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The latter was extremely faint, though, which was odd given the strengthening pulse within my tracker sphere. Maybe the kilns were deeper than they looked. Or maybe there was something stranger going on.
I tried to ignore the gathering cloud of uneasiness and stopped well short of the kilns. “The signal is coming from the middle kiln.”
Ashworth stopped beside me. “It’s not an ideal area to be placing a circle around.”
“I don’t think we need to,” Eli said. “I think it’ll be better if we simply raise a snare around the entire kiln.”
“It’ll take some power to cover an area that large,” Monty said.
“Yes, but better safe than sorry,” Eli said. “I’ll head to the top of the hill behind the kiln and spell from there. That leaves you two to go inside and deal with this bitch.”
“Watch where you’re stepping,” Aiden said. “The ground doesn’t look that stable.”
Eli nodded and followed the fence line around to the back of the kiln. Monty and Ashworth pulled off their backpacks and began readying their spells.
“Once the snares are set,” Belle said. “I’ll need to call in Vita.”
Monty glanced at her. “Are you sure that’s really necessary?”
“You don’t play games with White Ladies,” Ashworth said. “Not unless you’re willing to pay a very heavy price.”
Monty raised his eyebrows. “Experience speaking?”
“Yes. Get a move on, lad.”
As the two of them continued their preparations, Belle retrieved our spell stones from our backpack and began laying them on the ground, creating a circle large enough to hold Aiden and us. He might be determined to be our protector, but he could do so from within the safety of our circle.
We just had to hope that the combination of both Belle’s magic and my own was enough to hold off the Empusae if she did somehow escape the net and attack. Otherwise, the three of us would be in serious trouble.
I glanced down at the sphere in my hand. The pulse coming from it remained steady and it was definitely originating from that middle kiln.
So why was I uneasy?
Why was I becoming more and more certain that we were all being played?
I didn’t know, and if my psychic senses had any clue, they weren’t forthcoming.
With our spell stones set out, there was nothing more we could do but watch and wait. Until both the snares were set, we dared not raise our magic. The Empusae had felt the sting of my magic twice now and would probably be sensitive to its presence.
Eli reached the top of the hill overlooking the kilns. Ashworth motioned him to proceed, then he and Monty climbed the fence surrounding the kilns and walked toward the middle one. There was no stirring of magic, no sense that the demon hiding in the deeper shadows had moved, and yet… and yet, a sense of expectation and anticipation bled into the air. It wasn’t coming from the three men ahead. It was simply staining the air, its direction difficult to pin thanks to the softly stirring breeze.
I flexed my fingers and resisted the urge to raise the circle or even call to the wild magic that stirred within. I had to be patient. To do anything now, before the others were ready, could just bring disaster down on us all.
And yet that was going to hit, no matter what we did now.
Eli began to spell, his magic rolling swiftly down the broken hillside and flooding the brick and stone mass that was the kiln. At the same time, Ashworth and Monty placed a net across the kiln’s entrance; its threads were as thick as my fingers and pulsed with power. If it couldn’t contain the demon within, then we really would be in serious trouble.
There was no response from within the cave. No indication that the Empusae was either alert or aware.
Had Vita’s attacks drained her?
Or was this, as my psi senses were now all but screaming, nothing more than a trap? One that was about to be sprung?
“Right, laddie,” Ashworth said. “Let’s force this bitch’s bones into the net and wrap her up tight so our White Lady can claim her vengeance and leave us in peace.”
As the sting of their magic surged, Belle said, “Shouldn’t we raise our circle now?”
I hesitated. “Let’s see if she’s in there first.”
