Trigger Magic: Hidden Coven Series, Book 3 by McDougall Kim

Author:McDougall, Kim [McDougall, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Wrongtree Press
Published: 2017-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Perception

BOBBI LOOKED PISSED.

Quinn could see it in the set of her shoulders and pinch of skin between her brows as she advanced across the uneven ground. Anger suited her. The flushed cheeks and slightly messed hair were damned sexy. He doubted she’d thank him for that insight. Somehow, he was responsible for her anger, but the finer points of his crime escaped him.

“You found something?” She wouldn’t look him in the eye. That was fine. He could wait her out.

“It’s a cellar.” He brushed aside a spill of rock debris covering a pair of metal doors with bent handles. Bobbi’s expression loosened from displeasure to uncertainty.

“You remember something.”

She shook her head. “Nothing concrete. Just a feeling. Has the bellwether detected anything?”

“No.”

The relic leaned like a walking stick against the stone foundation. Made of aether-conducting ash and topped by a silver dragon’s head, the bellwether smoked continually as it detected aether in the environment. The trick was reading the smoke, and so far it only leaked pale white threads, its baseline reaction.

“Stay here and I’ll check it out.” He was trying to be kind, but Bobbi’s eyes hardened again.

“No, I’m coming.”

Somehow, he knew she’d say that.

Rust clogged the door hinges, and they worked at it for several minutes before the left side finally swung open. Stone steps led into blackness. He grabbed the bellwether and headed down.

The damp chill settled over him as soon as they reached the hard-packed dirt floor. Quinn could stand in the center of the small room, but the ceiling sloped to rough walls. He turned, looking for any sign of a hiding place. The bare room held only an old metal shelf unit, now empty and bent. Quinn waved the bellwether around, starting at the floor and working up the walls.

“How does that thing work anyway?” Bobbi asked.

“It’s a sensate compass. The smoke will change colors for different kinds of magic. And aether repels it to give a sense of direction.”

“Doesn’t seem very precise.” Bobbi’s forehead crinkled like it did when she concentrated. “Why isn’t it reacting to our aether then?”

“I keyed it to us in the activation spell. Otherwise, the user’s aether would taint all the readings.”

He continued with his probing. Bobbi stood still, her eyes far away. A shiver rippled through her shoulders. Quinn wanted to ask what she was thinking, but that way lay dragons. She saw him watching and frowned.

“I spent a lot of time down here. I can feel it. Like the damp and dark are part of my bones.”

“Maybe you took refuge here during the fire?” He didn’t want to put her through this, but something needed to jar her memory if they were ever to find the book.

“No, but I remember hiding down here another time. Mom told us to be quiet, but Bethany wouldn’t stop crying.” Bobbi shrugged. “That’s all I got.”

The door slammed shut with a screech and a bang. Darkness crashed down on them.

Quinn turned and bumped into Bobbi. He gripped her shoulders, steadying himself more than her.

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