Night Magic: A Wing Slayer Novel

by Jennifer Lyon

  He lowered his face to her, brushed his mouth over hers, and said, “We’re getting this handfast off and then you’re mine.” Then he let her go.

  Damn it, the words wanted to burst free from her throat. But she couldn’t bind with him, couldn’t risk his soul. While she was determined not to become a demon witch, she couldn’t be sure the coven and Asmodeus wouldn’t find a way to force her. If they were bonded, Phoenix would lose his soul, too. She couldn’t risk it. Wouldn’t. She had to make the right decisions.

  If she was bonded to Phoenix and died, it would destroy him. He’d believe he’d failed again.

  She walked between Carla and Darcy. Carla said, “Right here is good, Ailish. Morgan is on her side, supported by pillows, and facing you. She’s as comfortable as we can make her. I’m going to stay on this side, and Darcy will go to Axel on the other side. Joe will wait by Phoenix across the room.”

  She nodded, heard Joe lean down and say something to Morgan, then move off. Ailish dropped to her knees. She had on her usual jeans and shirt, and her feet were bare. She could feel the woman in front of her. “Hi, Morgan.”

  “Thank you for doing this, Ailish.” A hand wrapped around hers.

  She was startled by the warm touch. “You’re welcome. I just hope it works.” Without causing more trouble by enhancing dark magic or inciting rogues to kill more earth witches for the increased power in their blood.

  Morgan tugged on Ailish’s hand and laid it flat over her hard, rounded belly. “He’s kicking. Feel him? Feel how much he wants to live? We’ve fought so hard, this baby and me.”

  Ailish felt the bumps and ripples in the woman’s stomach. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat. There was a child in there, a vigorous little life. What did he look like? She could clearly feel Morgan’s deep love, the love of a mother willing to do anything to give her child a chance. It felt thick, protective, and determined. In that moment, she knew she was experiencing real maternal love.

  “I need to be strong and sane to help this baby grow into a Wing Slayer Hunter, not a rogue. We need you to succeed.”

  The baby kicked right into Ailish’s hand, as if adding his plea. This mother loved her baby and was willing to fight to save him, and she believed that her love would keep him from turning into the rogue his father had been. Ailish felt an alliance with Morgan and her baby. This mother would never trick her child into a handfast with a demon.…

  She shook that off. “I’ll do everything I can to help.”

  “I know. I have faith in you, Darcy, and Carla.”

  Ailish thought she had a nice voice, like that of a television journalist. She kept her hand on Morgan’s stomach. “Ready.”

  Darcy placed her hand next to Ailish’s, then Carla said, “Morgan, I’m going to help you to sleep with my magic. You’ll feel the warmth spreading through you, relaxing your muscles. Just let yourself go.…”

  Ailish felt Carla’s magic bloom around them, pure and white, like the warmth of the sun.

  “Okay,” Carla said, “she’s in a relaxed hypnotic state. Darcy, how’s the baby?”

  “He’s fine. Heartbeat is steady, no signs of stress.”

  “Good. Ailish, if you’ll sing.”

  Ailish began opening her chakras. They popped open and her powers began swirling, rising so fast that it took her breath away. The power raced up her spine and then back down. She was astonished but soon realized her powers sensed Phoenix and churned in frustration because they couldn’t quite reach him. There was a blood link, but their souls were not fully joined. The words pressed from her chest and up her throat:

  Breath of life …

  She fought the urge to sing the Siren’s Song. Instead she concentrated on directing her energy up through her voice box and sang:

  Earth, air, water, and flames

  Flow from the earth to my voice

  Bring the light of the Ancestors

  To heal, to strengthen, to live.

  Ailish felt her powers beginning to spin so fast, she couldn’t keep the energy funneling. Her vocal cords strained, wanting to reshape the words into the Siren’s Song. Her head throbbed. She thought of Morgan’s baby, picturing tiny fingers and toes, soft skin, and a powdery smell, and she kept repeating the four lines. There were creaks and clunks of machines and weights trembling from the voice power spillover. It wasn’t as violent as it had been in the past, and she had a feeling that was due to the bond she was forming with Phoenix. Her power could find him, so it didn’t go totally wild.

  She kept singing. Her chest grew warm with the knowledge that this was what she was supposed to do, this was her purpose! To help mortals and stand between them and demons.

  Then she heard a hiss, like a furious snake, deep in her head. Dark energy began threading into her like curls of smoke. She ignored it, focusing on letting her voice soar with magic, wanting to reach the baby and assure him he was safe.

  “Something’s wrong,” Phoenix said.

  The handfast heated, and spikes of painful lust shot through her. Her nipples hardened against her will, but it felt as though long, thick nails were being driven into them. Her womb cramped, and she bent into the pain. Between her legs she grew damp, but it burned her delicate skin there.

  She struggled to breathe and sing, breathe and sing.

  Don’t show the pain!

  “Her scent is changing!” Phoenix’s voice was more urgent. “Ailish, you need to stop.”

  No! She could do this, she could do earth magic. She forced herself to accept the pain Asmodeus threw at her, to keep her chakras open. Her chest grew heavy with the dark magic smoldering as though it were gathering.

  She sang, trying to increase her power, hoping to push the demon magic out of her. But something else was there, pervading her mind. So close she could smell the cloying incense and sulfur. Then a familiar voice exploded in her head.

  You think to defy me?

  Her mother! Ailish lost all control. Dark magic erupted in her face like a firecracker. She felt the skin around her eyes burst open. The searing, unbearable agony ripped through her. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. She felt the hot blood running down her cheeks. Felt the shards of glass embedded in her eyes. She couldn’t sing, her chakras cringed, her power thinned and shuddered, breaking apart.

  Blood poured from her face. She was frozen in pain and shock, on her knees, when all hell broke loose around her.

  “Stop! Ailish! Oh Christ!” Phoenix yelled.

  “Grab him!” Axel ordered. “There’s too much blood. Don’t let Phoenix touch her!”

  “Let me go!” Phoenix bellowed. “Ailish!”

  It was her nightmare. She’d woken up screaming with this dream, and now she was living it. Her face burned, as though dozens of knives were stabbing around and into her eyes. Blood poured from her. Anguish and humiliation roiled violently in her stomach.

  They were seeing her reduced to this helpless, pathetic creature by her mother. The very thing she’d trained so hard against.

  Maeve had somehow used demon magic to reenact the witch karma that had blinded her. All these thoughts were flashing through her mind at the speed of light.

  “Ailish …” Morgan woke from her hypnotic state and grabbed her arm. “You’re bleeding! Lie down, let me help you!”

  Morgan’s touch snapped her shock. “No! Don’t touch me!” She yanked her hands away before her mother did something hideous to the woman and her unborn baby. Oh God, had she gotten her blood on Morgan? It could create a blood link between the woman and her mother! She had to get away! Protect them all. The pain was so intense, the mat slippery with her blood. She crawled, hurried until she could get her feet under her. Have to get away. Covering her torn eyes and skin with her hands, she was hit with a wave of hot nausea, and she stumbled. Please, please don’t let me fall to my knees and vomit.

  Someone caught her and lifted her in his arms.

  She knew it wasn’t Phoenix. Didn’t feel like
him or smell like him. Had to be one of the others. “No!” She struggled, but he was too strong.

  “Ailish, quit fighting. We have to stop the bleeding,” Axel said, his voice calm while Phoenix was bellowing from across the room. Threatening to kill Sutton and Joe if they didn’t let him go.

  Axel held her tight against him, trapping her arms. She wanted to scream in frustration. “My mother did this! She can reach you with her magic if you touch me!”

  “Let the bitch try,” Axel said.

  His flat, cold voice shocked her still. “But … what?”

  “She’s not going to hurt me. But we’re going to find her and kill her. Doing this to her own daughter, that kind of shit pisses me off.”

  She was pretty sure pissing him off was a bad idea.

  “Ailish,” Darcy said, “stay still. Your blood is inciting the curse in Phoenix. We can’t let him get near you, and they are barely holding him. Carla’s standing right here, too.” Then they touched her, their hands gentle as they drew their fingers over the torn skin around her eyes.

  “The blood link!” They had to know her blood could link them to her mother.

  They kept right on healing. Carla said, “We’re shielding, but it doesn’t matter. We won’t let you suffer like this.”

  They were helping her! Earth witches were touching her, not recoiling in disgust. They murmured soft chants, their voices blending, and gradually her chakras unsealed as her magic responded and then rose to mix with theirs. The twining of power swirled through her, streaming over her face in a warm mist. The pain began to fade. Her stomach settled. The relief was so great, she unclenched her jaw. “It’s better. Thank you.”

  “We can only heal you from the attack tonight,” Carla said in a tight voice. “We can’t reverse the witch karma that originally blinded you. If we’d gotten to you when it happened, before the cuts healed, we might have been able to save your sight.”

  Yeah, well, she’d asked, begged, the witches she’d found. Ailish stopped herself. These two were helping her now while Axel held her. They were probably doing it to keep Phoenix from losing control and killing her, but at least they were helping. The pain had narrowed down to just a tightness where the scars closed up. Trying to keep her voice normal, she said, “I’m fine now, I can walk. I’ll go to the other side of the house, away from Phoenix.” Dear Ancestors, she didn’t want him to see her like this. So weak, so broken …

  “You won’t get two feet,” Axel said. “Darcy, you have maybe one minute before he breaks free.”

  “Almost done, just getting all the blood off,” Darcy said. She directed her next words to Ailish: “We didn’t listen to Phoenix. He told us something was wrong. But Carla had located the memory and was magically healing it. We thought just a few more seconds …” Darcy’s voice dropped. “I’m sorry, Ailish.”

  “Not your fault.” It was her mother’s fault. “What about Morgan?”

  Carla said, “I was able to erase the buried command and replace it with calming energy. The baby is fine, your voice helped keep him calm while giving Darcy and me the power boost we needed.” She stepped back from Ailish. “Blood’s gone.”

  She didn’t know what to make of these people. Their kindness was genuine, but she was afraid to trust it. She was a loner; she had to be, or her mother would use people she cared about. Separating herself mentally from them, she said to the big man holding her, “You can put me down.”

  He lowered her legs to the ground while steadying her with his arm. “We tried to get to your mother tonight, but couldn’t get through her wards. We will find a way and we will kill her. You belong to us now, and we’re going to get you free.”

  More conflicting feelings exploded within her. They had tried to get near her mother? Fear for them made her legs tremble. She had just felt her mother’s rage and power! But Axel’s You belong to us left her completely off balance.

  “Shit,” Sutton snarled. “He’s loose!”

  Before Ailish could react, someone grabbed her upper arms and yanked Axel’s hand from her shoulder. She sucked in a breath and recognized the scent of Phoenix. He dragged her off her feet, his arms going around her and holding her against him.

  She buried her face in his warm neck. Her vocal cords ached with the pressure of the words that would call him now.

  “Goddammit, Ailish,” he growled while his hand stroked her hair. “You didn’t listen to me!”

  Her weakness, this strange need to hold on to him for strength, frightened her. She was afraid for him, for all of them. She pushed back against his hand, wishing she could see his face, not just the formless shadow. He was going to get killed trying to protect her or be destroyed by her in some other fashion. “You tried to kill my mother? Do you know what she can do to you?” She pounded her fist on his chest.

  Wrapping his hand in her hair, he lowered his face. “I saw what that bitch did to you! You have no idea, Ailish. Something exploded in me when I saw your face.…” He shuddered. “My brain was screaming to get to you and make it stop, the bird was screeching, and the bloodlust roared over it all. I had my knife in my hand. If I had lost control of the blood craving and killed you …” He clamped his mouth shut.

  She was destroying him. That hurt her worse than anything the demon or her mother did to her. She had to end this now. Lifting her chin, she pushed on his shoulders in an attempt to stand on her own. “I’m handfasted to a demon,” she said. “It’s time you accept that, realize that there’s no happy ending here. Not with me.”

  His arm remained locked around her waist, and she could feel his gaze burning into her. “I’m going to get through those wards and kill your mother. You’re my happy ending, Ailish, and I’ll fight Asmodeus and his entire coven for it. It’s time you accept that.”

  God, he was stubborn! “You can’t save me! Don’t you get it? My siren voice enhanced my mother’s power to enable her to do this to me. If it enhanced my mother’s power, it enhanced other magic, too!” It tore her apart to realize what she was doing. She’d tried to do something good, something right.

  Dual shrill squeaks made her jump in his arms.

  “What?”

  “Darcy’s and Carla’s phones. That’s their alarm for the Circle Witches. It means a witch is missing.”

  Darcy said, “Four witches snatched in four different places.” She sucked in a breath. “We should have stopped when Phoenix told us to. Too much siren power got out.”

  Oh God, this was the fallout, more power in witches’ blood, which incited the rogues to find and slaughter them for it.

  “That fast?” Sutton snarled. “It’s only been, what, fifteen minutes since doing the magic with Morgan?”

  Phoenix went stiff with rage. “As soon as Asmodeus knew she was using her voice, that rat bastard demon told his minion Young. Young had the rogues out hunting in anticipation of the power spike in witch blood.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking, too,” Axel said, his voice low and deadly.

  “I’m sorry,” Ailish said, wishing she knew how to fix this. She shoved at Phoenix’s chest to break his hold on her.

  He lifted her higher, his warm hand cupping her face. Putting his mouth close to hers, he said, “You saved the baby. That was your job. Our job is to go out and save the witches.” He slid her to her feet. “Joe, you stay here with the women.”

  Axel said, “Darcy, send the info to the three of us, and Linc.” Then to Sutton and Phoenix, he ordered, “Let’s go.”

  “Wait,” Ailish said, trying to catch up. “Isn’t it dangerous for them to be around me?”

  Darcy touched her arm. “No. The demon already knows we’ve helped you. But you’re not going to sing or invite him in the house, and neither are we. Phoenix’s house is secure, we’re safe here.”

  Phoenix took hold of her chin, kissed her quickly, and said, “Sleep in my bed. Be there when I get back.” Then he was gone.

  Ailish stood there, hearing the hunters pounding up the stairs, hearing
Joe go up after them, muttering about checking security. The fine hairs on her arms stood up as the truth hit her.

  They trusted her. Even after her voice power was causing more horrors. They still believed in her.

  Phoenix had taken his second R6 and sped off looking for the witch he’d been assigned, but he’d had zero luck finding her or the rogue that snatched her.

  He’d been thinking about it for the last twenty minutes as he rode around. The rogues were being driven into a frenzy by the enhanced witch blood. Ailish sang tonight—he couldn’t think about her scars exploding open or he’d lose his fucking mind—but the rogues had to be even more out of control. The bloodlust savaged their brains until they lived only for their next fix, and trying to stay alive so they wouldn’t turn into shades.

  Two rogues had fought over a witch at the chapel. He guessed that they had her and were on their way to a secure place when they lost control. Couldn’t wait. Like smelling French fries in the car all the way home from a fast-food joint, they smelled the witch blood and had to have it. So they stopped on the way … the empty church.

  He rode back to that church, got off his bike, and scouted the grounds and the chapel. Nothing; he had zero. Furious, he got back on his R6 and gunned it past the cemetery. Everything was quiet in the pre-dawn, but he noticed the storage business, one of those places that has rented units stacked together like apartment garages and was surrounded by heavy-duty chain-link fences with a trailer at the front. The trailer appeared empty, the gates locked by padlocks. Could the rogues be headquartered here?

  He was so frustrated, so hyped up for Ailish’s blood, from seeing her face savaged, he needed to find the rogue-den and kill. Venting his rage helped, then he’d go back to the house and make love to Ailish.

  Would he be able to keep from taking her completely, sliding his cock into her warm body? He shivered with hot desire in the cold, damp morning. Logic and life experience told him not to do it, not until they broke the handfast. He knew how hard Ailish was fighting to stay an earth witch, but Phoenix also knew her fear.