Fairy Magic (16 page)

Valin shifted his weight uneasily, waving the two soldiers forward. One was obviously his bodyguard. The other was marked with the jewel-toned tattoos of a witch. She dipped her fingers into an open jar, lathering them with the sticky green paste of magical plants. She drew mystical symbols over Makani’s bare skin, chanting a spell woven from dark magic and sinister intentions. Black and green ribbons of mist slithered across his body. Her chanting growing louder, the witch pulled the knife from her belt and jammed it into Makani’s stomach.

Pain split across the link Naomi and Makani shared—wretched, horrible, inescapable pain. That same pain contorted Makani’s face.

“Like that, do you?” Valin sneered, grabbing the knife from the witch’s hand. “The herbs Danielle gave you have amplified your pain.”

Makani gritted his teeth as Valin stabbed him in the side.

“I’m going to enjoy watching you bleed,” Valin told him, vengeance burning in his eyes. Whatever reason he had to hate Makani, it was clearly personal.

Valin cut into him again, and the tsunami of pain brought Naomi to her knees. Makani’s tortured roar shook the tent. As Valin lifted the knife again, little sparks broke out on Naomi’s fingertips. The tingles of magic pushed against the boundaries between realms, trying to break free, but they were stuck.

Again and again, Valin cut into Makani. Naomi felt each cut as though he were doing it to her. She could do nothing but watch—and endure. Tears and sweat gushed down her cheeks. Raw and unrelenting, a fresh wave of pain hit her, knocking her feet out from under her as she passed out.

* * *

When Naomi opened her eyes, she was at the foot of the arch. She must not have been asleep for very long because the welcoming committee was still unconscious on the ground all around her. She got up, shaking the lingering tingles of pain from her body. Her connection to Makani had simmered back down. She couldn’t feel what Valin was doing to him right now, but she could imagine it well enough.

Spinning around, frustration exploded from her in a blast of Fairy Dust that hit the arch. The gateway between the first and second circles of hell didn’t react. Apparently, it was unimpressed by her fury. She kicked the stones, and when that too failed to get a reaction from the arch, she spat on it. She had tried anything and everything, and still she couldn’t break through to the second circle. Naomi began to pace. It wouldn’t help open the veil. It didn’t even help her think because her brain had been squeezed dry like a sack of grapes. But if she stood still, she might just lose her mind.

Something shifted inside a nearby building, and a woman melted out of the shadows. She wore a short summer dress with a flower print. Her long, dark hair was tangled and messy, and she was covered in dirt and blood. She wasn’t even wearing any shoes. Not that it seemed to bother her. She walked across the cracked and searing pavement as though she’d never worn shoes in her life.

“That won’t work,” she told Naomi.

Naomi looked down at the Fairy Dust that had sprung to her fingers. She let it simmer back down. This woman was clearly not a threat.
 

“You’re different,” the woman said. “You have magic here. People who live in hell don’t have magic, not unless they serve a demon.”

“I don’t live here. I’m just visiting. And I most definitely don’t serve a demon.”

The woman ventured closer. “I know. I can see that you’re different.” She extended her hand. “I’m Jane.”

Naomi shook it. “Naomi.”

Jane glanced at the gateway. “You won’t be able to use the arch like that, Naomi.”

“Then how do I use it?”

Jane wet her lips. “The arches are the weakest spots in the veils between the circles of the spirit realm. You need a magical object to activate them. Like the Midnight Cape.”

“Did you say the Midnight Cape?”

Jane nodded. “Yes, it makes crossing realms easier. A boost, if you will, until you’ve learned to use your spirit magic.”

Naomi looked at her, surprised. “You know what I am?”

“Of course. You are a Spirit Warrior. I can feel your magic. We’re attracted to it, you know.”

“We?” Naomi took a closer look at Jane, sensing for her magic. “You’re a ghost.”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve met a Spirit Warrior before?”

“Yes. A few times.” Jane looked at the arch. “The tears between realms are growing.”

“What do you mean by growing?”

“You got in through the tear to earth. There are six other tears between the first circle and earth. These tears have weakened the magic holding together the veils between the circles of the spirit realm too. The veils are tearing at the seams. The weakest spots will split first.”

“Like here,” Naomi said, tapping the arch.

“Yes. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a tear here just like the one you came through.”

“Will the veils tear all the way to the core of hell?” Naomi asked her.

“Maybe,” replied Jane. “It’s hard to say. But if the veils continue to disintegrate, it will all collapse. All the spirit realms and the earth will fold together into one realm. And it will be a hell worse than any we have ever seen.”

“How do we stop it?”

Jane shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Naomi sighed. “Add that to my ever-growing list of problems I have no solutions to.”

“I’m sorry to burden you.” The poor ghost actually looked like she felt guilty.

“It’s not your fault.” Naomi smiled at her. “You didn’t do this.”

“But I want to help.”

“You say the Midnight Cape will help me travel to the next circle?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s a good thing I know where to find it.”

Jane touched her arm. “The woman who possesses it is dangerous.”

“Well, no one said this would be easy. I’ll be back,” she said, starting to walk toward the tear to earth. She stopped and turned. “Jane?”

“Yes?”

“You said you want to help?”

Jane nodded. “Yes. I like you. You knocked out those cowboys. They had that a long time coming.” She grinned at Naomi. “How can I help you?”

“There’s a man named Makani in the second circle,” Naomi told her. “He’s the person I’m trying to save. He’s being held prisoner in the camp of a warlord named Valin. Ghosts can travel between the circles of the spirit realm. Could you go to him and tell him that I’m coming for him?”

Jane paled, her smile fading. “Into Valin’s camp? He is one of Bael’s warlords. I wish I could help, but…”

“You’re afraid?”

“Yes,” she said, dipping her face like she was ashamed. “The demons’ warlords have power over ghosts. They can control us. Some of my friends have been forced into their armies. I have escaped this fate by hiding here. The demons’ armies have not penetrated into the first circle yet.”

“It is only a matter of time,” Naomi said. “Makani is fighting them, but he and people like him need everyone they can get to join together.”

“Naomi, I wish I could help. But I’m scared.” A heavy sigh rocked her chest. “I’m a coward.”

“Not wanting to lose your free will is not being a coward.” Naomi squeezed her hand. “I understand. Stay safe.”

She retraced her steps back to the palace ruins, back to the tear between realms. She returned to earth, sneaking in silence through the basement. She found two nymphs who looked like sisters in one of the rooms, freshly killed. The criminal army must have run out of people to drain, so they’d killed their hosts. The nymphs were pale. Their hair was dirty and their clothes hadn’t been changed in weeks. They looked like they’d been in captivity for a long time. Naomi had a feeling they’d never closed the gates to the public. That was all Darksire’s doing, so he could hide his growing army inside the palace. Well, now it had grown beyond hiding.

The ceiling groaned and creaked. Upstairs, Darksire’s soldiers were stirring. Naomi slipped into a small room as two fairies came down the staircase. Her phone chose that fantastic moment to buzz inside her pocket. She pulled it out, glancing down at Alex’s number. Just the person she needed to talk to. It could have waited until she was out of Darksire’s castle, though.

“Alex,” she whispered.

“Is this a bad time?” Alex asked.

“Well, I’m sneaking through an enemy fortress right now, but other than that, it’s all good. What can I do for you?”

“A necromancer and a crazy magic-enhanced Convictionite each have some of the Ornaments of the Dead. The Convictionite kidnapped Marek’s mother and stashed her in hell. She has the Midnight Cape, which allows people with fairy magic to cross realms. We’re going to take it from her, then we need you to wear it to dive into the underworld to get Marek’s mother back.”

A chance to help Alex and get the Midnight Cape in one go? Apparently, the universe really was listening to her prayers.

“Where do I meet you?” Naomi asked.

“In the English Garden at the Apollo temple. That’s where we’ll apparently find the entrance into the necromancer’s lair.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Thanks.”

Naomi hung up and tucked the phone inside her jacket. The fairies were nowhere in sight, so she slipped into the hall and up the stairs. By some miraculous stroke of luck, she got through the house, used Logan’s fancy doohickey to turn off the electricity on the gate, and escaped the palace grounds—all while evading the rest of Darksire’s soldiers. Now she just had to get to the Midnight Cape, take it from a madwoman who was plotting world domination, and get to the second circle of hell before Valin got bored of torturing Makani and decided to kill him.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Pure Magic

IT WAS NO wonder that necromancers were known as ‘hell’s fairies’. Naomi’s first introduction to this necromancer’s underground lair was a magical barrier wrapped around a cute Greek pavilion. The barrier was invisible, so she couldn’t see it, but she could feel the vile, hellish magic lapping against the pavilion’s stone structure. The spell had been born out of a vein of spirit magic, its beauty stripped away, twisted by a dark soul. Thankfully, Alex had thought to leave her a pair of glyphs to tunnel through the barrier. Nothing good would have come of touching that magic.

Past the barrier, a set of levers controlled the platform in the center of the pavilion, dropping it to the lower level. Slowly, she made her way down the underground tunnel. As she began her journey into darkness, her feet grew heavy, her steps staggered. The hammer of hell beat at her skull, ringing a death tone inside her ears. Her whole body felt like it was being torn apart. She was returning to the spirit realm.

Her head spun and she swerved to the side, brushing against the wall. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the spirit realm.

Makani was in front of her, chained to a pole stained with his blood. His body was cut everywhere. His breaths were coming out in staggered puffs. She hurried over to him, brushing her hand down his face. His swollen eyelids lifted, revealing eyes smoldering with fury.

“Naomi.”

The dry crack in his voice broke her heart. She touched his chains, pouring Fairy Dust over them. The metal links split open, dissolving to dust. He stumbled forward.

She caught him before he could fall. “I’m going to get you out of here,” she promised, smiling at him.

Truth be told, she had no idea how she was going to do that. He was really heavy, and she didn’t have super strength. If she could just get him out of the tent, maybe she’d risk flying him away. The memory of him slipping from her fingers as she faded out of the spirit realm hit her hard.

“Makani, I’m so sorry. I dropped you. I tried to hold on, but I wasn’t strong enough. I was ripped from the spirit realm.”

“It’s not your fault.”

His chest heaved, coughing blood as he fell to the ground. She tried to hold onto him, but once again she failed him. He hit the ground. She dropped to her knees and rolled him over, trying to shake him awake. He convulsed, coughing up more blood. He looked like he was at the brink of death.

“Get up, damn it. You’re a dragon. You’re too stubborn to die. Fight,” she pleaded with him.

He reached up and brushed his hand across her cheek. A laugh broke past his cracked lips. “You sure know how to motivate people.” His eyelids slid closed.

She shook him. “Wake up. If you die on me, I’m going to hunt your ghost through hell and kick your ass. That’s a promise, Your Majesty.”

A wet laughed gurgled in his throat. “I’d like…to see you try…fairy.”

She could feel him slipping away, the bonds of the magic that linked them unraveling as the life drained from his body. Her gaze darted around the tent, looking for something—anything—that would help her save him. She found nothing but weapons and chains. Helplessness flooded her. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to save him. She didn’t have any healing magic.

Or did she? If she could turn her Fairy Dust white, maybe she could heal him. She hadn’t been able to do it before, back at the castle, but she was going to try now. Makani had warned her never to use the holy Dust for healing, that it could have consequences. Right now, though, she just didn’t care. It was her only chance to save him. If she didn’t do it, there would be consequences too. Makani would die.

No, he wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let that happen.

Naomi flipped open her hands. Pink Fairy Dust flared to life on her fingertips. She looked down at Makani, the man she was going to save. She was the only one who could. The sparkling swirls of Dust on her hands turned light pink, almost white. But not quite. She scraped every bit of magic from the bottom of her soul, streaming it into a single purpose: to heal the man dying on the ground in front of her. Her Dust ignited, sparkling like diamonds.

Naomi set her hand on Makani. The moment her magic touched him, his chest heaved up. And then he was still.

Her mouth fell open. Had she killed him? Her fingers fumbled at his neck, feeling for a pulse. He surged to his feet, heaving in heavy breaths. He looked down at his body, smooth and uncut. Then he looked at her.

“What have you done?” he demanded.

She rose to her feet. “I healed you.”