by Linsey Hall
“Shit, shit, shit.” Nix’s green eyes were stark in her pale face. “He means it.”
“Yeah.” Del’s voice shook. “We need to get those daggers.”
“Now,” I said.
“I wish I could just conjure a forgery,” Nix said. “I really don’t want to go out into the jungle tonight. Getting past the Dvarapala in the dark will suck.”
Nix was a conjurer, able to create almost anything using just her magic. Massive or complex things, like airplanes or guns, were outside of her ability, but a couple of daggers wouldn’t be hard.
Trouble was, they were a magical artifact, enchanted with the ability to return to whoever had thrown them. Like boomerangs. Though Nix could conjure the daggers, we couldn’t enchant them.
“We need to go. We only have six hours until dawn.” I grabbed my short swords from the table and stood, shoving them into the holsters strapped to my back.
A hush descended over the crowded bar.
I stiffened, but the sound of the staticky TV in the corner made me relax. They weren’t interested in me. Just the news, which was probably being routed through a dozen techno-witches to get this far into the jungle.
The grave voice of the female reporter echoed through the quiet bar. “The FireSoul was apprehended outside of his apartment in Magic’s Bend, Oregon. He is currently in the custody of the Order of the Magica, and his trial is scheduled for tomorrow morning. My sources report that execution is possible.”
I stifled a crazed laugh. Perfect timing. Just what we needed to hear after OMB’s threat. A reminder of what would happen if he turned us into the Order of the Magica. The hush that had descended over the previously rowdy crowd—the kind of hush you get at the scene of a big accident—indicated what an interesting freaking topic this was. FireSouls were the bogeymen. I was the bogeyman, even though I didn’t use my powers. But as long as no one found out, we were safe.
My gaze darted to Del and Nix. They nodded toward the door. It was definitely time to go.
As the newscaster turned her report toward something more boring and the crowd got rowdy again, we threaded our way between the tiny tables and chairs.
I shoved the heavy wooden door open and sucked in a breath of sticky jungle air, relieved to be out of the bar. Night creatures screeched, and moonlight filtered through the trees above. The jungle would be a nice place if it weren’t full of things that wanted to kill us.
“We’re never escaping him, are we?” Nix said softly.
“We will.” Somehow. Someday. “Let’s just deal with this for now.”
We found our motorcycles, which were parked in the lot with a dozen other identical ones. They were hulking beasts with massive, all-terrain tires meant for the jungle floor. We’d done a lot of work in Southeast Asia this year, and these were our favored forms of transportation in this part of the world.
Del could transport us, but it was better if she saved her power. It wasn’t infinite, though it did regenerate. But we’d learned a long time ago to save Del’s power for our escape. Nothing worse than being trapped in a temple with pissed off guardians and a few tripped booby traps.
We’d scouted out the location of the temple earlier that day, so we knew where to go.
I swung my leg over Secretariat—I liked to name my vehicles—and kicked the clutch. The engine roared to life. Nix and Del followed, and we peeled out of the lot, leaving the dingy yellow light of the bar behind.
Our headlights illuminated the dirt road as we sped through the night. Huge fig trees dotted the path on either side, their twisted trunks and roots forming an eerie corridor. Elephant-ear sized leaves swayed in the wind, a dark emerald that gleamed in the light.
Jungle animals howled, and enormous lightning bugs flitted along the path. They were too big to be regular bugs, so they were most likely some kind of fairy, but I wasn’t going to stop to investigate. There were dangerous creatures in the jungle at night—one of the reasons we hadn’t wanted to go now—and in our world, fairies could be considered dangerous.
Especially if you called them lightning bugs.
A roar sounded in the distance, echoing through the jungle and making the leaves rustle on either side as small animals scurried for safety.
The roar came again, only closer.
Then another, and another.
“Oh shit,” I muttered. This was bad.
~~~
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Author’s Note
Thanks for reading Academy of Magic! Because the Fae world took up a large part of this book, there were fewer historical elements. However, the biggest one—The Vaults—are one of my favorites.
Edinburgh actually has several underground places, including the Vaults. They are also called the South Bridge Vaults and they are a series of chambers built in 1788 underneath the South Bridge in Edinburgh. Initially, they were used as workshops and taverns, but later they were a hotbed of criminal activity. As the vaults fell into disrepair, Edinburgh’s poorest members of society moved in. B7 1860, they were in such terrible shape that they were empty. Mary Kings Close is another one of Edinburgh’s underground districts. It is an alley that was closed off overtime until it was underground (and under buildings). It was occupied between the 16th and 19th centuries and in the 17th century was named for Mary King, the daughter of a wealthy advocate.
The Vaults as they appear in this book are a combination of these two places, set right under the castle in Edinburgh, which is located on a rock outcropping about three hundred meters high. The Grassmarket, the supernatural center of Edinburgh, is a real district in the Old Town (which, you guessed it, is the oldest part of Edinburgh). The Whisky and Warlock is located next to the current White Hart Inn, which is supposed to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh. But the Whisky and Warlock is based on an old Devon pub called the Lydford Inn. It’s bigger, with more little rooms and snugs.
One thing you might have noticed in the book—all of the characters who called Bree by her godly names are species that share powers with that god. The Selkie, a seal who can turn into a human, called her by the name of the Njord, the god of water. The Daughters of Ægir called her Rán, who is a water goddess. And the healer in the Fae town called her Alateivia. In Bree, they recognized power like their own.
Well, I think that’s it for the history and mythology in Academy of Magic. I hope you enjoyed the book and will come back for more of Bree, Ana, and Cade!
Acknowledgments
Thank you, Ben, for everything. There would be no books without you.
Thank you to Lindsey Loucks, Adam at Fine Point Publishing, and Donna Rich for your excellent editing. The book is immensely better because of you! Thank you to Eleonora for your help with the Norse mythology.
Thank you to Orina Kafe for the beautiful cover art. Thank you to Collette Markwardt for allowing me to borrow the Pugs of Destruction, who are real dogs named Chaos, Havoc, and Ruckus. They were all adopted from rescue agencies.
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 the Alpha Council when necessary—for example, when capturing FireSouls.
Blood Sorcerer - A type of Magica who can create magic using blood.
Dark Magic - The kind that is meant to harm. It’s not necessarily bad, but it often is.
Demons - Often employed to do evil. They live in various hells but can be released upon the earth if you know how to get to them and then get them out. If they are killed on Earth, they are sent back to their hell.
Dragon Sense - A FireSoul’s ability to find treasure. It is an internal sense that pulls them toward what they seek. It is easiest to find gold, but they can find anything or anyone that is valued by someone.
Djinn - Possesses invisibility and the ability to possess others for brief periods of time.
Earthwalking Gods - Reincarnates of the ancient gods who can walk upon the earth. They are mortal but with all the power of that god.
Eclektica - A jack-of-all-trades who deals in spells.
Enchanted Artifacts – Artifacts can be imbued with magic that lasts after the death of the person who put the magic into the artifact (unlike a spell that has not been put into an artifact—these spells disappear after the Magica’s death). But magic is not stable. After a period of time—hundreds or thousands of years depending on the circumstance—the magic will degrade. Eventually, it can go bad and cause many problems.
Fire Mage – A mage who can control fire.
FireSoul - A very rare type of Magica who shares a piece of the dragon’s soul. They can locate treasure and steal the gifts (powers) of other supernaturals. With practice, they can manipulate the gifts they steal, becoming the strongest of that gift. They are despised and feared. If they are caught, they are thrown in the Prison of Magical Deviants.
The Great Peace - The most powerful piece of magic ever created. It hides magic from the eyes of humans.
Magica - Any supernatural who has the power to create magic—witches, sorcerers, mages. All are governed by the Order of the Magica.
Order of the Magica - There are two governments that enforce law for supernaturals—the Alpha Council and the Order of the Magica. The Order of the Magica govern all Magica. They work cooperatively with the Alpha Council when necessary—for example, when capturing FireSouls.
Seeker - A type of supernatural who can find things. FireSouls often pass off their dragon sense as Seeker power.
Seklie - Sea creatures lived off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland. They are seals who can also become human and draw their magic from the sea.
Shifter - A supernatural who can turn into an animal. All are governed by the Alpha Council.
Transporter - A type of supernatural who can travel anywhere. Their power is limited and must regenerate after each use.
Undercover Protectorate - A secret organization dedicated to protecting supernaturals and solving the crimes that no one else will.
Vampire - Blood drinking supernaturals with great strength and speed who live in a separate realm.
About Linsey
Before becoming a writer, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits fantasy and historical romances with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her Dragon’s Gift series draws upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can't help but include.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All reference to events, persons, and locale are used fictitiously, except where documented in historical record. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2017 by Linsey Hall
Published by Bonnie Doon Press LLC
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, except in instances of quotation used in critical articles or book review. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
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ISBN 978-1-942085-12-6
