“Ah.” Mackenzie saw the sudden comprehension that flooded him. “The magic. You must be experiencing some lingering effects. Don’t worry; it’ll fade, and you’ll be back to normal. Well,” he amended quickly, “normal for you, anyway.”
“I don’t even know what normal is. I can hear your heartbeat, Marcus. How is that remotely normal?”
The confusion was back. “You can’t usually?” He bit his lip thoughtfully when she shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it being done, but perhaps the spell that kept you from shifting also suppressed your sensory function.”
Mackenzie squeezed her eyes shut. “You mean it’s always going to be like this?”
“Maybe not,” he offered sympathetically. “You probably do have a bit of a hangover, which will fade, but… Yes. Your senses are going to be much sharper than an average person’s.” He hesitated. “Are you hungry?”
She was starving. “Yeah. Do I wait here for someone to bring something?”
Marcus stood. “God, no. I thought we’d eat in the dining room, if that sounds okay.” He indicated the closet across from the bed. “There should be more clothing in there. You can find something appropriate, but I thought you might like a shower first.”
“Oh.” So she wasn’t going to be treated like a prisoner. Perhaps they thought she was warming to them, or they were sure she couldn’t escape. Either way, it would be stupid to attempt to flee while she was starving and exhausted. And before I know what I’m up against. “That sounds nice, actually. Thanks.”
“Sure. Bathroom’s across the hall, and I’ll be in the study. Toward the stairs and to the left.” He disappeared.
Chapter 16
The cabin John Peyton had secured for them turned out to be a trio of cabins, each appointed with all of the best amenities. Although their entire group would have fit comfortably into one, John had reserved all three to ensure privacy.
After an hour spent canvassing their various contacts, everyone convened in the cabin the Peytons had claimed for their use. The large, sturdy table was heaped with printouts and faxes, and it looked suspiciously like Steven, Mahalia and Michelle had been mapping out Charles’s magical defenses on the pristine white tablecloth.
Jackson dropped a sheaf of aerial photographs on one corner of the table and braced a knee on a chair as he studied the expensive, now-defaced cloth. “He has three separate wards around the property?”
Michelle answered, her face drawn into a look of fierce concentration. “Three. The first extends for nearly a half a mile in every direction from his property. Anyone who crosses that line trips the first ward. He can tell by the strength and flavor of the energy how many intruders there are and what they are.” She chewed absently at her lower lip as she traced her finger along the line. “I assume there has to be a base minimum. With all the animals running around in the woods there he could never keep track of everything with an aura…”
“This area is lauded for its hunting,” Jackson noted. “Probably nothing smaller than a deer triggers it…if he’s just going on energy traces. But that’s a big if.”
“Luckily I’m not planning on fooling it by masking our auras. That would only work for the first ward in any case.” Michelle’s finger moved to a second line. “This one extends perhaps a thousand feet in every direction from the house. It’s an actual barrier.” She glanced at Steven, who sat at the end of the table.
“How it affects you depends on how powerful you are,” he said. “A normal human without any special abilities? It would probably just give them the creeps and discourage them from wanting to continue. They’d never know why, just that they didn’t want to keep going.”
Michelle picked up the explanation again. “Someone who knew what it was, or had enough willpower to force his way through would start to feel uncomfortable. It would be the most damaging for someone who had the willpower to keep going but not the magical strength to shield himself from the backlash. It could, quite possibly, hurt.”
Jackson tapped the third and final ring. “So I guess crossing this one would definitely hurt.”
“If you could get past it at all,” Michelle confirmed. “Without magical ability it would be impossible. Like hitting an invisible wall. I’ve seen a ward like this once before, though not around something as large as a house, and never permanent. The first two wards won’t be a problem for me, but this one… I can get us through it, but I don’t know if I can do so undetected.”
“It might be a moot point if the house has exterior security cameras.” Jackson held up a satellite photo of the house and surrounding grounds. “How close is that third ward to the house?”
“Within ten feet of the exterior walls,” Steven said. “Maybe twenty. He’s spent years building these, channeling energy into them, but that third ward is the hardest to maintain. He can’t push it out any farther.”
“If you can get us that far, Michelle, don’t worry about avoiding detection, not until we find out whether he has some sort of security setup.” He picked up another handful of glossy black-and-white pictures, all featuring Charles’s mansion. “What about the house itself?”
Steven scoffed. “Charles doesn’t even bother to lock his doors. The thought that someone might get that close without him being aware of it is incomprehensible to him, and for good reason. For decades, he’s probably been the most magically powerful person in the country.”
“I wasn’t talking about deadbolts and chains.” Jackson pressed his lips together in a grim line. “Can he keep us out, no matter what kind of magic Michelle uses? That’s the real question.”
“I don’t think so.” Michelle bit her lip again. “Mahalia knows how to construct the talismans Charles uses to allow his employees access to the property. It’s going to take every scrap of power all three of us have to duplicate them, and we’ll need at least a day to recover. If we can do that, though, we can focus all the power we have on getting past him.”
“So we’re looking at three days, minimum, before we can move on this,” Jackson observed, his jaw tight.
“It’s the only way,” Steven said. “She’ll be safe, Jackson. If I weren’t completely sure of that I’d go in right now by myself.”
Jackson’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled slightly. “That doesn’t sound like such a bad plan to me.” Anything that would get Mackenzie back faster was all right by him.
Mahalia leaned over to slap one of his hands. “It’s the stupidest thing I ever heard, Jackson Holt, and you know it. Now finish looking at your pictures, and let me and Michelle start the talismans. We’ll tell you when we need your help.”
He rubbed his hand and considered mounting a mutiny, but it didn’t seem likely. Even if Alec was willing to go along with it, Peyton would kick him back in line. Support from Nick was equally unlikely for the same reason. “Fine. I’ll be out back.”
He left everything on the table and stalked toward the back door. It opened onto a small deck overlooking a lake, providing a view he normally would have appreciated.
“Thinking about a dip in the hot tub?” Nick’s voice floated from the direction of the driveway.
“Maybe later.” He looked over to see her climbing out of one of the SUVs, accompanied by several large men in dark suits. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Grocery run.” She shoved two paper sacks at one of the men. “Here, you boys can handle this. I’ve got an emotional crisis to head off.” She jogged toward the porch, quick strides eating distance between them. “They broke the news to you already, huh?”
Jackson tried not to grumble as he leaned against the rough-hewn log railing and stared at the lake. “You mean the part about sitting here with our thumbs up our asses while the crazy man is doing God knows what to Mackenzie? Yeah, we covered it.”