Dragon Blood

by Linsey Hall

  All around, Protectorate members were stationed in the shadows, watching for the demon to arrive. In the sky, Bree, Ana, and Declan flew high, keeping an eye on the ground below.

  Bree’s silver Valkyrie wings glinted in the moonlight, while Ana blended perfectly with the dark. She was the Morrigan, a giant black battle crow and queen from Celtic myth. Their sister, Rowan, was still on a deadly mission for the Protectorate, though I wished she could have been here. She was seriously powerful, and we could use all the strength we could get.

  On the ground, their men—fiancés, boyfriends, I wasn’t sure what they were—prowled with the rest of the Protectorate members. Cade and Lachlan were in their animal forms. Cade, Bree’s man, had shifted into an enormous wolf. Lachlan, who belonged with Ana, was a black lion. Near them, Claire fought. She threw fireballs with one hand and wielded a sword with the other. She fought for her brother, and it was obvious.

  My gaze flicked over to Declan. His powerful wings moved gracefully as he kept an eye on the northern part of town.

  Tension crackled on the air as we waited. We were only minutes away from the six-hour mark.

  Would the demon be on time?

  I glanced at Mari.

  Her eyes met mine. “There has to be another way. You don’t need to do this. It’s the worst kind of magic.”

  “Maybe I won’t even have to.” My stomach pitched, though, as if it knew I’d be creating nullification magic later tonight. I looked back at the city, scanning the streets and the skies.

  Ana, who was closest to us, gave a sharp crow’s caw, the sound ringing through the night.

  Declan and Bree flew closer to her, and I stiffened. “He may be near.”

  Mari tilted her head upward and sniffed. Her nose wrinkled. “Yes, I think I smell him.”

  I also got a hint of rotten garbage and sulfur, two scents I hadn’t smelled before.

  Declan joined Ana, then hurled a blast of heavenly fire at the ground, into a street that I couldn’t see.

  It was the signal.

  Not only would the fire hopefully hurt the demon, it would light up the night sky so everyone else knew where he was.

  We were too far away.

  “Let’s go.” Mari climbed to her feet. “I think we can take the roofs.”

  Some of them were flat and some peaked, but we managed to race across them, leaping from building to building as the sound of battle rent the sky. The houses here were so close that it wasn’t hard to jump from one to another.

  Finally, we reached the site of the battle. In the small side street, I spotted the Oraxia demon immediately. Declan hurtled bright white blasts of heavenly fire at him, his aim perfect.

  It was working!

  The demon was being driven to his knees from the force of it. A bag hung at his side, roughly the size of the orb I’d seen in Factory Row.

  All around, demons swarmed. At least forty of them.

  The Oraxia demon had brought backup. Probably worried about this exact scenario. He’d lost the element of surprise long ago and needed guards while he did his dirty work.

  Ana dived, her black crow form massive and graceful. She flew straight for the demons who surrounded the Oraxia, her huge, sharp claws ready to strike. Protectorate members spilled out of the side streets, headed straight for the demons. They threw fire and ice at the demons, who rallied around their magic. Sonic booms exploded, and potion bombs filled the air. Cade and Lachlan charged in their animal forms, each tearing apart a demon. Even Wally was there, breathing fire on a skinny demon with tall horns and black fangs.

  The battle was fierce, cries coming from all around. Steel clashed with steel, and blood began to flow.

  I looked back toward the Oraxia demon, who was struggling to his feet. Declan’s fire was slowing him down, but it wasn’t penetrating the protective barrier he possessed.

  Shit.

  Bree flew toward Declan, adding blasts of deadly lightning to the mix. The demon went to his knees again, slower to rise. Ana dived low, picking off demons with her sharp black beak.

  “Let’s help them.” I met Mari’s gaze. “Lightning?”

  “Definitely.”

  I’d promised her that we’d try to defeat the demon before I created nullifying magic, and honestly, I’d been happy to do so. I didn’t want to take on that horrible power unless I had to.

  “I’ll go to the other side.” If we were going to use our cooperative lightning—which was stronger than any single blast—I needed to be opposite her, with the demon between us.

  She nodded. “Safe hunting.”

  “Safe hunting.” I scrambled down the edge of the building, joining the fray in the street below.

  I passed by Jude, the powerful leader of the Protectorate. She fought a demon with her electric whip, moving gracefully around him, the weapon cracking as it struck. He was easily two feet taller than her, with broad shoulders and hulking muscles, but she was faster, her dark braids swirling in the air as her starry blue eyes sparkled.

  I had no doubt she’d win this one.

  As I sprinted across the street, I caught sight of Caro, a platinum-haired Protectorate member, shooting a jet of water straight through the chest of a small yellow demon who spat green acid. The water left the other side of him, tinged pink with blood.

  “Hurry up and die, you bastard!” Caro shouted.

  I sprinted past her, dodging around another fighting pair. Ahead of me, a skinny demon with dark gray skin grinned at me, revealing long fangs. He raised a hand, then hurled a blast of smoke at me.

  I dived left, rolling on the ground and popping to my feet. Freaking shadow demon. It’d been ages since I’d seen one of them.

  “I’ve got important shit to be doing, man, and you’re in my way.” I called on my mace, taking it from the ether.

  He shot another blast of smoke at me, this one bigger than the last. I dodged left, narrowly avoiding it. It blew past my shoulder, still managing to land a fiery blow that made my arm ache.

  I swung my mace at him, going for speed, and slammed the spiked ball into his head. He flew to the side, his skull crushed. I didn’t even bother letting my mace finish its swing. I just sent it right back to the ether and raced for the building across the street.

  I found a spot at the base of it, right across from Mari with the demon between us. The bastard was back to his feet, staggering forward, the force of Declan’s fire and Bree’s lightning slowing him down but not stopping him.

  He wasn’t far from the middle of the neighborhood, and we had to stop him.

  I caught Mari’s eye and raised my hand, the gesture for our lightning. She nodded, then drew a dagger from the ether. I did the same and sliced across my left palm—the one I didn’t use for my mace.

  Pain welled and blood flowed, and I imagined lightning. The crackle and power of it. Lightning filled me from within, sharp and bright, then shot from my palm, joining with Mari’s electricity. Thunder cracked in the air.

  The demon was caught right in the middle. The electricity lit him up, and he went to his knees again. Victory surged through me, but it was short-lived. Soon, he was on his feet, staggering forward.

  It was like he was getting stronger!

  Damn it.

  I met Mari’s gaze. Even from here, I could see that she looked stricken.

  She knew what this meant, just as I did.

  Our side had already taken out half the demons, and multiple mages were throwing fireballs and sonic booms at our main target. They were bouncing right off the Oraxia demon’s shield.

  I had to try. With any luck, I could swipe his forehead with blood and use my power of suggestion on him.

  It was a long shot, but worth it.

  The demon was right in front of me, striding down the street.

  I raced for the demon, approaching from the side and waving my arms at the fliers in the sky. I did not need them to hit me with a lightning bolt or heavenly fire by mistake.

  I pressed my comms
charm, knowing that it would connect to Declan. We’d gotten him one just for the battle. “Declan, hold your fire. Get everyone to hold their fire.”

  “On it.” He shouted loud enough to get everyone’s attention, then shot a lightning bolt directly into the sky. Everyone ceased their offensive when they spotted the signal we’d agreed upon.

  I pressed the charm again. “I’ll be going invisible.” I would need that advantage against the enormous demon if I had to get close enough to touch him. “Don’t let anyone fire again until I tell you to.”

  With the onslaught stopped, the Oraxia demon could move faster. He hurried down the road, his bag jostling against his side.

  I flipped up my hood so I was invisible, and sprinted after him. I was revealing the fact that my ghost suit could turn me invisible, but there was no other way to win this.

  The demon never saw me coming, and I looped around to approach him from the front. Quickly, I pierced my finger with my sharp thumbnail, letting blood well. No one could see what I was doing, so they wouldn’t know that I was using my power of suggestion.

  When I reached him, I leapt, raising my hand.

  I slammed into the shield that protected him. The invisible forcefield threw me back, and he barely even flinched.

  I crashed onto the ground, pain flaring.

  He strode by me, never even noticing my invisible form.

  Aching, I raised my hand to my comms charm. “Resume the attack.”

  Declan asked no questions, just began to fire again. It slowed the demon, but didn’t stop him.

  None of us were succeeding. Not even the DragonGods. They had the power of freaking gods, and they still couldn't do it.

  The demon’s protective power was just too strong. We had to break through it. Break the magic itself.

  Our army resumed its attack, but it only slowed the demon. Soon, he’d be to the middle of the neighborhood, in the perfect position to deploy the orb.

  And we’d all turn to stone.

  There was only one thing left to do.

  I slipped back into a darkened alley, dread filling my soul. My breathing caught as I knelt on the dirty stone ground. Cold sweat dripped down my back.

  I hadn’t tried to create magic this big since I’d been a teenager in captivity.

  Please work.

  The sound of the battle kept me company, though it was horrible background music. Quickly, I sliced my sharp thumbnail across both of my arms.

  Agony shot through me and blood welled, pouring white onto the ground.

  Mari stumbled into the alley a half second later, her eyes wide. “No, Aeri! Let me.”

  I looked up to meet her gaze. “Too late. It was always you protecting me when we were kids. Now it’s my turn.”

  She fell to her knees in front of me. “Don’t go too far. Just make some of the magic. Not all of it.”

  I nodded, my hands shaking, and began to pour my magic out of me along with my blood. Flashbacks of doing this as a child popped into my mind, but I shoved them away. Then, I’d been forced to do this.

  Now, I chose it.

  I had power over this. It would make all the difference.

  My head grew woozy as the blood and magic poured onto the stones. I envisioned a nullifier’s power, imagining destroying any magic I came into contact with. I imagined banishing it from existence with just a touch. I envisioned empty rooms and barren fields, sparkling magic disappearing in the blink of an eye.

  All because I willed it so.

  “That’s enough,” Mari said. “Stop now.”

  “Not done.” My voice was ragged and my head was spinning. I needed to almost die for this to work. To give it all of my magic and all of my power.

  I’d said I could do this in half measures—creating just a little bit of the nullifier’s magic—but now that the ritual had begun, it was clear that wasn’t true.

  If I didn’t do it right, I could die. My memories of the past made that clear enough.

  Almost there.

  I kept going, determined to finish.

  Mari threw a splash of liquid onto my arms, sealing the cuts. Shocked, I looked up at her. But she was already looking down at the pool of my white blood, holding out her hands and feeding some of her magic into the spell.

  “What are you doing?” I was so weak I could barely speak the words.

  She said nothing, but it was obvious.

  She was helping me. Giving me some of her magic—giving the spell some of her magic—so that I wouldn’t have to. She did it to save me from the negative effects of the nullifier’s magic, though I had no idea if this would work. She couldn’t know, either.

  We’d never created magic this way before. Last time, when we’d done it as children to create the lightning, she’d been bleeding, too.

  This time, she wasn’t.

  Love swelled in my chest, along with worry. I batted her hands away, gasping. “Stop.”

  Nearly all of my strength was gone, but at that moment, the magic in the air changed. It sparked with energy, fierce and strong, then began to flow back into me. It surged into my body.

  I straightened and inhaled as the magic flooded my body, my soul. New blood formed in my veins, new strength in my muscles. New magic in my soul.

  The nullifying power made my stomach turn, but it was bearable.

  Soon, I was strong again. Whole again.

  Mari grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” I looked up, catching sight of Declan flying above, his gaze pinned to me.

  My stomach pitched.

  How much had he seen?

  I swallowed hard, shoving the thought away. I’d deal with that later. Right now, I had to take care of this damned demon.

  I had new strength, renewed power.

  New power.

  “Thank you, Mari.” I met her gaze.

  She hugged me tightly, then stood, dragging me to my feet. I surged upward, ready to kill this damned demon.

  “Test it,” Mari demanded. “Test your new magic.”

  I wanted to say I didn’t have time. I needed to charge out and fight that bastard.

  But she was right. I had to know the extents of my new power. It would help me win the battle.

  “Can you feel it?” I asked, trying to push the nullifying magic out toward her. I imagined suffocating Mari’s magic—just temporarily—so she could feel it.

  From what I’d learned of nullifiers, they could do this from a distance.

  She shook her head, dread filling her eyes.

  Shit. “It didn’t work?”

  “Touch me and do it.”

  I grabbed her arm and repeated the process, pushing my nullifying magic into her. She sucked in a ragged breath and turned green. I yanked my arm back.

  Her color returned quickly. “That felt like hell.”

  “Like your soul leaving your body?” Magic and souls were often so closely linked that if you lost your magic, you felt like you’d lost your soul. Like an empty husk. A broken doll.

  Mari nodded. “It works when you touch.”

  Thank fates. “Then I’ll have to touch the demon.”

  It seemed that Mari’s help had changed the usual nullifier’s magic. Weakened it, as we’d hoped.

  I looked back up. Declan had disappeared. What did he think?

  I shook my head. Didn’t matter now.

  “Let’s go.” I sprinted to the end of the alley and peered out into the street.

  The Oraxia demon was farther down the road, still staggering toward his destination. More of his henchmen were down, but not all of them.

  I flipped up my hood so I was invisible, and sprinted after him.

  When I was nearly to the demon, I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm. “Declan, stop the attack.”

  Declan roared, then shot his lightning toward the sky. The attack stopped.

  My footsteps weren’t silent on the ground—I was in too much of a hurry for silence, and the Oraxia demon turned when I ne
ared him, no doubt able to hear me.

  But he couldn’t see me.

  Right before I reached him, I drew my dagger from the ether and leapt toward him. As I soared through the air, I imagined my nullifying power roaring to life. I hit him hard, clinging like a monkey, and shoved my new nullifying magic into him, praying that it would kill his defensive power.

  There was a bolt of painful energy that almost melted my insides as his protective magic got me, but then the nullifying magic kicked in. The pain faded, and he stilled, clearly shocked that I was hanging on to him. And probably shocked that he couldn’t see me.

  He didn’t know what I was.

  Before his shock wore off, I sliced at his ear, grabbing off a piece.

  He bellowed and smacked me. Pain flared in my side as I flew to the left and crashed on the ground. I scrambled away, clutching the piece of his ear. He searched the area around him, clearly confused.

  I’d never expected my most cherished possession to be a piece of demon ear, but you never could know what to expect from life.

  I pressed my fingers to my comms charm. “Attack him.”

  I rolled over, hoping to see Bree’s lightning take him out. Maybe my nullifying magic had a lingering effect. Thunder cracked as her lightning shot into the demon. He went to his feet with a grunt, but didn’t fall.

  My nullifying power did not seem to have any kind of lasting effect.

  But there was no time to be disappointed.

  Declan hurled blast after blast of heavenly fire at him, a deadly onslaught that kept the demon pinned to the ground while I worked.

  Still invisible, I dug the sea sapphire and the tiny stone jar of potion out of my pocket.

  It was the moment when we found out if the Devyver had screwed us.

  16

  As the battle raged and my friends kept the Oraxia demon pinned down with their magic, I sucked in a deep breath to still my shaking hands. Carefully, I pried the top off the little stone jar. First, I shoved the glittering blue rock in. Then the piece of the demon’s ear.

  Ew.

  I closed the jar back up and shook it, praying to the fates that this would work. My side ached from where the demon had hit me, and my arm burned from the smoke of the demon’s blast, but all my attention was on the little stone jar.