Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Oh, come on, Chris?” Valerie said. “Can’t you see the humor in this?”

  I slid my gaze to Steve and he was silently laughing so hard his face was red. “Fuck you,” I whispered and he pointed his finger at me, the admonishment for my language lost in his laughter.

  “What’d I miss?” Raven asked stepping into the family room.

  “CJ thought he’d be all cool and cocky until he opened his soda and it sprayed all over him,” Steve said, his laughter winding down.

  Raven smiled, but God bless her, she didn’t laugh.

  “It’s really okay to laugh,” I said. “It was funny.”

  “I won’t laugh at your sad attempt to woo the girl,” she said waving toward Valerie and as only Raven can, she silenced the room for exactly three heartbeats, and then laughter erupted.

  As for me, I ducked down farther into the couch, wishing like hell I could disappear. Valerie came into view and I met her gaze when she squatted in front of me.

  “What?”

  She smirked and raised an eyebrow. Do I have to go get some rope?

  The question resounded in my head and I clamped my lips together against a smirk. Maybe. I sent the thought back and received an all out grin.

  “Want to go grab something to eat?” she asked me directly and my smile faded.

  “When Damian gets back, I’d love to go grab some food with you.” My gaze flicked to the sliders and back and her smile disappeared.

  “We’re never going to be safe, are we?” Naomi asked.

  I turned and stared at Naomi. “I don’t know, but you’re a hell of a lot more prepared now than you were before you met us.”

  “What about me?” Valerie said.

  “It’s my personal mission in life to make sure you’re safe,” I said.

  “Now that’s how you woo a girl,” Raven said pointing at me.

  I glanced up at her in the darkest way possible, broadcasting just by way of my expression, for her to shut the hell up. She chuckled and disappeared into the workout room to find her husband. My quiet and borderline boring home had now become a mecca of activity and I just wanted the quiet back.

  As if reading my mind, the three babies started crying all at once.

  “For the love of...” I didn’t finish the sentence; instead I trudged up to my room and closed the door, throwing myself on my neatly made bed.

  The creak of the door interrupted my mope and I turned, staring at the last person I wanted to see. Valerie shut the door and crossed, taking a seat next to me and I turned my head toward the wall. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing my full blown irritation.

  “What you said was really sweet.”

  I grunted my response.

  “I’m not very good at this dating thing,” she admitted and I rolled to my side, facing her and propping myself up on my elbow.

  “I obviously suck at it,” I said.

  “Not really. It’s quite entertaining.” She smiled in that emboldened way that made me want to strip her down again.

  “You do realize when you smile at me like that, I just want to rip your clothes off.”

  She shrugged. “You’ve only known me for less than a day.”

  “I’m aware of that, but the memory sharing shit makes it seem like I’ve known you all my life.” I reached up and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Which is kind of a mind fuck, you know?”

  “A big time mind fuck,” she agreed. “Especially since I think love at first sight is a crock of shit.”

  We stared at each other for a moment and then her words sank in. “I wasn’t a believer either. Sandy and I pretty much knew each other since we were born and at first she annoyed the hell out of me, but then my father died and she was there and for the first time I saw her as an individual and not as Uncle Danny’s annoying kid.”

  Her brow creased and I gave her the time to inspect my memories. When she made the correct connections that told her he was only an Uncle by name and not relations, her features relaxed.

  “I know, weird as hell, but we always called him Uncle Danny. I don’t think my mother knew how to explain all the connections she had before my Dad.”

  “She hurt you,” Valerie said and threaded her fingers through mine.

  “Yes. And I did not handle it well.” I sighed. “I’m still not handling things well.”

  “You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure it out.” She gave me a smirk and I squeezed her hand.

  “You know...”

  “I know. You’re a genius and you’re richer than god and you’ve got mega-freaky powers that could blow this earth to bits as easily as you dispatched of those vampires. But here’s the thing, I really don’t care about those things.”

  I opened my mouth and she put her finger over my lips, stopping my retort.

  “What I do care about is how you treat others. How you conduct yourself in life. Why do you think I went to medical school?”

  “To help kids,” I said. I didn’t need to search her memories for answers. I had already taken a long look while night crawled into dawn.

  “So, let me ask you a question. Besides teaching Karate class once a week, what exactly do you want to do with your life?”

  I stared at her and shrugged. I had no clue of what I wanted to do. I had a computer science degree and tooled around putting together video games for giggles, but nothing serious and she was right. I had more money than I knew what to do with and Tom and Raven could have moved out a long time ago but this was home and the only remaining connection Tom had to our parents.

  They had discussed moving into the house on Nubble Road when the current lease ran out, but that wasn’t for another four months and Steve and Jen hadn’t broached the subject about moving to either New York or their place in New Hampshire. I think they were waiting until Sandy and I got married.

  “I will figure something out.” I didn’t want to discuss what my future held. I kind of liked doing what I wanted, when I wanted. But I also love teaching the little kids how to defend themselves. “Maybe I’ll increase the number of classes I teach,” I added.

  Her eyes pierced through me and without speaking, she passed judgment on me.

  “I told you, I’m not an angel.”

  “I know, but you could do so much with your gifts,” she started and I shut her down.

  “If word ever got out, you think I’d ever be safe? You think governments would allow me to roam free?” I shook my head. “They’d hunt me down with the hopes of locking me up until I agreed to become their weapon of mass destruction. If you think it’s bad running from demons and vampires, try adding the vilest of humans to that list.”

  Her face paled as the realization came to her. The reality that her power was not for general public consumption hit and with it, the hopes of healing the world crashed and burned.

  “If you decide to help someone, you can’t blatantly do it. Take a look at Steve’s memories, on how he used the healing power. Granted, he wasn’t a doctor, but he did save a few people in his stint as an FBI agent.”

  “But...” she started and closed her mouth. Her mind filtered to a scene from a movie she once watched where hordes of people bombarded a famed healer. “I’d become a sideshow trick, wouldn’t I?”

  I nodded and she hung her head. “I just want to help sick kids.”

  I hooked my finger under her chin and forced her to look at me. “You still can, you just have to use medicine unless the only way to save them is by using the power.”

  “Assuming I still have it,” she said and I grinned.

  “I think it’s probably safe to assume you’ll have it for a while.” I pushed myself up and pulled her into a gentle kiss. When the kiss broke the colors in her eyes swirled, slowing and settling as the air cooled between us.

  “You really do know how to fuck with my mind,” she said.

  “I love it when you talk dirty,” I purred, wrapping my arms around her waist and shifting her onto her
back. “Now, I think you may have mentioned... bondage?”

  She laughed and wrapped her hands around my wrists and spread her arms wide. I surrendered and let her hold my arms in place. I found the curve of her neck and nibbled. She giggled under me and I slid my gaze from her throat to her eyes. My playfulness faded, replaced by the certainty that she would be beyond fantastic in bed.

  Her cheeks bloomed and she smiled at me. “I’d be the best you ever had,” she said.

  I thought about the wild drug induced sex fest of the last few days and raised an eyebrow.

  “I’d still be the best,” she said but this time the conviction waned.

  “I’m thinking you’re full of shit,” I said, twisting my arms from her grip and wrapped them around her. “Remember, I have all your memories,” I whispered in her ear. “My little virgin girl.”

  I pulled back and grinned.

  Her smile faltered. “You knew?” she asked and then she rolled her eyes. “Of course you knew.”

  “Yes. I knew. And I could have been an insensitive bastard last night, too, but I’m not. I was never like Tom, or my father, for that matter.” I pecked her lips and propped up on my elbows. “Although, I did go to Jenna’s houses for some action. I just didn’t expect the triplets from hell and I can’t lie, the physical side of the equation was out of this world, but it wasn’t worth the shitty feeling the next day.”

  “The walk of shame?”

  “Yep. Sucks,” I said and slid off her, propping up on my elbow again.

  “You don’t think I’m a freak for...”

  I shook my head before she finished. “You had your reasons, and I respect that.”

  She stared at me for a while and did a pretty good job at blocking her thoughts.

  “I don’t understand how she could let you go?”

  “Sandy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I think it was a couple of things. Distance being one and her father being the other driver. You see, her father hated my father. I can’t really blame him, either. My father was diabolical in his younger years until he kidnapped my mother.” I sighed and fell on my back, staring at the ceiling. “My dad did some pretty messed up things and it poisoned Sandy’s father’s opinion of me. He tolerated me until he caught us in bed together. Ironically, that was our first time.”

  She chuckled scanning over the memory. “You are so lucky he didn’t own a gun.”

  “I know.” I couldn’t help but smile. Sandy’s father had had one major conniption. I propped myself up and stared at Valerie. “Damian has a gun. Am I going to have to worry about him popping a cap in my ass?”

  “Are you planning on popping my cherry?” she asked, an impish glint danced in her eyes.

  I laughed. “I think that may be a distinct possibility.”

  “Then I think you’ll have to battle Damian for my honor.” She batted her eyes at me and grinned like the Cheshire cat, just as the door swung open.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Speak of the devil,” I said and his nostrils flared. Damian had a protective streak a mile wide where Valerie was concerned and seeing her in a nearly compromising position didn’t help my case.

  “Get off her,” he growled.

  “I’m not ‘on’ her,” I countered and when she went to get up, I pressed my hand to her shoulder, holding her in place. I glanced at her. “Do you want to get up?”

  Her eyes darted to Damian and she shrugged. “It might be best.”

  I lifted my hand and let her go. As soon as she was out the door, I sat up and leveled a glare at Damian. “I wasn’t doing anything with her.”

  “Damned right,” he said.

  His macho, high-and-mighty attitude needed to be taken down a few pegs and I hopped to my feet. “If I was, there isn’t a god damned thing you could do about it.”

  Damian stepped farther into the room and closed the door behind him before turning towards me. Aggravation tensed the muscles in his jaw and narrowed both his eyes and lips.

  “You’re crossing a line,” he growled and I grinned.

  “And here I thought you’d breathe a sigh of relief, considering your massive insecurities where your wife is concerned.” I knew I was poking the bear, but I needed some release for the building anger inside me. And who better to take it out on than someone on an equal plane.

  The mental shove came and I stepped back, catching myself in ready stance. “You don’t really want to wage that kind of war with me.” I warned. If I let go on that front, I’m not sure if anyone would be left standing and Damian reconsidered.

  He glanced around the room and then directly at me. “Back yard,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “After you,” I waved at the door.

  He hesitated a moment and then turned and I followed. It was going to feel real good pummeling the shit out of him. He sent a glare over his shoulder as he rounded the corner and with a sweep of his hand, the sliders opened. We passed by the rest of the family, leaving them staring with slack jaws.

  I closed the door behind me in the same manner he opened it. The patio bricks were cold on my bare feet and the air settled a chill over me. Damian slipped off his shoes, tossing them by the lounge chairs and turned on me.

  I shifted to the ready, waving him in like I had the vampires the night before. His face turned red and he stepped forward taking on the same form. When his face transformed into a grin, I had a second to wonder if this was a wise decision.

  I could almost hear my father saying “Hajime!” and we both stepped into the ring. With my thoughts blocked, I let myself react. Damian threw a punch and I parried, stepping in and pulling him off balance. He recovered in time to counter my foot sweep and he spun out of my hold. His foot came around and before I could block it, he connected with my abdomen, sucking the air from my lungs and knocking me on my ass.

  I scrambled to my feet, forcing my breath in slowly, ignoring the throbbing pain in my diaphragm. He didn’t let me catch my breath and launched into his next attack and damned if he wasn’t fast. I blocked nearly everything and finally an opportunity presented itself and I hooked his arm, rolling him over my hip and onto his back, and I remembered to let go instead of protecting him like I would have in the dojo. His breath escaped in an ‘oaf’ as he hit the slate square, his head bouncing on the hard stone before he could stop it.

  His daze only lasted a moment and he sat up, climbing to his feet. He glanced at the sliders, at the audience I knew was there but refused to focus on and that was a grave mistake. I spun and my foot connected with his chest, knocking him on his back. This time he didn’t get up right away, he blinked and wheezed, staring at the sky before his gaze traveled to me.

  “Shit,” he coughed and rolled onto his knees, slowly getting to his feet. “That’s going to leave a bruise,” he said.

  “Never. Ever. Take your eyes off your sparring partner.” I pointed at him. “First fucking rule, dude. First fucking rule.” I gave a quick bow and started to walk away. I had the benefit of the reflection on the glass, so when he launched his next attack, I got the drop on him, ducking under his kick and sweeping his leg out from under him.

  I hopped to my feet and stared down at him with enough distance between us to counter any strike he attempted.

  “Are you done yet?” I asked, knowing just how frustrated he was. After all, I was just this twenty-one year old kid and he was closer to three thousand years old.

  “You need to stay away from Valerie,” he said from his position on the ground.

  I laughed and the door behind me opened.

  “Are you two done with your testosterone contest?”

  I didn’t turn towards Valerie, not with Damian still in fight mode. When her hand landed on my arm, I met her gaze.

  “Enough,” she said and I relaxed, dropping my hands to my sides.

  Damian got to his feet and I bowed out, turning and heading back inside, leaving her to deal with him. As I passed
Steve, I got a nod of approval, which meant I did well on my forms. It meant a lot coming from him, since he picked up teaching Tom and me when my father died.

  I knew Damian had studied several different arts under some of the most talented masters over the millenniums, but he’d never studied under my mentors.

  Chapter 15

  I leaned against the wall with the silent vibrating square in my hand, waiting for it to light up and announce a table was available. I glanced at the gorgeous brunette sitting on the bench, her calico eyes scanning the crowd like she expected an assassin to jump out. I leaned close to her ear.

  “I promise, you’re safe tonight.”

  Valerie met my gaze and offered a tight smile.

  “I promise.”

  The second time seemed to ease her mind a little and the stress in her shoulders relaxed.

  “How’d you convince him to let us go out alone?”

  Her lips stretched into a smile. “I told him it was his turn to man up. You stood watch last night and deserved some down time. When he argued about you having enough downtime, I said I wanted dinner and you had offered.”

  “So you basically told him he had no choice.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “I’m sure he wasn’t happy,” I said and focused on the crowd again. The unit in my hand buzzed and I showed her. “Our table,” I added and waited for her to stand and gather her coat and purse before approaching the hostess.

  When we were seated, Valerie sighed. “I don’t want to be your rebound.”

  The softness in her voice tore at my chest. I damned well didn’t want that and instead of agreeing, I focused on the wood grains in the table, questioning my intentions. This was all conveniently placed in my lap at a time when I needed something to lift me up out of the hurt and anger.

  Was I using her to get back on my feet?

  After all, that’s the definition of rebound. I met her gaze and blew out my breath.

  “Then maybe we should just start as friends,” I said.

  She stared at me, her lips pouting as she turned over my response. “What if we are incapable of just being friends?”

  “By we, you mean me?” I pointed at my chest and raised my eyebrows.