Page 67 of Assisting the Alpha
As soon as everyone is through the ward, Ethan signals for us all to move. Skye shoves down his joggers, shifts, and takes off into the warm night sky. Cal balls up the clothing and shoves it into a backpack he’s carrying.
I’ve brought us in through a remote part of the ward in case my adjustments didn’t work, so it takes us a while to get through the woods and then across the fields to the manor. The others are all silent, of course, so I cast a silencing spell on my trainers so my feet don’t make any noise.
We also have earpieces for contacting each other if necessary, but Ethan ordered radio silence unless there’s an emergency. There’s too much risk of giving ourselves away with even whispered updates.
As soon as the manor comes into view, we hide behind a low drystone wall to get a proper look so the team can check there are no lights on or other signs of life. I already explained the layout of the estate and that the nearest outbuildings are all used as business premises of one sort or another, so at what-the-fuck o’clock in the morning we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone in any of those.
I don’t expect to encounter anyone in the manor, either. With only five people living there full-time and one of those a baby, this should be a safe night to enter. We might have had more trouble if the task force hadn’t already made an arrest, since they’ve probably been working the same long hours we have.
I startle a little when Skye swoops down and lands on Ethan’s shoulder, right next to me. He doesn’t screech or make any other kind of movement, which seems to be a signal in and of itself, because Ethan makes a few hand movements I don’t understand. Skye hops to Cal’s shoulder and they zip off towardsthe manor at blurred vamp speed, then head around the right side of the building.
Jet then sets off towards the left side of the manor, doing some sort of speed-walk low to the ground. Kit follows, then Ethan taps me and gestures for me to go next. I do the same as Jet and try not to feel like an idiot, imitating these former SAS soldiers.
Ethan and Raj bring up the rear, and when we reach the side door that leads to the staircase to my old apartment, I’m surprised to find it locked. It never used to be, what with people always coming and going, but I do still have a key since I ended up moving out in such a rush.
I fish the key out of my pocket, unlock the door, and step aside so Jet, Kit, and Ethan can go in ahead of me. I gave the whole team the floorplan of the manor when we were preparing for this so they’re not reliant on me while we’re in here.
I’m hit with a surreal sense of longing as Jet and Kit disappear to the left at the end of the hallway. Everything has been so hectic since I moved out that I’ve not really thought much about what I’ve been missing. And while the memories hit me hard as we turn right and move through the building to Nyoka’s office, I realise how nice it’s been to live in a small neutral zone flat with Ethan.
Is it possible I was lonely here? I didn’t think so, not when there were always people around, but having a friendly, loving face around every morning and evening is something I haven’t experienced since Qadir died five years ago.
I shake off the weird, nostalgic self-reflection as soon as Raj, Ethan, and I reach Nyoka’s office. Nyoka never locks it; he doesn’t need to. If we open that door without me dealing with the ward, he’ll be down here in a flash.
I send out the royal blue swirls of my magic to confirm the ward structure is the same as I remember from all those times Iwaited outside here for a pre-arranged appointment with Nyoka, which he often didn’t show up for. I startle when the ward isn’t what I’m expecting. It’s been completely rebuilt and is now far more powerful.
Did Nyoka hire an outside sorcerer to do this? Maybe one from another city? Would he even consider that kind of risk to our coven’s security?
Regardless, I’m now dealing with a sorcerer-level security ward similar to the one I’ve installed at the Soldati Security office, and it’s going to take me a lot longer than I’d hoped to get through undetected. I sigh quietly and get to work.
I work on it for several excruciatingly long minutes while my boyfriend and his best friend keep watch. When they start sending me questioning glances, I throw up my hands in frustration.
I cast a quick privacy ward over the three of us to allow us to speak freely. It’s risky, because someone could detect it, but as long as we’re fast it should be okay. “Breaking a ward of this type undetected is going to take longer than I’m comfortable with.”
Ethan scowls at the door as if it’s personally offended him. “What are our options?”
“We could break it and risk detection,” I suggest. “Whoever cast it would need time to get in touch with Nyoka.”
Ethan immediately shakes his head. “Too risky.”
“Can you make it glitch for a few seconds?” Raj asks.
I bite my lower lip as I consider it. I hadn’t really thought of that as an option, because we’d need longer than that for the three of us to enter the office, but we don’t all need to go in, do we?
I give a sharp nod. “I can get you inside. Top left hand desk drawer. The giant bundle of keys. Bereallyfucking fast.”
They’re both much quicker than I am. It makes sense for me to stay out here.
Raj looks at Ethan, who gives him a sharp nod.
Raj grins and reaches for the door handle without making contact. “Tell me when.”
I furrow my brow as I concentrate, my moonstone tingling with the powerful flow of magic needed to make a ward of this nature glitch. “Now.”
Raj yanks open the door, darts inside, and retrieves the keys. He’s insanely quick as he rushes back through the doorway and closes the door behind him. Just in time—the ward snaps back into place.
I drop the privacy ward to minimise the chance of someone recognising my magic and giving away our position. We’re back to good old-fashioned stealth, although since minor spells should be okay, I cast a silencing spell on the keys.
Ethan gives a nod of approval and motions for us to get going. He takes the lead again with Raj behind me. We’re about halfway to the library when Ethan does some sort of hand gesture that has Raj pulling me against a closed door while Ethan flattens himself against the wall. Or tries to. My boyfriend is a big guy.
