Page 1 of Ancient Magic

Chapter 1

Skye Claremont studied the brick building in front of her. Once upon a time, the Green House Theater must have been an impressive sight. Consuming most of the city block, it had high arched windows on the upper floor and a massive marquee outlined with lights that jutted over the sidewalk. In the center of the building was a glassed-in box office framed by two sets of double doors with ornate handles. Even the roof was decorated with bronzed statues that peered down as if waiting for an invisible crowd to enter.

Now, it was less impressive and more depressing. Even at a distance she could see that the bricks were crumbling and the windows were covered by sheets of plywood that had been spray-painted by vandals. And not even good vandals.

Just crappy initials and gang symbols.

Skye heaved a sigh. The Green House Theater looked...depressed, she decided. As if it were feeling abandoned by the audiences who’d turned their attention to other entertainments.

Maybe it was the gray October weather that was making it look sad, she acknowledged. It wasn’t raining, but the clouds hung low in the sky, blocking out the afternoon sun and casting a shadow over New York City. Or maybe it was the empty lots that surrounded the building that emphasized an air of neglect.

Whatever the case, this place had obviously seen better days.

Turning her head, Skye glanced at the woman standing next to her.

Maya Rosen appeared to be in her early thirties with elegant features that were highlighted rather than marred by the spidery web of scars that ran from her left ear down her jawline. Her eyes were a bright green and her silky-smooth black hair was chopped at her shoulders.

Most people first meeting Maya assumed she was a successful businesswoman. And they would be partially right. She did own a wildly popular coffee shop called the Witch’s Brew in Linden, New Jersey. But she’d passed her thirtieth birthday several decades ago. Like all mages, she’d stopped aging after her powers had fully matured. It was one of many bonuses to possessing the wild magic that flowed in their blood.

Not that Skye had ever been concerned about aging. At the age of twenty-seven she still looked like a teenager with her mane of pale, corkscrew curls that bounced around her heart-shaped face and deep dimples. It didn’t help that she chose her clothes for comfort, not style. Today she’d pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a fuzzy sweater with the Cookie Monster on the front to combat the chilly air.

It was only her black eyes that were framed with long lashes that warned she wasn’t as young and innocent as she appeared. Her gaze had unnerved some of the most powerful demons. As well as a vampire or two. Maya had once told her that people could sense the mystic powers that bubbled inside her.

“You’re sure this is the place?” Skye asked her companion, her voice barely above a whisper.

Despite the fact they were in Upper Manhattan, the sounds of traffic and pedestrians were muffled, as if this neighborhood was shrouded from the city that hummed with an electric excitement just a few blocks away.

Maya grimaced before touching her temple. “According to the voice in my head.”

Skye wasn’t reassured. She’d been taken in by Maya almost five years ago when she’d wandered into the Witch’s Brew in search of a job. The older woman was not only one of the most powerful mages that Skye had ever encountered, but she was also one of the rare few who wasn’t under the rule of a vampire.

Vampires were rare—only the leeches knew the exact number—but they owned the Gyres, where the last of the magic in the world lingered. It was rumored that the hotspots were the ancient lairs of dragons who’d left this world eons ago. Not that it mattered. However the Gyres had been created, they offered demons the ability to touch their primeval powers. And since the vampires controlled the Gyres, they controlled the demons.

Thankfully for Skye, mages didn’t depend on the Gyres for their magic. It flowed through their blood. And while her magic might be amped by the power that hummed in the air and thundered beneath her feet, she had no desire to be the slave of a vampire. Or a demon.

Not again.

But as Maya had warned her, independence had a price. For Maya it was the mysterious Benefactor. Skye didn’t know much about the elusive creature. It never visited the Witch’s Brew or contacted Maya by traditional means. Instead, it spoke directly into the older woman’s mind. And while the Benefactor surrounded them in an aura that somehow kept away the leeches, it occasionally demanded they perform small tasks.

Like today.

“So what you’re saying is that the Benefactor placed an invisible GPS in your head,” Skye teased, trying to ease the tension that had been building since they entered the city.

“Something like that.”

“And I thought I was weird.”

“You are,” Maya assured her.

“True,” Skye agreed. Unlike her companion, or Peri Sanguis, another mage that Maya had taken in, Skye didn’t have enormous magic. She couldn’t brew potions like Maya or call on long-lost powers like Peri, but she was the most unique of all mages. A seer. A rare gift that did nothing to help in their current circumstances, she acknowledged as she glanced back at the theater. “The place looks empty. What now?”

“I guess we go inside.” Maya squared her shoulders before crossing the road and heading toward the empty lot next to the building.

Skye struggled to match her friend’s long strides. Just one of many problems for a short girl.

“Maybe we should give Peri a call,” she suggested.

“It’s her day off.”

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