Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)
Linsey Hall
Chapter One
The streets of Magic’s Bend were eerily quiet as I turned toward Darklane, the part of town where the black magic practitioners lived. Rain splattered on the windshield of Fabio, my Dodge Challenger Hellcat and the one true love of my life.
At least, that’s what I told him when I turned him on.
“Where is everyone?” Del peered out of the passenger window at the empty sidewalks and ramshackle Victorian buildings that lined the main street in Darklane.
“No idea.” It was normally a bit quieter on this side of town, but tonight it was like a cemetery. It was nearly eight. People should be headed to dinner and bars. “It’s almost as if everyone got a memo that said, get out of dodge.”
Del laughed. “Like the cops are gonna show.”
Police didn’t come near Darklane much, but if they were coming, the people that lived here would probably scram. Darklaners weren’t all bad—just as all dark magic wasn’t bad—but a lot of them were.
Just being here made my hair stand on end. But we needed information, and this was the place to get it.
“There it is.” Del pointed toward the Apothecary’s Jungle, a three-story building with ornate trim. Black grime obscured the purple paint.
“There’s nowhere to park.” Cars lined the street in front of the shop owned by our friends, Blood Sorceresses Mordaca and Aerdeca.
“It’s after business hours. Why are there so many people here?”
“No idea.” I passed the house, finally finding a spot about thirty meters down. At least the rain had let up and was now a mere drizzle.
I cut the engine and turned, grabbing the box off the back seat. I climbed out of Fabio and joined Del on the sidewalk. She zipped up her black leather jacket to keep the drizzle out, but the rain glittered on her dark hair.
Her blue eyes went to the box I carried, which was small and locked with a padlock. A leather strap, almost like one on a messenger bag, hung off the side. I looped it crosswise over my back, securing it so that a thief couldn’t grab the box and run. I wasn’t taking any chances.
He’d have to stop and fight me, and there was no chance I’d let him win. The box contained a rare artifact—a clay vase that was thousands of years old and enchanted with an unfamiliar magic. It was technically called a beaker, even though it didn’t look like one of the glass vials favored by scientists, and we needed to know more about the strange magic it possessed. This beaker was our only clue to finding a dangerous mob boss who was threatening the city.
Hence, Darklane on a Thursday night.
“Got it?” Del nodded to the box.
“Yep.” I clutched it to my chest and started walking.
It’d been four days since we’d stolen this beaker back from the dangerous criminal who’d originally taken it from us. I’d been injured in the fight and was just recently back on my feet.
Now, we were on the hunt for answers. It was our only clue and our only hope of finding the bastard.
As we neared the Apothecary’s Jungle, the sound of music floated down the street.
“It’s coming from their place,” Del said.
“Yeah.” It was some kind of swanky party music. I glanced at Del. “Are they having a party?”
“Could be. They live above the shop.”
We neared the Apothecary’s Jungle, the music growing louder, and climbed the stairs to the front door, which was slightly cracked open. Del and I looked at each other, then shrugged and pushed the door open.
It was a party.
“So this is where everyone went,” Del said.
There were so many people jammed into the space that it had to be most of the folks in Darklane.
Though I’d known Aerdeca and Mordaca must have social lives, we weren’t good enough friends to know exactly what they did on their down time. Apparently they liked to throw rocking parties for every variety of supernatural in Darklane. Weres, fae, demons, and mages were all dressed in their best, sipping fancy cocktails in every color of the rainbow.
Their magical signatures clashed on the air—scents, sounds, feelings, and tastes all representing a variety of types of magic. Some of these folks were strong and dangerous. The rotten scent of dark magic hovered at the edges. Though it wasn’t the predominant signature, some of these folks were trouble. I gathered my magic close, ready to conjure a weapon.
Half a dozen people turned to look at us, their lips turning down.
“Tough crowd,” Del muttered.
“No kidding.” It was almost as if they could smell that we were regular, law-abiding citizens. Ignoring the fact that we possessed forbidden FireSoul magic, because they couldn’t possibly know that. We kept that magic locked up tight, unnoticeable to anyone but us. “Might as well act like we belong.”
I pushed my way through the crowd, shivering at the feel of the dark magic brushing up against me. Del stuck by my side. Power in numbers, that was our motto. We passed through the small foyer to a larger room on the left.
In the corner, I spotted Mathias, the big were-lion that Mordaca dated. But she wasn’t at his side.
A man bumped into my side. Instinctively, I clutched the box to my chest. I didn’t know what exactly the spell on this thing did, but I knew it was important and I sure as heck wasn’t going to lose it.