Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) (25 page)

“She kissed him?”

“Yes.” The memory scraped against Alex’s brain like a dull, rusty knife.

“On the lips?”

“Yes.”

“What did he do?”

“He pulled away.”

“Well, that’s something,” said Sera.

“He should have thrown her through the window,” Alex growled.

“Did you throw her through the window?”

“No, I probably should have. Instead, I grabbed his butt like an idiot.”

A burst of laughter exploded from Sera’s lips. She choked it down. “Sorry.”

“Logan thought my behavior was amusing as well.”

“That’s the other side of the vampire bonding magic, you know,” said Sera. “They want to possess but also to be possessed. He liked that you were being possessive of him, marking him as yours.”

Alex heaved a heavy sigh. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am. I’ve read a lot of magic books.”

“I took a look at the one you left for me,” Alex told her, glancing toward the door.

“Don’t worry. Kai is with the commandos in the basement. They can’t hear you.”

“What are they doing in the basement?”

“Checking out the armory.”

“There’s an armory in this house?”

“Yes. And right next to it, there’s a room stuffed full of neatly organized shelves of magical potions. Dal got really excited.” Sera chuckled. “So was the book helpful?”

“I’m not quite sure yet. It has some tales of Dragon Born mages. And the supernatural world events of the past. Long ago, the mages worshipped dragons. After a century or so of that, they finally realized that the dragons they were worshipping were actually mages. The dragon worshipping stopped some time after that, though it persists in some form today. Dragons are considered the pinnacle of mage magic. Mage shifters who can take dragon form, like Kai, and mages who can summon dragons, like Marek, are considered the top of the elite.”

“And yet Dragon Born mages are still condemned as abominations,” Sera commented.

“Since when have people ever made sense?” Alex pointed out.

“Very true. What else does the book say?” Sera asked her.

“Even centuries after the dragon worshipping stopped, the Dragon Born were an important part of the thriving mage community, their magic tipping the balance of supernatural power in the mages’ favor,” Alex said. “And then one day, the mages just turned against the Dragon Born, declaring them abominations. They killed them all, then rewrote history to state that the Dragon Born were dark mages who stole dragon magic and killed the real dragons.”

“Ridiculous.”

“Oh, but there’s more,” Alex told her. “According to this book, certain mages have the potential to be Dragon Born, yet very few Dragon Born are born. Sometimes, the dragon magic runs in families. Sometimes, it just appears.”

“Magic works in unpredictable ways,” commented Sera.

“It really does,” Alex agreed. “The dragon shifters and dragon summoners are mages who also hold this dragon magic, but either not the right blend or amount to be Dragon Born.”

“Like Kai,” Sera said.

“Right. He has a lot of dragon power. He could have been Dragon Born except the magical conditions weren’t all lined up in that unlikely combination when he was conceived. Contrary to the lies spread by the haters, the Dragon Born are not conceived by dark magic or sinister ceremonies and sacrifices or stealing magic. In theory, it could happen to any mage if the right magical conditions are present, though no one knows exactly what they are. Dragon Born mages are extremely rare, the book says. At most, a few are born each generation.”

“So there could be more Dragon Born out there.”

“There could be,” agreed Alex. “There was one interesting account in the book about a Dragon Born mage who possessed mixed supernatural power like I do. I thought my mixed magic might be why I’m having all these dreams.”

“What did the book say about her?”

“Not much. Just that she was married to a fairy, they bonded with magic, and she got vampire powers when a spell against a group of vampires backfired on her. She died centuries ago, when the Magic Council began hunting down our kind. I wish I knew if she had visions and nightmares too.”

“Maybe we can find out more about her.” Sera opened her mouth to speak again, then stopped. “Kai and the guys are coming. Come on.” She pulled Alex onto the mat.

When Kai appeared in the doorway a few moments later, Alex and Sera were on their hands and knees, rocking their hips in slow, easy movements.

“You should do that one more often,” Kai said, his eyes following the sway of Sera’s hips.

Sera’s mouth quirked up. “Come to enjoy the show?”

“Not this time, sweetheart,” he said as the commandos closed in behind him. “We have a lead on an Alden hideout. And maybe those kidnapped Council members.”

Sera jumped to her feet. “Let’s get going then.” She glanced down at Alex, who saw no reason to stop rocking. It was strangely therapeutic. “See you soon, Alex.”

“I’m taking you shopping.”

Sera turned as she reached the doorway, throwing a smile back at Alex. “It’s a date.” She reached down to grab her sword and an overstuffed pink sports bag with pieces of black battle leather peeking out of the top.

Finished with her hip rocking, Alex grabbed her partial muffin and energy drink and headed for the living room. She plopped down on her favorite sofa. She heard Sera, Kai, and the commandos leave. At the same time, Marek and Eva came in, their voices echoing down the long hallway. By the time they entered the living room, Alex had opened a novel whose cover promised pirates lived within its pages.

“That muffin smells divine,” Eva commented.

Alex looked up from her book. “There are more in the kitchen.”

“Would you like one?” Eva asked Marek.

His dark eyes shifted to Alex. “Did you make them?”

“No, Sera and Dal did.”

“Then I’ll have one,” he told Eva.

Haha.

As Eva walked to the kitchen, Marek sat down next to Alex. “Where’s your assassin?”

“Out. Apparently.”

“Apparently?”

“Apparently because I was napping when he left, and he didn’t tell me where he went.”

“That is not uncommon behavior from him. Though lately he has been rather attached to you.”

“Sera saw him as he left. He told her he got a call from Zinnia, and that he was going to see her.”

“Oh.” There was something definitive about that ‘oh’, like an executioner’s axe hitting the block.

“Spit it out, Marek.”

“You do realize she wants to take him from you, I trust?”

“Yes, I am well aware,” Alex growled. “At lunch, she shared lovely stories about how she and Logan did it in a church. And everywhere else on the planet basically. She has made her intentions quite clear.”

“And you are all right with that?”

Alex slammed her book shut. The pirates would have to wait. “No, Marek, I’m not all right with that. Logan says this is all a game to her, that she’s trying to amuse herself. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t. Logan can take care of himself. And if she touches him again, I will take care of her. Until then, I’m going to eat lots of chocolate and mope.”

Eva swept in. She handed Alex another chocolate muffin. “You looked like you needed this.”

“Thanks.” Alex took a bite. It was just as delicious as the last one—just not delicious enough to make her forget all about Zinnia. Oh, well. There were a dozen more muffins waiting in the kitchen, begging to be eaten.

Eva sat down next to Marek, carrying their two muffins.

“How’s it going with finding your mother and the other kidnapped Magic Council members?” Alex asked.

“Not well,” Marek said with none of his usual pep. He looked downright gloomy. Poor guy. “I hope Zinnia has found something to help—” He stopped mid-sentence. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Zinnia is an investigator hired by the Magic Council to find those members. I hope Zinnia succeeds too.”

Even if it meant she’d win their little competition. Assuming either of them could win. The magic trail was dead on Alex’s end. Maybe Zinnia would have better luck with the residue since her equipment might be able to handle stuff it had contaminated. Or, here was a thought: maybe Zinnia gave her a contaminated sample on purpose. Alex wouldn’t put anything past that woman.

“We’re not certain Zinnia will succeed,” Eva said. “We’ve been going over the site with a team too. The other Council members were taken away by glyphs, but not Marek’s mother. There was no sign of a glyph, not even the ghost of one.”

“We thought that was because she’d been taken first,” said Alex.

“No, even hours later, the imprint of glyphs linger on. A glyph doesn’t disappear that quickly. The fast-fading ones can’t be used again, but even with those, there’s still a magical footprint. I talked to my gran,” Eva told her. “And she believes Marek’s mother was taken with spirit magic.”

“Spirit magic?”

“It’s a branch of fairy magic.”

“Like necromancy?” Alex asked.

“They are related but not quite the same. Spirit Magic is a fairy ability, a very rare one. Fairies with that magic are called Spirit Warriors. They can navigate the spirit realm.”

“You mean hell,” Alex said.

“The spirit realm, hell, the underworld—all are names for the same thing. The name depends on who you ask. Whatever name you choose, the reality is the same. There are nine circles of the spirit realm. These circles are a gradient, with the first being only slightly different from earth, whereas the ninth, the core of hell, is very much unlike our world. It’s supposed to be a wretched place where only the worst demons and most demented souls live.”

“Sounds charming,” commented Alex.

“A Spirit Warrior can weave through the realms, so it would seem they are disappearing when they are just traveling through a parallel level of the world.”

“Could a Spirit Warrior pop from one end of the city to the other in minutes?”

“In theory, it’s possible,” Eva said. “There are supposed to be rivers of magic that run through the circles of the spirit realm. They can make you move faster from some places to others. The deeper you dive into the spirit realm, the more of these rivers you find.”

That would explain how the thief seemed to disappear from the crime scenes and then pop up somewhere far away just a few minutes later.

“And you think a necromancer could have the ability to travel to the underworld?” Alex asked Eva.

“Not naturally, no. Crossing realms and controlling the dead are two mutually exclusive powers in fairy magic. And thank goodness. Could you imagine if a fairy possessed both?”

“They could travel into the underworld and bring back legions of the dead, using them to take over the world,” Alex said.

The color drained from Eva’s face. “Yes.”

“Ok, so if necromancers can’t travel to the underworld, how is
this
necromancer doing it?” Alex asked.

“The Midnight Cape,” Eva told her.

“One of the Ornaments of the Dead the thief stole?”

Eva nodded. “Gran said the Midnight Cape allows its wearer access to the spirit realm. How much you can do with it is dependent on how compatible your magic is with it. Most people could only dive into the first circle. But necromancer magic is close enough to that of the Spirit Warriors’ to allow them to dive deeper. Maybe even several levels deeper. The necromancer could empty half of the underworld onto our front doorstep.”

Fantastic. Maybe they’d celebrated the apocalypse too early last night. Monsters were just the beginning.

“The necromancer needs only one more artifact,” Alex said. “And if he kidnapped Marek’s mother to try to find out its location, we could very well be closer to the end than we’d thought.”

“My mum won’t break.” Marek’s jaw clenched. “Not ever.”

Alex chewed on her lip, trying to find a diplomatic way to say this. “Marek, the necromancer controls the dead. I’ve seen him make freshly dead fairies rise again, and they kept all their magic. The necromancer drove them like magic weapons. They were fully intact—and fully under his control. All he has to do is kill your mother, and then control her to lead him to the Starlight ring.”

A nearby vase exploded into ceramic shards. Marek’s magic thumped in angry, frightened beats.

Nice going,
Nova told Alex.
Real diplomatic.

Unfortunately, I don’t think there was a diplomatic way to say that.

“If that necromancer so much as touches my mother, I will burn him. Slowly.” Marek knocked out the words like they’d been chiseled off a mountainside.

“Gran told me where the ring is being kept,” Eva said. “Perhaps we can get to it first.”

Marek rushed to his feet.

“Wait, Marek.” Eva stood, taking his hands.

He didn’t look like he was going to wait, not even for her. Purple lightning sizzled in his black spiked hair. His magic was zigzagging wildly. He was a firecracker ready to go off.

Eva spoke again. “If we are right, and the necromancer is using the Midnight Cape to navigate realms, he has a huge advantage. We won’t be able to follow him if he runs. We need to level the playing field.”

“How?” asked Alex.

“With Naomi,” Eva declared. “She is a Spirit Warrior.”

“Since when?”

“Since always,” Eva said. “But Gran only figured it out last night.”

“Then we’ll call her.” Alex reached for her phone on the coffee table.

“I already tried to call her when I was in the kitchen just now. Her phone goes straight to voicemail. We’ll have to try again later.”

“Are you suggesting we wait?” Marek asked. He looked like he’d explode if someone told him to wait. Agony ripped through his magic, tearing his self-assured demeanor to shreds. He really loved his mother.

“No, we’re not waiting,” Eva said. “We go for the ring now. Then we’ll use it to draw out the necromancer. When he tries to escape through the spirit realm, we’ll tag him with a dose of magic Alex can track. He will lead us right to your mother.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Supernatural Death Squad

ACCORDING TO EVA, the Starlight ring was being kept in an antique shop owned by a fairy as old as the antiques he was selling. Marek took them there in his obscenely red sports car, driving with no concern for either other cars’ safety or his own. Now, Alex liked to live on the wild side, but by the end of that drive she was ready to thump him over the head with the rules of the road handbook.