Page 83 of A Trial By Blood

I hadn’t even realized the wolf shifter was here.

Mags scowled at her. “You’re not part of this.”

Asher was Iris’s bodyguard. Well, Draven assigned her to Iris whenever she left the keep. But they’d become besties, so Iris didn’t complain about her mate’s overprotectiveness. Mags, however, had no love for the other female, not since the wolf had kind of come onto Bram in front of my sister.

Ash held her hands up. “Yes, you hate me yada yada yada. FYI, I have no interest in your familiar. Is he hot? Yes. Would I go there for one dirty, sweaty night if he didn’t have a feisty little witch ready to turn me into a toad if I so much as touched him? Again, yes.”

Mags’s face turned red with anger and she opened her mouth to say something, but Ash got in first.

“Whoa there, Nelly, you’re gonna pop a blood vessel. First, your boy isn’t interested in me. Second, you’re angry with him, so keep a lid on all that pissed-off until he shows up and lay it on him. I’m just an innocent bystander. And third, I’m one of our pack’s fiercest warriors, that’s fact.” Her golden eyes grew serious. “If you wanna learn how to direct all that rage into something more productive? Like kicking some ass? Come by the keep and I’ll teach you.”

Mags swallowed several times. I could see her trying to put a lid on it, even going as far as taking several deep breaths. “I’d rather not,” she said scathingly but still holding back.

Asher plonked into a chair. “Suit yourself.”

“It might not be a bad idea,” I risked adding.

Iris gave me an encouraging nudge. Mags had changed so much these last two years. How long had it been since I’d heard her sweet musical laugh? I couldn’t remember. We’d all been trying to work out how to help her, and redirecting all the anger she held inside couldn’t hurt. Usually, she shut everyone down except me, but I wasn’t sick anymore, so I wasn’t sure how she’d take me butting in.

Mags looked at me, then back to the TV. “I’m done talking about this.”

Well, I guess that answered that.

End of discussion.

CHAPTER 24

Rose

I’d left my sisters downstairs to look through the pages I’d printed at the museum, which, to my surprise, had handily marked off which items had been stolen from their collection and confirmed that, yes, at least one of the statues stolen from the demonology department was a summoning effigy. Now I was working my way through the items that had historical significance. Some of the information had come from stories handed down through the generations or found in demon history books, which meant not all had actual real concrete proof of existence.

And on the bottom of the fifth page was a rough sketch that had been photocopied right out of one of those history books. I checked the photos on my phone. It was the statue we’d seen in the picture at the cat shifter restaurant. I quickly read the text beside it. A summoning effigy carved in the likeness of the demon Xaeva. The demon has a fascination with shiny objects, and in exchange for the summoners request, prefers payment in gold and gems.

I flipped back to the effigy stolen from the museum. This one belonged to the demon Creeg. His preferred form of payment was severed limbs. The demon Creeg is sustained by pain and horror. Holy hell. Well, that would do it.

There were more of these things floating around than I would have thought, and if the person who found themselves in possession of one of those items knew the power they held, they could be seriously dangerous in the wrong hands. People could be hurt.

Maybe there was a way we could get hold of the CCTV for the restaurant or the museum? I needed something to get to the next point. I felt stuck. I knew what our thief wanted, but that’s all I knew. I stood, walked to the mirror, and pulled my left arm free of my shirt and sweater, checking the markings the mother had given me. Had they moved? I leaned closer to the mirror. Maybe a fraction? Panic welled inside me. I couldn’t fail at this. How many times had I been forced to sit by, utterly helpless, useless, while my family worked to protect our coven? Too many to count.

They weren’t showing it, but they had to be worried. My spelling skills were mostly untried. I was nowhere near as proficient as my sisters, yet somehow it was down to me to save our magic. I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes closed. I’d tried not to let my fears get to me, but I was scared. Terrified that I’d be the one to let them down, that again, I’d be utterly helpless as everything came crashing down around me.

That this trial in my hands meant that failure, and our coven’s loss of magic, was imminent.

Shoving my arm back in my sleeve, I strode to the bed and picked up my phone. Ronan said he was helping out the hounds tonight, but I needed to talk to him, to tell him what I’d found out. Maybe he’d have some insight I hadn’t thought of. But mainly, I just needed to hear his voice.

I hit his number and waited.

No answer.

Ronan always answered.

A feeling I didn’t like filled me, gnarly and thorny. Something wasn’t right. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I did. It sat like a cold rock in the pit of my stomach. I scrolled my contacts and hit Relic’s number. I could call Willow or Warrick and ask if they’d seen Ronan, but I didn’t want to risk involving my family if whatever I was feeling had something to do with my task.

“Roe, what’s up?” Relic said in that voice that was so deep it could barely pass as human.

“Hey…um, is Ronan with you? I need to talk to him.” I bit back the panic I was feeling. Why the hell was I panicky? It didn’t make sense.

Relic was quiet a beat. “No, babe, he’s not with me.”