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“And how do you propose we do that?” I asked. “In case you’ve forgotten, there’s at least six mages in there aside from Jaqueline, and there’s only three of us.”
His gaze met mine. Maelle lurked in the deep recesses, but it was the energy radiating from him that had my skin crawling. It was somehow malevolent and corrupt, powerful, and yet putrid, and it spoke of intentions that were ungodly at best. This was Maelle at her basest. Her true self, a face she rarely showed to the world, unleashed and uncontrolled.ThisMaelle was more dangerous, more deadly, than any demon we’d ever come across. If she ever lost control, if her base self ever gained the upper hand, heaven help us all.
A chill seeped through my soul.
Wheels within wheels, I thought suddenly.
I might have been right in thinking the initial attack was a distraction to snatch me, but Marie’s machinations went way beyond that. That’s why Jaqueline had fled here, to a place that obviously wasn’t their main bolt-hole, into a building with no real protections or comforts other than the few dusty bits of furniture that had obviously been there for some time.
Itwasa trap.
Not one set for me, but rather for the man who was the key to Maelle’s sanity.
“You can’t go in there, Roger,” I added abruptly. “This is a trap that has been set foryou.”
He raised a pale eyebrow, amusement evident. “Perhaps it is, but I am not so easily caught.”
“They don’t want to trap you, Roger. They want to kill you.”
“That’s a task many of our enemies have set themselves over the centuries.” It was Maelle speaking now, not Roger. “As you can see, none of them have been successful. Those within that building will also fail, as only Marie has the power to erase what I have created.”
“Even if this trap fails, Maelle, Roger will remain a target.”
“As has ever been the case.” He paused. “We will not ignore your intuition, of course, but we refuse to allow such a threat alter the course of our actions. Jaqueline will be saved, and the others dealt with appropriately.”
Appropriately meaning by us. “How?”
“The ranger provides the distraction out front. I will enter from the far side of the building and snare Jaqueline. You and Monty will approach from the side and raise the roof once I give the signal. The sun will take care of those who remain within.”
“I’m thinking the vamps won’t let us approach without some kickback,” Monty said, voice dry.
“Perhaps not, but you, young witchling, are almost certainly capable of dealing with whatever those inside throw at you.”
A statement that was all Maelle, and somewhat damning in its faint praise. Monty raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply.
“It’ll take you and Elizabeth ten minutes to get around to the side of the building,” Roger continued. “It’ll take me a second or two from there to get into position. Ranger, in exactly twelve minutes, you will walk down toward the bunkhouse and snare their attention.”
Aiden’s gaze flickered to mine, his expression a mix of amusement and annoyance. I totally understood both. It might have been Monty’s idea to call in Maelle and Roger, but there was a part of me—a big part of me—that suspected it wasn’t such a good idea to let them completely run the show.
But it was too late to do anything about it now.
Roger stepped back and motioned us to precede him. I opened my backpack and tugged out my knife and several bottles of holy water, handing the latter to Aiden. “Use these if any of those bastards manage to get close to you.”
He accepted the bottles with a nod. “You be careful.”
“Back at you, Ranger.”
He smiled yet again, but his concern chased us as we headed back down the hill.
I was gripping my knife so tightly my knuckles ached. Its weight in my hand was comforting, though in truth it was more a symbol of protection than an actual one. I didn’t have a good arm when it came to throwing, and while I had used the wild magic in the past to guide its path, that option might no longer be available to me.
Not that I could use it for a kill shot, anyway. Not without risking the purity of the wellspring.
We moved quickly through the trees, the babbling of water growing the closer we drew to the bunkhouse. The trickle of water coming from the sluice wouldn’t have accounted for the rush of water we were hearing, so there were obviously other sources feeding the channel. It was probably loud enough to counter any noise Monty and I were making; I just hoped that we remained physically far enough away from the bunkhouse that they wouldn’t hear our heartbeats. Surely if we weren’t, Roger would have said something.
Unless, of course, this was all part of his evil plan. Maybe he was using us—using our humanity—to distract the vamps from the real danger coming in from the back of the building.
We finally reached our destination. This end of the bunkhouse had no windows or door, which at least gave us the advantage of them not physically being able to see us.
