Cloak Games: Thief Trap (20 page)

I nodded. 

“Say it,” said Morvilind. 

“Yes,” I croaked. 

He sighed and tapped the vial again. 

I spent a bad few minutes screaming. 

“Yes, my lord,” I said when I could form words again. 

He crooked his finger, and I spun around and landed in a heap at his feet. 

“You may depart,” he said. “Await me at the Marneys’ home tomorrow. It is time for your brother’s yearly cure spell.” 

“Yes, my lord,” I said. I dragged myself to my feet and left.

###

The next day I took my motorcycle to the Marneys’ house. 

James wore his old dress uniform, and Lucy her nicest dress. Russell wore a suit that was too big for him, but he would grow into it. Morvilind arrived with a half-dozen of his human servants. After he had deigned to accept the Marneys’ greetings, he cast the cure spell.

It was a work of tremendous power, drawing upon all of the elements and sources of magical power I could not identify. The spell was complex beyond my ability to comprehend. Silver light and golden fire blazed around his hands and sank into Russell. When he finished, Russell looked…stronger, a little less pale, a little less sickly. 

Morvilind was a hard and ruthless man, but he kept his word. 

He left once the spell was complete.

Russell was fourteen. That meant Morvilind needed to cast the healing spell six more times before he was completely cured. That meant I had six years left. I had to obey Morvilind for six more years until he cured Russell of the frostfever. 

I just had to stay alive for six more years. 

Or find the power to cure Russell myself and break free of Morvilind. 

That night I sat with a cigarette and smoked with James. 

“Russell looks better every year,” said James. “When Lord Morvilind first brought him to us, I feared that he might not live to reach his tenth birthday.” 

I nodded, watching the smoke curl away into the night. 

“Your work for Lord Morvilind,” said James. “It is dangerous, isn’t it? You’ve got the look.”

“Look?” I said, startled. “What, do I have lettuce in my teeth?”

“No,” said James. “The thousand yard stare. The men-at-arms would come back from the Shadowlands with that look.” 

We sat in silence for a while.

“This was a bad one,” I said at last. “I can’t tell you about it. But this…it almost didn’t go well.” 

“It’s a good thing you’re doing, Nadia,” said James. 

“It is?” I said. If he knew the truth about me, he wouldn’t say that. 

“Your brother’s alive because of what you’re doing,” said James. “When things get hard, that’s what you have to remember.”

I nodded. I hoped he was right.

###

Several days later I walked unnoticed through the lunchtime crowd on Wisconsin Avenue, my mind focused upon my new spell. 

No one noticed me. 

I grinned. That was the point.

The scroll I had found in McCade’s temple had been a spell of mind magic and illusion, a spell called Occlusion. It didn’t turn me invisible like a Cloak, or disguise me as someone else like a Mask. Instead, the Occlusion spell made me…unnoticeable. People simply didn’t notice that I was there. So long as I did nothing aggressive, no one paid any attention to me. It wouldn’t work around another wizard, but I had been in many situations where the Occluding spell would have come in handy. 

I stepped into the coffee shop, released the spell, and looked around. It was a cozy sort of place, with wooden chairs and tables and a variety of junk pinned to the wall as some sort of art. Most of the customers were office workers stopping in for lunch or a snack. 

Corvus sat at one of the tables, waiting for me. He wore a denim jacket, T-shirt, jeans, and his oversized sunglasses, and a pair of cardboard cups waited on the table before him. He rose as I approached and drew out a chair for me. I blinked in surprise at the archaic gesture, but sat anyway. 

“You even wear those things inside?” I said as Corvus sat. 

“The Shadowmorph does not like the sun,” said Corvus. 

“Or fashion,” I said.

He smiled a little at that. “I am surprised you came.”

“So am I,” I said. “I half-expected that this would be a trap to kill me.” In fact I had circled the building three times while Occluded, looking for signs of an ambush, but had found nothing. 

“No,” said Corvus. “I keep my word.”

“I think I know that now,” I said. “So. What did you want to talk about?” 

“I repay my debts,” said Corvus, reaching into his coat. He withdrew an envelope and handed it to me. I opened it and my eyes got wide. It held hundred-dollar bills, a lot of them.

“What’s this?” I said. 

“Half the bounty for the decree,” said Corvus. “You earned it. I would have failed if not for your help.” 

I hesitated. This was blood money. Stealing was one thing. Killing people for money was something else. 

But I really could use the money. 

I tucked the envelope into my purse. 

“There is a card with a phone number in the envelope as well,” said Corvus. “If you need my aid, call that number.”

“Giving me your phone number on a first date?” I said. “Little forward, isn’t it?”

He didn’t even blink at that. “Technically, this would be the second date.”

“Robbery and infiltration do not count as a date,” I said. 

Corvus shrugged. “I am not familiar with modern standards of courtship. There is something else I can do for you.”

“What?” I said. 

He raised a hand. I flinched, fearing that he was about to cast a spell, but he only reached out and touched me on the forehead. It drew an odd glance from a passing couple. As he did, I felt a surge of magical energy, and the symbols and patterns of a spell burned themselves into my mind.

A spell. He had just given me the knowledge of a spell. It was the spell he used to conjure globes of lightning. 

“Why…why did you do that?” I said.

“Because,” said Corvus. “You saved my life, and it is an appropriate gift. You have no magical means of defending yourself. Now you do.” 

“Thank you,” I said. “I…thank you.” It was a tremendous gift. 

He rose. “Take care of yourself, Katerina Annovich. Don’t follow any more strange men into alleys.”

I imitated the mocking little salute he had given me in the temple. “You have my solemn promise. Corvus…thank you. Really. You don’t know how useful this will be for me.”

“I can guess,” Corvus said, and then left.

Later I sat in my Duluth Car Company sedan, and I cast the spell. A little snarling globe of lightning appeared over my fingers, and I smiled and dismissed it. Corvus had indeed given me a powerful gift. 

Perhaps I could put it to good use. 

For I was still alive, and Russell needed only six more healing spells. Russell was still alive, and I had survived my latest mission from Morvilind. 

For now, that was victory enough.

Epilogue

Corvus stood in a New York City penthouse, finishing his report. 

The Firstborn of the Shadow Hunters sat by the window, gazing at Manhattan’s skyline as he listened. He looked about sixty, thin and tough and wiry as an old tree, but he was older than sixty, far older. 

“This Katerina Annovich,” said the Firstborn at last, “you do not think she is a servant of the Dark Ones?” 

“No,” said Corvus, thinking of the strange gray-eyed thief. “I suspect she is being coerced. Likely a cult of the Dark Ones is holding her family captive, using them to compel her obedience.” 

“She knew illusion magic,” said the Firstborn. For a moment the lines of his Shadowmorph stirred against his seamed face. “Someone must have taught it to her.”

Corvus nodded. 

“Find her,” said the Firstborn, “and keep watch over her. She might be the key.” The ancient man looked up at him. “This is vital, Corvus. Find her. If we can find her, perhaps we can find her master…and strike the greatest blow against the Dark Ones since the High Queen was driven from her homeworld. Go with my blessing, my son.” 

Corvus bowed and strode to the elevator, thinking of the gray-eyed thief. He hoped she wouldn’t need the spell he had given her. He hoped he could find her before the Rebels or the Archons or the cultists of the Dark Ones did. 

The woman who called herself Katerina Annovich was in far more danger than she realized. 

THE END

Thank you for reading CLOAK GAMES: THIEF TRAP. Look for Nadia's next adventure, CLOAK GAMES: FROST FEVER, to appear in late 2015. If you liked the book, please consider leaving a review at your ebook site of choice. To receive immediate notification of new releases, 
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