Trial of Shadows (Order of the Elements Book 3)

by Emma L. Adams

  “Nice one,” Dex said. “What’re you doing?”

  “Draining his life force.” My grip faltered as he fell unconscious. “Crap. I should probably have kept him awake so he could tell us where he’s been hiding out.”

  “Throw him through the node into no-man’s land,” said Dex. “Or drag him up to the Withered Oak. Maybe that’ll get them talking.”

  “What did Bria say to you?” I asked. “She said you two spoke.”

  “Who?” he said. “Oh, her. She wanted to know why I was living in the castle. Frankly, it’s rare that I find any human who bothers to notice the likes of me.”

  “You do realise she’s a suspect, don’t you?” I said. “She’s a rogue, with no background on record, and she’s been snooping around the castle when she thinks nobody is looking. Right now, she’s in my top three suspects for whoever’s plotting against the Death King.”

  “Don’t sound so accusing,” he said. “It’s not like I told her your address.”

  “You’d better not have.” I looked down at Sledge, then opened my pouch, revealing my new cantrips. “Care for a little espionage once this guy wakes up? Someone sent him here to cause trouble, and I’m willing to bet it was either the House of Fire or someone else who wants to ruin the contest.”

  “Not fire-boy?”

  “No, he ran away, probably for good.” A bitter taste filled my mouth. “After everything I did for him. Dickhead.”

  “Told you not to bother saving his life,” Dex said.

  “Save the I told you so’s for later,” I said. “If I hadn’t tried to campaign on his behalf, the Order would have found another way to make me into a target.”

  “They would,” he acknowledged, “but that doesn’t change the fact that fire-boy is a massive, pus-infected—”

  “I’m what?” Brant himself stepped out from behind a bush, his arms folded.

  In a flash, I drew on the node’s power and caught him by the throat. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I—” He choked out. “Dammit, I’m here to help you.”

  “Yeah, right.” The glowing current of energy connecting us deepened, and while power flooded my veins, there was something that felt different about him.

  I let go of the current, and Dex tutted. “You should have finished him off.”

  “Liv…” Brant broke away from me, gasping for air. “You’re stronger than before.”

  “I’d take that as a compliment if you hadn’t landed me in deep shit yesterday when you took off and left me next to the bodies of two dead vampires.”

  Dex whooped and cheered. “Don’t you give ground, Liv. Not an inch.”

  “If I’d stayed at the scene, we’d both have been blamed,” he said. “And I’d be dead.”

  “I know you’re out for yourself alone, but it would be nice not to feel like you’re kicking me when I’m already down,” I said. “So the mages were lying about you not hiding at their base?”

  “Who?” he said. “I’m not with any other mages. I’m staying at Trix’s house.”

  “What?” I stared at him. “Trix would never let you stay with him after what you did. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lie to me, either.”

  “I’m not.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Trix is still unhappy with me, yes, but when I mentioned you were in trouble, too, he let me lie low in his house so you wouldn’t take the blame for my mistake.”

  The elf was way too forgiving, that was his problem. “Look, Brant, I’m not working with you again. You used me, you lied to me, and I swear if you don’t tell me what the hell you’re doing here, I’ll fuck you up. Are you with him?”

  He followed my gaze to the unconscious mage. “Who’s he?”

  “I’m taking a wild guess that he’s with the House of Fire,” I said. “I also know you were a member. Care to deny it?”

  He flinched. “I haven’t been back there in forever. Not since they let me out.”

  “Let you out?” I arched a brow. “What do they want with the Death King?”

  He took in a breath. “Like the other Houses, the House of Fire is a prison for mages who step over the lines. I was incarcerated in there before I broke out and struck out alone, and so was Davies. That’s how we knew one another. I wouldn’t say either of us was a member of the House by choice.”

  A prison? The House was a prison? “I thought you and Davies met afterwards. When you started scheming against the Death King.”

  He shook his head. “No, we were both in the facility together. He won his way out by taking on the position of the Death King’s Fire Element. I escaped by pure luck.”

  “Hold up,” said Dex. “If the prison is for mages, who runs the place?”

  “The mages who run the House don’t give two shits about the rest of us,” he said. “It’s complicated, but the Houses were set up as an attempt to control the mages after the war, and to prevent any one House from rising to power. If the person infiltrating the trials is a member of the House, they’re probably acting alone.”

  Damn. It seemed the House of Spirit hadn’t been the only one to suffer punishment after the war. “So how did you meet Vaughn, then?”

  “We were both runaways,” he said. “He was from the House of Earth, and he and I fell in with the same crowd when we were on the run. I’m not saying he was a good person, but he and I faced the same choices. I just made a different one.”

  “Different choices?” I said. “You both chose to betray me, just at different times. He did it first, that’s all. If anything, I’d have preferred it if you’d got it out the way without leading me along any further.”

  “I’ll always regret what I did to you.” His voice was soft, and I hated that it still tugged at the part of me which wanted to forgive him. “The Crow told us he planned to revamp the Houses and return them to what they used to be. They all suffered the consequences for what happened in the war. Four of them became prisons, and the fifth—”

  “You knew the House of Spirit became the Court of the Dead.” Disbelief struck me in the chest. “You knew.”

  “He told you?” he said. “Why would he?”

  “I asked,” I said. “Maybe I was a little concerned that every spirit mage in the Parallel seemed to have met the same fate. It isn’t like you told me why I was an exception.”

  That was why Brant had been so certain I’d be spared from turning into a lich myself. Unlike the Death King and his fellow liches, I’d been a normal human before Dirk Alban had found me.

  Pain flashed in his eyes. “I planned to, but the Death King… he’s killed people for less. It’s not surprising that his liches are abandoning him.”

  “I suppose you know that they fell in with the Crow when he promised to use illegal magic to undo the curse?” I folded my arms. “Look me in the eyes and tell me the Crow is less twisted than the Death King is.”

  “He told you that, too?” His mouth pinched. “I know you don’t trust me, Liv, but there’s no way he would have given you that information for free. He wants to own you, too.”

  “Like you wouldn’t do the same,” Dex interjected. “I’ve been living in the castle for weeks and His Deathly Highness hasn’t laid a claim on me. If you ask me, you’re just jealous because you’ve always wanted an army of liches.”

  “Forget the Death King,” I interrupted, as Brant began to protest. “Tell me who ordered your release from the Order. That’s who wanted to frame me, isn’t it?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “Holland is the one who fetched me, but I thought… I never knew there were spirit mages within the Order.”

  “Aside from me.” I tilted my head. “Ever heard of the Spirit Agents?”

  Puzzlement flashed across his face. “No. Why?”

  “They were mentioned in connection with the Houses of the Elements,” I said. “By one of the contenders.”

  “I don’t know who they are.” He shook his head. “Believe me, the House of Fire didn’t tell me a thing. It wasn’t u
ntil recently that I even began to consider that spirit mages might be a legitimate threat again, much less to the Order. I think Alban and Cobb and whoever else was involved in their sect were trying to organise some kind of coup to take over the Order from the inside, but they failed.”

  “They have contacts in the House of Fire.” Another piece slid into place. “Of course they do. If the Order helped to arrange the punishment…”

  “What is he doing out here?” Ryan marched over, and air blasted from their hands, straight at Brant.

  With a yelp, Brant flipped head over heels and landed on his back in the dirt. “Okay. I deserved that, but—”

  Ryan kicked him in the ribs. “You’re going back to the jail where you belong, fire mage.”

  “Don’t!” He cringed away. “I swear—I’m not here to threaten your king. I never wanted to hurt anyone to begin with, not like Davies did. I wanted to save my own soul.”

  “That’s a good argument for having it ripped out of you, if you ask me,” said Ryan. “This time, permanently.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Normally, I’d be all for it, but we need him.”

  Ryan shot me an incredulous look. “Since when?”

  “Since the Order wanted me to take the fall for his escape,” I said. “He knows about the House of Fire. Who better to help us find the traitors who are conspiring against the Death King?”

  “I’d be more content to lock up this traitor, to be honest,” Ryan said, hands raised.

  Air magic sliced the air, and Brant leapt sideways into a bush. Leaves scattered everywhere, and I frowned at him. Brant didn’t hide. Not when he could fight. The guy defined ‘hot-tempered’. I remembered when I’d drained him earlier… he’d felt different than he had before, as though the Order had done more than kicked the fight out of him.

  “Have you lost your powers, too?” I said.

  “I—what?” He stuck his head out of the bush, hands held up to shield himself from Ryan’s magic. “What do you mean?”

  “Half our contenders are having trouble using their magic.” I nodded to Ryan. “It’s been happening all day. You too?”

  “No.” He shrank into the bushes. “Not like that. The… the Order did it.”

  Shock hit me like a lead weight. The Order had taken his magic away. No wonder they’d assumed he wouldn’t fight back.

  “I can do worse,” said Ryan.

  “Wait.” I stood between Ryan and him. “This isn’t—look, the Order took his magic away. He’s no threat.”

  Brant rose to his feet. “They did. Now I’m essentially powerless. If you want to lock me up, you can, but it won’t solve anything. Believe me when I say you’re in more danger than you can possibly know. The Order only spared my life because they didn’t think I was enough of a threat, but you—”

  Ryan raised their hands and levitated Brant into the air. “You tried to kill my master. You conspired with Davies to kill me, too. What do you have to say to that?”

  A blast of fire shot over my shoulder. I cursed and spun around. “What the hell?”

  “He’s lying,” said Ryan. “He’s pretending he lost his power.”

  “I’m not,” Brant said, eyes wide. “There’s someone—”

  Sledge leapt into sight with a bellow of rage, hands flaring with heat. I ducked a punch, fire singeing my sleeves, and found myself glad of my armoured clothing.

  Ryan blasted him onto his back, and the swamp ignited at his feet. I backed out of range of the flames, calling on the node’s strength, and power poured from my own hands. Sledge slammed into the mud once again, his eyes closing.

  Then he got up, his movements jerky, flames igniting all over his body and burning holes in his sleeves.

  “Is he losing control of his own magic?” I reached out and grabbed a cord of energy from within him, yanking on it like a piece of elastic. A trickle of life force reached me, but Sledge’s eyes remained closed, as though something compelled him to fight even when he was barely on his feet.

  Brant trod over to Sledge, ignoring the flames. His hand reached out and yanked a cantrip from around his neck. He winced, holding it up so I could see. “Don’t touch this. It’s hot.”

  “What is it?” I peered at the carved disc, but I didn’t recognise the symbols on it.

  “Trouble.”

  Sledge slumped back onto the ground, the fire going out in an instant. This time, he didn’t rise.

  Ryan levitated him into the air once again, then jabbed a finger at Brant. “You’re both going to jail.”

  Brant didn’t move. “I can’t. Believe me, I know I deserve it, but that cantrip isn’t the worst I’ve seen. I can help you.”

  “A likely story,” said Ryan.

  “Get him out of here first.” I indicated Sledge’s fallen body. “And—look, I need to get this cantrip to Devon. I bet she can figure out what it is. Brant…”

  I shouldn’t even be considering letting him walk away free, but as soon as he went behind bars, the Death King would step in and I could say goodbye to ever learning what he knew.

  “He’s not leaving,” said Ryan flatly. “No way in hell.”

  “Then I’ll take him back to Devon.” And he’d better hope she didn’t use a cantrip to blast his balls off for breaking my heart.

  15

  “I’m not working with him,” Devon said. “And you shouldn’t either.”

  The two of them had been arguing non-stop ever since I’d landed inside the house with Brant in tow, his hands tied up with one of Trix’s all-purpose ropes. The elf himself had joined us a moment later, which made for a very crowded living room.

  “Look, he was with the Order, and he used to be part of the House of Fire,” I told her. “He knows—”

  “He knows too much to be allowed to walk around free,” said Ryan, appearing through the node to an exasperated look from Devon.

  “Does it look like I’m free?” Brant looked up from the sofa, wiggling his bound ankles. “I can’t even walk like this.”

  “Should I gag him?” said Trix.

  “I’ll light him on fire.” Dex appeared behind Ryan. “Now he doesn’t have any flames of his own, he’s toast.”

  “Would all of you please stop jumping through the node in the middle of my house?” said Devon, a muscle twitching in her jaw. “Isn’t Brant a fugitive from the law? From the Order?”

  “He’s the vampires’ problem now,” I said, “and I can’t say I know how vigilant they’ve been at searching for him.”

  “They’re looking in the wrong place,” said Brant. “They think I’m with my mage contacts.”

  “But instead you were hiding with Trix.” I gave the elf an accusing look. “Why not tell me?”

  Trix fidgeted. “I didn’t think you wanted him to die.”

  My chest tightened. “I didn’t, but the Order wanted me to take the fall for his escape so the vampires would lock me up. Anyway, Devon… there’s a reason I brought him here.”

  She held out a hand and took the cantrip I offered her, which was still singed at the edges. “What is this?”

  “That was on Sledge when he attacked us,” I said. “It was like he was possessed or something. He kept fighting even though he was unconscious, and his magic was stronger than before. Brant claims to know what it is.”

  “I’ve seen them before,” said Brant. “They’re one of the spells the Crow was working on.”

  “And you decided to wait until now to tell us?” said Devon.

  “I thought all his cantrips were destroyed along with the house,” he said. “Maybe he had backups.”

  A chill raced through my blood. The lich traitor claimed to be able to save the House of Spirit from eternal death. Might there be some truth to his claim after all?

  Devon turned the cantrip over in her hand, and then she flicked a button on the side. Fire leapt from its surface, and the rest of us jumped back out of range.

  “Whoa.” I caught my balance. “Did those flames come from the dev
ice itself?”

  “Must have,” she said. “If it brought out Sledge’s powers when he was unconscious, then it must be a dual-use cantrip. Reusable, too. Is someone still smuggling out cantrips on the side from the COS?”

  I shot Brant an accusing look. “Well?”

  “Of course you know about it.” Devon turned on him. “What else have you been hiding?”

  “I haven’t,” he said. “I never knew who the Crow had smuggling out cantrips for him, but it could have easily come from one of his secret storehouses. Don’t ask me where they are, though. I really don’t know.”

  “We’ll ask Sledge,” I said to Ryan. “When he wakes up.”

  “I’ll see if my master can get answers out of him,” said Ryan. “Wherever he is.”

  “I have an inkling I know where he is.” Namely, the Order. The Order, who held even the formidable King of the Dead by a rope.

  “Where?” said Devon. “I’m serious. If the Order shows up and finds him here—”

  “They won’t,” I said. “He’s here to help me with one specific task, and then…”

  What happened after depended whether we were lucky enough not to be caught. But if he was telling the truth and he’d die if he went back to the Parallel alone, then the only option was for me to hand him over to the Death King again.

  “What task?” asked Dex. “Grovelling to you?”

  “Cleaning our house?” asked Devon.

  “Whatever it is,” Brant said, “I’ll try my best.”

  I met his eyes. “You’re going to help me find out who in the Order is responsible for sending those assassins after me.”

  Easier said than done. I’d got Cobb jailed, but he’d made a public incident which was all but impossible to cover up. The assassins had died before even admitting who they worked for, and the mages’ hideout held no links to the Order. On the surface, the organisation seemed utterly free from corruption… and harder to breach than the House of Fire.

  But there was someone at the Order who might be able to tell us who was pulling the strings. Cobb was the only person I knew who’d survived from among Dirk Alban’s followers, who’d schemed to bring the spirit mages back into a position of supremacy.