A key?
The Fire Wolf cocked his head ever so slightly in my direction.
I stopped as Sinister Fairy Dude continued prattling on.
The hunter didn’t make eye contact with me, but a slight flare of his nostrils told me he was powerful enough to detect me through my cloaking spell. A new tightness bunched his shoulders, but he returned his attention to the fairy droning on.
I held my breath and stayed plastered to the wall. Sinister Fairy Dude continued pacing as his monologue didn’t abate. Seriously, the dude loved listening to himself, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing, as nobody glanced my way. It was only the Fire Wolf who had sensed me. I resumed my slow advance to the front.
Sinister Fairy Dude pivoted when he reached the end of the room. “If nothing else, you’ll be an important spear in Jakub’s collection, and if you cooperate, he will make your captivity more tolerable.”
Spear? Collection? Captivity? I shook off those disturbing comments and concentrated on getting to the best position in the room to fight them.
I shuffled silently along the wall and vaguely listened as Sinister Fairy Dude continued talking about Jakub—whoever he was—and his collections. He kept mentioning Katarina, too, which didn’t really make much sense. It was almost as if he thought the Fire Wolf was here for Katarina and not my sister.
Whatever. Not important right now.
When I was only a yard from the group, I did one last calculation of how this would go down. Sinister Fairy Dude would go first. You always took out the leader before tackling others. Prisha’s father had taught me that. After the fairy . . .
My mouth set into a grim line. While I didn’t relish the thought of killing anyone, I also knew that I might have to. If these six were anything like the warlocks that had been stationed at the asylum, they would aim to kill me. And if it came down to me or them, I definitely chose me.
I stayed where I was, since at the moment, I had time to think my plan through. Squinting, I assessed the bands encircling my hunter’s wrists. They were thick and blue—the color of a robin’s egg—with a strange glow emitting from them.
Whatever the brand of cuffs shackling him were, they weren’t like the ones we’d found in the asylum, and since I didn’t stock bondage equipment at Practically Perfect, I had no idea how strong they were or how to release them. I would have to assume that I wouldn’t be able to free him immediately once I reached him, which meant that I would be on my own initially.
Briefly, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before calling upon the years of training I’d learned with Prisha and her family. Her father had taught me to fight as if I were his own daughter. Now, more than ever, I was thankful for those lessons.
I breathed deeply again. Be quick. Move fast. Don’t panic. Keep your cool. If you don’t, that weird shit is going to happen with your magic again.
My eyes peeled open as Sinister Fairy Dude checked the time. “Ah, it’s almost time to test the new collectives to see—”
I whipped a potion from my belt and threw it at him while casting a binding spell on the others. The release of my magic had my cloaking spell falling, but it was worth it as I hit my mark.
Sinister Fairy Dude let out a strangled cry when the death potion exploded in his face. Yep, I’d just killed him, but I didn’t give it a second thought, and I didn’t wait to see if he fell. I knew he would.
I shot a telekinetic spell at the werewolves, plastering them to the wall, then whipped out another potion just as the sorcerers broke through my binding hold and began lobbing spells at me.
The werewolves broke through a second later—fuck, all of them were strong—then they shifted midair as Star Tattoo Guy tried to charge. I strengthened my binding spell on him, while dodging the sorcerers’ spells. Star Tattoo Guy froze in his tracks.
“Tala!” the Fire Wolf growled. “Get out of here!”
I dove past him, casting a maximizer spell when I unleashed a telekinetic wave. All five of them spiraled back and hit the wall, which allowed me a second to assess Sinister Fairy Dude. He was definitely down. His unseeing eyes stared at the ceiling.
Good. One down. Five to go.
“Dammit, Tala!” the Fire Wolf roared as the muscles in his arms bulged while he fought and writhed against his cuffs, but they held.
I ducked and rolled behind a desk when one of the sorcerers jumped to his feet and shot a spell right at me. I crouched down and began casting death curses one after the other over the top of the desk. My heart thumped in time with my throws. The entire room seemed to shrink around me as I fell into harmony with my breathing.
Inhale in, exhale out. Throw. Charge. Duck. Roll. Inhale in, exhale out.
My body fell into the seasoned pattern that I’d spent my entire childhood and adult life training for. Vaguely, in some part of my brain, I was aware that the new feeling of others’ magic wasn’t affecting me, but I didn’t allow myself to dwell on it, too worried that it would interfere with the rhythm I’d found. Because I wasn’t messing around. My life could literally end if even one of these fuckers got to me.
“Tala!” the Fire Wolf bellowed when one of the werewolves tried to pounce on me. “On your right!”
I swayed to the side, nearly losing my balance as the werewolf sailed over me. “Thanks!”
But the werewolf landed on his feet and spun while the other closed in. The wolves flanked me, one on each side, and they leapt, coming at me simultaneously with their jaws open as snarls flew, all while the sorcerers worked in tandem while Star Tattoo Guy still fought my binding spell.
Jumping to my feet, I leaped to the side when I hit both wolves with another binding spell midair.
Although my spell hit its mark as both wolves froze in flight, I didn’t time my landing right. Just as my feet hit the ground, one of the sorcerers lassoed me in a whip of burning magic. My entire body seized, my teeth chattering. A brief sense of panic hit me, but I locked it down before it could grow.
A ferocious snarl came from the Fire Wolf as he continued to fight valiantly against the cuffs.
Taking a deep breath, I retreated to that calm place within me. This wasn’t the first time I’d been snagged in a fight.
Remember your training.
My eyes drifted closed as the sorcerer lifted me from the ground.
“Well, well, what have we here?” He tsked. “A collective that’s escaped from her room.”
I peeled my eyes open as my breathing calmed. I didn’t bother with a reply as I opened the well of magic deep inside me. I would need all of it for this.
“We knew you were hiding your true potential all this time.” The sorcerer’s eyes gleamed. “And I have to say, very impressive for a female.” He arched an eyebrow at me, his look taunting.
Obviously, this guy thought I was my sister, but I welcomed the distraction as I beckoned my magic forth, letting it surge through my body in hot, brimming streams.
With my body still held suspended in the air, and the sorcerer’s burning magic wrapped around me, I replied through my chattering teeth, “You say female as if that’s something to scoff at.”
He laughed “Well, it is. Wouldn’t you agree? It didn’t take too long to subdue you.”
“Five to one, yet I was holding my own. You’re right. You’re such a big man.”
His lips thinned, but my jabs seemed to do the trick at distracting him. I let my magic build more as a slow smile spread across my face. “Tell me what you think of this.”