by Karlik, Mary
Then, he pointed the globe at Esme. “Join the rest of the dirty little creatures.”
She took Leo’s hand on her right and Riley’s on her left.
Fauth turned to Ian. “Keep watch, my pet. If they so much as flip a wing, kill them. Now is the time for my finale.”
Fauth stared at the globe until it glowed red and his eyes became black slits. Then, his body elongated and slowly he changed into the most feared creature in the fairy world.
Fauth the dragon.
With the stick clutched in his talons, the dragon launched into the air and let out a shriek as he circled the building. He landed next to Ian and shifted back to his fully clothed human form. When the transformation was complete, he held up his stick and rolled his head on his neck. “It feels so good to be me again.”
Layla was sorely tempted to remove his glamour and expose his naked body, but enraging the vile creature would not be prudent.
He walked close to the fairies and grinned. “Perfect. You are still holding hands. Connect the end and form a lovely circle.” When the fairies did as he asked, he stepped back. “Now where were we? Ah yes. The rest of my fairies.” He turned to the church. “Being in my natural form has awakened my appetite.” He ran his tongue across his mouth. “I will eat you one at a time until I get what belongs to me. It’ll make a lovely bloody mess.” A grin crossed his face. “Shall we begin?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fear surged inside Layla. The time to use her magic was now, but she wasn’t ready. She hadn’t centered her magic and Ian was hidden deep inside the beast. If she was to have a chance to save the fey, she had to release Ian and risk the dragon’s controlling him.
Her pulse pounded in her head as she reached out to him. Hear me now, Ian. Fight this beast. You do not belong to him. He belongs to you. You are not Fauth’s servant. You are in control. She pulled her brìgh from him and almost doubled over with the sadness that filled her chest as her soul separated from him.
And then, as if to fill the gap left by the separation of her soul, the cràdh reared. It shoved its way to the surface, filling her with pain and failure and every other negative emotion she’d swallowed over the years. It screamed at her that she was not strong enough, or good enough, or even fey enough to defeat Fauth.
It ordered her to shrink away and let the story end. But Layla wasn’t the same helpless half-caste she’d been when the entity had entered her those many years ago. She had magic. She was a healer. She was a fighter.
She was a Harvester.
Pulling herself to her fullest height and opening her good wing wide, she pooled her magic into her core and prepared to deliver every bit of it in a single blow to Fauth.
He tipped the walking stick toward Leo.
But before magic was released from the globe, before Layla threw her spell, Father Wilson shouted from the steps of the church, “Stop!”
Fauth turned toward the kirk as the fairies who had been rescued from the globes flew through the open door and across the bounds of the kirkyard. As they reached Layla, they pressed a kiss to her cheek and whispered, “An draoidheachd a bheir mi dhut.” Warmth, love, and magic swelled within her as fairy after fairy repeated the spell before taking their places behind her.
Surveying the line of fairies behind Layla, the dragon’s human face twisted with disgust. “Paying homage to the half-caste who failed to save you?”
Ignoring the barb, Layla walked toward the circle of the twelve rescuers and her sister.
Fauth clicked his tongue. “You can stop right there. I can’t have a human contaminating my fairies.”
Layla moved close but did not enter the circle.
“I’m becoming bored with these games and I’m peckish for this little fairy.” Fauth stood behind Esme and pointed the walking stick at Leo again. “This is going to hurt.”
Esme slammed her head into him. It only caused him to take a couple of steps back, but it kept him from using the magic in the globe.
Layla joined the circle. Leo repeated the words the fairies had said, “An draoidheachd a bheir mi dhut.” The rest of the fey did the same. And as they said the words, magic flowed along their clasped hands to Layla.
Esme was the last to repeat the words, only she didn’t use their native language. She challenged the dragon with a contemptuous glance and in English said, “My magic I give to you.”
Layla drew in their magic until her body glowed with a pure white energy—the colors of all flowers combined. Then she released it to the circle. Their bodies glowed with the same energy she had. They raised their joined hands and white cascaded from them, creating a wall of magical protection.
Fauth’s eyes narrowed. “You think you can stop me. You are nothing but dirty little fey.” He aimed the globe and shot a stream of red magic at the circle. It hummed against the barrier of white, but did not penetrate it.
Fauth stopped the release of red magic. “I’ll have a fairy tonight. You won’t stop me.”
Layla nodded to the circle of fairies, “Release your energy to me again.”
The magic flowed to her in a flash of white. She gathered it to her core and built its strength.
Fauth raised the walking stick. “You will not defy me. I’m in control of everything. I have the power!”
Layla’s body glowed white once again. She released the hands of the fey on either side and shot a stream of magic at Fauth. Only it wasn’t her signature blue.
It was white. It was the color of unity. It was the color of power.
Fauth fell, dropping Tormed and the walking stick as he hit the ground. Layla raised the stick and flew it to Esme. “Keep it safe.” She commanded Tormed to her and sheathed it in the scabbard.
Then cupping her hands, she formed a white ball of energy. Slowly she moved toward Fauth. Her wing was too broken to lift her off the ground, but she floated just the same. And as she moved toward the dragon, she poured energy into the glow until she reached the evil she’d taken from the Dark Harvester. Hatred filled her. Fairies were not made to kill, but Layla had never wanted anything more in her life. She released the magic she’d harvested into the light. It remained white, but it began to hum around her in a chaotic rhythm.
Fauth scrambled backward. “Kill me and you’ll awaken my master.”
Layla hesitated.
“Oh yes. There is one more terrifying than I, with ten times the power of the globe.” A satisfied smirk formed on his misshapen mouth. “I have your attention, do I? You won’t kill—”
Layla lobbed all of the energy into him. It washed over him, melting away his skin, muscles, and blood until all that remained was a skeleton. She opened her hands with her fingers pointed toward him and blew across her palms. His bones turned to dust and scattered in the air.
The convulsions tearing at Theo, Buzzard, and Jack stopped.
Ian reared, let out a shriek, and shifted to his natural, human form. Layla obliged him with a clothes glamour as Esme held up the walking stick in triumph and the fey cheered.
Tears clouded Layla’s vision as she looked at the fairies gathered around her. “You gifted your magic to me.”
Shona pulled her into a hug. “It was an easy sacrifice.”
“But one I can’t return. You’ll have no more magic.”
Esme hugged Layla around the waist. “But we’re alive. Besides, you spent most of your life with no magic. You could teach us.” She looked up at Buzzard. “And perhaps we can learn from the humans as well.”
Buzzard grinned back at Esme. “Aye. It’d be my pleasure.”
Layla said, “Somehow, I’ll find a way back home. But at least, for now, we’re safe.” She hugged Esme. “The important thing is that we’re together.” And her brìgh rejoiced.
Ian sucked in a sharp breath and she thought she saw a flicker in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Still half holding her sister, Layla laid a hand on Ian’s dragon scaled arm.
“Grand—I’m grand.” But his face
flushed.
“Good.” Had the little piece of her soul that had remained within Ian echoed the joy she felt?
Esme pulled from her embrace with a sideways look. “Layla?”
Layla was sure Esme was about to ask questions she wasn’t ready to answer, but thankfully, Shona interrupted them.
“Excuse me.” She fluttered her wings. “We left a mess in the cellar. We wondered if, after we clean it up, we might stay there until we find our way home.”
“I’m sure we can sort something. Let’s go talk to Father Wilson.”
Layla wished she could fly with her sister as they returned to the church but her wing was too damaged. Instead, she human-sized and walked with Ian.
Ahead of them, the fairies chatted happily as they flew, some even sang, but exhaustion lay deep in their eyes.
Father Wilson met them on the steps. “The sun will be up soon and the streets will fill with tourists. Best to get the good folk below ground.”
Layla nodded. “About that...?”
He smiled. “Aye. They can stay as long as they like. The cellar hasn’t been used in years.” He led the group below ground.
Layla stopped beneath the arched entry to the cellar and pressed her back against the stone as she watched the fairies flitter around the room.
Ian scanned the room. “I don’t know if Father Wilson is about, but if he could direct us to some brooms, we’ll clean the glass.”
Layla pushed from the wall. “I think I can take care of it.”
She stood in the doorway, and with a sweep of her hands, brought the glass to the center of the room.
Esme flew over the pile. “It’s hard to believe that mound of slivers and shards once held us captive.” She shuddered her wings. “I’m glad that dragon is dead, but I would have loved to have seen him trapped in one of those things.”
Layla stretched her fingers. “Aye. How about the next best thing?” She focused on the glass and began to melt and shape it into the form of the dragon Fauth, on his back, with his belly exposed. Then she fashioned a sword from the glass and floated it above the dragon.
She grinned and peered around the room. “Are you ready?”
The crowd cheered. “Aye!”
With a flick of her arm, she thrust the sword into the dragon’s heart. Fairies and humans went wild cheering, clapping, and whistling.
She curtseyed to the right and then to the left and the crowd cheered again. “Ah. But I’m not finished.” And with the remaining glass, she formed a globe around the dragon.
The fairies cheered again and many landed on the globe and shouted insults at the dragon.
Ian sidled up next to Layla and knocked his shoulder against hers. “Nice work, fairy.”
“Thanks. What should I do with it?”
Father Wilson appeared by her side. “Leave it for now. It’s a good reminder of what these fine folk endured.”
Esme flew to Layla, grew her size, and hugged her around the waist. “You saved all of us. With magic, you saved us.”
“No. I was just a vessel. It was all of our magic combined that won this battle.” Her heart warmed. They had done it. They destroyed the Dark Harvester and Fauth. This was truly a time for celebration, and Layla was about to say so when the cràdh rose in her chest.
It puffed large, filling every part of her, choking her until she thought she might pass out from lack of air.
Ian draped a protective arm across her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
Her hands went to her throat as if somehow that would ease the choking sensation.
And then, the cràdh pushed its way out of her mouth.
Layla coughed and gasped for air while the spirit hovered in front of her.
She had never seen it before but had always imagined that it was something dark with a constant snarl. But this creature—with its pale worm-like body— had an impish smile and bright green eyes.
Layla sucked in a deep breath and stared at it. “You are the cràdh?”
“Aye. And my time with you is finished.” The entity batted its long lashes at her as if it had all been a game. “I know you didn’t approve of me, but I am not evil. I helped you grow. I guided you toward self-confidence.”
“You tortured me.”
“And look what you’ve become.” A smirk formed on the entity’s face as it faded away.
Layla took a step back and blew out a long breath. The room was quiet in stunned silence.
Esme looked up at her sister. “What was that thing?”
“A cràdh,” Ian answered and pulled Layla close. “Are you okay?”
“Aye. I’ve hated that thing my whole life. But it had also become a part of me as familiar as a freckle. Now that it’s gone, there’s a sort of emptiness inside.”
Ian flashed a playful smile. “Do you want me to try to call it back?”
“Don’t you dare. Besides, I need all the confidence I can collect to figure out how to get all these fey home.”
All those fey. Hundreds of them. They deserved to rest and rejoice. She stretched her neck and pain slashed through her damaged wing. Aye. Rest and recover. Because if Fauth’s words were true, if there really was one more evil than him, there were to be dark days ahead.
The series continues with Magic Heist, Book Two in the Fairy Trafficking Series!
Releases April 2, 2019!
Click here to preorder!
Layla rescued fairies that had been kidnapped and brought the human world. But now they can’t find their way back to the magic realm and time is running out.
* * *
Layla is a powerful fairy with magical ability that stretches beyond throwing spells. But with all that power, she still doesn’t know how to get over one-hundred fairies back to the magic realm. With their magic gone, the rescued fairies have no immunity to protect them from the toxins of the human world, and they’re slowly dying.
* * *
To find the path home, Layla knows she must team up with the one man who can make her insides quiver with an accidental brush of his fingertips. The same man who’s alter ego dragon is the natural predator of fairies. The man she knows will give his life to keep the fairies safe—Scotland’s finest Specialist Crime Division leader, Ian Cameron.
* * *
Ian has only been a dragon shifter for a few days. He struggles to control the dragon spirit locked inside his human form, doesn’t know what magical powers he may or may not have, and has never been to a magical world. But none of those things frighten him as much as the little spark that ignites in his soul when the half – human fairy is around.
* * *
But this little fairy is no Tinkerbell. She is brave, powerful, and can wield a sword like a medieval knight.
* * *
With growing feelings toward Layla, he couldn’t refuse to help her get the fairies back to the magic realm if he wanted to. The problem is the dragon who lives inside him would like nothing more than to feed his appetite with all of those little fairies—especially the half human one who killed its leader.
* * *
“Mary Karlik, is truly a hidden gem of a writer.” – I Am the Bookworm
Also by Mary Karlik, Welcome to Hickville High, Book One in the Highville High Series.
Click here to order!
The Universe has completely dumped on High School senior Kelsey Quinn’s life. Credit card at Nordstrom’s? Deactivated. Honda Accord? Sold. Life in the burbs of Chicago? Gone. And it’s all her sister’s fault. Yep. Drugs, alcohol, and getting caught with the boss’s son was all it took. Dad loses job, family loses money, and the next thing she knows she’s crammed in a cell on wheels for the next two days as they make their way to a dilapidated farmhouse in Texas. But Kelsey doesn’t just leave the good life in Chicago. She leaves the boy who-has-it-all, Drew Montgomery.
* * *
Hillside senior, quarterback, Austin McCoy works for Kelsey’s dad at the feed store and helps with the farm chores in the morning. He sees through
Kelsey’s surly attitude to the girl whose eyes light up when she’s with the animals. He is determined to help Kelsey see that not only does she love the Farmville life, but that the guy she really wants is him.
* * *
Will Austin convince Kelsey he’s the guy she wants? Will Kelsey embrace the simple life and find forgiveness for her sister?
Also from Ink Monster, for fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!
Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge
Book One in the Spellwork Syndicate.
Click here to order!
Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad no one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter.
* * *
Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl.
* * *
The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target.
* * *
If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée.