Chapter 25

“To keep humans out. Anyone else who tries to get past it will find it’s not as easy to do so as it might appear.”

“Then why weren’t we stopped when I brought us here? Ah, never mind. The same reason I could get into Nina’s place.”

“Exactly. If it were someone unknown with her, or unknown to me in any case, well…” Lex lifted one shoulder.

“They’d be dead before they hit the ground.”

“No, only bound until I decided what to do with them. I’d rather not kill an enemy until I’ve gotten all the information from them that I can.”

“What if they’re attacking?”

Lex smiled wickedly. “Then the situation changes some and I send out the beasts—to begin with.”

“What kind of beasts?”

“A manticore or two, perhaps a dragon, it depends.”

“You’re kidding. Where do you keep them?”

“I don’t. I summon them. Well, except for Charlie. He lives back there.” Lex pointed to what looked like a storage shed in the back corner of the yard.