AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We were,” Ashworth replied. “But she called and said the plane had been delayed, and she now won’t be getting in until tomorrow. What’s this about splitting up?”
I held the glove-wrapped spell stone aloft. “Monty found this in the rubble, and it holds enough resonance to trace.”
“So, we try a two-prong assault,” he said. “Two witches underground, two above?”
“Seems sensible,” Monty said. “I take it our tall friend is a caver?”
“Mine guide,” the stranger corrected. “And the name is Joel.”
“Are you familiar with this mine?” I asked.
“No, but I’ll be able to tell you whether a shaft or a tunnel is safe to traverse.” He glanced at Aiden. “How do you want to play this? Me first, or one of the witches? You implied we could encounter supernatural problems down there.”
He didn’t seem fazed by the prospect, which was interesting.
“Probably safer with you down first,” Aiden said, “just to ensure the tunnel is safe to use.”
“I’ll toss in a protection spell once you’re ready to head down,” Eli added. “That’ll keep you safe until Monty and I get down there.”
Leaving me, Ashworth, and Aiden to follow whatever lead I could glean from the spell stone.
IfI could glean a lead and itwasn’ta trap.
Right now, I wasn’t putting anything past them.
As Eli crafted his spell, I grabbed my pack from Monty, then stepped away from the destroyed building to find a debris-free area to set up a protection circle. We were dealing with a dark mage, so it was probably best not to take any chances.
Ashworth followed me over and watched my construction through slightly narrowed eyes. When I finished, he nodded, as if in approval, and then said, “Be careful when you search. If that spell stone belongs to either Jaqueline or her mistress, it’s possible they’ll feel your presence through it.”
I frowned. “How?”
It was certainly possible for a witch to cast a spell to prevent a psychic finding them, but I’d never heard of a witch being able tosensea psychic search through a stone unless they were a psychic themselves—and that usually only happened when there was human blood within the witch line.
Maelle never said who Jaqueline’s father was,Belle commented.Maybe he was human rather than witch.
I really can’t imagine Maelle getting married to a common old human, can you?
No, but they were very different days back then. Maybe she had no choice. Or maybe she was simply fucking him and got pregnant by mistake.
“Dark mages generally use blood to create and set their spells,” Ashworth was saying, “it inevitably leaches into their spell stones, and when an opposing force interacts with them—”
“It sets off a warning that resembles a flash of light going off in the darkness,” I finished.
“That’s a lot more poetic than what I was about to say, but yes.” He grimaced “You’ll be well protected by your circle, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but these vampires have shown no inclination to act logically. While they might not be able to stop you physically, it’s almost certain they will attempt to stop you magically.”
“Meaning if Iamable to connect to Jaqueline’s mind via the blood that lingers on this stone, it would be best to keep contact to a minimum.”
Ashworth nodded. “The chances of discovery rise the longer you linger, and that exponentially increases the likelihood of an attack.”
“Meaning you, my dear man, had best keep an eagle eye out.”
He laughed. “Indeed. I can’t have anything happening to my adopted granddaughter, now can I?”
I stepped into my circle, tied off and activated the spell, and then sat cross-legged on the ground. “Speaking of which, how do you feel about said adopted granddaughter holding her wedding in your garden?”
He blinked. “It would be an honor, but there are plenty of lovely places within the reservation that would be more suitable.”
“But none that I feel so at home in.” I smiled up at him. “I’d also like you to walk me down the aisle.”
