Infinite Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 5) (6 page)

We’d gone a long way with no more traps—perhaps as far as a quarter mile—by the time a door appeared at the other end.

Unfortunately, a guard appeared with it. His mouth opened to shout just as Aidan hurled a potion bomb at him. It exploded against his chest, the glass shattering and the liquid soaking him. A moment later, his eyes rolled up in his head, and he passed out. His massive form tumbled to the ground.

“Connor’s potions really are handy,” I whispered. “I ought to use them more often.”

“Hopefully you won’t need them after we figure this thing out.”

“True.” I wanted to get back to my normal life. One of tomb raiding and friends and hanging out. In my normal life, I didn’t need potion bombs loaded with sleeping spells because I just killed the demons who got in my way. I didn’t have to deal with humans. But the only way out was forward.

We nodded at each other as a signal to go, then crept silently down the hall. When we reached the end, I pushed the door slowly. It creaked open, revealing a set of stairs leading up.
 

So the house was above ground.

“Looks like he probably has his real house hidden by illusion, because I don’t think I saw any houses around his dummy house,” I said.

Aidan nodded and we began to climb. At the top, I nudged open the heavy wooden door and peered into a foyer. It was a grand place, all shining dark wood lit by a crystal chandelier above. The chandelier sent glittering sparkles of light on the floor.

“Bingo.” This was truly the bulldog’s house—and it was one of his mistakes. No one would believe that he lived in that modest family dwelling we’d just been in.

I stood in the doorway, trying to figure out if anyone was home. There was only silence in the house. I strained my ears, listening for music or footsteps or talking.

“I think I hear something to the left,” I whispered.

Aidan cocked his head, then jerked it toward the right. “Agreed.”

We crept out of the doorway and through the foyer, then down the wide hallway dotted with oil paintings. I suppressed a shudder at the memory of escaping Victor Orriodor’s compound as a child. His home had been just as ornate as this, with terrors down below in the basement. What was Dermot Mulvey hiding?

We found him in an office, leaned back in a chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He was dressed in one of his usual snappy suits and chatting into his phone, looking like the overinflated criminal blowhard that he was.

Then again, maybe I was biased.

Okay, I was definitely biased. I hated this bastard and wanted to figure out what the hell he was doing with scum like Victor Orriodor.

He faced away from the door, so we had a second before he saw us. I nodded at Aidan and we charged, each taking a side. Dermot heard us coming and surged to his feet, spinning to face us, his eyes wide.

He threw up his hands, no doubt to cast a protective shield around himself, but I leapt on him before he could. We crashed to the ground, and I scrambled on top.

“You!” he spat.

“Yep.” I grinned, then jumped off him as Aidan crouched and grabbed Dermot’s shoulders, yanking him up.
 

Quickly, Aidan tugged Dermot’s hands behind his back, snapping on a pair of silver handcuffs that we’d brought along for that very purpose.

“We have some questions,” I said as Aidan directed him to a chair.

“And you presume that I will answer them?” Dermot blustered.

I sat on his desk, propping my boot on a drawer handle. I was really enjoying the power switch. This bastard had threatened my
deirfiúr
and tossed me in prison.

I grinned at Dermot, then pulled one of my obsidian blades from the sheath at my thigh. His eyes widened before his jaw hardened.

“Steeling yourself for torture?” I asked. Frankly, I didn’t have the stomach for it, but he didn’t know that. “That’s what you’d do in this situation, isn’t it? That’s what you intended when you came to my cell at the Prison for Magical Miscreants.”

I flipped the blade up into the air, enjoying the way the light glimmered on the black glass. I also enjoyed the way Dermot swallowed hard, fear in his beady eyes. I might not have the stomach for torture, but I was no saint. I enjoyed his fear.

“It is what you had planned,” I answered for him. “Fortunately for you, I have a friend who is uncommonly good with potions. One of the best in the world, in fact.”

I pulled a little vile from my pocket and nodded at Aidan. He grabbed Dermot’s head, tilting it back. Dermot thrashed, but Aidan pinched his nose, forcing him to open his mouth. I tugged the cork out of the vial and poured the black liquid into Dermot’s mouth. Aidan pushed on Dermot’s jaw, forcing him to swallow.

“There now,” I said, knowing I was being insufferable. “That’s not so bad, is it?”

Dermot shot daggers at me with his eyes and strained against Aidan’s hold. Our plan had been to have Aidan guard the door, but none of the furniture in here was sturdy enough to tie Dermot to, and he definitely wasn’t going to sit still.

“So,” I said. “Those questions I have. Let’s get started. What are Victor Orriodor’s plans?”

Dermot’s gaze darted left and right. Sweat rolled down his forehead. According to Connor, the potion would compel Dermot to answer my questions. He was fighting it now, but he couldn’t hold out forever.

“Dermot?” I nudged his knee with my boot.

“To destroy the Alpha Council.” His complexion turned green as soon as he spat out the words.

As I’d thought. “Why?”

“Vengeance. For his family.”

That was fair enough. I’d seen in a vision from the past that a group of armed men had killed his parents for being FireSouls. I couldn’t blame Victor, though I didn’t think he should murder a bunch of people.

“Have you told the Order of the Magica about Cass being a FireSoul?” Aidan asked.

I glared at him. I was asking the questions here. But Aidan glared right back at me. His priority was my safety. It always had been. Though I wanted other answers more, Aidan seemed determined to get his in.

“No,” Dermot bit out.
 

Relief loosened a couple of the knots in my shoulders. My secret was still safe. I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted confirmation on that point.
 

We’d probably have to kill Dermot to keep my secret, a task I didn’t relish. With my new strength, there were no more even fights. It made me hate the idea of killing even more than I had before. I had too much power. But as long as I focused on the threat he posed to my
deirfiúr
, I could do what I had to.

“Why?” Aidan asked.

“We need her and the other two. If the Order knew what she was, she’d stay locked up in the prison where we couldn’t get her.”

“Then why put her there in the first place?”

“I needed someplace to hold her while I settled things after the disaster at my office. There was an inquiry. Too many questions.” He scowled. “I couldn’t have her under foot, and I had a contact at the prison. I needed a few days to deal with the fall-out, and it was the only place strong enough to hold her.”

“And it failed, didn’t it?” I grinned.

“Yes,” he growled.

I reveled in his frustration, but I was starting to feel some of it myself. He was confirming my suspicions, but I wanted new info. “Is Victor planning to use the Heartstone to break into Glencarrough? Or does he want it to protect his stronghold?”

“He’s going to use it against Glencarrough. His stronghold is secure.”

“Where is it?”

“A castle in the mountains of Transylvania.”

I barked a laugh. “You’re kidding.”

“No.”

“Really? He’s got a creepy castle in Transylvania. Like Dracula.”

He nodded his head sharply.

“Of course he does.” I shook my head. Victor was the scariest man I’d ever met. This should humanize him. Make him seem slightly ridiculous. But I had a feeling that if I saw that castle, he’d still be just as scary. “Are there FireSoul prisoners there? Children?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But you think there might be.”

“There might.”

Damn. “Where is this place, exactly?”

“In the middle of Romania, bordered on the east and south by the Carpathian Mountains. The castle is in the heart of the mountains. At the tallest peak.”

I pulled out my phone and found the maps app, then pulled up Transylvania. It was small, a weird-shaped region in the middle of Romania. I found the mountains and zoomed in, looking for the tallest peak according to the topography markers. I dropped a pin in it and held the phone out so that Dermot could see.

“Is that where it is?”

“Roughly.”

I nodded. We’d find it. “How is Victor planning to take down the Alpha Council? And why do you want him to?”

Dermot’s eyes shifted around the room. Like he was looking for an escape. Or help. Were there more guards?

Probably.

“Well?” I poked his knee with my boot.

“He’s going to waken something greater and more powerful than he is. An ancient force that he’ll use to fuel himself with more power. Enough to accomplish
all
his goals.”

Oooh, shit.
A greater power? In the case of Victor, that had to mean a greater, more
evil
power. I thought I’d already seen the worst, but he thought there was more?

“How?” I demanded.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Tell me.” I wanted to shake him. Victor already had more power than any supernatural I’d ever met. Even me. I might have recently gained my endless well of power, but I couldn’t control it. He could.

If Victor was already so powerful, what was stronger than him? What was worse than him?

Goosebumps broke out over my arms.
 

“Tell me, damn it.” I held my dagger at his throat, hoping to scare him into talking.
 

“I’m not sure how he plans to get it!” Dermot cried.

He’d taken the truth serum, so I had to believe him. “What do you get out of all this?”

His gaze darted shiftily around the room.

“Tell me!”

“He’ll give me some of the power,” he said. “Enough that I’ll be the second strongest Magica. Behind him.”

What a pipe dream. Victor wouldn’t share shit.
 

“What do you give him in exchange?” Aidan asked.

“Money and men and—”

The room exploded with action and shattered glass. Men burst in through the windows behind Dermot’s chair. Four of them, all dressed in black tactical gear.

“Behind you!” Aidan shouted.

I spun to see six people surging into the room. Their magical signatures filled the air, the crackle of fire and the cold burn of ice. There were at least a few Elemental Mages in the bunch, but probably some other nasties as well.

Shit.
Dermot must have managed to hit a panic button.
 

Beside me, a glow of gray light suffused Aidan. A second later, the massive griffin stood in his place. His golden fur and feathers reflected the light, and his massive beak snapped threateningly.

“Try not to kill them,” I muttered, my new conscience getting the better of me.

Aidan glared at me, then turned to charge the guards climbing through the windows. I hoped he’d just head-butt them or something.

I called upon my magic, going for my Mirror Mage powers. I was pissed enough that I wanted to use Dermot’s own weather witch powers to defeat him.
 

The guards on the other side of the room threw jets of flame and spears of ice at me. Heat and gold flew by me as I dodged. I lunged behind Dermot’s desk as I reached out for his magic. He sneered down at me from the chair above.

I grinned at him as I caught hold of the gusting wind that was part of his weather witch gift, then rolled out from behind the desk and threw a massive blast of wind at the two nearest guards. They flew backward and slammed into the wall.

Out of nowhere, a jet of ice hit me right in the stomach, bowling me backward. Pain exploded from my middle, stealing my breath. Aching, I scrambled upright. I hadn’t even seen it coming.

Across the room, a Fire Mage held a glowing ball of flame in his hand. He hurled it at me. As it flew through the air, it grew in size and shape. I threw out my hand and sent a gust of wind at the fireball. The flame surged back toward its master, dissipating as it flew. My torrent of air had extinguished most of it by the time it crashed into the Fire Mage’s chest. He slammed into the wall, but at least he wasn’t devoured by the flame.

These guys were playing for keeps. Whatever button Dermot had pressed, it’d been the serious one. I’d knocked out three of the guards who’d come through the door, but there were still five left.
 

Aidan’s roar echoed in the room, making my ears ache. I glanced quickly behind me. He’d knocked out four guards, but more climbed through the window. Half a dozen on his side of the room, and they were rushing toward him. He was seriously handicapped by my request that he not kill.

We were outnumbered.
 

Shit, shit, shit.

I’d gotten cocky, questioning Dermot. Now, we’d be lucky to make it out of here at all. I turned back to my side of the room and gave it one more shot.

As soon as I turned, a massive spear of ice hurtled toward me. I lunged to the side and threw a blast of wind at the Magica who’d thrown it. She went flying backward, slamming into the wall. I tried heaving more blasts at the other guards, but I wasn’t fast enough.
 

I needed my root power if I was going to get out of this.
 

But it was dangerous.

So was getting caught. I wouldn’t escape the Prison for Magical Miscreants twice. Worse, I couldn’t let Aidan be captured.
 

There was only one way.
 

I lunged to my feet and raced across the room to Aidan, dodging blasts of flame and ice that tore apart the room. Wood splinters and crystal shattered all around me.
 

When I reached Aidan, I leapt upon his back and jerked off the golden dampener cuff. Magic roared through me, making my hair stand on end. I gasped.
Whoa.