Chapter 6

Levi and I worked for hours last night, and we captured another harpy, a kitsune, and three ghouls, and we killed some of them. I had gotten another slash to my upper arm, and a graze of teeth on my back, all of which Lacey had healed in the early hours of the morning.

"Did we catch them all?" I asked, praying the answer was yes.

"No," Abbie said. "We're still missing two ghouls, but they are nocturnal and won't come out of hiding until this evening. We should go rest now."

Levi handed the mirror to Abbie, who went to put the creatures back into their prisons with Maggie's help.

As Levi walked me back to my bedroom, I asked, "Why do they keep these creatures here? Aren't they better dead, or maybe in the underworld?" Or any other more specialized place.

I didn't think he would answer me, until finally, he spoke. "Two reasons. The Great Eternity Hall is one of the most secure places in the entire world, and because knowledge about each species needs to be recorded. That is done by capturing and studying them."

I understood the first one, but the second rubbed me wrong. These creatures could be single-minded evil beings, but they weren't lab rats. I didn't like knowing they were rotting away in a cell, being studied, but that was probably my righteous side trying to come out.

Levi showed me to my door but didn't wait until I got in to leave. Not that I cared.

I was so tired, I had to force myself to take a shower before falling on the bed and sleeping.

I woke up with a start, dreaming that a harpy was over me in bed, and it took me a couple of minutes to realize I was safe in my room, by myself, and hell, it was already early afternoon.

Shoot.

It wasn't as if I had any appointment, but now with most of the creatures captured (or killed), the witches would probably be able to help me and I was eager to figure out how to get my magic back.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth and my long hair, and got dressed in black leggings, a dark gray sweater, and high-heeled boots. This time, I got lost on the way to the dining room, but I found my way again. I thought I would be the only one here, but Magnus sat at the head of the table, reading a newspaper and drinking what looked like white wine.

"Good afternoon," I said, approaching the table.

He glanced at me from over the newspaper, and this time, without any other distraction, I paid attention to him. He wasn't an ugly man, per se, but there wasn't anything attractive about him either. He had similar features to the girls, but they seemed wrong on him. The delicate nose, the long eyebrows, the full brown hair, and he wore a thin mustache and sideburns, which gave him a creepy vibe.

He wore a suit that seemed out of a fantasy movie and had an unlit pipe beside his glass.

"Afternoon," he said, sounding bored. He hid behind the newspaper again.

I halted behind the chair I had sat in last night, kind of hoping the same magic would be active right now. But my heart sank when the table remained bare.

I was about to turn when it poofed into existence: a placemat, a plate, a warm panini half wrapped in cream paper, and a glass of water. With a smile, I sat down and picked up the panini—shredded chicken in a pesto creamy sauce. The delicious smell alone made my mouth water.

I took a big bite and had to stifle a moan.

I had eaten one fourth of my panini when I noticed the uncle was looking at me. I did a double take and narrowed my eyes. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong, not with me." He folded the newspaper. "But I heard there's a lot wrong with you."

Ouch. I flinched at his tone. "Well, I'm here to get help. Isn't that what the Great Eternity Hall is for?"

"If you say so." He drank half of his wine, his eyes always on mine.

Could the guy stop staring at me? I wanted to eat in peace.

"Uncle!" Trent yelled as he ran into the room.

I sighed in relief when Magnus turned to his nephew. "What are you up to, Trent?" his voice softened a little.

Trent slowed down, stopped, and ran out of the room again. A couple of seconds later, he came back inside, holding his grandma's hand.

"Good afternoon, Ariella," Belinda said to me, even though I was quiet as a mouse. "Slept well?"

I rose from the chair and turned her way. "I did, thanks for asking. How about yourself?"

She let out a chuckle. "I barely sleep anymore, dear, but I'm well rested." By now, Magnus had already made his way to her and right before he reached her, Belinda lifted her hand, as if she knew he was there. "Magnus, I need some help in my sitting room."

"I wanted to help, but Grandma says I'm too young."

She smiled. "Well, with Magnus's supervision, you might be able to."

He squealed in delight.

A faint smile adorned Magnus's lip. "Lead the way, young man."

I frowned, watching them go. Magnus had been so standoffish with me, but with his nephew and Belinda, he had been gentle and caring.

Maybe he was not fond of visitors and strangers.

Alone and in peace, I finished my delicious panini and drank some of my water. "Thank you, Myg," I said, though I wasn't even sure if this was her magic or the hall's.

The moment I stood, the plate, the placemat, and everything disappeared. Seriously, if one day I settled down and had my own house, I wanted it to be magical like this, even if it was a cabin in the woods. Food that just poofed into existence and then dirty plates that disappeared forever? I was so in.

From the dining room to the library, I didn't get lost, which was a small miracle. In the library, Abbie, Maggie, and Lacey were hunched over books on the long tables behind the tree, the snake wrapped around the chair's arm. Gwen and Britt were in an alcove on the third floor's landing, with books in their hands, talking to each other. The cat was napping beside them, and the raven was perched high up, close to the ceiling.

"They are studying," Abbie said. Today she wore a dark blue gown that made her blue eyes pop.

"Magic?"

She nodded. "We have lessons almost every morning, and some afternoons."

I frowned. "Are you in the middle of a lesson? Should I come back later?"

"No, you're fine. I gave them an extra lesson to keep them distracted."

The snake moved, which made me think of another animal. "How is Rune doing?"

"He's resting in Trent's room," Maggie answered. "He's a little scared to be out until we catch the last two ghouls, but he's all right.

"I'm glad he's better."

Lacey got up and walked to me. She reached for my shoulder and my arms. "And how are you? All healed up?"

I had a scar where the vampire's stake had cut through prior to coming here, but other than that … "I'm fine. All healed up and rested."

She smiled at me. "Glad to know I'm good at my job."

I almost smiled at her, but then I remembered something else. "About the ghouls, are we going hunting tonight too?"

"If Levi doesn't find them first," Abbie said.

"Levi?" I asked.

"That stubborn demon went to hunt for them," Lacey said. "They are probably hiding, but he said that if he found them now, while they were sleeping, it would be easier to kill them."

A pang cut through my chest at the thought of Levi infiltrating a nest and instead of finding two ghouls, he encountered twenty.

I pushed those thoughts away. What did I care about what he did or didn't do?

Abbie gestured to the table. "Are you ready to start?"

"Of course," I said, taking their lead and sitting down on a chair beside them along the table.

"All right, I know this won't be easy, but tell us everything you can about your magic, and how you lost it," Abbie asked.

I nodded and told them all about it, or at least, all I remembered.

Paimon, a former prince of the underworld, was able to absorb other supernaturals' powers, and during a battle where Paimon was trying to absorb a dragon's magic about six months ago, he absorbed mine.

"Paimon took your magic right before taking the dragon's?" Maggie asked, frowning. She was listening attentively, but Abbie was taking lots of notes.

I nodded. "That's what I heard. I passed out after my magic was gone. But Paimon didn't get all the dragon's magic. It was split between his daughter and him."

"All right, and what happened after that?" Abbie asked.

I left. Like a coward. I sat up straighter. "I heard Raika, his daughter, was able to absorb his magic, and she got the dragon's powers … and everyone else's he had absorbed before that."

"So, Raika has all this power?" Lacey asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. When she had only half of it, the dragon magic proved too much for her. I can't imagine she survived after taking it all."

I thought about calling, to know what had happened to her. Hopefully, they found a way to help her and she was still alive.

"Is there a way for you to call them and find out what happened?" Abbie asked. "Maybe they discovered something that will help us."

I hesitated. "Phones don't work in here, right?"

"Oh, they work in here," Maggie. "In the library."

I fished my phone from my pocket and checked. Sure enough, it had signal. "How?"

"Magic! But it's only inside the library. It doesn't work anywhere else."

"Hm … I could call them," I said, though that would open a line I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with.

"You don't need to do that right now," Abbey said, probably sensing my hesitation.

"I say we start by gathering all the books about magic absorption and transference," Lacey suggested.

"And all the books about dragons," Maggie said. "Dragons are the most powerful supernaturals that walked this Earth, or any other known universe. They might have abilities that we haven't heard about before."

"That is a long list," Abbie said. She grabbed a huge leather book from the corner of the table and opened it right in the middle. The book was empty. "Show me all the books, manuscripts, and scrolls about magic absorption and transference."

The pages shimmered and words appeared on the large pages. Lots and lots of words that didn't fit on those two pages but went on for several more.

I gawked at the book and once more I was amazed at how cool magic could be.

"That's a lot of books," Lacey said, her tone dejected.

"And that's just one topic," Abbie said. "I bet the list will be even longer when we get to dragons." She reached into the book and her hand disappeared inside it! Then, she pulled out four pieces of paper and distributed them to us, one for each.

"What's is this?" I glanced at the long paper in my hands and started reading the tiny words.

"A list of titles and authors, if applicable, also shelf number and placement," she explained. "Let's get to work."

* * *

Two hours later, we had the table full of books about magic absorption and transference, and we weren't done yet. At some point, Abbie stopped gathering books and stayed at the table to start skimming through them and selecting, so we wouldn't have hundreds of books to deal with once we got them all.

We hadn't even started on the dragon books yet.

It was tedious work, but the library kept impressing me. Since first stepping foot inside, I could see this place was huge, but once I started weaving through the bookshelves, I realized it was much bigger than I first thought. The shelves went on forever and ever, and if it weren't for the labels at the beginning of each shelf, I would have gotten lost, just like I had with the rest of this place.

Following the numbers, I went to shelf 839 in the depths of the library. The farther we went, the less light came from the dome and the glass window, and we relied only on the few sconces and magical candles at the end of each long bookshelf.

Twice so far, I had been in the middle of a bookshelf, barely seeing anything—if I had had my light magic, that wouldn't be a problem—when the nearest candle shone brighter, illuminating the numbers etched on the shelf under the books. When I still couldn't find it, the book jutted out, as if someone stood on the other side and pushed it forward for me.

The first time, I was startled. The second, I thanked the hall's magic.

If only this happened every time I went for books, maybe it wouldn't take this long.

As I turned a dark corner into shelf 838, I had an idea. Maybe Abbie could cast a spell to call the books on the list. They would fly off the shelves to the table.

Hm, if there was such a spell, I was sure she would have used it already instead of having us coming and going for hours now.

I finally got to shelf 839, a dark corner of the library. I almost reached for the candle stationed between shelves, but I was sure it would brighten if it got too dark and I couldn't read the numbers or the book titles.

As I made my way to the middle of the endless shelf, it got darker and darker. I frowned. Was the candle playing with me now? It had helped me before. Was there such a thing as a tired magical candle?

I started looking around the books to see if I was in the right section or needed to go farther down the shelf, but the light got even darker.

"Hey!" I called out. "Can't you help me now?" Nothing happened. "Please?" The candle flickered twice, almost going out. "What the hell?"

I turned toward the beginning of the bookshelf, to grab the damn candle from its sconce.

It went out.

I froze as I was plunged into darkness.

My heart beat fast, a reaction to the surprise. If I didn't know better, I would think this was Levi pulling a prank on me. But he wasn't this petty.

I blinked twice, adjusting my vision to the darkness, trying to see the end of the bookshelf.

Instead, I saw a dark figure crouched right in front of me.

I screamed, my heart rate picking back up.

The ghoul leapt for me and I ran in the opposite direction.

Just to see the other ghoul above my head, holding on to the bookshelf.

My next scream lodged in my throat, and for a moment, I could barely breath, much less move.

Slowly, the ghouls came closer and I took a look at them. They seemed like a mix of skeleton and zombies, with grayish muscle-like skin, white eyes, no hair, pointed ears, razor-sharp teeth, and long claws on their hands and feet. When they stood, their backs were hunched, but they were still taller than me.

Then they hissed and I woke up from the daze.

The one on the top lunged and I ducked under it and ran.

The shelves all looked the same, and I couldn't slow down to check the numbers. For all I knew, I was going deeper into the library, instead of heading to my friends.

I didn't dare look back to check on the creatures, but I could hear them. The ghouls were fast and they were gaining on me.

Out of breath, I clambered away from them, holding on to the shelves to keep me upright. I yelped when a book flew off the shelf right in front of me and landed at my feet, wide open. A soft glow came from the pages, and for half a second, I wondered what the hell was going on. But something in me propelled me forward. I crouched down, touched the glow, and pulled out a long, silver sword.

I didn't have time to think about it.

The ghouls screeched and I turned, the sword pointed at their chests. Not expecting a weapon, one of them ran toward me and right into the blade. With the momentum, both of us went down, and I landed hard on my back and head. The creature snapped its teeth at me a handful of times, but the hilt of the sword, which I was still holding tight, kept it distant enough.

Then the creature's dark eyes widened and it went still. The sword disappeared and the creature's heavy weight fell over me.

I turned my face and groaned in agony.

Then the second ghoul loomed over me, hunger in his depthless eyes, in the snap of his teeth.

Suddenly, a dark bolt crashed into the ghoul, sending it far from me to the darkness between the shelves, where I couldn't see it.

Inhaling deeply, I gathered my strength to push the creature's body away, or at least lift it for long enough so I could slip from underneath.

Then someone pushed the body and it rolled to the side.

By the light, what had happened?

Breathing hard, I pushed to my elbows as Levi crouched beside me. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

The candles at the shelves' ends came back to life, but kept their lights dim. It was enough for me to see something deep and dangerous in his blue eyes.

"I'm …" I pushed to my feet and scoffed. "This is ridiculous. I'm a monster magnet."

"Sweetheart, are you hurt?"

Why did this keep happening to me? I was always the damsel in distress. At least this time, I had been able to deal with the monsters myself. The result: one freaking irritated and tired angel.

"Light, how I miss my magic."

Levi stepped right to me, his giant figure looming over me. "Sweetheart, talk to me."

"What do you want me to say? Why was I the only one attacked? It's like these creatures know I'm vulnerable. They wait for me in the shadows, literally."

Levi grabbed my shoulders. "Ariella, are you hurt?" He looked me up and down, as if expecting I was broken.

"See, even you know I'm breakable now."

"Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?" he pressed, ignoring my comments. "Or maybe to Lacey?"

I slapped his hands away and took a large step back. "What the hell do you care?"

With a growl, Levi pushed into me and turned me around, caging me in against the bookshelf. With one hand, he cupped my jaw and neck, almost too tight, and the other he closed around my waist. He pushed his leg between mine, his thick thigh rubbing at a sensitive place.

He leaned his head toward mine. "I care, sweetheart," he whispered, his mouth right at my ear. His breath washed over my neck, making me shiver. "I care more than I want to. I can't get you off my mind, and every time I close my eyes, I see you spread out on that table, writhing in pleasure and moaning for me." His hand slid down from my waist to my ass, pushing me harder against him.

A half moan escaped my lips and it was all I could do not to grind my hips against his legs. I bet he could get me off just by whispering obscene stuff and rubbing me like this.

"I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in my life, and it has been torture to stay away from you." He dragged his lips across my jaw and I shivered. "But I try, because I don't know if this is really us, or if it's the bond. And?—"

It was like a bucket of icy water.

I shoved my hands hard against his chest and he took a step back. Without his leg holding me, I almost fell forward, but was able to gracefully steady myself.

That didn't stop me from glaring at him with all my might. "What the hell did you say?"

"Well, I thought I was about to make you come?—"

"About the bond!" I almost shouted. "What do you mean the bond? We broke it. Your sister helped me. The bond is gone." Levi averted his eyes. Oh, no. "Tell me the bond is gone."

His gaze found mine again, hard and intense. "The bond didn't break, it changed."