Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

more posh than the Mayhem lobby in San Francisco, Monster Cleanup’s ’Hall’ was a large, open room with a vaulted ceiling that dripped long strands of crystal beads. Along the satin-smooth walls hung paintings illuminated with spotlight arrays, just like in a museum. The polished white marble floor was as slick as a newly-smoothed ice rink. At one end of it sat a sitting area of artfully-arranged antique leather sofas, at the other a glass reception desk that sang of candy palaces and sugar delights. Bingo. Alex followed her nose.
    A woman in a little black dress sat behind the desk, every inch of her very tiny miniskirt visible through the glass. Violet, Monster Cleanup’s receptionist. Like Alex, she was twenty-four, but the cute milkmaid updo she’d braided her blonde hair into today made her look no older than eighteen.
    “Alex,” Violet said, her face lighting up in excitement. “Just the person I was looking for. I have something for you.”
    “Muffins?” Alex asked hopefully.
    “No, I’m all out of those, sorry.”
    Alex sighed.  
    “If I’d known we’d be operating at one hundred percent tonight, I would have ordered more. More will be coming in two hours. Do you want to wait around for my evening muffin delivery?”
    “Wait around here for two hours while smelling like bee guts? Hmm. I’m not sure I want the muffins that badly.”
    “I still have some Magic Spike.” Violet set a bottle of the magic energy drink onto the counter.
      Alex popped it open and took a long gulp, pretending it was a magic smoothie. “So this is what you had for me?”
    “No.” She reached down and this time set a book onto the counter. “Here’s the book on magical beasts of Europe you requested to check out.”
    “Great. Thanks,” Alex said, taking the book. “I wanted to research a few of the local nasties.”
    “You? Research?” Logan asked.
    “I love research.”
    He snorted. “I specifically remember you calling research ‘dull and nerdy’. On multiple occasions.”
    “Monster research is different. I actually like reading about various beasts’ weaknesses so that when I go to kill them, they don’t kill me instead.” She grinned at him. “I’m not as reckless and crazy as you think I am.”
    “You are every bit as reckless and crazy as I think you are.” He dropped his mouth to her ear. “And I can’t decide if I love it or hate it.”
    “You love it, of course, because you love me.”
    He chuckled. “Yes, I really do.” He lifted up the orange bag. “Come on. Let’s get this beast to Disposal before it leaks pink goo all over me.”
    “Is that one of the giant poisonous bees?” Violet asked, leaning forward.
    “Yeah, I burned the rest, but Stan wanted his own,” Alex told her.
    “He likes to collect creatures.” Violet shivered. “I hope it’s not…alive.”
    “No, it’s dead.”
    Alex waved at her, then joined Logan by a pair of swinging double doors labeled with a single black, blocky ’D’. To navigate this building, you really had to know exactly where you were going. They pushed past the doors and entered a long corridor. Everything—the walls, the floor, the ceiling—was painted in the same blinding white color. Standing there was like being trapped inside of a camera flash the moment it went off. They followed the hallway to the room at the end. Its door was marked with a bloody handprint, the Disposal guys’ idea of a funny joke.
    “Stan, are you in here?” Alex called out through the jungle of tables and shelves overflowing with papers, monster corpses, and wrinkled potato chip bags.
    A pair of mages in white uniforms stood in front of a table with a dead cactus…monster? The thing had arms and legs. Wow, now she’d seen everything. The two mages were arguing over how they were going to penetrate its spiky shell.
    At the next table, a ghost explained to a young fairy how to dissolve the acid coating on the magic dragonfly pinned to their tray. Alex and