that worried me when we finally arrived at the edge of the village. It was now late afternoon; my time was slipping away.
I dug into my pocket and pulled out the spelled ring. “Deliver this to Dacia, the prostitute at the Blue Moon you captured with me. Her and her only. Tell her it will protect her and all whom she chooses.” I described what she looked like to remind him. “Promise me. I did what you asked, so now promise me and return to me quickly and tell me you have done it.”
He took it and I did not like to see it disappear in his hand, but it could not be helped. I could not deliver it to the village myself. “Promise me,” I said again. “I will wait in this very spot for your return.”
“I promise it will make it onto her finger,” he said and turned the horse.
I watched from the edge of the forest. The light began to deepen over the village, and the men returned from the harvest fields. When I could take the waiting no longer, I paced, wearing a circle in the leaves and the rich dirt. Just when I began to fear I would have to leave, Tobin returned.
“Did you give it to her? What did she say?” I asked before he’d even dismounted.
“She is gone.”
My heart stopped. I stared dumbly at his outstretched hand. It took me a minute to even realize what he held—the spelled ring, returned to me.
It’s too late. The reaping has begun.“No.No, that can’t be possible,” I said, clutching my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t draw enough air into my chest. “No.”
“The girls said she was taken. The owner said she fled her debts.” Tobin’s tone communicated which one he believed.
My head jerked up and I took the ring. “She would never. She was aChristian.”
He looked annoyed and pulled the horse back. “Our bargain is fulfilled.”
“You have to help me find her,” I begged. “She didn’t run away. She was taken by the same creature that has taken all the others. By the Baron.”
He sighed and adjusted his hat. “Perchta, prostitutes run away all the time. That brothel owner is as mean as they come.”
“Don’t tell me things about which I know, Tobin,” I snapped. “If you are unwilling to fulfill your mandate, just say that.”
“The mandate is fulfilled. She’s gone and there is nowhere else for us to search.”
