Magic Games (Dragon Born Serafina Book 2)

by Ella Summers

  “Every time I use magic, I give Blackbrooke a way into my head.”

  “You’re not going to make it through the Magic Games without using magic,” he told her.

  “Why not?”

  “Because no one has ever done it.”

  “Maybe no one has ever thought of it,” she said. “I am not like other mages.”

  A deep sigh rumbled in his chest. “Oh, trust me. No one is arguing that point, sweetheart.”

  “Funny.” She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

  He met her stare, the magic building up in his eyes once more. His magic wasn’t burning dust bunnies this time, though. It was rough but fluid, like an ocean tide crashing against the rocks. It rolled against her magic, daring it to come out.

  “So,” she said, clearing her throat. She pushed her magic down deep inside of her. Here of all places, she needed to keep her magic in check, not nuzzle and nip at Kai’s magic. Especially not when the Game Architect was probably nearby with his notepad and an arsenal of mind-frying tricks.

  “So?” he asked.

  “Blackbrooke. I think he told the guards not to heal me.”

  Kai frowned.

  “You think I’m being paranoid?” she asked.

  “No. You’re not. Blackbrooke wants to break you. He’ll stop at nothing to do it. Especially after you thwarted his first attempt in the pit.”

  “Nowhere in the rules does it say that I must use magic in the pit. I read the whole book.”

  “You’re right,” he said. “And wrong. The Magic Games exist to rank a mage’s magic, yes. But the Games have another purpose.”

  “To crack open a mage’s mind and serve it to the hungry crowd.”

  “No, Sera. Pushing a mage’s mind to the breaking point tests your limits, but it also unleashes your potential. Most mages, even the powerful ones, have a lot more magic than they know. The trials of the Magic Games push them so hard that the floodgates open, allowing them access to magic they never knew they had.”

  “I think I’d rather pass on that little perk,” Sera said, waving her hands across her torn and bloody clothing.

  Kai picked a shopping bag off the ground and handed it to her. “For you.”

  “Clean clothes?” Grinning, she peered into the bag. A pair of jeans and a black tank top waited inside. “How did you know?”

  “That you’d tear up your clothes in the pit? Let’s just say that you have an impressive track record.”

  Sera couldn’t argue with that. Her track record was a graveyard of monster parts and decimated clothing.

  “Any chance there are some boots in here?” she asked, poking around inside the bag.

  His dark brows drew together. “Did you ruin those too?”

  “Well…” She lifted her foot up, showing him the partially dissolved sole on her boot. “Do you think it’s salvageable?”

  He pulled out his phone and began typing away. “I’m sending someone out for boots.”

  “While you’re at it, could you send someone out for pizza too?” she asked hopefully.

  “You’re hungry? Again?”

  Her stomach groaned.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said, typing faster.

  “It’s all the fighting,” she told him. “And running away. And dodging goo-spewing metal mushrooms.”

  “You wouldn’t need to run away so much if you just used your magic.” He slid his phone back into his pocket and looked at her. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about unlocking your magic?”

  Maybe a bit. A teeny, tiny bit. But she couldn’t allow them to break her. “Not like this,” she said. “If there were another way…”

  “In private?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “There’s a ritual. It pushes a mage’s mind to the breaking point, just like the Magic Games. But it’s not a public event. And it’s not done anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “The Magic Council wants to keep these things within their control. Also, there’s more money in it this way,” he admitted, frowning.

  Yeah, tickets to the Magic Games were expensive, and the fees for the participating mages were even worse. Then there was the control factor. The Magic Council was a brotherhood of dictators with a hyperactive case of megalomania and a side order of paranoia. They had to know everything about every supernatural on the planet, and they used their collective magical might to squash anyone who stood in their way. It was a wonder there hadn’t yet been a worldwide revolt against them.

  Sera grinned at him. “I hope you got me a nice discount on my entrance fees,” she said, shaking off thoughts of revolutions. For all she knew, that was what had gotten the Dragon Born into trouble the first time around.

  “The Magic Council doesn’t give discounts.”

  “Not even to their own members?”

  “No.”

  “Shame.”

  “Besides,” he said, magic swirling in his eyes. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he was feeling a touch whimsical at the moment. “If you pay off your debt too quickly, I’ll have no excuse to see you.”

  “You could always, you know, ask me out like any normal guy would.”

  “I have a feeling normal guys are too scared to ask you out.” He leaned in closer, his breath caressing her cheek, his hand kneading slow, deep circles into her back.

  “Probably,” she agreed, closing her eyes. Her muscles went liquid.

  “Dal didn’t heal you completely.” His hand lingered on the small of her back.

  She cleared her throat—and her head of those treacherous thoughts. “There are some things magic can’t heal.”

  “Sera, would you—” He stopped, his hand dropping to his pocket. “Sorry. Just a minute.” He pulled out his phone and read the message on the screen. “It appears that the first picture Finn sent you—the one of us at Trove—was taken from one of the security cameras.”

  “Oh?”

  “And the picture of us in the pit before the Games came from a camera in the arena.”

  “So, Finn hacked into the security feeds?”

  “Magic events and businesses keep their feeds in-house.”

  “No connections to the outside world?” she asked.

  “No, we cannot risk that the human population could get a peek at what we do. They don’t understand our world or our ways. Our practices are…”

  “Draconian?”

  “Necessary,” he amended. “Supernaturals are powerful and dangerous. Keeping them in check means no human massacres. And we avoid a war neither humans nor supernaturals can afford.”

  “I know all about the consequences of misbehaving supernaturals. I hunt down monsters for a living,” she reminded him. “So, if Finn couldn’t hack into the security feeds from the outside, that means he had to do it from the inside.” Dread, dark and dreary, curled itself around her heart.

  “Yes,” he said, his tone cautious. “But don’t panic.”

  “Who’s panicking? I have to worry about the Magic Council’s plans to crack open my mind, a plot to murder that same Council using a flock of vampires compelled by an ancient magic artifact, and a magic-high mage with revolutionary aspirations and a cult of brainwashed minions to back him up. Oh, and did I mention that the magic-high psychopath is stalking me?” She laughed like a drunk hyena. “I don’t have time to panic.”

  “Finn is weak. He’s only a threat when he’s siphoning magic from better mages.”

  “He has a whole cult of mages to siphon magic from,” she pointed out.

  “Forget about Finn. He’s just trying to intimidate you.”

  Sera pulled her chiming phone out of her bag. “Well,” she told Kai, showing him the phone. “It’s working.”

  On the screen was another message from Finn: a picture of her facing down the elemental bull with the subtitle, “Can’t wait to taste your magic again, Sera.”

  13

  Blood Brothers

 
; “That’s creepy, right?” Sera said. “I have my own personal stalker.”

  Kai put on his hard, expressionless face. You could have cut diamonds on that face. Somewhere behind him, the contents of a trashcan caught on fire.

  Sera looked down at the hand he’d locked around her wrist, then met his eyes. “You’re burning the trash, hotshot.”

  A cool wind snuffed out the fire, spreading the scents of ketchup and pizza across the lobby. Mmm, pizza.

  “You should let go,” she told Kai, nodding toward her trapped wrist.

  “Why?”

  “Firstly, because I don’t think gluing yourself to me will prevent Finn from sending me sleazy SMSs,” she replied cooly. “And secondly, because the guards aren’t going to let me drag you into the fighting pit with me.”

  He released her wrist. “You’re right. You don’t have long until your next match. If you fail to show, we’ll have bigger problems than Finn.”

  “The Magic Council’s wrath?”

  “For instance.”

  “And you don’t have any sway over your fellow Council members?” she asked.

  “Over some of them, yes. That’s why I’ve been so busy stocking up on favors. You never know when you might need the support of another Council member,” Kai said. “But other than those few small favors, no, I really don’t have much sway.” He stroked the stubble on his chin. “But I could step on them for you, if you want.”

  Sera coughed. “You’re joking.”

  He flashed his teeth at her. Shit, was he serious?

  “Yes, I’m joking.” He chuckled. “But you should have seen the look on your face. Like I’d suggested sacrificing you to a pit of hungry vampires.”

  “You wouldn’t be doing those vampires any favors,” she told him. “I bite back.”

  “Yes, I imagine so.” Magic pulsed in his eyes. He picked up the shopping back she’d dropped earlier and pushed it into her hands. “Now get changed. And don’t worry about Finn. The commandos will find them.”

  She cracked a smile. “Do they know that you call them that too?”

  “No, and I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell them. It would go straight to their heads.”

  “Sure thing,” she chuckled.

  “They’ll find Finn, Sera. You just stay focused on the Games.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. Go.” He pointed at the bathroom sign. “There will be a pizza slice waiting for you when you return.”

  “There had better be,” she grumbled, heading for the bathroom with the shopping bag in hand. The click of her broken boots on the marble floor drowned out the low rumble of her hungry stomach.

  A few minutes later, she left the bathroom looking halfway human again. She’d washed the blood, sweat, and sand off her body using a stack of wet paper towels that now lay in a dirty bundle at the bottom of the sink-side trashcan. The new clothes fit. Better yet, they were stretchy enough to not constrict her in a fight. Sera had to give it to Kai’s people; they sure knew how to pick out battle-worthy clothes. They also had an ill-conceived sense of humor.

  “You need to introduce me to whoever picked out this shirt,” Sera told Kai as she rejoined him in the lobby. “I need to thank them personally.”

  Kai looked from her hard grin to the shirt in question. Black and strappy, it looked more like lingerie than a shirt. It certainly only covered about as much of her as a bra.

  “By thank, you mean—”

  “Introduce to my sword,” she said, turning around once. “I mean, just look at this.”

  “Oh, I’m looking all right.”

  She blushed. “This isn’t funny, Kai.”

  “I’m completely serious. Turn around again.” His brows peaked. “I need to get a closer look at this travesty.”

  She punched him in the arm. He didn’t even try to dodge the blow. He just looked down at her fist, an amused twitch on his lips. She shook out her throbbing hand. You’d think by now she’d have learned not to punch the dragon.

  “This is half a shirt. There’s less fabric here than in my ruined top,” she said.

  “But it’s artistically cut.”

  A growl buzzed in her throat. “You need to fire the person responsible.”

  His gaze panned up her body. “Actually, I’m thinking of giving him a raise.”

  So the guilty party was a man. Figured. No woman would have come to the conclusion that it’s a splendid idea to fight monsters in her underwear.

  “Do you have my pizza?” Sera asked.

  He pointed to the counter. “Over there. You’ll have to eat it fast. Your next match starts in ten minutes.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” she said, swiping up the paper plate. It was already drenched in oil that had slid off the pizza. Mmm. “I’ll be done in two.”

  “Since you defeated the Monster Mixer, you’ll be facing the Blood Brothers next, followed immediately by someone from the Mages of the Universe,” Kai said as she devoured the pizza.

  “Any idea which mage?” she asked between bites.

  “No, it’s a surprise.”

  “Goody.” She used the napkin to wipe the last of the oil from her fingers, tossed it and the paper plate into the trash, then swung her bag over her shoulder. “Ok, ready.”

  He tossed her a new pair of boots. “Good luck.”

  She put them on, grinning at him. “It will be easy.”

  He didn’t return her grin. Instead, he said, “I’ll send Edwards out for more clothes.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or just being practical. “Aha! Now I have the offending party’s name.”

  “Seven minutes,” Kai reminded her.

  “Going,” she said, hurrying off.

  Two guards stood in front of the door that led ‘backstage’. They let her pass, their eyes glued to her chest. Maybe she could work with this—distract the Blood Brothers with her new outfit while she kicked their asses. Yeah, that could work. The vampires were a horny bunch. Then she’d just have to do the same with the mage, and she’d be all done for the day. No magic necessary. She smiled as she deposited her bag and sword in her locker, then headed down the hall to the fighting pit.

  The guard who’d refused to find her a healer stood beside the open door to the pit, looking big and dangerous.

  “I found a healer,” she said, giving him a defiant glare.

  “So you did.” He looked pleased. “And new clothes,” he added with a leer. “I’m going to have to pat you down for weapons. You weren’t supposed to bring those knives into the pit last time.”

  Sera sighed and handed him the two knives she’d tucked into her new boots. “Here. No pat-down necessary.”

  “Sorry, peaches.” He set her knives into a box near his feet, then gestured for her to lift her arms. “Rules are rules.”

  He took twice as long as necessary to pat her down. He was enjoying himself far too much. Whatever. She probably wasn’t allowed to break his kneecaps, but she’d think of something else. Something more subtle. Like poisoning his coffee. There was nothing like a case of magical food poisoning to teach you not to grope the Magic Games fighters.

  Sera passed through the door, following the scents of sugar and sex into the fighting pit. Shapeshifting vampires. Their magic had a pretty distinct smell. Like a smoker who drenched himself in cologne, the vampires’ potent perfume covered most of the blood smell. But only most. As soon as you got close enough, the charade shattered. Sera kept walking. Any minute now…

  A tangy, metallic taste tingled her tongue. There it was. Blood. A shapeshifting vampire’s magic was as strong as a mage’s, but deep down, he was still a bloodsucker. There was no hiding that, no matter how many layers of magic they wrapped around themselves.

  The Blood Brothers stood back-to-back at the center of the pit. A spotlight swung toward them, bathing them in crimson light. Their long, black cloaks glittered like crushed rubies, and their emerald eyes, cat-like, glowed out from the darkness of their hoods,
meeting Sera’s gaze. They turned, their cloaks kissing the ground as they swayed.

  The cracks, puddles, and general disarray in the fighting pit had been repaired with magic since she’d last been there. The metal mushroom clusters appeared dormant, but she wasn’t counting on them staying that way. The magic barrier around the pit was up. Right now, it was gleaming a particularly sickening shade of green.

  “Hi,” Sera greeted the vampires.

  A cool breeze cut through the pit, swirling up wisps of sand. It knocked the hoods off the two vampires. Their faces were hard and gaunt; their skin cast green in the barrier’s eerie light.

  “I’m Sera,” she said, trying again. “And you are?”

  They watched her in silence, their eyes screaming hunger. Some crazy vampires starved themselves before a fight. It made them stronger and meaner. The really crazy vampires starved themselves, then consumed a single drop of blood just before the fight. Such was the recipe for an all-out bloodbath. Sera hoped these two vampires were only normal crazy, not really crazy.

  “Stop chatting and fight!” shouted someone—likely drunk—from the crowd.

  “Rip off their heads!”

  “Pull out their spines!”

  “Fry their brains on that barrier!”

  Sera rolled her eyes. “Fools,” she muttered under her breath.

  The vampires still hadn’t moved, as though they were waiting for something. For her to cut her own throat and throw herself at their feet maybe. Not damn likely. She rolled her shoulders back, stretching out her arms. The vampires remained as stiff as statues.

  “Fine,” she told them. “I’ll just have to come to you.”

  She didn’t even make it halfway to the vampires. They disappeared into a cloud of purple mist. The mist gurgled and bubbled, pouring down to the ground like a gaseous waterfall. Sera couldn’t see. She could hardly breathe through the stench soup of rotten fruit and animal droppings. A shrill cry pierced the purple veil. Bats.

  She’d no sooner had the thought when a squadron of the creatures broke through the fog, diving straight for her. She rolled out of their path, and they shot over her head. A deep, primal growl roared out of the mist, followed a moment later by a big, silver wolf. Hello, vampire number two.