Eternal Magic (Magic for Hire #3)

Chapter 4

The sun had barely slipped over the horizon when Ravyr was settling in the back of the black Suburban with tinted windows and bulletproof modifications. The vehicle had been arranged by Valen, who’d promised it would be available during his stay in the city, although Ravyr hadn’t planned on accept ing the offer.

There was a reason he’d allowed the world to believe he’d died during the collapse of Batu’s empire. And why he spent the day resting in one of the dusty tunnels that ran beneath the city instead of Valen’s luxurious penthouse. The most dangerous hunter was the one you did n’t see coming.

Unfortunately, his arrogant belief that he was capable of lurking in the shadows had been blasted to smithereens at the same time as the Slaughterhouse Club. He’d traveled to America in search of the echo that was once again sending pulse waves through the world. He hadn’t been surprised when the vibrations had led him to New York City. This Gyre was the current epicenter of magic. It made sense that it would attract any creature or object seeking power. And once he was here, the pulses had led him directly to the fight club.

But the long daylight hours he’d spent pacing the abandoned subway tunnel had eventually convinced him that it wasn’t an accident that the building had exploded less than ten minutes after he’d entered it. Or that Maya had been lured to the same location.

Those sorts of coincidences didn’t happen.

Which was why he had given up on his stealth mode and called for the ride to Jersey. Now he leaned back against the plush leather seat, his fingers tapping an impatient tattoo on the armrest as they raced through the city and o ver the bridge.

Ravyr tried to ignore the anticipation that seared through him at the thought of reacquainting himself with the exquisitely beautiful mage who’d captured his attention the moment he’d caught sight of her. Hadn’t he learned his lesson when he’d been forced to play Batu’s games while he was watching Maya Rosen sitting on the balcony, gazing down at the obscene revelries with open disdain?

A sharp stab of something that felt like regret sliced through his unbeating heart. He’d dedicated his life to duty and loyalty, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t painfully aware of what he had been force d to sacrifice.

Finally reaching the town where Valen had assured him he could locate Maya, Ravyr was startled when he caught the unmistakable scent of orchids. He frowned, rolling down the window. They were still several blocks away from the address Valen had given him, but that intoxicating scent wasn’t a figment of h is imagination.

He leaned forward, tapping on the glass that separated him from the driver. “Stop,” he commanded. On cue, the heavy SUV swerved next to the curb and rolled to a halt. “Wai t for me here.”

Exiting the vehicle, Ravyr jogged up the sidewalk, ignoring the pedestrians who stopped and stared at him with various levels of fear, lust, and envy. It didn’t matter that he was wearing jeans and a plain black T-shirt to avoid attracting attention. The humans instinctively sensed that he was a predator.

Ravyr slowed as the scent of orchids intensified. Maya was nearby. He melted into the shadows, his gaze skimming over the faded houses that lined the street. Most were on cramped lots framed by wrought iron fences and patches of grass that passed as front lawns. At one time, it’d no doubt been a decent neighborhood, but now it had gone from genteel shabby to jus t plain shabby.

His brows arched. Why was Maya here?

His confusion only deepened as he caught sight of her slender form inching through the hedges in front of a nearby house, trying to peek into th e front window.

What the hell was she doing?

Moving in silence, Ravyr approached her from behind, leaning forward to whis per in her ear.

“We have to stop meet ing like this.”

She froze, magic sizzling in the air before she turne d to face him.

“Ravyr.” She spit out his name like an obscenity. Then, with a frustrated glance toward the nearby window, she shooed him toward the sid e of the house.

Ravyr arched a brow. He’d been alive for twelve hundred years, and never once in all that time had he ever been shooed. Amusement raced through him. This was the confident, outrageously courageous woman he’d always known lurked beneath her pretense of mee k subservience.

His amusement quickly faded, however, as his gaze caught sight of the pallor of her skin and the circles under her eyes. Something had distur bed her sleep.

He’d like to think it was him. After all, he’d spent more time than he wanted to admit fantasizing about her over the years. But logic assured him it was far more likely that she was upset by the suspicion that she’d been deliberately lured into a building that was about to explode. The gods knew it was giving him nightmares.

Backing up until they were around the corner of the house, he folded his arms over his chest and studied her with a curious gaze.

“What are y ou doing here?”

She pinched her lips in annoyance. “Are you following me?”

“You didn’t answer my question....” He caught a sudden scent on the crisp night breeze. It wasn’t an intoxicating orchid perfume. This one was sharp and acrid. Like bitter lemons. He’d smelled it at the club. “Ah. The mage you were with last night.” He glanced toward the house. “S he lives here?”

Maya managed to pinch her lips even tighter. Impressive. “I’m not sharing information unless you’re willing to tell me wh y you’re here.”

He leaned his shoulder against the aluminum siding that threatened to buckle beneath his considerable weight. “You always were stubborn.”

Her eyes narro wed. “Tell me.”

“Very well.” He shrugged. “I didn’t intend to follow you. I was heading to your coffee shop in the hopes we could join forces to track down the demon responsible for setting the bomb when I caught your scent.” Another shrug. “No w here we are.”

“Why would I join fo rces with you—”

Her words were cut short as a breeze whipped around the corner of the house, bringing with it the unmistakable scent of blood. Her eyes widened in shock, but before she could move, Ravyr had already spun on his heel to rush toward the back of the house. Leaping onto the cement porch, he shoved open the locked door, his fangs fully extended as he entered a small kitchen littered with takeout boxes and empty b ottles of wine.

He wrinkled his nose. The house was a mess, but it wasn’t from a battle. Just laziness. Moving through the darkness, he followed the thickening stench wafting from the front room. As a vampire he was a connoisseur of the various forms of blood. Both human and demon. But he never drank from a corpse. And that was what was w aiting for him.

No, not a corpse. Two corpses, he discovered as he cautiously stepped through the connecting door. A male goblin and the mage. Both were lying in the middle of the floor, as if they’d dropped dead in place without ever realizing they were in danger. As he neared he caught sight of a symbol in the center of each of their foreheads. Matching t attoos? Weird.

Even more weird were the daggers sticking out of their chests. They were matching as well with wooden hilts carved with powerful glyphs. Had they stabbed each other in the heart? Like a suicide pact with cursed daggers?

The sound of Maya’s approaching footsteps broke into his musings. He moved to block her view. It wasn’t particularly grisly, but she’d fled Cambodia to open a coffee shop in Jersey. Obviously she was hoping to put her violent p ast behind her.

“Maya. This isn’t go od,” he warned.

She tilted her chin. “I need to know.”

Ravyr didn’t bother to argue. Maya would do what she wanted. More importantly, she had the skills to discover more than he could from t he dead bodies.

“I’ll search the house,” he murmured, leaving her to reach into her satchel to pull out a potion. Minutes later, he’d returned to the living room. The house was too small for an intruder to hide from a vampire. His senses would have pierced through the thickest shield. “All clear,” he announced as he returned, standing next to Maya as she circled her hand over the bodies. “Any indication of what happened?”

She shook her head. “They couldn’t have died more than an hour ago. If a killer had entered the house, I should be able to detect their presence.” She grimaced. “It looks like they killed themselves or killed each other. Which doesn’t m ake any sense.”

Ravyr shared her obvious frustration. During his inspection of the house he hadn’t identified anything out of the ordinary. That, however, didn’t mean that there hadn’t been someone who’d managed to slip in and out before they’d arrived.

“Or a genuine assassin who has the skills to kill without leaving a trail,” he warned. “That might explain the marks on their foreheads. Some sort of calling card.”

Her jaw tightened; then she nodded toward the dead male. “Do you recognize him?”

“No.”

“Wrong plac e, wrong time?”

“Perhaps.” Ravyr shrugged. “He’s lived in this house for longer than the mage. His scent is deeply imbedded. The mage is a recent addition. A couple o f weeks or so.”

“A couple of weeks was just long enough for her to scope out the Witch’s Brew before taking a job there so she could lead m e into a trap.”

Ravyr agreed. “If there was a killer, they must have shadowed Courtney back to t his location.”

“But why?”

“Either she saw something she wasn’t supposed to, or someone didn’t want her sharing the information that she led you to that building. That could be a secondary reason for the marks. It could be a warning to anyone else who might have information to keep th eir lips shut.”

Maya appeared to consider his theories before she heaved a harsh sigh. “None of this makes sense. Courtney didn’t know anything about who hired her or why. And she was too self-centered to notice what was happening around her.” She sent him a worried glance. “So does that mean she was killed as a warning? And was it a warning to me or you?”

“Both.” Ravyr didn’t have proof of the assassin’s intentions, but he was smart enough to assume the worst. “Tell me a bout the mage.”

Her brows snapped tog ether. “I did.”

“ Tell me again.”

There was a tense silence before Maya forced herself to respond. “Courtney arrived at my coffee shop last week asking for a job. I suspected she had another purpose for being there, so I agreed to hire her. It seemed the easiest way to discover what she was up to.”

Ravyr skimmed his gaze over her pale face. Maya was a natural nurturer. Even from a distance he’d seen how she protected the weaker magic users whom Batu held captive. But she was also willing to punish those who preyed on the vulnerable. He’d once seen her curse a goblin who’d strangled a female human to death. The male’s skin peeled off like a molting snake, leaving him so raw he spent a month screaming in pain. It didn’t matter to her that Batu would eventually punish her for using her magic without his permission. Her sense of justice dema nded vengeance.

“Why did you follow Courtn ey last night?”

“She was caught by one of my employees sneaking out of the basement where I keep my private vault.” Maya shrugged. “She had to know she would be spotted, which meant it was a blatant attempt to gain my attention. So I gave her wh at she wanted.”

Ravyr nodded, assuming that the scheme to lure Maya to the Slaughterhouse had been left up to Courtney to plan. A trained assassin wouldn’t have been so obvious, and more importantly, they wouldn’t have left so much t o mere chance.

What if Maya hadn’t followed? What if she’d sensed the bomb before she ever entered the building? What if Maya had struck out as soon as the mage tried to trap her? Courtney would have been dead before she knew what was happening.

He urged her to continue her story. “You said she was hired by someone to lure you to t hat location.”

Maya nodded. “She told me that she’d been contacted through an app and that she didn’t have the name or location of who want ed me trapped.”

“We might be able to trace the person who hired her.”

Maya blinked, as if startled he might have a suggestion that didn’t include blood and violence.

“You’re right,” she breathed, turning in a slow circle until they both spotted a phone left on th e coffee table.

Ravyr struggled not to be offended as she moved to grab it. If he was being honest, he had to admit that he looked like a barbarian. And when he’d been spying on Batu, he’d been forced to blend in with the violent horde who filled the vampire’s vast lair. It was no wonder she assumed he was a mindless brute.

A wo rry for later.

“How did you know she would be here?” he instead demanded, watching as Maya slid the phone into her satchel. “I can’t imagine she was stupid enough to give you her home address.”

“She was seen walking to work,” she informed him. “Since she wears three-inch heels and complained if she had to do any sort of physical labor, I assumed she had to be staying fairly close to the shop.” She glanced around the shabby house. “It took a while, but I finally caught her scent. I followed it to this place.” Her gaze moved to linger on the dead mage, as if she was debating whether to grieve for the overly ambitious woman. Then, with a faint shake of her head, she smoothed her beautiful features into an unreadable expression and returned her attention to him. “That’s all I know. Your turn. Is the demon who blew up the building the reason you’r e in New York?”

“I’m not sure.”

Her gaze narrowed, the green eyes flashing in anger. “That’s not an answer.”

Ravyr wasn’t trying to piss her off. He understood that he couldn’t expect her to trust him without sharing his reason for being in the Slaughterhouse last night. And he needed her trust if they were going to figure out why they’d both been in the exploding building at the same time.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any simple answers. And even if he did, he was breaking Cabal law to share them. Eons ago—during the reign of the dragons—the vampire population had dwindled to the brink of extinction. And while the demon inside them survived most deaths of their mortal host and were eventually resurrected into a new body, they didn’t possess the ability to procreate. They’d been trained from the moment they were reborn to protect any secrets that might make th em vulnerable.

“I’m not tracking a specific demon,” he finally forced himself to admit. He had to risk the Cabal’s anger if he intended to ge t to the truth.

She paused before she asked, “Is it some sort of gang?”

“No. It’s an...” Ravyr held up his hands. She wasn’t going to like his explanation. He didn’t like his explanat ion. “An echo.”

“An echo of what?”

“Magic.”

“I don’t know what that means. Are you talking about a spell?”

“I—” Ravyr cut off his explanation as Maya released a shocked gasp of horror. At first he didn’t know what had captured her attention. Not until she was scrambling away from the two bodies lying at his feet. With a frown he glanced down, revulsion crawling through him as the bodies began to decay before their eyes. One moment they were fresh corpses, and a second later their flesh was rotting away as if they’d been decomposing in this house for days.

“What the hell ?” he muttered.

“Magic,” she rasped. “It has to be some sort of spell.”

Mesmerized by the gruesome spectacle, Ravyr was caught off guard once again as Maya abruptly lunged toward him. Not out of fear. Maya was powerful, but she wasn’t a fool. She was no match for a vampire in a physical fight. No, it was pure shock that clenched his muscles as her hand slammed over his mouth. He’d been alive a long, long time. And never had anyone dared to treat him with such ca sual impudence.

“Hush.” She added in sult to injury.

Ravyr arched a brow, more curious than offended as she cocked her head to one side, as if listening to a voice he couldn’t hear. Then her hand was jerked away from his mouth and she was charging toward the front door. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

Ravyr didn’t hesitate, rushing out of the house behind her and vaulting off the porch. The urgency that caused her pulse to race wasn’t faked. Something had truly spooked her. A second later he heard the crash of glass as someone threw a heavy object through the k itchen window.

It took less than a second to discover that the object was some sort of bomb, which exploded with enough force to shatter the house. Instinctively, Ravyr lunged forward, wrapping Maya in his arms before driving her to the ground. Splayed on top of her struggling form, he shielded her from the projectiles that aimed toward them with lethal intent.

Ravyr grunted in pain as he felt the bite of glass and metal siding and rusty nails as they embedded themselves in his back. The wounds would soon heal, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like a bitch as they slammed into his flesh.

The shock wave from the blast seared over them, and Ravyr angled his head down to block the worst of the heat. Maya wasn’t as fragile as a human, but the explosion could easily burn her skin. At the same time, he brushed his lips over her ear.

“I told you we have to stop meet ing like this.”

* * * *

Tia paused to smooth back the silver-gray hair that she’d pulled into a neat bun at her nape. It was the only indication that she was anything but icily composed. Certainly no one would detect any hint of nerves on her smooth, elegant features. Or in the tall, slender body that was currently wrapped in a silky caftan. She’d learned two centuries ago that emotions were the enemy. The same time she’d been sold to Batu by her mother and imprisoned in hi s hellish lair.

Nothing mattered but power. Who had it. Who didn’t. And how she could get more.

Tonight, however, she couldn’t get rid of the unease churning in the pit of her stomach. Damn, Maya Rosen . Tia had spent the past forty-plus years doing everything in her power to forget the past. She’d survived, and now nothing mattered but her plans for a very bright future.

But the mere possibility that Batu—the leech who’d tormented her for decades—might somehow have survived had shattered her promise that she would n ever look back.

If he tru ly was alive...

A shudder raced through Tia, and with an effort, she squared her shoulders and stepped out of her private chambers. She’d been called many things in her life. Bossy. Ballsy. And bitchy. But never a coward.

If the bastard was out there, sh e had to know.

With her head held high, Tia walked down the shadowed corridor lined with tapestries from a twelfth-century palace. It matched the rest of the medieval castle that she’d chosen to build in a valley near Pike’s Peak. The sprawling estate that she’d named Emerald Glade in a rare whimsical moment was intended to be more of a statement than a home. Not only did it have enough fortification to keep out a small army for several weeks, but there were also fifty demons who patrolled every inch of the thousa nd acres 24/7.

At last reaching her personal study, Tia stepped into the vast space that echoed the Gothic style of the castle. There were large, arched windows currently hidden behind crimson velvet curtains and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that displayed her impressive collection of leatherbound first editions. A large, handwoven rug was tossed in the center of the wood plank floor, and overhead a purple-tinted chandelier dangled from one of th e heavy beams.

Her attention, however, was locked on the tall male with bulging muscles and a shaved head who was standing next to the fourteenth-century writing desk. Lynch was a male goblin, although his crimson aura was barely noticeable. Outside the Gyre his strength was me diocre at best.

Not that Tia cared. He was loyal to the point of obsession and he would die to protect her. Who needed raw power when you could get a faithful hound? Besides, she would never allow anyone in her home that could be a pot ential threat.

“You’ve made sure the staff are gone?” she demanded as she closed the d oor behind her.

Lynch nodded. “I did a sweep of the entire property. The p lace is empty.”

It was empty. Tia had become accustomed to the hectic buzz of dozens of servants rushing through the castle. Not only did she run a million-dollar business trading in black-market magical items, but she gathered information from around the world like other women collected d esigner shoes.

There was nothing more valuable than informa tion. Nothing.

“Wait here for me,” she commanded, moving to lay her hand on top of the heavy globe that consumed one corn er of the room.

With a tingle of magic the globe glided forward, revealing the hole in the floor where it had been standing. The scent of dirt and moss swirled through the air, and with a last glance at Lynch, Tia forced herself to climb down the steep stairs to the vast cavern that was hidden benea th the castle.

There’d been more than one reason she’d chosen this particular location. Not only did it offer stunning views of the Rocky Mountains, but there was also a deep pool of natural spring water that bubbled in the center of the cavern. She’d sensed the magic in the water the moment she traveled through the area. It’d drawn her like a m oth to a flame.

Not the magic of Gyres. That was a lingering power from the dragons who were currently in hibernation. This was pure magic. Wild magic. Not a lot, but enough to enhance her natural talent as a dream teller.

The stone floor was cold and rough beneath her bare feet, but she ignored her discomfort as she moved toward the pool and slid off her caftan. Her physical pain was a small sacrifice if she could reassure herself that Maya’s fears were nothing more than a reaction to the discovery that Ravyr was alive. Once she was naked, she waded into the water, which shimmered with a silvery light. The magic was tangible as it rippled against her skin, the icy sting wrenching a gasp from her lips.

There’s always a cost to power, she silently reminded herself, continuing to the center of the pool even as her muscles spasmed in prote st of the cold.

Once the water was deep enough to go over her head, Tia leaned back and stretched out her arms, allowing herself to float in a slow circle. Then, closing her eyes, she cle ared her mind.

For several minutes she drifted in the heavy silence, hovering somewhere between consciousness and the sweet oblivion of sleep. It was there she could enter the minds of others. She could reach out to anyone she’d met, even if it was a casual encounter, but it was easier if she had an intimate connection. L ike with Maya.

Thankfully—or rather, sadly—the mind she was seeking was pain fully intimate.

Lowering the shields that guarded her mind from being invaded, Tia released a shaky breath and reached out. It wasn’t as simple as locating the person she wanted and knocking on their brain to be let in. Instead, she visualized herself walking through a barren landscape, ignoring the endless shadows that pressed against her, begging to be seen. In the distance was a shadowed form, but even as she neared the fuzzy silhouette, she refused to accept that it could be anything more than a memory.

The water lapping against her was suddenly so cold it sent sharp stabs of pain through her, but she barely noticed as the shadow cleared to reveal a large, bulky male with roughly chiseled features and long black hair that hung down his back. His eyes were a weird shade of yellow and glowed with a malicious cruelty, as if something in his soul was jaundiced. He was wearing his usual leather vest that revealed his bulging muscles and matching leather pants.

“Batu,” she brea thed in horror.

The male’s strange eyes widened, as if he’d just caught sight of her. “Tia.” His harsh voice didn’t echo her horror. Instead, there was a sickening hunger that reached through the distance to wrap around her in an unspoken threat. “My love. This is a surprise.”

Tia arched in the water, desperate to break the co nnection. “No.”

He seemed to step toward her, his raw musk tainting the air. “I didn’t expec t you so soon.”

“You’re dead.” She hissed out the words, hoping to convince herself that this was no more tha n a bad dream.

It wouldn’t be the first time the bastard had appeared in her nightmares.

Batu laughed, obviously aware of her panic. “Did you truly think a mere mage could kill me?”

“I wa tched you die.”

He shrugged. “ I’ve returned.”

Tia struggled to breathe. Vampires were resurrected, but they were placed in new hosts with no memories of their past. This was...hell, she didn’t know what it was, but it was seriously fr eaking her out.

“This isn’t real,” she muttered, fiercely trying to move her cle nched muscles.

If only she could wake up.

Batu stretched out his hand, blood dripping from his fingers. “Come to me, sweet Tia, and I’ll prove how real I am.”

“Never.”

“Never say ne ver, my love.”

The fingers inched closer, and Tia’s fear became a living thing, pulsing through her with savage force. If he touched her...

“No!” Tia screamed, pain bursting through her mind as she ripped free of their men tal connection.

It was like someone cutting through her brain with an ax, and she abruptly sank to the bottom of the pool, her body too weak to fight again st the current.

For a shocking moment Tia thought she might die. That Batu might finally achieve what he’d wanted forty-five years ago. But the inner core that had kept her surviving through abandonment and violence and betrayal hardened her spine and forced her trembling muscles to battle their way thr ough the water.

She was crawling out of the pool, no doubt looking like a drowned rat, when Lynch vaulted down the stairs with a gun in one hand and a hexed dagger in the other.

“What’s happened?” he barked, his gaze scanning the empty cavern in searc h of an enemy.

Tia managed to drag herself out of the water, although she was too shaky to stand. Instead, she grabbed her caftan, wrapping it around her s hivering form.

“Start packing,” she commanded through ch attering teeth.

“Packing?” Lynch eyed her in confusion. “Where are we going?”

“ New York City.”