I ground my teeth, biting my lip to remain focused. The spell was a powerful compulsion. No doubt the slavers salved their consciences by telling themselves the slaves put the collars on willingly. Nonsense. The slaves weren’t remotely willing to go into slavery.
I picked up the first collar and fiddled with the spells, erasing the compulsion text while strengthening the identification charm. I had no idea what sort of security spells Lord Dragon had set up near his inner sanctum, but it should help keep me from being detected if the spells took me for one of the slaves.
I briefly considered walking out of the mansion and escaping into the woods, perhaps going for help, yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave Starlight behind. There was probably no one who would help. It wasn’t as if anyone in the magical community owed me enough favors to come save her, or do something about Lord Dragon.
The collar opened a handful of doors for me. I spotted a number of slaves—all naked girls—but none of them paid any attention to me. That puzzled me for a moment before I worked out that their collars recognized the collar I was carrying and thought I had every right to be there.
I wanted to tell the girls that I’d free them, and I intended to do so, but I dared not do anything to break cover. I didn’t think their collars could read their thoughts, yet it would be child’s play to program a slave to report any attempt to free them or confess to any plans they might have to free themselves. I didn’t think many of them would get so far. The collars would make sure of it.
I touched the blood link again and let it lead me up to the inner sanctum. Lord Dragon seemed to want to impress, although I had no idea who was visiting. The decor was unbelievably garish, glittering golden statues and artworks scattered everywhere. If there was any pattern, I couldn’t see it. It looked like one of the mansions built by the new rich, a place owned by a man who’d made it and feared he hadn’t, a man who showed off his wealth in a manner that also showed off his insecurities.
I leaned against the door, pressing my fingers against the wood, and feeling at the charms. The collar made it easier. It was literally impossible for one of his slaves to plot against him, so he hadn’t bothered to take any precautions against it. I picked up a piece of wood—let him think me a weak wand wizard if he wished—and infused a handful of spells into the stick, then kicked open the door. I triggered the charms at the same time, steering his magic into harmless spells that were astonishingly distracting. I didn’t care what happened to the magic as long as he wasn’t trying to use it on me.
Lord Dragon whirled around as I crashed into the room, moving with surprising speed for man of his bulk. I saw Starlight right behind him, standing against the far wall like a piece of wood. Her face was slack, utterly blank. I grimaced, then aimed the wand at Lord Dragon, unleashing a hail of spells. He shielded himself with an effort. I guessed he was far too used to drawing on the magic in the wood, the magic I’d channeled elsewhere. The sudden lack of power meant he had to focus his mind on me. I had to admit, despite being caught by surprise, he actually did a pretty good job.
I cast a shield to protect myself, then reached out through the blood link. My magic ran to Starlight and through the link from Starlight to her heart, which was linked directly to Lord Dragon’s magic. He had powerful wards protecting himself, but I was already inside his defenses. There was no time to be clever. I cast a spell that freed her from her trance, covering it with a transfiguration curse aimed at his brain. Turning half his gray matter into stone, even for a few microseconds, would be utterly lethal. He deflected the spell, somehow, and raised a hand to curse me—
His head exploded. Starlight had shot him in the back.
I didn’t hesitate. I dived forward, catching the gem before it hit the ground. The spells around the heart were somehow both complex and surprisingly simple, but I managed to follow their logic and reinforce them—and subvert them—before they collapsed completely. The heart pulsed with a steady thrum… her heartbeat. I held her heart in my hands and felt, for an instant, the utter power of life and death. I could do anything to her; I could make her say or do or believe anything…
“Here,” I said. I held out the gem to her. “I believe this is yours.”
Starlight sagged as she took the gem. I could guess what she was thinking. She could easily have traded one master for another. “I… I thank you.”
I gave her a considering look. “You were the girl who was kidnapped, weren’t you?”
Starlight looked embarrassed. “I thought I could take him. He was kidnapping young girls from the surrounding area and enslaving them, and… it had to be stopped.”
I understood. It was never easy to admit when you were outmatched, particularly when you grew up in an environment where you had to fight for each and every scrap of respect. Starlight couldn’t have backed down from the challenge, even though she’d known how dangerous her opponent could be. I had to admit, she’d found a unique way to escape captivity. She’d hired someone to rescue her, and done it in a manner that gave her plausible deniability if her master asked pointed questions.
A low shudder ran through the building. I swore and turned to flee. Starlight followed me, shouting orders to the stunned and disoriented former slaves as they struggled to collect themselves after a long period of enslavement. The entire building shuddered again, then started to collapse as the magic woven into the walls faded away. I hoped—prayed—that all the slaves managed to get out before it was too late.
Starlight and I barely made it out before the entire building collapsed into a pile of rubble. Something caught fire a second later, and the entire pile went up in flames. I couldn’t bring myself to care. Lord Dragon and all his works would be lost forever.
“So,” I said. “Is there actually any reward money?”
Starlight grinned. “Yes,” she said. “And more jobs, too, if you want them.”
I smiled. “Sure.”