Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(57)

“He’s definitely in there,” I said. My dragon sense was pulling harder than ever, which often happened when I neared my prey.

“This place is freaking weird, and this thief is freaking weird,” Del said.

“We’ll split up,” Aidan said. “Enter from different sides.”

“Good idea,” I said.

He looked at me. “You and I will go from the left, Del and Nix from the right. The way those walls are crumbling, it won’t be hard to find an entrance. We’ll go quickly across the grass and enter the cathedral sixty seconds from when we leave this room.”

I nodded. My deirfiúr both said, “Agreed.”

Del and I both looked at our watches, then nodded at our partners. We all slipped out the door and raced across the grass, veering off to head for our assigned sides of the cathedral. Aidan loped ahead of me, his long legs carrying him farther faster.

The moon shined brightly, illuminating our path. I prayed to magic that the thief wasn’t looking out a window. And that he didn’t have guards on the lookout.

Aidan and I leapt over a fallen column and sidled up to the cathedral wall. We edged over to a gap in the stone. I glanced at my watch, then up at Aidan and mouthed, “Five seconds.”

I peeked around the edge of the wall and into the space. The cathedral was empty, the floor grown over with grass. Movement caught my eye from the front. A dark-haired man stalked back and forth, a black bag at his feet. The thief. He looked like he was waiting for something.

He whirled toward us, as if he sensed something. Our sixty seconds were up and I had a clear line of sight, so I flung a dagger at him.

Quick as a flash, he threw up his hand, and a bolt of lightning knocked the dagger away. Thunder boomed, vibrating my chest, and the scent of ozone rent the air.

I lunged backward. Holy magic, I’d never seen anyone throw lightning before.

Aidan surged into the room. He used his magic to lift a fallen column off the ground. It hurtled through the air at the thief. Again, the Lightning Mage threw a sparking white bolt. Aidan lunged behind the wall.

The column exploded, the sound vibrating my eardrums. The smell of singed stone burned my nostrils.

How the hell were we supposed to fight this guy? He had lightning.

“Use your powers,” Aidan demanded. “You’re a damned Mirror Mage. Blast him back.”

“I could kill us all!” I looked back into the room in time to see Del and Nix enter from behind the thief.

Nix had conjured lightning rods and placed them a dozen feet in front of them, like a shield. As they advanced, she conjured more lightning rods, an ever-extending field of protection.

Until the Lightning Mage whirled around and saw what faced him. He laughed, a dark sound, then flicked his hand. Another fallen column rose into the air and battered down the lightning rods. The thief threw an enormous bolt of lightning at them that cracked through the air.

It parted and arced up, forming a domed cage of lightning over my deirfiúr. Trapped.

“No!” Enraged and terrified, I raced into the cathedral. I had to stop him before he killed them. I raised my knife to hurl it as the thief spun around. He raised a hand and launched an enormous bolt of lightning at me.

One crystal thought flashed in my mind. I’m dead because I didn’t use my magic.

Something enormous crashed into my back, throwing me to the ground behind a column, blocking me from the lightning. Pain blossomed in my injured shoulder as I rolled to see the lightning strike Aidan, who’d become a griffon. He lit up like a lightbulb, shaking, then collapsed, his huge form limp.

I gasped and reached for him.

Oh, fates, not Aidan. He’d thrown himself in front of lightning for me. He couldn’t be dead.

But he looked it.

More than anything, I wanted to go to him. But if I did, we were all dead.

They relied on me.

And the only chance I had was to use my magic. I couldn’t beat this guy with knives or quickness. Oh, fates, I didn’t want to blow us all up. If I tried to use lightning, that wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities.

But my deirfiúr were in that cage and Aidan lay dead or dying.

I blew out a shaky breath, then opened myself up to the thief’s magic. It sparked and crackled as it washed over me, lighting me up in a way that made me feel entirely alive. I absorbed it, picturing myself as a lightning rod.

When I felt full to bursting with electricity, I tried to gather it up, to harness it. The scent of ozone filled my nose. I envisioned myself throwing a bolt of lightning right at him, then popped up from behind the column. He was striding toward me. I threw out my hands and released the lightning.

It went awry, an enormous bolt hitting one wall. The stone exploded and crumbled, throwing dust into the air.

Damn! I dived behind the column again. Fortunately, the rocks had missed my deirfiúr and Aidan. But they’d also missed the thief, who’d been thrown to the side. I seriously doubted he was dead.

My entire body shook as I tried to harness the lightning again. I envisioned less of it. It’d be easier to control, and maybe I’d keep him alive long enough to ask some questions. How had he found me? Why did he want me?

Once I had a grasp on the lightning, I peered up over the column. He was climbing to his feet from where he’d been thrown. I stood, but before I could throw the lightning, he caught sight of me. His dark eyes blazed as he threw a bolt.