Page 25 of Faerie Hunted

“You see nothing.” The command lifted out of me on instinct.

I had no strength left for transfiguration. My cognitive manipulation rose of its own accord.So much for accomplishing great things. I used my gifts to survive.

The soldiers stopped in their tracks with identical gazes unfocused.

Without the spell, I had no way to see their energy signatures clearly. I still reached for their minds with a pulse of magic.

“I’m not here. Neither of us are here. You’ll leave us alone.”

What I saw didn’t matter. I had to make sure the soldiers perceived that what I told them was true. And I wasn’t going to wait around to see if the command stuck.

In the lull, Noren and I took off again.

The spell wore off when we were halfway down the block and their shouts trailed us.

Adrenaline filtered through me and urged me on faster than my weak body could accommodate. Noren had to slow his strides to stay with me, but turned to gnash his teeth at the soldiers when they inevitably caught up to us.

I kept moving even as Noren attacked the two fae and took them down until their screams cut off abruptly.

Faster, faster.

I had to go faster if I wanted out of here.

Where was I going, though? WherecouldI go? My head spun, and somewhere along the way I lost one of my shoes. The hair on the back of my forearms prickled with awareness, and when I tried to call for the change again, nothing happened.

“Tavi?”

I swiveled automatically at the sound of Mike calling my name. Before I could take a step toward him, a guard swung his fist and slammed his knuckles into my temple.

I saw Mike in the distance, clutching a handful of flowers to his chest, before I dropped, out cold.

The slow dripof water on stone came first, before my other senses returned.

I focused on the sound, the sensation of cold unyielding stone beneath my back. A few more breaths and I found the strength to open my eyes. I regretted it instantly.

The pain returned along with a swell of dizziness and a sickening drop as I realized the truth—without the transfusions, I’d go right back into the sickness that plagued me before.

Noren wasn’t with me, either.

Had he gotten away? He wasn’t locked down here with me. I’d know.

Dread pressed down heavily and I lost my breath. Worry for the direwolf overrode anxiety about being in the cell. I knew exactly where I’d been brought to.

Darkness pressed closer, but not unconsciousness. Literal darkness. There were no windows, no bars to let in ambient light.Absolutely nothing.

I managed to haul myself into a seated position, taking a second to let my head stop spinning like a top.

I shuffled around on my hands and knees, sweeping my arm across the ground in front of me until I felt a wall.

More stone.

I moved until my fingers brushed against the ninety degree juncture of two walls. From what I made out, two of the walls were bars. The space between the metal wasn’t large enough for me to reach my hand through, however.

I trailed my fingers along the metal.

“You know, you make an awful racket no matter where you go, Tavi. For someone with your skills, you should know better.”

The voice came out of the darkness and I recognized the whiskey-smoke tone.

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