Heart of Ice

by Lisa Edmonds

  I also had Malcolm, whose magic skills were better in some areas than my own. If there was a way to increase the chances of the spell working, he would know how.

  There was no time to waste with Sean’s condition deteriorating rapidly and Jack hunting for the other cuff too. There was a good chance he would find out about the tracking spell some other way and there were other high-level mages around who might be able to use it. Time was ticking.

  I printed off the spellwork and the instructions Ella had sent, e-mailed back a quick and heartfelt thanks for her help, got dressed, and hurried down to the main floor. “Malcolm!” I called.

  He came up through the floor from the basement. “I’m glad you got at least a little bit of sleep,” he said. “What have you got?”

  I told him what I’d received from Ella and showed him the spellwork. We studied the diagram together in the kitchen while coffee brewed and I made a couple of pieces of toast with jelly for breakfast. Magic took energy, so I needed food even if it tasted like sawdust.

  “Holy crap, this might work,” Malcolm said finally as I licked jelly off my fingers. “I take back all the complaining I did about you guys going at it like bunnies, because all that shifter magic in your aura is going to really help us out here.”

  “I swear, if I hear you say one more thing about bunnies, you will be sorry.” I poured my coffee into a large tumbler, snapped on the lid, and headed for the basement. “Let’s get a move on. We’ve got to hurry.”

  On the way downstairs, I told him about Karen’s warning and Jack’s plan to find the cuff and put it on Lily Anderson.

  As I’d expected, Malcolm went nuclear at the news. By the time he got done swearing, I was on my hands and knees in the smallest circle on the basement floor, using chalk to draw the spellwork.

  Malcolm hovered nearby, watching me work. “I’m thinking we can increase the chances of this working with two sets of amplification spells in the second and third circles. I can close and power them while you focus on the tracking spell and channeling the shifter trace. You’ll have to be in the center circle anyway.”

  That was a hell of a lot of spellwork and it would take hours to draw it all, but Malcolm was right: it was our best chance of getting the spell to work. Magic like this would take a lot out of me, so everything would have to be right the first time because I might not have enough juice to try again.

  It took well over an hour just to draw out the spellwork for the tracking spell. It was intricate and a lot of the runes were new to me because it was based on shifter magic. Malcolm watched, learning the new spellwork along with me.

  I had to take a short break before I started the first set of amplification spells. I used the time to sit on the couch for a few minutes and call Aaron.

  He greeted me warmly. “Alice, thank you for returning my call. I hadn’t heard from you in a day or two, so I just wanted to touch base and see how things were going.”

  “I’m still hunting for the cuff,” I told him. I disliked lying to Aaron, but the situation left me little choice at the moment. “If you want me to hand the cup and the mirror over while I’m looking for the cuff, you could send a courier to my house with a check from Ms. Aldridge and I’ll box them up.”

  “Let me ask my client what she prefers and I’ll get back to you. Are you doing all right? You sound tired.”

  “I’ve been putting in some long hours on this,” I said truthfully. “I had a couple of leads that didn’t pan out, but I’m not giving up.”

  “Don’t forget about that bonus for wrapping the case up within a week,” he reminded me. “I know you’re working as fast as you can, but that extra cash could pay for a nice vacation for you and Sean.”

  I thought of the trip to the Bahamas that Sean had been trying to talk me into taking. If we got out of this mess—when we got out of it—I thought I just might take him up on the offer. Goodness knows we’d deserve some real rest and relaxation after this.

  “That’s a good way to look at it,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice the way my voice trembled. “I’ll keep looking for the cuff. Just let me know if you’re sending someone to pick up the other two items.”

  “I will. Take care of yourself, Alice. I know you forget to do that sometimes.”

  “I’ll try. Bye, Aaron.” We ended the call.

  Aaron was a good man. Our affair had been short but passionate. I’d broken things off when I sensed he was starting to want more than just a physical relationship. Back then, two years ago or so, I would never have considered allowing someone to get as close to me as Sean was. Every once in a while, I felt guilty about kicking Aaron to the curb just because he’d started having feelings for me. We’d both moved on, however, and luckily we were still friends.

  Arkady texted to ask how I was feeling. I told her I was fine. She sent a photo of what the bruise on her chest looked like today. I winced, then texted back that if she needed company while she recuperated, Matthias might be willing to help nurse her back to health. She replied with a “Wow” emoji.

  Me: How did you NOT notice that??

  Arkady: I was busy trying not to get killed!

  Huh. Maybe Arkady wasn’t quite as observant as I’d thought.

  Having gotten my second wind, I went back downstairs with a tumbler full of ice water and a turkey sandwich. I needed to be at my best for this to work, which meant more real food and drinking something other than just coffee.

  I worked on the first set of amplification spells, which would fill the second circle on the basement floor. That went much faster than the tracking spell even though it was larger, since I’d been doing these spells since I was six. I took a quick break, and then drew the amplification spells in the enormous third circle. That took longer just because the area was so large, but I worked quickly.

  When I finally finished, it was late afternoon and I had three circles full of intricately drawn spellwork ready to be used. My fingers were cramping from holding the chalk and my knees hurt from crawling around on the floor, so I sat on the work table for a few minutes to rest and drink more water before doing the final steps for the spell.

  Something had been bothering Malcolm for a while, but he hadn’t brought it up while I was working. I figured he’d speak up when I took a break and I was right.

  “Alice, I’m really sorry for knocking you down last night,” he said, looking ashamed. “It was wrong of me to do that. I’ve been feeling horrible about it ever since. It doesn’t matter how frustrated I was; violence is never the answer. I deserve for you to rip me a new one, so have at it. I’m ready.” He braced himself.

  I smiled. “I accept your apology. I’m not going to rip you a new one. Neither of us were our best selves at that moment. Let’s just both learn our lessons and move on. Sound fair?”

  Relieved, he returned my smile. “Sounds more than fair.”

  My phone rang. The screen read C Rose Calling. I debated sending it to voicemail, then decided Cyro wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t important. I answered and put the call on speaker so Malcolm could hear. “Alice Worth,” I said cautiously.

  “Congratulations on taking down Kent Stevens last night,” the electronic voice said. “You and Ms. Woodall make a good team.”

  I blinked. “You saw us? How?”

  “The Vampire Court had video surveillance in place at your home. I hacked into the feed after you left 1792. I was concerned when it looked like he got the drop on you, but you handled the situation.”

  “How did you know we were springing a trap on Stevens?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I didn’t,” Cyro said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the area around 1792, using facial recognition software in case Stevens showed up, and got a ding when you arrived at the bar. The only reasonable explanation for you being there was to set a trap for him, and it worked. Well done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “The main reason I’m calling is the cops found a body in a dumpster behind a motel near the airport
early this morning. It’s in pretty bad shape, but there’s a good chance it’s your guy who called himself Kendall. Somebody worked him over with a baseball bat or a pipe with particular attention to his face. The M.E. thinks the body’s been in the dumpster since yesterday. They’re running fingerprints but no hits so far. I just thought you should know.”

  I exhaled. “I’m not surprised at all. If you go around stealing from people long enough, it’s going to catch up with you sooner or later. The cops have any leads?”

  “There’s a rumor it might have something to do with the Murphy cabal.”

  In shock, I blurted out, “What?” I calmed myself and added, “Why would they think so?”

  “A security camera caught the license plate of a vehicle that might have dumped the body and it traces back to someone who is a known associate of the cabal, Darren Walker. He’s been seen hanging around with Catherine Atwood, who is Moses Murphy’s only surviving daughter. She’s been in town for a couple of weeks, coordinating the attacks on Darius Bell’s cabal. Now she’s hunting for Bell himself, but he’s gone into hiding since his HQ was destroyed.”

  It was surreal to hear Cyro talking about Catherine, but it did confirm why my aunt was in the city.

  “But what’s the connection to John Doe?” I asked.

  “You know the magical objects you found yesterday in the storage unit? I tipped off SPEMA, as we discussed, and they confiscated the whole stash. There are some items in the collection that are listed in the SPEMA reports as ‘highly volatile magic weapons.’ If I had to guess, I’d say maybe John Doe was procuring those weapons for Murphy’s cabal and when the feds got them instead, Atwood or someone else working for Murphy was pissed and put him out of business permanently.”

  That made as much sense as anything. Now I was doubly glad we’d given the magical objects to the feds instead of letting my aunt get her hands on them. A powerful magic weapon in the hands of a high-level fire mage was a disaster waiting to happen.

  There was a good chance Catherine would find another supplier, obtain weapons, and go after Bell with them. I’d been thinking it had been too quiet in the city these last few days; now perhaps I knew why.

  I had my own problems to deal with at the moment, however. Catherine had to stay on the back burner for now. “Thank you for letting me know about John Doe, Cyro. I appreciate the call.”

  “You’re welcome. Take care.” The call ended.

  I put the phone down on the table, stood up, and stretched. “Well, RIP John Doe, I guess.”

  “I guess so,” Malcolm said. “Idiot got mixed up with Murphy’s cabal. How did he think that was going to end? Murphy kills everybody, sooner or later. Everyone knows that.”

  “Some people think they can make a lot of money getting involved with cabals and find out too late that they’ve gotten in too deeply to get out.” I took off my shirt and put it on the table. I was wearing a sports bra underneath. “Okay, enough delays. We need to get this show on the road.”

  Malcolm hovered next to me as I used a tube of henna to draw the rest of the tracking spell on my arms and chest. That done, I went to one of the cupboards along the wall, took out the box that had contained the cuff, and set it on top of the spellwork in the center circle.

  Barefoot, I sat in the center circle in front of the box. In my head, I ran through the steps I would need to follow for the spell to work. I had used tracking spells many times before, but the inclusion of the shifter magic was new.

  Finally, I rolled my shoulders and gave Malcolm a nod. “Ready.”

  “All right. Let’s do this.”

  I shut my eyes. It wasn’t necessary to do so, but I always saw magic and spellwork a little better with my other senses. I closed the inner circle and fed energy into it until my skin buzzed.

  I sensed Malcolm close the second circle and then charge the amplification spellwork within it. A second wave of energy followed as he closed the third circle and charged the second set of amplification spells. The power buzzed, waiting for me to use it.

  Most tracking spells acted like homing beacons, allowing the user to follow the trace to the object. Instead, this one was designed to show me the cuff’s location, which made sense since it could be—though hopefully wasn’t—thousands of miles away. I was far more familiar with the former type of tracking spell than the latter, but I had plenty of experience with both.

  I held the tracking spell in my mind and drew on the shifter magic in my aura. Suddenly the white lines of air magic spellwork ignited bright gold. I’d never used shifter magic before, but it was beautiful. I sensed the tracking spell forming, waiting for its target, waiting to be unleashed.

  Carefully, I opened the box that had held the cuff and put my hand inside.

  Before, I’d only sensed the trace of fire magic, but now I had shifter magic coursing through me and the residual golden magic in the box blazed in response.

  I had all of the components. Now to put them together and light the fuse.

  I grabbed the power from the amplification spellwork and fed it into the tracking spell underneath me. The surge of energy was incredible. Once I had control of the power, I fed the shifter magic into the tracking spell, then drew the power through me to the spellwork drawn on my chest and arms. The sensation was of enormous pressure, like a wave about to break, or a gun about to go off.

  I took a deep breath, exhaled, and connected the trace from the box to the tracking spell. “Adinvenire.”

  With the power of the amplification spells behind it, invoking the spell felt like being fired from a cannon. Images flew past my inner eye like a movie being fast-forwarded. Buildings, streets, grass, pavement, cars, and trees flashed by as the spell searched for the missing cuff at metaphysical speeds with my consciousness along for the ride.

  To my surprise, the search seemed to take only a few seconds of real time. That meant the cuff was relatively close by. I barely had time to register relief about that before the spell slammed me face-first—metaphysically speaking—into a wall made of wards.

  I fell back with a startled sound, banging the back of my head on the concrete floor. The tracking spell fractured, threatening to release all of its energy in a giant flare. Instinctively, I broke the spell and the inner circle, dropped the amplification spells, and lay dazed, staring up at the basement ceiling.

  Malcolm broke the second and third circles and appeared above me, worried. “What happened?”

  I tried to process what I’d seen in the last milliseconds before the spell hit the wards and broke. There was a house, and a hallway, and a door, and a room, and then a wall safe. The wards were on the safe, so the cuff must be inside.

  I ran the movie backward, trying to recall the room it was in and the outside of the house. I remembered lots of dark wood inside the house and large rooms. It was very elegant…and somehow familiar.

  I sucked in a breath and sat up.

  “Alice, you okay? Did you see where the cuff is?”

  “Yeah, I saw it.” I staggered to my feet. The back of my head hurt and my body ached like I’d gone ten rounds with a professional boxer, but at the moment, I didn’t care.

  Blood magic ignited on my hands. “It’s in a safe at Charles’s house. That fangy son of a bitch has the cuff.”

  19

  Not long after sunset, I pulled up to the gate of Charles’s estate.

  The gates swung open as I reached for the button to roll my window down. I drove up the long driveway and parked in front of the mansion’s front steps next to two black SUVs. I got out of the car and headed for the front door.

  The door opened, revealing Bryan. “Miss Alice.”

  “Bryan. I assume he’s here?”

  He stepped aside to let me walk past and closed the door behind me. “He is. Would you care to wait in the office? He’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

  “All right.” I followed Bryan through the foyer and down a hall to a pair of doors. He opened them and ushered me into the
office.

  Charles’s home office was large enough to accommodate a game of field hockey, with room left over. Two stories tall, it boasted floor-to-ceiling bookcases on two walls. The third wall was a two-level art gallery. Narrow wrought-iron staircases led up to a walkway that ran around the three interior walls. Tall west-facing windows offered a panoramic view of the estate’s backyard.

  Like his office above 1792, the room was divided into three main areas: the desk area, a sitting area with several couches and chairs, and the bar, with its enormous granite counter and tall chairs.

  Everything about this meeting was part of a chess match, from the timing of my arrival to the room Charles had chosen for our meeting and my choice of where I sat. With that in mind, I settled into one of the chairs in front of the desk.

  Bryan headed for the bar. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “Just water, please.”

  He selected a bottle from the fridge, removed the cap, and brought it to me wrapped in a cloth napkin. He placed a coaster on the table at my right and set the bottle down. “You look like you’ve recovered from last night. How are your arm and side?”

  “All healed. Neither were all that serious.” I picked up the bottle and took a drink. “I’m sure you’re all relieved to have the Kent Stevens situation resolved and be back home.”

  “Very much so.” Bryan moved around in front of me, leaning against Charles’s desk. “It was very courageous of you to risk your life to draw Stevens out. Mr. Vaughan and I would have preferred to have done that ourselves.”

  “So I gathered.” I crossed my legs and studied him. “I meant to ask before, but will there be a funeral for Fortune? I’d like to attend.”

  “His family requested a private service, from what I understand. Mr. Vaughan is covering the costs of the funeral and burial, naturally, but the Court is respecting their wishes.”

  “Oh.” I set the bottle down on the table. “The construction project looks like it’s going well. Any idea when Hawthorne’s will reopen?”