This Wicked Magic

by Michele Hauf

  She touched his thigh, reassuring him.

  “I have strived for peace ever since.” He settled against the couch. “Vika, before I went to Daemonia my life was a constant, unchanging force. I enjoyed my work at the archives and spent most hours of the day there, researching and studying magics I hadn’t yet mastered. I’ve always been focused on improving my arsenal of the craft. To the detriment of a social life. My best friend, Lucian Bellisario, calls me Brother.”

  “Because the two of you are so close?”

  “No. It’s because I’ve led a monkish life. Especially regarding my social and sex life. I’d much rather hole up in the archives than hold a conversation or engage a woman in, well...” He sighed. A flick of his tattooed fingers made him smile. “I’m not a complete monk. But I’ve never had a relationship that lasted beyond a week. Nothing that could begin to broach an emotional connection. Nothing that touched my heart.”

  How sad. She couldn’t imagine not engaging with others, even if only as friends. That truly was something to grieve. “Because of your parents?”

  He sighed. “Perhaps. I’ve been afraid to establish a connection for fear it would be taken away from me. But since I’ve returned from Daemonia with a soul full of monsters, I’ve had a sort of mind adjustment. I don’t want to be a monk. I want to enjoy life. I want to have a relationship. To know love. To know what it’s like to have someone who cares for me and misses me when I’m gone.”

  “Everyone should experience that.”

  “But I’ve always set it aside.”

  “No more?”

  He shook his head. “No more. And since I’ve opened myself to this new way of thinking, look what has come to me.”

  She nestled against his chest and kissed him at the base of his throat beside the vampire spell. “I care about you, Certainly. And I do miss you when you are away from me.”

  “I feel the same. It’s an amazing feeling, yet it hurts to know I can care about someone so much, and to also know if anything ever happened to you I would be torn apart.” He hugged her tightly. “There’s no easy way to have closeness, is there? If I put myself out there, allowing for love and companionship, it is at the risk to my heart.”

  She smiled. “That is how it works. Welcome to the real world, Certainly Jones. I hope you stay. And I don’t ever want to hear you’ve plans to return to the place of all demons.”

  “I promise you I will not.”

  He slid his hand down her back, stroking her softly, and Vika felt a buzz in her loins. “Whoa!”

  “What was that? Did I do that?” He studied his tattooed hand. “I didn’t enact any spells.”

  “Not that I’d mind.” Vika slid her hand in her pocket. “It’s my phone. Just got a text.” She checked the phone’s tiny screen. “Vika, B careful. Reichardt on warpath 4 U. Can only feed him so many cookies. He’s coming!”

  “What the hell?”

  Knowing her sister would never kid about something so serious, Vika stood and grabbed CJ’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “The soul bringer is coming for me. We need to ward this place. Fast!”

  “All right.” He grabbed her hand and turned her around, so they stood back-to-back. “You know the angelic warding spell?”

  “The zymeloz?”

  “Yes. Let’s do this!”

  * * *

  Libby pushed the plate of cookies toward Reichardt while she texted the warning message to her sister.

  “Why are mortals so attached to those electronic devices?” he asked, munching a cookie.

  “It’s a handy thing. I can send a message to a friend, and it’s faster than calling.”

  “It seems impersonal.”

  She lifted a brow. Had the soul bringer suggested she was doing something impersonal?

  “It allows me to keep in touch with my sister without actually bugging her.”

  “You say she is at the dark witch’s house?”

  “Did I say that? I don’t think I said that. Have another cookie.”

  Taking a bite, Reichardt growled. “I owe the witch a good flaying for the damage she did to my souls. I think I will do that.” He finished the cookie. “Flay her open to bleed out the souls clinging to her sticky soul.”

  “No!” Libby gripped his hand. “You can’t do that. She’s my sister. You are not allowed to hurt her.”

  “I need no permission to mete justice when it is due. Perhaps I will break her in half and squeeze out the souls. It is less messy than flaying. Thank you for the cookies, Libertie.”

  And he disappeared. Gone. Without so much as a goodbye, or an “I’m sorry, I must now go torture your sister.”

  Libby frantically texted Vika.

  * * *

  They stood in the center of CJ’s loft, beneath the dazzle of light. Spell enacted, each scanned the periphery, their senses alert and hearts pounding. Vika had no idea what the soul bringer could want her for, but it couldn’t be good.

  Suddenly the entire loft shook. The chandelier crystals tinkled and light beams flashed over their skin in a riot of prismatic color.

  “He’s here,” she said, looking toward the roof.

  “I can’t believe he found me through my wards,” CJ said. “No matter. He’ll never get past the zymeloz. As well the protection demon has put up sigils against angels. Don’t drop my hand!”

  Back-to-back, they held vigil as the soul bringer pounded against the roof, the windows and the walls, yet could not gain entrance.

  * * *

  Libby almost dropped her sparkly purple iPhone when the man appeared directly before her. “Reichardt! That was fast. You didn’t find Vika?”

  “Give me that texting device.” He grabbed the phone from her. “Show me how this works. I will send a message to your sister.”

  “Uh.” Well, a text was much better than being flayed alive. “Okay. What do you want me to say?”

  “You show me how to do it,” he said, and his forceful command sluiced through her like molten fire, and she wanted to do anything to make him happy.

  “Use the letters to write your message.”

  His fingers were thick, but he got the hang of it quickly.

  She read aloud what he typed in. “Come to me or I will kill your— Oh, goddess!” Libby dashed for the garden door.

  Reichardt materialized before the gleaming double doors, stopping her as she slammed up against his mighty build.

  “Oh.” Her hands landed high on his chest, and she could feel his firm pectorals through the black shirt. He wasn’t warm, but neither was he cold. And wow, his muscles were so hard and...touchable. “I’ve always wanted you to hold me.”

  “I will hold you until your sister surrenders herself to my bidding.”

  “Not very nice of you, but I’m cool with the holding part.”

  She was Vika’s only hope now. And she had a plan. Of sorts.

  “What I’m going to do will freak you, soul bringer, but then again, you have no concept of being freaked, am I right?”

  “What do you mutter about?”

  “Hold on, Reichardt. This is my kind of magic.”

  And she kissed the stoic soul bringer. His mouth was as firm and compelling as his pectorals. Closing her eyes, Libby gave him every ounce of unrequited desire she had. He did not react. She did not relent.

  And then...

  The soul bringer’s palms slid up her back and pulled her—gently—closer.

  * * *

  Five minutes felt like an hour as the soul bringer had battered at CJ’s walls. And then silence fell and Vika could hear her heartbeats over her ragged breathing. And the ring of her cell phone.

  She read the text message—from the soul bringer.

  “I have to go home.” She started toward the door and Certainly followed. “He’s got Libby. He’ll kill her if I don’t return.”

  “Wait.” He stopped her at the door. “Did he say why he wanted you to go there?”

  “No, but—”

  “But if he�
��s threatening your sister, I don’t think that’s going to play well to your hand. Think about it, Vika. What would make the soul bringer so angry he would come after you?”

  “He never gets angry. He doesn’t do emotion.”

  “Exactly. Yet he would have torn my place apart to get to you. It’s something about the souls, has to be.”

  “But he’s gotten all the souls stuck to me. Even the ones I’ve used to exorcise your demons. He has them all.”

  “Save the ones you gathered while he was knocked unconscious.”

  “He can have them. He doesn’t need to threaten me for that. But if he’s threatening Libby, I’ll rip out his glass heart and smash it against a big rock.”

  “Then I’m going with you. You’ll need me. You know those bastards are infallible and basically indestructible. Our magic combined may have some effect against a soul bringer.”

  “He better not hurt Libby.” She handed him her keys. “You drive. I need to summon some powerful magic.”

  Chapter 18

  Vika ran up to the front door, but Certainly chased after her, insinuating himself between her body and the door, and stopping her before she could grab the doorknob. For as much as he knew she needed to get inside and help her sister, he wasn’t about to let her walk into a death trap.

  She’d warded herself in the car against retaliatory magic and angels, but he suspected there wasn’t much magic that would work against a soul bringer. He had never bothered with a spell tattoo because he’d known it would be useless. The soul bringer was angelic in origin and demonic by nature, yet he was something else entirely, and neither Above nor Beneath would lay claim to his ilk. And he was, in a word, indestructible.

  But they’d been able to hold him off at his loft; that meant they could shield themselves against him.

  “Look at me,” he said, bracketing Vika’s face and forcing her to calm herself. “Take a breath.”

  She nodded, slipping her fingers down the front of his shirt. He felt her nerves jitter against his skin. He grasped her firmer, forcing her to look at him. If he could hold her gaze for a few moments, he could redirect her worry.

  “Hold my hand,” he said. “It’ll combine our powers and enforce the ward.” She did so. “Your grandmother’s nail, too.”

  Nodding, she clasped the nail at her throat. CJ felt the powerful hum of magic and took it into his system, bolstering his own weak magic. The demons within churned at the intrusion.

  “Whatever you do,” he said, “you have to remain calm. Don’t get emotional. That’s what he’s got over you. Whatever he appears to be doing, think about it twice, three times, before reacting. If he’s holding your sister, do not approach him, because he will—”

  No, he wouldn’t say “snap her neck” much as he suspected such a result.

  Vika got the message. “I’m calm. As calm as I can be. I’ll talk to him rationally. I can do that. But promise you’ll keep an eye out for Libby? If you see a chance to get her away from him—”

  “I’ll go for it. Promise.” He pressed her shaking hand against his heart. “I love you, Vika.”

  She exhaled and her gaze went watery. He’d never said it to her. Bad timing for it probably, but he needed her to know he was on her side.

  With a nod, she said, “Let’s do this.”

  They walked through the quiet living room, taking in everything. Nothing was out of order, save the opened compendium of paranormal breeds lying on the floor before the couch.

  Certainly paused beneath the chandelier. It wasn’t lit, and the evening fast approached. He closed his eyes and drew in calm from the crystals. Touching his left hand to the barbed rose on his right wrist, he remembered family. Anything for family.

  “In the kitchen,” Vika whispered, and gestured he take the lead.

  CJ walked through the swinging doors first. The couple over by the garden doors broke away from each other—they had been in an embrace—though Reichardt gripped Libby’s wrist, keeping her from fleeing his side.

  Startled unexpectedly by what he’d seen, CJ got a decidedly loose vibe from the soul bringer. Had they been kissing? Yet the looseness was followed by a dark anger when Vika joined him.

  He tilted his head to whisper to Vika, “I think that’s lipstick on the soul bringer’s mouth.”

  “Vika!” Libby said. “I was hoping you wouldn’t come so quickly.”

  “I’ll bet,” CJ muttered, and didn’t hide his smirk.

  The soul bringer appeared to find his stoic mien and stepped forward, holding Libby firmly. Yet Libby didn’t appear in dire straits. In fact, she brushed the hair from her face and fought a slippery smile.

  Reichardt announced, “I will demand recompense for the tainted souls you served me, witch.”

  “Recompense?” Vika’s hand squeezed CJ’s hand. “Tainted? Are you okay, Libby?”

  “Best I’ve been.”

  “You’re not in trouble?” Vika asked cautiously. “The texts?”

  “Oh, yes, I am in trouble. Reichardt wants to kill me if you don’t do what he says. But—” Libby flashed her sister a look that said more than CJ could understand, though he suspected she wasn’t terribly upset being held by the soul bringer.

  “You used the souls before allowing me to scrub them from you,” Reichardt explained. “They are tainted by the dark witch’s collection of demons.”

  “Oh.” Vika flashed a look to CJ. “I hadn’t considered that.”

  He hadn’t considered it, either, but it made sense. Of course the soul would take on residue from the infestation within him.

  “Above would not accept the souls,” Reichardt stated. “Which leaves my record blemished and inaccurate. I must be remunerated appropriately.”

  “It’s not her fault,” CJ posited. “I was the one who tainted the souls.”

  Reichardt crossed his arms in thought, which made him drop Libby’s wrist. But Libby remained by his side, actually clinging to the brute soul bringer. There was not room for a quick dash to get her away from him. And CJ had to wonder if Libby would allow him to rip her away from the guy’s side. Was she really so blind to the danger?

  “I demand a reprieve,” Vika said.

  “On what grounds?” the soul bringer asked.

  “On the grounds you should be thankful I’ve been letting you scrub me all these years. I could collect the things and go on with it. It is only by my permission you are able to gather the souls from me and keep your record unblemished, and you know it.”

  Reichardt tilted his head. In wonder? CJ was surprised at the soul bringer’s seeming entrance to emotion. Everything about the man was...off. The lipstick was not his color, but he suspected Libby had been doing her darnedest to change his religion.

  But could a kiss actually reach inside the stoic soul bringer’s chest and soften his glass heart?

  The man reached out toward Vika, and CJ moved in front of her, protectively. With a flick of his fingers, Reichardt sent something toward them. It hit CJ in the chest like a spear, and he felt it move slowly through the entrance tattoo above his nipple, as if a tangible blade cutting his skin and serrating his muscle. When Vika’s body jerked against his, he knew she’d been pierced, as well. The soul bringer moved his fingers up, and CJ’s and Vika’s feet left the ground, suspending them above the gleaming kitchen floor.

  “Don’t do that!” Libby pleaded. She made to rush for them, but Reichardt grabbed her by the hair.

  “You are alive only at my will,” Reichardt said to CJ and Vika.

  Their personal wards were not working, but CJ sensed they weren’t in danger. The soul bringer might offer a deal if they talked nicely to him. And he felt little pain. As well...he felt the slither of something dark exit his soul. Another demon?

  Libby struggled against the soul bringer’s hold, but he held a firm grip on her hair.

  “He’s going to hurt her,” CJ heard Vika whisper.

  “No, he won’t.” He hoped. Just because the lipstick had bee
n smeared didn’t mean the man had suddenly developed compassion.

  “I’ve souls!” Vika yelled. “The ones that came out of you when you landed here. Take them!”

  “I will. But that is not the payment I seek.”

  CJ had to act. But without control over his body right now, there was only one means to get the soul bringer’s attention.

  “I will pay Viktorie St. Charles’s debt to you,” CJ tried. “Ask of me what you will to satisfy your request for remuneration.”

  With a nod, the soul bringer lowered his hand, bringing CJ and Vika to their feet. He pulled back his hand, tearing the invisible spear from their chests. CJ caught his palm against his chest, and blood oozed over his fingers. And something exited his soul. Hell, the soul bringer had allowed another demon leave.

  He wasn’t sure how to feel about that when Vika fell against him, liquid heat spilling down his back. The soul bringer had hurt his woman. The bastard would pay.

  “You hold many souls in the balance, dark witch,” Reichardt said. “Your trip to Daemonia was fruitful, yes?”

  “Uh.” He didn’t want this to come out now. It was something he needed to tell Vika about in privacy.

  “Should the Nacht März be rallied,” Reichardt continued, “you will snuff out the lives of countless mortals. So like your parents, eh?”

  “I have no intention of doing any such thing,” he said firmly. How the soul bringer knew his secret he could not question.

  “But you must,” Reichardt returned. “So many souls would appease my masters of Above and Beneath. If you wish to pay Viktorie St. Charles’s debt, then you will call forth the Night March.”

  CJ’s shoulders dropped at the not impossible but terrible request. He felt Vika clutch at him from behind. Libby cast him a pleading, wondering gape.

  Upon his escape from Daemonia, he had carried a wicked darkness to this world. He had never intention of releasing it. His means had been to keep it from the hands of one warlock who would.

  And now he must commit the one act of evil he could not fathom to save Vika’s and Libby’s lives.

  Chapter 19

  “You have forty-eight hours to enact the Nacht März,” Reichardt announced to CJ. He shoved Libby toward them, and Vika lunged to catch her sister in her arms. “I will either return to reap the souls from the march, or those from the St. Charles sisters. It is your choice, dark witch.”