Magically Bonded

by Rachel Medhurst

  I pointed at my hair, trying to let her know discreetly that hers was all over the place. Kurt was just leaving when he turned back around.

  “Justina, your hair’s shit. Sort it.”

  Ah, there was nothing like Kurt to make my world a brighter place. Not that Justina agreed if her scowl was anything to go by.

  Ignoring his advice, Justina took a leather band out of her pocket and slapped it onto Lucia’s wrist, above the handcuff. A magic diffuser might not completely stop her, but it would help.

  Pulling away, she stared at Lucia, who wasn’t actually basking in her glory. No, she looked sad. Was that possible?

  An image of the young girl in the cinema a few weeks ago came into my mind.

  “You’re addicted, aren’t you?”

  What if I’d been addicted too? I had used my magic without thinking about the consequences. That had brought me to a place where I was lucky that I was still alive. Even now, the energy that bubbled inside me wanted an outlet. I had decided that I wanted to try and keep both types of magic, but was that actually doing me any good?

  “Yes. Those that have access to the extra magic all eventually end up addicts. It’s a big problem. One that I currently suffer from. One that Luis suffered from too.”

  Justina’s fingers tightened on the metal, her knuckles going white with the strain. She had a demon to exorcise when it came to that man.

  “I know what he did to you.” Our prisoner surprised us. “You were one of his first attempts at kidnapping. He had been groomed since we arrived in England. They trained him to need magic, to crave it. In turn, he kidnapped the witches who would be drained.”

  “And you just let him.” Justina’s harsh whisper made Lucia suck her bottom lip into her mouth, but she didn’t answer. “You must personally know some of the witches who were taken.”

  Digging out her phone, Justina showed Lucia the picture of the witches we had found hooked up to the magic draining device. It was grim.

  Looking away, Lucia held back a sob. “I don’t agree with it, okay? I wasn’t at that meeting to spy. I was there to try and help the warlocks. To have a baby.”

  “Are you crazy?” My outburst made them both look at me. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my emotions away, keeping as calm as possible. “You must have heard about me? I’m exactly what you were planning on creating. Trust me, I’m a mess.”

  Her scoff surprised me. “You’re the crazy one for thinking so little of yourself. I’ve heard all about you. We all have. Some of the witches or warlocks who have seen you create magic speak about you being some kind of legend.”

  A legend? Well, if they insisted on-

  “Trust me,” Gerard’s husky voice came over the intercom. “Devon is not a legend.”

  Trust Farty Mac-gravelly-voice to intervene in a very serious conversation. I was quite happy to hear exactly what people thought of me. It certainly was different to what I’d imagined. Although, I didn’t care how anyone viewed me. Much.

  “Let’s get back to the two main points. You will unlink us right now.” Justina leant over the table, staring straight into Lucia’s eyes. “… And then you will tell us who this elusive leader is.”

  Lucia closed her eyes, whispered a spell, and grinned when both Justina and I gasped. A rush of energy raced through me, making me shudder. That would be the others magic unlinking from mine.

  “There, it’s done.” Lucia had far too much power. The walls in the cell were supposed to stop anyone from doing magic. But, not her.

  “Okay, you need to drain some of that magic.” Justina looked at me, her eyebrows raised.

  Was she talking about me? I had already sucked some of my warlock magic out of me. Why would I need to-?

  “Give her your dagger.”

  My jaw almost hit the floor. She wanted me to give her my weapon? So she could put her filthy stolen magic in it?

  “No. I’ve unlinked you. If you leave my magic alone, I’ll tell you where the ring leader lives.” Lucia’s cuffed wrists squirmed in their bounds. She had used her inherited magic to make a point, but Justina hadn’t done anything to punish her. My boss was too set on getting the information she needed. The magic would filter out of Lucia eventually anyway. Especially now she couldn’t get another hit.

  “Deal,” Justina said, sitting back in her seat. “Go on.”

  The sadness in Lucia’s eye made me question why she was upset. Was it because she was losing her extra magic? Or, did she genuinely feel guilty for the pain her people had been causing witches? Somehow, I doubted that.

  “I’ll write the address down. She’s in Surrey, on the border of London. But, Devon…” Lucia paused as she blinked. “…I need to warn you, she looks scarily familiar to you. But with a million times more magic.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Justina was a bitch. Well, no, I didn’t really mean that. However, she had refused to give us the name and address that Lucia had written down. I still had no idea who the leader of the cult slave trade was. And, apparently she looked like me. Lucky woman.

  “It’s so good not to feel your magic every time you grasp that dagger handle,” Gerard said, winking at me when I scowled in his direction.

  The van was going down a bumpy road, making my teeth rattle in my head. Another stake out. Another mansion. Couldn’t one of them live in a proper run down house? One that would only take a minute to flush out. The idea of searching through what felt like hundreds of rooms made me sleepy.

  “You actually miss feeling me… erm… Wait, what…?”

  My confusion was blindsided when Gerard knocked on the partition between us and the front of the van. Kurt slid the metal open, his rock music blaring through the gap.

  “What?”

  Ever since he’d told me about his childhood coven, I’d wanted to quiz him more on the subject. There hadn’t been a moment spare to do that, so I sat on my questions, waiting for the perfect time to figure him out.

  “I’m going to do what Justina suggested,” Gerard said when Kurt turned his music down. “I just wanted to see if we had time.”

  Waving his hand, Kurt grunted. “Yeah, just do it.”

  The partition slammed shut before Gerard turned to me. He watched me from under his eyelashes. They were quite long against his grass green eyes. But, why was he looking at me as if he was… Was he…?

  “I’ve noticed that you’re weaker now we’re unlinked.”

  “You have?” I almost choked at that.

  I hadn’t told anyone that I was feeling a little more tired than usual. In fact, I’d only acknowledged it when I’d dragged myself out of bed that morning. I had to speak to Becky to sort out my magic problem. Especially now I didn’t have three other witches as backup.

  “I’m fine,” I snapped, going to move to the end of the bench.

  The van hit a pothole, making me bounce and thrust forward. Gerard steadied me by holding onto my knees. He stared at me, a question in his gaze. We had been so engrossed in the unfolding drama, we hadn’t spoken about anything else.

  “You’re not fine. I can feel the struggle within you.”

  My chest squeezed, the air rushing from my lungs. I had pushed my own problems aside, trying to be professional. I hadn’t been an agent for long, I still needed to prove myself to Justina.

  “This isn’t the time,” I said to him as I tried to shove his hands off me.

  It didn’t work. He held tight, still keeping his intense gaze trained on me. Ugh. If he was going to get all protective, I might as well get it over and done with.

  “So, what did Justina suggest you do? Lecture me? Give me therapy?”

  My indifference was met with a quirk of the lip. “I’m always lecturing you, so no, not today. However, I’m going to give you some of my magic. Your witch side is still compromised, and if this battle is going to be won, we need you at your best.”

  “You don’t need me,” I blurted before I had a chance to think.

  Great, well done, D
evon. Tell the man your insecurities and make yourself look like an immature fool. Ugh. Why was I so…?

  “What makes you think that? You’re the first partner I’ve ever had that has kept me on my toes. You might have brought a lot of the crap with you, but hey… it’s been fun, hasn’t it?”

  Gerard’s jovial mood turned serious when Kurt banged on the partition to tell us that we had ten minutes until we got to the house. My heart flipped in my chest at the thought of finally catching our target.

  “Let me give you some of my magic. Please.”

  I closed my eyes. The string of magic that was pure was a hell of a lot weaker than my warlock tie to the earth.

  “Okay. But, maybe I need to seriously start thinking about being a warlock. The magic. It seems to want me to use it.” My words were uttered with a sigh.

  I didn’t feel sorry for myself, just resigned. There was a reason the warlock side of me was stronger. Maybe my witch magic should be severed. It would make life a lot easier. And me a lot stronger.

  Holding out his hands, Gerard looked into my eyes. I placed my palms against his, my heart aching slightly as his warm energy filtered into me. My mouth parted slightly as I inhaled, my chest rising. Gerard’s eyes followed the gesture. Sharing something so intimate just before a raid was a questionable idea. Especially as it made me want to rip off his jeans and tight jacket. The weapons would go sprawling as I jumped on him…

  “I don’t want to know what you’re thinking.” Gerard’s voice was deep, husky.

  My eyelids were heavy as his magic poured into me. Oh, man, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. I might not be able to control myself when I watched Sexy Mac-horny fighting, his muscles bulging.

  “No, you don’t.” My whispered words made his eyebrows raise and his cheeks flush pink.

  Releasing my hands, he clenched his jaw as he sat back. “That was intense.”

  “Thank you.”

  Yes, it was lame, but it was the only thing I could say. My stomach was home to a party of butterflies, making me feel a little nauseous. We had been so focused on our mission, we hadn’t had a chance to acknowledge that the attraction still existed between us.

  The van slowed to a stop. Gerard leant forward, his arm reaching to grab my chin. I tried not to cringe as he pinched the skin slightly. “Be careful.”

  He was out of the van before I could react. Be careful. Pfft. I didn’t need to be careful. I was Devon Jinx. Half witch, half warlock. For now.

  Glancing down at the floor, I smiled when my gaze caught my boots. The laces were tied tight, ready for action. Like me. Although, not that kind of action. Not right now, anyway.

  “Let’s go!” Kurt slapped the side of the van, rattling the metal. Grabbing out my dagger, I hopped down onto the ground, swearing when I landed straight in a muddy puddle, the dirt flicking up all over me.

  “Classy, Devon,” Justina quipped as she shone a torchlight on me.

  A laugh escaped her as my black leggings and khaki jacket were revealed to sport a new style of blotchy mud.

  “Its fine, I’ll blend into the bushes.”

  Kurt’s cough alerted me to his presence as he pointed to our right. I came around the van to get a look. A field stretched ahead of us, leading up to… was that…?

  “Is that a fucking castle?” I exclaimed.

  The others stared at me. The high walls made of stone were a pretty obvious giveaway. How the hell were we supposed to get into it?

  “Didn’t you get the memo?” Justina asked as she clipped a gun to her waist belt.

  Memo? Since when did we get memos? Okay, if I would have known we were going to be scaling some walls, I would’ve done some push ups before we came.

  “Do you ever check your phone when it doesn’t ring?” The glint in Justina’s eye promised me that she wasn’t about to fire me on the spot.

  “What… emails and stuff? No. I check Facebook and Twitter sometimes, but never my email.”

  “Sometimes?” Gerard scoffed. “You’re addicted to Facebook. You literally check your witch group every hour. Just in case someone has said something about you.”

  My secret obsession with social media obviously hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not that I flaunted it that much, so I didn’t know what Gerard was talking about.

  “Focus.” Kurt snapped his fingers in front of my face.

  Instead of throwing the blame on my partner, I stiffened my back and waited for my orders. I was full of both witch and warlock magic, with a little extra warlock in the dagger if needed. It was time to bring the bitch down.

  “Devon, Gerard, head across the field and see what protection they have. There will be a barrier spell. There might even be physical security too. We’ll stay in the woods and approach the front entrance. I checked on the maps, but I didn’t realise how big a fortress it was until I used the government’s equipment. We won’t be going in today.” Justina handed Gerard a walkie talkie.

  My skin itched as frustration ran through me. Ah, crap. If only I’d read the memo, I would’ve known that I wasn’t going to get my magic on.

  “Got it?” Kurt checked in with us both, his eyes narrowing on me.

  “Did I lose it the other night?” I said, trying hard not to sound sarcastic and failing.

  “No, but there’s no harm in a little reminder. You’re bloody unpredictable.”

  My male boss still didn’t trust me, which sucked. I probably hadn’t given him cause to considering I’d broken the rules a few times. It had got results though, hadn’t it?

  “Okay, kids.” Justina interrupted the glare that Kurt and I shared. “Shall we be adults now? And, get on with our job? Please?”

  Checking my dagger was in place, I saluted Justina and turned with Gerard. My eyes landed on a wooden stile. Oh great, my gorgeous leather boots would have to traipse through mud.

  “Report back every five minutes.” Justina’s parting words were accompanied by a wave of her hand.

  Gesturing for me to go first as the others disappeared, Gerard stepped back. Hopping over the stile, I smiled to myself when I landed on hard ground. Good, it hadn’t rained enough recently for the squelch to have got the ground.

  Surveying the dark field, I made sure there were no lights or suspicious activity. My eyes were now used to the dark, adjusted to see anything out of the ordinary. However, I wasn’t a rabbit, I couldn’t see completely. We would have to tread carefully.

  “This is a bit dodgy,” I said when Gerard was next to me.

  We aimed towards our goal, the big double metal gate at the bottom of the field. It was visible in the slight moonlight. On the other side, the grounds led to the castle. The walls weren’t that high, the castle only being a small battlement. There was no moat or big turrets, just a smaller place with tons of land.

  “There’s lights on in those tiny windows,” I said, almost excited that we were approaching a historic building.

  Gerard’s grunt alerted me to his concentration. The grass tufts made it harder to keep a steady step. However, we had to be quiet. Oh, yeah.

  Pretending to zip my mouth shut, just as my own reminder, I concentrated on where I was stepping. We had to be as quiet as possible, which was kind of impossible for me. Especially when my foot caught, and I toppled over.

  Rough hands grabbed me up, hauling me to my feet. Okay, Rough Mac-handly, no need to put your hands-

  “Ah!” I exclaimed when I slipped again, and Gerard’s hand accidentally brushed against my arse. “Right, let me get my bearings.”

  Stepping away from him, I stopped for a second. He hadn’t said a word, but my cheeks burned anyway. We might have shared a kiss, but touching body parts wasn’t currently on the cards. Unfortunately.

  His chuckle rent the silence, making me grit my teeth. It wasn’t the time to be humorous about my arse.

  Clearing his throat, Gerard came a little closer and whispered. “We don’t have all day. Do you want me to carry you?”

  I batted his offered hand
away, pleased that I couldn’t see the expression on his face. His shadow loomed over me, reminding me that I was tiny in the big scary world.

  “Pack it in. I’m ready to get on with it.” My hiss was acknowledged with a nod of his silhouetted head.

  Straightening my jacket at the same time as patting my pocket, I reassured myself that I still had my weapon. Bending my knees as I walked, I gained a better balance in the ruts.

  The gate loomed ahead as we neared. No one was in sight, which made me nervous. My stomach fluttered as I came close to the edge of the field. If this was the fortress of the leader of the slave trade, there would be some-

  “Wait!” Gerard hissed when I went to reach out.

  Holding my arm frozen in mid-air, I waited for him to join me. He pointed to some wooden posts that held the metal gate. I squinted, but he must have had amazing eyesight, because they just looked like dark wood posts to me.

  “They’re burnt,” he said, shining a tiny light onto one of them for a slit second. “Which means the barrier spell might be…”

  “Electric,” I finished for him when my foot trod on something that wasn’t the ground.

  I jumped back when I looked down and saw an array of shadowed furry lumps. Animals that had been shocked to death. A lump rose to my throat as I stared, unable to stop the images that were running through my mind. What was it with the brain and morbid curiosity? Why was I now imagining tons of poor little creatures frying from electric volts?

  “We need to disarm it if we want to get any further. However, they might have an alarm system in place.” I was speaking to myself, trying to forget the dead animals on the floor.

  A click made me look at Gerard’s shadow. He was extending something towards the gate. Was he going to interrupt the spell?

  Nothing happened. And, yet, he stayed completely still. Er. What was he doing?

  “Gerard?” I came a little closer to him. “What…?”

  The small blast of flames that came from his hand made me step back, almost tripping over, yet again.

  “Keep your voice down. That was a test, which might have triggered a warning, so we need to be on the lookout…. and ready to leg it.”