Page 103 of Obsidian and Frost

“You have my word.”

He smiled. “Then I am not worried.” He released me and straightened. “Be safe, my friend.”

“Always,” I returned with a wry grin.

I materialized justbeyond the ward encompassing the private, cloaked countryside estate turned vampire fortress of depravity.

Even if I hadn’t already studied Charlie’s intel beforehand, it would have become apparent to me, because I felt it the moment I arrived—the place was hidden in a magical dead zone. That was being reinforced by cloaking of the estate through the magic of the enslaved magic-wielders that Clan Thalbraxus had at its disposal. No wonder neither the Guardian Movement nor the Unity Council had discovered it yet.

The estate was grand yet rotting—demented opulence.

And highly creepy.

That last part was really saying something from the Master of Death Magic. The things I’d seen… they would turn the stomach of most beings. They would fucking stay with them.

Fortunately, the heavy compartmentalization I employed ensured I remained unaffected by any of that.

And this mission tonight would be no exception.

The only thing I’d feel once it was done would be a deep sense of twisted satisfaction.

I stared at the estate, vines climbing its weathered stone walls, cracked towers barely holding themselves together. Crooked iron gates hanging ajar. The foliage at the forefront was overgrown, but not in a liberating way, more like the vegetation was screaming to break free from such an unapologetically wicked place that had no respect for the sanctity of any life at all.

I swallowed down my disgust and any such other emotional reaction, which wouldn’t serve me well when embarking on a mission of this nature—especially when mistakes were not an option, as there was no fallback with me carrying this out alone.

And then I focused on the building, feeling my magic spark and warm me from within as I called on an ability that many didn’t know about when they thought of necromancers, yet one that I used a great deal with my vigilante work.

Soul Track.

It enabled me to trace active souls in real time.

I had to be within proximity to use it, but it could easily encompass an estate of this size—around 15,000 square feet. I also had the ability to zoom in on clusters of beings, but the more I did that with this many souls to track—sixty vampires and forty-six hostages—the more taxing it became.

I gritted my teeth at the fact that this was something I had to worry about now. That I had to bestrategicwith how I expended my power.

I focused, staring into the building as I drew on the tactical edge Soul Track afforded me.

Flickering outlines lit up through the structure.

Vampires at the entrance, more scattered along the main corridor and in rooms to either side. But most of them had gathered in the largest space, which I recognized from Charlie’s intel as the Banquet Hall.

A couple dozen magic-wielders were in there with them.

I pushed harder, filtering deeper into the structure, and found the rest of the hostages held captive in the dungeon below. A handful of vampires lingered near that area as well.

All right. Done. I’d gotten the lay of the land.

Now onto the evidence gathering aspect.

And then came the fun part. Punishment and violence.Justice.

Well, as close to it as we could get with current constraints.

There was comfort in the fact that the hostages would be free. Just… the trauma they’d have to carry… it didn’t sit well with me.

There was a cost to compartmentalizing at the level in which I did. And the closer I grew to Lazriel and even Velra of late, the more that was called into question. I’d always reveled in standing apart from everyone around me. But that was… shifting now.

I blinked, agitated that I’d gone down an emotional track again, when usually I could keep things completely locked down. Especially when I was on a vigilante mission.