Page 78 of Magic Betrayed

No. That would make no sense. There had to be another explanation.

There, in the shadows… Another newel post. This stairway led up into darkness, and I knew as I looked at the worn wood of the steps that they were likely to creak loudly. Would my magic even work on them?

Heart in my throat, feeling my way upward, I followed the tight corners of the stairwell until they ended in a space I could feel more than see. There was still very little light and no sound, so I allowed my magical darkness to lift and created fae light instead.

Lifting the tiny blue ball of magic over my head, I surveyed the room, noting copious evidence of the depredations of squatters and vandals. Empty bottles and cans lurked in corners. Graffiti marked the floor and the walls. Piles of discarded boxes tilted dangerously, allowing random detritus to spill out, while the smell of must and despair filled my nostrils.

But even so, beneath the squalor were the tattered remnants of a far different time, and the bones of an elegant space that had once been filled with lights and music and fun instead of cobwebs, dust, and ghosts. Beautiful crown molding edged the ceiling, and a massive fireplace with a stone hearth loomed on one side of the room. The remains of a brass light fixture still hung from the center of the ceiling, and I could easily imagine it strung with strands of crystal that reflected whatever lamps or candles may have brightened this place.

And windows. Glorious windows. Two had blankets tacked over them, one was still boarded up, but the other was cracked and half broken out, allowing a faint night breeze to stir the cobwebs and swirl the dust on the floor.

Perfect.

Thankfully, I’d never been scared of heights, so I didn’t even pause before squeezing through the hole in the glass and stepping out onto the gentle grade of the roof. If I wasn’t mistaken, I should be standing right over the second-floor balcony at the front of the house—an easy drop, provided no one was watching the balcony. From there, I could almost circle the entire house and choose the best place to swing down to the porch.

But as I crouched there, shivering slightly in the night breeze and listening for voices, footsteps, slamming doors or any other sign of human habitation, I heard the unmistakable sound of a car approaching from the main road.

According to the satellite photos Seamus had shown us, the house rested on a thirty-acre plot of mostly uncleared brush and woodlands. A dry creek bed ran through the property, and the house itself sat in a clearing approximately a hundred yards across, surrounded by trees and accessed by a long dirt driveway running off the main road.

Much of the driveway would be obscured by the trees, even in daylight, but by night I should be able to track any approaching vehicle by their headlights. This car, however, was clearly attempting to be stealthy, because its headlights were off. And there were already two vehicles parked in front of the house—the pickup they’d used when they abducted me, and a small, dark sedan.

This must be my people coming to rescue me.

I let out a long breath and slumped against the gable, taking a moment to change my plans now that I knew I wasn’t alone. I still needed to warn them about Ethan before they just charged in and started slinging magic around, but at least they werehere.

Scooting to the edge of the roof, I rolled over and searched for a grip so I could swing my feet around and drop down to the second level. But before I could find purchase, I heard an odd scuffing sound. A thud from inside the third-floor ballroom. And then a tiny voice whispering my name.

“Rainey?”

No.I could not be hearing Ari’s voice. She was miles away. Safe. Asleep. Under the care of Kira and Hugh.

“Rainey!”

Except she wasn’t. She was leaning out the broken window, looking scared but also just a little bit smug.

“I found you!”

I forgot about silence. Forgot about everything except getting her to safety. I scrambled up from the edge of the roof and leaped back in through the window, clapping one hand over her mouth to quiet her exuberant celebrations.

“Ari-bug, you have to hush,” I whispered, checking my magic and hoping that it would miraculously obscure the sound of a six-year-old bouncing up and down with delight on the creaky wooden floor. “What are you doing here? Why did you leave Kira?”

Her glare was equal amounts hurt and offended. “They couldn’t find you. I told them I could, and they didn’t believe me.”

Wait…

“So Kira and Faris and Callum don’t know where I am?”

She shook her head, her tangled dark curls bouncing wildly. “Faris is sooooo mad,” she announced in a stage whisper.

I had no doubt of that. But if they didn’t know where I was, then who was driving towards the house in the middle of the night with their headlights off?

The back of my neck prickled with warning—my hunch magic trying to tell me something—and I knelt down in front of Ari.

“You have to go back, love. Go find Kira and tell her I’m with Kes. And tell them…” I hesitated. They needed to know what they faced. How dangerous Ethan could be. But what message could I ask Ari to relay?

“Tell them the trap is a person. Can you remember that?”

Her head turned to one side, and she nodded thoughtfully. “I think so.”

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