“It’s the only thing similar to what you explained to me,” Skye admitted. “The miasma gained enough power to think independently and to infect other creatures with its evil.”
Maya had to admit that there were some similarities, but she’d been in the presence of both magics. They felt completely different.
“The power that attacked me wasn’t any magic I recognized,” she insisted.
“Maybe it’s the dragon form of miasma,” Skye suggested. “It wouldn’t be exactly the same, would it?”
Maya tried to recall the magical attack when she’d been standing guard in Hexx’s empty pawnshop. It hadn’t felt evil. And it hadn’t tried to infect her. Or at least, she didn’t think she’d been infected.
It had been raw power pummeling her like a sledgehammer.
“I don’t know.” Maya heaved a harsh sigh. “We’re grasping at straws, aren’t we?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“No.” Maya shook her head, frustration storming through her. “And if this is some sort of dragon miasma, then I have no idea how we’re supposed to stop it. Not even Peri’s wild magic could battle against that sort of power.”
“True, but maybe the dragon who is sneaking around the world will be able to stop it,” she suggested. “There has to be a reason he was able to escape the bonds of the treaty.”
Maya shook her head. She wasn’t ready to trust the creature. They’d already discovered that dragons could reach into this world and cause havoc. If she had to depend on someone to save them from disaster, she would choose Joe every time.
Which only proved just how little faith she had in the dragons.
About to suggest they travel to Tia’s library in Colorado, Maya jerked in shock when a heavy book tumbled off a nearby shelf.
Skye wrinkled her nose. “Adelle isn’t happy.”
The book flipped open, the pages fluttering in an unseen breeze. “Stop that,” Maya snapped. “We’re busy.”
“Wait, Maya.” Skye scurried to pick up the book, carrying it to the table. She carefully set it down, leaving it spread open to the page the ghost had chosen. “I think she’s trying to help.”
Maya blinked. “Seriously?”
“Quite serious.”
With an effort, Maya leashed her smoldering irritation. She had no idea why an unknown spirit would be trying to assist them, butSkye wouldn’t waste her time if she didn’t truly believe that there was something in the manuscript that would prove helpful.
The beautiful young mage was eccentric, not irresponsible.
“Okay, I’ll play along,” Maya conceded, stepping forward. “What is the book?”
Skye skimmed her fingers over strange hieroglyphs etched on the parchment, easily deciphering the script that looked like a bunch of scribbles to Maya’s untrained eye.
“A collection of ancient prophecies,” Skye at last concluded.
“Dragon prophecies?”
“No, this is fey writing.” Skye squashed Maya’s brief flare of hope. “I thought I’d discovered and read through every book of prophecy in this library, but I’ve never seen these before.” She sent Maya a strange glance. “I think there was some sort of spell hiding the book until Adelle revealed it.”
“Why would anyone go to the effort of writing down a prophecy if they intended to hide it?”
“Most clairvoyants like me can catch glimpses of the future, but as we both know, they’re just fragments of possibilities that usually offer more confusion than concrete answers.” Skye tapped her finger on the book. “These are from an oracle. The seer has no context of what the words mean, but they can determine when the event will occur. Most oracles will wrap them in spells that will only allow the foretelling to be revealed when the time is right.”
“Do you recognize the oracle?” Maya asked.
Skye shook her head. “These visions came from the days just after the dragons went into hibernation. I doubt whoever had the vision is still alive.”
Maya sighed. Skye’s predictions offered her warnings about things that were about to happen within minutes or days of the event. And they were usually so vague they did nothing to help. How could they trust something that had been foreseen eons ago?
