“Neither did I. It never happens.” I looked around to inspect the clientele. No one had turned to look at us. “Can you make a distraction so I can slip through the door?”
She nodded. “No problem. I’ll meet you in there.”
Silently, she snuck away, heading toward the ladies’ room. A few heads turned to check her out, but she ignored them, going through the wooden door. A moment later, the door cracked open, though no one exited.
Aeri.
She’d used her ghost suit to become invisible. A few seconds later, the chair closest to the bathroom levitated into the air, then smashed down.
Every head—except the bartender’s, which was weirdly frozen—turned in shock. Another chair went flying.
I grinned.
Aeri had the distraction under control, so I slipped toward the unguarded door. When I reached it, I grabbed the handle and tried to pull it open.
Nothing.
It was stuck solid.
Damn it.
I pulled harder, giving it some of my Dragon Blood strength, and the wood around the lock splintered. The door swung open.
Good enough.
I stepped into the dark little corridor. Here, there was no rushing river. Instead, fiery crystals were set into the wall, each seeming to contain an individual flame.
Quickly, I strode down the hall and into a large room. Four large tables sat in the space, each piled high with tiny jars and potion-making materials. There didn’t seem to be any sort of organization, and I assumed Penriel was a bit of a mess.
The dirt walls of the space were threaded through with tree roots, and faerie lights glittered in the crevices.
Penriel might have forsaken any Fae courts, but there was no denying his Fae nature.
“Penriel?” I called out.
“Kevin,” a voice snapped from the shadows. A slender man stepped out, his golden hair bright in the dimness of the room. “My name is Kevin.”
Oookay. “Great. Kevin it is, then.”
There had to be a reason he’d picked a super normal human name, and I didn’t want to piss him off—yet. So I’d play it his way.
“How did you get back here?” he demanded.
“I have my ways.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” He tugged at his dark shirt. Like most potion-masters, he seemed to favor all black. It was just practical. “Why are you here?”
“I need some root of Paeoria, and I heard you were just the guy.”
His frown deepened. “That’s rare. And expensive.”
“Do you have it?”
“Maybe.”
I sighed. “I’ll pay, obviously.”
“How well?”
Another presence appeared—invisible but unmistakable. Aeri had joined me. She stayed invisible, which was only smart.
I kept my eyes on Penriel instead of searching for her. “What do you want?”
“Ten grand.”
Ouch. “That’s pretty steep.”
“And you’re pretty desperate.” He sneered, and it changed his whole face. He went from blandly handsome to rat-like in the flash of an eye.
“I’m not.” I was proud of how stable my voice sounded.
“You are. I can see it on you.” He tapped the side of his nose. “Fae power.”
“Ten thousand, then. Fine. I just want to get out of here.” I reached into the ether and withdrew my potion bag. Quickly, I yanked out wads of cash. It was bound in stacks of hundreds, and I made sure he didn’t see that I had more than he’d asked for.
He gestured for me to approach. “Come on, then.”
Was he being oddly twitchy?
Wary, I approached. “The root of Paeoria?”
“Money first.”
“At the same time.”
“Money first.” His demand was antsy. Like an addict looking for a fix. Or an awkward weirdo trying to pull a fast one.
“Fine.” I handed him the cash.
He grabbed it from me.
“The root of Paeoria?” I asked.
“It’s time for you to go.” He thrust out his hands, and magic exploded from his palms. I flew backward, an invisible force pushing me toward the door.
Panic flared. I struggled against his power, but was unable to break it.
Aeri.
He still didn't know she was here. Perhaps she could sneak through and take what we were after.
“And your invisible friend, too,” he hissed.
Damn it.
Aeri shouted from my left, surprise in the sound. She appeared a half second later, scowling as she was forced back toward the door.
I considered throwing the Aranthian Crystal at him to freeze his magic, but hesitated.
No.
We’d worked hard to get that crystal from the Dark Necromancer. It hadn’t worked against the false queen—not for long, at least—but we might still need it.
Quickly, I sliced my finger and smiled at the pinch of pain. I needed just a bit of magic…
I envisioned stopping time around Penriel, freezing him so his magic ceased and we could do what needed doing.
The magic surged in my veins as my Dragon Blood roared. It created new power, giving me a heady sense of strength.
Penriel froze solid, his face twisted in a sneer of victory.
The power that pushed me toward the door stopped abruptly, and I grinned.
Aeri stopped drifting backward and smiled, shaking her limbs out. “Good work.”
“Doesn’t work on strong supernaturals, but he’s fairly weak.” I brushed my hands off and stepped forward, staring at Penriel. “Your guards seemed to realize they were dealing with someone they shouldn’t mess with. Shame you didn’t get the memo.”
I walked past him, calling upon my Seeker sense to find the root of Paeoria. “I sure hope this bastard has what we’re looking for.”
“The book said it would be withered and purple.”
I searched fast, not wanting any of the bar patrons or guards to figure out what was going on. Soon enough they’d notice that the bartender wasn’t moving.
Aeri and I searched the entire workshop and the little room beyond. The tiny space at the back was filled with potions and ingredients from floor to ceiling.
“A real treasure trove.” I wished there were less of it though. The longer I searched, the more stressed I got.
Tarron needed me to find this ingredient, damn it.
Finally, I spotted a withered purple root in a little glass jar.
Root of Paeoria was scribbled on a tiny label.
“Bingo.” I grabbed it and shoved it into my potion bag, then stashed the bag back in the ether. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
I tried my transport power, but it didn’t work. “Damn it, I’m blocked.”
“Let’s run for it.”
Together, we hurried out of Penriel’s workshop. As I passed him, I yanked the ten grand out of his hand. “I’d have let you keep it if you’d played fair.”
“Jerk,” Aeri hissed.
We left the workshop and hurried down the hall. As we reached the entrance to the main part of the bar, I caught the sound of a commotion.
“They’re onto us,” I whispered.
Shouts sounded on the other side of the door.
“Definitely.”
“Use your invisibility.” I reached into the ether and withdrew the little glass vial holding the root of Paeoria. I shoved it into her hand. “Get the hell out of here.”