by Linsey Hall
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner.” I wanted to sink into the floor and live there.
“Yeah, me too,” Claire said. “We could have had your back a lot sooner.”
My gaze darted to hers.
“Don’t look so freaking surprised.” Claire scowled. “Like Connor said, what kind of friends do you think we are? You think we’re going to drop you? Or that you can just waltz in here and say you’re going to be all noble and shit and cut ties? Frankly, it’s rude.”
“Uh….”
“Well, we’re not having it. You’d have our backs if stuff went to hell in our lives, so we’ve got your backs.”
I glanced at Del and Nix. My shock was reflected in their gazes. Then I felt like shit for doubting my friends. For ever thinking they’d put up with this. I wouldn’t ditch them, after all, so why would they ditch me?
“I’m sorry,” I said, digging my fingers into the counter. “You’re totally right. It was shitty of us to think you’d go for this. We were just trying to protect you, but I can see how insulting it was. To imply you would let us go it alone.”
Connor slapped his palms on the counter. “Self-awareness for the win!” Then his expression softened. “Thanks for getting it. I appreciate the gesture. You guys were coming from a good place.”
Claire gave us all a sharp look. “But don’t think you can ever waltz in here again and break up with us. We’re not having it. We’re in this together, whatever it is.”
My eyes prickled, then burned. I could feel my chin scrunching up as tears fell. I was one lucky freaking FireSoul.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“So, this is an interesting place to meet.”
Aidan’s deep voice sounded from behind me. I scrambled to my feet in the dark passageway and turned. He stood at the entrance to the tunnel that led into the Mayan pyramid, the bright sun shining at his back and sending all his features into shadow.
I dusted my hands off on my jeans and looked down at the floor, to where I’d just finished putting the broken stone back into place. It was the floor I’d blown apart with my lightning bolt when I’d been trying to keep the demon jaguars from eating us a week ago, before all this Amara stuff had happened.
“Yeah,” I said. “I had to return the original diadem.” Though I’d itched to put it in my trove. It would have look so good there. “And I wanted to fix this and figured you’d help me.”
“So you sent me a message to meet you here?”
“I figured you’d come.”
“You were right. But this was a long way to travel on public transport when you know I’d have taken you.”
“Yeah, I needed some time to think.” I could finally make out his features. He was more than just a pretty face to me now. He was the guy who’d had my back on more occasions than I could count, who’d healed me when I was sick. Who’d shared the darker parts of his past with me.
He was the guy who’d convinced me to open up to him, something I’d thought impossible.
“So, you still want that date?” I asked.
“Yeah.” His voice was rougher than before.
I grinned. “Cool. If you’ll let me borrow your Elemental Mage powers so I can meld this stone back together, you can pick the place.”
“You know you can always mirror my powers. You don’t need to ask.”
“I know.”
“Oh. Oh.” Understanding lit his voice. He spread his arms until they butted against the walls of the passage. “Have at it.”
“Thanks.” It was easier to reach for his magic now. Calling mine up from deep within came quicker, and finding his magical signature came easier as well. I felt the grit of stone beneath my fingertips as I let the power flow from me to the stone floor.
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 of
f 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.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
I hoped you liked Mirror Mage. Reviews are so helpful to authors. I really appreciate all reviews, both positive and negative. Click here to leave a review.
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If you’d like to know more about the inspiration for the Dragon’s Gift series, please read on for the Author’s Note.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Hey, there! I hope you enjoyed reading Mirror Mage as much as I enjoyed writing it. The Dragon’s Gift series has really become a labor of love for me because I am also an archaeologist. This series allows me to combine my two loves—writing and history—which has been massively fun.
As with my other books, I included historical sites in Mirror Mage. The most important historical site in Mirror Mage is the ruined city that is the setting for the final battle. This took place at the ruins of Ephesus, the ancient Greek and Roman city in Turkey. The statue of Hercules, the ampitheatre, the library, the brothel, and even the sign pointing to the brothel are all real. You can even visit! I haven’t had the pleasure myself, but a colleague of mine, Dr. Ayse Devrim Atauz, helped me understand the layout and feel of the city. Any errors are my own (or were made to improve the story, like moving the amphitheater slightly).
But one of the most important things about the Dragon’s Gift series is Cass’s relationship with the artifacts and the sense of responsibility she feels to protect them. I spoke about this in the Author’s Note for Ancient Magic, so this might be repetitive for some folks (feel free to quit now if so), but I want to include it in each of my Author’s Notes because it’s so important to me.
I knew I had a careful line to tread when writing these books—combining the ethics of archaeology with the fantasy aspect of treasure hunting isn’t always easy.
There is a big difference between these two activities. As much as I value artifacts, they are not treasure. Not even the gold artifacts. They are pieces of our history that contain valuable information, and as such, they belong to all of us. Every artifact that is excavated should be properly conserved and stored in a museum so that everyone can have access to our history. No one single person can own history, and I believe very strongly that individuals should not own artifacts. Treasure hunting is the pursuit of artifacts for personal gain.
So why did I make Cass Cleraux a treasure hunter? I’d have loved to call her an archaeologist, but nothing about Cass’s work is like archaeology. Archaeology is a very laborious, painstaking process—and it certainly doesn’t involve selling artifacts. That wouldn’t work for the fast paced, adventurous series that I had planned for Dragon’s Gift. Not to mention the fact that dragons are famous for coveting treasure. Considering where Cass got her skills from, it just made sense to call her a treasure hunter (though I really like to think of her as a magic hunter). Even though I write urban fantasy, I strive for accuracy. Cass doesn’t engage in archaeological practices—therefore, I cannot call her an archaeologist. I also have a duty as an archaeologist to properly represent my field and our goals—namely, to protect and share history. Treasure hunting doesn’t do this. One of the biggest battles that archaeology faces today is protecting cultural heritage from thieves.
I debated long and hard about not only what to call Cass, but also about how she would do her job. I wanted it to involve all the cool things we think about when we think about archaeology—namely, the Indiana Jones stuff, whether it’s real or not. Because that stuff is fun, and my main goal is to write a fun book. But I didn’t know quite how to do that while still staying within the bounds of my own ethics. I can cut myself and other writers some slack because this is fiction, but I couldn’t go too far into smash and grab treasure hunting.
I consulted some of my archaeology colleagues to get their take, which was immensely helpful. Wayne Lusardi, the State Maritime Archaeologist for Michigan, and Douglas Inglis and Veronica Morris, both archaeologists for Interactive Heritage, were immensely helpful with ideas. My biggest problem was figuring out how to have Cass steal artifacts from tombs and then sell them and still sleep at night. Everything I’ve just said is pretty counter to this, right?
That’s where the magic comes in. Cass isn’t after the artifacts themselves (she puts them back where she found them, if you recall)—she’s after the magic that the artifacts contain. She’s more of a magic hunter than a treasure hunter. That solved a big part of my problem. At least she was putting the artifacts back. Though that’s not proper archaeology (especially the damage she sometimes causes, which she always goes back to fix), I could let it pass. At least it’s clear that she believes she shouldn’t keep the artifact or harm the site. But the SuperNerd in me said, “Well, that magic is part of the artifact’s context. It’s important to the artifact and shouldn’t be removed and sold.”
Now that was a problem. I couldn’t escape my SuperNerd self, so I was in a real conundrum. Fortunately, that’s where the immensely intelligent Wayne Lusardi came in. He suggested that the magic could have an expiration date. If the magic wasn’t used before it decayed, it could cause huge problems. Think explosions and tornado spells run amok. It could ruin the entire site, not to mention possibly cause injury and death. That would be very bad.
So now you see why Cass Clereaux didn’t just steal artifacts to sell them. Not only is selling the magic cooler, it’s also better from an ethical standpoint, especially if the magic was going to cause problems in the long run. These aren’t perfect solutions—the perfect solution would be sending in a team of archaeologists to carefully record the site and remove the dangerous magic—but that wouldn’t be a very fun book. Hopefully this was a good compromise that you enjoyed (and that my old professors don’t hang their heads over).
DEDICATION
For Judy and John Bowler, some of the most wonderful people I know who I love with all my heart.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Dragon’s Gift series is a product of my two lives: one as an archaeologist and one as a novelist. I’m fortunate to have friends from my other life who are experts on historical sites. I’d like to thank Dr. Ayse Devrim Atauz for her help with the ruins at Ephesus (the real life location of the final battle) and Julia, a Roman archaeologist for her help with the Roman brothel and prostitutes.
There was one aspect of combining my two lives that took a bit of work. I’d like to thank my friends, Wayne Lusardi, the State Maritime Archaeologist for Michigan, and Douglas Inglis and Veronica Morris, both archaeologists for Interactive Heritage, for their ideas about how to have a treasure hunter heroine that doesn’t conflict too much with archaeology’s ethics. The Author’s Note contains a bit more about this if you are interested
Thank you, Ben, for everything you’ve done to support me in this career. Thank you to Carol Thomas for sharing your thoughts on the book and being amazing inspiration. My books are always better because of your help.
Thank you to Jena O’Connor and Lindsey Loucks for various forms of editing. The book is immensely better because of you!
GLOSSARY
Alpha Council - There are two governments that enforce law for supernaturals—the Alpha Council and the Order of the Magica. The Alpha Council governs all shifters. They work cooperatively with Alpha Council when necessary - for example, when capturing FireSouls.
