Magic Currents (Cursed Angel Collection)

by Jayne Faith

  I compromised by reaching down to untie my boots. A stab of regret pierced through me as I let them sink. Shoes were expensive, and I couldn’t afford another pair, but that was the least of my worries.

  An electric crackle zipped through the air from above and water exploded and sizzled right in front of my face. Currents of electricity rode through me, and every muscle in my body went rigid for a terrifying moment. When my muscles released, I kicked up to grab a lungful of air and glanced up just long enough to see the Sorcerer at the window, hurling more lightning magic down at me.

  I flipped head-down and dove, using magic to create currents to push me down and then laterally. I pinched my eyelids closed against the salty water streaming across my face and focused on holding my breath. I needed to get out of view of the Sorcerer. Lightning magic conducted through water, but only over a very short distance. If he couldn’t see me, he wouldn’t know where to aim. Using my magical senses, I kept high enough to avoid scraping the seafloor, but low enough that I hoped I’d be out of sight.

  Suddenly I caught the sense of movement. A huge, sinuous creature was coming at me. It was the Black Rock sea serpent.

  My lungs were about to burst, so I had to surface. My head popped into the air, and I let my chest heave for a moment, sucking in grateful gulps. I had rounded the pier into a deep part of the Harbor, where I could hide from direct view of the Watchtower. The fishing boats were all out to sea for the day, and the red mist that bordered The Colony sat on the water beyond the estuary to the left and well behind Black Rock straight out from land.

  I reached out to connect with the sea snake. In my mind I whispered words of gratitude for the time it had saved me, hoping that we were still friends. I didn’t sense any malice, so I released my magic and treaded water, resting for a moment while the serpent made its way toward me. I sensed its question of my panic. I mentally replayed the scene of myself jumping from the Watchtower, and the Sorcerer trying to blast me with lightning magic.

  The serpent’s mood seemed to darken when I got to the part about the Sorcerer. The creature was still coming toward me, and although I knew it meant me no harm, I didn’t want it to accidentally terrorize the fishermen. I sent the creature my intention to go to the opening of the estuary, and a warning to stay out of sight of the boats.

  As I formed currents to carry me to the estuary, I agonized over Lorenzo. I’d sent Amy and Dane’s comrade to tell Eduardo to go get the angel and tell him where I was. But now I was miles away. It was like one of those games where you draw the wrong card and get sent back to the beginning. If Amy had managed to free the women from the House of Light, the Hunters would just round them up again. Everything was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do next.

  I pushed magic into the water and raised myself up to the little ledge on the cliff where I’d come so many times before. Standing there in my bare feet, I let water stream off my sopping clothes. It was midday and the sun was strong overhead, but I was so spent and waterlogged I began to shiver. Staring numbly out at the sea, I wrung out my tangled hair.

  Shells, my plan had gone up in smoke.

  “You just going to stand there, girlie?”

  The voice from above made me jump so badly I hit the back of my head against the rock of the cliff. Rubbing the sore spot, I looked up to see Lorenzo peering at me.

  “Come on, now.” He extended his arm to me. “We’ve got a curse to break.”

  My eyes teared a little with relief as a tired grin widened the corners of my mouth. I grasped his arm, and he hauled me up. I never imagined I would be so glad to see the foul-mouthed angel.

  “How did you know I was here?” I asked.

  “Saw you jump, and I figured if you weren’t dead, you’d go to a familiar, safe place.”

  I shook my head. “It was a disaster. Everything that could go wrong did.”

  “Where’s the glass vial?” he demanded.

  He started to reach for one of the side seams of my skirt, presumably to rummage around for a pocket. I batted his hand away.

  “It’s right here, and I’ll get it,” I said. Still dripping, I found to my great relief that the pouch was still there. I opened it and fished out the tiny corked bottle.

  Lorenzo grabbed it from me and held it close to his face, turning it over and over as if it were the most precious jewel in the world.

  As I watched his strange antics, I used a weak tendril of magic to push water from my hair and out of the fibers of my clothes, sending it streaming down to puddle around my bare feet. Even that small act made me sway a little with exhaustion.

  “Eh, you should have trusted me,” he said, waggling his index finger at me. He slipped the vial into the breast pocket of his shirt.

  I planted my hands on my hips. “You should have trusted me. Or at least respected my desire to save the lives of the innocent.”

  He beckoned impatiently. “We don’t have time to stand here and argue.”

  He started walking at a fast clip, and I ran to catch up. When my heel landed on a sharp rock, I let out a squeak and held my foot up, hopping.

  Lorenzo looked back at me, his face pinched with annoyance, and he let out a long string of curses. He took a wide stance and squatted down partway.

  “We need to move quickly,” he said. “Jump on.”

  Grumbling and feeling ridiculous, I did as he asked. How had I ended up bootless and hitching a piggyback ride from an angel?

  When we circled the dump, I had a view of the Watchtower’s spire. It was distant, but I felt jittery and exposed, as if the Sorcerer was standing up there watching me, waiting until I was within range so he could strike me down with lightning magic.

  “Where will we go?” I asked. “There are probably a hundred Hunters scouring the shore for me. Or my corpse.”

  Thoughts of my girls popped into my mind, and my heart clenched for a moment. But I’d left Nadia in charge, and they’d be fine on their own for a while longer. I fervently hoped the Watchtower wouldn’t storm the flat looking for me. I wished I could have sent someone else to watch over them, but everyone I trusted was either a captive of the Watchtower or trying to save the women in the House of Light.

  “You’re right. We’ll have to hide,” Lorenzo said. “But only long enough for you to recover. Then we go back in and break that farking curse once and for all.”

  “Did Amy manage to free the witches from the House of Light?” I asked.

  “No idea,” he said shortly. “I was on my way to the Watchtower when I saw you take a leap into the sea, after which I went to the estuary.”

  I sighed loudly. Could he be any less helpful?

  “We are saving the Hunters,” I said. “And I don’t care what you think about it.”

  My entire body jolted. Dane. I’d nearly forgotten that I’d left him there in the Watchtower, no longer under the spell, but not free. I had no idea if the Sorcerer could detect that Dane’s mind was now free. With any luck, he’d slipped by and had found his way out of the Watchtower.

  “You’re a real stubborn wench, sweetie,” Lorenzo grumbled.

  But he didn’t argue. In spite of his insult, I felt a grin spreading across my face. I bit my lip to try to hold it back, even though he couldn’t see my face, for fear he’d change his mind.

  “You might as well tell me now,” I said.

  “Tell you what?”

  “Exactly how we’re going to break the curse. Time has run out. If you don’t trust me now, you never will.”

  “And the demands continue,” he said irritably.

  I just waited, knowing I was right and he’d have to give in.

  “You don’t deserve it, after what you pulled, stealing things from my flat,” he said. “That was downright stupid of you.”

  “It was wrong to steal,” I said quietly. I was trying to sound more contrite than I felt. I had as much right to the items I’d taken as Lorenzo did, but I knew he wanted an apology, and it was in my best interest to appease him. We ne
eded to come together, to be on the same side for once. “You wouldn’t listen to me, and I was desperate. But I’m sorry I stole from you.”

  “You must poison the Demon Lord with the serpent’s venom, and then I must burn the demon’s body to ashes with angelfire,” Lorenzo said.

  “Couldn’t you just do the whole thing? Shoot him with the venom and then burn him up?” I asked. “What about the little corked vial that was on your countertop along with the crossbow? And there’s nothing in that plan that says everyone in the Watchtower and the House of Light must die!”

  “No. The curse can only be broken if mortal hands kill the demon. I ain’t allowed to do that part. And there’s more that you didn’t let me finish,” he said. “As soon as I barbeque the demon, you have to use your water magic to bring a great wave that washes the Watchtower and the House of Light out to sea.”

  “What about getting everyone out beforehand, though?” I pressed. “Why can’t that work?”

  Lorenzo swore loudly. “Because that muddles everything and makes it infinitely more difficult! It tips off the Demon Lord and his Sorcerer! It sets the entire Watchtower abuzz like a hill of angry ants! Basically accomplishes exactly what you did this morning, which even you would have to admit has complicated things tenfold for us. I want to give us the highest chance of success, and I think I’ve a right to that. I’ve waited centuries, in case you forgot. Now stop with your damn questions for two seconds.”

  I was angry, but I zipped my mouth shut because he was right about one thing: I’d made a mess of things and it was going to be a lot harder to get into the Watchtower and get at the Demon Lord now.

  I allowed a few minutes of silence to pass before I spoke.

  “And that little vial?” I asked quietly.

  “That’s for me,” he said. “As soon as the curse is broken, I swallow that, and I’m free of this place.”

  I blinked, reviewing everything he’d said. It was all fairly simple when you stood back and took the high-level view of it. I looked to the Watchtower again, that dark spire that had loomed over The Colony and sent its tyranny down among the citizens for countless lifetimes. I squinted, trying to imagine the horizon line without it, but it persisted. Finally I closed my eyes, concentrating on picturing a world without the Watchtower, with no border of red mist containing us and cutting us off from whatever lay beyond. And for a split second, I saw it. It gave me renewed energy.

  “Where will we go to regroup?” I asked.

  “A million farking questions.” Lorenzo spat off to the side, grumbling, but answered, “I’ve got a secret place, too. Not as pretty as your cliff, but safer.”

  He was angling toward some very old and crumbling buildings situated between the dump and the wall of blood mist that bordered the edge of The Colony. The buildings were partially burned and had been condemned long before I was born, but there was really no need for that formality. With the stench of the dump wafting from one side on the breeze that always blew inland, and tendrils of red mist reaching in from the other, it was undoubtedly the least desirable location in The Colony.

  As we grew nearer to the ruins, I had to cover my nose with my sleeve. Not that it helped much. The smell of rot and refuse didn’t seem to be getting to Lorenzo.

  He carried me around the side of one of the partially charred buildings, and down an enclosed staircase. Miraculously, the air began to clear as we descended into a basement. When Lorenzo set me on my feet, I inhaled deeply.

  “How does it not reek in here?” I asked.

  He scowled at me.

  “More questions, I know,” I said, but kept a light tone and stopped short of apologizing. I didn’t need to tiptoe around the surly angel. He needed me as much as I needed him.

  He pulled out his tin of cigarettes and lit up. So much for fresh air.

  After he’d taken a deep drag, he pointed into the grimy darkness off to one side. “There’s a drainpipe over there. Fresh air comes in through it.”

  I had no desire to go confirm what he said, not wanting to risk stepping on a sharp object or worse in my bare feet, so I just nodded. Carefully avoiding a couple of small puddles, I tiptoed over to the stairs and sat down on the lowest one.

  Lorenzo seemed to relax a little after he’d burned through half his cigarette. He went to lean against a support post, flicking ash and embers every couple of puffs.

  “So. Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said.

  I forced my face to remain neutral, trying not to bristle at his tone.

  “You get until dusk, about a half hour from now, to gather yourself. Then, first order of business, we get you some damned shoes,” he continued. “I can’t continue to carry you all over The Colony like you’re some kind of weakling invalid.”

  I glared at him. “Nor do I desire to be carried by you, I assure you,” I cut in, my annoyance getting the better of me.

  “Next, I’ll have to turn you in to the Watchtower,” he continued, ignoring my remark and expression. “I’ll pose as a man who wishes for the demon’s gift of immortality, and I’ll insist on presenting you to the Demon Lord myself. If anyone tries to get in my way, I’ll use a little angelic flashy flash to get by them.” He wiggled his fingers at me.

  My heart jolted. “Can’t we sneak in somehow? Do we have to do something that will draw so much attention?”

  “No sneaking around, missy. That’s what got you into trouble before. This time we’re going to do it my way. Direct and simple.”

  “But what about all the Hunters? And the witches in the House of Light? We need to get them out before we break the curse.”

  “That’s for you to figure out.” He pulled out another cigarette. “I guess you’ll have to do it in between getting new boots and my taking you to the Watchtower.”

  I blinked several times, watching as he lit a fresh cigarette with the end of his nearly spent one. Irritation and anger intertwined within me, winding up through my chest like twin serpents. I wanted to yell at him, to yank that damn cigarette out of his hand and tell him what an insensitive, horrible excuse for an angel he was. But he wasn’t going to help me, and there was no sense wasting my energy on trying to get him to see things my way. So instead, I bent forward, letting my face rest in my hands and my hair fall around my shoulders.

  I had half an hour to come up with a way to save Armand, Dane, Peter, all of the other Hunters in the Watchtower, and the witches in the House of Light. Otherwise, I was going to be responsible for ending the lives of hundreds of innocent men and witches, and my own mother.

  Chapter 23

  WHILE I CONCENTRATED on resting and regenerating my energy, and the formidable task of trying to figure out how to save the Hunters and the women in the House of Light, Lorenzo moved around a little. At one point, he stepped past me and went up a few stairs, maybe to check whether the sun had set. I didn’t bother looking up, and he didn’t try to strike up a conversation, which was fine by me.

  If only there was a way to break the spell on all of the Hunters at once. If they all came back to themselves and were in their right minds, they could escape the Watchtower under their own power. I wasn’t sure how else to do it. I wouldn’t have time to persuade them to leave, and I didn’t have a way to physically force them out.

  The only way I could think of was to lure them.

  An idea began to form in my mind. I was going to have to act fast, and I’d have to do some swift and powerful persuading of the Underground leadership. There was also the worry of my being recognized in town, since the entire Hunter army would be on the lookout for me.

  Suddenly, I remembered my illusion ring. It had transformed my natural hair color—a deep orange reminiscent of the inside of a baked sweet potato—into a forgettable medium brown. I slipped the ring off my finger, and even in the dingy light of the basement, I saw the ends of my hair. The orange hair against my walnut-colored skin was an unusual combination that would no doubt draw attention, but I’d look significantly different
than before and no one knew me as a redhead.

  “Lorenzo,” I said, realizing there was another, much worse problem that had somehow slipped my mind. “I can’t just walk back into The Colony. As soon as I’m within range of the Hunters, they’ll feel my magic. I might as well holler my presence from the rooftops.”

  “Aye, you’re right about that, but not to worry,” he said. “Before I found you at the estuary, I spoke to a warlock who could reset the spell that hides your power. Just on the off chance that you weren’t shark bait.”

  I slumped with relief. “Thank you,” I breathed.

  This was good. Very, very good. I needed a way to speak to someone connected with the Underground, and this was it. Not to mention the bonus of having my magic once again concealed so I wouldn’t be sending out a blaring beacon to every Hunter in The Colony when Lorenzo and I made our way back to the Watchtower.

  “It’s time for us to go,” Lorenzo said, dropping his cigarette and twisting the toe of his boot on the lit end. “The warlock will show up not far from here after dusk.”

  We went up and out into the early evening, and I had to once again suffer the indignity of riding piggyback. I was still annoyed about sacrificing my boots to the sea.

  Lorenzo took us to a spot that was still well outside the area where Hunters normally patrolled, behind a small rise that wasn’t quite a hill. The land around it was flat and clear, so we’d know if someone was approaching. Every few minutes, Lorenzo climbed to the top to peek over. Halfway through his second cigarette, I heard the faint crunch of soles on dirt.

  Lorenzo held up a hand, indicating I should stay where I was, and crept around the rise to see who was approaching.

  “Ah, right on time,” the angel called out, sounding pleased. “I don’t suppose you have a pair of women’s boots on you?”

  A figure appeared around the rise, and I recognized Erlich’s silhouette. My eyes teared up with relief. I ran to him and threw my arms around his thick neck. We’d never been especially close, but I was just that happy to see a familiar face.