Magic flared on the air, the scent of pine and the taste of caramel. Light glowed around his hands, illuminating his handsome face and dark eyes.
The breath caught in my throat as his magic rolled over me, soaring toward the sky above.
I looked up, searching for the moon that was hidden behind clouds. A faint glowing patch caught my eye, and wonder filled me as the clouds moved away from the moon, revealing a bright white orb.
I’d seen a lot of powerful magic, but I’d never seen anyone move the clouds before.
The moon’s light shined on the crystal, making it glow bright white. A beam of sharp light streamed forth from the glass, blinding me. I stepped left to avoid it, then turned, following the beam that was like a spotlight.
It shined over the city, landing on the ground in the middle of a huge intersection. Cars zipped through the light, but it was shining right in the middle of the ground.
“It’s shining on the street. But there’s nothing there,” I said.
“Under the street.” The moon’s light disappeared, and I realized that Lachlan had let the clouds return to their natural position. “The sewers in Paris are famous.”
“Sewers?” Just my luck. First heights, now…
I didn’t want to think of it.
“Let’s go, then.” I shot Princess Snowflake III a look. She wouldn’t like the sewers, but she was talented enough to keep her fur white, I’d bet. Bojangles, on the other hand, didn’t look like he’d care either way. And Muffin was his usual stoic self.
“The climb down will be worse. Can you manage?”
“I can manage.” But I sure wouldn’t like it.
6
As Lachlan had said, the climb down was worse. I hadn’t slipped, thank fates, but was still wobbly when I reached the bottom.
Muffin had stayed at my side the whole time. The little gremlin pressed his paw to my hand every time he thought I was faltering, and muttered helpful things like Don’t quit now, lily butt. I had no idea what a “lily butt” was, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t helped.
We hit the ground running—me on shaky legs and Lachlan on much sturdier ones. Fortunately, we didn’t alert the hellhounds to our presence. Or maybe they were scared off by the sight of our feline guardians.
Lachlan had recognized the location of the intersection, so I followed him, racing along the rainy streets of Paris, past fashionable people with dark umbrellas and silk scarves that cost more than my yearly income back in Death Valley.
When we reached the intersection, I stared. “Crap.”
“That is a lot of traffic.”
“Understatement.”
The cars whizzed by, headlights golden in the rain. As expected, right in the middle of the intersection was a manhole leading to the sewers.
“I can buy us a minute,” he said. “Exactly a minute, so follow everything I do.”
I glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
But he was already holding up his hands, magic surging on the air. I loved the scent of it, so fresh in the middle of the city.
Then the air became thick, almost difficult to breathe. I sucked in a gasp, grateful when it slowly filled my lungs.
The cars in the street began to slow. The people around us, too. Finally, the cars stopped, yellow lights frozen in the gleaming rain.
“Holy fates. Telekinesis?” I asked. If so, it was the most powerful I’d ever seen. Moving one object was hard. But hundreds?
“Not quite. I can slow time around myself.”
“Why don’t you do this in a fight?”
“It wouldn’t matter. I can’t interfere with the objects that I’m controlling, or something terrible could happen. But come on. We don’t have long.” Sweat dotted his brow. Clearly, this took some serious effort.
He sprinted into the street, and I followed. The Cats of Catastrophe were close on my heels, though Bojangles kept getting distracted by the bright lights of the cars.
It was eerie, and scary. There were enough cars that we’d be pancakes if they started up again.
Lachlan bent and pulled off the heavy manhole cover. The Cats of Catastrophe dived in first, scraggly Muffin leading the way. Princess Snowflake III gave the hole a disdainful look, then leapt in with a shudder. Bojangles ran right in without hesitating or even looking. He was like the Road Runner going off a cliff.
I followed, climbing down the iron ladder into the gloom. Lachlan came behind me, and as soon as he pulled the manhole cover back over the hole, the roar of traffic started up again.
“Too close,” I muttered.
“Aye.”
I hopped onto a stone sidewalk built along the side of the sewer, and I raised my hand to illuminate my lightstone ring. It flared golden, revealing the space all around us.
I turned, taking in the wide stone tunnel that stretched in either direction. Water traveled sluggishly at the bottom of the tunnel, smelly, but not the worst. I had a distinct feeling there were grosser parts of the sewer. Other tunnels jutted off this one, giving the feeling of a massive catacomb.
“There’s a city under a city down here,” Lachlan said. “The most famous sewers in the world.”
“They should run tours.”
“They do. But not of this part.”
The Cats of Catastrophe were scouting out the ground ahead, sniffing all over as they inspected the walkway. The stone ledge that they walked on looked ancient, but at least it kept us out of the sewer water.
Something fizzled over my skin, a distinct feel of dark magic that prickled lightly. “You feel that?”
“Aye.” He pointed to the right, to where the cats had gone. “Coming from that way.”
“Let’s go.” I set off, following the sense of dark magic. Where the heck are you, magic thieves?
Something else pulled me along, too, though. A sense of my own magic, leading the way.
It spoke in my head, as if it knew the question I was asking and wanted to provide an answer.
What weird new power was this?
My Dragon God magic?
I shook away the thought. Now was not the time for distractions. We made our way through the tunnels, going deeper and deeper into the sewer. Water flowed sluggishly beneath, beginning to stink more strongly as we went.
The tunnel appeared to turn right as we neared, but I stopped, peering hard at the dead end in front of me.
Something in me tugged in that direction.
Did it really end here? It was an abrupt and strange way to divert a tunnel.
“Come on,” Lachlan said. “We need to go right.”
“Hang on.” I held out a hand, reaching toward the wall that seemed to be a dead end.
“What the heck is past here?” I murmured, more to myself than to him.
It was something. I could feel it.
Look and you will find what you seek.
Magic seemed to fizzle in my mind. It was a guide, in my head. It hadn’t worked before, but now it was?
It had a mind of its own.
The cats were sniffing at the base of the stone, clearly perplexed.
I stuck my hand out, ignoring the repellent sensation that the wall gave off. That was enough to convince me that there was magic here.
I pushed harder against the stone, and my hand disappeared through the wall.
“Bingo.” I stepped through the false barrier, into a long stretch of tunnel on the other side.
Lachlan followed. “How did you know? Even your feline sidekicks didn’t realize.”
“Instinct.” Lie. “Come on.”
We hurried down the tunnel, toward the strong sense of dark magic that was ahead of us.
When flame burst to life ahead of us, my heart leapt into my throat. The wall of fire seared my skin, making my eyes water. I flung out my shield. The protective barrier burst forth, forming a semi-transparent white wall between us and the flame. The air cooled a bit, no longer hot enough to maim.
Panting, I inspected what was ahead. Nothing but fire.
Then my magic faltered.
My shield dropped.
Shit!
I stumbled backward, away from the flame that roared forth. Lachlan waved a hand, his magic flaring. Sewer water rushed from below, crashing against the flame.
It sizzled and died, smelling of hot garbage.
“Oh, thank fates,” I muttered, leaning against the wall and gagging at the scent.
Panic followed quickly on relief’s heels.
My magic had faltered again.