by Linsey Hall
I looked at Maximus’s back. “Can you conjure me a night shirt?”
“What kind?” he asked, without turning around.
Quit being so polite and turn around, I wanted to shout. But I didn’t. “Like one of your T-shirts or something.”
“Sure.” His magic flared briefly, then he tossed a big T-shirt over his shoulders, followed by a pair of women’s underwear. They were green, and I caught them out of the air.
I held them up to inspect them, spotting the ridiculous cartoon dragon’s face right on the butt. I laughed. “Nice choice.”
“I thought they suited a DragonGod.”
“They do indeed.” I shimmied into the clothes, then joined him on the cushion near the fire.
He turned to look at me, his face highlighted by the golden glow of the fire. “You’ve done well here, Rowan. Artemis is right to believe in you. I believe in you.” He hesitated a moment, and my breath caught. “I’m not very good with words, but I wanted to say…” He sucked in a deep breath. “I care for you, Rowan. You’re important to me.”
My heart swelled at his words. Suddenly, I was glad I hadn’t shouted at him to turn around and check me out since I was naked. This was much better.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, reveling in the heat of him.
“You’re important to me, too,” I murmured against his lips. “More important than I thought someone could be in such a short period of time.”
“Fate.” He pulled me to him, his lips moving expertly on mine.
There were things I wanted to say to him—words that showed how great I thought he was—but they were driven from my mind. All I could focus on was how good he felt. How his kisses made my head swoon and my body heat.
I moaned and pushed at his shoulders until he got the clue. He fell backward, and I rolled with him on the cushion until we were side by side. Then I pounced, kissing him for all I was worth.
He groaned and yanked me toward him, pressing the full length of his body against mine. Heat exploded within me, driving all rational thought from my mind.
Yes. Finally.
11
I woke to the sound of the birds chirping and treetops rustling. The rising sun sent beams of light streaking through the forest, and I opened my eyes to see Maximus next to me. Memories of what we’d done flashed through my mind, heating my cheeks. Though we hadn’t gone all the way, it’d easily been the best night of my life.
Quickly, before he could wake up and I started to feel awkward because I was a weirdo, I hopped up and hurried toward my pile of dirty clothes that I’d left lying by the pool. In the early morning light, the water gleamed a pale turquoise. I gave it one longing glance, then looked around for my clothes.
They were where I’d left them, folded loosely on a rock, but next to them sat a neatly folded identical pair. My heart fluttered.
Maximus must have conjured them. I tugged them on and pulled the dragon scale boat out of the pocket of my dirty jeans. I also grabbed the instructions for the spell from the Hesperides. By the time I turned toward Maximus, he was up and dressed. Man, he’d been quick and quiet.
“Morning.” I could feel my cheeks go hot. Way to go, cool girl.
“Morning.” His voice was warm and his smile warmer. “Ready to get going?”
“Let’s get this show on the road.” I grabbed my dirty clothes and approached. He conjured a backpack, then held out his hand. “I’ll carry those for you.”
I handed them over. “Thanks.”
He shoved them in the pack, along with his dirty clothes, and slung it over his shoulder. I crouched and put together two bread and cheese sandwiches from the remains of last night’s dinner, then stood and handed him one.
We set out of the forest, eating as we walked.
“Can Hedy help with the potion and spell that you need to find Atlas?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. They said it was blood sorcery, and she doesn’t do that. I know two people who can do it, though. Blood Sorceresses who live in Magic’s Bend.”
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and snapped a picture of the ingredient list that the Hesperides had written for me. Then I texted it to Aerdeca and Mordaca, the Blood Sorceresses that I’d met a little while ago. I didn’t know them well, but for a price, they’d help me. For a price, I had a feeling they’d do just about anything.
I looked up at Maximus. “We’ll see what they say.”
The forest was quiet this morning, and we had no trouble from the animals. I could hear them in the distance, but they didn’t bother us.
When we stepped out of the forest, I felt the crackle of the protection charm as it broke. Grass waved against my ankles, and the sun beat down strongly. My phone buzzed, and I looked down at the text message.
I read it out loud to Maximus. “We can do it tonight but we need you to pick up an ingredient from a guy we hate. We’d do it but he sucks. Go to Blackburn Alley in Darklane and stop by The Snake Pit. Buy some hespodel from Snakerton.”
“Do you know what hespodel is?” Maximus asked.
“Yes, it’s a root. Pale purple with green tips. Rare and a bit expensive, but it’s a great binder for more complicated spells that induce visions.”
“That sounds easy enough,” Maximus said. “I wonder what Snakerton’s deal is?”
“Whatever it is, I bet they’re right that he’s a jerk. Can your transport charm take us to Magic’s Bend? Near Darklane?”
“Yes.” He dug into his pocket and pulled it out. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
He hurled the charm to the ground, and a silvery cloud of black smoke exploded upward. I stepped in, letting the ether suck me through space and spit me out in the middle of Magic’s Bend.
Given the time change, it must have been about ten at night here. The moon hung heavy in the sky, peeping out from behind a dark cloud. Drizzly rain spat from the sky, and I hunched deep into my leather jacket.
Maximus appeared next to me. “Which way?”
I pointed toward a creepy-looking street that marked the entrance to Darklane, the part of town where dark magic practitioners lived. The residents weren’t all evil, but many of them could be. Darklane was where you lived and worked if you didn’t want the law looking too closely into your activities. Some types of magic—like the blood magic that Aerdeca and Mordaca practiced—weren’t explicitly evil. It was all about context. If the blood was voluntarily given, it was fine. If not, well, then obviously it was bad business.
“Come on. Let’s go find this Snakerton dude.” I walked toward the main street that cut through Darklane. The air was somehow heavier here, more difficult to breathe. The modern street turned to cobblestones in that part of town, a remnant of the past from a neighborhood that refused to change.
We stepped into the watery golden light that gleamed from the gas lamps and started down the sidewalk. The buildings were all three-story Victorian houses. Long ago, the colorful exteriors had been covered by a soot-like substance, residue of the dark magic that gave this place its name.
Shadowy alleys stretched away into the distance, and I skirted around them.
I squinted into the distance, looking for the street sign for Blackburn Alley. The rain made it a bit hard to see, so I tried harder. Finally, I spotted it and pointed. “There it is.”
“You can read that?”
“Yeah, you can’t?”
“I have twenty-twenty vision, and no, I can’t.”
“Ah, cool. The animals in Artemis’s forest gave me superior hearing, and they must have given me better vision as well.” It wasn’t something I’d noticed right away, because I hadn’t tried using it. But now that I’d tried…well, that was damned cool.
We hurried to the road and took a left turn onto it. The road was more of an alley than anything else, the narrow cobblestone street uneven in places. It was only about six feet wide, and the buildings loomed on either side, their second and thi
rd floors hanging out farther than the ones below. It gave the street a tunnel-like feel.
The whole place reeked of dark magic, and the stuff in the shop windows made me shiver. Weird weapons that looked more like torture devices, potions that glittered with an evil hue, and shrunken heads—real shrunken heads—were all for sale.
The rain began to fall harder as we walked, gleaming on the cobblestones beneath our feet. By the time we saw the sign for The Snake Pit, I was chilled to the bone.
Fortunately, it was still open even at this late hour. Though in fairness, most businesses in Darklane were probably more active late at night.
The door creaked as Maximus opened it, and I slipped into the smoky interior. A purple haze filled the space that reeked of herbs. My nose wrinkled as my eyes watered. It was a cluttered little place, with shelves stocked full of ratty old books and vials of stuff that I didn’t want to explore too closely. Most of it appeared to be related to potion making, however, and that piqued my interest.
“Can I help you?” The pompous voice came from the back, and I peeked around a shelf to get a look at the speaker.
He was younger than I expected, mid-thirties at the oldest. Slim and short, his hair was done up in a series of complicated waves. He had the curled mustache of a cartoon villain, and I seriously expected him to start yelling at some meddlesome kids.
And the cologne…
Oh fates, the cologne. It nearly choked me.
Carefully, I breathed through my mouth and said, “We’re here to buy some hespodel.”
He grinned widely. “What a wise and beautiful woman, to request hespodel. You must be very talented with potions.”
I frowned, trying hard not to give him the stink eye. But seriously, what was up with the excessive flattery that came out of the blue? Was he trying for manipulation? If so, it was ridiculously transparent.
“Yep. That’s me. Extremely wise and beautiful.” I smiled, trying not to show too many teeth in case it looked like a grimace or a snarl. Honestly, either would have suited my mood, but neither would get me what I wanted. “So, the hespodel?”
“Yes, yes, just a moment.” He disappeared behind some cluttered shelves. A rattling noise followed. He came out with a little box made of semitransparent gray glass. Within, there was a stalk of hespodel.
He handed it to me. “An intelligent woman such as yourself will see that everything is in order. I’d love to see what amazing concoction you whip up with that.”
Okay, weirdo. I took the box and squinted hard at the hespodel, trying to see through the milky gray glass. It didn’t look quite right. I opened the little box to inspect it closer.
Yep. That plant was a medium tone purple, not pale purple. And were those tips painted on?
I scowled, then looked up at Snakerton. “This isn’t hespodel.”
He put on a confused expression and looked down at the box. “But of course it is!”
“I know my hespodel, and that’s not it. The colors are wrong.” And I’d bet twenty bucks that his dumb flattery was an attempt to distract me from noticing that he was shady. I hated manipulators.
Too bad for him, he was terrible at it.
“Do you have real hespodel?” Maximus asked, his voice sharp.
Snakerton jumped slightly, then looked up at Maximus, who loomed over him. His expression turned sour. “I must have made a mistake. Let me check.”
He repeated the procedure with going behind the shelves and making a bit of noise. The compliments started flowing before he’d even reappeared. The dude couldn’t seem to help himself.
“In your esteemed wisdom, I’m sure you’ll see that this is the proper variety of hespodel.” He walked around from behind the shelving and handed me another box.
Even before I opened the box, I knew it wasn’t hespodel. I checked anyway. The plant was too curvy. I snapped the box shut and looked at Snakerton. “Why are you giving me the wrong plant?”
“Wh-what?” he sputtered. “I’m not!”
Maximus stepped forward, looking even bigger when he was up close to the little snake. I’d have tried intimidating Snakerton myself, but I could already tell he was the kind of guy who respected men more. Maximus was the right choice for this particular job.
“Why?” Maximus asked. “Answer her question.”
Snakerton alternately turned white and red, going from fear to anger and back again. “I’m just trying to get ahead, okay? The world is an ugly place, and I’m just doing what I can to make it.”
“By cheating people?” I asked. That was what he’d been trying to do. Pass some cheap stuff off as the expensive stuff and charge me more for nothing.
He shrugged. “So what? People aren’t me, so they don’t matter.”
My brows rose. “Straight to the point. And boldly said.”
He leered at me. “I’m a bold man.”
“Oh, dude, putting it on a little thick,” I said.
Maximus gave him a condescending stare.
He deflated.
“Seriously,” I said. “Do you have hespodel? I’ll buy it if you have it, but I’m not giving you that much money for an inferior product.”
He got a calculating look in his eye. “I do have it. But now I don’t know if I want to sell it to you.”
“Because I didn’t play your little game?”
He sulked. Man, this guy was a piece of work.
“What do you want for the hespodel?” Maximus asked. “Sell it to us, and we’ll leave you alone.”
“You really want it, huh?” A cunning gleam entered Snakerton’s beady eyes. “Well, then. You’ll have to fight me for it.”
“Fight you?” Maximus looked him up and down. “You’re sure that’s the way you’d like to go?”
“Not a physical fight, you Neanderthal.” Snakerton puffed up his chest. “But I could take you if I wanted.”
Maximus didn’t bother replying.
“We could just search your shop and take it,” I said. “It’s not my normal style, but we’re desperate.”
“You’d steal from me?” His brows rose.
“No, we’d leave money on the counter.” It was actually not the worst idea. We could pay double to try to make up for it. I stepped toward the back of the shop, and my foot stopped in midair.
Snakerton grinned, his expression slimy. “You can’t steal from here. My shop is protected against it.”
“We’d leave money,” I said. “Double. And I mean it.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care. And the charms on the shop don’t care, either. They know you’re going to take it without my consent.”
I tried to move my foot again, but it was stuck solid. Damn, these were some good protection charms. “What do you want, then? It really is an emergency.”
Snakerton mulled it over, tapping his chin. “We’ll have a friendly little competition. Me and the lady here. She clearly knows her stuff. I know my stuff. We’ll each try to make a potion that is meant to levitate a heavy object. If hers can make a heavier object float high off the ground, then she can buy the hespodel. If I win, then she gives me the money for the hespodel but leaves empty-handed.”
Tricky bastard. Levitation potions were quick to make, but they were tough. Like, really tough. And he thought I wasn’t up to it.
I grinned. “Show me the hespodel first.”
He looked offended. “You don’t trust my word?”
I just laughed.
He harrumphed and went to the back of the shop, then returned very shortly with another box. A quick glance showed that it actually was hespodel. A little dried out and old, but it should still do the trick.
“Fine.” I held up the box. “But I want to put this outside of the protection charm, just in case you go back on your word.”
He scowled, clearly offended.
I held my ground, glaring.
“Fine.” He pointed to the door. “Put it in the planter out front. No one will bother it this time of night. No one will even see
it.”
I hurried out the door and onto the stoop, spotting the planter immediately. It held some spikey black plants, and I stuck the little box behind it where it was well hidden.
I returned, dusting off my hands. “Let’s make this quick.”
“You can use anything in the shop.”
“Sure thing.” I moved away from him, quickly grabbing vials and ingredients. Thank fates I’d been practicing my potions so much to make up for my lack of magic.
I might have magic now, but this was still coming in handy. I made a point to mix the potion behind a bookcase where he couldn’t see me, primarily because I didn’t want him spotting my secret ingredient. A splash of healing potion from my utility belt. It was a little secret I’d picked up in a dusty old book in the library. A splash of highly concentrated healing draft could enhance the power of most potions.
When I was done, I brought the little bowl of liquid out from behind my counter. Snakerton was still busily mixing away. He’d put on some funny little goggles and was moving his wrists with serious flair.
Overkill.
“Almost done?” I asked.
He looked up and glared. “That was fast.”
“Come on, I bet you can keep up.”
“Keep up? Keep up!” he sputtered.
“So that means you’re done with your potion?”
He mixed it again with one quick flick of his wrist. “Yes!”
I gestured to his potion. “Gentlemen first, then.”
“But it’s ladies first.”
“We don’t need to stand on ceremony, do we, pal?”
He thought for a moment, then shrugged, picked up his bowl of potion, and walked to a bookshelf that stood chest high. It was the second largest piece of furniture in the room. “I will lift this bookshelf. It weighs at least a thousand pounds.”
He poured his potion on top of the bookshelf. Magic sparked in the air, and the thing began to levitate, lifting two feet off the ground. I glanced at Maximus, who watched intently. He didn’t look impressed.
Snakerton thrust out his hands in a gesture of carnival showmanship. “Beat that!”
“No problem.” I pointed to the biggest bookshelf in the place. It was twice as tall as the one he’d lifted and stuffed full of heavy books. Since it was the only thing bigger in the room, I’d have to try to lift it if I wanted to win. “How heavy do you think that is?”