Stolen Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 3) by Linsey Hall Page A
Authors: Linsey Hall
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and back out, thank magic. I really hadn’t wanted to sneak through the museum again.
Once had been enough for me, thanks.
When we appeared in front of the portal, all of my muscles tensed. The two guards leaned against the wall, their gazes on the portal, and one of the Magica investigators stood by the entrance, a phone pressed to his ear.
The air felt strange, as if it were thicker. I shook it off. Probably getting paranoid. Being invisible wasn’t as fun as I’d expected.
None of them looked our way. My shoulders relaxed slightly. Thank magic for Connor’s skill with a cauldron. I turned back to Del. The portal glowed purple on her face as she reached out to touch it. Her hand stopped just before passing through.
Still closed.
She nodded and reached out for our hands. I clasped hers and Nix gripped her other. Aidan’s hand folded around mine. A second later, I felt the familiar pull of the ether.
Within the space of a breath, we appeared on the other side. The air was hot and humid, then dry and cold, flashing back and forth. We stood in a desert, golden sand stretching out around us. Then the vision wavered.
Suddenly, we were standing in a jungle, green foliage spread out around us and animals screeched in the distance. Enormous leaves rustled overhead and the jungle air felt like hot soup. The ground was spongy beneath my feet. But none of it looked quite solid or real. At times I thought I heard laughter or voices, as if there were people nearby. Then it was gone.
A second later, we were standing in an abandoned city. Cold wind whipped through the empty streets. Skyscrapers soared toward a sunless sky, and eerie quiet descended. Paper blew across the street in front of us, and an old brown sedan sat forsaken. It looked like a movie about the apocalypse.
But worse, the feel of dark magic washed over me, a horrible prickly sensation. My stomach turned.
“The Monster,” I whispered.
Del’s hand tightened in mine. “I feel it.”
“This is his place,” Nix said as the scenery around us wavered, turning back to desert and then to an icy hellscape. The snow glittered white under the light of a non-existent sun.
Where the hell was the light even coming from?
“What is it?” Aidan asked.
“I have no idea.” I shuddered, the cold streaking through me. “It’s not real and it’s not anywhere on Earth. This magic is too strange. Too strong.”
“I think it’s a waypoint between Earth and the heavens and hells,” Del said. “I’ve read about these places. Nothing is stable or solid.”
“Oh, great. So we’re not on Earth.” That had never been on my travel itinerary before. For good reason. “Let’s find Dr. Garriso and get the hell out of here.”
My skin still prickled with unease, an undeniable sense that the Monster was near. Whispers teased at my ears, snippets of conversation I couldn’t quite grasp. As if there were people in a room just next door.
I tried to force my heartbeat to calm and closed my eyes, focusing on Dr. Garriso. I called forth my dragon sense to find him, filling my mind with images of his face and everything I held dear about him.
His support, his conversation, his knowledge.
The familiar sense of direction tugged at my middle, pulling me left. Relief filled me, a balm that drove away some of the horrible prickly feeling of this place. I wouldn’t be able to find him if he weren’t alive.
I pointed. “That way.”
My boots crunched in the ice as we set off. My leather jacket did me no good. My skin was so cold it almost burned.
“Fake Antarctica was not where I expected to end up,” Nix said.
We’d dragged Nix away from a Netflix marathon, but as always, she’d come willingly.
“That’s the truth.” Our surroundings wavered. I squinted, trying to make out what world we’d be walking into next.
Noise and heat crashed around me. Blazing sun beat down, nearly blinding. I blinked, desperately trying to regain my vision. We
Once had been enough for me, thanks.
When we appeared in front of the portal, all of my muscles tensed. The two guards leaned against the wall, their gazes on the portal, and one of the Magica investigators stood by the entrance, a phone pressed to his ear.
The air felt strange, as if it were thicker. I shook it off. Probably getting paranoid. Being invisible wasn’t as fun as I’d expected.
None of them looked our way. My shoulders relaxed slightly. Thank magic for Connor’s skill with a cauldron. I turned back to Del. The portal glowed purple on her face as she reached out to touch it. Her hand stopped just before passing through.
Still closed.
She nodded and reached out for our hands. I clasped hers and Nix gripped her other. Aidan’s hand folded around mine. A second later, I felt the familiar pull of the ether.
Within the space of a breath, we appeared on the other side. The air was hot and humid, then dry and cold, flashing back and forth. We stood in a desert, golden sand stretching out around us. Then the vision wavered.
Suddenly, we were standing in a jungle, green foliage spread out around us and animals screeched in the distance. Enormous leaves rustled overhead and the jungle air felt like hot soup. The ground was spongy beneath my feet. But none of it looked quite solid or real. At times I thought I heard laughter or voices, as if there were people nearby. Then it was gone.
A second later, we were standing in an abandoned city. Cold wind whipped through the empty streets. Skyscrapers soared toward a sunless sky, and eerie quiet descended. Paper blew across the street in front of us, and an old brown sedan sat forsaken. It looked like a movie about the apocalypse.
But worse, the feel of dark magic washed over me, a horrible prickly sensation. My stomach turned.
“The Monster,” I whispered.
Del’s hand tightened in mine. “I feel it.”
“This is his place,” Nix said as the scenery around us wavered, turning back to desert and then to an icy hellscape. The snow glittered white under the light of a non-existent sun.
Where the hell was the light even coming from?
“What is it?” Aidan asked.
“I have no idea.” I shuddered, the cold streaking through me. “It’s not real and it’s not anywhere on Earth. This magic is too strange. Too strong.”
“I think it’s a waypoint between Earth and the heavens and hells,” Del said. “I’ve read about these places. Nothing is stable or solid.”
“Oh, great. So we’re not on Earth.” That had never been on my travel itinerary before. For good reason. “Let’s find Dr. Garriso and get the hell out of here.”
My skin still prickled with unease, an undeniable sense that the Monster was near. Whispers teased at my ears, snippets of conversation I couldn’t quite grasp. As if there were people in a room just next door.
I tried to force my heartbeat to calm and closed my eyes, focusing on Dr. Garriso. I called forth my dragon sense to find him, filling my mind with images of his face and everything I held dear about him.
His support, his conversation, his knowledge.
The familiar sense of direction tugged at my middle, pulling me left. Relief filled me, a balm that drove away some of the horrible prickly feeling of this place. I wouldn’t be able to find him if he weren’t alive.
I pointed. “That way.”
My boots crunched in the ice as we set off. My leather jacket did me no good. My skin was so cold it almost burned.
“Fake Antarctica was not where I expected to end up,” Nix said.
We’d dragged Nix away from a Netflix marathon, but as always, she’d come willingly.
“That’s the truth.” Our surroundings wavered. I squinted, trying to make out what world we’d be walking into next.
Noise and heat crashed around me. Blazing sun beat down, nearly blinding. I blinked, desperately trying to regain my vision. We
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