Page 69 of Assisting the Alpha
The small, windowless room has red hangings that cover every inch of wall space. Each one has an enormous gold Celtic shield knot woven into the centre of it. There’s a red rug on the floor with a gold border and a golden owl woven into the centre. On twelve oak stands around the room, eleven grimoires sit, all closed and each one unique.
“What are the chances the one we need is the one that goes on that empty stand?” I ask.
Ayo’s scent, which apparently crosses the ward, fills with an aching sadness that has me wanting to take him in my arms and comfort him. Which I can’t do because there’s a fucking family-only ward between us, and as much as I consider him family, we aren’t bonded yet. I won’t risk setting off the ward for anything less than life and death, no matter how much I want to.
Ayo clears his throat. “That stand is for my mum’s grimoire. Qadir added it after she died. I could never bring myself to leave it in here, though.”
Ah, that explains his emotions. I know for a fact that particular grimoire is safely back at our flat.
“So one of these should be the correct one.” The question is, which one?
“There are a couple lost to time that don’t have stands, so let’s hope it’s not one of those,” Ayo says, scent filling with determination, which is a relief.
“Are we grabbing them all, then?” Raj asks.
“Or would a seeking spell work?” I ask.
Ayo tilts his head in thought, then grimaces. “No, unfortunately not. If I had read the page myself and had a clearimage of it in my mind, then maybe, but my memories are too vague. We’re going to have to borrow all of them.”
I don’t bother to comment about the time it’s going to take to go through each grimoire back at the office or my flat in order to find if Ayo’s memory of the story translates into a real spell someone could use. We don’t need doubts right now.
“In that case, let’s get moving. You hand them out to us and we’ll carry them.” I don’t like neither Raj nor I having our hands free, but if necessary I’ll dump them all on Raj and deal with any threats myself. Ayo’s also now as well placed to handle any magical threats as I am, thanks to his training.
“Let me just… Fuck.” Ayo pulls a face at the nearest grimoire, a big, heavy-looking thing with an embossed navy blue cover. “They’re spelled.”
Raj and I exchange a concerned glance. We’re already at the point that I want to get us moving out of here. Staying in one place for too long is one of the easiest ways to get caught.
“Like a ward?” I check.
Ayo shakes his head. “More like a pressure plate. There’s a spell on the stand, not the grimoire itself since all grimoires are magically protected from the spells of others. It looks like it’s designed to allow the grimoire to be read in place but not removed.”
I rein in the string of expletives that want to escape at that news. Getting worked up won’t change anything—something I’ve learnt through long experience of missions going wrong in various ways—and Ayo needs me to remain calm.
“Can you bypass the spells? Because, sweet thing, we don’t have time to read each one.”
“Yeah, no. Of course we don’t. Umm… I don’t…” Ayo looks at all eleven grimoires a little helplessly.
Fuck, I need to get to him. This ward is pissing me off.
“Hey, look at me.” I wait until he meets my eyes. “You’re the most powerful sorcerer I’ve ever encountered, and I’m including my own father in that. If anyone can do this, it’s you. So you’re going to figure out a way to get these grimoires off their stands and then get out of here so we can figure out who the real murderer is. We can’t do magic, sweet thing, but we’re right here with you. You’re not alone.”
Frankly, the coven are idiots for not putting Ayo in charge. He’s powerful, talented, and kind; a rare combination. It does make me wonder whether Nyoka has been deliberately putting Ayo down for years in order to keep his position as coven leader. Could he have been sabotaging Ayo somehow?
Ayo swallows hard, then nods, his scent filling with determination as he straightens his spine and takes a deep breath. “You’re right.”
“You said they’re like pressure plates. What happens if the pressure is removed?” I can’t imagine it would be an explosion, not when that would potentially destroy the grimoires.
Ayo frowns at the stand in front of him, the scent of his magic crossing the ward. “A blasting spell designed to knock out whoever lifts the grimoire. The grimoire is protected from spells, so it gives others time to rush in and find the thief before they come round.”
“Could you raise a personal shield against that?” I ask.
Ayo immediately shakes his head. “Not entirely. There’s an alarm element built in, so while I could protect myself, everyone would still be alerted.”
“Let’s not do that,” Raj says dryly.
“Agreed. Can you trick the spell into thinking the grimoire is still there?” I ask.
Ayo blinks at me, then turns back to the stand. “Huh.”
