Missing Magic

By Karen Whiddon

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Karen Whiddon

All the characters in this book are
fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced,
scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
permission. Please do not participate in encouraging piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation with the author’s rights.
Purchase only authorized editions.

THE SUMMONS came with dawn, at that precise
moment when the sun burst blood red over the horizon.

Come with me
.

Prince Cenrick of Rune sat up in his bed,
rubbing his eyes and biting back a curse. He’d been up late, having
struggled to complete his interpretation of an ancient, Runic text.
He’d managed three hours sleep, at best.

Come with me
.

Kyslandra, King Roark’s messenger, a sylph.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Cenrick saw her, hovering in
the air above his bed. Drifting on a non-existent breeze, she
dissipated and reformed, riding her own, otherworldly currents.
Watching him, her eyes glowed scarlet in the darkness, changing to
sapphire, then emerald, then gold.

“Give me a minute,” he told her, tossing back
the gossamer sheet and reaching for his robe.

She hissed her disapproval at the delay, but
waited while he dragged his robe over his head. Still groggy, he
winked at her as he made his way to the crystal sink and splashed
icy water on his face.

Come with me
. This time, irritation
laced her whisper.

“I’m ready.” Though he – and everyone else in
the castle – knew the way to the king’s chambers, he judged it best
not to annoy Kyslandra further. She’d been known to vent her ire in
an earsplitting wail that turned the blood cold. That was the last
thing he needed after less than three hours sleep. No thanks.

Trudging the deserted hallways with the sylph
drifting on ahead, he tried to think of what he’d possibly done to
cause this early-morning summoning. He came up blank.

Finally, they reached the massive, obsidian
crystal doors of the King’s bedchamber. As Cenrick reached for the
silver handle, the sylph vanished in a puff of energy.

“Come in.” King Roark’s voice sounded tired,
more exhausted than Cenrick had ever heard him.

Entering and closing the door behind him,
Cenrick was startled to note the Mage of Rune was also present.
Mort looked wide awake, his lined face uncharacteristically
worried. Tinth, his pet hawk – some said his familiar – perched on
one shoulder.

An air of tension, worry, and unease, made
the atmosphere feel heavy. Though only early autumn, the morning
air carried enough chill for them to have lit a fire in the crystal
hearth.

“Father?” Cenrick froze, an awful thought
seizing him. “Is it Alrick? Has something happened to my brother?”
Ever since his twin brother had bested a powerful Mage from the
future and decided to permanently live among humans with his wife
Carly and soon-to-be-born son, Cenrick had worried. Alrick hadn’t
traveled to earth as often as Cenrick. Preferring to remain in Rune
and live by the old ways, Alrick didn’t know nearly as much about
humans or their customs as Cenrick.

King Roark stroked his beard. Though his
years numbered well over three hundred, he still retained a younger
man’s handsome visage. He chose the snowy, white, facial hair for
effect. The same went for the sparkling diamond studs he wore in
his ears.

“No, no. Of course not.” He squinted at his
son. “You’ve gone across the veil often enough to know what it’s
like. I don’t understand what you fear.”

And Cenrick wanted to keep things that way.
Rune was vastly different than the human world. In the many
occasions he’d visited, he’d seen enough of the vicious and vie
side of human nature to know exactly what some were capable of.

Even against Fae. He would never understand
why so many of his kind wanted to live there.

Exhaling, Cenrick relaxed slightly. “Then
what?”

Mort, the Mage touched his arm. “It’s
Talmick, your third cousin. He’s in trouble again.”

“Talmick? I thought he was past all that.”
Looking from one to the other, Cenrick wondered at the two older
men’s solemn faces. In the past, Talmick’s scrapes had been minor.
“How serious is this?”

“Very serious.”

“Father, I know I haven’t seen Mick in a
couple of years, but you know how close we were as children. While
I’ll admit he
is
a bit mischievous, he means no harm. Like
most of our kind, he merely likes to have a bit of fun among
humans.”

Instead of lightening, King Roark’s frown
deepened. “That’s what makes this so horrible. This is not one of
his usual pranks.”

Cenrick crossed his arms. “Last I heard, ever
since he met Jack, he’d settled down.”

“So I’d believed.” King Roark sighed. “I’ve
summoned him, ordered him to return to Rune from the human world,
but he ignores me.”

“What’s he done this time?”

“If Mick is not the cause of this…” For a
moment the Mage appeared at a loss for words. “If Mick is not the
cause of this, then he is in great danger. Several Fae have
returned to Rune from the human realm, all of them Mick’s friends.
They’ve been,” he swallowed. “Damaged.”

“Damaged? I don’t understand.”

“They are Soulless.” Taking up where the Mage
left off, the King twisted his hands together. “Only their bodies
returned. That which made them Fae is gone – their personality,
intellect, spirit, all vanished.”

“What of their magic?”

“That too has disappeared.”

“How?”

“We don’t know. The Oracle has tried as well,
and failed.”

The Oracle had failed? Cenrick wasn’t aware
such a thing could happen. She was the most powerful being in Rune.
Cenrick straightened. “What do you want me to do?”

“You must travel to the human world and find
out what’s going on,” Mort said. Tinth screeched in agreement.

“But most importantly,” King Roark stepped
forward, worry darkening his gaze. “You must not place yourself in
danger. As of yet the Oracle has been able to heal the others.”

Horrified, Cenrick swallowed. “You’re saying
there’s a possibility they might remain… husks?”

Neither the King nor the Mage answered. Not
good.

“I wanted you to see them,” his father
continued. “But there is not enough time. This is an urgent matter.
We must stop this threat before any others are harmed.”

Cenrick looked from one to the other. “And
Mick?”

“We think it best if you do not let him know
of your arrival, at least until you’ve ascertained the
situation.”

“I understand.”

The King nodded. “Go with Mort. He will
prepare you for the journey across the veil.”

MURPHY’S LAW? Dee Bishop wrapped her hands
around a steaming mug of coffee and took a deep sip, welcoming the
heat as it seared her mouth and throat. They ought to rename it
Bishop’s Law, after her. The way her life had been going lately,
the name was particularly apt.

She squinted as the cuckoo clock – her latest
garage sale find – chimed six times. As in six o’clock. In the
morning. Who in their right mind was up on a Saturday morning at
such an ungodly hour? She ought to be curled up in her bed, still
asleep.

But sleep didn’t come easily these days. Not
since she’d been called into the Police Chief’s office a week ago
and placed on mandatory suspension.

She had the dubious distinction of being the
first female office on the South Worth Police Department to be
investigated for misconduct.

Her! The most law-abiding cop she knew.

Facing Police Chief Ferguson while he
outlined the charges against her had been one of the hardest things
she’d ever done. Even though they were patently false – they
had
to be false – she could feel her hard won respectability
seeping away from her like sand from a broken hourglass.

The disappointment in her mentor’s gray eyes
had been more than she could bear, making her feel like the awkward
teenager she’d once been, pretending not to care as another foster
family declined to adopt her.

Back straight, head held high, face
expressionless, she’d marched from her office to her desk,
retrieved her service revolver and turned it in. They hadn’t asked
for her badge, not yet. That would only come if they turned the
investigation over to a grand jury and she was indicted.

Her! As one of the few female officers, she’d
always been careful to do everything by the book.

Worse yet, someone from the department leaked
the story to the press. Dee made both the five o’clock news and the
front page of the newspaper. Being the first female officer hired
in South Worth had been a big deal in this good-ole-boy town; her
disgrace was an even bigger story.

Still, as she had growing up, she refused to
cry.

Things got worse. That night, when she’d
sought out her fiancé Peter for solace, he’d unceremoniously dumped
her. He’d claimed the cloud hanging over her had nothing to do with
his decision, but she’d known he was lying. A respectable
accountant, Peter had never been entirely comfortable with Dee’s
lack of family or history. Her suspension was apparently more than
he could handle.

Still, she shed no tears, even if her
nickname around the South Worth Police Department, Lucky, now
seemed more of a cruel joke.

Then, just when it seemed she’d hit rock
bottom, the other shoe had dropped on her. Dropped? No,
stomped
was a better word.

The one person she could count on, her best
friend and the brother of her heart, Mick Morsi, had told her to
stay away. On the phone, no less. He didn’t even have the courtesy
to brush her off to her face.

Finally, tears had filled her eyes as she’d
stammered her disbelief.

Had the world gone totally insane? She’d
pinched herself, certain she had to be dreaming.

Mick had always been there for her. Always.
It was inconceivable that he wouldn’t be there now, when she needed
him the most.

They’d met as kids, orphans who’d been farmed
out to the same foster home, and immediately become fast
friends.

Mick had taken on the role of protector,
defending the younger, smaller Dee from various predators, both
adult and child, and when he’d decided he wanted to make protecting
children his full-time occupation, Dee had followed him into the
police force.

Mick had been on a mission, and he’d had a
dream. Dee had tried to share it and they’d made a pact as
officers. If they could save just one child, prevent one little
girl or boy from enduring the unspeakable horrors they had endured,
anything else they had to endure would be worth it.

Now, all of that was threatened and she
didn’t even know why or how.

Mick bailing on her was the final straw. She
knew Mick – he wasn’t like that. Something else had to be wrong.
Something so terrible, Mick didn’t want her to know.

With empty days looming before her, Dee
decided to make it her mission to learn what the problem was. After
all, she and Mick had always said there wasn’t any trouble that the
two of them couldn’t handle.

Again, she called Jack, Mick’s significant
other, eve though he hadn’t answered the phone on any of her
previous attempts. This time he picked up on the third ring.

“Dee?” His normally ebullient voice sounded
hoarse and congested. “Did Mick ask you to call me?”

“No, but he’s
why
I’m calling.”

“Do you know where he is?” The anxiety in
Jack’s tone told her he didn’t.

“I’m looking for him.” She explained, “I may
have to go look for him tonight when he’s spinning records.”

“He quit that job,” Jack said, shocking her.
“He’s really changed, Dee. I’m worried.”

“I’m worried too.”

“He’s—.” A fit of coughing interrupted him,
leaving him gasping for air.

“Are you all right?”

“I’ve been better,” he admitted. “But we
don’t need to talk about me. I was hoping you could shed some light
on what’s up with Mick. Other than taking me to my doctor’s
appointments, I haven’t seen much of him lately. It’s like he’s…
pulling away.”

Her heart sank. “It’s Saturday. He always
stays at your place on weekends.”

“Not anymore.” The raw anguish in his voice
broke her heart. “Though he’s promised to stop by tonight for
dinner.”

Another coughing spell made her wince.

“I’ll come by soon, I promise. I’ve got to
go.”

“All right. Back to bed for me.” He hung
up.

Since the conversation had startled her and
she didn’t know what else to do, she got in her car and drove
around for hours looking for Mick. She checked all of his favorite
hangouts, with no success. Finally she grabbed a late lunch at
Vittoro’s Italian Restaurant and headed home. As she was pulling
into her parking lot, a glimmer of a plan occurring to her.