A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(60)

“But Fiona—”

“Blaze and Caia will handle it,” Jax interrupted. “A damn dragon and a fire fae! They’ll get her back! And I’m not letting you out of my sight again!”

No one spoke for several moments, as Hansa and Jax stared at each other.

“We’re going,” Blaze finally said, breaking the awkward silence. He thrust his foot out the door. “We’ll see you all back here later.”

“Wait!” Patrik called out. “Hold on, I’ll give you something to help you track her down.”

He rummaged through his supply bag and pulled out a small amulet carved from a piece of obsidian, with traces of pink crystal scratching the surface. It was shaped like a thin disk, and it came on a thin, metallic chain. He handed it to Caia, who put it around her neck.

“It’s a swamp witch tracking spell,” Patrik briefly explained, then handed her a small scroll, which she quickly read, then stuffed in her back pocket. “I made a bunch of these and packed them for the road. You read that incantation, and it’ll activate and take you to Fiona. You need an object of hers, though.”

“I got that,” I said.

Using my hyper speed, I rushed out of the infirmary, ran up to the Inn, went through Fiona’s room and picked up a handful of string bracelets she’d left on the nightstand. I then rushed back and gave one to Caia. She nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

“We’ll get her back. I promise. We will turn this whole city upside down till we find her,” she said, then left with Blaze.

Harper closed the door behind them, then moved to the table. She was livid, but doing her best to keep it together. Our “fun” was just beginning. Scarlett was strained as well, her lower lip trembling. Patrik gently squeezed her arm. She looked up at him, and he gave her a slight nod.

“Time to activate the spell,” Patrik said, and moved to the center of the chalk drawing.

He muttered the Druid chant, his hands out, palms facing downward. His skin shimmered golden all over, then small flames shot down from his fingers, lighting the contents of all four bowls on fire. The proprietary blend of herbs and powders burst into bright red flames, and the entire chalk circle glowed in a warm amber light.

“Give us the strength of life,” he chanted from the swamp witches’ repertoire. “Give us power, give us light, give us energy…”

He bent down and pressed his hands against the red symbols painted inside the circle. The entire building shuddered, the furniture rattling and the glass-doored cabinets clinking until it all came to a halt and a powerful golden light burst out of Patrik and the circle, and exploded outward, beyond the infirmary walls.

It washed over us, and I experienced a split second of sunlight on my skin. It didn’t burn. It felt nice and warm. The spell wave dissipated beyond the terrace edge. I could see it glimmering as it settled around the mountain.

Patrik took a deep breath, then nodded.

“I think it worked,” he said. “Now, let’s just hope it’s enough to keep the daemons out tonight.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what they do if we break their pattern,” Jax muttered, moving closer to the table and pulling Hansa with him. He was serious about not letting her out of his sight, for sure.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked, feeling restless with Caia and Blaze out. Heron’s hand gently brushed against mine, but I was too anxious, my nerves stretched too thin for me to enjoy the feel of his skin.

“You and Heron go into the city and follow the Correction Officers,” Jax said. “Find the prison. Based on what Arrah told us about it, chances are there are innocent people in there, including her brother. The Correction Officers are bound to report to a commander in the prison by ranking logic, or, if you get lucky, maybe even make an arrest tonight. You never know. Either way, if you do find it, see if Arrah’s brother is there. Maybe he can shed some light on why he’s been targeted. It might help us untangle the Sienna mystery, which is quite the sore spot right now.”

“Given the mountain layout,” Harper said, her eyes on one of the detailed maps we’d brought in, “the prison is most likely beneath the city.”

“Inside the mountain,” I muttered, then looked at Heron.

“Maybe the tunnels Hansa and Fiona found lead there, too.” He voiced the second part of my thought. “Maybe Fiona’s somewhere close to the prison.”

“Okay.” I nodded, suddenly energized by the prospect of potentially finding Fiona by beginning our search from the other side of the mountain.

“Good. Harper, Hansa, and I will patrol the second-level area,” Jax continued, pointing at the map. “This hotspot here… We’ll keep to it. If the daemons get past the spell, this is where they’re most likely to strike.”

Hansa and Harper gave each other a brief glance. They’d always had great synergy during sparring sessions, and I knew Harper enjoyed every chance she got to be around Hansa. Two peas in a pod, in more than one way. Though Hansa did have a great training relationship with Fiona most of the time, she often enjoyed bringing Harper into the mix, as the sentry was the cool breeze to the succubus’ fire during combat sessions.

“What about us?” Scarlett asked, a faint tremor still present in her voice as she stood by Patrik’s side. She was slowly leaning into him, but something told me she wasn’t aware she was doing it. He didn’t seem to mind, though.