Page 115 of Shield of Fire

“Our car awaits,” he said, and motioned me ahead of him.

Thunder rumbled as I stepped into the lane, the clouds thick and ominous, heavy with power ready to be unleashed. I drew a deep breath and felt the storm’s energy sweep through me, as sharp as the lightning that waited deeper within the stormfront’s heart.

Beira had warned me not to call down that power unless I had a means of dissipating the force of it from my body. I now did—my knives—but it remained a dangerous process. One I’d chance in a heartbeat if it meant saving my brother.

Halak had no idea of the fury he’d unleashed by kidnapping him.

No idea that in threatening Lugh, he’d released the last restraints on that inner darkness.

I understood the need for revenge, more than he could ever know, but up until now it had remained unacknowledged. Controlled. But if he killed Lugh, no pixie curse and no amount of time would stop me tracking him down.

And I would watch him die, as I had watched Mkalkee die.

We climbed into the car and sped out of Deva, the silence stretching as the siren wailed. It began to rain as we turned off the A41, and by the time we reached the Copperhill Lane entrance to the woodlands, it was absolutely pelting down.

I didn’t mind. The wind and the rain were my friends, not his.

“Use the same code word to call us in,” Sgott said, as we both climbed out of the car. “Do not take risks, Beth, and do not pull your punches.”

“I can’t do anything until I know if Lugh is okay and somehow get him out of there.”

“If he’s okay, he won’t want to ‘get.’ He’ll want to play a part in Halak’s capture.”

I knew that. I also knew that while he remained, I’d be hamstrung.

Rain seeped past the collar of my jacket, but I didn’t bother zipping it or pulling on the hood. Halak would want proof that I wasn’t carrying my knives before I entered that clearing, so I’d likely end up stripping off and getting wet anyway.

And it wasn’t like I was in any way cold. The rain pelting my skin might be icy, but the storm’s rage infused every inch of my body, and it warmed me in a way no number of clothing layers could.

I pulled my knives free, tugged the Eye out of the sheaths and put it on, then threw the sheaths back into the car. The knives I’d drop closer to the meeting point. There probably wouldn’t be many walkers out in this weather, and I could still call the knives to me even if someone did pick them up. But the less distance they had to travel, the better.

“He’ll no doubt raise some sort of shield once I enter that clearing,” I said. “So tell your people to keep clear unless I say the code word.”

He smiled again, but there was a seriousness in his eyes that belied the amusement. “If I so much as suspect he’s getting the better of you or Lugh, we will breach that clearing and take that bastard out, magic or not, code word or not. Understood?”

I echoed his smile. “Understood.”

“Good. Go then, but do try not to break anything this time. I’ll end up with a full head of gray hair at this rate.”

I laughed, kissed his cheek, and headed down a dirt path that was becoming muddier by the moment. As I went through the old wooden gateway that signaled the wood’s entrance, the song of the trees rose, a fierce, joyous harmony that filled my soul with hope and courage. I’d initially been a little surprised by Halak choosing a meeting place in the middle of a wood, but a quick search on Google Maps showed the clearing was fairly sparsely treed. Besides, he knew I wouldn’t in any way hurt a living tree, let alone rip it free from its soil in an effort to stop him.

I followed the path around to the left and then up a rock-crusted slope. As I neared the top, magic touched the air. My gaze swept the ground ahead of me, and after a moment, I caught the slightest shimmer of a spell. The knives sparked faintly, suggesting the magic was aimed at me but not an immediate threat.

I studied the nearby old chestnut trees whose forms had been twisted by the periodic coppicing in times past, and singled out one several yards off the path. Its song held an underlying thread of emptiness and loss, the source of which was a cavity caused by a branch being broken off in a storm long ago.

I walked over. The trunk’s hole wasn’t large, but it lay on the opposite side to the main track and provided the perfect hiding spot for the knives. I placed them inside, then pressed a hand against the trunk to reassure her the blades would cause her no harm before continuing on.

A dozen steps from the top of the hill, his magic flared both behind and in front of me, creating a barrier that ran off to the left and right. I had no doubt it would ring the entire clearing, and I mentally crossed all things that it wasn’t domed.

Thunder rumbled, and the storm’s power sharpened within. Just for an instant, firefly specks of incandescent light danced all around me.

Mine to release, whenever I wanted.

And gods, I wanted. Badly. But I had to find where Lugh was first.

“I’m here as you asked, Halak. Where’s my brother?”

“First I must ensure you don’t have those magic-busting knives of yours aboard.”

---