Elijah tried not to look down as Kaylan took to the sky and moved through the currents of air, keeping a firm grip around his muscular wolf body as the High Lord’s mansion loomed ahead. Concealed by a glamour which disguised her appearance, she dropped down into the garden, and static charged over them from the wards. He shrugged off the feeling, knowing the wards wouldn’t detect them as a threat.
Kaylan set him on the ground. They moved past the flowerbeds and stopped at the back door. Two men stood guard, oblivious to their presence. She pulled out a compact and blew on the powder, causing a cloud of white dust to cover their faces. They slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Elijah’s golden eyes widened. Do you think the library is still there?
I hope so. She glanced around as she stepped inside the conservatory.
I don’t hear any heartbeats nearby.
She grinned. You could come in handy.
They moved through the house before heading up to the second floor. It was close to where the High Lord himself slept so Elijah knew they’d have to be extra careful.
“Dad kept it sealed shut so the spell should still be in place,” she whispered.
What if someone else managed to open it?
Dad’s spells were strong —if they did, then…She shrugged.
Kaylan went to the wall at the end of the hall, then traced a line with her knife in the shape of a door along the wall. She muttered something and a loud groaning sound echoed down the hall as the door finally opened. I hope no one heard that! She ducked inside.
Dim light cast an eerie glow about the room from the hidden window. Kaylan threw a fireball into the air. It hovered overhead and illuminated the space. A desk and high-backed chairs sat to one side with a stuffed chair in the centre of the room. Shelves lined every wall, some filled with books and others filled with various crystals and other objects. It smelt musty, but still held the familiar scent of worn leather and old tomes.
Light flashed around Elijah with a pop and crack of bone as he shifted. He groaned and stretched, muscles rippling.
“Does it hurt when you do that?” she asked.
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “It’s worse at the full moon when I’m forced to change. What are we looking for?”
She shut the door behind them and searched the shelves. Pulling out different books, she scanned them for something that might help. “Anything that relates to the Amaranthine Chronicles.”
“Don’t the Amaranthine have any information about the book?” Elijah asked. He tried to remember, but his life as an Amaranthine seemed like a lifetime ago.
She sighed. “No, some say it was just a myth since it existed before our current Amaranthine Order. Besides, I’m not sure if I am one of them anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
Being an Amaranthine had always been part of her life — of both their lives. It was impossible to just walk away from that.
She hesitated. “I haven’t been an agent since you left. We both know Cedric won’t let you come back.”
“You shouldn’t have left on my account,” Elijah told her.
“I had to.” Kaylan put another book back. “This could take days, and we need to be out of here before they track me again.”
“Let’s keep looking.”
After an hour, neither of them had found anything useful.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” she said, putting the books back into place. “It’s late.”
Elijah didn’t shift back, instead he threw a glamour around himself. His skin tingled as the spell set in place.
“You used to be good at glamours,” she pointed out.
He shrugged. “I rarely use them now. I usually go out in my wolf form.”
“With a better glamour, you could move above ground freely.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Why not? I could cast a spell to change your appearance.”
“I can’t, Kaylan. I probably shouldn’t even be here,” Elijah said. “I might lose control in an instant.”
“You can learn to control it.”
Such a thing seemed impossible, so Elijah decided to change the subject. “I think I found something,” he remarked, glancing down at the book in his hand. “There’s a spell here to form a mind link. Maybe you can use it to talk to Freya.”
“Great. Let’s cast it.”
Looking at the spell, there was no way for him to go with her. “Are you sure?”
“I have to talk to her.” Kaylan took the book from him.
“Be careful.”
She chanted the words, before slumping into the chair unconscious.
Elijah sighed. He hated feeling useless. A scraping sound at the door made him look up. Two guards stood in the doorway, the fiery glow in their eyes meant they weren’t just guards.
Ah, hell. He sniffed to see if they were shifters but caught only the faint whiff of his own kind. That meant they had only just been turned and were in transition. Elijah glanced back at Kaylan. “Here we go again.” A fireball formed in his hand. He didn’t want to unleash his beast unless he had to.
The first guard hurled an energy ball at him. It struck Elijah’s shoulder as he returned fire, but his magic had no effect on them. Still in human form, talons formed and fangs protruded as he lashed out.
Elijah slashed and snarled as his opponents hurled fireballs at him. He felt the burning sting of magic. It didn’t take long for him to realise it wasn’t him they were after. They were there for Kaylan.
Elijah snarled and yanked the man off his feet.
“No!” cried Kaylan, suddenly awake and on her feet. She threw herself at Elijah. Wrapping herself around his back, she plunged her knife into his shoulder. He growled, but continued choking their other attacker.
“Elijah, stop!” She tried beating and pleading with him, but his focus remained on the guards. Calling more magic, she unleashed it. Violent energy exploded, knocking the three of them to the ground and blowing out the windows.
Kaylan pushed past Elijah and chanted the spell. Light imploded as she cut the creature’s leg and it vanished. Breathing hard, she let out a sigh of relief. The guards were injured but both would live.
Just as quickly Elijah felt his beast retreat back inside him as his claws vanished and eyes returned to their normal shade of hazel brown. “Did you find her?” he asked.
“I…” Kaylan started to say just as a burst of light swept her away.
Another figure stood in the doorway. “Well, what have we here?” Ena smiled.
“Oh, you’re not going anywhere.” Ena raised her hand.
An invisible force held him in place as he thrashed, snarled and tried to force his way out.
The last thing he remembered was Ena’s grin before he lost all control.