Magick Marked (The DarqRealm Series) (22 page)

Rho followed after him, listening for the sound of her teammates. Thank God they’d returned. They needed get out of here now.

The rumble of angry voices gave away their location.

Eldon threw open a door and stepped inside.

“It’s my sister! Don’t act like you don’t understand the importance of family.” Preshea shouted, as she strapped every weapon she could find to her body.

Tim slammed a fist against the wall. “Damn it, Presh, you know I understand. But running out there and getting yourself slaughtered isn’t the answer.”

Preshea let out an angry laugh. “Then what is the answer, huh? Let her die?”

“I never said that.”

Tension lay thick in the room, an inevitable headache brewing in the back of Rho’s skull.

Preshea whipped around and pointed a finger at Eldon. “And you! You and your fucking magick moving. It’s your kind who got her into this whole thing. You and that vampire.” She swiveled around to face Rho. “Was this what you were after the whole time? Getting my sister kidnapped?”

“What are you talking about?” Rho asked.

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

Rho studied the shifter, but came up with nothing.

“From the bar, that night you approached those fae for information?” Preshea’s eyes narrowed. “I was there. I saw you go into a room with them. You’ve been working with the enemy from the beginning, haven’t you?”

Rho gaped.
That
was where she’d seen her before? “Are you kidding me? I have no idea who our enemy even is!”

“Liar. I saw you talking to those men.”

“I was asking them questions about old magick and how it worked. I was trying to figure out how someone could have broken the spells Eldon cast.” Rho shook her head. “That’s all.”

“I could have told you about old magick,” Eldon interjected.

Rho glanced over her shoulder at him. “I didn’t know if I could trust you.” She lifted a shoulder. “Thought third party information would be more reliable.”

Eldon snorted. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Confidence? You want us to have
confidence
in your kind?” Preshea growled. “All the spells you movers cast—you don’t know what you’re doing half the time, but you’ll take my money!”

“What are you talking about?” Eldon’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

Rho pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off the pounding in her brain. Preshea had been combative with both her and Eldon from day one.

Preshea poked her finger into Eldon’s chest. “You’re all whores for money. Don’t act like you’re not.”

“I’m accountable for every spell I’ve ever done. Paid or not.” Eldon’s cheeks turned temptingly red. The smell of leather rolled off of him in waves as his anger mounted.

Preshea rolled her eyes and turned around to continue arming herself. “And now Vectra is weak and sick and out there all alone being held God knows where. But I’ll get her back, damn it.”

Vectra was sick? Rho dared to take a step toward her. “Why would the ShiftMaster want her if she’s sick?”

Preshea cringed before answering quietly. “To force my obedience. And Vectra is unique.”

“How so?”

Preshea’s hands shook as she folded her arms across her chest. She stood there for a long moment before Tim stepped forward.

“Presh, you’ve got to tell them.” Tim rested a hand on the shifter’s shoulder, and her defiant stance relaxed. “You’re bound to this team now. They won’t betray you, they’re tied to you. And to me.”

She didn’t answer.

“Preshea?” Tim stepped around her until he was only inches from her face. “Do you trust me?”

After a moment, she nodded slowly.

“Then tell them. They won’t hurt you or Vectra. I won’t let them.”

After several long seconds, she spoke. “She has a… strange ability. A knack, really.” Preshea turned her stare to Rho and Eldon. “Vectra can sense sources of power.”

Rho frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tim sighed. “She can’t run magick herself, but she can tell when something is spelled or holds magick inside of it. I’ve seen her do it.”

As Rho rubbed her temples, she considered the possibilities. Vectra was only a child. But if she could sense magickal sources, then she could potentially help find the Kamens. Those relics would be loaded with magickal power. In the hands of the enemy, Preshea’s sister could be a tremendously powerful weapon.

How could Preshea not have told the team this earlier?

“She has cancer,” Preshea whispered, as if she could hear the questions rolling around in their heads.

Rho’s eyes snapped up to meet Preshea’s cool blue ones. “DarqDwellers can’t get cancer.”

The shifter turned to Rho, her face contorted in anger. “Not true. I’ve seen the scans. The ShiftMaster was the only one who knew about it—he knew everything about her. Said he wanted her to be healthy again for my sake. He approved our trips to see movers with healing powers.” She glared at Eldon. “Shitload of good that did her.”

Eldon shook his head. “Don’t blame my kind for not being able to heal her. Every talent is different.”

Preshea cursed. “Talent? No, not talent. Just greed.”

“All right, that’s enough.” Rho held up both hands. All the fighting had her chest twisting into a knot and her head pounding, but somehow she managed to keep her hands from shaking. “Before you start railing on magick movers, there’s something you should know.” She twisted around and lifted her chin toward Eldon. “Show her the letter.”

Eldon nodded and pulled the crinkled letter from his pocket. “Alexander didn’t send this.”

Preshea reached out and snatched the letter from his hand. “What are you talking about? I know it’s him.”

“Smell it. That’s fae magick. And if I had to guess, this letter has a tracker spell on it. Alexander must have told them where you were, but he wasn’t the one who sent it.”

A dark, rolling laugh came from the doorway. “He’s right, you know. For a mover, he’s not too dumb.” The man leaned against the doorway casually, taking his time as he surveyed each one of them.

Rho palmed the dagger from her waist, grateful she hadn’t put it in the tiny bag in her pocket. Too bad she didn’t have her gun. At least they were at close enough range that she could inflict some damage with a little hand-to-hand demonstration. With the pointy ears and pale, crystalized skin, this man was clearly an elf. And therefore fae.

Eldon took a step forward. Rho’s instincts flared as he motioned for her to fall behind him. She didn’t want to do it. Her heart burned with the need to fight at his side, and she stood frozen for a moment. This man was fae and far more powerful than she was strong. Eldon was the only person on the team who could manipulate magick.

Shit. She’d done the same thing to him only minutes before, demanding he let the more qualified person take the lead. Logic followed that she should do the same. Even if she hated it. Fighting her need for control, she did as he ordered.

The air shifted.

“Tim, Preshea,” Eldon said. “Shift. Now!”

Blue fire spilled from his fingertips, arcing over the room to create a dome over all four of them. A circle of protection.

Eldon?
She tried to speak to him again, but he didn’t respond.

Energy exploded through the air, not a sound but a tremendous pressure from some invisible force. The hair on her arms stood on end. Her stomach dropped.

God, please let him be…

He was okay. He wasn’t moving, but the thumping of his heart rang in her ears, blissfully loud. The shield he’d created held strong, separating them from the enemy like a steel wall of magick. Her palm tingled but she shoved the sensation aside as she yanked her dagger from her sheath.

A growl sounded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to find a white Bengal tiger nudging Tim’s shoulder, the movement gentle despite her frighteningly large appearance.

Tim had never shifted in front of the team before. Well, at least not in front of Rho. He lay on the ground, his human body contorted against the hard floor while his inner wolf begged for freedom. Judging from his pale face and the sweating, it wasn’t a comfortable process. Or a quick one.

“Come on, Tim,” Rho whispered. The air surrounding him swirled with black fog. “He can’t hold this guy off forever. We need better odds here, dude.”

He met her eyes and nodded once before shutting them again. The dark shimmer intensified.

She turned. “Eldon! Watch out!”

A ball of golden green fire tore through the air with the aggression of an asteroid on a mission. She watched in horror as it slammed into the blue surface.

The moment it landed, her ass found the barely padded floor so quickly she swore the damn thing rose up to greet her. Eldon buckled beneath the invisible weight of the spell, his back arching into the ground and hands burning so deeply blue they were nearly purple.

The walls rippled and swayed in protest. But they didn’t fall.

She rolled to one side and pushed herself back onto her feet, grunting from the pain that shot down her right side. Damn, that hurt.

Rho.
The warmth of Eldon’s mind flooded her thoughts, mingling with her own, both comforting and concerned. Which was a miracle, because he shouldn’t be focused on her at all.

She twirled the dagger between her fingertips.
I’m right behind you.

There’s more than one.

Aw, fuck.

A small, dark shadow crept into the doorway.

I see him. What do you need?

Green tendrils of energy spilled from the doorway like electricity in a plasma globe, landing on their glowing wall of defense. Rho took another step back and tried to settle her thoughts.

Eldon’s mind thrashed despite his cool demeanor, making it harder to focus. With every breath the elf pressed more magick against the wall, pushing a little more each time, seeking the weakness he needed to fracture the bubble’s strength.

Sweat blossomed along Eldon’s brow.
Can’t hold them off much longer.

She kept her eyes locked with Eldon as she spoke over her shoulder. “Tim, how we doing over there, man?” The answering grunt confirmed that he hadn’t changed over, but the gruffness meant he had to be close.

Her palm burned. She wiped it on her jeans, trying furiously to squelch the sensation, but it didn’t work. They couldn’t afford to be distracted by more magick crap right now. They had enough going on. She shook her hand out before peering down at the mark.

“Holy shitballs.” The triquetra at the center of her palm glowed with the same effervescence of Eldon’s azure wall of protection. What the…

The tingling stopped. A howl tore through the air. She whirled around to find Tim on four legs, his back and face black, his underside and feet the color of fresh snow.

Rho couldn’t help but smile, grateful for the relief and the backup. “Well, Tim. Wolf doesn’t look half bad on you.”

Tim stepped forward, and Preshea stood at his flank.

Rho turned away from her furry teammates.
We’re ready, Eldon.

Staggering back, she caught herself mid-step. His strength was wavering. Their connection was intact, but his depleted strength wore against her frazzled nerves. He wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, and once he gave in, she wasn’t sure what would happen. How could they fight against the magick of two fae without him? Elves, at that?

Another explosion rocked the walls, the blue bubble dimming for a moment before rebounding again.

Thump.
Something hard smacked the top of Rho’s skull. She blinked against the stars in her eyes before reaching up and patting her head, discovering a clump of plaster lodged in her hair. “Damn it all to hell.” She shook her mane, sending plaster dust falling to the floor along with the offending object.

A rumble came from behind her. She turned to find Preshea standing against the blue backdrop, teeth bared in a feline smile.

Was she—was she laughing? That evil little shit.

Eldon?

No response.

Sweat had soaked through the back of his shirt. His arms were splayed to his sides as he listed to one side, then the other, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Eldon!
she tried to shout into his head, but she still got nothing from him.

Rho took a deep breath. Okay. She needed to do something to help him. Could it be possible to pass more than just thoughts through her connection to him? Work the magick in the opposite direction? Sure, she wasn’t a mover, but he shouldn’t be a telepath either. Maybe their connection didn’t care.

Her mind stilled as she focused solely on her connection to Eldon, allowing everything else to fall away from her thoughts. When he was all her mind could see, she took a deep breath and released it slowly. Nothing more than hope and concentration fueling her, she flung as much of her own strength and energy through their connection as she could summon.