Dragon's Gift: The Amazon Complete Series: An Urban Fantasy Boxed Set

by Linsey Hall

  I lunged for it, trying to grab it, but a fourth zombie appeared from the side. He was so fast that I hadn’t seen him coming. He swung his hand for me, trying to smash his fist into my face.

  Instead, he smacked the airborne transport charm, sending it flying into the lake.

  It splashed into the middle.

  My heart dropped.

  Oh fates.

  There was no way we could retrieve that.

  “Rowan! Watch out!” Maximus’s shout snapped me to attention, and I spun, spotting the two zombies as they reached for me.

  I lunged out of the way, throwing myself to the ground. I rolled to face them, swinging my sword wildly. I smashed one right through the middle, and two zombie halves landed on either side of me, smacking to the ground with a squishy thud. The other zombie threw itself onto me. I barely got my legs up at the last minute and kicked it off.

  I scrambled to my feet and lunged for the creature on the ground. It was pushing itself upward, and I swung my sword for its neck and took off its head in one clean swoop.

  Panting, I stumbled back and searched for more. All of me ached from slamming to the ground. Maximus had just finished off the last zombie and was surrounded by more than a dozen of them, all in pieces on the ground.

  “Let’s go!” I shouted.

  He turned to me, then sprinted forward.

  From behind him, Hecate stepped out of the smoke-filled archway. Rage flamed in her eyes, and she raised her hands.

  Ah, shit.

  Maximus reached me, and I said, “I lost the transport charm in the lake.”

  At that moment, Hecate’s magic swelled and the lake bubbled.

  Maximus nodded once. “Let’s get out of here and figure it out on the surface.”

  Something burst from the lake, and Maximus’s eyes widened. My heart leapt into my throat as an enormous sea snake rose high. Bright purple scales and green eyes glinted, along with fangs at least three feet long.

  “Go!” I shouted.

  We raced around the lake, covering the distance in record time. The snake struck for us, but we darted out of the way each time. My muscles burned, and I felt like my feet had wings. I’d never moved so fast in all my life.

  We were near the exit when a roar sounded from behind us. I glanced back, spotting four enormous boar-like creatures climbing out of the water. Shaggy fur covered their hulking bodies, and enormous horns protruded from their snouts. They turned their fiery eyes on us.

  Then they charged.

  Panic gave me speed, and I sprinted through the blue and purple flames that filled the arch. The massive room on the other side was still full of cloaked worshippers, forming a nearly impenetrable barrier between us and the exit.

  “Get behind!” Maximus plowed through the crowd, parting them with his sheer bulk.

  But we were still too slow. Frantic, I looked back. The crowd had closed in around us, but the monsters were still coming. They had to be.

  As if on cue, they burst through the flaming archway. They were easily eight feet tall, towering over the crowd. Shrieks broke out, and the cult members began to run, heading for the sides of the room. There were arches that way, too, that I hadn’t noticed. Other exits, no doubt.

  We kept heading for the main stairs, though. As the crowd thinned, we could move faster. Unfortunately, so, too, could the hellhogs.

  We reached the stairs and sprinted upward. My lungs and legs burned, but I never slowed. Pounding hoofbeats sounded from behind us as they charged up the wide stairs.

  Panting, we spilled out into the crossroads. Carriages rolled through the streets, but we sprinted right into the road, dodging the oncoming vehicles.

  My heart thundered in my ears as I ran, but the curses of demon carriage drivers sounded through the noise.

  When the world went silent and the carriages stopped moving, I nearly stumbled. I would have, if I hadn’t been frozen solid, mid run.

  All around, the carriages had stopped. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of the hellhogs’ hoofbeats. Next to me, Maximus looked like a statue in mid sprint.

  What the hell?

  Dark magic rolled over me in a heavy wave, and my limbs unfroze. I staggered forward, catching myself. Maximus did the same, but the rest of the world stayed frozen.

  “I must say, you’re not what I hoped for.” The icy, masculine voice came from the left.

  I spun, spotting an enormous man sitting upon an ebony throne, right in the middle of the street.

  Hades.

  He pinned me with his blazing blue eyes as he tapped his golden scepter against his knee.

  “I can’t say that I had any expectations of you.” As the words left my mouth, I remembered the experience with Hecate. “Except that you would be immensely powerful and majestic.”

  “Laying it on a bit thick, but I appreciate the effort.”

  I shrugged. “I’m not used to being around gods.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it.”

  From his tone, he obviously did not like me. “Why did you give me your power if you don’t like me?”

  “I don’t have to like you.” His gaze turned somewhat wistful, which was weird as hell on such a scary-looking dude. “Though I admit to hoping that you would embrace it more. I wanted to offer you all the bounties of hell. To allow you to sit next to me on my throne.”

  Wait, what? “During the months when Persephone isn’t here?”

  “Precisely. I gave you one of the most powerful gifts in the universe. And you use it, but you don’t embrace it. The darkness could have been your kingdom, but you reject it every time.”

  Um, no thank you. “I don’t want to be part of the darkness.”

  “Clearly not. Your loss. I don’t think you’re even capable.” He shook his head, disgusted.

  Briefly, I wondered if he would take his magic back, now that I’d proven myself unworthy of hell.

  An immediate sense of loss filled me.

  I hadn’t liked this power, but I’d come to terms with it. It was worth it for the good it could do. And now that Hades was here, telling me to my face that I was a dark magic failure…

  Well, I felt a heck of a lot better.

  Failure to him was success to me, and I’d take it.

  I just didn’t want to lose the death power. Crazy as it was to say, I meant it. And considering all that, I thought it meant I’d come to terms with it.

  “I’m sorry, Hades. But I’ll do great things with your magic. I promise.”

  He scoffed. “Perhaps.” His gaze ran up and down my form. “You are powerful, at least. That says something.”

  “Thanks.” I guess. The tone was so dismissive that I wasn’t sure what to make of it. But he seemed done with me, his form already starting to fade as he disappeared.

  I stepped forward. “Is there any chance you could help us get out of here? Back to earth, I mean.”

  “No.” He was already deathly bored with us; that was clear. “And those hellhogs are still coming for you.”

  With that, he disappeared.

  Sound and movement blared to life all around. Carriages started moving, demons shouted. And we were standing right in the middle of it all.

  Shit.

  “Come on.” Maximus grabbed my arm and yanked me forward.

  I sprinted alongside him, glancing back to see the hellhogs appearing at the top of the stairs leading from Hecate’s lair. I turned and ran faster, catching sight of a familiar cloaked figure walking out of a doorway, her arm draped around a woman with pale hair.

  I tugged on Maximus’s arm. “This way!”

  We turned right at the sidewalk and ran toward Mordaca and Aerdeca. Mordaca’s eyes widened when she spotted us. Aerdeca stiffened, her beautiful face even paler than normal.

  “Are you going home?” I shouted.

  Confusion creased Mordaca’s brow. “We are.”

  “Let’s go now!” I skidded to a stop in front of her. “Do you have a transport charm? Can we hitch
a ride?”

  Maximus pointed back toward the hellhogs, which were only about sixty yards away now. “We’re in a bit of a hurry due to them.”

  “Damn it.” Mordaca glared at us, then shoved her hand into the pocket of her long cloak. “Come on.”

  She hurled the transport charm to the ground, then stepped into it with Aerdeca. I gave the hellhogs one last glance—they were only ten yards off now, close enough to smell their fetid breath—then jumped into the portal.

  Gratitude welled within me as the ether sucked me in and spit me out in the middle of Aerdeca and Mordaca’s workshop. Maximus followed, and I staggered over to the heavy wooden table to lean against it. Hundreds of herbs hung from the ceiling, scenting the room with a lovely aroma. The fire crackled merrily in the hearth.

  Mordaca and Aerdeca stared at us.

  “Get into trouble?” Aerdeca said, her voice rougher than normal. She looked tired and stressed, and as much as I wanted to ask what the heck she’d been doing in Hades, I didn’t.

  “You could say that,” Maximus said. “But thanks for getting us out of it.”

  “You didn’t bring a transport charm to get out of there?” Mordaca asked.

  “There was a bit of a situation with some zombies.”

  “Not the first time I’ve heard that,” Mordaca said.

  Aerdeca chuckled.

  “Did you get what you needed from Hecate?” Mordaca asked.

  “You talked to her?” Aerdeca gave us an impressed look.

  “We did. Mostly.” I shrugged. “It went downhill at the end, hence the zombies, but overall, success.”

  “Good work,” Mordaca said. “I assume you need to get back to Scotland ASAP?”

  “We do,” Maximus said. “Do you have a way?”

  She turned to the corner of the room near the fire and waved a hand. The air shimmered briefly, then the glamour fell away and a tall mirror was revealed. “You can go through there. It will take you to the Protectorate.”

  “Oh wow. You have a direct link?” I asked.

  “To anywhere.” She eyed me up and down. “But you should get going. You look like you’re about to fall over from exhaustion.”

  Now that she mentioned it, I could tell that I was leaning really heavily on the table. Not only was I shaking from adrenaline, but the purest exhaustion tugged at me. It’d been so long since I’d slept that I’d forgotten when it last was.

  “Yeah, thank you. I do need a nap,” I said.

  “A twelve-hour one,” Aerdeca said.

  I doubted I could swing that, but it sounded divine.

  Mordaca waved her hands at the mirror. “Go, go. We have our own things to do anyway.”

  “Thank you.” Maximus wrapped an arm around me, supporting me on our short walk toward the mirror.

  “Yeah, thanks,” I said. “You’re the best.”

  The two of them just smiled mysteriously. I wondered about them as I stepped into the ether, but as soon as it picked me up and spun me through space, I forgot. We had much bigger problems to deal with, after all.

  13

  When the ether spat us out on the castle lawn, I nearly staggered. Maximus wrapped his arm around me, and I leaned into him.

  “Geez, I’m tired.” I dropped my head against his side as we walked toward the castle. I moved as fast as I could, but I was majorly dragging.

  It was night here, with the moon hanging high in the sky, though I had no idea what time it was. In the distance, the ghostly Pugs of Destruction charged across the lawn, glinting blue and bright.

  “With all the adrenaline gone, I think we can finally feel it.” Maximus squeezed me close to him.

  “I hope Jude is here.” I needed to deliver news of what we’d learned, and I was afraid I’d fall asleep if I had to wait.

  I pressed my fingers to my comms charm. “Bree? Ana? You here? Is Jude here?”

  “I’m here,” Ana said. “Jude, too, but Bree is gone.”

  “Can you get Jude and meet us in the kitchen?”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Oh, and what time is it?”

  “Nine.”

  Not that late, then. We climbed the stairs to the castle, stepping through the massive wooden doors and into the brightly lit entry hall. It was warm and welcoming, smelling of some kind of stew that Hans must have made earlier. My stomach growled loudly, and Maximus chuckled.

  Then his stomach growled.

  I nudged him, a tired smile tugging at my lips. “Let’s go get a bite and fortify ourselves for what’s to come.”

  He nodded, and we hurried down into the kitchen. With the catastrophes were coming so quick that there was no longer time to meet in the Round Room. If we wanted to have an opportunity to talk and eat, we’d have to do both at the same time.

  When I stepped into the kitchen, I stopped dead still. It was quiet. Empty. What the heck? It was only nine at night. Hans should be here.

  But for the first time ever, he wasn’t in the kitchen. Neither was his rat, Boris.

  I stopped at the base of the stairs, staring into the warmly lit room, and blinked stupidly. “He’s not here.”

  “The cook?”

  I nodded. “Hans is always here. With the exception of the very occasional battle, he’s always here.”

  A pot of stew steamed on the AGA stove, and the fire was banked low. A horde of juice boxes sat near the massive fridge. But Hans was gone.

  “He’s on peacekeeping duty in The Vaults.” Ana’s voice sounded from behind me.

  I turned to see my sister coming down the stairs, her blonde hair gleaming in the light of the fire. She looked exhausted, but that was par for the course.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Remember the riots I mentioned? They’re getting worse. Everyone we can spare is on peacekeeping duty now.”

  Oh no.

  She gestured for us to move farther into the kitchen, and I realized I was blocking the entrance.

  I headed over to the stove to get a bowl of stew, my steps dragging. I gestured for Maximus to go first, but he shook his head, refusing to go until I had. I smiled wearily at him, then filled my bowl. She stepped up behind me and filled her bowl once I was done.

  I snagged a juice box off the counter and went to sit at the table. Ana and Maximus joined me. I started shoveling food into my mouth far too fast, but I couldn’t stop. Not only did it taste savory and divine, I was so famished that I was shaking.

  “It’s gotten so bad that they’ve recruited the cook in peacekeeping efforts now?” Maximus shook his head. “That’s bad business.”

  Ana nodded, shoveling stew into her mouth. “Yep. So I hope you guys were successful in finding the Titans.”

  “Me too,” Jude said from the stairs. I turned to look at her, and she looked even more exhausted than Ana did. A tired smile stretched across her face. “We’ve finished the weakening spell and the binding spell. So if you have their location, we can stop them.”

  “We’ve got it. It’s an island off the coast of southern Greece.” I relayed everything Hecate had told me as she filled her bowl and sat down to join us, including the idea that there was a tunnel leading into the island fortress from underneath, deep below the surface of the ocean.

  Jude tapped her chin, starry eyes considering. “I like the sound of this. We have indicators that there is more magic in that area of the world, so that must be the place. Do you trust Hecate?”

  I nodded. “She was a bitch, but I didn’t think she was lying. Partially because she thought there was no chance we’d succeed.”

  “Oh, we’ll succeed.” Jude’s eyes turned hard. “They won’t beat us in this. And she said that the Titans are actually in charge?”

  I nodded. “The Stryx raised them from Tartarus, but I think it was at their command.”

  “They’re immensely powerful, so it makes sense.” Jude leaned back in her chair.

  “So we need to get started soon,” I said. The idea both excited me and exhaus
ted me. I wanted to stop these bastards—now. I just wasn’t sure I could move.

  “Very soon.” Jude nodded. “We’re going to look into this island. Find its exact location using what you’ve given us and if there really is a tunnel. We’ll probably send out a small team in the morning.”

  “I want to go,” I said.

  “You will,” Jude said. “You’re a student, but we’re past that now. There’s no denying we need you in this.”

  “I can help locate the island too,” I said.

  “No, you can’t. You need to sleep. We’ll find what we can, then you’ll go out with your team.”

  I frowned, knowing I needed rest but not wanting to quit. I looked at Maximus. He looked pretty freaking tired too. Finally, I nodded, knowing there was nothing else I could say.

  We finished eating quickly, then parted ways. I said a quick goodbye to Ana, who was going to find Nix to ask about the island.

  Together, Maximus and I went up to my tower flat. The Menacing Menagerie were nowhere to be seen.

  Without a word, we fell into bed. I rolled toward him, wanting to say something about how great it’d been to have him at my side in hell. About how I really cared for him. But before I even reached him, my eyes were closed and sleep was tugging at me.

  I never got a chance.

  I woke with a fuzzy head and a weight on my chest that pushed all the air from my lungs.

  Groggily, I opened my eyes.

  Romeo sat on top of me, staring down into my face. He patted my cheek with his little hand, and as soon as his gaze met mine, he grinned, tiny fangs peeping out.

  Good. You’re awake. They want you for a meeting.

  I scrubbed my hands over my eyes. “Jude?”

  Romeo nodded. Maximus is in the shower. You have ten minutes to meet Jude and the others.

  Ten minutes!

  I surged upward, sending Romeo tumbling off me.

  Hey!

  “Sorry!” I scrambled out of bed, feeling worlds better. Pale morning sunlight gleamed through the windows, and Poppy and Eloise were stretched out on their backs in the warm light.