Page 61 of The Dark Rises
She studies me for a long minute. “Don’t let Leandra get to you. You’re not the same person anymore.” She sighs. “I wish I could go with you. Give her a taste of my power.”
It’s my turn to sniff. “That would be fun to see.” It would too. Solandis is not the sugary sweet princess she portrays. “Thank you.”
She lets go of Vargas to pull me in close, and I hug her tightly, breathing in the scent of her. “Give Cormal a hug from me, too.Tell him to focus on the things he can fix, not the past.” She places a kiss on my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I murmur.
Arden walks into the room with a bag full of food. “I’ve got a little of everything in here for all of your cravings.” She hands the bag to Vargas. “We narrowed it down to two possible locations, which I handed to Madoc a few minutes ago. Leandra could be at either one. We offered to go with you, but all three said they had plenty of back-up.”
I shrug. “I haven’t heard the plan yet, but if I need you, I’ll call. Thank you for finding her.” I give her a hug. “Does this place have secure dungeons?”
“Very,” she replies in a smug tone. “Plus, she won’t be able to harm any of us who live here. The Abbey won’t let her.”
“Thanks,” I say with a grim smile. “See you soon.”
Everything is packed and ready to go when I return. Madoc’s pacing from one end of the room to the other. Cormal’s meticulously ticking off his list. Rivan’s studying the strategy.
“So, where are we going?”
“They have two possible locations for Leandra. One is in the Underworld and one in the human world,” Madoc grumbles with a wave of his hand.
Cormal instantly says Underworld at the same time I say human.
“Leandra hates humans,” Cormal reminds me.
“Precisely,” I stress. “Not once did we think to search for her here.” Not in a million, gazillion, quadrillion… whatever, years did I think of checking for her in the human world. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Near a coven? Far from civilization? In the heart of one of the cities? She could stand in the middle of a busy sidewalk, and we wouldn’t see her.
“All right. We check here first,” he agrees, clapping his hands together. “My magic is pushing at the seams, itching to burst free and kill someone.”
“We can’t kill her,” Madoc barks. “Maim her. Take off a couple of limbs. But don’t remove her tongue or hands. Everything else is fair game.”
I look at Rivan, but he’s storing weapons in every conceivable area on his body.
I glance out the window and see it’s near sunset. Running a hand down my body, I change into form-fitting grey clothes. Picking a color between night and day will help me blend into both.
“Let’s go.”
The portal takes us to a house in the countryside. The little brick cottage sits alone on the dirt road. Ruffled curtains blow in the breeze. Window boxes overflowing with flowers sit on the sills. The lawn is freshly mowed.
Full of doubt, I ask Madoc, “Are you sure you have the right coordinates?”
He gives me a droll look, then points down the dirt road to another house. “There. Aamon is joining us here. Leandra’s magic won’t work on him.”
Hmm, good to know.
Rustling in the bush has us all grabbing our weapons, but Aamon laughs when he steps out of them. “Just me.”
“Hi, Aamon,” I greet him with a smile, which he returns. My eyes widen in alarm, and I look at Cormal. His silent laughter brings an even bigger smile to my face.
“Make sure you smile at Leandra, Aamon,” I urge him. “She’ll love it.”
He tilts his head to the side, then shrugs.
Madoc shakes his head at my comment, but I don’t care. Aamon’s smile is utterly terrifying, with multiple rows of very,very sharp teeth. One bite and you’d be gone. He might be a sweetie, but Leandra doesn’t know that.
Madoc and Cormal take to the shadows. I walk up the road to the other house with Rivan on one side and Aamon on the other. When we get close, Rivan kisses me on the cheek and shoots into the sky. I continue along until I’m standing in front of the house.
This is definitely more her style. Completely rundown. Derelict. Rotting siding, peeling paint, overgrown yard, you name it. The dirty, half torn curtain in the front window twitches open, then closed. I tense. Magic buzzes around my fists, and Aamon lets out a soft growl.
