Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

Nikki immediately lifted a hand in the air. “I’ll go.”

Both of them looked around in surprise.

“You’ll go?” Lina asked uncertainly. “But Nikki, they know you escaped. If you show back up, the clan will know you’re there as an enemy.”

“Yes, but the wards aren’t changed every time they move,” Nikki pointed out reasonably. “The ward will reject anyone who’s not supposed to be in there, that’s how it’s set up. They had to do a specific spell on Ravi just to get him inside when they took him captive. It’s too complex to mess with easily. So I must be still registered as a friend to the ward. I’ll have to sneak in; it’s not like I can waltz in there. But I can explode the generator. Once it’s down, mages and dragons alike will be coming in on all sides, and I can retreat.”

“Gunter,” Alric finally said, “will skin me alive if I send you in there.”

Nikki didn’t discount that. Gunter would absolutely not be okay with this plan. But Nikki was determined to help. And who else could they send? The other rescued mages wouldn’t have anything to do with this—Nikki knew that for a fact. They were far more fragile than Nikki. And asking Lina to do it was just wrong on so many levels. She wasn’t even an adult yet.

It had to be Nikki. And as nerve-wracking as the idea was, Nikki felt excited too. It was a cloak-and-dagger situation, and Nikki liked sneaking around and blowing things up. It might be fun.

“We need to get in, Hoheit. And I’m the only person you can send,” they said confidently. “I promise to hold Gunter back.”

Alric passed a hand over his face. “Shit. I hate decisions like these. Nikki, I’m holding you in reserve for now. Let’s properly sit and plan this out. If we can figure out any other way, we’ll do that before I send you alone into enemy territory.”

That was fair. Nikki gave him a nod. “Okay.”

“Follow me back into the War Room.”

Uh. They had one of those?

Nikki gamely followed him, not really sure how to present themself. This was the first time they were going in offering a solution and not just information. Didn’t that call for presentations or something? All the meetings on TV had projectors and slides.

Although what Nikki would put in a PowerPoint presentation was anyone’s guess. Slide 1: How to make wards go boom.

Alric threw open a door and marched through it, proclaiming as he walked, “We have a possible solution. Cameron, explain it once again for them, please.”

Nikki didn’t really listen as Cameron repeated himself. They were mentally stuck on Slide 2.

Other than that, the War Room wasn’t nearly as impressive as the term made it sound. There wasn’t a single cannon, no bombs—although quite a few weapons hung on the walls. Those were cool. There were weapons Nikki couldn’t even put a name to, looking battle scarred and worn, as if they had been wielded in a war at one time. These weren’t just for display. In the center of the room was a huge, big-ass table, with a map currently stretched out on the top.

Personally speaking, Nikki felt the place could use a few more windows. It was strangely dim in here. Just saying.

Rodrigo spoke up as Cameron finished. “All of the Jaeggi spells? Are we sure on this?”

Cameron turned and gestured to Lina, who lingered near the door as if ready to make a break for it at any second. “Not all, but their major workings, like wards, are. I’ve just confirmed it with her. And Nikki. This really gives us an edge. We have a much better idea of what to guard against and how to overcome anything they throw at us. It also makes sense of my experience with them. No wonder they used the same sorts of spells repetitively. They literally have no leeway for creativity; they’re stuck with simple spells they can manage unless they create a machine for it.”

“And you’re sure about the ward being a generator?”

“Yes. Well, it functions like one, I should say. It’s a machine that activates and maintains a ward.”

Chalo gave a grunt. “Sounds like a generator to me. Alright, so we need someone registered as a friend to go in and take that thing down. Seems to me like we have very few options.”

Alric gave him a dip of the head. “There’s few I trust in high-stakes situations. And among the ones we rescued, only Nikki seems to have any real skills and backbone. They’ve already volunteered to go in and take it down. I’m…open to other suggestions, if anyone has one?”

Chalo’s wife, Diya, spoke up. “Why not the girl who sought us out? Lina Jaeggi, you can’t do this?”

Lina shook her head so vigorously it was in danger of coming right off. “I don’t know how to work the machine. I can’t begin to shut it off.”