Bitter Magic

by Raven Steele

  “And when that time comes, we’ll be ready. Right now, he’s in the way. He’s already spoken to the girl.”

  Long-hair nudged Liam’s leg with his boot. “Whatever. Just get it over with.”

  Before anything could happen to Liam, I leapt from the tree and to the ground just behind them. Light exploded in my palms.

  Finally I was going to get the chance to fight! This thought gave me pause, and I tried to remember what Liam had taught me, but when Spike-head unsheathed a dagger and raised it above his head, I reacted.

  Just as he slashed it down, I blasted him with a steady stream of Light. His body flew forward and crashed into a tree.

  It took just a second for the other Vyken to realize what had happened. And when he did, he rushed toward me, eyes burning with a familiar rage. I recognized it because I felt it inside myself. I dove away from him and rolled on the ground. When I came up, I shot him with more Light from my hand.

  Like most of the Vykens I had encountered, I expected him to be surprised to be fighting an Aura, but he looked almost as if he had been expecting it. He dodged the Light and continued toward me. This could be a problem.

  I bolted to the other side of the clearing where Long-hair was struggling to get up. I kicked him in the face as I passed. He fell backward again.

  “I was hoping we’d meet,” Spike-head said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “Wish I could say the same,” I said.

  I glanced at Liam, who still looked dead. Get up! I thought, willing him to move.

  “You’re prettier than I expected, though. The way others talk about you, I thought you’d have a couple of horns coming out of your head or something.”

  “Sorry to disappoint.”

  He shrugged. “It makes no difference to me. I enjoy killing both the ugly and the pretty.”

  I spotted a fallen branch nearby. Its tip was pointed. “No respecter of persons. I dig that.”

  I slowly moved toward the branch while Spike-head circled around me.

  He kept talking. “I try not to be judgmental. Everyone’s equal in my eyes.”

  “You’re a Saint,” I agreed. Just then I noticed Long-hair had gotten to his feet and was starting in my direction.

  I glanced at Liam for just a second, wishing he’d get up and fight already.

  Spike-head lunged for me, and I dove for the stick. As soon as my Light-filled hand touched it, the whole stick lit up like some kind of Jedi light saber. I rolled onto my back and shoved it hard at the approaching Vyken. I could tell by his expression that he was just as surprised to see my stick of Light as I was, especially when I embedded it deep into his gut.

  Knowing a Vyken could easily recover from such a wound, I forced more Light into the limb. It spread inside him, lighting up every vein until his body began to crack. Light burst from the seams. He exploded, spraying Light and Vyken ash in every direction. I didn’t have time to congratulate myself of the awesomeness of it all because the long-haired Vyken was almost upon me.

  I jumped to my feet, the Light stick still in hand, and swung low, knocking his feet out from under him. He fell onto his back, and I stabbed at him, but he rolled away. I swung down again, but by the time it hit the ground, the Vyken was gone.

  Where did he go?

  My question was answered when a cold arm snaked around my neck from behind. The stick fell from my hand.

  I attempted to turn around, but his other hand, a big beefy fist, came up hard, hitting me square in the jaw. My teeth rattled and stars exploded before my eyes. I fell limp against him, which turned out to be perfect timing, because all of a sudden Liam was standing in front of me. I dropped to the ground just as he punched the Vyken in the face.

  With my vision swimming, I waited for Liam to finish the Vyken off. It took him all of ten seconds to remove the Vyken’s head from his body.

  The next thing I knew Liam was trying to sit me up. “Llona?”

  I touched my head.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked.

  “My brain feels like it’s been through a blender.” Slowly, my vision began to clear.

  Liam knelt in front of me, sporting a swollen eye and a cut on his head. I felt the familiar head-spinning, Vyken alarm coming on, but I forced it away and told myself Liam was not a threat. My Light seemed to understand, and the dizzy sensation disappeared.

  “Messing with the big boys again?” I asked.

  “What, this?” He pointed to the blood on his face and smiled. “This is nothing. You should’ve seen the three I killed before you got here.”

  My face grew serious. “There were five of them? This close to Lucent?”

  Liam nodded and helped me up. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  I clutched his hand, fear gripping my insides more than I was gripping Liam. “It’s happening sooner than we thought, isn’t it?”

  He motioned his head to the stick lying at my feet. “At least you’ve got some killer moves.”

  “You saw that? The whole Jedi sword trick?”

  He laughed. “One of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time.”

  “Right?” I laughed with him, keeping the mood light.

  Neither one of us wanted to talk about the fact that both of us had almost died.

  Liam didn’t say anything until we were back by the wall. “So, what were you doing out here?”

  “I thought I could have another lesson.”

  He removed a cell phone from his pocket and began typing into it. With his attention on it, he said, “Your boyfriend can finish up the lessons. He knows more about Light than I do.”

  “Um, okay.” I pretended not to be hurt. I thought we were becoming friends.

  “You find out anything new?” he asked while still working on his phone.

  I told him about the pills. “I’ll know more tonight. A shipment’s coming. We’re going to see who does it.”

  “You and Christian?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Good. I’m glad you won’t be alone.”

  Before I could comment, he handed me the cell phone. “I want you to take this. My number’s programmed into it.”

  “We’re not supposed to have cell phones on campus grounds.”

  He looked at me pointedly, a single eyebrow raised. “Think you can break that rule?”

  I took the phone.

  “I have somewhere else I have to be tonight,” he said, “but I want you to call me when you discover who’s dropping off the pills. And maybe, if it’s not too dangerous, get your hands on one of them. I want some of my guys to research what’s in them.”

  “You have guys?” I wrinkled my nose. “I keep picturing you and some nerd holed up in a basement somewhere trying to fight crime.”

  Liam didn’t smile. “Just text me. I gotta go.”

  He took two steps backward, burst into a swirling wind, and disappeared into the forest.

  “I was just kidding!” I called after him, but he was long gone.

  The forest grew quiet. I leapt to the top of the wall and peered out. The moon was partially full, but there wasn’t enough light to penetrate the forest’s dark ceiling.

  What was Liam’s deal? I got that things were serious, but why couldn’t he talk to me like a normal person? Whatever. I jumped down and hurried over to the kitchen dock to wait for Christian.

  Christian came early. He gave me a long kiss on the lips, then, when I pressed for more, lowered next to me on a wooden crate. We were sitting just around the corner from the dock where we wouldn’t be seen when the deliveries started to come.

  “Have you been waiting long?” Christian asked.

  “Not really. I got here about forty-five minutes ago.”

  “Why were you so early?”

  “Nothing else to do.”

  He entwined his fingers through mine. “Grass stain.”

  “Huh?”

  “On your knee. Both of them, actually.”

  I glanced down at the dark, mudd
y stains. I could feel a bruise beneath one of them.

  “And you have twigs in your hair. And this.” He touched me lightly on the jaw.

  I winced and turned away.

  “What happened?”

  “The short of it is I went to see Liam for another lesson, but when I found him, two Vykens were in the process of killing him. I jumped in, we fought. I managed to kill one with this cool light-saber thing I made out of a stick, but then the other one almost killed me. Luckily Liam woke up and wasted him.”

  I sucked in a breath. Christian’s face was contorting into a bunch of emotions but finally settled on relief.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, “but I wish you’d let me know when you go do things like that.”

  “It’s not like I’d planned a Vyken-killing field trip. I just went to see Liam.”

  At that, he looked away. “I can help you, you know.”

  “I know. That’s what Liam said too.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. He said you’d do a better job teaching me about Light, seeing how you know all about Auras and stuff.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I do know you.”

  I kissed him, my tongue lingering against his lower lip. “And for that, I’m grateful.”

  I snuggled up against him, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine. This was where the world felt right.

  After a while, he said, “We need a better hiding spot. We’re not going to see much from here.”

  He jumped down and rounded the corner to the front of the loading dock. I did the same.

  “What about up there?” he asked.

  I followed his gaze. Just above the loading dock was a metal overhang. “Think it could hold us?”

  “It should, but . . .” he paused and frowned.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to make it up there.”

  I smiled. “Care to make a bet?”

  “I’m not a gambling man, but I’ll give you everything I own if you beat me up there.”

  I shook my head, real sad like. “You’re going to make one pathetic poor man.”

  “On three?”

  I said, “One.”

  He said, “Two.”

  We smiled. “Three!”

  Christian darted to the side of the dock where I knew he’d use a crate to leap from, but I also knew that it still wouldn’t give him the height he’d need to make it all the way to the top.

  While I thought this through, Christian had already jumped from the crate. His hands caught the ledge, and he was about to swing himself up. Before he could get any farther, I crouched low and pushed off the ground.

  I was in the air less than a second before I landed on top of the metal overhang. The sound was like thunder, but it was worth it when I saw his stunned expression.

  “How did you do that?” he asked as he pulled himself up.

  I laughed. “So how much am I worth now?”

  “I hate to tell you, but you’re not going to be rich. After my dad finds out I’ve been let go as a Guardian, all I’ll have are my clothes and my car.”

  “I’ll take the car.”

  He pulled me close. “Will you give me a ride if I need it?”

  “I’ll get you a bus pass.” I kissed him lightly.

  “I have the best girlfriend.” Christian leaned in for another kiss, but lights flashed, forcing us apart.

  Chapter 25

  Headlights moved down the lane toward Lucent. Christian and I dropped to our bellies. My pulse raced, and I held my breath.

  A big white truck pulled up and parked at the dock in front of the garage door. On its side, it read “Pederson Foods.” One of the two drivers jumped out and rang a doorbell at the side of the garage door. From our view we couldn’t see who answered it.

  “The usual?” the driver asked. Whoever answered must have just nodded because the two men began to unload the truck.

  For the next thirty minutes, Christian and I waited. I would’ve been totally bored, but Christian kept me dizzily entertained by rubbing the underside of my hand. I leaned into him and lowered my head. His breath warmed the back of my neck, sending chills up and down my spine, but that was nothing when I felt his lips press to my skin just below my ear. I gasped and inhaled deeply. His hand tightened on mine.

  The truck’s engine below us roared to life, startling me. When it pulled away, I turned to Christian to smile at him, but before I could, his mouth was against mine, demanding yet gentle. His arm wrapped around me and pulled me on top of him.

  I kissed him back just as fiercely, spurred on by my desire to be with him. His hands slipped into the back of my shirt, and he rubbed his palms up and down my back hungrily. A wave of pleasure rocked me from head to foot.

  I pretended I didn’t see a flash of lights wash over us, but Christian didn’t. He pulled away and whispered in my ear, “We’ll continue this later.”

  We flattened ourselves to the roof and peered out. A small, red sports car drove up the lane. I looked at Christian and could tell by his tight jaw and eyebrows that he recognized the vehicle.

  The car parked in the loading bay. Two people sat in front, but only Jackson opened a door and popped his trunk. I leaned out a little farther to try and see what was in it. Jackson picked up an unmarked box and carried it to the back door. He propped the box on his knee and knocked. A moment later the door opened.

  “Who are you?” Jackson snapped.

  “Just filling in,” a girl said. “Beth is sick.”

  I recognized the voice.

  Christian looked at me questioningly.

  “Tessa,” I mouthed.

  “As if I care,” Jackson said. “Just make sure Abigail gets this.”

  “Is it the pills?” Tessa asked.

  “None of your business. Can you move?” There was a shuffle of feet.

  Tessa’s voice drifted out the open door. “Where did it come from?”

  There was a brief silence before Jackson growled, “Know your place, Lizen.”

  Christian tensed and moved like he was going to jump from the overhang, but I stopped him. He glanced at me, and I shook my head. Christian didn’t look happy, but he stayed by my side.

  “I’m not trying to be nosey,” Tessa said again. “I just think it’s weird that a Guardian is dropping off an unmarked box in the middle of the night. Even if it is the pills.”

  Careful, Tessa.

  “And I think it’s weird that you’re talking to me,” Jackson said.

  “Could you be any ruder?”

  There was a scary silence, and I imagined Jackson staring Tessa down. I was surprised by how mean he was being. I almost nudged Christian to go down and teach Jackson some manners, but then Jackson said, “Watch your back, Lizen.”

  He walked out, slammed his trunk, and sped away. I wished we could’ve seen who was in the car with him.

  Christian and I jumped from the roof. He turned to me. “Why’d you stop me from kicking his—”

  “Because I don’t want you to blow this! If Jackson is playing for the Big Bad, then we need to figure out who’s calling the plays.”

  He still looked mad, but he let it go. For now.

  “Hey, guys,” Tessa said from the doorway.

  “How’d you get here?” I asked.

  “I told the truth. Beth really is sick. She asked my mother to take her place tonight, but I convinced my mom to let me do it.”

  We followed her inside.

  “That Guardian sure was a jerk. Are the others like that?” Tessa’s eyes flashed to Christian.

  He stared past her. “Normally I’d say no, but now I don’t feel like I know any of them.”

  “Should we open it?” I asked, eyeing the box no bigger than the small television in the rec room.

  Tessa and Christian gathered around me.

  “Someone will know we’ve tampered with it,” Tessa said.

  “But we need to know more,” Chr
istian added. “Maybe there’s something inside about where they came from.”

  I looked over at Tessa. “What do you think?”

  She examined the box, running her fingers over the tape. “Let’s do it. I think we can tape it back up so no one notices.”

  She carefully peeled up one end of the translucent tape while Christian began on the opposite end. It was a slow process, but eventually they lifted it off without too much damage to the cardboard.

  I blew out the breath I’d been holding. “Not bad, guys.”

  Christian opened the box, and we all looked inside. Small blue pills were packaged in foil sheets stacked high in several rows. I picked one up and turned it over. Two words were printed on the back: Bodian Dynamics.

  Why did that name sound familiar?

  Christian leaned toward me and mouthed Bodian Dynamics as he read it. That’s when I remembered. My eyes shot to Christian as he also made the connection.

  “That’s one of my dad’s companies,” he said.

  “The one that employs Jake,” I added, my mind reeling. “Do you think your father knows about these pills?”

  Christian shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. It’s a huge corporation with offices all over the country.” He blinked and clarity came to his eyes. “There’s no way he knows. He loved being a Guardian for Auras and took his job very seriously.”

  “I remember.” I stared down at the pills, my stomach knotting.

  “You need to tell Liam right away,” Tessa said when she read the same words over my shoulder.

  Christian, who was carefully digging through the rest of the box, said, “There’s got to be something else here. A packing slip, note, something.” When he came up empty, he sighed.

  I took his hand. “At least we know where they’re coming from. Maybe talk to your father?”

  He pursed his lips. “I don’t want him to know what I’m doing, at least not without more information, like what office these came from. Why don’t I just beat it out of Jackson?”

  “Not yet,” I said. “But what you should do is become Jackson’s close friend. See if he’ll let you in on the action.”

  “And just how am I supposed to do that?”

  “Tell him a sob story. You did just get stripped of your title. Maybe you’ve gone to the dark side.”