Page 75 of Ancient Magic

Skye sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s the crystal that Lynx took from the sword,” she rasped.

In the vision, the original Lynx grasped the crystal and slid the large gem into his pocket.

Only it wasn’t a gem, she reminded herself. It was the mixed blood between a dragon and a vampire that had hardened into a shiny rock. So what did that mean?

“Did you see that?” Micha abruptly demanded, his gaze locked on the fading image as the dragon and vampire marched out of view, both clearly unhappy with the situation.

“See what?” she asked.

“Can you replay the vision?”

Skye considered his request. “I’m not sure,” she finally confessed, “but I can try.”

Closing her eyes, Skye concentrated on the lingering scent of lilacs. The spirit seemed to be the bridge that connected her to the magical memory. Nothing happened and she opened her eyes to tell him that it was impossible, when the fog abruptly returned with the image of the empty cavern.

Skye remained silent as the scene played out, her attention locked on the strange demon who was obviously the negotiator between the vampires and dragons. If he wasn’t a demon, then what was he?

“There.” Micha broke the silence, pointing toward Zanna as she halted next to Lynx and leaned forward. She placed her fingers on his neck as she whispered in his ear, then pulling away, she scraped her nails over his flesh. “She marked him.”

Skye leaned forward as if it would help her to see the faint lines of magic that formed an intricate pattern before sinking into Lynx’s skin.

“It looks like some sort of binding spell,” she said.

“What does a binding spell do?”

“Lots of things.” She shrugged. “It can be used in a love potion or a curse or something as simple as luring customers back to the shop to enjoy my yummy lemon and blueberry scones.”

“Could it force someone to obey you?”

“Like a compulsion spell?”

He nodded and Skye tried to imagine the amount of magic it would take.

“I suppose it’s possible, but it would be an extremely short-term compulsion, and it would swiftly drain the magic of any mage.”

“What about a dragon?”

“I honestly have no idea,” she admitted. “Do you think that Lynx was somehow forced to place the crystal in that sword and send his ancestor to retrieve it thousands of years later?”

His lips twisted as the vision once again faded. “Put like that, it sounds like a ridiculous theory.”

“We’re grasping at straws. All we have are ridiculous theories,” she reminded him. “Still, the memory spell did reveal why I didn’t recognize the magic that surrounded the hexed sword. I’m not sure what species the original Lynx was, but I suspect it’s something I’ve never encountered before. And we know now that the crystal isn’t a compass.”

Micha turned toward her, silently considering her words. “Maybe not a compass in the traditional sense, but there’s a chance it might lead the owner to the location of the treaty,” he suggested.

She slowly nodded. The crystal was formed out of the mixed blood of the vampire and the dragon, intended to seal their treaty. It made sense it would lead the owner back to that spot.

What didn’t make sense was why Lynx had gone to such an effort to get his hands on the thing.

“Why would anyone want to go there?” She spoke her confusion out loud. “Unless the magical sword that Lynx claims he’s looking for is hidden in the same location?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

She blinked. Was he suggesting that they travel to the location of the treaty? “You know where it is?”

He stepped toward her. Close enough his icy power brushed over her like a soft caress.

“I have a general idea of where it is hidden. Plus, there’s several books that have hints to help us pinpoint the precise spot.”

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