Page 15 of Claimed By Night

Using the Arcane Magic that’s part of me, I throw her over my shoulder and imagine everything surrounding me in black. Then, I whisper the words to allow myself to become invisible in the eyes of those who would perceive me.

Blind from sight.

I imagine myself fading into the darkness around me, becoming one with the shadows, one with Shadow Magic that infiltrates me—thatisme.

I take the stairs slowly, not wanting my footfalls to be detected. But the tavern is a busy and loud place, so maybe I’m being overly cautious. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I start for the rear of the establishment, the same way I came in.But then I realize the doorway is blocked by a large and buxom woman who’s busily kissing a centaur.

“Go to the right,” the sprite’s voice offers, and I realize he’s hiding beneath the bed linens, just on top of the angel’s hair.

Little bastard.

Given no other options, I follow his suggestion and find myself facing an empty corridor.

“At the end of the hallway’s a door leadin’ outside,” the sprite continues.

No sooner do I reach the end of the hallway than I hear Anona’s high-pitched scream as she presumably discovers her treasure is missing. The panicked sounds of her footfalls overhead meet my ears as she runs down the stairs and announces to the tavern that the angel is missing. Then, the entire room is a cacophony of noise.

I run down the remainder of the hallway and watch as the sprite flies from his perch on top of the girl and attempts to open the door, only to find it locked from the outside. I could use my Shadow Magic to unlock the door but in this realm, my magic isn’t as strong as it is in the Shadow Realm. And the last thing I want to do is waste my reserves.

With time dwindling and our options shrinking before our eyes, I pull my leg back and release it, kicking the door open. The sound of the wood splitting is louder than I would’ve liked. It grabs the attention of Anona and one of her guards, because she appears at the mouth of the corridor a split second later.

“She heard you an’ she comin’ after us! Go!” the sprite orders and I lurch forward, clinging to the girl as I bolt outside. My magic is weaker in the mortal plane and I can’t manage the invisibility façade any longer, so I shed it. But by the time I do, I close my eyes again and pull the shadows to the forefront of my mind.

Summon Mists, I command and when I open my eyes, I’m surrounded by a bank of thick fog that obscures my soldiers and me from view. By this time, I’m ensconced in the forest that borders Anona’s tavern, now hidden in part by the trees.

“This way, liege!” one of my centurions, Hlin, calls out from my right and I run in his direction, the sprite remaining airborne just beside me.

At the same time, Anona appears outside.

Arcane Eye!I command, and I can no longer see from my right eye as the magic within me borrows my vision, thrusting the eye far above the line of the trees where it floats, invisible, and homes in on Anona. Once the mists of my magic recede, she tracks me, her eyes latching onto me immediately.

But she’s too late. My centurions have already prepared theArcane Gate, a portal spell that will allow us reentry into the Gorge.

TheArcane Gateappears as a two-dimensional glowing ring filled with the dark mist of the Gorge. It hovers an inch or so above the ground and, at my signal, my centurions begin filling it, crossing over into our home territory.

As theArcane Eyedisposes of itself, my vision returns.

“Dragan!” Anona squeals behind me as I jump into theGateand feel the coldness of the Shadow Magic of the Gorge enveloping me, recognizing me and becoming one with me.

I’m home.

Unfortunately, however, Anona has spotted me and I know what this means. The angel won’t be safe in the Gorge. Once Variant learns that I’ve taken an angel hostage, he’ll wonder why. Of course, he won’t imagine she still possesses her wings (and I’m beginning to doubt whether she truly does) but there’s a reason his most recent edict included the return of all angels. He’s planning something—and, whatever it is, I’m convinced it’s terrible.

***

DRAGAN

“Where to, Shadow Master?” the sprite asks with a wide grin once we’re safely ensconced in the darkness of the mist, in the plane of shadow.

“You’re still here?” I respond, pausing to set the angel down before me.

“I ain’t got nowhere’s else ta go,” he answers with a shrug. “Anona’s place was my home an’ clearly, I can’t go back theres no more. So, looks like I’m stuck with you. You need a servant or somethin’? I’m real good at servin’ drinks without spillin’.”

“No,” I answer but I can’t say my attention is on him at present. Instead, I want proof that I haven’t just made a crucial mistake. One that could cost me more than I’m willing to pay. I need to find out if this angel is truly intact.

Admittedly, I tried doing the same back at Anona’s, but my magic wasn’t at its strongest then. Here, I should have no issue in summoning the angel’s wings—that is, if she truly possesses them.

Once I place the girl down on the ground, she’s immediately enveloped by the roving mist. I reach down and roll her over, pulling the linens down to reveal her backside.

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