Fractured Slipper

by Adrienne Monson

  “That explains why my uncle wants her,” I said. “He doesn’t have magic of his own and he’s been trying to get it for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hired his own Magic Harnesser. Whatever we saw back there in the ballroom with the multiple copies of him was the result of a Magic Harnesser giving him that ability. If he has your sister, his powers could be limitless. He’s had her for a week. I’m surprised he hasn’t already forced a transfer.”

  Charming shook his head. “Her power only works if she’s willing.” His phone rang and he picked it up. “Good. We’ll wait for your signal and then follow.” He hung up.

  Charming pulled to the side of the road a few blocks from my uncle’s vacation house and came to a stop behind another black SUV that held some of his security team. It was a road I’d been on many times, and the memories of coming here and enduring the torture my uncle put me through while he tried to take my magic made my stomach clench.

  “We’re stopping here in case your uncle has his own surveillance. My team is already on the way to check out the perimeter, and we’ll follow as soon as we get the call.”

  I nodded and tried to keep myself from going insane with worry. Less than five minutes later, Charming’s phone buzzed and we started toward the house with Charming’s security team.

  They motioned us to the front door where we crept inside behind several armed guards. I looked around and remembered every part of the house. Not much had changed in the twelve years since I’d been here last. The compartmentalized layout was the same, and so was the décor, a mix of modern and classic. A layer of dust covered the surfaces of the furniture and the air smelled musty and stale. The home wasn’t used much. One of the guys pointed to the stairs and we formed a single file line, quietly following them down.

  When we got to the bottom, we were in an empty, large room. I pointed down the hall toward the back of the house. There was a door there that opened up into a large lab. In any other house, it would have been four separate bedrooms, but my uncle had made it into one large, horrible room of torture.

  We could hear voices coming from inside. There were at least four people in there: my uncle, Mark, Kory, and Sway. I hoped Sarah was in there too.

  The lead on the security team motioned for us to move. We did and he took a few steps back to get some velocity behind him, then ran and kicked the door as hard as he could. The door frame splintered and the door swung open as all of Charming’s team pushed inside and we followed. The whole thing took seconds and as we descended on them, my uncle and cousin’s faces were priceless, their mouths frozen open in shock.

  Sway was tied to a chair, next to another girl who was also tied and hooked up to a multitude of wires. I heard a sound that could only be described as a growl come from Charming as he surveyed the room and his eyes landed on the two girls. The girl next to Sway was surely Sarah.

  Charming motioned to his team and they moved forward like they were one person instead of ten, each movement precisely choreographed.

  “I don’t think so,” my uncle said. He raised his arms and a transparent wall seemed to build between him and us. Charming’s men ran toward it and were stopped in their tracks. They tried kicking and punching it, but nothing happened. One of them took his gun and shot at a corner, in an area where it wouldn’t affect anyone if the shot bounced off the wall. The bullet hit the wall and dropped straight to the ground. My uncle laughed with victory, confidant he’d won this fight.

  The anger that had been boiling inside me was back, and getting hotter. I couldn’t let this horrible man win. Who knew what damage he’d already done to Sarah. I walked to the edge of the wall, examining it.

  “There’s nothing you can do, El,” my uncle taunted. “The wall can’t be penetrated by fire.”

  I looked at him and smiled slowly, danger glinting in my eyes. Fire wasn’t my only trick.

  I lifted my arms, palms out and focused every bit of my intention on my uncle and that wall. Flames started in my eyes, white hot, and then they began to build around the wall. I focused on the wall, testing a theory—my uncle’s magic wasn’t real. It was stolen from other people and even though magic could be transferred, it was never as strong as when the original magic holder used it. My uncle’s magic was as fake as he was, and nothing more than an illusion he’d constructed. I specialized in burning up those falsities and I knew that I could do it to him too. The flames burned hotter and my uncle’s face grew more and more concerned. The top of the wall started to crumble. I’d stripped him of the illusion and as soon as I did, the wall fell, scattering into hundreds of cinders smoldering on the ground, awaiting my next instructions.

  My uncle’s mouth fell open and he seemed paralyzed with shock.

  “You never did know the extent of my magic, Robert. I never let you see it.” Blue fire filtered my vision and his face became a mask of terror and awe. My voice came out as a roar, “I’ll let you see it now.”

  I twisted my wrist, guiding the cinders toward him, circling him, their tiny pieces glowing with anticipation.

  “My fire burns away illusions and I can see a person’s true nature and reflect it back to them. Their true nature is a culmination of all the things they’ve done and lied to themselves about…things they’ve convinced themselves are true. I gather their illusions and the lies they’ve composed about who they think they are, and pull them away from the person. When that happens, the illusion bursts into flames. The cinders fall, turn to glass, and reflect the person’s true selves back at them. They are the things people know deep down, but can’t face. It often causes them to have a psychotic break because most people can’t handle the truth.” I eyed him. “I have a feeling you’ll be one of those people, Uncle. Why don’t we find out?”

  With that, I let the fire rise. It burst up into a column of orange and blue flames that consumed him. He screamed, a sharp, piercing noise, not from the pain of the fire, but from the pain of being stripped of the fallacies he’d composed about who he thought he was.

  As the fire died down, the ashes fell and the glass reflected his true self back at him. He was an ugly, horrible man with a heart as black as tar. Everyone’s mirror was different; some were words, some were images, sometimes it was a combination of both. Words started forming in the glass. Murderer, kidnapper, liar, thief…all things he knew about himself, but refused to own or see the truth in.

  My uncle’s face crumpled into a defeated mess and he fell to the ground in a ball, sobbing. He was a broken man and I felt no remorse for making him feel that way.

  Charming rushed forward to his sister and yanked the wires off her body. Perry ran to Sway and untied the ropes. Sway looked ready to kill someone. “Let me at him,” she snarled.

  Perry shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s an excellent idea,” she growled. “Let me go!”

  Mark and Kory started to move toward us, anger fanning their faces. Before they could take more than a few steps they both fell to the ground clutching their stomachs, their faces contorting in serious pain.

  Perry’s eyebrow went up. “Guess my magic kicked in faster than usual.”

  Perry’s magic basically turned him into the karma police. Depending on how a person had lived their life, his magic could be a good thing, or a very bad one. He was able to make someone responsible for their own actions, and make them feel the emotions they’d caused others to feel. Based on how my cousins were writhing on the floor, Mark and Kory had a lot to make up for.

  As soon as Sarah was untangled, she jumped up from the chair and grabbed onto Charming as tears leaked from her eyes. He wrapped her in a huge hug, his expression full of love and relief. “I’m so glad we found you,” Charming said.

  “Me too,” Sarah said. “I wanted to kill that jerk.”

  “I don’t think anyone would have minded if you did,” one of the security guys said.

  He took his mask off and I blinked. “Kerry?” I said, my voice baffled and my expre
ssion completely stunned.

  His lips spread into a kind smile. “Good thing I gave you those shoes at the ball or I might not have found you.”

  I stared at him, dumbfounded. “You’re the one who gave me the shoes?”

  “Course I am. They were spelled so I’d be able to keep track of you. Did you think this knucklehead sent them?” Kerry asked, nodding toward Charming.

  I looked between them. “Yeah, I kind of did.”

  The corner of Kerry’s lips went up in a playful smile. “He has no taste. He would have bought you something awful.”

  “Hey!” Charming said, punching him playfully in the shoulder. “Be nice.”

  I was so confused. “Do you work for Charming?”

  Kerry shook his head. “No, but we know each other. When he was wandering around the tunnels like a lost puppy with your shoe, I pointed him in the right direction.”

  Charming rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t acting like a lost puppy.”

  Kerry put his thumb and forefinger up about an inch apart from each other. “A little.”

  I still didn’t understand. “So you knew I was going to the ball with him? And you just decided to leave your tunnel post and join his security team for the night?”

  Kerry lifted his shoulders. “Well, it’s kind of in my job description.”

  “What’s your job description?”

  He gave me a look. “I’m your Magic Godfather.”

  I stared at him, incapable of making words for several seconds. “My what?”

  “Magic Godfather.” He said the words slowly, like he was trying to help my mind wrap itself around the information.

  “One, I wasn’t aware that Magic Godfathers existed, and two, I didn’t know I had one.”

  “That’s kind of the point. If we went around advertising our services, everyone would know who we are and what we could do, and we wouldn’t be much help.”

  “How long have you been my Magic Godfather?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Since you were born.”

  How had I never been told about this? I’d never met Kerry until I ran away from my uncle Robert. Kerry was the first person I met my first night alone when I was seeking shelter, and he introduced me to the tunnels and showed me the building I later turned into Haven. “Does everyone have a Magic Godfather?”

  “Not everyone, but your parents made sure you did.”

  “My parents?”

  “They didn’t know if you had magic when you were born, but they hired me as a precaution. They had me spell your bedroom to make sure you’d always be safe. None of us considered that there might ever be a threat to them as well. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save them too.”

  I stared at him again, my eyes blurring. “You’re the reason my uncle’s shifter didn’t take me away that night?”

  He nodded in a matter of fact way, like it wasn’t even a big deal. My heart felt like it was going to burst. All of the emotions I’d been feeling seemed to crash into me at once and I flung myself at Kerry, wrapping my arms around his neck, tears falling silently down my cheeks. “Thank you for saving me.”

  “I always will, El. Always. I know you’ve felt alone for a long time, but you never were, I promise. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become and how you use your powers. Your mom and dad would have been proud too.”

  I wiped tears as I stepped back, looking at the scene. My cousins and uncle on the ground, and my friends at my side. “What are we going to do with them?” I asked.

  “The Mystic Commission is on its way and they’ll take care of your uncle and cousins,” Charming said. “Aside from kidnapping, they’ve broken several laws regarding magic harnessing and transferring. They’ll be locked away somewhere they can’t hurt you anymore.”

  His words were like a balm for a wound that had been gaping open for years.

  “Thank you,” I said, the release overwhelming me and lifting a heavy weight off of my chest.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I looked at Sway and Perry, relief shining through my tears. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter 6

  It had been a week since the Mystic Ball and the confrontation with my uncle. Charming was right. The Mystic Commission worked swiftly and had judged my uncle and cousins to be a severe threat. They were sent away to a prison specially built to contain mages in another state. Things had started to get back to normal at home. There were rumors swirling about Hadley Scott, the fiery eyed girl in blue who showed up at the Mystic Ball. I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to accept my place as a mage and live in the open with my powers. But I’d keep it a secret as long as I could. It was a relief to know that I was safe, and so were the people I cared about. I had my friends who were basically family, my own powers, and I had my very own Magic Godfather looking after me just in case I ever came across a situation I couldn’t handle on my own. Charming had followed through on his word. Haven, and all of the people who lived there with me, had a security team. It hadn’t helped much at the ball, but I’d take all the extra protection I could get to keep my friends safe.

  The fall day was unseasonably warm on my walk home from work. As I passed one of my favorite parks, I decided to sit by the lake and reflect on everything that had happened during the past two weeks. The sky was pale blue, dusted with clouds, and the lake was a calm sheen, fish swimming peacefully below the surface while ducks floated aimlessly above.

  I sat there and thought about life. Two weeks ago, I’d been living the same way I always had—fighting to reach a goal, fighting to stay alive and keep the people I loved safe. I hadn’t known Charming, or revealed myself in the magic world. Now a simple stolen shoe had changed everything. The threats were gone for now, but as life went on and people realized Hadley Scott was actually Cinder, new threats would emerge. I’d gone back to work, and things in my universe had calmed down. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t worried about who might be looking for me, or about spending all of my extra time searching for my parents’ killers. I’d found the man who sent the shifter that had killed my parents, and murdered the friends of Charming’s sister. According to Charming, the shifter had been located and subdued by the Hurston family security team. I reached my goal, and now I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. My life had been so focused on one task—finding out who took my family from me—that I no longer knew my purpose. Maybe it was time for me to start living for me, instead of living for revenge.

  My thoughts strayed to Charming. After we’d left my uncle’s house, he’d called to check on me a couple of times. But that’s the only contact we’d had. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. There was definitely chemistry and a connection between us, and our kiss at the ball had heated me from the inside out before I’d pulled away because I didn’t want to end up heartbroken. If everything I’d heard about him was true, he wasn’t the relationship type. I’d never even allowed myself to think of a relationship before because I’d been so focused on finding my parents’ murderers. Now that was taken care of, but the thought of starting a relationship for the first time, especially with someone like Charming—egotistical, stubborn, challenging, and so freaking hot, terrified me. Could I handle a relationship? Could Charming and I really make one work?

  The glass-like surface of the lake was suddenly dotted with drops and fish started jumping. I looked up and saw his tall form, carved arms, and wide shoulders before my eyes landed on his perfect face. Charming was standing five feet from me with a bag of fish food.

  It was like I conjured him out of thin air by thinking about him.

  “Hi,” I said carefully, wondering what he was doing here.

  “Hi,” he said back. “Come here often?” His eyebrow went up and then one corner of his lips slid into that alluring smile I’d come to think of far too often.

  I stared at him. “That’s a horrible line.”

  “It wasn’t a line. I’m genuinely curious.”

  I looked out at the lake and the fis
h waiting for their benefactor to drop more food. “Sometimes I stop on my way home from work. It’s a good place to think.”

  He inclined his head. “What are you thinking about?”

  Him, but I wasn’t about to admit that. “Life.”

  He dropped some more fish food and then moved toward me, sitting next to me on the bench. Less than three inches separated his leg from mine and so help me, I wanted to close the distance and feel his arms wrapped around me again. “Do those thoughts include anyone else?”

  I narrowed my eyes. What was he getting at? “Like my friends?”

  He leaned back against the bench and stretched an arm behind me. “Them too. But I was mostly thinking about me. Us.”

  I blinked. “Should my life thoughts and plans include you?”

  He fixed his eyes on mine and I couldn’t look away. “Do you want them to?”

  It felt like butterflies had started a party in my stomach and my heart sped up. I lifted my shoulder, unsure how to answer. Yes, I wanted to see what this was between us. I wanted to have a relationship. But Charming wasn’t the relationship type and I’d had enough heartbreak in my life.

  “Why did you pull away from our kiss at the ball?” he asked.

  I looked at him for several seconds before answering, “Do you want the truth?”

  “I always want the truth.”

  I looked down, composing my thoughts before meeting his eyes. “You’re rich, privileged, and you have a reputation for being a spoiled playboy. I doubt you’ve ever had someone say no to you in your life.”

  “That’s not true,” he said, his tone mildly amused. “You’ve said no repeatedly, and kicked me with your shoe.”