After that . . . well, I didn’t want to think about what would happen after that. It would all depend on how Jagger reacted. If he was too violent and Miss Iris’ life was on the line, extreme measures would need to be taken.
I gulped as the unavoidable idea of fighting to the death arose in my mind. Yes, I would soon be attending Spellcasters, and yes, spies had to kill people. Even the most passive ones claimed that killing others was necessary, either for self-defense or the greater good. I’d been steeling myself for such a requirement for years.
And yet, even with all that preparation, when faced with the possibility of killing someone at just eighteen years old, I couldn’t truthfully say that my stomach wasn’t flip-flopping.
But I was out of choices. I needed to make sure Miss Iris was okay, and if not, I had to save her. So I kept moving forward.
When we were about thirty feet from the cabin I caught the sounds of pots and pans being moved around. Someone—Jagger, I was almost positive—was cooking. Or maybe brewing up a potion to keep Miss Iris sedate.
For what felt like the billionth time, I wondered why he had taken her. She didn’t have any secrets and wasn’t a powerful witch. Was he just a total asshole? Also, where had he learned about potions? It wasn’t exactly a shifter pastime to brew up potions.
I shook my head, totally confused by what was happening and turned to Alex. “Okay, this is it. We’re not going to knock, obviously.”
Alex nodded. “If our suspicions are right, and I think they are, Jagger won’t take kindly to visitors.”
No . . . he wouldn’t. But I didn’t want to rush in and take the chance of injuring Miss Iris either. I glanced at the window and, before Alex could stop me, dashed beneath it. Slowly, I lifted up on tiptoe to peek through the dirty window pane. My heart leapt.
Jagger was in the middle of the room, standing with his back to me. I didn’t see Miss Iris, but knowing that Jagger had absolutely no right to be in Butcher cabin and that Miss Iris was missing was enough for me to want to investigate more fully.
I scurried back to where Alex hid in the trees. “He’s in there. His back was to me, so I don’t think he heard us. I say we knock down the door with magic and rush inside.” I bit my lip. “Have you ever dealt with a wolf-shifter before? A full grown one?”
The mountain lion I’d encountered during my exam had been young, a student from the Shifter Academy of Spies brought in to assist in examination. And even though the mountain lion was just a student, he had been challenging enough to defeat. Jagger was older and definitely looked strong, which didn’t bode well for us.
Alex released a heavy sigh. “No. But I have an idea. If he’s hostile, just blast everything you’ve got at him, and I’ll do my best to work quickly.”
I nodded. One idea was better than what I had, which was absolutely nothing.
Slinking out from the cover of the trees, we made it all the way to the door without incident. Once there, I held up three fingers as I pressed my other hand out in front of me.
I counted down and Alex and I released our magic simultaneously. Beams of violet and crimson wove together, blasting the door open, and we rushed inside.
Chapter Eighteen
We made it only a few feet into the ramshackle hut before I slammed on the brakes and shot an arm out to stop Alex too.
“Smart girl,” Jagger growled.
He stood in the middle of the living room that flowed seamlessly into a kitchen area. Doors leading into other rooms sat closed along the back wall. A decrepit couch and a chair that looked wobbly even from where I stood were the only furniture in the place. The only other decor of note was a pitiful fireplace that was missing half of its bricks positioned on the wall opposite the kitchen.
But the sight that had stopped me was Miss Iris. She hung unconscious in one of Jagger’s arms. With his other hand he held a dagger out in front of him.
“Let. Her. Go.” I spat out each word with force, trying to cover up the fact that my hands were shaking like leaves in a storm.
Jagger snorted. “It’s obvious that you grew up with privilege. You both have the same annoying imperious tone. But asyoucould still be useful for my purposes, I’ll over look it. Especially seeing as Iris is clearly not going to talk any time soon.” His lips squished to the side in frustration. “You may be my only choice.”
“How could she talk when you drugged her?” I brushed off his vague words. My fists clenched so tightly that I could feel my nails cutting into my skin. “Some of her past boyfriends sucked, but you’re a real piece of work.”
The shifter’s eyes widened and then, inexplicably, he began to roar with laughter. Something in the sound made my hands stop shaking. What was up with this guy? A part of me wanted to question him, to extract his whole evil villain soliloquy and understand what the hell was happening, but my chance was ripped from me, because at that exact moment Alex leapt forward. Crimson magic burst from his hands, soared at the shifter, and swiped the dagger to the side, straight out of Jagger’s hand, where it clattered to the floor.
I sucked in a breath. The move had been a risky, but it had worked. And by the astonished look in Jagger’s eyes as Alex sprinted toward him, it had been the right move. The shifter dropped Miss Iris, and she landed half on the couch as he retreated into the kitchen.
Snapping out of my awe, I followed the shifter. On my way, I kicked the dagger toward the hearth, then positioned myself squarely in front of Miss Iris.
Somehow, in the seconds that I’d been preoccupied, the shifter had acquired another knife and was already engaging Alex. A smarmy smile curved his lips as he dodged Alex’s magic skillfully. I began to shake with fury. The cocky bastard probably thought he had it easy, fighting two witches who weren’t even properly trained.
I clenched my fists.Too bad he’s wrong.
Alex and I might not even be initiates yet, but we were well ahead of the curve. Just to prove that point I aimed a spray of burning magic at the shifter.
