The Secret Coin (Accessory to Magic Book 3)

by Kathrin Hutson

  Pizzaz? Right, like watching millennia of magical travel and the history of Earth in under a minute hadn’t been flashy enough.

  Jessica’s ragged breath was the only sound in the lobby until she finally got it under control. When she looked up at Leandras, his eyes were closed.

  “You…” She swallowed and blinked quickly, expecting more of the vision to return despite knowing it was over. “You said no mind-meld.”

  “No.” His eyes remained closed, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “I merely opened mine.”

  “Okay…” Running a hand through her hair, Jessica took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “So the Gateway closed because…what? Because of the war on the other side?”

  “In the beginning, that was the original intention. Yes. All the remaining portals were sealed off to protect this world.” Leandras finally opened his eyes and stared at his hands lying open in his lap. “To keep everything that could not be contained in Xahar’áhsh from spilling through into this sister world. Those who could not stop it there knew no one would be capable of stopping it here.”

  “But it didn’t shut out the magic.”

  “Obviously not.” He turned to meet her gaze. “Those of us straight from the other side had to bring the rest of ours with us. As you’ve seen with my own gúlmai. The generations of magicals born here in this world have a unique advantage over the rest of us with no real ties to Earth. For however few of us remain. There is something…uniquely sustaining about your world, Jessica. The magic here doesn’t require an external source. And it grows stronger on its own, the longer the Gateway is sealed and protected.”

  “By the Guardians.”

  A sudden intensity flashed behind his eyes. “By you.”

  ‘Yeah, he’s got a point there.’

  Quiet.

  Jessica stared at the fae. “And you want me to open it again.”

  “Yes.”

  A wry bark of a laugh burst from her lips, and she gestured flippantly toward the back hallway and the staircase leading up to the second floor. “Why the hell would I do that? My job is to protect it. If you were trying to convince me of anything else with that little story-time-vision trick, you missed your mark completely.”

  Whether the fae had amped up the severity of what she’d seen in that other world—and she really didn’t think he had—Jessica had felt that darkness. She’d recognized it, knew it intimately, and couldn’t imagine letting that much of it out into this world just because a fae with a lot more surprises up his sleeve wanted her to. First stage of the reckoning or no, there was no way in hell she’d open that door.

  “You know the forces at work on the other side,” Leandras muttered. “I know you do. Perhaps not as intimately as I do, but that’s only a matter of direct experience.”

  “Yeah, you have no idea what I do and don’t intimately know.”

  “Jessica, I’m merely trying to paint a clearer picture for you—”

  “You already did that.” She stood from her chair, feeling flighty and a little scattered. Like she’d just woken from a bad dream, only this one had nothing to do with her past but with his. “I don’t need a clearer picture.”

  “But you don’t understand the rest of it.”

  “What rest of it is there? I open that door upstairs, and the same thing happens all over again in this world. It’s a pretty simple solution. Don’t open the damn door—”

  “Xahar’áhsh is dying.”

  Jessica folded her arms. “Don’t tell me that was unexpected.”

  “And…there’s another piece of it I didn’t show you.”

  “Of course there is.” Gritting her teeth, she glanced around the bank’s lobby and sighed. “So go ahead and spit it out.”

  Inhaling deeply, Leandras ran a hand through his dark hair, which apparently hadn’t gone through the same illusion check as the rest of him and flopped back down across his forehead. “The Guardians who were here far before your time, those who dedicated their lives to the service of the Laenmúr and protection of both worlds, did everything they could to stop the Dalu’Rázj before the portals were sealed. For a time, they succeeded.”

  “For a time.”

  “That time has now come to an end. The Dalu’Rázj still remains, after all this time. And he’s… Well, to put it succinctly, his strength is returning. Slowly, but returning just the same.”

  “Even more reason to keep the Gateway shut and everyone’s hands off it.”

  Leandras’ head twitched, like he wanted to shake it but couldn’t bring himself follow through. “No. Ignoring the problem will only give him more time. He’s been feeding off what’s left of Xahar’áhsh, for lack of a better word. And at this point, I can assure you no one who stayed behind to maintain their connection to source-magic will manage to withstand that consumption for much longer.”

  “Okay, wait a minute. You’re telling me I need to open that door and risk this dolly-whatever—”

  “Dalu’Rázj.”

  “Right. Whatever. Risk all the chaos he’s waving around spilling right into this world so you can…what? Save a bunch of magicals who’ve been over there for centuries? Bring them here? Bring this big bad villain over here?” Jessica scoffed. “That sounds like a hell of a stretch, Leandras.”

  “The Dalu’Rázj must be dealt with. Not merely contained but obliterated, do you understand?”

  “Sure. And you’re the one who’s gonna stop him, is that it?”

  The fae dipped his head to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I really do wish you would stop resisting this for one moment—”

  “Hey, if I stopped resisting, this entire building and the Gateway would’ve already fallen into who knows how many wrong hands. And there are obviously a lot of them.” She shook her head. “I’m not gonna stop now just because you gave me an abridged history lesson—”

  “It’s not about one world, Jessica, it’s about both of them!” Leandras stood abruptly and glared at her. “If the Dalu’Rázj continues what’s taken him centuries to achieve since the Gateway was sealed, he will open it. He’s already taken almost everything Xahar’ásh has to give. Magic, lives, energy. When there’s nothing left, he will move on, and the easiest and closest place to do that is your world. Don’t tell me you haven’t already felt it. The rising power on the other side of that door.”

  A knot formed in her stomach. Because she had felt it. She’d almost opened that damn door herself, when she’d been manipulated into becoming the Gateway’s newest Guardian and had absolutely no idea what that door was or what lay beyond it. Or even why she was here.

  The whispers in the night. The growling behind that door. The green light that seeped out every time she let down her guard.

  ‘Yeah, and I’ll go ahead and put in my two cents too,’ the bank muttered.

  Can I stop you?

  ‘No. Listen, I can’t say I have as great of a handle on this as I should. Or maybe just as much as I want to. But I don’t think he’s screwing with you, Jessica. There’s a reason I wasn’t able to talk about this before now. And a reason I suddenly can now. Or at least more than usual.’

  Damnit.

  Jessica scrunched up her nose, then met the fae’s burning gaze again. “How do you even know what’s happening on the other side, huh? You’ve been here. And until last night, you’ve been here with a lot less magic than you needed to…you know, keep you alive.”

  He bit his bottom lip and for a second actually looked embarrassed. “There are other ways to commune with that world, Jessica. Powerful spells with a hefty price to pay for casting them. But it is possible to move between without stepping through the Gateway. They’re simply…more precarious.”

  “Right. So you spent the last of your magic that wasn’t tucked away in that box of yours to see into the other side? And you expect me to believe you have all the answers.”

  “No, I expect you to help me illuminate those answers for you. So you can do what has to be done.”
>
  Jessica rolled her eyes, and another wry laugh escaped her. “Which is to keep that stupid door shut the way it’s been shut since you walked through it.”

  “To enable those who can and will stand against the Dalu’Rázj. He must be stopped.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Jessica stormed toward the back hallway.

  She needed space. She needed air and time to think and time away from this fae and his absurd claims. It wasn’t the Guardian’s job to go start a war where a war had already existed and destroyed an entire world. Even if what he’d said was actually true—and how could it be?—a Guardian’s job was to protect the Gateway. To run this place the way it had been run before her and maintain the status quo. That was it.

  Unless something really had changed. Unless she was now officially way in over her head.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You wanted answers, Jessica,” Leandras shouted as he hurried after her. “I swore the binding, and I’m telling you everything I know. This is what you wanted—”

  “And I have no idea if I can trust you at all!” She whirled around to face him, blocking him off in the hallway before he could get as far as the witching vault. “Everything you’ve told me has a price and comes with one more step. One more thing you forgot to mention last time. When does it end?”

  “When the Dalu’Rázj ends.” The fae stepped slowly toward her until they stood just inches apart.

  She wanted to back away, but the urgency in his gaze rooted her to the spot. “Sorry. I can run this place like it says in the job description, but I’m not equipped to take down a destroyer of worlds. I’m only one witch.”

  “I never asked you to do this.” He leaned toward her, his silver-glowing eyes slowly roaming across her face. “And if I had, I certainly wouldn’t have asked you to do it on your own.”

  The air filled with the scent of coming rain on a warm day—that sunny ozone smell that made her breath hitch in her throat when she realized it was coming from him. “Whatever you’re doing right now, stop.”

  Leandras tilted his head. “And what am I doing, Jessica?”

  “You’re…standing way too close, for one.”

  “And it bothers you?”

  She glared at him. “I don’t trust you.”

  “I literally cannot lie to you. I swore the binding, just as you did. We’re in this together, whether or not you want to believe anything I’ve said.”

  “I don’t know what to believe.”

  He took another step toward her, and she finally stepped back, turning her head away to eye him in warning. “This has to happen. You’re the Guardian, meaning the decision is yours. But I do mean it when I say that if you decide not to act on this, not to let me help you, by the time you realize the consequences, it will be too late. For all of us.”

  It took her longer than she wanted to find her voice again. The scent of ozone and sun spilling across warm stone swirled through her head.

  ‘Okay, this is where I gotta say he’s trying to work one over on you. If you don’t snap out of it, say the word, and I will.’

  “Stop.” Jessica said to both of them—the fae overwhelming her personal space and the bank overwhelming her mind. After a quick glance at the witching vault behind Leandras, she looked back up at him, biting the inside of her cheek. “I need to think about it. And don’t tell me I don’t have time for that. We have four more days before you can do anything, anyway. So…”

  “So?” Leandras spread his arms, that infuriating smile returning to his lips.

  “So sit tight.” She stormed into the kitchen to fill a glass of water from the sink.

  Screw that vision. Screw whatever this crazy-ass Dalu’Rázj guy was doing in some other world she hadn’t even known existed until a few weeks ago. And screw the fae trying to worm his way into her head.

  ‘Yeah, you’d like that last one, wouldn’t you?’

  You’re severely unhelpful.

  ‘I’m yanking you back down to reality, witch. Why not give him a chance to prove he’s actually on to something?’

  Because she didn’t want the fae to be on to something. Jessica hadn’t asked for any of this.

  ‘Doesn’t matter what you asked for. You have what you have. And you also have that box of magic upstairs just waiting to go right back where it belongs.’

  Give it a rest.

  Leandras chuckled in the hallway. “Feeling better?”

  “Not when you’re laughing at me.”

  He cleared his throat. “Then I apologize. If you need more time, you have these next four days. But by then, Jessica, I sincerely hope you make the right decision.”

  Right. The right decision for Leandras. Because he wanted her to do something she couldn’t fathom actually doing.

  She set the glass down on the kitchen counter and peered through the doorway of the kitchen. From here, half the staircase’s railing and at least four stairs were visible. Such a short journey upstairs to stand in front of that door and make a choice that might save both worlds. Or it might destroy them.

  Jessica wasn’t taking everything the fae told her with a grain of salt. What she really needed was someone else to tell her that he wasn’t full of shit. That this was actually happening.

  “May I say one more thing?” Leandras asked, out of sight but hovering in the hall like he expected her to bolt at any minute. Part of her wanted to do exactly that.

  “What?” She wiped her mouth with the back of a hand and waited.

  “I can help you find those who know the stakes as well as I do. When our time under the binding is over, I’ll take them to you. If you want. It may help soothe your doubts.”

  What was he doing? Reading her mind now?

  ‘No one ever said you weren’t predictable. Especially when you only have half your magic.’

  Predictable?

  ‘Come on, Jessica. You’re as stubborn as a toilet bowl. And you know it.’

  Her stubbornness wasn’t in question here.

  “Who are they?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  Jessica stepped into the hall and found Leandras right where she’d left him. She shrugged. “These others. Who are they?”

  The fae clasped his hands behind his back and grinned. “Remnants of the Laenmúr. And they will be more than willing to help you initiate the next necessary phases of the reckoning. As will I.”

  “Right.” At least he’d given her an actual name this time instead of just calling them “friends.” “Like I said, I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s all I’m asking.”

  “No it’s not.”

  His soft chuckle was interrupted by the sound of a purring car engine stopping right outside the bank. Two doors opened, and two doors shut.

  Jessica returned the fae’s grin, only it made her feel a little insane. “That would be your cue to—”

  “Spirit myself away. Yes.” Leandras was already disappearing around the end of the hallway.

  Jessica headed into the lobby as the office door clicked shut. Then the metal crow above the door stretched its inanimate wings and cawed loudly. Twice.

  All this decision-making still had to wait for the next four days. Because there were customers to see to in Winthrop & Dirledge Security Banking.

  ‘What next phases of the reckoning?’

  I don’t know. Can’t that wait?

  ‘Probably, but I’m getting this feeling that there’s more to it than that. That I’m supposed to do something…’

  For right now, just stop talking so I can deal with whoever this is.

  The bank silently obliged. But Jessica found herself at a complete loss for words too when the front door of the bank opened and in walked one more magical she hadn’t expected to see here and only now realized she didn’t want to see at all.

  Just more complicated problems on top of a pile of bodies. Hadn’t Tabitha told her something just like that?

  When the pile of bodies belonged to a magical named Jen
sen Ardis stepping through that front door, yeah. It seemed a little more accurate.

  The guy looked exactly the same as the first and only time she’d seen him. At Mel’s art opening. The night Jessica discovered that her best friend’s dream job had been funded all along by just one head of the snake. This particular snake had been sending his goons to the bank, to follow Jessica through the streets, and most recently to set an ambush for the fae who hadn’t returned to his apartment.

  Because he’d sent Jessica instead.

  Jensen adjusted his peacoat and brushed away the light dusting of snow coating his shoulders. A huge man stepped through the door behind him as the bell jingled again. Jessica knew who he was even before the shimmer of light around him faded and his illusion fell. The dirty, thickly bearded face gave way to the green-tinted hue of an orc’s features, the glowing yellow eyes blazing a trail across the lobby to fall on the witch standing behind the desk. And the orc hadn’t healed anywhere near as quickly as she had from their encounter in the alley outside Black Mark. His left arm hung in a sling, and it looked a hell of a lot like the glove at the end of that arm was stuffed with cloth or maybe even a quickly fitted prosthetic.

  Which made sense, seeing as she’d most likely obliterated his hand altogether during their first meeting. Thanks to her short, idiotic little bender that night, she couldn’t exactly remember all the details.

  The orc grunted in surprise as the door fully closed behind him. Jensen frowned at his companion, then seemed to realize there was something not quite right here before he turned to meet Jessica’s gaze. His only reaction to seeing her was a tight, closed-lipped smile. “Well. What a welcome surprise. Jessica, isn’t it?”

  She stared at him instead of the orc, fighting down the urge to kick him out right now. “Jensen.”

  “Ah. Good. We made an equally strong first impression on each other.” Jensen pulled off his thin leather gloves and clutched them in one hand as he scanned the lobby. “I found it unfortunate that Michelle and I weren’t able to stay longer at View74 last week. Seeing you there in the flesh brought so much more weight to that opening. Mel’s had such wonderful things to say about you.”