Page 79 of Discovered Magic
Damian shrugged. “My source, Isis, has said the first woman, a witch, crossed into the Otherworld. The two mortal men are with Morcant.”
“The female, she died immediately?” Masters asked, breaking his silent watchfulness. The probability was high he was trying to stay unnoticed, fearing he’d be called upon to accept his fate.
But Damian wasn’t here to push any agenda other than stopping the Arcane Devourer from feeding on Abigail’s power to make himself invincible. The Authority realized their cock-up too late in their game. While they’d gambled on her falling into more trouble, they hadn’t planned on Morcant. With a Traveler’s abilities, he’d be unstoppable, able to pop throughout time to steal what he desired, whenever he wished.
“Yes. She was the wife of a guy by the name of Silas Hastings. He?—”
“He’s the leader of the Silver City Gang,” Jonas finished for him. “Things are dire. Those boys kill first and ask questions later.” He met Wilder’s worried gaze. “Some don’t treat women kindly. Red banned them from The Velvet Ember.”
“Why haven’t you done anything about them?” Wilder asked. The suppressed fury in his body was something only Damian could feel, and the guy did a marvelous job of hiding it behind a mask of icy calm.
“The posters didn’t come through until after they’d left town. They haven’t been back,” Jonas explained. “The other towns around haven’t been so lucky, but their posses usually come back lighter than they went out.”
Castor swore. “In other words, you have a lack of recruits willing to bring them to justice.”
“Oui,” Draven said. “But we will this time. La dame will not suffer.” Meeting Damian’s gaze, he asked, “What would you have us do, Aether?”
“First, we heal Mr. Thorne completely, then we set out to find these men. We will divide into three groups and take the surrounding towns.”
“Why not scry?” Castor asked him. “Your magic is strong enough to get a result, even if theirs isn’t.”
“I’ve tried. The closest I’ve come is the caves by the portal access.”
“What about Stands-in-Shadow?” Wilder asked as he lay facedown on the mattress. “Doesn’t he live in that area? Perhaps he saw something? We could teleport to him.”
“I’ll go,” Draven said.
“Wait.” Castor downed another healthy sip of brandy, and Damian suppressed a wince. “Abbie’s bracelet.”
“What about it?”
“Can it be unlocked from here? If she is free to teleport, might she go to where she always ends up, or perhaps back here?”
Damian smiled to himself as he watched these men formulate a plan. Deep inside, he sensed the importance of their coming role in his life, but his ability to see the future was limited to a few months at most. They worked well together, these four, though only two would be needed. Which two remained to be seen, but he strongly suspected they were Draven Masters and Alexander Castor, with their next-level gifts.
“It’s a clever idea, Mr. Castor,” he said.
“Just Castor or Alex, anything else is annoying, Dethridge.”
“Duly noted.”
“Al got that from you, too, I see.”
Damian couldn’t wait to meet the man.
“I need privacy,” Abbie stated, crossing her arms to show she meant business.
“You’re not getting it,” Silas replied coldly. “Take Royal or Jennings, your choice.”
There was no choice at all. “Royal.”
“That a girl. And hurry, we don’t have all damned day.”
“Dick,” she muttered, careful to wait until he was out of range. Royal had been correct; the guy no longer possessed a heart.
Silas paused by his brother to exchange words. Royal glanced in her direction before nodding and striding toward her.
“I hear you need to use the privy. Need me to carry you, Fire Cat?”
