The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg (digital book reader TXT) 📕

the smell going with them, and he could gradually start to see more of the house. The attackers had been forced away.

The front door remained open, though, and that was where Gavin needed to get.

“What other surprises do you think he has in there?” Gaspar asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if Tristan has another dozen or more men.”

“All hired? Or all trained by him?”

Gavin frowned. “You know what, this is a bit unusual for him. Typically, he only sends those he’s trained himself against others. I’m a little surprised he would actually hire so many.”

First in the city, then the warehouse, and now with the people of Vuthyl? Gavin had believed it was Tristan, but maybe he had it wrong.

He looked over to the doorway. “Tell Imogen I’m going in.”

“Can’t you just wait until she gets the barriers down?” Gaspar said.

“I feel something coming.”

There was the cold wash of magic.

Gavin tapped on the enchantment. “We only have a little time before the enchantments fade. If I’m not fast enough, we’ll end up facing Tristan without any enchantments.”

“And you’re worried about that?”

“I’ve used quite of bit of my special magic. If we don’t have enchantments…”

Gavin reached the door. Another pair of people came out. One had dark hair, black, with pale skin. The other…

Red hair.

The sorceress. And not just any sorceress—the Toral.

That was the magic he’d felt.

“You,” Gavin said.

He hadn’t expected her to be here. The fact that she was, that she had come to attack, meant that he had made a mistake. He thought she was after the t’ranth, which he believed to be the dark egg, but he didn’t have it on him now.

What was she after then?

Him?

No. When she’d gone to the lair in Yoran, she’d been after something.

T’ranth.

“Did you take them? Is this because of you?”

“What’s because of me?” she snapped.

Gavin turned his attention back to the door, but then glanced toward Gaspar. He had a limited amount of time remaining. Only long enough for the enchantment to linger, and as soon as that faded…

Gavin had to be ready for the enchantments to stop working, and then he would have to call upon the core reserves within him. Only then would he be able to do anything more.

He lunged toward her, pulling out his sword, but he was too slow. He slammed into her barrier, and sparks shimmered across it. The other dark-haired woman stormed away from the house, blood dripping from her hands. What sort of fight had she gotten into?

She headed toward Gaspar, smoke swirling away from her.

“Gaspar!” Gavin yelled.

“I’ve got it,” he said.

“She’s got some sort of magic. I don’t know—”

Gavin didn’t get a chance to finish. The Toral came toward him, and she was filled with terrible energy. He needed to summon as much magic as he could.

There was only one way he could do it.

Gavin focused, calling on the core reserves. And he had to do it quickly. Suddenly, he jerked forward. Some restriction around him had faded. Imogen had broken through the magic.

Gavin smiled. “I guess it’s just between the two of us,” he said to the woman. “I hope you’re ready to dance.”

She stepped toward him, holding her hands in front of her, and power began to spiral between them, even more than it had when he had faced her outside the Captain’s fortress.

Shit.

It looked as if she was more than ready to dance.

In fact, it seemed as if she was ready to destroy him.

So much for coming out here and getting Wrenlow.

He thought that they would have time, that they could stay ahead of her, that they could find Tristan. But now he had to just hope they could just stay alive.

Chapter Fifteen

Gavin darted forward, filled with power and energy, and prepared for the possibility that she was going to be able to counter everything he did. He also knew he had fared poorly against her twice before.

The first time, she hadn’t known what he could do, and the second time, he hadn’t known what she could do. Yet, in both times, he still didn’t know whether there was anything he could do to stop her.

He tried to ready himself. Thankfully, he was already filled with power, and Imogen had managed to remove the barrier that slowed them. None of it seemed to affect this woman, though. Which suggested that she had been the one responsible for it.

Given what he had seen of her and the power she possessed, he should’ve expected that she was the one using her strange brand of magic to capture them.

She attempted to create the same loops of power around him as she had the last time. Gavin reacted, not giving her the opportunity, and he focused his energy and tried to explode outward.

She was ready for it. It was as if she knew exactly what he was going to do—which she probably did. Gavin strained, trying to call on even more power, but even as he did, he could feel something pushing against him.

Her magic once again. This time, in this place, he was aware of something more that came with it.

It wasn’t just her magic. It was that strange smoke he had seen before. The smoke circled around him, looping in a way that made it difficult for Gavin to do anything other than stand in place. Somehow, he was going to have to figure out how to get past her and break through that smoke. He took a moment, nothing more than that, to glance behind him toward the dark-haired woman.

“I need you to mitigate that power,” Gavin whispered through the enchantment. He had no idea whether Gaspar would even be able to react, but he heard a grunt in response.

Gavin darted forward and slammed into her, then crashed past her. He rolled into the room, which had two chairs. Nothing else.

Anger filled him—followed by a crushing disappointment.

No sign of Wrenlow. No sign of Olivia.

They were supposed to be here.

Wasn’t that the point of all of this? Where’s my