Magic Heist

by Mary Karlik

  Ian moved between Dorach and Layla. “Why are you doing this now? She was a child. She didn’t know what she was doing.”

  Dorach nodded. “Which is why the council decided to sequester her magic rather than exile her.” He stepped closer to Layla. “You must understand the extent of your power. You are the only fairy in history who has ever killed.”

  The word hit her in the gut so hard she doubled over. “I murdered that elf.” She heaved breaths one after another, but air wasn’t getting to her lungs. Spots swirled before her as her blood dropped to her feet. One phrase. One horrible, damning phrase seized her thoughts. I’m a killer.

  Ian stood in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. “Stay with me, lass.”

  She raised her gaze to his, but her breaths were out of her control. Deep heaving inhales with almost no exhale. Anxiety, guilt, and disgust controlled her.

  Ian took her hands and raised them to her face. “Keep your eyes on me. Breathe into your hands.”

  She cupped them over her nose and mouth and was able to slow her breathing.

  “You were just a scared, little girl.” Ian’s tone reached out to her, coaxing her to believe that it was not her fault. Her breathing slowed, and her body calmed, but in her mind and in her heart, she ached for the child that had unwittingly taken an innocent life.

  “You cannot dwell on what happened in the past.” Unlike Ian’s soothing words, Old Dorach spoke with authority. His tone demanded she obey. “You must face what is to come.”

  Ian shook his head. “Why the theatrics? Just tell us what you mean.”

  Old Dorach looked at Buzzard, Amelia, Finn, Ian, and Layla. “The magician, the gatekeeper, the healer, the dragon, and the fairy who can harvest magic. It will take the five of you to protect the Dragon’s Scepter.”

  Layla shook her head. “It’s safe. It’s hidden and warded.”

  Dorach nodded. “For now. You don’t understand its power.” He raised his eyes to Layla. “What happens when a fairy holds an object and changes her size?”

  “The object changes, too. You know this.”

  “Aye. And so does the dragon in the globe.”

  “The dragon in the globe.” As Layla repeated the words, realization flowed through her. “I understand what Fauth meant.”

  Ian looked between Layla and Dorach. “I don’t. What are you saying?”

  Old Dorach looked Ian in the eyes. “The globe holds Airril. The most feared and powerful dragon known. And completely indestructible.”

  Ian took a step back. “I felt his power. He called the red dragon to the human world.”

  “Aye.” Old Dorach drew in a shaky breath. “There are those who’d have him free. You cannot let that happen. Continue to search for the missing fey. Stop the traffickers. But know the power the scepter holds.”

  He twirled his staff and disappeared.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Ian snatched a rock from the ground and threw it as hard as he could at the space where Old Dorach had stood. “Why don’t you take the scepter, you crazy old man? You’re the one with the knowledge.” He knew his rant wouldn’t change things, but he felt a wee bit better.

  The four other watchers-of-the-evil-stick stared at him with their eyes wide. All of them looked exhausted. Their shoulders sagged, and their arms drooped at their sides like they were too heavy to stay attached. The last thing any of them needed to hear was that they were in charge of a scepter with an evil, wee dragon trapped inside.

  Layla took his hand. “We’re tired. Let’s get to my cottage. We can relax while we wait for Esme and Fergus.”

  Jack and Theo joined the group.

  Ian looked at them. “This is not what you signed up for. You don’t have to get involved in this.”

  Theo shook his head. “I’m already involved. I love this stuff.”

  Jack smiled. “You expect me to miss the chance to hear Buzzard complain every time he has to use that wand? No way, man.”

  Buzzard’s face reddened. “I’m no magician. I don’t even like magic.”

  Amelia stared at his thumb rubbing across the embossed letters on the end of the wand sticking out of his pocket. “And I suppose that wand is a plaything.”

  He jerked his hand away. “It doesn’t make me a magician.”

  Amelia hooked her arm through his. “Come on, Merlin. Layla promised to show us her wee fairy house.”

  Layla led them to the forest on the far side of the fairgrounds. She was tired no doubt, but Ian saw a wee bounce in her step. “You don’t seem fazed by Dorach’s little revelation. Are you okay?”

  Layla ruffled her wings. “My heart hurts because of what I did and that it was kept from me. And aye, I’m horrified that Airril is in that globe. The task ahead is impossible. So no, I’m not okay. But, as impossible as all of this is, we have the best chance of anybody to succeed. So there’s hope.” She flicked her eyes at him. “And, my sister is healthy and happy.”

  “And you? Are you happy?” He squeezed her hand tighter.

  “Aye. I’m very happy.” She smiled and turned back to the trees. “My house is just beyond that hedgerow.” She pointed to a cottonwood tree. “See that tree? The cottage is snuggled in its roots.”

  Her optimism washed away the fatigue and frustration that had filled him and replaced it with wonder and joy. “You amaze me, fairy. You’re the strongest person I know, magic or otherwise.”

  She ran through a gap in the hedgerow pulling him with him. “Come on. Do you really want to see my world?”

  “Aye. Of course.”

  She winked and fairy-sized.

  Ian felt everything in his body squeeze until he was fey-size, too. It was more painful than shifting into dragon-form, but it only lasted for a nanosecond.

  He stopped and looked around. “I feel like I’ve entered the land of the giants.”

  “It is a bit like that. Come on. I’ll show you my house.” They ran across the garden to the cottage.

  Once they were inside, all thoughts of exploring the tiny house were pushed aside by the realization that for the first time since they’d bonded, he was alone with Layla.

  She tried to drag him into the kitchen, but he held his ground in the lounge. She turned back, and he pulled her close. “We’re alone.”

  “Aye. We are.”

  He cupped her face with his hands. “We’ve bonded our souls, and I’ve never tasted your lips.”

  She smiled up at him. “There’s nothing stopping you now.”

  He lowered his mouth, and she opened to him as soon as their lips touched. Joy filled every part of him from body to soul, dragon to human.

  He was in love with her and longed to run away with her. To go somewhere where they could live their life together and not worry about magic or dragons or saving fairies.

  That would never happen. Because now that this adventure had ended, they’d find the next one or it would find them.

  She broke from the kiss and looked into his eyes. “You’re right. We will find the next adventure. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”

  “You heard my thoughts.”

  “Aye. I love you, too, Ian Cameron.”

  She pressed her mouth against his, and he wrapped his arms under her wings and pulled her close. He kissed her long and slow—their souls connected, their hurts healed, and their hearts rejoiced.

  He could have kissed her forever if not for the voices outside the cottage. He dragged his lips away. “Can we send them back and stay here?”

  Layla smiled. “Do you think we’ll ever get more than a few minutes alone?”

  “With a scepter to guard and Meaban on the run, I doubt it.”

  Layla wrinkled her brow and sadness eased its way into Ian. “I’m sorry about your wing.”

  “It’s not that.” She shook her head. “There was just something not right about that elf. His hands were odd. And I can’t figure out how he managed to slice my wing. No sword could cut that clean.”

&
nbsp; “Did he have a dagger?”

  Her eyes widened, and her face paled. “No. But I remember seeing the jewels fade from his hands just before he sliced my wing.”

  She held on to Ian’s biceps and heaved a deep breath. “Ian, those jewels were his glamour. His fingers were blades. Meaban’s not an elf.”

  A chill ran through Ian. He wrapped his arms around Layla and held her tight because he’d heard her thoughts. He knew what Meaban was.

  A red cap assassin.

  The series continues with Magic Reign,

  Book Three in the Fairy Trafficking Series!

  Releases January 21st, 2020!

  Click here to preorder!

  The healer, the gatekeeper, the magician, the dragon-shifter, and the fairy who can harvest magic.

  * * *

  Combining their power is the only way to guard the dragon’s scepter and protect the world from the evil dragon locked inside. But the barrier between the magic and human worlds is weakening.

  * * *

  They must restore the balance before it collapses.

  * * *

  With a deadly red cap assassin after the scepter, their lives and their worlds are all in danger.

  Also by Mary Karlik

  Welcome to Hickville High,

  Book One in the Hickville 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…

  “Mix delicious cakes and frosting with spell-binding magic and adventure, add a pinch of intrigue and this is a treat readers won’t want to miss.” - Tonja, Bookworm for Kids

  * * *

  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.

  * * *

  Who knew baking cakes could be so life or death?

  To the Reader

  I hope you enjoyed Layla and Ian’s adventure. The locations in Scotland are real. Okay, I haven’t found the Magic Market, but the Grass Market and the White Hart Inn do exist.

  Fingal’s Cave is spectacular.

  The magic world is inspired by Skye. If you have a chance to visit, have a wee walk on the Quiraing. I promise, you won’t regret it.

  * * *

  If you have a moment, please consider leaving a review for Magic Heist on Goodreads, Amazon or Apple. Reviews are one of the best ways to support my books and your favorite indie authors.

  * * *

  Thank you for reading!

  Acknowledgments

  As with every book, I could not have put these squiggles on the page in any sensible order without help and inspiration. I’d like to thank my friend, Sir John Ward, for his wonderful Scottish hospitality and for driving me all over Skye. The walk on the Quiraing was stunning. And while we may not have gotten the sunset you’d hoped for in Waternish, the view was amazing. To my friend Vivien Murphy, thank you for also for sharing Skye with me. Whether its tea in Dunvegan or a wee walk in Armadale, we always have a laugh.

  Thank you to The Clann for teaching me how to plaid fold and for the sword fight demonstration up close and personal.

  I have met wonderful, welcoming people throughout Scotland. From Claire in the kilt shop to Fiona on the train, to my mates from Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Thank you for sharing your country, your history, your culture, and your friendship with me. I can’t wait to get back!

  To my editor—who also happens to be my son-in-law—John McDevitt, thank you for pushing me to reach beyond what I thought I could do. This book would not have come together without those long phone calls, plotting sessions, and endless edits.

  I’m constantly amazed that I get to write for Ink Monster. Thank you, Aileen Latcham for believing in me, especially when I can’t quite believe in myself. You are my hero.

  About Mary Karlik

  Mary Karlik has always been a dreamer. When she was a teen, she read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and then sat in every wardrobe in her Nanna's home, trying to open the door to Narnia. She didn't find it, but she did discover her voice as an author: one filled with her young adult self, and grounded in her roots as a Texan and her Scottish heritage, nourished by obscure Scottish folklore.