Page 28 of Of Nine So Bold

And it all would start with a simple apple.

9

GWYNEIRA

Seated beside the fire, I froze when I overheard Byron’s words. “Wait, what?” I turned, struggling to keep my voice down. The humans were tending to the horses beside the river, but they might still overhear if I spoke too loudly.

The scholar didn’t look at me when I pushed to my feet and hurried over to where he stood with Casimir and Roan.

“How amIthe linchpin for whether this works?” I demanded in an urgent whisper.

Byron frowned, still not meeting my eyes. “Because it is a modification of a spell for mirroring like to like. Casimir’s vampire powers are damaged. Yours are not. Thus if I draw on the demon’s magic to identify the traces of its power, I should be able to isolate what parts of Casimir’s abilities are harmed, match them to yours which are unharmed, and then use that model to…” He bobbed his head. “Fix them.” A flicker of hesitation crossed his face. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” I repeated. “Just how dangerous is this spell?”

“It is… somewhat risky.”

My mouth moved at the careful statement. Or, given Byron’s tone,understatement.

“If there’s any backlash,” Roan said. “Aim it at me. I should be able to take it.” Darkness ghosted through his eyes when he finished speaking, as if his demon seconded the words. “All right?”

Byron hesitated.

“What?” I asked.

He let out a breath, short and resolute. “Nothing. That’ll be fine. But we should get on with it then, yes?” He looked to me expectantly.

I faltered. Just because they were in agreement hardly meantIwas.

Except what choice was there? Casimir would be in danger if there was a fight when we found the soldiers who took Niko. Hell, we’d all be in danger without his help too.

“Can I help?” Lars spoke up from behind us. When we looked at him in alarm, he shrugged. “It sounds a bit like the spells I use for food.”

“It is abitmore complex than that,” Byron countered.

Lars shrugged. “I’ll be another buffer then. Like Roan.”

I stared at him, and when he glanced at me, my heart melted a little bit. I’d swear he knew I was worried.

And he was trying to help.

“Me too,” Clay chimed in. “Just in case.”

Dammit. I wanted to thank them and I wanted to yell at them for risking themselves.

“Ozias and I will keep watch,” Dex said.

Ruhl made a yipping sound, almost as if telling us he would stay for the same reason.

Dex eyed him briefly and then gave a small nod. “Your help would be appreciated.”

Clearly I wasn’t the only one who’d decided the wolf understood us all just fine.

With a solemn look at us, Dex continued, “You all get this fixed.”

I turned away, biting back a curse of frustration. “We should stay away from the humans,” I muttered.

“Agreed.” Casimir scanned our surroundings and then nodded toward the woods beyond the horses. “Perhaps beyond that forest we will have enough distance to shield our magic from view?”

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