Stolen Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 3) (3 page)

The door swung open, and the small white-haired figure of Dr. Garriso smiled at us. “Welcome, welcome. Come in.”

We stepped out of the rain and followed him down the cold, boring hallway, which was nothing like the rest of the museum. Researchers always got the shaft.
 

Dr. Garriso was a small man, about seventy, and favored the tweed coats that made him look like an old Sherlock Holmes.

 
He pushed open the door to his office. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, I couldn’t help but grin. It was like stepping back in time. Bookshelves lined every wall, stuffed to overflowing with ancient leather tomes and newer paperbacks. Old Tiffany lamps gleamed warmly from wooden tables, leather chairs invited, and the air smelled like tea.
 

How he’d turned the sterile researcher’s office into this wonderland from a past century, I had no idea. But I liked it.

“Could I get you some tea?” Dr. Garriso asked. “I have a lovely new blend from India.”

“Yes, please,” I said.
 

I could never resist Dr. Garriso’s tea. It wasn’t my beloved Pabst Blue Ribbon—PBR for short, the beer of hipsters and hillbillies—but something about it suited his office so well that I could never say no. And now wasn’t exactly the time for a cold one, anyway.

Aidan and I crossed the narrow space to the small seating area under the window. There were two plush leather chairs, but Aidan picked up a small wooden one in front of the bookshelves and brought it over. He fitted his huge form onto the seat, leaving the two nicer chairs for Dr. Garriso and me.

Not a bad dude.
 

“Thanks,” I said as I sank into the leather chair.
 

Dr. Garriso puttered at the small table holding the electric kettle and his collection of tea supplies.
 

The kettle dinged, and he fussed some more, then carried the tea over on a tiny silver tray and set it on the table between the leather chairs. He turned and retrieved a leather box from a high shelf.

 
I reached for my tea as he opened the box, sipping and sighing gratefully at the added sweetness. Dr. Garriso knew I had the sweet tooth of a twelve-year-old. Five sugar cubes. It was a little ridiculous, but I didn’t care.

 
“This is an interesting item,” Dr. Garriso said as he removed the ornate golden chalice from the box.
 

Shiny.

The yellow metal glinted in the low light, and my fingers itched to touch it. Though I preferred a different type of treasure, the dragon in my soul couldn’t help but covet anything that shiny.

“What is it?” I asked. “I know it can’t just be a beauty charm.”

 
Right before I’d met Aidan, I’d recovered the Chalice of Youth on a job, specifically for Mr. S, Magic Bend’s favorite weatherman. Del, who consulted ancient records to determine which enchanted artifacts I would go after, had determined that the Chalice of Youth would do for Mr. S’s needs.

But it’d turned out that the chalice was more than just a beauty charm. The Monster from my past had been hunting it as well. There was no way he’d have been hunting it if it weren’t special.

 
“Well, you see,” Dr. Garriso said. “It’s a difficult object. It is definitely a beauty charm, but that spell was placed on the chalice to hide its true purpose. The chalice possesses a spell that allows whoever drinks from it—”

 
An enormous crash sounded from one of the floors above, followed by a shout. Magic swelled in the air, a bitter, burning aroma that was hard to identify. But it smelled like dark magic.
 

I surged to my feet, Aidan alongside me, his massive form graceful despite his size.
 

“What was that?” Dr. Garriso’s white brows rose to touch his snowy hairline.

 
“Nothing good,” I said.

“Not a robbery,” Dr. Garriso said. “It can’t be.”

Pounding footsteps sounded on the floor above. A guard running? A thief?

 
“I don’t know, but we’d better check it out,” I said. I hated the idea of anyone coming in here and messing with the history contained within these walls. This stuff was irreplaceable. “We’ll be right back, Dr. Garriso.”

 
I raced from the room with Aidan. The sterile lights of the hallway burned my eyes after the dim pleasantness of Dr. Garriso’s office. We sprinted side by side down the wide hallway, following the sound of crashing and yelling, and pushed through the doors at the end of the hall, spilling out into one of the main exhibit rooms.

The ceiling soared high above, the setting sun gleaming orange from behind the enormous glass windows. Marble statues dotted the space, but no people.
 

Another crash sounded.

“Left,” I said.

We sprinted toward it, crossing through exhibits that held only artifacts. The sound of a fight beckoned, leading us to a moderately-sized room full of ancient vases and amphoras. Glass cases filled the space, gleaming dully in the light.

 
A purple portal glowed from the corner. Lavender light pulsed from it, illuminating the two figures who stood on either side, their arms outstretched, as if they were manipulating the magic that created the portal. They were Magica of some sort. Maybe demons, though some species looked human. Their power smelled like rot and decay, with a hint of the ocean behind it.

Dark magic covered their own signature.

Whatever they were doing with that portal needed to be stopped.

In the middle of the room, three other thieves fought off three guards who wore the blue museum uniform. Magic flashed from their hands, spikes of ice and flying jets of flame. But they kept the attack tight, contained. Their magic felt strong, like they could have blown the guards away.

But they held back. Did they want to avoid hurting the artifacts?

The guards rebuffed the attacks with circular shields. Magic repellers. When they could get a shot in, they sent blasts of golden light at the thieves.

Stunning spells, if I had to guess.

One crashed into the thief on the left, throwing him back almost to the portal.

“I’ll take the guys on the left,” I said.

“Right for me, then.” Aidan threw a spear of flame, precise and blazing, toward one of the intruders. It engulfed him, and he fell to the floor, screaming.

I called upon Aidan’s power over flame, using my Mirror Mage abilities to borrow his gift. It was safer than using my FireSoul power since Mirror Mages were accepted in magical society.
 

The evergreen scent of Aidan’s magic filled my nose as I drew it into me and crafted a bolt of fire. Warmth filled me, that now-familiar joy, as I molded the magic to my will. I sent the fire streaking toward the thief who stood to the left of the portal.

Direct hit.

I grinned.
 

Flame licked up his form and he flailed, tumbling back into the portal and disappearing. A pang of loss hit me. If he hadn’t fallen through the portal, I’d have been able to take his power.

“Oh, dear.” Dr. Garriso’s startled voice pulled me from my dark thoughts.

I flushed. What was I thinking?
 

I glanced toward Dr. Garriso. He’d entered through another exhibit and stood near the portal, his wide gaze traveling over the scene.

He was too near the last thief for my liking.
 

“Get back!” I shouted as I called upon Aidan’s Elemental Mage powers and crafted a spear of ice. I’d wound the bad guy with this, then be able to question him.
 

The ice froze my fingertips as I sent it streaking through the air toward the final thief. It punctured him right through the middle. He flailed, knocking over an artifact case.

Dr. Garriso’s shout echoed in the room. He lunged for the amphora that tumbled toward the floor. As he passed by the portal, it pulsed, a bright purple light illuminating the room. Magic surged, a dry static crackle in the air that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

The purple light expanded, reaching for Dr. Garriso and dragging him toward the heart of the portal. His wide gaze met mine as he was sucked inside. His sensible brown shoes were the last thing to disappear as I reached for him, my hand outstretched and too far away to be any help at all.

CHAPTER TWO

“No!” I lunged for Dr. Garriso, but he was long gone.

“Cass!” Aidan shouted as I sprinted for the portal.

Heavy footsteps thundered behind me. Just as I reached the glowing purple, an arm wrapped around my waist like a steel band and yanked me backward.

“You don’t know what’s on the other side.” Aidan loomed over me, ten times as strong as I’d ever be. I suddenly wished I’d stolen that demon’s immense strength back at P & P. Aidan could never have stopped me then.

I thrashed in his arms. “He’s my friend!”

“I know, but we need to be—”

I stomped on his heel, dropped my weight, and thrust my elbow back into his gut. He
oofed
and let go of me. I threw myself at the pulsing purple light.

Pain.

I slammed into a wall. Stumbled back onto my ass. I blinked past the searing agony in my face and hands, which had hit the portal first. My face felt like it’d been stomped on by a giant troll.

Slowly, my gaze cleared. I was still in the museum. The portal pulsed with light, looking like it was open.
 

“The portal’s closed.” I struggled to my feet, my heart pounding desperately.

Aidan took my arm, his strong grip steadying me. “Damn it, Cass. That was stupid. Are you all right?”

“Don’t worry about me.” I pulled free and approached the portal. “We have to get to Dr. G! But why is the portal still here? It shouldn’t be here if it’s closed.”

I reached out to the purple light. It glowed on my fingertips, turning them alien. A cold hardness met my touch.

“This is weird,” I said. My skin chilled with fear-sweat, the worst kind. Dr. Garriso was
trapped.

Aidan approached, extending his big hand and laying it next to mine. “No. This isn’t right.”

I turned to face the rest of the room. The guards were snapping pictures of the fallen bodies with their camera phones. No doubt in case they were demons and disappeared soon.

Good idea. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and went to the nearest man. He had pale skin and dark hair, and though I could see no horns, it didn’t mean he wasn’t a demon. Demons were the favored supernaturals to act as henchmen for the baddies in the magical world. I snapped a picture of him just as Aidan joined me.

Two of the guards approached, stopping in front of us. A burly one with dark hair and ruthlessly pressed clothes demanded, “Who are you? Why are you here?”

His tone pissed me off. “Uh, we just saved your ass.”

“And threw the icicle that ended with Dr. Garriso sucked into that portal,” he snapped.

That deflated me in a heartbeat. He was right. I was responsible. I’d been having such a good time with my magic, getting so cocky with my new skills, that I’d chosen a riskier magic because I’d wanted to question the thief. I should have recognized there were potential casualties in the room and used my lightning, but that was a FireSoul power. I didn’t want these guards seeing it.
 

“I’m going to get him back,” I said.
 

Aidan’s hand gripped my own. Warmth filled my chest at the support.
 

“That doesn’t answer my question. Who are you?” The ferocity in the guard’s dark eyes cut me to ribbons.

“Friends of Dr. Garriso’s,” Aidan said. “We were in his office when we heard the fight.”

“I didn’t ask who you were to Dr. Garriso, I asked who you
were
,” he barked.

Aidan grinned. “Well, why didn’t you just say so? I’m Aidan Merrick.”

The guard’s gaze flew wide, startled. A gleam of sweat shined on his brow, the fastest flop-sweat I’d ever seen.

“Origin. I—I didn’t realize.”

I raised a brow. As far as I knew, only Shifters held that level of reverence for the most powerful of their kind. This guy was all Magica, though. It’s not that Magica didn’t respect Shifters, it was just that we were different. Magica
used
magic, whereas Shifters
were
magic. We were so different that we had our own governments and everything. The Order of the Magica ruled the magic users, and the Shifter Council ruled the Shifters.

Aidan nodded graciously at the guard, and I made a mental note to ask what the deal was. Was he a big donor at the museum or something? He
was
rich as twelve dragons.

The third guard entered the room, slipping a cellphone into his pocket as he walked.
 

“Administration is coming,” he said. “Be here in five.”

“Damn it!” The guard who’d interrogated us grimaced. “What the hell were those idiots thinking? You can’t steal from here.”

Which explained the guards’ lackluster showing against the thieves. Magic ensured that nothing could leave the museum’s walls, so the guards had gotten lazy. The protections were why I’d felt comfortable bringing the Chalice of Youth here for Dr. Garriso to look at before handing it over to Aidan for safekeeping. I hadn’t anticipated this.