Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)(5)

Though I’d expected it to be difficult—my dragon sense needed information to work, the more the better—disappointment surged.

I handed the beaker off to Del. “Give it a go.”

She took the beaker and closed her eyes. Her magic swelled in the car, bringing with it the scent of fresh soap and the feel of grass beneath my feet. She tried for a full five minutes before opening her eyes. “Nothin’.”

“Damn.” I cranked the key in the ignition and pulled away from the curb.

“Looks like this is going to be even tougher than we thought.”

“But the mob boss managed. He’s already drunk from it or he’d have fought harder for it when we ambushed him. If he succeeded, then we can too.” He might be two steps ahead of us every time, but he was proving it was possible.

Del repackaged the beaker in its specially designed box, locking it tight. We drove in silence back to Ancient Magic, where we’d arranged to meet everyone else after a long day of hunting down info. While Del and I had been on beaker duty, the rest were trying to discover the mob boss’s whereabouts.

All the way home, the silence was thick as pudding. Worry was the whipped cream on top.

I pulled up to the curb in front of Ancient Magic and cut the engine, then glanced at Del.

Concern glinted in her eyes. “I sure hope someone else found something out.”

“No kidding.”

I climbed out of the car, grabbing the box and going into the shop. The door was open and Cass was behind the counter, though the shop wasn’t officially open for business. After I’d ended up in the hospital a few days ago, we’d shut down the shop to dedicate all our time to hunting the mob boss.

But I already missed this place, with its shelves full of magic and history.

Cass straightened from her slouched position in the chair behind the desk and pushed her red hair back behind her ear. “Any luck?”

“A little.” I put the box on the counter. “You?”

“Not much. The League of FireSouls knew nothing.” Cass had gone to visit the only other FireSouls we knew, an ancient organization that was a bit like a magical Justice League. “But Aidan will be back from the Shifter Council soon.”

“Roarke as well,” Del said. “Maybe the Order knew something.”

Each had gone to see the government that they were loosely affiliated with. Hopefully, the Alpha Council or Order of the Magica would know something useful.

Cass tilted her chin toward the door. “Speak of the devil.”

“Devils. Plural,” Del said.

I felt him before I saw him, an innate knowing that was new. Ares. Was the connection from the blood he’d given me to heal me after my injuries? Just the idea made me nervous, but it was hard not to make the connection.

Slowly, I turned. Ares walked toward the shop alongside Roarke and Aidan. I hadn’t felt their presence like I’d felt his, so this was specific to the vampire.

They stepped through the doorway, single file, each huge and handsome. But I only had eyes for Ares, who looked like a fallen angel.

“Look what I found loitering outside the shop.” Aidan hiked a thumb toward Roarke and Ares.

“Hardly loitering,” Roarke said. “Good timing, is how I like to think of it.”

Ares didn’t speak, just looked straight at me, gaze penetrating. It was as if he hadn’t seen me in ages, though we’d just parted yesterday. Because of my injuries, and the fact that I’d been asleep for most of three days, we hadn’t had much time to talk. I still didn’t know where we stood besides being massively attracted to each other. Being around him felt like flame drawn to flame.

Not that it mattered at this precise moment, considering all that we had to deal with. Everyone gathered around the counter. Ares came to stand at my side, close enough that I could smell the cold winter morning scent of his magic and feel the slightest bit of heat from his arm. I shivered.

But he didn’t look at me. Which was good. I needed to focus.

“Did anyone learn anything useful?” I asked.

“Strike out with the Order of the Magica,” Roarke said. “But I have a couple more contacts I can check tomorrow.”

“Aidan?” Cass said. “Any luck with the Alpha Council?”

Aidan, as the Origin and most powerful Shifter, had gone to speak with the governing body of all Shifters.

“A bit,” Aidan said. “About fifty years ago, someone similar to our target set up a massive compound about twenty miles from their headquarters at Glencarrough. It was an organized crime operation that recruited young shifters. The Council didn’t like it, so they raided the place one night, razing it to the ground.”

I nodded, remembering the massive shifter stronghold in the Scottish Highlands. The place was nearly impenetrable. “Could that be our guy? Fifty years is a long time.”

The mob boss hadn’t looked that old when I’d last seen him. If he was some kind of immortal, we were in big trouble. Immortality was rare, and always a product of strong magic.

“It could be,” Aidan said. “They said his power was enormous. But they lost track of him after that night. He abandoned his men.”

“Like he did last week.” The bastard had flown off in a helicopter, blowing up his compound with a bomb that had nearly killed me. That willingness to abandon all those who worked for him. With him. I shuddered.