Free Bewitched & Betrayed by Lisa Shearin Page B

“I never knew my mother. I’m not going to lose him.” I felt the sudden sting of tears in my eyes. “And I’m not going to lose anyone else I care about, either. Sarad Nukpana won’t stop until he takes every person I love. He said it, and I believe him. I will not lie here in this bed while that happens.”
    “He won’t act on that threat immediately,” Mychael assured me. “Remember what Vidor said? After Nukpana fully absorbs the life force he got from General Aratus, he’ll become incorporeal again.”
    “Meaning not solid.”
    “Exactly. Nukpana will want to build up his power before he comes after one of us. He can’t risk failure. He’s issued his challenge; he’s knows we’re hunting him. He won’t act openly until he’s strong enough.”
    “Which means there’s going to be more bodies,” I said, a lump of dread sticking in my throat. “Or ‘gifts,’ as Nukpana calls them.”
    Mychael nodded grimly. “Magically powerful victims, probably with nothing less than mage-level talents. I’ve made Justinius aware of the danger to our senior mages. Whether they take the threat seriously is another matter. Our more powerful mages are known for thinking themselves invulnerable to attacks of any kind.”
    I snorted. “If Sarad Nukpana gets hold of one of them, their thinking days are over.”
    “True.”
    “If we don’t stop Nukpana soon, no one will have enough power to stop him.”
    “Except you, Raine,” Mychael said quietly.
    “You mean the Saghred.”
    “You and the Saghred are essentially one and the same.” Mychael’s eyes were intent on mine. “The Reapers know that and so does Sarad Nukpana. If he were to take you, he wouldn’t just have you; he would have the Saghred’s power.”
    I knew what Mychael meant, and it scared me more than anything had ever scared me before. If Sarad Nukpana absorbed the life force, knowledge, and magic of enough mages, he would be unstoppable.
    And if he took me and the Saghred, Sarad Nukpana would be a dark demigod with the world at his mercy.
    So much for my appetite.

Chapter 5
    When I woke up, Mychael had already gone, and I was deter mined to be dressed and out of here in half an hour.
    I had to find Piaras.
    Piaras’s last name was Rivalin, not Benares, and we weren’t related by anyone, anywhere; but I loved the kid like a little brother, so in my book, that made him family.
    Family that I knew was near the top of Sarad Nukpana’s kill list.
    Piaras needed to know it and I needed to assure myself that he was safe.
    I was two steps away from the bed when I remembered that the Reapers had shredded the hell out of my clothes. Damn. Well, I’d help myself to Mychael’s wardrobe. I just needed to get out of here, not make a fashion statement.
    Then I spotted a familiar duffel bag leaning against his desk, and the shoulder harness holding my brace of swords was hooked over the back of Mychael’s chair. I grinned. If Mychael had wanted to keep me here, he’d just made a grave tactical error. For the past two weeks, I had been staying on the Fortune , so Phaelan must have sent along a few things, and Mychael had left them for me. An intricate knot tied the canvas bag closed. Definitely Phaelan’s work. He did it to let me know that he’d packed my bag himself, and that the knot was still intact told me Mychael hadn’t gone snooping. Good. If there was one thing my cousin knew how to do, it was pack for a quick getaway—or a jailbreak. No doubt everything I needed to get out of Mychael’s bedroom, his apartment, and the citadel was in that bag. Phaelan liked to be thorough.
    I opened the bag. My set of midnight blue leathers was on top: boots, trousers, and doublet. Two shirts were below that, and then the contents got fun: various small and easily concealable weapons, lock picks, and even a small grappling hook and rope. He tossed in the latter I guess in case I felt the need to go over the wall.
    I left the grappling hook but took