CHAPTER SIX
Jin Hiroshi was perhaps the most enigmatic man Robin had ever met, with his charming, reserved personality and polished good looks. Had she been an ordinary human, she’d have appreciated his attention immensely, because really, what woman wouldn’t be flattered by the attention of someone obviously worldly in looks and status?
Because she was a witch of higher ability than the rest, she was able to sense something that others didn’t, or couldn’t: an energy inside him that was foreign. It wasn’t necessarily negative, but it made her wary enough as she was yet to figure out what it was.
It was surprising to note, though, that it was somewhat similar in current to the witch she and Simon just tried to capture a few days ago. Still, that could mean anything from them being allies to the current not having anything to do with the former.
So she kept up the act, being demure and everything a royal should be while throwing in her own western culture from the so-called time she claimed she stayed in the US. He gobbled it all up, obviously appreciating her worldliness coupled with innocence. When he invited her to stay at his home—this home—for a few more days so they could get to know each other, Robin pretended to act shy at first, but readily accepted his invitation when he kept cajoling and promised her he intended her no harm. Then the ruler arrived, cutting short their conversation as Jin excused himself to be by his father’s side during the birthday greetings.
Because she was left to the corner while everyone was trying to get the Lord ruler’s attention—with her claiming she would greet him when the excitement died down—Robin used it to her advantage, eyes watchful of the stairs and other areas of entrance. She finally decided to head to the powder room, which was on the second floor. Robin was walking as leisurely as she could in case someone was watching down the halls when she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. She jumped, then turned around to defend herself.
Simon yanked her to the side.
“I can’t contact Jake.”
She opened her mouth to scold him for jumping on her, then snapped it shut when what he said finally registered. There was a worried expression on his face.
“He might just be out of coverage, though,” he added.
Robin frowned. “Unless he got out of the village, coverage should be fine.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now. Come on; we need to look around while everyone’s busy.”
They kept trying to contact Jake while they used stealth to check the interior of the mansion but found only silence on the other end. Simon kept going, efficient as he swept the empty rooms while Robin used magic to do a second check. Everything was clean on the two floors up, and Robin was about to announce that they’d better return to the party floor when Simon suddenly stopped beside her.
“Blood,” he muttered.
Then he was quietly running in the other direction, leaving Robin to follow on his heels.
She didn’t smell it at first, but Robin smelled it the moment Simon opened a door. It was cloying and thick, and she realized it was one of the areas they hadn’t bothered to check: the bathroom on the third floor.
She recognized Lucy’s figure right away, her blonde hair clumped in a mass on her head and blood flowing all around her unconscious form on the floor. Simon moved forward to check for a pulse, but Robin staggered back when a strong negative energy hit her—something dark and as cloying as the blood, if not more so. Her hand shot forward to grab on Simon’s back.
“Don’t touch her,” she said harshly.
Then she was the one moving forward, opening her magic up and wrapping it around the dead figure.
Within seconds, she confirmed that her guess was right. “This isn’t Lucy.” She closed her eyes and chanted, gathering her own energy and building it up to use it for her spell. Then she touched the tip of the figure’s shoulder, and a burst of sparks appeared before Lucy’s demeanor changed into a black-haired man—a dead one.
Simon cursed under his breath. “We’ve been trapped.”
Then he was moving in a flash and dragging her with him.
She did her work, making sure her traces of magic disappeared completely before they left. They could hear footsteps and men murmuring and knew the trap had been to determine their location, and her dispelling the illusion of Lucy had been the trigger. Already prepared for this, Robin unzipped her dress and took off her heels as they kept running to the balcony at the back, where she took a second or two to use more magic to burn down her outfit. In her tube top and tights, she turned to Simon.
“What’s the plan?”
“Jump,” he barked.
Her eyes widened. “But—” The words died in a strangled yelp as Simon yanked her again and hauled her in his arms.
Then he was stepping up the railings and leaping down—from the third floor.
Her heart caught in her throat, and Robin saw her life flash before her eyes. Then instinct took over and she burst out with her magic, causing an invisible trampoline to flare below them and pillow Simon’s landing. He jumped against it and landed on his feet, where he deposited her quickly on her feet and pulled her to run away.
Slightly dizzy and heart still hammering, Robin scowled at him. “You can’t expect me to respond that quickly all the time.”
Simon grinned like it didn’t bother him at all. “Yet you did it and saved us. You really are the best witch ever.”
She grumbled some more but caught up to him. They evaded the guards that went after them, climbing on one of the trees and using a spell to shield themselves from detection. After a while, silence filled the area they were hiding in, but they used hand signals to communicate in case this was another trap.
Do you have a replica of the dress you just burned?
Robin nodded. Of course. What are you saying?
We return to the party. You still have birthday greetings to say.
But what about Jake?
She didn’t voice the question out. Jake was something they would worry about internally, but Simon was right: the show must go on.
She just hoped the other wolf shifter was alright and not lying somewhere in a pool of his own blood.
*****
They reprised the roles they played earlier, with Simon acting like a respectful bodyguard and Robin the innocent and bubbly Princess Ana who was slightly shy but liked spending time with Jin. No one suspected a thing, and she kept at it and left Simon again as she finally greeted the ruler—a middle-aged Japanese man named Yugoshi Hiroshi, who was less friendly than his son but oddly put Robin more at ease.
Jin monopolized her time and introduced her to lots of people, and Robin tried not to get a headache as she remembered their names and her own alibi, naming fake royal names and backgrounds that Dylan had already provided ahead for them. In her ear, she kept hearing Simon call out for Jake in his low voice, still with no response on the other end.
Where on earth was that guy?
What on earth was that illusion trick all about?
If anything, it seemed that their investigation was headed in the right direction—a strange one, but still the right one.
An hour later, she was still answering a question one of the guests posed while Jin listened on when she heard it.
“Simon? Robin? I found her.”
It was all she could do not to respond—particularly to shout at him. She pasted a smile on her face as she finished talking and the guest responded, listening to Simon in her ear.
“Dead?” Simon asked.
“No, she’s alive,” Jake confirmed. “Unconscious and slightly bruised. We’re trapped.”
“Where are you?” Simon asked again. “I’ll come get you.”
“I don’t know,” Jake admitted. “But I was running for…”
“Jake?”
The line got cut off, and Jake’s voice was as gone as soon as it came. Jin asked her another question, and Robin smiled once more and responded as charmingly as she could while she listened to Simon call Jake’s name over and over.
But there was no longer any response from the wolf shifter.