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CHAPTER ONE

Maya Rosen was bored. A shockingly rare emotion for the powerful mage. Especially lately.

In the past few months she’d acquired a vampire mate, Ravyr. She’d taken on the training of potential mages who equally inspired and frustrated her to the point of exhaustion. And she’d completely remodeled the deep basement beneath the Witch’s Brew coffeeshop in Linden, New Jersey.

The basement had started off as a barren hole in the ground, but now it was a luxurious apartment with elegant furnishings and high tech gadgets that Ravyr used in his security for hire business. She’d also replaced the vault she used to protect her vast collection of magical charms, amulets, relics and a stockpile of potions with a massive steel safe that could withstand everything from an earthquake, a magical tsunami, or even the fire from a dragon.

Not that everything had changed, of course. The Witch’s Brew still looked the same. The small bakery still had white tiled floors and lavender walls lined with shelves of pastries and round tables set near a large front window that offered a charming view. It still oozed with the fragrance of freshly baked muffins that lured in customers by the hundreds. It was still attached to the shadowed bookstore where a customer could settle in a leather chair and become lost in a cozy world far removed from their own. And there was still a private office at the very back of the building where Maya negotiated contracts with the local demons.

As a powerful mage she had the ability create curses, love potions, track down missing relatives, and create short term illusions.

It was her main source of income and business had never been better. New York City was the epicenter of a pool of magic that throbbed deep in the earth called a Gyre. At one time the spot had been the lair of a dragon, but since their retreat from the world, it was used by both goblin and fey creatures to tap into their ancient powers.

The Gyre was currently under the rule of the vampire named Valen. The Cabal maintained control of all the Gyres spread across the world. Something that annoyed the hell out of Maya, despite the fact she was currently mated to a vampire. And why she chose to remain in New Jersey at the edge of the Gyre. She didn’t need the power. She had her own wild magic flowing through her veins.

Another thing that hadn’t changed was the fact that when she needed help, she reached out to the mages who were the sisters of her heart.

Peri Sanguis was currently standing next to her as she hid behind the steep stairs that led to the basement. The young mage was without a doubt the most powerful magic-user born in the past millennium. The beautiful woman had lush, dark curls, and vivid blue eyes and was mated to Valen, the local Cabal leader. Maya had also called on Skye Claremont, a clairvoyant who was mated to Micha, the Cabal leader of New Orleans. Skye was currently MIA. A fact that had Maya on edge. She wasn’t worried about her friend. Skye had proven she could not only take care of herself, but could prevent the world from being consumed in endless flames. But she needed Skye’s gentle soul.

Clearly as bored as Maya, Peri leaned against the side of the staircase, stifling a yawn. Peri was wearing a pair of cutoff shorts and a Green day T-shirt with her hair pulled into a high ponytail. It had been punishingly hot day in New Jersey and the August heat hadn’t faded as the sun set. In fact, it had thickened to an unpleasant soup of damp humidity.

“Explain again why we’re kidnapping a child,” Peri demanded.

Maya clicked her tongue. She’d chosen a loose black caftan that fell to her ankles. The air in the basement was cool and silk felt good against her skin. Besides she had a reputation for her flawless elegance. Just because she was setting a trap for a mysterious thief was no excuse not to look her best.

She smoothed back her dark, silky hair that was cut just above her shoulders. “We’re not kidnapping anyone.”

“No?” Peri arched a brow. “When you demanded that Valen—”

“Asked,” Maya corrected. “I asked.”

“Okay, you very aggressively asked for Valen to spread the word that an extremely dangerous artifact had been discovered in New York and that he’d asked you to keep it hidden in your vault. Then you asked me and Skye to join you in setting a magical trap to capture a child. I’m not gonna lie, it seems weirdly close to kidnapping.”

“We’re catching a thief.” Maya made a sound of impatience. “And where is Skye? She said she’d be here an hour ago.”

“Her plane was late and now she’s stuck in traffic. Finish telling me why we’re kidnapping a child.”

“For the last time, it’s not kidnapping. It’s…an intervention.”

“Intervention. Right.”

Maya made a sound of impatience. “Look, the supposed child has been spotted from Miami to New York stealing magical objects.”

“From what Valen could discover, they were mostly junk. The kind of stuff that you sell to tourists, not to serious magic-users.”

Maya pressed her lips together. She’d been just as dismissive when she’d first started hearing the rumors about a kid sneaking into magic shops and even onto a few covensteads. Human magic wasn’t that dangerous. Not like the charms and potions that were created by mages and demons.

She remained indifferent even after she’d viewed the security video sent to her of a young girl with a round freckled face and big brown eyes. She looked like one of the street urchins that used to roam the streets of Victorian England. Who cared if she was taking a few baubles?

But when the rumors became more frequent and the vaults that she began to enter were owned by mages and demons that were heavily protected, she reluctantly conceded that she had to do something.

Which currently included crouching next to the staircase, in the dark, listening to her friend bitch and gripe.

“I don’t care what she’s stealing. I care about the fact that she’s been able to slip in and out of some of the most secure safes, vaults, and repositories in the country. The next thing she steals might not be a harmless trinket.”

“Fine.” Peri heaved a resigned sigh. “Is she a demon?”

“No one knows. She’s been captured on security video, but she doesn’t leave a trace of her presence. Not fingerprints or footprints or even a scent. Like she’s a ghost.”

“Then she must be a mage.”

Maya shook her head. A mage began life as a human with a mother who had some ability to use magic. A witch, a fortune teller, a midwife. As she became an adult, her powers would manifest as the wild magic seared through her blood, transforming her into a mage. The powers ranged from Peri who was off the chart, to some mages who could barely sense their magic. But the one thing that was universal, was the initial rush of wild magic.

“She’s too young to have come into her powers,” Maya insisted.

“I was young.”

“In the video she looks about twelve.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Peri insisted.

Maya shrugged. She didn’t have her friend’s skill with illusions, but she understood that things weren’t always what they seemed to be.

“Which is why I want to meet her face to face. If we discover she’s a harmless kid then I’ll let her go about her business.”

“It still feels excessive,” Peri groused, more out of habit than annoyance at being called to help. The young mage had always been headstrong and fiercely independent. It kept their relationship interesting. And by interesting, she meant snarky. “This isn’t because Sinjon has called a meeting of the Cabal in Greece and you were lonely, is it?”

Maya clicked her tongue. Although Ravyr wasn’t an official member of the Cabal, his years as spy for Sinjon, the current leader of the vampires, meant he was often requested to attend the meetings.

“I spend my days with a half dozen mages in training who snipe and snarl and indulge in epic meltdowns on a regular basis. I swear it would be less stressful to try and tame a pack of hyenas,” she said dryly. “Certainly it would be quieter. That doesn’t include keeping the Witch’s Brew running smoothly and fulfilling the contracts I’ve signed with several impatient demons. I can promise you that I would far prefer to spend the next few night’s alone, soaking in a hot tub with a glass of wine and utter silence. Which is exactly what I would be doing if I hadn’t spotted the kid hanging around the shop when I was cleaning up.” She reached up to touch the perfect emerald that hung on a chain around her neck. The gem held her magic if she needed an extra boost. “The trap has been baited and the prey is on my doorstep. I have no choice but to spring it.”

Peri studied her, as if sensing the tension that vibrated through Maya. “You really are worried.”

“I don’t understand how she’s slipping through the magical barriers. That should worry all of us.”

Peri wrinkled her nose. “For once I wish Joe was around.”

“I’m not that desperate,” Maya growled.

Joe had been a part of Maya’s existence since she set up the Witch’s Brew years ago. He hung around the shop, looking like a street person with a bushy beard and velour tracksuit, but Maya had eventually realized he was the mysterious Benefactor who’d offered her protection for her business at the same time demanding that she perform small tasks for him. Like a mob boss on steroids. More than one of those tasks had nearly gotten her killed. Eventually he revealed himself to be the Watcher, an even more mysterious creature who was the ultimate guardian over the vampires, demons, and dragons.

Whether he’d been in his disguise as Joe or The Benefactor or The Watcher, he’d been a pain in the ass.

“Come on,” Peri teased. “You have to miss him at least a little.”

“Like I miss an infected toenail.”

“That’s very…graphic.”

Maya shrugged. “He had his uses, but there is enough testosterone in my life. He’s welcomed to pester someone else.”

“I wonder where he is,” Peri mused, then without warning her magic tingled in the air. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered.

Maya thought she heard the soft sound of footsteps, but didn’t have Peri’s talent for sensing who or what was approaching.

“Human? Demon? Mage?”

“I don’t know.”

“Damn, I wish Skye was here.”

Peri looked confused. “We’re two of the most powerful mages in the world. We could take down a vampire if necessary. Why are you worried?”

“Skye has something we don’t.”

“What’s that?”

“The patience to deal with a child.”

“Yeah. Good point,” Peri agreed. “She’s a lot nicer than we are.”

End of Excerpt