Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,98

streaking band of power that had come from Agnew, only this one was not nearly as focused, and when it struck her barrier, it didn’t wrap around in the same way. It merely fizzled out.

It did push her back a step though.

She gritted her teeth, stepping forward again, and she called upon more power, letting it flow through her, then released the barrier as she and Eva moved ahead.

“Sorcerer?” Eva asked.

“I don’t know. It didn’t feel quite like any sorcerer.”

More than that, if it had been a sorcerer, she would’ve expected to detect some twinge of energy, and there was nothing. If it was a sorcerer, then it was one who didn’t have much control, or much power.

She didn’t know how many sorcerers were in the city, though from what Char had said, they had begun to fortify the city following the last attack, which suggested to her that there were more present now than there were before.

“We should be—”

Another attack blasted, streaking toward them, and Jayna reacted, solidifying her magic ball barrier once again, blocking the next attack.

She didn’t want to lash out until she knew who was attacking. She didn’t think it was Char, and she had no interest in attacking a sorcerer unless she needed to, but she grew tired of getting assaulted by magic.

It had already been a long day, and this only made it even longer.

She focused on the alley, on the power she felt there, and remembered the last time she’d been blasted by a similar sort of magic.

And she’d been right when she’d first seen the figure moving.

Damn him.

“Careful,” she warned Eva. “I know who this is.”

Jayna traced her hand in a quick pattern then pushed outward, using a sweeping of magic that would almost blast through the enchantments, before withdrawing it. She didn’t need to do the same thing Agnew had done with all of the enchantments in the city. She didn’t need to incapacitate the dular—and whoever might be working with them.

“If you’re there, Matthew, step forward.” She called out into the darkness and waited.

It didn’t take long.

Matthew appeared out of the shadows. “How did you know it was me?”

“I can feel your enchantments,” Jayna said.

Matthew frowned. “What sort of recent Academy graduate has the ability to feel enchantments?”

Jayna glanced over to Eva. “Someone who is a little bit more than just a recent Academy graduate.” She looked in the distance. The power still exploded all around her. It came from the center of the city, though it echoed on the periphery. “What are you doing out here?”

“I told you to stay away from this,” Matthew said.

“You did. And I’m trying to get a sense of why you’ve gotten involved.”

“Jayna—”

Jayna darted forward, wrapping him in the power of the Toral ring. Matthew knew something, and with everything she’d gone through, and everything she still had to deal with, she was not about to take her time trying to understand it anymore.

“Matthew Veran. If you know something, you are going to tell me. I am here to stop this war.”

“You’re with the Society. You’re not here to stop war. You’re here to start it. I know everything about that. That’s why I was . . .”

“That’s why you were what?” Jayna asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Matthew said.

As she looked up at him, she pressed two fingers into his chest and began to let power flow from her fingers into him. It was merely a vibrational sort of energy, nothing more than that.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not with the Society, Matthew. And the only reason I’m here now is so I can try to stop this war before it gets out of hand.”

“What do you mean, you’re not with the Society?”

He glanced from her to Eva, and Jayna poked him in the chest again, forcing his attention back to her. “Keep your eyes on me,” she snapped. “And I mean what I said. I’m not with the Society. I am here to ensure this stupid war doesn’t evolve into something worse. If you know something, then you need to share it with me. Now. Before it gets to be something it doesn’t need to be.”

“Jayna . . .”

“No. We’re going to talk. You’re going to provide me with what I need.”

“Listen. I was hired for a job. I did the job—”

“What was the job?”

“You know I can’t tell you about that.”

“I know who and what you are, Matthew. And I know you can tell me about the job. I know you will tell