Lucas held our captive by the arm, who was a little worse for wear after the trip. Ralph may have acquired a sprained wrist and busted lip along the way. Despite using compulsion on him, he’d tried to escape twice when we’d stopped at traffic lights in town. Luckily, I was driving so Lucas could take care of him. Ralph had settled for the moment, but we didn’t want to take any chances. There was no telling how long the latest commands Lucas gave him would last. We stopped in front of the protection ward. The witch who’d placed the spell packed some serious power. I waved my hand through the field of energy, allowing it to send sharp tingles through my skin. When I’d been here earlier, I’d hardly acknowledged it, but it hadn’t mattered as much when it was only Patrick and me. “You might not want to cross this,” I said to Lucas. “I discovered as much when I visited O’Connell a few weeks ago.” He scowled. “Do you know who created it?” I averted my gaze, knowing it must have caused him a lot of pain.
