Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,38

what happened in a set location.”

“I wonder if that’s why he spent so much time in Émigré?”

“No doubt,” Ava said.

“It might also explain why he’s recommended the case be closed,” Belle said. “If he connected with enough inanimate bits of furniture, he might well have seen not only Clayton’s hired bomber, but Clayton himself.”

I frowned. “Clayton wasn’t there, though.”

“Yes, he was—he kidnapped me from there, remember, using the destruction as a distraction. Mind you, I’d love to know how he discovered Maelle’s hidden rooms.”

I shrugged. “He’d been in the reservation for at least a week before we realized it. It wouldn’t have been hard to keep an eye on who was coming and going at the club and throw a tracker onto one of them.”

“Maelle’s magic aware, though.”

“Dark magic aware. And the minute Clayton entered Émigré, he would have known what she was.”

“True.” Belle pursed her lips. “None of this explains why your father thinks an alliance with Samuel’s family might help his case, though.”

“Samuel’s brother is second in charge of the Black Lantern Society in Canberra,” Ava said. “Perhaps he hopes an alliance would swing the verdict favorably his way.”

I snorted softly. “Is there no end to my father’s machinations?”

“Apparently not.” Belle raised her glass. “Shall we make a toast to the old bastard getting his comeuppance sooner rather than later?”

I smiled and clinked my whiskey glass against theirs, though I personally doubted my father would ever be on the wrong side of either fate or the law. Recent shooting aside, he’d been extraordinarily lucky his entire life.

Ava took a drink, then leaned back in her chair and regarded me steadily. “So where is this ranger of yours, Lizzie? I think it rather rude that he hasn’t taken the time to meet your other mother.”

I smiled. “The reservation is a ranger short, so they’re all working longer shifts at the moment.”

“So it has nothing to do with avoiding parental inspection?”

I laughed and rose. “No. Anyone want a top-up?”

“You might as well bring the bottle over,” Belle said. “Saves you getting up again.”

I collected the plates and dumped them in the kitchen, then grabbed the bottle of red and flicked on the kettle. I had to drive home, so I couldn’t afford to drink anything else. Sharing a bed with the head ranger would not get me out of a drink-driving charge.

But as I placed the bottle of red on the table, a moonbeam-bright flicker caught my attention.

Wild magic.

There was wild magic in the room.

And that could only mean something was wrong. Katie never sent the threads my way just to be sociable.

I held out a hand. The glittering thread wound around my wrist and pulsed lightly in welcome.

Danger stirs, Katie said. You must come.

Where?

Images spun through my mind—a forest, an old farmhouse. Two men. Samuel.

Fuck. Intuition had been right. I grabbed his business card and tried to ring him, but the call rang out. I left a message and hoped like hell he was okay.

You must hurry if you wish to save them both, Katie said.

Meaning if we were delayed in any way, one of them would die? I swore again, then spun and ran toward the reading room to grab the backpack.

A chair scraped against the floor. I’ll ring Monty, Belle said. You can’t go out there alone.

Thanks. To Katie I added, Any idea what stalks the men?

Nothing natural.

I grabbed the backpack, then moved across to the secret compartments behind the bookcase to grab an additional bottle of holy water. It was better to carry too much than not enough in this sort of situation.

So we are dealing with the supernatural?

Katie hesitated. Uncertain.

Unhelpful.

Her amusement spun from the glittering thread, sending gentle sprays of rainbow light through the room’s shadows. I know, but I cannot be in all places at all times, and this thing moves too fast for me to track. In case you’ve not noticed, the threads of wild magic do not move anywhere in any great hurry.

I tucked the extra bottles of holy water safely into the pack, then headed back out. Belle had my purse and coat in one hand, and a tray containing two travel mugs in the other. “I rang Monty. He’ll be waiting out the front in five minutes.”

“Thanks. Could you also call Aiden? Let him know we’ll call when we have more of an idea where we’re going.”

“You know that’s just going to piss him off.”

“Nothing much I can do about that.”

I grabbed everything, then headed out the back, jumping into