Page 76 of Shadow's End

“The minute she senses the snare, she’s going to react,” I said. “And, more than likely, attack.”

“Yes,” Belle said. “But even if she hits me full force with her magic, the protection circle will hold long enough for you to lockher down.Besides, your personal wild magic runs through our charms now and that might prove to be the best protection yet.”

I hoped so, especially given that insubstantial figure I kept seeing on the astral plane. I hadn’t noticed if he or she had been wearing the charm, but with the wild magic woven into it, darkness shouldn’t be able to take it or break it. Not without major effort anyway.

Of course, you didn’t have to break the protections to kidnap someone. All it would take was catching them unawares and knocking them out.

“Monty and I will sneak in through this yard—” Eli pointed to the white house behind our target. “And deal with any guards or spells they might have. Ashworth will shadow you, protecting your back as you raise the wild magic.”

Trepidation shivered through me, but I did my best to ignore it. “Sounds good.”

“Then give us a few minutes to gather all our gear, and we’ll get going.”

Ten minutes later, we were back in the SUV and heading for View Street, Monty driving at a far more genteel pace this time around. I dragged out my phone and sent Maelle a quick message, giving her the heads-up that we might have located her daughter.

Where?came the immediate response.

I’ll send the address once we know it’s not a trap.

Send it now.

Can’t. There’re several possibilities.Better to lie than having to deal with her unstable presence, especially when I was trying to raise wild magic.

When you know, do not delay.

The “or else” remained unwritten, but it was nevertheless there.

I blew out a breath and shoved the phone away. Once we reached View Street, we dropped Belle off a few houses down from our target house, then continued on around the corner. Monty swung in behind a lovely old paperbark tree, killed the engine, and took out the keys. “I’ll tuck these in the center console storage, just in case things go wrong and someone needs to grab the SUV in a hurry.”

“Hopefully, things will go as planned for a change,” I said. And having said that, it probably wouldn’t.

I opened the door and climbed out. The night was still and clear, the storm that had looked so promising earlier having passed us by without providing any relief. I couldn’t see Jaqueline’s hideaway from where I was standing, just the end of her block and the thick mat of shrubs that hugged the area. That hopefully meant she wouldn’t see or hear us. Not until it was too late, anyway.

Ready when you lot are, Belle said.

Are you sensing anyone lurking in the shadows?

She hesitated briefly.I can’t get a reading on our target’s house, which suggests they’ve got some sort of telepathic barrier in place.

Makes sense given they know you’re telepathic. What about the surrounding area?

There’re five people asleep in the house below me, and three in the house behind our target’s. She paused.There’s also someone in the yard of the house on the other side of the street, but he’s right on the edge of my telepathic range and I’m not getting much information from him.

Meaning if he is a guard, he might also be wearing a protective device.

Possibly. I’ll keep an eye on him, because if there’s one guard, there might be more.

I think “will be more” is more likely than “might.”I returned my attention to the men. “Belle’s in place and ready to go. She said there’s a man standing in the yard directly opposite our house, but he’s right on the edge of her range, so she can’t tell if he’s a problem or not.”

“And at Jaqueline’s? How many are in there?”

“It’s protected against telepathy.”

“Damn,” Monty said. “But I guess not unexpected. We should get going.”

“Indeed,” Eli said and glanced at me. “Give us a minute to get into place.”

As he and Monty grabbed their packs and headed in, I took off my boots and socks, tossing them into the back of the SUV before grabbing my pack and slinging it over my shoulder.

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