Page 3 of Slake His Thirst

Chapter Three

Sage

Walking through the interior of the castle-inspired resort had been a wild ride. Every detail was artistically placed to impress. Modern technology and luxuries hid beneath the beauty and magic as if she’d been transported into another time. She could get lost staring at the wall of glass separating guests from what looked like the bottom of the sea. Mermaids twined together in a seductive dance that showed off bare breasts and the iridescent blues and purples of their tails.

Every step into the world Slake had mastered had been magical, but absolutely nothing compared to the sight before her.

Magic slid over her skin, raising the fine hairs on her arms as she gawked at the sprawling indoor gardens. It was a forest of lush green with reds, pinks, blues, and yellows peeking from the shadows. Different plant species ranged for what felt like a mile, bathed in the silver moonlight streaking through glass ceilings. Some of the trees swayed nearly a hundred feet high. Fountains trickled around her, lit by streetlamps that trailed down stone paths. It called to her, drawing her forward into the beauty. Her heart rate accelerated with all the magic reaching for her. It was intense.

“You love it, don’t you? We have the space to ourselves for the next couple of hours.” Her sister squeezed her arm a little as they walked.

Sage closed her gaping mouth and grinned. “It’s amazing. They must really love you here for anyone to let me come for a visit. Does that mean your power to charm serpents has moved to sexy Immortals?”

“They treat me like royalty and pay me almost as much. It makes doing shows six and seven days a week well worth it. They even give me private access to the conservatory for a couple hours a day to let the snakes stretch and explore. Just think, you could see this all the time if you were my assistant.”

Sage snorted as she watched Jeff slither down Calista’s body and drop before disappearing into the foliage. “It’s cute that you think they’d let me stay that long.” Sage bumped her with a hip. “I’m so proud of you and wish I had an ounce of your talent so I could live here a while too. I’ll just have to be so good they let me visit more.” She would give a lung to be in that place every day. Hell, she’d give both lungs and her liver. They might not want the liver, but she was more than willing to offer.

“Have you thought about what you want to do?” Calista asked. “I know you’re bored of the bar.”

Running the Flying Jig had been fun for the first year, but it had grown monotonous with its flakey bartenders, bar fights, and paperwork—so much paperwork. It made money, though, so she kept doing it. Still, life was short. “I’ll figure something out. I don’t know what I want to do yet.” She was having trouble concentrating on their conversation. It was as if she was being pulled along a string, leading them deeper down one of the paths and over a trickling stream.

“Who’d you get to watch the place? Did you guys finally get a good manager, or did you get Ash to stop hunting bad guys long enough to keep an eye on things?”

Sage’s lips twitched. Her friends and business partners were useless in running the place. “Jade is there.”

Calista’s laughter rang to the ceiling. Sage’s grin curved a little evilly as she imagined her best friend dealing with the place. Jade was used to moving around, hunting Mageia gone bad. Her friend wasn’t used to staying in the same place for a week, dealing with people she couldn’t hurt or hand over for a check.

As they strolled the path, Sage’s fingers grazed the plants that all seemed to be reaching for her. She’d never experienced anything like it.

“I guess the problem solves itself if Jade burns the place to the ground. I hope you have good insurance.”

“I upped the coverage before I left.” The fact that she wasn’t lying made it all the more humorous.

“Are you thinking of bounty hunting again?”

Sage snorted. “No.” At twenty, it had been exciting and dangerous, but after living that life for years, she held a far different view. Really bad guys never wanted to go back to jail. They fought hard and dirty, so she had to watch her back constantly. She also learned to hate bad takeout and stakeouts. She absently rubbed her chest before sliding her fingers back along the vines. The magic from the plants seemed to flow inside her, bathing her in warmth.

“You could always help the moms.” Calista cackled a little under her breath.

She shot a glare in her sister’s direction. “You’re not even a little funny.” Their moms had married when Calista was three and Sage was five. After Calista left home eight years ago, their moms had turned the family home, deep in the Louisiana swamps, into a Mageia retreat of sorts. There was far too much kale and nakedness for any child, even a fully grown one, to be subjected to.

“Maybe if you stay at Slake long enough, you’ll find a sexy Immortal, and he’ll take you as his mate for all eternity,” her sister said with a lusty sigh. “If not, at the very least, you can end your dry spell with a bang. You won’t go back to sex with a mere mortal after you leave.”

All responses died on Sage’s lips when they came to a stone statue in the center of four sectioned areas. She slipped away from her sister’s hold to crouch and read the first marker. As if in a daze, she got up and circled the statue, reading each description set in the Earth. The gardens represented the center of the Realms of Earth, heaven, hell, and even plants from the Immortal Realm. All were so different, even in the arrays of green. Leaves caressed her skin, and she closed her eyes at the sensation.

“Sage?” Her sister’s voice sounded far away. “I’ve never seen plants react like this.”

Sage couldn’t answer. She felt the vines and leaves sliding over her arms and face, felt the hum of magic as she drank it in. Power lifted her hair, and a soft melody played somewhere in her mind. It was so beautiful that she nearly cried. She’d never felt so weightless or powerful.

She gave herself over to it, allowing it to carry her.

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