Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4) Read online

  “It’s almost time for tea,” I said.

  Aiden stiffened in surprise, looking at me.

  I waited for him to counter my suggestion. Instead, he just glanced around the property, then nodded.

  Kader Azar unlatched the gate, pushing it open just far enough to step onto the property and close it behind him. He had crossed through Aiden’s wards without needing an invitation.

  Aiden squeezed my hand in warning. I nodded, not taking my gaze from his father.

  From the moment he latched the gate, I could feel the elder sorcerer’s power. It was dimmer than I’d expected, though I had no doubt he could mask it by choice or design. Many powerful Adepts chose to do so, mostly so they could move through the world without drawing too much attention to themselves. I’d been able to do the same since before I’d understood the necessity. But by design more so than talent.

  After draining my magic taking down the compound in Peru that had been home to the Five since we were born, I’d spent over a year hoping that magic wouldn’t return. So when that power had come seeping back, I’d begun suppressing it in earnest, training that ability, keeping my power continually bottled up. It was second nature now.

  Paisley shoved herself between Aiden and his father. A single tentacle sprang forth from her neck, wrapped around a large bovine bone. The demon dog flashed a double row of sharp teeth at Kader. Then she poked him in the thigh with the bone.

  “Ah,” Kader said. “Look at you, beautiful. I didn’t know that any of you had survived.” He glanced at me. “Did you get the entire litter out?”

  I didn’t answer. Only Paisley had survived the destruction we Five had wrought on the compound when we’d escaped the Collective.

  Paisley poked Kader with the bone again.

  “Yes, sorry,” he said to her. Then he wrapped his hand around the end of the bone, gazing deliberately into Paisley’s suddenly blood-red eyes.

  Silence stretched. A distant rooster crowed, then the rooster overseeing our flock responded. The drone of a light plane rose as it passed overhead.

  Aiden glanced my way questioningly.

  I shrugged. Paisley had done something similar when Opal had first appeared on the property, making her hold the bone as well. I’d been too distracted at the time to mention it to anyone. But the demon dog seemed to be using the bone that Aiden had given her as some sort of way to vet intruders, separating friends from possible tasty treats.

  Not that I would consciously allow the demon dog to eat someone. Though even I couldn’t stop everything that might happen in the heat of battle.

  Paisley flashed her teeth at Kader again, tugging the bone free from his hand. It promptly disappeared, folded back into her currently invisible mane.

  “Magnificent,” Kader cooed.

  Paisley chuffed, pleased. Then she turned to wander back to the house.

  Kader transferred his smile to me. “Just magnificent. Though I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, amplifier.”

  “You don’t know me well enough to make that assessment, sorcerer.”

  “No?” He arched an eyebrow.

  The expression was disconcertingly reminiscent of Aiden’s. I’d seen a disturbing echo of the sorcerer I loved in his brother’s face as well. Thankfully, the feeling of familiarity quickly faded, because I was already feeling off. I wasn’t remotely acting how I’d assumed I would react to meeting one of my makers — specifically, with my blades in hand and that maker’s life blood marking their edges just moments afterward.

  “I suppose not,” Kader said despite my silence. “It has been over eight years.”

  He hadn’t noticed that I’d just been trying to decide when I was going to murder him.

  When.

  Not if.

  Of that, I had no doubt.

  I had gotten accustomed to being able to scare people just by looking at them. It was possible I was losing too much of my edge. It was also possible that in dealing with the sorcerer Azar in any way that didn’t involve following his orders or taking his head — as extreme as both of those options sounded — I was going to find myself outmatched.

  Kader glanced between Aiden and me again. “You said something about tea? I’d be delighted to get out of the sun.”

  Aiden frowned, both of his hands shoved in his pockets again. Then he looked at me. “I’ll trust your judgement.”

  “He’s passed Paisley’s test.”

  Aiden hummed softly, noncommittal. Then he looked at his father. “Safe passage to you. But the moment you move to bring harm to my family, I’ll kill you. If Emma doesn’t get there first.”

  A slow smile spread across Kader Azar’s face. He deliberately turned to bestow it on me with a nod. “Emma. Pleased to finally meet you properly.”

  He hadn’t known the name I’d taken on when we all fled the compound.

  Of course he hadn’t, and …

  Tension etched through Aiden’s jaw as he realized the same thing I just had. He’d unwittingly given a tiny piece of power to his father. My name.

  I brushed my fingers against Aiden’s forearm, but addressed Kader. “No. I’m no one but Amp5 to you, sorcerer. A weapon of mass destruction, not a person. Not to you.”

  Kader opened his mouth — presumably to protest, given his furrowed brow.

  “Just remember what you made me,” I said.

  He curtailed whatever he was going to say, nodding stiffly. “Amp5 it is, then.”

  I pivoted away, feeling a bit hollow. As if I hadn’t won back that private piece of myself at all. But since that was an idiotic notion, I brushed the feeling away, preparing for a different sort of warfare. A battle to be conducted over tea and cookies with words and innuendo.

  Thankfully, no matter how silent Aiden had been so far, he was more skilled with those sorts of weapons than I was.

  Behind me, I could feel Kader scanning the property as we walked back to the house. Aiden stayed a half step behind his father. Not in deference, but so that we flanked him.

  I glanced back before climbing the stairs to the front patio. Aiden was casually flipping a runed stone in his left hand. Energy flashed around the stone as it spun in the air, then dropped back into the sorcerer’s palm. He winked at me.

  Kader had paused to admire the Mustang parked in front of the house. But the moment he turned to question Aiden about it, his son’s expression blanked.

  I didn’t bother participating in the conversation that followed. As far as I could hear, other than the words ‘no’ and ‘yes,’ neither did Aiden.

  Paisley was waiting by the front door, the bovine bone out again and tucked under a front paw. She smiled broadly as I approached, her mouth far too wide for her face. I ghosted my hand over her broad head as I passed. She picked up the bone in her mouth, then fell into step with me. I toed off my white sneakers just beyond the door, then scooped them up to carry them into the laundry room.

  It was interesting that the demon dog had hidden the bone from Ember and Capri Pine when they visited in February. We had asked Paisley to make herself scarce around the witches, understanding that they might have been seriously disturbed by her demon genetics — but that hadn’t lasted. Still, she hadn’t brought out the bone.

  Did that mean she accepted Kader’s presence? Or was she just lining up her next meal? Consuming the elder sorcerer would be best accomplished away from the main road, after all.

  That thought made me smile. And since being amused by the demon dog’s possible motives was far more comfortable than feeling hollow, I would take it. Gladly.

  Moving around the kitchen island, I set a chilled pitcher of iced tea, ginger snaps, plates, glasses, and napkins on a tray. And while doing so, I felt every step that Kader Azar took through my home.

  Aiden remained a step behind his father as they crossed through the house. The younger sorcerer’s magic was robust, even without his body runes. The depths of his own power were almost continually amplified by me now, simply in the course of liv
ing our lives together. Though every now and then, Aiden decided to test another variation of the refraction rune he was developing to see if he could resist being involuntarily amplified.

  By contrast, the elder sorcerer’s power was neatly tucked away. But I had no doubt that Kader Azar could have leveled the house with only a few well-chosen words. Or that he might not need to speak at all to wield his magic.

  Father and son lingered near the partly open door to the study, murmuring. They were both speaking that other language that Aiden occasionally lapsed into, and which Isa and Ruwa had also spoken. Arabic of some kind, I had always thought. Though I wouldn’t have put it past Kader Azar to have developed his own language, then forced generations of his cabal to learn it.

  Why had I invited him into my home?

  Right.

  Aiden.

  Plus, draining and killing Kader on the back patio would shield my activities from the sight of the road. And the Wilsons’ property.

  Leaving the laden tea tray on the island, I stepped around the kitchen table and through the open French-paned doors. I rearranged the table and chairs, situating one of the chairs in the shade — and making sure that doing so meant it was boxed in by the house, the porch railing, and me. Once I sat down, at least.

  Kader knew as well as I did that he couldn’t get away from me. He’d known that long before he’d chosen to set foot on the property.

  He would have to hit me hard to overcome me, and with a curse I’d never taken before. Presumably, Kader Azar had a thorough knowledge of all the magic that had been tested against me for the first twenty-one years of my life. He would know what it had taken back then to put me in the med bay — a rare but still occasional occurrence. The Collective hadn’t believed in controlled or regulated training sessions.

  But I was feeling more certain that Kader had been genuinely surprised to see me at Aiden’s side. And if he hadn’t had time to access his records and plan for this meeting, then I had the advantage. I’d also had eight years to grow stronger, develop a higher resistance. Magic aged well.

  Kader stepped up to the threshold, his gaze on the yard and the garden beyond. He’d removed his dress shoes, so his feet were clad only in thin brown socks. It didn’t diminish him in the least.

  It bothered me that I was so intimidated by the elder sorcerer. It made me ache to lash out, completely irrationally.

  I adjusted the seat cushion on the third chair instead, centering it perfectly. Even though I knew doing so gave away what I was feeling.

  “You have a lovely home,” Kader murmured.

  I didn’t respond.

  He angled his dark-eyed gaze at me. Then, noting the arrangement of the chairs, he smiled. The expression was once again edged with that fulfilled expectancy. The same pride. As if he was pleased that I’d set up a kill seat for him.

  Aiden stepped up behind his father, carrying the tea tray. Kader obligingly stepped forward, removing his satchel from his shoulder as he crossed toward me. The sorcerer hadn’t picked up the bag from the farm stand before he’d crossed through the gate, which likely meant he could call it to him. Another blatant display of power.

  Or perhaps such things came so easily to the sorcerer that he did them without thought.

  No.

  Every single thing that Kader Azar did was calculated. Eight years ago, it had taken the betrayal of his eldest son, two other members of the Collective, and a pack of rogue shapeshifters to take him down.

  And then the Five rescued him.

  So no matter how rushed his sudden appearance now seemed, the Kader Azar I knew would have backup. And then more backup. Plans and protection.

  The elder sorcerer stepped by me, near enough that I could have touched him without effort. But I kept my hands to myself, exceedingly aware of Aiden as he set the tray on the low table. The dark-haired sorcerer was tense, but if he was truly worried, I couldn’t sense it.

  Kader slung his satchel across the back of the chair situated in the shade, boxing himself in without hesitation.

  Aiden sat down across from his father, placing the empty seat for me in the middle. His expression softened as he caught my gaze. Or perhaps picked up my concern. “May I pour?”

  “Yes, please.” I sat in the third chair, keeping both of my feet firmly planted on the patio.

  Kader removed his hat, setting it on the wide end of the arm of the chair. He crossed his legs. His hair was almost completely threaded through with steel gray.

  The skin around Aiden’s eyes tightened. But he simply added a teaspoon of sugar to a tall crystal glass of rosy iced tea and stirred. I had cold-brewed my favorite fruit blend to replace the overbrewed Ceylon tea we’d shared earlier. Silence stretched, punctuated by the soft tinkling of the wind chimes.

  I picked up the tenor of Paisley’s magic in the barn, where she was most likely raiding her fridge. I hadn’t defrosted anything for her, not knowing she’d return so soon. Or without Christopher.

  I took the glass of iced tea that Aiden offered me, forcing myself to settle back in my seat with it and tucking my legs underneath me as I normally would.

  I was deadly in any position. I might as well be comfortable.

  I took a sip of the perfectly sweet and tangy tea. A smile flitted over Aiden’s lips as he noted my movements, but he spoke gruffly to his father. “Sugar?”

  “No. Thank you.”

  Aiden set a glass near Kader. Then he placed two ginger snaps on one of the stoneware plates and set it alongside the glass, with a napkin next to it. Kader pointedly waited until his son had shifted back in his seat before he leaned forward, lifting the iced tea and sipping.

  Aiden put two more ginger snaps on a plate, balancing it on the wide end of the arm of my chair and tucking a napkin underneath the edge.

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  He then served himself tea. Grabbing a cookie in his other hand, he settled back in his chair, long legs stretched out, crossed at the ankles.

  I nibbled on a cookie, occupying both of my hands as well.

  We both looked at Kader Azar.

  It would have been the perfect time for him to attack us.

  The elder sorcerer grinned knowingly, taking another sip of his iced tea. He cast his gaze out over the railing toward the garden and spoke conversationally.

  “Your mother is slowly killing me.”

  I looked at Aiden sharply, unable to hide my surprise.

  The dark-haired sorcerer blinked, then frowned. “Excuse me?”

  Kader waved a hand, indicating himself. “As you can see.”

  “You’re claiming …” Aiden laughed, briefly but harshly. “A witch is slowly stealing your life force?”

  Kader held his son’s gaze steadily, but he didn’t elaborate.

  A nasty smile twisted Aiden’s face. “And you aren’t powerful enough to block a witch spell?”

  Kader’s tone was even, considered. “None of the cabal have been able to break the connection. Not me, or Khalid. Not even Grosvenor.”

  I glanced at Aiden again.

  He kept his gaze pinned to his father, but answered my unvoiced questions. “Khalid is my next-oldest half-brother, and Grosvenor is a cousin. British.”

  “My eldest brother’s son,” Kader said. “A curse breaker.”

  “From a long line of curse breakers,” Aiden added quietly. “All dead now. As far as I know.”

  “His mother, a paternal aunt I don’t believe you’ve met, and his youngest sister survive,” Kader said. “But yes. Curse breaking is a lucrative business, but deadly.” His gaze settled on me, lips quirked in amusement. “Something all Azars are well acquainted with.”

  I didn’t bother analyzing what he was suggesting — because it seemed as though he was comparing me to curse breaking. Partaking in a conversation about my relationship with any Azar was off limits. I wouldn’t talk about Aiden. And Kader wouldn’t survive a chat about my creation and childhood.

  Because I had no moral i
ssue with killing the architect of the Five. Kader Azar’s crimes were numerous, and wiping him from the face of the earth would likely save many other lives. Though that was a little abstract.

  Either way, though, I didn’t need to justify the elder sorcerer’s pending demise by my hand. I was just being cautious about doing anything I couldn’t undo until I knew what Aiden wanted.

  The conversation completely lapsed. I nibbled on a ginger snap, savoring the crunch of the brown-sugar topping, and sipped my tea. Kader shifted his gaze from me to Aiden and then back again.

  Aiden was watching his father, frowning thoughtfully. His iced tea was forgotten in his hand, one ginger snap already consumed. “So you come to me,” he finally said. “As a last resort.”

  “Cerise hasn’t responded to my —”

  Aiden snorted. “You expect her to chat with you willingly?”

  “I expected her to want to avoid an incident.” Kader’s tone had become clipped. “The witches Convocation won’t take an accusation of this level lightly.”

  “From you?” Aiden scoffed. “Against a Myers witch?”

  Primarily situated in Paris, France, the Myers coven held one of the thirteen seats on the Convocation — the witches’ governing body. According to the background check Ember Pine, my lawyer, had sent me when I’d first met Aiden, the Myers coven focused on delicate, precise magic and had a stellar reputation among the Adept. She had later mentioned that it had been centuries since a black witch had cropped up in the Myers bloodline. But I knew that a witch backed by a full coven didn’t need to summon demons or sacrifice the innocent to wield immense power. And even a witch surrounded only by a like-minded portion of her coven could accomplish a great deal — as long as they were all focused on a single task.

  So even without wielding blood magic or black magic, it was possible that a small group of the Myers coven could kill Kader Azar.

  If they could get to him.