The spell missed her and crashed into one of the tall shelves behind her. The shelf toppled and crashed to the floor. Then she threw her hand out mirroring Gabe’s action. The spell caught him square in the chest, and he was thrown back on his ass, dangerously near to the fire. Han who could do nothing to help Rowena, as she flailed on the floor in desperation.
Rowena ran to Gabe and once again threw her hand out to him. Golden colored magic dust flew towards Gabe. Before he had a chance to close his eyes, the dust was in them, and he started desperately rubbing at them with the heels of his palms and his arm, crying out loud like an animal who has just lost his prey.
Rowena threw both her hands out next and made the remaining shelves cash to the floor. She then grabbed Han by the collar and half dragged half helped walk towards the fallen shelves. Once behind she pulled out the gag from his mouth and cut the rope tying his hands with her knife. Once his hands were free Han took the knife from her and cut the rope binding his feet.
“Han…what happened? Why did you let him gag you?”
“At first he took me by surprise. Then he made me drink something that has made my magic ineffective.”
“Your magic is gone?” she asked in a whisper kneeling beside him on the ground, hiding, exchanging notes.
“No, not gone. It's still there, I can feel it in me. But I am not able to use it.”
“Han the others are on their way,” she said
“Ro, there is no time. Gabe is onto something very very dangerous. He is performing magic that is not only dark but also forbidden. His powers are beyond any of ours. We have to be careful. The only thing that can stop him are the chimes.”
That was when Gabe turned the corner of the heap of debris and came face to face with his two friends. Without wasting an instant, he threw both his hands out and Han was thrown a few feet back. He hit hard against the corner of one of the shelves and went limp on the ground.
He turned to Rowena next who was so terrified she could hardly move. It was Gabe. Gabe who always took care of her. Who always stood up for her. She could not believe what she was seeing.
As he advanced on to her, Rowena pushed herself back till she came against the back wall of the pharmacy. There was no escape, she had nowhere to go. Determined to fight it out Rowena scrambled up to her feet. She threw both her hands in Gabe’s direction.
But this time he was faster. He had his hand extended in front of him, his fingers formed in a claw shape. Rowena suddenly felt as if her magic was being bound. She could move her limbs and remembered her spells, but she could not throw them. She felt frustrated like a person who would suddenly go blind.
Gabe took his time to tie up her hands and feet together. He repeated the process on Han. Then he dragged the two of them, one after the other near the hearth where the fire was burning more intensely now.
On the floor in front of the hearth, Gabe had already drawn the ancient magical symbol. A triangle inside of a circle, the three points of the triangle touching the periphery of the circle.
He deposited the unconscious body of Han over one corner of the triangle and Rowena on the other.
“Why Gabe? Why are you doing this?”
Gabe looked down at her with loathing, an expression Rowena had never seen on his face, at least not directed at her and her stomach roiled with that one look.
“Don’t you remember why Rowena? Don’t you really? You were there that day love. I told you.”
Rowena did not need to be told what day he was talking about. It had happened seven years back, but Rowena remembered every detail of it. She had run to the library. They had told her that there had been a fire and that her mother and Gabe’s were both in there. When Rowena reached the place she saw a group of little children being herded out of the library.
Somebody said something about the two women and the boy being still inside and Rowena dashed inside heedless of the screams and cries directed at her. As she reached the huge main hall of the library, she saw the three of them. Gabe, his mother, and hers. The two women saw her and at once started screaming for her to return.
There was a circle with a triangle in it on the floor that day too. Gabe had his hands outstretched, pointed at the two women. There had been something wrong with the picture then. And in a flash of understanding, Rowena now understood what it had been. They had been standing on two angles of the triangle just like Han and her. Gabe had been standing in the center of the circle doing his magic.
Rowena had always wondered why the two women were not trying to help themselves to get out. If Gabe could perform magic to save them so could they. But they had been standing there helpless. Now she knew why. Gabe had already taken their powers.
Right then the tall beam from the library ceiling had crashed to the floor putting the two women on the inner side of the fire and Gabe and Rowena on the outer. That was when Gabe had made his promise.
“Don’t worry.” He had shouted to the two women before their bodies, and their cries disappeared into the monstrous licks of the fire. “I will take care of her.”
Then turning to Rowena Gabe had taken her face into his hands and spoken to her looking right into her eyes.
“I had to let them go Rowena. My power was not enough. I needed more.”
Chapter Twenty
Rowena had always thought what Gabe had meant was that he had to stop his efforts to save them because he did not have enough power. Whereas what he had told her was that he had stripped them of their powers because he needed to more powerful.
He had been watching her closely as the memories played out in her mind. When the twinkle of understanding came to her eyes, he said.
“I thought you would know, the minute you saw the magic symbol on the floor. I told you the truth too. I thought I would keep you if you accepted who I was or kill you if you decided to create trouble. But gave you a chance. But you fell unconscious into my arms right there. I carried you out. I was the hero. I knew the minute you woke up it would all change. But can you believe my luck, Ro? You had completely misinterpreted my words. Even when you had seen everything in front of your eyes, you have not understood.
“Because I trusted you.” She screamed then at him.
But I trust no one. I trust only my power. I killed them to get more of it. And I will kill the two of you to gain still more. Poor Han. He never entirely trusted me, but he never suspected me directly either. He trusted in you. Another fool. Just like his mother.
Rowena quickly looked up then. Disgust and loathing dripped from her expression.
“Laila? You killed her too?”
Gabe laughed out loud.
“Poor Laila. She was my first victim. I carried it out so quickly and swiftly. But I had to wait for years before I took the power from the other two. And now with your powers merging with mine, I am going to be invincible. The greatest wizard of all times.” Once again he laughed that dirty laugh and his whole body shook with it.
That was when there was a crash at the front door. The single glass sheet of the front door shattered and a man’s silhouette flew in through it. It was Eli. He had covered his face with his hands to save it from the breaking glass. He crashed to the floor with the rest of the glass but quickly regained his footing.
“Eli… watch out…it's Gabe…He has hurt Han. He is taking our powers.” She cried, giving as much info as possible before Gabe swiftly pushed a gag in her mouth just like Han.
“We know all you have been up to Gabe. I have truckloads of evidence against you.” Eli said pointing his service weapon at Gabe.
“You don’t have shit against me, Eli.”
“All those people you visited in New York. Some of them mysteriously turned up dead right after you visit them. We know all about you. I have been gathering evidence against you for years. Drop this madness and come quietly, before this goes too far.” Eli said in his steady cop tone, not once taking his gaze from Gabe.
Rowena felt like a fool. It seemed like everybody kn
ew what Gabe had been up to except her, and she being the one person he had confessed all of it to. Tears ran down her cheeks as she saw the two men she had loved the most fighting to kill each other.
But Eli was not strong enough. She could hear his wheeze and so could Gabe. The predator in him was feeding on that weakness she could feel it. And then he attacked. A series of curses flew from Gabe’s outstretched hand towards Eli. The gun flew from his hands and landed straight into the fire. His hands and legs were tied up just like Rowena’s and Han’s. But Eli had used magic to tie him up instead of doing it himself.
He then dragged Eli to the third corner of the triangle and left him there.
“This must be my lucky day. I get to complete the triangle.” He said smiling wickedly at Eli. Rowena knew what that meant. Completing the triangle meant his magic would be that much more powerful. But she was confused, Eli had no magic, and surely Gabe knew it. So how could he be used to complete the triangle? As if on cue Gabe walked up to the tied-up bundle that was Eli and said.
“You have no magic of course. But you do have something I need. You have that power of shielding from magic. It's evil power. I can feel it inside you. I need that power.” He said and kicked Eli hard in his gut with his strong boot. A gurgle of blood had gushed out of Eli’s mouth. Rowena screamed silently behind her gag.
Once again Gabe stood in the middle of the circle and outstretched his hands towards Eli. Waves of faint blue light drove out from Eli’s body and went into Gabe’s through his extended hands. Eli screamed in pain, Gabe too felt the agonizing pain as the two of them were now joint together, but he withstood it. Taking someone’s power was not an easy task. He had done it thrice before, and he knew it was painful for the taker as well.
It went on and on for what seemed to be ions, whereas, in fact, it had not been more than a few minutes since Eli had jumped in. Rowena thrashed in her place on the ground trying all she could to distract Gabe so he would let Eli go. Finally, she heard Eli give out an exhausted sigh and go limp in his place.
Tears ran down Rowena’s face. She knew Gabe must not have spared him any chance of recovery. He must have sucked out all life possible from Eli. She was now sure what she saw in front of her was the lifeless body of the one man she had loved the most. She remembered what Eli had said to the others back at Han’s house. He was their scapegoat, the guy who would take the fall if things went south.
***
The tests took only an hour and a half. The doctors assured them that the reports would be ready by mid-afternoon. So, Rowena, Han, and Eli went into town, watched a silly movie, had a leisurely lunch then went to the central park to feed the ducks.
“I will never truly believe that Gabe betrayed us like that,” Rowena said throwing crumbs into the water. Han and Eli had been sitting on a bench just behind her. Han now got up and stood next to her.
“It was hard for me as well Ro.”
“You have suspected him for a long time now, haven’t you Han?” Rowena asked
“Yes, I have. He had made some trips to New York in the last couple of years, and never told me he was in town. Twice I happened upon him by chance. That was when I began to suspect. I wondered why he was coming to town and never meeting me. “
“He was obviously on the prowl, killing people with the gift and taking their powers.” Rowena put in, and Han nodded.
“Also the trips I made back east, to my grandfathers taught me a lot. I began to wonder about the circumstances in which your mother and Gabe’s died. I spoke at length with my grandfather. He had the gift you know. It was during those talks that I started realizing that the scanty descriptions you gave of that night all pointed towards dark magic.” When Ro didn’t say anything, Han continued.
“When you were unconscious back there, he confessed to having killed Lyla. Did you know about that?” Han nodded. He confessed to having killed all three of them before he gagged me and took my powers. Anyway, I had been suspecting it for quite some time now. I knew he was dangerous. I was beginning to get worried about you.
And that is why I sent Eli to Azmin Creek. To keep an eye on you till I could get all the evidence
“What a fool I was. He told me to my face, and I never understood.”
“You trusted him, Ro. I know he was the nearest thing you had to family. You spent a lot of time with him. But I want you to know that I am there for you whenever you want me.
“You went away, Han. And you will go away again. And …” she wanted to say so will Eli but could not bring herself to say it. Eli’s condition had worsened after the night of the blood moon.
Rowena threw more crumbs to the ducks thinking back to that fateful night. Soon after Gabe had drained Eli of his power; he had turned to Rowena. But as he continued to draw upon her power Rowena had suddenly felt a weakness in him. She had put all her power into that one thought and attacked Gabe. The thin amorphous streak of blue that had connected had broken with her effort, and Gabe had toppled over his back into the hearth. His screams had echoed through the walls of the pharmacy as Brad, and his men had arrived in time to take Eli and Han to the ER. Had had quickly recovered as all he had had was a concussion. But Eli had been in bed for two days. Rowena had given him his medicines on time and kept him afloat. But it clear that his time was fast approaching.
Han had stayed along for a couple of days, and he drove them over to Raleigh for the tests on Friday morning. Looking at Eli’s condition they had decided not to wait till Saturday. When Sue had greeted them that morning, she had given Eli the most compassionate and reassuring smile. But not before Rowena had caught that look of hopeless doom in her eyes.
Now as she stood looking at the little pond the ducks blurred, and an unknown gloom settled in her tummy. She could barely hear Han’s phone ringing behind her and him answering.
“It was Sue.” He said “We need to go. The reports are ready.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Rowena’s eyes fluttered open. The bedroom window was a large glass panel that gave a breathtaking view of the traffic twenty stories below. She looked down lazily at the little lights moving in opposite directions. Traffic on the streets of New York never ceased. Not even at midnight.
But she loved the traffic, the busy life, her job as a lecturer at NYU, her new house. But above all, she loved her husband. Eli moved slightly, groaning in disapproval as she tried to move away. Some old habits die hard, and Rowena had not yet overcome her habit of waking up at the crack of dawn. Against Eli’s vigorous protests she would wake up early and spend a few hours in the small study he had given her as a wedding gift. It was an exact replica of her workshop back in Azmin Creek. When Rowena had left Azmin Creek with Eli, she had left behind every little thing that connected her to the craft. She felt that magic had given her pain, orphaned her and nearly killed the man she loved.
But Eli knew her more than she knew herself. He knew that severing all ties with magic would never keep her happy. Besides, he said that magic was what had brought them both together. While they were on their one week honeymoon in Scotland, where Eli’s parents lived, he had had Han transfer all her things here and arrange her study exactly as it had been back home. Rowena had cried for days just with the memory of what he had done for her.
Now as she tried to wiggle out of bed, the strong sinuous hand that lay across her belly, pulled her back, spooning her tightly to his strong, lithe body.
“Trying to escape witch?” he said his voice drowsy with sleep.
“Looks like no one can escape from a top shot cop,” she said teasingly
He just grumbled something then feathered his long wiry fingers on the soft flesh on the inside of her thigh. Rowena let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. Gabe drew her closer then slipped his fingers up between her thighs into her warm, soft womanhood. This time she gasped then let out a ragged breath.
Eli smiled. Even after three months of marriage she still gasped at his touch down there. Slowly he started turning his fingers o
ver her sensitive nub in slow torturous circles. She came shuddering into his arms, and her soft body arched up to meet his. Eli quickly took one pink nipple into his mouth, drawing on it hard while he his hand started building the tension in her core a second time. This time she moaned out his name as she convulsed to release.
Allowing her no reprieve Eli pulled her over his taught body and positioned her hips over his swollen manhood, propping her up on his tummy facing him.
“Look at me love,” he said as shivering with anticipation Rowena descended slowly upon him. When he was sheathed inside her to the hilt, he started moving under her in slow circles. Rowena grasped the tempo and wanting more, rode him going faster and faster, her head thrown back, her beautiful slim body arched like a bow.
Eli roved his hands over her breasts, her tummy then slipped them under her hips pulling them apart, making more space for both of them. Rowena keened with the volcano of sensations that was building inside her threatening to burst.
When she finally climaxed, she cried his name out loud while he poured his seed into her. Then he gently laid her down next to him and presses his lips to hers. Rowena could only lay there sated and fulfilled in the love this man so generously bestowed upon her.
Much later as Eli poured over the Sunday newspaper and Rowena made pancakes the doorbell rang.
“Hey, buddy,” Eli said welcoming Han who followed him into the kitchen with an unmistakable hang dog look.
“I wanted to have a decent Sunday breakfast. So I just came along.”
“Hey, I just hate those Sunday breakfast crashers. Don’t you have a wife of your own to make you a good breakfast?” Eli chided
“She had to go off last night for an emergency case. She won't be back until noon.” Han said settling down at the table and pouring himself a generous glass of orange juice.
Rowena placed a plate of pancakes dripping in butter and blueberry conserve in front of him.
“Hey, I am the man of this house. I should have got a plate before him” Eli complained
The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance Page 31