“Hey! Stop yapping and blow stuff up!” Someone yelled. It sounded like Maddox, followed quickly by Jade hissing at him to shut up.
“I’m assuming you’ve trained some,” Josh said.
Kaylee had to bite back a snappy insult. She had work to do, she’d admit it. But in the meantime, she’d just have to show this guy she wasn’t someone to take lightly.
“I’ll do five at once,” Kaylee said to the guy throwing them from the sideline. He cocked an eyebrow and looked at Josh to see if she was being serious. Josh smirked and waved him on. “Give her five. This I gotta see.”
Kaylee took her place, focusing her mind just as she had dozens of times before. Lightning crackled between her claws. “Throw them!”
Five cups went up. Kaylee launched a ball of electricity at the nearest one, quickly trying to summon the next. The first ball was a direct hit, and then it was as if she could suddenly see a thin thread connecting her body to the magic above her. Pathways of electricity opened in her mind’s eye, simply waiting for her to make the connection between them.
Kaylee kept her magic pulsing through her, then drew her finger between the pathways, drawing it to each cup. They exploded, one by one.
The crowd cheered. Josh whistled, dipping his head as remnants of the cups rained down on them. “Have to say, you made me eat my words, didn’t you, sweetheart?”
“That was amazing, Kaylee!” Jade said, bursting from the crowd. “When did you learn to do that?”
“Just now,” Kaylee said, shifting her hands back.
Josh tapped his fingers on his arm, thinking. “You up for figuring out what else you can do?”
“What’d you have in mind?” Kaylee said suspiciously.
He nudged his head towards the warehouse. “Come inside. Let’s see how good you really are.”
Chapter Fifteen
The sound inside the warehouse nearly made Kaylee’s ears bleed. Even more people than she thought was possible were packed at makeshift tables drinking, some clustered against a metal railing circling a bowl in the center that resembled a swimming pool.
“What’s that for?” Kaylee yelled to Josh.
He winked. “You’ll see.”
They pushed their way through the crowd. Kaylee was surprised to see Edwin among a small group, talking to a few other people. He still had a drink in his hand and was looking more relaxed than Kaylee had ever seen him. He was examining some magic charms one of the girls he was talking to was wearing. She said something and he gave her a smile. Something inside Kaylee growled. Just how many drinks had Maddox given him?
Josh led Kaylee, Jade, and Maddox up a flight of stairs to a catwalk looming over everything. Less people were here, and those who were gave them funny looks. Kaylee fidgeted uncomfortably, but Jade seemed to know where they were going and followed Josh as he marched right up to one of the guys and pounded him on the back.
“Damian, my man!”
The guy swiveled around. He had short-cropped black hair and about a dozen piercings all through his ears and nose. Tattoos ran from beneath his sleeveless shirt down to his wrists. A chain jingled from the pocket of his skinny jeans. His eyes lit up when he saw Josh and he pulled him into a brief hug.
“Good to see you, man. Glad to see you could get away from training enough to join us.”
Josh shrugged. “You know how it is. Especially with all the you-know-who’s showing up again.”
Damian nodded seriously. “Those lousy deadbeats are scaring people away. Bad for business.” He noticed Kaylee and Jade. His eyebrows raised.
“Hold up, I know you,” Damian said, pointing a finger at Jade. It slowly moved to Kaylee. “Which means you must be the new dragon-kin the whole Convocation’s been talking about.” He gave an elaborate bow. “An honor. Glad you could make it out to my humble abode.”
“You run the Slag Heap?” Kaylee says.
Damian held his hands up like a scale and teetered them back and forth. “Run, play traffic controller, who knows anymore?”
“The place has grown since last time,” Jade said, scanning the crowd below. “Used to be, what? Forty people, tops?”
Damian narrowed his eyes. “Back when you were way underage and kept sneaking in no matter how many times I told you to stay out? Yeah, something like that.”
Jade grinned.
“Anyway, Kaylee,” Damian said. “Feel free to show your true colors around here, if you know what I mean. Nobody gets into this place without prior knowledge of the dragon-kin, or being a part of the organization. We got all kinds: Merlins, Tamers who are out of work, Tamers who aren’t, Protectors, and of course,” he winked at Josh, “our home-grown celebrities themselves, the dragon-kin. Rogue and not.”
“Rogue?”
“Not allied with any Convocation.”
Jade took a noticeable step closer to her.
“Relax, Jade,” Damian said. “This is my turf and they promised no problems.”
“That’s what you said last time.”
“Sometimes we get them here,” Damian said. “Not tonight, though. They only owe allegiance to themselves. We have a group of ‘em who hang around these parts. They can come and go as they please, long as they don’t cause trouble. But,” he stepped closer to Kaylee and looked her up and down. His mouth twitched in a smirk. “If they are here, someone as…ah, innocent as you had better keep your distance. They’d eat you alive.”
Kaylee was about to see how long it’d take to thunderbolt the crap out of Damian when someone yelled, “Hey!”
Edwin pushed his way up the catwalk to their group. He still clutched a drink, but the magic daze that Kaylee had seen on him earlier had worn off. His eyes flickered between Damian and Kaylee, then narrowed. Kaylee realized how close Damian was to her and took a quick step back.
Damian was unperturbed at the interruption. “Edwin!” He said, spreading his arms wide. “How’s my favorite bumbling Merlin? How’s your old man Alastair?”
“Still mad at you,” Edwin said.
Damian grimaced. “Still? What happened is old news, my friend. How was I supposed to know that spell book contained unstable spells? Ain’t like I can read them and the guy I bought ‘em from promised they were legit.”
“Forget the spell books,” Edwin said. “I’m here for something else. I need to know if you’ve had any suspicious charms come through here lately.”
“Magic charms?”
“What other kind would I be talking about?”
“High or low grade?”
“High. Rare. Unusual. Something that might be used in an illegal spell.”
Kaylee let out a little hiss of displeasure and stepped close to him, gripping his arm so he was forced to look at her. “Is this about the plan you think the Slayers have?”
“What if it is?”
“Then maybe asking here, where there are tons of people around, isn’t the best place. Anybody could overhear!”
“Kaylee, please.” Edwin yanked his arm out of her grip. “This is your first time at the Slag Heap and you’re already an expert?” He shot Damian a glare. “You’re already chummy with him?”
“Chummy—? Are you serious? We just met. And it’s not like you have any right to say anything. First, you’re a total buzzkill, then you run off and leave us—”
“For your information, I was asking around for anything that might help us. Do you think I’d be here at all if I didn’t think I could find out more about how the Slayers want to hurt you?”
Kaylee couldn’t think of a comeback to that. Damian was watching their exchange like one would observe a close, game-winning tennis championship. When they broke apart he said, “No, please, it was just getting good.”
“Stuff it and tell us if you’ve seen anything,” Kaylee grumbled.
“What are they talking about?” Josh asked.
“I’m guessing, based on Edwin’s description of said object, you’re keeping an eye out for anything that would go into a spell involving the Dragon Moon,
right?” Damian said.
“Keep your voice down!” Jade hissed, even though there was no one outside of five feet who would have been able to hear them over the music. “How do you even know about that?”
“Jade, my dear, my currency is information. I see and hear things that pass through, so yes, I’ve heard about the Dragon Moon. I know it’s not a myth and I know what it can do.”
“You better not tell anyone.”
Damian pretended to put a key in his heart and lock it. “Secret safe. Anyway, about the charms. I’ve heard a little. Charm traders and spell alchemists come here from time to time, sometimes in my off hours. Last round through they were telling me someone’s put a call out for blood crystal and amasinium.”
Edwin’s eyes grew wide, just as Jade breathed, “No way.”
“I don’t know your Merlin spell stuff real well, but aren’t those both, like, super illegal?” Josh said.
“Yes,” Damian agreed. “They’re pretty much required ingredients for almost any high level dark spell. Not that I would know,” he added quickly. “I only deal with legit, legal spell books.”
But Edwin wasn’t paying attention to him. He had receded deep in thought, muttering ingredients under his breath, then twiddling his fingers in the air as though rearranging them in different combinations.
“Any ideas?” Kaylee said hopefully.
“Have there been any other items you’ve heard about?” Edwin asked. “Illegal or just different than your usual orders?”
“Hm…nope. Well, I mean some people have been buying a lot of sap plant, but that’s it.”
“Sap plant?” Jade said. “Isn’t that common?”
“Very. Which is why it’s not exactly the kind of thing people are scrambling to get their hands on.”
“What’s a sap plant do?” Josh said.
“It absorbs magic into itself,” Edwin said. “When Merlins use alchemy they sometimes add sap plant to soak up any residual magic that might screw up the balance of the spell. It’s pretty much useless other than that so it’s a dead end.” He let out a frustrated groan. “Now I have to get into Baba’s room.”
“Maybe there’s something we missed,” Kaylee offered. “Maybe if you told me more of what you’re thinking—”
“Forget it, Kaylee,” Edwin said. “I can do this alone. I just need a little more time.”
Sparks began to shoot from the tips of Kaylee’s fingers. The temperature in their immediate area dropped to an intense cold that made Damian shiver. Kaylee tugged her eyes away from Edwin’s beyond frustrating face and managed to calm down just enough. So he didn’t want her help. He wanted to stew and play the tortured genius. Even after they’d fought he’d made it clear she wasn’t welcome in his world, dragon-kin or not.
“Not that talking about…plants and stuff isn’t fun,” Josh drawled, “but Damian, I was hoping Kaylee and I could take over the bowl for a bit.”
Damian cocked an eyebrow. “You want to brawl?”
“Definitely not,” Jade said, stepping in front of him. “I’m taking enough risks bringing her here. I’m not going to take more by having her fight.”
“It’s sparring, sweetheart,” Josh said. “And Merlins heal up the bad wounds so nobody’s ever really hurt.”
“You want to…fight me?” Kaylee said.
Josh grinned. “I said you’d find out how good you really were.”
“And I said no!” Jade said.
But part of Kaylee said yes. She wasn’t a violent person by nature, though the past few weeks seemed to speak otherwise. And honestly? She did want to find out how good she’d grown with her magic. Baba always kept her confined to the same, safe drills, even though Kaylee knew she could do more. Sure, summoning a storm without meaning to was a minor problem, but how was she supposed to practice control if she didn’t, well, practice?
She glared at Edwin. And since fighting seemed to be the only thing people thought she could help with…
“I’m in,” Kaylee said.
“What?” Jade said at the same time Josh said, “Sweet!”
“Don’t do this, Kaylee,” Jade said, gripping her shoulders. “I know I’m a terrible Tamer for taking you out here, but we needed some fun. This was not the kind of fun I had in mind.”
“As you said, relax,” Kaylee said, patting her hands. “I want to. And if we get in trouble just say that I, as your dragon-kin, ordered you to let me.”
Jade’s expression was scathing. “I’m your Tamer, not your servant. You can’t order me to do anything. But if you want to be stupid…”
“I want to be stupid,” Kaylee said.
She followed Josh back down the stairs. She quelled the butterflies in her stomach and focused on calming her breathing, looking at the skylights above. She nearly stumbled.
The skylight was busted and through it had come dozens of the ravens from earlier. They clustered on the rafters, peering down at the crowd. In the dark, their eyes almost seemed to glow orange.
Murmurs began rising from the crowd as Josh slid into the bowl and took a side. Spectators jostled for spots at the railing in anticipation. Josh rolled his arms.
“Nothing too serious,” he called to her. “Magic allowed, of course, and shifting allowed, also of course.” He grinned. “Let’s see what you can do!”
“Fine by me,” Kaylee yelled over the roaring approval of the crowd. “Start whenever you’re—”
Josh whipped his arm up. A slice of air swept beneath her feet, slamming her to the floor. There was a collective groan. Some laughed. Kaylee coughed and gingerly pulled herself up. Her tailbone throbbed. Okay, so she hadn’t been ready. She deserved that.
“Bit bruised there?” Josh asked, trying to keep from laughing. “Was that a little too much for you?”
Behind her back, Kaylee shifted her right arm and focused on dropping the temperature around her claws. It didn’t work exactly how she’d imagined, but ice crystals began forming in her hand all the same. She leapt aside as Josh shot another volley of wind. As she rolled up she launched the ice.
“Agh! What the heck!”
Ice crystals peppered his face and hands, even as he shifted to scales to stop them. That was her chance. Kaylee charged, but before she could reach him a thick, cream-colored tail whipped from behind Josh and suddenly she was soaring backwards. By reflex she managed to right herself and land on her feet.
“Not bad!” Josh said, shedding ice crystals from his face. “I thought you were a one trick pony. Glad to see I was wrong.” He pounded the concrete with his tail hard enough to crack it. “Sorry to say you’re not to my level yet.”
He raised both his arms and the air in the bowl swirled faster and faster. The very breath from Kaylee’s lungs began to be drawn out. The edges of her vision grew fuzzy. All she could manage to focus on was Josh’s triumphant, smug face.
Kaylee dug her claws into the concrete to anchor herself in place. She hadn’t wanted to do this, but if Josh was pulling out all the stops, then so would she. She knew she could control it this time. She had to.
Kaylee pulled from the magic deep within her, calling the ever-present storm inside to her command. The temperature plummeted. A loud peal of thunder sounded overhead, just as lightning cracked between the thunderheads that had formed above in mere seconds, joined by torrents of wind. Over the excited, scared, curious shouts of the crowd she swore she heard someone yell, “Stop, Kaylee!”
But she wouldn’t stop. She was in control.
Kaylee stood to face Josh. He had one arm up to shield his face as he peered up at the storm. He no longer looked smug; He looked impressed, and maybe a little scared.
“I guess you’re the real deal,” he said. “No one’s ever stayed conscious after I use my air tunnel move. And to summon a storm inside…” he looked up again to the massive torrent overhead, the wind tearing at both of their clothes. “Gutsy. I like it.”
Kaylee held one claw out. She felt drained holding the storm in place, mo
re drained than she had in a while, but she still had more. “I’m not done yet—”
Something hit her face. She could feel metal cut into her cheek, slicing deep before darting off.
Kaylee went sprawling. Warm blood ran down her neck. Her concentration broke and the storm dissipated, along with the scales on her arms.
Wings fluttered above her. Kaylee gingerly touched the cut. Blood oozed down her hand when she pulled her fingers away. “What the—”
Then the screaming began.
Chapter Sixteen
The ravens. Dozens of them, hundreds of them, like a black tornado, tore through the Slag Heap, sending everyone into a panic. Tables toppled as patrons ran screaming from the onslaught of claws and beaks.
Kaylee watched in horror as a small flock of them swooped on some fleeing partygoers and pecked at their heads while they frantically tried to ward them off. Josh had shifted back and was looking at the chaos in confusion.
“What the heck is happenin—Eek!”
Kaylee tackled him just before two dozen ravens tried to spear him with their beaks. The birds circled around to come back. Kaylee whirled, summoning her draining reserves of magic. It sputtered, once, twice. The birds swarmed ever closer. She could see those glinting beaks; imagine them tearing into her flesh.
“Hurry up!” Josh said frantically.
“You could help, you know!” Kaylee snapped. But she waved her hand again and the magic obeyed. Ice shot forward and froze the birds in front, sending them hurtling to the floor where they shattered, scattering…
“Are those…gears?” Kaylee said.
“Head down, Kaylee!”
Jade leapt to defend her, brandishing a table leg like it was Excalibur. She swung wide and another three ravens went down with a mechanical crunch and a fizz of sparks.
“Stymphalian birds,” Jade growled, crouching beside Kaylee and Josh. “Those Slayers are such cowards they couldn’t even send their own men to do their dirty work.”
“Slayers?” Josh said. “There are Slayers here?”
“They’re probably not here in person,” Jade said. “They just wanted to scare us. Flush us out and shake us up.”
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