Mercenary Magic (20 page)

The magic barrier was full of holes. The assailants at the door were shredding the wood to splinters. Vampiric arms tore at the bars on the window. Half of them were already gone.

“Kai?” she whispered.

His eyes were locked on their fallen comrades.

“They’re not dead,” she said.

“No.” He shook himself. “But they will be if we don’t do something.”

“Use your magic.”

“I haven’t got enough left to do any significant damage.” He looked at her. “You. You need to do it. Hit them with your magic.”

“I…I don’t know how to control it.”

He took her hands, setting them on the floor. He placed his over hers. “As the name suggests, elemental magic is magic we draw from the elements. Feel the stones of the tower. Feel the layers, stacking down one after the other, all the way to the ground. The earth. That’s your tether.”

A bar was ripped from the window. Sera jerked her head toward it.

“Close your eyes,” Kai said.

“But the vampires…” She had the overwhelming urge to snatch up her sword and run at them.

“Forget the vampires. Close your eyes.”

She let her eyelids drop.

“Now reach for the earth. Seek out its magic. Hear its song. Let everything else fall away.”

Sera found it: a song of strength and resilience, of power and the everlasting. It was an ancient song, one the earth had been singing since long before any of them had been born.

“Good. Now hold onto it, let its power tether you,” he whispered against her ear. “Know that with it as your ally, you are not alone. Open your eyes, Sera.”

She did—and gasped when she saw the floor shaking softly beneath her. “What should I do? Split the ground out from under them?”

“Only if you want to bring down the whole tower and us along with it.”

“Not really.”

“The earth is the element that’s easiest to use as a tether. It’s constant,” he said. “But all the elements are connected. You can reach them through the earth. Give it a try. Reach for fire.”

She slid her magic along the channels of earth and listened for fire. It cracked and snapped in the distance, fast and fleeting. It sang out to her, daring her to give chase. But she didn’t. Instead, she tugged on one of the notes that formed its song, drawing it to her. Magic shot across the strand and up her arms. It didn’t hurt. It sizzled lightly against her skin, tickling her fingertips.

She pushed the flames up, higher and higher. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable. A shrill scream called out. She opened her eyes to watch a vampire bathed in fire fall off the window. She dug her nails into the cracked floor, reaching deeper for more magic. But she wasn’t just reaching deep into the ground; she was reaching deep inside herself, pulling out her magic. And that magic came tumbling out like a hundred chiffon scarfs all tied together. The more she pulled, the more of her magic spilled out. It was bursting from her fingertips.

Flames licked the walls and slid across the ceiling, swallowing the block of ice. Steam filled the room. She bathed in the wet, hot air.

“Sera.”

She grinned at Kai. His hair was sticking up at a dozen different angles. “You look funny.”

“The fire.”

“Disorderly.”

“You need to stop it.”

She giggled. “If you could only see yourself, you’d flip out at the messiness of it.”

He pinched her hands.

“Ouch!”

“You’re drunk on magic.”

“Nope.”

“You need to rein it in, or you’ll kill us all.”

She stared into his eyes. They were just so…serious. She exploded into laughter.

“Ok, let’s try this a different way.” He coughed. “Reach for water. Use it to put out the fire.”

“Why would I do a silly thing like that? I like fire. I like making things burn.”

“Burning things is fun.” He leaned into her, his words feather-light against her cheek. “But it’s nothing compared to the high you get when exploding that fire into steam.” He slid his hand down her arm. “Fire is intense. It burns out, and then it is gone. Water lingers. It’s smooth and soft, seducing you with its touch until you can’t even remember fire’s name.”

“Ok.” Sera blew him a kiss. “I’ll give this water fellow a try.”

She scraped her hands across the floor, searching it out. She found something else entirely.

“Oh, hello, you,” she purred, tugging on the magic. It wasn’t as old as an element, but it was far more exotic.

“What is it?”

“Glyphs. They’re going stale, though.”

“I don’t see them.”

“Of course not. They’re hidden,” she told him.

“Can you reveal them?”

“Sure. Why not?”

She peeled away the invisible cloak, and the concealed glyphs pulsed to life beneath them before fading.

“They are not lit up,” said Kai.

“You need to pour your magic into the glyphs.” Her head was clearing, at least enough to realize that the air was drenched in smoke. “That’s how you activate them.” Sweat slid down her face. She coughed. “This air is awful.”

“Welcome back.”

She threw his hands off of hers. “I didn’t go anywhere.”

“No?” Kai winked at her. “How about we all get out of here?”

“Sounds splendid.”

He jumped up. He dragged Callum to the glyphs, then Tony. He was going back for Dal when a glowing ball of silver magic shot through the flames protecting the door and hit him square in the chest. He lost his hold on Dal, and they both tumbled down.

Burst after of burst of silver light shot out of the flames, like someone had found a way to stuff magic balls into a futuristic ray gun. The swarm of them whooshed overhead and hit the wall, splattering like bugs against a windshield. Keeping low, Sera grabbed a hold of Kai and Dal and dragged them onto the glyphs.

“Hey.” She climbed over Kai to look him in the face. “Are you awake?”

He cracked open a single eye. “Barely.”

“I need your help. You’ve got to activate the glyphs, so we can get out of here.”

“Can’t,” he muttered. “I’m dry.”

“What do you mean, you’re dry?”

“No magic left. I need to recharge.”

“How long?” she asked him.

“Longer than we have.”

Past the flames, angry voices were screaming curses and spells. Large chunks of the walls exploded, raining down broken shards and burning ashes on everyone in the room. A vampire was squeezing through the window. Behind the beast, at least three more were waiting. All were hungry. The roof shook with heavy tremors.

They’d run out of time.

Sera looked down at Kai. His messy hair didn’t seem so funny anymore. His collapse was the writing on the wall, the message that the last defense had fallen. Even the dragon could no longer fight. She was all they had left—she and her abominable magic. If only she knew what she was doing.

Mages, fairies, vampires, beasts… They flooded into the room, their eyes promising death. Death, not pain. They were the cleanup crew, Sera realized. They were going to make sure none of them lived to speak of what had happened here.

“Stop!” Sera shouted out, surprised when they actually did. But it was only a matter of time before they realized that she did not command them.

She wasn’t going to wait for that time to come. She slapped her hands down hard on the floor, pouring her magic into the glyphs. She drew out everything she had, everything she’d spent years burying. It flooded her, burning through her veins. It gushed into the glyphs, and they swallowed it all up greedily, bursting to life with a sapphire glow. The lines spread across the floor, the blinding blue light swallowing the room whole.

Sera’s stomach lurched, then she landed with a thud, sliding against an icy marble floor. Tony was there beside her, and Callum and Dal and even Finn too. But where was Kai? She pulled herself across the floor by her hands, scouring the room for him.

She found him under the desk, his eyes closed. She tapped his cheek to wake him.

He caught her hand. “Sera.” His eyes opened. “This looks like my office.”

“Yes.”

“The others?”

“All here. And Finn too.”

“And the enemy?”

“Except for Finn, they’re all back in that burning, crumbling tower as far as I know.”

“Good.” He pressed his lips to her fingertips. “Now, help me up, please. We’re going to have that talk.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Magic Ignited

DESPITE THE DRAGON’S threat, they didn’t have a talk about Sera’s magic that day. Not ten seconds after she’d pulled him out from under his desk, a horde of Drachenburg employees swarmed into the office. Their arrival had apparently triggered a silent alarm. As Kai went through the play-by-play with a room full of his overwrought advisors, Sera slipped out. The look he gave her as she left stated clearly enough that this wasn’t over. Maybe not, but she needed a long shower and a good night’s sleep before going toe to toe with the dragon again.

Nearly half a week went by without any word from him. Sera was just beginning to hope that she’d never hear from him again, when she got called into Simmons’s office. He was sending her to Drachenburg Industries for a ‘closing meeting’. Whatever that meant. Probably something Kai had insisted on so that he could force her into this ‘talk’ he wanted to have. And he went through Simmons so she couldn’t say no. Bastard.

This time when Sera entered the building, there was someone waiting for her. A taciturn man in a sleek black suit escorted her up to Kai’s office, then left her alone with the dragon in the room.

Kai rose from his desk, as always dressed in dark jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. God, he looked good. Sera clenched her fists behind her back and stepped forward.

“Sera,” he said, magic pulsing beneath each syllable. The few days of rest had recharged him. He was as powerful as ever. And as deadly, she reminded herself.

“Mr. Drachenburg.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a half-smile. “I thought we were past that.” He circled around his desk and set his hands on her shoulders.

She shrugged him off. “I’m here on official guild business, not to cuddle up to the dragon.”

“Very well then.” He leaned his hands back against the desk. “Harrison and Olivia got away. The Magic Council has sentenced Finn to imprisonment at Atlantis.”

That was their code name for a supernatural prison in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Only a select few knew where it was, and Sera wasn’t one of them. It was just as well. The fewer people there were who knew where to find him, the better off everyone was. Finn had accumulated quite a following. The last thing anyone needed was for them to spring him out of prison.

“Did he happen to mention how his minions got past your security?”

“Yes. He joined them every time. He broke through the security.” The reluctant words scraped out of his mouth.

“You said no one with selfish or nefarious reasons could get in.” And Finn’s intentions had been dripping with both.

“He claimed he was acting in the best interests of the supernatural community,” Kai said, frowning. “I think he actually believes it.”

Well, Finn
was
nuts.

“And the guys? Are they all right?” she asked.

“Tony, Dal, and Callum have fully recovered. I’ve awarded them each a bonus and the rest of the month off.”

“They deserve it after what they went through.”

“Yes.”

“And the Priming Bangles?” she asked.

“Safe. They are somewhere no one will find them.”

“Good.”

“I’ve sent Mayhem the payment.”

“I figured as much when Simmons didn’t send me here to take it out of you with my sword.”

“How much of that payment will you get?”

“Not much,” she said. “But more than I usually get.”

“You saved me from that torment.” He rubbed his hand across his wrist, as though he could still feel the bangle there. “You could have left, but you didn’t. You risked your life to save me. You nearly drowned the tower in magic. And then you activated the glyphs and got us all out of there.”

“It was no big deal.”

“No big deal?” he said. “You told me the range of transport is dependent on the magic level of the person activating the glyphs. You transported us over the water and across town. I’m not even sure I could have brought us so far.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point,” he said, pushing off his desk. “…is your magic is off the charts. If you told Simmons about it, he’d have to pay you more.”

Only after the Magic Council had tested her. No thank you. “We’ve been through this before.”

He sighed. “If you’re going to insist on keeping your magic a secret, you should at least let me train you to control it so you don’t end up getting someone killed.”

“I can control it.”

He arched a dark eyebrow at her.

“I’ll work on it,” she promised. “Ok?”

“Ok, I’ll be keeping track of your progress,” he said, his eyes shimmering like blue glass. “As long as you keep your magic under control and don’t go off on mad, drunken rages through the city, it can just be our little secret.”

“Even from the Council?”

He watched her for a few seconds that seemed to stretch onto eternity. “Yes,” he finally said. “They don’t need to know. If they found out, they’d get you tied up in all these tests, which would interfere with my plan.”

“And what is your plan?”

“Oh, no. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I hope it doesn’t involve wrapping me up in bacon and feeding me to the dragon for dinner.”

“Well, you are tasty…”

“Kai!”

He chuckled.

“If that’s all you needed, I’ll just be go—”

He caught her hand as she turned to leave. “Not so fast. I’m not done.”

“Oh?”

“Try not to look so scared.”

“I’m not scared of you.” Sera tried to slip out of his hold, but he had the grip of a tyrannosaurus rex. She growled at him. “What do you want?”

“Any one of the supernaturals we faced was powerful enough to make most people turn and run. You stood your ground against an army of them. And Mayhem will give you, what, twenty percent of what I paid them?”