Sinful Magic (18 page)

Her utter sincerity echoed through his head. His blood boiled at the thought, and he smelled singed skin, followed a second later by a searing on his chest where the dragon’s mouth was. The creature was as outraged as he was. “No.” He realized he’d roared that out when she cringed back. He rubbed her shoulder, feeling the icy tension in her muscles. “I won’t risk you. But believe me, we’re going to get the kid and his mom out.”

Nodding, she leaned back.

Moving his fingers from her shoulder, he took hold of her hand. The skin-to-skin contact eased back his bloodlust and helped him stay in control. It settled the dragon down as well. In control again, he called Phoenix and filled in the other hunter about the phone call from Mack.

Roxy worried that she should have insisted on going along with Kieran to help divert Mack’s attention.

“They’ll be fine, Roxy,” Ailish said. “Phoenix is immortal, and he has wings. He’s going to fly over and scope it out first. They have other hunters meeting them there.”

She was still trying to get used to Ailish’s eyes. They were a strangely compelling silvery blue and bracketed by a fine webbing of scars. The rest of her face was lean and strong, just like her body. Being blind, she didn’t meet Roxy’s gaze, and it was slightly disconcerting. “I can’t help but worry. It’s me Mack wants.”

Ailish moved around the big kitchen, pouring out glasses of iced tea with ease. “We’ll get to work, and you won’t have time to worry.” She slid a glass across the granite counter to where Roxy sat on a tall bar stool.

Out of nowhere a voice said, “Ailish, it’s Darcy. I’m at the front door.”

“Do you have an intercom?” Roxy asked.

“She’s using magic,” Ailish said, then headed around the counter and out toward the living room. Over her shoulder, she added, “I can’t see the camera views on the house, so she’s letting me know she’s here.”

Roxy heard the door open, followed by the two witches talking. Her nerves pulled tighter. Darcy MacAlister. She was the soul mirror of Axel Locke and very powerful. She and Axel were the first two to bond their souls, discover that it broke the curse for them, and gain immortality. She turned, feeling self-conscious in her borrowed clothes. She thought about her mother, how much Gwen resented the soulmirror witches because they’d found a way to reach their high magic, and Gwen hadn’t. What did they think of Gwen, whom they knew only as Silver? As soon as Tyler was safe, she would tell them all who her mother was. She didn’t even want to think about the possibility of Gwen being involved in Key’s creation. She’d ask her when she got a phone and a little privacy.

Both witches walked back in, Ailish first, her dark hair a contrast to the sleek mahogany with red highlights of Darcy’s hair. Both witches glowed with their witch-shimmer, making them appear unearthly.

She wished she’d seen the picture Kieran drew of her—had he caught her witch-shimmer? She glanced down at her hands, but her skin looked just milky white to her.

“Hi, Roxy, I’m Darcy.”

She jerked her head up and planted a smile on her face. Roxy knew how to deal with people; it was her job. She needed to stop doubting herself. Sliding off the bar stool, she stood up straight, shoulders back, and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Darcy. I met your

” She couldn’t think of what to call him. Mate? Soul mirror? “

uh, Axel last night.”

Darcy smiled, and her face lit up as she took Roxy’s hand. “Mate is fine.” She let go and held up a large bag with handles. “I brought some clothes. Axel said we’re close to the same size. I’m a little taller, and you’re definitely bigger in the bust.” She grinned again, then said, “There is some new underwear and a bra. Axel showed me his memory of you and I guessed thirty-six C.”

She took the bag, feeling the weight. “Thank you. I don’t have my purse or—”

Darcy shook her head, reached out and touched her arm. “Key took care of it, don’t worry. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal, and we want to help you. Make you feel safe.”

“And,” Ailish added, “you may be able to save Key. He’s been getting closer and closer to the edge, doing what Phoenix calls his frenzied drawing. Phoenix is worried that Key’s going to encounter witch blood and not be able to control himself. If he went rogue, that would tear Phoenix apart.”

“I won’t let that happen.” If he hadn’t stopped to draw her, they’d already have sealed their bond before he got the text message showing Tyler and his mom kidnapped. Sealing their bond was imperative to saving his soul. He’d done so much for her, she was going to do this for him. Just the memory of the way Kieran made her feel, so strong and sexy, warmed her.

“Good,” Darcy said. “Let’s get started on seeing how much of your power and control you have, unless you’d like to change first?”

She did feel a bit grubby in her clothes, but she said, “Work first, then I’ll change.”

Both witches nodded approvingly. Using her magic, Darcy waved her hand and pushed the tables and chairs back, clearing an area. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out four candles. “These are to help you focus on your chakras.”

She set them at the four cardinal points. “Red is for earth, symbolizing the first chakra at the base of your spine.”

Roxy felt a tug above her tailbone.

“Orange for water in your pelvis. Yellow for fire, your third chakra in the area of your solar plexus.”

She felt two more tugs, each one getting weaker as they moved up.

“And green for air, the fourth chakra behind your heart.” Darcy stood and said, “Come sit in the center, Roxy.”

She took off Key’s jacket, set it down, walked to the middle, and sank down on the cool tile floor. Immediately, a bubble of energy fizzed around the base of her spine. “I feel my first chakra.”

Darcy crouched in front of her, on the other side of the red candle. “That’s because you’re close to the earth. Focus on this red candle and try to direct the energy you feel to light it.”

Roxy stared, seeing the long, tapered shape, the white wick standing proud. The first eleven years of her life, she’d seen her mother and her friends do magic. She’d felt it moving around her, the magical energy as natural as breathing.

“Funnel the magic up, directing it through your hands.”

Darcy’s voice was becoming more distant as she concentrated, mentally calling the energy swirling at the base of her spine up and through her hand. She lifted her right hand to aim at the candle. A buzzing sensation rose through her. It seemed to stall and sputter. She pushed harder, willing her magic to work. To light the candle!

Roxy didn’t want to fail in front of these witches.

She redoubled her efforts. Harder, deeper, she concentrated until she heard a pop, then a sizzle, and the next thing she knew a flame flew out of her hand, missed the candle and—

Darcy dove to her right, leaping out of the way as the flame turned into a missile.

“Shit!” Roxy exclaimed, throwing up both hands. “Come back!”

The flame slammed into one of the dining room chairs and exploded into a raging fire.

Roxy leaped to her feet. “Oh God! I’m sorry!”

The piercing shriek of multiple smoke alarms blared through the house.

Ailish ran past her, held out her hands and doused the fire with water. The thick smell of smoke made it hard to breathe, soot burned her eyes, and the shrieking of the alarm threatened to make her brain bleed.

Darcy rose to her feet, waved her hands and the shrieking stopped.

Roxy moved to stand by Darcy and Ailish. She turned to the blind witch standing next to her. “I set your chair on fire.”

Darcy looked over. “And scorched the wall and floor.”

She was so horribly embarrassed she couldn’t think what to say. She just kept seeing the streak of flames hit the chair before it exploded into bright oranges and yellows. “Kieran said my witch-shimmer has the fiery glow of sunset. Maybe a little too fiery?”

Darcy snorted and then started to laugh. “Did you see the flame erupt from her?”

Ailish said, “Hello, blind here? But I felt the energy and heard the chair explode!” She started to laugh, too.

Roxy stared at the two of them laughing. “But the chair is ruined. And your wall!” There was a huge plume of black staining the paint. “I really wanted to impress you both. I’ve heard so much about you. Instead, I practically set your house on fire.”

Darcy grabbed on to the back of another chair, laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.

The whole absurdity of the situation hit Roxy and she broke into laughter. She sank to the floor, tears running down her face, unable to stop laughing. “It’s not that funny,” she wheezed.

“It is!” Darcy said. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the flames erupt from your hand.”

“I almost hit you!” Then she remembered the shock on Darcy’s face, and the way she leaped to the right. “You jumped like a frog!” The fits of giggles started again.

“Damn, wish I’d seen that,” Ailish said.

They sat together and laughed until finally, Roxy pulled herself together. “I’m sorry, seriously. Darcy, you could have been hurt. And Ailish, I’ll pay to fix everything.”

“I got it,” Darcy said, sitting up and focusing on the chair.

Roxy watched as the gold lights floated in Darcy’s brown gaze, her golden shimmer brightened on her skin, and she held out her hands. She could feel magic rise; the energy creating an answering swirl in her first four chakras. As she watched, the chair repaired itself, the blackened wall returned to the light brown, and the acrid smell of smoke damage vanished. The swirling energy rushing along her spine calmed as Darcy lowered her arms. “Amazing.”

Darcy turned to her and put an arm around Roxy’s shoulders as if they’d been friends for years. “I was never in any danger, Roxy. I chose to jump out of the way, but I could have doused that flame in water. I didn’t because I wanted to see what you could do. You have power. You just need a little more control.”

There was such easy acceptance with these two witches. “I’ll practice.”

“We’ll practice together,” Ailish said. “Darcy and I aren’t going to let you get hurt by a magic accident. No need to hold back, Roxy. We’re here; we can counter anything you do by mistake.” Ailish was sitting facing them. “Including trying to burn my house down.”

It was such a relief. She felt better after laughing like an idiot. It had released the horrible knot sitting below her rib cage ever since being kidnapped and taken to Liam. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Darcy dropped her arm, but stayed next to her. “Let’s try again. This time, I want you to consciously open as many chakras as you can, then control the energy to light the orange candle.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated, picturing the red sphere of energy, and felt her first chakra pop. “One.”

“Keep going,” Ailish encouraged.

She mentally moved up her spine and pictured orange. She had to work harder, but that one finally burst open. She kept going, finding it a struggle to open three chakras, and by then her schema was growing hungry, the pain piercing.

She couldn’t force her fourth chakra open, so she began working on control.

Key drove, while Phoenix flew on ahead with Axel. The location of the storage yard was just up the street from the Rogue Cadre stronghold.

“What do you see?” Key asked into his Bluetooth, tense with leftover sexual arousal, bloodlust, and the need to kill Liam.

This might be his chance.

Except, why would Liam demand Roxy and not the Dragon Tear? That kept nagging at the edge of his brain, but he needed to stay focused on what he was doing. Liam was dangerous. Too fast even for a rogue.

Phoenix answered, “Three rows of storage garages—the middle one is double-sided—and an office trailer with a chain-link fence surrounding it all. The gate is open, and there are two black SUVs parked at the trailer. Don’t see anyone inside, but hard to be sure.”

“I’m circling,” Axel said. “Don’t see anyone on the roofs, but rogues could be hiding beneath the overhangs of the roof in the shadows, under or in the cars, and that trailer is big enough to hold fifteen men.”

“No sign of the kid or his mother?” They needed to know where they were to protect them.

“Not so far,” Axel said.

Another voice broke in. “I’ve enlarged the picture text and enhanced the quality,” Sutton said, working from the warehouse. “Both of them are lying on a cement floor. If they haven’t moved them, they must be in one of the storage units.”

Key pulled up two blocks from the strip mall where all the Wing Slayer Hunters were gathering to plan their strategy. The storage unit was two blocks away. He switched to his headset, then quietly slid out of the truck and strode around to the back alley that boasted broken asphalt, trash, and a rusted Dumpster that did little to shield the three big witch hunters. The first was Ram Virtos, one of the original five Wing Slayer Hunters. He was ex-military, had a thunderbird tattoo, and lived by the code of duty and discipline. Linc Dillinger stood next to him and was the newest full Wing Slayer Hunter. He often wore designer clothes to match his excessive charm, but beneath that was a feral fighter. And the third was Eli Stone; he had the outline of a griffin tattoo on his back and was just waiting for his test. Once he passed, the hunters would have an Induction Ceremony, and if their god finished the tattoo, Eli would be a full member of the Wing Slayer Hunters. Sutton was doing their technical backup at the warehouse, while Axel and Phoenix were doing recon from the air.

Key strode up to the three waiting hunters. “Since Roxy’s not here, the direct approach won’t work. As soon as Mack and the rest see me without her, they’ll know it’s an attack.”

Ram looked at his watch. “Fourteen minutes to his deadline.” Lifting his steel blue gaze, he said, “If Sutton’s right, we have enough time to spread out and locate the victims.”

“Everyone goes invisible,” Key added. “We can’t tip our hand.”

Ram said, “They’ll be safer if we leave them in the unit, with one hunter protecting it until we neutralize the threat.”

“Unless they have someone in the unit with them,” Linc pointed out in his velvet-smooth voice. “It’s what I would do.”