Page 51 of The Princess of Portals

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Let me guess. All I need to do in exchange is swear fealty to you.”

“Your fealty would make this easier, but it is by no means required. I will find out what you are, Savannah, one way or another. Understanding how your magic came to be is key to my project’s success.”

“By project, I trust you mean kidnapping Apprentices, pumping them full of the spirits’ magic, and brainwashing them to serve you.”

“I wouldn’t put it that crudely, but if you must, then, yes, essentially.” His smile was without conscience or concern.

I countered with a smile of my own. “You will fail. Those Apprentices will be free again.”

“And who’s going to free them? You?”

My heart was racing so fast, I could barely keep my hands steady. This had to work.

“No, not me,” I said. “Them.” I pointed straight up.

Fenris’s gaze snapped to the ceiling. First came the spark of magic, like a match being lit, then the explosion. A roaring whirlpool, a light show of swirls and streaks, burst to life high above us. Two figures came out of it, but they didn’t drop. They fell slowly, like two skaters stroking across the ice. Capricorn and her partner Scorpio.

One of Fenris’s guards went down. Then another. Three more. They were dropping like flies, and I couldn’t even see the spells Capricorn and Scorpio were casting. They were so good.

Capricorn landed in front of the vampire. “Prince Fenris, I presume?”

His eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?”

“They are Capricorn and Scorpio, agents of the Zodiac Order, defenders of all magic in the Many Realms,” I told him. “Surely, you’ve heard of the Zodiac Order.”

“Yes,” he said tightly.

Fenris glanced at Capricorn. She smiled. He looked at Scorpio, who was most decidedly not smiling. His eyes were an obsidian jungle, dark and predatory, a wild spirit contained by a thin sheet of civility.

Fenris took a step back. “How did they…why are they…” He was having trouble pulling his thoughts together. His nervous breakdown was an absolute pleasure to watch.

“I reached out to them,” I said.

“That is impossible. I’ve had protective spells placed around this compound. No magic can get in and no magic can get out—unless I allow it.”

I shrugged. “Polymages are different. Our magic doesn’t work quite like other people’s magic. I thought you knew that. Isn’t that what this whole experiment of yours is all about?”

Fenris looked like he wanted to punch something. His gaze met Scorpio’s, and his fists unclenched. He turned and ran. Scorpio took off in pursuit. Fenris’s guards fell before him, brought down by Scorpio’s invisible spells.

I turned to Capricorn. “Thanks for coming.”

“After what you told us about what Fenris is doing, we had to come.”

“Protect your prince!” Fenris shouted.

His brainwashed Apprentices formed a protective circle around him. They linked hands. A magic dome, made of translucent gold light, flared up. Capricorn joined Scorpio, and together, standing before the big dome, they began chanting.

I headed for the three big cages of trapped Apprentices and the many smaller cages of trapped spirits dangling from each of them. The magical glow on the cages fizzled out. I hummed a few notes, and the locks snapped off the cages.

The tiny glowing spirits, blinking so many different colors, like fireflies in the night, hovered for a moment, and then they disappeared.

A chorus of voices chanted in my mind. Thank you, Savannah.

The spirits were free.

Fenris’s enraged voice bellowed across the chamber. “Do you know how hard it was to catch them!”

Capricorn and Scorpio were bombarding the protective magic dome with spells, but it was holding.