I held out my hands. She gripped them and squeezed lightly, as if I was the one who was stepping into danger rather than her.
“Ready?” she said, and then at my nod added, “Right, let’s see what this bitch wants.”
Nine
She took a deep breath, then reached for the specter prowling the pavement outside the building.
White Lady, we are ready. Her mental tone was both powerful and confident. You may enter the building as long as you wish us no harm.
The surrounding magic pulsed, and the hum of power briefly intensified as the threads reacted to the spirit passing through them. She wasn’t immediately rejected, which was at least something.
Then she was in front of us. Thanks to my link with Belle, I could now see her very clearly. She remained in white, but there were flashes of crimson in her flowing hair, and her eyes were silver. Not just a witch, but also a royal one.
Do you have a name, spirit? Belle asked.
Names hold power. I do not wish to give you mine.
And yet you want our help.
Yes.
Why?
To stop the monsters that feast in this place.
Again, why? What is your connection to them?
They killed my child. They must be made to pay.
But in seeking such vengeance, you have paid a great price.
One I would pay ten times over to stop these creatures.
How is the shifter you killed connected to the flesh stripper? Are they working together?
No. They are one and the same.
Surprise rippled through Belle and echoed through me. Shifters can’t shred humans the way these things do.
We are not dealing with shifters as such, but rather Empusae, a variation of the Empusa. They can attain several forms—that of Strix, and also a young woman. It is the latter with which they lure their prey to their deaths.
My heart began to beat a whole lot faster. I’d heard owls hooting a number of times over the last few nights—had it been the Empusae? Is that why the wild magic had surrounded me before I’d entered that tree tunnel?
Are they capable of magic? Belle asked.
Yes.
Given you’ve already killed one of them, Belle said, why do you need our help?
Because the other two are now aware of my presence. I will not so easily gain another opportunity to stop them.
How long have you been hunting them?
Decades.
And this is the first time you’ve managed to take one of them? Incredulousness filled Belle’s mental voice. Why, when you retain much of your witch power?
Much is still not enough. The one I trapped was younger—foolish—and an easy target. The other two—one of them an elder—are not.