Dragon Blood

by Linsey Hall

  Magic began to sparkle around it. I looked up, spotting the Oraxia demon about twenty feet away. The others were slowing him down, but he could still move, though slowly.

  With a jolt of horror, I realized that he was almost there.

  The magic around the stone bottle faded. It was done.

  Pleas work, please work, please work.

  I surged to my feet and raced after the demon, careful not to get between him and any of the attacking mages from my side. I was still invisible and didn’t want to screw this all up because I was a moron. Over the sound of thunder and the blasts of magic, he couldn’t hear my footsteps.

  When I was nearly to the demon, I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm. “Declan, stop the attack.”

  Declan roared, then shot his lightning toward the sky. The attack stopped.

  The demon stiffened, as if he knew something was up. But I was so close that he didn’t have a chance to react. I slammed into his back so hard that he flew to the ground. I followed him down, straddling him from behind.

  I shoved my nullifying magic into him, and his protective charm didn't zap me. Before he could move, I yanked the top off the stone jar and dumped the potion on the back of his neck, making sure to hit his orange skin.

  His flesh sizzled, and he bellowed.

  “I’m your new master now!” I shouted. “You will obey me.”

  He shouted and thrashed, trying to break free. I punched him in the head, carefully avoiding his four horns, but he bucked, throwing me off him. I crashed onto the ground, pain flaring in my shoulder.

  The demon surged to his feet, spinning to find me.

  I leapt up, charging him.

  He still couldn’t see me, so I had the advantage. Right before I reached him, I drew my dagger from the ether. I stabbed it into his shoulder, far from anywhere there might be a heart, and threw my entire body weight onto him.

  I took him to the ground again, but he was fast. His big hand smashed into my upper arm. I felt—and heard—my arm break. My stomach lugged, and I nearly puked on his orange face.

  Fortunately, it was the arm that didn’t hold the knife, so I twisted the blade. I straddled him, refusing to let go. The bag containing the orb was squished against my leg, but didn’t feel breakable. The contents felt sturdy as a rock.

  “You bastard,” I hissed, thinking of the frozen bodies of my friends.

  My nullifying magic was working—it let me get past his defenses and hurt him—but it also meant I was close enough for him to hurt me.

  He pounded his fist into my thigh, and stars sparked in my vision. I didn’t hear the bone snap, but damn, it hurt. I wouldn’t be walking well for a week. The demon couldn’t see what he was hitting, but damned if he didn't have good aim.

  I fought the nausea and called upon my power to compel him. I could feel it, a connection created by the potion. The Devyver said that the demon would be fighting his allegiance to me and to the ones who had originally hired him.

  Well, I was here now, and I was going to win.

  “You’re mine to command.” My icy voice rang with power.

  He growled.

  I twisted the knife again.

  He thrashed, trying to throw me off him. I could feel him succumbing to the potion, to my mastery, but it hadn’t taken full effect yet.

  Maybe he needed to see my face.

  I tried to raise my broken arm to shove my hood back, but I could barely twitch the useless thing. And no way in hell I’d remove the dagger from his shoulder.

  I threw my head back so violently that it nearly gave me a headache, but the hood fell back off my face.

  Suddenly, I became aware of the crowd around me. The last of the Oraxia demon’s minions had been killed off, and all eyes were on me. The Protectorate members had crept closer, and now they could see who was making the demon thrash around wildly.

  Damn, this was going to be hard to explain. Especially to Declan. I wanted to see him, but didn’t dare look.

  “I’m Aerdeca, and I am your master.” I imbued the words with as much force as I could. “You will recite the spell to remove the curse you’ve placed upon my town. You will.”

  All the while, I made sure to keep up with the nullifying magic. If his defenses returned, I’d be screwed. We’d all be screwed.

  The demon shook his head, fighting me. I pushed my magic toward him, envisioning it as a glittering cloud. I could still feel the connection formed by the potion, and I took advantage of it, strengthening it with my power. It made my stomach turn, but it was working. The demon was calming.

  Suddenly, there was a snap in the air. Like a rubber band breaking and hitting me in the forehead.

  I jerked. The demon did as well.

  The potion had taken effect. My power had overridden his previous master’s.

  He was mine to command.

  And it felt like hell.

  The demon sagged. He glared at me with hate, but was able to grind out the word, “Fine.”

  I nodded, feeling the connection even more strongly.

  It made my insides lurch. Even worse than the nullifier’s magic, which wasn’t as bad as I’d expected it to be.

  I stood, my leg feeling like it had been stepped on by a horse, and gestured for the demon to rise. “Stand there. Do nothing.”

  The demon stood still as a board.

  Faintly, I could feel him fighting my pull. I’d have to keep an eye on that.

  I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm. “Mari? Bree? Are the scouts ready?”

  “They’re ready.” Their voices echoed in my ears at the same time.

  We had scouts in each of the other neighborhoods, standing next to the frozen bodies of our friends and neighbors. I needed confirmation that all was back to normal before I killed the demon.

  “Do it.” I shot the demon a hard look, pushing my magic toward him, making sure that he could feel the power of my command. “Cast the spell that will undo the magic that turned our citizens to stone. I can feel when you obey me and when you fight. So do it correctly.”

  The demon bared his teeth, then knelt, reaching into the bag at his side and withdrawing the orb. He set it down in front of him, then bent over, pressing his hands to the ground. Magic surged from him, dark and fierce. It turned the ground around his hands black. I stumbled a few steps away, my stomach churning, but didn’t feel him fighting the connection between us.

  He began to chant in a language I didn't understand, but it felt right, somehow. I hated how so much of this was based on faith and feelings, but it really did feel like it was working. Because I was connected to him.

  It was freaking awful.

  The demon roared the chant louder, and magic sizzled over my skin. The blackened ground around his hands began to glow. The orb began to glow.

  Fear chilled my skin.

  It looked like he was about to cast the final spell that would turn us all to stone. But it didn't feel like that.

  My friends couldn’t feel it though. They didn’t have the same connection that I did.

  I looked up and around, making sure no one would attack. Bree looked like she was about to hurl a bolt of lightning, but I raised my hands, a silent plea.

  She stopped immediately, lowering her hand.

  I looked back at the demon, who was chanting louder than ever. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. When the magic in the air was so staticky that it was almost unbearable, the demon sat up.

  He reached for the orb, then smashed it on the ground.

  Power surged out from the shattered object, so strong that it blew me off my feet. I crashed onto my side, my broken arm hurting so bad that I nearly blacked out.

  The demon was on his back, too, but soon, he’d be up.

  I struggled to get to my feet, but the pain was almost too much.

  Gentle hands gripped my waist and helped me stand. I looked back.

  Declan. He looked pale.

  “Thanks.” My stomach flipped at the memor
y of him seeing me creating new magic.

  No time for that.

  I turned to the demon, who was rising to his feet, and charged him. I slammed him back down to the ground with my weight. No way in hell I was letting him get away. I straddled him, holding him firmly to the ground.

  Voices began to come out of my comms charm.

  “Museum District is awake. They’re statues no longer,” Bree said.

  “Business District is back,” Mari said. “Hang on. So is Darklane, they’re saying.”

  Home.

  “We’ve got word from Government Lane. The mayor is confused.” Bree’s voice was pretty much giddy.

  My heart froze in my chest as I waited to hear about Factory Row. That was the most important one.

  “Factory Row!” Mari cried.

  Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them back so the demon couldn't see.

  I shot him my coldest look. “Tell me who made you do this.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Tell me.” The chill in my voice made him pale. “What do you know about them?”

  I had to know. Because this demon wasn’t the real threat. Whoever had put him up to this was the true danger.

  “They’re from Grimrealm. A group.”

  Ice shot down my spine. “What are they called?”

  “I don’t know.”

  This was no coincidence. The necromancer from last week had been hired by a group from Grimrealm. Now this guy? Not a coincidence.

  I drew my dagger from the ether and held it at his neck. My eye caught on a glint of metal chain behind his shirt. I dug it out, finding a medallion at the end.

  Just like the one the necromancer demon had worn. I yanked it up and held it in front of his face. “What is this?”

  He shrugged. “Just a charm that guarantees I do the job I signed up to do.”

  “You don’t know anything else about it?”

  “No.”

  Shit. “Do you know if this group has a symbol or anything else that is important to them?”

  The icon on the medallion was linked to The Weeds, a weaselly guy in Grimrealm who was basically a demon pimp. He wasn’t the one running the attacks on Magic’s Bend, but he was helping whoever was doing it. Like this demon, he’d said he didn’t know who hired him, and I’d believed him. So what I needed was a clue about the people themselves.

  I poked the dagger deeper into the demon’s neck. “Well, what about that symbol? Do they have one?”

  “Not that they showed me.”

  They wouldn’t, no. They’d want to stay quiet.

  “How many are there?”

  “More than six.” His eyes flashed with irritation. “That’s all I know.”

  I believed him. He’d told me all he could. The connection between us made it easy to feel the truth in his words.

  It was a connection that made my stomach turn and my skin chill. As long as this demon was alive, I’d feel his presence. I’d feel him as part of me.

  I’d wanted to save him for Declan, so he could take him to the High Court of the Angels. But I couldn't bear to live like this, with part of me attached to a demon.

  I stabbed my dagger into his throat, dodging the blood that sprayed. Then I twisted it, making sure he was good and dead.

  As he choked to death, I stood and surveyed the scene.

  Everyone was staring at me, silent.

  I’d taken down the demon they couldn’t even touch.

  Shit.

  Like that wasn’t suspicious.

  I searched for Mari, but saw her nowhere.

  Declan approached, concern on his face. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine.”

  “Let me heal—”

  Before he could finish the words, Mari appeared right next to me, Connor and Cass in tow. She’d transported them here. She grinned widely. “The others are coming.”

  My heart leapt at the sight of Cass and Connor. His floppy black hair looked exactly the same as usual, and his shirt said Packaway Handle. It had to be a band, but not one I’d ever heard of.

  Claire hurtled toward us from the side, throwing her arms around her brother. “Thank fates, you’re safe!”

  He hugged her. “Sis!”

  Cass’s eyes met mine. “Thank you. Mordaca gave me a quick rundown, and thank you.”

  I nodded, then winced at the pain the small movement caused.

  Connor shoved something at me. A little vial of blue liquid. “Mordaca said you’d need this.”

  Warmth swelled in my chest. “Healing potion?”

  “The best.” He grinned.

  It would be. Connor was one of the best potion masters I’d met. My gaze met Declan’s as I swigged back the potion. He’d been about to heal me, but this was better.

  After what he’d seen me do, I didn’t know if he even really wanted to touch me.

  Immediately, the pain in my limbs faded.

  “Oh, thank fates.” Every muscle in my body relaxed.

  “Did you learn who sent him?” Declan asked.

  “Only that it was a group from Grimrealm.”

  “Shit.” Declan rubbed a hand over his face.

  Mari’s eyes darkened. “Like the last time. With the necromancer.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “And he wore the same medallion, so he was probably sent by the same group.”

  Bree and Ana approached, along with everyone else. I spotted Nix and Del, the other FireSouls, back to life and standing at the edge of the crowd. They smiled and waved.

  Bree and Ana stopped in front of us.

  “You were like a ghost,” Ana said, awe in her voice. “We didn't even see you, but you were kicking his ass, appearing here and there. Like a freaking superhero!”

  Pride and worry competed within me. I didn't hate being called a superhero. But how I’d done that would be the next question.

  And it was.

  “How’d you do that?” Bree asked.

  “Blood magic.” The answer was evasive, but she just nodded.

  I had my secrets, and she had hers. With any luck, people wouldn’t ask. I was a blood sorceress, so who were they to say that I didn’t have a little trick up my sleeve. As long as they didn’t know I had dragon blood, there was no reason to worry.

  “Thank you again for coming to help.” My gaze moved from Bree to Ana and then to Jude. “We can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

  They nodded. The FireSouls thanked them, and everyone split off into small groups. Everyone was exhausted, and it was clear that most just wanted to head home and tend to their wounds. We hadn’t lost anyone, at least, and that was a victory to be thankful for.

  Mari joined me, wrapping her arm around my waist.

  She looked at Declan. “Can you give us a minute?”

  He gave her a long look, then gave me an even longer one. Finally, he nodded and walked way.

  I sagged against Mari. “He saw.”

  “Saw what?”

  “The ritual.”

  She stiffened. “Shit.”

  “I know.” My mind raced. “I’ll have to find a way to convince him it was something else. Hell, he probably didn’t even recognize what it was. Who would?”

  “I don’t know.” Mari sounded doubtful. “There was blood, and suddenly you had new magic.”

  “As long as he doesn’t see me use this magic again—as long as he doesn’t know it may be permanent—he might not realize what it means.”

  “Maybe.”

  “How do you feel?” she asked.

  “Kind of shitty. But not awful.” I stiffened. “Wait, can you feel my nullifying magic?”

  “A little.”

  I tried to pull back, not wanting her to feel sick.

  “I can deal with it,” she said.

  I managed to pull away. I caught sight of Cass. She was watching me, an interested gleam in her green eyes.

  I waved her over.

  She approache
d. “There’s something different about you. Your magical signature is different. Darker. Stronger.”

  I nodded, making sure no one was around to hear but Cass and Mari. “I managed to get some nullification magic.”

  Her eyes widened. “How?”

  “I’m not a FireSoul, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I know that.” Her eyes searched mine, and she shook her head. “It’s all right. You don’t have to tell me.”

  I almost did. I knew I could. I could trust Cass. She wasn’t Dani. She’d been in exactly my position before, and I knew she wouldn’t turn me in.

  All the same, I kept it to myself. I knew it was maybe stupid, but fear wasn't rational. We’d learned the hard way about being loose-lipped. “I need to know if I have the same horrible effects that you did when you took the nullifier’s power.”

  “Do you feel like you want to die? Like your soul has left your body and you’re a hollow husk?”

  “No.”

  She shrugged. “Then I’d say you’re all right. You have nullifying magic, and there will be side effects, but you’re not a nullifier. Not wholly.”

  My shoulders sagged with relief. I could still feel my magic inside me—the magic I’d been born with--so that was a good sign. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” She turned to go, then hesitated. “I’m always here for you, you know. I can keep a secret.”

  Though we’d known each other for years, we’d always had a fairly formal relationship—that’s the relationship I had with everyone who wasn’t Mari. An Aerdeca relationship. But to hear her say that meant a lot.

  So I just smiled. “Thank you.”

  We nodded our goodbyes—we’d never been huggers—and she left.

  I turned to Mari. “It worked. I didn’t have to face the consequences. Not most of them, at least.”

  “But you were willing to.”

  I nodded. Yeah. I’d been willing to.

  I looked around, searching for Declan, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  He’d left.

  Shit.

  Epilogue

  The next evening, Mari and I sat at a little table at Potions & Pastilles. We were each dressed in our usual city attire, and I had to be honest, wearing the soft white silk was a nice change from the wet and dirty fight wear I’d been wearing for nearly two days straight. Mari looked fabulous, as always, in her plunging black dress and intense black makeup.