by Linsey Hall
I called upon my sonic boom power, grateful as hell to have this magic.
But he needed to be close, so I could ensure he was hit with the hardest part of the blast. He was so big I’d have to throw everything at him.
I waved my arms. “Come and get me!”
He hurtled toward me, mouth gaping to reveal gleaming white fangs as long as my arm. My heart leapt into my throat as I powered up my magic.
Come on, come on!
He was nearly on me, so close that I could smell his fetid breath.
With a scream, I threw my magic at the beast, using the charm to help my accuracy.
The sonic boom tore through the night, slamming into the monster and sending him tumbling through the sky. Thank fates!
I spun, sprinting for the top of the pyramid. The sky was now red as fire, the dawn sun lighting up the ancient ceremonial site.
When I reached the platform at the top, my lungs burned and sweat poured down my face. I gasped, taking in the scene.
Ana was tied to a pillar, wind whipping her blonde hair away from her face. Ricketts stood in front of her, a gleaming black dagger raised. Red sunlight glinted on the blade.
“Nooooo!” I ran for them, hoping my scream would distract.
Ricketts jerked, then brought the blade down.
Right into Ana’s flesh.
Chapter Twelve
Rage and fear filled me to bursting as I sprinted for them.
Ricketts whirled around, his dagger dripping blood. His black coat whipped in the wind, and his eyes gleamed with power. “Good! You’re here.”
I reached into my satchel and hurled a potion bomb at him. He dodged it, rolling to the ground.
Ana thrashed against her bonds, blood pouring down her shoulder.
Thank fates.
Not a fatal blow.
Ricketts rose to his feet, glowering at me. “You use my own magic against me?”
“Duh.” I grabbed another potion bomb. “I like the poetic nature of it.”
He reached into the pocket of his long black coat and withdrew a round glass vial. But instead of hurling it at me, he threw it to the ground.
I lunged for him, afraid he’d run again. But instead, a great orange cloud of fire burst up from the ground. Ricketts waved an arm toward me, and the flame rushed forward.
I hurled a sonic boom toward the flame, but it sailed right through. Crap!
That never happened. Fire always exploded against my sonic boom. But not Ricketts’s crazy fire.
I dove low, covering my head. The fire blazed over me, singing my back.
I leapt up, drawing one of my daggers from the ether and hurling it at Ricketts. He dodged, but it plunged into his shoulder.
He howled.
Good. Tit for tat. Just like he’d given Ana.
I raised my other blade, but before I could throw it, he shoved something into his mouth. A half second later, the air turned gray around him, swirling until he turned into a tornado.
Crap!
The thing was huge, roaring in the quiet dawn. This was the new magic he’d been given.
It thundered toward me, tearing across the top of the pyramid. My heart thundered wildly as I called on my magic, throwing the biggest sonic boom I could manage.
It cracked loudly in the air and crashed into the tornado, disrupting the wind pattern. The thing exploded, throwing a human Ricketts off his feet.
“Ana!” I ran for her, drawing my sword.
She grinned, her face creased with pain and her shoulder pouring blood. “Bree!”
“I gotcha.” I sliced the bindings at her back, and she tumbled forward.
I tried to wrap an arm around her waist, but she pushed me off. “We gotta fight.”
She grimaced, then threw out one of her protective shields as Ricketts rose to his feet.
I prayed he was almost out of his strongest spells. How many could he fit in those pockets?
The sun blazed bright on him, lighting his face up with a red glow that made him look like the devil. In fairness, the goatee didn’t help matters.
“You two are more trouble than you’re worth,” he hissed.
I edged behind Ana’s shield, powering up my sonic boom.
He hurled another vial to the ground. This time, an ice monster burst forth, eight feet tall if it was an inch. It gleamed in the light of the rising sun. Ricketts waved his arm, and the beast thundered toward us.
Bree charged up her shield, her magic swelling on the air. The luminescent barrier grew, but the ice monster kept coming.
My heart thundered. I drew my sword and shield from the ether, ready to take on the ice monster if I had to. But these things were strong.
Please work, I begged Ana’s shield.
The beast roared as it neared, mouth opening to reveal long fangs made of ice, then slammed into the shield, breaking into a thousand pieces.
As Ricketts stared in shock, I dove low under the barrier and hurled my sonic boom at him. It burst through the air and bowled him over.
I sprinted for him, sword drawn, and leapt onto his prone form, straddling him. Before I could get my blade to his throat, he bucked, throwing me off.
Suddenly, he had a dagger in his hand. He lunged for me, slicing at my side.
Pain seared. Panic rose.
I kicked him in the stomach.
He gasped, rolling away from me, but I scrambled after him. He was climbing to his feet. If he had a transport charm, he’d get away!
But Ana was there, kicking him hard in the shoulder. Right where my first dagger had landed. He howled and flew backward.
I leapt onto him, lining my blade up with his throat, the point of my long sword pressed to his skin.
His eyes fluttered open.
“Why do you want our blood?” I demanded.
“Because of what you are.”
“What are we?” I pressed the blade deeper against his throat. Blood trickled down his neck.
He grimaced. “You don’t know?”
“Tell me!”
He chuckled, a pained expression on his face. “Oh, this is rich. She’ll get a kick out of this.”
“Who? Who is she?” I pressed the blade slightly deeper, enough to threaten. “And what are we?!”
A shadow cut out the rising sun. With my peripheral vision, I caught sight of Ana, Cade, Caro, and Ali walking toward us across the top of the pyramid. More of the Protectorate followed.
Backup.
A few moments later, they stopped, circling us.
Ricketts’s eyes darted around to the rest of the group. A wild kind of fear, then determination, filled his eyes. “I’m dead anyway. She’ll kill me for failing.”
What the—?
He thrust himself up toward the sword, forcing the blade to pierce his throat.
Arterial blood sprayed me.
“Damn it!” I rolled off of him, gagging.
He choked on his blood, then lay still, dead eyes staring toward the sky.
I collapsed onto my butt, chest heaving. He’d killed himself. The bastard had killed himself rather than reveal what we were.
Cade nudged him with his toe. “Smart man.”
Caro nodded. “Son of a demon didn’t want to give up his information.”
“Probably thought we’d torture it out of him,” Ali said.
I looked up, disappointment and anger filling me. “Would you?”
They all shrugged.
“Not likely. But possible,” Jude said. “Depends on what’s at stake. How evil he is.”
Ana stepped forward, pressing a wadded-up cloth to her bleeding shoulder. She kicked Ricketts in the ribs, then spit on him.
Then she met my gaze. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Thirteen
Emily transported us back to the Protectorate in groups. Ana and I went last, along with Cade and Ricketts’s body. I didn’t know what they were going to do with him, and I didn’t ask.
But then again, leaving bodies on top of archaeo
logical sites was some pretty weird littering, so maybe they were just cleaning up.
It was still dark when we arrived, the early morning hours cold and silent. As soon as we appeared on the lawn in front of the castle, Caro and Haris hurried over to us.
“Come on,” Caro said. “We’ll head to the infirmary to get patched up, then it’s eating time.”
Since I ached all over, that sounded like a good idea. Food wouldn’t be too bad, either.
“There’s a procedure to these things!” Haris said. “You can’t forget the beer, Caro. That’s step three of celebrating a victory.”
“Fine, fine!” She grinned. “Procedure is everything.”
I looked over at Ana, suddenly at a loss.
We’d done our job—catching Ricketts—and they’d done theirs—providing backup and getting us our buggy back—so we should be leaving now.
But I was unsure.
And it was obvious from her expression that Ana was too.
I didn’t want to like it here… Or to need to be here. But we did. We had nowhere to go, and it was possible that our concealment charms were gone, now that Ricketts was dead.
And this place was actually pretty awesome. It was hard not to like.
I glanced over at Cade, who stood only a few feet away. The idea of leaving him made my chest ache. Which was also pretty annoying, really.
“Stay,” he said. “I think someone will want to talk to you in a little while. You’ll want to hear what they have to say.”
“Who?” I asked.
He just shook his head. “I’d tell you if I could.”
“But then you’d have to kill me?”
He sighed dramatically. “Rules are rules.”
A tiny chuckle tried to escape me.
“Come on,” Caro said. “Eating time.”
“Hang on!” Jude walked toward us and stopped in front of Ana and me. She looked at us both. “You did well, you two. Most initiates don’t have the training or skills that you two have. But your time in Death Valley taught you well.”
“Well, it was that or die,” Ana said.
I grinned. But Jude’s words warmed me.
“Whatever it was, I hope you’ll consider the Paranormal Investigative Team when you complete your training.”
“Oooh.” Caro’s brows rose. “What an honor.”
“Thank you.” I nodded at Jude. “I appreciate it.”
I still didn’t know if we were staying, but it was nice to be invited. To be wanted.
After getting patched up and eating a meal in the Great Hall with everyone, I was ready for a nap. Not that I knew where I’d take that nap—in the temporary room we’d been given?—but it didn’t matter in the end.
Cade came and found Ana and me. He’d eaten on the other side of the hall, away from us, but I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off him.
Ana said he hadn’t been able to keep his off me, either. His timing must have been impeccable, however, because I’d never noticed him looking.
“Will you two come with me?” he asked. “There’s someone who would like to meet you.”
“Someone new?”
He nodded.
I looked at Ana. We both shrugged, then rose and followed him out of the raucous Great Hall and toward the same room that had pulsed with power yesterday. The one that felt like strength and power.
As we neared, the feeling of magic grew stronger—even more so than yesterday. It was like the push and pull of massive waves.
I gasped, reaching for Ana’s hand. She gripped mine hard, clearly feeling weird as well.
I looked at Cade. He looked totally unaffected.
“What is that?” Ana asked.
“I’ll let her introduce herself.” Cade stopped at the door.
Her? Magic of this strength was coming from a person? Wow.
He knocked, then pushed it open. The magic that rolled out nearly sent me to my knees. Cade gestured for us to enter.
I sucked in a deep breath and walked in on shaky legs. Ana followed, entering a room that was full of brilliantly colored paintings on the tall walls.
The door shut behind us. I could feel that Cade wasn’t in the room, but all my attention was on the figure in front of us.
If it was a woman, then she was unlike any I’d ever seen.
She gleamed with a pale white light, her features almost reptilian. When she stood, her form shimmered, as if she weren’t really there at all. Almost like she was a ghost.
“Welcome, Bree and Ana.” Her voice resonated with power, though it wasn’t loud.
“Um, thank you.” I shot Ana a quick glance, then approached the table. “But who are you?”
She gestured to the chairs in front of us. I eyed her warily as we sat.
She followed. “I’m Arach. The spirit of the dragon who gave her magic to create this castle.”
“Dragon spirit.” Holy crap. I’d never met a freaking dragon before. They were at the top of the paranormal pecking order. “The Protectorate was formed by dragons?”
“Yes. Before the Order of the Magica and the Shifter Council formed as the governments of the magical world, supernaturals needed someone to protect them. To help those in need when an injustice was done. So the dragons stepped in. Before they went for their long slumber, the dragons gave a small part of their magic to the Undercover Protectorate. It was their gift to the world. I volunteered to create the castle and be the spirit that would oversee operations, to the best of my ability.”
“Holy crap,” Ana breathed. “The Protectorate is cooler than I thought. There are dragons here.”
Arach gave a small smile. “I am not able to stay here for long, however. It is difficult to control my corporeal form.”
“But you came to meet us.” What the heck was going on?
“Yes. You are special, Bree and Ana. There is something very unique about you. I thought so from the moment I learned of you, but these last few days have proven that to be true.”
“Cade told you about my magic?” Jerk. I’d wondered if he’d blown my secret. I didn’t know what that crazy water power was—but I certainly didn’t want anyone else knowing about it.
“No,” Arach said. “He has not spoken of you at all. Your mother told me about you.”
“My mother?” Ana and I spoke in unison.
“How?” I demanded.
“She wrote us a letter just before she died, wanting to bring you here. Because of what you are, and the risks that the outside world poses to Unknowns such as yourselves.”
I stiffened. Ana did as well.
“Don’t worry.” Arach held up her hands in a placating gesture. “We don’t feel the same way as the Order of the Magica. Unknowns are safe here. Valued.”
My muscles relaxed, but only slightly. The Order was famous for persecuting those who were different and powerful. Unknowns were both.
“How can we trust you?”
“You wear the Mark of Power,” Arach said. “The four-pointed star mark at the top of your spine.”
Shock dropped my stomach to my feet. I glanced at Ana. Only our mother knew that we had those marks.
Our mother had truly believed that revealing our species would get us killed. Yet she’d told Arach. She’d trusted Arach.
“If she sent you a letter before she died, why did it take you so long to find us?” Ana asked. “That was ten years ago.”
“After she died, you ran immediately. When we went to the homestead in Alaska, you were gone. We finally found you about a year ago. Then we watched, waiting to see if you were worthy. That you were who your mother said you were. But when we realized that you were being harassed by Ricketts’s men, we sent Cade and his fighters.”
Good timing. “Did you determine that we are who our mother claimed?”
“You are. When your magic became unreliable, Bree, we knew that the change was coming. And I can feel that you have more magic now. Another power?”
I hesitated, but only briefly. Arach
was no con-dragon. “I can control water now. It just happened. But I don’t know why.”
Ana shot me a WTF? glance.
Arach smiled. “You will be powerful. But you must learn to control your magic. Else it will devour you. Body. Mind.”
“Devour?” Ana’s voice quavered. My insides did the same.
“Yes. Unknowns have great magic that manifests later in life. Bree, you are going through that change now. If you can learn to control it, your true species will be revealed. If you cannot…you will stay an Unknown. A dead Unknown, because your power devoured you from the inside out. Like a dying star. Though the process may not be quick. It is different for everyone.”
Shit.
I’d know about the changes coming—not about the potential dying. “Can you help me learn to control my magic?”
She nodded. “We are your best hope. You will have to train hard. And you, as well, Ana. Not just for your own benefit, but so that you can one day join one of our divisions. It is a great honor, but you must prove yourselves worthy.”
I glanced at Ana, my head reeling.
“How many Unknowns are there?” I asked.
“In the last hundred years? Just you two.” Her expression sobered. “Three, if you count your sister.”
My heart leapt at the mention.
“Do you know where she is?” Ana demanded.
“Is she alive?” I asked.
“I do not know,” Arach said.
“Would you help us find her?” I asked. That would be huge.
Arach hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Yes. You must focus on mastering your power. That takes precedence. But we will help.”
That was fine. I didn’t want to collapse in on myself like a dying star, so I was happy to make the deal. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t keep negotiating.
“How’s the pay?” I asked.
“Quite good, depending on which division you join. Not what you used to earn in Death Valley, but you wouldn’t need as much. We’ll take care of concealment charms, if the one that Ricketts gave you has faded with his death. It is vital that you continue to hide what you are from the outside world.”
“Our mother’s prophecy is true?”
“Yes. Someone will seek to use you—even kill you—for what you are.”
