Free Masquerade (Creepy Hollow, #4) by rachel morgan

their metal bands to keep them from trying anything magical. Metal bands that have been improved, by the way. Thank you for demonstrating that the previous ones couldn’t completely block magic.”
    “But . . . what about the metal around the door? Isn’t that supposed to block the use of magic in here?”
    “Oh, that’s to prevent magic from outside getting in and interfering. It doesn’t stop what happens inside here.” He places his fingertips together and watches me, as though waiting for me to make a move.
     “All those people in there.” I indicate behind me. “They have special abilities, don’t they?”
    “Of course. You didn’t honestly think you were the only one who could do something out of the ordinary, did you?” Actually, that’s exactly what I thought. Looking back, it seems like a stupid assumption.
    There’s a noise behind me. I step through the doorway, trying to cover the noise with the sound of my boots. “Where’s Drake?” I ask. Hopefully I can divert Zell’s attention until Ryn has managed to find and free Calla. “When I first met the two of you, he seemed to be the one in charge.”
    Zell’s smile is cruel. “He thought he was in charge too. No, no. Drake never knew who I was. He was useful for a time, but that time came to an end, and I had to get rid of him.”
    “How could a human with no power possibly be useful to you?”
    “Knowledge,” says Zell, his eyes gleaming. “I always knew there were certain fae with additional abilities. As you may have been able to figure out, I’ve been searching for them for years. What I didn’t know about was the griffin symbol the halfling Tharros created, and how its power was connected to these special fae. That’s what Drake found out amidst all his mixed dealings in the fae realm.” Zell sighs happily. “And everything has fallen into place perfectly since then. You can’t deny that this was all meant to be.”
    “ What was all meant to be?”
    “Why, that you and Nathaniel would end up on my side, of course. When I started out, the only person I was searching for was Angelica Ashwood. Nathaniel was only a means to get to her, and you just happened to be there at the same time. But then it turned out that Nathaniel actually had magic, and, in addition to that, control of the weather. And you, the girl I thought was just a regular trainee in the wrong place at the wrong time, turned out to be the very person my spy within the Guild had heard about: the guardian who can find people.”
    Spy within the Guild? “And you think this means that I should willingly stick around to help you?”
    “Of course. That’s what Nathaniel decided to do after my darling protégé Scarlett managed to summon him. Surely you see how this can’t all have been a coincidence. Just look at how you walked right into my home without me having to lift a finger to get you here.” He frowns. “What exactly are you doing in my dungeon anyway? You clearly didn’t come to hand yourself over.”
    “I . . . had an assignment.” Zell raises one eyebrow. Damn, I should have said that with more conviction. “How did you know Nate and I were in Creepy Hollow that first night?” I rush on. “Angelica said she put an enchantment on you that was supposed to prevent you from finding him.”
    “She did, but as is the case with many of Angelica’s complex enchantments, it didn’t quite work the way she planned. I tried all kinds of location spells, and nothing worked. When one of them eventually did give me an answer, I realized it was because Nathaniel was in the fae realm. I suppose Angelica didn’t count on that happening. I realized he was at the Guild, so I just had my spy inform me when he left, and I waited for him in the forest. Simple.”
    “Actually, it seems like a lot of effort just to get one measly metal disc that will give you a bit of extra power.”
    “One measly metal disc?” Zell frowns and tilts his head to the side. “You