shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight by amanda bonilla Page B

one would hurt me here, no matter how angry. Ty gave me a tight-lipped smile that was more of a grimace and poofed into thin air. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I stepped back into the study and eased the doors closed behind me. “Tighter security than when I was here last.”
    Raif rounded the desk and wrapped me in his arms. Thank god. I was starting to worry that the pod person had taken over for good. “I’m happy you’re free, but gods, Darian. Of all the asinine things for him to do—”
    We could have gone on for hours about the asinine things Xander had a tendency to do. And likewise, I wasn’t going to bring Ty back into this by trying to justify his decision to go along with Xander’s plan. Rehashing what was said and done wouldn’t help anything. “I’m going to get him back,” I said. “I won’t leave that place again without him.”
    “Be careful, Darian,” Raif said. “Don’t let all of this be for nothing.”
    In other words, don’t die.
    “I’ll have excellent backup,” I replied.
    “Gods, I wish I could go with you.”
    Raif took a step back and I once again took note of the exhaustion that lined his proud warrior’s face. Ruling a country from half-way across a continent had obviously taken its toll. Raif didn’t want this job. He’d never wanted it. Xander was the king and it was my job to bring his ass home.
    “Believe me, I wish you were too. Hold down the fort until I bring him home,” I said. “Don’t let that fucker take his throne.”
    “I won’t,” Raif flashed a deadly smile.
    “Good.”

CHAPTER SIX
    “Did you really think it would be that easy, Darian?” Ty gave me a wry smile.
    Of course I did. My mouth puckered into a pout. Damn it . I’d tried to wish Xander out of Padma’s custody knowing that it was a long shot, but hoping just the same. He’d made her a Shaede—well, half Shaede—and that forged a bond between them. According to those mysterious Jinn rules, wishes couldn’t interfere with the bonds of others. Those stupid rules totally sucked balls.
    “I told you, magic is null in the canyons. Even if he had no bond with Padma. Even if he was lying right out in plain sight, you couldn’t have wished him out of there.”
    I bellied up to the bar at The Pit, thankful for a little down time in my favorite haunt. Levi was working tonight and he leaned in as Ty and I bent our heads together and tried to form a game plan.
    “Rakshasa are like Klingon war ships,” Levi remarked. “They can cloak their magic, their lairs…it makes them virtually impossible to track.”
    Lair. That pretty much described Padma’s ratty dirt hole to a tee. If she’d been an actual Klingon, she would have been a hell of a lot easier to deal with. “Okay, so we can’t wish Xander free and we can’t wish ourselves inside. Then the only way to get to him is to fight our way through.”
    “And I can guarantee you that the route won’t be the same,” Ty added. “The entrance to the labyrinth might not be the same. The tunnels could have changed. So could the traps. We’ll be flying blind.”
    Way to rock the optimism, Ty . Sheesh.
    “I have a suggestion.”
    Our heads turned in tandem toward Levi. The kid was crafty, not to mention connected. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a solution to our problem. “I’m listening.”
    “It wouldn’t be exact, but you could have a witch try to scry Xander’s location.”
    “Scry?”
    “Using magick to find something,” Ty replied. His sour tone didn’t go unnoticed.
    “Don’t be a hater,” Levi said. “Natural magick has its benefits.”
    I didn’t exactly share Levi’s optimism. The last time I’d dabbled in human magick, it had cost me dearly. “I’m not interested in paying the price for a human spell.” Money didn’t factor into buying magick and the cost was usually more than the buyer could afford to spare. I knew that firsthand.
    “Scrying doesn’t necessarily require spellwork,” Levi