by Linsey Hall
“And that might be?” she asked.
“You’re FireSouls.”
Quick as a flash, she drew her sword and pressed the tip to his throat. “I’ve heard of you. Stickler for the rules. And the rules don’t like us.”
“They don’t.” His head tilted slightly toward me. “But I like her. And I won’t turn you in.”
“He’s legit,” I said.
“You better be.” Corin lowered her sword. “What are you doing here? How did you bring him?”
“I don’t know.”
“A non-FireSoul shouldn’t be allowed through the portal. Unless you were touching him. I’ve heard that can work sometimes. Though we’ve never brought someone who wasn’t our kind here. Not in my time.”
“Just the hellhounds.”
She smiled wryly. “They’re an exception.” She waved us in. “Come on in. Why are you here?”
“Do you have a Phantom dragon here?”
“A what?”
My heart sank. “If she were here, you wouldn’t have missed her. She looks like a Phantom or a blue dragon.”
“Dragons are dead. And there are no Phantoms here.”
“I know. She’s not a real dragon. She sent me here.”
“I’m sorry, there are no Phantom dragons here. But maybe we can help you find out why she sent you here.”
“Thanks.” I followed her into the courtyard, wondering why Draka had sent me here.
Though run down, the place was magical. And I knew magic. There were ornate buildings and towers and turrets that twisted up into the sky. If four Rapunzels leaned out and waved at me, I wouldn’t be surprised. Flower-covered vines climbed up the stone walls, curling over balconies. Tall grass grew in any area that wasn’t covered by a path, and the fountains were dry.
It was built to hold hundreds of people. But only about a dozen FireSouls lived here, along with the hellhounds who’d disappeared somewhere.
“Why don’t we go see Flora, the librarian?” Corin said. “She knows all kinds of things.”
Maybe it would work, but I wasn’t hopeful. For good measure, I called on my dragon sense, hoping it would give me an idea of what I was looking for here.
I got nothing. It was dead as a doornail.
Draka had led me here, but this was it.
“Seeing Flora sounds great, thanks.” If anything, I just needed a place to sit down and think. The library had lots of chairs. And who knew? Maybe Flora would have some info.
Roarke and I followed Corin up the path. Though I heard voices a couple times, we saw no one else. It’d be easy to get lost in a place as large as this, though.
We entered a large stone building at the back of the fortress compound. Stepping into the main library room was like stepping into heaven. Massive wooden doors opened onto a large, oval-shaped room. Bookshelves soared to the ceiling three stories overhead. Balconies on each floor were accessed by seven spiral staircases. Circular, tower-shaped bookcases sat in the center of the room and extended two stories up. Tables and comfy chairs filled the rest of the space.
I’d only been here once before, but I hadn’t wanted to leave. If I didn’t have Draka to hunt for, Roarke would probably have to carry me out of this place.
We found the librarian in the middle of the room, just as we had last time. She sat at the largest table, which she’d piled high with books. She didn’t look up as we approached, no doubt absorbed in her book.
I knew how that was.
“Flora,” Corin said.
The pixie-looking woman didn’t budge.
“Flora! Guests!” Corin shouted. Her voice echoed and I flinched. So did Roarke, who rarely showed any kind of reaction.
Flora looked up slowly. I wondered if she was hard of hearing or if she was just so stuck in her mind that Corin’s voice didn’t sound so loud. Flora blinked big green eyes at us. They were partially unfocused.
Yeah, stuck in that book big time. I wanted a peek.
Flora was fae as well as FireSoul, as far as I could tell, from her ears and the timeless quality about her. Though she looked young, I’d put money on her being nearly a hundred. Fae lived a damned long time.
“Flora? We have some questions for you.”
“Again? You were here just yesterday.” She nodded at me. “With her.”
I glanced at Corin. I’d been here months ago. Corin shrugged slightly.
“All the same, if you have a moment, we’d really appreciate it,” I said.
Flora nodded.
Corin met my gaze. “I’ll leave you with her. When you’re done, ask her to show you out.”
“All right. Thank you.”
Corin left, and I turned to Flora. “Thank you for answering my questions.
“It’s fine.” She sat back from the table. She’d been hunched over her book like a pretty gargoyle and now looked at least eight inches taller. “How can I help you?”
“I’m not sure, exactly,” I said. “I was drawn here while looking for my friend Draka. She’s a Phantom dragon.”
Excitement flared in Flora’s eyes, making her look fully alert for the first time. “Are you a Phantom?”
I stiffened. She shouldn’t know that. No one should. But then, they wouldn’t turn me in. Every person here, except for Roarke, was technically an illegal sort of supernatural. “How did you know that?”
“I didn’t. But I was recently sent a message by a Phantom dragon.”
“What kind of message?”
“One carried on blue smoke.” Her gaze turned serious. “You must not seek your friend.”
“Why the hell not?
“You must stay safe. You are the last of a dying breed from Snowdonia and hell. You cannot risk yourself.”
Chills raced across my skin. Ever since Draka had disappeared, I’d been worried something bad had happened to her. “Risk myself? So she’s in danger. If I seek her, I’ll be in danger, too.”
“You must not go after her.”
“Where is she?”
“I do not know. But I was meant to pass this message.” Her breathing sped up, like she was stressed.
I backed off the question, hoping to calm her, and went in another direction. “What do you mean, I’m the last of a dying breed from Snowdonia and hell? Is my family dead?”
My heart clenched in my chest as I awaited her response. I’d suspected this was the case, and my few memories of them weren’t positive, but hearing it still made a greasy sickness rise in my stomach.
“Yes. They are dead.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tightened painfully. Roarke’s hand tightened on mine. I squeezed back, grateful that he was here.
“How could I be from Snowdonia and hell? That’s not possible.”
“Where else would a Phantom halfbreed’s ancestral homeland be located, if not for Earth and hell?”
“Both?”
“Yes. But you’re the last. You, and Draka. You must not risk it. With your role in the Triumvirate, you must not die.”
“Dying isn’t new to me. And I won’t leave my friend if she needs me.”
“There’s nothing you can do for her,” Flora said. “You will not go after Draka.”
“Will not? You can’t tell me what to do.” Flora had confirmed my fears. Nothing would stop me. I’d felt Draka’s love in my dreams. She would do the same for me.
Flora’s gaze turned sad. “You’ll try to go after her.”
“Tell me anything you can to help me,” I begged. “Increase my chances.”
She shook her head. “No. I know nothing. And you will not go.”
I pushed away from the table, rising. Roarke followed.
“Thank you for the help, Flora.” I turned to leave.
“You will not go.” The power in her voice sent a shiver of stark fear across my skin. I’d never heard such power in a being’s voice. Not even in Roarke’s.
Was it some strange fae magic?
I let my ice power rise inside of me. I wouldn’t kill her. No wa
y I could do that. But if I had to defend myself…defend Draka….
I spun around just in time to see Flora’s eyes flare wide and flash green as acid. She flung out her hands and screamed, “You will not go!”
The air around me turned gelatinous. It was clear enough to see Flora, whose hair now waved in an invisible wind of her power, but it was thick around my limbs, binding them tight to my sides.
Frantic, I glanced at Roarke out of the corners of my eyes as I struggled to break free.
He was bound too! The veins in his neck bulged with strain as he fought to free himself. But it didn’t work.
I could feel Flora’s power on the air, like electricity crackling against my skin. Through the air that bound us, she looked wild.
Her mousey exterior and piles of books had hidden a fae of the most incredible power.
It was always the bookish ones you had to be worried about. They knew shit. And Flora knew some powerful magic. No matter how much I strained, I couldn’t break free.
She held out her hands toward us, her gaze still an acid green. Magic flowed from her palms, drifting toward us. I’d never seen magic behave quite like that before. Eerie.
Sweat broke out on my skin.
Roarke and I slowly drifted backwards until our backs were pressed against the wall.
“You must stay there.” Flora’s voice was still as deep and powerful as it had been, though softer. “The magic will not harm you. I will release you soon, when it is safe. I promised.”
I tried to open my mouth to demand answers. When it is safe!? Promised to who? But my jaw was solidly shut, bound by magic.
Flora’s gaze turned sad, and the acid green faded to the normal grassy shade. When she spoke, her voice was back to normal. Wispy and distant. She was barely seeing us now; she was so far back into her usual distant land.
“It is truly a shame, to lose all the Phantom dragons with the one.” Her gaze flicked up to me. “But we need you. The Triumvirate needs you. The world needs you.”
What the heck was I supposed to do with that? Frustration was a balloon growing in my chest.
“She was clear. And this must be done.” Flora turned and walked back to her desk, then sat and pulled a book over.
Stupefied, I stared at her. Even if I had been able to move or talk, I probably wouldn’t have been able to.
She was just going to sit there, reading like normal? And leave us here in this weird prison?
It was insane.
There was no way she could get away with it. Someone would come in here eventually and find us.
As if I’d called her, Corin stepped through the library door a moment later. Like a true warrior, she surveyed the room the way I was sure she did anytime she entered. It was habit, ingrained after years of being hunted.
“Did they leave?” she asked Flora.
Flora didn’t look up.
“Flora!”
Flora startled, jerking her hazy gaze up to meet Corin’s. “Leave?”
“Yes, Del and her friend Roarke.”
Inside, I screamed like a banshee, trying to get Corin’s attention. It didn’t work.
“Oh, yes.” Flora shook her head as if to clear it. If she were acting, I totally bought it. She could get a dozen Oscars for this performance. “I helped them with a question about their friend and walked them out.”
No! Frustration beat at my chest with fists of iron.
“They didn’t need anything else?”
“No.”
“Perfect.” Corin smiled. “See you later, Flora.”
When Corin turned to leave, I caught sight of her expression. My hope shriveled to dust.
She trusted Flora. Implicitly. And didn’t question a single thing she’d just heard.
Oh, fates. We are in trouble.
Chapter Four
Roarke and I stood for hours, just watching Flora read. The lights had dimmed, and I felt like a toy forgotten on the shelf. Early on, I’d tried adopting my Phantom form to see if I could drift out of this prison. I’d failed. So my mind spun like a hamster in a wheel while the rest of me did nothing but float.
The spell that trapped us was completely comfortable—no aches or pains or hunger, even though I’d digested my muffin hours ago. But that was worse. It meant that this magic was meant to keep us in stasis for however long Flora needed.
As relaxed and comfortable as my body was, my mind was a carnival of fear, worry, and frustration. Escape plans disappeared as quickly as they formed. There was no way out of this.
Occasionally, I managed to steal a glance at Roarke out of the corner of my eye. My eyeballs seemed to be the only things I could move—I couldn’t even blink my eyelids. He looked alternately frustrated and utterly baffled. Like he’d never experienced anything with this much power over him.
Which made sense. Up until now, he was the most powerful being I’d ever met besides Cass and Aidan.
But Flora….
No one had seen Flora coming. People always underestimated the bookworms. I should have known better, being a bookworm myself.
Idiot.
Finally, Flora yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
Was it already night?
She pushed away from the table and rose, not sparing us a glance as she left.
Oh, fates, I hoped she remembered she’d put us here. I had no idea how long she meant to keep us here, but if she forgot about us…
I wanted to scream.
No. Think, think, think.
There had to be a way out. My Phantom power had failed. Ice could do nothing here. I could try to use the Ubilaz demon’s power to attract other demons. Until now, I had just repressed it so that other demons didn’t find me. But maybe if a bunch of them attacked, it would cause enough commotion that we might get out somehow.
Immediately, I felt like a jerk.
Not only was that a bad idea—I’d probably just get killed while standing here frozen like a popsicle—but I’d throw my FireSoul friends under the bus. Because the League of FireSouls were my friends. They’d helped us in the past when we’d needed them.
Granted, Flora was being difficult right now, but she had her reasons.
I couldn’t bring demons here.
All afternoon, I’d been trying to call Pond Flower to me. It hadn’t worked, but I tried again anyway. I had no idea if the hellhound could hear me, but please, fates, let me get lucky.
We may have waited hours or minutes, I couldn’t tell, but finally—finally—I heard the click of hellhound toenails on the shining wooden floors. Hope flared in my chest as Pond Flower padded into view.
Her gaze found me immediately. Could she see me, even though Corin hadn’t been able to?
Her black nose twitched and she approached. About six inches before her nose would have touched my waist, it thudded into an invisible barrier. Confusion entered her warm eyes, and she sniffed harder.
Then she turned and left the room.
I screamed like I’d never screamed before. Not a sound escaped my lips, but I heard every decibel in my head like I was at a freaking Justin Bieber concert and the Beebs had refused to show. There was rage, and it was loud.
If I could have kicked things, I would have.
Normally, inaction killed me. Jumping before I looked was a flaw of mine. But this wasn’t just inaction. This was torture.
I had no idea how long I threw my silent but debilitating mental hissy fit, but when Pond Flower showed up with twelve of her closest friends trailing behind, my mind went blank with excitement.
It revved back into gear pretty quickly, but the best it could manage was a weak, What the hell?
The dogs gathered around me and Roarke, noses twitching. I couldn’t feel them, but I almost thought I could smell the brimstone scent of their magic. They were all different colors—black and brown and cream—but their eyes all flared with red fire as their magic swelled. Black flames grew up from their fur, flickering eerily in the dim light of the library.
There was no heat, just magic. It grew stronger and stronger, the scent of brimstone so fierce that I almost gagged.
Would the other FireSouls sense it?
Fates, I hoped not. At least not until the hellhounds finished whatever it was they were doing.
Please let it be releasing us.
The slightest breeze brushed my cheek, the first thing I’d felt in hours. My heart sped up. They were trying to spring us!
Hellhounds had powerful, obscure magic. This might actually work. My hand itched to knock on my head, but it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried. So I settled for just begging fate.
A moment later, I could blink my eyes. Then move my jaw.
“You there?” I asked Roarke, trying to turn my head. It took a moment for that to work out, but it did.
Finally, Roarke said, “Yes.”
“What the hell is going on?” The feminine voice made my stomach drop. We were only half free!
I whipped my gaze toward the voice and saw the familiar tall, blond warrior. Her short hair was sleep-mussed, and her pajama pants had cats on them.
“Corin! Thank fates,” I said.
The hellhounds kept up their magical black flame, burning away the barrier Flora had created.
“What happened to you?” Corin demanded.
“Flora put us here for some reason. She said she’d promised someone.” Draka?
Corin shook her head, her gaze knowing. “She may have. Flora’s weird, but she’s old and powerful. Other old, powerful beings sometimes come to her for help.”
That fit Draka perfectly.
“Be that as it may, we’re getting out of here,” Roarke said.
I could finally move my arms, so I hiked my thumb toward him. “I’m with him.”
Corin nodded. “Fine. I’m going to go wait outside, make sure Flora doesn’t come back. But once these hellhounds free you, run for it. We may be able to hold Flora off, but she’s strong.”
“Thank you.”
“Not a problem.” She headed for the door.
“Come on, guys, hurry.” I petted Pond Flower’s head where it hovered near my hip. Their black flame magic, which didn’t burn my skin, had almost disintegrated the spell all the way down to our calves. Just a little farther.
“Flora underestimated the hellhounds,” Roarke said. “And your bond with them. These dogs normally don’t help anyone.”
