Shit. I couldn’t prove it with my black blood. And Tarron and Declan definitely weren’t.
“We mean them no harm,” I said. “Our realms are in desperate danger if I cannot find the Dragon Bloods.”
“I know nothing of what you speak.” The determination in his voice worried me.
This guy was not going to give the info up easily. But he kept looking at me funny.
“Do you know me?”
“What?” He flapped his hands, a strange gesture. “Of course not!”
Hmmmm.
Pounding sounded on the door.
“That will be my monks,” the abbot said. “Leave here and we will not harm you.”
“We can’t go without the information we seek,” Tarron said.
“Well, I am not giving it!”
He meant it.
I strode toward him, slicing my fingertip with my sharp thumbnail. As pain spiked and blood welled, I hoped this power could work on a ghost.
He flinched back from me.
I moved quickly, swiping my bloody fingertip against his forehead. Magic flared, and I looked into his eyes, giving my voice a hit of power that I hoped would influence him. “You will answer our questions.”
His eyes went hooded and his shoulders relaxed. “I will answer your question.”
Victory surged through me. “Thank you. Now, where do we find the Dragon Bloods?”
“On the Slate Isles.” He spoke with the slowness of the magically influenced.
“Where are those?” I asked.
“West coast of Scotland.
Tarron frowned. “There are hundreds of islands out there. Which ones?”
“I do not know.”
“Crap.” I looked at my friends. “He means it.”
“None of us know,” the abbot said. “This place is ancient. Abandoned so long that none of us know the current location of the Dragon Bloods.”
“So they move?” I asked.
“To avoid detection, yes. We were the original holders of that information, but no longer.”
“But someone knows.” I leaned a bit closer to him. “Who? Is that the information you protect? The secret-bearer’s location?”
Something strange flickered in his eyes. They focused on me, so intense I wanted to step backward. I resisted. “You will find that information in the nearest city. York. A place with enough magic that it can support the ghost of a Dragon Blood.”
“A real Dragon Blood?” I asked. “One of the originals?”
“Not an original, no. They are immortal. But you will find the answers you seek in this man.”
“Where is he in the city?”
“Within the city walls.”
That didn’t answer much, as the entire city of York was contained within the medieval walls.
The pounding on the doors grew stronger. More frantic.
“There are more of them,” Declan grunted. “Can’t hold it much longer.”
Shit.
We needed to get out of here.
Hopefully, I called upon my transportation magic, but found myself blocked by a protection charm.
“My transport power doesn’t work. We have to run.” I whirled around, but there was no escape within. Not a single window.
I glanced back at the abbot, whose eyes had cleared. Crap, he was no longer under my spell.
“Time’s up,” I said. “We have as much as we’re going to get.”
Tarron moved to stand about ten feet in front of Declan, who still held the door in place.
“Move to the side on my count,” Tarron said.
Declan nodded.
“Three, two, one.” Tarron nodded.
Declan lunged to the left. The door flew open, and a half dozen monks piled in, with more following. Tarron raised his hand, and a gust of air billowed forth from his palms. It bowled into the monks, who tumbled over, creating a path for us.
“Go!” Tarron shouted.
Aeri, Declan, and I raced through the empty space and down the stairs, jumping over fallen monks as we fled.
“Defend your home!” The old abbot’s words rang out after us.
Was he really asking these old monks to fight?
Ahead of us, stones shot out from the wall. The rocks hurtled toward us, and I ducked low, avoiding a blow to the head.
“Holy crap, he’s gotten the abbey to fight us!” Aeri said.
The building itself was mounting an offense.
Beneath my feet, the stone stairs began to shake, then fall away. I nearly tripped and went down, saving myself at the last minute with a powerful jump. I called upon my wings, feeling them flare to life behind me. As the stairs disappeared, I launched myself into the air. Tarron joined me. Declan called upon his own wings, sweeping Aeri up into his arms. She could fly, but it was an incredibly difficult magic, and when she transformed, she was freaking enormous. So big she’d have destroyed the abbey itself.
The four of us flew down the stairs and through the massive hall. The huge main room where we’d entered was now full of beautiful stained glass. It exploded inward at us, sending shards of colorful glass hurtling through the air.
The projectiles sliced across my skin, leaving burning wounds. I called upon two shields, holding them at each side to avoid the cuts. Still, the glass hit my wings, and I was faltering as I neared the exit.
“Keep going!” Tarron shouted.
I pushed myself harder, desperate to reach the outside. As soon as we got away from the abbey, my magic could transport us. I just had to make it fifty more yards.
The whole building began to shake around us.
“Watch out!” Aeri shouted.
A massive pillar fell toward Tarron. He dived, his powerful wings carrying him out of the way. The pillar slammed into the ground, shattering the mosaic tile floor. Sections of the roof began to fall, a huge one nearly crushing me. It clipped my wing, sending me into a spin.
“Mari!” Tarron grabbed my arm, stopping my free fall, and my wings caught the air once more.
“This place will crush us!” I flew as fast as I could. Almost there. Almost.
My heart thundered and my muscles ached. Dust and debris filled the air as the building collapsed around us. Another pillar crashed to the ground, falling right through the two huge wooden doors, leaving an open space for us.
We hurtled through, flying out of the massive abbey just as the entire thing crashed to the ground behind us.
I skidded to a stop on the grass, pain and exhaustion making me roll haphazardly. I scrambled upright, turning around to see the ghostly piles of rubble. Some of the walls still stood, soaring toward the sky, a beautiful ruin.
Shocked, I stood. “They destroyed the place to get to us.”
Tarron joined me, limping slightly due to a huge cut on his thigh.
Declan set Aeri on the ground. Both looked like hell.
“It’s not destroyed,” Declan said.
I blinked.
He was right. The part of the building that was still standing was the part that had been standing when we’d first arrived. As I watched, the ghostly rubble began to disappear, leaving only the verdant green grass that glowed emerald under the light of the early morning sun.
“The ruins have put themselves back to rights,” Tarron said.
There were no monks charging out to attack us. No more ghosts.
And we’d gotten what we’d come for.