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

by Linsey Hall

  “Where are the Titans now?” I asked.

  He pressed his lips together. I just waited, tapping my foot. Slowly, his face turned blue. My potion was a tricky one—you couldn’t breathe until you told the truth.

  For a second, I thought he might be willing to suffocate to death. And he might have been. Fortunately for us, the human body had such an instinct to survive that I didn’t have to worry about that. He’d be forced to talk.

  “They’re in their quarters,” he finally blurted.

  “Where’s that?” Maximus asked.

  “Across the square from here.” He pointed to the other side.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.” He said that bit immediately, since it was easy.

  “Fine. Where are the Stryx?”

  “Maybe with them. Maybe in their quarters.”

  “Where are those?” I asked.

  “Next to the Titans’. A few rooms down to the left.”

  I nodded, deciding immediately to go for the Titans first. As much as I had a vendetta against the Stryx, the Titans were the obvious threat.

  “How are the Titans getting so much magic? Why is it expanding like it is?” I asked.

  He pursed his lips again, but once more, he turned blue and finally spat out, “They’re absorbing all the good magic in the world and turning it dark. It’s not new magic. It’s just transformed magic.”

  I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Taking all the good magic?

  That would leave us helpless.

  It wasn’t just that more dark magic was appearing and converting people to evil. It was that they were taking the good magic. Oh fates.

  “How?” Maximus demanded.

  We waited another few moments for him to finally spit it out.

  “They don’t have to do anything.” The man shrugged. “Their hearts are made of pure darkness, and they’re so powerful that they absorb it naturally. Once absorbed, it’s converted.”

  So if we could deploy the weakening potion, they’d probably stop absorbing the magic.

  “Why do they want all this magic? What are they doing with it?” I demanded.

  “They’re gaining followers, of course.” He pointed to himself. “They want worshippers, and we want to worship.”

  He said the last bit with such feverish glee that it made me uncomfortable. In all truth, he probably didn’t want to worship. He’d been tainted by their dark magic.

  “It makes sense,” Maximus said. “They were usurped by the Greek gods and thrown into Tartarus. They’d want to resume their rightful place.”

  “And probably destroy the Greek gods as well, if they could.” Bad news for them. Saving all of humanity would come first, but if I managed that, the gods would be saved by default.

  I sure hoped they’d known what they were doing when they’d chosen me for this job.

  “And what about the Stryx?” Maximus asked. “What do they get out of this?”

  “Power.” The man shrugged. “Idiots. The Titans probably won’t share with them.”

  He was probably right.

  From inside the temple, I heard the voices fade away. I looked at my friends. “I think the service is over.”

  “Are we done with questions?” Bree asked. “Seems like we got a lot.”

  I nodded and looked at Maximus.

  “Done.” He conjured two lines of rope, and bound the man, then gagged him. We left him hidden in the alcove and hurried toward the quarters where we would hopefully find the Titans.

  Please let them be there. And please don’t let us die.

  16

  In a silent, single-file line, we crept through the shadows at the edge of the courtyard, heading for the Titans’ quarters. We still wore the cloaks, so we could blend in with the worshippers. I wasn’t positive which building they were in, but the powerful sense of black magic definitely indicated we were going in the right direction.

  When we neared the building that contained the grossest magic, I found another alcove to hide in. We piled in and formed a small circle.

  “I think we’re close enough to try the invisibility charms.” We wouldn’t have long with them, so I hadn’t wanted to waste them. I looked at Ana. “Do you think they will work?”

  “Give me a sec.” She closed her eyes, calling on her Druid sense. She had a bit of premonition that normally worked best when asked a direct question. Her eyes popped open. “It’s unlikely. They’re so powerful they’ll see through it.”

  “Damn.” Disappointment twisted within me. “What about illusion?”

  Bree could make us invisible with her illusion, but it was more difficult to operate that way. With the potions, we could all see each other as long as we’d drunk the same one. The illusion worked on everyone, however, meaning we couldn’t see each other while we worked. That would be bad news for the final part of our mission, when we deployed the binding spell and needed to work in tandem, but it would be useful for the first part.

  Ana frowned and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she shook her head. “Same story.”

  “Okay, so we have to be extra sneaky.” I looked at everyone in turn, finding each face set in a determined expression. “Ready?”

  Five nods.

  I turned and slipped out of the alcove, my friends at my back. The huge building that emitted the darkest magic had an enormous door that was tightly shut.

  I frowned. Opening that would be a terrible idea. They’d probably notice.

  If only there was an open window. But we’d have to sneak around the entire building to find it.

  As if they’d heard my thoughts, the Menacing Menagerie appeared in front of me.

  You called? Romeo raised his brows.

  I grinned and nodded. “Is there an open window anywhere?”

  You’re in luck. Follow me.

  He turned and scampered away, Eloise and Poppy at his side. I gestured for my friends, and we followed after them, skirting around the building.

  Romeo stopped beneath a window and pointed up, a toothy grin on his face. In there. Real big Titans.

  I rubbed his head and mouthed, “Thanks.”

  Lachlan was probably already buffering our sound with his magic, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I looked up at the window, which was located about twenty feet over my head. The stones that made up the building were rough enough that I could get a few handholds, so I started climbing.

  Maximus climbed along beside me, with my sisters and the guys behind. When I reached the sill, I peeked inside.

  My stomach dropped.

  Holy fates, the Titans were big. Even bigger than when I’d seen them at the gates to Tartarus. Not only was their magic growing, but they were growing.

  They had to be at least forty feet tall now. Holy fates, they could crush me in their palms.

  I swallowed hard.

  Don’t get caught.

  Number one rule.

  They were also more human-looking, now. Before, they’d looked like enormous rock-people. As if their time in Tartarus had twisted them. But as their power grew, they appeared to be regaining their old forms. There were two men and one woman. One of the men wore a massive golden crown. Maybe he was Cronus, the king of the Titans. The other man had two massive horns protruding from his head. I couldn’t remember which Titan had horns, but I’d bet a bit of research would identify him. The woman had golden hair and blazing yellow eyes, but was otherwise unidentifiable.

  For now.

  The three of them sat in enormous chairs near a fire, each puffing away at a pipe. Titans of leisure, maybe, though I doubted it. Were they just sitting around and waiting for their magic to grow enough that they could take over the world?

  Possibly. It seemed like that was all they had to do, anyway.

  The windowsill was wide enough that we could all sit on it, and part of it was covered by heavy drapes that would hide us from the Titans’ sight.

  I scrambled up behind
one of the curtains and squished up against the wall, making room for everyone else. My heart thundered as I waited for them to climb up, and once again, I prayed Lachlan was blocking our sound. My heartbeat was so loud I wouldn’t be surprised if the Titans could hear me.

  Once we were all crowded onto the sill, with the Menacing Menagerie all crammed onto my lap, Lachlan gave the thumbs-up.

  “Okay,” I whispered. “I’ve got a plan. I think.” I looked at Lachlan. “The weakening spell that you made—you said it has to be ingested, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Can they smoke it?”

  He frowned just briefly as he thought, then nodded. “That’d work. I like how you’re thinking.”

  I grinned and pointed toward the table that sat next to Cronus, the crowned Titan. There was a big pot of tobacco on it. “I’m going to sneak in and pour the weakening potion into the tobacco. Once that’s done, get in position to cast the binding spell.”

  We’d already discussed this. We each had a part to play with that, but we’d need to be positioned strategically around the room to deploy the spell. It was like an energy field that would bind them, but we needed to hit them from all directions for it to work.

  Maximus squeezed my hand. “Be careful.”

  “Always.” I rubbed the three little heads of the Menacing Menagerie. “And I’ve got a distraction if I need one.”

  The dumpster divers nodded.

  “Okay, I’m going.” I pressed a quick kiss to Maximus’s lips, then squeezed my sisters’ shoulders.

  The Menagerie disappeared from my lap, and I peered out from behind the curtains, spotting the Titans. They were still smoking away, and staring into space.

  Were they smoking tobacco or something else?

  I sniffed the air, but it didn’t help much. I’d never smoked, and certainly not a pipe, so I couldn’t really tell. But there was a chance they were smoking magical hallucinogens to have visions. Plenty of people did it, and the Titan whose eyes I could see the most clearly looked a bit weird.

  Holy fates, were they stoned?

  That’d be the best gift ever. Slow, stoned villains were the best kind.

  Once I determined that none of the Titans were looking right at me, I shimmied down the wall behind the curtain. When I reached the floor, I crouched and peered out from behind the heavy fabric.

  The furniture looked huge from down here. The seats of the Titans’ chairs were almost twenty feet off the ground. Bree could have flown over and delivered the potion, but then she’d have been at their eye level. Too dangerous. And I could have thrown it into the pot, but there was no guarantee the potion vial would break on impact, since the tobacco wasn’t a hard surface.

  Carefully, I dug the tiny potion vial out of the zippered pocket of my bag and tucked it in my pocket. I also withdrew the little pot of magical dust for the binding spell. My friends each had identical pots. I shoved that one in my other pocket for later. There was nothing between me and the table with the tobacco, but if I could just get to the base of the chair, I would be out of their eyesight.

  When the Titans weren’t looking, I sprinted across the floor, my footsteps silent due to Lachlan’s magic. My heart nearly burst from my chest when the horned Titan shifted in his chair, but he didn’t look down.

  Panting, I squeezed myself against Cronus’s chair leg, hiding from their sight. Being so close to their dark magic made my skin prickle as if giant spiders were crawling over it.

  I shivered, then looked up at the table.

  Fates, that’s high up.

  From down here, I couldn’t tell if the Titans were looking at me or not, so I glanced back toward my friends. Bree gave me the thumbs-up, and I tucked the tiny vial into my pocket and began to climb up the table leg. Fortunately, it was intricately carved, which gave me great handholds.

  Which I needed, since I was majorly stress-sweating. As I neared the top, it only got worse. This was like climbing into a cage full of hungry alligators, and I did not have iron courage. Though I liked to think of it as a well-developed sense of self-preservation.

  When I reached the top of the table, I peered up. My heart thundered. I was so close to Cronus’s arm that I could spit on it.

  I kind of wanted to.

  Nope, dumb.

  He was looking into the distance, fortunately. So were the others.

  Quickly, I scampered up onto the table. The pot of tobacco was big, but it was still only three feet tall. Not big enough for me to hide behind. There was a big glass, though, and I slipped behind it, crouching down. Carefully, I tugged the little vial of potion out of my pocket and uncorked it.

  Only four feet to go to get to the tobacco pot.

  I crept out from behind the glass, and one of the Titans shifted toward me.

  Shit!

  I froze.

  A squeaking sound echoed through the room, and the Titan shifted away without seeing me. I caught sight of the Menacing Menagerie standing near the wall.

  “Rats,” said one of the Titans.

  I was briefly offended for my friends, but grateful as hell.

  While the Titans glowered at the Menagerie, who scampered away, I raced toward the tobacco and sprinkled the potion in, trying to liberally coat the tobacco.

  As soon as I was done, I sprinted back to the table leg and shimmied down. Panting, I tucked myself against the back of the chair.

  The Titans hadn’t gotten up to chase the Menagerie, which didn’t surprise me. Kings didn’t chase rodents.

  I looked up toward my friends. Bree peeked out and gave the thumbs-up. I hurried back toward the curtain near the wall so I could get a better view.

  Tucked behind the curtain, I held my breath as I waited for the Titans to smoke the poisoned tobacco.

  When Cronus reached for the tobacco pot, my heart leapt. He refilled his pipe, then his friends’.

  And they smoked it.

  I wanted to do a little dance as I watched each one inhale the smoke and puff it out.

  Jackpot.

  Their magic would stop growing. Soon, they’d be weak enough to be susceptible to our binding spell. I looked up toward the windowsill where my friends sat.

  Bree was already lowering herself down the wall, followed by Maximus. Cade stayed up there to do his part of the binding spell, but the others joined me on the ground.

  Victory and tension shined on my friends’ faces. I pointed to Lachlan, then toward the far side of the room. He nodded and went to take up his position. I did the same with everyone else, making sure we were evenly spaced around the Titans. There was a window for each of us to climb onto, fortunately.

  I went last, heading to the farthest part of the room. On silent feet, I hurried toward another long set of curtains, tucking myself behind them.

  Once I was safely concealed, the Menacing Menagerie appeared. I bent down to whisper to them. “Good job. Now, can you guard the door and let me know if the Stryx come?”

  The three nodded, little eyes bright, then disappeared.

  Okay, this was it. My heart thundered with excitement and fear as I climbed back up the wall and perched myself on another window. We were lucky that there were so many windows here. The spell would work better if we were up high.

  If I looked carefully, I could see the curtains rustling as my friends climbed up. Hopefully the Titans actually were high and not very observant.

  Once everyone was in place and had given the thumbs-up, I reached for the tiny container of powder that was shoved in my pocket. When combined with the right incantation, this would bind the Titans tightly.

  I opened the little container and held my breath, not wanting to ingest any of it. The powder itself wasn’t supposed to be deadly—it needed the incantation to turn it into something that would kill a human in a heartbeat. Still, I didn’t want to take any chances. I counted to thirty to give my friends a chance to get ready, then stepped out from behind the curtain, the little container held in front of my face.

>   Maximus, Bree, Ana, Cade, and Lachlan all stepped out from behind their curtains.

  Go time.

  I blew on the powder, sending it flying into the air. My friends did the same, and the glittery potion sparkled in the light.

  I caught the gaze of one of the horned Titans, and fear iced down my spine. There was no time to hesitate, though. I raised my hand and sliced it down, the signal to start the incantation.

  “Of myth and dark, we give the spark. Binding three, our will shall be.” Everyone spoke in unison, imbuing the powder with magic. It lit up a brilliant blue, forming streaks of blue lightning that caged the Titans in a glowing dome.

  It was weak, though, and the Titans surged to their feet, anger creasing their faces.

  “Of myth and dark, we give the spark. Binding three, our will shall be.” We kept chanting, giving the binding spell power. It’d need more time, though. Lots more.

  Which made this the hard part.

  Panic exploded within me as the Titans roared in unison. Cronus raised his hands, and dark magic filled the air. While the binding spell was still growing in strength, the Titans would be able to fight.

  We’d just have to hold them off until we were finished.

  The Titan sliced his hand toward me, and the stone windowsill upon which I stood shattered. The stones tumbled, and I fell, my stomach jumping into my throat.

  At the last second, I caught the stone ledge, dangling. My voice became squeaky, but I never stopped chanting, keeping it up as I scrambled down to the ground. My friends’ voices filled the air, loud and sure. Now that we’d started the spell, we could move around. We just couldn’t stop the chant. The words helped our own magic give the powdery potion strength, and with Titans this big, the spell needed all the power it could get.

  Once on the ground, I turned to face the Titans. My heartbeat roared in my head as I braced myself for attack. Bree flew through the air above their heads, distracting the horned Titan. He shot massive bolts of lightning at her, but she dodged them elegantly, chanting all the while. The thunder that accompanied the lightning made my head hurt like hell. She was careful not to touch the glowing blue light that caged them, however. If any of us touched it, we’d be dead.