“Could we displace Blaze along with us?” Briony asks.
Dray chuckles like that’s the funniest thing he’s heard in weeks, and the sound is not unpleasant. Our bond brother is always laughing, and yet out in that demon realm he had hardly laughed at all. And as annoying as I may find him sometimes, I’d missed it. I realize how much and how often it lightens my spirits.
“I’m serious,” Briony says with a little frown.
“Seriously?” Dray says. “Do you know how hard it is to displace? Even taking you, Little Kitten, along for the ride was pretty damn difficult.”
“Our magic,” she clarifies, “our magic combined just smashed through the magical border that’s held the demons at bay and those who were banished. I think combined we could do anything.”
Her voice is full of optimism and hope, and I have to admit that too is uplifting – uplifting and infectious.
“Yeah, Little Kitten,” Dray says. “But displacing a whole-ass dragon is going to be freaking hard.”
Briony places her hands on her hips and frowns even harder at my shifter bond brother. “Are you not up for the challenge, Eros?”
Dray straightens his shoulders and rolls his head from side to side. “I’m ready for any challenge you give me, Little Kitten. Bring it on.”
Blaze is swooping over the ruined village and as we all turn to watch him, we see him dive-bomb into the gutted remains of an old house and then re-emerge with a struggling goat in his jaws. He tosses it up in the air, chars it with his fiery breath, and then swallows it whole, dancing in circles and clearly proud of himself.
“Blaze,” Briony calls. “Blaze, come here.”
He lets out a disapproving snort, but comes flapping our way, landing down on the ground before us. He whines, his tail bumping from side to side.
“Blaze,” Briony says, looking him square in his giant gold eyes. “We’re going to try something. I’m not sure if it’s going to work. I’m not sure how pleasant it will be.”
The dragon whines again, clearly not liking whatever Briony is about to propose. He’s much cleverer than I gave him credit for. And he seems in some way in tune with our mate.
“It’ll be just fine,” Briony says. Then she turns back to the rest of us. “So, how exactly do we do this thing – displacement?”
When no one answers, she directs her next question at Tudor, the obvious teacher in the group. “You must have had to learn. How do you do it?” she asks him.
He sighs. “It’s not easy, Briony. It’s not something you can just learn at the snap of your fingers.”
“Try me,” she says, just as keen to challenge the professor as she was our shifter bond brother.
He sighs again, this time because he must realize he’s never going to win this argument with Briony. Once she’s gotsomething fixated in her mind, she won’t let it go. I guess, like the rest of us, she’s stubborn.
“You need to feel the air around you.” She tips her head to one side, listening. “Close your eyes,” he says. “Close your eyes and feel the air around you.”
“Okay,” she says, following his instructions.
“Then you need to visualize in your mind’s eye where it is you want to displace. For example, why don’t you visualize that building your dragon just raided?”
She nods.
“Can you see it?” he asks. “Can you see it in your mind’s eye?”
“Yes,” she responds. “I see it.”
“Make sure it’s as clear as you can make it,” he says. “Make sure it can’t be confused with anywhere else.”
She hums her agreement.
“Then feel for the air, tug on it with your magic and send your body to the place you see in your mind. Briony,” he cautions, “this is hard. It might not work the first–”
There’s a ruffling of the air, a snap. Then Briony is gone.
“Shit,” Dray says. “Where did she–?”
