Phantom Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker Book 5)

by Linsey Hall

  “Should be,” I said.

  “We’ve brought a hundred and thirteen fighters from Darklane. All species.” Mordaca pointed to the mountains in the west. “They are waiting there, in the shadows of the rock. At your signal, we will attack.”

  “You’re sure about this?” I asked, hating having to ask anyone to face their death. “Our odds aren’t great.”

  “We’re fine with that,” Mordaca said.

  “And don’t underestimate us.” Aerdeca arched a pale brow. “Or yourself.”

  I grinned at her, warmed by her words. “Thanks. The demons will show up, likely in a steady stream. It could take minutes, or hours. I don’t know. But their attention will be focused on the platform.” On me. “Wait for the signal, then you’re free to attack.”

  Aerdeca gave a wicked grin, her red lips curling. I shivered, glad I wasn’t a demon she would soon set her sights on.

  “See you when it’s over.” Aerdeca turned and walked to the edge of the platform.

  “You’ve got this,” Mordaca said. “If we didn’t believe it, we wouldn’t be here.”

  “Wow, thanks.” I searched for the right words. “That’s really sweet.”

  “Don’t tell Queen Bitch.” She nodded back to Aerdeca, who was gazing impatiently at her. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

  She winked, then joined Aerdeca.

  Good friends came in strange packages, it seemed. Cade flew them down to the ground. I turned to Roarke. “The mercenaries will be here, right?”

  He nodded. “Sixty-five of them, plus fifty police officers. They’ll attack from the north, along with Emile and his monsters.”

  “Perfect.” That covered all the sides of the compass. Mordaca and Aerdeca leading the Darklaners from the west, the Ice Fae attacking from the east, and the Shifters from the south. Those with wings would take to the air. The Swamp Supes—ninety of which had agreed to come—would do whatever the hell they wanted, and I was grateful for it. I wasn’t about to turn down help of any variety.

  The hellhounds, who couldn’t be hurt while they deployed their protective black flame, would stay on the ground, guarding the FireSouls who would go directly into the middle of the fray once their bombs had been deployed.

  My friends would be up here with me. Because even though the platform was raised, the demons would still manage to attack it. If not from the air, then with magic. Unfortunately, our plan made it so that hiding behind a protective barrier was impossible.

  “I wish Draka and the other Phantom dragons would arrive,” I said, worry eating at my insides. “I know she’ll show. She always does. But I’d like her to show now.”

  Roarke wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

  We watched the FireSouls put the finishing touches on the bunkers. Aidan gave directions, as he was the one who had obtained the special material to build them and knew best how to use it. It was something his security company was working on. We were lucky to have the hookup.

  No matter how prepared we were, I couldn’t shake my nerves. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

  Finally, the bunkers were done. The sun was near its zenith.

  On the ground, Aidan shifted into his griffin form. He was massive, his golden fur and wings shining in the sun. Alton and Corin, my two favorite FireSouls, climbed onto his back. He lunged into the air, his massive wings carrying them gracefully toward us.

  When he landed lightly on the platform, Alton and Corin climbed down. They both wore the burnished red leather armor of the FireSouls, with their swords strapped into sheathes and ready to use.

  “You’re sure about this?” I asked. “Those bunkers are safe, but nothing is guaranteed.”

  Corin grinned. “As if I planned to stay in the bunker anyway.” She patted the handle of one of the swords strapped over her back. “I prefer to fight with these. Once I’ve hurled as many potion bombs as I’ve been given, I’m getting out of that stone box and onto the battlefield.”

  Alton gave her a warning look. “Stay in the bunker until all the bombs are thrown.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  But Alton’s advice was good. The potion bombs we’d brought were strong. They were our heavy hitters, and we’d open with them before anyone on our side went onto the battlefield.

  “Thank you for coming,” I said.

  “We wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Alton said. “It’s our sworn duty to help you and the rest of the Triumvirate.” He swept a hand out to indicate the battlefield and our many soldiers camped in the mountains beyond. “This is clearly the end of your task. We must help you succeed.”

  I drew in a ragged breath, grateful to have their support while being simultaneously terrified that I’d let everyone down.

  But crippling fear would get me nowhere, so I stashed it and stuck out my hand. Alton took it, giving two strong shakes, but Corin hugged me before stepping back.

  She glanced at Aidan, who was still in griffin form. “Can we get another ride?”

  He walked to them and knelt. They climbed on, and he had them delivered safely to the ground a moment later.

  It was the last safe thing they would do all day.

  While we waited for the all-good signals from the various factions, it began to snow lightly.

  “I’m not sure if this is a good sign or a bad one,” I said.

  “We’ll find out soon enough.” Roarke squeezed my hand.

  A flare shot off in the distance, from the mountains to the north, rising bright and orange into the sky. Emile and his monsters were ready, along with the Order’s mercenaries and police. A moment later, the Darklaners in the west shot off their flare. From the south, the Shifters fired a flare, and from the east, the Ice Fae launched theirs. Corin stood on top of her bunker and waved. And lastly, Cade flew up from the mountains in the northeast, a dark bullet in the sky that signaled the Swamp Supes were ready to fight.

  “This is it.” I looked around at my friends.

  Roarke, Nix, Cass, Aidan, Connor, and Claire all stood with me on the platform. They’d have my back while I…

  Was bait.

  Nix hoisted her bow. “We’ve got this.”

  “It’s nothing,” Cass said. “Just a regular day.”

  “I, personally, have been wanting a decent fight,” Claire said.

  “Same,” Connor said. “Baking bread has been getting old. I have some potion bombs I’ve been dying to try out.”

  Aidan, who was still in his griffin form, grinned at me. At least, I thought it was a grin. I was grateful for his help. He’d been a good ally ever since he’d hooked up with Cass.

  Roarke reached for my hand. I gripped his.

  It was obvious what my friends were doing, and I appreciated it. I was already nervous as hell that a lot of great people were about to die. Lightening the mood helped, if only a little bit.

  “Thank you, guys.”

  “Always,” Cass and Nix said in unison.

  “Let’s get to work.” Claire picked up her bag of potion bombs that had been made by Connor. “I’ve got a date tonight.”

  She winked, then turned to take up her position on the east side of the platform. Her brother joined her, while Cass and Nix took the west, and Aidan took the north.

  Roarke reached for me, pulling me toward him and pressing a kiss to my lips.

  “You can do this,” he said.

  I kept my gaze glued to his. “Thanks.”

  I kissed him one last time, then pushed him away. He shifted into his demon form, suddenly much taller and scarier than he had been, and walked to his side of the platform. I turned to the amplifier stone. The shining black obsidian gleamed as snowflakes landed on its surface.

  I knocked on my head for good luck, then adopted my Phantom form and lay my hand upon the cool black glass, calling upon my magic.

  Who would have guessed that the Ubilaz demon’s power would end up saving the day?

  Possibly.
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br />   We still had to kill all the demons who showed up.

  It took me a while to access the magic. After I’d learned to control it, I’d shoved it so far down inside of me that I’d almost forgotten I had it. Who in their right mind would want to attract murderous demons to them? Every time those demons had followed the Ubilaz demon’s call and realized that it was me instead of their number one fave, they’d wanted to kill me.

  But we needed a way to get all the demons in one place. And this was the perfect way. The Ubilaz demon’s magic called to them like catnip. Just being near an Ubilaz gave other demons a high that was worth traveling for.

  Finally, the magic sparked to life inside of me. I drew on it, envisioning every evil demon in the world showing up in this valley. It thrummed inside my chest, eager to be set free.

  So I let it have its way, feeding it into the amplifying stone. The enchanted obsidian would send the magic out stronger and farther. It was the reason we hadn’t built protective walls around the platform—we didn’t want anything interfering with the magic that should attract the demons to us.

  When the first demons appeared on the battlefield, relief and fear collided in my chest. It had worked!

  More and more demons appeared. Dozens at a time. Their gazes immediately riveted to me on the platform. At first, there was confusion on their faces. I couldn’t blame them. I sure as heck didn’t look like an Ubilaz demon. But then there was annoyance, and rage. Yep, they knew something was up.

  And they were pissed about it.

  From the shouts below, I assumed there were many more demons on the ground right below the platform.

  I wanted to yank my hand off the stone and grab up one of Connor’s potion bombs to hurl it at the demons who continued to arrive on the battlefield.

  “It’s working!” Nix shouted. “Keep going, Del!”

  She was right. I couldn’t join the fight yet. I had to keep doing this, calling as many evil demons as I could. It’d take them time to appear. Not all had the power of teleportation or could hitch a ride with a friend who had it. Many would have to use transportation charms and other means of magical transportation.

  But they were arriving quickly. More and more, until there were hundreds surging toward the platform to get to me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous. Many of them had probably used their last transportation charms to get to me, so they were pissed. Add to that their annoyance at not getting their Ubilaz demon contact high, they’d want my blood.

  Fortunately, my friends were here to fight when I couldn’t.

  Our first wave of attack began once the field was crowded enough. The FireSouls in the bunkers hurled their potion bombs from the tiny windows. They flew through the air, brilliant green liquid inside of a round glass vial. As soon as they landed in the midst of a crowd of demons, they exploded on impact.

  The sound was deafening, making my ears ring as green flame and smoke shot into the air. Demon bodies flew in all direction. Each bomb had to take out a dozen, maybe two. But more demons appeared every second.

  Nix fired her arrows straight down against the wall of the platform, undoubtedly firing on the demons who tried to climb the ice wall. Cass hurled fireballs, while Connor and Claire threw potion bombs that were slightly smaller—ideal for taking out nearby demons without toppling our platform. I couldn’t see their hits landing, but I could hear the shouts of the demons.

  No doubt some would realize this wasn’t worth it and leave, but we’d banked on demon nature—most would stay for the fight. And when they died, they’d end up back in the Underworld. Trapped.

  “You’re doing great!” Cass called to me.

  I grinned weakly, but I wasn’t feeling particularly great. My muscles were trembling with the strain of using so much magic, but I couldn’t stop until the demons quit appearing.

  Eventually, the other two Shadows would probably show. Part of me wanted them to so we could get this over with. But the smart part of me knew it would be best to save that fight for another day, when we weren’t distracted by two thousand demons. There were now at least that many in the field, with more arriving every moment.

  Beside me, Roarke and Aidan launched themselves into the sky. I glanced up, seeing that winged demons had arrived, staging an attack from the air. From the south, flying shifters hurtled toward their foes. Most of them were massive birds of prey, but there were a few mythological figures as well.

  From below, the FireSoul bunkers each shot off a purple flare. They were out of bombs. It was safe for the fighters in the mountains to launch their attack from behind.

  Once all four bunkers had shot off their flares, the trapdoors in the tops of the little buildings burst open. The FireSouls climbed out, followed by their hellhound guards. Pond Flower stuck close by Corin, for which I was grateful.

  “Launch the last flare!” I yelled.

  Connor pulled it out of his back pocket and lit it, shooting it into the sky. The bright orange light signaled that the battle was about to change.

  In the distance all around, fighters flowed out of the mountains and across the plains. There were no war whoops or shouts as they ran. They were the element of surprise, pinning our demon enemies against the tower.

  Within minutes, they were at the backs of the demons. Their pounding footsteps eventually alerted our foe, who turned to face them. From the east, the Ice Fae shot their freezing magic, turning the demons into popsicles that toppled to the ground. With their blood frozen and their hearts stopped, they’d die within moments.

  From the west, Mordaca and Aerdeca raced across the field. Mordaca fired arrows from her bow as quickly as a professional archer. Around her, Darklaners of various talents hurled their magical weapons. Flame, lightning, sonic booms, and jets of ice felled the demons on their side of the valley.

  I wanted to get into the fight so badly I could taste it. But demons were still appearing, dozens at a time. And we weren’t yet outmanned because of our superior planning and the element of surprise, so I should keep calling them.

  We had one chance, and I couldn’t screw it up.

  I fed more magic into the amplifier stone as the battle raged around me. Above, Aidan, Roarke, and the flying shifters kept the winged demons from reaching me. My friends on the platforms fired their weapons into the demons down below.

  In the distance, Emile led the monsters into battle. He rode a massive two-headed dog who thundered across the tundra. Though he was too far away for me to see Ralph and Rufus, I knew that they rode on his shoulders, whiskers twitching in the wind. Before the battle, Emile had told me that the dog’s name was Prince Louie—Prince was the left head and Louie the right—and that the animal’s primary power was killing with his poison breath. Behind Emile, giant winged snakes, the massive red demon crabs, huge hounds, and other strange beasts raced for the demons.

  The Swamp Supes flowed into the valley from all sides. There was no Skunk Ape, though I’d have liked to have seen him. The battle raged around us as the smell of a thousand different magical signatures filled the air.

  Finally, the demons stopped arriving. Nearly all evil demons on Earth were here, right now. The battlefield was full. Bodies piled everywhere. Most were the enemy, for which I was grateful. So far, our plan was working.

  I removed my hand from the stone at the same time demons began to climb onto the platform.

  I drew my sword from the ether and hurried to the edge, joining Nix, who fired at any demon climbing onto our turf. Once I was close enough to see clearly, I realized that the demons had piled up on top of each other, so many of them that they’d created a mountain of bodies to scramble over.

  Shit.

  I fired up my ice power, piercing demon after demon through the chest. Cass hurled her flame, barbecuing them until the air smelled disgustingly of burnt demon flesh. Claire had given up on the potion bombs, instead choosing to draw her sword and go at it the old-fashioned way. She lunged and swiped, so graceful that it looked like s
he was dancing.

  Soon, I was sweating from using so much magic, but we weren’t making any real headway. Though our fighters from the mountain were slaying demon after demon, there were just too many of them. And they were so intent on getting to me that they continued to pile up to reach me.

  Fortunately, this meant that they weren’t putting up much of a fight against the supernaturals who attacked them from behind.

  Unfortunately, there were so many of them that they were now overrunning the platform. Nix, Cass, Connor, Claire, and I were forced into the middle as demons surrounded us.

  “What do we do?” Connor asked.

  Sweat broke out on my skin and my hearth thundered. The demons were all species—huge muscular ones who looked like they wanted to rip our heads off and slender, tiny ones who stank of strong, dark magic.

  Roarke and Aidan were still busy in the sky, keeping demons from landing straight on our heads, and we were outnumbered here. Despite our ice and flame and arrows and potion bombs, my friends and I were being overrun.

  “Hang on,” Nix said.

  She conjured a brick wall that surrounded us, but demons beat against it, sending cracks through the mortar. Eventually, it tumbled, a pile of brick that was soon crushed under their feet.

  Her eyes flashing with desperation, Cass used her gift over fire to build a wall of flame around us. It flickered orange and bright. The heat burned, searing my skin, but some of the demons were able to pass right through.

  “Draka!” I screamed.

  If we’d ever needed backup, now was the time.

  A massive demon lunged for me, reaching out with vicious claws. I powered up an icicle and hurled it at him. The thing plunged into his chest just as he reached me. The demon’s gaping mouth revealed a row of double fangs as he sailed through my Phantom form.

  I turned just in time to see a demon lunge for Nix’s back. I turned corporeal and swiped out with my sword, slicing him through the leg. He fell, still reaching out for Nix. Connor hurled an acid bomb at him and he screamed, stumbling back into the crowd of demons.

  Somehow, the demons had destroyed Cass’s wall of flame. They were now only inches from us all, so close I could see the pores in their skin.