Why did I need to be as forceful as Tristan had been with me?
He could be kinder and gentler in his instruction.
Wrenlow was his friend, after all.
And maybe it was long past time for Gavin to teach him.
Chapter Sixteen
The street looked emptier than it had when Gavin had come the first time. The air was cool and crisp, typical for the city. Shops all around had started to come alive, and while there wasn’t much activity along the street itself, there was plenty within the buildings he passed on the way to find Davel Chan.
There was no answer when Gavin knocked on the door in the early morning. He pounded on it, trying to get the man’s attention, but still he didn’t come to the door.
Standing back, Gavin unsheathed the El’aras dagger slightly, but there was no glow to the blade. Davel wasn’t here using magic, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here at all.
Gavin tested the door. It was locked. He didn’t have Gaspar’s ability at breaking into locked areas, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get past the door. He jabbed the dagger into the doorframe and pried. The El’aras blade was incredibly strong, and it made the wood around the door scream in protest. The door popped open.
Gavin stepped into the house. He paused a moment, letting his eyes adjust as some of the light from the street drifted into the room. Everything looked the same as last time.
“What are you doing here?”
Gavin spun, holding the dagger out from him.
Gaspar stood in the doorway.
“I figured I’d start with my other employer and see if I could come up with anything to help us figure out more about the jade egg job.”
“He was here?” Gaspar asked. He began to sweep through the room, quickly surveying everything, opening and closing doors, sorting through things.
When Gavin had first seen Gaspar go through this process, he’d assumed that it was because of Gaspar’s background as a thief. Now he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps there was a different reason.
Gaspar had been a constable. Gavin wouldn’t be surprised if the constables hurriedly searched houses like this with the ability to find magic users.
“There’s nothing here,” Gaspar said.
“I know there’s nothing here. I looked.”
Gaspar arched a brow at him. “I figured I would take a look myself. You have a tendency to miss things.”
Gavin shook his head. “And you have a tendency to be an ass.”
Gaspar laughed. “Your other sorcerer friend had a lair beneath his home. Do you think there might be something here?”
“I don’t really know,” Gavin said with a shrug. “It’s possible. Of course, if he does, that means this man has magic that’s more potent than I think.”
“Should we look for it?”
Gavin headed toward one of the back rooms. He paused for a moment in the doorway and didn’t see anything on the floor. No sign of a trapdoor.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing here. We could go to Cyran’s lair and see if there’s anything there.”
“Do you think there might be anything more than what you already observed?”
Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know. Other than what’s in the lair? When I was there, I was more concerned about getting out and returning to the Dragon. I was a little preoccupied, worrying about what might happen to the rest of you.”
“I see. Maybe while we’re working together we can work on increasing your observational skills.”
“You’d take me on as an apprentice?” Gavin asked, offering a hint of a grin. Maybe he could get Gaspar to talk about his other apprentices.
“Doubt you’d be able to help me nearly as well as you helped your previous mentor.” Gaspar motioned for him to move. “Well?”
Gavin shook his head and headed back to the street toward Cyran’s home on the outskirts of the city. Gaspar stayed with him, saying nothing. They reached the home, and Gavin looked around before opening the door.
A blast of power exploded toward him.
Without really thinking about what he was doing, Gavin drew on his core strength. He let it flow up from some deep part of him, and it crashed into the explosion. Each time that he reached for it now, it was as if there were some pool of reserve energy sitting deep within him. All he had to do was dig into it and pull it through him.
He had no idea what it was, and if it were magic, then so be it. At this point, it mattered little to him what he used, just so long as it was effective.
Gavin scrambled to his feet and drew the El’aras dagger.
Gaspar pressed behind him. “What was that?” he whispered.
“It seems as if the Mistress of Vines decided to prepare for the possibility we might return,” Gavin said.
“Are you sure it was her?”
Gavin looked along the street. There had been so much trouble in this home. “I don’t really know anymore. Given what we’ve gone through, it seems reasonable.”
“It’s also reasonable that Cyran, or whoever he was working with, came back,” Gaspar said.
Gavin shook his head. “I don’t think that was him.”
“But you don’t know.”
“We can’t know that.”
Gavin held the dagger out from him. As he walked slowly forward, he could feel the energy of the explosion. It left his skin tingling, every bit of him on edge. He frowned and moved into the room.
There was nothing.
“Well?” Gaspar asked.
“There’s no sign that anybody’s been here,” Gavin said.
“Good.”
Gaspar hurried into the room, and he quickly began to examine it. He pulled open cupboards and flipped through things, moving with that same practiced style. Gaspar didn’t seem to pause in front of anything either. He simply kept moving, and Gavin didn’t see anything else in the room.
“I looked already. I think he moved anything of value before he left.”
“Only he didn’t leave. He was captured,” Gaspar said.
“Captured, but he thought he had removed me as a threat at that point. That’s why I think he would have taken everything.”
Gaspar continued to sort
