Smoke & Longing (Caprice Chronicles Book 2)

by Selena Page

  Artificeary was not one of those broken things. Creating magical items took power and sigils and runes. A warlock couldn’t keep his will fixed on an object forever and still produce an effect. It was impossible. The runes and sigils worked their will, their own action against the world. Once they were set, you just needed power.

  Andrew finished the rune for pull and began the rune for to and then magic. He filled the compass's body with a clear oil. He carefully removed the compass needle from the jeweler’s vice, placed it on the spike in the center of the compass, and screwed on the fitting. Finally, he replaced the crystal and capped the entire project with a neat pressure fitting sealed with glue.

  Andrew sat back and rubbed his eyes. Whatever this thing was in the woods, it was magical. It was using magical power to fuel itself and drawing what it could from people. He'd figured that much out from Daniel's description. It galled Andrew that he didn't know what this thing was. It didn’t read like a ghost. It wasn’t a spirit. Spirits were part of the world and couldn’t take energy from people. It would be like a person drinking gasoline. Just because it made the car go, didn't mean you could drink it.

  He stood up from his workstation and padded out to the kitchen. He rolled his neck and caught sight of a drop of oil that had landed on his sneakers. It was never a good idea to be at his workstation without shoes on. A small block of wood had once landed on his toe and after that, he made sure he always wore a pair of steel-toed. He bent to get a better look at the oil stain, but it had already been absorbed into the leather of his boots.

  "Oh damn. Damn," Andrew said, realization flowing through him.

  Lesson number one of magic clicked in his head. He could hear his father’s words clearly now in his mind.

  Why does water diffuse magic?

  Because it runs down into the earth and takes it with it, his own child like voice answered.

  And if it goes to the earth, why can’t we feel it there?

  Because that is the source.

  Andrew realized he couldn’t track the monster. If it was sinking into the earth, it wouldn't be found by magical means. It was heading back to its source. Perfect camouflage. His project forgotten, Andrew picked up his phone and dialed Kara.

  "That was fast," Kara said.

  "Oh...well I thought of something and--" Andrew started. He had not considered what it would look like calling her a few hours after they'd parted.

  "I meant the research. What did you think I meant?"

  Andrew could hear the smile in voice. He swallowed and plowed through his embarrassment. "I just realized that whatever is going on up there, we should probably look at the mines and the history of mining in the area where Daniel went missing." The heat in cheeks subsided as he moved onto familiar ground.

  "That sounds like a good idea."

  "Why don’t you meet me at the Cambrian tomorrow, and we can start from there."

  "Sounds good!"

  Andrew hung up, wondering if he should have said more, or if he had said too much.

  SIX

  Andrew glanced at Kara over the top of his book. His eyes noted the elegant curve of her neck and the sweep of her strawberry blond hair. She bit her lip and scrunched her knees up a little bit more flashing a brief but tantalizing amount of pale skin underneath her skirt before she adjusted it.

  They had met at the Cambrian after breakfast. Andrew could not help himself from noticing how the charcoal gray pencil skirt complimented her legs. Or how the blouse she wore was nearly the perfect shade to bring out the color of her creamy skin. He imagined sliding his hands up her legs to gather the skirt....

  Andrew jerked his eyes back to the page in front of him. What was it about this girl? Why did she affect him so? Andrew had spent years in college and grad school and then his doctoral program and had never felt this way. There had been romances before her to be sure. He had dated throughout college and in his spare time at home, but no girl had ever consumed him like this. The other girls had been hybrids of himself. All detached and pacing themselves with any other activities, throwing themselves into their careers. It had always been what made it work between him and other girls. Hadn’t it?

  Andrew’s gaze drifted back to Kara, unable to keep reading. He could not help but see the angle of her chin and watched as she leaned down to grab a highlighter, never taking her eyes off the page. Her blouse was unbuttoned one button too far, and he caught a glimpse of the swell of her breasts. He managed to put his eyes back on the page before she looked down and into her purse.

  Damn me, focus. He growled inwardly. He resumed scanning the page and found what he was looking for.

  "I think I have something here," Andrew said, grabbing up a pencil and scribbling a note.

  Kara raised herself out of the chair and stood behind him to read the same page he was. She bent at the waist just as Andrew leaned back. He was suddenly aware at her proximity. The heat coming off her neck, the way her arm rested on the back of the chair encircling him. Her perfume surrounded him; she smelled like lavender and lilies.

  "What have you got?" she asked.

  Andrew coughed. "There’s a mine up on Black Face Mountain. Same area that your friend went missing and came out of."

  "So, what?"

  "Mines can fill up with gasses that are lethal in high enough concentration. It’s possible that this is where people went missing. They wander in and start to suffocate and get lucky enough to wander out. Their brains running on lower oxygen don’t have the ability to make full memories out of it. So they just come back mumbling with only half memories or hallucinations."

  "Wow, so there’s a chance there’s an open mine that local people are wandering into?" Kara said, sounding surprised.

  "Well, probably not open like you think. This mine was closed up and sealed around 1920, but mines are just stone tunnels. If one is close enough to the surface then it can open up and people can fall in or wander in," Andrew said. He finished turning to her. She turned to him and caught his gaze. They were so close. Close enough to kiss. An electricity hummed in the air, a subtle pull toward each other that neither could deny.

  Kara broke the spell first. "Oh, oh OK. Great let’s meet up there then and check it out."

  "Yeah. Yeah let’s do that," he said as Kara stepped back.

  Andrew noticed the faint ache in him as she pulled away. He was aware of the absence of her arms and the heat of her. He bit down on the inside of his lip, forcing a neutral smile, and scribbled an address of a parking lot they could meet up at.

  As she left, Andrew could not help but feel like they were getting close to something. He remembered the rough, menacing presence he had felt the day before and worried about Kara getting too close. He needed to keep her far enough away he could find out what kind of magic was happening on Black Face Mountain without her getting dragged down by whatever was up there.

  SEVEN

  Andrew flipped his keys between his hands as he waited for Kara. He'd gotten to the parking area ahead of time. As often as he was in the mountains and forest, his rucksack was always packed for an overnighter. He took the time to think about the research they had done. Actually he kept thinking about Kara and then the research. The two were completely separate.

  He shook his head. It was not good for him to feel like this about another person. It always went sour in the end. Either he couldn't live up to their expectations, or the girls couldn’t live up to what he wanted. He was a warlock, broken as his magic was, and mixing with the normal world like this never helped things.

  He rolled his head from side to side and cracked his neck. He needed to wrap this up. The longer she was involved in the search, the closer she got to him and the greater danger it put her in.

  I need to get this done and get on with my pleasantly boring time in Saratoga Springs.

  As if on cue, Kara pulled up and hopped out of her car, shattering his train of thought. She wore tight black shorts and a blue athletic tank top. She smiled brightly
at him, waving.

  "Hey," she said, walking up.

  "Hey," Andrew said, feeling his face warm. Damn this girl and whatever was she doing to him. "Have any trouble getting everything together?"

  "Nope. Carl at Hiker's Bliss was very helpful."

  "Yeah. Carl is enthusiastic," Andrew said, chuckling.

  On parting earlier he'd sent Kara off to Hiker’s Bliss to get her outfitted. She'd asked him to come along, but he knew Carl would be more helpful without him. Besides, it gave him time to think and get her off of his mind. At least, as best he could.

  "Ready to get going then?" Andrew asked, turning toward the trail.

  "Yeah. Let's do it!"

  Andrew and Kara kept a casual pace up the hill. It was easy going, and the weather was perfect. It still made for a long, sweaty hike at this incline.

  "So what kind of tent did you get?" Andrew asked conversationally.

  Kara’s face fell. "I thought you had one…." she said giving him a sidelong glance, mouth agape.

  Andrew’s face flushed at the sudden implication. He fumbled for words. "I…I do. It’s just I thought…you’d want…your own space." His voice caught an emasculating note at the end. He chewed his lip nervously when he turned to her and caught her mid snort. Once she saw the look on his face she burst out laughing, nearly howling at his discomfort.

  Andrew opened his mouth to protest but a loud crack sounded and Kara vanished.

  "Kara!"

  A hole the size of a car had opened underneath her, swallowing her into the darkness below. A small groan echoed from the darkness. Andrew dropped his pack and edged his face over the lip of the hole. Kara lay on her back, resting on her rucksack like a flipped turtle. She blinked up at him and groaned again.

  "Kara! Are you okay?" Andrew called.

  "I think so. What happened?" Kara tried to roll onto her side.

  "I think it’s one of the old mine tunnels. I’m coming down to get you," Andrew said.

  He rustled through his pack and found his rope, gloves, and tie-out. He threw the rope out into the hole and slid down easily.

  His feet hit the rocky, dusty ground, and he grabbed a slender brass tube from his belt. Light flooded the broken remains of the tunnel, and he made his way to her.

  "Don’t move. Let me check you," Andrew said as he knelt by her head and removed his climbing gloves.

  "OK," Kara said distractedly, her eyes widening as he ran his fingers through her hair, down her cheek.

  Andrew tried his best to focus on the task at hand, touching the crown of her head feeling for bumps or cuts. Finding none he ran his hands down her neck. She rested her hands on his hips, and fire surged in the pit of his stomach. Muscles in his neck tensed, and he thought about brushing his lips across hers wondering what she tasted like. Shaking off that image, he popped the keepers on the shoulder straps of her pack and ran his hand along her spine. She sighed, a small moan escaping her, and it took every ounce of control not to slide his hands lower. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and bring her up to him, crushing his mouth to hers.

  Ander got control of himself just as Kara froze. They had both seemed to realize he was nearly straddling her with his arms around her. Kara stared into his eyes. She felt good with his arms around her, and her clean, floral scent filled his lungs. His whole body seemed to urge him on, and power flared in that place inside him where his magic dwelled. Kara grew very still, her breath catching in her chest as she stared at him.

  "Sorry. I should have said I was going to check your spine…." Andrew said sheepishly.

  "Andrew…"

  "Yeah. Sorry. You look fine. Sorry."

  "Andrew…"

  "Yeah?"

  "You’re…glowing."

  EIGHT

  Andrew helped pull Kara out of the hole and lifted her the last foot. She was uninjured and had been more startled than hurt. Andrew pulled the rucksack from the hole and loosened the knots in the rope to release it.

  "So, want to talk about that back there?" Kara said apprehensively.

  Andrew sighed. He was frustrated with his carelessness and how quickly he had let his guard down. He chewed the inside of cheek as he tried to think of a way to explain it but realized he could not.

  "What if I told you magic exists," Andrew began slowly.

  "I’d tell you to get your head checked, but after that little display…." Kara let the thought draw out. "I’d definitely listen."

  Andrew took in a long breath.

  "Magic exists. Not the kind you find in video games, more like the kind out of stories, legends. I’m a warlock. Well, mostly anyway."

  "A warlock?"

  "Yep." Andrew held a neutral expression.

  "OK, so what do you guys do?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Don’t you have some master plan or something?"

  Andrew stared at her. Then he started to laugh. "No. No we don’t have a master plan. Except for Thursday nights at Migland’s. Then it's just beer," Andrew said, smiling.

  "What did you mean mostly? When you said that you were mostly a warlock."

  Andrew chewed the inside of his lip. "That’s kind of...personal," Andrew said, looking down and hitching his pack higher. "Our magic is kind of broken. A long time ago something happened, and we can’t do real magic anymore. This flashlight is about it. And a little with sensing energy."

  "Oh. OK."

  They walked on for a time. Kara saw the tension in his neck and muscular shoulders. It was clear to her how nervous he was. She knew Andrew was letting it all sink in. It was the first time she had ever seen his cool facade falter. Was he ready for her to call him crazy, she wondered? Did he hope for her to accept magic?

  "So, that’s it?" Kara asked him.

  "About magic? Yeah," Andrew said, turning to her.

  "OK," Kara said with a shrug.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Well…mostly," Kara said, smiling at him.

  Andrew smiled back.

  They kept on hiking. Kara did have more questions, and Andrew did his best to answer them. Kara accepted magic much easier than he'd hoped. They were, after all, chasing legends of a smoke monster that kidnapped people. Andrew was glad. It had sent a sliver of panic through him at the idea of her seeing him as delusional or crazy.

  "So what do you think about the legends now?" Kara asked after she took a sip of water from her camelback.

  Andrew nodded in response. "I don’t know. I want to keep an open mind for now. Explore all the possibilities."

  Kara raised an eyebrow. "Really? The wizard wants to find a reasonable explanation for this?"

  "Warlock. There’s a difference, and yes I do. Enough about me. That’s all we talked about so far," Andrew said dryly.

  "OK, so what do you want to talk about?"

  "How about your parents? Tell me about them," Andrew asked genuinely curious.

  "My dad died when I was four, and Mom passed two years back," Kara said flatly.

  "I’m sorry. I was just trying to get to know you better," Andrew said as he turned to her.

  Kara looked back at him with an easy expression. "It’s OK. My dad died years ago. I never knew him. Mom died of breast cancer. I had a good long while to say goodbye and she made sure I was ready."

  "My brother died. Ten years ago," Andrew said looking down.

  "I’m sorry," Kara said and touched his hand. Andrew searched her face and saw understanding.

  "It’s OK. How’d you get through it? With your mom," he asked delicately.

  Kara sighed. "It’s what she told me. She said: sometimes the only way out is through. Sometimes you just have to let go and give in," Kara said shrugging. "It helped. I still remember her saying it very clearly. She wanted me to be happy. She wanted me to go on."

  Andrew nodded, saying nothing but squeezing her hand a little tighter. Letting go had never been easy for him.

  Andrew and Kara hiked their packs farther up their shoulders and made their way down the faded
but wide path.

  "How do you know where to go?" Kara asked.

  "If you look at the margins of the trail you can see it. The way the earth is depressed a few degrees more than the rest of the soil. The plants follow it." Andrew pointed to the edges of the faded trail.

  "It looks like an old road was here. There’s some asphalt." He motioned to a small clump of asphalt that was half buried in the earth. He brushed away some dirt and leaves. It was small and crooked, but at one time it had been laid there. Another piece lay a few feet away, angled in the same direction as the one Andrew stood over.

  "So we just follow it?" Kara asked.

  "Yeah. It’s really not that complicated. Most of these little finds start out this way," Andrew said as he brushed his hand and stood.

  "Some little piece of paperwork and off you go?"

  "Yeah. That’s how I do it at least. I know I have way more money available than most other guys who do this sort of thing and a lot more time, but it really is the best way. Find some evidence and then go there and investigate," Andrew said as he continued down the path.

  "But…why?"

  Andrew turned his head to look at her. "Because there is something to learn from all this. Because it’s fun."

  "So it’s just fun you’re after," Kara said with sly smile.

  "Oh come on now. I’m not some playboy looking for kicks. If I was, the last place I would be is the forests of Saratoga Springs."

  The forest took on a darker tone. The dappling shadows deepened, and the lower shrubbery and briars had all but been eliminated. The air cooled and sent goosebumps up their arms.

  Kara shivered. "It feels...different here."

  "I know. I feel it, too. The ambiance doesn’t help," Andrew said, glancing up to the trees and the dark shadows around the forest.

  "I don’t know. It’s like we're in a different place all of a sudden."