AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was far more than that, of course, but we didn’t have time to discuss the intricacies of it now. The connection thread was now so faint it was barely visible, and while that didn’t mean I couldn’t continue to track him through the pulse in the ring, the thread avoided the use of a deeper connection and made things a whole lot easier both psychically and physically.
“How long will the team take to get here?” I added. “Because—”
I stopped as two men came through the door, both wearing those thigh-high wading pants with built in boots. They were also armed, even though the pulse of their magic was strong enough to fill the room with their power.
I suspected that was deliberate, because most witches were well able to contain any sort of magical leakage. Life would get uncomfortable in crowded rooms, otherwise.
“Keep up the magical amps when you’re down there,” Saska said. “We want the bastards to be aware of your presence, so they’ll think twice about doubling back.”
The taller of the two nodded. “Which direction did they head? Do we know?”
Saska glanced at me.
“Downstream,” I said.
Saska returned her attention to the two men. “Be careful and keep in contact.”
“Will do.”
As they positioned the ladder and climbed down, I dismissed my light sphere and headed out of the room. The unnatural dust curtain no longer filled the corridor, though the walls and floors were covered in muck. I ran up the stairs and through the now empty restaurant, Saska three steps behind me.
It was raining outside, and though it wasn’t particularly heavy, I was damnably glad it wasn’t me heading into the storm drain.
“On foot or in the car?” Saska asked.
I briefly tightened my grip on the ring. “Car. They’re too far away now to be chasing them on foot.”
We dashed across the road. I jumped into the passenger seat, quickly did up my seat belt, and then deepened my connection to the ring so I could gather impressions of what he was feeling, seeing, and hearing without being totally swamped by his emotions.
The darkness remained, but the hand on his shoulder was gone, and the growl of an engine now filled my ears. His limbs were bound, the rope—real rope, not the magical kind—so tight it sawed into his skin every time he moved. His thoughts were chaotic, and his magic was present and yet not. I could feel it, but there was something between his mind and his power, a wall that prevented his ability to spell.
Everything he was feeling—all the impotent fury, fear, and confusion—were an echo of everything I’d felt the night my father had forced me to sign the agreement to marry Clayton.
Forced not by magic, but rather a drug that inhibited magic and ensured compliance.
I couldn’t help but wish the wraith had visited this particular punishment on my father rather than my brother. Even if for only a few hours, I really wanted the bastard to feel exactly what he’d put me through.
“Which way?” Saska asked, as she started the big car up.
I jumped, pulled back from memory and sensation, and then said, “Right.”
She nodded and swung out of the parking area. I drew in a somewhat quivering breath and then dove back into the connection.
It was then I noticed the burning around his neck. I frowned and deepened the connection a fraction.
And suddenly it felt like there were dozens of tiny needles burning into my neck.
It wasn’t a spell. It was a fucking shushunjë.
Which made me wonder about the veracity of the vision I’d had. Why use a leech if the wraith intended to sacrifice him? Or was it simply an added precaution? After all, the wraith’s first two victims were much lower on the magical scale than either my brother or father, even if they were relatives. Maybe he wanted to ensure my brother didn’t have the physical strength to react even if he could somehow overcome the drug’s effects.
I pulled back again, took a breath, and said, “Do you know how to separate a shushunjë from his victim?”
“Yes, but where the fuck are they getting those critters from?”
“I have no idea.” And at this point, didn’t care. “I think they’ve only just placed the thing on Juli, because there was no indication of it before now. He’s been shoved into the trunk of a car and they’re heading out of town.”
“And up into the hills?”
