Delilah, on the other hand, had a big smile on her face as she joined her husband.

  Godric pursed his lips before moving on. “I will escort these three to holding. Go back to your day, secure in the knowledge that they are restrained while we continue the investigation.” He pointedly looked at Shasta and Cord. “Your services will not be needed.”

  Shasta’s eyebrows shot up. “I believe the contract was specific. We are to help with the apprehension of anyone associated with these crimes. Since you believe these three are associated with these crimes, we will help you escort them to the holding cells and ensure they're settled in safely.”

  “My wife and I will handle it.” He smiled tightly.

  Cord rested his hands on Nissa and Gwen’s shoulders. “Oaks Consulting will not breach the contract in this area. Would you like to lead the way?”

  Delilah huffed and pointed toward Quercuston. “That way.”

  “Come on ladies.” Cord gently urged them to start walking.

  Gwen looked over her shoulder, checking on Shiloh before taking a step.

  That was something Shasta could help with. Forcing the most polite smile she could muster, she gently eased Shiloh away from Godric and started her toward town. “I believe you have the keys? It’ll be safer to keep some distance between your suspect and the keys.”

  Godric’s smiled faded away.

  Shasta and Shiloh took several quick steps to catch up with Cord and the other two women. The sisters walked quietly, occasionally looking at one another. Godric and Delilah stationed themselves on either side of the group, rudely staring at anyone who got too close. Before long, there was a sizable gap around them.

  Shasta wished they could get some privacy. The girls might know something or have sensed something that would explain the arrival of the deer but had been unwilling to mention the information in front of the mob. Unfortunately, unless Godric and Delilah moved away, Shasta was sure the sisters wouldn’t answer any questions. Considering how certain both Godric and Delilah had been that the girls were responsible for everything, Shasta wasn’t sure what they could say that would prove otherwise. Especially when he wasn’t willing to consider using the truth charms.

  She suppressed a sigh. Hopefully, her brother would come through and someone capable of more magic than her would show up tomorrow. Maybe that person could finally unravel this mess and figure out who had been cobbling all those charms together. Plus, those poor deer needed to have the spells removed from them so they could go back to their regular life.

  When they reached Main Street, Godric moved ahead of the group, steering them toward a small brick building at the very end of the row. It had two little windows in the front, but unlike the charming wood windows in the other shops, these were multilayered coated glass. He pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door before glaring at Shasta and Cord. “I’ve got it from here.”

  Cord sighed audibly. “We gave our word, both in the initial contract and only a few minutes ago, that we would see them safely settled into the cells. We keep our word.”

  Godric just stared at him.

  “Would it help if I also give my word that we will do our best to ensure this is a peaceful process?” Cord offered in his blandest police voice.

  Delilah rested a hand on her husband’s arm. “Just let them. It’ll be easier.”

  Godric jerked his head toward the building and pushed open the door. “In.”

  Cord guided Nissa and Gwen into the jail. Shasta had Shiloh go ahead of her. Inside, a single dim light illuminated an equally drab room. There was a desk against one of the front windows. The entire back half of the building was taken up by two cells. They were made of steel bars, not just at the front but all the way around, fully encapsulating the two spaces, and they were etched with runes. Even through her shields, Shasta could feel the nullifying effect of the spells infused into the metal. Her magic wouldn’t work there, and she had a feeling elven abilities wouldn’t either.

  Godric stomped around them and opened one of the cells. “Gwen, you go in. I’ll close the door, and then you can back up to the bars and I’ll take the cuffs off.”

  Shasta exchanged an uneasy glance with Cord. Those spells could do more than nullify magic and other abilities. They could sap the strength of the person inside—or much worse. Considering the theoretically precautionary nature of the sisters’ imprisonment, these cells were a bit much. Shasta opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. It was unlikely she would make the situation better.

  Gwen hesitated. “Those cells are meant to contain something far more dangerous than the three of us. What guarantee do we have that you’ll release us in two days?”

  “You have my word, the word I gave to both you and the citizens of Quercuston.” Godric’s voice was heavy with the implication that that should be enough for her.

  Gwen didn’t move.

  Godric grabbed her upper arm and dragged her forward. Gwen stumbled from side to side as she struggled to stay on her feet. He shoved her into the cell. Gwen’s left foot caught on the edge of it, and she tumbled forward, rolling as she hit the ground and taking the impact on her shoulder.

  Nissa and Shiloh lunged forward. Shasta grabbed Shiloh around the waist. The woman struggled for a fraction of a second before letting herself be pulled back. Shasta watched Godric out of the corner of her eye, noticing the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. This was not the mayor she had come to know.

  Cord had effectively restrained Nissa and stepped in front of her. His right hand was by his side, loosely curled. Shasta would have liked to have been prepared to summon her own sword, but she still had both arms around Shiloh’s waist. While Shiloh wasn’t struggling, she was tense, and in Shasta’s experience, tense in this type of a situation usually meant ready to attack.

  In the cell, Gwen scooted to the wall and braced against it as she struggled to her feet. Eyes narrowed, she spoke slowly. “So that is the type of assurance you’re willing to offer.”

  Godric sneered. “I don’t owe anything to a criminal like you. If not for their interference, none of this would have been an issue.”

  “Our interference?” Shasta mirrored Cord’s position and placed herself in front of Shiloh. “We asked for evidence, and you gave us suspicion. You hired us to do this job, and you block us from it. How have we interfered?”

  “You placed yourself in the way of our town's system of justice. That was outside your contracted responsibilities, and if you continue to interfere, you can join the sisters in the cell.” He motioned for someone to join Gwen.

  No one moved. Shasta wasn’t sure what to do from here. While she didn’t want to allow the sisters to be imprisoned, picking a fight with the person who had hired them wasn’t a great idea either. Though … he wasn’t acting like the mayor who’d hired them. Shasta eased open her shields just enough to get a feel for the room.

  She didn’t even have to extend a probe to detect the magic. The air was very nearly dripping with it—and not from the spells etched into the cell bars. She crafted a tiny probe and delicately extended it, trying not to set off any of the spells in case they were designed for detecting typically undetectable magic like probes.

  “In!” Godric shouted.

  On a hunch that Godric could be being controlled as the deer had been, Shasta delicately touched the probe to him. It reverberated with magic. She jerked the probe back and made a loose fist with her hand, prepared to summon her sword. “How did they get to you?”

  Godric laughed. “Young Shasta. You think you’re so clever. Well, if you were half as amazing as the earth promised you would be, you’d know the answer to that.” He lunged at Cord, knocking him into the cell wall, and grabbed Nissa. Before anyone could react, his knife was pressed against her throat. Nissa stood still, tears pooling in her wide eyes. He pulled her another step back. “In!”

  Everyone froze. Shasta’s mind raced. She had to free Nissa. She couldn’t let Godric hurt her.

  Cord held up his hands. “We can talk about this. There’s no need to have a hostage.”

  Godric smiled as he tightened his grip on Nissa. She tensed and whimpered. A thin line of blood dripped down her neck.

  Chapter Twelve

  Magic was the cause of this, and maybe magic could be a solution. “Mannaz.” Shasta hurled the magic at Godric, hoping that just this once it would work. In case it didn’t, she twisted her wrist, summoning her sword. Meanwhile, the spell raced through the air and struck his arm. It flared brightly as it encountered the magic already on him.

  The bright light startled Godric, and he lowered the knife. Nissa knocked his hand to the side and scrambled away. Cord grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her to relative safety. The stun spell working against Godric’s magic fizzled to nothing.

  “Worst damn spell,” Shasta muttered. She locked eyes with Nissa. “Get out into the street, quick.”

  Not waiting to see if Nissa followed her instruction, Shasta swung back to the fight. Godric was using his entire body weight to shove the cell door shut. Gwen and Shiloh were both leaning into it, but they couldn’t use their hands. Godric was slowly pushing them back. Meanwhile, Cord was busy fending off Delilah, who’d produced a sizable knife from somewhere. Unfortunately, in these close quarters, Cord was at a bit of a disadvantage, his sword having less maneuverability.

  The girls needed her help the most, but Shasta was afraid if she charged over with her sword drawn, she had as much chance of hurting them unintentionally as she did of purposefully injuring Godric. She dismissed her sword as she closed the distance. Rather than get into a wrestling match with him, she kicked the back of his knee.

  Godric grunted but didn’t fall.

  Eyes narrowed, she kicked the same knee again, this time harder.

  His knee buckled, and he caught himself on the bars.

  Shasta grabbed the door and shoved it toward him. He stumbled back but was still in range. She still whacked him solidly with the door, pinching him between the door and the cell wall. While he was crawling up the bars to get to his feet, she grabbed Gwen and Shiloh. “Get to the street! Nissa should …” She didn’t bother finishing the sentence. Somehow Delilah had gotten a hold of Nissa and was using her as a shield to prevent Cord from skewering Delilah with his sword.

  “Dammit.” She pushed Gwen and Shiloh toward the door. “Go!”

  They hesitated but went.

  Across the room, Cord was searching for an opening to free Nissa from Delilah’s grasp. Delilah shifted around, keeping Nissa between the two of them. Shasta started across the room, ignoring the pained sounds and surge in both magic and elven energies from behind her as Godric sorted himself out. Delilah’s attention was firmly locked on Cord. If Shasta timed it right, she should be able to incapacitate her so Cord could get Nissa out of the building.

  “Go left.” The air carried Cord’s voice only to her.

  She followed his direction and scooted to the left. He darted to the right, forcing Delilah to counter and turn her back on Shasta. Spotting an opening, she darted forward. As fast as she could, she slid one arm around Delilah’s neck, yanking her backward and cutting off her air supply at the same time. Nissa fell to the ground, her head hitting the floor.

  Shasta kept steady pressure on Delilah’s neck. The woman thrashed but couldn’t break her grip. Shasta tightened her arm, further reducing Delilah’s air supply, and the woman stopped struggling. Over Delilah’s shoulder, Shasta surveyed the room. Godric was getting to his feet, and Nissa was still on the floor. Cord knelt beside Nissa, picked her up, and bolted for the door.

  While she’d been focused on Nissa and Cord, Godric had gotten to his feet. With his sword in hand, he marched toward Shasta. She shoved Delilah at her husband and followed Cord out of the building. As soon as she stepped onto the sidewalk, she summoned her sword. The sisters hadn’t gone as far as she hoped, only just into the street. Cord gently set Nissa on her feet, draped her arm across his shoulders, and wrapped an arm around her waist. Now he could support her and still have a hand for his sword, but they were still too close to the building. They needed more time to get away. Shasta turned, automatically raising her sword into position.

  Godric charged out of the jail, his sword already in motion.

  Shasta deflected the blow and lunged forward. Godric stepped aside, and she had to muscle the sword around to block his next attack. He was fast, and he was good. She wouldn’t be so careless again. Rather than trying to hold the line, she gave up ground little by little. With each step, she gained another moment to parry an attack or dodge a blow. She took another step, this time awkwardly as she went from the sidewalk to the street. Behind her, the sound of feet on the brick road made her tense. She cursed herself for having lost track of Delilah. Hopefully, Cord had her well in hand, and Godric’s wife wasn’t trying to sneak up behind her with a knife.

  One of the girls screamed. Shasta flinched. Godric shifted to the left and attacked, his sword aiming directly for her gut. Shasta twisted to the side, barely avoiding being skewered. Godric regrouped faster than anyone she’d ever seen, including her dad. As he increased the pace of the exchange, she struggled to keep up, only just getting her sword into position in time, barely dodging blows meant to incapacitate or kill her. As they fought, she blocked out everything but Godric and the next move.

  He swung a powerful two-handed blow at her, and she didn’t have enough time to do anything but block. The hard reverberation weakened her grip on the hilt. She danced back and shook the sweat off her face. These days, Cord rarely bested her, and even her father had to work at it. Yet no matter how heated their bouts became, they were never life-and-death. This one was. And it wasn’t enough to keep Godric occupied. She needed to kill or disable him so she could help Cord and the sisters.

  Godric squared off in front of her. Without so much as a twitch to telegraph his attack, he leaped into motion. Shasta deflected his sword. Rather than pulling back to regroup, she pressed forward. His sword slid around hers toward her unprotected body. She wrenched herself to the side, the edge of the weapon only a hair’s width from her shirt. In a lightning-fast move, he pulled back and brought the sword under hers, connecting the flat of his sword with the edge of hers and continuing the upward swing.

  Her numb hand couldn’t hold on. Her sword popped out of her hand and skittered across the brick road. Shasta backpedaled.

  Godric stalked after her, his eyes bright with satisfaction. “Weak.”

  Shasta dismissed her sword as she backpedaled. She was ready to summon it again when she realized how much of the street was behind Godric. A glance behind her confirmed the curb was rapidly approaching. Heavy whooshes of air compressing and expanding broke through her focus on Godric.

  He glanced at the sky and grinned before looking back at her. “We don’t need half-breeds like you.” Then he was in motion, his foot connecting with her abdomen.

  Shasta fell back, the air fleeing her lungs. She couldn’t focus enough to summon her sword, or even control her fall. Her foot caught on the curb, and she toppled backward. She wasn’t going to be able to help Cord and the sisters. She’d failed them.

  Godric turned and stalked away, calling for Delilah.

  Chamomile-covered ground softened the impact of Shasta’s fall. She frantically sucked in a deep breath of air. Several desperate breaths later, she could move again. Her fingers dug into the ground as she started to push herself up. The earth surged under her hands, propelling her back to her feet. She whispered, “Thank you.”

  Her abdomen ached, but it wasn’t enough to distract her from the pandemonium on the street. Delilah had her hand wrapped in Shiloh’s hair. Cord was pushing himself to his feet, with Nissa cowering beside him. Godric prowled closer, but what truly frightened Shasta was Gwen. She stood between Godric and everyone else. It would have been an encouraging sight if her hands weren’t still cuffed behind her back.

  Shasta summoned her sword, wishing she could conjure the bow as easily. She checked the wall behind her. The closest bow was three shops down. It would take too long to get it. Hoping her aching hand was up to the task, she gathered herself for another fight and started running.

  Delilah’s focus went from Shiloh’s struggles to the sky. A grin spread across her face. She pivoted, locking her arm out straight and holding Shiloh out to the side.

  Shasta followed Delilah’s gaze only to see a great horned owl diving toward the two women. Even for a large species of owl, it was huge, and Shasta could feel magic emanating from it even through her shields. She put on a burst of speed, but she hadn’t even covered half the distance to Godric. She would never make it to Shiloh in time.

  Delilah released Shiloh, but it was too late for her to escape. The owl pounced on her, wrapping its talons around her upper arm. Shiloh screamed as it lifted her into the sky. Another equally large owl swooped down, picking Delilah up the same way. She must have had protective gear on under her shirt because she didn’t so much as wince.

  Shasta eyed the distance between herself and Godric. If she timed it just right, she might be able to skewer him. It wouldn’t bring Shiloh back, but it would be one less villain to track down later. She gripped her sword with both hands and thrust it forward when she was only a step away. Yet again, he twisted away from her blade, and she had to take heavy steps to slow down and turn to face him.

  “More owls are coming!” Cord bellowed.

  Godric closed the distance, and Shasta hurried to block the flurry of blows. Little by little, he drove her back until she was even with Gwen. Then, right after delivering a heavy strike to her sword, he kicked the back of Gwen’s right knee. She screamed as she fell, hunching over her injured leg.

  An owl darted toward Gwen. Shasta dived for her, but Godric was there again, the sword a blur. Behind him, the owl flew back up without Gwen. She’d saved Gwen for now, but she needed a better plan. It was all she could do to hold Godric off, and when she’d tried magic, it hadn’t worked. Unfortunately, at that moment, their swords slid together, coming hilt to hilt.