“Did you see them?” Valek asked.
“No, they were gone by the time I did my sweep. The crossbow must have been hidden somewhere nearby.”
“Crossbow?” Onora asked Janco.
“Of course a crossbow. How else could they have shattered the glass from a distance? It had to be a bolt.”
It made sense, but Valek had felt a brush of magic right before the walls exploded. “I think it was magic.”
“But I thought you checked,” Janco said.
“I did.” He’d not only circled the building, but touched the glass walls to ensure no magical alarms had been installed.
“It was a booby trap,” Yelena said, pushing up to her elbow.
“Then what set it off?” Janco asked.
She gazed at the fire as if in thought. “There was a piece of parchment on the ground. As soon as I picked it up, the glass started cracking. It must have triggered the trap.”
“A magical booby trap?” Janco cursed. “Oh, that’s just wonderful. The more I learn about magic, the more I hate it.”
Valek considered. “Was there a message on the paper?”
“I didn’t have time to look,” Yelena said. “It’s probably still there.”
Janco sprang to his feet. “I’ll get it.” He crunched through the debris. Cracks and pops marked his noisy passage. After a few minutes, he returned with the folded note and a murderous expression on his face.
Janco handed it to Valek. “Read it.”
Valek unfolded the parchment. One word had been written in black ink.
“Gotcha.”
Fury burned in his chest. Owen would pay for this little stunt the next time Valek encountered him. And he wouldn’t allow Owen to catch him in a null shield. Oh no. Valek had no intention of letting the magician know he was in mortal danger. Not even with a note.
“Let me see.” Yelena held out her hand. Small cuts crisscrossed her knuckles.
He passed it to her.
She huffed. “Typical Owen.”
“How do you know it was Owen?” Onora asked.
“He’s the only one of the magicians who can set a trap like this,” Yelena explained. “Rika is limited to magical illusions, and Tyen can only move objects.”
“What else can Owen do?” She poured hot water into a teacup and gave it to Yelena.
Valek approved of her question. One of the lessons of being an assassin was to know everything possible about your mark.
Yelena crinkled her nose as she sniffed the tea, either disgusted by the smell or the topic. “Owen’s quite talented. He can mentally communicate with another magician, which isn’t a big deal, but his ability to lie to another when communicating mind to mind is extremely rare.”
“He can also lasso one of those null shields around someone pretty quick,” Janco added. “They can block magic, but not objects or people, except for—”
“I know what they are,” Onora said, glancing at Valek.
Valek hid his amusement. She was worried about upsetting him.
“Owen can also mess with a person’s memories, erasing the real ones and inserting fake ones. Or he can just tear your mind apart, leaving you a mindless idiot.” Yelena rubbed her forehead, no doubt remembering Owen’s attack.
“So that’s what happened to Janco,” Onora quipped.
Janco tsked. “Nasty.”
“Accurate.” She shot back.
“You wish. I can think circles around you!”
“I agree. Your mind spins round and round, like a gnat’s. A truly dizzying intellect.”
Janco squawked in protest, but before he could respond, Valek said, “That’s enough.”
Janco clamped his mouth shut, but shot Onora a venomous glare. She ignored it. This time. It was inevitable that Janco would push too far and they’d fight, which would be interesting to watch. However, for tonight, Valek didn’t want to upset Yelena.
“Is that the extent of Owen’s magical powers?” Onora asked.
“No,” Yelena said. “He can heat objects. I once held a knife to his throat and he made the handle so hot, I had to drop it, which means he can also start fires. And apparently set traps. That’s new to me, so he might have other hidden powers.”
“Gee, what a sweetheart.” Janco’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Sounds like the creep could be a Master Magician.”
Yelena sipped her tea. “He’s not that powerful, but he’s close. I wonder if he took the master-level test and failed. That could explain some of his...bitterness and antisocial behavior. It’s a brutal test.” She covered her expression with the cup.
“Have you taken it?” Onora asked.
“Oh, no. Not really.” Yelena glanced at the embers swirling in the hot air above the fire.
Probably searching for the bat that was usually her constant companion when it wasn’t hibernating during the cold and warming seasons. Valek wondered if the bat would find her or even if it could find her now that she no longer had magic. He hoped the little creature wouldn’t abandon her.
The bat had arrived soon after Yelena’s first trip into the fire world. Valek remembered being utterly devastated when she’d disappeared into the fire world after the Warper battle. She’d been gone for months. If she hadn’t reached out to Leif... He’d planned to join her there.
“According to Irys, when you returned from the fire world you passed the master-level test,” Janco said.