“Demon against demon? Perhaps we should just step aside,” Sharyn commented. “Let them kill each other, or we can kill whichever survives.”
“I wish it were that simple, but it’s not,” Kari countered. “Emma knows too much, but more annoying than that is she knows a lot more than we do. She wasn’t just on Tsalbrin to sabotage Sekassus’ plans; she was looking for a way to break into the Temple of Archons. At first, I was satisfied with just stopping her, but if we have an opportunity to capture her, we may be able to find out what she knows about the Temple, how to open it, and what’s inside that the demons are after. We need to find these things out, and this succubus has in… inad… eh, she’s helped us without realizing it.”
There were muffled chuckles from her friends; Kari couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
Dominick addressed her, “So what is it you need from me, my lady? How may I aid in this plan of yours?”
“Well, as a wizard, I had assumed you might be able to detect other wizards or sorcerers and tell us if Emma is already within the city,” Kari answered. “From everything I’ve heard about this mallasti girl, she’s incredibly powerful, so if she’s here, there’s got to be some way we can detect her.”
“I’m not going to lie,” Kari continued to the rest of the gathering. “I do not like the prospect of being bait. I have a mate and child back home in DarkWind, and I’d like to get back to them alive. I also don’t like the idea that we may actually have to protect a demon to try to get information from her. But I have a job to do, and sometimes that means looking ahead at preventing future trouble, and not just putting these creatures to the sword. So, I need you all to tell me if you’re all right with trying to capture Emma instead of killing her.”
“This is your dance,” Eli said. “I’ll follow your lead.”
“Lady Vanador, do you intend to let the murders continue to further ready this trap?” the marshal asked.
“No! No, of course not. I think the succubus has already set the trap about as well as she can. She has me here now, which may interest Emma more than we think after my work on Tsalbrin. And if Emma hasn’t been drawn here by twenty-nine murders, I’m not sure she ever will be. But either way, we’re going to keep hunting the succubus the same way we have been and put a stop to these killings as soon as possible. We’re just going to try laying a trap for Emma at the same time.”
“Then I will give you whatever aid I can in that regard and alert my men that we are looking for a mallasti,” the marshal returned. “Those are the ones that look like gnolls, yes?”
“Yes,” Sherman answered. “My friend, you have our support on this as well. We will continue investigating with the help of the citizens and pass along word to Lord Garant when we see him. Sharyn, do you know how to track a mallasti at all?”
“I may know some tricks that can help,” she offered. “I think our wizard friend here will be more useful on that, though.”
“If she is trying to avoid detection, it may be difficult to find this mallasti of yours,” Dominick said. “However, even using non-detection magic can sometimes leave traces that can be detected indirectly. If I know what I am looking for, it should prove easier. You will have my help in this matter, though I will say that if this mallasti is as powerful as you say, she may prove very difficult to capture.”
“I don’t doubt that. Eli, is there anything else you can tell us about Emma?” Kari asked.
Eli’s eyes widened. “Yes! I’d almost forgotten. I mentioned that she was a slave, right? Slaves in the underworld wear collars that they can’t take off. At the very least, it might let you recognize her on sight, even if she’s taken another form to hide among the people. You’re looking for a black leather collar with metal plates and a metal clasp on it.”
“So, everyone is comfortable helping me try to capture Emma?” she asked, and there were no protests. “Any other questions? Well then, let’s go set the trap.”
Eli put his hand on Kari’s shoulder as the others began to filter out. “You have another piece of bait, too,” he said. “Remember the coin I gave you? Emma was interested in it.”
Kari nodded. The situation was finally beginning to come under some sort of control, and she felt a lot less adrift than she had when she’d arrived. At Dominick’s request, she and Eli followed the human toward his home. He assured Kari that once there, he would be able to work some indirect detection magic to search for Emma’s presence.
15
Complications
Dominick lived in a rather nondescript house in the northeast district of the city. Kari was surprised at its simplicity; the archmages of the major cities she’d traveled through over the years typically had large towers like Lord Black’s.
Dominick’s house, by contrast, was cozy and modest, its lower level one large, open room around a fire pit. In the corner was a ladder that led to half an upper level where his bedchamber was, and each corner of the lower level was dedicated to one use: pantry, study, storage, and sitting area. It seemed a perfect home for a solitary person.
I’d never live in a house like this if I lived alone, though, Kari thought.
The wizard gestured to the sitting area while he walked to the study corner. Kari took a seat. The deep chairs didn’t see much use, and she waved away the cloud of dust that puffed up. With a smirk, Eli plopped down beside her, and they waited to see what Dominick was getting from his study.
Dominick searched through a bookshelf, and from the look of the worn leather bindings, Kari guessed they were his spell books. Sonja had only a single spell book, but that was partially because Sonja was having difficulty mastering magic. Kari expected her sister-in-law would have many more spellbooks as she mastered magic.
Kari sighed, regretting that she hadn’t seen her sister-in-law before she’d left for Lajere. Sonja was busy studying under DarkWind’s resident archmage, Gareth Maelstrom. Sonja was growing frustrated with trying to master the arcane; while she was able to do amazing things with it—particularly the conjuration of protective shields and wards—she had trouble with nearly everything else. Maelstrom considered Sonja brilliant and a wonderful student, but he was at a loss as to why arcane power didn’t respond properly to Sonja’s call. Kari had overheard Maelstrom say Sonja did everything perfectly, but something was not reacting properly when she tugged on the “mana strands” that arcane practitioners called upon.
I wonder if studying under another wizard might help Sonja.
Could it be something in Maelstrom’s style that left her frustrated? Gareth was widely recognized as one of the greatest wizards in the world, but few had ever seen evidence of it. Maelstrom was at least several centuries old, and many of his deeds had either preceded Kari’s attendance at the Academy, or else had happened after her death. She knew he was instrumental in defending DarkWind from Seril during the Apocalypse, but Maelstrom was not one for flashy demonstrations or public displays. He used his arcane power when it was needed, but otherwise lived a sheltered life.
Kari’s contemplations came to an end when Dominick approached with a black, leather-bound tome. He placed it on the short table at the center of the sitting area. He had it opened to a page depicting several strange symbols, and after he took a seat, Dominick ran his fingers over the page. Kari noted that his fingernails were long but filed almost to a point, like a rir claw. He tapped one on the page, and at last those grey, hawkish eyes came up to meet hers.