Night Study (Soulfinders, #2)(107)

I squeezed his shoulder. “You couldn’t have predicted they’d be here. They were reported dead by Devlen—a reliable source.”

“And Dev trusted the captain. Which ya think would be an okay thing to do, considering all Fleming did to help rescue us from Owen.”

“I guess that’s a puzzle to be sorted out later.” If there was a later.

“Yeah. Too bad I knew exactly what was gonna happen when they dragged me to Bruns.” He shuddered.

And now his mind-raped comment made sense. “Bad?”

“Oh, yes. They know everything, Yelena. Leif’s hiding place, Dax and Hale’s involvement, where Ari’s located...everything.” His covered his pained expression with his hand.

While I wished to panic over the dire news, I suppressed the emotion so I didn’t upset Janco any further. Pressing closer to the bars, I pried his hand away from his face and held it in both of mine. “Ari and the others are smart, Janco. Plus three of them have magic. They’ll be okay.”

He stared at our hands. After a long moment, he met my gaze. “What are you doing?”

“Uh...comforting you?”

“The pain’s gone.”

“See? It’s working.”

“No, not that.” He pulled his hand free, scowled at the air, then grasped my fingers for another moment. Letting go, he signaled, The magic disappears when you touch me.

Like a null shield?

“Not quite,” he said.

“Then what?”

Switching back to the silent communication, he signaled, It’s like...my ability to sense magic has been turned off. But when you let go, it returns.

I concentrated, deciphering Janco-speak. Like something is blocking your ability?

“Yes, that’s it!”

“Lovely.” I’m contagious. I yanked my hand back and tucked it into my pants pocket.

No, that’s a good thing. Janco bounced on his heels. Think about it. If Brother Horror tries to read your mind, you can touch him and stop it!

“I don’t know.” I considered. Owen had no trouble using his magic on me.

Did you touch him? Skin to skin? It didn’t work on me until you grabbed my hand.

The horrific events that I’d been suppressing for the past two months sprang to life. Owen had tried to erase all my memories. Except he’d been interrupted, and the events that followed jumbled together into a blur of being dragged along behind him, then tossed onto the ground. Valek had arrived, and Owen pressed his fingertips to my forehead. His magic had sliced right through me like a bolt of lightning.

Yes, he touched me and almost killed me, I signaled.

Janco rubbed his chin. Well...your blocking power was new then. Maybe it’s growing stronger.

Jolted by the word growing, I placed my hand on my abdomen.

Janco noticed the gesture and he grasped the bars, stiffening in horror. “You’re—”

I pinched his lips shut. “Remember where we are.”

He used the hand signals to admonish me for risking the baby’s life and asked if Valek knew.

“Yes,” I said aloud.

He relaxed, grinned and signaled, Valek will bring an army to rescue you.

If he can find us.

Not a problem. Fisk went to the rendezvous point to meet up with him.

Which Bruns knows about. Right?

His smile disappeared. “Right. I really screwed up.” He flopped onto his straw pallet.

“You can’t blame—”

He waved away my efforts to console him. I let him brood. Eventually he’d purge the guilt from his system and return to normal. Well, normal for Janco. Sitting down on my pallet, I mulled over our conversation and what had happened when I touched Janco.

Could the baby be responsible for my inability to connect with the blanket of power? Other female magicians didn’t lose their abilities while pregnant, so it couldn’t be. But I wasn’t exactly like other magicians. Perhaps the combination of my Soulfinder magic and Valek’s strong immunity created a void—an area of no magic!

I surged to my feet, unable to remain still. Perhaps as the baby grew, the area affected by the void also expanded. And by touching Janco, I included him in the void. Of course it was all speculation, and I had no way to test my theory right now, but it gave me hope that my powers might return once the baby was born. Considering my current predicament, I held on to that small comfort.

*

A clang of metal woke me from a light doze. Harsh voices emanated from the far right as a group of figures emerged from the darkness. Janco stood close to his door, his tense posture poised for action. But the group stopped before reaching Janco and unlocked the cell next to his.

The door squealed as it swung wide. The pack pushed Leif into the cell. I winced in sympathy as he hit the floor with a thud. By the time he regained his feet, they had slammed the door shut. And our chances of being rescued narrowed, along with my throat. I swallowed, but it didn’t help.

When the group retreated, Janco said, “Welcome to the party.”

Leif glared at him. His pant legs were sliced open, his shirt was untucked and torn, and bloody bruises marked his face.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’d be better if it wasn’t for Mr. Careful here,” Leif growled. “Just couldn’t keep out of trouble, could you?”