Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)(46)

“Nothing.” Del’s words snapped me out of my trance.

“Same.” Cass frowned.

I sighed. “Yeah. That’s just not enough information to go on. But it’s a place to begin. And Drakon already has a head start on us. Once he finds them, he’ll whatever terrible thing he’s planning.”

“If he wants to kill them, why?” Del asked. “There has to be something other than just the joy of doing something super evil.”

The answer blazed in my mind. “Power. That has to be it, right? The dragons must be able to give him more power of some kind. Extended life of more magic or influence or something.”

“It makes sense,” Ares said. “And since we don’t know where the dragons are to protect them, we have to kill Drakon before he finds them.”

“Agreed.” I looked at the clock. It was just past seven thirty. “No time like the present.”

“Let’s get this party started.” Del grinned, but worry was clear in her eyes.

I couldn’t blame her. The idea that we might be used to hurt dragons? Not good.

While Claire and Connor went to gather their supplies, the rest of us pulled on our winter clothes. Since we were going to Siberia in January, I figured we’d need them. We’d all agreed on black since it was going to be night when we arrived. Hopefully this would give us an element of stealth. Beneath my dark jacket I wore a black T-shirt with Basement Cat painted in dark blue. It was subtle, yet encouraging.

When Connor and Claire returned, I stepped forward. “Okay. Cass and Ares? Could you guys transport us to the Valley of Darkness?”

Cass saluted. “I can take two at a time.”

“I can do the same,” Ares said. “We’ll go in groups.”

I reached for Ares’s hand, then gestured for Claire to do the same. Aidan and Del took hold of Cass’s hand.

“Ready?” Ares asked.

I nodded. A moment later, the ether sucked us in, pulling me away from the cozy warmth of P&P and spitting us out in the cold chaos of Siberia.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the golden lights that shined through the gloom. I tensed. Magical signatures hit me from all sides, a cacophony of noise around me. Ares gripped my hand as people jostled around us.

As my vision cleared, I called my magic to me, ready to do battle.

But it seemed I didn’t need to—not yet, at least.

We were in a magical bazaar at night. Despite the stark chill in the air, it was full of supernaturals. Not all were bundled up like we were, and I had to assume they were some variety of cold-loving species. They browsed at tented stalls selling all variety of things—food, clothing, jewelry, housewares, spells.

But the one thing that was similar amongst it all—dark magic prevailed. It stunk—a combo of garbage and rotting fish and moldy onions.

“This place stinks,” I muttered.

“It’s pretty though,” Claire said.

She was right. Despite the foul odor of dark magic and the cold bite in the air, it did look surprisingly nice. The lights strung between the colorful tents looked like fairy lights shedding a golden glow over the wares—none of which looked as evil as they smelled. Upon closer inspection, the light bulbs were filled with sparkling glows of magic, not electricity. It was gorgeous.

The whole place looked like an enchanted evening if one could ignore the stench and prickle of evil that crept up your neck.

“Why does everything give off a taint of evil?” Cass asked. “Clothes, shoes, even the fruit. That’s weird. Unless they’re all cursed? But Curse Markets usually aren’t this large.”

She was right. It took a lot of power to curse items with dark magic. This place had to be the biggest Curse Market in the world.

“I’m going to go get the others,” Ares said.

I let go of his hand and he disappeared. While he was gone, I called upon my dragon sense to find Torus, using what Ademius had told me about him. A faint tug pulled around my middle, directing me through the market and hopefully toward the stables.

A moment later, Ares returned with Roarke and Connor.

“You know the way?” Ares asked.

I nodded and pointed. “He’s not too far.”

We made our way through the market, passing by stalls of food and clothes and books. The dark magic that haunted this place never abated, but it didn’t feel quite right either.

As we passed, more than one supernatural stared at us slightly too long for comfort. Fortunately, no one started anything. They knew we weren’t like them, but hopefully as long as we didn’t do anything shifty, they wouldn’t give us any problems.

At the edge of the market, there was a corral full of horses. Some were saddled and some were not, but they were clearly meant for riding.

“Is this the parking lot?” Del asked.

“There’re no cars,” I said.

“I didn’t see any sign of technology, actually,” Claire said. “It was the stone ages back in the market. No phones, cash registers, or electric lights.”

“That’s weird. This place is remote, but to not even have cars?” I inspected the paddock containing the horses, noting a large stable beyond. I pointed toward it. “I think Torus is in there.”

We made our way around the paddock, finding an entrance at the side. I looked at the weathered gray wood of the door and said, “Want to bet there’s no electricity in here either?”