Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) Read Free Page A

have stopped me; I was determined that the next time I faced Hecate, I wouldn’t do it alone.

 
    I headed to the curb outside the airport, following the directions Carl had given me to find the hotel shuttle. He’d been nicer than I expected, but then again, magic tended to make people larger versions of themselves. I guess Carl was already a pretty nice guy, because under my spell he’d printed me fifty dollars in food vouchers, a hotel voucher for a luxury resort for the night, plus a free one-way ticket to anywhere. I hadn’t expected the free ticket; my spell had taken on a life of its own.
    A small white van with the hotel logo on the side pulled up to the curb, and I opened the door.
    The big, smiling driver looked like a Viking right out of an old Hollywood movie, complete with messy long hair and bulging muscles, and I almost cracked up when he stuck out his hand and said, “My name is Odin. Welcome to Iceland!”
    The ride from the airport to the hotel was over pretty fast. Grateful, I handed Odin a tip when he opened the door for me.
    He shook his head. “No tip. Just have a nice trip!”
    He trundled off toward the van with a wave, and I pocketed the money as I waved back. Maybe I should have asked Carl to give me a couple of days to explore Iceland, I thought, as I carried my backpack inside the hotel. I’d never had an interest to travel there, but the people had been really nice so far. I sighed. This wasn’t a vacation, I reminded myself. I was on a mission, and based on my encounter with the woman on the plane, time was running out.
    I’d been counting on meeting with the other Red in secret and joining forces with her, but it looked like the Queen of Witches was a step ahead of me. It was sick how she was willing to use anyone; that poor woman on the plane had freaked me out, but Hecate hadn’t thought twice about getting an innocent Non involved in our fight. I realized I was shaking, and it took me three tries to swipe the key card and get into the safety of my hotel room.
    Carl had done a really good job with my voucher: the room was a suite with a kitchenette, a king-sized bed, and a balcony. Poking my head into the bathroom, I grinned in delight when I saw the massive claw-footed tub. Even if I hadn’t narrowly escaped death on the plane, a hot bath would have still sounded amazing.
    Dropping my backpack, I began rooting around in it. Finally, I found the pill case I had filled with herbs. I’d wanted to keep them separate, so I’d used one of those “pill a day” cases that I’d picked up at the dollar store. I fished out a pinch of rosemary from the Wednesday slot, some peppermint from Tuesday, and a dried clove from Sunday.
    I ran the water extra hot, and soon the suite was filled with the scent of my magical bath. I had begun dabbling in Herb magic over the past year, before I went Red, and Mom had insisted I take the herbs with me to Scotland.
    “Herbs can help you,” she’d said when she helped me pack early this morning. “Clove will protect you, and if you charge it right, it’ll help you to divine the truth.” The peppermint was for calming, and the rosemary for protection when traveling. Most of the other herbs she sent me with served similar purposes. Having the herbs with me made me feel like I wasn’t traveling alone; it was almost like having Mom there with me, and that thought was comforting.
    As I eased myself into the steaming water, I made a mental note to thank her when I called home later that night. I’d sent a text as soon as the plane landed to let them know about the change in plans, but they hadn’t been surprised. Mom had texted back to say Dad had been watching my flight on the computer. He probably knew about our change of course before I did. At least they weren’t worried about me … yet.
    Leaning my head against the cold porcelain lip of the tub, I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. I hadn’t just wanted to take a bath to