“I don’t have it,” Zella said.
“Where is it?”
“I don’t have it, but…” She looked all around her, her gaze lingering on Kegan and Mekal for a long moment before turning back to Gavin. “I can help you find it.”
“Good.”
She motioned for him to follow. Gavin went along with her, heading down the hallway. It was much like what he’d seen in Kegan and Mekal’s home.
The others joined her and stayed close, as if they intended to protect her in case Gavin tried to do anything. Considering the way that he’d attacked, he doubted there would be anything they could do to prevent him from harming her if he decided he wanted to.
Gaspar stayed behind Gavin by only a step. “I don’t like any of this,” he muttered through the enchantment.
“You know, you are the reason I took this job.”
“This isn’t the job you took.”
“It’s all tied together,” Gavin said. The more involved he got, the more certain he was.
The hall ended at a door, and Zella used a burst of magic to open it. Through the El’aras dagger, Gavin was aware of the way the power pushed out from her and into the door. She motioned for him to follow.
He passed through the doorway and noted a strange tingling wash over him, which suggested there was some sort of magical energy here. He couldn’t see anything that confirmed it, and he waited for a moment.
“You can come in further,” Zella said.
Gavin sighed before following her inside. Gaspar walked in next, staying close.
The room was different than some of the other lairs he’d been in. There were shelves all around, several tables, and a rug in the middle. Gavin wondered if the rug would be removed to reveal a trapdoor beneath it much like Cyran’s had. She stopped in the middle of the room, looking around. There was something in her eyes that suggested this was a place of value to her.
“What is this place?” Gavin asked.
“I’m a collector,” Zella said.
“A collector?” Gavin paused in front of one of the shelves filled with sculptures. Some of them were tiny figurines, others were bowls, and still others looked to be creatures crafted out of dark metal. There was something to these he hadn’t realized before. As he held his dagger up, he sensed power. The blade glowed softly, taking on a hint of pale white light. Many of the sculptures reminded him of what he’d seen in Cyran’s lair.
He spun, facing Zella. “Don’t try anything.”
“You’ve already made it clear that nothing I could do would work.”
“What is all of this?”
“These are enchantments we’ve collected,” she said.
Gavin looked around. “Enchantments?”
“All of them. We’ve been taking them from the constables.”
Gavin glanced over at Gaspar, whose brow furrowed. Gaspar headed toward the shelves opposite Gavin, and he began to search along them in his quick but methodical way.
“Just from the constables?” Gavin asked. There was an enormous number of enchantments here.
“Primarily, though we’ve taken some from others.” She looked over at him. “Some of these enchantments allow us to be stronger or faster, and they give us an advantage.”
Gavin smiled to himself. He could imagine the youngsters carrying these enchantments, and he could easily imagine how they were able to hide the fact that they were the ones responsible for taking them.
Who would guess it would be those like Mekal and Kegan?
They looked too young to pose much of a threat. The constables would underestimate them.
Had he not found them when the constables did…
He turned to Kegan, suddenly understanding. He let out a long laugh, ignoring Gaspar watching him. “They didn’t just find you,” Gavin said. “You were drawing them in.”
Kegan turned away, but Mekal continued to look at him defiantly.
Gavin smiled to himself. “What do you think you can do by disarming the constables of their enchantments?”
“They have to have a limit to how many enchantments they have.”
“Why must they?” Gavin asked.
He studied the shelves. Some of the objects were simple, such as rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Others were devices, like bowls or boxes or even statues. If these were all constables’ enchantments, they had incredible reserves of them. Not that he was surprised by that. Everything he’d seen of the constables suggested they had access to considerable power. They would have to, in order for them to be able to keep peace and push out the sorcerers and enchanters.
“Everything they have is tied to what they stole from our masters,” Zella said.
She might’ve appeared young, but there was something about the way she said it that suggested she might be older than what he gave her credit for. Gavin looked at her anew. Studying her, really studying her, he tried to better understand why that was. Maybe it was simply that he’d assumed her to be a certain age.
Gavin had lived a hard life, and his training with Tristan had made things more difficult for him. Because of that, he looked older than he was. Not that he needed any help with that. He’d been scarred through his fighting and through his travels.
“You all trained with the enchanters who were taken?”
“Not taken,” Zella said. “Slaughtered. They bargained with our people, and then they slaughtered them.”
“So you just think you’re taking everything back?”
“Should we not?” She raised her hands, spreading them out in front of her, and she turned in place, looking around the room. “Everything here was created by those who partnered with the constables. Partnered with those who led Yoran at the time. The sorcerers were dangerous. Our people recognized that, and they were willing to work with them, to help them stabilize the city. Even as we did, they were planning and plotting against us.”
Gaspar looked over with a troubled expression on his face. “We need to be careful,” he whispered.
“Why? That was over a decade ago.”
“Yes, but I recognize some of these items. They are powerful. As strong as you are, you still need to—”
The dagger started to glow.
Gavin frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m afraid, Gavin Lorren, I’m not
