His conviction bolstered me. I didn’t know how badly I needed his faith until I had it. He was right. We could do this. Pinpointing Nicholas’s address was easy. A simple Internet search for real estate listings from a little over a year ago that included three hundred acres and I had it. “All right. It’s a twenty-minute drive from here. Based on what Bianca said, we’re going to have quite a time reaching his house. I also expect he’ll have magical defenses as well, so trying to port in is out of the question. We’re going to have to go in on foot.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Sybil said, settling back into her seat and fastening her seat belt. I debated leaving her behind. The last thing I needed was another person to worry about, but she’d done well in St. Louis. I wasn’t exactly in a position to turn away help. Whatever happened, I’d need her to help clean up. If we didn’t finish before the humans arrived or if one stumbled upon us, we’d need her to do memory magic on them. Even without the cuff, that wasn’t something I could do. Sybil was a grown woman making her own decisions. I couldn’t be responsible for her. Too many lives were at stake, and she could help save them.

  I made eye contact with Alistair, a part of me needing his approval. During all my time as an agent, he’d never led my astray. He gave a little nod, and reassured, I headed to Nicholas’s.

  I pulled off the road and killed the engine. Nicholas’s house stood on a mountainside with a private road leading to his property. Given the immense security he had installed, I was betting that he had cameras on that road to see any cars that approached. According to the satellite photos, the road curved before reaching his property line. That was where I parked, before we hit the straightaway that would give his cameras line of sight.

  “So we hike in from here?” Deacon asked. He would have no idea how to circumvent human technology. That was my specialty.

  “Right.” On the way we had stopped and grabbed some gear: backpacks, water, and food for the hike. I looked out at the wooded expanse before us. “With a property this big, I don’t think the whole thing will be fenced with anything tougher to traverse than barbed wire. Once we get closer to the house, I expect we’ll run into the electric fence Bianca mentioned. We’ll assess when we get there, but as long as there’s no magic in the area, I suspect it’ll be safe for Sybil to port us to the other side of it.”

  “Do you really think he’s going to have security in these woods all the way up to the house? Can’t I port us closer than this?” Sybil asked.

  “We can’t risk it. Surprise is our biggest advantage right now. We don’t want to blow it just to save a little time and effort.” I didn’t look forward to the hike ahead of us. Sybil would have the toughest time with it. Perhaps she was right. Such a strenuous hike would tire her out. Would she be effective after that kind of exertion? These were considerations I wasn’t used to making. Given my inability to use magic on missions, I was always the superior physical fighter in my partnerships, but any Circle assassin had proper physical training and conditioning. My concern must have shown on my face.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Sybil said. “I’ll be in good form. I may feel it tomorrow, but it won’t affect my ability to use magic once we’re there.” A bright smile radiated from her face. I needed her optimism right now.

  While Sybil loaded up the backpacks, Deacon and I changed into something more appropriate than the clothes we’d worn to impress Bianca. Deacon wasn’t shy in removing his dress shirt to put on a T-shirt that would allow for easier movement. The scar on his chest stood in contrast to his tan skin. The sight of it warmed me, reminding me of how close we had come to kissing. Deacon had protected me before I even knew him, and here he was ready to follow me into danger. With him at my back I was stronger than I was alone.

  I kept my void blade sheathed inside the back waistband of my pants, easily accessible behind my tight-fitting black undershirt. A loose flannel shirt that I kept unbuttoned hid my weapon while also helping me blend in with any humans we may see. If needed, I could easily slip out of it if someone grabbed it.

  Deacon and I each took a backpack, leaving Sybil with nothing but a water bottle to carry. I faced Alistair. “So you’ll wait here and call if there’s any sign of trouble coming our way.”

  Alistair shook his head. “I’m going back to Elustria.”

  “You’re not staying here?” My entire career, Alistair had my back. He always waited for me, ready with a safe house or an alternate plan if things went south.

  “You’ve got this. You don’t need me. You have Deacon and Sybil. I can’t help here, but I can help there. The Circle be damned. I’m going to warn as many people as I can.”

  For the first time, nerves assaulted my stomach. I faced danger all the time. It didn’t get to me. What Alistair planned would put him firmly at odds with the Circle. They wouldn’t be merciful toward this defiance. It was one thing for me to give them the middle finger, it was another for my handler, the responsible one, to directly contradict their orders.

  I wouldn’t insult him by asking if he was sure. In his gray eyes I saw determination, a fierceness that hadn’t been there in the past. It hit me that something profound had shifted. My future may not have him as my handler in it. He seemed suffused with a new purpose. “Stay safe,” I said.

  Alistair nodded. “You too.” He gave a little nod to Sybil and Deacon, then made a portal and left.

  I swallowed back my emotions and focused on the hike ahead.

  43

  Sweat trickled down my back and poured into my eyes. Even with the trees blocking much of the sun, it was still too hot for comfort. No matter the weather, hiking a mountain like this was bound to be a sweaty affair. I stopped and looked behind me to see Sybil struggling and Deacon following her. This kind of thing would be second nature to Deacon, but Sybil had no reason to ever physically exert herself this much. Despite her struggle, she smiled at me.

  I should have been worried about tiring myself before what promised to be a tough battle, but I enjoyed the stretching and straining of my muscles. It calmed my antsy magic and kept my thoughts from dwelling on Nicholas and how this all might play out. I had no doubt that when the time came, I’d have enough adrenaline to make up for any lost energy.

  When Sybil caught up to me, she looked around quizzically. “Why did we stop?”

  I met Deacon’s eyes and could see he heard what I did. “The fence,” he said.

  “Yes. We’re getting close.” An electric hum came from up ahead, and when the breeze gusted I’d heard a plant buzz as it made contact. “Deacon, you take the lead. Watch for cameras when we approach the fence.”

  Deacon nodded, and we switched positions. Not only would Deacon’s enhanced senses do a better job of finding a good place for us port across the fence, but if we did walk into sight of a camera, better for him to be seen than me. Nicholas would recognize me in an instant.

  Every leaf that rustled and branch that snapped echoed impossibly loud in my head. We couldn’t afford any mistakes. I searched the trees for cameras or any type of sensors but couldn’t find any. Deacon raised his hand for us to stop then gestured that he was going to advance alone.

  Sybil looked at me, anxiety in her eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was excited anticipation or worry. Probably a mix of both. We waited in silence until Deacon returned.

  “There’s an electric fence, but it’s nothing much, just some barbed wire with a hot wire on top,” Deacon said, his face showing how perplexed he was by this development.

  “Was there any surveillance or magic around it?” I asked.

  “None.”

  Weird. I’d expected more, but it would be wasteful to do much this far from the house. Were we missing something? Not likely. Between the three of us, if there was something to find, we would. If Deacon said there wasn’t any magic nearby, then there wasn’t. I couldn’t start second guessing now. “Then let’s go. When we get to the fence, Sybil will port us to the other side of it.”

  It wasn’t strictly necessary, but I didn’t want to risk any of us touching the fence.

  We got to the fence and teleported to the other side without incident. The rest of the hike to the house was uneventful. The whole thing couldn’t have gone easier, and that had me worried.

  When we came to the clearing where the house stood, we crouched behind a hedge to get our bearings. There was no sign of anything unusual. The house was an enormous log cabin, the kind that people used for corporate retreats. The driveway turned into a gravel roundabout in front of the giant wooden front door with an ornate mountain range carved into it. There weren’t any visible cameras even at the entry.

  “Do you smell any magic?” I asked Deacon.

  He took a few moments to sniff the air with his eyes closed. “Just the faintest amount inside. There’s nothing on the outside or even on this side of the house.”

  The easiest way to get all three of us inside was to walk right through the front door, and given Deacon’s assessment, it also seemed the safest. “Then we’ll go in here. Once you verify the door’s free of magic, I’ll pick the lock. Be prepared for anything once we get inside. We’ll leave the backpacks here. They’ll only weigh us down in a fight.”

  Sybil and Deacon nodded in agreement, then Deacon took the lead. Our feet crunching on the gravel sounded conspicuously loud in the stillness of the afternoon. Once we got on the flagstone porch, Sybil and I stopped and waited for Deacon to clear the door. He placed his palm on the wood and leaned his forehead against it, breathing deeply. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I waited for his verdict.

  After a minute, he seemed satisfied and stepped back, gesturing for me to get to work. I pulled my pick set from my pocket and grabbed the doorknob.

  It gave easily beneath my hand.

  I looked at Deacon and Sybil and their surprise mirrored my own. The lack of security and the unlocked door gave me the uneasy feeling that Nicholas was expecting me. With nothing else to do, I pushed the door open, and silence greeted me.

  44

  Nothing in this house reflected the Nicholas I’d known. He had detested pretension. All his life he’d run from his family’s wealth. Now he surrounded himself with a level of wealth that would impress his human acolytes and Elustrian disciples. The rich dark woods that made up most of the house felt oppressive. Giant windows all stood covered with thick drapes blocking out the light. The entire place seemed designed for exile, a self-imposed banishment from the world in order to plan destruction.

  I strained my ears to hear sounds of life, but I couldn’t locate any. We’d have to rely solely on Deacon’s senses. I nodded at him to take the lead. Sybil and I followed, moving slowly to avoid making noise. My cuff would shield me from detection, but anyone who could track magic would feel Deacon and Sybil coming from a decent distance.

  Deacon led us into the east wing of the house. Outside a pair of large mahogany doors, we finally heard voices. “There’s an elf in there and a couple of mages,” Deacon whispered. “I’m smelling quite a bit of magic. They might have a portal open.”

  This was it. “Let me take the lead. Sybil, if any humans come in, I’m counting on you to take care of them. Deacon, keep yourself alive and able to heal.”

  They both nodded their understanding. I checked to make sure my void blade was well positioned at my back. A quick and easy kill, that’s what I was going for. I grasped each doorknob in my hands and threw open the doors.

  A shield surrounded us, preventing us from entering the grand dining room we’d come upon. The long table could easily accommodate fifty, but not a single place was set. Instead, bombs and the magical devices that would allow humans to go through portals sat dormant at the far end. Standing over them was Nicholas, resplendent in the robes of his family’s order. Every trace of the carefree man I’d known was gone. He intended to destroy sorcerers today, and he had dressed for the occasion.

  Nicholas walked toward us, holding out his arms in welcome while the other mage and the elf stayed at the head of the table. “I had hoped you’d make it. Wouldn’t want to start the Feast of the Dragon without the guest of honor.”

  I waited patiently as he walked toward us. My void blade could rip through the shield, but Nicholas wouldn’t know that. I didn’t want to risk losing it by letting it out of my grasp, but if he got within striking distance, I could stab him and then it would only be minutes before he’d be dead.

  Nicholas stopped just out of range. In the space of a second, the shield around us disappeared. With the shield gone, I noticed we were all within a teleportation ring, but there wasn’t time to move. Nicholas nodded and we all appeared in a safe room. He’d been prepared. Bianca’s recitation of the security measures he’d installed came to mind, and it made sense now. The safe room, the blast resistant doors and windows. These were measures to trap me in here with him. He’d planned for this battle from the beginning.

  Before I could orient myself, he bound Sybil with a spell and placed both her and Deacon into the same type of tellenium-lined bubbles that had been used to kill the dragon shifters.

  Gathering my senses, I drew my dagger and lunged at Nicholas, but he dodged and countered, throwing lightning at me. I ducked out of the way, but he levitated me several feet into the air and wrenched the dagger from my hand, sending it clattering to the ground. A mage shouldn’t be able to do this many spells at once.

  “I’ve grown since you last saw me, Nataliana. I can dual wield now.”

  That explained how he simultaneously confined both Sybil and Deacon and then countered me while also disarming me. A dual wielder could perform two spells at once since he had two talismans. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected any of this. I usually had surprise on my side. Now it would be an uphill battle to get control of the situation. That was, if I lived long enough to try. I looked to Deacon’s prison, waiting to see the toxic smoke that would kill him.

  “Don’t worry, there’s no dragonslayer here today,” Nicholas said. “I want them to see you die. They’re more valuable to me alive, able to tell the world that the Dragon Fae is dead. I really wish you could watch the fireworks with me, but I don’t think it wise to keep you alive that long. Do you remember when we went to the solstice celebration and watched the fireworks then?”

  I didn’t answer. The silence stretched on as I looked down on him from my position in the air. It seemed a small thing, but he wouldn’t like me not capitulating to him. This was a display for me, his way of showing me what he had accomplished without me. I wouldn’t give him the tiniest victory.

  His lips thinned in irritation. “Answer me.” He’d lost his cool. He no longer had the upper hand. Time for my move.

  “Of course I remember. How could I forget? I thought then that we’d be together forever.” I needed to spin a little web of words until I could get my dagger back. If I played this right, I might even get him to show me the detonator. Killing him wouldn’t be enough if one of his colleagues could use the detonator to carry out the attacks.

  “Don’t lie to me, Nataliana. I know who you are now, what you are.” The bitterness coated his words so thickly I could taste it in my mouth.

  “Don’t tell me you believe the lies your brother’s mistress fed the world. I thought you knew me better than that.” I saw the slightest hint of doubt flicker across his eyes, but it didn’t take hold. “We’ve both been played, Nicholas. I’ve never stopped loving you, even after all these years.” My eyes, my voice, everything about me conveyed that I spoke the truth.

  “You know, I’m such a weak fool that even now, after everything, I’d stop this if I thought you really meant it. That’s how much I want peace.” He stepped closer and magically pulled me within arm’s length of him. My feet still dangled at least a foot off the ground. “But you taught your lesson well. Fools like me shouldn’t run the world. Love and peace are not compatible with the world we live in. If I ran into your arms now, you’d only use my love for you against me again. And who would suffer for it this time? Last time it was only my brother you killed, only my family you destroyed. How much further would the wisps of your evil reach this time? So no, as much as I wish it weren’t so, I will have to suffer without you in order to protect my people.”

  “And what part of killing thousands of innocents is protecting your people?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know. The Circle and the fae court are planning on using you, the Dragon Fae, to finally mount an offensive to permanently put mages in their place. After I show them what we’re capable of today and word gets out that the Dragon Fae is dead, the sorcerers and fae and elves and all the rest will finally leave us alone for good.”

  “You can’t believe that, Nicholas. You can’t have changed so much in the last three years. Violence births violence.”

  “Yes, and you birthed this,” he yelled, gesturing his arm to a desk at the other end of the room. On it sat a device that had to be the detonator. Tonight he would use it to kill his unwitting human followers and thousands of others.

  “I always thought you were a better man than this.” That part was true.

  “No, I won’t let you use my kindness against me. You don’t get to twist this around like I’m the bad guy. You’re the one who did this, you and the sorcerers who have merely tolerated mages for centuries. My brother was always right about your kind. And even then, even knowing what he knew, he welcomed you into my family because I loved you.” Nicholas screamed the words less than an inch from my face, tears streaming down his cheeks. In his auburn eyes I could see the fury, but behind it was pain, a brother grieving, a heart broken. I wished it weren’t this way. I wished we had found another way to get to his brother. Even now I wished there was a way for me to end this without killing him, but there wasn’t. It was now or never.

 

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