Page 75 of Shadow's End

“I do have them occasionally,” Monty said, amusement evident.

A smile touched Ashworth’s lips, but he didn’t make the very obvious reply and glanced at me instead. “Isit possible?”

“Probably?” I wrinkled my nose. “I’d have to check, because the Fenna did make a point of saying my usage would be restricted to what I could physically handle, and raising enough power to encompass such a large building might push those limits.”

“Caging those vamps didn’t pull on your energy, though, did it?” Monty asked. “The wild magic doesn’t actually run through you, does it?”

“It generally doesn’t for the smaller stuff, but I still have to connect to it andthatis what pulls on my strength.” That, and having to envisage what I wanted and then direct it into being.

“It’s still worth checking whether it is a viable option or not. Otherwise, we’ll have to switch to plan B.” Monty paused, a smile twitching his lips. “Which, of course, has yet to be developed, because plan A is simply brilliant, even if I do say so myself.”

I rolled my eyes. “There is one other problem—Maelle’s not going to get past a wild magic barrier, and if we do anything more to Jaqueline than capture her, Maelle will be pissed.”

“And given she’s already sliding off the edge of sanity,” Belle murmured, “that would not be a good idea.”

“Could you retract it once she’s locked inside the house?” Eli asked. “That will allow Maelle to confront her daughter without having to breach the wild magic.”

“Retracting it should also cut down on any pull the bubble has on your strength,” Ashworth added.

“In theory, yes.” In reality? Who actually knew. But I could at least get an answer on that one. I finished my tea and rose. “Mind if I head out the back to see if I can commune with the wild magic?”

“Go right ahead,” Eli said. “Spotlights are to the right of the door.”

I grabbed another biscuit and headed out. Their rear yard was on the narrow side but very long, consisting of a decked patio area with steps leading down onto a white stone path that wound its way through a series of garden beds, roses, and Japanese maples, in all of which small lights twinkled and shone. There was a lawn area three-quarters of the way down, and beyond that lay a small wildflower area. I couldn’t help smiling. It was pretty enough in the daytime, but at night, with the spots and all the fairy lights in the flowerbed and winding along the path, it was pretty damn special. And absolutely perfect for a night wedding.

Aiden and I hadn’t yet discussed the timing of our marriage, but seeing this … it had to be at dusk or night.Ifwe could get the celebrant to agree.

I headed down the steps, munching on my biscuit as I followed the pretty path down to the lawn area. Once there, I brushed the crumbs from my fingers, then knelt and pressed them into grass that was thick and lush despite long days of heat. Ashworth had a number of water tanks installed along the left side of the house and was obviously using them to keep everything green.

I closed my eyes and reached for the wild magic. Unlike previous occasions, there was no immediate connection, making me wonder if perhaps I needed to directly touch the earth rather than having anything—even grass—between us. Or maybe it was simply that, at this point in time, they could not sense the presence of darkness or evil in my location, and simply weren’t responding.

It’s not like any of us really knew how this stuff worked.

Then a tiny, luminous thread—something I saw more through my mind’s eye rather than real—floated toward me and twined itself around my wrist. The connection instantly flared to life, and the whispers once again filled my mind. I posed my question, and their voices retreated. I waited for what seemed an interminably long time, but was in reality probably only a few seconds. When the whispers returned, it was with an affirmation but also with the warning that I would need a direct connection to the ground to ensure the power I was drawing didn’t remain in my body, but could loop back out.

Meaning, basically, they wanted me grounded, in much the same manner as electricity was grounded.

Was that why I’d been walking unshod through the forest in those astral dreams? Had my subconscious realized it was a means of curtailing the danger the wild magic presented to me personally?

More than likely. It did have a history of recognizing problems before my conscious self did, after all.

I thanked them and withdrew. The tiny thread unleashed from my wrist and floated away, though it didn’t venture too far. Which was a good thing, given I had no idea what state the earth around Jaqueline’s retreat was in, and I might yet have to draw on that thread to enhance my connection and create the sphere cage.

I returned inside, scooting through the rear glass sliding doors quickly and sighing in relief as the colder air hit.

“How’d it go, lass?” Ashworth asked.

“They agreed it was feasible.” I sat down, picked up my tea, and took a sip. “No guarantee it’ll stop a transport spell, though. Apparently, none of them have ever had to deal with such a situation.”

“Which I find rather hard to believe, given there are centuries of souls down there,” Monty said. “One of them surely would have at least come across a blood mage before.”

“Yes, but said mages are generally intent on claiming the wellsprings, rather than transporting to and from them. Did you figure out a plan of attack while I was gone?”

“Given the position of the house, our best bet is to come in from the side street.” Eli, who was sitting the closest to me, slid his phone toward me and pointed to the street in question. “If the satellite images are correct, there’s no front fence and the corner point of the block has been planted out with a gum tree and some shrubs, which should hide your presence while you raise the magic.”

“Our main problem still remains, though,” I said. “It may be faster to raise the wild magic than a spell, but she’d still have a second or two in which to flee.”

“Which is why Belle will create a distraction here.” Ashworth leaned past his partner and pointed to a gravel driveway. It belonged to the house next door and ran all the way up to the back of the property. “She’ll raise a protective circle and start a snare spell, which should keep Jaqueline’s attention long enough for you to raise the wild magic.”

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