by Melody Raven
But as her vision came back to her, she pushed away from the wall and looked around. Scragg. Where did he go?
She pushed herself up as the ringing finally started to fade.
“—Take care of the rest.” Carter’s voice finally came through to her, but she was already moving past the agents who were now branching out through the house.
“Where is he?” Lina demanded. “Where did Scragg go?”
“He bolted when we came in. We were sent in to stop the witches. Where are they?”
Lina’s head spun. No, the room spun. Damn, that flash bomb was wreaking havoc on her senses. But if she was this thrown off, Scragg had to be too. And he’d gotten away?
No. Hell no. She was going to find him and—
Something grabbed her arm and turned her around. The fact that she just let it happen was a sign of just how out of it she was.
“Where’s Aidan?”
Aidan.... She tried to collect her thoughts. “Aidan is stopping the warlocks. They’re trying to end the world or something. Gates. They’re opening more gates.” Her breaths came faster as everything hit her at once. She needed to go after Scragg. She needed to find Aidan. She needed to get her damn head to start working again.
“I... I have to find him.” She pulled her arm free from Carter’s hold. She didn’t think she pulled that hard, but he lurched forward with the force of her pull, and she looked down to see a few drops of blood going down her arm. Had she been cut? She was just about to leave when she saw her dagger on the ground. She snatched it up before heading out of the house. She didn’t know whether Carter was following her or not, but it didn’t matter. She needed to get to Aidan.
The sun wasn’t totally set yet, but the shadows stretched enough over the well-manicured lawn to allow her to move freely. With every step she took, her mind became clearer, the fog drifting away. Her vision became sharper. Her ears cleared. And she could hear so many things. There was gunfire and bangs and periodic flashes of more flash bombs the humans were using. But worse than that was the screaming.
The farther she got down the yard, the louder the screams became. Lina picked up the pace and reached the clearing right as the screaming stopped. She stared in shock at the spread of bodies on the ground. They weren’t dead. She could see the rise and fall of breaths, and a few of the robed guys started to get up.
And apparently some of Aidan’s family was there because there was a whole collection of bodies in the familiar collection of blues of the House of Masters. As soon as she figured which of the men was Aidan, she used her Vopura speed to race over to him. He was just pushing himself up as she reached him. “What happened?” She reached out to help him up.
“I don’t know,” he croaked out as he looked around at the damage. “Oh shit.”
She was about to ask what he was talking about until she looked over to where Talia was and caught her breath. “Oh shit,” she echoed.
Talia wore a glorious dress, with her nearly white hair pulled severely away from her face. She had the same crystal-blue eyes and amazing bone structure, but now her skin was weathered and sinking. She looked at least fifty human years older. “What happened?”
The sound of laughter cut through her shock, and she realized that the Order of Nygma was all smiles and joy. “Did they go through with it? Did they open all the other gates?”
Aidan seemed just as confused as she did. “They couldn’t have. They barely started the spell.”
“Then what are they... what happened to the hook?”
“The what?”
“Aidan,” called Talia. “You need to end this.”
Lina ignored her and reached out to Aidan’s neck, putting her fingers on the black burn mark on his skin. “The binding thing. It’s gone.”
Aidan reached up and pressed his hand against his neck. “The blackout,” he breathed. “The first magic blackout wasn’t an attack. It was practice.”
“Practice for what? If they didn’t open more gates for the Vopura, what did they do?”
“You’re not going to be able to stop us now.” One of the members stepped in closer. “By the time you get your powers back, it will be too late. We’re creating the most powerful weapon this pathetic Earth has ever seen.”
Lina leaned in closer to Aidan as the overjoyed warlocks and Talia moved in closer.
“Aidan!” shouted Talia. “My powers are useless. All of them....”
Aidan’s eyes darkened as he reached out for Lina and pulled her closer. “Don’t leave me,” he said in a low, intense voice.
She was about to ask what the hell that meant when he turned to face the Order of Nygma.
“What did you do?” he asked.
But something in his voice was different. It didn’t sound different necessarily, but Lina could feel it. There was power there. A lot of power.
The warlock across from them must’ve felt it, too, because his smile vanished and his eyes widened. “How....”
“We used you like a battery,” said another member, a kid who was probably no older than sixteen, complete with acne and a wavering voice. “We’ve been planning this for years. Waiting until the stars aligned and we could harness the energies between this world and even Vora to channel the energies from all the magic beings to make one ultimate weapon.” He blinked a few times before looking around at all of his friends. “I... I didn’t mean to say that. Why did I say that?”
“Because you couldn’t take my powers that not even I had access to,” said Aidan in that same supersonic voice. “And now the one in charge of keeping me chained has been sapped. You had to take magic from everything, right? Including yourself? Which means that for now, I’m the only one here with any power. And I’m going to use it.” He held out his hand, and a beam of light shot out. All of the Order of Nygma fell back against the grass as though they’d been shot in the chest.
Lina jumped at the display of raw energy. Aidan had told her how strong he was, but she had no idea. When he turned his attention to her, she couldn’t help her step back in apprehension.
He tilted his head but didn’t say anything about it. “Where is Scragg?” He noticed the blood on her arm and ran his hand down the skin. “Did he hurt you?”
She tucked her arm behind her as she shook her head. “No,” she said quickly. “I hurt him.” Holding out the dagger with her other hand, she added, “I used his momentum against him.”
Aidan smiled as he took the knife from her. “That’s my girl.” He ran the blade over his hand.
His blood fell to the ground, and despite herself, Lina felt her fangs extend and her eyes go dark. God, she could use a drink right now.
Aidan chanted something low and melodic, and once again his voice vibrated right through her. The effect sent a mixture of fear and desire through her. She’d believed him when he said he was a dangerous warlock, but she didn’t realize just how sexy it was going to be.
When he stopped chanting, she looked around, trying to figure out what he’d done. “Should I be scared?”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss into her forehead. “No, babe. You never have to be scared again.”
She leaned into him, even as his words shook her. Was this what she wanted? Someone to take care of her? Protect her? Or was this exactly what she’d been working against ever since she’d gotten here?
Screams broke her from her thoughts, and she looked over her shoulder to see Scragg being dragged by some invisible force right over to her. The chanting that he’d done with his blood and Scragg’s linked them together. No matter how far he’d run, he couldn’t escape Aidan’s magic.
This powerful creature born to royalty, who had had everything he ever wanted handed to him on a golden platter, was now rendered helpless by Aidan. “What are you going to do to him?” she asked as Scragg was finally deposited at Aidan’s feet.
Aidan hooked an arm around her and pulled her against him, her back to his front. She expected him to stand between her and Scragg protect
ively, but instead he covered her back like a blanket and his cheek rested against the side of her forehead. “This is my present to you. He’s your ex. You saw what he was doing to those women. What do you think he deserves?” As he spoke, he moved the dagger back to her hand, his fingers closing around the hilt.
“Do you want me to kill him?” asked Lina, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Hey!” A group of humans all in black body armor finally joined the party, guns drawn.
Aidan waved a hand, and every single gun went flying toward the bushes.
Carter stepped forward, a snarl contorting his face. “We need to question him!” he shouted. “Stand back.”
“You do whatever you want to do. We can turn him over. We can take care of him ourselves. Your choice. Your power.”
Power. Scragg’s eyes were wide, and he tried to scoot away, but nothing he did moved him. He was truly hers to do with as she pleased.
“Lina!” called Carter. “Put down your weapon.”
She looked up and locked eyes with the human. “I can’t. I am the weapon.” She opened her hand, and the knife fell to the ground. Well within reach of Scragg, but he was incapable of touching it no matter how hard he tried. He was just glued to the ground. “Tell me,” she asked, filled with an icy calm she’d never felt before. No matter how many times Scragg said he’d protect her and keep her safe, she’d never felt as in control as she did right now. “Are you still pure?”
“What? You know me. I’ve done nothing but love you!”
She bit her lip, one sharp fang drawing her own blood. “Your love sucks.” And then she fell on him, pushing her claws straight into his throat.
“Your girlfriend needs anger management,” grumbled Carter as Scragg’s mangled, but still alive, body was carted away by Special Unit 4.
Aidan smiled. “She didn’t kill him,” he pointed out. “More anger management than I would’ve had.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” muttered Carter as he glanced at his phone and then back to where the humans and witches were continuing to process all the Order of Nygma members. Aidan had managed to keep them out long enough for backup to arrive.
Talia was efficiently managing her people’s processing of the warlocks. Whatever spell they’d cast had zapped even their own magic so they were powerless for now, but it wouldn’t last forever. Talia still looked her age, but he could see that her powers were slowly coming back. He was guessing she’d be at full strength by tomorrow. But whatever they’d done had been some strong stuff. The power from every witch and warlock in the world for hours could make one hell of an impact. He just wished he knew what it had been.
“The portals to Vora in both Seattle and Daytona have closed. Whatever they did must’ve sucked those dry too. So for now, the Vopura aren’t going to be a problem.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Lina as she approached. After she’d done a number on Scragg, she’d needed a change of clothes and probably a gallon of soap and hand sanitizer to get the blood off her. “There are still plenty Vopura running around.”
“And we’ll take care of them. One by one, if we have to. Ian and I have faced worse odds.”
“Where is your partner?” asked Aidan. Carter had never been his favorite of the two anyway.
“He got held up,” said Carter quickly. “He’ll be here.”
That didn’t sound good, but Aidan wasn’t going to bring it up. He reached out for Lina, and she immediately took his hand. “Let’s take a walk.”
She frowned and looked to Carter. “You don’t need us for anything?”
“I know how to get a hold of you. You’re going to be with him, right?”
“Yeah,” she said as Aidan tugged her away from the prying ears of his family and the humans. But at least he knew his grandmother wasn’t using her powers to listen in for now.
“Carter saved me some trouble,” he said once they were close to the wooded area surrounding the property.
“What trouble?”
“I wasn’t sure you were going to stick around.” Lina was quiet and glanced down. “And I see you weren’t sure either.”
“No... I’m sure. It’s just.... You’re not what I expected.”
“What?”
“I had a plan. Once I got free, I was supposed to find myself. Set myself up. Become self-sufficient. It was a good plan. Healthy.”
“Does that mean I’m unhealthy?”
“You’re dangerous,” she said even as she looked up at him with a smile. “Very dangerous.”
“If only you knew how much you like danger.”
“I never used to.”
“You never had the chance. What I said before stands. I can give you everything you ever wanted. I can take you to every corner of this world and show you things you never even dreamed of.”
“You’re... unreal.”
He cupped her face with one hand. “I couldn’t have planned for you even if I tried.”
She let out a laugh. “So I guess we’re a pair. Neither of us wanted each other and yet here we are. Where do we go from here?”
“That’s the fun part.” Aidan winked. “We get to go wherever you want.”
~~~THE END~~~
Start reading Blood Magic today! Click here: https://amzn.to/2KDiVz3
I’m not a wicked witch, but I’m not a good person either. How I came to be the newest recruit to the Dangerous Magic Division of Homeland Security is beyond me. It’s the first time I’ve ever tried to work with the law instead of against it, and, believe me, good doesn’t come naturally for me.
But between a psychic who has no idea how to use her powers and a partner who cares more about rules than actually getting the job done, I feel like I’m the glue holding this team together.
All of my new colleagues have their own secrets, but we’re going to have to get along if we’re supposed to help the humans of the world survive. When the pretty simple missions we’re assigned start pointing to a bigger plan, every single one of my well honed instincts tart screaming at me that something is wrong.
Because I start to suspect something sinister has infected our new team. Something dark and deadly and we’re only going to be able to stop it if we work together. But how can humans trust us to save them if we can’t even trust each other?
Start reading Blood Magic today! Click here: https://amzn.to/2KDiVz3