Alaric looped the cord through a gap in the wall studs and tied it off out of reach. “That okay?”
Already I regretted my request. I jerked on the cord. “Can you undo it?”
The sound of a vehicle racing up the gravel drive outside made us both turn. Harry scampered out the door, ducking back in a moment later to say, “Miriam.”
“Praise the pigs.” Alaric moved toward the imprisoned sorcerer, who’d made it to his hands and knees.
The sorcerer stared at him, eyes blazing red, and let out a snarl. He lunged at the wall of the circle, slamming his palms on the green, flashes of crimson flaring to black under his hands.
Alaric staggered but the green wall didn’t change. “Give it a rest.” His voice was impressively steady but I saw his hunched shoulders relax when a tall woman strode into the shed, white light glowing at her fingertips.
“What’s going on? Oh. Shit.” She strode up close to where the demon sorcerer had his hands planted and looked him over. “Barnes. I’m so sorry.”
“Fuck you, bitch. So superior. Always telling me how little power I had.” Barnes’s lip curled, the expression progressing until his face warped in a way that seemed inhuman. His voice deepened. “Well, I have power now.”
“Not for long.” The woman turned to Alaric. “Good job finding him and breaking his wards on that door—”
“I didn’t,” Alaric interrupted. “That was Robin.” He gestured my way. “He’s human, so the wards set against sorcerers didn’t stop him. He powered through and broke them. And he brained Barnes with a two-by-four.”
“Two-by-two,” I said, as if that somehow mattered. I’d moved to the limit the cord would allow, yearning toward the cabinet and the book. If I turned around, I could get one step closer yet…
“Why’s he tied up, then?” The woman glared at me.
“The book’s calling him.” Alaric gestured at the open cabinet.
“You opened it?”
“He did—”
A sudden flare of power flashed from the captive sorcerer, red running all around the inside of the green walls. Alaric grunted, swayed, and reached toward the woman.
She captured his flailing hand in hers. “Got you. Here.”
I didn’t see what she did, but the green circle steadied and Alaric muttered, “Thanks.”
“Can you hold him till Sylvanwood gets here?” She didn’t drop her grip.
“If you keep feeding me power, sure. The demon’s strong, but not that far out of my league.”
I jerked on my tether again. “We should make sure the book is safe.”
Alaric and the woman traded frowns. The woman half-turned to me. “My name’s Miriam. You’re Robin?”
I jerked my chin up and almost said,“Mr. Forrest.”But that was foolish, a reaction to her height and power I needed to not give in to. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Well done, Robin. Very well done.” She waved at the demon-guy. “Sounds like he’d have been a lot harder to capture without you. Now I just need one thing.” She sketched something in my direction, a pretty confection of glowing white lace that floated my way. “I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?”
I nodded, my head swimming. “You. And the book.”
“Me. Just me. The book will wait.”
That sounded wrong in some back part of my brain that wasn’t full of cottony lace. “It doesn’t want to.”
She sketched again and the white lace spread bigger, a translucent veil draping over my head. “Do you hear me?”
“Yes.” The book had gone blessedly silent.
“Harry.” Miriam eyed the rat. “Can you chew through his rope and lead him safely outside? Easy now?”
