“It’s possible. Belle’s guides did say it was imperative we got out here.”
“Yeah, but they also said they couldn’t directly interfere with an investigation or point us toward them.”
“Well, if it is the Empusae up ahead, then they haven’t done either. The wheel is a long way behind us.”
“A technicality that doesn’t really apply here.”
“Technicalities matter when it comes to guides.”
After another few minutes, we came into a clearing littered with rocks and debris—all waste from the small mine that had been dug horizontally into the hill directly opposite us.
It was just the sort of place Vita had said the Empusae preferred.
Fear surged, but I resisted the urge to form a repelling spell around my fingers and took a deep, calming breath instead. As usual, it didn’t do a whole lot to help.
Ashworth motioned toward the mine. “The tremor of magic is coming from within that, but I’m not getting a sense of anything supernatural, so it may be an older roost.”
“Surely we wouldn’t be picking anything up if that were the case, though?”
“‘Wouldn’t’ and ‘shouldn’t’ aren’t words I often use in conjunction with the supernatural world.”
I eyed the mine’s entrance nervously. “So what are we going to do?”
“Investigate, of course.”
“If you get flesh stripped, Eli is going to kill me.”
He chuckled softly. “Aye, he will, but it won’t come to that. I’ve a blessed silver knife with me and a couple of freezing potions ready to go. And it’s still daylight, which gives us the advantage.”
Not if we went deep into that mine, it didn’t.
On the off chance that things were about to go ass-up, I sent a quick text to Aiden just to let him know where we were and what we were doing, then followed Ashworth across the clearing. The nearer I got to the mine, the more my gut churned. The entrance wasn’t particularly large—at five-eight, I couldn’t be considered tall, but I had to bend down to look into it.
Ashworth’s expression was intent as his power ran before him again, a wave that tested and probed the interior of the mine. “There’s definitely been some sort of supernatural entity using this place, even if they’re not currently here.”
“Do you think it’s worth setting a trap?”
He nodded. “But not here, at the entrance. She’d probably sense it too easily.”
“If she’s going to sense it out here, why wouldn’t she sense it inside?”
“Because I’ll bind the remnants of her own energy to the spell. It’ll camouflage it long enough to entrap her.” He swung his pack around and pulled out a flashlight. “You keep watch out here.”
He disappeared inside before I could argue. I squatted on my heels, my back pressed against one edge of the mine’s entrance, a position that allowed me to keep an eye on his progress while also watching the clearing.
“It’s actually not that deep,” he said after a few minutes. “It probably only runs thirty meters or so into the hill, and she’s not nesting that far in.”
“Vita did say they don’t like being too deep underground.”
“Remember those teeth the victims were missing? They’re all here, from the look of it.”
“I suggest you leave them there.”
“Intended to.”
A wave of power washed over me as Ashworth began his spell. I studied the distant sparkle and wished I were closer to watch the spell unfold. I’d probably learned more in the few months Ashworth, Eli, and Monty had been here than I’d ever learned at school.
The spell’s power reached its crescendo and then quietly faded away as Ashworth incorporated the remnants of the Empusae’s essence and then tied off the spell. A few minutes later he appeared, sweating and dusty.