A Ghost of Magic: Chosen Saga Book 3

by J. L. Clayton

  Tru nodded, "Yeah, let's save Nikko. Man I can't believe he’s a ghost!"

  I grimaced; damn I totally forgot to tell Tru about Nikko! I guess the others filled him in. I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, but the door opened and three fairy sentries strolled in.

  “It is time!” one of them said.

  I nodded and gave Tru a little push. He sighed, letting whatever he was about to say drop. We started for the door, following behind the sentries. A cold sensation washed over my body, and then it was like life was on pause. Time stood still. Everyone was frozen, except me. I didn’t realize it until about three steps later when I crashed into the back of one of the sentries.

  “Whoa! Hey buddy, what gives?” I grumbled, giving him a funny look because he wasn’t moving. “What the…” I looked over at Tru. His face was turned towards me, one leg was extended, and the other was slightly up. He was frozen in movement. I looked back in the room and noticed the Fairy King. Whatever just happened, I knew in my gut that he was the one behind it.

  Well, this should be interesting!

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Charlie

  He smirked. “Were ye planning on leaving without saying goodbye?”

  I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms. “Yeah, I kinda was. Sorry. So, Your Majesty, what could you possibly need to say to me that would have you putting everyone on pause? What exactly did you do to them?”

  He sucked in a deep breath. “I have stopped time. So, everyone accept ye and I are ‘on pause’, as you would put it.”

  I started to feel a little uneasy. What did he want and why couldn’t he tell me without using magic to stop time?

  He clicked his tongue. “Fear not, I have only come tae give ye a gift.”

  I glowered, not liking this at all. “A gift?”

  He clasped his hands behind his back. “Yes, a very special gift, one that ye will need if ye have any hope of destroying the demon!”

  “This gift…will it help my friend Tammin be free of the demon?” I probed.

  “But, of course. It will free the evil that possesses your friend’s body,” he answered.

  “What about Nikko? Will it also free him?” I asked, hopeful.

  “Again, the answer is yes. The magic that the demon is using will be broken, and the ties that the demon used tae tether your friend will cease tae be,” he declared, watching me.

  “Okay, well what is this gift you are offering and what do I have to do to get it? Because I know you aren’t just giving me a gift out of the goodness of your heart.”

  He grinned. It was a very cold grin, one that sent shards of ice swimming through my veins. “This!” he affirmed, offering me a small dagger that he seemed to pull out of thin air.

  It was wicked-looking. The length of the blade was about ten inches with a curved handle. There was a bright red jewel at the top, and the handle had a stone finish that looked weathered and pitted. The blade was impressive, with a serrated edge and a burnt, red element panel that had a golden flame design in the center.

  “Plunge this into the demon’s body. It will separate the spirit that possesses your friend,” he said, holding it out for me to take.

  “Okay great, but what do I have to give you in order to receive that?” I asked, pointing at the dagger.

  The king took three, quick steps, coming to rest right in front of me. He tilted my chin up and gazed deep into my eyes, startling me. I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip on my chin and placed one hand on my shoulder, holding me in place.

  Oh, just perfect. He probably wants a freaking kiss! Or he wants to freaking bond with me! Whatever he wanted, I knew it couldn’t be a good thing with him so close to me. Yeah, this whole thing freaking stinks of a cheesy porno!

  He laughed. “Oh ye are so precious. Did you know that when ye are in distress, ye let your walls down, making it easy tae read your thoughts?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been told that before,” I groused.

  “I assure ye, this will be far from a porno, as ye say.” He leered, letting go of my chin but still holding onto my shoulders.

  I wanted to shrug him off, but instead, I wanted this to be over already. “Okay! No porno! Awesome! What is it then?”

  “I simply want something that is inside ye, something that isn’t truly yours in the first place—it’s something that you desperately want te get rid of.”

  “Oh really, and what might that be?” I quipped.

  “One of The Seven Deadly Sins,” he ventured.

  I cocked my head “What... so you can like take one of the sins out of me?’

  “That is correct.” He nodded.

  “Why would you want one of The Seven Deadly Sins? Plus, if you can take one, why don’t you take them all? You can have them because I don’t want them inside me! Wait. Will it hurt me if you separate one sin from the others?” I asked, in a rush.

  “All fairies want additional magic, additional powers and us rulers even more so. It’s just the nature of the fairy. We are very greedy creatures,” he murmured, looking down at the dagger. “And tae answer your other questions,” he said, bringing his eyes back to mine. “No, it will not hurt ye if one of The Seven is separated from its counterparts; however, as much as I would love tae rid ye of all Seven Sins, I cannot. The fact is, I cannot be sure what it would do tae ye if all were removed. One sin will not affect the others, but removing them, unfortunately, I believe the only way tae remove all of them safely would be tae have the one who placed them inside you take them out.”

  I felt like my heart had fallen out of my chest. I closed my eyes and felt sick. The only one that could take The Seven Deadly Sins out of my body is the one person that’s no longer alive.

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Ah, I see. So your birth mother is the one who has condemned ye with such a magnificent gift?”

  I put my walls up and glowered.

  He shook his head contemptuously. “Enough with the questions, do we have an agreement? This dagger for one sin? Before ye say anything, just know that the only way tae rid the demon from your friend’s body is with this. There is no other way.”

  I didn’t even think about the consequence of my actions and what they might mean. I just wanted that damn demon to not be possessing my friend and holding my other friend hostage in a box. So with a determined nod, I said, “Okay, go for it.”

  “Finally!” The Fairy King placed the dagger on the floor right in front of my feet. He placed both hands on either side of my shoulders, and in a ritualistic tone, he said, “What was unknowingly given, will now knowingly be given away.” He kissed my forehead. It was a warm summer’s kiss, soft and sweet. “Now close your eyes and open your mouth!”

  I gave him a look.

  He strengthened his grip and commanded, “Do it now!”

  I mustered up the courage I seemed to be lacking, closed my eyes and opened my mouth. Then, a hot sensation started in the pit of my stomach and spread upwards, moving to my chest. I felt a tug. There was this audible popping sound and then it felt like a ball, or something big, was being dragged through my esophagus. I tried to swallow, but the thing just kept moving—up, up, up! I opened my eyes and saw a bright light streaming from my mouth to the king’s as he pulled on whatever sin he had decided to take. I saw a big black ball of something spill from my mouth and hit the floor. The king stopped the light show and whatever else he was doing to me and gazed down at the oily substance with wonder written all over his face.

  He grinned. “Ah yes, just what I wanted.”

  He leaned down and picked up something inside the black gunk. The King opened his hand to show me what he had. Curled up in his palm was a small being that vaguely resembled a centipede. The creature opened its round eyes, gave me a malicious look, and hissed.

  I screeched, “Uh! That was inside me?!”

  The creature, whatever it was, was disgusted with me! With me! It stood up on its legs and turned, slowly crawling up the fairy king’s extended arm. To my di
sgust and horror, the King opened his mouth, and the thing entered willingly. I shook my head, and the king was gone. Scraping my jaw off the floor, time was reinstated. I turned and saw Cris standing behind me.

  He folded his arms, and in a dark, low tone he said, “What have you done?”

  He said it in a way that made me think he already knew what I did. But hell, I wasn’t even sure I knew what I did. I just hoped it wasn’t a big mistake.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Crispin

  Heat washed over me, and my movements were halted. This sort of magic could only be the work of the fairy king. I closed my eyes and cursed in my mind as I felt one of The Seven Sins being pulled out of her. My mind seized, and I pulled on whatever fragments of inner calm I possessed. I could have stopped this, but I decided it would be much more fitting and pleasurable to rip out the fairy king’s spine and feed it to him than stop him now. I could wait, but that didn’t silence the pure, unregulated fury that flowed through me because she had agreed to whatever the king had offered.

  “How could you, Love? How could you allow the fairy king to eat one of my sins?”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Charlie

  I was amazed and shocked at how mad Cris was at me. It seemed like anger was churning within his soul and leeching out through his eyes. I was freaking out. What the heck was going on?

  “How could you let him do that to you?” Cris demanded.

  “What? What are you talking about, Cris?”

  The Fairy Queen huffed, “We do not have time for this, so I suggest you hurry it up.” She turned and walked out of the room.

  I shook my head and looked at Cris, waiting. He ran a hand through his silky tresses, making his hair stand on end. My heart beat just a little faster.

  “Look, I just know things, okay? While everyone else may not know what happened, I do. Why did you give him one of your abilities?”

  A little miffed, I muttered, “Well it’s actually none of your business what I do with my magic, but if you have to know, I traded one of The Seven for this.” I picked up the dagger and showed everyone.

  Chris sucked in a sharp breath, and his eyes widened. “Is that…”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Is that what?” What do you know? What are you hiding, Cris? I will find out!

  I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms. “What? What aren’t you telling me? Do you know what this is?” I wiggled the dagger in front of his face. “Better yet, do you know what kind of supernatural you are?”

  Jace came up beside me and folded his arms, giving Cris a cocky smirk. “Yeah, I would love to hear this!”

  Everyone was looking at Cris now, waiting. I took that opportunity to try and probe his mind, but just like every time before, I got nothing, as if I was hitting a wall.

  Cris shook his head and smirked, but then his look changed, and he looked sheepish. “Well, like I said before, I don’t know what kind of supernatural I am, and I really don’t know what the dagger is. I can just feel the strong power emanating off it.”

  Zeb strolled over and held out his hand. “Youngling, if you would be so kind and allow me to have a look.”

  My parents and Oz gathered around us, wanting to hear what Zeb had to say. I placed the dagger in his hand and waited. Zeb closed his eyes. His body started to shimmer and become more and more translucent. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but watching him fade in and out was wickedly insane. He sucked in a sharp breath and then let it out on a puff of smoke.

  He opened his beautiful, golden-brown eyes and looked at me. “This is Cabarrus. It’s an angelic blade crafted by the highest archangel there ever was. This dagger can permanently dissipate any demon that is inhibiting a person’s body.”

  I gasped. “Whoa, so you are saying Lucifer made that?” I pointed at the dagger. He nodded. “How did you come by all this information? Was it when you did the whole fading in and out thing?”

  Zeb chuckled, “Yes Youngling, it is the former Seraph Lucifer that I was talking about, and he did, indeed, make this dagger. What you just witnessed me doing is called fazing. It is a way for dragons to communicate with each other if we aren’t in the same proximity. I fazed to have someone ask Eli about Cabarrus for me.” He handed the dagger back.

  “Well that’s pretty cool! So this is called Cabarrus?” Zeb nodded. “And it is going to permanently remove that demon from my friend’s body?” Zeb nodded again. “Well, sounds good to me.” I grinned.

  Zeb inquired, “What did you give in exchange for Cabarrus? What did he do?”

  All eyes were on me. I guess I was going to get to tell them about my nasty, strange encounter with the king. So, in a rush, I told them what happened. How the king stopped time except for me and him. How he offered me a way to rid Tammin of the demon. What I gave up in exchange for Cabarrus and what the king did to get the sin out of me.

  Zeb cleared his throat and said, “So the Summer King is one of the devourers.”

  Oz whistled. “Wow, babe, you basically let an old man munch on your insides. Nice!”

  Jace elbowed him and murmured, “Shut up, loser.”

  Oz flipped Jace off. He smirked and said, “You only wish you were as good as me!”

  Jace took a step towards him.

  Zeb touched Jace’s shoulder and shook his head. “That is enough.”

  The Queen walked back in and said, “I agree. That is quiet enough of this. Do you want to save your friend or not?”

  “Yes,” I said, feeling a little ashamed that I was still here and not already trying to save Nikko.

  “Good, follow me,” she said. We followed.

  I stood in front of a gray opening with smoke streaming out. It looked ominous, and I was feeling a little nervous.

  “The Chosen One first,” she said with a maddening smile on her face.

  It was time. I had to suck it up and do it. With a deep inhale, I stepped into the portal. Frigidly cold air whipped around my body like a tornado. I couldn’t breathe, and all I could see was a blue, glowing light. My body felt so cold. I was shaking all over, and my teeth were clicking together so hard I thought my brain might fall out. I was starting to panic, and that didn’t seem to be helping my breathing at all. Then, someone grabbed my arm. Blissful warmth spread over me. Whoever had me pulled me close to them—I didn’t even care who it was, because heavenly heat was spreading from their body to mine. I placed my head on their chest and sighed.

  “It’s almost over, Love. Just a little further,” he crooned into my ear.

  Did it say something about my character that I felt safe wrapped in my enemy’s arms?

  I didn’t really know if it did and I didn’t care.

  I closed my eyes and waited for whatever dark-sweet-oblivion to take hold and work its magic on me, releasing me from this reality and plunging me into the dream state.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Crispin

  Holding her in my arms was one of the most exhilarating feelings I had ever felt. I peered down at her and never wanted to let her go. I hated feeling like this, and only one thing that could make me feel this way: lust. Lust seemed to be wreaking havoc on my mind and body. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to make sure she was ok. Safe. Protected. Something I was sure I would never do if it wasn’t for the sin clouding my mind. Justice was coming.

  I stepped out of the portal and looked around. Everyone was sprawled on the ground, passed out from the lack of air. Crossing through the portal didn’t faze me, all in thanks to my father. I shook the thought out of my head and gently laid her down. I took a step back and gazed down at her, senses of longing, pride, and possessiveness flowed under my skin. She looked so beautiful and innocent. I clenched my fists and turned away.

  “Soon, this will not be an issue.” I glanced over my shoulder at her and narrowed my eyes. “Soon, you will not be an issue for me anymore. Soon!”

  Chapter Forty

  Charlie

  I came to and quickl
y stood up, looking for him. But he was gone. I know I didn’t imagine it… did I? Sighing in disappointment, I looked down and noticed everyone was out of it. I should have been freaking out, but I wasn’t. Somehow, I knew everyone would wake up just like I did. I shook my head and gazed around, captivated by the eerily beautiful scenery, still and calm. The landscape was odd. On one side were rolling, green hills. Beautiful blue, red, and white flowers dotted the ground with a huge tree filled with apples and bright green leaves. The middle of the scenery was transparent. You could see the outline of the tree at the end, but that was it. After your eyes moved past the outline, you couldn’t really make out anything. It was like a hole of nothingness. I was afraid to even step on it.

  What if you fell through? Would you hit the bottom? Or would you keep falling?

  I looked over at the last part of this crazy, insane sight before me. I guess it rounded out the setting. Gray and black ash colored the ground. Various bones and skulls of all sizes were scattered about. The tree at the end was a dead, hollow thing. Death was all there was, but somehow, it was striking. I reached behind my back and felt for the dagger. It was securely placed into a sheath fastened to my dress. I exhaled, relieved, knowing it was still there. Everyone was starting to stand up, slowly regaining their bearings.

  “Is everyone okay?”

  Tru grinned and said, “That was a trip, one that I would love to take again.”

  Zeb nodded his consent, and Oz gave Tru a high-five. “I’m with ya! That ruled.”

  Asher put his hands on my shoulders. “I do not understand shifters. That was simply dreadful, and I don’t need to be a living being to know I would much rather be warm than cold like that.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Me too!”

  I looked over at Cris; he was giving me an odd look. I took a step away from Asher. I didn’t know why, but I just knew I didn’t want Cris seeing Asher’s hands on me. I frowned and pushed whatever weird feeling I was having away, turning around when I heard a strange popping sound. My nightmare became reality.