Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,19
looked down at them to see if she recognized anything, but other than a plain jacket and pants under the robe, she saw nothing. Then she turned the body and noticed a necklace.
A marker hung around his neck.
A crescent moon. Stars. She knew this marker. It was the Order of Norej.
Who killed him?
Smoke spilled around her, then the body ignited in flame, burning faster than Jayna could react to put it out.
There would be no evidence of the dark sorcerer—or the Order.
The smoke wasn’t Eva’s. She had gone to see what Topher needed. But if it wasn’t Eva, who had attacked this sorcerer?
5
After leaving the location where the sorcerer had been, Jayna made her way back home, slowing as she neared it and looking along the street, checking for any signs of movement but not finding any. The street itself was empty. It was one of the benefits of this home. It was on a narrow street, and at night, it was reasonably well-lit. In the time she’d been here, Jayna had never detected any magic along the street, which she considered an advantage. More than that, the neighbors kept to themselves.
Jayna paused for a moment. Before going inside, there was something she wanted to do, and she preferred to do it outside, though it probably didn’t matter.
She needed to try to reach Ceran.
She should have done that as soon as she had found the fallen sorcerer. He might already know what was taking place, but if there was a downed dark sorcerer, and it wasn’t because of her, then she needed to know who else might be out in the city targeting them.
Despite the smoke, she still didn’t think it was Eva.
Which meant she didn’t have an answer. Someone had to be there, and someone had to be instigating things. Maybe it wasn’t all tied together the way she wanted it to be. Things weren’t always so neat and tidy.
She pushed power out through the Toral ring and waited, though she thought the frequency with which she’d been using power today should have already sent a strong enough signal that something had happened. She didn’t call to Ceran that much, but when she did, he too often ignored her, or simply couldn’t answer when she needed him.
She waited awhile, but there was still no answer. Nothing other than the pulsing that she put into the ring. She soon gave up—at least for now. She would have to go digging again. Eventually, she needed to get a hold of Ceran.
She held her hand up against the door, pressing a bit of power out into it, and felt a hint of resistance. There were protections built into the door now, solidified by her own magic, and designed to ensure that no one else could open it. She had keyed it to respond to specific people: herself, Eva, and Topher since he refused to leave. That was it.
Jayna pushed the door open and took a deep breath. The air was hot, the flame crackling brightly, and Eva sat next to the hearth, facing the fire. Jayna’s eyes darted toward the bottle resting at Eva’s feet, but she didn’t have a glass in hand. Either the bottle was empty—and given what she knew of Eva and her predilections, that was entirely possible—or she hadn’t started. That would be even more surprising.
“Are you going to close the door?”
Jayna glanced into the kitchen where Topher stood rolling dough along the countertop. He had a loopy smile on his face, and a bit of flour dusted his chest and smudged his cheek.
“Sorry about that,” Jayna said, stepping inside and closing the door again. She paused long enough to place a protective seal once more against the door, using her power to solidify that seal. When she did, the energy that burst into the door filled it, anchoring it for a moment, then she turned away. “Is everything all right?”
Topher nodded. “Why?”
Jayna patted her pocket. “You sent a summons to us. You haven’t felt the need to do that before.”
“I wasn’t meaning to. I was trying to send a comment through. Obviously, that didn’t work.”
“A comment?”
“Eva said it was vibrating so hard it nearly ripped her dress off.” Topher smirked at the idea. “I don’t know if it would do that, but I’m hopeful that if I can push a little more intention into my enchantment, I should be able to pass on a comment to you.”