Fields of Blood (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 2) by Sonya Bateman

of translate words or phrases into Fae, if I didn’t think about it too hard.
    I’d just have to hope I had some magic. Still wasn’t sure how it all worked.
    I curled my fingers around the cuffs, thought about unlocking them, and spoke the word that floated into my mind. “ Oscaihl .”
    The handcuffs clicked.
    Taeral twisted to look at me. “Going somewhere, brother?”
    “Yeah. The hell out of here.” I wrenched my wrist free and used the bars to pull myself to my feet—then I had to lean on them to catch my breath. Damn. I was in a lot worse shape than I’d thought. “Be there in a second,” I called to Taeral. “Feel free to unlock those cuffs any time.”
    He laughed. It was not a happy sound. “After the werewolves, I’ve no spark left,” he said. “Though I should not have bothered using magic against them.”
    “Why not?”
    “Werewolves draw their abilities from the moon as well,” he said. “Fae magic cannot directly affect a fully transformed were.”
    I frowned. “Well, that shield thing worked.”
    “Aye. The shield affects the air. Not the wolf.”
    “I guess that’s good to know,” I said. “But spark or not, we still need to get out of here. And we have to move fast.”
    Taeral grimaced. “I’m not certain I can move at all, let alone fast.”
    “Fine. I’ll drag you out, then.” I took another minute to hope my legs would stop shaking, and then started across the cell toward him. “It’s a small town. They can’t have that many people working full-time here,” I said. “Should be able to avoid them. I’ll just keep unlocking things until we find the exit.”
    He was already shaking his head. “You’ll not make it, if you try to bring me.”
    “Like I’m going to leave you here. You know this agent guy is probably Milus Dei, right?”
    “Aye,” he said. “And that is why you must go alone. They cannot take you.”
    “Don’t even—”
    The door opened, cutting off my angry rant and reducing our options to bad, or worse.
    “You’re loose.” The man who walked in wore an expensive suit that was way above government agent pay grade. He stopped facing us between the two cells, and casually moved his jacket aside to show off his gun. “Interesting. You’ll tell me how you did that eventually. Meanwhile, I have a few questions for you,” he said. “Answer them right, and you’re free to go.”
    “Yeah, right. Do I win a new car and a trip to Cancun, too?”
    After a brief pause, he said, “I can tell you’re going to need incentive. Unfortunately, the FBI doesn’t bargain with—”
    “Cut the crap,” I said, trying to shuffle closer to Taeral. Maybe I could spring his cuffs, at least. I’d figure out the rest from there. “If you’re an FBI agent, then I’m the goddamned President.”
    The man gave a chilling smile. “Fine. We’ll skip the pleasantries and get down to business,” he said. “First, I’ll just mention that I know what you two are. We were only expecting the werewolf…but a couple of Fae? Quite the bonus.”
    I stared at him. “What do you mean, expecting?”
    “I’ll ask the questions, Fae.” He unholstered the gun with a quick motion. “And you’ll answer. Or your friend here dies.”
    He pulled the trigger.
    The report thundered through the room. Taeral jerked and cried out, slumping against the bars as a wet stain spread rapidly from the center of his black shirt.
    “Son of a bitch!” I snarled, dropping beside him to put a hand on the cuffs. His arm had twisted unnaturally when he fell, and his attempts to shift his position were failing. “ Oscaihl ,” I said.
    There was a click, and I pulled the handcuff loose from the bar.
    “So that’s how you did it. Nice trick,” the man who wasn’t an agent said. “But it’s not going to save your friend. That bullet is cold iron, treated with a little something extra.”
    I shivered. “What…”
    “Mandrake,” Taeral gasped sharply, curling in on himself.
    “Your