“What’d you find out?” Emery asked, dropping his hand to my thigh.
Reagan finished pouring the drinks and pushed the bottle aside. “I found four tripwires that seem to be more of a watch-and-report situation. That definitely sounds like the Guild to me.”
“They’d have to be within…a certain distance for the spells to alert them.” Emery took a sip of his drink and his face tightened up.
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s not good. I don’t know why you bother.”
He squeezed my thigh softly, his eyes twinkling. “How strong were they?” he asked Reagan.
She lounged against the island as Darius came in, dressed “down” in a button-up shirt and designer jeans. If he owned sweats, I’d never seen them. “Upper-middle tier, I’d say.”
“We’re not talking about vampires.” Emery huffed out a laugh.
“Did you know what I meant?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, then.” She glanced at Darius before turning to the cabinets behind her and pulling out another bottle and a snifter. “We’ve also got vampires patrolling. Not ours. They clearly knew where the tripwires were, and avoided them. Middle to lower tier. Minions. They got close enough to the house to make me nervous, but they didn’t mess with the ward.”
“How do you know they were vampires?” I asked.
She spread her hands, the cap still in one of them. “I’m awesome.”
“Riiight…”
“Any shifters?” Emery asked.
She shrugged. “Not in animal form. I didn’t see any tracks. Just boots, shoes, and feet with vampire claws.”
“Is there a way to track those who come onto the property?” Darius asked, joining Reagan at the island. He took his snifter before switching it to the other hand and wrapping his arm around the top of Reagan’s hips. He looked…almost human. “To find out where they go?”
“Yes…” A line formed between Emery’s eyebrows and he turned to look at me, his gaze hazy. “We can track them, but the problem is distance. If they’re far enough away, the magic trail will fade. And it’ll dissipate with time. Which is why I was asking about their power level. They’d have to stay somewhat close to feel anything from the tripwires. A couple miles, maybe, given the power level of the spells. Maybe a touch more.”
“This house isn’t as secluded as it seems,” Darius said. “There is a town not far away. Houses between here and there.” He swirled his cognac, staring down at it. “Tracking them would be answer enough.”
“Tomorrow night, then,” Reagan said.
Darius met her eyes, and silence fell between them.
I lifted my eyebrows. They usually weren’t so lovey-dovey among other people. When my lifted eyebrows didn’t do the trick, I cleared my throat.
“Patience, Turdswallop,” Emery said with a laugh.
“They can do this later.” I motioned between them, and Darius noticed. He moved his gaze to mine. Reagan looked away. Still no one spoke. “This is getting awkward.”
Reagan laughed and shook her head. She grabbed two of the drinks. “Penny, you are not one for details, I’ll say that.”
“Why?” I frowned at her. “What did I miss?”
“Their conversation,” Emery said.
I rubbed my head. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Yes, about that,” Darius said. I perked up. “I do not have much time to research your condition. I can’t spare the time, if we hope to have any chance with the Guild.” His gaze settled on Emery. “The research, as it were, needs to come from another source if we hope to know what is going on.”
Emery nodded, but didn’t comment.
“Okay, look, I don’t read subtle. What is going on?” I asked, annoyed. I pushed off the stool to get that beer before glancing over my shoulder to make sure my mother wasn’t walking down the hall toward me. This was why I didn’t want her hanging around. I couldn’t be myself. Or normal.
“Darius and Reagan can communicate silently,” Emery said, “and Darius has been hounding me about something for months. We’re all on the same page.”
“Well, I mean…” I raised my hand. “Not all of us, obviously. They can communicate silently?”
“Emery, since you know this area a little better than Reagan, it might be wise if you took the lead tomorrow,” Darius said, ignoring me. As usual. “She’s been instructed to keep a low profile. All you should do is get a feel for what’s going on. Keep your magic up and your heads down. I’ll work out the particulars with Vlad and Roger. We have a map layout of the Guild. We’ll be starting there.”
Emery blew out a breath as he watched me come back to the island. He absently took the bottle and twisted the cap off before handing it back. “Reagan trying to lie low, and Penny being Penny. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
13
“Oh hey, I remember this bar,” Reagan said the next evening as we sat in a rental car in the heart of Seattle. Down the street was our destination, as determined by Emery—the bar owned by his friend Joe, a wolf shifter with a gruff attitude and kind heart. His bar had been a gathering place for Guild mages, or at least wannabe members. “I’m not sure the bartender likes me much.”
“That doesn’t really surprise me, given that you chase the shifters in New Orleans around with bread sticks.” I checked the compartments of my utility belt, feeling the pulse of a few of my power stones. Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky, a brown rock with various colors slashed through it, was desperate to get out and get into some danger.
“That was one time,” she said. “They all knew I was joking. I was pretending the bread stick was a sword, for fuck’s sake. Clearly I was joking.”
“They thought you were going to bust their heads in. They did not know you were joking.”
“Well…if I caught them…I would’ve. But all in good fun! They’re shifters. They’re used to fighting for their position. What’s a little scuffle among friends?”
“Definitely a recipe for disaster,” Emery said quietly before flicking up the flaps on his utility belt, which was exactly the same as mine.
“It’ll be fine. So far I don’t see anyone suspicious.” Reagan turned in her seat to look behind. “No one followed us.”
Emery nodded, scanning the street. “Since our new wards didn’t go off at Darius’s, I’d suspect no one wandered by last night or early today. More sentries have been posted, so that makes sense.” He looked over at me. “You have your phone?”
I patted the first compartment of my belt. “Got it. My mom is on standby.”
He glanced in the rearview at Reagan. “You’re positive the dual-mages are staying put?”
Reagan grimaced, a much nicer look now that Callie had regrown her hair. “No. But they probably are. They aren’t used to staying at home, but they seemed to see the sense in keeping the scouting group small. Hopefully that means they’ll stay put. It’s never a given, though.”
“Sorry,” I said softly, offering him a little smile. I felt bad for him. He could’ve had a quiet life in the wilds. Sleeping in the dirt had to be better than dealing with my crazy mother, a couple crazy mages, Reagan, and a bunch of meddling vampires.
His eyes softened and he took my hand. “Worth it.”
“Ew. Get a room—”
“Really?” I shot Reagan a glare. “Did I say anything last night when you were staring into vampire dearest’s lovely brown eyes?”
“They’re hazel. With green specks—”
“No, I did not. So you can just wait.”
“Yes, you did, and I was talking to him with my brain. Why aren’t you this lippy with your mother?”
I huffed and turned to face forward, ignoring Emery’s silent chuckles. “I’m practicing on you. I’m working up to my mother.”
“Joy,” Reagan said dryly, and Emery laughed harder.
“Is this what your bounty hunter gigs are like?” he asked. “The two of you bickering the whole time?”