Page 38 of Two Who Live On

“She’d prefer discretion.” Gavin pointed to the alleyway leading to a side door entrance. “Your last unwelcome visit left some guests feeling uncomfortable.”

“Hmm.” Milo exaggerated a shudder. “I’ve been accused of many things, but causing discomfort. My PR team’s gonna have a field day with that accusation.”

Gavin led Milo to the alleyway. Whether because of how frivolously Milo treated the situation as the pavement turned into gravel in the seedy alleyway or the fact I couldn’t hear a single thought from Gavin, I was left paranoid and unnerved. I couldn’t hear anyone else’s thoughts when attached to Milo this way.

The sun faded the further they walked toward the entrance at the back of the club. This felt very much like a trap, yet Enchanter Evergreen, with tenfold more experience than me in the industry, didn’t treat it as such. Maybe I was overworked or too close to him and worrying for nothing. Still, I amplified by telepathy, casting a link.

“Milo, be cautious. This feels like a setup. Like a really, really obvious setup.” Nothing. Either it didn’t work, or he didn’t acknowledge my link. I’d consider it the latter since his thoughts vanished into visions I couldn’t read or hear or make sense of.

“Have to say, I’ve made my way to many backdoors and never been so unaware of what to expect.” Milo winked, turning the corner with Gavin at his side. “Usually, there’s more foreplay.”

Gavin, the burly powerhouse, shoved Milo ahead toward a crowd. “You talk too much. Make light too much. It’s disgusting.”

“Rough and not the foreplay I expected.” Milo kept his gaze on every person he faced but listened closely to the shift of Gavin’s feet against the gravel. In a matter of seconds, Milo had assessed each person and gathered a headcount of twenty people. Despite his close proximity and channeling his branch, he couldn’t see a single potential thing in any of their futures. He couldn’t even ascertain if he’d already glimpsed their possibilities before. Something shielded every single aspect of his clairvoyance.

“Wondering why it’s so quiet?” Gavin asked with this smug, arrogant tone that infuriated me.

“Probably because no one’s talking,” Milo countered, still observing silence.

My heart raced, and I leapt toward the door, ready to fly downtown and help Milo, but the link fuzzed, obscuring everything. Dropping to my knees, I reached out. I squeezed the doorknob, focusing.

Silence.

Not a single thought in the air.

Absolutely nothing—even nearby minds.

My heart thumped so hard, my throat ached.

“Ah. Enchantments with hexes to block psychic magics,” Milo said with a big smile.

I rolled my eyes up, resisting tears as I remained linked to his mind, ready to help. Not that I could. How could I fight twenty likely warlocks?

“Psychic branch—sure,” Gavin said, his voice fueling me with fury as I stood still, maintaining the link. “Specifically, all these sigils are designed to block clairvoyance, so you’re utterly useless, Inevitable Failure.”

Sheer force helped me through the door, into the sky, and heading toward Milo.

“Theodore proved you’re nothing without your branch, so each of us has an enchantment blocking your visions.”

“Specifically, clairvoyance. Nice touch,” Milo said, growing agitated by the continued support for the warlock incursion he believed he’d squashed.

Theodore Whitlock’s supporters had created fanatics clamoring for the liberation of magic for all, which continued sprouting far and wide across the world in little pockets, but it dawned on Milo that the wicked warlock Whitlock still had a faint rallying call even behind bars. I ground my teeth, recalling how the doctor carved up witches, bound fiends inside their minds, and slaughtered branchless witches to perfect her experiments in liberating magic for all, something these warlocks surrounding Milo clearly didn’t care about. It didn’t bother Milo either. He maintained perfectly calm when recalling the damage warlocks did to the city months ago; he compartmentalized it, still studying those surrounding him now.

He acknowledged it, understood the cause and reasoning, and fixated on ways to steer something extreme to something successful. He’d focused much of his time snuffing out followers and possibilities which might lead to an onslaught that’d cause a city-wide rebellion. Remaining delicate because there were folks who needed to raise awareness about the injustices of licensing. Still, he regretted not taking a more thorough approach. Had he, there might be a chance he caught sight of these individuals who’d set this trap in the back alley.

Wind splashed my face as I flew in the air while struggling to maintain the link. How would he have known this possibility when they’d designed enchantments specifically to block his branch?

“You’re awfully calm, Enchanter Evergreen.” Gavin approached, channeling fire in his fists.

“Just wondering how closely you lot examined those sigils.” Milo eyed each of them, studying their movements, the release in some magics, and delving into countless scenarios of assumption. “They aren’t specific to my frequency, which will be your downfall.”

He boasted, knowing full well he didn’t have the time or energy to override the sigils. Sure, if Milo focused, pushed his psychic energy ahead, he could overpower the weak hexes and reveal whatever intricate details necessary on their futures, this trap, and the reasoning behind the attack.

There wasn’t time for that, however, and in an instant, Milo leapt forward, grabbing two attackers by the throat and dropping them to the ground.

He channeled enough telekinesis to stun them into submission before lunging for his next target.

The only purpose behind his comment was meant to invoke hesitation, which worked. He’d struck three others with telekinetic bursts before a single person raised a magical counterstrike.

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