“It’s still warm,” she said in surprise.
“He magicked it,” Riley told her. “Some sort of slow-burn fire spell.”
She looked at Kai. “You magicked my pizza to stay warm?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Only if you changed the taste.”
“It should taste the same.”
“No problem then.” She gave the pizza box a loving pat.
Riley snickered. “Careful, Kai. She might decide you’re worth keeping around after all.”
“Hmm.”
Sera was about to open the box, when the doorbell rang. She looked at the door and sighed.
“I’ll get it,” Riley offered.
“No, I’ll do it.” With her luck, it was vampires. Or harpies. She passed him the box. “Just keep your paws off my pizza while I’m gone.”
Sera walked down the hall, the pleasant scent of dough and cheese calling out to her, begging her to return. Whoever had interrupted her date with the pizza had better already be dead—or they soon would be.
She opened the door to find a man in a smart suit standing outside. He didn’t smell dead, but his magic had a potent pinecone-like smell. It was obvious even under the thick layer of spicy aftershave he wore. A mage. Oh, goody.
“Serafina Dering?”
“I am.”
“My name is James Holloway,” he said, handing her a large black envelope.
Sera turned it over in her hands. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the crimson wax seal of the Magic Council on the back.
“It has come to the Council’s attention that you are an unregistered mage. According to Article 3, Section 15 of the Supernatural Decree of 1993, all combative mages with a power level of Tier Five—also known as ‘Standard’—or above are required to register with the Magic Council. You have recently demonstrated combative magic at or above that level. We have created a preliminary profile for you in our system until which time your abilities can be properly tested.”
“Tested?”
“At the next Magic Games, which are scheduled to take place next month. You have been added to the register.” He indicated the envelope. “All the information is in there, including your testing schedule and the rules of the Games. If you have any questions about your obligations, please call the number listed on the contact page. I wish you a pleasant evening and best of luck in the Games.”
With that said, he dipped his chin to her and turned to walk away. Sera closed the door, her hands numb. Her whole body was numb—numb and hot. Her pulse pounded against her skin, burning it with fear. In a daze, she staggered back to the living room. The moment he saw her, Kai jumped up and hurried over.
“What happened? You look like someone died.”
“No, no one’s dead.” Not yet anyway. With the Magic Council on to her, though, it was only a matter of time.
“Your magic is…unsettled. It’s crashing too fast. You need to eat now.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That’s ok.” He set his arm across her back, leading her to the sofa. “You can just watch me eat then.”
She tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a grunt.
“What’s wrong?” Riley asked her as she collapsed onto the sofa beside him.
Kai sat down on her other side, and she handed her brother the envelope. His eyes panned across the black paper, growing wide when he saw the bumpy crimson seal.
“The Magic Council?” he asked in a soft whisper.
“Their messenger informed me that I’ve been entered into the next Magic Games.”
“The Magic Games are dangerous.”
“Not any more dangerous than the things I’ve faced before. If I meet something nasty, I’ll just bash it with my sword as always,” she told him with a forced smile. Not that she believed a word of it. But there was no point in worrying Riley.
Kai held out his hand. “Let me see that.”
“Sure. Why not?” she said with a laugh and handed it over. He probably knew everything inside it anyway. Maybe he’d even stamped the letter himself. He might as well have stamped her death sentence. She’d been such a fool.
Paper cracked and split as Kai tore open the envelope. He pulled out a slim folder with an embossed logo: the four symbols of the Mage Triad, the Vampire Covenant, the League of Fairies, and the Circle of the Otherworldly arranged in a ring. Then he began to flip through the papers inside.
“How did they find out?” Riley asked her.
“I wonder.”
“I can feel your burning glare trained on me,” Kai said, his eyes still scanning through the papers. “But this wasn’t my doing. I promised I wouldn’t tell them about your magic, and I didn’t. I haven’t even met with the Council since we started working together. Too busy fighting crazy mages and all that. And then I was recovering from fighting crazy mages. The Council sent me a message about Finn’s sentence… Finn.” He looked up at her. “Finn must have said something about you while being questioned.”
“Questioned? I hope that’s not a euphemism for tortured.”
“Finn wasn’t brought in for stealing cookies, Sera. He tried to spearhead a revolution.”
“Even so, torture is wrong.”
“It’s how it’s sometimes done. You would know that if you’d embraced your magic and integrated into our community rather than hiding from it.”
“Oh, so this is my fault now?”
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just how it is,” he said. “Don’t be so squeamish.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You step on people!”
“One person. And he was a werewolf about to kill you.”
“Who do I look like—Little Bo Peep? I have a sword and I know how to use it, dragon breath.”
“Dragon breath?”
“You heard me.”
“Hearing and believing are two entirely different things, sweetheart. I thought you knew better than to antagonize someone who steps on people.”
“Ha! So you admit it!”
He licked his lips.
“What’s in the letter?” Riley said quickly.
Kai gave Sera a look that could have burned the needles off a giant talking cactus, then turned to Riley. “It’s just the standard package of forms. It says the Magic Games will be used to test her abilities and gauge her power level for her entry into the registry. Most mages are motivated to show off their magic because the better they rank in the Games, the more opportunities open up to them. Though I have a feeling Sera is going to be obstinate.”
“I’ll bust the monsters with my sword,” she said. “No magic required.”
“You’re very good,” Kai told her. “But that won’t be enough. The Magic Games are dangerous. They’re meant to push you to the extent of your magic, so the judges can get a good idea of your abilities. Swords won’t be enough. And in most matches, they’re not even allowed. Look here.” He pointed at the page with her fight schedule. “They’re starting you out in the Tier Three Division, which means they’re pretty sure your magic is at least Substantial. My guess is they expect you to fight your way up the divisions from there.”
“Couldn’t Sera just pretend not to have magic?” Riley asked.
“No. The Magic Games are over two thousand years old. That’s two thousand years we’ve had to figure out exactly how to get into a mage’s head,” Kai said. “The current Game Architect is very good. He’s been running the Magic Games for over ten years and not once has he failed. He will throw every weapon in his extensive and exceptionally well-funded arsenal at you until he cracks open your magic. The stress of it…”
“You broke?” Sera asked in surprise.
“The stronger the mage, the harder he breaks. Of course I broke. We all broke. But then we pulled ourselves back together and were stronger for it. It helped that I had a coach to prepare me before the Games. Some of the mages didn’t even have that.”
“Everyone who wasn’t born into the wealth of one of the prestigious dynasties, you mean,” she said.
“Yes.”
Riley gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“I’ll be fine,” she reassured him—and herself.
“Yes, you will be,” said Kai. “Because I’m going to coach you.”
Riley’s hand dropped off her shoulder, and they both stared at him.
“Don’t you have better things to do than save my bacon?” she stammered.
“Shh, don’t try to talk him out of helping you,” Riley whispered.
“I don’t want his help.”
“But you
do
need it.”
She slouched down, drowning in the collapse of her own denial. “I know.”
“Is that a yes?” Kai asked her.
“Yes.”
“Ok, then we’ll start tomorrow. The next Magic Games start in twenty-four days’ time. I’ll have only weeks to teach you magic other mages have had years to master. It won’t be easy. Or painless.”
“I understand. And I’m ready.”
“No, you’re not,” he told her. “But you’re strong. You’ll be all right.”
Sera rose into her knees and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.
“I’ll expect a favor in return,” he whispered back.
“Such as?”
He pulled back, giving her a wide grin. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Author's Note
If you want to be notified when I have a new release, head on over to my website to sign up for my mailing list at
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If you enjoyed
Mercenary Magic
, I’d really appreciate if you could spread the word. One of the best ways of doing that is by leaving a review wherever you purchased this book. Thank you for your invaluable support!
What's coming next in the series?
Magic Edge
, the first book of
Dragon Born Alexandria
, is coming in November 2015. It follows the adventures of Sera’s sister Alex.
Magic Games
, the second book of
Dragon Born Serafina
, will also be coming soon.
Books by Ella Summers
Dragon Born Serafina
Dragon Born Alexandria
1
Magic Edge
[November 2015]
Sorcery and Science
2.5
Menace
3.5
Revelations
4.5
Masquerade
[November 2015]
And
more books
coming soon…
About the Author
Ella Summers has been writing stories for as long as she could read; she's been coming up with tall tales even longer than that. One of her early year masterpieces was a story about a pigtailed princess and her dragon sidekick. Nowadays, she still writes fantasy. She likes books with lots of action, adventure, and romance. When she is not busy writing or spending time with her two young children, she makes the world safe by fighting robots.
Originally from the U.S., Ella currently resides in Switzerland. She is the author of the epic fantasy series
Sorcery and Science
and the urban fantasy series
Dragon Born.
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