Saved by the Spell (Anna Wolfe Series, Book #2) (10 page)

My jaw
tightens and I grind my teeth in anger. I squirm violently, attempting to spell the bindings off me. Rage takes over, blinding me of all rational thoughts. I need to get out of this chair and save Valen—as well as everyone else. The constraints refuse to budge and my magic is still unresponsive. I calm down unwillingly, deciding to conserve my energy. I glower at Micah as he throws his head back, laughing victoriously.

Chapter 8

“I think I might have a reading on her!” Roman
proclaims, hustling down the hallway. He bursts into the kitchen, halting at the table packed with eager eyes.

“Wells? Gets to it!” Martello snaps.

“I caught a small blip of her magic echo. She isn’t in Ignis, well, not really,” he states, turning to Landon. “She’s in Louisiana by means of portal travel, so she’s still in the Netherworld dimension, which is to our advantage.”

Landon nods in understanding.

“What does that even mean?” Janie asks, frustrated.

“It means we can rescue her!”

Valen paces the room impatiently. “Okay, let’s go now.”

“Valen, you’re not going.
Only Landon is completing the extraction,” Roman points out.

“What are you talking about?” Valen asks through gritted teeth. His golden eyes are twinkling with ferocity.

Roman steps closer to him. “There will be no distractions. Landon is stealthy and can’t risk detection by having any of us trailing along.”

“Are you kidding me Roman! A distraction
!? If anything, he needs someone with him! What if he runs into Micah or any of his minions? There’s no way a Shadowalker stands a chance.”

“Your feelings for Ann
a will always be a distraction. Not to mention there’s a tiny problem where you’re concerned. She’s still held captive in the Netherworld, so you’ll be useless anyway,” Roman adds in a low voice.

Valen opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it promptly knowing Roman's right. If he's in the Netherworld, he can't shift into his wolf form. He'll end up being more of a hindrance t
han a help. He stomps off, slamming the front door shut behind him.

Roman faces Landon.
“As soon as night falls, you go,” he instructs. “You know what to do. Bring her back alive, at all costs.”

Landon smiles in agreement.

“How are we going to find a portal?” Kristy inquires.

“I’ll rip one right here,” he says, pointing to the earth. “Once Anna returns, we’ll be here, waiting with open arms,” Roman beams.

Kristy looks down at her interlaced fingers, trying to ignore the small quiver she noticed in his forced smile.

“Waits a
damn minute,” Martello interrupts, pointing his index finger in the air. “You’s gonna bring girlfriend back here… to her home… after stealin’ her from Micah?”

Roman pinches his nose. “That’s the plan.”

“He’s gonna knows we have her. The devil himself will be standin’ at that door,” he finishes, pointing to the foyer.

“Martello, did you think we would continue to live here? We have to go under cover once we retrieve her.”

Martello curves his eyebrow. “An’ when was you plannin’ on tellin’ the rest of us?”

“As soon as I saw Anna walk her beautiful ass through the portal.”

Martello sighs, exasperated. “You needs to work on improvin’ your poor communication skills, Warlock.”

Roman laughs at his dig. “Oh, and
since you mentioned it,” he tips his head to Martello, “everyone will be relocating across seas to an undisclosed location indefinitely,” he adds proudly.

Martello drops his head in his hands. “Lordy, Lordy
. I ain’t ready for all of this. Looks like I needs to find someones to runs my place until further notice,” he mutters to himself.

“Okay, what do you need us to do?” Janie stands up, ready to help.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“
There has to be something we can do? You’re telling me Landon is going to waltz right into Micah’s home or whatever and break her out without any magic?” Janie asks, looking at Landon suspiciously.

“My dear, magic doesn’t take care of
everything
,” he grins. “I’m practically invisible, especially at night. Even if Micah did realize something was wrong, his magic won’t be able to find me in time.”

Janie rolls her eyes, clearly not sold on Roman’s
throw caution to the wind
scheme. She exhales loudly before walking down the hallway and out the front door. Brielle stands, following her.

“Okay, would anyone else care to take a stab at ruining our only option?” he asks condescendingly.

Martello and Kristy lower their eyes and Landon patiently leans against the counter. Everyone is edgy because of the last minute rescue mission that was so hastily thrown together.

“
Good. Let’s wait outside, shall we?” Roman marches toward the front door with Landon trailing behind. “We don’t have much time,” he calls out over his shoulder.

Martello and Kristy stand, making their way to join the group. Brielle and Janie are sitting on the steps, failing to conceal their frazzled nerves with small talk. Valen is sitting on Anna’s porch swing, leaning over his legs with his head
resting in his hands. Strands of his black hair fall haphazardly around his face, shielding his eyes. Martello and Kristy lower themselves into the same, green Adirondack chairs where they first shared each other’s secrets not too long ago. Martello reaches for her hand, squeezing it firmly. The angry sun sinks into sky, elevating everyone’s anxiety. As soon as the blazing orange dissolves into dense black, Roman steps forward.

“Landon, it’s time.”

Roman tramples down the front steps, stopping in front of one of the large Live Oaks dressed in shadows. Landon calmly saunters behind him, as if portal rescues are his daily repertoire. Valen shoots out of the swing, catching up next to them.

“
Her coordinates read 30.0043 degrees North, and 90.7759 degrees West—Oak Alley Plantation. It's on S3, Level 320. You must be very careful,” Roman instructs. He spells a brown orb, quickly molding it into a projected 3D blueprint of the stately home. “The portal drops you right here, mere steps from his estate.” He points to a long walkway lined with Live Oaks like the one standing before them. “It’s Micah’s central hub and guaranteed to be saturated in magic, so you need to do your best to slip in and out unnoticed.”

Landon straightens his posture like a solider preparing for battle. “What room is she in?”

“I’m not certain, but I believe he’s holding her somewhere on the second floor. I saw a blip of her magic here,” Roman answers, pointing to one of the rooms located on the right side of the house.

“Well, I guess that narrows it down. What else should I watch for? The
usual? Hellhounds? Jezebels…?” he trails off.

“My bet is he has the
best Seekers in the Netherworld, maybe a Nephilim or two for added protection.”

Landon exhales his annoyance. “Great, nothing like dealing with Seekers when trying to leave an invisible trail,” he jokes mockingly. 

Roman raises his eyebrows. “Landon, did you think I wouldn’t provide you with any protection?” A bright orange orb appears, levitating above his palm. He lobs it at Landon, watching as it melts into his skin. “For now, your presence is cryptic, but it won’t last long around Micah or the Seekers. Just do the best you can. They have been searching for The Scholars for years, disseminating every piece of information for their location. You’ll be a tiny blip on their radar, if at all.”

Valen groans heavily. “Roman, I
have to go with him. Please let me get her,” he pleads.

Roman’s eyes harden. “We cannot
afford to have any mistakes made Valen, you understand? Anna needs to be alive and in one piece. If you go, I don’t see how either of those will happen.”

Saying that, Roman lifts his arms, chanting a spell. A white circle appears in front of him, swirling into itself like a whirlpool. Flecks of sliver spark from
its edges, disappearing before they hit the dense grass below.

“Landon, it's up to you now,” Roman announces.

“No pressure then?” Landon marches forward, walking right through the portal without hesitation. Roman drops his hands in one hasty motion, closing the portal before anyone tries to follow.

“I don’t know about this,” Janie whispers to Brielle, Kristy and Martello. “It seems
too
easy,” she finishes.

Martello shrugs. “Girl, what else is we s’posed to do? None of us humans can go to Ignis an’ you knows that crazy sumbitch will be waitin’ for their supernatural asses to mosey on in through his front door,” he adds, pointing to Valen and Roman with a cocked eyebrow.

“You mean portal,” Kristy corrects him.

Martello rolls his eyes. “Girl! I don’t cares what its proper namin’ is! It’s an entrance… an entrance into somewheres I’s never steppin’ my foot through.”

Brielle laughs. “Martello, I hear ya. Portal travel isn't a first class flight.” She turns to Janie. “Girl, I know it seems effortless, but we have no other choice. If we can grab Anna and run, it's what we need to do. This is only the beginning of Micah's take-no-prisoners war and I have a feeling we’ll be on the run for a while.”

Janie strides from one side of the porch to the other, biting her nails. “All we can do is hope that Landon will find her and bring her home.”

Roman and Valen pound the steps heavily, as if the weight of the world is literally sitting on their shoulders.

Martello clears his throat.
“What I don't understands is, if he can walks through shadows or whatever, why don't he just do that to get to Anna? Was that portal thingy necessary?”

Roman
rolls his eyes at his ignorance. “He can't transport himself swiftly through layered Dimensions by use of Shadowalking. The more portals involved, the harder it is to locate someone if they're hiding in the layers of a Dimension. Since Micah used a portal inside the Netherworld, he dug a little deeper, making it more of a challenge to find him,” Roman answers. “As soon as I know Landon has Anna, I'll rip him two portals—one out of the dimension Micah is holding Anna captive in, and one to get them back here.”

“
Hmmm,” Martello responds before taking a long swig of his adult orange juice. “Sounds tricky to me.”

“
Earlier you mentioned a Seeker. What exactly is that?” Janie inquires.

“
Seekers, or Seeks as we call them, are the best forms of trackers in the Netherworld. They can track a person's travels over the span of their lifetime, even after they died. That's how meticulously good they are.”

“
How can anyone be capable of doing something like that?” Kristy asks.

“Too much clout for one individual,” Brielle adds, shaking her head.

Valen clears his throat. “Seekers can see essences, both supernatural and human. All living beings have some form of an essence. For example, a human's soul is their essence, whereas mine is magical due to my ability to shift.”

Janie grunts in frustration.
“So why didn't we grab one of those guys to find Anna?”

“
Seeks aren't for hire. Centuries ago, a Seeker tribe was uncovered by Micah. They were thought to have been eradicated, owing to their abilities, but a few survived.”

“
And I'm willing to bet those remaining few are being held captive by Micah,” Kristy deduces.

“
Exactly. Needless to say, they’re a wonderful commodity to kings and those with great power and authority. For the same reason, many were murdered,” Roman adds.

Kristy’s eyebrows
crinkle in bewilderment. “Why would someone want to eliminate an entire race of Seekers?”

“
Anyone, especially criminals, or the few wealthy peasants would want Seekers gone. They used to kill them before a king or someone as powerful forced them to use their influences. Think about it… Seeks are the finest detectives. They can locate anyone, human or supernatural, anywhere in the world, at any given time. Not to mention, they also know where you were years ago,” he shrugs. “That’s an enormous threat if they’re looking for you.” Roman shakes his head in disproval. “The problem is, Seeks don’t choose to possess their ability. Most of them are anti-social and prefer living within their own communes since they tend to be extremely grotesque.”

Valen's gaze falls on Kristy.
“Seekers are repulsive, but smart. They have an amazing ability to discover information and unearth magical trails invisible to most supernaturals,” he adds, cocking his eyebrow at Roman. “Assuming The Scholars are using massive amounts of magic to remain hidden, it's not impossible for them to be located by a Seeker, regardless of concealment spells.”

“
Jesus,” Janie mumbles.

“
The good news is, we have an idea of where they might be,” Roman reassures everyone.

Valen walks over to the porch swing, lowering himself into it.
“We believe they're somewhere in or near Rome, maybe even hiding in the catacombs. Anna...” he hesitates, “she had a vision which showed her The Scholars and some clues as to where they might be.”

Martello exhales.
“My goodness. So, we's goin’ to Rome then?” he asks, doing his best to hide a tiny smile.