Page 5 of Storm of Shadows

“Stop what?”

“The tapping. It’s annoying.”

The Void Prince seethes, but his chains force him to do as I say and he ceases his tapping. “I hope you choke on your food.”

I ignore him and try the sausages again, but soon realize it’s useless. All I can see is Mrs. Baxter—the kind baker ofFlour Power—gnawing on someone’s severed arm.

I don’t finish even a quarter of my meal, though my stomach remains hollow. I lay my knife and fork on the plate of unfinished food. The Void Prince doesn’t comment on my lack of appetite when I push the plate away and lean back.

My gaze falls to my left wrist. A bandage made from scraps of my pearlescent dress is wrapped around it, concealing the mark of dark magic lurking beneath: a tracking spell. The dull ache seeps through my skin, making my arm weigh as heavy as stone.

I can’t remove the bandage. If I do, Arluin will see me and enter my mind. But neither can I keep it on forever.

I hold out my wrist to the Void Prince. “A tracking spell was cast on me.”

“I know. I sensed it the moment you summoned me here.”

“Can you remove it?”

Slyness glints in his eyes. “Of course.”

“How?” Whatever delights this demon can only involve my suffering.

He smiles. “I would merely need to divest you of your wrist.”

I snap back my wrist and clasp it to my chest. “Absolutely not. Do you have another way which doesn’t require the severing of my hand? Answer me truthfully, demon.”

“I do not.”

“Is there nothing at all that can free me from this spell?”

“Light magic. But in case you didn’t notice, I am rather lacking in it.”

I sigh. It seems keeping my wrist bandaged is my only option for now. “What about using the mark to our benefit? Is there a way to use it to pinpoint the caster’s location?”

“No.”

“Is that the truth?”

“It is.”

“I thought you were a Void Prince, one of the most powerful demons of the Abyss. Yet it seems you don’t know any useful spells.”

“Send me back if you’re having second thoughts.”

“Not a chance,” I say, drawing out every syllable to make my words abundantly clear. “But I find it hard to believe the so-called mighty Prince of Pride has no way of finding one man.”

The Void Prince stares at me.

“Tell me, demon, do you know a spell which can locate the necromancer I seek?”

“Perhaps.”

I lean over the table and narrow my eyes at him. “You will answer my question clearly. Yes, or no?”

His brow creases as he fights against the compulsion of my command, but there is no resisting. “Yes,” he snarls with all the disdain in the world.

“Excellent. You will cast this spell.”

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