Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge 01 - Spell Bound (4 page)

I shook the haze from my vision and rubbed my aching shoulder before snapping my attention to my attacker. From the top of the steps, Pierce snickered. His eyes were mostly dark blue except for the small brown spot I knew to be at the top of his left eye. They narrowed as he waited to see how I would respond. He’d obviously done that partially as payment for screwing up at school earlier today. Being my pain-in-the-ass big brother, however, was the main reason.

“Dammit, Pierce. I was just about to do something.”

“Like what?” he asked, nonchalantly crossing the distance between us. As the most powerful of my brothers, Pierce feared nothing except our father’s disapproval. “Were you trying to hex someone from school again? You know how well that worked the last time.”

As if I needed to be reminded. Accidentally turn yourself into a roach one time, and no one ever lets you fucking forget it.

I rose and charged forward, but before I took two steps, ice formed around my feet and held me fast. Just my luck, Thad was getting in his hits too.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I asked Thad, who approached from the side of the house.

“Keeping you from getting hurt,” he replied coolly as he brushed a strand of his strawberry blond hair off his forehead. He was still annoyed with me.

I’d had just about enough. “
Dimitte me
,” I said with a wave of my hand. The ice Thad had used to stop me broke away and crumbled in response to my release spell. I had to admit, I was pretty damned impressed. “I’ll take the both of you on right now.”

“And you’d lose,” Thad said matter-of-factly.

My pretend anger suddenly turned real, and I couldn’t stop the snarl that curled my lip. Thad’s cold fish routine always pissed me off. I uttered the Latin word
propellit
, and Thad flew off his feet and skidded on his ass across the lawn.

Another point for me.

Pierce broke into hysterics at my side. He slapped my shoulder with his big oafish hand. At six foot four, he was six inches taller than me and at least double my muscle mass. While he might be the strongest, both physically and magically, it had always been tough for him to get the drop on Thad, who was the cleverest of us all.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you.” I was feeling a bit cocky now that I’d managed two successful spells in a row. Why not try for a third?

Pierce studied me while I recited a spell that should have caused Pierce’s pants to drop around his ankles.

Wouldn’t you know it? My streak came to an embarrassing end.

Pierce doubled over in laughter as I stood there completely naked from the waist down. My dress slacks and boxers suddenly appeared in the branches of a tree about ten yards away.

Thad, who’d sprung to his feet to retaliate for being knocked down, joined Pierce in laughing at me while I covered up my junk.

“It’s not funny!” I yelled, trying to keep a straight face. I hated being the butt of jokes, but even I had to admit this was pretty damned hilarious.

Pierce tried to say something that would likely be shitty, but he was laughing so hard he had trouble breathing. Tears poured down his cheeks, and Thad couldn’t stop snickering long enough to be his usual smartass self.

I wanted to be pissed off, but I couldn’t.

We only got together these days for special occasions like Sabbat celebrations, which was why we were all together today.

It was the autumnal equinox known as Mabon, and we had a celebration to attend.

“Is there a reason you’re standing out here butt-ass naked?” Our father stood at the back patio door. He cleared his throat and struggled to speak. He was clearly a few seconds away from joining the make-fun-of-Mason bandwagon. The warlock temper I’d stirred up had finally started to fade. “You do remember what today is, right?” he asked, his voice broken by hiccups of laughter.

Although Mabon wasn’t Yule or Ostara, on this day all orders of magic—white, gray, and black—gave thanks for what the earth provided.

“It’s their fault,” I said, pointing at my brothers. Unfortunately, I gestured with the hand that had been covering my cock and balls. My complete nakedness caused Pierce and Thad to die in place.

“I see you’re definitely still our little brother,” Pierce teased as he held out his pinkie finger and wiggled it.

“Bite me.” I walked over to retrieve my clothes. I yanked my pants from the insistent tree limbs, but my boxers were out of reach. I entertained the thought of using magic to bring them down, but with my luck the branch would fall on my head. I’d never gone commando to a Sabbat celebration before, but there was a first time for everything.

“We need to leave in fifteen minutes, Mason,” my dad said as he escorted Pierce and Thad inside. “We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.”

Nope. We sure didn’t. The warlocks, wizards, and witches that would be at the ritual didn’t appreciate tardiness.

I nodded and slipped my pants up my thighs. My father paused at the threshold of the house. He peered at the farthest reaches of the property, into the army of trees that stood sentry along the perimeter. Had he sensed what I had smelled earlier and what had whispered to me on the wind?

But after a few seconds, he switched his gaze from the forest to me. He nodded for me to hurry and then went inside.

Maybe there wasn’t anything out there after all, but I didn’t believe that. I took one final look over my shoulder at the house and darted toward the woods.

I
WALKED
under the canopy of white pine, red maple, and northern red oak for about five minutes, trying to home in on what I had sensed, but whatever had smelled like pancakes and bleach seemed to have left. Maybe it had sensed my father’s magic. He wasn’t someone to be messed with, especially since he was close to being inducted into the Council of Black.

Even without that endorsement, he still kicked major ass. He scared the shit out of me, and I was his son. We weren’t super close or anything. That was his and Pierce’s deal. Pierce was the firstborn, the golden child, the one who mastered magic and every-fucking-thing else with little effort. Thad came next. He was the bookworm, poring over the dusty family books in the library and keeping our Grimoire at his side.

It was obvious he studied hard so he could hand both Dad and Pierce their asses in a magical showdown.

I wanted that too. I first had to master my magic and finally tap into my active power the way Pierce and Thad had.

A rustling of leaves about thirty feet to my left caught my attention.

I spun around, trying to sense movement among the overgrown bushes and vines that tangled the saplings, which stretched for the treetops. I saw nothing, but I heard more rustling and the unmistakable sound of heavy breathing and grunting.

Could kids from my high school be back here getting it on? It sure as hell wouldn’t be the first time. If it was some kids from school, my magic might scare the shit out of them and make them think twice about coming back.

I was drawing closer when a figure exploded out of the bushes. It was that damn new kid from lunch. He leaped over a bush, placed his hands on the side of an oak, and somersaulted over a collection of rocks. I stood in amazement as the blur continued running over, around, and off obstacles in his path.

What the fuck was he doing?

Without missing a beat, he reached up to a tree limb on the other side of a rock and swung himself to the left. Before him was a crumbling brick wall, the remnants of a cistern. He pulled himself up in a single bound and then leaped like a cat down the other side. When he landed, he sprinted forward a few feet, kicked off the trunk of a tree, and went straight for the small stream only a few yards from where I stood.

He picked up speed as he rushed toward the water, which was lined with rocks on either side. What was he going to do? Jump? It was about ten feet across. There was no way he could do it.

But as he reached the water’s edge, he launched himself off one of the rocks jutting out of the water, propelling himself forward while flipping in the air and landing with a small splash on the other side.

He hadn’t made it, but he’d come pretty damned close. I was impressed.

He smiled and looked back at the path he’d taken. He was pretty pleased with himself, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d run in a straight line and nothing, not the trees, rocks, or stream, had stopped him.

“Enjoyin’ the view?” he asked through ragged breaths, his Southern accent still as pronounced as earlier this afternoon.

He turned to me. He combed his fingers through his shaggy, dark blond locks, brushing the sweat-matted strands to the side. He moved his hands to his hips and regarded me with suspicion.

He was even hotter in his tank top and running shorts. His shoulders weren’t broad. They were as lean and strong as the rest of his tight body. Nice muscles defined his thighs and calves, probably because he bounced around like a cartoon kangaroo, and the tight-fitting shorts really showed off his ass. It made me hungry.

Even though his body got me going, his attitude still sucked. He snorted at me, and a crooked smile hitched up his lips. He evidently was used to both girls and guys fawning over him.

It made me hate him even more.

“Not really,” I replied with a shake of my head. “Just watching a crazy fool running like mad in my forest.”

He arched one dark, bushy eyebrow at me. “Your forest? I didn’t realize a forest could belong to someone.” His drawl was so thick he just had to be from Texas.

“Well, it does.” I opened my arms wide. “And it’s all mine.”

Still on the other side of the stream, he took a few steps closer until he was directly across from me. “You know, I kinda hoped you might be different from your dumbass friends, but I can see you’re just as much a fucktard as they are.”

I bristled. I was two seconds away from doing something he’d regret. He might not have said retard, but he’d come pretty damned close. “You know I don’t like that word.”

He replied with a half smile and a nod. “So how can someone my age own a forest?”

Fuck! I was going to need a translator to talk to this guy if his accent got any thicker. “It belongs to my family. We’ve owned this land for five generations.” He seemed more annoyed than impressed. “You’re not from around here.”

“How’d you guess?” he asked while a smirk tugged the right corner of his lips.

“Well, besides the fact that you talk like a refugee from a rodeo, most people in Havenbridge know this area belongs to the Blackmoors, and we’re not too fond of unexpected visitors.”

He nodded. He might not be from around here, but he’d evidently heard of us. “Right. My aunt Millie told me about your family.”

Millie? Did he mean Millicent Carpenter, the grumpy old hag who’d used to run a local grocery store until my family’s supermarket chain ran her out of business? She didn’t speak like some hick. “And what did your aunt Millie tell you about us?”

“That you were a bunch of rich bastards who acted as if y’all owned the earth.” He gazed around at the woods and let fly a single chuckle. “I’m guessin’ she was right.”

“We don’t own the earth. We’re working on it, though.”

“Why am I not surprised?” he asked with a snort.

If I could guarantee a hex wouldn’t backfire, I’d have turned this smug son of a bitch into a tapeworm. But I couldn’t risk it. I was already tempting my dad’s fury by not being at the house and ready to leave. Having to undo one of my misfired hexes wouldn’t endear me to him or our family to the other covens.

“Well, I wish I could say it’s been nice talkin’ to you, but my momma always told me not to lie right to people’s faces.” He turned around, searching the woods for where he’d run off to next.

I don’t know what made me do it, but before I could stop them, the words flew right out of my mouth. “What’s your name?”

He glanced over his shoulder, a wicked grin sliding across his perfect pink lips. “Name’s Drake,” he said. “And you’re Mason.”

I tilted my head to one side. “How the hell did you know that?”

Drake responded with a laugh before taking off at full speed. He cut through the bushes, leaped over more rocks, and then bounded off a tree trunk before the overgrowth stole him from my sight.

I was suddenly overcome with the desire to find out everything I could about the latest addition to our town.

A
FTER
I
got back from the woods, my father led me to the car. For almost the entire ride, he proceeded to scold me for almost making us late. I sighed quietly as he reprimanded me. Didn’t I realize how arriving late would make him look to the others? Did I not care that my family’s reputation could be tarnished?

I nodded in strained contrition while Pierce smirked at me and Thad gazed out the window, most likely imagining he was back in the library reading his books.

Dad’s words eventually turned into a low hum. My thoughts returned to Drake. Since I knew who his aunt was, finding out more information on him would be relatively easy. Havenbridge wasn’t that big, and I just had to figure out what that guy’s deal was. Why did it seem like he knew more than he let on?

There was a secret there, and I had to figure out what it was.

He wasn’t one of us, that was for sure. Magical beings emanated an aura that other magic users could sense. Drake gave off no such energy.

But there was something there. I could tell because it made the back of my brain itch.

“Are you listening to me?”

I nodded at my father through the rearview mirror. His eyes narrowed in disbelief, but instead of calling me on it, he continued his tirade while I went back to my thoughts.

I could cast a spell. That might get me the information I needed. Of course, I could also fry my brain if I didn’t get it right. Knowledge spells were tricky and precise. One incorrect word, and all the information that existed in the world could overload my brain, causing it to virtually explode. That wasn’t something I wanted to experience, no matter how badly I wanted to learn as much as I could about Drake.