Blade Bound (Chicagoland Vampires 13)

“I’ve got a governor,” Mallory said. “A small spell that will ratchet down her magic, keep her from being able to give the Egregore physical form. I just need to get close enough to use it.”

“Take the chance when you can get it,” Wilcox said. “Let’s bring her down.” He pointed to a spot at the music pavilion near the park. “The vehicle to take her in will be here. It’s been warded and sealed, and it’s ready.”

“And you’ll actually contain her this time?” Baumgartner asked haughtily, as if he’d been the one to put out all the effort at Towerline. In fact, he’d put out none. My opinion of him before walking into the room hadn’t been high. That didn’t help matters.

“The wagon team assures me they will. You’ll help us get her in?”

“We have containment expertise,” Simpson said.

I doubted that was true, too, and that she’d ever “contained” anything larger than a random bird or field mouse. But I wouldn’t be petty aloud.

“Then let’s take our positions,” Wilcox said, and we walked to the door, outside again into freezing temps.

“Well,” I said. “That went about as well as I expected.”

“Fucking bureaucracy,” Catcher said. “But yeah, not entirely unexpected.”

“What is it with supernaturals and bureaucrats?” Mallory asked.

“Something in the DNA, I suspect.”

“I’ve done what I can,” Mallory said, then looked up at Catcher. “Right?”

“You did. You can lead a bureaucrat to a better idea,” he said with a wink. “But you can’t make him use it.”

Mallory chuckled, which had been the point, stepped into his arms.

Ethan put a hand on my face. “I love you. Be careful.”

“Ditto that,” Catcher said to Mallory.

We exchanged brief kisses, and then looked at each other.

“You ready for this?” I asked Mallory.

She held out her arm. “Let’s follow the yellow brick road,” she said. And we set out to find the Wicked Witch.

• • •

We followed the island’s main road toward the park, the sorcerers in front of us, at least until they split off to take their positions. Ethan and Catcher would come in from other directions, hopefully surreptitiously. Luc, Lindsey, and Juliet would stay near the planetarium and closer to shore, in case Sorcha made a run for it. Brody would stay with the vehicle. Thankfully, the CPD had thought ahead, made sure the snow and ice had been mostly cleaned off. The asphalt was still slushy and slippery, but we didn’t need skis and snowshoes.

“How are you feeling about the governor?”

“‘Confident’ is a word. It’s not the word I’d choose, but definitely a word.”

She slipped a little in the slush, and I grabbed her elbow before she could go down, helped her straighten again.

“And what word would you choose?” I asked her.

She thought about it for a moment. “Encouraged?”

“I’ll take that. How close do you need to get?”

“As close as possible.” She pulled the compact from the pocket of her coat. “It’s a spell-alchemy hybrid. I’m a spell kind of girl; she’s an alchemy kind of girl. Without getting into the gory details, it’s like Spanx for magic. Sucks it all in.”

“You are a wonder. And you’ve come a long way in a year.”

“Just need an endorsement deal and I’m good to go. I’m going to need to concentrate—both on finishing the spell and keeping her from knowing about it. So I need you to handle her.”