Stolen Magic: Hollows Ground, #2

By J.A. Culican

She can foresee death. But can she change it?  

Talon  has shown up in her life, telling her she's not crazy and that she shouldn't be afraid of her gift. That's easy for him to say. He's not the one seeing everyone die. But when he takes her to Mortals Landing, a city of extravagance and beauty unlike anything she's seen before, she's seen not as a freak but as a valuable asset.  

She's in a whole new world with entirely new dangers. Someone is after the Wraiths, stealing their magic. She knows that Talon will be targeted next. She knows this. But she fears she won't be of any use.  

Well, it's time to put those fears away and face them. She's going to find a way to alter one of her death visions. And once she conquers one, she'll conquer more. And if she can do that... well, she might be of use after all.  

She failed to save Luka. She won't fail Talon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.A. Culican
• Release date: Jan 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386373162

J.A. Culican

J.A. Culican is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of eleven years and their four young children. J.A. Culican's inspiration to start writing came from her children and their love for all things magical. Bedtime stories turned to reality after her oldest daughter begged her for the book from which her stories of dragons came from. In turn, the series The Keeper of Dragons was born.

Book preview

I sprint toward Luka as the cage door slams shut on him like a mouse trap, but my feet feel like they are trapped in mud. No matter how hard I try, they won't move any faster than this agonizing slow-motion. I scream as his body spasms from the energy the Shades pour into him. By the time I get to him, his head slumps forward with eyes that are wide open, but there is no life in them.

I feel a flood of overwhelming hatred for the Shades, but for Kasik most especially.

To my right, a virtual wall of Shades screaming for my blood parts just enough to let one person through. Luna, I snarl, gritting my teeth at her as I recognize Talon's sister by her perfectly styled blonde hair that somehow manages to keep its shape despite the wind that rises when I spot her, wind that rages through the entire building.

Then...

I have to warn Luka. He isn't aware of the coming threat. I hold out one hand to him as though I can somehow reach him from across the room, and scream his name. I'm too late, and the heavy metal cage door beside him slams open in a blur of motion, its clang drowning out all other sounds. I can only stand helpless, screaming his name while Arrum sends thousands of volts of electricity coursing through his body. Luka's head slumps, steam rising from his whole body. As his vacant eyes stare at the floor, I hear him talking to me even though his mouth doesn't move. Whatever he's saying, it's life-or-death important, I just know it, but the only word that doesn't come out muddy and garbled is my name. No! I have to hear what he’s saying.

Then...

I spot Luna creeping up behind Luka and a wave of fear washes through me. He doesn't see the Shade coming for him, but I can get to her in time! I have to.

I sprint at Luna with my knife held in an overhand attack grip. Yes! I get to her just before she reaches Luka, who still doesn't see her. He's busy knife fighting a Shade whose face I can't make out through all the steam. I don't say a word as I swing my knife at unsuspecting Luna's neck. Even as I start my attack, I feel an absolute certainty that mine will be a fatal strike.

Miraculously, though, Luna is fine. There's no way I could have missed. I cock my head and look down at my knife, only my hand is empty. I look up, confused and startled, only to see Kasik laughing maniacally. He stands alone in the middle of the building, his arms akimbo as he faces me with a sneer etched on his face.

He says, You'll never save the traitor. It's for the greater good, girl. He doesn't even seem to notice my knife buried in his gut, or the blood that spreads down his shirt, down his pants, forming a pool on the floor at his feet.

Then...

Luka's sudden scream is full of pain, and my head whips toward the horrid sound. My eyes go wide as I see him, his whole body convulsing as electricity pours through it. He can’t escape, pinned by a metal cage's heavy door.

Luna notices me from the corner of her eye and looks at me over her shoulder, grinning. I guess your paltry little bit of magic couldn't save him. How can I believe you ever saw me dying at your hands? Let's give that little theory a try, shall we?

She turns to face me, already forgetting all about Luka slumped dead against the cage door, and she comes for me with a knife in each hand, her sneer plain on her face. She moves slow and steady, inexorable, like an iceberg intent on destroying a ship...

I try to back away from her, but I'm somehow now locked in one of the cages. I'll be easy prey for Luna in here. I scramble around the cage, rattling bars at random, hoping one will be loose, hoping one will let me get away.

Luka's voice reaches me over the crashing, exploding, blaring noise of magical battle all around us, though his words are only a whisper barely loud enough to hear a single word. Except for one: my name. Though his words are garbled, I know he's pleading with me to save him, but I also know he has something urgent, something else to tell me.

Kasik's maniacal laughter drowns out Luka’s vital words. What's he laughing at, anyway?

I thought I killed you, I say as I turn to face Kasik just in time to see Luna swinging her knife at me. It's streaming toward my belly through the cage's bars. I try to block her attack, but my arms feel like they're buried in mud. I can't move them fast enough, and her knife glints purple and green and blue from the battle raging around us.

A fireball bursts nearby somewhere, and the ground shakes hard enough to knock me over, making her blade pass by my face harmlessly. As I tumble to the floor, I land on my side. One of the big metal cage doors flies off its hinges, landing on my arm. The weight is unimaginable, pinning me to the floor. I'm helpless. Luna grins.

Someone says my name. I look around, desperate for help, but there's no one in the building with me anymore. I'm alone, yet I hear my name again, clear as day. A man's voice. Talon's voice. Something isn't right, though, and I'm overwhelmed with a sense of dread.

I'm going to miss Luka's vital message...

Suddenly, everything is dark. I realize my eyes are closed, so I open them only to find I'm no longer in the Shades’ safe-house of horror. Instead, I'm on a city bus. I blink rapidly and rub gritty sleep-sand from my eyes.

Talon is shaking me, saying my name.

I'm awake, I say, but my words come out garbled. My tongue isn't as awake as the rest of me, which isn't saying much.

Welcome back, he says, and then he reaches up and pulls the cord to alert the driver that we want to get off at the next stop. He's looking at the floor, at the ceiling, anywhere but at the other riders, who all stare at us.

My cheeks flush as my temperature rises. I guess I'm still that crazy lady everyone looks at but no one talks to. I should be used to that, but right now, it just gets under my skin.

The bus glides to a stop in front of one of those benches with a shelter built around it to protect passengers from the rain, the ones with ads plastered all over both inside and out. As the door slides open and Talon rushes me off the bus, I see a picture of a beautiful woman with straight, white teeth beneath a logo that declares the perfect smile can be mine if I sign up for a free consultation and easy, in-house credit.

Come on, Talon growls, and he walks north with one hand gripping my arm, dragging me along with him. You drew too much attention. We have to get out of here.

I'm all for that. I'm almost in a state of shock, the dream echoing through my mind along with memories of Luka and his death in the real world, which wasn't too different from what happened in the dream. I only wish I'd heard what Luka was trying to tell me, because for some reason, I have a bone-deep conviction they were important. Whether it had been some sort of precognition or just random dream stuff, I don't yet know. Or, since I didn't hear what he was trying to tell me, I guess I'll never know.

Where are we going? I ask, glaring as I shake his hand off my arm.

He doesn't answer, but the way he is continually looking all around him, checking out every person we pass, reminds me that we are in some danger. It makes me a little paranoid, too, and I join him in people-watching, expecting every passing maintenance man or secretary or guy in a business suit to suddenly yell, Ha! There you are. Time to die, traitor.

Of course, none of that happens. No, they'll hit us when we aren't expecting it.

We arrive in front of a small building surrounded by a huge, full parking lot. The label on the door declares this place to be Acme Auto Rentals - Fine Rides at Fine Prices. I glance at Talon, raising one eyebrow. Why on Earth do we need a rental car?

He ignores me and barely slows down when he gets to the door, shoving it open hard. It swings almost all the way to the wall. An image of the cage door crushing me flashes to mind, and I scramble to catch up before it bounces back to swing shut on me.

Inside, the auto rental place is immaculate. The granite floor could be faux tile, but I can't be sure. Even if it is, it looks pricey, perfectly in keeping with the furnishings and the decor. There's no line, so we get to the employee at the front before I can ask Talon any more questions. He grins at the woman behind the counter and leans forward on one elbow, batting his sultry eyes at her. She smiles wider than she probably does for most customers. I stand back a step or two, moving out of his way, trying to figure out why this bothers me so much.

I need a small SUV, please. Something with four-by-four, preferably. Do you have an unlimited miles plan?

I tune out the terribly boring conversation and try to ignore her ridiculous giggle every time Talon says something remotely unrelated to renting a car. Maybe ten minutes later, she hands him a set of keys and a business card with her personal cell phone number on it, just in case you need anything while you're out. I want to tell her that if he needs anything, I'll let her know, but I bite my tongue. Being out in public is still awkward for me after so many years in hiding, especially now that I have a reason to hide.

Come on, Talon says, guiding me by the elbow toward the side door and out into the parking lot. I glance over my shoulder and see the clerk staring after us. Staring at Talon, rather. I doubt I registered at all.

We stop in front of a plain white Ford Escape, a sleek little mini-SUV, one of those crossover vehicles. I suddenly recall that he asked for a 4x4, an extra expense for which seems hardly necessary here in the city.

Where are we going? I ask, now even more suspicious.

It's a nice day for a drive, don't you think? he asks, side-stepping my question.

Yes, I reply as I open the door and slide inside. When he gets in behind the wheel and closes his door, I ask again, Where are we going?

My question is drowned out by the engine as he turns the key and it roars to life. As we pull out of the parking stall and onto the street, he asks, So, what were you dreaming about back on the bus? It sounded pretty intense.

I look out the window because I don't really feel like looking at him at the moment. Apparently, I'm not going to get a straight answer, so I’m not going to give him one, either. Just reliving that terrible last fight.

He clicks on the radio and turns it to a classic rock station. I hadn't really pegged him for a rock kind of guy, but he taps his fingers on the steering wheel along with the heavy beats of that song by Guns & Roses about raining in November. When an orchestra starts playing, I glance back at the radio in surprise. The symphony in the background somehow seems appropriate for everything that has happened recently, and despite how old the music is, it's easy to get caught up in the beat. I realize I'm tapping my foot to the same beat he's drumming out on the steering wheel, and the city's miles pass by as old rock-and-roll classics blare from the upgraded stereo. Dust in the Wind by Kansas plays next, and though it's not my style, it seems to somehow fit the moment as well, as I sit thinking of Luka's last moments and what could have been, had I been able to save him.

We've been driving toward some mountains for a long time, and now we're heading up into them. I'm about to ask which mountains these are when I see a sign: Welcome to Scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. So, at least I know we're still in Georgia, even if I have no idea why we're here. Not knowing makes me uncomfortable.

I try once more, asking, What's up here? Are we stopping up here, or just driving over the mountains?

You'll see, Ella, he replies, his baritone voice rumbling. I expect him to say more, but there's only silence.

For the first time, I take a moment to really look at him, seeking the things that hide beneath the obvious. The first thing anyone notices besides his rich, deep voice is his sheer size. He's almost six and a half feet tall, but sitting behind the wheel as he is, it's his broad shoulders that stand out. A warrior's shoulders, unlike mine. I wonder if I could ever beat him in a fight. I doubt it.

But what almost mesmerized me the first time I met him, late one night at the park in Hollows Ground, were his eyes. Green, green, green... They shine like emeralds when he smiles, and smolder like jade when he's angry. It's hard to look away from them in either case.

He glances over and catches me looking at him. His brilliant eyes meet mine and he flashes bright, white teeth at me, and for a moment, I forget where I am. I forget that I'm in a car, far from anyone I know, in the middle of nowhere, with a man who is almost a stranger to me. I forget that one of the most powerful Shades alive wants me dead more than almost anything else on Earth.

And looking into those eyes, I forget for a moment that Luka just died, and that I failed to save him. Those eyes are all I see as he keeps staring at me.

What? I ask, my tongue feeling thick as a carpet, and I'm not even sure I said it right.

He smiles and looks back at the road. Just wondering what you're so interested in. Do I have blood on my face or something?

That brings me back down to Earth in an instant, and I swallow bile as I push away the unwelcome memory of Luka's empty eyes staring at nothing. "No, just curious where we're going. Also, I'm curious why you won't tell me where that is. Do I have to wear a blindfold when we get there?"

He chuckles, his voice rolling up and down like the mountain curves we crest one after the next. No blindfolds needed. I think you'll like it, though, and I want it to be a surprise. I want to see the look on your face when you see it.

You'd better not be talking about some roadside motel, I say with a sour expression, thought the thought isn't entirely without merit. I feel playful, so I fake-punch him in his arm. The instant I touch him, everything I see turns black, like a lamp turning off.

Light. I first see light, after the blackness. As my vision clears, I see the blurry shapes of people all around me. I hear a woman's voice, and I know she's talking to me, but I can't understand the words she says. I only recognize it's Luna's voice. The people all around me aren't Wraiths, but Shades, and they have me surrounded. Luna laughs as she sweeps toward me, and I know I'm done for. This time, for some reason, she's better, stronger, and faster than me. Am I exhausted? I'm not sure how long I've been fighting them. I only know I'm about to die. Is this my death I'm foreseeing? Oh no...

Luna knocks my sword aside—I'm carrying a sword, it seems—and moves in for the kill. I look away, only to spot a blur from the corner of my eye. It streaks toward the two of us. It's Talon! He bashes through two Shades, knocking them aside, and barrels into Luna. He screams, Run, Ella, run! as they collapse to the ground in a pile of arms and legs.

I back away while everyone's attention is on Talon. Luna's attention is on him, too, her eyes narrow. She reaches toward him with one hand and a smoky substance seems to stream from his every pore,