Fire of the Sorceress by Krista Walsh

Author:Krista Walsh [Krista Walsh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Krista Walsh
Published: 2024-02-19T00:00:00+00:00

***

Thirteen hours later, well past the February sundown, we got out of the car down the street from the warehouse. My hands trembled at my sides with anticipation. The magical strength coming from the building was potent even from two blocks away, and my hopes surged that this time Mikhail would be standing with his followers.

Barrett’s hand rested on the grip of his gun where it sat holstered at his waist, and the handle of his knife glinted on the other side. Stubborn to the last, he’d refused any of the vials Poppy had sold us.

From the street, the warehouse appeared dark and no sounds reached us, but as we got closer, the pulsing of a magical ward made my fingertips itch. Barrett made to cross it, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. His first instinct was to try to snatch his arm away, but he must have realized I wasn’t playing around, because he backed up. I rested my hand against the air to get a feel for the spell. Strong. Layered. Many witches working together to cloak whatever they were doing behind it.

“They’ve warded themselves,” I whispered.

“Will they know if we cross it?”

I shook my head. “Some sorcerers used to be able to create wards that were bound to them like that, but this is witchcraft. It’s just a spell. That’s not to say it won’t trigger some kind of alarm, though. Give me a second to see if I can find the source.”

“I’ll text Tony. Give him the heads up.”

So far there had been no sign of the hunters, but I agreed with Barrett. The last thing we needed was for a bunch of cocky witch hunters to stumble over the ward and give us away before we were in position.

With my eyes closed, I pushed deeper into the spell, following the magic to see if it was tied to anything beyond the cloaking spell. At first I sensed nothing, but buried deep within, like a tiny flashing light, was a second weave of magic.

“Clever ducks.”

I had to give them credit. These witches knew what they were doing. Too bad for them, so did I.

The taste of the second spell led me to a nearby tree and a plastic owl perched on a leafless branch. It had been hidden by the shadows, so I never would have noticed it. If I interpreted the magic correctly, the owl would have screeched an alarm as soon as anyone passed through the ward.

“Think you can dismantle it?” I asked.

Barrett jumped for the lower branch of the tree and heaved himself onto it. He picked up the owl and flipped it over. “Simple device. Dollar store crap.”

He tossed it down to me, and I saw the switch on the back. Huh.

“I guess these guys are advocates for the Work Smart Not Hard mentality.” I made sure the owl was off and threw it to the ground under the tree. The surviving witches could collect it after I’d finished with them if they wanted to use it again.

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