by Linsey Hall
“Awake,” Aidan said. “Still exhausted. But he said there are things he needs to tell us. We can go up in a moment.”
“Good. We probably need to get a move on this quick,” I said. “That portal changed a lot while we were inside it.”
“And it’s changed more,” Aidan said. “The guard I bribed before has been calling me with updates. The portal has expanded. More of the museum is frozen.”
Shit. “Any more people get stuck?”
“No. They’ve evacuated.”
The situation was bad enough to abandon ship?
Double shit.
Aidan turned and opened the oven to remove a foil-covered plate which he then put in front of me. He pulled off the foil to reveal bacon and eggs, still warm.
“Eat that. I’m going to go check on Dr. Garriso. We can talk to him when you’re done.”
I had a piece of bacon already in my mouth, my eyes nearly rolled back in my head at the taste of the fatty goodness. “Thanks.”
He left the room, so freaking handsome and competent and good that it was like he was my own Captain America.
“Is he for real?” Del asked. She waved her hand around the kitchen. “Like, this rich and nice and cool and makes good breakfasts and everything?”
I swallowed the bacon. “Yeah, I think so. He said he’s not great at cooking other meals, but apparently he can do breakfast.”
Nix swiped a hand over her brow. “Whew. Glad he’s not perfect.”
“Whatever. He’s a freaking unicorn and you know it,” Del said.
“Yeah.” I shoveled the eggs into my mouth. When I’d polished off most of the plate, I met Nix’s and Del’s gazes.
“You sleep okay?” Nix asked. “You still look pretty beat.”
“Jeez, thanks.” I scowled, then pointed at my eyes. “I happen to like storing my luggage beneath my eyes, actually.”
Nix laughed.
“But you’re right,” I said, my light mood fading. “I didn’t sleep great. I had another nightmare.”
Interest flickered in their eyes. My nightmares had started about a month ago, ever since the Monster had reappeared in our lives. They were our only source of information about our past since our own memories were blacked out.
“Yeah?” Del said.
“Yeah. The Monster is a FireSoul.”
Nix’s coffee cup clunked to the counter. “For real?”
“Then why is he enslaving them?” Del asked.
“Doesn’t want to do the dirty work, I guess.” Though he had no problem doing the dirty work of stealing other people’s powers. He’d been so like me when he’d done it, too. Such joy on his face. He’d wanted that power so badly. Again like me. But he’d been cold and controlled about it. Like I wanted to become.
My throat started to close up, my skin prickling, but I forced the feeling back.
Being cold and controlled about it was good. That was what I had to become. Aidan was right. I could fight this. I didn’t have to become addicted to the power. It was my choice.
“So what happened in the dream?” Del asked.
I told them about how we’d escaped, about how the Monster had stolen the guard’s power. My voice broke on the last part, about how he’d liked it so much.
Nix rubbed my shoulder. “What’s wrong, hon? You’ve been so weird the last week.”
I sucked in a ragged breath. How could I tell them? They didn’t have anything like this problem. They didn’t embrace their FireSoul selves at all. I felt more like the Monster than like them.
“Come on, ‘fess up,” Del said.
I met their gazes. Something loosened inside of me. They were my deirfiúr. They’d have my back. They’d always have my back.
“I’m afraid I’m changing,” I said. I told them about the power, my need to steal it. About how I was getting better and gaining more control. Telling them about the Illusionist who’d been at the waypoint was harder, but I managed.
“But I still liked taking power,” I said. “Stealing the Illusionist’s power felt so good. That’s sick.”
“Duh, it felt good,” Del said. “You beat the bad guy. He was going to leave Dr. Garriso to die in the desert and drag you off to make you a slave to the Monster. It’s going to feel good when you beat someone like that.”
“Yeah,” Nix said. “You’re not freaking Superman, all noble and shit. Able to take down the bad guys and not feel any dirty human emotions like victory.”
“Hmmm.” I guess they had a point, though I still felt off about it all. “I definitely am no Superman.”
“Totally not,” Del said. “You’re plenty noble in your own way, but you’re also really freaking human. You’re just going to have to get over that.”
Del knew I liked to hear it straight, and I was grateful.
“Thanks, guys.” I reached out and squeezed both their hands. “I guess I’m just going kinda crazy with all these changes. After not using magic for so long and now having so much of it…”
“Not to mention the Monster coming for us. That’ll make anyone nuts,” Nix said.
“Yeah,” I said. “Between him and those demons coming to P & P, it’s like a noose is tightening around our necks. No matter where we turn, there are threats. And they’re all connected—they have to be. But I have no idea how.”
“I don’t know either,” Del said. “But we can start by figuring out what’s going on at the museum. Let’s go talk to Dr. Garriso.”
“Hang on,” I said. “There was one last thing about the dream. When we ran out of the house, it was into a desert. Rolling sand hills and everything.”
“Like the waypoint,” Nix said.
“Exactly,” I said. “No one builds a mansion in the Sahara. I don’t even think it’s possible. Which leaves the waypoint. I can’t say for certain that’s where it was, but the similarity is too much to ignore.”
“We were just at the Monster’s headquarters. Is that what you’re saying?” Del’s voice quavered.
“Or at least nearby, in the world where he lives.” He was the only person I couldn’t find with my dragon sense. I’d seen him a week ago, but when he’d disappeared, I’d lost any connection to him. Like he’d left Earth entirely, which hadn’t made sense at the time.
“I’d never thought of him being at a waypoint,” I said. “But that’s mostly because I didn’t realize they existed.”
“Don’t feel bad. I thought they were a myth,” Del said. “Even though I’d read about them.”
“Well, now we know. So let’s go find out more,” I said.
It didn’t take long to find Dr. Garriso, ensconced in a kingly bed on the second floor. He looked frail but chipper, like the experience couldn’t keep his spirit down even if he might be under the weather for a while because of it.
Aidan sat beside the bed in a big chair. The windows behind him revealed an ocean view. The sea was iron gray today.
I glanced back at Dr. Garriso and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Dr. Garriso’s voice was scratchy. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
“Couldn’t just leave you there, could I?” I sat at the foot of the bed. Nix and Del crowded beside me.
He smiled. “I did learn some rather, ah, interesting things while I was there.”
“That’s what Aidan said.”
“The demons were never at the museum to steal something. They were at the museum to steal the museum.”
“The museum?”
“Yes. The portal is a Massiva Domina portal. An old kind of magic. It will absorb the entire museum and transport it to the waypoint.”
My breath whooshed out of me. “What?”
“The entire museum?” Nix said. “They’re stealing the entire museum?”
“That’s insane,” Del said.
“But true,” Dr. Garriso said. “I heard someone while I was at the waypoint. I don’t know who. The walls between worlds are thin there. I do not think they realize that I heard them. Or
even knew I was there.”
“You didn’t see who it was?”
“No,” Dr. Garriso said. “Though his magic felt dark.”
“That’s the truth,” Del said.
I’d bet money it was the Monster.
“The waypoint is many places at once,” Dr. Garriso said. “Whoever wants the museum is using the waypoint as their base.”
“They’re not just collecting buildings, right?” I asked. “They want something that’s in the museum.”
“I don’t know,” Dr. Garriso said. “But I agree, it’s safe to assume they are after an artifact. Since they couldn’t remove it from the museum, they are taking the museum.”
Ballsy.
“Could they be after the chalice?” I asked. My stomach dropped. “Shit. We left it at the museum. I was in such a panic over you—and I never imagined they could steal the whole museum—that I left it in your office.”
“There are many valuable and dangerous artifacts at the museum,” Dr. Garriso said. “Though they may be after the chalice. It’s safe there as long as you stop the portal before it takes the museum.
“What is the chalice?” I asked.
“It has the power of Immortality. True immortality. No trauma or time could kill the person who drinks from the cup. But only the greatest evil can drink.”
I swallowed hard. We’d never be able to get rid of him if he drank from the cup. “True immortality? That’s a myth.”
Dr. Garriso’s expression became grave. “Not anymore.”
7
“Ready?” Aidan asked.
“As I’ll ever be.” We stood at the edge of the library where we’d parked the car before. Mid-morning sun blazed down, too warm for my leather jacket. Thirty minutes ago, we’d left Dr. Garriso with Nix and Del and come to the museum.
Aidan glanced at his watch. “They should be there now.”
I nodded. He’d made arrangements to meet with the Order of the Magica to discuss the portal and what we’d learned. Since I didn’t want to be anywhere near them, I would sneak into Dr. Garriso’s office to retrieve the chalice.
“All right. I’ll meet you back here when you’re done.” I tucked the silver charm that hung around his neck beneath his shirt. “Remember to touch the charm to turn it on.”
“I will.”
“Good.” Just because I wasn’t meeting with the Magica didn’t mean I didn’t want to hear what was going on. I’d made Aidan take Del’s comms charm. If he turned it on, I should be able to eavesdrop on the conversation.
He cupped the back of my neck, pulling me forward for a quick kiss. His lips were firm and warm beneath mine. An annoyed sound escaped me when he pulled away.
“Later,” he said.
“Later. Once we’re done saving the world and all.”
He grinned, then turned and strode away.
I followed him around the edge of the building and stopped to watch him cross the street toward the front of the museum. My gaze skirted around the museum lawn. Empty.
Good. Safe to cross.
An idea popped into my head. It’d be even safer if I were invisible. And I might actually have the power to make that happen now.
But was I even capable of using the Illusionist’s magic for that?
I glanced around again to make sure no one was near enough to sense my signature and called upon the Illusionist’s magic. Unlike the lightning, which felt so obvious with its crackle and burn, this magic felt strange. Almost weightless.
I let it flow through me, making my limbs feel light, and envisioned myself disappearing. At first, nothing happened. But after a moment, my fingertips began to turn transparent.
Whoa.
Stealing this magic had been a damned good idea.
The sharp edge of guilt cut into me at the thought, but I shoved it away. As long as I wasn’t driven nuts with power and didn’t take from innocents, I was okay. I wouldn’t end up like the Monster.
I focused on the magic and my desire to be invisible. To present the illusion that I didn’t exist is how I thought of it.
Within a few seconds, I couldn’t see my arms at all. I leaned down to check my appearance in the car’s side mirror. My face didn’t appear. Just the old library behind me.
Eerie.
I walked quickly across the street toward the museum’s back parking lot. Magic prickled in the air. My skin tingled and my stomach turned. The portal was growing. I could feel it.
A squirrel ran right in front of me, glancing up confusedly.
So, either my head was now floating in the air or the squirrel could smell me but not see me.
I was gonna go with smell.
When I neared the museum, the bricks glowed slightly lavender. My stomach dropped. I hurried toward Dr. Garriso’s window, weaving through the cars in the lot.
A flash of my hand caught my vision.
Shit.
I’d let my illusion waver and my body was becoming visible. This magic was still so new I had to really focus to keep it going. I tried my best to turn my mind toward the illusion, but the museum was damned hard to ignore. It was definitely turning purple.
By the time I made it to Dr. Garriso’s window, I was invisible again. I peered in.
Holy magic.
Everything inside wavered, glowing with eerie purpleness. I reached out to touch the window, my fingers stopping at the glass.
Then the tips pushed through. A shudder ran over me.
The portal was modifying the glass, turning it from solid into the same soupy liquid feeling that had been in the artifact room when we’d escaped the waypoint.
My insides turned liquid with fear.
The whole museum was a portal now.
“Thank you for coming.”
A voice radiated from my comms charm. I jumped back, a scream trapped in my throat.
Damn.
I panted. I’d been so distracted by the museum, I’d forgotten about Aidan meeting with the Order of the Magica. He must have turned the comms charm on.
“Absolutely,” Aidan said. “I need to share what we discovered in the portal. And help any way I can with fixing it.”
I listened with half an ear as Aidan described why he’d gone into the portal in the first place—to save his friend Dr. Garriso. The Order didn’t like that he’d gone without informing them, but they sounded so freaked out about the museum that they didn’t give him much hell over it.
And Aidan was a famous billionaire. Those types did pretty much whatever they wanted and got away with it, partially because the Order was so willing to cut him some slack. The system was rigged in his favor, but in this case, since I was on his side, it was in my favor too.
I glanced back at Dr. Garriso’s window and the purple glow within. There was no way I’d be getting into Dr. Garriso’s office to retrieve the chalice—not if I wanted to get out again—so I crept around the side of the museum to spy on Aidan and the Order investigators.
Tall bushes surrounded the museum and I crept behind them, keeping myself between the foliage and the brick. I let the invisibility illusion fade so that the Order couldn’t sense my signature when I was close.
When I neared the corner of the building, I turned my comms charm off and relied on my regular hearing, calling upon a bit of my Shifter senses to help. I was practiced enough with it by now that I hoped my signature would be minimal. It seemed safer than leaving my comms charm on. What if the Magica heard it? Aidan’s voice being echoed back would be super suspicious.
I peered through the bushes. Aidan stood in front of the museum’s main steps with three figures. The investigators we’d seen the other day, minus the one who’d been frozen by the portal.
“So whoever is behind this is attempting to steal the museum,” Aidan said.
“But you don’t know what they want inside?” the female lead investigator asked.
“No.” He didn’t mention the chalice.
“It won’t matter if he gets the museum,” the
male investigator said. “The whole town will be destroyed.”
“Destroyed?” Aidan’s voice was sharp.
“When the museum is sucked through the portal, nothing will replace it,” the man said. “It will become a magical void. A vacuum that’ll suck in the rest of the town.”
I stifled a gasp.
“Massive casualties,” the lead investigator said. “Unless Origin Enterprises can provide some kind of security for the town, we’re going to have to evacuate.”
They wanted Aidan’s company to protect the town?
“We were hoping that your company could create some kind of barrier to keep the portal’s magic from affecting the town,” the male investigator said. “We understand that Origin Enterprises has developed enchantments for that kind of thing.”
Aidan scrubbed a hand over his face, weariness evident in the gesture. “On a small scale, yes. We can protect a building from outside enchantments and spells, but not a whole town. At best, we could protect a few buildings in Magic’s Bend. Given enough time, we could enchant them all, but that would take months. Maybe a year.”
My heart thundered so loud I feared they would hear it.
“We don’t have months,” the female investigator said. “At the rate of expansion, we have days. The portal has almost encapsulated the entire museum. It’ll begin to disappear soon.”
“What if we try to strip the magic from the portal?” Aidan asked.
His Spell Stripper, I realized. But it was so small. No way it could do the job.
“There’s only one person we know of who can do that, and we cannot find him,” the lead investigator said.
“I wasn’t thinking of a person,” Aidan said. “I possess a Spell Stripper.”
The investigator’s eyes widened.
“Those are rare,” the lead investigator said. “How did you come by one?”
“Heirloom,” Aidan said. “I don’t use it, of course, but it’s been passed down in my family.”
I squinted. He was lying, but I didn’t blame him. However he’d come upon the Spell Stripper, no one would want the head of a security company to own one. They could break right in to whatever they’d protected. It was a nifty piece of magic, though. Anyone who could afford one would go for it.
