That left me and Blackstone. I turned, intending to fly circles around him, when I was struck by a burst of black magic. It hurled me backward against the wall and transformed itself into a thick net that pressed me tight against the rock.
“Impressive attempt, princeling,” Blackstone said, advancing on me. He waved his hand at the burning mages, and my fire went out. “But as you can see, it was futile.”
“I assume Bartholomew gave you those charms, but he couldn’t give you enough to fight a mage of my skill and power.” Blackstone raised his stone again, dark energy gathering around it like a storm cloud. “This time, you won’t escape.”
The spell began to take shape, and the tendrils of corruption holding me tight began to grow. Hoping to withstand his spell, I reached for all my inner fire. I braced myself for the clash of competing magic, but a flash of bright purple light cut through the darkness.
My bonds dissolved as the spell collapsed. Blackstone’s expression shifted from confidence to rage in an instant, and I used his confusion to fly out of his field of vision.
“Hello, James,” Bart said as he entered the cave, his purple tourmaline blazing with power. Behind him, Otto, Leo, Cael, Anso, and Percy filed into the room, their mage stones out and ready. “You look like someone walked over your grave.”
Chapter Eleven
Roderick:
The plane ride to Minnesota was a tense, harried trip. There were numerous medicine wheels around the country, but the one in central Minnesota had recent activity. It felt too easy, which meant it was a trap.
We focused every source of information we had on figuring out what Blackstone might do next. Avie was in contact with the Inquisitor General’s office, and Jan spoke to Dad and the Mage Council’s staff. Conall made calls to the Shifter Assembly, and Ignatius reached out to the Elven Conclave. A minute later, Darius motioned to his brother Eldwin, and along with Hro, they found a quiet corner of the plane to contact the Society of Guardians.
That left me, my younger brother and his mate, and Elspeth with nothing to do and no one important enough to contact. I tentatively reached out to Cinaed, but he was focused on his own mission and I didn’t want to disturb him.
Owen popped up for the fourth time and I grabbed his arm. “Sit down, Owen.” His eyes brimmed with anger, but I didn’tback down. “I’m in charge of this mission, and even I can’t help with this stage of the plan. Trust that there will be plenty of chances to help when the time comes.”
Defiance stared at me for another second before he backed down. “Fine.”
I gently pushed him in the direction of the seat opposite me. “I want to do something too, but let those best suited to the task handle it. Right now, it’s those with the right connections. When it comes to a fight, you and Lysandor are at the top of my list.”
“You’re right.” He settled back in the seat. “I’m not good at feeling useless.”
The real issue was Owen had always been the best of his class and didn’t like being a substitute instead of a starter. “Welcome to my world. I’m not the oldest, smartest, most talented, or best mage in the family. You at least might be the strongest mage on this plane.”
“Might?” He puffed out his chest. “You think you can beat me?”
He was teasing, but behind the humor was a hint of truth. “No, but I don’t like your odds against Darius.”
“Oh.” He glanced at the back of the plane where Darius and the others sat. “I forgot he’s the O.G. Bart.”
Avie stood and saved me from responding to Owen. “Did you learn anything useful?” I asked her.
“Useful is a relative term,” she said, looking around the plane. “Let’s wait for the others so I don’t have to repeat myself.”
With the exception of Ignatius, the others joined us before Avie could sit. The silence stretched for a few minutes, and I was ready to suggest we start without him when he rose from his seat.
“Sorry that took so long,” Ignatius said as he joined us. “The ard ri loves to talk.”
“Must be an elven trait,” Hro said. “I recall a time?—”
“We don’t need to revisit this topic.” Eldwin stared at his mate. “Last time, the debate lasted nearly two years.”
I watched the guardians and wondered if this was how Cinaed and I would be in a thousand years. “Avie, why don’t you go first?”
“Yes, little brother,” she said with only a hint of annoyance. Like Owen, she was adjusting to not being the top dog. “About a hundred and twenty-five years ago, a man named Iacob Negru from Romania offered to help an Anishinaabetribe in Minnesota create a sacred place for their people on the new lands the United States Government gave them. His reason for doing this was to help right an injustice done to these people. As far as we know, he had no direct connection to the tribe. The recipients constructed a new medicine wheel in the heart of their reservation.
“This was the first of several wheels he and other Romanians with the last name Negru helped create on newly established lands. There is no record of the wheels being used, but they were activated.” She nodded to Ignatius.
“The ard ri told me the shaman of the tribes would spend days filling the circles,” he said. “In recent months, someone has been tinkering with the magic in this wheel. Never a lot at a time, and it wasn’t the current shaman who made the changes.”
“How could he tell?” Jan asked.
