Dragon's Gift: The Amazon Complete Series: An Urban Fantasy Boxed Set

by Linsey Hall

  “We’ll shield you!” Natalia shouted.

  Ahead, a dozen fae appeared. Jabari and Imani replicated over and over again. The giants roared, clearly confused. They didn’t know which ones to strike. They might not even realize that they were illusions. They were way more brawn than brains, definitely.

  We were nearly to the demons, and I searched for a weak spot. Somewhere that wasn’t covered by armor. My gaze snagged on the giant’s neck where a piece of leather connected the helmet to the breastplate.

  There.

  I pointed. “Maximus! Can you boost me up there? Then you can take the other one out.”

  He nodded and put on some speed, racing ahead of me. The demon was still swatting at the birds and didn’t notice Maximus kneel behind him, making a cupped shape with his hands.

  I stashed my electric sword in the ether and sprinted ahead, then placed my foot in Maximus’s palms. He heaved me upward, and I flew through the air and grabbed onto the demon’s waist. He was huge, and the armor was covered in scales, giving me good handholds.

  Below, Maximus disappeared into thin air.

  The illusionists. It had to be. They’d made him invisible. Hopefully I had the same treatment.

  I began to climb up the giant’s back. He thrashed and roared, clearly realizing that I was there.

  When his big hand slapped backward, I didn’t even see it coming. I felt it, though, when it crushed me against his armor.

  Pain flared in my middle. I gasped, agony shooting through me. Broken ribs? I clung tight to the demon’s back, pain radiating as I tried to breathe shallowly. Breathe through the pain.

  The giant continued to thrash, trying to throw me off him, but I started climbing, trying to move as quickly as I could. My ribs ached with every movement, but I focused on the job.

  Finally, I reached the giant’s neck where the leather was creased and soft. I held on with my left hand and reared back, calling my electric sword from the ether. It appeared in my right hand, and I stabbed, sending the blade right into the giant’s neck. He roared, stumbling.

  Oh fates, I hoped he fell on his front.

  From below, the faes’ magic surged. I caught sight of the blue sparkles out of the corner of my eye and looked down. They slammed their magic into the demon’s back, sending him careening onto his front.

  Heck yeah. They kept me from becoming a pancake on his back.

  The giant slammed to the ground, and I bounced, my ribs aching.

  As quickly as I could, I scrambled to my feet, searching for Maximus. I couldn’t see him, but the giant demon that he’d presumably jumped onto was thrashing in the air, blood spurting from his neck.

  Maximus had to be landing a killing blow, and a big part of me was satisfied to know that because of the illusionists’ invisibility magic, the bloodthirsty crowd had missed most of the action.

  A second later, Maximus appeared, hanging on to the giant’s back just like I had. The fae raced forward, hitting the giant in the back with their magic so he fell onto his front and didn’t crush Maximus.

  I sprinted over.

  Jabari and Imani turned to me.

  “Thanks,” they said in unison.

  I nodded. Maximus climbed to his feet, looking pretty whole. I was having a hard time breathing with my ribs, but at least I was standing.

  In the distance, the two wolves fought the giant lizard. They were doing pretty well—considering that they weren’t yet dead—but their thick brown coats were covered with slices that leaked blood. The lizard had mean claws, long and sharp. Clearly, he knew how to use them.

  I sprinted for the lizard, Maximus joining me. Footsteps thundered behind us, and I glanced back to see that the fae and the illusionists were coming to help.

  Everyone ignored the stupid Truth Teller and the fountain. I didn’t know how the crowd was taking this development, but they could go screw themselves.

  We reached the lizard just as he swatted one of the wolves with his front limb, sending the wolf flying straight into the arena wall. The other wolf crouched low, growling, getting between his fallen brother and the lizard.

  Once again, the fae pulled their multiplication trick. A dozen wolves appeared, then a wall of flame, separating the growling wolf from the lizard. Through the flickering fire, I caught sight of the main wolf—at least, I thought it was him—turn and lope toward his fallen brother.

  I sprinted toward the lizard, running side by side with a glittery cloud of the blue birds. The fae sent their attack birds toward the lizard’s face while I leapt onto its back and stabbed my sword deep.

  The lizard reared up on hind legs, hissing wildly. I fell off and slammed to the ground. The beast stepped on me, one razor-sharp claw slicing through my left forearm. Pain flared.

  I screamed, unable to help myself, then scrambled upright. The lizard had fallen back down, and Maximus had leapt onto its back. He stabbed the creature through the back of the neck, but it didn’t go down.

  Crap.

  Imani, who stood closer to the Colosseum wall, hurled a blast of magic at the lizard’s back legs. The cloud slammed into his limbs, and the right one went limp.

  The same trick that had frozen that poor butler and my arm.

  I wasted no time in climbing up onto the lizard’s back again, though my movements were slow and awkward. Blood dripped from my wounded arm. I raised my blade and plunged it down. The beast shrieked and reared up on his only good leg, throwing me toward the center of the arena.

  I hit hard, pain flaring in my ribs, and skidded in the dirt.

  When he fell, he slammed to the ground and lay still.

  I must have hit his heart. It was hard to tell on a demon, but the monster was definitely dead.

  Maximus had been thrown off toward the Colosseum wall, but he was rising to his feet. Imani and Jabari stood near the body. The illusionists were only about fifteen feet from me, their hands outstretched and their magic flowing toward the fight. They let their fire die. The wolves had both stood.

  The monsters were gone.

  The fight was over.

  Everyone looked alive. Beaten up, but definitely alive.

  I looked back at the fountain and the Truth Teller.

  I was the closest one. Not by a lot, but with the battle over…

  Before I could even turn, the other contestants sprinted toward me, their eyes on the prize that was about thirty yards behind me.

  I turned and raced for it as well, my chest aching like I was being stabbed by a dozen knives. I called upon the cloud magic within me, commanding the fluffy white things to fill the arena. I wouldn’t bring down the lightning or the winds—no way would I hurt the other competitors—but making it hard to find the fountain didn’t sit too wrong with me.

  The illusionists were fast, though. I caught sight of them out of the corner of my eye. Ahead of me, six fountains appeared.

  The damned multiplication trick. But I’d been running right toward the proper fountain, and it was still the one that was right in front of me. If I just kept on course, it’d be the right one. I hoped.

  I pushed myself, running faster than I ever had in my life.

  This competition was a whole load of bullshit, but I still wanted the prize. The Undercover Protectorate could do so much good with it. The idea was heady. And I wanted to know what pantheon I represented. What kind of Dragon God I was.

  The thought gave me strength, and I ran faster. The white clouds filled the stadium, blocking us from the viewers. My lungs burned and sweat poured as I ran.

  Somehow, despite the pain that raced through every inch of me, I pulled ahead of the illusionists. They hissed, but I kept going, giving it everything I had. When my hand pushed through the glowing blue light that surrounded the golden Truth Teller, I felt a prickle of protective magic. Then my fist closed around the golden orb, and I pulled it free.

  Victory surged through me.

  I’d won.

  From overhead, dark magic swelled. Confused, I looke
d up, just in time to see one of the witches swooping down toward me in her bird form, her huge claws outstretched for me.

  Horror welled in my chest.

  She reached me a half second later, scooping me up in her massive claws but never piercing any of my skin. She swooped high, heading for the sky with me gripped in her claws. Wind tore through my hair as I watched the Colosseum disappear into the distance down below.

  Holy fates, I was screwed.

  14

  Cold wind tore through my hair as the giant bird carried me through the air. The city whipped by below, golden lights traveling fast. At first, I thrashed, trying to break free. Then I stilled, heart thundering in my ears.

  What the heck was I thinking?

  The last thing I needed was to fall. I couldn’t freaking fly, after all. And I could try to drive the birds out of the sky with my cloud magic, but then I might still fall. We were so high up that I’d be a pancake for sure if it let me go.

  So I lay limp in the bird’s claws, heart thundering and body aching. They were bound by magic to prevent them from using their beaks and claws to hurt people, but apparently carrying people around like dolls was still allowed.

  Carefully, I craned my neck to look down, my eyes watering from the chill wind. My stomach plummeted as I checked out the view below, but I didn’t recognize anything.

  Where the hell were we going?

  Everything in my body hurt—the broken ribs, the sliced arm. It was becoming hard to hold on to the Truth Teller, as well, my hands turning numb from the cold. Honestly, with the way my head was spinning, I wasn’t sure I could stay conscious.

  Carefully, I tucked the Truth Teller into an inner pocket in my jacket. The thing was only half the size of a baseball, so it fit easily.

  Once it was stored safely away, I tried to get to a healing potion in my belt, but it was too hard to reach. The way she had me gripped made it impossible to touch my comms charm as well, so I couldn’t call my sisters.

  Weariness spread over me as the bird flew, carrying me along. The bird was beginning to descend when my consciousness finally started to fade away. As my vision blackened at the edges, I realized that this was why the witches had saved us from the flying serpents. There had been a protection charm around the Truth Teller. That glowing blue light had probably been enchanted to only allow a real contestant to grab the thing. That was the Intermagic Games’s solution, and it had sucked.

  Consciousness came slowly, and only because I had to pee really badly. Not to mention the agony that raced through my arm and ribs.

  I blinked groggily, staring up at the ceiling. The room was entirely dark. The ground hard.

  Why was I sleeping on the floor? That was a terrible idea. I must have fallen off the bed and hurt my ribs and arm.

  Aching, I sat slowly and reached for the lamp that would be on the bedside table above me. My hand met open air.

  What’re you doing?

  Romeo’s voice snapped my attention down to my lap, where I hadn’t felt the weight until now. The raccoon sat on my thighs, eyes concerned within his black mask. Eloise sat at my hip, petting it gently, while Poppy sat on my legs, staring intently at me.

  “Where am I?” Because clearly, I wasn’t at home like I’d thought.

  The bird women brought you here. Romeo began to poke at my belt. You need a healing potion.

  “The birds?” Oh, shit. I’d forgotten. Those witches had picked me up at the Intermagic Games and carried me away.

  Frantic, I patted my jacket, looking for the Truth Teller. There was no telltale lump under the leather, and when I stuck my hand into my pocket, it came up empty. “Shit.”

  Romeo kept poking at my belt, and he had a point. Every inch of me ached. With trembling hands, I reached for the little vial on the right that would contain a healing serum. I shook my hand to ignite the magic on my lightstone ring and inspected the vial, just to make sure.

  It shined in the light, opalescent and lovely.

  Yep. Healing potion.

  I took a quick swig, sighing as the pleasure raced through me. It wasn’t real pleasure, but honestly, the feeling of pain fading away was close enough.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  Greece, again. I think. Smells like it.

  I sniffed the air, only able to pick up on the scent of the sea and dry desert ground and maybe some kind of vegetation. Romeo had always said he had a good sniffer, though.

  Gently, I shoved him off of me. Poppy hopped off of her own volition, and I stood, feeling better than I had in ages. That healing potion worked quickly, and I was grateful I’d taken the time to pack it.

  I raised my lightstone ring to inspect the room while I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm. “Ana? Bree?”

  “Rowan! We’re coming to get you!” Bree’s voice sounded.

  “Your tracking charm is giving us some trouble,” Ana said. “Where are you?”

  “In a little building.” I inspected it through the glowing light of my ring. “About fifteen feet by fifteen feet. One tiny window on each wall. Greek writing on the ceiling.”

  I wished I could read it, but that wasn’t ever going to happen. I walked to the nearest window and looked out. “Sea on one side.” I walked to the next window. “Hills on the other.”

  “We’re on one of the hills,” Bree said. “We got close, but the magic in your tracking charm is a bit blocked.”

  “We’ll be right there,” Ana said. “I’ve got a visual from the air.”

  Thank fates for the tracking charm.

  “Is Maximus okay?”

  “He’s with us. He’s fine,” Bree said. “Sit tight. We’ll be there soon.”

  I went to the door and tried it, but of course it was locked tight. The windows were way too small for me to fit through.

  I looked at Romeo. “Did you see where the women went?”

  Down the hill, up another hill. There’s a temple there. You can’t miss it.

  I nodded. “Thanks. You guys should get back. It’s not safe here.”

  Eloise scoffed. Poppy tittered disapprovingly.

  As if we’d leave you!

  “Thanks, guys.”

  I searched the room for my potion bag, but couldn’t find it. The witches must have figured out it was full of weapons and taken it. Dang.

  I dug into my belt and found my highly concentrated disintegration potion. The same one I’d used to break out of the pit at El Dorado.

  The lock on the door was big and old, solid iron. Carefully, I poured the liquid onto it and watched it sizzle. Within seconds, the lock was gone.

  You could break into any kind of dumpster with that!

  I grinned back at Romeo. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Carefully, I pushed the door open, ready for a guard to jump out. None did, and my shoulders sagged in relief. It was still night, though the moon was getting low on the horizon. Dawn could arrive soon.

  The sea glittered on one side of me, with rolling hills all around. A massive white temple sat on top of one of the hills, pale blue magic glowing from the roof. The witches would be in there, using the Truth Teller for whatever evil shit they had planned.

  Quickly, I found a bush and took care of business. When I stood, I searched the sky, spotting two winged figures flying toward me.

  A giant crow and the silver-winged Valkyrie. I raised my hand and waved, but didn’t shout. They landed a few moments later. Bree grinned widely. Ana shifted to human form and was smiling as well.

  “I knew you’d break yourself out.” Ana threw her arms around me.

  Bree joined in, squeezing me hard.

  I hugged them tight, then pulled back. “Where’s Maximus?”

  Bree turned around to look toward one of the other hills that was farther away from the temple. “He should be coming any second. We followed the tracking charm, but it led us to another hill.”

  “It was close, at least,” Ana said.

  A moment later, Maximus crested our hill,
clearly having run from another one. His expression relaxed as soon as he saw me, and he strode over. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He hugged me tight, and I squeezed him back, then turned to Ana and Bree. “Where are Cade and Lachlan?”

  “Lachlan’s still working on that potion,” Bree said. “Cade is hunting an ingredient. They might almost have it. Let’s get out of here, and hopefully they’ll be done.”

  “We can’t go yet.”

  “What?” Surprise sounded in Ana’s voice.

  “The witches are still here.” I pointed to the temple. “In there.”

  Ana shoved her hand through her blonde hair. “Damn it. Too much to hope they’d drop you and run.”

  “They took the Truth Teller. I think they waited until I grabbed it because only a contestant could reach through the protection charm on the fountain.”

  “Fates.” Maximus frowned. “There’s no telling what miserable things they are learning from it.”

  “We have to stop them,” I said.

  “We could wait for backup,” Ana said. “But I have a feeling you won’t like that idea.”

  I shook my head. “Not so much, no. We can’t give them any more time with the Truth Teller. Let’s do it now.”

  My sisters nodded, then turned to face the temple. We started off at a swift jog, the Menacing Menagerie keeping pace easily.

  This was like a mirror of our first adventure in Dartmoor. Running down one hill and up onto another, seeking the danger within the building that sat on top.

  It wasn’t until we reached the shallow valley between the hills that I felt the first prickle of awareness. Dark magic seeped out of the ground, sticky and nausea-inducing.

  “Something is coming.” I pointed ahead, low to the ground.

  “I feel it,” Maximus said.

  The earth rumbled, a great roar that shook my legs. In front of us, the earth rose up, piling over itself to form two great beasts. They looked like wolves built from dirt, their fangs made of stone and their eyes a glowing black onyx.

  “That’s some spell,” Ana breathed.

  The wolves had to be forty feet tall if they were an inch. When they began to run, the earth trembled beneath their feet. Dirt poured off them, only to be reabsorbed back through their paws.