Stolen Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 3) Read Free Page B

door.
    I tapped on Dr. Garriso’s window as I passed, then headed toward the big gray door. Aidan joined me as we waited for Dr. Garriso to unlock it. We were here after hours, but you could always count on Dr. Garriso to be in his office. I wasn’t entirely sure he didn’t live there.
    The door swung open, and the small white-haired figure of Dr. Garriso smiled at us. “Welcome, welcome. Come in.”
    We stepped out of the rain and followed him down the cold, boring hallway, which was nothing like the rest of the museum. Researchers always got the shaft.  
    Dr. Garriso was a small man, about seventy, and favored the tweed coats that made him look like an old Sherlock Holmes.
      He pushed open the door to his office. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, I couldn’t help but grin. It was like stepping back in time. Bookshelves lined every wall, stuffed to overflowing with ancient leather tomes and newer paperbacks. Old Tiffany lamps gleamed warmly from wooden tables, leather chairs invited, and the air smelled like tea.  
    How he’d turned the sterile researcher’s office into this wonderland from a past century, I had no idea. But I liked it.
    “Could I get you some tea?” Dr. Garriso asked. “I have a lovely new blend from India.”
    “Yes, please,” I said.  
    I could never resist Dr. Garriso’s tea. It wasn’t my beloved Pabst Blue Ribbon—PBR for short, the beer of hipsters and hillbillies—but something about it suited his office so well that I could never say no. And now wasn’t exactly the time for a cold one, anyway.
    Aidan and I crossed the narrow space to the small seating area under the window. There were two plush leather chairs, but Aidan picked up a small wooden one in front of the bookshelves and brought it over. He fitted his huge form onto the seat, leaving the two nicer chairs for Dr. Garriso and me.
    Not a bad dude.  
    “Thanks,” I said as I sank into the leather chair.  
    Dr. Garriso puttered at the small table holding the electric kettle and his collection of tea supplies.  
    The kettle dinged, and he fussed some more, then carried the tea over on a tiny silver tray and set it on the table between the leather chairs. He turned and retrieved a leather box from a high shelf.
      I reached for my tea as he opened the box, sipping and sighing gratefully at the added sweetness. Dr. Garriso knew I had the sweet tooth of a twelve-year-old. Five sugar cubes. It was a little ridiculous, but I didn’t care.
      “This is an interesting item,” Dr. Garriso said as he removed the ornate golden chalice from the box.  
    Shiny.
    The yellow metal glinted in the low light, and my fingers itched to touch it. Though I preferred a different type of treasure, the dragon in my soul couldn’t help but covet anything that shiny.
    “What is it?” I asked. “I know it can’t just be a beauty charm.”
      Right before I’d met Aidan, I’d recovered the Chalice of Youth on a job, specifically for Mr. S, Magic Bend’s favorite weatherman. Del, who consulted ancient records to determine which enchanted artifacts I would go after, had determined that the Chalice of Youth would do for Mr. S’s needs.
    But it’d turned out that the chalice was more than just a beauty charm. The Monster from my past had been hunting it as well. There was no way he’d have been hunting it if it weren’t special.
      “Well, you see,” Dr. Garriso said. “It’s a difficult object. It is definitely a beauty charm, but that spell was placed on the chalice to hide its true purpose. The chalice possesses a spell that allows whoever drinks from it—”
      An enormous crash sounded from one of the floors above, followed by a shout. Magic swelled in the air, a bitter, burning aroma that was hard to identify. But it smelled like dark magic.  
    I surged to my feet, Aidan alongside me, his massive form graceful despite his size.  
    “What was that?” Dr. Garriso’s white brows rose to touch his snowy