Ancient Magic: a New Adult Urban Fantasy (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 1) (7 page)

“Scroll? What’s inside it?”

“It could tell people what we are.”

Nix stepped back, her eyes wide. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. And Aidan said someone else is after it, too.”

“That’s weird. Right after you ran into a demon who knew we were FireSouls? Too much coincidence.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to go get that scroll and destroy it. I might need you to make a forged version if there’s time. Without the information about us.”

“Yeah, no kidding. But this is nuts.” She shook her head. “I talked to Connor and Claire. They both think he’s cool. And I really liked him.”

A bit of the tension faded out of me at the news that Connor and Claire trusted Aidan. Connor was a better judge, as he was all Hearth Witch, but Claire’s opinion was good too, considering she had a bit of Hearth Witch in her. Hearth witches were really good at reading people’s intentions. Something about protecting hearth and home. And because Aidan had been in their shop and they lived in the back, their powers had been amplified when they’d assessed him.

I couldn’t trust him one hundred percent, but he had the stamp of approval from Connor and Claire. He was probably safe.

Until he learned what I was.

Something I wasn’t going to let happen.
 

Nix peppered me with questions as I threw a couple changes of clothes into a small duffle. I had no idea how long we’d be gone, but I hoped not more than a couple days.

“Right, I’m out of here,” I said when I was done.

We left my apartment and headed down the stairs.

“You’ve got your charm if you need me,” Nix said at her door.

“Yeah, thanks.” I hugged her and turned to go, but a thought popped into my head. I spun around. “Hey, will you go ask Dr. Garriso about the scroll and call me if you learn anything?”
 

Dr. Garriso was our contact at the local museum and a scholar of all things magical history. We usually consulted him with questions about the artifacts we found. I loved his book-filled office but didn’t have time to go see him now, and he really preferred to speak in person.

“Yeah. Good idea!”

“Thanks.” I turned and took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to meet Aidan. As excited as I was to see him—which was so dumb, I knew it was—I still patted the dagger on my right leg. Old habits and all.

Aidan stood across the street, leaning against the big SUV I’d noticed earlier. Most of his body was in shadow, but it was hard not to notice his height or the breadth of his shoulders. How was it fair that one of the strongest supernaturals in the world was also built like a world-class athlete and looked like a model?

I scowled. It was unnatural, and dangerous for my sanity.
 

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yep, let’s get a move on.” I climbed into his car. It was nondescript, but way nicer than my junker. Cars were not one of the things I considered to be treasure. Thus, Cecilia was an old broad on her last legs. “Is your plane at the Fairfield Airport?”

“Yes,” he said as he pulled out onto the street. “I’ve told them to expect us.”

His phone rang. He picked it up. “Merrick.”

I perked up when he spoke. Eavesdropping wasn’t cool, but it counted as extenuating circumstances when mysterious, powerful strangers showed up on your door and needed your help with something that threatened your life.

But his words were in another language. Not Irish or English, so I was out of luck. I gave up listening as we drove through the quiet streets of Magic’s Bend. It had started raining, and the streets were empty.
 

By the time Aidan hung up the phone, we were pulling up to the small airport at the edge of town. Magic’s Bend sat on the Pacific, with a deep water port that wasn’t used very often. There wasn’t much in the way of suburbs, except on the south side of town where the rich people lived, so the rest of the city backed up to the forest and mountains. The airport was positioned right at the edge of town.

Aidan drove completely around the main terminal to the back. Sitting apart from the small fleet of commercial jets was a sleek private plane, far bigger than I’d expected.

Aidan stopped the car beside the stairs that lead up to the plane. I hopped out.

“I’ll take that for you.” A bright-eyed flight attendant—a guy only a couple years younger than me—held out his hand for my bag.

“Ah, I’m fine.” I smiled, then headed up the stairs.

I whistled when I stepped into the plane. His car might have been nondescript, but his plane was anything but. Creamy leather and sleek wood decorated the space. The seats looked huge and comfortable, and there was even a couch in the back. I stepped in and turned to him. I was about to ask him how he afforded such a ridiculous plane when a thought occurred to me.

“How come your plane is here if you were in Ireland earlier today? You didn’t have time to fly here.”

“Magic’s Bend is my home base,” he said as he stepped into the plane. “I was just at my place in Ireland for the week. I took a portal charm to get here.”

“But wouldn’t that leave your plane back in Ireland?”

“I flew commercial,” he said as he walked to the small kitchen in the front. A curtain was pulled back, but when closed, it would conceal the small space. He grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and handed me one. “If it’s just me, I feel like a jerk taking this thing. It burns a lot of fuel to carry just one person.”

“So you’re an environmentalist?”

“Not a good one.” He held up the plastic bottle in his hand and nodded to it. “But I try to do okay about the obvious stuff. Taking this jet for just me is one of those things.”

“But you’ll take it tonight.”

He shrugged. “You need to sleep, and this one has a bed.”

Huh. That was…nice of him. I’d never had a guy be thoughtful enough to offer me a plane before. Then again, I’d never known a guy with a plane before. Who did?

“Thanks,” I said.

The captain came out of the cockpit. “If you’ll take your seats, we’re about to take off.”

“Thanks, Tom,” Aidan said.

I found a seat in the middle and sank into it. I stifled a moan. It was so dang comfortable. After fighting the demon and then immediately dealing with Aidan, I’d been too distracted to realize how much my whole body hurt. Especially my leg.

“You all right?” Aidan asked as he took the seat next to me. The plane rumbled as it taxied down the runway. He was close enough to me that I could smell the fresh forest scent of him. Most shifters had a slightly musky scent. Not bad, just animalistic. But he didn’t. Because he was the Origin, maybe.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just bruised up my leg pretty bad in the temple. I heal quickly, though.”

“I’ve got some healing ability if you want me to give it some help.”

I glanced up into his dark gaze. My breath caught. Healing meant touching. Not a lot, but any kind of touching with a guy like Aidan…

“Uhhh….” Wow, I was great with words.
 

CHAPTER FIVE

“It’s no problem,” he said. “It’ll only take a moment.”

It was a bad idea, but I couldn’t help myself. The plane was now ascending into the sky, and it felt like I was leaving the real world behind. “Okay. It’s my leg. Left shin.”
 

I held my breath as he laid his big palm against my leg. Even through my tall boots, I could feel the heat of him. Worse, I could feel his magic. I thought just standing near him was sensory overload? Though his hand stayed still, his magic caressed me, starting at my leg and working its way up. It felt amazing—comforting and tingly at the same time. About the best thing I’d ever felt.

I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing. I did not want him to know how much I liked this. If he moved his hand up my leg, I wasn’t entirely certain I would stop him. Normally I was great at shutting down guys who got handsy. But Aidan was different.

I liked him. I even liked that he was a little bit dangerous. Which definitely meant I needed to set up an appointment with a shrink. But for now, trapped in this plane, I just wanted to focus on how good this felt.
 

Too soon, he removed his hand. Disappointment surged through me. But as my mind cleared, relief came. Touching Aidan had been a bad idea. Something so little had clouded my mind. That was way too risky. I needed to stay sharp. Keep my guard up. I tried to shake the memory of his touch away and moved my leg.
 

Good as new.

“Thanks,” I said.

That was my cue. I liked him. Too much, and I had to get out of here.

“I’m going to hit the hay.” I stood and eyed the couch at the back of the plane. It looked divine. Squishy and soft. “Is there a blanket for that couch?”

“Take the bed,” he said. “The door in the back leads to a bedroom.”

“Is there only one bedroom?”

“Yes, but I’ll take the couch.”

I eyed his tall frame. “You’re not exactly going to fit on it.”

“I’ll manage. Take the bed.”

I was so tired, and I really wanted some space to myself. A door between me and Aidan would help me get my head on straight.

“Okay, thanks.” I grabbed my bag and headed to the back.
 

The gleaming wooden door opened to reveal a luxurious bedroom suite. It was modern and sleek, but the bed looked like heaven. I passed out in seconds; the last thought in my head was of Aidan’s hand on my leg.

I got lucky. If I dreamed of Aidan, I didn’t remember it by the time I woke. The jolt of the plane touching down on the runway jerked me from sleep. I scrambled out of bed and threw on fresh clothes. Just a change of underwear and shirt. My jeans were fine. I usually wore them till they were destroyed anyway. Laundry was lame.

When I entered the main cabin, the exterior door was open, and a fresh breeze blew inside.
 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Aidan said. He stood in the small kitchenette, looking refreshed and way too handsome after sleeping on that tiny couch all night. “I made some coffee to go. Want some?”

“Sure.”

“A lot of cream, right?”

“How’d you know?” I didn’t like him knowing things about me. Even innocuous things like this.

“You ordered a latte last night, so you like wimpy coffee.”

And he was observant. Dangerous. “Wimpy coffee? I suppose you drink yours black?”

“Black as my heart.”

I laughed. I didn’t trust him. But I liked him. “You got a muffin to go with that?”

“Blueberry or bran? There’s a basket here with both.”

“Bran. It sounds healthy, but tastes delicious.”

He pulled one out of the basket and handed it to me along with my coffee.

“Ready?” he asked. “There’s a car waiting. We can head to the coast now. I’ve got a boat on stand-by.”

“Is there a type of transportation you can’t access immediately?” This guy had everything.

“No.”

“Spaceship?”

“My company, Origin Enterprises, is in the final testing phase of a shuttle that’s meant to carry valuables to a safe deposit bank on the moon. If you can wait a year or so—until we’re sure it won’t blow up—I can even get you a seat on that.”

“The moon?” I’d really thought I’d stump him with the spaceship thing.

“Safest place for valuables. Even you can’t break in there.”

I frowned. “Huh. That would really kill my business model.”

“No doubt.” He nodded to the stairs. “ Ready?”

“Yeah.” I made my way down the stairs to a white Range Rover. The rolling green of the Irish countryside spread out before me. The scent of grass and the lingering bite of jet fuel mingled in the cool air. I climbed down the rickety stairs, hoping I wouldn’t fall on my face. These little landing stairs were always the worst.

 
On the ground, a red-haired man greeted us. He was in his forties with freckles and a friendly smile.
 

“Welcome back, sir.” He handed Aidan a set of keys.

“Thank you, Patrick,” Aidan said.

“Not a problem. I hope you have a fine visit.”

“Give my best to your wife.”

“She’ll be delighted to hear it!” Patrick nodded goodbye and walked toward the terminal.