A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(14)

My biggest concern was that Scarlett had managed to disrupt my mourning, my routines of coping with the pain of losing Kyana. It didn’t feel right, especially not toward Kyana. I felt guilty at times, for feeling my core catch fire when my eyes met Scarlett’s. It confused the hell out of me, so I did my best to keep my distance from her.

But then last night, seeing Scarlett surrounded by those invisible daemons, eager to tear her apart, I was struck by the horror of never seeing her again—of watching her die. I couldn’t take that again. I was still healing. Why would I allow myself to develop feelings for Scarlett, given our field of work, where our lives were at risk?

I slowly shook my head, reaffirming my determination to keep my distance from her. I’d done the right thing this morning, sending her away with the rest of the team. I hated doing it, but it had to be done.

The infirmary door opened and Jax and Hansa walked in. Those two were as dysfunctional as I was, where relationships were concerned. They clearly had feelings for each other, but they refused to act on them. As long as it didn’t affect our team, I didn’t have a problem with the tension brewing between them, but I was just one step away from locking them both in a room for a few months so they could sort themselves out, for their own good.

“Hey, Patrik.” Hansa winked, and came to my bedside with my travel bag on her shoulder. She dropped it on the floor and grinned. “Time for some serious magic, huh?”

“Yes,” I groaned as I sat up. My whole body hurt, but it was mostly soreness. All my wounds had closed, thanks to the healing capsules and the Mara blood the nurses had used. “In hindsight, I was thoroughly unprepared last night.”

“What are you planning, magic-wise?” Jax asked, crossing his arms over his chest, his glance occasionally darting toward Minah.

“There are a few ninetieth-level spells I can combine,” I replied. “From what I’m told, the swamp witch magic that the Exiled Maras have, besides the travel spell, is minor—mere artifice where defense is concerned. They need something big and potent to protect the city.”

“Do you have everything you need in this bag of yours?” Hansa glanced down at her feet.

“Yes, but I will also need energy from all of you.” I nodded. “This is magic of the black arts—that is, I need living power to arm it. It’ll guard the entire base of the mountain and hopefully stop the daemons from coming into the city. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, though.”

“I understand,” Hansa replied with a sigh. “But it’s worth a shot, right?”

“Exactly.”

She then looked at Minah, who was still deep under.

“She hasn’t said anything, has she?”

“No, she’s been like this since you all left. I’ll obviously try to get more information out of her once she wakes up, but it’s a bit of a waiting game at this point.” I scratched my stubble, suddenly missing my razor. I had it at the bottom of the travel bag. I was definitely going to make use of the local amenities for a clean shave later on.

“Okay, well, we’re off to do a bit of scouting around the city,” Jax said, opening the door. “We’ll be back soon with the rest of the team so we can move this along.”

“That’s fine, I’ll put together a plan for the protection spell and have it ready for when you’re all here. We can put it in place tomorrow. I’ll need some time to prepare the incantation, since it’s a hybrid spell.” He nodded, and I watched him and Hansa leave.

I’d recently learned that I could amplify the effect of a protection spell by increasing its action radius. It involved using the cardinal points and burying charm satchels in walls facing all four main directions—north, south, east, and west. I could combine that with a couple of protective spells, and feed live energy into it. It could then fuel a defensive shield that would keep hostiles out of the city.

My biggest challenge was focusing on my mental image of the daemons while performing the spell. Given that they were invisible, I wasn’t sure it would work. I figured that I could instead focus on their eyes and apply the protection from that angle.

I looked at Minah, who was frowning in her sleep. She’d been through enough already. I didn’t want her to suffer more from these beasts. I needed to keep her safe. I needed to keep everyone safe. Especially Scarlett. Last night had been a close call.





Harper





(Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)





It was late afternoon when we left the library. We’d spent a substantial amount of time digging through the Exiled Maras’ records, and we’d managed to get a much clearer picture of how their society worked, what was accepted and what was frowned upon.

Fortunately, they weren’t all that different from the Eritopian Maras, but they really valued their rule of law and the artful side of life. In the end, once we drew the line, they were simply a large group of exiles that had found a new life here, a life that was now threatened by the invisible daemons. Sure, they had this creepy way about them and loved withholding information, from what I’d seen so far, but I was starting to believe that, if given some time, the Exiled Maras would learn to open up more.

Avril, Fiona, and Heron headed down the stairs leading to the Broken Bow Inn. I quietly followed but couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced over my shoulder and stilled, seeing Caspian in the middle of a conversation with the other Lords and Ladies of Azure Heights. They were on the terrace just above the library, beneath the awnings.