by Linsey Hall
I nodded. “I will.”
With that, I turned and left. I could feel his gaze on me as I walked away, and wondered why I didn’t stay. It wasn’t every day you felt heat like that.
Except, I didn’t want to feel heat like that. Not now. Not when my life was such a mess. I needed to get my act together. And trusting… It was still hard. I liked being with him, but trusting him felt like a coat that didn’t quite fit. I wasn’t ready for that yet.
And he was right. I had much bigger things I needed to focus on. Like making sure I could really control my dark magic so that it stayed a secret. It was buried within me now, but it wasn’t gone. I could let the others know about my other magic—the good stuff—but never the darkness. And my new magic needed practice. A lot of it.
It was a challenge I was up to.
I’d have to be.
Hunt for Magic
Dragon’s Gift: The Amazon Book 2
1
I crouched on the rooftop, the night breeze blowing my hair back from my face. The sound of revelers echoed from the street below, but my attention was on the deadly race ahead. The whistle would blow any minute, and I wanted to be ready.
"You don't stand a chance,” Lavender hissed at me from her spot ten feet away.
I didn't spare my fellow classmate and mortal annoyance a glance. Not that it shut her up.
“You’ve got barely any magic, and there’s not a drop of water around here, so your only power is worthless. I don't know why you're even bothering."
Grim determination filled me.
I was bothering because we didn't have a choice. This race was one of the most important parts of my coursework at the Academy of Magic. Coursework was probably the wrong word for it, since most of it involved fighting and magic. But this time, we were racing across Edinburgh at night, in a magical game of capture the flag—from the top of Edinburgh Castle. There’d be dangers and demons in our path, of course, because nothing was ever easy at the Academy.
I had two goals: don’t die, and don’t make a fool of myself.
So, pretty much a normal day for me.
“The demons are going to make mincemeat of you.” Lavender was really getting into the trash talk.
I shot her a sidelong glance. “I’ve never really had problems with demons. And I’m going to win.”
There was supposed to be a big freaking prize for winning, and I wanted it.
She laughed, and I seethed.
Winning was unlikely, since she and the other competitors were totally in control of their magic and I wasn’t. Not to mention, my new magic involved controlling water, and there weren’t exactly any rivers nearby.
But I hated her smugness.
I shifted, eyeing the terrain ahead. Because the city was so old, the rooftops were different levels. I’d have to be fast, especially since it was me against Lavender, Angus, Carl, and Lorence—the other four students at the Academy of Magic at the Undercover Protectorate. I wouldn’t put it past them to gang up on me, and I’d need to be ready.
I leaned over the edge of the building and peered into the alley behind me. My gaze caught on Jude, one of the trainers at the Undercover Protectorate’s Academy of Magic. She was overseeing the race, and I wanted to impress her. Badly. If I did well, eventually I could join my sisters on her team, the Paranormal Investigative Team. Despite their ridiculous acronym—the PITs—it was the most elite team at the Protectorate.
I sucked in a deep breath and reminded myself of today’s goals: stay alive, don’t look like a fool.
If I could get a couple cheap shots in at Lavender while I was at it, I'd call it a win.
Before Lavender had a chance to hiss any more insults—which I hated to admit were kind of working—Jude blew her whistle. The noise shrieked through the night.
I raced forward, sprinting as fast as I could. Strength and speed were the only things that would get me through this.
I sprinted across the rooftop, my feet silent on the old surface. Moonlight illuminated the Grassmarket, the supernatural district in Edinburgh. It was part of Old Town, and the buildings were ancient. The stone and brick structures were pressed cheek by jowl along the narrow streets and alleys, making for a fantastic obstacle course.
I used my speed to gain a few yards on my competitors. Their footsteps thundered behind me, sending my heart racing.
Run from the zombies.
I hated zombies, and pretending that Lavender was one gave me an extra burst of speed. She had all the charm of one, anyway.
When magic prickled in the air, the hair on my arms stood on end. I glanced back just in time to see an old metal trash can lid fly straight for me. Lavender’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
The witch had used her telekinesis against me!
The trash can lid nearly slammed into my legs, but I was fast. I jumped over it, barely stumbling, and surged ahead. I darted around an unidentifiable metal structure and kept going, scrambling onto a higher rooftop as my competitors followed.
Magic swelled on the air again, and I was ready for it this time. A quick glance showed another trash can lid flying at me. It spun through the air like a giant frisbee, gleaming in the moonlight.
Where the heck was she getting so many?
As soon as it reached me, I jumped to avoid it but stumbled a little on the landing. The delay cost me my lead.
Lavender sprinted up to join me and breezed past as I caught my footing. I pushed ahead, lungs burning, and came up alongside her.
I almost missed the third object she sent at me. The old iron patio chair slammed into my legs, and I tumbled to the ground, skidding on the rough surface.
I looked up to see Lavender sprint ahead, followed closely by Angus, Carl, and Lorence. Blue magic swirled around Lorence’s hand, and he shot a large icicle at Lavender. She was too fast, though, and dodged it right in time. Her laugh echoed over the rooftops.
My heart thundered, annoyance surging in my veins. I'd been through too much to go down like this.
I leapt to my feet and raced after them. Rage and determination swelled inside me, giving me an extra jolt of speed as I sprinted across the rooftop.
We neared a section where an alley cut between us and the next building. The jump was long and dangerous. Maybe impossible.
Because they weren't stupid, my competitors veered right, taking a long way around that would definitely prove safer. An extension to the building at our right would give them safe crossing.
But it would take them longer to get there.
This was my chance to get ahead, if I was willing to take a risk.
Which, duh, I was.
I pushed myself faster, eyeing the wide gap between the buildings.
Could I jump that?
"Rowan! Don't even try it." Bree's voice crackled out of the comms charm tied around my neck. My sister was somewhere high in the sky, watching my progress. Technically, she probably wasn't supposed to talk to me during the competition, but she'd never been one for rules.
I ignored her warning and pushed myself faster. I was almost there, and I would need a good burst of speed to make the jump.
"It's too dangerous!"
I ignored Bree and sucked in a deep breath, sprinting faster as I neared the gap. I was nearly to it when I realized how damned wide it was.
Ah, shit.
But then, big risks were the only way to win when you had wonky magic like mine. At least no one would say I’d lost because I’d wimped out.
My heart thundered as I leapt, pushing off the ground with all my strength and sailing over the narrow alley. The wind tore at my hair and my stomach plunged as the ground opened up below me.
It was so far down.
Holy fates, I wasn’t going to make it!
The jump was too big.
A scream caught in my throat as I reached out, fingertips stretching. They scraped against the edge of the building, not catching hold.
I reached with my other hand, scrambling for
purchase. I caught the sill of the top window, my arms jerking as my weight dragged me down.
Sweating, I clung to the windowsill, legs dangling. My skin chilled in my ears as I registered a newfound fear of heights.
Yep, I was now officially a little afraid of heights.
“You moron!” Bree’s voice sounded through my comms charm, but I was pretty sure I could hear her from above too.
Still dangling, I glanced up, catching sight of my sister’s silver wings as she darted down toward me, ready to save me.
“I’ve got this!” I gasped. “Back off!”
I’d be disqualified if my mega-powerful sister jumped in to save me. Not to mention totally embarrassed. I loved her enough that I didn’t mind living in her shadow. But if she rescued me from my own dumb decision in this race?
I’d never live it down.
“Still a moron,” Bree muttered, but I could hear the love in her voice, twined with a little bit of admiration.
I clung to it, using it as fuel for my aching muscles as I pulled myself up the side of the building. The toe of my black leather boot found a notch in the old stone wall, and I pushed upward, hand over hand until I reached the top of the building and hauled myself over.
Lavender and the others had nearly reached me by now, so I’d lost a lot of my lead. But since I wasn’t yet dead or totally embarrassed, I was still technically winning.
Adrenaline made my legs shake as I pushed forward, sprinting across the rooftop to try to keep my lead. I had a few yards on them, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to lose it.
There was another jump ahead, this one much narrower, and I sailed across with ease. As I flew over the gap in the buildings, I caught sight of a gleam in the alley down below.
Water.
The liquid moved sluggishly through the alley, either from a broken pipe or some kind of drainage. But damned if I wouldn’t use it. The others were behind me still, so it was perfect.
I reached out with my new magic, grateful to finally have some power of my own after so long without. I studiously avoided thinking about the dark magic I’d possessed just last week. Though I’d been able to use it to kill my opponents, it was just too evil to be trusted. Fortunately, it was strapped down deep inside me, no longer able to burst free. Which allowed me to use the new water magic I’d been gifted by some unknown god.
I could feel the new power in my chest, light and fresh and good. It connected to the water in the alley down below, making the liquid feel like it was part of me. As I sprinted away from it, my magic stayed connected, and I drew the water up from the alley. I could feel it rising through the air, an extension of myself.
When it was at my level, I glanced back just in time to see the shining silver liquid slap Lavender in the face. She shrieked and stopped dead in her tracks, rage lighting up her face as her hair dripped.
Oh, shit.
She was going to want revenge. She could probably throw a car at me.
Worth it.
I turned back around to sprint away, then stopped dead in my tracks.
Three demons stood in front of me.
Damn it.
There’d been rumors they would be thrown into the mix to make our job harder, and since the Protectorate pulled no punches, the demons wouldn’t either. They had orders to kill, and they’d fulfill them with glee. If we couldn’t survive their attacks as students—we were adults, after all—we wouldn’t survive them as staff.
I eyed the three of them, grateful to see that they weren’t huge, at least. No bigger than me, with wiry muscles underneath pale blue skin. Skin like that normally indicated ice powers, but I couldn’t sense that magic on them. Instead, they wore black leather vests decorated with weapons. Knives, skinny swords, and throwing stars hung off the vests, glinting threateningly in the moonlight. Their short horns were sawed off, a demon affectation I’d never understood.
But it was their fangs that made me shiver. Long and dripping with saliva, the fangs made them look like barn animals from hell.
I mean, come on. That was so Old McDonald.
Normally, when faced with a demon, I’d reach into my handy bag of potions and hurl one at my enemy, but Jude had told me not to bring them to the race. I was supposed to be focusing on my new magic, and the potions were just a crutch.
But there was no water.
I’d used it up on Lavender.
I reached for the dagger strapped to my thigh. It was from my mother, a gift I rarely used. I raised it and aimed at the closest demon, hurling the steel. It spun, end over end, then thudded into the demon’s chest.
He hissed in shock, his eyes widening.
“Come on, dude. I didn’t exactly hide the thing,” I muttered.
He’d had a second to dodge, but apparently his reflexes were slow. Fortunately, there was no need for guilt. His body might die, but he’d wake up in whatever underworld he’d come from, ready to go again. Demons weren’t supposed to be on earth anyway, considering the havoc they wreaked. They were frequently hired by dark magic practitioners to do their dirty work, and I had a feeling that the Protectorate had found these guys somewhere that they shouldn’t have been and offered them a second chance.
I could just imagine Jude making the offer: “Hunt our students during this race, and if you live, you’re free.”
But she’d known they wouldn’t live. We might just be students, but we were skilled and deadly, and demons were obvious targets. I couldn’t just leave them here, even if I could race past them. They could go on to do all kinds of terrible things.
Footsteps thudded behind me, and I didn’t need to turn back to know that my competitors had jumped across the alley.
I sprinted forward, my gaze glued to the two demons who stood over the body of their fallen comrade, not sparing a glance for him as he bled out. Each drew a long sword that crackled with electric energy.
Ooh, those look fun.
I could just imagine adding one to my arsenal. As I sprinted, I drew a sword from the ether. It was a handy trick, storing weapons in the ether. Though the spell was expensive, it was worth it. The hilt of my sword felt comfortable in my hand as I neared my opponents.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an icicle flying by. It glittered in the moonlight as it slammed into the chest of the demon on the right. The beast grimaced, then fell straight backward.
Well done, Lorence.
I was close enough to the third demon to smell the rank scent of him.
“Gah, you need a bath.” I raised my steel, swiping out for his waist.
He sucked in, ducking back, and raised his electric sword. Blue light crackled around it, bright and fierce. Pretty, but deadly.
He swung, his movement fluid, and I ducked low, not daring to stop his blade with my own. If it really was electric, I didn’t want to get a jolt up the arm.
The blade whizzed by over my head, so close that the crackle of electricity made my hair stand on end. My heart thudded as I moved, left, out of his range, then lunged forward with my sword.
The blade sank into his side, and he screeched, a high-pitched yowl that made my ears hurt. Behind him, my four competitors raced forward, taking the lead.
“I don’t have time for you.” I grunted as I pulled my sword free and dodged his second blow.
The hole in his side made him weak and slow, and I scooted out of the way quickly, narrowly avoiding an electric swipe to the arm. I lunged again, swinging my blade for his throat.
The steel connected with flesh, cutting deep. I ducked, trying to avoid the arterial blood flow. It was my least favorite part of a fight, and I avoided neck shots when possible, but I was in a hurry here.
The blood flew over my head, missing me.
Heck yeah!
Then a spray hit me right in the face, warm and disgusting.
Damn it.
I scowled and dragged my sleeve over my face as the demon fell. He crashed to the ground, his electric sword rolling to a stop at his side. I ben
t and grabbed it, then recovered my mother’s dagger and shoved it in my thigh sheath. Quickly, I sprinted after my competitors.
They were a good twenty yards ahead of me, having joyfully left me behind to deal with the demons, and each was jockeying for the lead. Lavender hurled random street debris at her opponents, while Carl and Lorence threw their fire and ice, respectively. Angus threw blasts of electricity, but his aim was shit and he missed every time. He was fast, though, and he was ahead of the rest of them, sprinting ahead on swift legs until Lavender slammed a cinderblock into his foot.
As they neared the edge of their building, approaching another gap where an alley cut through, a horde of demons appeared, climbing up from the alley below.
There had to be a dozen of them, and holy crap, were they big.
I gripped my electric sword tightly, debating. I didn’t really want to fight those guys. No doubt I’d end up with more demon blood on my face. I just needed a shortcut, or a way around, while I left my competitors to take them out.
Fair was fair, after all.
Hey! Down here!
The squeaky voice from below caught my attention. I hurried to a narrow gap between the buildings. It was only about three feet wide, a tiny alley that cut through two old brick structures that had to have been eighteenth-century tenements.
I peered down into the dark, catching sight of two gleaming eyes. There were two more sets off to the side.
“Romeo?” I whispered. “That you?”
The little raccoon scoffed. Course it’s me! How many alleyway experts do you know?
Not that many, now that he mentioned it.
Come on! He waved his little paws, gesturing me down. Shortcut here, no demons.
Was I really going to trust him?
I looked back up at the fight that had broken out twenty yards ahead of me. The battle was fierce, and the blood was flying.
Yeah, I wanted no part of that. Anyway, I liked my T-shirt. The pink tie-dye looked cool with the rest of my black leather, and I didn’t really want a bunch of demon blood on it. The stuff was a bitch to get out.
“Okay, I’m coming!” There was a rickety fire ladder to my left, and I hurried to it, then slipped down into the alley as quickly as I could without letting go of my new electric sword. The climb down was iffy, but no way would I leave my new blade behind. I couldn’t just shove it in the ether because it didn’t have a spell on it yet, so I had to hold on to it.
