Page 53 of Dragon Compelled
The magic inside me surges strongly, sending a ripple of urgency through me that I can’t ignore.
When no one responds, I hurry into the stacks toward the sound I heard. Two aisles over, a body lies prone across the floor, and the horror of seeing it a second time in one week has me pulling up short and sucking in a shocked breath.
“No,” I whisper.
But no amount of protest will change the sight of Tawny lying face up on the carpet, her eyes open and unseeing. Her mouth is frozen open in a perpetual scream, and the hilt of a blade protrudes from her heart, blood soaking her dress and coating the floor around her.
For a moment, all I can feel is the crushing sorrow of another life lost. My magic crackles inside me, wanting to free itself against whoever did this. Someone has to pay. Not just for Tawny but for Hoc too. For all of it. But then, the horrific consequences of reporting this to the other council members hit me, and I hurry forward, dropping to my knees and checking for a pulse.
There is none.
Before I can figure out what to do next, Kitty snarls from the top of the stack above me. I look up to find the gnomes staring down with wide eyes and open mouths.
“Go get Aries and Blossom,” I tell them.
They hesitate for another second, clearly in shock.
“Go,” I hiss, and they disappear.
A second later, Ted appears beside me.
“I told you to go get the others,” I say.
“They’re going,” he assures me and then sits down next to me and takes my hand in his small one.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m not leaving you alone.”
My heart squeezes, and I smile down at him. These damned gnomes. Even as frustrating as they are, they’re the closest things I have to brothers. “Thank you. And I’m sorry about our fight and about how I treated you.”
“We’re over it,” he says, speaking for all four of them. Maybe five. Who knows if Kitty was mad too?
“Thank you,” I tell him, tears threatening to take me down.
“You’re our family, Paige,” he says simply. “We’ll always forgive you.”
His words tip me over the edge, and the tears fall in tracks down my cheeks. I sniffle and smile back at the gnome, uncaring that we’re having a sentimental moment beside the body of a dead woman who hated me with an undying passion.
Aries arrives first. His eyes widen at the sight of a dead Tawny, but then his expression sets into a grim line that is somehow both murderous and concerned. When he meets my eyes, I see no lack of sympathy in his gaze, and I can’t help but wonder...
“What happened?” he asks just as the gnomes run up beside him. They join Ted, sitting close to me in silent support.
“I found her like this,” I say as Blossom appears along with Mag, who limps well enough with Blossom’s support.
“Did you see anyone else?” Blossom asks.
“No.” I look at Ted. “What about you guys?”
“Nope,” he says, and the others shake their heads sadly.
“No alarm either,” Mag points out.
“Good riddance,” Blossom mutters.
I glare at her. “This is bad,” I tell her. “The council is going to find out, and then what?”
I bite off the rest of my words as I remember Oliver’s comment about having Tawny replaced. But no. He meant getting her fired. Not killed... right?
