“Well, yeah?”
Nikki corrected her slowly, “But this isn’t normal. Cameron’s workroom doesn’t look like any other mage’s in Burkhard. I never spent any time in a Jaeggi’s workroom—I wasn’t allowed in there—so I didn’t see the difference there. But I get what you’re driving at, Cameron. The Jaeggi do magic completely different. They harvest magical energy through a machine like this, and then it’s stored in a battery, which is then plugged into different devices made for certain types of spell work. Mainly the larger spells, the ones that take more than one element to use. Like the big perimeter wards, things like that. All of the elements harvested are kept in glass vials that can be plugged into those devices, and they channel both energy and elements in order to enact spells.”
And it was something of a revelation to Nikki. The words had been floating around in their head for a while, the realization the Jaeggi stole their magical power. But for Nikki, for most of their life, the Jaeggi had been powerful. An enemy they couldn’t overcome.
And now, now Nikki realized it was a sham. A lie. Their magic wasn’t theirs at all. Nikki was far more powerful than any one Jaeggi mage. And wasn’t that a heady thought?
Nikki certainly enjoyed it. Very much.
Lina eyed him sideways and dipped her head in a slow nod. “Right. That’s not normal here? I mean, I know the harvesting of magic from another person isn’t normal, but the devices aren’t?”
“No.” Cameron looked triumphant for some reason. “No, not at all. We don’t need machinery to enact any spells. But that explains so, so much of what I’ve seen. Of the way the Jaeggi’s spells function. Shit, I think I’ve figured this out. Lina, one more question. You’ve got wards up around a city every time you’re in a new place, right?”
“Sure. That’s a given.”
“And there’s a specific machine to do the wards with, I assume?”
“Only way to do it.” Lina glanced between the two of them uncertainly. “Uh, wards aren’t powered by machines for you either?”
“No.” Cameron pounded a fist against the table, excited.
Nikki felt like Cameron had just realized something major. Damned if they knew what. Nikki had realized the differences before, of course. But in context, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference? The Jaeggi might be using machines, but it wasn’t like it changed the outcome any. They could still use magic, so what difference did it make?”
Cameron clearly didn’t see it that way. “Holy shit, there’s a way past that damn ward after all. Both of you, come with me, quick. We’ve got to talk to Alric.”
Nikki followed readily on Cameron’s heels, although they had to jog to manage it, as Cameron wasn’t walking but almost running up the halls. Cameron didn’t knock when he reached the king’s office, just burst straight through. “Alric! I’ve figured it out.”
Alric’s head came up and around, brows shooting up into his dark hair. He’d been in front of a map of Europe but abandoned it readily for Cameron. “Figured out what, Liebling?”
“The wards. The Jaeggi’s brand of magic. I’ve got it.” Cameron strode straight to him, not stopping until he had a hand resting on Alric’s hip. “The Jaeggi’s magical cores are broken, so it never made sense to me how they could manage any major spell work. It’s not like their magical cores function properly, after all. And them harvesting magic from other mages cemented that. But it didn’t click until I saw the device. I just spoke with Nikki and Lina, and they confirmed it for me: the Jaeggi use devices to do spells.”
Alric’s head snapped around to stare at both of them. “Devices?”
Lina didn’t seem comfortable answering—she shrank back a little—but Nikki had no problem explaining. “The Jaeggi have a variety of devices that use stored magical energy and simple spell ingredients in order to use spells. Their wards are the same, created and maintained by machines.”
“A machine?” Alric repeated, baffled.
“Alric, as strange as that is, think.” Cameron practically vibrated, his words tripping over themselves. “It’s a machine. A magical generator. That means there’s a single point of power, and if that’s the case, it gives us a clear target. Take out the generator, the wards go down. If we can slip even one person in, they can destroy it, and our problem disappears in a heartbeat.”
Alric’s gaze went back to his mate, his eyes going wide. Breathlessly, he repeated, “A ward powered by a generator…my god. You’re right, it presents an easy target.” He framed Cameron’s face with both hands and kissed him. “God, I love your mind. How did I get a mate so brilliant?”
“Lots of karma, my sexy husband.” Cameron beamed at him. “I don’t know who we’re going to send in there, it has to be someone the wards already recognize as a ‘friend,’ after all—”