Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(27)

Roarke.

I surged to my feet and leapt toward the demon, swiping out with my sword. I cut through his waist, spraying blood, and he staggered, shock plain on his face. I lunged again, piercing his chest. I kicked him in the stomach to dislodge him from my blade and whirled at the sound of footsteps coming from behind me.

Two more demons charged, both armed with wicked serrated swords.

My favorite. I loved fighting sword to sword.

My mind cleared as they approached, the kind of eerie calm that was the product of years of practice. Whatever they were going to try, I’d seen it before.

“Careful!” Roarke yelled.

I laughed, and he growled in frustration.

The demons struck at the same time, one going low and the other high. The low one came sooner, so I leapt over his blade, then ducked under the blade that aimed for my neck. Their hisses filled my ears as I crouched and spun, sweeping out with my sword at shin level.

I sliced both their legs. As they staggered, I leapt up and finished the job with two well-placed slashes to their throats.

This time, I even managed to dodge some of the blood.

When I whirled to find more prey, I was feeling pretty good.

The sight of another dozen demons hopping off the walls of the cave wiped that feeling away real quick. Behind the horde surging toward me stood the Ubilaz demon, bigger and meaner looking than any of his minions.

The magic that swelled from him smelled like a garbage fire and made my stomach heave.

I swallowed bile and raced toward the oncoming wall of demons. In the air, Roarke destroyed a demon with his bare hands, then whirled and dove for the demons who charged me.

I’d nearly reached the closest demon when an unholy shriek sounded from behind me. It tugged at my memory, but before I could turn to see what had emitted the noise, something swept me up into the air.

The world turned a shimmery blue as I was lifted, spinning high into the cavern.

Panic closed my throat. What was happening? I could barely see. I was flying. I was lost.

I thrashed, trying to break the hold of whatever had caught me.

The sound of an unholy roar ripped through the cavern.

Roarke.

I screamed, trying to break free of the blue cloud that had enveloped me. But it was spinning faster and faster. I caught a glimpse of what looked like shimmery blue scales. Almost like dragon scales.

Magic trapped me. Magic that almost looked like a dragon, with fangs and brilliant blue eyes.

At the corner of my vision, I could barely see my arms, which began to slowly turn a transparent blue. Something tugged at my soul, a familiar sense.

No! I was being transported. While turning into a Phantom.

My heart thundered as I struggled, watching my arms fade even more. The tugging sensation grew as I spun and spun, like the magic was trying to pull me somewhere.

A powerful force sucked me into the ether and hurtled me through space. I crashed to the cold, wet ground a moment later. My head spun.

The blue light was gone. Darkness all around. Whatever force had thrown me here had disappeared as quickly as it’d come.

Where was I? I struggled to clear my mind, but it continued to whirl. My vision blackened entirely as I lay flat on my back, unable to banish the image of the blue force that had stolen me from the cave.

It’d been familiar. Strange, but familiar.

Memories dragged at me. I fought them, but a vision clouded my mind, sending me back in time to three months ago.



My deirfiúr and I were on an abandoned island off the coast of Scotland, fighting our way through a village to reach a huge manor house on the other side of town. The village was abandoned, full of creepy old houses that looked like the inhabitants had just walked out one day, leaving all their possessions behind. Magic seethed in the air. Wild, dark, scary magic that sent shivers across my spine.

As we crept through the empty streets, ghostly forms drifted from the walls of the houses.

Phantoms.

I shivered. I’d never seen a Phantom before—only heard of them from Cass. They were horrible creatures who fed on the misery of others. Their touch made you live your greatest fears. It was a terrible agony.

As they drifted out from the houses, the scene around us took on a haunted air. The sun had just dipped below the horizon so that the only light on the street came from the Phantoms’ ghostly blue glow. They crowded around us, dozens of them converging on the street.

“Hurry!” Cass yelled.

We needed to get past them.

But they barricaded the street, blocking our way. My heart thundered in my ears, my skin going chilly as we became prey. When one of them grabbed Nix, she shrieked in pain.

A Phantom dressed like a farmer swayed toward me. I swiped out with my blade, but it passed right through him. I tried again.

Nothing.

No!

We couldn’t fight them. Our weapons did nothing to their ghostly forms.

“We have to run through them!” Cass said.

“We can’t.” Aidan’s face was etched with pain. “It’ll tear us apart.”

The Phantoms surrounded us like a horde of zombies, their faces ravenous for misery and their claws outstretched. My deirfiúr’s faces were twisted with the agony of being near them, but I felt nothing. Why?

“Turn into a griffin!” Cass shouted.

“Can’t.” Aidan’s voice was tight with pain. “The Phantoms stop me.”