Spirit Magic (Dragon Born Awakening Book 2) Page 4

  It felt so weird to say it. On earth, the monsters didn’t hide from her.

  “They can feel your magic. And it frightens them,” said Makani.

  “I feel bad for them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they are afraid.”

  “You’re too kind,” he said. “They are monsters.”

  “Which is just a label we attached to them. Not all of these ‘monsters’ are bad. They just look different. Their magic is a bit different. Sound familiar?”

  “You are referring to the Dragon Born.”

  Seven hundred years ago, the Magic Council, the organization who ruled over the supernatural community with an iron fist, had declared the Dragon Born mages ‘abominations’ and hunted them to near extinction. The sentence for their existence was death.

  Recently, the tides had turned, thanks to a change in the Magic Council’s leadership. It was no longer a crime to be born different, to be Dragon Born. But old prejudices died hard, especially ones that had been stewing for centuries. Many in the supernatural community still hated the Dragon Born—and continued to call them monsters.

  “You and the other Dragon Born were given a label: abomination,” Naomi said. “Which is just another word for monster. People called you monsters. Just as we call them monsters.” She waved her hand to indicate the monsters hiding inside the ruins.

  Makani took her hand, kissing it. “You have a good heart, Naomi. And much of what you say is true.”

  “But?”

  He sighed. “But sometimes a monster is just a monster. Don’t let your guard down. The demons and their warlords have many monsters, even here at the periphery of hell.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” Her lips twisted into a sly smile. “This isn’t my first rodeo in hell.”

  Beyond the ruins, at the edge of the black forest, a glowing, glistening river of magic beckoned her forward. Hovering over the ground, these magic streams were sprinkled across the spirit realm. Spirit Warriors could use them to travel great distances, but they were also available to anyone with enough demonic magic.

  “Our ride is here.” Naomi took Makani’s hand, and together they jumped into the stream of light and magic. Only someone with spirit magic or demon magic could surf the highways of hell. If she let go of him, he’d tumble out of the stream.

  Like a high-speed train, the stream shot them across the city. Streets and buildings bled away on either side. Trees rippled. Exits whistled past. Faster and faster the stream moved. Plains whipped by. Rivers. Forests. An ocean. They were passing over the Atlantic.

  Naomi spotted land. An island. Some stone ruins jutted up from the steep terrain. It was a partial castle, mostly intact, missing only one tower out of four.

  Hand-in-hand, Naomi and Makani jumped out of the stream. They landed amidst the ruins, the castle’s courtyard, an area overgrown with trees. Black branches and white leaves, red flowers and silver pollen. The mixed potpourri of plants smelled of sulfur and roses.

  “Here they are,” Naomi said as a woman and two men began walking across the courtyard toward them. “Hell’s commandos.”

  Makani’s eyes hardened. “We had decided they are warriors, not commandos.”

  “No, you allowed your protest to be heard, and I overruled you.”

  “You cannot overrule me.”

  “Why not?”

  “I am a prince.”

  “You were a prince.”

  “I’m still a dragon.”

  “And I’m a Spirit Warrior. The spirit realm is my magic’s home turf. Which means my magic outranks yours, Your Majesty.” She smirked at him. “And by extension, so do I.”

  The air crackled between them, his magic as hard as his stare. His brows arched, daring her to challenge him.

  She embraced that challenge. “You can’t argue with the hard, cold facts of magic.”

  He chuckled, a deep, dragon-like rumble. His hand flashed out, capturing hers. “Naomi, Spirit Warrior Princess?” He kissed her hand.

  “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  “Indeed.”

  Makani’s warriors stopped in front of them.

  The woman with the long, high ponytail was a mage named Emma, Makani’s head of security. She’d spent over three hundred years in hell. She favored the katana, and sure enough, she was carrying one right now. She was wearing a black faded tank top and khaki shorts, just like the last time Naomi had seen her. And the time before that. And every time before that. There weren’t any dress shops in hell. The first time Naomi had met Emma, the mage had proudly declared that she’d killed someone for her clothes. So, yeah, she was tough and maybe a little crazy, but she was viciously loyal to Makani.

  Bruce, a big, beefy vampire with a shaved head walked at Emma’s right side. He was dressed in camouflage-print pants and a thin green t-shirt torn at the arms. He held a huge curved dagger in each hand, the silver blades still fresh with the blood of his enemies. He was even crazier than Emma. Maybe his two hundred years in hell had contributed to the manic twitch in his eyes, but Naomi had a feeling that he’d been crazy long before all that.

  Walking at Emma’s other side was an elf with spiked silver hair and hell-hardened turquoise eyes. That was Troy. He moved like a cat and when he unleashed a weapon—whether an arrow, a knife, or a spear—he didn’t miss. His clothes were more modern than those of his companions; he’d only been trapped in hell for fifty years.

  “My prince,” Emma said, bowing before Makani. “We have cleared the last remaining warlord and his army from the second circle of hell.”

  There were no warlords in the first circle of hell; there never had been. After Naomi and Makani had closed the tear between the earth and spirit realm in Munich, they’d returned to the second circle for many more campaigns. Their goal was to clear the remaining demon armies from the second circle.

  “We have killed the final stranglers of the broken war bands,” Emma continued.

  “So the demons’ influence in the second circle is truly over?” Naomi asked.

  Emma nodded, her eyes trembling with uncharacteristic emotion. “Yes.”

  Over the last few months, they’d taken out one warlord after the other. And with each victory, they’d gained more allies, more people willing to rise up against the armies. What had sounded like an impossible feat months ago had now finally come to pass.

  “I didn’t trust you when we first met,” Emma told Naomi.

  “You tried to kill me,” Naomi pointed out.

  Bruce chuckled. “Good times.”

  Naomi glanced from the vampire, to Makani. “I suppose that is in the eye of the beholder.”

  Bruce flashed his bright white pointy teeth at her.

  “But with the help of you and your powers, we have finally accomplished in months what we could not do in centuries. We have made the second circle of the spirit realm safe from the demons.” Emma extended her hand to Naomi. “Thank you.”

  As Naomi shook it, a shock flashed up her arm. She looked down to see a sparkling piece of lightning weed in her hand. The plant was mostly harmless, especially as far as hell’s flora went, but if you touched it, it did give you a little zap.

  “Nice,” Naomi said, tossing the purple plant aside. She should have seen that coming.

  Her eyes twinkling, Emma turned to Makani. “We await your next commands, my prince.”

  “Take a break.”

  Emma frowned. She’d obviously not expected that response. “But, my prince, surely you wish for us to travel to the third circle and clear the demons’ warlords there.”

  “The third circle is far more dangerous than the second,” said Makani. “The drain on your magic is greater, the demons’ influence stronger. We will need to plan our next move carefully. And you three need to rest, to regain your strength.”

  Emma folded her arms across her chest. “My prince, we are fully ready and willing to fight. We do not require rest.”

  Bruce and Troy nod
ded in agreement.

  Naomi didn’t buy it. They all looked tired. Emma had blood-stained bandages tied around her arms and her left leg. Troy wore his right arm in a sling, and he looked thinner than ever before. Bruce was paler than usual. He was in dire need of a good meal. For a vampire, that meant blood. Fresh blood, not dead blood. Not the stale blood of people who’d been stuck in hell for years—or, worse yet, for centuries. Right now, he was looking at Naomi like it was taking all of his willpower not to jump at her, break her neck, and drain her dry.

  Makani seemed to be thinking the same thing. He moved in front of her. “Naomi will return you to earth. There, a healer will tend to your injuries.”

  “We want to serve you. We have sworn to serve you.” Emma’s eyes shook. “Please.”

  They’d been in hell for so long, fighting this war for so many long years, that they didn’t know anything else. They didn’t know what to do with themselves. They only knew how to serve. To have a goal. A purpose. Without it, they would drift aimlessly. They would probably get themselves hurt. And get other people hurt too.

  But Makani was right. The third circle was a whole other world. The warlords were much stronger and more numerous. On top of that, Emma, Bruce, and Troy would be much weaker there. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t survive a few weeks in the third circle. Right now, they’d be lucky to survive the day. They were definitely in no condition to fight.

  They needed to heal, but they also needed to fight. They needed some off time, but they also needed to keep going, to have a mission.

  “Their bodies need rest, but their minds crave a purpose,” Naomi said to Makani.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Right now, Kai’s commandos are going through all the evidence we could salvage from the Expo Hall explosion, trying to find any hint of a demon to back up what my gut is telling me. Emma, Bruce, and Troy have lived in hell for years, they’ve fought demons’ warlords and beasts. Their expertise will help enormously.”

  “You want us to look at wreckage?” Troy’s forehead crinkled up. “That sounds like a task for a scientist, not for a warrior.”

  “Your commando counterparts are a perfect combination of brains and brawn,” Naomi replied.

  Bruce looked perplexed—or maybe intrigued. “Commando counterparts,” he repeated. “That sounds like my kind of people.”

  “We think a demon is trying to break through to earth,” Naomi said. “Is not clearing the earth of demonic influence just as important as clearing the spirit realm of them?”

  “A demon, you say?” Troy looked less skeptical this time. “Will we get to fight it?”

  “That is a distinct possibility.”

  “I’ve never fought a demon before,” Troy said.

  Bruce flashed him a toothy grin. “This should be fun.”

  The thought of facing a demon in battle made Naomi downright queasy, but she kept the smile planted on her face. She couldn’t show them that she was afraid.

  “What do you say, Emma? Want to fight a demon?” Troy asked her.

  “It is irrelevant what I think. Or what you two think.” Emma narrowed her eyes at them in disapproval. “We swore to obey Makani. We will do as he commands.”

  She hadn’t been so ready to acquiesce a few minutes ago; she’d basically demanded that they be allowed to go to the third circle. Naomi supposed fighting a demon was more palatable than relaxing.

  “You will do as Naomi proposed,” Makani told them. “You will go to earth and work with the commandos to stop this demon.”

  “Will you be joining us, my prince?” Hope shone in Emma’s eyes.

  “No. Naomi and I have business to attend to in hell.”

  “Anything we can assist you with?” Emma asked.

  “We’re looking for Onyx,” Naomi said.

  Onyx, her best source of spirit realm intelligence, was nowhere to be found. He was obviously avoiding her.

  “The half-demon?” Troy asked.

  “Yes. Have you seen him lately? I tried brewing his favorite stew to get his attention, but he didn’t come. Then I went looking for him, but he’s not in any of his usual haunts.”

  “I haven’t seen him myself, though Bruce ran into him last week,” Troy told her. “He tried to drink from the half-breed too.”

  Bruce face grew even paler. “Don’t remind me. I don’t know what I was thinking. I must have been delirious. Demon blood tastes like charcoal.”

  Just more evidence that the three of them needed to get some rest and regain their strength.

  “Where did you see Onyx?” Naomi asked Bruce.

  “He was hiding inside the Pyramid.”

  All feeling evaporated from Makani’s face. It was as though clouds had rolled over his soul.

  “What’s the Pyramid?” Naomi asked him.

  “It’s hell’s casino.”

  “Hell has a casino?” She hadn’t read about any of that in the Spirit Warrior journals.

  “It’s inside a strange fold in the veil,” said Makani. “The casino is a recent phenomenon, built after this large fold in the veil was discovered. It exists simultaneously in all circles of the spirit realm, and yet in none of them.”

  “How is that possible?” Naomi asked.

  “It’s a bizarre trick of magic,” he said. “The Pyramid is where the demons go to speak to their warlords in person. They come to this place when sending the message via a messenger like a spirit or ghost would take too long.”

  “Is the Pyramid a kind of gateway?”

  “No. You can enter it from any circle, but you can only exit back into the circle of hell you entered through. It cannot be used as a passage to other circles.”

  Well, that was something at least. That meant a demon couldn’t amass a huge army and bring them wherever he wished.

  “What is the magic drain in there?” Naomi asked.

  “There is no magic drain. Magic simply doesn’t work there. No earth magic, no spirit magic. No demon magic. Nothing. It’s a magical vacuum.”

  “Well, at least no demon can get the jump on us in there.”

  “Unauthorized fighting is strictly forbidden in the Pyramid,” Makani told her.

  “Unauthorized fighting? So there is authorized fighting?”

  “You’ll have to see it for yourself.”

  “I can hardly wait,” she said. “Well, at least we can find Onyx without anyone attacking us.”

  “There’s a problem with that plan,” Bruce said, smiling.

  “Just one problem?” Troy gasped.

  “Only the Otherworldly and people with demon magic are allowed into the Pyramid,” Makani explained. “Ghosts and spirits. Demons, warlords with powers given to them by the demons, half-demons, lesser demons, demon-powered vampires.” He indicated Bruce.

  The demons who powered vampires weren’t like the real demons. They were a watered-down version, a pale whisper of those who dwelled in the deeper levels of the underworld. Demonic vampires had lived on earth for so long that they didn’t even remember the underworld. But apparently that whisper of magic was enough for the Pyramid.

  Bruce bowed his head to Makani. “I will go in and recover the half-demon for you.”

  But Bruce didn’t look like he was in any shape to do anything. He was shaking, swaying, and all-in-all having enormous trouble just staying on his feet. They needed to get him to a healer—and to a blood donor.

  Makani shook his head, setting his hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “No. You will return to earth. I require your services there.”

  He didn’t say that Bruce looked weak enough to pass out. He’d framed it very carefully: Makani needed him, not Bruce needed a healer. The way you framed these things was important, especially to warriors. They were proud to the point of pigheadedness.

  “Maybe I can find something to fool the Pyramid,” Naomi said. “A way to make it think we have demon magic so that it lets us in.”

  “Do you have a particular potion or spel
l in mind?”

  “Not yet. I figured we could try a few different ones until the Pyramid lets us in.”

  “The Pyramid won’t give us more than one chance to convince it we have demon magic,” said Makani with the finality of funeral bells. “If we fail to fool it, it will kill us where we stand.”

  4

  The Potions Master

  When they were back on earth, Naomi pulled out her phone and called Riley. A few minutes later, he drove up in a black SUV that looked like it could smash through a building. That was not surprising, considering that the enforcers were part of Kai’s company, and this was an official enforcer vehicle. The enforcer insignia painted on the side of the car—a dragon curled around the logo of the Magic Council, its jaws wide open, ready to eat it—had to be Kai’s idea of a joke. ‘Supernatural Enforcer Squad’ was tattooed on the dragon’s body.

  Riley stepped out of the car, dressed in a casual t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. His honey-colored hair looked like it had been blown about in the wind all day.

  Naomi walked up to him. “Thanks for meeting us.”

  “No problem. I was on my way to the office anyway.” His green eyes twinkled. “Tony needs me to look at the debris from your explosion.”

  “I’d hardly call it my explosion.”

  “Didn’t you set off the booby trap?” Riley pointed out.

  “It could just have easily been one of your sisters, smarty pants.”

  “Of that I have no doubt,” he chuckled.

  “Anyway, I picked up three kickass demon experts from the spirit realm to help you in the investigation.”

  Riley’s eyes shifted to Emma, Troy, and Bruce, who were lying unconscious on the ground at Makani’s feet. “Are they dead?”

  “No. Of course not!” Naomi planted her hands on her hips. “What the hell kind of question is that?”

  His shoulders rolled back in a slow, easy shrug. “Well, you did pull them out of hell.”

  “They are most certainly not dead. They’ve just been in the spirit realm for a really long time. It has drained them of all their magic. When they came back to earth, all the magic around them wreaked havoc on their bodies and they passed out.”