by Linsey Hall
A golden light glowed, highlighting the cracks in the rock as I forced magic into it. The fissures gradually faded until the stone was solid once more. Original.
I smiled and stepped back. “There. All better.”
“Why do you care so much?”
I turned to face him. “These ancient sites are one of a kind. They’re pieces of the past that tell stories about people who are no longer here. About living peoples’ ancestors. It’s important to preserve them.”
“Of course. But it seems personal to you. Less than two days ago, you were in the biggest battle of your life. And the first thing you do is come down here and fix this damage?”
I shrugged. “I guess that since I can’t remember my past, history has taken on a greater significance for me. I don’t know. I don’t want to analyze it. It’s just important to me.”
“Your past.” His tone was gentle but prodding, and I supposed it was time I let him in on some of it. What little I knew.
“Come on. Let’s go outside,” I said.
He squinted at me, then turned and walked out into the bright sun. The heat hit me immediately, but it was nice. I turned left, toward the long line of steps climbing to the top of the pyramid, and began to ascend. About fifteen feet up, I turned and sat, facing the jungle. Brilliant green foliage rustled in the light breeze.
Aidan climbed to join me, his dark gray shirt stark against the riot of green behind him. I could make out the strap of a small dark bag slung across his back. Like a manly, cross-body backpack.
He settled down next to me.
“So, the Monster that hunts us,” I said. “I’ve never told you about my past with him. What little I remember of it.”
“You haven’t trusted me yet.”
“I guess not. Not trusting has been the most effective tool in my arsenal.”
“Fair enough. But you trust me now?”
His past deeds flashed before my eyes, one after the other like those stereograph toys that kids used to play with in the old days. “You’ve kind of given me no choice by being so honorable and helpful and all that.”
He grinned, his white teeth flashing. “Sorry about that.”
I punched him lightly on the arm. “You should be. I had my plan all worked out. Keep the truth limited to my deirfiúr. Two friends, max.”
“Connor and Claire.”
“Yeah.” Just hearing their names made me grin. “It was working out great. Then you showed up.”
“Along with trouble.”
“Trouble, like the Monster, trouble?”
He nodded.
“I guess you’re right. You and he showed up in my life at the same time. That might have been one reason I subconsciously didn’t trust you. But I think it was mostly a lifetime of thinking everyone was out to get me.” I laughed, not entirely joyfully. “What can I say? Victim complex!”
“Hardly.”
I reached over and grabbed his hand, wowed anew by how big he was. I glanced down at our joined palms. His was so broad and strong-looking. But physical strength wasn’t everything.
As he’d proven by helping me find my own power. True, he’d had to blackmail me into practicing by threatening to tell the Order of the Magica about me, but he’d done it because he cared about me. Because he wanted me to be safe.
“You’ve done really well with your magic this last week,” he said.
“Thanks. But I need a lot more work. Both controlling my magic and my signature.”
“At least you’re now committed to trying.”
“I am. But sorry I was so damned stubborn about it at first.”
“No surprise you were. But you were right to be afraid. Most supernaturals would turn you over in a heartbeat, like Mathias almost did.”
I thought of Claire and Connor, who hadn’t ditched us.
“And you need to keep being careful,” Aidan said. “Stick to using your magic in abandoned tombs and practice so you can suppress your signature. When Angus said your magic smelled strange, I almost had a damned heart attack.”
“Yeah. The Shifters having just caught a FireSoul didn’t help. Thank fates they didn’t connect us.” Besides Mathias. “And you’re right, I’ll keep practicing. I need to be able to pass off my new FireSoul powers as borrowed Mirror Mage abilities.”
He squeezed my hand. “I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I suppose in return I should tell you about my past. What little I know.”
“I wouldn’t turn that down.”
I nodded, then started with my first memories—the ones from the nightmares. Aidan’s hand tightened on mine at times, particularly those when I’d been in danger. He really didn’t like the story about me attacking the guard, but his grip had loosened when the guard finally lay dead.
“Do you know what happened after that?” he asked.
“No. Nightmare stopped. Next thing I remember is waking up in the field with Nix and Del when we were fifteen.” I told him all about that, and the next ten years, half of which had been spent running and hiding, the next half spent just plain hiding, thanks to our concealment charms.
“You’re one tough Magica,” Aidan said when I finally trailed off.
“Haven’t had much choice.” But I was secretly pleased by my capability. And his praise.
“That’s what makes you tough. You could have curled up and died. Or hid out in a mountain like a hermit.”
“I’m a beach girl.”
He grinned, then dragged his bag off his back and unzipped it. He pulled out a slim box and handed it to me. “For you.”
My gaze darted between the box and his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I opened the box. Two obsidian daggers lay inside. Replacements for Lefty and Righty, who I’d incinerated in my magic when I’d shifted. I’d bet they were enchanted to return to me when I called, just like the last pair.
My heart warmed. “Thanks. These are rare.”
“Yeah. I’m going to have to start looking farther afield when you lose this pair.”
“I didn’t lose the first pair. I sacrificed a dagger to help find the Scroll of Truths, if you’ll recall.” Which reminded me. “By the way, the scroll wasn’t lost in the lightning on the island. I’ve got it.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“I want to give it to you for safe keeping. That, and the Chalice of Youth. I think the Monster wants them for something. We can’t let him have them. Whatever your best security is, these objects need it.”
“I’ll protect them.” His gaze met mine, serious and determined. “Just like I’ll protect you.”
“Thank you.” I leaned in to kiss him.
I appreciated that he would try. But I had a feeling that protecting myself was a job only I could do. And I was determined to do it.
Stolen Magic
Dragon’s Gift: The Huntress Book 3
1
“Trouble at two o’clock.” I tipped my chin toward the big glass window.
Nix glanced up from behind the counter and peered at the two figures crossing the street toward our shop, Ancient Magic. Rain fell on their huge forms as they stalked toward us. Her green eyes assessed them sharply.
My deirfiúr—sister by choice—was a pro at spotting danger. She normally worked the counter at Ancient Magic, a job that was just as much protecting the wares as it was selling them. She was basically the deadliest shopgirl you’d ever meet.
“Ah, hell. They’re trouble.” She pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail.
“Yeah. Gotta be demons.” They were almost seven feet tall and built like moose. Unless a basketball team had had babies with a football team and their charming family was visiting town, these guys were demons.
A month ago, I’d have reached for the obsidian daggers I kept strapped to my thighs. I’d repressed my magic for so long that weapons had become second nature. But ever since I’d started practicing my magic, I’d gained confidenc
e.
And I liked using my magic now. A lot.
The hulking demons stepped onto the curb. Through the glass, I could make out the sawed-off horns peeking through their hair and their strange silver eyes. Weird eyes. Their arms bulged out of sleeveless shirts that were totally stupid for a rainy Oregon afternoon. Besides the massive size and the horns, they looked almost human.
My eyes skated around the shop, landing on the delicate items displayed on the shelves. Each housed a spell, and most of them were worth a lot of money.
Whichever one these demons were coming for, they weren’t going to get it.
“Can’t we make it a month without a robbery?” Nix said.
“Where’s the fun in that?” My brows rose as the demons turned away from our door and walked down the sidewalk. Like they hadn’t even seen us.
“What the hell?” Nix got up from her stool and walked around the counter, peering out the window. “They’re not coming in here?”
“Then it’s not our problem.”
“But it’s not good either,” Nix said.
I sighed. “Yeah. Fair point.”
I didn’t want them to bust up our shop in some dumb attempt at a robbery, but demons shouldn’t be wandering around earth, not even in all magic cities like Magic’s Bend, which was concealed from humans by a massive spell. Most demon species were too violent and reckless to follow the rules that kept supernaturals a secret from humans, so they were banned from earth.
“Too bad Del’s not here,” Nix said. “She’d take care of them.”
“Yeah.”
Del, my other deirfiúr, was a demon hunter paid by the Order of the Magica, the government that ruled magic users like myself. I could kick some demon ass, but I preferred not to unless I was being paid. Del enjoyed it, though. She’d take care of these guys as a way to pass the time.
“Hey, they’re going into P&P!”
“What?” I sprang to my feet. Demons had no right being in Potions & Pastilles, my friends’ coffee shop. “Now it’s our problem.”
“No kidding.”
We hurried out of Ancient Magic. I started down the street, leaving Nix to reignite the enchantments that protected our shop. Couldn’t have our stock walking away while we hunted demons, after all.
I slowed as I reached the huge front window outside Potions & Pastilles, then hovered just out of view and peered through the glass. The large coffee shop was empty of customers, the wooden tables and comfy chairs abandoned. Connor and Claire, my two friends who ran the shop, were behind the counter, tidying up before the evening rush. The demons approached them, stopping in front of the counter.
Did I need to bust in there and not bother to take names? But a bit of recon was worth a lot of fighting.
I called upon my magic, accessing the Shifter powers I’d recently stolen, and used them to enhance my hearing. I let the magic roll over me, filling me with warmth and igniting my power. Joy and pleasure flowed with it, something that had only recently started accompanying my magic. I assumed it was because I was more practiced and less afraid, but I didn’t know.
The birds chirping in the trees became louder, the sound of Nix’s approaching footsteps more prominent.
But it was the bigger demon’s words that made my stomach drop.
“We’ve heard there are FireSouls in the area.” His voice sounded like he spoke through a throat full of gravel. “We can find no trace of them, except for here, in your shop.”
I reached out and grabbed Nix’s arm to keep her from charging in front of the window. She whipped around and glared at me. Nix was more generally cautious than Del or me, but when it came to protecting those she loved, she was a freaking badger.
I shook my head, tapped my ear to indicate I was eavesdropping, and dragged her behind the wall so we weren’t right in front of the window. The demons wouldn’t hurt Connor or Claire, not as long as they wanted information, and I wanted to know who’d sent them to find me and my deirfiúr.
Inside the coffee shop, Claire shook her head, her dark hair swinging. “FireSouls?” Her eyes widened. “Around here? In our shop?”
If I hadn’t been frozen in place from fear, I’d have grinned. Claire was a good actress. My deirfiúr and I had revealed our secret to Connor and Claire a few days ago—that we were FireSouls, the most hated of all supernatural species.
Did that have anything to do with demons now showing up, looking for us?
No way my friends turned us in.
“Aye, can’t you hear right?” the demon barked. “Around here. Deadly pieces of work. So if you don’t want your power stolen by one of those monsters, you’d better share what you know. They’ll kill you in a heartbeat to get your magic.”
Not true. But I’d kill that demon in a heartbeat. And where did he get off calling me a monster?
FireSouls were despised—we could steal other supernatural’s powers by killing them—but we weren’t monsters. My deirfiúr weren’t like that.
But me? Now that I’d started accessing my FireSoul power, I was afraid he might be right. When I’d stolen the Shifter’s power recently, I hadn’t been able to control myself. Maybe I was becoming as bad as they said, but I didn’t like hearing it from a demon.
“No idea what you’re talking about, mate,” Connor said. “There’s no way FireSouls have been in here.”
The big demon surged toward the wooden counter, slamming his hands down. “You calling me a liar? Because a seer prophesied their presence and I tracked them here. Their magic reeks in this place.”
Shit. A Tracker demon. I’d thought their weird eyes looked familiar but couldn’t place them. They were like the bloodhounds of demons, easily able to sense other supernaturals’ magic and follow it. Del, Nix, and I had always been scared of them, though we’d never met any face to face. If we had, our secret might be out by now, and we might be locked up in the Prison for Magical Miscreants.
The other demon drew a wicked-looking knife from the sheath strapped to his massive arm.
Nix tugged against my hold, her face twisted into an exasperated What the hell are we waiting for!?
She was right. It was one thing to listen for info. Another entirely to put my friends in danger.
“Go time,” I whispered.
We raced forward, shoulder to shoulder. By the time we pushed through the glass door, the demon had Connor by the collar, dragging his slim form over the counter. Connor threw a mean right hook, but the demon didn’t even flinch.
Stone demon as well as Tracker? Halfbloods weren’t unheard of.
A flash of silver to his left caught my eye. Claire, a mercenary as well as a part-time coffee shop owner, had dragged a sword from beneath the counter. She leapt over the bar, her dark hair flying, and lunged for the other demon.
The scent of flowers bloomed as Nix called upon her magic and conjured a wicked-looking sword of her own. She raced to join Claire.
Though I wanted to fry the demon who shook Connor with the lightning that was becoming my signature power, I didn’t want it to flow through to Connor and electrocute him too. So I pulled my daggers from the sheaths at my thighs, flinging Lefty and Righty in quick succession.
The black obsidian blades sank into the Tracker demon’s back. He grunted and dropped Connor, but didn’t fall.
Strong bastard.
But now that he wasn’t touching Connor anymore…
I called upon my lightning, letting the power surge through my veins. It crackled and burned beneath my skin as I gathered it up. Joy filled me at my control, at the feeling of finally embracing my magic. Like my soul was coming together.
My breath caught in my throat as I focused my power, attempting not to go overboard. I wanted to wound, not kill, so I could question him.
I released the jet of lightning. Fine and direct, it streaked toward the demon. Thunder boomed as the lightning stuck. The demon’s huge body shook, then collapsed to the floor. A chair crunched beneath him.
Direct hit! And
almost no collateral damage. Jackpot. I grinned. I was really starting to like this magic thing.
At the same time, Nix and Claire sank their blades into both sides of the remaining demon. They yanked out their swords, and his huge body crashed to the floor. I raced toward the fallen demons as Connor struggled to his feet.
The demon I’d struck with lightning lay on his front, his body still smoking. I pulled my blades from his back and shoved him over. Sightless eyes stared at the ceiling.
“Definitely dead.” Connor’s voice was hoarse from being strangled.
Damn.
I’d tried not to kill him. Hadn’t worked. But at least I hadn’t killed Connor.
The second demon lay bleeding out onto the floor. I went to him, falling to my knees and straddling him, then thrust Righty against his throat. The black glass glinted in the light.
“Who sent you?” I demanded.
He choked, his features twisting at the pain of approaching death. The blood that welled from his chest felt warm against my legs. Gross.
His powers—those bloodhound Tracker senses and the massive strength that made him into a living stone—called to my own.
Covetousness surged, an aching hunger to steal his magic. He was so strong. I could be that strong. I didn’t need any help finding things, but his strength would come in more than handy. Fire filled my body, a blazing heat that seared my soul. Hunger and need and desire rushed through me, a potent cocktail that stole my control.
I could take his strength, have it for my own. All I had to do was let my FireSoul take his power as he died. The need was so strong it ate me from within.
Shaking, I pressed my hands to his shoulders, my magic reaching out for his. White flame flickered across my skin, extending out to him. I tasted the iron of his magic as it flowed to me.
Joy seethed inside of me as I stole his power, sick and dark.
“Cass!” Nix’s voice pinged in my head. “Cass! What are you doing?”
Nix’s shout tugged at my conscience. I gasped, surfacing from the trance I’d fallen into. The white flame still flicked across my skin, reaching into the body beneath me.
