Cornered Magic

by Charissa Dufour

  Chapter Five

  After a long shift at Organic Diapers, Sam emerged onto the busy streets. She only worked two days a week, but at twelve hours a shift, the rest of her week was spent recovering. Today, having worked with an injured hand, she was even more tired.

  Organic Diapers was stationed at the exact opposite end of the Reservation from her home. She began to weave through the early afternoon crowds, hoping to get back to her home before her family got home. All she wanted to do was sleep and be alone.

  Before she had made it halfway up the long street, Chad appeared at her side.

  It unnerved Sam to realize the usually noisy man had managed to sneak up on her. She was far from her best, and it was showing. Sam took a deep breath, fully expecting an argument with her boyfriend.

  He walked beside her for a few minutes in silence, allowing the noise of the crowd to flow over them. Women were out in the streets and the courtyard, calling out the goods they had to trade. Being the beginning of September, most of them had freshly picked vegetables available to trade for whatever they needed, whether it was children’s clothing or medications.

  Finally, Chad let out a gusty breath.

  “You went to the vamp’s territory.”

  Sam couldn’t tell if it was a question or a statement so she kept silent.

  “You don’t deny it?”

  “Why would I?” she asked.

  Sam flinched, hoping Chad hadn’t noticed. As much as she wanted to end her relationship with Chad, she had to remind herself that he was the only man who seemed interested in her. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up living under her father’s roof for the rest of her life, and that was not a very pleasant prospect.

  “I told you I didn’t want you going in there.”

  “It was daytime. There was no threat.”

  “Still, people saw you there. What if they talk?”

  Sam rolled her eyes. Evidently, Chad had been talking with her father. They weren’t worried that she might get hurt while searching for Becky, but that she might cause people to talk about them. Like Chad’s family, her parents were respectable members of the fae community. She might be a pariah within her own clan, but Chad welcomed the connection to her full-blooded parents, just as her parents welcomed a connection with Chad’s family.

  “What if they talk?” she asked in response, trying to point out how ridiculous it all was.

  “Do you really want more people disliking you?” he asked.

  Sam stopped in her tracks, turning to look at her boyfriend. “They already do. There’s nothing I can do to make the clans respect me.”

  “You could at least try,” Chad snapped, drawing the attention of the people around them.

  Before Sam could think of a reply, a voice interrupted them.

  “There a problem here?” the voice asked from behind her.

  Sam bit down on her lips, hesitant to turn and face the attractive mage, especially while she was in the middle of a fight with her boyfriend. Slowly, Sam turned to glare up at Roman.

  To her annoyance, he smiled down at her. From the gleam in his eyes, she knew he was aware of his interruption. In fact, she was pretty sure he had done it on purpose.

  “Who are you?” asked Chad, sounding threatened by the older man’s appearance.

  Sam would never tell Chad that he had good reason to be threatened. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she found the mage attractive.

  Sam nearly burst out laughing at the thought. Mages were the greatest haters of Voids. The very idea of a mage and a Void in a romantic relationship was comical. Besides, Roman lived outside the Res. Sam carefully set her attraction aside. In a day or two, Roman would be gone and she could get her head back in the game, so to speak.

  “Roman Hunt,” he replied, reaching past Sam to shake Chad’s hand.

  “You don’t live in the Res,” Chad said.

  “No. I’m an assistant to Mr. Sterling, the executive of Michigan Plastics. We’re here looking into building more fae-friendly items. Sam, here,” he added, patting her on the arm affectionately, “has been very helpful.”

  Sam took a careful step away from the mage. His touch was making it hard to hold her gift in check.

  “I gave him and his boss a tour yesterday,” she said as she took another step towards Chad.

  “Yes. A very good one, too. How is your hand?” he asked, closing the distance between them and taking her injured hand.

  Roman gently caressed the back of her hand as he examined the burn. His dark eyes glanced up at Chad, making sure the other man was seeing his attention.

  Sam withdrew her hand from his grasp despite the delight she took at feeling his skin against hers. Roman was making trouble and having the time of his life doing it. Sam couldn’t decide if his mischief made her like him more or loath him.

  “How’d you get that?” Chad asked, taking up her injured hand to get a better look at her burn.

  The skin looked even worse than it had the day before after a long day of wringing out cloth diapers. The blisters had burst and pus still leaked from a few of the worse burns. Thankfully, the company had given in to the mystics demands for plastic gloves.

  “Just an accident during the tour. Is there something you need, Mr. Hunt?” she asked as she pulled her hand free yet again.

  “Yes, actually I had a few more questions for you if you have a minute.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Chad cross his arms over his chest and settle into a firm stance. He wasn’t about to leave her alone with another man.

  “Sure. What’s up?” Sam asked, trying her best to keep things polite between the two men.

  Roman’s eyes flicked to Chad’s defensive stance and back on her. She was trying her best to look as though she wanted Chad’s presence. The truth was…she wasn’t sure what the truth was.

  “In private? Mr. Sterling does not want his activities here to be known throughout the Reservation.”

  Sam began to chew on her lip but stopped when the mage’s eyes took in her movement. She glanced in Chad’s direction, taking in his belligerent posture. A small part of her wanted to send him away just to cause trouble. She wasn’t happy with Chad and his egotistical ways. She didn’t like him telling her where to go, and who to associate with, and was perfectly happy to walk away with Roman.

  Thing was, Roman was an issue in of itself.

  “I’ll see ya later, Chad,” she finally said, regretting it the minute the words escaped her lips.

  But Sam wasn’t about to recant her statement. She wouldn’t give Chad the satisfaction, no matter how angry he was with her. Instead, she turned and started walking toward the Res’ entrance. Roman turned too, matching her strides despite his longer legs. Roman glanced over his shoulder, throwing Chad a playful smirk. Sam heard Chad curse as he turned to storm away.

  They walked in silence for a few minutes. Sam could feel Roman’s power, as though he was caressing her naked skin. It aroused and frightened her.

  “So what do you want?” she demanded, trying to distract herself with her own belligerence.

  “Who was that?” Roman asked, ignoring her question.

  “Chad.”

  “And who’s Chad?”

  Sam rolled her eyes. Why did he care? “My boyfriend.”

  “Ahhh,” Roman murmured as if that explained everything. “And he didn’t like where you had gone?”

  “Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”

  Roman shrugged.

  After another moment’s silence, Sam said, “I went into vamp territory. He didn’t like that.”

  Roman smiled as though her explanation amused him. “Why did you do that if you knew your boyfriend wouldn’t approve?”

  “Who’s he to tell me what to do? He’s not my dad,” she grumbled more to herself.

  “True enough.”

  “Why do you care?”

  Again, Roman just shrugged. “And why did you go
into a dangerous part of the Res?”

  Sam hesitated. Roman spoke as though he knew there were enormous dangers inside the walled-in village. Most outsiders assumed every inch was policed and the mystics never hurt each other. Roman knew better.

  “A friend is missing. She lives in that neighborhood.”

  “And you went looking for her?”

  Sam nodded.

  “Even though you were injured.”

  It was a statement, but she nodded all the same.

  Roman came to a sudden stop, forcing her to turn and face him. “Why wouldn’t you take from me when we were at the shipyard?”

  “I already told you. I’m no thief.”

  “So you’ve never taken power before?”

  Sam began chewing on her lip again, only to stop when she noticed him eyeing the movement.

  “That’s what I thought,” he said with another annoying smile.

  “What is it to you?” she asked.

  Once again Roman shrugged. The gesture was growing annoying.

  “Just trying to figure out what sort of person you are. As you yourself said, Voids are rare.”

  “Great,” she mumbled more to herself. “I’m a freakin’ science project.”

  To her exasperation, Roman heard her and laughed.

  “Anything else you want?” she asked, trying to sound sweet rather than ready to scratch his eyes out.

  How could he annoy her and tempt her all at the same time?

  Roman smiled down at her, his lips parting to reveal his white, straight teeth. His dusky brown skin made the white of his teeth stand out. Sam pulled her eyes away from him. If she wasn’t careful she was going to do something incredibly stupid, and she’d already risked her relationship with Chad enough for one day.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow. Will I see you?” he asked.

  Sam shrugged, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

  He smiled again, as though he saw her gesture for what it was.

  “See you tomorrow, then, Void.” With that, he turned and walked away.

  Sam cringed. She didn’t want him—or anyone—to know how much the term hurt her bruised ego.

  Before she could head to her own home, Amber bounced up to her, slipping her hand through Sam’s arm.

  “Was that that Hunt guy?” she asked. “He’s smokin’ hot!”

  Sam rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to be told that. Her eyes and her hormones were screaming it as they watched Roman saunter up to the administration building.

  “An assistant to an executive who’s visiting the Res. I gave them a tour yesterday.”

  Amber made a purring sound. “Want to know what he’s feeling?”

  “Not especially,” replied Sam, trying her best to keep her tone neutral, though, in reality, she was dying of curiosity.

  “We gonna follow up on what Carl told us yesterday?”

  “Sure. Let’s go see Joe.”

  Joe, one of the many drug dealers in the Res, specialized in natural drugs—made from plants only grown by the fae. He was becoming so well-known some said that he had a string of dealers outside the Res. Sam didn’t fully believe the rumors. Joe lived in the same building as Carl, on the top floor.

  Everyone in the Res knew what he did and what he sold—including the feds—but no one really cared. A few drug addicts did little to bring the down the neighborhood. Even the feds only arrested someone if they made a scene while high. Sadly, Becky had pretty bad luck.

  Sam had never taken drugs and had no intention of ever doing so. If she lost control of her gift, very bad things could happen. It wasn’t worth the risk, no matter how much she wanted to check out now and then.

  They reached Joe’s door and paused, looking at each other as though they thought the other one ought to knock. Annoyed with Amber’s hesitancy, Sam pounded on the door loud enough to call a neighbor to the hallway.

  A woman—a werewolf, Sam’s gift told her—glared at them for a moment before shutting and locking her door.

  Finally, Joe came to the door and leaned against its frame. He smiled at them, his eyes only slightly glazed. Sam had spoken with him a couple times. As far as she could tell, Joe was coming down from a high rather than going into one.

  “And what can I do for you lovely ladies?” he asked.

  “Can we come in?” responded Sam.

  Sam heard Amber catch her breath. She didn’t want to go into the drug dealer’s home, but Sam didn’t want to have this discussion in the hallway.

  Joe nodded toward the apartment and turned to lead them in. Amber glared at Sam as they entered, which Sam chose to ignore.

  Joe lived with a rather disreputable woman he called his wife. According to the fae, they were actually married, but that didn’t stop either of them from seeking affection elsewhere. In fact, most of the Res knew his “wife” could be bought.

  Sam considered their arrangement. While she would never resort to prostitution, maybe she could marry Carl and escape her father’s home. Then again, some small part of her still hoped to fall in love. She wasn’t in love with Carl, but she wasn’t in love with Chad either.

  Sam pulled her thoughts to the here and now. Joe was too dangerous to be around with only half her mind on the conversation.

  Joe’s apartment was mostly taken up with tables holding potted plants pushed up against the windows. Joe’s fae gift was in the growth of plants, and he used his gift on a daily basis.

  “Now,” he began, leaning up against the only counter devoid of pots. “What can I do for you two?”

  “Has Becky been to see you lately?”

  “Becky? Becky?” he asked, repeating her name as though he was struggling to remember who they were talking about.

  “Don’t play with us, Joe. You know who we’re talking about.”

  “You should play nice with me, or I won’t return the favor.”

  It was a threat, and Sam knew it, but she could make threats too. She lowered her head and glanced up at him through her lashes.

  “You know who I am and what I can do. Answer the questions or I drain you… and your plants with you. I can kill them all right now. You really want to be without stock for months?”

  It was a complete lie—and had it been a vampire or a werewolf she wouldn’t have tried it—but he didn’t need to know that. If he thought she could hurt him and destroy his plants, he might be more cooperative.

  “I haven’t seen Becky in weeks. Evidently, she was wanting to get pregnant and therefore wanted to get off the stuff,” he said, speaking of his drugs as though they were innocuous herbs.

  Sam could feel Amber looking at her with shock and confusion. Sam was just as confused but she didn’t want Joe to know that.

  “Did Becky tell you who the father would be?” she asked.

  Joe shrugged. “Why would she tell me that? Didn’t make much sense. I thought she was dating Lee. Vamps can’t make babies… not for a lack of trying,” Joe added with a smirk.

  “The mommy tunnel?” Amber whispered.

  Sam ignored her friend. The mommy tunnel was too farfetched for Sam to believe in. It was an escape route supposedly used by fae women who couldn’t get pregnant by their fae husbands. Theoretically, the woman would sneak out into the world, get pregnant by a regular human, and sneak back into the Reservation. Sam had never believed the rumors, but clearly, Becky did.

  “What’s this all about?” Joe asked. “I take it Becky’s missing?”

  Sam nodded.

  “I’d talk to Lee.”

  Sam tried her best not to cringe. It seemed wherever she turned, Lee waited for her.