Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)
Linsey Hall
Chapter One
Consciousness came slowly as heat seared my skin. Every bone in my body ached, like I’d been stomped on by a dragon. Groggily, I forced my eyes open.
Walls of fire surrounded me, brilliant red and orange flickering up into the sky. My heart jumped into my throat, nearly strangling me. The flame was only a dozen feet away on all sides. I scrambled up, stumbling before righting myself on wobbly legs.
“No, no, no,” I muttered as the flames flickered toward me.
There was only one place this could be. But I didn’t want to believe it. “I am not in hell. I am not in hell. I am not in hell.”
My sword lay on the ground. I stooped and grabbed it, comfort rushing through me as I gripped the smooth pommel of my sidekick. The ache in my chest tugged my gaze downward, toward the pain. My lucky black shirt had a puncture hole straight through it—right where the sword had sunk into my chest, who knew how long ago.
Dying was the last thing I remembered, and this black shirt was definitely no longer lucky.
My heart thudded, loud enough to deafen me.
If I was dead, should I have had a heartbeat? Just the thought made that wayward organ race. Was I dead?
“Get it together, Del,” I muttered as memories flooded my mind. I’d been in battle, fighting with my friends and allies against an enemy so fierce that I hadn’t had a chance. I’d died by the sword.
I touched the sliced fabric of my shirt and looked around at the flame.
Shit. With a wound like that, I had definitely died.
And was in hell. Or at least one of the hells. From what little I knew, there were multiple heavens and hells called underworlds, one for each religion.
Gingerly, I poked my fingers through the hole in my shirt. When I found only a raised scar, I almost collapsed in relief.
I had enough to deal with without gaping wounds. My chest hurt, but not enough to keep me from running for it.
And I had to get out of this place. Dead or not, I wasn’t hanging out here.
I turned in a circle, eyeing the walls of flame. The heat seared my skin, which felt hot enough to start peeling off at any second. My head grew woozy from it.
I needed to lay down. For just a moment. The ground looked as comfortable as my bed back home, and it called to me.
I shook my head to clear the wooziness.
No. Not an option. Forward motion was the only way. After all I’d been through—dying for fate’s sake—if fate thought I was going to lie down and give up, it had another thing coming.
I knocked on my head for good luck, then sucked in a ragged breath, tried to concentrate, and called on my magic. Before I’d died, I’d had the power to transport myself anywhere in the world with a thought. I’d lost that power in the battle—but perhaps I hadn’t lost all of it?
I tried to call on the gift, imagining myself at home instead of here. I could almost see myself standing in my apartment. But instead of the usual tug, I felt nothing.
My heart clenched, disappointment dropping my stomach to my feet.
So I had lost it all.
That was gonna take some getting used to.
But I wasn’t stuck. I wouldn’t let myself be. I had a heartbeat, for fate’s sake. I didn’t belong here.
I might be one of the most despised species of supernatural—a FireSoul, one who shared the soul of a dragon and could steal other supernaturals’ powers—but a seer had prophesied that I possessed a strange power related to death. It was magic I didn’t understand and a power that could probably get me killed if anyone discovered I had it. But it was my only chance at getting out of here.
That meant adopting my Phantom form, and fast.
If that was possible in hell. Would my magic even work here? I’d never been to hell, and I didn’t know the extent of my power anyway. The Order of the Magica and the Alpha Council, the two magical governments on Earth, imprisoned anyone with powerful magic they’d never seen before, so I only used it when absolutely necessary.
The flames flickered toward me.
Yeah, this qualified.
I closed my eyes and called upon my odd magic, envisioning my body turning pale blue and transparent as it did when I adopted my other form. A few months ago, I’d turned into a Phantom for the first time when another Phantom touched me. I’d learned a couple weeks later that I was a half blood, but that shouldn’t even be possible. Phantoms didn’t reproduce—not through touch or any other way. They were normally insentient beings that brought misery to anyone who touched them.
So fun. If I actually let others see what I could do, I’d be a real hit at parties.
As a Phantom half blood, I was something different, though I had no idea exactly what or the extent of my powers. But nothing could hurt me in my Phantom form, and I needed some of that right about now.
I let my magic rise within me, and a tingly chill followed it. Slowly, the heat licking at my skin began to fade. As the chill traveled over my flesh, my arms turned transparent blue.
Jackpot!
I moved toward the row of flames. Whatever was on the other side had to be better than this.
Right?
My heart climbed into my throat as I passed through the fire. I felt nothing, but it was so bright that it blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes.
When I opened them, I almost wished I hadn’t.