Chapter 8 #2
“What’s happening?” she demanded.
Azh shrugged. “I’m not sure, but there has to be a reason this section of the book was protected by magic.”
On cue, the clouds thinned to reveal a heavy stone pyramid that looked far too solid to be resting on air.
There were two uniformed men standing next to a copper door engraved with complicated hieroglyphics.
Gabriela never slowed her pace, waving away the guards as the door swung open. Was her presence some sort of trigger?
The illusion darkened as the dragon stepped into the interior of the pyramid, her skin releasing a soft glow that allowed Wynn to see she was walking through a huge room that looked surprisingly empty. Like a vast cavern.
Then she reached the back wall, pausing in front of another copper door set in the thick stone.
She glanced over her shoulder, as if to ensure that there was no one around.
Odd. Did she have some sort of secret hoard?
Or was she just looking for some peace and quiet?
Maybe a bubble bath and a glass of wine.
Being the queen to a bunch of arrogant, brutally violent dragons couldn’t be an easy job.
The dragon lifted her hand, pressing open the door to reveal another vast space, only this one wasn’t empty. In the center of the stone floor was a raised dais with a huge, gem-encrusted throne that sparkled with priceless perfection.
Gabriela walked with an elegance that made her appear to float on a breeze as she climbed the steps and slowly turned to settle on the throne.
The gems flared with brilliant light in response to her presence, shredding through the shadows to reveal a wide crack in the floor filled with a thick sludge.
Wynn gasped. There was no mistaking the sickening green glow that suddenly came from the sludge, rising and spreading through the room.
“Azh,” she breathed in shock. “That’s the same magic that’s infecting the demons.”
Azh hissed, his brows pulling together as he watched Gabriela lean her head against the back of the throne, allowing the glow to wash over her. As if she were in a spa, not being infected with evil.
“The corruption.” He stepped back, as if worried the toxic sludge might spill out of the illusion. “It has to be.”
“It’s supposed to be locked out of here.
” Fear trickled through Wynn, freezing her blood and sending goosebumps over her skin.
Azh didn’t have a lot of information on the corruption or how it worked, but he’d been very clear he suspected it’d destroyed the homeland of the dragons.
What the hell would it do if it managed to spread through this world? “How did it get into the demons?”
Reaching down, Azh closed the book with a loud thump before speaking a word of power. Instantly, it disappeared.
“I have to speak to the Watcher,” he announced in grim tones.
Wynn was already heading toward the door. “Follow me.”
* * * *
Maya heaved a sigh as she tossed her cell phone on the worn counter.
She’d known that Ravyr wasn’t going to be pleased when she shared her latest update.
He wasn’t foolish enough to try to tell her not to protect Tia, but he made it clear he was going to be epically pissed if something happened to Maya.
Not for the first time, she wished he was there. His absence was like an ache she couldn’t ease. As if a piece of herself was missing. And if she was honest, she could use the comfort of his presence. If he was there, she would be absolutely certain that nothing bad could happen.
Unfortunately, he was stuck in Greece for at least another week, and she was on her own.
No...wait. Not on her own. She could sense someone approaching the front door of the empty pawnshop.
Maya touched the emerald that glowed around her neck. The barrier that she and Tia had wrapped around Hexx’s building should be strong enough to deter the most determined trespasser, but she had a lethal spell prepared if anything managed to break through.
Scooting off the high stool that was the only piece of furniture in the empty pawnshop, Maya walked forward to peer out the large front window. Her tension eased as she caught sight of the slender woman jogging across the street dressed in cutoff shorts and a tight T-shirt.
Peri.
Maya moved to open the front door, whispering words of power to allow the younger woman to step through the barrier.
Peri stopped in the doorway, studying the shimmering webs of magic with a lift of her brows.
“This isn’t just your magic.”
“No,” Maya agreed. “It was a combined effort with Tia.”
Peri’s lips twitched. “You and Tia working together? A miracle.”
“A minor miracle,” Maya agreed. For over four decades she’d considered Tia her nemesis. The past few months had gone a long way to heal their old wounds, but their relationship was still a work in progress.
“I’ll admit that I’m impressed,” Peri murmured. “It’s impossible to determine where your magic joins with Tia’s. The weave is flawless.”
Maya took a moment to admire her work. Peri was right. It was flawless.
“You’re not the only mage with skills, although I’ll admit I don’t have your power.”
“Yes, well. I am blessed.” Peri batted her lashes before stepping through the weaves. “Still, the melding is beautiful.”
Maya snorted. “Did you come here to admire my shield?”
“One of many reasons,” Peri confessed, the amusement fading as she glanced around the shop that was now nothing more than an empty shell despite the residue of magic that lingered.
Hexx had spent over a century peddling black market spells and potions out of this store. Nothing short of burning it to the ground and salting the earth could get rid of the echoes of power.
Maya grimaced. She recognized that tone. “Oh no.”
Peri held up a slender hand. “First, I’m here to make sure you’re okay. Your text was pretty vague. What’s going on? And why are you hanging around this god-awful place?”
Maya shared what had happened from the moment her trap had been triggered by Tia until she’d ended up twiddling her thumbs in the empty pawnshop.
Peri listened in silence, more resigned than surprised.
Over the past couple of years they’d endured rogue magic, the end of the world, and the return of pure evil from the dead.
Of course they were going to be forced to battle against some weird glowing slime.
“And you don’t know where the stuff came from that’s attacking Joe?”
“Not a clue. Yet another mystery on a long list of mysteries.”
Peri wrinkled her nose. “That’s the second reason I’m here.”
Maya braced herself. “Has something happened?”
“I have a video I think you should see.”
“Okay.”
Peri pulled her phone out of her back pocket, moving to stand next to Maya so she could see the screen.
“I was sent this security footage from one of Valen’s guards. He was on patrol this evening in Lenox Hill when he sensed a disturbance at a local demon gallery. There’s been trouble there before, so he went to check it out.”
Maya was confused. She was called in to help when a mage was involved in a local disturbance, but never demons.
“And?”
“I’ll let you see for yourself.”
Peri pressed her finger against the screen to play the black-and-white security video. Leaning forward, Maya watched as a young blond-haired woman strolled into the elegant shop, pausing in the center of the room as a large demon appeared from the back.
Maya sent Peri a puzzled frown. “Is she a human?”
Peri froze the video. “Look closely at her coat.”
Maya jerked in shock. She’d recognize that oversized winter coat with large silver buttons anywhere.
“The thief.”
“Yes.” Peri touched the screen to allow the video to resume.
“There’s no sound?” Maya demanded.
“No. We’re lucky there’s any security. Albert Hamilton is a black market dealer who’s a constant pain in Valen’s ass.”
“Like Hexx?”
Peri snorted. “Hamilton only deals with the most rare and expensive artifacts. He probably makes more in a day than Hexx has earned in his entire lifetime.”
Maya believed her friend. The gallery looked expensive. Clearly she would have to personally investigate the claims of illegal magical items once this was over. For now, she was more interested in the woman who’d so easily penetrated her defenses.
There was nothing but the coat to reveal this was the same person, but Maya was confident that they’d found the thief. It was in the proud tilt of her head and her swagger as she entered the building. Whoever she was, she didn’t lack in confidence.
Focused on the thief, Maya didn’t pay much attention to the demon. He had a deep crimson aura, but he was no stronger than a dozen others in the city. New York had become an epicenter of power over the past two centuries, attracting demons who could claim the purest bloodlines.
It wasn’t until three guards appeared from the shadows to surround the thief that she realized this wasn’t a simple exchange of stolen goods for cash.
The woman was jumping to her feet as the demon reached out to grab her.
The next thing that happened was the demon was flying through the air and crashing into one of the display cases.
“She’s not making many friends in town,” Maya muttered, her unease intensifying.
The stranger had to be a mage, right? How else could she have tossed the demon around like he was a twig?
And not just a mage. But one of the most powerful magic users that Maya had ever encountered.
So why hadn’t she been able to sense the woman’s magic when she was standing a few feet away from her?
Maya’s thoughts were distracted as there was a movement behind the woman. Maya squinted. Was that a man? It was hard to see more than a fuzzy outline.
“Who’s that?” She pointed at the screen. “And why is he out of focus?”
“I asked one of Valen’s security men to look at the footage. His opinion was the male’s aura is screwing with the camera.”
“A demon?”
“If it is, then his powers are off the charts.”
“Crap.”
“Wait. It gets worse.”
“Of course it does,” Maya muttered, preparing herself for an explosion or earthquake or incoming meteorite. If Peri said something was getting worse, then it had to be really, really bad.
The video continued, revealing a battle between the fuzzy male form and the demons.
He was clearly the superior fighter, as he easily overpowered the guards, but even as they prepared to leave, the thief was pointing toward the guard who was rising to his feet and shuffling toward them with weird, jerky movements.
As if he wasn’t in control of his body. And there was something wrong with his face. ..
“Wait,” she breathed, her gaze shifting to study the other guards, who were moving with the same strange jerks. “Are those demons glowing?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Peri agreed.
Maya furrowed her brow. “A spell? A curse?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“This is the only video available?”
“Unfortunately.” Peri pressed her finger against the screen, freezing the action. “This is what I wanted you to see.”
She zoomed the image until it revealed the thief’s hand reaching toward a slender rod. The video was too grainy to make out the exact designs on the metal object, but Maya guessed that it was a fey lightning rod. Not an illegal relic, but they were frowned on by the Cabal.
“We already knew the thief has a habit of taking things that don’t belong to her,” she said, not sure what Peri wanted her to see.
Peri pointed to the woman’s hand. “She’s not stealing the rod. She’s draining the magic.”
Maya leaned closer, barely able to make out the shimmering threads of magic that connected the rod to the thief’s open palm.
“She’s a Void,” she breathed.
“What does that mean?”
With a string of highly inventive expletives, Maya whirled around to discover the blond-haired woman standing in a corner of the pawnshop, her odd lavender eyes glowing with a sharp-edged curiosity.