Gavin smiled. He’d thought that Mekal was the only strong one, but Kegan had a little bit of steel within him as well. Despite himself, Gavin found that he liked these two.
When Kegan was done, he stood. “If they wake up here, they’re going to have questions.”
“I can deal with that,” Gaspar said.
He lifted one of the constables and carried him out into the street, leaving Gavin with Mekal and Kegan. Both of them looked at him, and the dagger continued to glow.
“You’ll find that I’m fairly resistant to magical attacks,” Gavin said. “You can try me if you want, but Kegan found that his battering magic didn’t really work on me. So if you want to have a go at me, Mekal, feel free. I don’t think you’re going to like the outcome any more than you liked the outcome when I crashed into you the last time.”
Mekal turned away.
Gavin smiled to himself. “Go close your door,” he said to Kegan.
Kegan hurried off, and he sealed off the door leading to the back room. As Kegan disappeared, Gavin looked over to Mekal, watching him. The boy said nothing, though he frowned at him. The room was mostly empty, and now that a lantern had been lit, Gavin could see more clearly. It didn’t push away the shadows in the distance of the room, and there was still quite a bit of darkness, but it was better than it had been. The air was stale, leading Gavin to think they hadn’t opened this room very often.
Kegan returned and joined Mekal. “What are you going to do to us?”
“All I need to know is where to find Zella. After you tell me, you’re free to go.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. Why are you hiding here?”
Mekal and Kegan shared a look, but neither of them answered.
“You’re going to wait here, so you might as well tell me what’s going on,” Gavin said.
“Nothing has gone on,” Mekal said. “Until you came here.”
Gavin chuckled, glancing to where Gaspar had brought the constables. “That’s not quite true.”
“What do you intend to do with Zella?”
They cared about her, which meant he could use that, though he didn’t love using somebody they cared about against them. These were children, regardless of how mature they might have become after losing their parents.
“Why do you need to find Zella?” Kegan asked.
“Because I was hired to.”
Kegan’s eyes widened. He had heard rumors about Gavin. They weren’t the ones that Jessica had been spreading—they were the rumors about his real job. It surprised him that Kegan would’ve heard anything about it.
Gaspar returned, and he carried one of the other constables out. Kegan and Mekal didn’t talk. They watched Gavin; suspicion in their eyes. There was power coming off of one or both of them, and the El’aras dagger glowed continuously.
“You may need to be careful with how much magic you’re pulling on,” he said to them.
“We can hide it,” Kegan said.
“Obviously, you can’t hide it completely. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be concerned about the constables.”
“They’ve been coming here because they know about us,” Mekal said.
“Right. And they have some way of detecting magic. So I’m sure that they’ll come after you.”
The door opened as Gaspar came in, and he reached for the remaining constable.
“I think it’s time for us to go,” Gavin said. “And it’s time for the two of you to lead us to Zella.”
Kegan and Mekal shared a nervous look before heading out the door.
Chapter Nineteen
They left the house and moved to the street, heading toward the north part of the city. Kegan and Mekal were only one step ahead of them, and Gavin kept waiting for them to try to run. He could stop them if they did, but he figured it would make a scene. Hopefully, his threat that he’d come after them would keep them from doing anything else.
“They’re afraid of revealing Zella,” Gaspar whispered.
“I know. Either she’s incredibly powerful or she’s someone they care about.”
“It could be both.”
“It could be,” Gavin said.
“It’s interesting how they were able to hide,” Gaspar said.
“I find it interesting that they have the ability to obliterate memories.”
“Not much use if they can only do so for short times,” Gaspar said.
“No, but in times like this, it has its uses.”
They turned a corner. In the distance, he caught sight of a pair of constables. He took a step forward and nudged Kegan and Mekal. “We’re heading this way,” he said, motioning for them to follow down a different street that was empty.
“What was that about?” Kegan asked.
“Constables. I figured you wanted to keep your use of power away from them.” He said it low, and he arched a brow as he leaned in. “Otherwise, if they detect your magic…”
“If they detect magic, they may blame you,” Mekal said.
Gavin smiled. There was that steel again. “Maybe. Then again, maybe not. Even if they were to detect it from me, I’ve trained enough that I’m able to take care of a couple of constables.” The words hung in the air a moment. “What about you? Do you think you might be able to handle a pair of constables out in the open? A little bit dangerous, I would say. I’d also think that you wouldn’t want to risk it.”
Mekal glared at him.
Gavin couldn’t help but smile back.
When they reached the next intersection, Gavin indicated for them to stop. “Which way?”
Kegan motioned along the street, waving his hand wildly toward the north. He glanced over at Mekal and held his gaze for a moment, something passing between them. It put Gavin on edge. He already knew they had some way of using power and had heard a little bit about the nature of their magic, so he knew to be careful with them. If they were to use their power against him, he didn’t have complete confidence that they wouldn’t be able to overwhelm him—especially out here in the
