Arcane Solutions Read Online Free

free-lancing allowed.” My urge to attempt to scan him was growing. What was it he wanted me to go after?
    “ I see.” The elf studied me for a moment longer. He was probably judging his chances of success at bribing me, or whammying me with glamour.
    Neither was a good idea. I like my job, and mystical crap aimed in my direction tends to piss me off.
    Nick was fidgeting, his discomfort so intense that I felt sympathy welling up. “If that's all, Nick and I are sort of in the middle of something.”
    Thorandryll didn’t take my attempt to dismiss him well. Brows drawing together, he gazed at me, and I’ll be damned if goose bumps didn’t bloom on my arms. After a long, silent moment, he rose. “I'll speak with your employer, Miss Jones. Allow me to escort you out.”
    “ Sure.” As the elf led the way out, I whispered, “Bit arrogant, isn’t he?”
    Nick grinned in response.

Three
     
    “The spell will end when the door closes, returning you to the Barrows' entrance. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jones.” Thorandryll half-bowed after opening the door to the tunnel. Nick edged past, his expression blank and wariness exuding from him like a cloak.
    “ Likewise. I guess we'll talk later.” Offering him what I hoped was a professional smile, I started down the stone steps after the shifter.
    “ Do you often visit the Barrows?”
    Pausing, I turned to look back at the elf. “Just when necessary for a case. Why?”
    “ Merely curiosity, Miss Jones. It’s dangerous.” He frowned past me at the shifter's back.
    “ Danger comes with the job. Have a nice day.” Two steps later, I heard the door click shut.
    “ I can see the landing now,” Nick announced after a minute or so passed. “That was weird.”
    “ Yeah. I wonder what Thorandryll’s thing is? What do you think: stolen or lost?”
    The shifter shrugged. “Who steals from an elf?”
    “ You mean apart from the suicidally inclined? I have no idea.” We reached the landing and entered the false night of the Barrows.
    Imagine every dark night movie scene featuring a decrepit old castle, and you'll have a decent idea of what the Barrows is like—minus the tourists, but you can’t escape them. They’re everywhere, even posing for photos in front of the fantastically designed iron gates blocking entry to the private residences of those with major standing in the vampiric hierarchy.
    You enter the Barrows at your own risk. The cops will come to look for you if you go missing and it's reported, but vampires are usually experts at hiding the bodies.
    They aren't supposed to kill anymore, and there's really no need for them to do so because there are always idiots willing to offer up blood. But everyone knows that killing does happen. People disappear, and have since the beginning of time.
    Vampires are predators and seven years of civilized living hasn't made a dent in their conditioned hunting behaviors.
    Nick appeared to be on full alert, his weight perfectly balanced and arms loose. Lower level vamps were taking care to avoid our path, but I wasn't convinced that was because of him.
    Ronnie's anti-vampire ward was grounded in earth magic and seasoned with fire magic. The newer the vamp, the faster he or she would become a column of fire if they risked grabbing me for a snack. Overall, most vampires prefer to avoid being burned into true death.
    I didn't see anyone I recognized as we worked our way up and down the main streets, but we did come across several groups of young humans. Emo kids, Goths, and punks for the most part.
    Light scanning picked up their louder thoughts. I shook my head at the hope many had of becoming powerful creatures of the night. Stupid kids. But Zoe's so-called friends could be around, skipping school to play with the dead, so I kept scanning, and made a note to dig up some names. Maybe Zoe had a Facebook account.
    “ Anything?” Nick asked after we'd covered a rough square mile of streets.
    “ Not yet, or I would've