Magic Undying (Dragon's Gift: The Seeker #1)(56)

Oh no. The castle was coming alive to defend itself again. I stiffened, searching for the coming threat, but all I saw was the telltale blue glow spreading out from where I stood.

No!

It was me. The blue glow raced across the floor. Rushes appeared on top of the stone, the traditional floor covering of medieval castles. I had to try to control this. I had no idea how, but I couldn’t keep doing this!

My limbs trembled as I sucked in a deep breath and tried to call the magic back to me.

Nothing happened.

I tried to suppress the magic within myself, shoving it deep down inside so that it couldn’t do whatever weird thing it always did.

Briefly, the blue glow on the floor flickered. Hope flared in my chest, and I tried harder. But the blue glow returned, continuing to spread, climbing up the walls. Shelves appeared in its place, each holding hundreds of small glass vials of all colors.

An apothecary’s shop.

A noise from the corner made me jerk my head around. An old woman had appeared with a child at her side. Both were dressed in medieval style clothing. Her startled gaze met mine, and she opened her mouth to scream.

Shit! I couldn’t kill her, even though she probably wasn’t a real person.

I shoved my hand into my pocket, scrabbling for the last of Connor’s potion bombs. When I pulled out the familiar golden vial of a freeze bomb, relief surged in my chest. I hurled it at the old woman and little girl, and they froze solid.

Thank magic.

I didn’t spare another glance at the room as I hurried out. As soon as I exited, I slammed into a warm, solid wall. My grip tightened on my sword as I stumbled backward, but strong hands grabbed my upper arms and steadied me.

“It’s me.” Roarke’s black gaze met my own. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, nothing.” I straightened my spine to try to catch his gaze again before it could travel behind me to the enchanted room. “You just startled me. Come on.”

He nodded, then turned to catch up with my friends who were disappearing into the doorway of a building about twenty yards ahead. I followed, hurrying along in the shadows of the castle wall.

We entered the room, finding my friends inspecting the contents. This had clearly once been a barracks, probably sometime in the castle’s more recent history, given that the heavy wooden beds were still intact against the walls. On one of the beds lay a fine sword made of yellow metal.

“A demon blade,” Roarke said.

“Yeah.” I eyed it, noting the distinct features. “But where’s the demon?”

“Not here,” Cass said as she approached me from the other side of the room. “But why the hell would it leave its—”

The ground fell out from beneath Cass’s feet. She plummeted, disappearing into the ground.

“Cass!” Aidan, Nix, and I yelled at the same time.

I rushed forward, but there was no hole in the ground. When I reached the spot where Cass had fallen, a tingle of magic flowed through the floor and up my legs. Immediately, the ground fell out from beneath my feet. I clawed at the air, trying to grab anything I could reach, but found nothing. When I crashed to the stone floor beneath, pain sang up my legs. I scrambled up, a bit achy but with no broken bones.

“Del!” Cass cried.

Relief surged through me. She stood nearby. I looked up at the ceiling. There was no trapdoor.

The floor had closed as soon as it had sucked us both down. A spell.

A moment later, Nix fell through the ceiling and landed hard on her butt.

“Didn’t you see us disappear?” Cass said.

“We’re a team,” Nix said as she stood. “Of course I jumped in the mysterious hole after you.”

Aidan fell through the ceiling, followed by Roarke, whose gaze sought me out immediately. Aidan hurried to Cass.

“You’ve got to be careful!” His Scots brogue was thick with worry.

“I didn’t know the room was enchanted!” Cass said. She looked around the dark, underground space.

So did the rest of us. It was dank and cold, with low vaulted ceilings. Several doors led off from the room.

“Are we in the dungeon?” Nix asked.

“Looks like it,” Roarke said.

“Handy enchantment,” Aidan said. “It takes the intruders straight to the prison.”

“That’s where the demon went,” I said. “He fell through. But what happened to—”

My gaze landed on a black lump in the corner as a familiar smell hit my nose. Burned flesh. Fresh burned flesh.

A shadow in the back of the room moved, surging forward. I caught one glimpse of massive fangs and acid green eyes set into a face covered entirely in black scales before a burst of flame bellowed into the room. My skin blazed with heat, and my eyes smarted.

“Run!” I yelled.

My friend’s gazes landed on the monster, which looked like some kind of giant lizard had bred with a wolf the size of a school bus. We ran for it, sprinting down the only hallway we could find.

We were fighters, sure. But we were also survivors. And sometimes, surviving meant running.

“Faster!” Nix yelled from the back. “It’s coming!”

The beast’s footsteps pounded as it chased after us. Were we going to have to fight it? We could, but not without casualties, given how fast and far that thing could breathe fire. My heart thundered in my ears as I sprinted down the dark corridor, threatening to explode.