Don't take everyone.
"What?"
The more people, the more victims.
"Oh." Shit. I hadn't thought of that. Biting my lip, I look over my entourage. Vanessa's brows raise as she watches , her breath puffing out in the frigid air.
They're my bodyguards, but they can't save from sothing magical.
Selene's thoughtful hum vibrates in my head.
"Marcus, you and..." I scan the faces, settling on a stoic-looking wolf. I think his na is Greg. "You. Stay with . The rest of you, I need you to be our lifeline."
Vanessa frowns. "Ava, are you sure about this?"
I nod, trying to project more confidence than I feel. "I can sense magic and familiar energies, but there's no guarantee I haven't missed sothing. Or soone."
The other wolves shift awkwardly, as they always do when I speak of magic. It's still an uncomfortable subject for many in the pack.
"If sothing goes wrong, you need to get word to Lucas imdiately."
Discontent ripples through the group. I can see it in the set of their jaws, the tension in their shoulders. They don't like the idea of letting walk into potential danger without them.
"I know you don't like this," I say, addressing the group's unspoken protests. "But none of you are able to help with a magical force. I need to make sure the pack is warned if anything goes wrong."
Marcus, ever the professional, takes over. "We'll check in with Vanessa every ten minutes. Standard procedure."
I turn to Vanessa, holding up my wrist.
"Let's sync our watches. We can't afford any miscommunication."
With our watches synchronized, allowing us to contact each other directly, and the plan set, I take a steadying breath. The dark, cloud-like presence I sensed earlier is a little closer now. It's moving at a sluggish rate, but I don't know if it will stay that way.
"Alright," I say, squaring my shoulders. "Let's move out."
Marcus moves silently beside , his eyes constantly scanning our surroundings. Greg brings up the rear, watching our backs. And Selene roams ahead, no longer happy-go-lucky in the snow as she scouts ahead of us all.
It slls strange, she reports.
My bracelet tingles, like it's gotten too cold against my skin. As we get closer, it sends small, pulsing shocks into my wrist. Not enough to affect the use of my hand or arm, but just irritating enough to keep my attention.
Eventually, we reach the area where the dark, cloud-like energy roams.
To the eye, there's nothing wrong. All Selene can sense is a strange scent in the air, sothing she doesn't recognize.
But I can feel its existence, even if we can't see it.
I turn to Marcus and Greg, my words firm. "Stay back. It's dangerous."
Their faces tighten but they obey, retreating several paces. As they move away, Grimoire materializes before , no longer in his usual humanoid form. Instead, he's a small white fox, his fur gleaming against the snow. He bounds forward, stopping just shy of the dark energy's edge.
To my sight, he's just standing in the middle of snow.
But I can sense it, just beyond his feet.
"Do you recognize this?"
Grimoire's ears don't even twitch as he stares ahead. It has a horrible feeling to it.
I circle the area slowly, hyper-aware of every step. As I move, the energy seems to shift, turning towards like a flower following the sun. My skin prickles. "I think it's following ."
I freeze in place, but the energy continues its slow creep in my direction.
Step back, Grimoire warns. Don't let it touch you.
Before I can move, Selene lets out a sharp yelp.
Marcus and Greg step forward, but I hold up an arm, waving them back. "Are you okay, Selene?"
Sothing stung my nose.
Grimoire scratches his ear. Be more careful, wolf.
I can only approximate its location through Ava's senses, Selene retorts sourly.
Selene's irritation seems disproportionate to Grimoire's words, but maybe she's just embarrassed. "What's the purpose of this thing?" I ask.
Grimoire's turns and bounds through the snow until he makes it to my feet, winding around my ankle in a coquettish gesture. He's learned that his fox form gets him a lot more affection than his human one, even when he's a child.
It feels like a taint. Not malicious magic sent with purpose, but more of an aftereffect. Like soone perford larger magic without acknowledging its consequences.
"Larger magic—like what?"
I don't know. You can't reverse-engineer magic from a taint.
Rubbing my hands together, I squint at the invisible presence. "What does it do?"
Those who touch it will act differently. More aggressive. Violent. Irritable, too.
Are you saying I'm irritable? Selene snaps.
Grimoire turns his face up to mine, his fox eyes sohow managing to look exasperated as he narrows them against the sun. See?
None of that sounds good. "Marcus, Greg," I call out, "step back even further." As they comply, I retreat as well, putting more distance between us and the dark energy, even as it oozes a little closer to .
Grimoire rubs his cheek against my knee. This is as good a ti as any to learn to purify.
"Purify? You an, get rid of this... taint?"
He nods, sitting back on his haunches. Exactly. It's a crucial skill for any magic user, especially one as powerful as you.
I keep my face absolutely neutral, but can't help the vague thought in my head that purification sounds more like a religious thing. Maybe sothing a nun would do. Or a priest. Soone wearing black and white, anyway.
No. Why would it be religious? Magic is magic.
God. Sotis I forget they can read my thoughts.
"Okay. What do I need to do?"
Grimoire's fox form finally unwinds from my ankle as he walks a few paces away. Then he sits primly in the snow, his tail curled around his paws. Purification isn't quite as gentle as it sounds, he begins, and I feel a knot form in my stomach.
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