Magic Wild (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker Book 4) Read online

  I drew my sword. But as soon as I took a step forward, I pulled up short, slamming into an invisible wall.

  What the hell?

  “You won’t hurt us.” The Phantom’s voice sent a shiver through me. It was as deep as the ocean and as powerful as the moon pulling the tides.

  This was the Shadow who had cursed Cade, and therefore, me.

  Shit.

  I lowered the sword as my mind screamed to fight. As my body fought my mind, it was the most horrible sensation in the world—like the molecules in my body were tearing apart from each other. But this Shadow controlled me as surely as he’d controlled Cade.

  “Remove the cloak.” His voice resonated with power.

  Against my own volition, I reached up and removed the wispy cloak. Despite these awful circumstances, it felt good when the thing finally slipped off.

  “Come with us.” The Shadow turned and walked away. The others followed.

  No matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn’t. My feet kept walking. It took all my strength, but I managed to turn my head, gazing back at the dungeons. I could only do it because he hadn’t commanded me not to.

  Pond Flower appeared out of thin air, standing right in front of the heavy wooden door. She looked skinnier than she had—as if the Shadow had sucked some of the life from her—but her eyes burned bright.

  She took a step toward me, but I begged her not to, using only my eyes and my will. She couldn’t fight the Shadows.

  But she could possibly help my friends.

  Save them, I begged. Save them.

  If all I managed was to deliver Pond Flower to them, maybe it would be enough. After all, they had some serious magic themselves. With her help, they could escape.

  They had to. Because there was nothing I could do now.

  Pond Flower hesitated, then nodded, her eyes flaring red as black flame ignited along her fur. I wasn’t fully sure what kind of magic hellhounds possessed, but I hoped it was enough.

  The Shadows forced me to follow them to a massive room on the ground floor of the castle. Every step was painful, my mind fighting my body every inch of the way. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break free. When we finally arrived, I was grateful to stop.

  The room was round and high ceilinged—almost as big as an indoor football stadium. I’d known this place was big, but this was incredible.

  As I stepped into the huge space, my gaze caught on the contraption in the middle. Confusion flared. It was a massive machine, some kind of intricate bronze device that was two stories high with a central platform. Arms spread out from it, like some weird, upturned spider.

  “What the hell is that?” I blurted. Apparently, the Shadow hadn’t controlled my tongue.

  “You truly know nothing.” The Shadow who controlled me turned. I considered him the lead Shadow, though I wasn’t sure if that were true. “You have been the single greatest disappointment of this entire endeavor.”

  The true disappointment in his tone forced a laugh from me. “Eh, I can’t say that’s too upsetting for me.”

  But what the hell was going on? Was this the big shebang? Did this contraption have anything to do with me tearing a hole in the ether? The machine looked like some kind of crazy steampunk contraption—I’d never seen anything even remotely like it outside of Sci-Fi.

  Whatever it was, I wanted nothing to do with it. I struggled against my bonds, but was unable to so much as move an inch.

  “What is that thing?” I demanded again.

  The Shadow who controlled me drifted around the machine, his bearing that of a proud father.

  “When your parents failed to help you learn your magic, we realized we needed another way to convince you.”

  I couldn’t see his frown, but I could feel it.

  “Though you were enthusiastic as a child, you resisted later in life. You’ve never come into your magic because your subconscious refuses.”

  “Refuses? Yeah, maybe that’s because I don’t want to tear down the barrier between the Underworld and Earth—ever think of that? Why would I want my superpower to be causing the end of the world?” It really was a shit superpower. Cass had gotten infinite magic. I was the grim reaper.

  “It wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

  I laughed. “Demons are in hell for a reason. That’s their home. The only reason they want to come to Earth is to feed on humans and other supernaturals’ power.”

  The Shadow shrugged. “Yes.”

  “That’s it? Yes?”

  “Yes. The demons want that. We are here to fulfill that.” He gestured to the machine. “And this will help.”

  “How?”

  “When you refused to come into your magic, we realized that we needed something that would force you to do so. Though I can control your will, forcing you to dredge up magic that is deep inside you is beyond my capability. You’ve never been able to do it on your own, so I can’t force you into it. It is the reason we did not seek you sooner. We needed this machine.”

  Huh. I’d wondered about that.

  “It is an ancient device, meant to enhance a supernatural’s magic. It will trigger your power, forcing you to create the portal that will destroy the barrier between the Underworld and Earth.”

  I flinched. If that were possible…

  “You were meant to be our queen.” True disappointment rang in his voice. These guys really had been expecting a lot from me. “We’d hoped to convince you. If you’d embraced your role, you would be. You could be useful to this cause. But as long as you fight us, it is too difficult. So you will become a tool. Create the portal, then you will be discarded.”

  Screw that.

  When one of the Shadows had told me I’d be queen, part of me had liked that. Who didn’t want to be queen?

  But queen of this?

  Nope.

  “You can just go f—”

  “Shut up.”

  My mouth snapped shut. Apparently he could control my ability to speak.

  “Now turn back time. There.” He pointed to the machine. “Take the machine back three thousand years.”

  Three thousand years? This thing was that old? Why did I have to take it back?

  “Do it!”

  The command jumpstarted my magic. I called it up from within myself. Agony tore through my chest as I fought the urge, but I couldn’t stop it. I’d practiced this power enough that it came naturally. My time-turning magic flowed through me, impossible to stop.

  Draka! I screamed in my mind as the blue glow of my magic spread out across the floor, traveling to the machine. I tried to turn time back only a hundred years, hoping that the modification would go unnoticed.

  It felt like something stabbed me in the chest. Only after I’d glanced down did I realize I wasn’t actually bleeding.

  “Do not deviate,” the Shadow commanded.

  My magic pushed farther, fully encompassing the machine. The whole thing glowed blue as the clock was turned back.

  Slowly, gems began to appear at each arm of the machine. Then something began to shimmer into existence on top of the portal. It was a rough lump of black stone. So simple and plain, but somehow more impressive for it.

  Magic surged from the gems and the rock. These were the fuel for the machine. No wonder they had gone missing sometime in the machine’s past. Stolen, probably.

  With the gems in place, the brass arms began to whirl, spinning slowly, then faster and faster. They whipped up a breeze that blew my hair back from my face. The lump of rock at the center glowed brightly, almost blinding.

  My time-turning magic faded as the machine whirled, silent except for the rush of wind. The four Shadows stood, staring in awe.

  Did I have a moment to stop this?

  I tried pulling on my magic, drawing it back into myself so that the machine turned to the present and its magical batteries faded.

  Nothing happened. The thing had taken on a life of its own.

  I swallowed hard, pushing my ma
gic desperately. I had to stop this!

  As the whole machine began to glow white with magic, something warmed inside me. An electric current of magic shot up from the central pillar on the machine and lashed toward me, striking me in the chest.

  I stiffened, unable to control my body as power shot through me like an electric current. Light blared in front of my eyes, and I realized that it was coming from me.

  Power vibrated along my skin, an unfamiliar warmth that filled me with light and strength and magic and every good thing I could ever imagine.

  I was invincible.

  I was power incarnate.

  No! Something tugged at my mind.

  The memory of taking power from the demons—how I hadn’t wanted to once upon a time, in case there were dangerous side effects.

  This was the epitome of a dangerous side effect.

  I was becoming a monster.

  I was becoming the Demise.

  It had all started, and I had failed to stop it.

  Aethelred had been right.

  Tears poured down my cheeks as I stood there, unable to move or stop the magic that flowed through me.

  “Create the portal!” the Shadow yelled.

  No! I screamed it in my mind because my lips were welded shut by his magic.

  “Create the portal!”

  I fought his command, but my magic didn’t. It felt like it linked with the contraption, then spread outward. I could feel the ether like a living thing. Like it was water full of bubbles that I could move at my will.

  On the far wall, the air began to shimmer until it truly looked like glittering silver bubbles—like the tiny ones in champagne.

  I fought the Shadow’s command, desperate to stop their horrible plan.

  But the bubbles parted in the air, separating to reveal a jagged scar in the ether. Just like the first time I’d torn my way out of the Underworld when I’d come back to life.

  What a dark power I possessed.

  The tear widened, growing to the size of a small car. I fought it, knowing that somehow it was I who created this hole. It couldn’t get any bigger!

  My muscles trembled with the strain, and my vision blurred. Sweat poured down my face.

  Finally, I collapsed. I didn’t even feel the stone ground as I fell.

  “No!” a Shadow shouted.

  Through blurry vision, I could see him lunge toward me.

  The lead Shadow stopped his companion. “Wait. We will test it.”

  Oriamor? I squinted, trying to make out what was through the portal. My vision cleared, but the scene through the portal did not. It was gray. Hazy.

  The Shadow whistled low. Three demons entered. He flicked a hand toward the first, a hulking beast with pale gray skin. “Walk through.”

  The demon frowned, but approached the blurry portal. He hesitated briefly, then stepped through it. His form took a few seconds to sink through—as if the portal were made of pudding—but soon, he’d disappeared.

  My insides twisted with pain. Tears leaked down my cheeks. I’d failed. That demon had walked through to earth.

  “It worked,” one of the Shadows whispered in awe.

  “Next,” the Shadow said.

  The second demon approached the portal, attempting to step through. It took several minutes, everyone one of which was torture, but he made it through. I could do nothing but lay there and watch as strength slowly returned to my limbs.

  I’d done this.

  “It’s magnificent,” the lead Shadow said.

  “It is slow, though,” said another.

  “It is weak because she resisted us, but it will strengthen. It has the magic necessary to let a demon through without any additional magic. Soon, they will flow through to Oriamor. One after the other without cease.”

  “How long until it is complete?” the Shadow demanded.

  The lead Shadow said, “It will grow stronger with every moment, allowing demons to pass more quickly. In days, the demons will be able to stream through. Sixty per minute. Maybe more. We will be able to walk through. The magic produced by the machine will speed it up. We don’t need her anymore.”

  Shit.

  “Finally,” breathed a Shadow. “Finally, it has worked.”

  They stood in awe, staring at the portal. The machine continued to whirl, magical energy filling the air. It gave me strength. Already, my muscles were feeling better. My mind, too.

  I had to use this. While the Shadows were in awe of their evil creation, I had to rescue my friends. Then we could stop this. Somehow.

  Unfortunately, we were on the bottom floor of the castle. There was only ground below me. Though I wished for a dungeon below, somehow I knew there wasn’t. My Phantom senses shuddered at the idea of sinking through the floor like I’d done in the tower, the same way I’d shudder at the idea of stepping off a cliff.

  Death waited that way.

  I’d probably come back, but far too late.

  I had to crawl. The door was only thirty feet away, in the opposite direction of the Shadows. Silently, using my new control over sound, I crept toward the door.

  I was almost there when I heard a shout.

  One of the Shadows had turned and spotted me.

  Shit.

  The lead Shadow swept around, coming to stand between me and the exit. Escape slipped through my fingers. I wanted to scream.

  The malevolence in his demeanor sent a shiver through me. They no longer needed me.

  “Stop!” Magic swelled around the Shadow.

  I tried to move, to run, but he’d frozen me in place. Terror beat its fists against my ribs.

  He was about to strike—I had no idea with what kind of magic—when I heard the most glorious sound ever…

  Hellhound toenails clicked on stone, somewhere in the hallway. I glanced toward the door. Pond Flower hurtled into the room, her eyes lit with red flame and her fur with black. Behind her, my friends charged in, every one of them.

  Nix and Cass gave harsh battle cries.

  The Shadow who controlled me whirled.

  It was my only chance. He’d let go of his command of me, though only for a moment. I leaped up, adopting my Phantom form and drawing my sword from the ether. I lunged for his back, sinking my blade deep.

  He shrieked, a horrible sound that made my ears ache, and collapsed to his knees. Before he could utter a word, I yanked my blade free and swung at his neck, taking his head in a clean blow.

  My faded blue glow turned brilliant again. The curse was lifted.

  “Demons!” a Shadow yelled from behind.

  Calling for backup.

  Roarke, Aidan, and Cade transformed and took to the air, their powerful wings carrying them high. As my other friends surged into the room, they hurled their weapons. Flame, acid bombs, arrows—all meant for the Shadows. But nothing struck.

  Only I could kill the Shadows. And there were three more.

  Demons surged into the room, an endless line.

  “Stop the machine!” I cried.

  From what the Shadow had said, it sped up the portal. It needed to be stopped.

  My winged friends flew for it, attempting to stop the whirling arms or to steal the lump of stone from the middle. The Shadows rushed toward the portal. To protect it?

  Cass and Nix joined me, along with Claire and Connor. In seconds, we set up our usual battle station—back to back with a wall of heavy sandbags provided by Nix. The stuff was surprisingly good at blocking magic.

  “How’d you get out?” I cried as I hurtled an icicle at a massive demon who charged us. There had to be over thirty in the room now. What the hell should I attack first? Demons, Shadows, machine?

  If we could take the demons out, we could deal with the machine and the Shadows, who still hovered by the portal, chanting some kind of spell.

  I needed to get to them.

  “We were in an enchanted sleep.” Cass threw a fireball the size of a Buick at a group of demons. “Pond Flower woke us. Hellhound breath. You
know how it is.”

  Pond Flower, her fur alight with her protective black flame, prowled circles around our sandbag defenses, growling deep in her throat. The demons couldn’t touch her, not like the Shadows could, and her magic repelled them, providing us with an extra level of protection.

  I took out two demons with the same icicle, about to jump over the barrier and head for the Shadows.

  But demons continued to flow into the room. More and more of them. We’d been fighting for only about twenty seconds, and already we were outnumbered. Winged ones arrived, too, attacking Roarke, Aidan, and Cade as they flew around the machine.

  “We aren’t going to beat the demons.” I turned my attention to the machine. “There are too many.”

  “Yeah,” Nix said.

  “You guys need to run for it,” I said. “Cass, transport everyone out of here.”

  “I hate to leave a fight.” Cass hurled a fireball.

  “Better to live and fight another day.” Because we would die here. There were far too many demons. They’d beaten us outside the castle and they’d beat us here. I’d never reach the portal to try to shut it—if I could even figure out how. Worse, the machine would continue to spin, and the portal continue to grow.

  “Amen to that,” Cass said.

  “Take them.” I nodded to Claire and Connor, who threw potion bombs with deadly accuracy.

  “You’re not staying here,” Cass shouted.

  “I’m coming.”

  “You’re planning something.” Cass shot me a knowing look.

  “I’ve got to destroy that machine.” It was the only thing that I knew could help. Roarke and the others were having no luck, especially now that the winged demons were here.

  No matter what, the machine had to go first. I couldn’t fight three Shadows at once without certain death—but I could destroy this source of horrible magic and slow the portal.

  I jumped over the barrier, racing to the machine. I got as close to the base as I could, kneeling down to press my hands to the stone floor. As I fed my ice magic into the ground, sending it straight to the machine, demons converged on me.

  Roarke flew down, followed by Aidan, and they managed to hold off some of the demons as I forced my magic toward the machine. But with winged demons attacking from the air, my guardians were flagging.