by Linsey Hall
“We’ll figure it out tomorrow,” Aidan said. “It’s still the middle of the night. And you’re recovering.”
My body felt like it weighed a million pounds, so he was probably right. I wasn’t about to charge at the portal in this shape.
“Why are you in that chair?” I asked. “This is a big bed.”
“Didn’t want to disturb you. And I’m not in the habit of getting into bed with women unless I’ve asked them first.”
I grinned. But he was right. We’d only slept in the same bed once, and I’d been healing that time too. Every time I got near a bed with Aidan, I was too wounded to do anything about it besides sleep.
I really needed a lifestyle change.
“Come on, sleep here with me,” I said, exhaustion slowing my voice. “I need at least another few hours. And that chair can’t be comfortable.”
“It’s not.” He rose and walked around the bed, then climbed in behind me.
I scooted over to climb into his arms and kiss him, but it felt like moving through sand. So I settled for just cuddling up against him. He wrapped a big arm around me and tugged me closer. Comfort—belonging—welled within me.
Aidan leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “You doing okay otherwise?”
“Yeah.” The memory of the other FireSoul in the desert drifted behind my eyelids. I shivered. “There was another FireSoul at the waypoint. When I was separated from you and my deirfiúr. I had to kill him to escape. I didn’t want to steal his power, but it was so valuable. Illusion. It would have been stupid to leave it behind to prove something to myself. So I stole it, but this time it wasn’t so bad. I think I had control.”
“That’s all that matters. As long as you made the decision consciously, you’re improving.”
I smiled. “I hope so.”
But as sleep tugged at me, I remembered the joy that had surged when I’d taken the Illusionist’s power. The smile faded from my face.
My heart pounded against my ribs as we crept down the darkened hallway. The stone floor was cold under my bare feet, and the chill air crept through my thin dress, though no worse than I was used to.
The dark cell we’d lived in for months—years?—had been colder than this. Darker than this.
“Hurry,” the girl behind me whispered.
“Shh,” hissed the girl behind her.
My two friends, though I didn’t know their names, had escaped with me from our cell just minutes ago. I’d killed the guard who’d come to take one of us. Girls they took came back different. Or they didn’t come back at all.
I’d stolen his magic before I’d killed him, though I had no idea how. It thrummed in my veins, an electric sensation that I didn’t understand.
I tried to keep my breathing quiet as we moved down the hall. When we’d been in our cell, we’d rarely seen guards, but they could patrol these halls. My friends and I were only fifteen—at least, that’s what I thought—and all of us were weak from malnutrition. Though I’d fought off the one guard, I knew I couldn’t do it again.
We had no idea where we were, or how we’d gotten here, only that we had to get out. That meant moving forward, though I was so tired I wanted to lie down on the cold, hard floor. I’d grown accustomed to sleeping upon it and could be dreaming in seconds.
But if I did that, I’d never wake up.
Heavy wooden doors ran the length of the hall to our left. We didn’t dare open them, though I’d have bet anything they were locked. A dark wooden door marked the end of the hall.
I glanced back at my friends. Frightened blue and green eyes met mine, wide in pale faces. They both nodded. I turned back to the door and gripped the handle, praying.
It opened.
Probably because the cell doors were locked and the inhabitants kept starving. How would they ever escape?
But we had.
Almost.
We crept silently up the stairs, stiffening at every little noise. The hair on my arms stood on end, prickling uncomfortably. When we reached the top, I was vibrating with fear. Slowly I pushed the door open.
A dimly lit hallway stretched out on either side of us. Wood floors and pale silk wallpaper gleamed dully in the light of oil lamps. The luxury of the hall was so at odds with the dungeon below that it turned my stomach.
Whoever had imprisoned us liked the good life.
The smell of dark magic stuck in my nose, making me gag. It smelled like rot and decay. Tentatively, we stepped out into the hall. As soon as I crossed the threshold, my soul felt lightened. Buoyed. The magic that seethed in my veins became more comfortable. As if it fit me better. Or worked, somehow, whereas once it hadn’t. Maybe the dungeons had suppressed our magic.
I looked at my friends, startled by how thin and drawn they looked. As if they’d lived underground for a year and were just now seeing the sun.
Which I supposed was almost true. And I probably looked the same.
I jerked my head left and right, silently asking which direction to go. They both shrugged. Frustration welled within me. We were so close. I just wanted to escape.
An invisible, almost intangible tug about my middle pulled me left, so I followed it. Our bare feet were silent on the smooth wood beneath. We came to an open door on our left and stopped, peering in. An expansive library spread out before us, thousands of books tucked neatly into dark wooden shelves. A fire crackled warmly, making me ache to feel its warmth.
I looked away, searching the room for a person. None. We crept past the door, repeating our inspection at the next two rooms, a sitting room and an office. We were nearly to the end of the hall when a noise sounded from the open door ahead.
I stiffened.
Someone was in the next room.
The girl behind me gripped the back of my thin dress, tugging me to stop. It was unnecessary. I halted, dead still and trembling. The same dark magic scent seeped from the room ahead, turning my stomach.
Slowly, silently, we crept forward.
“You’ve disappointed me, Villiers,” a cold voice said from within the room.
“Master, I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” The voice trembled, weak with fear.
“You know I can’t have that kind of poor performance within my ranks.”
“I know. I know. I will do better.”
“I am not so sure.”
I shuddered at the tone, so cold and dark.
“Please, Master. Just one more chance.”
“I think not, Villiers. I am no longer patient with you. You don’t make proper use of your gifts. I thought I’d give you a chance to prove yourself. To use your gifts on my behalf. But I see I was wrong to do so. I could make much better use of them.”
“No!” A scrambling noise sounded, as if the man were trying to run away.
A crash and a scream.
The hair on my arms stood up as dark magic welled, feeling like bee stings against my skin. It came from the man with the cold voice. It had to. And he was going to hurt the other man.
He needed help. I had no idea if we could provide it, or if I was even brave enough to try, but I crept forward, compelled. Slowly, I peered around the side of the door.
A tall figure, dressed all in black, clutched a smaller man by his shirt. My heart thundered and my skin turned ice-cold.
“No!” The smaller man cringed away.
My foot twitched, as if to step forward, but I caught sight of the smaller man’s face then.
One of the guards.
Then the scarier man must be the one in charge. The Master. He gave the command to keep us locked up. He took the girls who disappeared.
My foot stilled. I watched, appalled, as the dark magic swelled in the air and gray flame licked over the skin of the Master. His face twisted in pain, then in joy, as the flame spread onto the smaller man, enveloping him.
“I am going to enjoy this,” he said. His voice was cold and precise. So controlled that he bit off each syllable with a crunch.
The sma
ller man screamed, his eyes rolling back in his head. The flame enveloped them both.
I backed away, horrified, then glanced back at my friends.
“Run,” I mouthed.
Now was the best time. The Master was distracted. He was the biggest threat.
On silent feet, we raced past the door. Fear banished my caution. We sprinted out of the hall and into a great foyer. The glass dome above gleamed with light. Great wooden doors on the other side of the foyer beckoned.
Freedom.
My feet pounded the marble floor as we ran from this nest of vipers, desperate to reach the outside. I grasped the brass handle and flung open the door, throwing myself out into the sunlight.
I stumbled in sand. Fell to my knees.
When I looked up, a great golden desert spread out before me. We’d never make it across that endless ocean of sand with nothing but what we had on our backs. And we couldn’t go back into the mansion.
We were trapped.
CHAPTER SIX
I woke with a scream strangling in my throat, sweat dripping down my body. I thrashed in the covers, scrambling from the bed and thudding to the ground.
My breath heaved as my gaze darted around the room.
It was big. Filled with heavy wooden furniture and an oriental rug that looked expensive. Whimsical landscapes adorned warm brown walls. Sunlight gleamed through the windows.
Aidan’s house. I was in Aidan’s house.
I peeked over the edge of the bed, praying that Aidan wasn’t still there.
It was empty save for rumpled sheets.
I collapsed back onto the floor, trying to catch my breath.
I was going nuts. Clearly going nuts.
Between my magic and the nightmares, I was losing it. I sat there for several moments, trying to still my heart. I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes.
Cowering here on the floor wasn’t going to get anything useful done. Not to mention, it was embarrassing. And right now, there were a lot of useful things I needed to be doing. Checking on Dr. Garriso, finding out what was up with the museum, getting my act together in general.
I climbed to my feet, still woozy from adrenaline, and found the beautiful bathroom. White marble gleamed, a modern masterpiece that was entirely unlike the tiny bathroom in my own place. There were no toiletries on the counter save the soap and a package of unopened toothbrushes, so this was clearly not Aidan’s bathroom.
Damn. I’d have liked to have seen what his looked like.
I showered quickly, grateful that the healers had managed to close the wound on my arm. When I made my way back into the bedroom, I found my duffle bag on the chair. I hadn’t heard anyone come in, so it had to have already been there. One of my deirfiúr must have gone back to our places to get clothes.
I changed quickly into my usual jeans and black t-shirt, and pulled a brown leather jacket out of the bag. I had dozens, most stored in my trove because they were technically treasure as far as my FireSoul was concerned, but I’d pulled this one out and put it on my bed the other day. Del or Nix wouldn’t enter my trove without me. I wouldn’t have minded, but we’d somehow silently agreed that was poor etiquette.
Properly dressed, I made my way through the house, seeking the kitchen. Aidan’s Enchanter’s Bluff home was far different than his place in Ireland, which was more modern. This place was more traditional. Very nice, but not my style.
I kinda had a feeling it wasn’t Aidan’s style either. But I guessed if you owned more than one home, maybe it didn’t matter if they were all your style.
I followed the smell of coffee toward the kitchen, heading down an expansive wooden staircase and through a foyer to the brightly lit space where Aidan was serving coffee to Del and Nix.
They all glanced up at me.
“Feeling better?” Nix asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Because you passed right the hell out last night,” Del said. “Why didn’t you tell us you were losing so much blood?”
“Didn’t realize.” I sat at the counter bar next to them. Aidan pushed a cup of coffee toward me. I reached for the cream and sugar and started to mix.
My exhaustion might have had something to do with stealing the other FireSoul’s power, but I preferred not to think of that.
“How’s Dr. Garriso doing?” I asked.
“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 loos
ened 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.”
