Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(31)

I scrambled up, more awkward than I’d ever been, and grabbed my blades. Another demon jumped out at me from behind a pile of rubble. Startled, I flung Righty at him. My arm was so weak that my aim was way off. It sunk into his shoulder, and he crashed to his back. I limped to him and straddled him, then grabbed the dagger plunged into his shoulder and twisted.

“What do you know?” I panted.

His black eyes met mine, and he just stared at me, as if the pain didn’t affect him at all.

A blast of burning smoke slammed into me. I crashed to the ground beside the demon. He pulled my dagger from his chest, then scrambled up and toward the figure who’d blasted me.

I grabbed my blade and flung it at him. He collapsed. I staggered to my feet. Fates, I was so weak!

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Aidan tearing apart the demon who’d blasted smoke.

Good.

I swiped Lefty across the cut on the back of my hand, and Righty yanked itself out of the demon’s chest, returning to me. I spun, looking for more prey.

The last demon stood in front of the soaring bookshelves.

I blinked. It wasn’t a demon. It was a man. A Magica of some kind. I hadn’t noticed him earlier, but he was definitely not a demon. I threw Righty at him. It sank into his shoulder.

Damn it! I was so tired I couldn’t even throw straight.

I called the blade back to me. As it was pulling itself from his shoulder, he dug something out of his pocket and hurled it to the ground. A puff of glittering silver smoke wafted up, and he stepped into it.

As he disappeared, I saw the big ivory scroll gripped in his hand.

“No!” I reached out, but he was gone. At the last second, I snagged the blade that flew toward me.

The rest of the place was in chaos—rocks everywhere, golden objects glinting from every nook and cranny—but there were no more living demons. One lay on the ground, though.

Maybe he wasn’t dead yet. I stumbled toward him as griffon-Aidan landed and transformed back into a man. The demon was sprawled on his back, his middle looking crushed. His face was a waxy gray. Aidan must have crushed him and dropped him, but he wasn’t dead yet if he hadn’t disappeared.

I smacked his face. “Wake up!”

He lay still.

I shook him by the collar. Nothing. All I seemed to be doing these days was shaking demons and trying to get them to talk.

Aidan knelt by my side and dug around in the demon’s pockets.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“He might have a transport charm. His buddy did.” He pulled his hand out and showed me. A small rock. “Can you track him?”

I closed my eyes and reached out for the man who’d disappeared, even though I knew it was likely hopeless. I kept my hand on the unconscious demon’s chest, but felt nothing.

“No,” I said.

“I thought Seekers could track people.”

They could, but Seeker was just my cover story. I could only find people or things of value. The demon at my feet didn’t value his comrades, so there was no link for me. I valued finding the man I’d just seen, but I didn’t know enough about him to track him. Or he was protected. Either way, I was getting nothing.

“I can’t feel where he went. I don’t know why,” I said.

My shoulders sagged. What a crap day.

Black glass flashed in the light at the demon’s side. My blades. I reached for one, then remembered. “Blood. I threw my blade at the man who disappeared. I called it back to me before he left. We can use the blood on the blade to fuel a tracking spell! That should be enough to find him.”

I was pretty fastidious about washing the blood off my beloved blades, but I could wait if it meant finding the man who’d taken the scroll.

“Do you know where to buy a spell like that?” he asked.

It wasn’t easy to buy magic that wasn’t your own. It’s why my business did so well—a lot of demand, little supply. “I don’t, but I think my friends would. They know a lot of people. They’ve hooked me up with charmed objects in the past.”

“Good. Let’s go then.” He stood.

I rose, swaying on my feet. Fates, using magic was hard. I was so out of shape.

“Are you all right?” Aidan steadied me.

Had he been conscious when I’d moved the rocks?

“Yeah, just beat up.” And it would take me a while to get over the shock of using that much power.

“You look like you’re a bit more than beat up.”

“Nah, I’m fine. I totally—”

Wooziness hit me hard. I swayed on my feet. Right as I tipped over to go hang out with the floor, Aidan swept me up into his arms.

Wow, that was nice. Not only did I not have to support my own weight, but he was also warm and strong, and his arms felt heavenly.

“You’re not all right,” he said.

“Just tired. Put me down.”

“No.”

I scowled. “Fine. Let’s go back. Potions & Pastilles.”

Suspicion glinted in Aidan’s dark eyes. “There’s more to it than exhaustion.”

“There isn’t.”

“So you didn’t save my life from those rocks?”

Oh, crap. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”