Hidden Magic

by Amy Patrick

  “God no,” he exclaimed. “How could you even think something like that?”

  “Well, I don’t really. I didn’t. But I thought to be bonded to someone you had to… you know…”

  “Yes. That is how it works—in every case I’ve ever heard of before ours.”

  “So how did we become bonded then?”

  “You are not bonded to me,” he corrected. “You are still free to choose. I’m not even sure it works the same way for nymphs as it does for Elves. Regardless, I am bonded to you—for eternity. Apparently during my suicide attempt, when I swallowed the glass vials filled with your blood, not only did your blood heal my injuries, it changed me. It convinced my body that you are already my bond-mate. That’s why the procedures on the girls didn’t take. My genetic matter could have no effect on them… because it’s programmed to respond only to you.”

  As the truth sank in I began smiling. And couldn’t stop. “So you’re saying you’re stuck with me, huh?”

  He nodded. “And apparently you are stuck with me. Because no matter where you go or what you do, I’ll be driven to follow you around declaring my undying love for the rest of our lives.”

  I gave an exaggerated frowny-face. “Oh that’s horrible. An international heart throb wrapped around my little finger? Everyone will feel so sorry for me.” Growing more serious, I added, “I do feel sort of bad, though. You were worried about making me feeling obligated—you didn't choose this—you’re obligated to me by virtue of biology. That evil doctor took away your choice.”

  He drew me close again and kissed the tip of my nose. “Piccola, my choice was taken away from me the second I met you. I was utterly lost, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Running my hands up his abdomen and chest, I began to work on the buttons of his shirt. “Then we might as well go ahead and make it official.”

  Nic pulled away from me with a groan of frustration. “We can’t.”

  I was swimming in confusion. He seemed to want me as much as I wanted him. He said he was bonded to me for eternity. “Are you worried about me losing my choices? Because you shouldn’t. I’m ready to be with you—only you—forever.”

  He gave me a weak smile. “That is very good to hear, though I’m not even sure it works the same way for nymphs as it does for Elves. You might be able to take multiple partners throughout your lifetime. You might be driven to.”

  “Well, I’m not going to. Is that what has you worried? You think I’m going to leave you—or cheat on you?” My tone sounded as indignant as I felt.

  “No, no, piccola. I am sorry. Sit down and let me explain.”

  I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting. And fuming a little bit, if I was being honest.

  “I spoke to Wickthorne. There is not much reliable information available to us about nymphs. They've been ex—we all believed they were extinct for hundreds of years now. Obviously, that isn’t entirely true.”

  He gestured toward me as if I were Exhibit A in a courtroom. “But what limited information he does have suggests… well, it indicates that your blood is only useful in healing illnesses and injuries as long as you remain… as long as you’re a virgin.”

  My mouth dropped open with an audible click. “A… wow. That is not what I was expecting you to say.” I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that. “So then… if we were to bond before they figure out the cure…”

  “There might be no cure. Ever,” he said, looking tortured. “The Plague will be activated and continue unabated until all the humans are dead.”

  “Oh Nic,” I sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Smiling and coming to sit next to me on the bed, he opened his arms in invitation. “So am I—for myself, mostly.” He laughed. “At least we have eternity together. We’ve waited this long to bond, we can wait a little more I suppose.”

  “How little is that, exactly? Did Wickthorne say?”

  “He doesn’t know—no one does. Hopefully it’s soon, because there’s one thing I do know.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You look too good in that towel. You need to put some clothes on.” He ran his eyes over my bare legs and feet then up to my shoulders and exposed upper chest. “Now please.”

  * * *

  Once I was dressed, Nic’s hurry to evacuate my room evaporated. We lay together on the bed, holding each other and talking, my head resting over his heart.

  “Have you visited the Light Elves before?”

  He nodded. His voice rumbled pleasantly in his chest beneath my ear. “Not here. But in Europe. We went to an Assemblage there. It’s a gathering they hold every ten years. The place was something like this one. The king there is very old, though. Here, the Light King is our age—his father died not that long ago, so he stepped up to rule.”

  “How sad. That would be weird—to be running a kingdom at our age. Although, I guess there have been teenaged kings throughout history. It’s so much responsibility, though.”

  “I have a lot of sympathy for him. I’ve grown up knowing my future would be much the same—though in the Ancient Court, there are more individual ruling families. Here, the king rules the entire Light Court, and Nox rules over the whole Dark Court—it’s a larger area than in Europe where it’s divided by countries.”

  “Alessia’s family is royal as well, right?” I asked. “Do you think she will sit on the Dark throne eventually in Italy? I mean… even if she doesn’t marry?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything when it comes to her. She’s very mixed up right now.” His tone was thoughtful. And sad.

  “It seems clear enough to me what she wants—capture the nymph, drain her blood, kill the humans.”

  He squeezed me tighter. “I still cannot believe she is behaving this way. I thought the danger would end with Dr. Schmitt. But apparently, he really got into her head and twisted her all up. And of course there’s what I did to her. That—on top of the way she’s always been treated by her family. She used to be… normal. Now… I don’t know… I guess it was all too much for her, and she snapped.”

  “What do you mean ‘how she’s been treated?’ She seemed like the stereotypical spoiled princess to me.”

  He nodded. “Yes, she was given things. But she’s never had the kind of affection and nurturing you and I had. Her parents always kept her at arm’s length because of her glamour. Since reaching maturity, she has kept others away for the same reason—and possibly because she’s become so accustomed to being alone and to thinking of herself as ‘untouchable.’”

  I thought about it for a minute. It was a sad story—I couldn't imagine growing up without any physical affection. Touch was supposed to be vital for a child’s development. Bearing that in mind, it probably would’ve been nice of me to feel some compassion for the lonely young girl Alessia must have been.

  My grandmother would no doubt have said, “Bless her heart—we should pray for her.” But I just wasn’t able to muster any positive feelings—or pleas for divine intervention—when it came to that girl. All I had ever known was the vindictive person she was now. And she was hunting me. She was threatening my family and friends.

  “Um… yeah. Well, her ‘snap’ is about to end the world as we know it. I know a couple of broken engagements has to suck, but that’s no excuse for ending mankind,” I said. “You fell in love with someone else—it happens. In my book the only reason to marry someone is if you feel like you absolutely cannot live without them. If you have any reservations—which you obviously did—I believe you should call it off.”

  He lifted his head and looked at my face speculatively. “What about you?”

  My eyes met his. “What about me?”

  “Do you have any reservations… about marriage?”

  Sliding my hand from his chest up to his nape, I gave him a sly smile. “Are we talking in general terms here, or did you have someone particular in mind?”

  He squeezed me against him and tickled my side, making
me squeal and squirm. “You know what I’m asking, you little nymph.”

  “No. I don’t. I think you’d better spell it out for me.”

  “Being married to a nymph is going to have its challenges, I see,” he said.

  I gave him a sassy cocked eyebrow. “I don’t remember a proposal. You’d better get to work on that, big guy.”

  His eyes widened at my words. He broke into a scrunched up grin and shook his head as he lowered his mouth to mine. “You’re going to be the death of me. How am I supposed to wait?”

  And then he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back and doing everything in my power to express my complete and thorough lack of reservations when it came to him.

  There was no controlling myself with Nic. The scent and feel of him were dizzying, intoxicating. I wanted to hold him with every part of me, the sheer pleasure of his nearness driving me mad.

  A knock at the door caused us to jump apart. I hadn’t realized his body had shifted until he was mostly on top of me, pinning me to the bed. We looked at each other, smiling ruefully. Well I was smiling. He grimaced. The knock came again.

  Sighing, he rolled off the bed. “I’ll get it.”

  When he opened the door, the young healer stood outside. “Hope I’m not disturbing y’all. Ready to go make a phone call?” He held up a set of keys and jingled them.

  Nic’s shoulders sagged, and he nodded, answering in a tone that could only be described as disgruntled. “Sure. Let’s go. It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do.”

  He cast one last longing look at the rumpled bedcover as we left the room.

  20

  Macy

  Asher drove us to his family’s farm on the outskirts of Deep River. It was a charming place with groves of pecan trees and acres of pasture land enclosed by white-railed fencing.

  He took us onto the property through a gravel road back entrance, pointing out the crops and the livestock standing in clumps together, enjoying the late afternoon sun. It wasn’t Tuscany, but it was beautiful in its own way, peaceful and remote.

  “You’ll have to come back here another time when everything’s a little less crazy. We can do some pecan picking.” He grinned.

  “Are you sure your family won’t mind us showing up at dinner time?” I asked. “I hate to impose.”

  “I called ahead,” he assured. “My mom’s happiest when she has lots of mouths to feed. Besides, we’re on a mission. We can’t wait. We have to do this now, no matter what time it is.”

  In England where Olly was, it was six hours ahead— kind of late on a school night. I hoped she was still up and would answer her phone. If her “mum” answered, I wasn’t sure what I would say to explain a phone call from a stranger in America.

  Once inside the white-painted farmhouse, Nic and I met the healer’s mother and grandfather then got down to the business at hand—making the phone call. Nic assured Asher’s grandfather he’d cover the long-distance charges incurred, but the old man brushed it off in his thick Scottish brogue.

  “Never you mind that. I’m happy to be of help to my grandson’s friends.”

  The receiver felt heavy and odd in my hands—I was so used to using cell phones. My parents had gotten rid of their landline years ago. My nerves sang with tension as I waited for the overseas call to connect. Thankfully, Olly was the one who answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Olly, it’s Macy. How are you?”

  “Oh Macy,” she squeaked. “I’m so happy to hear from you. Where are you now?”

  Instead of answering her question directly, I side-stepped it and got right to the point. “Still traveling. How are you feeling?”

  It wasn’t just the usual nicety. There was actual reason to be concerned about her health. If Olly had taken ill, it might mean we were already too late for a Plague vaccine and would be scrambling for a miracle cure instead. But Olly was her usual cheerful, carefree self.

  “Oh, I’m aces. Very sound. How are you?”

  “Good. That’s so good to hear. I’m fine. Listen, I do want to catch up, but it’s late and I’m sure you need to get to bed. I’m afraid I don’t have long to talk this time anyway. Are you alone where we can talk privately?”

  “Yeah, hold on, let me shut my door.” There was a click. “Okay, now I’m good.”

  “Olly, listen—this is going to sound really strange, but I promise you it’s important. I need you to do something. Your life and the lives of everyone you know could depend on it.”

  “Well that sounds scary.”

  “No, there’s no need to be scared. Everything’s going to be all right. Just do exactly as I say and tell no one. I don't usually condone keeping secrets from parents, but in this case it can’t be avoided.”

  “Is this about the fan pod? Because they already know.”

  “It’s related to the fan pods, but it’s much more serious than that. Here’s what I need you to do. There’s a clinic within walking distance from you—I looked it up.”

  Actually Asher had looked it up for us and would be calling early tomorrow morning to notify the clinic to expect her.

  “Tomorrow after school, go by there and let them draw some blood,” I continued. “They’ll be expecting you as a walk-in patient.”

  There was a pause before Olly responded. “I don’t like having blood drawn.”

  “I know. You and me both, kiddo—especially after what we went through in Corsica. I hate needles, but I promise it’s for a good cause.”

  “This is kind of weird, Macy. What are they going to do with my blood?”

  Withholding information from her felt terrible, but I knew it was for her own good. Any human who knew the truth about the existence of Elves was at risk.

  “I know. I know it seems weird. I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on, but no one’s going to do anything bad with your blood sample. It’s something very, very good. Remember how you told me I came to the fan pod for a reason? I argued with you at the time, but I believe it now. And I think you were there for a reason, too. This is it. There is something in your blood that can help us save millions of lives from the bad people who were keeping us in the fan pod. But my friends need the chance to test it as soon as possible. Can you do this for me? Can you trust me?”

  She let out a shaky-sounding breath. “Okay. I do trust you. I’ll do it. For you. When are you going to come see me, Macy?”

  “As soon as I can. As soon as it’s safe for both of us. I promise. Unfortunately, I can’t make it there myself this time, but a friend of mine will be coming to help you.” I thought for a second then decided to share my good news with her. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Okay.”

  “It’s Nic. He’s okay. He came and found me, and he’ll be getting on a plane soon to meet you at the clinic. He’ll bring your samples back himself, to make sure they get here safe and sound. And as soon as we can, we’ll come see you together.”

  “Yay! For a honeymoon?” she asked eagerly.

  “Maybe,” I said, then looked up at Nic’s watchful face and felt myself blush.

  “I hope it’s soon,” she said. “Okay, I’ll go to the clinic right after school. I could even skip and go in the morning when it opens if you like.”

  “No, don’t do that. I don’t want you to get in trouble for playing hooky. The afternoon will be fine.”

  “Okay,” she said, sounding slightly disappointed.

  “If there’s any problem, make a collect call to this number and let me know, okay?” I said. “And take care of my boyfriend for me.”

  Olly assured me she would, and we hung up. I felt the eyes of everyone in the room on me.

  “I think it’ll work,” I said, and there were sighs and nods all around. “She said she’d do it today and didn't seem to think there'd be any issue with her family.” I turned to Nic. “So now I guess it’s up to you two.”

  “Great. We’ll get it done, I promise.”

  “I didn’t have time to mak
e anything fancy, but I fixed y’all some sandwiches,” Asher’s mom said, carrying a tray into the dining room. “My son said you’ve had a long day and might be hungry.”

  “Actually, I’m starved,” said Nic. “But I want to stay with Asher while he makes the call to the clinic. I’ll be there in a moment. Macy, why don’t you go on ahead and eat?”

  I followed her to the dining room where Asher’s grandfather joined me at the table. Asher’s mom went back to the kitchen for water and tea.

  “So where are you from, young lady?” the old man asked.

  “Missouri. The Joplin area.”

  “No—I mean where are you from? Your people?” He gave me a nod and a knowing wink.

  “Um…” I wasn’t really sure what he was getting at. “I don’t know exactly. I’m adopted. I’ve never met my biological family.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, when you go lookin’—if you ever do—I’d suggest startin’ in the vicinity of the Scottish Isles. I grew up around those parts, and you have the look of a local.”

  A bit taken aback by his suggestion and knowing manner, I smiled tightly. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll do that.”

  Within an hour we’d all been fed, the arrangements were made, and we were on our way—first to take Nic to the airport for his flight to England—then back to Altum where I’d have nothing to do but play my role as a human, oops—nymphian?—pin cushion and wait for him to return.

  I walked with Nic to the bottom of the jet’s boarding stairs.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

  “I wish you could come with me.” He looked exhausted. And sad.

  “You’ll probably sleep all the way there and back. You won’t even miss me.”

  “Oh, I’ll miss you. More than you can possibly imagine,” he said, punctuating the vow with a deep kiss. He lifted his head again. “But knowing you're waiting here for me—and that you love me—will make it bearable. And the sooner we get the healers in Altum what they need to create the cure, the sooner your ‘duty’ will be done, and we can move on with our lives and seal that bond.”