Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(26)

Scratch that thought about him being scary. He was, but he also looked pretty damn good. In a monstery way.

Apparently I was weird.

“Get them?” I asked.

“Yes. And I rebuilt the wall. They won’t be able to follow for some time.” Golden light swirled around him, and he shifted back to his normal form. “Lead the way.”

I nodded, then followed the tug of my dragon sense along the beach. It was more of a narrow strip of pebbles than a beach. It wasn’t long before we turned a small corner in the cliff face. Ahead of us was the gaping mouth of an enormous cave, and my dragon sense went wild.

“Of course,” I muttered. “The demon is hiding out in the creepy cave.”

“He’ll know I’m after him. He’d want a good place to hide and a better place to defend. Be ready for him to have accumulated some demon followers.”

“Not many, I hope.”

“No, it hasn’t been long. There shouldn’t be many.”

Magic spilled from the cave mouth, seething and riotous. There were many signatures, both good and bad. The smell of grass, sulfur, rock, wind, cookies, and perfume all competed.

“There’s a lot of magic in there,” Roarke said. “Merlin’s Cave.”

“Merlin?”

He nodded. “Arthur was supposedly conceived at Tintagel. I’d heard there was a cave here called Merlin’s Cave. This must be it, considering the magic that surrounds the place.”

“Yep. I don’t like it.”

He grinned, then started forward. I followed. As we neared, the prickle of magic grew stronger.

“Protection charm,” I said.

When Roarke neared the mouth of the cave, he reached out, his face tightening as he did so. I’d bet being that close to the barrier was pretty uncomfortable.

“It’s penetrable,” he said. “Uncomfortable, but we can make it through.”

“You can’t break it?”

“It’s strange. I don’t think it will shatter like most charms.”

“So it’s meant to encourage you to stay out, not force you to.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then.” I gritted my teeth and started forward, pushing through the miserable feeling of the protection charm fighting me. Tiny knives stabbed me with every step, not leaving a mark but sure as heck feeling like they did.

As I entered the cave, the dim light of the moon faded almost entirely. I blinked as my vision adjusted and raised my lightstone ring.

It glowed, illuminating the huge space. The walls were uneven slabs of rock, with recessed, shadowed areas that made my muscles tighten. Wariness flooded me as Roarke stepped up beside me.

“I feel the demon,” I said. “Sort of. He’s near.”

“Perhaps—”

Roarke’s words were cut off as figures leapt from ledges and crevices of the walls—two, four, eight of them. More. Demons of all shapes and sizes “Shit!” I drew my sword, fighting the urge to adopt my Phantom form.

Roarke’s magic swelled beside me as he shifted. He grew larger and stronger, his wings flaring wide at his back.

“Retreat,” he said. “I will handle them.”

“No!”

He pushed me backward, trying to force me to leave. I stumbled and hit a solid wall. My skin prickled fiercely. Surprise flared and I glanced behind me, expecting to see solid stone.

I saw nothing but the rolling ocean waves crashing on the beach outside the cave.

Shit. The protective barrier didn’t protect the cave from entry. It kept you inside.

My heart dropped to my feet. “It’s a trap.”

“Smart demon,” Roarke muttered.

In front of him, demons surged forward. I counted more than a dozen. Some wielded magic as glowing light in their palms, and others were armed with wicked looking weapons.

All looked ready for a fight.

“Party time,” I said.

Roarke turned and shot into the air, his wings carrying him toward the oncoming demons. He was massive and powerful as he grabbed two by their shirts and picked them up, then threw them into the walls of the cave as if they weighed nothing.

I charged, my sword at the ready. One of the demons hurled a fireball toward me. I ducked, lunging left as it hurtled past me. The heat seared my skin.

Damn. If I wasn’t careful, I’d get flamed.

The fire demons had skin of a burnished red, and their eyes were pits of flame. I leapt toward one, dodging the fireball that he threw, and sliced out with my sword.

It severed the demon’s neck, spraying me with blood. I gagged as the warm stuff hit my face and lunged toward another demon, severing its head. My borrowed blade felt awkward, but it was effective.

In the air, Roarke swooped and dodged, taking out demons left and right. I spotted another demon and raced for it, dodging the icicles that it threw. It was a pale, icy blue color, not unlike my Phantom form.

From the grin on its face, I could tell he was enjoying himself.

Freaking demons. I hated the things.

It danced backward, so I followed.

It drew back a massive arm, then hurled a spear of ice at me. I lunged to the side, but it threw another ice spear.

Damn, it was fast! I needed to shift into Phantom form, but Roarke would see.

I barely dodged the second icicle when the demon laughed and hurled a third. The projectile was nearly to me when a huge dark form swooped down and knocked it out of the air.