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“What about the reservoir?” Belle said. “I know it’s not salted, but given this soucouyant reacted so violently to Baker hosing it, it’s possible any water will be out of bounds to them.”
“Good idea,” Monty said. “And it just might have the added bonus of preventing communication between the two.”
“Will the water affect this one, though?” I asked. “I’d hate to have gone through all this effort only to kill the bitch before we find the other.”
Monty hesitated, his gaze on the floating sphere. “It might. Ranger, have you any kind of waterproof container in your truck? One large enough to contain that sphere?”
“I’ve got a large jerry can in the back of the truck,” Tala said, as she approached. “The lid’s not large, but it is a screw top, so it should keep the water out.”
“That’ll do,” Monty said. “Now that she’s contained by the two magics and not emitting any heat, we should be able to manipulate her form and get her into the container.”
Tala nodded and continued on to her truck.
“Bring a rope, too,” Aiden called after her. His gaze came back to us. “It’ll save either of you having to run some sort of magical leash to it.”
“The only problem with a rope is the fact anyone could pick it up and draw her back to the surface,” Monty said.
“We’ll attach it to a buoy in the no-go section of the lake and I’ll assign someone to keep a watch from the shore.”
“Just make sure to tell them that at the first hint of flame, they’re to jump in the water and stay there.” Monty accepted the already opened container from Tala and then glanced at me. “Ready?”
I nodded then reached out magically. Once I’d snagged an outer thread of the net wrapped around Monty’s sphere, I tugged it toward the container. The soucouyant twisted and churned, but her force was muted by the two spells. Every movement she made echoed through the lines around her, but all her anger and all her fire had little effect on the spells.
Monty’s energy joined mine and, after a little bit of manipulation, we forced the soucouyant into the jerry can. Monty quickly did the lid up then staggered back, and would have fallen had Belle not grabbed him.
“Tala, I think you’d better get these three back—”
“Belle and Monty can leave, but I’d better stick around until the jerry can containing our flaming friend is fully submerged,” I cut in, “just in case the other one does something unexpected.”
Like attack.
Aiden frowned. “How likely is that, though?”
“Not very, but two sets of eyes are always better than one, especially when one of those sets is psychically attuned to evil,” I said. “We have no idea if this whole water thing will work or not, remember. I’d hate to see you or anyone else crisped.”
A somewhat wicked light briefly gleamed in his eyes. “It wouldn’t exactly be ideal for any future plans I have.”
My pulse skipped up a notch. I licked my lips and tried to ignore the images skittering through my mind. “While I might not personally be able to counter an attack, the wild magic certainly can.”
“And you’re the only one who can call it.” Aiden scraped a hand across his chin. “I guess that means the two of us will submerge the soucouyant while Tala runs Belle and Monty back.”
He didn’t look happy at the prospect, but then, he’d already admitted to having overprotective tendencies.
Which is always nice, Belle said. Up to a point, anyway, and he’s shown no signs of going over that point. Are you coming home tonight or staying at his place?
He hasn’t actually asked me to stay
—
Belle snorted mentally, the sound echoing loudly through my brain. That man will take you any which way—even if it means doing nothing more than holding you in his arms for the night while you sleep and recover.
If he holds me in his arms, I doubt there will be much sleep happening. Tiredness does not outweigh desire. I paused. This time, anyway.
“Who do you want me to call up for watch duty, boss?” Tala asked.
Aiden hesitated. “Byron and Jaz. I don’t want anyone flying solo out here, just in case.”
“It might be wise to put in a call to Ashworth and maybe even Eli, as well,” I said. “They’re both at full strength magically and looking to be in on the action.”
