Eternal Magic (Magic for Hire #3)

Chapter 12

Maya watched as Ravyr vanished into the darkness, her fingers lifting to touch her lips that were throbbing from his kiss. It took every ounce of willpower not to toss out a spell that would hold him in place so they could continue where he’d so abru ptly left off.

In her mind she could vividly imagine leaving him bound in her magic as she stripped him naked and explored every hard inch of him, first with her lips, and then with her tongue. He would taste of raw power and masculine desire and she would glory in her ability to control him.

Was it wrong? Maybe. But she knew beyond a doubt that Ravyr would be a masterful lover. His passion would be all-consuming as he devoured her—not only her body, but her blood—before allowing her to soar into a glorious release. And while the anticipation of a good, hard banging made her heart thump and her palms sweaty, she wanted to have plenty of playtime before he took command.

Releasing a shaky breath, Maya forced away the delicious images clouding her mind and forced herself to concentrate on her surroundings. If the demon had been hiding nearby, there was a good chance the mage was lurking in the area. Either because she was using the dampening spell to hide her presence in the hopes that she could try another attack when Maya and Ravyr dug their way out of the tunnels, or, more likely, she was waiting for new orders from her boss.

Cautiously moving forward, Maya studied the altar, searching for some clue to reveal why it had been created. In the olden days, gullible humans assumed they could summon demons and control them inside the circle of protection. But no mage would ever believe such nonsense. Still, it was possible that Alison was trying to summon something else. The hope of acquiring mystical power wasn’t just a human failing. And Alison would know she was no match for Maya in a head- to-head battle.

Busy tracing the glyphs carved into the stump, she was distracted by the soft tread of approac hing footsteps.

Ah. Alison . Right on cue.

Covertly reaching into the satchel that had managed to survive the magical flames along with the fall to the bottom of the pit, Maya grabbed a vial. The younger mage wouldn’t dare to approach unless she had a spell prepared to cast. The potion would extinguish the magic long enough for Maya to launch a counterspell.

“Why won’t you die?” Alison ground out, and Maya felt the sizzles of heat arrowing in her direction.

“Better mages than you have tried.” With a flick of her wrist she sent the vial sailing through the air, a hard smile curving her lips as it hit the invisible spell and shattered to create a green cloud of smoke. The magic fizzled to nothing more ominous than a brush of warm air as it swept past Maya. Her smile widened . “And failed.”

Alison’s jaw clenched as her spell missed its mark, but her expression was mocking as she strolled to ward the altar.

“You mean Courtney?” She snapped her fingers, sparks dancing in the air as she released a burst of po wer. “Amateur.”

Maya didn’t bother to flaunt the magic pulsing through her blood. She’d survived horrors that the younger mage couldn’t even imagine. She didn’t have any need to prov e her strength.

Besides, she wanted the other woman to wallow in her smug conceit. Overconfidence was the first s tep to defeat.

Maya held her ground next to the stump, silently weaving a protective web of magic around herself. For the moment she needed answers more than she needed to punish the arrogant bitch.

“Did you h ire Courtney?”

“Unfortunately.” Alison tossed her golden curls that were silky smooth in the moonlight. As if she’d recently taken the time to wash and condition her hair. She’d also pulled on a long black fur cape. Was she just vain? Or was she planning on meeting someone? Hopefully her employer. Maya was anxious to have a word with him. “All she had to do was lure you to the Slaughterhouse Club and make sure you couldn’t escape. She couldn’t even do that right.”

Maya felt the magic settle over her, shimmering with a faint silver glow. “So y ou killed her?”

Alison strolled another few inches closer. “It was necessary. Plus I wanted to try out my new spell. Di d you like it?”

Maya grimaced, recalling Courtney and her companion’s bizarre decomposition. Once the mage was properly locked away, she intended to discover exactly what sort of sp ell she’d used.

“And the explosion that destro yed the house?”

“That was Bastian’s work.” Alison shrugged. “He’s a useful tool.”

“Why?”

“Why is he useful?” Alison widened her eyes, deliberately being as annoying as possible. Not that she needed to go above and beyond. Maya already wanted to throat punch her. “Oh, he has all sorts of useful talents. He’s stronger than an ox. He’s completely without morals. He’s stupid enough to be easily convinced to do anything I ask. And he’s a beast in the bedroom, which, honestly, is just a bonus.”

Maya refused to take the bait. “Why did you have Courtney lure me to the S laughterhouse?”

“Because I was offered a reward I co uldn’t resist.”

“By who?”

“The Mas ter, who else?”

Maya clenched her hands. She really was going to throat punch the bitch. “Batu?”

Alison’s brows snapped together, clearly outraged at Maya’s lack of respect. “The Master .”

With a shrug, Maya dropped the issue. She wouldn’t know who the mystery leader was until they were face-to-face. Until then it would be dangerous to leap to conclusions.

“If the Master wants me dead, then why send you? Why doesn’t he personally get rid of me?”

Alison sniffed. “You aren’t important enough for him t o be bothered.”

Him. So at least her assumption that it was a male was right.

“And what happens when he discovers you aren’t u p for the job?”

Alison’s face flushed at the deliberate taunt. “I’d heard you were arrogant, but I hadn’t realized you were stupid. I deliberately led you to this spot. Now you’re going to die.”

Maya’s smile never faltered. “Really? Does that mean I finally get to meet this elusive master? Or is this just a chance to kick your ass?”

With a dramatic flourish, Alison tossed back her cape so she could lift her arm and point over M aya’s shoulder.

“You want to meet him? He’s waiting. Look.”

“Right.” Maya rolled her eyes. “Like I’m going to fall for t hat old trick.”

“Maya.”

Ice-cold horror blasted through Maya as a rough male voice whispered her name. She recognized that voice. It’d haunted her dreams for the past fo rty-five years.

Unable to halt the instinctive movement, she whirled around, fully expecting to discover Batu standing just behind her. All she could see, however, was the mirror shimmering with a weird silver mist. As if it was glowin g from within.

Caught in the trauma of her past, Maya failed to sense the danger of the present as Alison abruptly charged forward and slammed her hands again st Maya’s back.

“D ie, you bitch.”

Although she was protected against magic, Maya had no defense against a direct physical attack. Stumbling forward, she swiveled her body in a desperate attempt to grab the nearby mage to prevent a painful fall. Her hand closed around the neckline of the cape, but the fur was too slick to hang on to and her finger s slipped away.

She did manage to snag a gold chain that the younger woman had hanging around her neck, but it snapped beneath the pressure. Instinctively she clutched the chain in her hand, tumbling in an awkward motion toward the nearby mirror.

Expecting a painful connection with the heavy wooden frame, or even the pain of shattered glass slicing into her skin, Maya was completely unprepared when she simply kept falling. Like Alice through the looking glass.

Only when she finally stopped falling, she wasn’t in Wonderland. At least she didn’t think it was Wonderland, as the misty silver fog she’d glimpsed in the mirro r shrouded her.

Was she ins ide the mirror?

Genuine fear pierced Maya’s heart as she turned in a slow circle. She’d imagined many hideous ways to die. Usually at the hands of a vampire. But she’d never considered the possibility of being trapped in an endless mist. It suddenly seemed like a horrible way to spend eternity.

Standing as still as possible, Maya closed her eyes and calmed her nerves. As much as she wanted to run screaming through the mist, panicking wasn’t going to s olve anything.

If she entered this strange place, then she could get out. Right?

Clinging to that thought, she reached out with her senses, searching for any hint that she wasn’t alone. There was nothing. No, wait. That wasn’t true. There was no one nearby, but there was a distant echo of som eone familiar.

“Hello?” She strained to reach out. “Ca n you hear me?”

“Now what?” a female voice snapped.

“Tia?”

“Who else?”

“I need you.”

Maya opened her eyes, watching as the mist swirled and Tia step ped into view.

She looked remarkably solid, as if Maya could reach out and touch her. And there was no missing the irritation smoldering in her dark eyes.

“W ell? Now what?”

Maya waved a hand toward the mist . “Where am I?”

Tia blinked, as if she hadn’t noticed the strange location. Then, deliberately, she glanced around. “I’m not sure.” She pursed her lips, returning her attention to Maya. “Tell me what happened.”

Maya ignored the older woman’s air of command. Tia assumed she was the boss. No matter what the situation. “A mage shoved me into a mirror.”

Tia stared at her in confusio n. “Excuse me?”

“I was battling a mage who is somehow connected to Batu and she shoved me into a magic mirror,” Maya explained in clipped tones. “Now I don’t know h ow to get out.”

The confusion remained, but an unmistakable interest replaced the irritation in the older woman’s eyes. “You’re sure it was the mirror that was magic and not just a spell s urrounding it?”

Maya considered the question, replaying the moment she’d tumbled forward and landed against the mirror. There’d been a weird sensation, as if she was sliding through water, but it hadn’t been magic. At least no magic she’d ever encou ntered before.

“No. I passed through the actual glass.” Her tone was more confident than she felt. Honestly she didn’t know what the hell had happened. “It was part of an altar the mage built in the middle of the woods.”

“Tell me what you k now about her.”

“Nothing beyond the fact that she calls herself Alison and she’s connected to whoever is trying to kill me.” A warm pulse of heat against her palm distracted her, and with a frown, she glanced down at her hand to discover the golden necklace still clutched in her fingers. The metal was glowing in the mist. Maya opened her fingers to stare down at a small golden disk attached to the chain. There was something etched on it. She lifted the necklace, studying the elaborate design in the silvery light. A gasp was wrenched from her lips as she was smacked with the realization that she’d seen an exact replica of that unique design.

“What is it?”

“The mage was wearing this.”

She held out her hand and Tia stepped forward to study the small disk. “Shit.” The older woman jerked her head up to meet Maya’s shocked gaze. “It matches the one t hat Batu wore.”

“That can’t be a coincidence,” Maya breathed, feeling queasy as the gold pressed ag ainst her skin.

Was it tainted? It felt like it. Or maybe it was just the thought of her former captor that mad e her nauseous.

“No, it’s not a coincidence,” Tia agreed, her expression hardening as she stiffened her spine. “And he wasn’t the only one.”

“Wha t do you mean?”

“I know where we a re. Follow me.”

With movements that lacked her usual grace, Tia turned and headed away from Maya, the mist parting before her like a silvery curtain. Maya followed. The older woman was visibly bothered by the medallion, never a good thing. Not when Maya had witnessed Tia battle a rabid horde of demons with a smile on her face. But if the older woman knew a way out of the weird fog, then Maya would follow her to the gates of hell.

But not without questions. “Tell me wha t’s happening.”

The words came out as an order, not a request. Tia wasn’t the only one who could be bossy. Thankfully the mage was too distracted t o take offense.

“The night Batu tried to kill me, I had finally managed to break through the layers of magic that hid his inner sanctum,” she said, angling through the mist as if she knew exactly where she was going.

“And you didn’t tell me?” Maya’s breath hissed between her c lenched teeth.

She didn’t know why she was shocked. It didn’t matter that Tia had sworn a solemn promise that they’d work together to uncover the secret they both knew Batu was hiding. And that they would stand side by side as they exposed whatever evil he was so anxious to keep locked behind the impenetrable barriers. Tia was going to do what Tia thought was best for Tia . End of story.

“I wanted a quick glance before comi ng to get you.”

Maya snorted. “More likely you wanted to see if there was a treasure you could steal without ha ving to share.”

Tia’s pace never slowed. “When did you become so cynical, old friend? Once upon a time you ha d faith in me.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Old?” Tia tossed a mocking smile over her shoulde r. “Or friend?”

“Someday,” Maya muttered.

“ But not today.”

“No, not today,” Maya agreed as the mist started to thin, revealing a large cavern chiseled int o the bedrock.

They stopped, standing side by side as the silvery fog continued to fade, exposing a narrow fissure that ran from the floor of the cavern to the ceiling.

“Tia?”

The mage pointed toward an arched doorway across the cavern. “I was here. I came through that entrance.”

Maya took a hesitant step forward only to jerk to a halt when a ripple of magic swept over her, as if she’d stepped through an unseen barrier. Suddenly a line of dark shapes was visible near the back wall.

She dipped her hand into her satchel, studying the bulky forms that were covered from head to foot in thick robes. Their faces were obscured and there was no hint of auras, but they had to be demons. A half dozen of them.

“Guards,” she hissed when Tia did nothing to prepare for an attack.

“They’re not real.” Tia’s voice was distant, the scent of scalded cloves swirling around the mage. “The y’re memories.”

Maya’s tension didn’t ease. This place had the feel of a dream, but that didn’t lessen the danger. “Were they real when you came here?”

“Yes. Exactly where they’re standing now.” Tia licked her lips, nodding toward the nearest figure. “Look a t their robes.”

Maya sucked in a calming breath, forcing herself to study the dark, flowing material draped over the guards. In the dim light it was nearly impossible to see anything beyond a faint hint of crimson marks on the silky material directly over their hearts. Just then, Tia whispered a soft spell and a flame bloomed into a perfect sphere near the ceiling of the cavern, spilling a reddish glow over the figures. It was enough illumination to allow Maya to make out the st itched pattern.

“That’s the same symbol.” She clenched the medallion in her hand, feeling it throb as if it recognized this place. “There has to be a connection.”

Tia nodded, but before she could respond a tremor rippled beneath their feet, like an earthquake. In the same moment, the nasty stench of sulfur blasted through the air. Maya gagged. She’d told herself she’d follow Tia to the gates of hell to get out of here, but she hadn’t expected them to open and spew out such a noxious odor.

Not that the smell was the most worrisome turn of events, she belatedly realized, as the swish of satin against stone warned her the guards were on the move. She took a hasty step backward, but they remained impervious to her presence as they strolled toward the middle of the cavern and formed a straight line, facing the far wall. With an eerie silence, they slowly knelt and bent their hooded heads.

“What ’s happening?”

She didn’t really expect Tia to have an answer. This went beyond weird to d ownright scary.

“I don’t have a clue.” Tia confirmed Maya’s fear. “I barely managed to step into this chamber before Batu sensed my presence and dragged me out. That’s when he decided I’d outlived my usefulness and started to drain m e of my magic.”

Maya was grimly battling back the memory of Tia on her knees with Batu draining the magic out of her when she was distracted as the fissure that snaked through the stone began to widen as if it was being pulled apart by invi sible fingers.

“Something’s happening,” she whispered.

There was no tingle of magic or shaking of an earthquake, just the wall spl itting in half.

Maya’s heart skidded in fear as she peered into the spreading gap. It didn’t open into another chamber. Or even to the jungle outside of Batu’s lair. Actually, she didn’t have a clue what it opened into. The landscape was something out of another dimension. Or another world. A flat, never-ending desert that was barren of any plants. And the sky was a putrid green with two moons that circled what looked like a black hole.

Oh, and the gut-churning stench of sulfur that f looded the air.

Tia sucked in a shocked breath. “Do y ou smell that?”

Maya shuddered. “How co uld I miss it?”

“I recognize that odor.” Tia’s gaze remained locked on the open fissure. “That’s the place where Valen and I were trapped. The afterlife.”

Maya had heard about Valen and Tia’s unplanned journey into the world between the living and the dead. It was where the soul of the vampire supposedly waited to be resurrected in a brand-spa nking-new body.

“Why would the demons be opening a portal to t he afterlife?”

The question had barely left Maya’s lips when the demons lifted their arms over their heads in a synchronized motion. It looked like they were saluting the opening until Maya caught a glint of steel and realized they were clutching daggers that held a sheen of magic rippling over the blades. Blades forged and hexed to kill with one blow.

Maya dipped her hand back into her satchel. The creatures appeared indifferent to their presence in the cavern, but if they decided to attack, things were going to get ugly. And painful. She wanted to take out a few before they c ould reach her.

But even as her fingers closed around a vial, the daggers slashed through the air, plunging downward until the blades pierced directly through the design stitched on their robes and into their hearts.

Maya froze, watching in stunned disbelief as the demons fell forward, dead the moment the steel blades slid through their flesh. But the horror wasn’t over. The wounds in their chests pumped out large rivulets of blood that trickled into groves that had been dug into the stone floor. The dark liquid flowed toward the shallow trough that led directly toward the wall. At last it pooled at the base of the fissure, sizzling as it touched the strange image flickeri ng in the gap.

There was a loud crack that echoed through the cavern, as if the stone was protesting the touch of the blood. Then as slowly as it parted, the stone wall started to knit back together. Maya shook her head. If this was magic, she’d never seen anything like it. Perhaps back in the days when mages could fully touch the wild magic it would be possible to move mo untains, but...

“Maya.”

Her tangled thoughts were distracted by Tia’s sharp tone, and turning her head, she discovered the older woman staring at the center of her chest. Maya glanced down, her brows snapping together at the shimmering strand of magic that appeared to flow from her heart toward the distant g ap in the wall.

“W hat the hell?”

She couldn’t sense the strange cord. Not even when she tentatively touched it with the tip of her fingers. Desperately she told herself it was an illusion, some sort of weird effect created by the cavern. And she might have believed her anxious hypothesis if a loud screeching hadn’t forced her attention back to the gaping wall to discover it was no longer moving. A small crack was still visible, held open by the shimmering thread that was directly attached to her chest. As if she was somehow keeping the gap from comp letely closing.

“Maya.” Tia grabbed her upper arm, giving her a rough shake. “We have to ge t out of here.”

Thankfully jerked out of her shocked paralysis, Maya allowed Tia to tug her across the cavern to dart through the arched opening and into the chamber where Maya had battled against Batu. Maya refused to glance toward the spot where the vampire had died—or at least where she’d assumed he died—just as she refused to glance down and see if the weird magic was still shining ou t of her chest.

It was enough to concentrate on escaping the nightmare without adding to her blis tering anxiety.

They were entering the vast throne room when the mist abruptly returned, boiling through the air as if it was alive. They quickened their pace as they continued toward the main doors that would lead to the terrace overlooking the jungle. They didn’t need to be able to see through the mist to find their way. Not after endless years of being trapp ed in the lair.

Halfway across the chamber Maya felt the first tremor beneath her feet. Not an earthquake, but r aw male power.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. “There’s someone ahead of us,” she warned in a low hiss.

Tia tightened her grip until her nails dug into Maya’s flesh. “ We can’t stop.”

“Actu ally, you can.”

Maya and Tia grunted in pain as they ran face-first into an unseen barrier that was as hard as a brick wall. Reeling backward, Maya broke free of Tia’s grasp, her arms windmilling as she struggled to keep her balance. Only when she was sure that she wasn’t going to fall on her ass did she glare toward the tall form stepping o ut of the mist.

“You,” she growled, not at all surprised at the sight of the obscenely handsome male with long copper hair and eyes that glowed an iridescent green in the silvery light.

The male—the one she suspected was Joe—studied them with an irrita ted expression.

“This is no place for you.” His gaze shifted to Tia. “ Either of you.”

Astonishingly, Tia slammed her fists on her hips, her expression equally irritated. “What are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

Maya blinked in confusion. “You know him?”

Tia clicked her tongue. “He was in your shop.”

“Seriously?” She glared at the male. “Why were you...wait.” Maya turned her glare toward Tia. “What were you doing at my shop? You’re supposed to b e in Colorado.”

Tia shrugged. “Lo oking for you.”

“That’s one explanation,” the maybe/maybe not Joe retorte d in dry tones.

Maya hissed in annoyance. Right now she had a truckload of problems. It wasn’t the time or pla ce to add more.

“This is all getting too weird.” She focused on the male in front of her. “How do we esca pe this place?”

The male lifted his hand, his power thundering through the a ir. “Allow me.”

Maya stumbled backward. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but she was confident she wasn’t go ing to like it.

“No. Wait.”

“What’s happening?” Tia stiffened, but Maya didn’t have time to warn her. Even if she wanted to. Which she probably didn’t. One moment she was backing away from the finger pointed in her direction and the next she was knocked unconscious, the pain and fear forgotten as she drifted in an en dless darkness.