Marked by Death (Necromancer #1) - Kaje Harper Page 0,56

his voice. “I’ve done nothing wrong. There’s no reason for me to be subjected to that, just to get Thornwood to do his duty. There are six of us here. We can force the truth spell on him, if he doesn’t agree.”

Ferngold said, “I’m not sure even the six of us could achieve that, without breaking his mind.”

“What are you afraid of, Burns?” Silas murmured, almost under his breath. “What did you really find at Crosby’s house? What don’t you want revealed?”

“Now you’re accusing another council member of what?” Burns crossed his arms. “Lying? There was no demon taint in Crosby’s house. Norgaard will confirm that.”

“There was no demon taint,” Norgaard said stiffly.

Silas nodded slowly. “Then why do I smell it now, in this room?”

“You’re delusional,” Burns sneered. “You’ve hated Crosby since he turned down your pathetic seduction attempt— oh yes, I know about that. Filthy queer you were even then, trying to turn a good man.”

“If that was true, why didn’t he report me to the council?” Silas said. “If it was my idea, not his hands on me.”

“He felt sorry for you, you pathetic little man, a pervert and twisted to boot—”

“Enough!” That hammer blow of command from Ferngold shut Burns up. Ferngold looked back and forth between Silas and Burns. The silence in the room grew heavy. Darien could hear the clock on the mantel ticking.

Chapter 13

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Silas fought to keep his face impassive while he envisioned runes and tried to power them, looking for a chink in the bonds Norgaard had laid on him. He’d told Darien not to allow even an instant of skin on skin, and then given his bare hand to Norgaard. To a friend. He was a friend.

It had taken him longer than it should’ve, in his fear for Darien, to notice the faint thread of hell-power, and search wider in the room. He’d seen nothing in Norgaard’s eyes, in his voice, but he had to be involved. Silas wanted to dive into his Othersense and confirm where the other taint was coming from, but the bonds constrained his magic. Logic said it had to be Burns. Two men had gone to Crosby’s. Two men had come back and testified there was nothing wrong there, and at least one of them was demon tainted.

Burns and Norgaard. Are they working together? It was almost unheard of for two demons to do so without clashing, but with a common goal, for an hour or a day? What kind of hell gate did Crosby open? Norry, old friend, what happened?

Silas pictured a more elaborate unlocking rune and found a trickle of his lifeforce he could direct into it. The bonds imprisoning him shuddered but held. Norgaard had always been good at spellcraft.

Ferngold’s attention shifted to Darien. “Perhaps we should put the truth spell on this young man? That might solve our problem.”

“No!” Silas managed to shake the room with his voice, even without Ferngold’s power. “He’s my apprentice and I forbid it. Burns and then me.”

“Forbid it why?” Burns’s tone went silky. “Is he your latest conquest, spreading his legs for you—?”

“Burns!” Ferngold’s face was red. “You will immediately cease these distasteful insinuations.”

“No,” Silas said firmly. “I forbid it because he carried ghosts for months, and now his mind is finally his own. No one, not even the council, will force him to go through that again.”

“True,” Susan Snow put in. “It could be damaging to him. Really, I don’t see what Burns is making such a fuss about. Ferngold, you can promise to ask nothing more than what he found in Crosby’s house. That would settle the question nicely.”

Burns took a step back. “I’m not the one accused—”

“Well, if it takes an accusation then I’ll make one,” Worthington said. “Because Silas is right. Something in this room stinks.”

Burns’s eyes flickered back and forth between the council members. “I’m not staying here to be insulted.” He whirled and strode toward the door.

“Stop!” Ferngold threw some kind of restraint spell at Burns but it hit Burns’s shields and splashed off. In the places where it hit, a faint smoke arose, acrid with hellfire. Burns turned to face them, hands raised. Silas saw the moment everyone in the room realized a demon was among them.

Worthington opened his mouth and Norgaard tackled him, crashing to the floor, while Burns’s fox leaped up at Ferngold. Personal shields slammed high, bright and shimmering around each sorcerer.

“Darien! Get away from him!” Silas threw everything he had at the bonds