Page 6

Three days passed, and every one of them was a slow descent into madness.

The warehouse air felt like it was thickening, the witch circle becoming a prison I couldn’t escape.

The air inside it always seemed a little warmer, a little heavier, making every breath feel like I was inhaling smoke.

My skin prickled constantly, the wild magic inside me pressing against the boundary, looking for any chance to break free.

But at least I wasn’t alone in this empty warehouse anymore.

Lacey, Abbie, and even Maggie and Gwen had set up a research station around the edge of the containment circle.

They’d dragged in tables and chairs, piling them high with books and scrolls.

Abbie and her sisters had even brought several table lamps to give us more light.

The scent of old paper mixed with the ever-present tang of magic, making the air feel both comforting and stifling.

Inside the circle, they’d set up a small table and chair for me, so I could join in the research, even if I couldn’t move around freely. It was better than pacing the circle like a restless ghost, but every hour that ticked by without progress made the weight on my shoulders grow heavier.

We combed through book after book, looking for anything that could help—spells to absorb or control magic, mentions of demons that could steal power, stories of artifacts that might give us an edge.

But every time we thought we had something, it turned out to be another dead end.

More stories of supernaturals who could absorb magic, sure, but always all of it. Nothing precise enough to help me.

I tried calling Kaz again, but the calls went directly to his voicemail.

Of course, I left him messages, but I doubted he would ever listen to those.

He was either really averse to technology and ignored his phone most of the time, or he was trying to protect the little dragons. Either way, I couldn’t blame him.

“Come on, there’s got to be something in here,” I muttered one afternoon, flipping through a dusty tome that crumbled around the edges. My fingers ached from turning pages, my head buzzing with exhaustion.

Lacey shot me a sympathetic look from across her table. “We’ll find it, Ariella. Just keep going.”

I nodded, but it was hard to keep believing that when this foreign magic thrashed beneath my skin, reminding me that time wasn’t on our side.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take another minute of it, Abbie’s voice cut through the quiet, making all of us look up.

“Wait a second. I think I found something.”

She held up a worn, leather-bound book, her eyes scanning the yellowed pages. “There’s a reference here to a magical crystal that can be bound to a specific type of magic. It doesn’t go into much detail, but what if it’s enough to secure Ariella’s magic while allowing the demon to absorb the rest?”

A spark of hope flared in my chest, but it was quickly dampened by doubt. “Where is this crystal?”

Abbie’s expression faltered, and she flipped through a few more pages before letting out a frustrated sigh. “No location. Just mentions of its existence.”

“So, we’re back to square one?” Lacey asked, her shoulders slumping.

“Not entirely,” I said, forcing myself to sound more optimistic than I felt. “If this crystal is real, we just have to find it. It’s got to be here in one of these books somewhere.”

Before anyone could respond, the door to the warehouse creaked open, and I turned to see Erin and Rey stepping inside, a third figure trailing behind them.

The newcomer was tall, with a lean, muscular build and an air of quiet authority.

He carried himself like he was used to being in charge, but there was a wariness in his eyes that caught my attention.

“This is Max,” Erin introduced, gesturing to the stranger. “He’s one of our best. He specializes in special missions.”

“Special as in secret,” Rey said in a low voice.

Max nodded, offering me a tight-lipped smile. “Ariella, Levi. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Naughty things, I hope,” Levi said dryly, but his gaze was sharp, assessing.

Max ignored the attempt at humor, focusing instead on the circle that held me. “I hear you’ve got a demon problem. Or rather, you need a demon that can solve your problem.”

“Yeah, but so far all we’ve got is rumors and old stories,” I replied, folding my arms. “You know something we don’t?”

Max glanced at Erin and Rey, who both nodded in encouragement, before turning back to me.

“There’s a reason they called me in. A few years back, we came across a higher demon that did exactly what you’re looking for.

It could steal magic from supernaturals—sometimes all of it, sometimes just a part.

We don’t know why it worked that way, but it did. ”

My heart thudded in my chest. “You’re saying this demon could take the foreign magic from me?” Max nodded. “So, where is this demon now?”

“We couldn’t kill it,” Max said bluntly. “So we trapped it. Sealed it inside a cave deep in a canyon, where no one goes. Every so often, one of us checks to make sure it’s still there. And so far, it hasn’t gotten out.”

Levi frowned. “Can you bring this demon to us?”

Max shook his head. “That would be like playing with a lit match in a room full of gasoline. If the demon escapes or decides it wants more than just Ariella’s excess magic, we’d have a disaster on our hands. It’s safer if we bring Ariella to the demon.”

“But that means moving her,” Lacey said, “which is a problem with her unstable magic.”

I clenched my fists, my frustration rising again. “And you still don’t have a way to make sure the demon won’t take all of my magic, right?”

Max shook his head again. “That’s the risk. We need a way to protect your core magic before we can even think about bringing you near the demon.”

Maggie, who had been listening quietly up until now, flipped another page in the thick tome she’d been studying.

She had a serious expression that made her seem older than her nineteen years.

Her sister, Gwen, hovered nearby, fidgeting with a pen.

Just as Max finished speaking, Maggie stiffened, her hand going slack against the page.

Her eyes glazed over, turning blank and distant. I recognized the look immediately—Maggie was having a vision. Abbie moved to her side, resting a hand on her shoulder, guiding her through the trance.

“Maggie?” Abbie asked gently. “What do you see?”

Maggie’s voice was monotone, distant. “A cave. In the northern U.S. A dragon shifter guards it, hoarding treasures… among them, a crystal. The one we need.”

My breath caught, hope flaring anew. “You’re sure, Maggie?”

Maggie nodded slowly, the vision still holding her in its grip. “And I see you… speaking with the dragon. He gives you the crystal.”

Her words faded, and she blinked rapidly, coming back to herself. Abbie patted her shoulder gently and Maggie let out a shaky breath.

Lacey pressed her lips in a thin line. “But that means you’ll have to leave the circle for that too, Ariella. You’ll have to go to him.”

I exchanged a look with Levi, who wore a thoughtful expression. “That’s twice you’ll need to step out of this circle, sweetheart. It might be too much.”

“I don’t think we have another choice,” I said, feeling a tiny thread of hope igniting inside me. “We can use the cuffs, right?”

“Those won’t hold the unstable magic for long,” Abbie said. “But we can try reinforcing them every hour, or every half an hour. If we are fast, we might get lucky.”

“Are you sure about that?” The stoic and cocky Levi seemed a little worried to me and that look pulled at my heartstrings.

I nodded.

He let out a breath and looked at Max. “What’s the demon’s name?”

“Thrallgon,” Max answered. “He’s extremely dangerous, and I can’t guarantee any of this will work.” His eyes darkened. “He might try to kill you while taking your magic. He has done it before, when he said the magic was too irresistible.”

Levi let out a groan and I stilled.

“So, we need to make sure this Thrallgon doesn’t kill me, but takes all the unwanted magic away,” I muttered. “It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”

Max’s lips quirked into a grim smile. “Welcome to my world.” Then his smile was gone. “One more thing: Thrallgon will surely try to escape while we’re dealing with him. We need to prepare to either secure his prison or kill him, somehow.”

“You said you weren’t able to kill him before,” Abbie observed.

Max nodded. “Yes. He was too strong.” He glanced around the room. “But I think that we just might be stronger this time. If anyone can find a way to take him down, it’s this group.”

For a moment, silence settled over us, broken only by the rustle of pages and the distant hum of the city outside. My mind raced through the possibilities, trying to fit together the pieces of this impossible puzzle.

Then an idea sparked, small but insistent, and I turned to Levi.

“What if we called Jasmin?”