by Linsey Hall
“Okay, we’ll be there ASAP,” Del said.
“Try to make it in the next two hours if you can.”
“Should be possible, if we can convince Dr. Garriso.”
“Thanks. See you soon.” I pressed the silver charm to turn it off just as Aidan walked up. “Let’s get out of here. I need to find a battery and hook myself up because I am freaking drained.”
We pulled up to the pub in Kintore about two hours later. The village was a little place, just a few houses, a pub, and a grocer, but it was cute in the way of Highland villages. It was also full of humans, so we had to lay low.
Aidan waited in the car with Amara while I went in to pick up Dr. Garriso. I didn’t want her to mention Nix and Del’s presence to anyone at Glencarrough. And I didn’t want anyone seeing her collar.
But when I walked in, there was only one old man and his dog sitting by the fire, and both looked blind as bats. There wasn’t even anyone behind the bar, but I realized why when I saw the bartender in the corner flirting with Del and Nix. Normally you’d order at the bar, but it seemed Del and Nix had inspired special treatment.
Dr. Garriso, about seventy and suited up in his tweed jacket, looked right at home in the old pub. The wooden walls, huge rafters, and gently burning fireplace looked like his natural habitat even more than his museum office. If the place was filled with books, I’d bet he’d be happy to hang out here until he turned into a ghost.
We walked over as the barman was leaving to get their drinks.
“Something I can get you, lassie?” he asked. He was tall and slender with bright orange hair, and though he wasn’t my type—that seemed to be Aidan, actually—I could see why Del and Nix had flirted with him.
“Um,”—a plastic soda bottle filled with orange liquid caught my eye from the bar—“How about four Irn Brus? In bottles.”
“Be right there.” The barkeep smiled and walked off to the bar.
I joined the others and said, “Thank you for coming, Dr. Garriso.”
His smile was warm. “Not a problem, my dear. Not often I get to jet off via tele—”
I coughed loudly, trying to cover up his slip.
Dr. Garriso’s eyes widened and his bushy white brows stood up. “Oh, yes, yes. I forgot where we were. Shouldn’t be talking about such things in mixed company.”
Mixed company being humans. Which was why we couldn’t exactly be examining Amara’s collar in the middle of a pub.
I met Nix and Del’s gaze. “Do you guys mind waiting here while we take Amara back to Glencarrough? Dr. Garriso can look at her, uh, necklace there.”
Dr. Garriso rose to his feet.
“Sure thing.” Del’s gaze strayed to the barman who was carrying the drinks.
He stopped and handed me the sodas.
I tilted my head toward Del. “My friend here will work off the bill.”
With that, Dr. Garriso and I left the pub.
I climbed into the back next to Amara, giving Dr. Garriso the front. I passed the Scottish sodas around.
“This guy is going to help us figure out how to get that collar off,” I said to Amara as I handed her a bottle.
Soda forgotten, she reached up to touch the collar. Her face crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks. The dark tar of the collar’s magic washed over me, reminding me exactly what she was dealing with.
I reached over and pulled her little body into my arms, shocked at how fragile she felt. She was still just a little girl. I hadn’t ever hugged one before—not since I was one myself—and she felt so damned breakable.
“I…I”—she hiccuped and gasped—“I forgot about it. With breaking out of the temple and…and you guys, I forgot. But it’s still there.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. We’ll get it off.” I petted her hair, my heart feeling like it was cracking in two. Images of Aaron dying when I’d pulled his collar off flashed in my mind. I would not let that happen to Amara.
I held her, the sodas abandoned in our laps, until we stopped at the gates of Glencarrough ten minutes later. We both leaned toward her window, peering up at the tall wall and the many guards who gazed impassively down. On guard because they didn’t have the Heartstone, I now realized.
I could almost feel Amara’s joy at being back. I, however, felt like my bones were freezing from the marrow out.
Had that FireSoul been sent to the Prison for Magical Miscreants yet, or was he still locked up in their dungeon. Would the Shifters think I smelled odd this time? I shuddered, clutching Amara tighter.
The gate rumbled, rising up, and Aidan drove us slowly through. Word of Amara’s return must have reached the Council, because Shifters started spilling out onto the wide stone steps of the large building in the back. They came from other buildings as well, peering anxiously at us through the car windows. Some human, some in animal form, all with expressions of relief and joy.
I pulled the blanket from the floor of the car and put it around Amara’s shoulders. “Here, hon, it’s cold out. Wrap up in this.”
It wasn’t actually cold, but she didn’t question me and did as I asked. With shaking hands, I tugged the blanket around her neck until it covered the heavy collar. I didn’t want everyone seeing it and whispering. That was the last thing Amara needed. They might sense that her magic was weird, but at least I could hide the collar.
Aidan parked in front of the main building and we all climbed out. Aidan and Dr. Garriso stood to my left while Amara huddled against my right. Elenora ran down the stairs, her green dress flowing behind her. She looked like a cunning medieval queen. It suited her.
“Amara!” She fell to her knees in front of Amara and hugged her.
“Aunt Elenora.” Amara burrowed into her aunt’s embrace.
“Your father is out searching for you,” Elenora said. “But we’ll call him and he’ll be back soon.”
Elenora’s worried gaze caught my own and she mouthed, “Her eyes are black.”
I pointed at Amara and whispered, “Privacy. We need privacy.”
Wary understanding gleamed in Elenora’s eyes and she nodded, then stood and took Amara’s hand. “Come on, Amara. Let’s get you some cookies.”
I glanced up at Aidan, who stood beside me. He towered over the Shifters around us and concern gleamed in his dark eyes as he looked at Amara. The care he showed poked something soft in me.
I grabbed his hand, ignoring the startled look he gave me, and glanced at Dr. Garriso. “Let’s follow.”
The three of us set off after Elenora and Amara. Aidan squeezed my hand, his big palm dwarfing my own, as we flowed down the hall along with the rest of the Alpha Council.
We turned away from the main meeting room we’d met in the other day. Elenora handed Amara off to the rabbit Shifter I remembered from last time and they went into a room.
“Shit.” I pulled away from Aidan and pushed my way through the milling members of the Alpha Council. I couldn’t let Amara out of my sight. If someone took that collar off her, she’d be dead in minutes.
Fortunately, the rabbit Shifter was just helping Amara sit at a pretty little table in what looked like a children’s play room.
Elenora rushed in after me. “What’s wrong?”
I turned to her, trying to slow my breathing. Damn, that had freaked me out. I spoke quietly. “Amara is wearing a slave collar. If anyone takes it off, she will be dead in minutes.”
Elenora paled, her green eyes going stark. “That’s why her eyes are black. And her magic feels strange. Oh, fates. How?”
“Her abductors put it on her. I don’t know how to get it off safely. I asked my colleague to meet us here to examine it.” I nodded to Dr. Garriso, who’d come to stand by my side. “This is Dr. Garriso, scholar of all things supernatural. He works at the Museum of Magical History in Magic’s Bend, Oregon.”
Dr. Garriso held out his hand, his expression partially comforting, partially awkward. He didn’t get out of his office much, so though he had good intentions, this was about the best
he could do in any kind of difficult social situation. Elenora shook it absently, her horrified gaze darting to Amara.
“I’m going to do what I can,” Dr. Garriso said. “But if you have anyone here who you think might know something about this, please, send them in. And the fewer people here when we examine it, the better.”
Elenora shook her head. “No. Uh, we don’t, I don’t think. That’s not our sort of magic.”
“It shouldn’t be anyone’s sort of magic,” Aidan growled. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, warm and comforting.
“I’m going to tell the rest of the Council to wait outside,” Elenora said. “Go ahead and get started.”
We approached Amara. Her eyes had gotten that haunted look again, and I wished I could turn into a mouse like Aidan. Anything to make her feel better. And it wasn’t just her I was feeling for. It was my own selfish desire not to confront my past.
I shoved my dark thoughts back and said, “Amara, will you let Dr. Garriso look at that collar? He’ll figure out how to get it off.”
Her chin trembled but she nodded. I hadn’t told her it would kill her if we just pulled it off, but apparently the Shifters who’d abducted her had made it clear.
Dr. Garriso knelt in front of Amara and inspected the collar’s front clasp. My throat tightened as I watched, memories of Aaron flashing before my eyes. I’d been so stupid to take off his collar. I couldn’t shake the vision of the way his skin had blackened as the poisonous magic had leeched from the collar into his body.
That couldn’t happen to Amara.
Dr. Garriso was silent as he examined the collar, no doubt because he didn’t want to startle her. The rabbit Shifter laid a plate of cookies in front of Amara, but the girl ignored them. Her chin quivered, as if she were trying to hold back tears.
“I’m going to look at the back now, if that is all right with you,” Dr. Garriso said gently.
Amara nodded and shoved her hair out of the way. Dr. Garriso slipped around to the back of her chair and peered intently. His eyes widened, but he said nothing.
He stood. “Thank you, Amara.”
“Can you take it off now?” Her voice trembled.
“Not quite yet. I’m sorry.”
She started crying, the kind of panicked sobs that happened when you’d gotten yourself in a really shit situation and didn’t know how to get yourself out of it.
Except Amara hadn’t gotten herself into this. Some asshole had forced her into it.
“Come on, Amara. Why don’t we go have a bath?” the rabbit Shifter said. Her gaze said, So the grownups can talk.
Dr. Garriso’s sharp gaze darted to the rabbit. “It is absolutely imperative that no one try to remove that collar. And she needs guards at all times. Strong ones, preferably, who will stay close to her. Within a few feet.”
The rabbit Shifter’s eyes widened but she nodded. Amara’s sobs grew louder, her thin shoulders shaking.
“I’m going to assign the guards,” Elenora said. “Then I’ll be back, and we can talk.”
They led Amara out of the room as I paced, ignoring Aidan and Dr. Garriso’s concerned gazes. I was like that hyper battery bunny, but I couldn’t help it. There was so much energy in my body—so much desperate desire to do something—that I felt like I’d charged myself up with a bolt of lightning but hadn’t released it.
Elenora stepped into the room. She looked at me, and her nose twitched as if she were smelling something. My stomach dropped.
But all she said was, “Please come to the council room. We’ll speak there.”
That just added fear to the already noxious soup of anxiety in my stomach. Just great.
We followed her out of the room.
Like before, the round table was surrounded by the Alpha Council, save for the empty seat at the head. Angus was out searching for Amara.
Fates, this whole situation sucked.
We took the empty seats, myself in the middle.
Twelve sets of expectant eyes turned toward Dr. Garriso.
“How do we get the collar off of Amara?” Elenora asked.
I immediately respected that she wanted to know how to save the girl rather than who had committed the wrong.
Dr. Garriso cleared his throat. “Well, Cass is correct. It is a slave collar. A rare variety that I’ve never seen before, but I’m no less certain that it is deadly. If the latch is opened to remove the collar, the poisonous magic will leak out into the body of the…ah, into Amara. It will kill her within minutes.”
Rare variety? But it’d been almost identical—maybe even exactly identical—to the one that Aaron had worn.
The Monster was probably behind this. Had he arranged it so that I would be involved?
I started to tremble, unable to control the fear that streaked through me. Aidan reached over and squeezed my leg under the table. His touch calmed me enough that I stopped shaking, but the fear lingered.
“Then how can we remove it?” Elenora’s voice cracked through the room.
“You can’t. Not until the, ah, master is dead.”
Master. Ugh. I could understand why he didn’t like saying the word.
“How can you be sure it won’t kill her then?” I thought of the artifacts I stole, of the ancient magic they contained that didn’t disappear with the death of the one who’d placed the spells.
“This type of magic is different than your usual enchantments. It’s not on the same level as a youth charm or fire spell. It is a dark, dark magic that is linked to the people involved. There needs to be a master for there to be a slave. If the master is dead, the enslaved person is free. The spell will die with the master. A bit like the free-floating magic that dies with the Magica.”
Hmmm. Like Aaron’s lightning cage had disappeared after I’d killed him. “But what’s to keep you from killing your master if you’re a slave?”
“Fear, for one. But these collars will slowly poison you if you don’t do your master’s bidding. It would take much longer to die, but it would be terrible. But for the most part, the master uses fear to control the slave. Sadly, it’s very effective.”
My stomach pitched. Poor Amara.
But it made sense now, why Aaron had said that he’d never been to his master’s home. Aaron did his bidding, delivered the treasure to a drop-off point, then went out to perform another job.
Was the Monster scared of his slaves?
He’d be right to be. I’d kill the bastard who put something like that on me.
“Will this happen to Amara? If she’s not with the beast who put this thing on her?” Elenora’s voice was frantic.
“It could make her feel ill,” Dr. Garriso said. “But unless they give her direct commands that she ignores, it shouldn’t be bad enough to kill her. At least, not very quickly.”
The scene of Amara and those bastards in the Dawn Temple flashed through my mind. “I don’t think they’ve given her a command. Yet. It seemed like they were waiting. To put a plan into action or something. How long could it take to die if she disobeyed?”
Dr. Garriso’s brow scrunched. “From what I have heard about other collars, it could take quite a while. It would make you sick and dampen your powers, but it takes too much power to outright kill remotely, so it would have to drain you until you died of exhaustion.”
Oh, fates, this kept getting worse.
“It gets worse,” Dr. Garriso said.
For fuck’s sake, I couldn’t get a break.
“There are runes etched into the back. They are what helped me identify the collar. But one of them is a tracking rune. The people who put the collar on Amara will be able to find her.”
My heart sank. Just like I’d thought. Without the Heartstone to protect Glencarrough, they could transport right in. They might do that at any moment.
Elenora’s gaze snapped to mine. “I assume you didn’t recover the Heartstone, or you would have given it to me.”
“Correct.”
She nodded. “We would lik
e it back, though it is possible for us to recreate it. But it would take great sacrifice on behalf of the Shifters here and quite a bit of time. Do you know who took it? Can you find them?”
“Two Shifters took Amara. Wolves. Women about twenty-five years old with white-blonde hair. It appears to be some kind of inside job.”
“Two girls with white-blonde hair? About your age?” Elenora’s brow scrunched.
“Do you know them?”
“Maybe. They could be Dougal’s daughters.” Elenora’s gaze darted to Aidan.
“Shit,” Aidan said.
I glanced at him.
“Dougal is one of the men my father killed. I didn’t recognize the girls because they were a bit younger than me and I had no time for girls at that age, but their hair should have been a clue.”
“They ran off when they were seventeen. About four years after their father’s death.”
“And now they want revenge,” I said. So the Monster from my nightmares wasn’t part of this. My shoulders relaxed. Thank fates. “But what is their plan with the Heartstone?”
“I don’t know. An attack, I imagine,” Elenora said. “What happened to them?”
“We killed five of their shadow demon cohorts, but they escaped with a transport charm. But I will get the Heartstone back so you can protect Glencarrough. And I will find a way to get the collar off of Amara.”
Elenora’s shoulders sagged slightly, her gaze dark.
We had to find a way around this. We’d gotten around the enchantments at the Dawn Temple. Hell, I made my living getting around enchantments. I should be able to do this.
“That’s why you wanted the guards on Amara,” Elenora said. “Because if those villains get ahold of a transport charm or a Transport Mage, they could waltz right in here and grab her.”
“Yes.”
My stomach roiled and a thin film of sweat broke out over my entire body. The thought of Amara…
No, I couldn’t think of it.
“There has to be a way around this,” I said. I knew the question was desperate and stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. “There’s no way to get it off? What if she shifts into her animal form and her neck shrinks?”