Page 52 of Ancient Magic

Chapter 10

A thick silence spread through the cavern as Lynx strolled away, presumably preparing for the next stage in his plan for demon domination. A shiver inched down Skye’s spine as Micha stood next to her, watching the male disappear, an eerie stillness settling over him.

This was a vampire in his natural state.

She could see Micha. She could reach out and touch him. But she couldn’t sense him. It was as if he’d retreated to a place she couldn’t follow.

Icy, remote, impregnable.

Why that bothered her was a question she probably didn’t want to answer.

Time for a distraction. Moving a step closer to Micha, she studied the piece of metal that circled his throat. Micha hadn’t mentioned the collar, but it was obviously a deterrent of some kind that Lynx had placed on him. A means to control a vampire who could rip apart the fairy with terrifying ease.

“I’m not sure if my magic can open the lock on your collar, but I can try,” she murmured softly.

“No.” Micha took a sharp step back, his expression impossible to read.

“You don’t trust me.” Skye flinched, hurt by his rejection. Of course, she couldn’t deny that he had reason, she silently reminded herself. “Fine. Tell me about the Tempest and why Lynx would go to so much trouble to get his hands on it.”

The silence stretched, and Skye accepted he wasn’t going to answer. Then he slowly turned to face her.

“The demons have an ancient story that they hand down from one generation to another.” He shrugged. “There’s a few different versions, but at the heart of each one is a blade that can supposedly tap into the power of the Gyre.”

“Don’t demons already do that?” Skye asked, genuinely confused. “I thought that was why they swore allegiance with the Cabal. To live in the vampires’ territory.”

“The magic of the Gyre allows them to touch the power of their ancestors, but its limited. They’re no longer the giant goblins who bash their way through the world, or the elusive fey who can enchant creatures with a brush of their fingers.”

He spoke of times long forgotten by most species. Before humans had crawled out of their caves and mages had ignited the wild magic.

“Does the sword give them back their powers?”

He shrugged. “From what I could discover, the sword was supposedly forged in the flames of a dragon to preserve the original demon magic in its purest form. It doesn’t give them back their primitive powers, but the demons believe it can end the life of a vampire.”

Skye remained confused. “There are other weapons to kill a vampire.”

“This one doesn’t just destroy our host but the spirit that lives inside us,” he insisted. “The ultimate death.”

“Seriously?” Skye had never heard of anything that could prevent a vampire from resurrecting. Not even magic. “A dangerous weapon. No wonder you keep it locked away.”

His expression remained aloof, but something flickered in the stunning golden eyes.

“I’m not worried about the sword being stolen. It’s been stuck in the rock for thousands and thousands of years despite the hordes of desperate demons trying to pull it out,” he informed her.

Ah. He was annoyed. Interesting.

“So why do you protect it?”

He shrugged. “I have no way of knowing if the blade works or not, but the hex is very real. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that the ground was littered with the bodies of demons who were lured to the sword by tales of glory. Not even my own staff was immune. The only way to halt the carnage was to create a protective barrier to keep out trespassers.”

Skye tried to imagine a hex that was not only powerful enough to kill hundreds of demons but capable of lasting for so many years. Honestly, the mere thought boggled her mind. She’d never heard of any spell with that sort of potency. Not unless it was being replenished by something. Or someone.

“Who hexed it?” she probed.

“The story I read said it was a mage named Zara. It was claimed that thousands of years ago she was in love with a powerful demon who used the sword to unite the clans. Her lover managed to destroy several vampires before he was betrayed by one of his top warriors and literally stabbed in the back with a cursed dagger. As he lay dying, Zara used her powers to bind the sword to the stone so no other demon could use it. Then, romantically, she joined him in death.”

Skye wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

His brows arched, as if she’d managed to surprise him. “Agreed,” he finally said.

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