Page 30 of Whispers of the Magical Forest

"Maybe," I replied as my fingers hovered over the tainted snow. "I just need to get a hold of this power. Problem is that it’s old."

"It’s not working,” Fiona snarled as she slammed her fists into the ground.

A flash of silver caught the streetlight, and I scrambled forward. My heart stopped when I recognized Aislinn's bracelet. It was the one her daughter had made for her last Christmas. It lay in the gutter like an accusation. The charms Fiona and I had enchanted to enhance her protections pulsed weakly against the corruption surrounding it.

"Found something," I said as I scooped up the bracelet. The protection runes Aislinn had carved into it were cracked and leaking power. It created tiny auroras in the air around it. "I’m getting a trail."

Hope lifted the weight on my chest and eased the throbbing pain enough that I could finally breathe. They weren’t physical tracks. They were magical traces, like breadcrumbs left by the corrupted power the shifter wielded. They wove through the streets in complex patterns. I closed my eyes and tried to follow them. Some led nowhere, others doubling back on themselves. “It’s not giving me a location.”

"Shite," Gadross cursed as he pulled something from his pocket. It was another of those copper disks. This one pulsed with a different kind of energy than the last one. It was more focused than the one he'd used at the morgue. "This one is designed specifically for penetrating magic and tracking corrupted energy signatures. It can’t get through everything, mind you. But it’s the best we’ve got."

"And you haven't used it yet because...?" I asked as I eyed the disk with eagerness. The runes etched into its surface were unlike anything I'd seen before.

"Because using it will alert every magical being within fifty miles that something's happening," he replied. "We'll lose the element of surprise."

"Pretty sure that ship sailed when they kidnapped Aislinn in front of a cafe full of mundies," Fiona pointedout. She was back to pacing. Fresh blood seeped through her bandage. She either didn't notice or didn't care. Knowing her, probably both. "Besides, subtlety isn't exactly our strong suit."

Gadross caught her arm, forcing her to stop. "We need a plan. They chose this area for a reason. The town's old magic will work against us. These streets have guarded darker secrets than most people know exist. This device might not work. I’ll give it a try," he said as he held up the copper disk. Ancient runes flickered across its surface as he activated it. Their light cast shadows over his weathered face. The disk hummed to life and its copper surface took on an otherworldly glow. As the power built, something went wrong. The runes began to twist and bleed together like melting wax. A high-pitched whine filled the air.

Gadross's face contorted in pain. Blood began to trickle from his nose. It had to be the town's old magic fighting back against his device. The disk's glow turned sickly. It pulsed erratically like a dying heartbeat. His hands shook as he tried to maintain control. The power was too strong and too ancient. Veins stood out on his temples as more blood dripped onto his silver-streaked beard.

"Gadross!" I moved to steady him as he swayed.

He wiped the blood away with his sleeve and deactivated the disk with shaking hands. "The old town's defenses are as strong as I anticipated."

"They knew that," Fiona said grimly. "You’re right about why they picked this town. These defenses are only part of what they need. They need me and Violet, too."

"What do you mean?" Gadross asked. His face was still pale.

Fiona pulled crumpled papers from her coat. "We found these at the house earlier. Look at the diagrams. They need specific power types for the ritual. Royal Fae blood to openthe way, which they have now with Aislinn. But they also need a phoenix's primordial fire and..." She hesitated, glancing at me.

"And Fiona's particular brand of magic," I finished. "They've been studying us. They thoroughly tracked our power signatures. They knew exactly what they were looking for."

"And Aislinn's witchcraft enhancement?" Gadross asked as he examined the papers with growing concern.

"They don't know about that," Fiona said as a vicious grin spread across her face despite her pallor. "They think she's just an extremely powerful Fae who gave birth to a royal dragon. Their research missed a few key details."

The wind picked up. It carried more of the whispers in languages too old for human tongues. Magic rippled through the streets, making the sodium lights flicker and spark. "Bugger," Gadross muttered as his gaze shifted toward the café. "The mundies are starting to come out of their hidey-hole. I need to deal with them before they see too much."

"Go," I said, watching as dark shapes began to coalesce in the deepening shadows. "We'll try the emergency beacon. Someone has to notice half the town going dark, right?" Turning to Fiona, I said, "We need backup. Lots of it. The kind with serious firepower and razor-sharp teeth."

My chest tightened as I thought of Aislinn, somewhere in this maze of ancient streets. Was she being prepared for a ritual that would literally tear her apart? We'd already wasted too much time. Every second we delayed was another second they had to prepare. Another second closer to her ultimate doom. Another second closer to losing her forever. The pain of that thought nearly brought me to my knees.

I glanced at Fiona and saw my own anguish reflected in her eyes. We both knew what they could do toAislinn in the time we spent standing here. What they would do to her. And we both knew that if we didn't find her before that ritual started, there wouldn't be anything left of our friend to save.

CHAPTER 11

AISLINN

Awareness came back slowly. Trying to open my eyes was like wading through treacle. Not the golden syrup kind either. I'm talking the dark, bitter stuff that clings to everything it touches. The last thing I remembered was eating at the café with Fiona and Violet. Then all hell broke loose. There was purple light and then it felt like I was falling.

Now, there was cold stone beneath my back and vile magic humming through my bones. My head throbbed with the unmistakable hangover-like feeling of being magically knocked unconscious. Bloody brilliant way to end what was supposed to be a relaxing day spent wine tasting.

Kalli would be beside herself. I'd promised to bring her back one of those fancy biscuits from the café's display cabinet. The thought of my daughter made me think of my mate. Argies would raze the world trying to find me. A vice constricted around my heart. I had to get out of here and get back to them. And Fiona and Violet. Those two were probably going mental.

My heart began racing when I tried to move. Panicthreatened to drown me. I was bloody well bound to some sort of stone altar. Magical restraints held me spread-eagled like a sacrifice in one of those dodgy horror films they show late at night on BBC Three. The position made every muscle scream in protest. Pulling against the bonds did absolutely nothing except make pretty purple sparks dance across my skin. Each spark felt like a tiny electric shock. The magic was corrupted in a way that made my Fae blood recoil.

The chamber around me gradually came into focus. Massive stone walls stretched up into darkness. Their surfaces were covered in pulsing runes that somehow managed to look both beautiful and wrong. They reminded me of the protection sigils in Eidothea's great halls. The big difference was that these weren’t made from Light magic. Where Fae runes normally flowed like water, these jerked and sputtered like dying lights at a grotty underground station. Purple light oozed between the symbols. I was beginning to hate the color. Another sin I would pin on the asshole behind this. My Kalli was a lovely purple dragon and I would be pissed if I couldn’t adore her the same way I always had.

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