“Focus,” Alijah said, drawing out the word. “Focus on what you need to do.”
I nodded and wrapped my magic around the orb. I looked up at the ward, noting the people on the other side. We were in front of the gate again. Davies and Rhett were standing at the front, surrounded by men in gear ready to storm Biomystic.
They just needed me to do my job, and then we could end this. Alijah supported my weight as I drew my arm back and used as much strength as I could to throw it. My limbs were lead and barely did what I wanted. I was surprised I made the throw. I watched as the sun glinted off the orb as it spun through the air. Once it hit the ward, it embedded itself and lavender tendrils whipped out before silvery energy joined with it and then the entire ward shimmered.
I held my breath, entranced, wondering if those who could see what I saw, saw the beauty in it. The orb fought with the ward, and once my magic opened a big enough pathway, energy exploded outward. The entire ward collapsed and there was a massive whirling breeze. I expected to hear screaming. A ward this size was sure to flatten the people who had created it. When none came, I knew Ami was right. The ward had been tied to an item.
The others didn’t wait as they stormed through to finish off the fight. I collapsed to my knees, my hands digging into the earth. I needed the connection. The earth responded, reacting to my emotions and magic rose to comfort me.
“What happened?” Rhett’s familiar voice was a comfort to the chaos in my head. His hand touched the top of my head and drew down to cup my cheek. His energy soaked into my skin just enough to calm the storm brewing in my thoughts. “Laila, what happened?”
“Help them,” I whispered, finally able to create a full thought. “Don’t let anyone else die.”
“Stay with her,” Rhett snapped out, and he was gone a moment later. My skin missed the touch of his energy.
My body jerked, and I moaned, leaning forward as I grabbed my stomach. It was like someone punched me in the stomach.
“Laila?” Alijah asked.
“They’re there,” I whispered and squeezed my eyes shut. “My lab. They’re in.”
Panic clawed me up inside, and I pushed away what them being in my lab truly meant.
“Laila?”
I drew what I could from the earth as I shook my head. “No. No. They’re in. No!” With that last word, I yanked out as much magic as I could, thought about my lab, about my project, about the implications of them being in my lab.
I landed on the other side of the lab, facing the door. Two figures were there. Fury whipped out of me as I glared at Reese and the big baddie who I figured hired them.
“Get out!” I snapped at them.
“You must be Dr. Porter,” the older man said with a smile. He was almost fatherly, like he was amused at his daughter’s ridiculousness. He did not have the right to look at me like that.
“Get out!”
The old man nodded at Reese, who moved toward the cabinet where my MBG was stored. I drew up even more magic, aware of the dangers of doing so, and as Reese made his move for it, I teleported to the cabinet, threw it open, and grabbed the device. The moment my fingers wrapped around it, steel arms were around my waist, jerking me away.
I screamed and shoved even more magic into the device with one thought in mind: Destroy.
As we landed on the ground, me on top of the shadowsmith, the device disintegrated, my hand on fire as pieces exploded outward.
Reese rolled us over so he was on top of us, his face red. “What did you do?” he seethed.
“You lose,” I said, ignoring the twitching in my hand from the wound. My magic had moved too fast, and I hadn’t been able to shield myself against the attack. I could live with that. It was better than living with them having my prototype. I hadn’t been far enough into the project to place all the failsafes yet and they would have been able to easily manipulate it to do what they wanted.
“Not necessarily,” Reese said.
I moved around, trying to get him off me, but he had me pinned. His weight crushed my chest.
“Dr. Laila Porter, it truly is a pleasure meeting you,” the older man said as he loomed over me. “I’ve heard such amazing rumors about you.” He glanced around the lab. “I’m not impressed.”
“Then leave.”
He chuckled. “Not until I get what I want.”
“It’s gone. You won’t get it.”
He kneeled down, and when I tried moving again, Reese wrapped a hand around my throat and squeezed. I stilled.
“I will snap your neck,” he said. I blinked up into those dark eyes and saw nothing but the truth from the shadowsmith.
“Now that you’re a good docile little girl, let’s get started.”
“The device is gone,” I repeated.
The older man folded up his button-up sleeve, the coat gone now. “Is it ever really gone?” he asked and tapped the side of his head.
I frowned, not sure what he was getting at. When he rested his fingers at my temple, my body jerked and only Reese’s grip kept me from curling away from the touch. His touch was cold enough to burn— or was that the feel of his energy? I couldn’t tell.
Realization and terror flooded me as his plan clicked into place. The physical prototype was gone, but the information still existed, and it was all in my head.
“If you’d just relax, this would be a lot less painful,” he said.
“No,” I snapped out. His energy sunk into my skin, finding the synapses in my brain and riding them deeper into my mind. I could feel him in there, digging around. I fought back, throwing everything I had at him. He was ruthless, using everything he had and plowed through all my defenses. He laughed at my memories, pushed aside my thoughts, flicked at my willpower. He took my fears and tossed them at me, made my nightmares a reality.
Time didn’t matter. Just him, digging through my head, tearing through the pages of my mind.
“No!” I screamed, trying to cast him out. He sent a bolt of energy through me, meant to maim, and I nearly lost consciousness.
“Nuh-uh,” I heard him say from the bottom of a sludge-filled well. “I need you awake for this.” Coldness flooded through my body, and I gasped. Chuckles filled my mind as he got enjoyment out of his game. I was his plaything, and I wasn’t sure how to stop it. He was raping my mind of everything it was, and he didn’t mind taking his time doing it.
He fell deeper into my head, searching.
Panic welled up inside of me. I couldn’t let him. He was getting closer, all my blocks useless when he had a direct connection to me, and I was already exhausted.
Warm tears fell down my cheeks as I gritted my teeth.
Forcing my eyes open, I felt his triumph even as it filled his expression.
No. I couldn’t.
Our eyes met as he yanked on the memories, absorbing the knowledge. I fought back, pulled it all back to me, and we played a mean game of tug-of-war as he used my mind against me, dredging up the worst in there to cower and weaken me. I fought tooth and nail to hold onto the information, even as some of it slipped away. I couldn’t let him have this knowledge.
His eagerness added to his determination. Someone called my name as pure desperation clawed through me.
“No,” I said and did what no magic user should ever do. Even as a last resort.
Attack themselves.
His eyes widened when he realized what I was trying to do. He tugged harder, taking what he could.
I gathered my magic and tried to hold onto him as I turned it on myself. I had to fight him, fight my own magic, and fight myself. One had to give.
Unfortunately, it was him as he withdrew from my mind the same time my magic imploded, and I screamed, the memories scrambling themselves into nothing.
He hissed and glared down at me. I blinked past the pain, crying, but still smiling up at him in triumph. He didn’t get out fast enough, and he didn’t get it all. He didn’t get enough.
I fucking won.
“Fucking won!”
“Fucking won!”
Arms lifted me up, and I was laughing too hard to know what the hell was going on. My brain was mush, and I won. I won something. I wasn’t sure what. I just fucking won. Winning was good, winning meant I won.
I snorted and broke out into laughter again.
As someone carried me, pressing my head into a shoulder and holding me tight, as we ascended and walked through chaos. I laughed. I cried. And then laughed again.
I couldn’t stop. Wasn’t so sure I ever would.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I hiccupped.
And then did it again. Each one reminded me of how raw my chest was. I wasn’t sure why. I couldn’t even pull a thought together. So I sat on a couch, a blanket around me and hiccupped.
A man paced before me. His bulk went back and forth. I watched him, never looking away. He mesmerized me for some reason as he paced.
“How the fuck did this happen?” He motioned to me.
I hiccupped again.
“I don’t know.” Another man. He sat next to me, his golden orange eyes burning. He looked like… something. Something I couldn’t name.
“Laila, say something,” another man said, now kneeling in front of me. His hair was nearly black and standing on end.
“Why the fuck was she out of your sight?” the man yelled. “You only needed to keep her with you.”
“She felt it when they broke into her lab.” My focus switched to the man by the wall, arms crossed over his massive, massive chest. “She yelled they were there, and then she disappeared.”
“She shouldn’t have been able to,” the man next to me said.
My hand went to my chest when I hiccupped, and it felt like I nearly broke something in me. The room grew quiet and all eyes went to me.
I opened my mouth to do something. But what? What was I supposed to do?
I hiccupped. Again.
“We need to stop those.”
“Mathias will be here in a moment.”
“He should already be here.” There was a loud bang, and I jumped. “What exactly happened?” the same man growled out.
“We got to her lab. She was pinned down. I threw off the shadowsmith, Reese. Elliot went for the old man.”
“She was laughing and yelling that she won. She wouldn’t stop.”
I giggled and the room grew quiet again. I smiled up at the man with nearly black eyes as he came over.
“Laila?”
“I won. Winning is always good.” I laughed, and it only stopped when I hiccupped again.
His expression fell. “What did she do?” The frustration and pain called to me.
“They wanted her project.”
“Did they get it?”
“Won’t know until she comes back to us.”
I hiccupped. “I won!” That was important. I knew it was important. “I won.” That was all that mattered. Why couldn’t they understand that?
“Fuck!”
“What is going on?” a new male voice snapped.
“Something is wrong, she has the hiccups and she isn’t responding to us. She just fucking sits there.”
“Let me see.”
A new man came over and shoved the man kneeling before me away. He took his spot and rested his hand against mine, resting on my knee.
“Dr. Porter. Are you with me?” His voice was just as alluring as his gray eyes. “Can you follow my finger?”
He lifted his hand and as it moved, I followed it, not able to help myself. It was so close to my face. I reached up and tugged on it. He smiled, his teeth pointing out.
“Vampire,” I said. And blinked. That was something. That was a thought.
“Right, I’m a vampire. What do you remember?”
I blinked, wondering what he was talking about, everything scattering. I held onto that thought.
“Vampire.”
I hiccupped, and he frowned, resting his hand on my forehead.
“She has a fever.”
I poked his face, wanting to see again. I wasn’t sure why. Something felt wrong, but I wasn’t sure. What I was sure of was him. “Vampire.”
“At least she’s saying something else.”
Coldness seeped into my forehead, and I flung myself back. “No!” Magic tore out of me and slammed into the man, pushing him back.
“Shit.”
“No!”
“What the fuck did you do?”
“Easy, easy.”
“No!”
“Laila, easy.” Someone pulled me into a chest.
“No.” My voice was smaller now.
“What exactly did you see?” a cold voice asked.
“She was pinned to the ground. The shadowsmith, Reece had her pinned. The older man, the one she thought was the one to hire them, he was leaning over her, his hand pressed against her temples. Just as we got to them, the older man flung himself back, breaking his contact with her. He looked shocked as he stared down at her. Before Elliot had a chance to get to him, he disappeared, after glowering at her. He looked like he wanted to destroy her. He was not happy.”
“She fought back. My best guess, she attacked herself using her magic.”
“Is that possible?”
“If the will is strong enough.”
“She scrambled her brain.” A new, older voice said as the air filled with a swirling wrath of energy. I shook my head, something tickling my brain. But I couldn’t grab it. I lifted my hands and cupped them together, as if that would help. It didn’t. There was nothing there to grab. I giggled. I was grabbing air.
“Shanton, what are you doing?” someone growled out.
“Wondering what the hell happened to the company. Chez, help the good doctor, will you.”
Someone grumbled and came over to stand next to the vampire.
“Dr. Porter. Remember me.” I blinked and looked up at the older man, the graying hair, his no-nonsense expression.
I hiccupped in response. No, that wasn’t a response. What was a response? What was the right response? I fought over the control of my thoughts. I should know this. I should know something.
“Laila, calm down, you’re okay now.” He grabbed my hand, and I stared down at the connection. Warm tingles spread from my hand and slowly went up my arm. My muscles relaxed, and I felt drowsy. My eyes drooped. “I know you’re tired, but not yet. We need to talk.”
I forced my eyes to stay open.
“Remember?”
It felt like the hardest thing to do. To take in that one simple question, to translate it inside my brain, and then to come up with a response. What kind of question? Yes or no. What kind of response? Yes or no.
I nodded. It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. Nod. I blinked furiously.
“Good, good.” He reached up and wiped at my cheek. Why would he do that? “You did good. You don’t need to cry.”
“What’s wrong with her?” someone asked.
“She fried her brain. Not all of it, but enough that she needs to repair. Right now her brain is healing and forming new connections. My best guess, she can’t form thoughts. Or hold onto them. You ask her something, and while she knows the answer, it’s not staying with her.” His voice softened when he focused back on me. “Slipping through your fingers, right?”
I nodded again.
“Good. You’re already getting better. Take your time and don’t force yourself. I’ll help you.”
Again, the warm tingles. I wanted to roll around in them, get lost in them.
“Feel this.” Something deep in me flared to life and warmed my very core. “Your magic. It’s there. Pull on it. Wear it. Use it like armor.”
“Armor?” I whispered.
“Yes. Armor. Protection. Your security. A shield. A way to protect yourself against others.”
“Doesn’t work.”
He stared at me for a moment, t
hinking something over. He grabbed my chin and tilted my head up a little. “Sometimes, it does fail. And it hurts. I know it hurts. But it’s something. Draw on it now. It’ll help you. It knows what to do for you. It’ll do what it needs to do until you’re back on your feet and can tell it what you want it to do.”
I did as he said, feeling that warmth spread out to all my limbs.
“Good. Good. Keep it up.”
Time passed as he kept coaxing me. I listened. My body began to feel whole again. I began feeling like an existence rather than a jumble of nothingness.
“Do you remember who I am?”
“Chez.”
He smiled. “Good girl.” He rubbed my head, pushing back my hair from my face. “Do you remember everyone in this room?”
I took everyone in. Elliot, Alijah, Venni, and Davies. Rhett and Dwight. Shanton. Chez. I nodded.
“Good. Do you remember what happened?”
A sob escaped, and I nodded.
“I know it’s hard. Can you tell us?”
I shook my head. Too much. It was all too much.
“That’s okay. We will come back to that. Keep pulling on your magic, just like you are now. Good girl.”
“I’m not a girl.”
“Yes, you are. You’re only nineteen and among us who live so much longer, you’re a drop in the water right now. Everyone seems to keep forgetting that.” There was something hard in his voice.
“You’re mad.”
“Yes. I’m mad at you and all these idiots. But I’ll hold off on my anger until you can understand it. Keep pulling on your magic. Keep using it. You’re doing good.”
He patiently kept talking to me, each time asking me if I could talk about what happened. I saw it now. My memories were there, the thoughts were there. The emotions. My mouth just didn’t want to voice it.
“Grief,” Chez said when I explained it. “It’s grief.”
“Grief?”
He nodded. “Grief. It chokes you up inside. Steals your breath. Renders you speechless.”
That sounded about right. Grief.
“He’s dead?”
Chez looked over at Alijah and Alijah moved forward, getting down on his needs. “He’s dead. It was instant.”
“I couldn’t help him.”
He shook his head. “No one could. There was no miracle to be had.”
Magical Seclusion Page 25