Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(13)

“No. There’s something very odd about your magic. Odd enough that the Order of the Magica would take interest. What are you?”

I shuddered at the mention of the Order, my stomach dropping. “Nothing special, like I said.”

“The Order doesn’t like the unusual,” he said. “Unknown magic is exceedingly rare. And dangerous. If you escaped an Underworld, you possess some power related to death. Something never before seen. What kind?”

Beats me. And that was the scary part. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His gaze turned thoughtful. “Informing the Order is the smartest thing I could do. The responsible thing.”

My heart thudded. “You don’t want to do that.”

A bit of surprise flickered in his gaze. His expression turned solemn. “No, surprisingly, I don’t. You’d be out of my control then, subject to whatever horrors the Order deems necessary for a rarity such as yourself.”

I shivered, wondering what they might do to me. If they knew I was a FireSoul, they’d throw me in the Prison for Magical Miscreants merely for existing. As a weird deathling Magica, I was subject to mysterious horrors as they tried to figure out my species. It wouldn’t be good, that was for sure.

“So, since you don’t want to turn me in and I don’t want to go back to the Underworld with you, we’re at an impasse.” I didn’t even mention the info I wanted to get from him. I needed to keep that on the down low. It was too early to show my hand. Especially since I held almost no cards.

“Duty frequently requires that I do things I don’t want to do.”

The seriousness of his expression made chills race over my skin. He didn’t want to turn me in, but if he had to…

A buzzing noise sounded from his left wrist. I glanced down to see a wide copper band wrapped around it. He raised it close to his mouth. He wore a couple other metal bands on his right wrist, too, and I wondered what they were for.

“Yes?” he said into the comms charm.

“An Ubilaz demon has escaped,” a rough voice spoke through the charm. “Through your personal portal.”

Oh shit.

His brow creased. “Ubilaz? You must be mistaken. They can’t leave the Underworld.”

“I’m not, my lord. It is an Ubilaz, and it has been on Earth for at least an hour. Your personal portal was malfunctioning, and it escaped right before you departed the Underworld.”

Oh no. I met Cass and Nix’s gazes, and they looked as freaked as I was.

“Do you have any idea where it went?” the Warden asked.

“No, sir.”

“Do you know anything else about it? Name? Origin? What it’s after?”

“No, sir. We know nothing else.”

“Fine. I’ll deal with it.” The Warden lowered his arm and looked straight at me. “This is your fault.”

Yep. Totally was. “No. It’s not.”

“Ubilaz demons are Cat 5s. You’ve heard of Cat 5s?”

I nodded. The Order categorized demons from one to five, like hurricanes, with five being the absolute worst. Totally catastrophic. In my side job hunting demons for the Order, I never came across Cat 5s. Cat 3s at worst.

“A Cat 5 shouldn’t even be able to escape the Underworld,” he said. “Their dark magic is too strong. Even the most powerful mage can’t get them out. Whatever you did to my portal allowed that demon to escape.”

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. My mind raced. Now I was poisoned and I was going to get in huge trouble for this.

“Can’t you track it like you tracked me?” I asked.

“No. Unless it’s bleeding and leaving a trail.”

“I’ll help you find it.” I’d get some of the demon’s blood, and he could have the demon. “We’ll trade. Once I find the demon, you forget I was ever in the Underworld. It was a fluke. And forget any weird, incorrect suspicions you have about me. And give me my sword back.”

His dark brows rose. “You can see how that might not be a fair exchange.”

I scowled. “‘Course it is.”

“You want three huge favors in exchange for solving a problem you created.”

When he put it that way… I had revealed my hand too early. I glanced at my deirfiúr. Their gazes confirmed my fears. Always jumping too fast at things, that was my problem. Good intentions, poor execution.

“It’s a Cat 5,” I said. “You need my help. You can’t track the demon, but I can.”

“How can I be assured that you are even any good at finding demons?” he asked.

I laughed. “Oh, I’m good at it. I’m a mercenary for the Order. A demon hunter, to be precise.”

Fortunately, it was a job that didn’t put me in the way of the Order hardly ever, since I got my assignments by phone. I also liked to think I’d be on their good side if they ever discovered what I was. Wishful thinking, probably.

“More importantly, I’m a third of this operation”—I waved my hands to indicate the shop—“that identifies and locates the artifacts that contain magic we want to sell. I’m the Seeker. So, you see, I’m perfect for finding your lost demon, because I can find anything.”

Maybe if I helped the Warden, he’d let me off the hook.