“I’m betting it’s a condition of employment that’s not mentioned in whatever contract is signed between the two.”
“Either that, or the apprentice is willing to take the risk that his master will teach him enough that he’ll be able to resist or even defeat his master.”
“I wouldn’t think that would happen too often.”
“No, but maybe they think the promise of ultimate power is worth the gamble.”
“I guess their life is one big gamble anyway given the forces they use on a daily basis.”
Behind me, the door opened, and I turned to see Aiden walk in. He looked a whole lot fresher than he had yesterday and there was no sign of the deep shadows that had been ringing his eyes.
“Evening, ladies.” He kissed me warmly and then pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Would you like a coffee, Ranger?” Belle asked.
He nodded. “That would be great, though I am here on official business.”
I raised my
eyebrow. “That being?”
He pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket, inside of which was a tracking bracelet—the one taken from the female wolf, I suspected, given I could feel the vague wisp of magic emanating from it. The spell would probably have faded from the other bracelet by now.
“I know it’s a long shot,” he said, “but could you try tracking down a location of the rest of the bracelets?”
I plucked the bag from his grip and shook the bracelet out into my hand. After carefully pulling apart the three strands, I ran my finger across the strip onto which the control and tracking spell had been woven. It was still present, and still reasonably strong, even if it was no longer dangerous.
I met Aiden’s gaze again. “I might be able to, but if I fail, there’s always Ashworth and his—”
The corners of his bright eyes crinkled. “Eli arrived in Castle Rock this morning and has read the riot act to Ashworth. I don’t believe he’ll be doing much in the way of helping us for the next couple of days.”
“Is Eli aware that Ashworth might have been tagged in some way by our dark witch?”
Aiden nodded. “He did a thorough check and found a sliver of black stone in Ashworth’s thigh. The magic was only faint, but it obviously was enough for the heretic witch to track him.”
But not enough for Ashworth to sense. Trepidation shivered down my spine. If the heretic could fool Ashworth’s senses, what hope did I have against the bastard?
And why would you be thinking that you’re going to face this creep? Belle asked, mental tones sharp.
I don’t know. Maybe it was nothing more than pessimism. Maybe it was the knowledge that Belle and I were currently the only witches left standing.
And maybe it was the fact that this reservation seemed to have picked me as its defender, and that this problem would somehow, in the end, be mine to solve.
I raised my gaze to Aiden’s. “I could possibly reverse the magic in this thing, but whether that will lead us to either the other bracelets or the hunters themselves is another matter entirely.”
“Right now, I just want to track down everyone who has been given one of those things. I’ll worry about finding the bastards behind the killings later.”
Later might well be too late given the first thing any logical person would do on discovering the game was up was run. But he knew that as much as I did.
“If we’re lucky, they might not have handed all the bracelets out yet.”
He frowned. “Why would you think that?”
I glanced down at the bracelet in my hand and again let the muted but not erased energy run briefly across my senses.
“Because any sensible witch creating spells such as this would ensure that, once activated, they had a limited lifespan.” My mouth twisted. “It’s one way of getting repeat customers.”
“And the magic on those things has that feel?”