“I don’t know. But I’d rather not leave it to chance.” He started forward again. “Watch that ward. See how many more patches you can find.”

The perimeter of the mansion was large, certainly over a mile, maybe more than two. We didn’t walk the whole thing, but then, we didn’t need to. Every so often, another patch stood out, weakening the overall ward, allowing in anyone who held the right key.

“And what is the right key?” Emery said softly to himself, stopped at one of the areas and analyzing it.

Reagan joined us, her hands out now and feeling. Clearly she thought Patrick was too dumb to notice her lack of a fake spell.

“Is the house you’re staying in locked down?” Roger asked me, watching the others. Devon stood with Patrick, a little removed. Patrick didn’t seem overly interested in what was going on. There was a reason his peers had brought him on.

“The grounds aren’t. Those are wide open with little tattletale spells intermittently set up. We want to see who’s wandering around. The house is protected, though. We have a good ward set up. Unless you’re on the preapproved list, you’re not getting in there.”

“Is anyone wandering around?”

“Only a couple of vampires, and they’re giving the house plenty of space. Darius doesn’t seem comfortable with the situation, but he hasn’t moved us, so…”

“Picking on the one who doesn’t know to keep secrets, huh?” Reagan rejoined us with a smirk.

“Was that supposed to be a secret?” Because what a stupid secret, if so.

“Do you need to look around some more?” Roger asked, silencing his phone. The thing rang constantly. He was a busy man.

“No. We’ve got…basically what we need,” Reagan said. “We can head to the house now.”

“Wait.” Roger tapped the screen of his phone before putting it to his ear. He waited a beat before saying, “Send out Todd. We’re in the west nine.” He waited another beat before lowering the phone again. “The head mage is on his way.”

I was about to ask why they’d sent Patrick to tag along with us rather than the head mage, but it was probably the same reason the kid had been brought on in the first place. Lack of attention to detail. You couldn’t tattle on what you didn’t notice.

A couple minutes later, the sounds of crunching grass and moving foliage interrupted a mostly uncomfortable silence. A bald, stocky man sauntered along the path, his gaze down and scanning. He was identifying the various plant-life markers of the spells, something I would expect of a head mage. A satchel draped across his body, open at his side, and his pushed-back shoulders and haughty movements screamed, I’m the best mage in the world.

Emery braced himself before going utterly loose, his usual stance right before Reagan ran at him. He swaggered toward me and wrapped an arm around me possessively. Reagan stepped toward the mage with her hand out to shake respectfully.

Both of those actions set off my alarm bells. Roger must’ve thought so, too, because another blast of shifter magic slammed into us, and his scrutinizing gaze landed on the head mage.

“Hi, I’m Reagan.” Reagan pumped his hand.

“Todd, Roger’s head mage.”

“That right? Awesome. We were just admiring the ward. Did you put it up?”

Everything in me wanted to grab Emery’s arm and drag him out of there. I didn’t sense danger in any way, but Reagan’s actions were so out of the ordinary that there could be nothing short of a world crisis on the horizon.

Puffed up from the compliment, Todd nodded and crossed through the group, glancing at a distinct bush at the side before stopping. “I orchestrated it, yes,” he said, three feet from the actual ward. “I mixed a score of spells, then combined power with lesser mages in order to erect this particular ward.” He looked at dead air, pretending to study his handiwork. He clearly didn’t know who we were. “It’s my best work.”

“Oh yeah?” Reagan nodded, but didn’t correct him on the location of the ward. I knew she wasn’t too far away to feel it, which meant she was giving a subtle cue to Roger. She had faith that Roger had a good memory and sense of direction.

“How long have you worked here?” Emery asked.

Todd gave a “subtle” grin to Roger. “I’m afraid that’s classified. But I’ve worked for Roger”—he looked up at the sky—“fifteen years, is that right?”

“You were hired before I assumed the role of Alpha,” Roger said with his normal straight face.

“Right, yes.” Todd laughed. “Of course.” His chest puffed up a little more, if that was even possible. He thought he was more important than a guy who wouldn’t blink twice about ripping his throat out if he proved to be the danger Reagan and Emery clearly thought he was.

“This is why the mage life is not for me,” I mumbled. “All ego, no brains.”

Emery huffed out laughter, turning away as he did so. Clearly he didn’t realize I was as serious as a heart attack.

“Right.” Reagan glanced around before giving Roger a pointed look, no flippancy or fire in her eyes. “Let’s head back to the extremely nice house in the woods, shall we? Because despite the plain jeans and cheap T-shirt—which really works for you, Roger, don’t get me wrong—you seem to love nice things. A little like the vampires in that way, I think…”

Another blast of shifter magic slammed into me, this one more potent.

“Tell her not to provoke him,” Emery said through clenched teeth. “I’m not doing well at adjusting.”

“Emery is cracking up, got it,” Reagan said, back to her jubilant self.

That meant she thought a battle was coming.

“Todd,” Emery said, distaste running across his face as he offered a slight bow. Roger pretending to be subordinate to Devon probably would’ve looked just as unnatural and painful. “You did great work here. I’d love to someday work on a team this powerful.”

Todd curled his lip. “Experience will do wonders. I handpicked this team. For a job this big, you need the best.”

“Yes.” Emery motioned Todd ahead of him on the path. “And do you do much upkeep? The seams of a spell like this can fray, can’t they?”

“Yes…” Todd glanced back with a mildly impressed expression. Then did a double take before continuing to walk. “Yes, that’s right. We do have some. We also check it constantly to make sure everything looks right. I was hired to do a job, and as Roger can tell you, I take my responsibilities seriously.”

“Yes. Patrick is proof of that,” Reagan said from behind me.

I just barely saw Todd’s reaction—a half-turn and an annoyed expression—before he got it together.

Emery slowed a bit and pulled me a little to the side, motioning Reagan forward.

“Come on, Devon, up here with me.” Reagan motioned to Devon, who was still shadowing Patrick. “You’re too hot for a shifter. Ever think of becoming a vampire?”

A different blast of shifter magic surged forward, not quite as potent as Roger’s, but not far off. It seemed there was a reason Roger was keeping the younger guy close. He clearly had potential. Except, just now, it wasn’t good news. Emery and Roger tensed up at the same time, fire lighting in their eyes.

Emery ripped his gaze to the ground, jaw clenched again and fists balled. Roger, who was allowed to challenge any of his shifters, swung a fierce gaze Devon’s way.

The younger guy caught the reaction and lowered his eyes, but his posture stayed poised and ready.

“Don’t provoke him,” Emery told Reagan.

“Oops. My bad.” Reagan patted the younger shifter as he all but dragged Patrick forward. She followed behind, and I noticed the button clasp had been undone on the dagger sheath on her thigh, and the hilts of her three throwing knives stuck up out of her sock.

She was absolutely ready for battle.

“When did Todd get to work on the ward?” Emery asked as he fell back with Roger.

“He has overseen the security of this house for years,” Roger replied in a low tone, his expression flat. Something about the tightness in his eyes told me he was uncomfortable but doing a good job of hiding it. “I called him from Ireland as soon as I knew we’d be engaging the Guild. He started working on the ward then.”