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“Or I can follow the witch to see if it’s Destiny and where she’s going.” Peri kept her own tone reasonable. Kudos to her. “And you can join me when the sun sets.”
“Even assuming the witch and the miasma are connected, and that they are both still in town, how would you follow them?” Valen demanded. “On foot?”
He was right, of course. Even if there was a rental company in this tiny town, which was highly doubtful, it wouldn’t be open for at least a couple of hours. It didn’t make sense for her to remain here. But Peri wasn’t in the mood to be sensible, she decided as she walked past him and out the door. A common theme when she was with Valen.
“I’m sure there’s a vehicle in town I can borrow,” she insisted, jogging down the steps as if she knew exactly where she was going. Ha. She didn’t have a clue.
“You mean steal.” Valen closed the door and was swiftly beside her as Peri started down the narrow alley behind the bar.
“Steal implies I intend to keep it.” Peri picked up her pace. She felt as if she was drowning in her awareness of Valen. She needed a break to clear her mind. “I promise I’ll…”
Her words dried up as she caught a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye. Skidding to a halt, she turned to peer through the filthy window of the bar.
Valen was instantly at her side. “Peri?”
“There’s someone in there.”
Peri stepped closer to the window, studying the crouched form in the middle of the room. Was it a customer who’d returned to find something they’d lost? Or a law official there to inspect the crime scene? No, she quickly dismissed those theories. They would have turned on the lights if they were there for a legit reason.
So what were they doing?
Her silent question was answered when a tingle rippled through the air and familiar strands of magic shimmered across the floor.
A mage.
Peri sucked in a shocked breath. It wasn’t loud enough to be heard by the mage inside, but something must have alerted her that she was no longer alone. Surging upright, she turned toward the back of the building. It was dark inside, but the streetlight leaking through the open door bathed the woman in a murky glow. Just enough light to reveal her silver-gray hair pulled into a tight bun and a pale, perfect face dominated by dark eyes.
Lifting her hand, Peri pressed it against the windowpane, intending to snare the woman in a web of magic. She was still creating the spell in her mind when she felt an icy blast of power wrap around her. That was her only warning before Valen wasslamming into her, driving her into the ground with enough force to bruise her shoulder.
She would have cursed the aggravating leech if she hadn’t heard the distinctive buzz of a bullet passing over her head followed by the shattering of the window where she’d been standing less than a second before.
Shards of glass rained down on Valen, who remained protectively on top of her while ice coated the hard ground beneath her. The vampire was in a mood, and someone was about to die.
“Are you injured?” His lips brushed her ear, his raw scent filling her senses.
“I’m fine.”
“Good. Stay here.”
He was starting to rise when another blast of gunfire exploded. This time the automatic weapon punched holes in the side of the building and annihilated a nearby trash can.
It would have done the same to them if Peri hadn’t released the web of magic she’d been creating to trap the mage. It wasn’t a true shield, but it managed to deflect most of the bullets. Valen abruptly cursed and Peri grimaced. Obviously a few of the projectiles had managed to penetrate the web and lodge themselves in Valen’s back.
The shooting finally stopped, and Valen flowed to his feet at the sound of wheels squealing as a nearby vehicle raced down the street. He was going to chase after the fleeing bad guys, she abruptly realized.
Feeling a pang of something close to panic, Peri scrambled to stand up and grab his arm.
“No, Valen. They might be leading you into an ambush.”
Valen’s hands clenched, the temperature dropping to a painful subzero as he battled to contain his fury. He wasn’t used to anyone being stupid enough to point a gun in his direction. Itwas going to take him a minute to contain his savage need for revenge.
“Why didn’t I sense them?” he at last demanded.
Peri released a silent sigh of relief as the air warmed. She was going to end up with frostbite by the time they figured out what was going on.
“The woman inside was a mage,” she told him. “She must have used a spell to cloak their scents.”
Valen’s brows snapped together. “You claimed that there hadn’t been a mage in the bar.”
