Tricks
Alex
The sensation of Irene’s skin under my fingers stayed with me all night, but it hadn’t always been pleasant. It had triggered the need to scrub myself, which I’d tried to resist. I’d fallen asleep, exhausted by the battle against my demons and the desire to hold her.
Heavy footsteps woke me up.
Judging by the pink light limning the window, the sun had risen recently, and I hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours.
“Ravenhill!” Graves’s voice, carrying through the door, completed the nightmare.
“What is it?” I thumped the bed in frustration.
“Tanner is gone.”
I shot out of the bed and flung the door open. “He was chained, and you were in the cell with him.”
Graves’s stunned expression sobered me. “He turned into a bird.”
“What?”
“He was chained and all, sitting on the floor. Then dawn came, and his body changed. It shrank, his clothes sagged, his wrists slipped out of the shackles, and…and in his place there was a sparrow. He flew to the window and was gone. It happened quickly.”
We stared at each other in shock.
I rubbed my forehead. “Tanner is a were-sparrow, a shape shifter.”
“No!” He looked outraged. “I would have sensed it, and I’ve never met a were-sparrow.”
“That doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” I slid on a clean shirt and a pair of trousers. “Where’s Darius?”
“Still in bed.”
We marched to the mage’s room with matching strides.
I knocked on Darius’s door and barged inside. He was sitting in bed in a sea of coquelicot silk cushions, eating from a tray loaded with kippers, porridge, chocolate bonbons, and a dozen other things. And that food would keep him satiated for a couple of hours.
He scowled. “I hope it’s urgent, gentlemen.”
“Tanner turned into a sparrow and flew away.” It was better to be brief.
Graves was as serious as his name. “Are there were-sparrows?”
Darius stopped sipping his tea, a testament to how shocked he was. “Were-sparrows my arse.”
“What is it then?” Graves and I asked at the same time.
He was flustered. “If you let me finish my breakfast and give me a moment to collect my thoughts, I’ll tell you. There’s no hurry, is there? The man is gone.”
I clenched a fist. “By all means, keep guzzling. It’s more important than finding a fugitive.”
He sipped with his pinkie finger fully stretched out. “It is.”
Graves exhaled through his teeth. “Unbelievable.”
“Welcome to my world.” I shook my head. “Do you think Sean came here to transform Tanner into a bird? Or did he turn Tanner from a distance?”
“That’s ridiculous!” The pillows rose and floated around him. “Long-distance spells are extremely difficult and rarely work, and I don’t believe Sean came here.”
“Maybe you found your match. Be quick, Darius.”
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He waved.
Graves’s heels screeched against the floor as he was pushed out of the room by an invisible force.
“What the—” I started.
Darius raised a finger to silence me. “I didn’t shove you out to let you keep your dignity.”
“Bloody hell.” I stormed out of the room and joined the werewolf in the corridor. “I’ll wait for you in Tanner’s cell.”
“You should give him the sack!” Graves raised his voice.
Darius used his magic to shut the door in our faces.
“I’ll search the grounds. Or rather, the trees.” Muttering, Graves headed for the stairs.
Irene almost bumped into me when I rounded the corner. Tension snapped back into my body, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant. I leapt away from her.
“I’m sorry.” She stepped back as well.
“It’s not…” I sounded like an idiot. I loosened the collar of my shirt. “Did you hear about Tanner?”
“A bird? It makes no sense.”
“I’m going to the cell to wait for Darius when he deigns to join us.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Once in the basement, we inspected the cell. There wasn’t much to see. Tanner’s clothes and boots were on the floor. The shackles were locked. The chain was strong and whole.
I checked the cell inch by inch. “If Graves hadn’t seen the man transforming into a bird, I would have never guessed that was how Tanner escaped.”
Darius stepped inside, dressed in an elegant suit with a dark green waistcoat and a tailored jacket. “Good morning.”
“Do you have any news?” I jumped to reach the bloody bars; they were tight.
He smirked, unnerving me. “I came to a conclusion, the only logical one.”
“Suspense is killing us.” Irene wrung her hands.
“A curse.” Darius touched the clothes with the tip of his shiny shoe.
“The man has no power of his own, as both Alex and Graves confirmed. I can confirm that, too. I would have sensed magic. Yet he’s a human capable of changing his shape.
And I wondered why he hadn’t turned into a sparrow last night.
Why wait, knowing that we could have hurt him?
The only explanation is that he can’t control the transformation, which means he’s cursed to transform into a bird when the sun rises.
There’s nothing he can do to prevent that.
It’s against his will, but convenient at times.
To escape, all he had to do was wait for dawn. ”
“That night…” Irene paused. “Sean kept checking his watch, and when his men arrived, the sun had just set.”
He nodded solemnly. “He created an army of cursed minions. They’re undetectable during the day. Quite convenient.”
“How do we catch him?” That was what mattered most to me.
The minions didn’t matter, but Sean had attacked Irene.
“Well…” Darius lost his usual confidence and chatty attitude. “He’s been able to elude us for years, but even the most clever criminal leaves traces.”
I waited for him to add something else. “Anything else? Where can we find him? How do we catch him? How do we kill him?”
“I don’t have all the answers. I need to know more.” He glowered. “Data, data, data. I can’t make bricks without clay!” Magic rumbled out of him.
“Fine!” I was too reliant upon Darius’s magic. “We’ll start asking Knight’s pack. Sean lived in Whitechapel when he called himself Riley. Someone might know something.”
He huffed. “That’s incredibly vague, like describing your being a vampire by saying you follow a peculiar diet.”
“Don’t get angry with me because you’ve just realised there might be a mage stronger than you are.”
“When we find this mage, I’ll show you who the stronger one is.” He strode out, carrying his wounded pride.
“Get ready to leave,” I said to his retreating back. “We have a meeting with the courts.”
Irene lingered in the cell after Darius left.
I waited for her in the passageway. “What are you thinking?”
“I want to kill this wizard.” A cold silver light surrounded her. “For all the pain he caused.”
“So do I.”
“I don’t like the feeling of wanting to kill someone. This mage changed who I was. He turned me into an assassin.”
“The sweetest person becomes aggressive when threatened and pushed into a corner. Everyone has killing instincts. It’s only a matter of finding the right motivation.”
“It’s terribly sad.” She rubbed her arms.
I stretched out an arm towards her, trembling. “Not every change is bad.”
She gazed at my hand then at my face before inching her hand towards my fingertips. She brushed them, and the jolt running down my spine was both pain and pleasure.
“See?” I almost stuttered. “You changed who I was, and some changes are good.”