by Linsey Hall
“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.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“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.
“It’s not large,” Aidan said. “But if you have Amplifiers, it might work.”
Not a bad idea. I’d never met an Amplifier before, but they were a type of Magica who were able to increase the magic they came into contact with. It was a handy skill.
The investigators looked at one another, then back at Aidan.
“We have two Amplifiers who work with the Order,” the lead investigator said. “One on commission who lives in Magic’s Bend, actually. We can have them here in a couple of hours. In the meantime, we’ll issue the order to evacuate the city. Just to be safe.”
“Good idea,” Aidan said. “I have no idea if this will work.”
I met Aidan back at the car.
“We need to go make sure Del and Nix evacuate. And Connor and Claire,” I said. “And Dr. Garriso.”
So many people I loved. And my trove. My heart constricted at the thought of my treasure. My friends would get out, but not my trove. If Magic’s Bend were destroyed, it would be too. There was no time to evacuate the contents.
I grimaced, ashamed at the thought. Families would lose everything. Some people might not even get out soon enough. Now was not the time to be worried about my treasure.
Aidan drove like a madman, cutting through traffic. I called Nix on my comms charm, telling her to get Del and meet at P & P.
“I’ll drop you off at P & P,” Aidan said. “You can make sure Connor and Claire evacuate. I’ll go get Dr. G.”
“Connor and Claire can come pick him up,” I said. “Then I’ll meet you back at the museum. I can use my Mirror Mage powers to help with the amplification.”
Aiden’s knuckles whitened on the wheel, and I could tell he wanted to tell me to evacuate with the rest. But he also knew it wasn’t my style, so he didn’t bother.
“Good idea,” Aidan said.
“I thought so.”
Aidan pulled up to the sidewalk in front of P & P. I leaned over and kissed him hard, and then climbed out.
“As soon as this is all over, we’re having that date,” I said. I waved my finger in the air to indicate everything around me. “Because this is getting ridiculous.”
“Agreed.” He gave me a heated look. I shivered. “I’ll meet you at the museum. Stay out of sight when you get there.”
“I’ll do my thing from behind some cover.”
“Good. Be safe.” He drove off.
I turned and entered P & P, just in time to see a blue light begin to glow in the middle of the room. The emergency announcement. Its glow turned the faces of the dozen patrons blue as they turned to it, their eyes wide with fear.
We hadn’t had one of these in decades. Never in my lifetime. I’d only heard of them.
A voice boomed from the light, deep and authoritative. “This is a state of emergency. Evacuate Magic’s Bend immediately. Threat of possible destruction of the town has been identified.”
The voice continued to repeat the message. Patrons surged to their feet, grabbing bags and shoving chairs. Del and Nix were nowhere to be seen.
“Don’t worry about your checks,” Connor called from behind the counter. His face had paled, giving Snow White a run for her money. “Get out of here.”
I hurried over to Connor, whose wide gaze met mine. “What’s the deal?”
“There’s a crazy portal at the museum. It’s going to go nuts at some point and create a magical vacuum that will suck in the town. You’ve got to get out of here.”
“Claire is on a job.” His brows lowered over worried eyes.
“Call her. Have her meet you at Aidan’s place in Enchanter’
s Bluff. I need you all to get Dr. Garriso. Del and Nix will meet you there, and Del will transport you out of town.”
He nodded, reaching for his cell phone.
“I’m going to go find Nix and Del. They should be here by now.” I ran from P & P, sprinting past Ancient Magic when I realized the shop was empty.
I disengaged the enchantments on the green door and took the stairs two at a time. I passed the second floor where Del lived, but by the time I reached the third floor, I realized I’d probably better check on them. They might be on their way, but they might also be distracted. I’d been so desperate to get to my trove that it hadn’t crossed my mind.
I pounded on Nix’s door. She didn’t answer.
Shit. Where was she?
I pushed open the door. The small living room was empty. It was much better decorated than mine, though still tiny.
“Nix?” I called as I walked to her bedroom.
She stood in front of the open door to her trove, frozen.
Oh no.
Distracted.
I ran to her and grabbed her arm, tugging her backward. “Come on, Nix. We can’t take it. We gotta go.”
Her glazed eyes met mine. “Leave it all?”
“Yeah. We gotta.” I thought of the locket in the back of my own trove. The only thing I had of my parents. At least, I thought it was from them. I had no memory of it or them, only that I’d been wearing the locket when I’d woken at fifteen with my past completely blacked out.
I couldn’t leave it.
“Pick one thing, Nix. Whatever you can carry. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, her eyes vacant. I hoped she’d be ready when I came back.
I sprinted back down the stairs to Del’s door on the second floor. No answer. I pushed it open and went through to Del’s bedroom. Like Nix, her trove door was open, but Del stood at the foot of the bed, shoving stuff into a big duffle bag.
She glanced up, her gaze wild. “I’m coming. I just had to get some things.”
At least she was more conscious than Nix. “Good. Hurry. Nix is in a bad way. Meet me at her place.”
“You going to your trove?”
“Yeah. Come get me if I’m not out in three.”
