Chapter 2

Acid-green eyes glaredout from a pale-white face. Silver horns reached for the sky, decorated with black scrollwork. His fangs were four inches long, dripping with saliva. And his magic bubbled with evil, feeling like a bath in hot oil. My skin burned fiercely all over.

I reached for the dagger at my thigh, but he grabbed my arm. Shit.

I tried with my other hand, but he was unnaturally fast, grabbing that one also so he gripped both in one huge fist.

My lungs burned and my throat ached, feeling like it would be crushed at any moment. Frantic, I searched for Bree. She was still fighting the winged monster, locked in a battle from which she couldn't escape.

The man—the gladiator—was taking out other demons. Not like I could count on him for help anyway.

Fear iced the blood in my veins as panic beat its fists against my ribs, my heart going so fast I thought it would burst.

The demon continued to squeeze, his green eyes studying me.

"You're strange," he said.

So? I wanted to say. Of course I was strange to a demon.

And I was about to be dead meat. I felt like a rat caught in a trap, visceral panic streaking through me. Primal and so fierce. I thrashed and kicked, but it did no good.

He could squeeze the life from me any second, but he didn't. It just made my panic worse.

I reached deep for the telekinesis that I'd once possessed. Before my captivity with the Rebel Gods, I'd been able to control any object with my mind alone. Since my escape, I hadn't been able to access it. There was a spark of it deep within me—I could feel it there—but nothing I did allowed me to access it.

It sat low in my belly, dormant. Leaving me to die.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. My lungs were on fire, my limbs turning weak.

I reached for it one last time, desperate to call it to the surface. But I got something else, instead.

Something dark flared to life within me. Not my telekinesis, which was a good magic. A neutral magic.

No, something dark rose up in my belly. Something that suited The Vaults. Something that reminded me of what it felt like to walk down these quiet streets alone and feel at home.

The darkness rose within me, surging through my limbs and my mind. The demon's eyes widened as he stared at me, confusion filling their acid depths.

I was just as confused as he was.

But the magic kept coming, dark and sick. It made my stomach turn as it flowed through me. I swore I could feel it glowing out of my eyes. I might vomit it out any second.

Terror like I'd never known iced through me, far worse than the fear of death at this demon's hands.

There was something wrong with me.

I was full of dark magic.

It wasn't just the tug of enjoyment I felt when I walked in the dark magic district. I was full of it.

"You're one of us." Fascination sounded in the demon's voice. "Your soul is ours."

"It's not." I wanted to scream the words, but I couldn't even croak them. The magic kept filling me up, ready to burst out of me.

"It will be. The darkness grows, eating you from the inside. I can feel it. Soon, it will devour you." He sounded excited, like he'd never seen anything like it before.

I'm not one of you!

Then it did.

The demon's face lit with a bright light. It had to come from my eyes. I could feel them glowing weirdly. It made no sense, but I could feel it.

He gasped and dropped me.

I sucked in a ragged breath, my lungs burning.

But the magic still filled me, dark and sick and horrible. It pushed at my skin, trying to break free. The feeling was so bad I'd take death over this.

I had to get rid of the magic.

Instinct made me raise my hand and grip the demon's throat. His eyes widened, terror glinting in their green depths, and he froze.

Or did I freeze him?

I didn't know. All I could do was shove the magic out of me. I pushed it out of my chest, out of my body, forcing it into the demon.

"Don't do this," he begged. "You're one of us."

"I'm not." My heart thundered. The dark magic poured from me, flowing into the demon. It made my head spin.

His skin turned gray, darker and darker, and the acid light left his eyes.

"Soon." The word whispered past his lips. Then he turned to dust, crumbling at my feet.

I gasped and stepped back, horror welling within me.

How had I done that?

What was that?

Mind roaring, I looked up.

And met the gladiator's eyes. Shock gleamed in their blue depths. Shock and suspicion. Around him, the bodies of demons lay. He'd killed almost every one.

The two remaining demons who held the young men captive took one look at me, their faces paling. Then they dropped their captives and ran, sprinting into the darkness of the alley behind him.

The gladiator gave me a look, then he stared after the demons, clearly unsure of who to chase.

Wait, was I a bad guy now?

Would that gladiator hunt me?

Just as the terrifying thought streaked through my mind, Bree landed in front of me, covered in blood, eyes wild.

"We've got to get out of here." Her words snapped out, a whip.

I glanced at the sky. The winged monster was gone.

Before I could look back at her, I felt her strong grip on my wrist. She tugged, sprinting down the alley and dragging me with her. I gave the gladiator one last look, then ran for it, racing behind Bree.

She was right.

Whatever had happened there, it was bad news.

I was full of dark magic, and the gladiator had seen. He was clearly fighting on the side of right if he was killing the demons. If he worked for the Order of the Magica—the magical government that oversaw all magic users like mages and witches and warlocks—he could report me.

I would be thrown in the Prison for Magical Miscreants if anyone knew I had a power like this. It was pure evil.

My heart thundered as I sprinted away from the scene of the crime. I caught sight of three small shadows against the wall—some kind of small animals, I thought—but they were gone in a flash. Bree and I raced down the darkened cobblestones, turning right onto the main street and downhill toward the exit of The Vaults. We had to get back to the Grassmarket and get to the portal that led to the Protectorate castle.

Only there would I be safe.

But would they accept me back if they knew what I was becoming?

I'd felt something dark inside me ever since I'd come back from my captivity. Had it been this? Had I brought it with me?

Soon.

The demon's last word echoed in my mind. I'd become one of them soon, my soul devoured.

Holy fates, that sounded bad.

"Almost there," Bree panted.

"You could fly, you know." The words cost me what little breath I had, and I nearly stumbled.

She huffed a laugh. "As if I'd leave you."

Warmth filled me, just a spark to provide light in the darkness of what my soul was becoming.

We passed bars and shops, dark magic spilling from them. Not all were evil, but all definitely walked the line with the law. Mr. Amos waved at me from the window of his pygmy toad shop as we raced by, sprinting for the exit.

We ran out, entering the enchanted bookshop that acted as the secret entryway.

"Don't knock anything over!" the house shrieked as we hurried through the shelves stuffed full of books.

No one actually lived or worked here—the house itself was enchanted to dissuade people from entering The Vaults—but I never wanted to piss it off.

The night was cool and dark as we exited the enchanted bookshop, spilling out onto the end of the main street in the Grassmarket. This was where all the regular, not-evil supernaturals in Edinburgh lived and worked. It didn't stink of dark magic or feel like spiders crawling across my skin, so it was a major upgrade compared to The Vaults. Old, three-story buildings lined the cobblestone street and housed bars and restaurants, along with a few shops. Apartments sat on the top floors.

The sound of bagpipes drifted toward us from somewhere far away, and the shouts of revelers in the pubs spilled out of open doors. Spring was coming, and even supernaturals were happy to welcome the warmer temperatures.

"What the hell was that?" Bree demanded as we hurried down the street, desperate to reach the portal that would take us straight back to the Protectorate castle.

"I don't know." I could barely catch my breath, a combination of exertion and fear.

"Let's just get back." She turned down the alley where the portal was located, and stepped right into the glowing blue hole in the ether. Only Protectorate members could see it and enter it, and I was grateful every time that I stepped in and the ether sucked me through space, taking me home.

I followed her, praying that it would work this time, that I wasn't so evil that it would evict me.

I wasn't, right?

Thankfully, the ether sucked me in as normal, but I swore it felt the tiniest bit strange. Like it didn't want to, at first.

We arrived in the enchanted glen in silence. The Protectorate castle was located on the far north coast of Scotland, a massive structure surrounded by a huge wall. Within the wall was an old fae forest where the magic made it possible to have portals to the outside world.

Bree led the way through the twisted old trees. Fairy lights floated on the air, twinkling between the branches and tree trunks. By the time we exited the forest and reached the main castle lawn, tension thrummed across my skin.

A half moon shined on the huge castle that sat in the middle of the grounds. Towers and turrets speared toward the sky as the mullioned glass sparkled in the darkness. I'd only lived there for six months, but I loved it like my forever home. Who wouldn't?

But if the Protectorate leaders found out that I now possessed such dark magic? They might evict me.

As if she didn't want to speak of my new magic out in the open, Bree hurried across the castle grounds in silence. We crossed the rolling hills and approached the huge castle. The large wooden doors swung open to admit us entrance, and we climbed the steps to the entry hall. Two huge sweeping staircases led up to the second floor, and we took the steps two at a time.

Each of us had a tower apartment at the back of the castle.

"Let's go to mine," I said.

She nodded.

We hurried down the hall and reached the door that led to my tower. My touch unlocked it, and we climbed the stairs. We were halfway up when a third set of footsteps sounded from below.

"Ana?" I called. My third sister was the only other one besides Bree who was allowed to unlock the door to my space.

"Yeah. What happened? You guys took forever."

"Come on up." I hurried up the last few steps to the main apartment and let myself in.

When I'd first moved in, the place had looked like any other normal apartment. Now, it looked like a mad scientist's laboratory. When I'd been rescued from the Rebel Gods captivity and hadn't had any magic left, I'd needed something. First, I'd learned to fight, and then I'd learned to make potion bombs. My friend Connor from Magic's Bend, an all-magic city in Oregon, had taught me most of the potions. Ana's boyfriend, Lachlan, was also a potion master, so he'd helped, too. The others I'd picked up from research in the library.

I'd dedicated every waking hour to mastering potions.Humans couldn't make potions—you needed at least a little magic in you. And I had that. It was inaccessible to me, but it was enough that I could manage to make most of what I needed.

"Whoa, there's even more stuff in here than there was last week," Bree said.

I eyed the new setup at the far edge of the round tower room. The table was covered with a complex contraption meant to distill the essence of magical plants. Connor had helped me build it.

Worry shadowed Bree's eyes. "Don't you think you might be going a bit overboard with the potions? There isn't even a couch in here anymore."

I frowned at her. "I have no magic, Bree. I need something."

Bree pursed her lips. "That's not exactly true anymore."

"Not true anymore?" Ana's voice sounded from the door. "What do you mean? Did Rowan get some magic?"

I turned to look at my second sister. She was about my height—thoroughly average—but with blonde hair instead of brown and bright green eyes.

"I don't know what I got," I said. "But it's not good."

I'd been keeping this little secret for months now—the knowledge that something darker was growing inside me. My affinity for The Vaults had become even stronger lately, and considering that I'd just destroyed a demon with black magic, it was time for me to come clean.

I swallowed hard at the thought.

"What happened when you guys left?" Ana asked. "Something's up, isn't it?"

Bree leaned against a table and looked at me. I hadn't had a chance yet to tell Ana about the notes that sent me on vigilante missions, but that was only because she'd been busy with her work for the Protectorate. I couldn't avoid it any longer.

"I've taken up some extracurricular activities." I explained the notes and the missions I'd been going on, ending with the one tonight. I described the young men and the demons, but omitted my weird new magic and the handsome gladiator man. My gaze turned to Bree. "But what the hell was that creature?"

"You said it was huge. And in The Vaults?" Ana sounded appropriately incredulous.

"Totally huge," Bree said. "It looked a bit like an owl, but the image would flicker and then it'd look like a person. Then like a monster. I have no idea what species it was, but it was bigger than me. I've never seen anything like it."

"All that blood is from superficial wounds, right?" Ana asked. "I mean, I figure they are since you're standing. But doesn't hurt to ask."

"Minor stuff." Bree grimaced. "But that monster had some sharp claws."

"It seemed like the demons were there to capture the two men and hold them until the monster could get to them," I said.

"Agreed." Bree nodded. "They grabbed the victims early on but didn't hurt them. And that beast wouldn't stop diving for them."

"Giant monster attacks." Ana frowned. "Not ideal."

"Weird as hell." But not as weird as my new dark magic. I met Bree's eyes, and she was clearly thinking the same thing. "Something else happened."

Ana turned curious eyes toward me. "This is about your magic?"

"Yeah, and it's dark. Really dark. I disintegrated a demon."

Ana's brows jumped. "Disintegrated?"

"Yeah. I've been feeling a pull toward The Vaults lately. Something in me likes the dark magic. But today, it burst out of me, and I destroyed a demon. Turned him right into dust."

The memory made me shudder.

"That's not the telekinesis magic you were born with, though," Ana said. "Do you think you're getting your Dragon God powers? Did you hear any voices giving you instructions when the power rose inside you?"

"No." I shook my head.

Both she and Bree had gone through the transition to Dragon God. According to them, new powers would appear, along with a disembodied voice that gave vague instructions on how to use them.

"I don't think this is the Dragon God magic. It's so dark. Neither of you have magic this dark."

"Do you think it's a holdover from your time in captivity with the Rebel Gods?" Bree asked.

As much as I hated the idea that there was anything left in me from my time with those monsters, it was the most logical thing. "It could be. The demon said I was like him."

"Demon touched?" Bree asked.

I swallowed hard, nodding. "Possibly."

The Rebel Gods had stolen my telekinesis and given me some of their power in return, so I could do their bidding. I'd thought it was all gone, but apparently not.

"The demon said it would devour my soul until I was like them."

Ana and Bree paled.

"When?" Ana croaked the word.

"Soon."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Bree asked.

"I don't know." But not knowing was eating me up inside.

Ana frowned, then strode to the big wooden chest that crouched in the corner.

I stepped forward, hands outstretched. "No, Ana. I don't want to."

"I don't care." She knelt at the chest and opened it, then withdrew a rock.

I cringed backward.

She turned and held it up. "Just try, Rowan. Please. Your magic is in here."

"It's not." When the Rebel Gods had stolen my telekinesis—essentially, my magical soul—my sisters had tried to get it back. They'd put it in this damned rock and were convinced that I could just take it back. "I've told you it's not that simple. There's evil in that rock along with my magic. The Rebel Gods polluted it."

As long as I had a spark of the telekinesis deep inside me—which I did—I wasn't going to risk taking the polluted magic from the rock. I already had enough darkness in me.

"There might be evil inside you now, too," Bree said.

I flinched. "There is evil inside me."

It was devouring my soul.

"We have to find a way to get rid of it," she continued.

"I know." Again, I shuddered. It'd been good to save myself from the demon, but the way I'd done it? No thanks.

"That's not our only problem," Bree said. "That man saw you."

The memory of him made me warm and cold at the same time. I flushed. Damn it. I was a freaking adult, and that was teenager shit. I really needed to be focusing on the cold—the fear would keep me alive.

Ana's eagle eyes darted from Rowan to me. "What man?"

"Some big strong gladiator-looking dude," I said. "He was clearly a good guy. He took out the demons like they were made of paper, tearing off heads left and right. He was there to save the guys who were under attack."

"And he saw Rowan use her new disintegration magic." Bree's eyes darkened. "There's no way he missed your new magical signature."

Panic flared in my chest, and my eyes darted to her. "What do you mean?"

"When you disintegrated the demon, your magic smelled like decay."

Horror opened a hole in my chest. "I have a new magical signature?"

Bree nodded. "Dark, to go with your new dark magic."

Shit. Shit. Shit. "That means there is no way this is the Dragon God magic. That's never evil. This is something new. And worse."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Bree said. "I swear."

"We'll do whatever we can to help." Ana turned and put the rock back in the chest, then shut the lid.

A bit of tension seeped from my muscles as I watched my own personal albatross go back into hiding. I couldn't let go of the rock because it had my magic in it. But I also couldn't try to get the magic out because I could feel how tainted it was. The Rebel Gods had screwed it up, and no way would I be messing with it. I had enough problems without inviting them back into my life. They'd kept my mind poisoned for years so I'd be a docile captive. I was finally free, and I was going to stay that way.

I'd started the morning with one problem—stop the murder. Now I was ending it with several. I needed to keep the gladiator quiet. I needed to figure out which demons were freaking murdering people with their giant monster pet. And I needed to get rid of the dark magic that was going to devour my soul. Oh, and I needed to figure out how to hide the darkness until I could get rid of it.

Damn, that was a lot to do.