by Linsey Hall
“Not the easy beach landing I’d been hoping for,” Aidan said.
“No.” I watched the last of the boat sink under the waves and turned away from the misty sea. Jagged rocks rose up in front of me. “And this looks a hell of a lot like the creepy island in King Kong.”
“Seconded again,” Del said.
“Let’s make our way inland,” Aidan said.
The rocks ahead tumbled over each other like giant stairs. I began to climb, using my hands to help me keep my footing. By the time we reached flat ground, much of the fog had dissipated. It still rolled over the ground like something out of a horror movie, but it stayed low enough that we could see ahead.
A brilliant orange sun hovered over the horizon, casting its glow on a village as it set. Brilliant. We’d be doing this in the dark soon.
“It still feels weird,” I said, shivering against the sense of strange magic. It was old and dark and very unfamiliar. Possibly old enough to be unstable.
“Different,” Aidan said. “Like there’s dark magic here, but not like we have to turn around. It’s not a diversion spell.”
“I really hope that town isn’t full of angry villagers,” I muttered, gazing at the small settlement of old cottages that sat on the other side of the rolling field before us. It looked to be about a mile away. That was a long way to walk over ground that had no cover. If only Del didn’t have to preserve her energy for emergencies, she could teleport us across. Looked like we were doing it the hard way.
“Seconded,” Del said.
“We need to head to the village,” I said.
We set off across the field. I felt like prey, as if being out in the open left me exposed and vulnerable. My senses twitched like mad, trying to pick out the scent and taste and feel of all the magic that surrounded me. There was so much of it that it was impossible to distinguish where or who it was coming from. So many scents hit my nose—most of them bad—and so many tastes enveloped my tongue that I almost gagged.
I drew my knives and said, “This place is wild. Can you feel the magic?”
“Yeah,” Aidan said. “But I can’t sense who it’s coming from.”
“Me neither,” Del said.
“If it’s the thief’s protective magic, he’s going a good job,” Nix added.
For real. If my life hadn’t been on the line with the information that scroll contained, I’d have hightailed it out of here. When I sensed magic, it usually came from another person. But I saw no one.
We were about halfway across the scrubby field when the ground began to tremble. I stumbled. The scent of dark magic grew—like rotting earth. The ground shook harder.
“Hurry,” I said as I picked up the pace. We needed to get away from here. The magic was strengthening. I could feel it seething and roiling beneath our feet.
“Run,” Aidan said.
We picked up the pace, sprinting across the vibrating dirt. My lungs burned as I raced away from whatever threatened us. The earth groaned loudly, an unholy noise that broke the silence.
An enormous crack opened in front of me, a fissure reaching into the dark earth. Aidan grabbed my arm as I stopped abruptly at the edge, teetering over the abyss.
He yanked me back onto solid ground, but the sound of the earth breaking echoed around us. Cracks streaked across the soil. Dark magic wafted up from them, smelling strongly of the rotting earth I’d noticed before.
We were surrounded on all sides by deep fissures that looked like they led to hell. Fear chilled my skin. Would we make it only this far?
Aidan threw out his hands and the scent of his evergreen magic washed over me. Magic burst from his palms, a shimmer of light directed at the field ahead. The earth trembled and groaned as it pushed itself together, building a safe path for us.
“This way!” Aidan yelled over the sound of breaking earth. He sprinted along the path he’d created. We followed, racing in a line along the narrow bridge of land. Crevices continued to open on all sides of us as we ran.
My lungs burned as I sucked in air tainted with rancid magic. I glanced behind to see our path cracking open once more.
No going back.
Ahead of us, Aidan continued to build a path with his magic. We neared the village. When we stumbled onto a street that dead-ended at the field, silence fell abruptly. The sound of groaning earth ceased.
I spun to face the field.
It looked normal.
“What the hell?” I wheezed, bracing myself on my knees as I caught my breath. Nix did the same, though Del looked fine. She’d always been the most athletic.
Aidan looked completely unfazed by the sprint as he said, “Our magic ignited the field. Whatever dark magic enchants it came to life.”
And now it was dormant again. Though I could still smell the rotting earth, another scent hit me as I turned to face the village street. It was fresh and so icy it chilled my nose.
“Weird magic here, too,” I said.
We stood on a short, dirt street. Only two small cottages on either side. With their decaying thatch roofs, thick stone walls, and tiny windows, they looked to be at least a few hundred years old. The orange flame of the setting sun glinted off the thick glass in the windows.
Nix peered into one, then jerked back. “It looks like people are home. There’s food on the table.”
A chill crawled over my skin as I approached the window. This was so horror movie it wasn’t even funny. Aidan was peering in, so I nudged him aside and peeked for myself.
Nix was right. The small cottage had a rough, wooden table set for three. The old wooden bowls were full of some sort of stew and a great pot hung over the hearth. The flame was dead though.
“No one’s in there,” Aidan said.
“I don’t think they have been for a long time,” I said. “This place feels abandoned. But it smells like magic.”
When a ghostly form floated out of the wall, the familiar misery hit me. It poked at my mind with sharp claws, searching for my worst memories. The ghostly figure was a woman wearing a regal gown, her hair done up elaborately and styled with jewels. She shimmered a transparent silvery blue, the shadows under her eyes standing out starkly. When her lips parted, I saw fangs.
“FireSoul,” she hissed.
I shuddered. Another drifted out of the wall beside her.
“Phantoms,” I breathed as I backed away from the window. That was the icy smell. Thank fate that Aidan couldn’t hear what they said about me.
“They aren’t normal Phantoms,” Aidan said as he backed away. “That one was vampire.”
Extra creepy. I’d never heard of a vampire Phantom.
“Do you think they evicted the residents of the island?” Nix asked.
“Probably,” Aidan said. “There’s all kinds of wild magic here. Something strange happened to this place.”
“Something evil,” I said. I could feel it.
“Let’s get a move on,” Del said.
I tried to ignore the cold and the piercing pain in my head as we set off down the short street. It spilled onto a larger one that had houses on each side. The town’s main road, presumably. Though it was a bit generous to call it a town. The street stretched several hundred yards in both directions, and every building was as small and shabby as the one we’d peered into. It was more of a village than a town, presided over by the large manor house at the end of the road. The huge building called to my dragon sense.
“Toward the manor house,” I said.
Mist crept along the ground as we turned right. I clutched my knives, ready for whatever came at us. My head still ached from the Phantom, and I was afraid they weren’t done with us yet. Del’s sword hung loosely at her side, as did Nix’s. As usual, Aidan didn’t carry a weapon.
When the ghostly forms drifted through the walls of the houses and out onto the street, I tensed, bracing myself for more pain as they reached inside my mind. They were dressed in all manner of historic outfits—from the gowns of regal ladies to armor of kni
ghts and the motley of jesters. All glowed with icy blue light.
How long had they been here? How hungry were they to feed on another’s misery?
“Hurry!” I broke into a run.
The sun was nearly set, the street now lit by the Phantoms’ eerie glow. It cast a blue light on everything around us.
The ghostly figures drifted away from the walls of the houses, reaching for us. I winced as I felt their dark, icy magic reach inside my mind, searching out my worst memories. Pain seared as my brain rejected them. Even the Phantoms couldn’t get at my memories.
“FireSoul,” they hissed.
When one dressed like a queen grabbed my arm, I shrieked in surprise. It felt like an icy blade sliced me.
She wasn’t supposed to be able to touch! Phantoms worked only with memories and fear.
I swiped at the hand with my dagger, but it only passed through. The feel of my knuckles grazing its cloak burned like acid poured on an open wound.
Nix shrieked in pain as one grabbed her arm. She lashed out with her blade, but it too passed right through the Phantom.
Ten feet ahead, more silvery bodies formed a barricade at the end of the street, blocking the manor. On either side of us, Phantoms closed in, reaching out with silvery claws.
“We’ll have to run through them!” I said.
“We can’t,” Aidan said. His face was twisted with pain. “It’ll tear us apart.”
From the searing pain that hit me wherever they touched, I believed him.
“Turn into a griffon!” I shouted.
“Can’t.” His voice was tight with pain. “The Phantoms stop me.”
“My blades don’t work!” I shrunk back as they closed in. They surrounded us like a pack of snarling wolves, their faces ravenous for misery and their claws outstretched. My head hurt so badly that I could barely see straight. We had only seconds before they converged upon us with their blade-like touch.
One grabbed Del and pulled her into the crowd. It wrapped its arms fully around her body, enveloping her fully. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t scream in pain. But being touched by so many should be excruciating.
Del began to fade, turning a slivery blue.
“No!” I screamed, lunging toward her.
They couldn’t turn Del into one of them. Not my deirfiúr. That shouldn’t even be possible. But she had turned silvery blue, and her blade glowed like cobalt flame.
The three of us attacked the Phantoms that surrounded Del. I plunged my blades into the first one I came to, trying to beat my way to her. They flew straight through, and I had to pull back before I stabbed myself in the thighs. The feeling of my arms plunging through the transparent body was like being sliced by a thousand icy knives.
The Phantom grabbed me, wrapping its arms around my waist as the other had done with Del. The feel of thousands of knives slicing my skin was excruciating. I shrieked.
No! I didn’t want to be a Phantom, cursed to haunt this island for eternity.
Through blurry vision and searing pain, I realized that my skin wasn’t turning transparent silvery blue as Del’s had done. Near me, Nix and Aidan were struggling in the arms of other Phantoms. Tears poured down Nix’s face, but she still looked human. Aidan as well.
Only Del was blue.
Del swiped out with her sword, severing the arm of a Phantom. It screamed and collapsed.
Holy magic, Del was part Phantom. Del’s sword moved like lightning as she cut down the Phantoms nearest her. From behind, she beheaded the one that clutched Nix and jabbed her blade into the shoulder of the Phantom who held Aidan. They released their prey. Del lunged at me, plunging her blade into the side of my Phantom.
“Run!” she screamed.
“Not without you!”
“I’m coming.” She beheaded another Phantom with a swipe of her sword. “Go!”
More Phantoms converged on us, reaching out with clawed hands. Del could fight better without us in the way. I ran.
I hated to leave her, but knew I had to. We all had specific battle skills—apparently, this was one of Del’s.
The three of us sprinted down the street toward the great garden that stretched out in front of the manor house on the hill. A tall stone wall and a wrought iron gate marked the end of the street and the beginning of the palatial property. My lungs burned as we raced for it.
Aidan reached the gate first, Nix just behind him. He stopped and turned, kneeling on the ground and cupping his hands in front of him to provide a step for her.
Without stopping, Nix stepped onto his hands and he vaulted her up. She grabbed the top of the tall gate and scrambled over, dropping onto the other side.
Just as I reached him, Aidan knelt and did the same for me. With a long stride, I planted my left foot in his hands and he heaved me upward. I seized the gate and pulled myself over. Aidan leapt over a second later.
I collapsed on the ground, aching and panting. I gripped the gate bars, watching Del fight with my heart lodged in my throat. She fought like a woman possessed, all those years as a demon hunter paying off. Her silvery blue hair whipped as she spun around and cut straight through the waist of a Phantom who reached for her. Her eyes glowed bright with rage and she turned on another, her blade flashing like blue flame.
“I can change now that I’m away from them,” Aidan said. “I’ll go get her as a griffon.”
I shook my head. “It looks like she’s got this in the bag.”
Del had always been a good fighter—stronger and faster than most Magica—but her Phantom speed was insane.
And she looked pissed as she swung her blade.
“No, I’m getting her,” Aidan said. His magic swelled around him, evergreen and chocolate flooding my senses.
I reached out a hand and grabbed his arm, never taking my eyes off Del. “Seriously, she wouldn’t want you to.”
I hoped she wasn’t stuck as a Phantom forever. But if she was, she’d want to be the one to kill every last one that had turned her. Being rescued by Aidan halfway through having her vengeance would just piss her the hell off.
“Fine.” Aidan’s voice was clipped, but I didn’t give a crap if he was displeased. I was too busy being worried about and impressed by Del.
She slaughtered the last Phantom and stood, her sword hanging at her side. She glowed a pale silvery blue as she surveyed the carnage. Then she turned and walked toward us, her steps deliberate and her face set.
I glanced at Nix. “She looks like a freaking badass.”
“Seriously,” Nix breathed. “She needs a superhero name.”
Del neared the gate and we stood. Instead of climbing over, she walked straight through the bars.
If I hadn’t been so scared the change was permanent, I’d have complimented her on her awesome new gifts. Instead, I said, “What the hell happened?”
“No idea,” Del said. Slowly, she was turning corporeal again. The blue tint to her skin faded, replaced by her normal skin tone. She looked down at her hand. A relieved sigh heaved out of her. “Oh, thank fate.”
I reached out and touched her hand. She felt normal.
“So, no one here knows why Del just turned into a Phantom?” Aidan asked.
We shook our heads.
“No idea,” I said as I turned and got my first good look at the garden. “But we’ll have to figure it out later, because I think this garden is gonna be a problem.”
The moon and stars were bright, shining down on the garden that stretched out on either side of the narrow road that led up the long sloping hill. At the top of the hill sat the elaborate manor house. In moonlight, it looked like a crouching dragon. Statues of mythical beasts lined the drive. Behind them, wild topiaries of animals snarled.
“Who the heck maintains this place?” Nix asked.
“No one,” I said as the garden’s magic washed over me. There were dozens of scents and tastes—so much magic running amok, some of it decaying from age. As if it weren’t controlled by a Magica, but by itself. �
�The magic feels old and strange. It’s decayed and some has gone wild.”
“Our thief lives here?” Del asked. “Verrry depressing.”
“It’s great from a security perspective,” Aidan said. “If you’re a wanted criminal, this island does a damn good job of keeping you hidden and deterring those who’re after you. All the thief has to do is transport straight into the house.”
Good point. If this thief had been filling his house up with treasure for years, it had to be awesome. I itched to explore.
“Follow the yellow brick road?” I asked.
“Only if I get to be Dorothy,” Aidan said.
I glanced at him. He loomed beside me, his shoulders broad and his face intensely masculine. “You would never pass for a Dorothy.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
I drew my blades, and we set off up the road. The air tingled with magic, prickling against my skin. Actually, it felt like a lot of things—bugs crawling, blowing sand, slimy cold. All of them bad.
We’d only made it past the first pair of stone statues when the magic changed. It surged to life, vibrating on the air.
“We triggered the magic,” I said. Just like in one of my tombs.
Stone creaked and groaned on either side of us. Two great, horned beasts with bulging stone muscles jumped down from their pedestals. The ground vibrated beneath their hooves.
Stone minotaurs. They each raised an enormous clawed hand to obliterate us.
14
Del swiped out with her sword, aiming for the arm of the one closest to her. Metal bounced off stone.
“Shit!” She jumped back.
Well, my daggers wouldn’t stand a chance.
Aidan threw out his hand and blasted magic at the minotaur on his side of the road. It ricocheted off. “Damn it. Their stone is enchanted against my control.”
Damn. If the Elemental Mage couldn’t control these lumps of rock, we were screwed.
Nix held out her hand. Light glowed and the flowery scent of her magic washed over me. A huge mallet appeared. She gripped it with both hands and swung it at the minotaur who was closing in on her.
He shattered beneath the blow.
