The Age of Mages: Book I of the Mage Tales (29 page)

“Yes, I’ve had quite enough of caves for a while, thank you,” said Abigail, glancing around.

“And I’ve got quite a bit of paperwork ahead of me back at the old office,” Arthur said.

“Ah, Arthur.” I raised my index finger. “About that . . . earlier you mentioned having to record tonight’s events for the PIA. Am I to assume they’ll be starting a supernatural file on me, now?”

“Well,” Arthur admitted, “after what happened tonight, we’d be remiss if we didn’t. You are an extremely unusual young man, Joshua.”

“Wonderful,” Titus groaned. “Everything your mother and I worked for years to avoid.” He looked at Arthur. “Though I suppose we can always kill him so word doesn’t get out.”

“No,” Abigail said sternly, “we cannot.”

“Mr. Aurelius, I can personally vouch this will go no farther than the walls of the PIA,” Arthur assured him.

“The word of a mortal,” my father grumbled. “Practically worthless.”

“Won’t you get in an awful lot of trouble with the agency?” I asked Arthur. “I mean, for helping supernatural creatures the way you did tonight?”

Arthur shrugged and adjusted his satchel. “I won’t tell if you won’t. I’ll record the events, of course—just not my part in them. With that in mind, I think it would be best if you didn’t return to the PIA, Joshua.” His expression was apologetic. “In other words, you’re fired. I’m sorry.”

I sighed. “It’s all right; that’s what I assumed would happen. It’s not as if I was really planning a lifelong career there anyway.”

“Though I’d keep that crystal safe on you for the time being, Joshua,” Titus said. “Somehow, I doubt we’ve seen the last of its usefulness.”

“Does that mean you’re tempted to exploit the crystal for your own purposes?” I asked.
Just as I suspected
.

“Intriguing idea, but I did say
you
should be its guardian, did I not?” Titus replied, and I realized he had a point. Even with the power the crystal was thought to possess, Titus showed no interest in acquiring it for himself. He
was
telling the truth when he said he undertook this quest for Abigail . . . and me. Really, the revelations tonight were quite staggering.

“Actually,” Arthur said, “it’s possible your father already benefitted from the crystal’s power without even knowing it.”

“Excuse me?” said Titus.

“That is, assuming Mrs. Silver—erm, Abigail—had it in her possession on the night Joshua was conceived.” Titus looked at Arthur as if he’d gone mad. “According to everything the PIA knows about this crystal,” explained Arthur, “Abigail’s possession of it may have helped your son come about. After all, it appears Joshua is a child born of the communion of mystical forces.”

Abigail’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. A mystical force like . . . love?”

Arthur scratched his head. “That’s a simplistic way of looking at it, but yes. When two entities share a common bond or experience, walls are broken down. ‘Love’ looks at these walls as emotional, but there are walls between worlds as well. Some of these worlds have access to incredible energies. It’s entirely possible that a life-giving power leaked out and entered your bodies at the moment of, erm . . .”

“We get the idea,” said Titus dryly.

“Anyway.” Arthur cleared his throat and turned to me. “Your parents don’t seem the kind of people who ‘let their walls down’ easily, as it were. When they did, it was like a signal for the magic of the crystal to come through. It only happens once in a millennium, apparently. And there’s no telling what form the resulting magic will take. It seems this time, it took the form of a—”

“Miracle,” finished Abigail, smiling broadly.

“Well, I was going to say ‘son,’ madam,” Arthur remarked. “But if you prefer to look at it as a miracle, I won’t contradict you. Though it would explain how a vampire could father a child when there is no record of one ever having done so.”

“Miracles . . . love. I think I’m going to be ill.” Titus shook his head in disgust, but placed one hand on the small of my mother’s back.

And just like that, it was as if their earlier argument had never happened. Still, I was unsure of my parents’ future together. I couldn’t imagine them living under the same roof. But at least they weren’t at each other’s throats—for now.

“So that’s what that book meant when it said the crystal was an ‘opener of doors,’ ” I realized. “It lets magic through to other places. But the Council said it was responsible for wars, plagues . . .”

“As I mentioned,” said Arthur, “there’s no telling what form magic will take. Some use it for good, some use it for ill. It’s the same with all energy.”

“So what did the vampires tonight want with it, then?” Abigail asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Arthur replied, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps with a bit more research, we’ll find out.”

“Maybe we’ll find out what the hell all that was with the Council as well,” Titus said, shaking his head. “Never have I known them to leave a confrontation for a phone call.”

“It must have been important,” said Abigail.

“That’s what worries me,” remarked Titus. “That, and the enormous hole above us which mortals will surely find in the morning, along with several dead vampires. And potentially Ferox’s lair.”

“It’s a very rural area,” I assured him. “It will take days for anyone to notice, and before that, we can return and use magic to cover it back up again.”

“Very well,” Titus said, looking around him and sighing. “There’s just enough time for us to get back to the hotel before dawn. We’re staying in the Hassler’s penthouse,” he said pointedly to Abigail.

“Ooo—the penthouse!” she said.

Titus smiled. “I booked it especially for us.”

“Ahem.” I cleared my throat.

“What?” Titus said to me. “I knew we’d find her eventually. Still, it’s probably best if we didn’t get
too
comfortable. We should head back to the States soon. I need to check in on the casin—”

Suddenly, the ground beneath us started to shake. Dirt and debris began coming down from the rim of the hole above, as well as the walls of the cavern.

“Joshua, what’s happening?” Abigail shouted over the noise, holding onto Titus for balance. “Are you doing another spell?”

“It’s not me!” My hand shot out to steady myself as the earth continued rumbling. We looked all around, but couldn’t find the source of the quaking.

“Then what the devil is going on?” asked Arthur. But his words were swallowed up by something that was a cross between a scream and a roar.

“Oh my God!” Abigail cried. “It’s Ferox. He’s actually begun to rise!”

“Forget what I said about returning to the States,” said Titus grimly. He held onto my mother with both arms as the rest of us turned pale. “It looks like we’ll be staying in Rome a little while longer.”

THE END

Don’t Forget Your Free Book

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Oh dear. I think I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a fix again
.

It’s been a tough couple of months for Joshua, a mage. After battling vampires, despots, and demons, he heads to Chicago for some downtime, maybe even a little romance. Unfortunately, fate has other plans.

Joshua and his would-be lover are kidnapped by two vampires and threatened with death. The vampires agree to spare them, but only if Joshua helps find an ancient statue . . . by dawn. But he and his kidnappers aren’t alone in their search. Three other vampires want the statue as well, and not only do they kill those who get in their way, they
enjoy
the killing.

It seems this mage just can’t stay out of trouble, even for one night.

All in a Night’s Work
is Book 3.5 of the
Mage Tales,
but can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

The Mage’s Trick

(
Book II of the Mage Tales
)

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Ah, Rome. The city of Raphael . . . Bernini . . . Caravaggio. And an ancient and evil vampire who’s recently come out of a deep sleep.

The mage known as Joshua is finally reunited with the mother who disappeared when he was a teen, but there’s little time to celebrate. His mother’s kidnappers may be dead, but their master—a merciless vampire who wants to rule humanity—is very much alive. And he grows more powerful every night, making followers and plotting overthrows.

The only hope Joshua has of stopping this tyrant is a daring scheme that puts him in the belly of the beast—a beast that includes treachery, gas attacks, fake corpses, beheadings, and bombs.

Can a few witches, a possibly-repentant blood-seeker, and a lone mage save the world? Or is the whole situation about to explode?

Literally.

Afterword

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About the Author

Ilana Waters writes mostly fantasy for adults, young adults, and middle graders. She once pet-sat an electric eel and crashed her car into a house, though not on the same day. Before she became a writer, she was reprimanded and/or fired for reading in every job she ever held.

She considers this her greatest accomplishment to date.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank the following people for helping with this book:

Marcia Trahan
: copy editor and proofreader extraordinaire.

Deranged Doctor Design
: cover designers made of sheer awesome.

Diba S., Tonja D., Ruthanne R., Mackenzie W., Meghan P., Ellie F., Rachel M., and Ameera K: bodacious beta readers.

Everyone I might have forgotten to add. If I omitted them, there is no one but myself to blame.