Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(18)

“Okay, you’re good to go,” Nix said, nodding sharply like she was convincing herself. “You’ve got weapons and a plan. You’ll help him find the demon. Just like finding an artifact. A big, ugly artifact.”

“An artifact with poison claws,” Cass added.

“I’d rather look for an enchanted sword,” I said.

Cass grinned. “Wouldn’t we all.”

But they were right. This would be business as usual, with a few extra bits and pieces to worry about.

“Go,” Nix said. “We’ll try to find another Ubilaz demon. If you need us, just call.”

“Thanks, guys.” I hurried to the bathroom, turning back just long enough to say, “Love you.”

“Love you more,” they said.

When I reached the bathroom, I called upon my Phantom form and dropped down through the ceiling, landing lightly on the floor.

When I saw that the bathroom was just as I’d left it, I grinned. It’d only been fifteen minutes total, but still… It was going to be hard to get things past Roarke.

I turned off the shower and stashed the sword next to the toilet, out of sight of the door. After a moment, I walked out of the bathroom.

Roarke glanced over from the couch, his eyes taking in the short robe I wore. Immediately, his gaze darted up to mine and stayed there.

Well, that was polite.

He stood. “Have you located the demon?”

“I’ll get dressed and do it.” I turned and hurried into the bedroom. He followed, peeking in long enough to see that there were a couple of windows on one wall.

“Hang on.” Quick as a snake, he pulled a metal band off his right wrist and snapped it around my own.

“Hey!” I raised my wrist and studied the slender silver bracelet. “What is this?”

“Tracking charm. In case you decide to go out those windows.”

I scowled. “You sure come prepared.”

He shrugged. “It’s my job.”

I scowled and shut the bedroom door, then tried to tug the bracelet off.

It stuck solid.

Great.

Quickly, I went to my dresser, not even hesitating over jeans or leather. I definitely had a fight ahead of me, so leather it was.

I tugged on the pants, tank, and jacket. Though the pants and jacket were black leather, the tank was cotton because I wasn’t a masochist. The leather itself was a special enchanted variety, made specifically to be flexible and comfortable. It was my fighting uniform.

I took a deep breath and called upon my dragon sense, using my deep desire to find the demon as fuel. I needed one of two things for my dragon sense to work. Desire or information.

I had both. I knew what the jerk looked like, what his magic smelled like, and I really wanted to find him.

Almost immediately, I felt the familiar tug around my middle, but it stayed indistinct. The demon was far away. No surprise, considering the fact that he’d had a transportation charm.

My dragon sense wasn’t quite as strong as Cass’s or Nix’s. It used to make me feel really inadequate, but I’ve tried to get over it. Being jealous of my friends sucked. I didn’t want to be that person. So I just reminded myself that I had other talents. It worked.

Mostly.

Cass and Nix could find most things with just desire alone. I, however, usually needed a bit more info. That’s where my books came in handy. By now, I was a heck of a fast reader.

I glanced toward the door to the living room. I just needed a minute. Enough time to get into my trove and get a book. I wouldn’t have to go far, so his tracking charm likely wouldn’t pick up much.

And I really wanted one of my lucky pendants now that my shirt was trash.

I turned toward the empty wall in my bedroom. I loved my technicolor apartment, but it wasn’t even the best part of my home. The trove behind the wall really made this place shine.

I sucked in a shivery breath of anticipation and called upon my Phantom power. Once I had transformed, I walked straight through the wall. Normally, I pressed my palms flat against the paint, igniting the magic in the secret door. But I didn’t want to leave the door there for Roarke to find.

When I walked out of the wall into my trove, calm and joy suffused me. Spread out before me was the biggest library in Magic’s Bend. Also the biggest collection of golden trinkets and lucky talismans that I’d collected from my travels around the world. My good luck charms could be anything from clothes to jewelry, but each meant something special.

FireSouls had one major weakness—like the dragons with whom we shared a soul, we coveted treasure. It was a compulsion, one that could be debilitating if it got out of hand. We could spend all our money and all our time on our trove if we weren’t careful.

For each of us, treasure was a different thing.

For me, it was books, gold, and lucky talismans. The gold was an obvious choice—my dragon soul just couldn’t help it. The shiny yellow stuff made my heart sing. I didn’t care if I was a FireSoul cliché—I wanted to roll around in it like Scrooge McDuck. But the books and lucky talismans were my more unique treasures.

Nix, Cass, and I spent all of our extra income on our troves, which we kept hidden behind secret walls in our apartments. It meant we were all perpetually broke, no matter how much money the shop brought in. But we were cool with it.

My trove wasn’t laid out like a library should be. I knew I should put my books and trinkets on nice neat shelves, but that never suited me. Cass’s trove was organized to within an inch of its life. Not mine.