For a moment, I couldn't see what happened; instead, all I could see was my face. It wasn't like looking in the mirror; it was softer than what I saw. It was my smile, my rolling eyes, the way my jeans hugged my legs. It was me trying my best at martial arts and me practicing magic. Visions of me reading quietly in the library, or me chatting amiably with Peter.
An image of me, lounging at the club, with my black dress stretched across the thickness of my thighs. My lips, smothered in red. There were a lot of other images of me, too, things I knew that Wei had never seen, lusty things...hungry ones. It was me the way Wei saw me, and it was so full of love and lust that I was struck breathless by it.
Then again, maybe that was the cracked ribs.
When my vision finally cleared, I was struck dumb again, but for a completely other reason. The room, which had already been a mess, was a complete wreck. The table was in pieces, shattered as if it had exploded from the inside out. Alan had Dmitri's head in his lap, whispering something soothing in French. A large piece of wood was sticking out of Dmitri's shoulder. Alan jerked as a piece of wood as long as my arm struck him in the back.
It was then that I realized Markus was trying to stake my vampires. Hey. Not cool. Not cool at all. I glanced around and saw Zane, still exhausted and gray around the eyes, leaning heavily against the door frame, doing his best not to be a target.
My eyes landed on Wei. He was bloody again, but his body was moving so fast I could barely see it. His blade was a glimmer of silver as it lashed and struck. Markus, somehow, was keeping up. The blade in his hands was made of magic, invisible until Wei's blade made contact with it, then it would shine.
Markus slammed his hand outward, and Wei went flying across the room. I really hated that trick; it had happened to me too often tonight.
“Hey!” I shouted. Markus' head jerked in my direction. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You are!” he shouted. I don't think I'd ever heard anything so bitter.
“What the heck did I ever do to you?”
His eyes lit up with long swallowed anger. “You were born.” He came after me then. He moved fast, almost vampire fast, which was a lot quicker than I was able to. I stumbled back, and his magic blade cut into the wall to my left. “Everything would have been fine. Connie would have already birthed the child were it not for you.”
I had no idea what he meant by that. As far as I knew, I had done absolutely nothing to disrupt any of that. I hadn't even known it was going on. That was fine though. He could think that. If he kept his attention on me, Wei could make the final strike. I didn't dare look, but I knew it was coming. Wei loved me...he would keep me safe.
“You're nuts.”
“You're worthless!” he spat back.
As far as comebacks go, that one lacked oomph. “Try again.”
“The ritual was almost ready,” he snarled, swinging the blade again. It was a wild swing, and I jumped back, but I wasn't quite fast enough. The invisible blade caught me across the chest, cutting from my hip to my belly button. It did not feel good. It was like the world’s worst razor slicing through my skin. Fire-hot pain ripped through me.
“Hey!” I shouted out. “That's my dress!”
Yeah, that was my biggest thought right then. My priorities are not perfect. He was a little shocked, too. He went totally still with confusion, and that moment was all Wei needed. His blade struck out like a blur of silver and buried itself in Markus' side. He jerked the blade out and slammed it in again. Wei's face was contorted with anger.
“No!” My mother's scream was shrill and unexpected, but not as unexpected as the wave of energy that rolled off of Markus.
“Wei, get Alan!” I yelled. I turned my attention to Dmitri. I did something I hated. I manipulated his body the same way my mom had manipulated mine. If Dmitri hadn't been a vampire, it wouldn't have worked...but I managed to get all of us out of there and into the SUV. I didn't even feel my cut.
I didn't think about anything else, not what the power spilling behind me like a typhoon meant, or where Jenny was, or anything. I just shoved the key still dangling around my neck into the ignition. My necklace broke, and I didn't care. The engine roared to life, and I slammed my bare foot to the gas and shot us out of there.
When I looked into the mirror, my mother was standing on the porch, Markus sagging against her left, Connie, the sister I never knew I had, on her right. I knew this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
THE FINAL
CHAPTER
On the way home, I told them everything that I had found out, and they told me what they knew. Yes, the man I had rescued was Zane. Yes, they knew wizards existed, but they hadn't known that any were here. I heard most of it, but I was tired and worried and I think a little drunk on magic.
“We are The Ordo Hermeticus Fidelis,” Reika explained. “The Order of the Loyal Hermit. An ancient order of magic that has been around for many centuries.”
She said it with real pride, which I thought was kind of strange since she had been so intent on getting the heck out of there. So far as I could tell, the order wasn't very nice. “Didn't seem very hermit-y to me,” I said, remembering the slew of people there.
“We study individually, but practice as a whole. Or at least, we used to before Markus took over as the order’s leader. He...he wants to be worshiped. He ruins what the order ought to be.”
That I could believe. I hadn't known him for very long, fifteen minutes, max, but I got the feeling that Reika was absolutely right. He had the perfect woman on one side and Connie on the other. She was his daughter, Reika told me. I wasn't surprised by that, I had already expected it.
“We aren't bad,” she promised, “We simply believe in the order of magic. That it shouldn't be practiced by just anyone, that you need to earn the right to its power.”
I frowned. “Sounds kinda high-minded to me. Like...classist magic.”
She gave me a look that said I was being stupid. “You can do more with magic than you can with a gun. Do you want everyone in the world to have a gun?”
I didn't have a lot of hard fast rules on the subject of gun control other than 'I don't think bad people should have them.' “That doesn't feel fair,” I finally said. “A gun is just a weapon; its only use is to hurt something. Magic can heal and stuff, too.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. I could see that this was a conversation she'd had before and didn't want to have again. That was fine. I didn't want to have it either. I had a lot to think about. “The Order is afraid that if you, a practitioner of witchcraft, has the child, then that will flavor the magic that the world receives.”
I sighed. “Ah, this isn't the good vs. evil prophecy; this is the law vs. chaos one. Got it.”
“You are strange.”
There was a chorus of laughter from the men. Even Wei. No, I realized, especially Wei. He loved me. I was absolutely sure of that. His slight chuckle was another man's belly laugh. His small flick of interest was equal to my squeal of fangirl delight. He loved me, and I think he had from the beginning.
“You're also bleeding,” Reika said, pointing to my side.
“Shoot,” I said, remembering the cut I had received. That last gush of adrenaline was fading, and with Reika's words, it was disappearing entirely. “Yeah...I am.”
“Pull over,” Wei said. “I will drive.”
I glanced over my shoulder and then pulled off so that we could switch places. He paused long enough to touch my shoulder. His eyes were like black fire inside his handsome face. His hair was a mess. “You did well.”
I felt a strange flutter in my stomach. Maybe it was adrenaline. Yeah, I was going to blame that. I cleared my throat and nodded before taking a spot next to Alan. His arm went around my shoulders and I took it for the comfort that he intended it to be. Dmitri, who I knew he cared about, was laying across the seat with his head in Alan's lap.
“So,” Alan said, “this changes things.”
“Changes what?�
�� I asked.
“You need to choose your partner,” Wei said from the front seat. “And you need to choose now.”
Oh, right. That....
To Be Continued.....
* * *
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