Modern Magic Series: Prequel & Books 1-3

by Nicole Hall

  “Seth said Cassie might have some information for us.”

  Daria’s face closed down, and she raised a dark, haughty brow. “I should have known Seth was involved when you showed up here.”

  “He didn’t know I was coming here.”

  She sneered. “Yes, he did. He’s not happy unless he’s fondling someone’s puppet strings. You tell him if I see him again it won’t be with mating on my mind.” Her attention shifted to Maddie. “A word of advice, pretty human? Don’t trust Seth. His first priority is always himself.”

  Aiden saved her from having to answer. “Thanks, Daria. I’ll be sure to pass your message along.”

  Daria sniffed, then leaned back against the rocks again and closed her eyes. They’d been dismissed. Before Maddie could argue, Aiden picked her up again and carted her back the way they’d come.

  She stayed silent until she thought Daria was out of earshot. “So…her and Seth?”

  Aiden shook his head in incredulity. “Don’t let her fool you. She has a pretty short attention span for most things. Seth tends to make sure people remember him, especially the ladies.”

  Maddie curled her fingers into the hair at his nape. “What about you?”

  “Me and Daria?” He gave a quick, short laugh. “No. Hell no. Even if I were interested in mermaids, she’s a trouble-maker. Her and Seth are perfect for each other, actually.”

  The question that had been pestering her all along popped out. “How did you really know how to find her?”

  His lips tipped up in a slow smile. “Jealous?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s not an answer.”

  He sobered. “She was watching us when we came out of the trod. Like with Seth, I knew she’d be intrigued enough about you to make herself known. We only had to wait until she was ready.”

  “So that pose on the rocks was staged?”

  “Yes, but I expected it. I didn’t want to explain in case she was close enough to hear. She’d get offended and swim off.”

  Relief was sweet, if short-lived. “Did you know she’d try to mesmerize me?”

  His arms tightened a smidge. “No. That was a surprise.”

  They made it back to the trod quicker than the trek to the rock, and Maddie suspected he’d been slowing down on the way out to give Daria a chance to get a good look. The steps to the tunnel were gone, but a shimmering path appeared in the sand. Sprites floated over it, but they were almost invisible in the bright sunlight.

  Maddie shaded her eyes and looked up at the stretch of clear blue sky. “It’s been daylight in every place we’ve been, but the sun doesn’t seem to be moving much. How much time has really passed out here since leaving your cabin?”

  Aiden glanced up, then back at her. “About two days. Put your boots and overshirt on. You’ll need them in Scotland.”

  Time moved differently in the trods. She knew that, but it couldn’t have been more than a few hours since she’d woken up that morning. Sand clung stubbornly to her feet as she slid her socks on, and she sighed. The grit would chafe if she didn’t find somewhere to take a shower and wash her meager clothes. Maybe paradise wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

  6

  AIDEN

  Aiden nearly offered to hold her while she fought with the sand, but he’d spent enough time keeping her pressed against him. Speed had been an excuse on the beach. Daria would have shown herself on her own schedule no matter how fast or slow they walked. He’d wanted to touch her again, to see if it would appease the need spawned by the kiss in the alley. Instead, he’d had trouble keeping his hands platonic and his attention on the water.

  Daria had taken advantage of his distraction. He was lucky she hadn’t put more effort into mesmerizing Maddie. They didn’t have time to hole up while she worked through the spell and the subsequent physical reactions. A brief image of Maddie asking for his touch flitted through his mind. It made him painfully hard, but he would never have taken advantage of her magically enhanced sensuality.

  At least Cassie wouldn’t be a threat.

  Aiden adjusted his pants as Maddie finally stood and donned her overshirt. The trod waited for them. She’d probably still be cold when they got there, but her layers would protect her well enough in the temperate magic of the trod. Golden sand rose around them as they walked, blocking off all sight except the path directly in front of them. Maddie stuck her hand through the wall, and a handful of glittering dust gathered in her palm. She let it fall to the ground, but a breeze picked up the particles and swept them back into the whole. Sprites floated through the walls as if they weren’t there.

  Unlike the other journeys, the trip to Scotland only required a short stay in the trod, for which Aiden was glad. The essential blindness in the trod made him nervous, and he couldn’t stop peering into the sand looking for enemies. He hadn’t forgotten that Torix’s last attack had come in the nexus of the Wood. This time, he’d be armed with more than an overzealous protector.

  Before they’d left, Aiden had chosen to conceal his weapons in a pocket trod in case they spent a great deal of time wandering the market in Cairo, as he’d done the previous days on his own. Egyptian authorities didn’t react well to a foreigner openly carrying a sword.

  The shimmering walls ended at two giant, grey standing stones bracketing the path. Beyond them, a green field dotted with more stones and tufts of grass stretched into the distance. The sun dropped behind low rolling hills, but the rest of the sky churned with thick clouds.

  Cold wind slapped his cheeks as he stepped between the stones and left the path. Aiden had traveled to Scotland before, but he’d never been this far northeast. The smell of rain drifted in the air. Maddie gasped softly behind him, and he turned to see her staring in awe at the size of the stones two and three times her height. The setting sun painted her golden, and Aiden clenched his hands to keep them at his side.

  The sparse fields were deserted except for the two of them. So much for asking the locals for directions.

  “This is amazing.” Maddie shivered and smiled at him. “Can you feel the power in them?”

  “It’s a nexus that’s stood for thousands of years. Even the humans claim to feel it. That’s why they come to places like this.”

  She laid her hand on the rock in front of her, and he felt her call to the stones. To his surprise, the stones answered. A wave of energy pulsed out from the center of the circle, and magic surged through him. Aiden tamped it down, but Maddie had curled forward so her forehead touched the rough surface. The magic from the stones died down, but Maddie had absorbed a large amount of it.

  Aiden shook his head at the follies of youth and pulled her away from the nexus. She swung around limply, and he had to catch her before she collapsed on the ground. “Maddie? Marenkya? You need to let some of that magic go.”

  Her eyes closed, and her legs wobbled underneath her. She could stand on her own, but she couldn’t find her balance. His arms kept her upright while she rode the wave of energy. She pressed her face to his chest and let out a ragged breath.

  Holding her was like stepping into a whirlwind of elemental power. The core of what she had resembled Fae magic, and mixing magics was generally a bad idea. She didn’t seem negatively impacted though. On the contrary, she pressed against him and shuddered. Aiden tried to shift his lower half away from her, but she moved with him.

  A smaller wave of magic emanated from her and rolled over him. He grunted as pleasure spread through his body. “Maddie…” He wasn’t sure what he was pleading for, but Maddie seemed to understand.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

  She breathed shallowly, and her hips undulated in tiny movements with her breath. He ached as she brushed against him, and fought not to take what she was unwittingly offering. Maddie must have been thinking of them together when she released the elemental magic. The rush had stimulated both of them, and the aftereffects lingered.

  Aiden shifted his hands to her waist, and
tried to set her away, but she refused to move very far. The small difference took them out of direct contact, which Aiden immediately regretted. Her eyes fluttered open and the raw need there almost made him change his mind again.

  Her hands slid up his chest to clasp behind his neck.

  “Maddie, what are you doing?”

  “What I keep wanting to do.” She raised up on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to her, but hesitated.

  His hands clenched at her waist, and he waited. He didn’t have it in him to deny her, but this had to be her choice. Her lips brushed his, once, twice, then settled against him with an electric charge. Aiden held himself back and let her explore. She kissed him slow and deep, and he felt his urgency melt away. The moor around them was damp and bitter, but he could stand there all day with her.

  Her tongue darted out, easing along his lower lip until he parted his mouth and allowed her to taste him. She made a purring noise and inched closer. A gust pushed her the rest of the way against him, but the cold touch brought him to his senses. Her legs held her without trouble, and her magic had returned to normal. He pulled away, breaking the kiss.

  Maddie touched her lips with her fingertips. “What’s wrong?”

  “When you kiss me, I want it to be because it’s me you need, not any random warm body.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I’m being kissed senseless on a street corner because you’re not inventive in your hiding spots.”

  Aiden winced. He didn’t regret his decision, but she’d make sure it came back to bite him in the ass. “This is different. The effects of that elemental magic were potent, and we both responded.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are you implying I’d jump anyone who happened to be here?”

  Aiden chose his words with care. “I don’t know, but every time you touch me it gets harder to maintain my distance.”

  Kissing her proved addictive and problematic. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had no intention of getting his emotions involved again. After Lexi, life became easier without emotional attachments. At the same time, he couldn’t seem to stay away from her.

  She wrapped her arms around herself, and he conceded that he may have hurt her already. “I’ll keep your distance in mind the next time.”

  Aiden accepted the warning in her voice and searched the surrounding area for some kind of tourist center. In the distance, he spotted a white building surrounded by a low stone wall. “C’mon, this way.”

  As they got closer, the white building turned out to be an old barn that had been refurbished into a café. A wooden section elongated the original structure and added an outdoor seating area. A second building that looked newer stretched around the first and ended in a round hut covered with the same grey rocks used to make the stone walls.

  Maddie sidled closer to him when he stepped up to the door. She shivered again as a light rain began to fall. The roof of the building provided some protection, but the wind pushed the rain sideways at them. Aiden checked inside the glass and saw a desk with a rack of pamphlets next to it. If Cassie’s tavern was nearby, they’d probably have an advertisement for it here. A quick spell took care of the lock. The door swung open, and a rush of warm air greeted them.

  “Thank god,” she muttered.

  Aiden inhaled deeply before entering the building. The cold, wet air invigorated him, and he much preferred it over the lazy heat in the Bahamas. “Don’t move anything. We don’t want the humans to get suspicious.”

  Maddie arched a brow. “You know I’m human, right?”

  He knew, but his senses kept telling him she was something else, something more. “I apologize if I’ve offended you.”

  She blew out a breath and rubbed her arms. “It takes more than that to offend me. What are we looking for in here besides warmth?”

  He nodded at the pamphlets. “Directions.”

  There weren’t any pamphlets for the Tavern by the Sea, but a local map pinned to the wall listed it among their pubs. The walk wouldn’t take long, but rain had started to fall in earnest and darkness was approaching fast. He took stock of Maddie’s leggings and boots. She wore several layers, but none of them appeared to be waterproof.

  The gift shop carried a small selection of rain jackets, but Maddie refused to take one unless they paid for it. Aiden refused to let Maddie spend the last of her money on an overpriced tourist souvenir. He finally got her to agree to let him leave some cash for it with the stipulation that she’d pay him back at a later date.

  Aiden suspected that she was still salty from their earlier conversation and less willing to bend. So be it. He wasn’t thrilled with the way it had gone either. The smallest size jacket they had dwarfed Maddie’s small frame. Her lips pressed together in obvious displeasure, but he was glad it would cover most of her clothes and her pack.

  They left the money under a tumbled rock on the counter and made sure nothing else was amiss. Aiden had waterproofed his clothes some time ago. The rain fell in sheets, and large puddles formed along the gravel walkways between buildings.

  Aiden relocked the door behind them, but Maddie hesitated before stepping out into the downpour. “Maybe it’ll clear up if we stay here a while longer.”

  He sent her a reassuring smile. “It’s not far to the tavern, and I’m sure Cassie will have plenty of warm food for us when we get there.”

  She glared at him, probably unhappy he assumed she was food-motivated, but it got her moving. The map had indicated that it would be about a thirty-minute walk, but the dirt and gravel road quickly turned into a mud track. The rolling hills they’d seen from the stones weren’t very steep, but they were deceptively slick. He had to save Maddie twice from ending up on her butt, and she yanked him upright once when his foot slid out from under him.

  Thirty minutes came and went, but the tavern remained stubbornly absent. Aiden’s hair dripped water down his back, and though Maddie tried to keep the hood of the jacket up, the wind continually pushed it off her head. Slogging through the mud seemed to be getting them nowhere. Before he could suggest that they head back to the tourist center to wait until morning, the rain suddenly let up. The downpour slowed to a drizzle then stopped completely before they’d crested the next hill.

  Moonlight began to peek through the rapidly dissipating clouds, and Aiden strained to see any signs of another building ahead of them. Maddie looked out at the stones in the distance behind them and gasped for the second time.

  “Aiden, look,” she breathed.

  The sky glowed in streaks of pink and green over a splash of bright stars. Maddie radiated under the bright light, and joy lit up her face. The Northern Lights blanketed the moors with spectacular color, but the sight didn’t compete with the appeal of a bedraggled Maddie wearing an innocent smile. His chest ached, and he tore his eyes away.

  Her rare display of happiness made him want to show her all the hidden wonders available to them, to fill her life with the delight Torix had stolen from her. Maybe one day, when they were truly free, but tonight, they had an artifact to find.

  The rain stopped completely, but a chilly wind continued to blow. Aiden wanted to get inside before another storm showed up. “Maddie, let’s go.”

  She blinked, and her smile slipped away. He felt its loss like a physical ache, so much that he almost gave in. Nevermind. They’d find the tavern later. They could stay as long as she wanted. Instead, he clenched his jaw tight as she straightened her shoulders and walked past him on the muddy path.

  MADDIE

  Maddie must have visited worse places than that muddy hilltop, but she couldn’t bring any to mind. On the other hand, the unbeatable show over the stones made the trek worth it. The prospect of food and warmth kept her moving forward, but she couldn’t stop glancing behind them, even as more and more clouds obscured the view. She’d seen the lights in Norway, muted and quiet, but these colors stretched loud and wild. Maddie felt the prickle of their energy painted across the sky.

  Hidden in
a hollow only a few more minutes down the road, they found the Tavern by the Sea. Large windows filled both levels on the long, two-story building under a thatched roof. A sign with the name and a stylized seal underneath it hung over the arched front door. Maddie couldn’t see the water, but the surf crashed surprisingly close-by. Cheerful torches lit the entrance, highlighting the lack of cars parked outside.

  They got as far as the unlocked door before a curvy young woman with beautiful brown hair and striking green eyes blocked the way. Aiden tucked Maddie behind him, and she resisted the urge to kick him in the shin. The woman looked him up and down, then sniffed.

  “Kin to Seth, are you?”

  Aiden grimaced. “Yes. We need your help.”

  The woman, who Maddie assumed had to be Cassie, crossed her arms over her ample bosom. “Be off with you, then. We don’t want your kind here.”

  Maddie sensed an opportunity. She popped out from behind Aiden and looked back and forth between them. “What is his kind?”

  Cassie’s face softened as she turned to Maddie, but Aiden cut her off. “I need information about an artifact that was stolen from you.”

  It was exactly the wrong thing to say. Cassie’s eyes narrowed at him. “I’ll not give information to the likes of you. The poor frozen girl can come inside to warm herself for the night. You’re welcome to the stable.”

  They looked up the coast where she pointed, and sure enough, a small building was barely visible against the darkness. If she squinted, Maddie could make out a gravel path that led in that direction.

  Cassie stood back and held the door open, but Maddie hesitated. She didn’t know what problem Cassie had with Aiden, but it didn’t seem fair to blame him for her issues with Seth.

  Maddie smiled at her. “That sounds lovely, but I need a minute with Aiden.”

  Cassie gave her a knowing look. “Scoundrels. The lot of them. You’d be best to remember that. The invitation stands.” She turned and shut them out in the night.