Page 74 of Illusory

“Me not play nice? I wouldn’t dream of it.” His eyes shone wickedly. “I’m nothing if not a team player.”

Right. That was, after all, the apparent theme of the day.

* * *

Despite being completely green behind the ears and not having the slightest clue what I was doing, everything that was required of me on my end went off without a hitch. Mostly because I didn’t really have to do anything other than allow Caleb to channel my energy through the Trinity and then use it to power the Locator spell.

The good news was that we were able to get a jump on Nikki’s location. The bad news was the Roderick sisters were most likely using some kind of powerful magic blocking spell that only allowed us to get a broad read on theirgeneralvicinity. The vicinity being a sprawling, untracked forest on the outskirts of town.

“So, what’s the plan now?” asked Tessa when she rejoined us in the living room after we’d finished the spell. “We can’t just walk around the woods on foot and hope we bump intoher.”

“No, but at least we know she’s still in town,” I offered, choosing to stay positive and focused on the fact that she was still within our reach. “And maybe Caleb can try something else on his end in the meantime?” I asked him optimistically.

He nodded. “I’ll see if I can refine the Locator spell. I might be able to add something in to counteract whatever magic blocking spell they’re using. It’s going to take some time though. Their magic isn’t like anything I’m used to dealing with.”

That was because they were using Dark magic—something the Order refused to teach and outright forbad its Descendants from doing. Stupid if you asked me. How could you be expected to defeat something that you couldn’t even recognize? To battle evil when you had no idea of its inner workings.

It was the equivalent of sending out a bomb squad with zero knowledge on explosives. It seemed to be that it would have been a much smarter move to teach Descendants how to use Dark magic, if for no other reason than to counteract it. But hey, what did I know?

“Do you mind if I use the washroom?” asked Carly, looking all squirmy and nervous as though she were about togoright there on the couch.

“Yeah, of course. You don’t have to ask. Bathroom’s down the hall to your left.”

“Thanks,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ears and then hurrying out of the room.

“So, how long are we talking?” asked Tessa, drawing the focus and conversation back to the spell.

“I’ll know in a few days whether this is even something I can do,” said Caleb as he packed up his grimoire and the rest of the items from the coffee table and then stood up. “Thisisn’t the kind of thing we were ever taught at Temple, but I might have some old spell books that can help.”

Tessa blew out a breath and nodded curtly, looking about as optimistic about it as Caleb did. “Let us know as soon as you find out anything,” she instructed.

“I will.”

“Does that mean I’m off the hook for any element-invoking stuff this week since, you know, you’re going to be busy doing all that?” I asked, hopeful as I climbed back up to my feet.

“Not a chance,” he said, smiling brightly as he flashed his pearly whites. “I’m a master of multitasking and I have every intention of popping every one of your element cherries by Christmas break.”

“For crying out loud,” muttered Tessa as she walked out of the room, having heard enough of that conversation, while Dominic just stood in the same spot he was in before, staring at Caleb with the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. But it wasn’t an amused smirk. It was more of a I’m-plotting-your-death-as-I-stand-here-and-smile-at-you smirk.

Must. Diffuse.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, my tone more high-pitched than I’d meant for it to come out as I grabbed Caleb by the sleeve of his Letterman jacket and basically shoved him out into the safety of the hallway.

Dominic pushed off the bookcase and tried to follow him out, but I quickly stepped out in front of him. “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked, my arms folded rigidly across my chest.

“I was going to see about fetching that glass of water.”

“Bullshit.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, the same plotting smirk still on his face from earlier.

“And here I thought you knew everything.”

“He needs to be taught a lesson in manners,” he stated evenly, the smile leaving his face as something darker shifted into his place. It looked a lot like jealousy.

“He doesn’t need to be taught anything. He’s my friend and he’s taking time out of his day to help me when he really doesn’t have to, so just knock it off,” I warned and then narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your problem anyway? Weren’t you just in my room an hour ago trying to offload me onto Trace?”

“Yes.Trace. Yoursoulmate. Not a random Jock Strap with a hard-on for you.” All amusement left his face as he straightened to his full height, peering down at me under hooded eyes. “And I wasn’toffloadingyou.”

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