Page 125 of Shardless

Taly shook herself and took a deep breath. She had gotten the warning out. If that saved even one life, if it got Skye the backup he needed, then the risk would have been worth it.

Plan, plan, I need a plan. Wait!She had almost felt bad about it at the time, but she had stolen Skye’s aether concealment charm before she left. So far, she had been using it to hide the scent of her magic from the beasts in the forest, but if she drained all the charm’s aether in one go, she might be able to hide her presence well enough to sneak past this guy.

Swiveling the silver bracelet around, the crystal set into the center glowed a bright cerulean as she ran a finger over the faceted surface.

The toe of a boot, un-scuffed and newly polished, stepped out of the shadows of the third floor, followed by measured footsteps down the spiraling stairwell.

Taly’s hands were surprisingly steady as she pressed a finger to the tiny blue crystal. The tickle of water magic crawled across her skin, making her shiver, and the glow of the water crystal dulled as the aether stored in the shadow crystal set onthe inside of the band was consumed.

“My, my, my,” came a cultivated voice. “What is that delightful bouquet?”

The man finally descended the last stair and stepped into the light. He wasn’t a shade. No, he was very much alive. Although the bearded man was short for a fey, his arms were thick and striated with muscle underneath the navy silk of his rolled-up shirtsleeves. His burly fingers toyed with an amulet that dangled from his neck—a single shadow crystal surrounded by a serpentine dragon carved from hyaline.

He circled the base of the relay, stopping just on the opposite side from where she hid.

“Tell me, little mage—what kind of magic do you practice?” He paused to languidly sniff the air. “Even underneath that glamour and that fabricated human scent, I smell aether. But what kind? The iron makes it so hard to tell.”

Shit, Taly thought, a faint tremble shaking her body.A shadow mage.

He came closer, forcing Taly to shrink back against the relay base. As a mortal, she wouldn’t even have a chance in a hand-to-hand fight. He would be too strong. Instinctively, she placed a hand on the butt of her pistol as she began prodding at the wall erected in her mind, teasing out a little more magic. She saw the man’s auric specter walking a few steps ahead of him as he prowled around the base, and as he came nearer, she desperately tried to remember what it had felt like when she had frozen that group of shades.

Nothing happened, though. Nothing at all.

“Oh, that won’t work, little mage.” The man sounded amused. “Although, I haven’t feltthatspell in a long time. How interesting.”

The air around her started to feel thin, and she clasped a hand to her throat, trying to muffle the sound of her desperate wheezing.

“What’s wrong? Does that hurt? Don’t worry. It’s a nasty trick, but it won’t kill you.”

Taly struggled to stay upright as her legs started to give way. She tried pulling more magic out from behind that wall in her mind, and though that helped to alleviate some of the pain, it wasn’t nearly enough. He was almost upon her now, but her entire body felt like dead weight as she feebly slumped to the floor.

Still, even if her legs refused to respond, she wasn’t going out without a fight. With her remaining strength, she tightened her grip on her dagger and pulled a pistol with her free hand.

Eventually, she felt the glamour around her break, the magic popping against her skin as the enchantment shattered, and a rough hand grabbed her, seizing her up by the arm and slamming her against the nearest wall. Her head whipped back, striking the wall with a dull thud, and for a moment it felt like her ears were stuffed with cotton as everything went quiet and then crashed back into focus. Something warm and wet dripped onto her neck as her toes left the ground.

“You’re not supposed to exist,” the man moaned. She could feel his breath on her skin as he sniffed her, starting at her neck and then, almost gently, nuzzling her hair. “Oh,” he whimpered, “but you are special.” He punctuated this sentence by bringing a hand up and pinching her breast painfully. “And so pretty. I don’t think my master will mind if you and I have a little fun before I take you to see him.”

Finally snapping out of her daze, an enragedscream tore from Taly’s throat. She writhed and kicked at him, but that just made his grip on her wrist tighten as he shoved a leg between her thighs.

NO! No, no… oh, Shards! Please, no. Not like this.His fingers continued to caress her breast, cupping and weighing it as he pressed her against the wall. When he pulled her hips higher, rubbing himself against her and hitching one of her legs up around his waist, she had no doubts about what he intended to do.

“Don’t worry,” he cooed. “I know you’re scared now, but very soon, you won’t remember this. You see, we’re going to strip away everything inside that pretty little head of yours and replace it with something new. Now then” —one hand came up to firmly grasp her chin, and those strange yellow eyes studied her intently— “let’s get this nasty glamour out of the way, shall we? Then we can get a good look at you.”

Taly’s back arched as a wave of magic crashed into her, searing her from the inside out. It felt like her skin was being burned away from her body, layer by layer, and though the pain was fleeting, it left her breathless and trembling. Sweat beaded on her brow, making her skin prickle as the chill air wafted against her.

“That’s better,” the man purred, dragging his tongue up the length of her neck and catching a trickle of sweat. “Now I can really see you.Tasteyou.” He pulled back slightly, ripping out the tie that held her braid and untangling the weave. When his hand grazed her ear, it sent an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. “Lovely. Not perfect, mind you. I always hated how desecration spells dull the eyes.” Here, he paused to prod atthe skin around her eyes. “But at least the scent is right—no more iron. My, my… I have a feeling you’re really going to be something once we get to the bottom of all that spell work.”

Taly’s free hand still clutched at her pistol, wedged between her body and the wall. She couldn’t kill this guy. That she knew. But even if he was fey and a shadow mage, she could still make him hurt.

“Now then, my dear,” he said as he began to fumble with the buttons on his pants. “Don’t be afraid to scream. I like a little bit of struggle.”

“Sorry,” she bit out as she raised her pistol and thrust it beneath his chin. His eyes widened at the feel of the cool barrel pressed against delicate flesh. “But you’re just not my type.”

Smiling maniacally, she pulled the trigger.

She fell to the floor, her finger still squeezing the trigger as she fired off round after round. The man stumbled back, dazed, and a grim smile curled Taly’s lips when his body burst into flames. She’d decided to give those incendiary rounds anothershot, so to speak. The immolation rate still wasn’t where she’d like it to be, but Ivain had shown her some tricks to increase the burn temperature. As it turned out, the old man had also experimented with different types of ammo.

The shadow mage flailed about as he desperately tried to snuff out the flames, and his legs gave out beneath him when his back hit the relay. His body writhed, flopping a bit like a fish out of water and smearing the mosaic of blood, bone, and hair that had been splattered across the crystal surface.

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