A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves #1)(34)

Find a lost girl? Why did she think he could assist in such a matter?

“What do you want with her?” Maddox dared to ask.

“Her magic,” Valoria said plainly. “I need it to find someone else—someone who was lost to this world years ago. Someone who stole something very important from me that I want back.”

“I don’t know how I can be of help, Your Radiance.”

“After such a long search with no success, I have come to believe that this young girl could be dead. If she is, I want her spirit summoned here to answer my questions and to aid in my search for the thief. You could do that, if what your guardian says about you is true.”

A young witch and a thief stupid enough to steal from a goddess. Both somehow attainable only by Maddox’s magic.

A guard approached through the thick tangle of foliage, the hard heels of his boots sinking into the mossy ground with every step. “Apologies, Your Radiance, but I wanted to report that we’ve finally captured the madman and locked him away.”

Valoria’s expression hardened as if the softness had never been there in the first place. “Why do you interrupt now?”

“I know you wanted to know. He won’t be a bother around the palace any longer.”

“And what about you?” she asked the guard sharply. “Will you be a bother?”

“No, Your Radiance.” He bowed so deeply his forehead touched a patch of daisies as he backed away.

Valoria was quiet for a long time before she turned to ascend the stairs and sat again upon the throne. The snake, Aegus, slithered up her skirts to settle in her lap. She stroked the top of his head absently as she gazed down at Maddox, assessing him from top to toe.

“Speak,” she finally said. “Tell me that you are honored by this opportunity to help me.”

But Livius spoke first. “He is at your command, as I am, my goddess. Whatever we can do. Whatever you need, we are your most loyal servants.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I was speaking to the boy, not to you.”

Livius lowered his head. “My humblest apologies . . . but it would be much better if you take my word regarding the boy’s abilities. He is but a young fool who needs my constant assistance. I am grateful every day that I’ve been able to guide him, since on his own, he is stupid, irresponsible, and, quite frankly, apart from his magic, completely worthless. I have helped to give his life meaning, something that he should be eternally grateful for. We are here to serve you, Your Radiance. I assure you this is true.”

A most uncomfortable silence fell as Valoria stared down at Livius. Then she picked up Aegus and whispered something to the snake, before kissing it on the top of its scaly head.

It slithered off her lap and down the stairs again, heading right toward Livius.

“He is a truly beautiful serpent,” Livius said, his voice tight.

“Yes, he is,” she agreed. Her eyes brightened, as if lit from within by emerald flames.

Aegus rose up, fanning out his hood, weaving his head back and forth as if responding in time to a distant melody. In mere moments, the snake grew before Maddox’s eyes to three times its original size.

Livius gasped as the now giant snake slid up past his lap, curled around his shoulders, and sank its fangs into his neck. He screamed and batted at the cold-blooded animal before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to his side, twitching violently.

The cobra detached itself, shrank back down to its regular size, and returned to his mistress’s lap.

Valoria stroked the top of Aegus’s head as one might do to a kitten. “That man was very annoying. And entirely unnecessary to me.”

Maddox knew his knees would have given out had he been standing. As it was, his vision swam as he watched the guards drag Livius’s dead-but-still-twitching body away.

Becca had her hands clamped over her mouth, as if to muffle a scream. He wanted to get up and do something, say something, to comfort her. But he didn’t dare budge an inch.

“This woman is evil.” Becca’s voice quavered. “She’s a murderer.”

She surely came from a place far different from Mytica. Though Maddox was shocked by what he’d just seen, sudden, violent death was normal here. Expected, really. Every day and every moment.

Survival depended entirely on keeping one’s wits about them.

“Do you wish I’d spared your guardian’s life?” Valoria asked, studying him with a serene expression.

“No,” Maddox replied hollowly.

“You hated him. I could see it in your eyes every time he spoke.”

He drew in a shaky breath. “He wasn’t kind to me.”

“And now he’s gone, and you’re free from the unpleasantness for which he was responsible.”

He wondered if she expected gratitude.

“Now,” she said, “you will answer me. Can you help me summon the spirit of the young witch? Was what has been said about your magic the truth?”

He quickly tried to figure out the best way to answer her question.

“Spirits are . . . drawn to me,” Maddox began. “Contrary to what Livius asserted, I’ve never consciously called them to me from the land of darkness itself. But those spirits that are close by can find me. And, yes, I can trap them when they do. That’s all I really know about my magic.”