by Hayley Todd
Carson shrugged, still not having adjusted his position. His nonchalance in the face of certain injury was stunningly appealing. I had always known he could hold his own but to see it tonight...was something else entirely.
“Kyra,” my mother began, drawing me from my reverie. I straightened up, embarrassed by my own distracted thoughts. She held her hand aloft, directing my attention to it. “The first step to using your magick in any way is to learn to draw and release it. In the air around you, there are millions of living particles, the magick in the air. It’s always there but some can feel it and others cannot. Some can use it and others cannot.” While she spoke, her hand pulsed with energy, growing so bright that I had to avert my gaze, then dimming back to normal.
She turned to me, taking my hands into hers and lifting them to eye level. “Let’s see what you’re capable of without further direction first. I want you to feel in the air, to pull the magick down into you and maneuver it to your hands.” She released me, indicating to keep my hands aloft.
I did as she asked, stretching my senses into the air around me. My vivid dreams of the heroine Achillia made this feel natural and I realized I had touched the magick around me without realizing on many occasions already. It had been a common impression there, hovering about me forever. I may have become slightly more aware of it since turning but it had always been there. The absence of it felt stranger than the churning energy itself.
I gathered the energy into my body and concentrated, forcing the liquid fire within my veins to slide down my limbs and to my hands.
And was rewarded within seconds by my hands glowing like a neon light.
I caught the small grin widen on Carson’s face from the corner of my eye. My mother was elated. “You caught onto that so easily!” she shrieked, grabbing my glowing fingertips. “Now,” she said, growing serious. “The hard part. Draw that energy back into you. Hold it, but don’t let it show.”
I took a deep breath. She was right. This really was the hard part. The energy seemed to have a mind of its own, wanting either to be used or to be allowed to leak through my skin. I fought it down, holding it like a loaded magazine within my limbs. I held my palm aloft, watching as the tips of my fingers drained of light, retreating down towards my palms until it had left my hands altogether. I held the magick within, taking deep breaths to keep my body from glowing in response.
The magick fought hard against me, not wanting to be caged. But with deep breaths and focus, I pushed it back down.
After several moment my mother raised her head, looking deep into my eyes. She smiled her approval and turned to the targets at the far end of the range. I turned away from Carson, facing the targets with her.
She lifted her hand, fingers splayed wide and sucked in a breath. A sizzling bolt of electrical energy parted the air, slamming into one of the targets and disintegrating its chest.
When the air cleared, a neat hole appeared to have been carved down its center. She looked over to me, stepping aside.
I had had some marksman training. While I found Will to be the best shot of our band of misfits, I wasn’t bad by any stretch. Imagining the power shooting out of my hand didn’t seem to fit for me though. We had wielded guns, not mystical energy.
I raised my hand, instead curving my fist until two slender fingers were exposed, in the shape of a firearm. I pulled some of that gathered energy, allowing it to reach into my hand. It went quickly and easily, the power eager to manifest. I threw my will into my fingertips and was pleased to see a thick bolt of lightning split the air with a crack, exploding the head of the nearest dummy into shards of plastic and ballistic gel.
My mother stared in silence, seeming to have been so taken aback that she had lost her train of thought. Carson steppes up beside me, scanning his eyes over the range and it’s now decimated mannequin.
“Did you hear that crack?” He asked into the empty air. My mother made a choking sound and a glance at her proved her still to be staring at me blankly, her eyes wide. He swept those green eyes to me. “The thunderous sounds means that there was too much power in the blow. Sometimes that may be what you need, but a practice in silent shots would probably benefit you. Silence means stealth and stealth means winning a fight without ever being noticed.”
I lifted my fingers again, pulling magick from the air but limiting it, allowing only a small sliver to engulf my extended fist. It didn’t take much to spawn a tiny buzzing ball of electricity at the tip of my finger.
My hand didn’t bloom into color like it had before, instead showing an understated glow along the trail my veins left below my skin. I focused the magick more deeply and even the glow faded. The ball hanging over the air at the tip of my finger bloomed bright though. I took a deep breath, sucking some of that magick back into me.
I released my will, letting the magick surge down the range again. It collided silently with the base of the destroyed target and snapped it where it met a piece of metal, holding it aloft. The metal glowed blue for a moment and the mannequin slid to the ground.
“That’s perfect,” Carson said, his voice laced with admiration.
My mother beamed. “See, Kyra, it only take control now.” She lifted her palm, still holding her fingers out as though my finger guns weren’t exactly her style. With a quick breath, she shot another ball of light down the range. It splashed over the targets along the back wall and they vibrated as dozens of tiny lightning bolts leapt across their faux skin.
“Sometimes,” she began, turning back to me, “subtlety is key. Sometimes, you may want to incapacitate but not kill. Our type of magick is quite perfectly suited to that. It requires a soft touch but a shot can take a target down without permanently injuring them as well.” She lifted her hand, quickly shooting another bolt without looking. Again, the mannequins at the end of the range shuddered with expended power.
I raised my hand, watching with concentration as the electricity danced across my skin. It flowed down to my fingertips and with a thrust of my will, extended down the lane and crashed into the line of targets. Nothing exploded, no damage arose, and I gleefully found that the mannequins were alight with a blue glow.
“This magick is a rare and powerful gift. It can be dangerous as well if not wielded properly. It can also feed off your emotions, so remember to keep it in control. It wouldn’t do to explode into a radiant fire of electricity in the middle of the shopping mall.” She smiled fondly at me.
“Thanks, mom,” I replied and she tugged me into her arms.
“Your coronation is tomorrow,” she reminded me, looking me up and down. “Magick can also be horrifically draining. Some blood replenishes that energy but that means to be cautious. Magick is in the air,” she gently pressed a finger into my chest. “But it’s also within you. If you’re not careful you could find yourself drawing on your own power and there’s only so much to go around. You could really hurt yourself.” She turned off her serious face and gave me a wide grin. “Practice with it often, learn control and you’ll be fine. You’ll actually do incredibly well, given what you’ve already shown me.”
Warmth welled within me at the praise. Merely weeks ago, I had had no family but Will and Kellic. Now, my father had found me, my mother had been found alive, and both of them embraced having their daughter as though nothing had changed. If I only had Will by my side, my life would have been considered greatly improved. His absence weighed on me though, stealing joy from every spot of happiness.
“Well, I am going to report to your father,” my mother said, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “He’ll be very pleased to hear about how well you’re already doing. I’ll see you in the morning, my daughter.” She lifted onto her toes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. She whipped her arms around me and clutched me tightly to her. It took me a moment to recover my breath.
My mother and Gabrielle were both shorter than me, but taller than Kellic, nearly exactly the same in stature. When she clutched me, it bent me forward and had my arms just able to
hold onto her back. She stared up at me, her bright blue eyes excited and hopeful.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I replied with a grin.
She gave Carson a small smile as well and said, “Carson,” in farewell before walking out the way we had come. As she walked away, I could feel the magick in the air settle back into its place. It seemed drawn to her, like it struggled to let her go.
“Are you okay?” Carson suddenly asked, pulling me against his chest. His breath tickled my ear from this position but I felt so incredibly warm that I didn’t even want him to move. I could see his eyes, gazing at me if I looked up and to the right. His expression was so serious, concerned.
“I’m fine,” I replied, watching him carefully. He released me, letting me turn in his arms to face him. I pressed my palm to his cheek and he dipped his head into it, eyes closed.
“You were wounded,” he growled. It vibrated low in his chest pressed gently against mine. His eyes were dark and his jaw, tight.
“I’m okay, though,” I replied. “You healed me anyway.”
His eyes softened as they swept back to mine. He ran his hands over my back and a shiver ran down my spine. “Sometimes my blood can only help part of the problem.” He pressed his forehead to mine, his warm, sweet-smelling breath splashing across my face.
“I’m worried about Will,” I whispered on a sigh, finally admitting what seemed to hold such a large part of my tension.
“I know,” he replied, pressing a kiss softly to my lips. I kissed him back, willing him to take it a step farther.
He didn’t oblige and instead stepped away giving me a wary look. “I...don’t have the control for that right now,” he explained, walking out of the range and gesturing for me to follow. I did and he led me to the embedded hole in the ground. He leapt into it, turning and extending his hand. I clutched his fingers while he helped me step down. “You up for some sparring?” he asked, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
I nodded, circling the ring as he did the same opposite me. “What do you mean, you don’t have the control?” I asked as we readied ourselves. I began stretching, pulling my taught limbs and working out my stiff muscles.
He nodded, mimicking me. “That...that power. I don’t touch it often. It has some...side effects.”
“Side effects? Like what?” I asked, pulling my ripped sweater over my head and discarding it to the side of the circle. I wore a thin tank top beneath it and his eyes roved over me, hungrily.
He cleared his throat, shaking himself and looking away. “Like an impossible urge to jump you every time I lay eyes on you,” he said, softly.
I stared at him.
“It’s a predatory instinct. Incubi feed on emotion and sexuality. They also exude sexuality. It’s...a hard impulse to separate from my emotions, to tear away from my thoughts. If I used it more often, I may have better control. But it’s not a magic I enjoy. It feels...dirty.”
We started a dance. He would step forward and I would leap out of his range. Then he would shift his feet, trying to surprise me by a lunge from a different direction. I followed carefully, always keeping him one step away.
“Does it hurt your prey? Did it hurt that Magick?” I asked, stepping forward again. He dodged me, moving to the side.
He shrugged and bobbed his head in an uncertain gesture. “It can,” he said finally. “I didn’t hurt her, I just incapacitated her. I left her mind in a spiral of such intense sexual desire that she could do nothing else until I wished it.” His face fell while he explained, his eyes drawing dark again. He really didn’t seem to like Incubi even though he was one himself.
“Could you allow yourself to feed without hurting your victim?” I queried. He leapt forward this time and actually landed a blow. His open palm smacked into my hip, knocking me back a step. His eyes filled with a wicked gleam and a grin stretched across his face at the contact.
“Carefully, yes. I could,” he supplied, diving forward and catching my ankles with his feet. He scissored his legs, knocking me onto my butt. He immediately straightened and held a hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me easily to my feet. I glared at him. He smiled broadly, pressed a tender kiss to my lips and backed away again.
“But you don’t?” I asked, dancing away from him again. He was slowly increasing his speed and I was struggling to keep up.
He shook his head, diving to the side. I hadn’t expected him to go in that direction and stumbled as I tried to square against him again. A triumphant grin split his face. “It would take practice to control myself well in that state. If I don’t want to hurt someone, I wouldn’t call on that power.”
I dashed forward, catching him off guard and stopped an inch from his chest, jabbing him with my forefinger. “Maybe we could practice,” I supplied leaping up to kiss his lips and then slammed my palms into his chest, forcing him away from me.
It was his turn to stumble backwards but he seemed eager for the challenge.
We slipped into silence as we mirrored each other, each of us intently anticipating the other’s footsteps. We had an easy rhythm and didn’t surprise each other often. It made for a lot more dodging and weaving than actual sparring.
I was the first to land a blow after that. He leapt out towards me, trying to intimidate me into stepping too close to the edge of the ring and tripping. Instead, when he lurched forward, I ducked beneath his extended arms and threw my shoulder into his belly. He launched away from me, barely managing to stay within the confines of the circle.
He crossed his arm over his stomach, grinning at me. We began the dance again, anticipating each other’s footsteps. He started to step forward, so I shifted my feet to dive under him again. Instead, he twisted his foot and pushed back. Once I ricocheted forward, he dove behind me, slamming his elbow painfully into my back. I fell face first onto the mats with an audible grunt.
He flipped me gently with one hand, clasping his palm around my wrist and lifting me back to my feet. His playful demeanor had reappeared, and I reveled in it. I understood his fury and tension but it didn’t make it any easier to watch him go through it.
I gazed into his eyes as an idea popped into my head. He watched me carefully. “I want to see it,” I said.
His eyes darkened again but he smiled. “Full throttle?” He asked.
“Let’s work up to it,” I responded, feeling a grin of my own form on my lips.
He chuckled, nodded, and threw himself at me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Carson darted across the mats toward me, barely allowing me enough time to throw myself wide of him. He stopped but didn’t hesitate, dashing closer again. This time, he slammed into my shoulder, knocking me off balance. I barely managed to stumble to a stop and keep on my feet.
He grinned at me, diving forward again. I had expected it this time, knowing he wasn’t pulling any punches. I rolled to the side, coming up in a leap and hoping that I hadn’t overshot. Fortunately, I came crashing down on his back, flipping over him and lashing out behind me with the sole of my shoe. It connected somewhere near his hip and sent him sprawling forward with a gasp.
He whipped around, snatching his arm out and grabbing my ankle, pulling us both to the ground. I kicked off of him and leapt back to my feet. When I had turned to him, he’d already risen.
His eyes locked with mine and the tension there wasn’t entirely related to fighting. I could tell when he kicked his power on because the room suddenly felt like too much space between us.
I sucked in a breath, circling him. He broke the line first, diving into me. I lurched away, hooking my foot across his shins. He went down with a heavy grunt, but again, it didn’t keep him down for long.
He jerked toward me and my fastest reaction was to simply lash out with my fist. It connected with his chin and he recoiled, glancing curiously up at me, blood running from his lip. I felt bad for one solid moment but reminded myself that in this scenario, this wasn’t Carson. It was Henrick or one of his dozen goons.
I
could feel the awareness creeping into my body, the tainted sexual allure rolling off of me. He didn’t look different except for a slight glow around his eyes. Though the smile on his face rocked me.
I had to take several deep breaths before I could think of anything other than that smile and his soft, warm lips. Focus. I hissed to myself mentally.
I dove towards him, sliding back onto a leg bent beneath me, one leg extended forward. Once I’d crossed into near enough range, I leapt out, surprising him and knocking him back. My arm stabbed out into his belly and when he looked startled, I loosed the other, aiming for his chin.
His hand locked around my wrist and I gasped. My vision darkened until there was only him.
He was breathing hard, that trickle of blood nearly dried. His skin glowed now, though it was faint. The glow crept from his fingertips to the skin of my arm and I stared, watching it casually brush across my skin.
Then his mouth was on me.
I could deny him nothing as he pressed kisses onto my lips. I kissed him back, hard. He clutched to me, pulling me into his body. I couldn’t seem to get enough breath around him. But it didn’t matter. It was still him.
He was stronger than me, even if I hadn’t been distracted by the force of his incubus side. He was faster than me too. This left me with one viable tactic. And for that, I needed space.
I pull magick from the air, pushing it away from me almost immediately. It swelled out and against him in a rush. It didn’t break through his barrier, sweeping up his body and out but distracting him just long enough for me to shove into his chest, hurling him away.
I had meant to create distance but what I hadn’t meant was for him to go soaring out of the pit and across the room. He managed to land on his feet, narrowing dark eyes on me. I could feel that call radiating across the gym and pulling me toward him.
No. My mind shouted, trying its damnedest to push any attraction I felt away. I whipped my hands forward and was surprised to find that much like it had for Achillia, long streams of magick solidified, forming a long whip extended from my arm. It cast the room in darkness by its brilliant light and where it touched the floor, sparks crackled up like a split wire.