Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound 2)

pockets, then followed Jaxson and Amal through the cobblestone streets of

the tiny village. Ivy draped over the old stone buildings, and planters

brimmed with flowers. It was like the village had been lost to time.

According to Amal, the town had originally been built by the Etruscans,

who’d dug caves into the hard layer of volcanic tuff. Over the millennia, the

underlying clay had eroded away, leaving the plateau isolated in the middle

of the valley, and most of the population had moved away.

Only a few windows were lit, and we hugged the shadows. Jaxson was

quiet, but Amal moved like a ghost.

Our plan was simple: knock on the door, and if no one answered, sneak in

with the assumption that Kahanov was already inside.

The mage’s tower was impossible to miss. It soared above the town. Built

of ancient limestone blocks, it almost glowed in the moonlight.

Problematically, however, there wasn’t a door, just a brass knocker mounted

on the wall above a set of stairs.

Amal kept a wary eye on the dark, crooked street while we climbed the

steps. Jaxson casually slammed the knocker three times. No response.

After trying again, he ran his hand over the stone where a door should

have been. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Amal nodded. “I think we need to assume the worst. Kahanov had a day’s

lead on us.”

“Okay, so let’s find an alternate entrance, seeing as there’s no door to

break down.”

Amal slipped her phone out and pulled up an aerial map. “The mage has

an isolated garden that protrudes over the cliff. We might be able to climb

down into it from some of the houses at the edge of the butte.”

Jaxson glanced up at the tiled roofs of the houses around us. “So, over the

top?”

“My favorite way.” Amal crouched and leapt. She soared into the air and

landed lightly on the roof two stories above.