Dangerous Magic

by Evie Hart

  I snapped my fingers apart and rested them in my lap.

  “You’re a brave one, aren’t you?” The wolf alpha stared down at me with the ire of a bear I’d just poked with a stick. “Then again, I do know your grandmother. Or I did…”

  I shrugged a shoulder as I finished my coffee and walked over to the kitchen island. I stood exactly opposite to where he was standing. “Some of my family believe I’m her carbon copy,” I said, holding his gaze. “I prefer to think otherwise, but I’ll let you choose which side you’d like to be on.”

  Lorenzo’s lips pulled to one side. “I think you have a lot of Cherry Thorn in you.” His gaze jerked over me to Cameron. “You’re dismissed.”

  “But—”

  “You’re dismissed.”

  His tone was cold and hard, and I couldn’t help but catch Cameron’s eye as he walked past me.

  There was a warning there.

  “Betty Lou’s murder was a tragic accident,” Lorenzo began.

  “A tragic accident that happened to occur twice,” I interrupted. “And ended with a butchered belladonna plant on the boundary between the shifters and the druids.”

  “What happens between my kind and the druids is nothing to do with you.”

  “With all due respect, you’re wrong.” I gripped the edge of the island. “What happens between you affects us all. We co-exist in this town based upon mutual respect and understanding. Do you expect the druids to respect you if your young are running over vital plants they need for education? Have you considered how important Herbology is to this town? How often do your pack visit the local healer for treatment?”

  Lorenzo busied himself with his coffee, stirring non-existent sugar. “Explain yourself.”

  “I don’t need to. If you can’t figure it out, Lorenzo, you need to. And fast.” I got up, tucking my stool in after me, and met his eyes. “For what it’s worth, I think someone in your pack is responsible for killing Betty Lou Harper.”

  He took a step back. “I might not have agreed with what she thought, but she was the Head of the Council. I voiced my displeasure, but we live in a democracy, and I respect that. If someone in my pack took it upon themselves to take issue with democracy, then they’ll be dealt with within the rules of the pack.” His eyes darkened. “Not by some meddling witch.”

  I pushed away from the counter. “Not even you’re above the law, Mr. Martinez.”

  He clenched his jaw. “Samuel, our guest is finished with her visit. Please show her out.”

  “No need. I’ll show myself. Thank you for your time.” I turned on my heel and stalked past the smartly-dressed butler who was eyeing me warily. He did, however, manage to speed past me and open the front door before I could take the handle myself.

  He gave me a sympathetic glance and smile that said he knew just how difficult his boss was, then he slammed the door behind me, so close that my hair fluttered in the gentle breeze it created.

  Yep. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be welcome back at the Martinez mansion any time soon.

  • • •

  “You did what?” Nicole’s eyes bugged right out of her head.

  “Used magic on the son of the alpha and annoyed the hell out of the alpha.” I stabbed my macaroni and cheese with my fork and shoved it into my mouth.

  “How are you still alive?”

  I shrugged, chewing. “They should have given me the same respect I gave them. I only went with questions. It’s not my fault Lorenzo annoyed me so much I had to accuse one of his pack of murder.”

  She spat her water. “Oh, Goddess. First, you flirt with an elf, then you find the location of the plant that murdered Betty Lou, and now you’re on a werewolf hit list.”

  “Okay, first, I did not flirt with an elf.”

  “Yeah? Do random strangers you don’t flirt with always send you tulips?”

  I glanced at the flowers in the middle of the table. “He flirted with me. There’s a big difference.”

  “Whatever. I read that card. You’re so going on a date with him.”

  I waved my fork at her. “Me hiding from Dax has nothing to do with Orion. He’s just nosy.”

  “Yeah, but you hiding from him and Orion lying to cover you has everything to do with me.” She grinned. “How big were his ears? You know what they say about elves. The bigger their ears are, the bigger the—”

  “I do not care to hear this filth.” Angus appeared on the table with a pop. “Contain it to your journals, children.”

  Grandma popped in right after him. “I, however, would like to hear it. So, how big are his ears?”

  “I’m not having this conversation.” I shook my head and continued eating.

  Nic side-eyed Grandma. “I bet they were big.”

  Grandma nodded. “For sure. Look how she’s blushing.”

  “I’m not blushing!” I said around a mouthful of food.

  “What do you reckon, Grandma? Seven inches?”

  “I’ll give you seven inches of my right fist if you carry on.” I glared at my cousin.

  “Wait, which elf was it?” Grandma turned to me. “I know them all.”

  Of course she did. “Orion,” I answered.

  “Handsome.” She nodded. “But a total womanizer. The local bad boy. He gets free reign because elves live obnoxiously long compared to most paranormals, and his father gets him out of trouble. I believe he even got him out of a criminal charge once.”

  Nicole leaned forward, eyes wide. “What did he do?”

  “Peed on the side of the police station.”

  I choked on my water. “Really? How did he get out of that?”

  Grandma shrugged. “I think Alberion bartered community service. You remember that graffiti that used to be on the side of the academy? He had to get rid of that. They were saving it for a non-witch so it’d actually be hard work.”

  “Did he scrub it off?”

  “No. He grew ivy over it all. That’s why the academy looks like something out of a fairy tale.” She grinned, almost as if she approved.

  Knowing her, she probably did.

  “Personally, I thought it was a stroke of genius. They told him to get rid of it, but they never told him how he had to do it.” She went to lean on the table but went right through it. After taking a moment to scowl at it as if it had personally wronged her, she drew her attention back to our conversation. “Like I said, he was a bit of a bad boy. I think he’s settled his behavior somewhat, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still dangerous to a woman’s heart.”

  I rolled my eyes. “One conversation and y’all are marrying me off. He’s very handsome, but I have no intention of dating anyone right now. I’d prefer to find out who’s responsible for murdering Betty Lou and Amelie and getting Dotty to wake up.”

  Grandma nodded. “Bella told me she squeezed your hand. That’s a good sign. It means she has a connection to this plane and can break through. Mary-Jane’s salve is working.”

  “Something had to do it,” Nicole muttered. “I still don’t understand how it happened. We doused her in protection—nothing should have been able to breach that.”

  Grandma tapped a finger against her lips. “I’ve been sitting with her while everyone has been out during the day, and it’s given me a lot of time to think. I think I might know what happened, but I can’t pick up the book in the library to confirm it.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” I jumped up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, and ran to the library.

  “Damn woman!” Nicole shouted.

  “Hey, now, it won’t help her, but it’ll help us understand.” Grandma floated into the room like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “What book do you need?”

  She made her way to one of the shelves and touched a ghostly finger to one book with a particularly thick spine.

  “Why have I never seen this before?” I asked, heaving it off the shelf and almost groaning as the full weight of it hit me.

  “It conta
ins dark magic that most people will never come across. It’s been hidden.”

  Sure; she couldn’t move a book, but cloaking spells? No problem.

  I dropped it onto the table with a thud that made the table tremble under its weight. “What page?”

  “Open the contents.”

  I did as she asked and almost balked at what they said. “Spells bells, Grandma! What are we doing with this book in the house?”

  Nicole rushed over, her eyes widening when she read it.

  Grandma didn’t bat an eyelid. “In order to battle dark magic, you have to understand it. Understanding breeds respect, and you can respect the magic while being repulsed by the person operating it.”

  No kidding. There was everything from illegal necromancy to dark rituals to evil curses.

  I felt dirty touching it.

  “Here.” She pointed to a page in the curses section. Or tried to.

  Man, she was weak on the old ghostly power.

  I flipped to the page she’d demanded and turned the book so she could read. Her eyes flickered back and forth as Nic and I shared a glance. This was magic we’d never learned. It was unfamiliar and, I’m not going to lie, a little scary.

  “I thought so.” Grandma sighed and floated back, wringing her fingers. “It’s a spell to silence a Seer.”

  My eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they’d go into orbit. “To silence a Seer?”

  “Yes. It’s a tricky spell—not one that any self-respecting witch would ever do. Seers are a vital part of our community and quite rare, but you know that. Typically one to every Haven, and they’re always in the same bloodline. The loss of one would be devastating.” She paused. “The worst part about these spells is that you can bottle them. They’re a rare, dangerous magic that can be contained to be used by someone who isn’t a witch.”

  “Are you saying someone got hold of this spell to silence Dotty?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes. Dotty does consultant work for the police on occasion—it stands to reason that such a serious crime would warrant her involvement. Whoever did this knew that Dotty would be able to see what happened because the imprints would be incredibly clear to her. They killed Amelie and attempted to kill Betty Lou, leaving behind this spell in the reception area to stop her from getting further and finding anything out.”

  “Why was nobody else affected?”

  “There’s a branch of dark magic that can be wielded to attack a specific kind of witch. For example, there’s a potion that would make Nicole unable to hear animals.”

  If I thought my cousin looked horrified before, the color draining from her face was something else entirely.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Yes,” Grandma replied. “It wouldn’t take your power, but it would act as a wall between you and the part of you that could hear them. There are spells that would affect Rose’s ability in the kitchen, and if Bella or Shelly were to be attacked by one for them, they’d potentially develop black thumbs.”

  I blinked at her. “Are they permanent?”

  “Rarely, but the one that was used against Dotty is exceptionally strong. Whoever commissioned it did it for one reason and one reason only—to have her lost in another plane forever.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Because then, they’d be able to get away with murder.”

  Nicole sank into a chair. “So there’s really nothing we can do? We have to wait it out and hope Mary-Jane’s salve heals her.”

  Grandma sighed, looking over at the ever-burning, heatless fire. “Yes, Nicole. That’s exactly it. There is no counter-spell. Not for this one.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “YOU’RE LATE.”

  I looked at the bat. Aristotle was hanging upside down off the branch of one of the peach trees, looking at me with judgment in his beady little eyes.

  Which was ironic, because I wasn’t entirely sure he could see me.

  “Sorry. We were investigating something in the library.” I sat on the log that served as a bench in this small clearing.

  “No excuse. If you’re going to learn how to control your magic, you have to be here at four o’clock every single day.”

  Nobody ever told me bats were dictators. They sounded even more scary with a British accent, let me tell you that.

  “Okay. What are we doing?”

  “Meditation,” Aristotle replied. “In order to wield your magic, you need to be comfortable and familiar with reaching out to it. It’s not like your blood magic—it requires care and attention before it’ll open up to you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You do not have a special skill, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” I said hesitantly. “I never have.”

  He nodded. “This is your special skill. This overwhelming, almost infinite source of power.”

  “You’re not selling me on it.”

  “I don’t need to sell you on it, dear. I need to teach you how to use it.” He spread his wings before wrapping them back around his body. “Now, I assume you know how to meditate.”

  “If I don’t, I’ve been doing this magic thing wrong for years.”

  “Avery, I’m not interested in your attitude. Do you forget that this almost killed you?”

  “No, I don’t,” I said through gritted teeth. “But this is hard for me. I’ve lived my entire life believing I’m kind of normal, and suddenly, I’m not. I’m incredibly abnormal.”

  Aristotle sighed. “It’s your skill. How many years did your cousins have to work to perfect their skill until it worked seamlessly with their Goddess-given magic?”

  “I…” Goddess, he was right. When Dotty’s seer power first came through, she had no control over it. She had to work every day for years until she had control over it, and Nicole couldn’t identify the voice of an animal or where it was coming from for three years after her powers presented themselves, and even then, it was unstable.

  “You see?” Aristotle said, swinging off the branch. “It takes time. Nurture this power, and one day, it will be as simple as stirring a pot.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I understand.”

  “Meditate.”

  I moved from the log to the ground and clasped my fingers in my lap. The grass tickled my bare legs, and I took another deep breath, taking in the sweet scent of the trees around me.

  The air was fresh here. Completely clean, and aside from the barest rustling of trees, it was silent.

  It was perfect.

  It was easier to find the silver magic this time. It moved deep inside me, a volatile swirl of magic that was comparable to lava—hot, dangerous, and ready to explode at any point.

  But I knew one thing. I couldn’t fear it. It didn’t want to hurt me. It wanted to help it.

  It was a part of me.

  I reached out inside for it, scooting my fuchsia magic along the edge of the silver, looking for an opening. If I could find a crack, I could reach into it and make the connection I needed to.

  There wasn’t one.

  Not even the inkling of a breakage. The silver was held behind an impenetrable wall, hiding itself from me. It was frustrating. I wanted so badly to break through and reach it.

  The more I tried, the harder it became. It was almost as if the magic was retreating from me, and I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes.

  My entire life, all I’d wanted was to have a skill. To be good at something.

  Now, I had one. And I couldn’t even access it. I couldn’t do anything with it.

  “Focus, Avery,” Aristotle said. “Breathe through your frustration.”

  It was easy for him to say. He was a freaking bat. All he had to do was fly, eat, and apparently play Scrabble with my attic ghost.

  I had to catch something that was evading me. I wanted it so much—I wanted this magic more than anything, but it felt an awful lot like it didn’t want me.

  It was like being a child and learning basic spells all over aga
in.

  Except this spell wasn’t to make a pan full of water heat up.

  This one could kill me.

  “Stop.”

  I opened my eyes and slowly breathed out at the sound of Aristotle’s voice.

  “We have a visitor,” he said, turning his head to the right.

  I followed his gaze.

  Great.

  It was the very last person I wanted to see.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” asked my least favorite police detective.

  “Yes,” I scowled at the same time Aristotle said, “No.”

  Dax looked between us. “Avery, could we have a word?”

  “No.” I stood up and folded my arms. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  Aristotle stretched his wings and took off from the branch. He flew over to me and landed on my shoulder. His feet were soft on my bare shoulder, and he leaned into my ear. “Who is he?”

  “Dragon food,” I muttered.

  “Do you know you have a bat on your shoulder?” Dax’s eyes sparked with amusement.

  “Do you know you have a chip on yours?”

  “You wound me.” He pressed his hand against his chest. “A new friend?”

  “Familiar,” I answered, unwilling to speculate further. “Aristotle, this is Detective Sanders from the Haven Lake PD. Detective, this is my new familiar, Aristotle.”

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir,” Aristotle said, tipping an imaginary hat.

  “New familiar? What about your little she-devil?”

  “She’s probably peeing in your car right now,” I replied breezily. “What do you want?”

  Dax raised an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to me.”

  “I don’t, but you’re clearly not going to leave, and I want you out of my face, so…” I waved my arm for him to continue.

  “Can we walk?” He eyed Aristotle.

  Aristotle patted my head with his wing. “We’re done here, dear. You have your conversation. You’ll find me in the attic, should you need my assistance.”

  With that, he disappeared through the trees, heading back in the direction of the house.

  “That’s the politest bat I’ve ever heard in my life,” Dax said, turning his head and watching him go.