Page 16

Chapter 16

Tully

“ I have to get up. Someone has stolen the mirror.”

“And my khymeia.”

“Damn the fools!” I try to stand, but the room spins and I’m back on the bed with the minotaur’s worried face hovering over me. “I guess I’m staying put for the time being. But you have to go.”

“All right.” Argos stands. “I’ll send that orc?—”

“Halvard.”

“Right. I’ll send Halvard up and I’ll question Cyrus’s employees and the few patrons stuck here. Cyrus is fetching the healer to see if they can help you.”

“Good.” I shut my eyes and listen to his door open and close.

Argos thinks I’m going to rest and that’s just as well because I need no one bothering me for a few moments while I try to locate the mirror and the khymeia with my third eye sensing. I shouldn’t be doing this, not when I’m this drained, but this is an emergency.

Argos appeared properly concerned, but he has no idea how serious this is. If the wrong people have that mirror and those stones and decide to give them a whirl, three things will happen. I will die. The mirror will likely drain a mile-wide area in a very explosive way. The mirror will only grow stronger—and that’s without whatever horrid nonsense the thundersnow will toss into the mix.

Breathing slowly, I concentrate on the spot between my eyebrows. A shining purple and gold light hovers behind my eyelids. My body shakes as my third eye wakes and magic spreads like wildfire down my limbs. My wand is hot against my waist. I picture the mirror and the magical stones—their weight, their magical signature. They are red in my third eye’s view of the world. I see Leafshire Cove in shades of energy—gold, green, gray—everything has at least a touch of power hiding inside it. My third eye magic travels over the town like Cyrus probably is right now. The mirror and khymeia aren’t in the town center.

I keep searching.

Sweat rolls down my forehead and gathers at the back of my neck. I’m shivering. But I can do this. I must do this.

Sending my third eye magic soaring over Rustion’s lands, I finally spot three distinct red energy signatures. The wavy ones are the khymeia, their light fainter. The pulsing and flaring light is the chaos mirror.

Whoever stole the objects is at Rustion’s estate, below the front gate. Way below. I didn’t realize Rustion had underground quarters. Hmm…

The magic overwhelms me. My senses dull to nothing. The lights go dark and I fall into nothingness.