Darkness Splintered(115)

 

Maybe even the ghost of the person whose hair had become a bed for a nest of rats.

 

I swallowed heavily and tried to calm down. A ghost couldn't hurt me. Well, maybe it could on the astral plane, but certainly not here on Earth. Besides, it was grabbing at my hand, which suggested it wanted to show me something.

 

"Okay," I said softly. "I hear you. What do you want?"

 

An odd sense of excitement stirred around me, then that cool touch slid across my fingers again and tugged me to the right. Amaya flared brighter as we approached the deeper shadows crowding the corner of the building, but for once, her flames had little impact.

 

Because there was magic here.

 

It was faint, little more than a sliver of energy that barely stirred the hairs along my arm, but it was similar in feel to the shield that protected this building and kept Azriel out. And surely that meant there was something here they wanted to protect.

 

A door into the caverns below, perhaps?

 

If we were right in our guess that our sorcerers weren't using any sort of high-level magic to protect their gateway, then perhaps this was the entrance they were using to get to it. As Azriel had noted earlier, it made sense that the gateway was here somewhere, simply because it was so close to the ley-line intersection.

 

I directed Amaya's flames toward the floor, but the shadows refused to lift. But just for a moment, the vague outline of something small and round appeared – a stone. And it wasn't alone, because there was an even fainter shadow sitting next to it. Stones weren't something you'd expect to find in an old factory warehouse – bricks and roofing tiles maybe, but not stones the color of ink. And that could mean only one thing – there was a stone circle here – one that hid its contents as much as it protected them.

 

I raised a hand and pressed it closer to the screen of darkness. Energy rippled across my fingertips, its feel sharp and somehow dirty. I bit my lip and pressed harder. It felt like I was fighting glue, and the unclean sensation grew, until it felt like acid gnawed at my skin.

 

Eventually, I couldn't stand it, and yanked my hand back. My fingers were red and tiny blisters were beginning to appear along their tips. The magic might not be outwardly evident, but it still was powerful. There was no way in hell I was going to risk stepping into it.

 

"Well, fuck," I muttered. "Can nothing go our goddamn way for a change?"

 

Would it be worth bringing Ilianna here? Azriel said. She's unraveled the threads of this sorcerer's magic before. Perhaps she can do the same with this barrier.

 

"As much as I hate the thought of doing it, it might be our only chance of discovering both the sorcerers and the key before Mirri's deadline."

 

The ghost's touch trailed across my fingers again. This time, there was a sense of urgency in the sensation.