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Our dark sorceress wasn’t intending to kill me or even harm me—even if the Ania had gotten a little too enthusiastic on my arm—she was intending to snatch me. Maybe she figured that with Lucian gone the only way she would now have any hope of finding the remaining key was if I were under her full control. There was no other logical reason for her wanting me taken.
More Ania began to appear. Lilac flames dripped from Amaya’s point and raced across the wooden floorboards toward them, as if she were eager to wrap the emerging creatures in her heated embrace.
Don’t burn this place down like you did that café, I said, as the air behind me stirred, warning of another demon’s approach.
Not burn, Amaya muttered, as if offended I’d even suggest such a thing. Just eat.
Good. I swung around and swept Amaya through the tail of a retreating Ania. It screamed and darted back, lashing out with claws that were long and vicious looking. I jumped away, but not fast enough, and its talons tore across my shoulder, breaking flesh and drawing blood. I flicked Amaya from my bloody hand to the other and slashed upward. The Ania fled, but this time, it wasn’t quick enough, and Amaya’s dark steel skewered it. The demon screamed again, but the sound abruptly cut off as my sword devoured it.
Another one hit my leg. I swung Amaya downward, but even as I did, the Ania’s grip tightened and suddenly I was on my butt and being dragged toward the still- forming doorway.
I cursed and swept Amaya across my legs. The sharp edge of her blade became ethereal where demon-forged steel met flesh, leaving me unharmed even as she slid deep into the wispy heart of the Ania. Once again she consumed it with glee, her steel becoming just a little bit heavier.
Then Azriel was standing in front of me, Valdis screaming her fury as he sliced her through the remaining Ania. They exploded, and a second later, the doorway was gone, sucked back into whatever place it had come from.
He sheathed Valdis, then reached down, gripped my arm, and pulled me upright. “Are you okay?”
“Aside from a few scratches, yes. Are the Ania completely gone?”
“For the moment. I doubt it would be wise to attempt to find the sorceress through that cuff link a second time, however.” He pressed his hands against the bloody slashes across my shoulder and the bite marks on my arm. Heat radiated from the epicenter of his touch, and the pain receded as the bleeding stopped and the wound began to heal.
“With that,” Maggie said, as she came out from behind the curtain, “I entirely agree.”
I glanced at her. “Why didn’t the protection stones and spells stop them?”
“Because, as I warned earlier, we are dealing with a dark sorceress. A very canny one, too.”
I frowned. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning the spell she placed on that cuff link was a transport one, and, through it, she circumvented my spells.”
“By transporting them directly into the room?”
She nodded. “There are ways to protect oneself against such spells, of course, but neither Kiandra nor I had expected such an extreme method of attack.”
“Why is it extreme?” Azriel twined his fingers through mine, squeezing them briefly before releasing me. My wounds—while not completely gone—were little more than a couple of vicious-looking slashes of pink.
“Because it is a spell that severely taxes personal strength. It is very likely your sorceress will be immobilized for the next few hours, at least.”
“But wouldn’t she have called on dark magic to create her spell? Used blood sacrifices and such?” That was why it was called the dark art, after all.
“Yes, but in any magic there is always a personal price to pay. Dark magic, and dark sorcerers, may draw on forces from without themselves, but they can never totally escape the required fee.” Maggie shrugged and held out her hand, palm up. The cuff link gleamed dully in the candlelight. “You had better take this and place it somewhere safe.”
I plucked it from her hand warily. “What is the likelihood of the sorceress using this to attack us again?”
“This attack was probably an all-or-nothing event, and I doubt it will be repeated anytime soon.”
Relief spun through me. “At least that’s something.”
“Yes,” Maggie said, “but I still wouldn’t carry it aro
und with you, as it is entirely possible she could use it to track your location.”
“Given we dare not attempt to find her through it again, would it not be better to destroy it?” Azriel said.
Maggie glanced at him. “Ideally, yes, but I would ask that you not do it here, as its destruction will undoubtedly release dark energy, and that is not something I desire in my shop.”
He plucked the cuff link from my hand and said, “Then I shall take it onto the fields and destroy it there.”
