Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(30)

“Yeah, maybe. All the carvings on the walls back there—that was just a compilation of collected knowledge. Maps, drawings, writing. Maybe they heard about the scroll and wanted to add it to their collection.”

“So they stole it from the Irish monks.” He nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I think we’re in an antechamber,” I said as I looked around the room. It was dark and nearly empty. Two stone benches lined either wall, and there was a huge wooden door ahead of us.

I drew my daggers, then glanced at Aidan. He had no weapons—but then, he didn’t need them. I approached the door.

“Ready?” I asked Aidan.

He nodded and I pushed open the left door.

“Ohh damn,” I breathed.

Soaring shelves piled high with treasure filled the cavernous space. Gold, ivory, and precious stones blinked at me. Weapons and dishes and books and jewelry made from every precious substance known to man filled the enormous room. Covetousness surged within me. These weren’t my usual treasures, but I could make space in my trove. I could clear out the leather jackets and books and fill it with everything that sparkled in this wonderland.

A terrifying roar startled me out of my stupor. I jumped. Beside me, Aidan had changed into a griffon, his wings and fur as golden as the treasures around me.

When I looked back at the room, I saw the demons for the first time. I’d missed them because of the gold. They scaled every shelf, crawling like giant spiders searching for something, though they had the normal number of limbs. There were more than a dozen of them, and all were man-shaped and dark gray. Were they looking for the scroll too?

Had to be. These were the individuals that Aidan’s seer had prophesied to be looking for the scroll.

One turned and threw a blast of burning smoke at Aidan, who dodged it in mid-air.

Holy magic, they were shadow demons. Like the one who’d called me a FireSoul just the other day. I hadn’t been sure if the ones on the monks’ island were the same because they hadn’t thrown smoke. Just looking similar didn’t make them the same. But the smoke throwing sure as heck did.

Coincidence?

No way. I’d gone my whole life without someone calling me out on what I was. Now I’d seen them three times. Too many times to ignore.

They all had to die.

I charged into the room as Aidan launched himself into the air. His wings beat powerfully as he soared to the top of the shelves and pulled the demons off with his front claws. He tore them apart, a gruesome but efficient job.

The thud of bodies sounded around me.

There were three demons on the ground and they all turned to me. Mine. I flung Righty at one. It sunk deep into his neck. I called the blade back as the demon fell, then turned to another.

Just in time to see him pick up a golden orb that sat alone on a majestic pedestal in the middle of the room. It was the only piece of treasure not on a shelf.

He lifted it and aimed at Aidan.

“No!” I shouted.

The number one rule in tomb raiding—never, ever pick up something that sits alone on a pedestal. It always sets off a booby trap, and it’s almost always of the giant rock variety. Hadn’t he seen Indiana Jones?

‘Course not. He was a demon. And now we were screwed.

A crack streaked across the ceiling like lightning. Aidan hovered in the air beneath, going for a demon that clung to one of the tall shelves. A second later, a boulder fell from the ceiling. Then another, straight onto Aidan. It hit him in the shoulder, knocking him out of the air.

His huge form plummeted, thudding to the ground. Rocks crashed around him. He didn’t get up.

No! He was going to be crushed to death.

My magic flared to life. Blindly, I reached out for his gift, terrified.

I was risking my life for his, but I couldn’t stop myself. If I didn’t bring this whole place down with my uncontrollable power, he could figure out what I was.

I opened myself up to his magic, not even trying, and it crashed into me. Like the waves I’d heard when I’d first met him, it swamped me. Power flooded my senses, making my skin tingle and my head buzz. I grasped with my mind, trying to sort through the myriad of gifts that were now at my disposal. Fire, water, wind, rock. He could control them all.

I didn’t know what to do—I’d never practiced—so I went on instinct. I dropped my knives and threw my hands out toward the falling rock, envisioning them flying away from Aidan. I poured everything into it, my will and hope and determination.

The rocks hurtled horizontally through the air, diverting themselves from the griffon. Boulders plowed into the walls, causing even more damage than they would have if they’d fallen, but at least Aidan was alive.

Sweat poured down my face as I kept up the stream of power. Breath burned in my lungs.

Finally, the rocks stopped falling. I dropped my hands and bent over, panting. Fortunately, we were inside a mountain, so the battered walls would still hold. I’d destroyed some of the bookshelves and hoped the scroll had been on one.

I only had a second to recover. It wasn’t enough. Using that much magic was draining. I’d forgotten about the surviving demons. One plowed into my middle, throwing me to the ground.

Though I tried to fight back, I was weak from using my power.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aidan rise to his feet. He launched into the air again, swooping down to pull the demon off me.