“Relax, we’ll be here for a while.” After taking a long draw from the glass, he nudged his chin toward the food. Planning on a lazy night, I’d forgone lunch and hadn’t even considered dinner. I’d surrendered to the idea of feasting on the popcorn and anything I could scavenge from my nearly empty fridge. The food looked good. Standing over the board, I ate faster and more than I intended. Within minutes, a third of it was gone.
“Should I make dinner?”
Quickly shaking my head, I thought that although he might have felt at home in Diehle’s home, I didn’t.
After a long drink from my glass, I glanced at the bottle’s label. From its exquisite taste, I was sure I wouldn’t be purchasing it. Soon to be jobless, indebted to the shadow god,I was going to have to be frugal with many things in my life: money and time.
“Why are we here?”
Glass in hand, he walked silently to the living room and stopped in front of the bookshelves. “Almost every spell can be circumvented with the right magical object or the right counterspell. If there is a way to unlock your magic without the Spellrend, I believe it can be found here.”
“You’d have a better idea than I would. Why do I need to be here?”
The dark amusement had returned. “I can find it, but it will need to be tested on you.” Stepping back, I scoured the room for quick access to weapons. How fast could I get to the knives in the butcher block?
His eyes turned cold, and anger flooded them. “Will I have to spend my time here avoiding your attempts to hurt me?”
I responded with silence. His dark chuckle sent chills through me. “Then I’ll be forced to defend myself.”
“I won’t be your guinea pig,” I snapped.
“Kara, is your defiance out of habit or principle?” His large steps devoured the space between us. “Is this what the vampires find fascinating about you? You are no good to me hurt or dead. Nor do I want it. Having you here with me is the most efficient way. If we unlock the spell, we can immediately release the lycans.”
Emotion fading from his face made it hard to anticipate what to expect next from him. I was never prepared for the fusion of emotions any mention of the lycans and Goddess Annessa evoked.
Quickly turning from me, he scanned the various titles in languages I couldn’t speak or understand. I stood next to him.
“What am I looking for?” I asked.
“Anything related to spellbreaking, curse reversals, or ways to unbind a person from a spell,” he said, taking a book from the shelf.
“I can’t believe he keeps—kept,” I modified, “such powerful magic books out in the open.”
“He had no fear that anyone would take them from him, and they were a source of pride and a tool of persuasion to anyone who sought his help,” Cirrian offered. Desperation would do that. Books that no one else had, or books in dead and often forgotten languages, were status symbols.
“The darker and more questionable books are hidden away,” he admitted. “I hope we find what we need here because spells from those books tend to be global spells. I fear it would undo the restrictions on you all.” An act that he seemed hesitant to do.
“If we are here, then you’re admitting that you don’t believe we’ll find another ashinwa or a way for me to go through Spellrend?”
“Not at all. I’m taking advantage of an opportunity that wasn’t easily available before. If we fail here, we have other options.”
“Okay, but once I release your werewolves, my obligation is fulfilled and you must release me from our binding.”
Cutting his eyes to me, he said, “I fear your use of the word werewolves is a true underestimation of what exist in the Umbryth.”
“Do they have a human form?”
He nodded.
“And they shift into a four-legged doggy-like creature, right?”
He chuckled. “Not in that sense.”
“Dangerous scary wolfy-type creatures. Got it.”
His soft, melodious chuckle filled the room. “I will miss our connection. There’s a certain comfort in it that I appreciate.”
“Is it because it’s painful for you, too?”
