I surmised that if I went through the display, I could circle around and reach the exhibition via a side entrance, but the way was blocked. I decided to try my luck and take a peek at the grand hall, maybe I was wrong and there wouldn’t be a guard.
I edged close to the entrance and did a quick survey of the surrounding area. The photographs of the dig site remained suspended from the ceiling, but the paper lanterns were gone. On edge, I scanned the room until my eyes alighted on the security post to the left of the wide oak doors.
For a moment, I considered running across the marble floor and through the doors, outside and down the steps to Central Park. Instead, I looked around. There was no-one to be seen. Then, beyond the security desk on the floor, I spotted something: a shoe, a foot, the blue trouser leg of a guard's uniform.
My heart thundered in my chest, and I flung my back against the wall. I took a deep breath and looked again. The legs were gone, in their place remained a bloody smear.
A sickening feeling welled in the pit of my stomach. The guard was dead. I knew it.
I heard three claps. They echoed through the vast chamber. Someone laughed.
I froze.
"I can feel your magic from here," Ben said. "Strange how I've never felt it before. At least, not until you found the stone. When the ley lines felt as though they’d rip the world to shreds, I knew I’d find you at the centre of it."
He laughed again. “You do have a knack for finding trouble. I'm impressed. I never expected you to have the guts to go for the stone."
I bristled.
"I admit, I never expected you to become a Magicai," Ben continued. "I mean, who would see that coming?"
Magicai? How the hell did Ben know about the Magicai, unless...
"What do you want, Ben?" I asked, relieved when my voice echoed around the room instead of giving away my location.
"What do you think?"
"You'll never get the stone. I can always leave again."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. How the hell did you do that anyway?"
I glanced around the corner and saw that Ben had moved into the middle of the room. He stood maybe twenty feet away. Before I had the chance to say anything, he planted his feet and thrust his arms out to the side. Magical orbs coated his fists in orange fire.
Inside, I wanted to scream. Ben was Magicai. He was also pure evil. My heart shrank and I sighed. Some small part of me had looked at the Magicai as good guys. I guess I was basing that assumption on Kaie, but with humans, magic or otherwise, you'll always find a bad egg.
"You're Magicai," I said.
“My, my, I wonder what else you’ve learnt in your time away.”
“Sebastian Davenport, too?"
"Nah, not him." He grinned, as though silently laughing at a private joke.
"But you work for him?"
"A guy's gotta make a living."
"So, what's the plan? You going to blast me with your super power and take the stone?"
Ben laughed. "You could just give it to me."
I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "I don’t think so."
Ben scanned the hall, his face suddenly serious, as though a hand had wiped all joy from his soul. "Nah, it wouldn't have worked anyway. You've been far too much trouble to let go that easily."
Fear felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach and a chill crept up my spine at the sound of his voice. He’d killed the guard without a moment’s hesitation. What would he do to me?
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on the mala beads around my wrist. My hands tingled as green light enveloped them and power coursed through my veins.
"Ah, there you are," Ben said.
Chapter Thirteen
A fireball shot from Ben's hand and impacted the corner of the wall a scant inch from my head. The scent of scorched paint hung in the air as I turned and ran along the corridor, my feet pounding on the marble floor and my heart racing faster and faster.
I’d been stupid to linger at the museum. I had all the information I needed to open a doorway to Mount Kailash. I should have returned to the crossroads and created a doorway. Instead, I’d let my nerves get the better of me. Not anymore!
“There’s no use running,” Ben said. “I can smell your fear.”
Another blast shot over my head.
“How’s the neck by the way? I forgot to ask. Very ungentlemanly of me.”
My hands shot to my neck and I almost touched it, drawn in by his words. I cursed the involuntary movement and ran on. I was about to veer right, in the direction of the ley line intersection, when a third fireball flew at my head, and I had to throw myself to the left to avoid being blasted out of existence. I hit the ground and rolled, never stopping my forward motion for fear of being caught.
I drew the power of the ley line into me through the bracelet, it filled me with energy and sharpened my mind. I had to think. Kaie had taught me how to create orbs of varying energy around my hands. I could float a feather with a gentle whisper of wind, or dislodge a boulder with a powerful blast, but I'd never considered using the magic as a weapon. As I ran, I took a moment to turn back and blast Ben, not with an explosive force, but with enough power to knock him off his feet and buy me some time.
The part of the museum I found myself in was unknown to me. I considered an attempt to walk through the walls but, after Kaie's warning, I thought it best to leave that idea as a last resort.
My heart pounded, but somehow, I wasn't as afraid as I'd been the last time Ben chased me. I wasn't as helpless.
I became calm, detached, almost. I scanned my surroundings. A stairwell beckoned ahead of me. I brushed past displays of African masks and tribal art, and burst through the doorway, relieved that Ben hadn't caught up and destroyed any precious pieces of history with his reckless magic.
I ran down the stairs and found myself near the loading bay. Plastic curtains loomed in front of my face. I pushed through them and barrelled smack-bang into Zoe Stark, complete with leather jacket and attitude.
"Woah, slow down, there," she said.
Her eyes widened as they strayed to my glowing hands, so I shoved them behind my back.
"It's too late for that." Zoe smirked, as though she found me amusing. "Besides, I haven’t a clue what you've been doing, but this place has been a magical powerhouse for the last hour. I'm surprised half the Magicai of New York aren't bashing the doors down to find out what's going on."
My eyebrows shot up. My suspicions were right, she was Magicai.
"What?" I said, suddenly breathless. "What are you doing in New York?"
"If somebody calls, freaking out about some mythical artefact, do you really think I'm not gonna check it out?"
“That was ages ago.” I eyed her suspiciously.
“It was. Do you want to tell me where you’ve been the last few days?”
I shrugged. What could I say? That I’d been transported to an alternate reality? Besides, it was odd she’d been looking for me. I didn’t know if I could trust her, even if something told me I could. My instincts had been right about Kaie, and I felt I could rely on them in Zoe’s case, even though they were wrong about Ben.
Damn it! Ben!
I glanced the way I’d come, surprised he hadn’t already caught up. We were in danger, and it was my fault. Zoe wouldn't even be in New York if I hadn't called her.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," I said, "But, we have to leave." I pushed Zoe towards the bay doors.
"Let me guess." She heaved an exasperated sigh. "You wished on the Cintamani Stone and now you're in a whole heap of trouble."
"Not quite," I said, "but close enough. Now, let's go before he catches up."
“Who’s he?”
“There’s no time. I’ll explain later.”
Zoe cracked a smile. "Why are we running when we have something he doesn't?"
"Like what?"
"Magic," she said. She clenched her fists and they glowed with power. "You kn
ow, you don't have to let your hands glow like this, the magic can be invisible if you choose it to be."
"That's great,” I said, my voice full of false cheer. “Maybe, when we get out of here you can teach me."
"It might be an idea to teach you how to hide your power, too. You're lit up like the Fourth of July, as they say on this side of the pond."
"Yeah, that would be great." I glanced to the stairwell. Footsteps thundered towards us. "But there's something you should know."
"What?" she asked as Ben burst through the plastic sheeting,
"Ben has magic, too."
“Bugger.”
Chapter Fourteen
Two balls of pure energy exploded from Ben's hands. With a millisecond to spare, Zoe dove to one side behind a forklift and I dove the other way, falling over a railing and onto the floor in the process. Pain shot through my leg. A stray piece of metal had pierced my skin and tripled the size of my cave injury. Fresh blood poured down my calf. I took a deep breath and pulled the shard from my flesh, biting back a whimper as I did so.
I scrambled backwards and tried to make a dash for cover, but Ben towered over me. "It’s over, Hayley. Give me the stone."
For a second, there was something in his face: a glimpse of the rambunctious child seeking adventure, but it was replaced by the hollow look of greed.
I shook my head.
Power crackled on his fingertips. “Then beg for your life.”
I lifted my chin, unwilling to give him the satisfaction.
Ben raised his hand to unleash another blast, but before he could, Zoe emerged and punched him in the face with a mean right hook. She followed it with a fearsome roundhouse kick, but Ben blocked her leg.
"Your friend has guts,” he said, incredulous for a moment before he rounded on Zoe. “You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."
"I doubt it."
Ben lunged forward and flung Zoe into the wall. A brief flicker of annoyance flashed through her eyes as she grappled away from him.
I climbed to my knees, but my injured leg faltered beneath me. Steadying myself on the wall, I ignored the pain and focused on drawing power to me.
Zoe smashed her fist into Ben’s side, but he barely batted an eyelid. He grabbed her by both arms and bashed her against the wall again.
I swallowed hard, desperate to help. Magic flooded my body. Energised, I lifted my hand and aimed for Ben, but Zoe was too close to him, and I couldn’t get a clear shot.
Then it hit me like a punch to the gut. Zoe could die.
All because of me, because I'd called her and brought her into this mess. She could die and it was all my fault.
I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.
My muscles tightened. I stood up straight, no longer feeling the pain in my leg. Determined to stop Ben, I clenched my firsts around the Cintamani Stone and watched the energy around it crackle like lightning as it intensified.
Ben had pinned Zoe against the wall. She pushed him off with a blast of power, but he rebounded. His hand found her throat. The symmetry was painful to watch. Like I was looking at Davenport’s man strangling me, instead.
She punched him with a magic-filled fist. A fierce warrior. She landed blow after blow, but Ben seemed unscathed, as though protected by an unseen force-field.
I stepped forward and raised my hand, magic rippled through my whole body. In a moment of clarity, I knew I could do this. A beam of light flared from Ben’s chest and alighted on my fingers. He stumbled and turned to face me, but I didn't stop.
The beam flowed to the stone in my hand, a continuous stream of energy powered by the surrounding ley lines. I’d reasoned that if I could draw energy through the stone, or through my bracelet to me, what was to stop me drawing energy through Ben to the stone?
Ben faltered. He tried to raise his hand to stop me, but he didn’t have the strength.
Tears streamed down my face as Ben fell to his knees.
"Hayley," he whispered. "How?"
An image of Zoe pinned to the wall, the way I had been in my hotel room, flashed through my mind again. Ben's hands around her neck, squeezing the life from her. He would kill us both without a moment's hesitation, just like he’d killed the security guard.
This had to end. I had to end it.
“You shouldn’t have come after us, Ben.” I stared into his helpless, pleading eyes. “I didn’t want this. Why did you even need the stone? You already have magic.”
A final gasp escaped his lips and life drained from his eyes. His body crumpled forward. I released the magic and fell broken to the floor.
The charming, funny, and treacherous Ben Collins lay dead, by my hand.
“That’s what fortune and glory get you,” I said between ragged sobs. “Why didn’t you leave me alone?”
I slumped to the floor. It could have been a moment or an age. I felt as empty inside as a lake with no water. Zoe’s comforting arm surrounded my shoulders. The light faded in the room as night-time fell. The wind whistled through the loading bay, accompanied by my constant sniffing.
“It’s time to go,” Zoe said eventually. She lifted me from the cold floor and pulled me towards the exit.
I shook my head. “Not that way.” My eyes never left Ben’s body. “He comes, too,” I whispered, unable to say the name of the man whose life-force I had drained.
Chapter Fifteen
I stood on the edge of the mountain and shivered, despite the magical shield Zoe had taught me how to erect to block out the cold.
“Wow, just wow,” she said.
I had to agree. The sun hung in the east, casting its embracing warmth over the Gangdisê Mountain range. A barren valley stretched out over six thousand feet below where a still lake reflected the holy mount in its waters — a shimmering marvel in the morning light. It was… well, it was magical.
The atmosphere vibrated, charged with energy, and a grid like the northern lights cascaded over the summit in a blaze of colour, bathing the snowy peaks in their own private laser show. Cosmic power thrummed all around us, seemingly flowing to this one point: the Crown Chakra of Mother Earth. It was easy to see why the mountain was sacred to four different religions.
The air was chill and crisp, and fresher than any I’d ever encountered. A single intake of breath made me feel as though I could conquer the world.
I sighed. I’d never wanted to conquer the world.
Zoe took in great gulps of air beside me. When I’d opened a portal to Mount Kailash, she’d been as shocked as I had at discovering magic. She was no Traveller; her talents lay elsewhere.
I desperately wanted to return to Kaie and Dawa and learn what I could, but a nagging thought told me I had to stay in my world for now. Something was off balance, and it had nothing to do with the Cintamani Stone. With Zoe’s help, I’d find out what that imbalance stemmed from. After all, despite our differences, we were both archaeologists at heart, and if there’s anything archaeologists are good at, it’s digging until they find the truth.
Zoe let out a sigh and turned to me. “As much as I’d love to stay up here forever, I can’t. What are your plans?”
I considered the question and glanced at Ben’s body. “I intend to bury someone, who, for a brief time, I considered a friend.” Even if that turned out to be far from the truth.
Zoe stared at me. “It won’t be easy to dig up here.” She turned and looked at the surrounding rocks. “We could try blasting a hole.”
I smiled, remembering Kaie’s words. “It’s simple,” I said. “If you believe.”
I demonstrated Kaie’s trick with the pebble and explained how, working together, I thought we could bury Ben and the Cintamani Stone deep in the rock.
“A fitting hiding place,” she agreed. “In the well of its power.” Zoe laughed. “I could sure have used that trick when I hid the Kukulkan Skull.”
“What skull?” I asked, distracted by the knowledge that I didn’t need Zoe to turn the rock thinner than air. I could do it with the
help of the stone. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of ever using it again. Kaie was right. Its power was far too dangerous. Sebastian Davenport, or anyone else, for that matter, could never lay their hands on it, and neither should I.
“I’ll tell you about the skull some other time.” Zoe stretched and yawned. “We’d better get a move on. It may be morning here, but I’m still on New York time. I could do with a proper bed, with soft pillows and a warm blanket.”
It had been a strange day. I’d saved Dawa, but… but killed Ben. I shook the thought from my mind. If I dwelt on that, I wouldn’t be able to function.
I’d also travelled across worlds and across the world. I took in another, deep breath of the incredible air, relishing the feeling of it as it entered my lungs, and looked at Zoe.
She was beaming at the light show. She stretched out her hands to the sky. “I feel amazing,” she said. “Tired, but amazing. I really do wish I could stay up here forever.”
I laughed.
“What’s funny?” she asked.
“Nothing, I guess. I was just wondering how many other acquaintances I have who secretly possess magical powers. It seems like a lot of people were keeping a pretty big secret from me.”
“Under the Magical Order of Secrecy, it’s a crime to tell anyone of our powers.”
I laughed even harder at that. “There’s a Magical Order of Secrecy. Oooh, am I going to have to run naked through the forest on the Summer Solstice and sacrifice a goat?”
Zoe looked at me as though I’d gone crazy — see, I’d said it would happen again — and crossed her arms. “You finished?” she asked.
I bit the bottom of my lip and stifled a final giggle. “Quite finished,” I said.
“Good. Come on, we haven’t got all day.”
We lowered Ben deep into the rock of the mountain and placed the Cintamani Stone on his chest. Ben Collins had been a jerk in life, and I didn’t know if it was a tragedy the only person he left behind to mourn him was me, his killer, or a blessing, but everyone deserved a little dignity in death.
I said a quick prayer to The Awakened One. Asking him that if he had any influence at all in these matters, he would be kind to Ben in his next life. I stared at Ben’s peaceful face, as though I was trying to burn it forever into my memory. Not that I could ever forget. I was sure it would haunt me for the rest of my life. The colour had left his cheeks, but faint smile lines could be seen at the corner of his mouth and eyes.
Hidden Magic: A Ley Line World Urban Fantasy Adventure (Relic Guardians Book 2) Page 7