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He pulled the spoon out of my mouth and placed it back in the bowl. He waited until I swallowed before leaning across the table and placing a chaste kiss on my lips. “Of course.”
I blushed. “Um…thanks?” I reached for a piece of toast and began spreading butter on top. Needing to steer this conversation away from his lips I asked, “Who were you talking to when I came out?”
“Takk.” Leo’s longtime assistant. He is a werewolf and can take care of any business during daytime hours or provide backup security if need be.
“What did he have to say?”
“He’s tying up some loose ends for me in Vegas before he boards the plane to Dublin in a few hours.”
“He’s coming to Ireland? Why?”
“I’m still waiting to hear from several contacts about the legitimacy of this portal. I need Takk close by to act as my proxy in case I need to meet someone during the day.”
I thought about the chapter in my book that mentioned the portal. It listed its exact location. “Why can’t we just use the coordinates from the book?”
“My love, that passage could be a decoy in case the book ever got into the wrong hands. I’m not going to let you run off half-cocked into what could be a trap.”
“Oh. Good call. Sorry, I didn’t even think about that.” And now I felt like a complete dumbass.
“There’s no need to apologize,” he insisted. “The book does indeed appear to be a genuine Fae artifact, and I doubt that any decoys exist. I’m just being cautious. I’ve heard mention of a supposed Fae expert. She lives in an old abbey about three hours west of Dublin. I’m waiting for my contacts to find her so we can secure a meeting.”
“What do we do until then?”
“We remain in Dublin, read through the book more thoroughly, and wait.”
We spent the day waiting for calls and looking through the book, not really finding any more information about the portal. Around ten in the evening, there was a knock on the door.
Leo opened it and stepped aside to let the man in. “My love, this is Takk.”
I walked towards him and offered my hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Karli.”
He ignored my hand and gave me a quick once over with his large hazel eyes. Not in a perverted way… more like he was assessing me. “I know who you are.”
I had to step aside so he wouldn’t bump into me on his way over to the seating area. At about five foot ten, we were roughly the same height, but his breadth was substantially greater. “Oh please, let me get out of your way,” I deadpanned. I had known this guy for one minute and I already didn’t like him. I was trying my damnedest to keep that from Leo since I knew he relied on him so much.
Takk didn’t waste any time. He dug some papers out of the messenger bag he carried and spread them across the pine coffee table. It appeared to be a map of the country with several red dots on it. He pointed to the largest marker and looked up at Leo. “This is where the coordinates claim the portal is. According to my research, it’s nothing more than an open field.” He pointed to another dot. “This is where our sources say the expert is hidden. It’s supposedly an old abbey that houses a bunch of witches, but I don’t have visual confirmation yet. I think you were right about the wards.”
“What wards?” I asked.
Takk crossed his arms over his chest. The sleeves of his white button down were rolled up, his Native American skin a stark contrast to the light fabric. “We sent someone to scout the location earlier today. The road ends about five miles out, so we couldn’t get any proof that the abbey exists. Leo suspects that the witches have placed wards around the perimeter to conceal the abbey’s location. We believe it’s an illusion but haven’t investigated further at this point. The terrain appeared rather treacherous.”
“I thought wards were more like magical padlocks,” I said. “I didn’t think they could weave illusions.”
“If these witches live up to legend, they can do a lot of things that you wouldn’t expect,” Takk replied. “We’re currently putting a team together.”
Leo leaned over the map and studied it for a moment. “How long will that take?”
Takk started folding the map and smoothing out the wrinkles. “I’m not sure. It could be hours, days, or weeks. I need an incredibly powerful sorcerer, but it’s been difficult finding anyone willing to cooperate. They’re quite suspicious of anyone outside of their inner circle.”
Sorcerers practiced black magic, which I knew to be rather dangerous. Why couldn’t we use a warlock who practiced light magic instead? The only reason I could think of was that sorcerers typically had a specialty. Could there be one out there who specialized in complex wards?
“Isn’t getting a sorcerer involved risky?” I asked. “Can we really trust someone so dangerous?”
Takk looked irritated. “We don’t have much of a choice. They’re the only ones besides the witches capable of removing wards this powerful.”
“Why?”
Takk rolled his eyes. “Because if our information is correct, the wards are comprised of blood from the women who have protected the abbey for thousands of years. A sorcerer knows blood magic like no oth
