Silver at Midnight: A Paranormal Romance Urban Fantasy (The Keepers of Knowledge Series Book 5) Bridgette O'Hare (ebook offline .txt) 📖

Cian’s eyes widened. “Y-you heard that?”

“Didn’t ya mean for me t’ hear it?” Confusion set on my brow.

Cian turned and made like he was still flipping through the journal with his free hand while not letting go of my hand with his other. “I was just thinking I wanted t’ say it t’ ya. Didn’t expect ya t’ hear me. That’s . . . well, it’s unusual.”

“But not totally unheard of, I take it.” I followed his lead and turned back to face the scroll and my transcriptions. I checked to see if we were being watched, but Kage was looking over a list of some sort he’d pulled from his pack.

“Well, it’s something that happens when ya form a soul bond. And I . . . we . . . it jus’ doesn’t make sense.”

“Ya know I’m only still holdin’ your hand t’ get my pendant and some answers, right? The thought crossed my mind to cut ya both down with the Tartaros Blade when I found out you’d played me.”

“An’ I wouldn’t blame ya. But I’m glad ya didn’t. You gettin’ hurt was never part o’ my plan, Aish. I pray you’ll believe that.”

“Havin’ a hard time believin’ anything ya say at the moment, Cian.”

“Aye. ‘Ats fair. An’ I deserve it.”

“Is my uncle safe?” I turned and looked him square in the eye. No matter the response, I was going to make him tell me straight to my face, even if it wasn’t aloud.

“Lachlan is fine. He’s—”

“Where are we on the translation?” Kage interrupted without looking up from his list immediately. It was just enough time for Cian to let go of my hand and look toward Kage, as one would when someone spoke.

“It’s done,” I announced.

Cian eyed me, hid his smile, and that’s when I became convinced he knew what I’d done. If he did, that meant he never needed me to translate it. He could have done it himself, but for some reason, he didn’t want Kage to know that. What exactly was Cian McCallister up to?

“Great, let’s have it.” Kage held his hand out and I tore the sheet from the notepad and handed it over.

Cian sidestepped until he was close enough to touch the back of his hand to mine. When he did, I heard him in my head once more.

“Do you remember what it says?” he questioned, still looking at Kage.

“Do I need t’? You can read it jus’ fine without me,” I jabbed.

“So, ya noticed that, did ya?” Satisfaction played in his tone. “One of my favorite things about ya. Ya don’t miss much.”

“Ha! Apparently, I missed a lot. I missed that you and I are not playin’ for the same team.”

“Cian, look at this.” Kage pointed to the paper I’d handed him, and my throat constricted, hoping he hadn’t pulled the same stunt as Cian. Even though my gut told me that would be absurd. “Which of these syllables has the accent?” I let out a breath of relief.

“Would ya like me t’ mark the syllables so that ya don’t end up summoning the ghost of Christmas past or somethin’?” I offered in an attempt to appear to be a useful team member instead of the saboteur that I was.

“That would be a great help,” Kage admitted and handed the paper back over to me.

“You need these ingredients before you can perform the invocation?” Cian questioned him.

“Yes, only missing the two that have to be found here within the ruins,” Kage replied.

I listened, wondering what those two ingredients might be.

“Did ya bring enough to perform the invocation twice in case ya fumble the pronunciations the first time?” Cian joked.

“You’re hilarious,” Kage deadpanned.

“Ya know, I’ve been tellin’ people that.” Cian looked over at me with a grin. “But seriously, did ya?”

“Always have to be so prepared, don’t you, McCallister? Yes. I have enough for a third time if need be. As long as we have the other ingredients.”

“Then I s’pose we should get t’ searchin’,” Cian insisted. “You want t’ find the silver or the wolf’s fang?”

Kage sneered. “I think my odds are better with the silver since there used to be a mine attached to the ruins.”

“I’ll bet you the right to perform the invocation that I can find a wolf’s fang and get back here first,” Cian challenged.

“You’re on.” Kage looked up at the ever-darkening sky and then checked his phone. “I’m heading north. According to satellite images, my guess is the silver mine was in that direction.”

“I’m just goin’ t’ follow my instincts,” Cian razzed. “You remember what they are, right?”

“Ya got jokes.” Kage didn’t seem as amused as Cian. “What do you propose we do with her in the meantime?”

Cian glanced over his shoulder at me and they continued to talk about me as if I weren’t standing in earshot. “Eh. I’ll keep an eye on her. She probably wants the chance to cuss me up and down anyway.”

Kage shook his head. “Best of luck with that,” he mumbled and slapped a hand on Cian’s shoulder as he walked by him to head down the steps into the courtyard. Meet you back in say . . . twenty minutes?”

“Oh, I’ll be here before that. I intend to win the wager,” Cian called after Kage as he disappeared into a small path at the northwest corner of the courtyard.

Cian immediately turned to me. “We don’t have much time. Do you remember the invocation?” His voice spiked with urgency. “The correct one. Or do we need to translate it again?”

I studied him a moment, an intense glare pointed in his direction. I had actually written it down twice, the correct way and the way that left just a couple of words off. But I still didn’t trust him.

“Why should I give it t’ ya?” I scoffed.

“Because this is our only chance to locate the Kanna Stone before he gets back without bloodshed. We have all the ingredients right here. We ju—” Cian pointed to the