Fairy Magic (22 page)

The woman gave the man’s butt a rough squeeze. Ok, not siblings. Lovers who liked to match.

The third vampire looked like a Samurai warrior—well, except for the red freckles in his dark eyes and the descended fangs. The fourth vampire had dark auburn hair styled up into artful peaks like he was a male model. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and no shirt.

He stepped forward, licking his lips at Naomi. “Mmm. Fresh blood.”

“You don’t need to drink blood down here like you did on earth,” she said.

He laughed at her. “Who told you that nonsense, sugarplum?”

“My gran.”

The vampire grinned. “Someone I’ve tasted?”

Yuck.

“Blood is delicious in every realm,” he told her. “I’ll bet yours is a real treat. I’m going to make you—”

Whatever his plans for her were, they were cut short when Makani’s knife cut through the air and landed in his throat. The vampire fell to his knees, gurgling in breath as he clutched his gushing throat.

The other three vampires attacked. Naomi blasted them with Fairy Dust. The two men went down, but the female vampire was too quick. She darted out of the way of the Dust. Naomi tried again, but the woman nimbly sidestepped the blast. Smirking, the vampire rushed forward in a flash too fast to evade.

Unless you were a dragon. Makani jumped into her path, his thick arms closing around her. She struggled, kicking off the ground. Makani’s hold didn’t falter, not even as her claws scratched at his arms, drawing streams of blood. Naomi moved in closer. She couldn’t blast the vampire with Fairy Dust without hitting Makani too, so she lifted her crossbow and shot her in the heart. The hit slowed the vampire down, but it didn’t kill her. Makani grabbed her head, knocking it against the nearest rock wall. As she stumbled dizzily to the side, Naomi blasted her with Fairy Dust.

More vampires streamed around the corner, their beastly guard dogs running in front of them. Makani turned to fight them.

Naomi grabbed his hand, holding him back. “There are too many of them.”

He looked at the rushing river of vampires and beasts. More were still streaming in.

“We need to get out of here,” she told him.

Makani gave the demon’s minions one final glare, then they ran. Naomi set off a big blast of Fairy Dust to cover their retreat.

“How far to the exit?” she asked as he led them around the maze’s twists and turns.

“Not far, but we’re not going to make it. They’re closing in on us from all sides.”

Naomi could feel them too, dozens of tiny points of vile energy. And she felt something else, a fold in spirit magic. A ripple of magic sparkled on the rock wall ahead of them. She stopped, touching the wall.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

The magic responded to her touch. A small cave appeared inside the rock, hardly large enough for the two of them to fit inside lying down.

“Go in,” she told him. “We can hide in here until they pass.”

Makani gave the hole a hard look.

“It will mask us from them. I know it will.”

“A fold in the veil?”

“Yes,” she said.

“You’re right that it will hide us.
If
it can fit us.”

It would be a tight squeeze, but they would fit. She knew that they would. She had the overwhelming feeling that the spirit realm had sensed their distress and delivered this solution right into their laps.

Makani climbed up into the hole. She backed in after him.

“Move back,” she told him.

“I
am
all the way back.”

The vampires and beasts were closing in. They would be here in moments. Naomi sucked in her breath and pushed back, squeezing the rest of the way in. Then she slapped the wall, pouring her magic onto it. It sealed shut. Her magic spread across the walls of the small chamber, lighting up the rocks with a warm glow.

“You have some instinctual feel for your spirit magic,” he said against her ear.

“Some. But not enough.”

“It will come.”

They heard the thump of footsteps and snarling beasts passing by outside.

“We should wait until they’re gone. Can you feel when they’ve left the labyrinth?”

“Yes,” he said. “But I imagine it will be awhile. Valin really wants to capture me. You’d best get comfortable.”

She snorted. “Yeah, that’s easy in here.”

“This was your idea. I would have stayed and fought.”

“There were too many of them,” she said.

“Perhaps.”

“How many vampires can you decapitate before your hands get tired?”

“A lot.”

She couldn’t tell if he was serious. Probably not. He was a dragon after all. Then again, this particular dragon seemed to get a kick out of unsettling her—in every possible way. She shifted her weight from the rock poking her shoulder. It didn’t help. Now she just had a rock poking into her thigh. She shifted again, only to bump into him. The cave was really small, and he was so very big. His breath kissed the back of her neck. She fidgeted.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nothing.” She tried to stay perfectly still.

But he wasn’t fooled. “You’re uncomfortable.” His words whispered down her neck.

“Of course I’m uncomfortable. It’s tight in here. And there’s a hard rock poking me in the hip.”

“Then next time stay and fight.”

She drew in a deep breath.

“Do you know what I think?” His arm curled around her hip. “I think you just wanted to press up close to me.”

“I don’t cuddle with dragons.”

His hand brushed down her side. “I wasn’t talking about cuddling,” he said, smooth as dragon fire.

“Hold your dragons there, Your Majesty. None of that. Might I remind you that vampires, ghosts, and beasts are all still after us?”

“In hell there are always vile creatures after you.” His mouth brushed her neck. “Besides, you fell asleep so early last night. Too early. We didn’t get to finish our date.”

Her heart was making a solid effort to pound out of her chest. If there hadn’t been a magical wall to mask them, their enemies probably could have heard it from halfway across the labyrinth. She tried to shift her weight again, but it was no use. There was no space. She was trapped inside a tiny tight hole with a big dragon pressed against the length of her back. She couldn’t believe she’d come up with such an idiotic plan.

“There’s way too little space in here for…a date,” she finished weakly.

“I’m creative.” He turned her to face him.

“But—”

His kiss swallowed her protest. His magic washed over her, melting her thoughts into a pile of mush. His touch ignited something in her, a dark, delicious hunger that ravaged her body, stripping her bare, leaving only raw need in its wake. Her self-control unraveled. She pulled away from him, but she didn’t get far. She’d forgotten that there was no space in this hole.

“You’re doing it again,” he said. “That’s why you couldn’t break through the realms. You are fighting yourself, Naomi.”

“I’m fighting you.”

“No,” he said. “You never tell me to stop. You just pull away. You are fighting yourself, Miss Control Freak.”

“I liked you more when you weren’t talking,” she growled.

“We don’t have to talk,” he told her.

His weight shifted, his chest brushing against hers. A soft gasp escaped her mouth before she could stop it.

“Calm down, my lady. My arm was just stuck.” Something shone in his eyes. She knew that look, and it spelled trouble. “You must have really rotten taste in lovers if a little nudge gets you all excited.”

She glared back at him. “You are insufferable.”

“Maybe, but I am a good lay.” He was tickled positively pink at the chance to repeat her earlier words back at her.

“I’m really starting to regret hiding in here with you. I think I should have taken my chances with the vampires, ghosts, and hell beasts.”

Makani chuckled, the intensity in his eyes never waning. She wondered what he would do if she threw herself at him. Would that self-assured look even stutter? No, bad idea. Really bad idea. That way lay dragons.

She dropped her eyes from his gaze and spotted his watch. It was one of the artifacts he’d taken from his house.

“How long did you have that cave?” she asked.

His eyes hardened, as though he knew this was only a distraction, but he didn’t care. He was a patient predator. God, did she really just think those words? But if he was the predator, did that make her the prey? Why in the nine circles of hell was she excited about the prospect of him hunting her? She was the hunter. She was in control. She kept repeating that back to herself, for all the good it did her. Denial could only stand so long against the towering mountain of reality.

“I’ve had the cave for a few years,” he said.

“You collected all those things in just a few years?”

“Many of the things on me I’ve had for centuries. When I lose a hideout, I bring all the important things with me. The rest can be replaced.”

“How many times have you had to find a new hideout?” she asked.

“Many times. They’re always eventually discovered. That’s what happens when you manage to piss off a demon or two or ten.” Ferocity shone in his eyes. He had many regrets in his life, but his war against the demons was obviously not one of them. “Usually, though, I get another decade or so out of my hiding spots.”

“Tell me about Bael.”

“There’s not much to tell. He’s basically your typical demon: powerful, evil, and obsessed with world domination. He’s one of the demon overlords who considers himself the ruler of the nine circles.”

“
One
of the demon overlords?”

“Naturally, there are several demon overlords fighting for the honorable title of King of the Underworld. Each of these would-be kings has many demon warlords under their command. In the higher circles of hell, the places where demons do not walk, mages or vampires or fairies serve as their warlords.”

“Like Valin.”

“He was once a powerful mage. Not kind, but powerful,” Makani said. “Bael has whittled away what little humanity was left in him. He tried to do the same to me once.”

“How?”

“After I killed Bael’s last warlord, he offered me the job. He promised great power. But every time you deal with a demon, you lose a part of your soul until it is blackened beyond all recognition. I rejected his offer. Bael promised there would be a price to pay for this.”

“And that’s why Valin is after you?” she asked. “To make sure you pay this price?”

“Valin has his own reasons for hating me.”

“Are you going to talk about it?”

He looked at her for a few unblinking moments of silence, then shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think you’d approve of what I did, and I’m trying to impress you so that you’ll have sex with me.” He flashed her a smile.

“Are all dragons so funny?” she said drily.

“Of course we are. I already told you dragons have a fantastic sense of humor. But you should know that. You said you have Dragon Born friends.”

“Yes, I do. I love Sera and Alex—really I do—but they’re just as crazy as you are.”

“As opposed to the shining example of sanity that you are?”

“I never claimed that I’m not crazy. I willingly dove into hell after all.”

“Yes, you did.”

She flushed beneath the flare of his burning stare. “Is there something in my teeth?”

“Not your teeth. Your skin.” He took her hand, holding it up.

Her skin was sparkling silver again. “It looks just like it did under the jade stone.”

His gaze slid across the walls. “These rocks must contain the same magic found in that stone.”

“I guess that means it’s time for my medicine again.”

Naomi reached into her pocket, pulling out the bottle of potion. She dripped a few more drops of the purple liquid onto her tongue. The silvery glow faded out.

“Surely, the mark must be getting weaker by now. How long could it possibly last?”

“Long,” he said. “Spirit magic fades slowly in the spirit realm. And the spell is feeding off of your own spirit magic too. It will take at least another hundred doses of that potion before it fades.”

She glanced down at the small bottle. “I don’t think I made enough.”

“Then maybe I’ll just leave you here and run. They can’t track me.” The look in his eyes was teasing, but if her time in the underworld with him had taught her anything, it was not to take anything a dragon said at face value.

“No. You need me to get out of hell. Besides,” she added. “You are too honorable to do something like that.”

He laughed. “Was that a compliment?”

“It’s a fact.” She slid the bottle back into her pants. It hadn’t been easy the first time, and it was even harder to do while squeezed into this cave. “I have only enough potion left for three more times. Maybe I can space out the doses.”

“If you do that, then the ghosts might still be able to track you.”

“When can we move again?” she asked.

“Valin’s forces are still searching the labyrinth.”

“Maybe they will be stuck in the labyrinth forever.”

“No, the ghosts can lead them out,” he said. “They are being controlled by Valin’s magic, who draws his powers from Bael. They will leave eventually. Until then, we will wait.”

Silence reigned for the next few minutes.

“Tell me more about your fairy tattoos,” she finally said.
 

“You want to talk about this now?”

“Well, it’s not like we have anything better to do.”

“Very well,” he said. “My tattoos were woven from spirit magic. They can be used to focus spirit spells.”

“How?”

“If we survive our encounter with Valin, I will show you.”

“Is that your fantastic dragon humor again?”

“No,” he said, closing his eyes.

“How did you get the tattoos?”

His eyes opened again. “Do you always have to fill silence with small talk?”

“Yes. Small talk is better than silence.”

He said nothing. All right, so this was awkward. Usually, she was the queen of filling awkward silences, but Makani didn’t react like most people. He was fine with silence. And when he did talk, he always managed to take over the conversation, steering it exactly where he wanted it to go. Maybe silence was safer after all. She turned so her back was to him again and spent the next few minutes mulling that over.