Magic Nights (10 page)

“Our boat is too small,” Naomi commented as they ran.

“We’re not taking that boat.” She cut left, down toward the neighboring shore, where a pirate ship was docked.

Naomi’s eyes widened as they panned across the high beams and big sails of the pirate captain’s ship. “You can’t be serious.”

“Once everyone is on board, set sail for Fairy Island.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Trust me,” Sera said. “Now get the children to that ship.”

“What are you going to do?”

Sera grinned at her. “I’m going to cause a little mayhem.”

She stopped at the top of the ridge. As the last child followed Naomi onto the path that would lead them to the shore, pirates burst through the foliage. Demented grins—some of them missing teeth—shone in the moonlight as they saw Sera. She shot a few blasts of lightning at them, just to get their attention, then sprinted off down a different trail. The pirates followed.

They chased her across the beach where she and Naomi had landed their boat. Sera could see the tips of the pirate ship’s sails on the neighboring beach. By the time the pirates noticed their ship was sailing off, it would be too late. Hopefully.

A ball of fire shot past Sera, barely missing her. A reminder that she should be paying attention to the pirates chasing her. They were mages after all. She ran faster, cutting across the beach. She tugged at the tide with her magic, rolling the waves higher onto the shore. She heard the crash of water, then a few pirates shooting gurgled curses her way. A few of them shot more than foul language at her. She spun around to stare down the storm of magic roaring behind her.

Balls of fire and lightning and ice shot through the air, along with knives and logs and kelp. Beneath Sera’s boots, the ground rumbled, the deep growl of earth awakened. The fiery forms of summoned creatures joined the stampede. Some of the mage shifters in the pirate’s crew had changed into beasts. It was an army of death and devastation. And Sera had no intention of being around to meet it.

The pirates were hot on her trail, so obsessed with catching her that they didn’t realize they’d crossed into the area controlled by the Night Terrors. At least not until it was too late. A war cry, shrill and loud, rose from the bushes up ahead. Other voices joined in, blending together into a terrifying cacophony, warning of blood and pain. And death.

Sera darted toward the encroaching waves, out of the line of fire. The two factions clashed behind her in a fury of magic and steel. She blasted an icy path across the water toward the pirate ship sailing past. She rode the wave of ice to its end. Then, as she shot up into the air, she summoned a gust of wind to carry her the rest of the way to the ship.

“Nice flying,” Naomi said as she touched down on the deck.

“Thanks.” Sera looked around at the children. “Are they all here?”

“Yes. And thanks to that wind you summoned, we’ll reach Fairy Island in no time.” Naomi’s eyes turned as black as midnight. “And then I’m going to deal with Cloud Silverstride.”

CHAPTER NINE

Two Dragons

AS SOON AS they docked at Fairy Island, Naomi hurried off the ship. She asked the two mages standing there to keep an eye on the children until she returned, then ran off. Sera followed her friend down the mulch path. They ducked into a small grove of orange trees.

They returned a few minutes later, Naomi’s sword to Cloud’s throat. While he still smelled strongly of Fairy Lily, the carefree grin on his face had been completely wiped away. Fear clung to him, saturating his magic. He knew he’d been busted. But there was something else too, simmering beneath the surface. Calculation, cold and defiant. Sera showed him her sword, just in case he decided to put his plans into motion. Cloud’s eyes flicked from Naomi to her, then he slouched in defeat.

Naomi dragged him into the great hall, throwing him to the floor at her mother’s feet. She didn’t bother to be gentle about it either. Celeste’s gaze panned from Cloud up to Naomi.

“What…” Her puzzlement faded to joy when she saw Ruby and Ivy. She extended her hands out to her youngest daughters, and they ran into her arms. “Thank you,” she mouthed to Naomi and Sera as she hugged the girls tightly. When all the hugging was done, she stepped back and gave the girls a hard look. “To your rooms. You’re grounded for a month.”

“But—”

“You didn’t just hide a few bottles of nectar this time. You could have gotten yourselves killed.” She pointed at the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Go now. Before I ground you for a year instead.”

The girls slogged off down the hallway, their heads low. Once they were out of sight, Celeste folded her arms across her chest and looked at Naomi expectantly.

“The pirates were collecting hybrid children for Darksire.”

“Darksire?” Celeste bit down on her lip. “He’s returned?”

“Apparently so. Maybe if we’d had more time, I could have found and interrogated the pirates’ captain to learn more. But there wasn’t time. We barely got the children off the island.”

Celeste grew very still. She looked at Cora, then back at Naomi. “You freed all the children?”

“Yes. They’re here. We took the pirates’ ship. We’re going to sail it back to Mayhem and find the kids’ families.”

“And why have you dragged Cloud here?” Celeste asked.

“He was the pirates’ inside man. He helped them locate hybrid children in the city. And he was slowly disabling Fairy Island’s magical defenses from the inside so the pirates could attack and snatch the children. They promised him Fairy Island in exchange for his help.”

Anger flared in Celeste’s eyes, and a gust of wind cut through the hall, cold and harsh. The aftertaste of elemental magic lingered in the air. “Get him out of my sight,” she growled. “I don’t want to see his face on my island ever again.”

Naomi nodded, then grabbed Cloud roughly by the arm, pulling him toward the exit.

“Naomi,” her mother called out as they reached the door.

They looked back at her.

Celeste’s face had softened. “Thank you.”

“I just did what had to be done.”

A soft laugh—or was that a grunt?—buzzed on Celeste’s lips. “I hope you’ll come and visit us again soon.”

“You know I will,” Naomi said, then dragged Cloud toward the door.

Sera followed her. They took the path back toward the ship. They’d only made it a third of the way there when Cloud pulled free of Naomi and made a run for it. Sera smacked him in the back with a ball of wind, knocking him flat on his face. Then, before he could push up from the ground, Naomi blasted him with Fairy Dust.

Naomi stared down at his limp body. “Great. Now we have to carry his sorry ass back to the ship.”

“I’ll do it,” Sera said, lifting him up and over her shoulder.

Naomi watched, her tired eyes buzzing with amusement. “You are freakishly strong, Sera.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “It must be the dragon in you.”

“Na, she’s harmless.”

“She?”

“The dragon in me.”

“Oh.” Naomi’s eyes grew wide. “It was just a figure of speech. You actually have a dragon in you?”

“Well, kind of. She’s the other half of me. We’re still trying to figure out what that means.”

“So you’re half dragon,” Naomi said, her lip twitching. “No wonder you like Kai.”

“Technically, he’s not a dragon, at least not like I am. He uses magic to shift into one. I just am dragon. Or half dragon. I’m not quite sure actually. I haven’t found any books on the subject.”

“The Council has probably hidden them.”

“Or burned them,” Sera said glumly. “Whatever the case, I can’t get any information that way. And there isn’t anyone I can ask about it.”

“That’s not true, Sera.”

“Naomi—”

“Talk to Kai. He might know something. Or maybe he can get you these books. If nothing else, you will feel better if you can share this with him.”

She’s right,
her dragon said.

Thanks for chiming in.

Her dragon smirked.
You’re welcome.

“Sera?”

“Sorry.” Sera shook herself. “I was just discussing things with the peanut gallery.”

“The peanut gallery?” Realization dawned on her face. “Ah. Your dragon. And what does she say?”

“That you’re right.”

“There you go then. Two-to-one.”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Sera told her.

Naomi shrugged. “You can’t argue with yourself.”

The dragon beamed inside her head.
I like her.

“Let’s just get this drug lord onto the ship,” Sera said, hurrying across the dock.

Naomi nodded at the two fairies who’d been watching the children. Sera walked up the plank and dropped Cloud on the deck.

“Ready to go home?” Sera asked the children.

They flashed her chocolate-faced smiles. A pile of crinkled candy bar wrappers lay around them. As Naomi sailed the ship toward San Francisco, a breeze rustled across the wooden deck, displacing the wrappers.

I really should tell him,
Sera said as she chased down the wayward wrappers and stuffed them into a garbage can nailed to the mast. Pirates could be practical when they wanted to be. Except in their choice of clothes.

Finally. Welcome to reality.

Do you realize how odd that sounds coming from the voice in my head?

Her dragon chuckled.

I want to tell him,
Sera told her.

But you’re afraid.

Yes,
Sera agreed.
If he turns on me…

He won’t.

I am an abomination.

No, you’re not. You’re a person. A good person. Kai knows that.

I can’t fight him. I can’t…

Kill him?

Sera shook her head.
No.

You love him.

Sera didn’t respond. Her dragon knew her feelings as well as she did. Maybe even better. She felt a tight pressure in her chest, pain and pleasure wrapped up into one mangled package.

Sera didn’t know how long she’d fallen deep into her own thoughts, but by the time she snapped out of her trance, the ship was closing in on the city. As it rocked gently against the pier, she saw a crowd of mercenaries standing in front of several big black vans. They were from Mayhem. Naomi must have called ahead while Sera had been standing at the edge of the deck, staring blankly across the bay.

The mercenaries streamed on board, carrying the children off toward the vans. They’d be reunited with their families soon. Sera walked down the plank. Naomi and Cutler were debating what to do with the spiffy pirate ship they’d confiscated. Cloud sat on the ground at Naomi’s feet, his hands chained to a metal post. Thanks to his fairy blood, he was awake, if not still somewhat dazed. But Cloud didn’t look particularly thankful as Naomi and Cutler—diverted from their pirate ship debate—turned their eyes on him to discuss his fate.

Sera’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. Kai. She took a deep breath and answered. It was time to stop running.

“Hi.”

“I heard you’re back in town,” he said.

“You have excellent sources.”

“Yes.” He paused. “Are you up for finishing our date?”

She waved goodbye to Naomi. “Absolutely.”

“Then I’ll be right there.”

* * *

Kai wasn’t kidding. Sera had only been waiting there for a few minutes when his black SUV pulled up beside her. She didn’t comment on the creative way he’d navigated the pedestrian zone, nor tease him about his tank of a car. Right now, her mind was too preoccupied for sarcasm.

She hopped into his car. “So, where are we going tonight? Prime Steakhouse? The Sanctum? Illusion?” she asked, naming a few of the places the city’s magical elite frequented. Places that Kai liked.

“Illusion is still repairing that broken window,” he told her. “And even if they weren’t, we’ve had no luck going out to eat. So I thought we’d stay in tonight.” He paused, glancing over at her to gauge her reaction. “My place.”

“Sounds great.”

Unlike most of the city’s magical elite, Kai didn’t live in the Presidio. He had an apartment close to the Drachenburg Industries building in the Financial District. Like its location, the building was practical. Oh, it was all kinds of posh too, but at least the architect seemed to have actually thought about how people would live there rather than just gotten lost in how cool it looked. The walls seemed to be at nice right angles—for the most part.

Kai parked in the large underground garage. He took her hand as they crossed the concrete expanse, leading her toward an elevator.

She smirked at him as he pressed the button for the top floor. “I’ve decided that dragons are like cats. They like high places.”

“That’s not all I like.”

Her smile faltered as he met her gaze, his eyes pulsing with blue fire. His magic electrified the air, jumpstarting every nerve in her body. Hot and potent with sweet spice, it crackled in front of her, daring her to touch it.

She dared.

Sera reached out—with her hand and her magic. Golden sparks jumped from her fingertips, trickling down his chest in electrically-charged spirals. His arm locked around her back and tugged her roughly against him. His lips traced her jawline, his teeth nipping at her soft, sensitive flesh. A low groan crested her lips, and she pushed him against the wall.

“Careful, sweetheart,” he growled into her ear. His hand slid beneath her top, teasing the lacy ledge of her bra. “You’re going to bring the elevator down.”

Sera ignored the sparkling tendrils of purple magic dancing across the elevator walls. “I don’t care.” She tugged his shirt loose and slid it over his head. Tossing it onto the floor, she added, “I’m wishing I’d thought to put on a skirt this morning.”

His brows lifted nearly to his hairline. His magic grew so thick that she could hardly breathe. She’d long since lost the ability to think straight. Something rang in her mind, so distant that she hardly heard it.

“The door,” he said, his lips brushing against hers.

She looked past him—right into the horrified face of an elderly lady. No, make that
two
elderly ladies. And one of them was Bethany Harrower. Her lips were pursed together in disapproval, her hand clenched around the strap of her leather handbag. Her tiny purple poodle poked out of the top. Her friend had a pink poodle in her purse. Sera took an awkward step away from Kai, her cheeks burning.