On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4) Read Free

low profile. Work the crowds and pick pockets. We need money and we have to stay one step ahead of whoever it is, at least until we know who we’re dealing with.”
    “I’m sorry.” She met her dad’s eyes, hating how simplistic those two words sounded.
    His blue eyes softened a fraction. “If you are…one of them , we’d be facing this sooner or later.” He nodded at her food. “Eat. You’re gonna need to keep your strength up, whether you square off against a street crook or a mega-monster.”
    Alina forced down several mouthfuls of eggs as she tried to quell the panic that had erased her hesitant joy at seeing the three women . Panic won’t help. Being smart will. Do what you do best . The mantras repeated on a loop in her mind. She couldn’t steal, or work on her possible new ability, if her thoughts were all over the place.
    She squared her shoulders and looked at her dad. “So we’ll get rooms somewhere, and then I’ll head to…” she paused to recall the city’s clubs, “Hell’s Gate?”
    “Good choice.” Sebastian set a pile of coins on the table. “Let’s go.”
     
    Elegia jolted awake with the force of her vision and gasped, nearly falling off her chair. The resulting cough and constriction of her airways had her clutching the cool edge of her lab desk. A high pitched wheeze kept rhythm in her lungs, an irritating reminder that her goddamn asthma was here to stay, as her vampiric lung tissue proved stubbornly resistant to any of her biological advances. She fought to regulate her breathing as she focused on the beautiful, vibrant, black lily plant in front of her, its petals curled open to her as if recognizing its creator.
    Glancing around, she took in her long work tables full of healthy plants and the dark surface of her desk. She was alone. Good.
    She pushed out a slow breath and recited a spell that would relax her airway. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, body buzzing from the most powerful vision she’d ever had. They were so rare, and this one, so potent and vivid…could only have originated from one source.
    The mirror.
    The one that had been in her family for decades and which her thieving brother probably hoped she’d forgotten about.
    Images, colorful and clear, formed and shifted in her mind’s eye as she recalled the vision. A blond female sat on a bed, using the powerful reflective surface to scry. She held her hand above it, scored her palm with a blade, and spoke. Though Elegia couldn’t hear her words, she’d seen exactly what the female had seen.
    A hallway, dimly lit with electric sconces, and lined with many closed doors. Chaos erupted as doors flew open and pairs of men and women rushed out. Three of the women converged in the center of the corridor, looking at one another with surprise, shock, and wide, teary eyes. Hands flew to mouths, jaws unhinged. The three hugged.
    The image shifted. The woman on the bed stared into the depths of the mirror until her focus jerked to her own door crashing open. Sebastian stormed in.
    The vision ended.
    Elegia rubbed her hands together. So, her useless brother, Sebastian, had the mirror all this time. It hadn’t been lost, as he’d insisted the last time they spoke. When was that? Eighty years ago? Elegia couldn’t remember. But it didn’t matter. If the mirror had alerted her, then she needed to find him, and that would be easy.
    Southwest. The energy traces left by the vision were as obvious as bloody footsteps in new fallen snow. Her brother had been hiding from her for as long as they’d been estranged. She shouldn’t know which way to go, but now the mirror’s enchanted pull would lead her to his door. Next would be questioning him and that blond female, and then finding those three women.
    She didn’t recognize them, but the resemblance in their facial features implied they were related. Their presence was significant. The mirror only granted visions to creatures whose motives were diametrically opposed to