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6. Tez

6

Tez

My thoughts seethed as I paced outside Bree's cell.

The Phoenix seemed to sense my agitation. It sat on its perch with its feathers ruffled, beady eyes tracking my every step.

It was no longer alone. At least five lizard creatures clung to the walls near Bree's room. They watched me, too, and I thought I counted four eyes on each tiny body. And there was something snakelike hanging out behind the closest cupboard.

Regular Doctor Doolittle, I was.

My focus for the moment was on Nemi. She certainly seemed to follow the conversations going on around me, but her well-timed thwacks with her wing, as well as her pecks, indicated much more—almost as though she were reading my thoughts, too. I could see through her eyes—could I talk to her telepathically?

I placed her on my finger. She chirped and tilted her head to regard me with one bright little eye.

Can you hear me?

She fluffed her feathers, but there was no reply. Maybe words were too much. So instead, I sent an image of her taking off and hovering overhead.

She tilted her head the other way and twittered. Then she shook her feathers smooth, and her wings carried her up.

I imagined her moving a few feet to the right. She moved in that direction. I had a disconcerting moment of seeing myself through her eyes—and mine were glowing a weird turquoise color.

I blinked the image away and focused on a projection of her going a bit in the other direction…

She landed on my shoulder and thwacked me up the back of the head with her wing. Then, for good measure, she also pecked me on the cheek.

Okay then. She was getting my suggestions, but wasn't going to jump just because I snapped my fingers.

"Message received," I told her, and rubbed my head.

Another lizard critter moved out to sit on the wood framing Bree's cell door. It blinked at me. Then—a sound, as if something falling. Coming from inside one of the cupboards.

With my pulse racing, I opened it. It was filled with trays of crystals, softly glowing not red, but blue and green. And as I stood there, something else fell off those sitting against the back wall.

It was a chunk of ice. The wall was covered with it, and it was slowly melting and falling away. I traced the icy fingers to a crack…

My mind raced as I closed the cupboard and backed away. The evidence was literally melting away. I didn't need to tell anyone about it.

The Phoenix watched me with bright little eyes, and I was grateful that the bird could only deliver messages.

It seemed with every minute that passed, I was faced with choices that could get me killed.

And one of the worst currently hung from the strap on my back.

An hour later, I was still leaning on the wall outside Bree's cell having a one-sided conversation with a hummingbird.

It should come as no surprise that she only complied with my wishes when she damned well felt like it. I was getting so frustrated that I was relieved when the door opened, thinking it was Slade coming to replace me.

My first clue that it wasn't should have been the lizards scuttling for cover.

Aurora entered, followed by the coven. I straightened as the Trinity trailed her, with Finn bringing up the rear. He held a thick book beneath one arm.

I stared at the arm. I'd never seen such scarring—what the fuck had happened to him? And the Amityville offspring? They'd never really been children, but now they were teenagers. Their growth was so unnatural that I shivered.

If I were to list those I didn't want to be trapped in a room with, that entire group would be vying for the number two slot. Fire-wielding pissed-off underlords occupying number one.

Aurora glanced at me. "You can go. Wait outside until we are done."

To my surprise, I hesitated. Did they have something in mind for Bree? If they did, was there a damned thing I could do about it?

As Aurora's gaze hardened on its way to making it an order, Finn put the book on the table. It looked like it was ancient, with a stained and slightly torn leather cover that was blood-red in color with weird symbols written on it.

The coven arranged themselves around him and the Trinity. They seemed focused on him, and not interested in Bree.

Aurora's eyes flared crimson. "Get out," she said.

I went. I glanced back as I opened the door, and not a single one of them was looking at me.

Nemi darted off my shoulder and into the rafters as I strode out. I walked a short distance, leaned on the wall, and closed my eyes…

I was surprised at how easy it was—all I had to do was think of Nemi to see through her eyes. It was disorienting as fuck, but not difficult. No sooner had the world stopped spinning and settled on me as a hummingbird perched in the upper rafters, than a ripple passed over my feathers. Finn glanced upward toward me, and his arched brows drew down.

But we were tiny, and tucked into the shadows. I held our collective breaths…

"I want that book once we're done with this," Aurora said.

Finn snorted a laugh as he returned his attention to the Sorceress. "I'm sure you do. But it has existed in my family for generations. It is not for you."

Aurora's gaze narrowed. "We are allies. There might be magic in there that is useful to our cause."

He shrugged. "It is written in the language of the ancient Torshin mages. You wouldn't even be able to read it."

Aurora stiffened. "Let's get this done," she snapped, her voice carrying easily to where my winged friend sat. "I need to meditate before we insert the Drake tonight. It will require a lot of resources to do so." Her tone was sharp, almost critical.

"It isn't your power I will need for this," Finn stated as he pushed back his hood. Even Nemi recoiled at what was revealed—crimson eyes burned feverishly from beneath half-closed, heavily ridged eyelids, and the face was so distorted with scars that the mouth didn't operate properly. They also extended over the scalp, causing the white hair still present to be patchy and tangled.

The creature called Finn opened the thick book to what appeared to be a diagram, before he continued. "Inserting that Drake will only add to our issues, if this is not successful."

Aurora drew herself up tall. "Isobel thought the collars were enough."

"Isobel was a fool," Finn said. "She wouldn't wait for our creations to be born. She needed to push things too far, too fast. That is why she is dead."

Aurora's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you can do this? I'm sacrificing crystals I could be using later today."

Finn fixed his stare on her. "The Trinity are old enough now. Finally ready."

From her hiding spot, Nemi and I watched the Amityville offspring set bloodmagic crystals in a careful pattern around the grimoire, referring to it as they did so. Occasionally, Finn reached out to correct their placement. When they were finished, he scanned the diagram and adjusted a few more of them. Then he pulled three crystals from his pocket.

They were about the size of golf balls, perfectly round and clear, almost transparent. He set them in a triangle in the center of the table. He then added a selection of other things—a silver powder, and sprigs of plants. Aurora brought three bowls of thick red liquid that I was pretty fucking sure was blood.

The last thing Finn pulled from his pockets were flattened discs—were they scales? But they were huge—from Dragons? They were half the size of his hand, and in four different colors—bright orange, earthy brown, and black that gleamed indigo beneath the lights, with clear spikes in the center of each one. I'd never seen Dragon scales with spikes.

And finally, a series that were a pure, icy blue.

My gut clenched. What was he up to?

When they had all been placed to his satisfaction, he turned the page on the grimoire and raised his arms.

Aurora and the coven stood back as Finn joined hands with the Trinity. I sensed Nemi shudder at the energy that pulsed from them, and her keen bird eyes detected it as a swirling red fog hovering over the table. It began to move faster and faster, until it formed a vortex that obscured everyone in the room. Nemi had to dig her little claws into the wood to keep from being swept away, and she was terrified of what was transpiring below her.

Then, a weird, freaky howl filled the air—rising to a screech. Where was it coming from? It seemed like the bloodmagic-soaked crystals on the table were screaming…

When the explosion came, it passed in a wave of crimson out from the table and across the room, passing through the walls as if they weren't there.

Nemi was blown off her perch, and only through the frantic, hard beating of her wings did she stop herself from being slammed into stone. Breathing hard, she darted higher in the beams and found another, where she hunkered down, shaking.

Everyone remained where they'd been around the table, but now the only things sitting upon it were the grimoire and the three crystals.

They were no longer clear. Now they swirled restlessly—and I saw all the colors of the Drakes locked within them.

"Did it work?" Aurora asked breathlessly.

"Oh, yes," breathed Finn, and his eyes glowed with triumph as he picked up the crystals and put them into his pockets.

"Do I get one?" she asked.

Finn snorted derisively. "They are Torshin magic. Not for the likes of you."

Aurora's brows dropped. "Then you'd better be around when we need you," she stated. "Or all your plans will go up in smoke."

Finn turned, the Trinity falling in behind him. "I am never far away," he said, and walked to the door.

I broke the link with Nemi, just as he and the Amytiville offspring emerged into the hall. They never even glanced my way. Aurora stuck her head out, and her gaze stopped on me.

"You can come back in," she said. "I have things to do, so watch her."

I re-entered the chambers and walked back to Bree's cell. A few moments later, Aurora left and took the coven with her.

Silence descended on the chambers. Silence, broken by the whir of wings.

Nemi landed on my shoulder and huddled against my neck. I raised a finger to stroke her trembling form.

Only then did I notice that I was shaking, too.

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