Shadow Magic (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 4)

by Ella Summers

  “Love to, Naomi, but our magic isn’t even making them wince,” Sera told her. “They don’t stop shooting. As hot as they’re burning their magic, they should have run out of juice by now. How can they have so much magic?”

  “Because it is not their own magic,” Gaelyn declared.

  Marek had returned with the ancient immortal. Thank goodness.

  “You recognize this magic?” Alex asked him.

  “Yes. It’s sacrificial magic. Unspeakable magic. The spells are powered by the life-force of others.” Gaelyn pointed at the glowing glyphs the mages were standing on. “Those are not only teleportation glyphs. Each one of them is a power gateway. On the other end, one person after the other is being killed as their magic is channeled through the glyph to power this mage’s spells.”

  Sera’s eyes grew wide. “That’s abhorrent.”

  “That is what you’re up against,” Gaelyn said.

  So they were up against soulless psychopaths who would kill person after person to get what they wanted. Awesome.

  “Wait, so if that magic isn’t theirs, then all we have to do is break the glyphs, right?” Alex said. “With the glyphs broken, these guys will be just ordinary mages again, not supercharged mages with unlimited power. And then we can deal with them. We attack the glyphs first, and then the mages.”

  Gaelyn dipped his chin. “That is correct.”

  “Sera, you and I are going to get up close and personal with those glyphs,” Alex told her sister. “And we’re going to use Magic Breaker on them to take them out. Makani can take out the third glyph.”

  Makani nodded.

  “I’ll use my shadow magic to corrode the fourth glyph, dissolving it beyond use,” Riley said.

  “Then let’s get this done,” said Logan.

  Four supernatural enemies, four glyphs. Sounded easy enough. What could possibly go wrong?

  Alex and Logan looked at the first glyph. She was the breaker, he the shield. Beside them, Sera and Kai eyed glyph number two. Makani and Naomi focused on the third.

  “Ok, Riley,” Lara said. “I will be your shield.”

  “I’ll stay here to protect Gaelyn,” Marek said, his face blank.

  Alex could tell Marek would have preferred to run into the fight, not hide back here to protect Gaelyn. But exactly that was his duty. His mother had sworn Marek to Gaelyn’s services for the next several years, a repayment of an old debt. And right now serving Gaelyn meant making sure he wasn’t killed. Gaelyn might have been older than anyone on Earth, but he didn’t have much magic left at all. He couldn’t protect himself.

  “Move out,” Logan told them all.

  They split off into pairs, going in different directions. For a moment, the invading mages were confused. They didn’t know which way to shoot, so they didn’t shoot at all. That brief respite was just what Alex had hoped for. This was their chance.

  Riley and Lara were the closest to their enemy mage. He unraveled the glyph with his shadow magic, but another glyph blazed to life beside the dead one. Before Riley could dissolve it too, the invading mage grabbed Riley with a tendril of his magic and sucked him into the glyph.

  The resulting magical shock wave knocked everyone to the ground. Alex crashed into Logan, who tumbled over Daemon.

  Alex blacked out. She couldn’t have been out for more than a few seconds; the echo of the magical explosion still echoed in her ears.

  Everyone else was still out—except Logan. Together, they shook the others awake.

  Marek jumped to his feet and looked all around. “The four enemy mages are gone.”

  “So is Riley.” Sera’s voice shook, her body shuddered.

  Magic flashed. Something like a bomb went off. Alex whipped around to find Lara. But she wasn’t Lara anymore. She was a gigantic dragon. The beast launched into the air, beating her wings wildly. She opened her mouth, and the heavens trembled with the angry anguish of her roar.

  17

  A Deal is Struck

  The moment they returned to their house, Logan fastened Daemon to a wall of chains in the living room. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Alex would have teased Logan about the wall of chains he had ready.

  “This really is not necessary,” Daemon protested as Logan secured his wrists.

  “Of course it’s necessary,” Alex told the fairy. “We don’t trust you. You arrived here, and moments later, we were attacked by Nightstar’s mages. For all we know, you are in league with them. You could be part of this.”

  “P-part of this?” Daemon spluttered. “That psychotic Nightstar wants me dead because he blames me for ruining his game!”

  “You did ruin his game,” said Sera.

  “No, my dear. That was you. You and your crazy sister. And, most of all, your husband.” He looked at Kai. “You’re the one who called in the Magic Council.”

  “Of course I called in the Magic Council. What should I have done, congratulated Nightstar on a job well done?” Kai folded his arms across his chest and his eyes hardened. “He enslaved four fairies, including your sister.”

  “Yes.” Daemon’s mouth tightened. “And I am glad that the Magic Council imprisoned him. Nightstar is a plague on this planet. I wouldn’t ever work with him, and he would shoot me on sight. In fact, that’s probably why he came here: to kill me. He blames me, most of all, for his downfall.”

  “No, this isn’t all about you, you egotistical fool.” Alex pounded her fist into her open palm. “This is about Riley. Don’t you get it? They took my brother.”

  “I’m sorry about that, but how is it my fault?” he demanded. “And, by the way, I know what it’s like to have a sibling stolen by Nightstar. You’d do anything to get them back. Anything.”

  Alex arched a single brow. “Anything, including poisoning our father.”

  “We’re not ever going to forgive you for doing that, Daemon,” Sera said harshly.

  The fairy sighed.

  Outside, there was the howl of dogs, trailed by the howl of something decidedly bigger—and more monstrous.

  Alex peeled back the curtains to look out the window. “What was that?”

  “I opened the monster kennels,” replied Kai.

  “You have monster kennels?” Alex wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “Of course.” Kai looked at Logan, who shrugged, like having pet monsters was the most normal thing in the world.

  “And where did these monsters come from?” Alex asked Kai.

  “A while back, they were sniffing around the property, killing the birds.”

  “So you captured them and put them in kennels? Why not just kill them?”

  “For times like these,” Kai said. “Lara isn’t completely in control of her dragon-shifting magic. When she gets emotional, something in her mind snaps and she becomes the beast. And when that happens, she needs something to hunt down. I released the beasts to keep her busy, so she doesn’t take out her blood rage on people.”

  It sounded almost too crazy to be real. But then again, it wasn’t crazier than all the other craziness in Alex’s life.

  “So do we all think that Nightstar’s mages came here to abduct Riley?” Alex asked.

  “That is the logical explanation,” Logan said. “Likely, they expected to take him quietly, but their sudden arrival set off my alarms.”

  Kai perked up. “What kind of alarms?”

  “Intruder alarms. I’ve set them up all around our three properties. You needn’t worry yourself about them, Drachenburg.”

  Magic flashed in Kai’s eyes. He clearly didn’t like being kept out of the loop.

  “Yes, it seems clear they were after Riley,” Sera said quickly. “But why? What could Nightstar possibly want with Riley?”

  “His shadow magic,” Logan decided. “Your brother is the only shadow mage currently alive.”

  Makani nodded. “If Nightstar could turn Riley to his side, he would have a powerful warrior.”

  “Riley would never follow Nightstar,” Sera s
aid.

  “Besides, it wasn’t just our spells that did nothing against Nightstar’s mages. Not even Riley’s spells made much of a dent in their defenses. Nightstar doesn’t need a shadow mage when his mages can just use sacrificial magic,” Alex pointed out.

  “Unless they run out of people to kill,” Naomi said.

  “There are several billion people in the world,” said Logan. “I don’t think they will run out of sacrificial lambs anytime soon.”

  Naomi frowned. “Well, then I’m stumped.”

  “Yeah,” Sera agreed.

  “Are you all brain dead?” Daemon rolled his eyes. “Seriously.”

  “You’re in no position to throw around insults.” Logan’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re tied to a wall.”

  “Well, the guy chained to the wall has more sense than all the rest of you put together.” He rattled his chained wrists. “You’re really up shit creek.”

  “Then, speak,” Alex said, annoyed. “By all means, wow us with your brilliance.”

  “Very well then, I shall. Since you’re all idiots.” He cleared his throat loudly. “Years ago, Nightstar created Mortal Coil, a magic game simulation. And a really damn good one at that. It was powered by fairies who could distort reality. But there were limitations to their powers, holes in their imagination. They could only create a dream of a world, not something that could pass for the real world, at least not when examined really closely.”

  “True. And Nightstar’s simulation has not improved since then. Back in the Convictionites’ base, we could see the looping sounds,” Alex remembered.

  “There were patterns,” Logan agreed. “And flaws—flaws that allowed us to see the simulation in Zurich was fake.”

  “Well,” Daemon continued. “What if instead of fairies at the center of it, powering his world, Nightstar used someone with the power to warp reality and create complete worlds, each with a life of its own?”

  “Shadow worlds,” Alex whispered.

  Daemon nodded crisply. “Exactly. That someone Nightstar needs is your brother.”

  Sera’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “How did you know about Riley’s magic?”

  “I didn’t. Not until the assassin mentioned it. Then everything became clear.”

  “Would you like me to kill Daemon?” Logan asked Alex.

  He was offering to kill someone who knew about Riley’s magic. He was offering to protect Riley’s secret.

  Alex sighed. “No. We need him. He understands Nightstar’s mind and the mechanics of Nightstar’s work better than anyone. He might actually be our only chance of getting Riley back.”

  Daemon smiled. “This is true.”

  Alex wanted to punch him. She wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. Maybe she’d just have to settle for wiping the garish makeup off his face—and then showing him his reflection in the mirror.

  “Can you lead us to Nightstar?” Sera asked Daemon.

  He laughed.

  “Something funny?” Alex demanded.

  “Your sister is very funny. Nightstar wants me dead. He blames me for his imprisonment, for his losing everything. He’s already gone after me twice since he’s escaped prison. I have some idea of where he might be, and those are the places I am avoiding. I certainly won’t go running after him.”

  “You’re assuming we’re giving you a choice.” Logan’s words dripped with menace.

  Daemon’s smile faltered. “You wouldn’t kill your best chance of finding your wife’s brother.”

  Logan’s eyes went as hard as granite. “Who said anything about killing?”

  Daemon met the darkness in Logan’s eyes, and his mouth began to quiver.

  “Death is too good for you.” Logan’s voice dropped to a low, blistering whisper. “I plan to keep you around for a very long time.”

  The chains rattled. Daemon’s body shook. Logan had that effect on people.

  Logan’s brows drew together. “How comfortable you’ll be during your confinement is entirely dependent on you.”

  Daemon ripped his gaze from Logan to settle on Alex. “It must be nice to have him to do your dirty work, so you can keep your hands clean.”

  “My hands are far from clean.”

  Daemon’s shoulders shook. “You’re blood-thirsty psychopaths, both of you. You deserve each other.”

  “Considering that you poisoned my father, I think I’m doing a pretty good job of keeping my thirst for blood under control.” Alex flashed him her fangs.

  He tried to jump away, but because he still happened to be chained to the wall, his hands and feet just slid in place. “Freak.”

  “One hundred percent,” Alex said proudly.

  “Fine. I will help. On one condition.” Despite his obvious terror, he managed to push a fair amount of conviction into those last three words.

  “What is your condition?” Alex asked him.

  “That you convince Gaelyn to protect my sister. Nightstar is after Ellie too, and I won’t lift a finger to help you until Gaelyn takes her under his protection.”

  Alex looked at Sera. “It’s not Ellie’s fault that her brother is crazy. She is innocent.”

  But was Daemon truly crazy? Wasn’t he actually right? Wouldn’t Alex do anything to save her brother? Just as he had done to save his sister. Alex stopped that line of reasoning in its tracks. She didn’t like where it was headed.

  “Gaelyn will take her,” Alex agreed.

  The ancient immortal had a stronghold in Zurich. The supernatural community considered Gaelyn to be a wise man, a sage advisor. He was known to be a neutral party—and to take in the innocent.

  “I want to hear that directly from him.” Daemon’s conviction was surprising, considering that he’d always been something of a coward.

  Alex pulled out her phone and typed a message to Gaelyn, asking him to come over to her house.

  “Gaelyn might be tired after all the excitement outside,” she said. “Maybe he went back to bed. He is quite a few millennia old, you know.”

  “I will wait,” Daemon said, his face set with stubbornness.

  Alex’s phone dinged. She read it, then looked up at Daemon. “Lucky you. Gaelyn’s on his way over. So where can we find your sister?”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “You will if you want us to bring her to Gaelyn,” Alex said. “We can’t do that if we don’t know where she is.”

  “I will tell Gaelyn where Ellie is,” Daemon said. “After he swears that he will take her in.”

  Gaelyn entered the house. “I vow to take in your sister, Daemon Grimoire.”

  Daemon nodded solemnly. Then he took a deep breath. “Very well.” He handed Gaelyn a small index card. “Here’s the address.”

  Gaelyn’s eyes panned across the card. “This is a hotel in Zurich. I will instruct my guards to go to her and bring her back to my residence. She will be safely there within the hour.”

  “A hotel in Zurich?” Alex said to Daemon. “You just left her there by herself?”

  “She wasn’t alone at first. Ellie was with me. I left the hotel and was traveling to seek an audience with Gaelyn to ask that he offer my sister his protection from Nightstar. That’s when some deranged mercenary grabbed me, dragged me into a plane, and delivered me here, chaining me to that tank outside for your dear husband. I only hope Ellie is still there. I told her to stay inside the hotel room.”

  “Ok, Gaelyn agreed to take in Ellie. Now you’re going to help us find Nightstar,” Alex told him impatiently.

  Daemon licked his lips. “I do have one more condition.”

  “Can’t you count?” Alex demanded. “You said there was only one condition.”

  “Yes, I did. But now that I see how desperate you are to rescue your brother, I know you will give me more.”

  “What do you want, you callous son-of-a-bitch?” Alex growled.

  “Dearest Alex, my mother was in fact a beautiful fairy, not a mangy dog,” Daemon replied with a saccharine smile.
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br />   “I don’t care if your mother was the goddess of the universe,” Sera told him. “You’re evil. You prey on people’s love and use it for your own gain. It’s a pattern with you, Daemon, and I don’t like it. In fact, I don’t like you.”

  “I haven’t even told you what I want,” Daemon protested, as though offended.

  Sera rolled her eyes at him. “Let me guess: everything and a pony.”

  “I would never dream of asking for something as mundane as a pony,” Daemon said stiffly. “I’d ask for a unicorn.”

  “So that’s your condition? That we get you a unicorn?” Alex wondered where on Earth they were going to find one.

  “No. I am asking for nothing more than a full pardon and a good life of money and comfort for myself and my sister. Oh, and I want my TV show back too. I was meant to live in the spotlight, not hide in the shadows.”

  “Oh, is that all you want?” Alex laughed. “Or should I wrap up the moon for you while I’m at it?”

  Daemon smiled serenely, like he knew he had them all right where he wanted them. “I am a man of very simple demands.”

  Alex snorted.

  Logan stepped up to him. “The time for demands is over.”

  “Then this discussion is over. Good luck finding Riley without my help.”

  “We’ll track Riley’s magic and follow its trail to him,” Alex said to Sera.

  “Without knowing where he is?” Sera sighed. “Our tracking range isn’t that large.”

  “We’ll find him eventually,” Alex insisted.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Daemon said. “You certainly are tenacious, so one day you will likely find your brother. But how long will that take? Weeks? Months? Years? My sister was powering Nightstar’s simulation for four months. That was years ago, and she still has nightmares about it. She is still plagued by hallucinations. They haunt her. She can never lead a normal life.”

  “Enough,” Alex snapped at him.

  “Can you convince the Magic Council to issue a full pardon to Daemon?” Sera asked Kai.

  “I could.” His lips hardly moved as he spoke.