Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,84

remains once again. I can’t be certain, of course, but the draugr is sustained by active boundary magic. That could work . . . if you had a null.”

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? If I tried to use a null against the draugr, it would involve putting one in close proximity to him. I couldn’t exactly call John and ask him to bring Charlie back so I could put her in danger. She wasn’t even two years old, for crying out loud.

But then again . . . she wasn’t the only null I knew anymore. I hated the idea of asking Scarlett Bernard for help, but what choice did I have? “There’s a null in LA, right?” I said to Kirsten. She didn’t know I had come to the city the previous fall to investigate Sam’s death. It was supposed to be a secret, since I wasn’t supposed to invade other Old World territories without going through channels. “Scarlett something. Do you think she would help? I could, um, pay her.” I didn’t know how I would pay her, but I’d find a way.

But Kirsten shook her head. “Ordinarily, yes. But tomorrow night is a full moon. Scarlett has to stay in Los Angeles and care for her”—a slight hesitation—“dog.”

“Shadow?” I asked, before I could stop myself. Shadow could be considered a dog like Captain America could be considered a kid from Brooklyn. She was a bargest, an indestructible creature spelled to fight werewolves.

Kirsten’s eyes sparked with interest. “Jesse told you about her?”

Shit. Jesse wasn’t supposed to share Old World secrets. I couldn’t let him get in trouble. “No. Scarlett and I met once, briefly.”

“Ah.” She nodded. This was the moment where she could ask follow-up questions that would get me in trouble, but she just smiled. She’d decided to let it go. “At any rate, Shadow can’t leave LA County, and if Scarlett isn’t nearby, she’ll go after the local werewolves. But if you haven’t found a way to defeat the draugr by the following night, perhaps she could help.”

Which sounded like a great plan . . . except waiting two more nights would mean the draugr would murder two more people.

Quinn texted me a few minutes later, wanting to make sure I was all right. Lily would have returned to John’s house by now and explained the situation. I sent him a quick message that all was well, then got up to walk Kirsten out.

When we were close to the house, I could see my broken car and her rental on the street, but as soon as we moved a few feet away, they disappeared. Kirsten paused and turned to me. “Here,” she said, holding something out. I cupped my hand and she dropped car keys into it. “Take my rental. You’re going to need to get back to your friends.”

I protested—I couldn’t leave a pregnant woman stranded in a strange city—but she assured me that she’d just call a cab.

“Kirsten, I can’t let you do that. You’re, um,” I glanced at her pregnant belly. “Not from around here,” I finished.

She shot me an impish smile. “Oh, I can still call a cab just fine, believe me. Besides, I’m rooting for you.” She paused, and the smile faded away, replaced by some kind of regret. The whole time we’d been talking, Kirsten had seemed serene—worried, even troubled, but always very composed. For the first time, I saw that poise falter just a little. “A long time ago, my ancestors had an opportunity to stop the draugr, and they failed,” she said quietly. “Even now, the witches of Sweden feel some responsibility toward this particular creature. Any other time I would stay and help you fight him”—she rested her free hand on her belly—“but I can’t take the risk just now.”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t want you to.”

Duffel bag in hand, I climbed into the rental, a Kia Sorento, and tried to pay attention to the unfamiliar knobs and dials while my head was spinning. I was too distracted to even worry about ghosts on the road. My birth father was a conduit. He was, in a way, the magical incarnation of death.

Then Quinn’s voice echoed in my head. “You haven’t changed. You just know something that you didn’t before, that’s all.”

I set my teeth, and my insides settled for the first time in what felt like days. Damn right. Maven might have been out of commission, but that didn’t mean I was helpless. Boulder was my town,