Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)(61)

Now that was a problem. I couldn’t escape my SuperNerd self, so I was in a real conundrum. Fortunately, that’s where the immensely intelligent Wayne Lusardi came in. He suggested that the magic could have an expiration date. If the magic wasn’t used before it decayed, it could cause huge problems. Think explosions and tornado spells run amok. It could ruin the entire site, not to mention possibly cause injury and death. That would be very bad.

So now you see why Nix and her deirfiúr don’t just steal artifacts to sell them. Not only is selling the magic cooler, it’s also better from an ethical standpoint, especially if the magic was going to cause problems in the long run. These aren’t perfect solutions—the perfect solution would be sending in a team of archaeologists to carefully record the site and remove the dangerous magic—but that wouldn’t be a very fun book.

Thanks again for reading (especially if you got this far!). I hope you enjoyed the story and will stick with Nix on the rest of her adventure!





Acknowledgments





Thank you, Ben, for everything. There would be no books without you.

Thank you to Jena O’Connor and Adam at Fine Point Publishing for your excellent editing. The book is immensely better because of you both! Thank you to Crystal Jeffs, for your keen eye for continuity. Thank you to Rebecca Frank for the cover art and to Orina Kafe for the cover edits. Thanks to Stanley Morrison for his inspiring artwork--be sure to check out his amazing dragon art.

The Dragon’s Gift series is a product of my two lives: one as an archaeologist and one as a novelist. Combining these two took a bit of work. I’d like to thank my friends, Wayne Lusardi, the State Maritime Archaeologist for Michigan, and Douglas Inglis and Veronica Morris, both archaeologists for Interactive Heritage, for their ideas about how to have a treasure hunter heroine that doesn’t conflict too much with archaeology’s ethics. The Author’s Note contains a bit more about this if you are interested.

I’d also like to thank The FireSouls on Facebook for your help with ideas and clever suggestions. While I can’t always use them all, it’s so fun to talk about them with you. A few of those that made it into the book were Jim O’Keefe’s idea for a magical signature being the scent of an ‘old shoe housing a wet ferret’. Kara Perring suggested the Australian underground city of Coober Pedy as a great location for the book. I used it as inspiration for a scene in Death Valley. Charlotte Sanchez and Stacey Miller reminded me that Nix would obviously conjure something cheesy for breakfast. Alison Claxton and Jessie L. Collins suggested thermite as a hot-burning substance, and Gena Williams came up with “hairspray” (which gave birth to one of my favorite fight scenes). And Tara Patterson-Syrnyk, Kelly Ard, Guin DeLany Worthington, Tara Christensen, Michelle Gong, Sara Weir, Sally Strugnell, J Michael Gunn, Kara Perring, Kate Fox, Livvi Richardson, An Na, Janice Rosa, and Nje Dalena all suggested Dragonfruit. Please excuse me if I missed any names, and thank you all for being part of the group!





Glossary





Alpha Council - There are two governments that enforce law for supernaturals—the Alpha Council and the Order of the Magica. The Alpha Council governs all shifters. They work cooperatively with the Alpha Council when necessary—for example, when capturing FireSouls.

Blood Sorceress - A type of Magica who can create magic using blood.

Conjurer - A Magica who uses magic to create something from nothing. They cannot create magic, but if there is magic around them, they can put that magic into their conjuration.

Dark Magic - The kind that is meant to harm. It’s not necessarily bad, but it often is.

Deirfiúr - Sisters in Irish.

Demons - Often employed to do evil. They live in various hells but can be released upon the earth if you know how to get to them and then get them out. If they are killed on Earth, they are sent back to their hell.

Dragon Sense - A FireSoul’s ability to find treasure. It is an internal sense that pulls them toward what they seek. It is easiest to find gold, but they can find anything or anyone that is valued by someone.

Elemental Mage – A rare type of mage who can manipulate all of the elements.

Enchanted Artifacts – Artifacts can be imbued with magic that lasts after the death of the person who put the magic into the artifact (unlike a spell that has not been put into an artifact—these spells disappear after the Magica’s death). But magic is not stable. After a period of time—hundreds or thousands of years depending on the circumstance—the magic will degrade. Eventually, it can go bad and cause many problems.

Fire Mage – A mage who can control fire.

FireSoul - A very rare type of Magica who shares a piece of the dragon’s soul. They can locate treasure and steal the gifts (powers) of other supernaturals. With practice, they can manipulate the gifts they steal, becoming the strongest of that gift. They are despised and feared. If they are caught, they are thrown in the Prison of Magical Deviants.

The Great Peace - The most powerful piece of magic ever created. It hides magic from the eyes of humans.

Hearth Witch – A Magica who is versed in magic relating to hearth and home. They are often good at potions and protective spells and are also very perceptive when on their own turf.

Informa - A supernatural who can steal powers.

Magica - Any supernatural who has the power to create magic—witches, sorcerers, mages. All are governed by the Order of the Magica.