Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted)

by Stephanie Julian

  “Sorry, I…had to go out of town on the spur of the moment. We got notice of an audit at one of the clubs in Maryland. Is something wrong?”

  Tammi huffed and, in Quinn’s mind, he could see the woman the outside world believed to be his girlfriend. A twenty-two-year-old Villanova master’s student in theater policy, Tammi Graves was blond, blue-eyed and brilliant. Except for the fact that she considered him the perfect boyfriend. She thought he was a normal guy with a normal life, a steady CPA for a chain of clubs and restaurants.

  It was scary how much she didn’t know. Would never know.

  Quinn closed his eyes and turned away from Gabriel’s intent stare and Shea’s unspoken questions.

  On the phone, Tammi laughed, a sexy little trill that didn’t do a damn thing for him. “No, sweetie, there’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk. Are you busy? You didn’t call last night and I got a little worried.”

  Christ, he didn’t need this now. Not now. He hated this fucking charade. It wasn’t fair to Tammi, but Cole Luporeale, Legate of the American Legio, the lucani army, insisted he put on the show of a normal life, including a human girlfriend.

  “I’m fine, Tam. Just busy. Didn’t get back to the hotel room until early this morning.”

  “Where are you staying? The receptionist sounded really strange.”

  Stifling a slightly hysterical laugh, he took a deep breath. “A dive. Couldn’t find a real room. There’s some convention in town.”

  “So when are you coming home? I miss you already.”

  The pain in his chest tightened and he found himself trying to massage it away. Christ, could this get any worse? “Soon. Listen, I’ve got to get moving but I’ll call you later, okay? We’ll make plans for dinner when I get back.”

  “Okay. Don’t work too hard, Quinn.”

  “Never. See you soon.”

  By the time he hung up the phone, the weight on his chest had morphed into a blinding pain behind his eyeballs.

  Silence reigned in the room. Even Leo seemed to know not to intrude.

  Quinn drew back his fist and hit the wall as hard as he could. Fire shot through his arm and shoulder and down his spine. It cleared his mind of everything but the pain. At least this pain would heal.

  “Quinn.” Gabriel’s voice sliced through the tension. He ignored Gabe and pulled back again. Before he connected, Gabriel grabbed his wrist.

  “Quinn, you’ll break your hand and we don’t have the time.”

  “I hate this, Gabe. I fu—” He caught himself before he singed Leo’s ears. “I just hate it.”

  He looked up, found Gabe nodding in agreement. “I know. It sucks. But the alternative, if you’re discovered—if any of us are—is worse. That can’t happen.”

  “I know.” He took in a deep breath, held it then let it out again. “I know. But I don’t have to like it. She’s a nice girl. I don’t love her. I’ll never love her. She deserves more than that. And so do I.”

  Gabriel heard the frustration in Quinn’s voice, saw the pain in his eyes. He knew where it came from and ached for his best friend. Still, he understood Serena’s reasoning. He couldn’t resist a quick look at Shea. He understood those reasons too well.

  He released Quinn’s wrist. “It’s been a long day. For all of us. Why don’t we chill out for a while, get some rest. I’m hoping Matt will get back to me tonight so we can leave. If that’s three in the morning, all the better. Shea.” He turned, found her gaze glued to his, questions he didn’t want to answer right now in her eyes. “Take Leo back to bed, try to get some sleep. I don’t know when we’ll go, but when it’s time, we’ll move fast.”

  She paused then nodded, and he was almost sorry she didn’t fight him. He’d given her an order and typically she didn’t take them well. Instead, she nodded at Leo and they left.

  His gaze followed them all the way out the door.

  When he turned back, Quinn’s grin was shaky but there.

  Gabriel glared at him. “Don’t start, furball. Come on. I want to do a little recon.”

  * * *

  Shea lay with Leo on the bed he’d slept in last night.

  He’d fallen asleep the second his head hit the pillow. His sleep patterns were going to be completely screwed up.

  Listening to his deep, even breathing in the dark, her hand stroking his back, Shea wasn’t tired at all.

  Her heart ached for Quinn. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but she could piece together enough to make sense. Quinn had a girlfriend who knew nothing about his real life. A life he couldn’t disclose without putting a lot of people in danger.

  Shea had grown up knowing there were other races in the world besides humans, races like the lucani and the winged folletti and the half-hided salbinelli.

  What would Quinn’s girlfriend do if he told her the truth? If he told her he could grow fur and become a wolf? Would she laugh and think he was joking? Think he was crazy? Would she run screaming if he showed her?

  Would she still want him?

  She wondered, for like the millionth time, what a normal life would have been like. To grow up in the suburbs with parents who were school teachers or accountants. To believe magic meant pulling a rabbit out of a hat and that people who could scramble your brains with a muttered spell or children who could make things burn with the touch of their hands only existed in the movies.

  Would she want to be so clueless?

  Blessed Goddess, no.

  Sure, there were scary things in the world, but being clueless didn’t mean they wouldn’t get you. She’d much rather know what was coming.

  Which was where her parents had gone wrong. They had withheld information and, somehow, she’d known. She’d run away, thinking she could find answers to all her questions in the outside world.

  She hadn’t found a damn thing. And her parents had died.

  Heavy footsteps stopped outside their door. She forced herself to close her eyes and breathe slowly when Gabriel pushed open the door to the bedroom.

  He had to be able to tell she wasn’t asleep but he didn’t say anything. Seconds later, he pulled the door closed. Seconds after that, she heard them enter a room down the hall.

  Might as well forget sleep. She needed a cup of tea.

  In the kitchen, waiting for the microwave to finish her water, she stood in the open doorway that led to the garden at the back of the house, barely visible in the deepening shadows of early evening. The scents of oregano, basil, thyme and rose calmed her, reminded her of her mom’s greenhouse, where she’d grown her flowers and herbs used in spell-casting.

  Stepping out into the garden, she ran her hands over the herbs, plucking a lemon thyme leaf to crush and hold to her nose. The sound of running water caught her ear and she let her gaze run over the garden until she found the small waterfall burbling from a rocky outcrop at the edge of the tree line.

  The water flowed in a steady stream out of the earth, down the fall and into a rock pile before seeping back into the ground. Even in the dusk, Shea saw the runes covering each rock. A shrine to the Moon God Tivr. Made sense considering this was a lucani safe house and the wolves worshipped the Moon God in particular.

  She should make an offering. Even though she wasn’t lucani, it couldn’t hurt to have another god on her side. But she didn’t have a traditional votive—a small statue or vase used as an offering.

  Looking around, she spied the pale glow of white moon flowers. Perfect.

  After snapping off a few blooms, she stood in front of the shrine and pricked her thumb on a sharp rock. Rubbing a few drops of blood on the petals, she tossed the flowers into the water.

  “With my blood and this offering, I ask for your protection, Tivr. Lend me your strength to battle those who would harm my brother.”

  As the flowers hit the water and nestled in among the rocks, a howl split the air. Startled, she took a step away from the spring. Were there real wolves in these forests? Or had Quinn decided to take a stroll?

&nbs
p; A gray wolf emerged from the trees, its loping gait steady but not threatening. Stopping at the top of the fall, the animal sat, staring down at her. He was huge and should have made her fear for her life. But Gods, he was gorgeous, sleek and muscular. And there was something about the way he looked at her, something about his eyes…

  Oh, wow.

  She dropped into a curtsy, the action a completely spontaneous response to the presence of a god.

  “Tivr, Lord of the Silver Light. I am honored by your presence.”

  The wolf didn’t come any closer, just stared at her for several moments before inclining his head and letting loose another howl.

  Power emanated from him and his beauty amazed her. She wanted to run her fingers through his fur, which looked more luxurious than any mink or sable ever could.

  Could you pet a god? Probably not.

  So she held her curtsy, even though it hurt her leg to do so, and waited for him to move first.

  After a few seconds, he hopped down from the top of the fall to sniff at the flowers she’d offered, then sat at her side, caught her fingers lightly in his teeth and tugged on them. It took her a few seconds to figure out that he wanted her to sit. So she did, cross-legged on the ground in front of the shrine.

  Though she knew the Etruscan deities, with the exception of the Involuti, lived among them, she’d never knowingly met one. Should she look him in those silver eyes and tell him what she wanted?

  “Yeah, that would probably be a good place to start.”

  She gasped as the wolf spoke in a perfectly human voice.

  And when he laughed, her mouth dropped open.

  “Kinda weird, huh? Wolf talking. You’ll get used to it.” Tivr sat on his haunches and tilted his head to the side. “So, sweetheart. You got yourself a damn fine mess, don’t you?”

  For a few brief seconds, Shea considered the possibility that she’d fallen asleep next to Leo and this was all a dream.

  “Nope, this is no dream, kid, so just spit it out.”

  And what could she say that wouldn’t sound like whining? She so did not want to whine to a god.

  “I’m worried about my brother,” she said finally. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect him. That I’ll fail my parents and let something happen to him.” She paused, looking up to meet the god’s silver gaze. “Do you… Can you…”

  She bit her lip. Could she ask a god a question? Was it allowed? Oh, what the hell. “Do you know how to break the curse?”

  The wolf shook his head. “Sorry, sweets, I don’t. That’s between Uni and Menrva and Veive. None of the other gods know either. Believe me, it’s not the first time someone’s asked.”

  Despair hit her with the weight of a ton of bricks. If the deities didn’t have a clue, then her father’s vision was all she had to go on. And that just sucked.

  “Hey, now, don’t fall apart on me.” Tivr nudged her shoulder with his snout, his soft warm fur brushing against her arm. “There’s always more than one way to eat a cat, babe. Just because you think you have an idea, doesn’t mean it’s the right one. Sometimes you need to think outside the box. Besides, change is coming, sweets, and you need to be ready.”

  The intensity in his tone sent shivers down her back. “Ready for what?”

  His fur bristled. “Battle. Gonna be a doozy, too. But then, the Mal never did go in for half measures. You need to be ready, babe. You and the kid.”

  The Mal? Battle? Her and Leo in a battle against the Mal? Didn’t they have enough trouble with Dario?

  She shook her head, wondering if she’d fallen and hit her head. Was she hallucinating? Goddess save her, she wished she were because Tivr was starting to freak her out. But she really didn’t want to piss off a god by asking too many questions.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Tivr sighed, a weird sound coming from a wolf. “No reason you would, huh? Not many do anymore. Used to be, we had temples full of priests and priestesses deciphering our every word.” He snorted. “Today, most don’t make it to temple once a month. They don’t practice the old ways. They turn to the Weather Channel to see if it’s going to be a good growing season or watch CNN to know if there’s trouble brewing in the world.

  “No one studies the skies, the flights of the birds for omens. Those damn PETA people would be all over us if we started slicing up sheep for entrails. Hell, people aren’t even afraid of lightning any more, which would really frost Tinia’s cookies, if the bastard ever decides to show his face on Earth again.”

  Her eyes widened at Tivr’s blasphemy but he didn’t take notice.

  “The old ways are ignored but we need them, sweets. We knew when we followed our people to the new world…we knew change was on the way.”

  He turned and his mouth curved in a toothy grin. “And you’re the front guard. You and your brother. The kid’s strong. So are you. Gabriel’s a good man to have at your back and so is Quinn. Things’ll work out. You’ll see. They have to. Just don’t make any rash decisions.”

  As the wolf rose to his paws, Shea remained seated and bowed her spinning head. “Thank you for your counsel, Lord Tivr.”

  “Don’t mention it. And I mean that seriously. This little section of woods has become my sanctuary. I’d like to keep it that way. See you around, sweets.”

  With a final howl, the wolf turned and disappearing back into the forest.

  Holy crap. She’d just had a conversation with a god.

  She needed to talk to Gabriel.

  * * *

  Wrapped in the power of the spell he and Quinn were working, Gabriel wasn’t aware of Shea’s presence until he heard her step into the second-floor map room behind them.

  He’d known she wasn’t asleep when he’d stuck his head in the bedroom, but he hadn’t disturbed her. They could all do with down time.

  Besides, he needed to get her off his mind. He’d been thinking about her way too damn much. And there was too much at stake for him to forgo common sense and lose himself in her body for one night.

  But, damn, he wanted to.

  His tongue tripped over a word and he felt the power around him shift. Shit. He needed to concentrate. He was searching for signatures, life signatures that would pinpoint any persons of Etruscan descent in a fifty-mile radius. His father could have done a hundred miles, but he wasn’t that good. Quinn’s connection to the forces that had built this safe house boosted his powers slightly. It would have to be enough. He couldn’t allow anything—

  “Shit!”

  He broke the connection with Quinn and the spell when he realized the stupid mistake he’d just made.

  He turned to find Shea’s eyes had rolled back into her head and she remained upright only because her knees had locked.

  “Shea, downstairs. Now.”

  “Gabriel, I can hear them. The voices. They’re—”

  He didn’t wait for her to finish. He ran for her, catching her just as her legs buckled. Holding her against his chest, he took the stairs two at a time back to the first floor.

  She was incoherent by the time he got her into the first bedroom he came to.

  “Damn, I’m sorry, babe.” He placed her on the bed, completely pissed. “Fuck.”

  “Christ, Gabe. Is she okay?” Quinn asked from behind him.

  He shook his head, his gaze glued to Shea. “I don’t know. Hey, babe, can you hear me?”

  She didn’t answer. She had her eyes squeezed tightly shut but two tears ran from the corners. He wanted to kick something. How could he have been so stupid not to realize what that room would do to her?

  When the hell was he going to stop failing those who needed him?

  * * *

  Shea never really passed out.

  She knew what was going on around her, could hear Gabriel and Quinn talking, heard Quinn leave. She couldn’t speak to tell them she was okay, but she thought she was.

  She just couldn’t make her body obey her commands because she was listening to the voices in her head
. For the first time in her life, she heard them clearly. Distinct voices, all speaking at the same time.

  She knew what those voices were now.

  When they started to fade, she opened her eyes and looked directly into Gabriel’s dark, worried gaze.

  “Déjà vu, huh?” She smiled, thankful there were no painful side effects from…whatever had happened.

  He shook his head and the grooves on his forehead deepened. “I screwed up and you paid. How do you feel?”