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We both give her curious looks.
“Obviously, this man wants you. He’s ordered you to be brought to him alive and unharmed, and he’s put the hits out on your men because he knows they’ll stand in his way. They’ll protect you and come after you once he has you.”
“I figured.” I rub my temples. It’s no surprise that there’s someone out there willing to go to great lengths to capture me. Not after what I did in the club. To be honest, I’m surprised it’s taken this long. “But what’s with the mythics? What do they have to do with me? Oliver said it might be a spell.”
Cecile nods. “I had a sorcerer tell me that sirens are too powerful for sorcerer magic.”
That doesn’t make sense. “But Mitchell used his magic on me. He spelled me so that I couldn’t talk.”
Nick raises an eyebrow. “Did you try very hard to break it? Did you draw on the full strength of your song?”
I think back. I’d tried to use my song, but when I realized I couldn’t speak, I stopped. It never occurred to me that I might be able to break it. I simply started panicking. “No.” I frown. “I guess I didn’t. But my siren tried really hard to break Parker’s compulsion earlier.”
“Were you fighting it?” Nick challenges. “Were you helping her, trying to break Parker’s compulsion?”
I frown again. “No.”
Nick studies me, sitting back in his chair, one arm folded across his chest, his other hand rubbing his jaw again. “Vampire compulsion is stronger than sorcerers’ spells unless the sorcerer is as strong as Oliver. And most aren’t. You probably could have freed yourself from Mitchell’s spell. But against a spell using mythic magic? You’d never break that no matter if you were the strongest fey alive.”
Cecile nods. “The sorcerer told me it was probably for a binding spell. If someone bound you to them using mythic magic, they would have complete control over you. You’d be their prisoner, and they would have full use of your siren power. There are a number of men who are obsessed with you after the club incident, and more still who are scared or envious of your power. Word has spread beyond the city now, too. It could very easily be someone from Cleveland or Chicago pulling these strings.”
Nick leans forward again and shakes his head as he sips the last of his tea. “I don’t think so. I think our boy is local. The drop-off location for Christov and pickup location for the cash were both here in Detroit, and they happened so quickly that it would have had to be someone here, ready to make the switch. If it were an outsider, they’d need help, and people would have noticed a new crew in town.”
My head is really starting to hurt now. “At least we know it’s probably a sorcerer. That’s got to narrow things down a bit, right?”
Nick grimaces. “It’sprobablya sorcerer,” he admits, “but the truth is, it could be anyone. If you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to have magic to do a spell if you’re using mythic magic.”
I grind my teeth. “So basically we’re nowhere.”
Cecile takes our now empty teacups to the sink, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Well, the sorcerer told me that to perform such a binding spell he would need something from all four types of light mythics. Though, he wasn’t sure why the man needs the whole creatures and why he wants them alive.”
“But the good news is, he doesn’t have all four yet,” Nick says, getting to his feet. I follow his lead and stand up. “He still needs a phoenix, so we know where he’ll try to strike next. We can keep an eye out.”
“Shouldn’t we warn them?” I ask, heading for the door.
“They already know, dear, and they’re taking precautions. It’ll be nearly impossible for anyone to capture a phoenix now.” Cecile hands me my coat and air kisses my cheek. “It was so good to see you, darling. We really must get together outside of work sometime soon.”
I give her hands a squeeze. “I’ll call you as soon as we have this mess straightened out. I promise.”
Cecile says good-bye, and as Nick and I head back down into the club, Nick says, “I know a phoenix. I’ll give her a call and ask her to report anything suspicious to me. She can get the word out to the other flock in the country. If this collector tries to make a move, we’ll hear about it.”
“In the meantime, what do we do?”
He sighs. “Pray Oliver finds something, and have a drink.”
I slide him a sideways look. “You already had a drink.”
He leads me to the bar with a grimace. “I could use another one.”
