Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) (28 page)

Zinnia clapped her hands, slow and loud. “Very good. You’re not as stupid as you look.”

“But Majestic shouldn’t have been able to summon those mages,” Eva told Alex. “Not without the Midnight Cape to open a path from the spirit realm to here.”

Zinnia winked at Alex. “You can thank your sister for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“When she shot that demon back to the underworld awhile back, she didn’t know what she was doing. She used brute force. Just like you. You two are so unbearably alike.” Zinnia gave her eyes a long, slow roll. “Anyway, the force of her magic sending the demon back was like an earthquake across the realms. It weakened the veils between the nine circles of the spirit realm and the earth.”

Eva gasped.

Alex looked at her. “What does that mean?”

“It means there are fractures in the veils,” said Eva. “The dead might be able to escape into our world, if they can find the tear. A necromancer could be like a beacon, summoning them from our world, allowing them to find the tear and use it to get out.”

“You’re saying that there’s a tear in Munich?”

“Oh, yes.” Zinnia clucked like a delighted chicken. “A small one. It’s very limited compared to the power of the Midnight Cape. With the cape, you can open up a passageway between realms anywhere you want. If Majestic gets her hands on this cape, she could pull out legions of dead. Surely you don’t want that to happen.”

“The effect will snowball,” Eva told Alex. “The artifacts allow people, even those with no spirit magic, to travel into the spirit realm and take people out of there.”

“Majestic is clearly not subtle,” Logan observed. “If she’s planning to pull thousands of people out of there, we’re in for a lot of trouble.”

“The exodus of so many souls will disrupt the balance of energy between earth and the spirit realms,” Eva said. “And with that balance disrupted, the veils between the realms will weaken further. They could rupture, opening up this world to demons and other dark beings.”

“If Majestic gets all the Ornaments of the Dead, you can be certain that she will unleash hell onto this earth,” Zinnia warned them. “The dead’s rage cannot be calmed. They cannot be controlled except by a necromancer. The Grim Reaper will send his army of the dead across the lands, and no one will be able to stop him.”

“That’s what this is about. Control,” Alex realized. “You Convictionites don’t care about whether people die or if the world goes to shit. You only care that you are in control. That’s why you don’t want the Grim Reaper to get the Ornaments of the Dead. He would be in control of the largest army in the world, an army of soldiers you could not control, not even if you managed to steal the Otherworldly Orb.”

“Right,” Eva said. “The Otherworldly Orb’s magic is of this earth. It can only control the otherworldly in our realm. It doesn’t control them in the spirit realm, and it doesn’t summon them from the spirit realm.”

“When ghosts are injured here, they return to the spirit realm to heal,” Alex said, remembering the battle she and Logan had waged against the ghosts.

“Yes,” Eva said. “They return automatically. It’s built into their magic. Even if the Convictionites stole the Otherworldly Orb, they would never be able to take control of enough ghosts to fight Alden. They would lose.”

Zinnia sneered at her. “You’re a pretty little hybrid girl. Aren’t you one of our lab rats from London?”

Eva paled, obviously reminded of her time in that box.

Marek stepped in front of her. Magic burst from his hands.

“What are you doing?” Logan demanded.

“I’m going to kill her,” declared Marek.

“If we’re going to stop Majestic, we need to know what Zinnia knows,” Logan told him.

The flames in Marek’s hands flared higher. “She’s already told us everything.”

Yeah, that was pretty stupid of her.

Or cocky,
said Nova.

There are four of us and only one of her. We could take her. Unless she uses the cape. But she hasn’t. What is she planning?

Nothing good,
Nova decided.

A smile cracked Zinnia’s lips. “Majestic has three artifacts. I have three.” Her gaze darted to Alex. “And you have one.”

Warning bells were going off in Alex’s head. Big, loud, banging warning bells.

“Majestic has gone into hiding.” Zinnia simpered, looking very pleased with herself. “She must be afraid I’ll track her and steal her three artifacts.”

“She’ll burn you to ashes as soon as you try,” Alex told her.

Zinnia’s smile persisted. “Once I hold the majority of the Ornaments, there’s an old fairy spell that will lead me to the remaining three. So thank you for bringing Starlight to me. It’s saved me the trouble of tracking you down.”

“The ring is not for you,” Alex stated.

Zinnia ignored her. “You there, fairy.” She snapped her fingers at Eva. “You will perform the spell to track the remaining Ornaments.”

Defiance shone in Eva’s eyes. “I will not.”

“And I am not giving you the ring,” Alex told her. “Your intentions for the Ornaments of the Dead cannot be any better than Majestic’s.”

Zinnia expelled a martyred sigh. “There seems to be some confusion here. I am not giving you a choice. Not only will you hand over the ring to me—” Her haughty eyes darted to Eva. “—and you will perform the spell—” She smirked at Alex. “—but you will all help me get the three artifacts from Majestic.”

Alex laughed at her. “You’re delusional. Why would I ever do that?”

“So you’re going to do this the hard way. I’m not surprised, to be honest, but I am disappointed.” Zinnia shook her head. “With such obstinance, you will make a wretched pet, dear.”

“I’m not planning on being anyone’s pet.”

Zinnia glanced at Logan. “His mother plans to make it so.”

His lips curled with cruel, unspoken promises.

Zinnia blew him a kiss. “Fine, the hard way. I was hoping you’d choose that.” Every word dripped with sadistic pleasure. “You will do as I tell you because I have something you want.”

She waved her hand. The air split, opening to create a window into a room both very much like and unlike this one. The walls were faded, the floors broken and dirty. The lighting was darker and the air hotter by at least ten degrees. It was thick with smoke and heavy magic. A wretched moan whistled on the wind, calling out hopeless songs of forgotten souls.

Sitting in the corner was a woman chained to the wall, her suit battered, torn, and filthy. She lifted her head from her knees. It was Margery Kensington.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A Cell in Hell

MAREK RAN TOWARD the opening, but it snapped shut in his face. He spun around and glared at Zinnia. She smirked back at him, licking her lips like his anger was the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted. Marek changed direction, sprinting toward her. He shattered Alex’s fire barrier. Magic snapped and sizzled on his arms. Zinnia moved her hands in sharp, chopping motions through the air. Furniture and chunks of the wall shot at him. So she had telekinetic powers. That explained the manic spark to her magic. Alex had just assumed she was crazy.

Marek kept running, a wave of fire blazing in front of him. It acted like a shield, burning the gale of rocks and wood. Zinnia blasted a chunk off the ceiling, trying to drop it on his head. Alex cast a wind cushion over him. The big rock bounced off her magic and shot toward Zinnia.

Zinnia jumped back. “Do not interfere,” she snarled. “Have you forgotten that I have his mother?”

Marek froze in his tracks.

Zinnia brushed off her hands. “Well, now that’s better.” Her heels clicked as she walked toward Marek in fierce strides. She stopped in front of him. “Put out your fire.”

A staccato stream of curses shot out of his mouth, but the fires in his hands went out.

“Nice. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Her comment elicited another vicious stream of profanities that burned Alex’s ears. She’d never heard Marek use such language, even when he was playing the punk. His magic was boiling, the sheer rage behind it hurting Alex’s head. She retracted her magic from his fiery aura before she got burned.

“Now, let’s begin.” Zinnia held out her hand toward Alex. “Hand over the ring.”

Alex walked toward her, glaring the whole time. She hated Zinnia even more than when she’d been flirting with Logan. Like Marek, Alex’s magic was boiling with anger. The urge to bathe Zinnia in fire was overwhelming, but she bottled that primal fury, saving it for later. She set the ring into Zinnia’s hand.

Zinnia slid the ring onto her finger. “That wasn’t too hard, was it? Now, fairy girl.” She snapped her fingers. “Get over here.”

Eva stood frozen to her spot.

“Come on now.” Zinnia waved her over impatiently. “I don’t have all night. Get moving. The longer dear old Margery is trapped in there, the more likely some unsavory souls will find her and stop by to pay her a visit. It’s rather hellish down there.” Zinnia laughed at her own joke.

Marek cursed.

Zinnia spun, pushing her finger in his face. “I’ve had quite enough of your mouth. Keep it shut, or I’ll kill your mother, and then you can take her spot. We’ll see if that motivates your girlfriend to be more cooperative.”

“I’m coming,” Eva said, her voice shaking as much as her steps as she moved toward Zinnia.

“Good girl.” Zinnia grabbed a book from a nearby table. She opened it to a marked page and handed it to Eva. “That’s the spell to track the other Ornaments of the Dead. Perform it.”

Eva’s eyes skimmed the page. “I’ll need the four artifacts you have.”

Zinnia sneered at her. “Nice try, but they don’t leave my body. I have it on good authority that you can perform the spell while they are on me. And then I will see where the other Ornaments are, not you.”

That ‘good authority’ was likely one of the countless supernaturals she’d kidnapped and tortured before killing. Evil witch.

“Now, hurry it up,” Zinnia snapped at Eva.

Eva’s hands were quaking so hard that she could hardly hold the book. She began muttering the words of the spell.

A new magic, soft and sweet like buttercups and silver bells, trilled in the air. Fairy magic. As the artifacts Zinnia was wearing began to glow, a smile curled her lips.

Then the magic went flat, as though deflated. The glow on the artifacts faded out. Zinnia’s smile hardened into a threatening scowl, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Eva.

“I’m trying,” Eva said, wiping her brow. “This is really old fairy magic. And I’m only half fairy. I’m not sure I have enough power.”

Zinnia nodded slowly, her smile forced. Moving in a flash, she was suddenly behind Marek. She slashed his throat, then kicked him to the floor. Marek’s hands grasped at his throat, trying to stay the blood that was gushing out of the cut. Dark shadowy magic crept across his skin, spreading out from the wound.

Logan moved fast. He slammed Zinnia against the wall, holding her there by her throat. Alex yanked out a bottle of healing spray, drenching Marek’s neck in it. Nothing happened.

“The wound isn’t healing,” she told Logan, pulling out another bottle. She had to do something. “He’s dying.”

Eva dropped the book. She ran to Marek, tears splattering her cheeks as she clutched him to her.

“That was a…very special blade.” She choked out the words, her neck strangled under Logan’s grip. “A cursed blade. Potions and sprays…won’t cure him. He needs a healing mage…who knows…the right counter spell.” Zinnia smirked in triumph despite her closing air pipe. “Lucky for you…I happen to be one.”

“Screw this,” Alex growled in disgust. “Eva draw a glyph. Quickly. I’ll bring him right into the doctor’s office at Monster Cleanup. They are always staffed.”

As Eva prepped to draw the glyph, Zinnia said, “You could do that…and hope they know exactly…how to counter…an ancient, forgotten curse. Or you can perform the tracking spell…on the Ornaments of the Dead…and then I’ll heal him.”

Alex looked at Logan.

“She is telling the truth. She will heal him.”

That was all Eva needed to hear. She grabbed the book from the floor and began chanting, her aura blooming with anger and determination. A pale golden magic blasted out of her, slamming into Zinnia. The artifacts glowed like raindrops hit by sunlight after a storm.

“Good.” Zinnia smiled. “I can sense them. Let me go…so I can heal him,” she barked at Logan.

He dropped her with obvious reluctance. Zinnia brushed off her clothes, then strode over to Marek, her steps powerful but not hurried. If anything, she was stretching this out. She was enjoying it too much. When this was all over, Alex was going to kill her. And she wasn’t going to be as tame about it as she’d been in her dream.

Zinnia knelt beside Marek. She set her hand over his head, chanting. The shadowy magic faded, and the wound sealed. Zinnia rose, snatching the book from Eva’s hands as she passed her. Eva dove for Marek.

“Marek,” she said, her eyes heavy and wet.

His face pale and stained with his own blood, he wrapped his arm around her. “I’m all right.”

Eva pulled him toward her, kissing him with a powerful passion.

“How sweet,” Zinnia said with a mocking lilt.

“I’ve met a lot of screwed up people and faced a lot of darkness in my years hunting monsters, but I’ve never met a monster like you,” Alex told her.

A wicked grin sliced Zinnia’s lips. “You flatter me.”

Alex’s hands clenched into fists. Magic popped beneath her skin, screaming to get out.

Logan came up behind her, wrapping his arms across her chest. “Not yet.”

“You should listen to our lover, darling. Unless you want me to start opening arteries again with this beautiful blade.”

Zinnia held up the knife. It had a gold hilt decorated with red gemstones and a curved black blade that dripped blood. But the worst part about that knife was the wretched magic that oozed off of it like a film of oily slime. It sang like a chorus of sinister moans on the wind, of shattered dreams and demonic promises.

Zinnia’s long lashes kissed her cheekbones. “Do you hear it? The blade screams for blood. Blood to nourish it and make it strong.”