Insidious Magic: A Snarky Paranormal Romance (Modern Magic Book 2)

by Nicole Hall

  As dire as the situation was, it didn’t explain why the Wood would be seeking out power and sealing it away. She’d barely finished her thought when to her surprise, a trod opened next to her in the trees. Zee rolled to the balls of her feet to move away, but hesitated. She could try to take the path herself and risk being trapped in the trods again or she could face whatever or whomever was going to emerge.

  She didn’t want to risk a second chance at walking for all eternity with no destination, so she shifted back closer to the trees behind her. One of the pine trunks was almost big enough to mask her, so she slid behind it and waited.

  It wasn’t entirely a surprise when Chad sauntered into the clearing, but she’d hoped her suspicions were wrong. He approached the stone and rubbed his hands together. Zee shook her head. He wasn’t even taking basic precautions. All signs pointed to him retaining his magic, but he hadn’t used it to sense around himself as he’d been taught. She scowled. Probably because he never thought about anyone but himself. She’d definitely be choosing a new lieutenant when this disaster ended.

  Chad crouched down and murmured something she couldn’t make out from her hiding spot. Sound traveled strangely in the clearing, as if the Wood suppressed it. His head fell back, and she sensed magic flowing into Chad.

  Her anger drained away, and she crept closer to get a better look. Ryan’s magic would come in handy after all. She took a tiny bit and used it to enhance her perceptions. With the boost, she could clearly see what she’d suspected. Chad’s magic was sealed like the rest of them. He was using elemental magic.

  RYAN

  After leaving Zee in the apartment, Ryan hunched his shoulders and hurried down the stairs before he could change his mind. She made him pissed and scared and aroused all at once. He couldn’t be around her and act like a normal human without jumping from one extreme to the next. A hefty dose of shame poured into the mixture when he thought about how he’d frozen her in place. If he was capable of doing that to her based on an errant thought, what would happen when he really got angry?

  The walk across the dark parking lot to his car cooled down his temper significantly. It was damn cold outside, and he’d left without his coat. He refused to go back for it now, so he’d just suffer through. Better than another go-around with Zee. She had this skewed opinion of magic that counted the good parts, but not the bad. He’d told her, hadn’t he? In the wrong hands, it was dangerous.

  His were definitely the wrong hands.

  Ryan started the car and let it idle. He wasn’t sure where he should go, anywhere away from Zee and all her temptations. Jake’s house seemed like the obvious choice, but he didn’t want to put his friends in danger either. For that matter, should he even be driving?

  He breathed in deep and took stock. The magic had settled down again, quiet and inert. Zee’s lessons had paid off in that he could control the power as long as he didn’t panic. The memory of Zee straddling his lap while she gave him orders lingered. He wouldn’t be forgetting that lesson any time soon.

  A crushing pang squeezed his chest when he thought about spending his nights alone, without Zee curled up next to him. Without her bossing him around or challenging him or delighting in learning a new skill. It was worth it. He had to keep telling himself that over and over. It was worth it to keep her safe.

  Ryan drove to Jake’s house on autopilot. The lights were all off when he got there. He parked on the street and debated waking them up. They’d let him sleep on the couch and give him breakfast in the morning, but he wasn’t ready to explain himself yet. To hell with it. He’d sleep in the car.

  When he woke up the next day at almost noon, his neck hurt from sleeping upright. The night rushed back to him. He had to fight the urge to reach for Zee through the bond, to make sure she was okay. The knee-jerk impulse convinced him he was doing the right thing. Jake’s truck in the driveway didn’t really surprise him since Jake split his time among several of his crews on any given day, but Sera’s car in the driveway reminded him to knock.

  Several minutes went by with Ryan shivering on the porch, and he almost went next door to Evie’s place. Jake finally opened the door, and Ryan didn’t wait for an invitation. He barged into the warmth of the living room and collapsed on the couch.

  Jake nodded and closed the door. “Come on in.”

  “I’m in a bit of trouble.”

  “And this is new how, exactly?”

  Ryan rubbed his hand over his face. “For real this time. Can I stay here for a while?”

  Jake glanced at the stairs and sighed. “Of course you can. Anything you need. Where’s Zee?”

  “That’s where the trouble comes in.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She is now that I’ve left.”

  Jake tilted his head. “I’ll admit I was preoccupied when you knocked, but I’m paying attention now. Explain.”

  Ryan stared down at his hands. He’d never told Jake about how his dad had died. He’d never even shared that he had magic inside him, though that secret had come out in October. His deal with Zee had been between them, but now everything was fucked up and he could really use some advice.

  “I’m dangerous when my magic is free.”

  Jake sat down next to him on the couch. “What do you mean free?”

  “I’ve been going to Zee since I first moved here to have her seal my magic. Once a year. In exchange for my help in other ways.”

  “Well that explains why you always hated when Zee called.”

  Ryan nodded. “I felt like a servant, but there was always a little thrill, you know?” He glanced at Jake’s face and saw understanding.

  “You had to do her bidding or whatever, but you got to see her.”

  Relief flooded him that he didn’t have to explain every little thing. “Yeah. It wasn’t a big deal until these last few weeks. Zee’s here. My magic is unsealed. And I can’t control it when I’m around her.”

  “What’d you do?”

  Ryan’s jaw clenched, and he had to force himself to respond. “We had a moment. I was…mad. Then I accidentally froze her in place because I didn’t want her to leave.”

  He waited for the recriminations, but Jake was silent. When he looked over, Jake shrugged. “That’s all?”

  “I magically forced her to do something against her will. Against my will. What if she’d been doing something that required her to focus? Or move?”

  “Was she?”

  “No, but that doesn’t make it okay.” Ryan stood up and paced to the fireplace and back. “When my magic first appeared, I accidentally froze my dad while he was driving and that’s what caused the accident that killed him.”

  “Oh shit, man. I’m really sorry.” Jake was silent for a few beats while Ryan continued to pace. “Does your family have magic?”

  “No. It just came out of nowhere, and I had no idea what was happening.” Ryan roughly ran his hands through already disheveled hair.

  “And then you moved here and had Zee seal your magic.”

  “Yeah. I’m not safe, and now I’ve done it again. I panicked. I couldn’t fix it until she told me what to do.”

  “But you did fix it, right? You didn’t leave her there all stiff?”

  He glared at Jake. “Of course not. She talked me through it, and we got it fixed.”

  “So now you know how, and even if it happened again, you’d know what to do?”

  “Yeah. I told you, she taught me how to undo it.” Jake’s mouth twitched, and Ryan knew he was trying not to smile. “What?”

  “I’m not going to lie. I’m getting a whole lot of pleasure out of you having girl problems for once instead of me.”

  “It’s not girl problems. It’s magic problems.”

  Jake tilted his head. “Are you sure? You’ve had access to your magic for what…a month and a half? I haven’t seen you do anything that wasn’t on purpose. It sounds like you’re using it as an excuse to run away from something else. I’m sorry about your dad. You ha
ve to know that, right? But you had no training and no warning. You were a kid. That’s not the case anymore. Even though something unexpected happened, you got freaked and came here. You didn’t exile yourself away from the world, only Zee.”

  Ryan stopped pacing to stare out the window toward the trees. Damn straight he’d exiled himself away from her. He could hurt her. His emotions went crazy around Zee, so he needed to stay away from her specifically, at least until his magic was sealed for good. By that point, she’d be back with her people and her own magic. She wouldn’t need him anymore.

  Ryan sucked in a breath at the pain from that thought. “Maybe it’s both. Either way, until Zee is back in the Glade, I gave her my apartment. I’ll help her as much as I can from here.”

  Jake joined him at the window. “Why do you sound so broken about this?”

  “Because I’d much rather be with her than with you.”

  “Then why are you here? You had a little mishap, but you guys were able to work through it together. It sounds like you’re better off with Zee than apart from her if you’re going to be having magical breakdowns.”

  Ryan wanted to argue the solid point, but he couldn’t think of a logical comeback. His mind kept returning to the suspicion that the separation wasn’t protection for her, it was protection for him. He didn’t want to be around when Zee decided she didn’t need him anymore without his magic. “It hurts too much to be around her, okay? She thinks she wants me, but really my magic is just a handy replacement for hers.”

  “Did she say that?”

  Ryan played back their fight and something Zee said finally penetrated. You matter to me, but you refuse to hear that…I can’t live without you. “No. She said she wanted me, not my magic. But—”

  Jake held up a hand. “Let me get this straight. She can’t lie. She told you, straight out, that she wanted you, not your magic. And you, in all your great and powerful wisdom, decided that she was confused and you knew better. Based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever. Actually, in the face of all the evidence. In addition, you think you’re better off avoiding her because in all her years of experience with magic, she doesn’t know as much as you.”

  Ryan growled in frustration. “You don’t understand.”

  Jake lost his jovial tone. “No, you don’t. You’re running so hard in the other direction that you’re not thinking this through logically. She’s hot. You could take what she’s offering and move on when she does. Why do you think that option tears you apart?”

  The realization dawned slowly, but it became obvious once he stopped making excuses. “I love her.”

  Jake clapped him on the back. “There you go. I knew you’d get there eventually.”

  Ryan’s eyes widened. “I’m a jackass.”

  “And there’s the second half.”

  Sera came down the stairs with her shirt buttoned wrong and offered him a wan smile. “Ryan, what a pleasant surprise that didn’t interrupt anything important at all.”

  Jake grinned. “He figured it out.”

  Her features went slack with shock, and she sent Jake a look that Ryan couldn’t read. “It?”

  “Zee. He figured out he loves her.”

  Sera breathed out in relief. “Oh. Right. Yeah, well, it’s about time.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes as he watched them. They were keeping a secret, poorly, but he supposed he deserved it for his own years of silence. Jake met Sera at the bottom of the stairs and leaned in to whisper in her ear. A gentle tug from Ryan’s middle got his attention. Zee had pulled some of his magic through the bond. He tensed up, expecting to have to settle the rest of it down, but everything stayed calm. The bond buzzed with power, but his magic stayed centered.

  What is she doing? Ryan turned toward the direction of his apartment, but that wasn’t right. The bond reached in a different direction. Toward the Wood. He cursed, and Sera jumped.

  “It’s not the end of the world, Ryan. Being in love can be awesome.”

  Ryan blinked, then his brain caught up. “It’s not that. I’ll deal with that barrel of issues later. Zee went into the Wood.”

  “Like…into the Wood. With the scary shadows and silence? Could she be taking a walk?”

  Ryan shook his head. “She just used my magic, and she’s in the Wood.”

  “I don’t suppose she shared any kind of plan with you?”

  “No. We were, ah…a little busy.”

  Jake nodded and opened the coat closet. “Time to suit up.”

  “Suit up? What are we, the Avengers?

  “Here, take one of our extra coats. It’s cold as balls outside.”

  Ryan caught the way too small, bright pink puffer that Jake threw at him and raised a brow. “I’d rather freeze to death than wear this.”

  Sera speared Jake with a look. “Stop trying to give away my coat.” She reached past him and pulled out a bigger puffer in a respectable black. “This one should fit your massive shoulders.”

  Ryan frowned and shared a look with Jake. He had no idea what she was talking about. He and Jake were about the same size, and they’d barely had time to work out lately what with nonstop magical emergencies happening all of a sudden.

  “Look, you guys don’t have to go with me.” Ryan put on the coat because it was there, and Jake was right about the cold. “Zee and I have some issues to work through, but I can do it myself.”

  Sera walked by and patted his cheek. “Aww, you’re so cute when you’re making stupid decisions. You may be worried about your magic, but mine is under control.”

  “You heard that?”

  She shrugged. “Sound travels in here. Also, I was half listening at the top of the steps. Why would Zee take off into the Wood on her own?”

  “Probably because of some things I said that I now regret.” His mind insisted on running through their fight again, and one of the things she’d said stuck with him. “She thinks there’s something going on with one of her people. Some asshole named Chad.”

  “Her third in command? That Chad?”

  Could there be more than one Fae named Chad? Ryan felt the sharp edge of panic. If he’d listened to her before instead of his own fears, they’d have been able to come up with a plan. Together. He wasn’t even sure they’d be able to find her, let alone what they’d be up against. What was to stop the Wood from sealing all of their magic?

  “Sera, maybe you should stay here.”

  She stopped shoving snacks and water bottles into a backpack and put her hands on her hips. “We’ve already covered this. I’m not letting you and this one,” she pointed at Jake, “go on a rescue mission with untested magic and a gut feeling. If the Wood is going to eat one of us, it’s going to eat all of us.”

  He shook his head. Sera practically glowed with fierce confidence. He couldn’t believe Will had ever been able to bully her. “What if all our magic gets sealed?”

  She went back to stuffing. “Then we find our way out without magic. After we retrieve Zee.”

  Her nonchalant tone made losing her power sound like a minor inconvenience. Maybe he’d been clinging too tightly to his idea of how other people reacted to their magic. Jake tossed items to Sera and didn’t seem the least bit worried. He must have sensed Ryan’s eyes on him because he looked up.

  “What?”

  Ryan shook his head a little. “I was wondering how you do it. How do you accept that Sera might be doing something dangerous and go along with it?”

  Sera glared but stayed silent.

  Jake sighed. “I go with her. I trust her to take care of herself, and me if it comes to it. I remember that closing her out is like cutting off a piece of myself. Do you think Zee is in the Wood right now, cowering, waiting for you to come riding to her rescue?”

  Ryan’s smile came and went. “No way in hell. She’d fight to her last breath. That’s what scares me.”

  “There’s danger everywhere. You can’t keep her from living, even if you wanted to, because she’d probably kick your ass and go
live her life anyway. I’ve seen you guys spar.”

  “Hey!”

  “Can’t argue with the truth. Besides, you’re stronger together than either of you is apart.”

  Ryan stood in the whirlwind of their preparations and finally listened to Jake’s advice. They were stronger together. Neutering them both on the off chance something horrific happened with his magic again reeked of stupidity. Something horrific might happen anyway, and he’d rather face it with Zee next to him.

  Jake ushered them out of the house, but Sera made them wait for a second while she grabbed a small baseball bat that Ryan had seen somewhere before out of the umbrella stand by the door. She tucked it into her pack and strode out into the sunlight with the handle sticking out through the zippers.

  Sera squinted into the sun and slipped sunglasses onto her face. “Let’s go give your warrior princess some backup.”

  15

  RYAN

  For some reason, Ryan had thought it would be easier to get eaten by the Wood. The last time had taken no effort. He stood inside the tree line with Jake and Sera, across the street from their house. The shadows appeared for him, for Sera too, but Jake couldn’t see them. All Jake got was underbrush and sunlight, nothing dark.

  “I thought you said Zee couldn’t see it either. How did she get in?”

  “Good question,” muttered Ryan. He could feel her, beyond his reach, but close. She’d widened the connection by using his magic, and it reminded him that like Zee, Jake didn’t have any magic of his own.

  “Jake, use a little bit of Sera’s power. I think that’s what Zee was doing. She had to use my power to get access.”

  He shrugged, and a second later, his eyes widened. “Whoa, that looks like some end of the world shit.”