That energy burst from him and exploded away, unleashing a ring of power that collided with the attackers. They were thrown back.
Gavin darted toward Kegan, grabbing him and then Mekal, and he threw them further into the room. He snarled at them. “Where is Zella?”
Mekal looked at him, his eyes wide. “How did you—”
“No more games,” Gavin said. “If you know who I am”—and he suspected that Kegan, at least, knew who he was—“then you will tell me where I find Zella. If you don’t, I’m going to go through this room and carve through every single person here until I find her.”
Gavin put every bit of anger and rage into the comment as possible. He tried to fill it with as much power and as much passion as he could to make them believe he was willing to do this. There was some distant part of him that might even be willing to do it. It was the part of him that had trained with Tristan. His mentor had wanted him to gain that skill and know how to be a killer, and that part of him flared up as he sneered at these two.
“Don’t. Please.” Kegan tried to fight, and he shook.
“You might find that magic comes a little bit slower to you now,” Gavin said softly. His voice was a dangerous growl. “It’s been my experience that those who are around when I break the chain of magic take a little while to recover. I suspect you will find you’re no stronger than the Mistress of Vines.”
Kegan whimpered.
“Do you recognize that name?” Gavin asked. “Would you like me to bring you to her? I’m sure she would be thrilled to know children who play with magic that shouldn’t.”
“Enough,” a voice said from the back of the room.
Gavin dropped the boys. He released the rage that filled him, and he turned toward the voice. A dark figure greeted him. She was young like the others, with black hair that faded into the shadows. Still, he detected an intensity from her. Gavin strode forward, holding the El’aras blade out. It only glowed softly, not nearly as bright as it had been before. That was one of the detriments of breaking through their magic. Now it was too dim to see.
“Zella?” he asked.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“I was hired to find you. It sounds as if you have something my employer wants.”
“I don’t have anything. Please don’t hurt us.”
Gavin looked around, and he noticed the fallen faces of what amounted to be children. Most of them were similar in age to Mekal, thankfully. There were only two who were younger, Kegan and another girl, but all of them were still far younger than what he would have expected from sorcerers.
“I’m not going to hurt anyone else unless you give me a reason to. So don’t give me one.”
“What do you need?”
Gavin watched her carefully. What he’d said to Gaspar was not untrue. Even though he had rescued Alex, he still didn’t know whether that was the only part of the job he needed to complete.
But was it a job?
Erica had betrayed him and wasn’t really an employer. Maybe the only thing he really considered a job was a task that needed to be completed.
With the Mistress of Vines, he was determined to complete it. He wouldn’t let her beat him.
There was something more taking place. He just had to understand what it was—and why he’d gotten pulled into it.
“You stole something from my employer,” he said.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“Unfortunately, he feels differently. And he feels strongly enough that you did that he hired me.”
“What do you think I stole?”
“He called it a jade egg.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t steal it.”
“Really? Like I said, he felt differently. Enough to pay. And, unfortunately for you, he’s paying well. So if you do have the jade egg, it’ll be far easier for you to simply tell me where it is so I don’t have to drag that knowledge out of you. If you don’t have it, then…” Gavin smiled, trying to look as dangerous as he could. “I’m not really sure what I’ll do. Perhaps I’ll see how much you share with me as I jab this dagger into your belly, curving it as I’m—”
“Enough,” Gaspar said from behind him.
Only, Gaspar wasn’t right there. He shouted it into the enchantment, loud enough for Gavin to hear the anger within his voice. Gavin glanced over his shoulder at Gaspar. The old thief watched him, anger and violence flashing in his eyes.
“Sorry. You’re right,” Gavin muttered. “Let’s make this easy,” he said, shifting tactics. “All I need is the egg. Once you hand it over, I can be out of your home. I don’t need to do anything different. I don’t need to harm you. I don’t even need to reveal your presence to the constables. All I need is the jade egg. Once you provide that, you won’t ever see me again.”
Though he had to worry that they might come after him. They did have power, after all. Perhaps not as much as sorcerers, but they were skilled nonetheless.
He was playing this all wrong. He could feel Gaspar’s eyes on him and the irritation within them.
Gavin didn’t care. At this point, the only thing he cared about was finishing this part of the job. He didn’t even have to turn in Zella. He’d been paid enough and could be paid even more, he realized, especially given the terms of the agreement.
“I thought the point of this was to see what we could find out,” Gaspar whispered through the enchantment.
Gavin ignored him. Even though that was part of the plan, there was something more he wanted. If he were able to get the jade egg, then not only would he earn enough money to leave Yoran, but he also could finish two jobs here. Wasn’t that better? Certainly Gaspar should be able to
