Fairy Magic (6 page)

Riley was a student at the San Francisco University of Magical Arts and Sciences. He didn’t have any combat magic, but he was a genius in the lab.

“He’d want to check out the crime scenes with the commandos, not stay behind in the library,” Kai said.

“Riley has been helping me out lately,” Sera told Alex. “He’s good. He can convince people to give up information without pulling out a weapon. Or being sarcastic.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Mind-boggling.”

“It really is,” said Sera.

“I wish he were here. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him.” Alex sighed. “I miss him.”

“He wanted to come, but he’s busy getting ready for graduation. June 25
th
, by the way. Be there.”

“I will,” Alex said solemnly. The sisters were the twin queens of snark, but when it came to supporting their brother, they were dead serious. “Even if I have to fight my way through a horde of monsters, I am going to see my brother graduate.”

“Nelly Winterspice at the Fairy Queen already has a dress reserved for you to wear at the ceremony,” said Sera.

“Great. Nelly always knows how to pick a dress that makes my legs look long and my boobs look big.”

Naomi had heard only good things about Nelly Winterspice. According to everyone, the fairy’s grasp of fashion was pure magic.

“Ok, it’s settled. I have got to visit the Fairy Queen,” Naomi declared. “What I wouldn’t give for long legs.”

“You could use magic to make them longer,” suggested Eva.

Easier said than done. “I tried that, but they ended up looking like pieces of Play-Doh that had been stretched out,” Naomi sighed.

“I haven’t figured it out either,” said Eva. “I’m still stuck on hair and eye color changes. Sometimes, I really wish I were a full fairy. Or a full mage. Being stuck between the two just means I can’t use either type of magic well.”

“Yeah,” Naomi said. “I know exactly what you mean. I can’t perform an elemental spell to save my life.” But she was getting pretty good at igniting her Fairy Dust with a lighter. At least that was something.

“Marek is helping me with my fire,” Eva said.

Naomi snorted.

“Not like that.” Magic twinkled in Eva’s eyes as a slow smile spread across her lips. “Ok, yes, like that too.”

That same intense devotion shone in Marek’s eyes as he looked at Eva. It was so beautiful it almost hurt.

“This conversation has taken a troubling turn,” Logan said to Kai.

“Perhaps I sent the guys away too soon,” Kai replied.

“What would you talk about if they were still here?” Sera asked. “Football?”

“Anything but Marek’s love life,” Logan said.

“We’ll behave now.” Eva peeled her fingers from Marek’s arm and folded both hands onto her lap. “Naomi, how was your evening out?”

“Short,” replied Naomi. “But at least I might have a lead now on where the kidnapped hybrids are being held.”

“Hybrids are still being taken?” Sera asked, her voice dipping with concern.

Several weeks ago, she and Naomi had stopped a ring of kidnappings in San Francisco. Darksire, an evil immortal, had been behind it. He’d hired teams to abduct hybrid children. Even though they’d saved the children, Darksire was still out there. And he wasn’t the only one after hybrids.

“Yes. I don’t know who is behind all of this, but I will stop them. I will save those people,” Naomi declared. She was not going to leave them to die.

“So Spitfire was the right place to visit?” Eva asked.

“The club itself was a bust. But as I was leaving, a fairy in a cloak attacked me. I think he was testing me. In the middle of the fight, he suddenly stopped and told me I was ‘just the person for the job’. Then he disappeared, leaving behind a paper with the word ‘hybrids’ and an address. I looked it up. It’s Nymphenburg Palace.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Alex said. “A strange fairy you’ve never met attacked you in the street. Then, deciding you are worthy of doing his bidding, he disappeared without further explanation, leaving behind a piece of paper that proclaims it will lead you to hybrids.”

“Yeah.”

“And you believe this fairy is leading you to kidnapped hybrids?” Sera asked her.

“Well…there’s something else,” Naomi said. “When the fairy was attacking me, I got a vision. It was about a man.”

“Do tell,” Alex said eagerly.

“He had cropped black hair and dark golden eyes that shone with magic. He wore cloth pants and no shirt, like he was in some kind of hardcore martial arts tournament. Except he was armed. He had a few knives and a bow, but I don’t think he needed them. He was built with the strong, muscular body of a predator, a beast in human form. He had beautifully bronze skin with intricate tattoos on his chest and down one arm. They look like ancient magical tattoos. There were even some dragons in the tattoo design patterns.”

Oh, and he was scary as the hell he was trapped inside. Scary in a sexy sort of way, but scary just the same.

“So, you are going to try to find this dreamy guy from your visions?” Sera wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Alex wet her lips. “He sounds delicious.”

Their boyfriends became eerily still.

“Don’t worry,” Alex told the guys. “This dreamy dragon tattoo man is only for Naomi.”

“It’s not like that,” Naomi said. Ok, it was exactly like that, but there was something else too. “I have this feeling that I’m meant to save him. He’s trapped. And he is sad, suffering. Tormented.” Not that he’d admitted that, but she’d sensed it from him. Somehow, the two of them were connected.

“It sounds like a trap,” Alex told her.

“It could be your fairy attacker messing with her mind,” Sera agreed.

“But I’m immune to that kind of magic,” said Naomi.

“Then maybe it’s a demon who wants to trick you into releasing him from hell,” Sera said. “Demons play mind tricks like that.”

“No, it’s real. I can feel it. I don’t know where this man is, but I think he’s the key to something important. If only I knew what. All I can say for certain is that he’s linked to the place where the hybrids are being kept. I have to go there to save them anyway. After I finish eating, I’m going to check it out.”

“I still say it sounds fishy,” Sera told her. “A fairy attacked you, handed you an address where you would just happen to find what you need, and now you’re getting visions. Strange visions are almost always bad news.”

“I have no other leads.” Naomi’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve been at this for weeks now, and I have nothing. I want to help these people. I
have
to help them. No one else is looking out for them. The councils of mages, fairies, and vampires only look out for their own.”

“That’s not true,” Kai said.

“Isn’t it?” Naomi shot back. “If I’m in trouble, who is supposed to look out for me? The mages? Or the fairies? They can’t decide, and so they do nothing. Just like it’s always been.”

“If you’re in trouble,” Alex told her, fire in her eyes. “We will come for you.”

“Your friends,” Sera added.

“And family,” said Eva.

“Thanks.” Naomi covered her trembling lips with a smile. She really loved her friends. “I’m lucky to have all of you. But you see, most hybrids aren’t so lucky. They don’t have a team of family and friends who are ass-kicking mercenaries. So I need to be the one to help them.”

“Please don’t go alone to check this out,” Sera said.

“I won’t be alone. I’m bringing my sword and crossbow.”

Eva set her hand on Naomi’s arm. “And me.”

“And me,” Marek added.

Naomi smiled, tearing up a little. “Happy to have you along.”

“Nymphenburg Palace,” Kai said, his fingers flashing across his phone screen. “It’s currently closed off to the public.”

“Ever since relations between supernaturals and humans soured, the family who owns the palace has closed their gates to visitors,” Logan said. “It’s owned by two nymph sisters.”

“Nymphs own the palace?” Naomi asked. That was just too funny.

“Of course,” Logan said. “Why else would it be called Nymphenburg Palace?”

“You’re just making this up,” Alex said.

“I don’t make things up.”

“The assassin is right,” said Kai. “Nymphs own the palace. It is usually closed, but they’re having a special gala tonight. By invitation only.” His gaze flickered to his phone. “You three are now invited. I’m sending you your tickets now.”

“Thank you,” Naomi said.

“I could get used to this,” Eva said, rubbing her hands together with glee. “Hey, Kai, could you get Naomi and me tickets to the Fairy World fashion show next month? They’re all booked out.”

“That depends. Will there be a major threat to the supernatural community at this event?”

“Uh, I guess there could be?” Eva said with a smile that would have melted most men.

But not Kai. He seemed completely unmoved by her charms.

“Come on, darling,” Marek said, grabbing her hand as he rose from the sofa. “Let’s go and get changed before you offend him any further.”

“I was just playing,” Eva said sweetly.

“You don’t play with dragons.”

“She does.” Eva winked at Sera.

“She is Alex’s sister,” said Marek. “Need I say anything more?”

“Come on.” Naomi joined Marek and Eva, wrapping an arm around each. “Let’s get ourselves ready for a gala.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Palace of Nymphs

A GREAT LAKE lay before them, the brilliant moonlight shimmering off its glassy surface. The night’s warm breeze was quiet, serene even. The only ripples came from the swans sliding in soft strokes across the water. A wide gravel path led up to an enormous palace with red slanted rooftops and gold-framed windows. On either side of the gravel lay expanses of perfectly-cut grass interspersed with neat beds of lavender, daisies, marigolds, and a rainbow paradise of other flowers.

As they made their way down the wide path, a group of honking swans rose up into a chorus of disgruntled protests. Naomi turned to watch them fight over soggy flowers and hardened crusts of bread. Swans were such beautiful, nasty creatures.

They entered the grand doors of the palace, Marek in the middle, Naomi and Eva each holding to one of his arms. Eva had magicked her red hair into a high twist of cascading curls. Naomi had arranged her blonde hair into a matching style. Their gowns were nearly identical too, midnight-blue and speckled with tiny stones that twinkled like starlight against the dark fabric. Marek’s smooth black tuxedo fit him perfectly, as though the fabric had been melted onto him.

Naomi looked up in awe as they stepped through the arched doorway into the ballroom. A majestic ceiling loomed high above them, a vibrantly colorful storyboard of magical scenes masterfully painted there in perfect strokes. Gold chandeliers with rings of crystals dripped down like diamond icicles. Enormous paintings framed in gold hung on the gold and beige walls. A checker pattern of red, brown, and beige tiles covered the floors.

“It’s just like a fairytale,” Eva gasped.

Naomi inhaled the sweet, magical perfume of roses that hung in the air. “It really is.”

The soft, golden melody of an orchestra, its tones as warm as the room, mixed with the quiet chatter of voices and the swish of skirts and coattails. Marek led Eva to the dance floor as Naomi walked along the edge of the room.

“This isn’t just a fairytale. It’s a spy movie,” Eva’s voice spoke through Naomi’s earpiece. They were all fully decked out with microphones and earpieces they’d borrowed from one of Logan’s supply bins.

“I know,” Naomi whispered as she grabbed a water glass. When infiltrating enemy strongholds, it helped to appear natural.

“You two sure are excited,” Marek said.

“Is the spies’ eye candy supposed to talk?” Naomi asked Eva, smiling behind her glass.

“No, he’s just supposed to stand there and look pretty,” replied Eva, laughing. “We’ll keep an eye on things here. Go do your thing. Naomi.”

“Heading for the basement,” Naomi said, passing into the hallway.

She cut toward the stairs. If there were hybrids being kept here, chances were good that they were in the basement. Evil masterminds always kept their prisoners chained up in the basement.

She set her glass onto a side table, then headed down the stairs. As she moved off the last step, she stumbled. Something more powerful than mere gravity—magic—brought her to her knees. It tugged and yanked at the magic inside of her, scraping against it like a rusted razor blade.

“Not now,” she muttered as her hands smacked against the floor.

Her body convulsed with ragged tremors. It felt like she was being torn in every direction. The rancid flavor of hot ash singed her tastebuds. Her head spun with a whirlwind of lights, then she was sucked back into hell.

* * *

Trees heavy with blue-silver leaves and white ash surrounded Naomi in every direction. The eerie forest looked identical to the one she’d visited during her last trip to the spirit realm. It was even hotter than before, even though it was later at night. Hell obviously had no respect for the natural day cycle. A big blood-red moon shone through the canopy, oozing with bad juju. Maybe that explained the heat.

Naomi didn’t see the dragon prince, and she couldn’t help but feel relieved by that, even though she was certain she was supposed to help him. He made her feel…unsettled. Yeah, that was the word. Unsettled.

She could feel his presence, like a beacon of magic drawing her forward. She set off down a trail splintered with fissures that had split the dry mud. She’d only been walking for a few minutes when an inhuman screech cut through the canopy and three giant pink lizards with green spots dropped into her path. As their black eyes met hers, the beasts opened their mouths and roared. Piercing screams of primordial menace shook their drool-dripped pointy teeth.

Naomi lifted her crossbow and shot the closest lizard between the eyes. The other two didn’t even wait for their dead companion to hit the ground. They sprinted toward Naomi. She reloaded, taking down a second lizard. The final beast launched off the ground. Naomi dropped her crossbow and drew her sword, slashing through its belly as it flew through the air.