by Leia Shaw
Greater good, James. Greater good.
“What was that?” he finally asked. “You missed me by a mile. If you’re going to disobey my instructions, at least do it well.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t look sorry. “Maybe we should start with the Bolts. It seems I’m better at that.”
He shook his head. “We always start with defense. Protection is more important than fighting back.”
“Fighting back is a form of protection. Besides, the best way to protect yourself is to run. Do you have a spell to run faster?”
“Only hard work and practice.” He arched a brow. “Do you want to run laps as part of your training?”
“No.”
“Then we do things my way.” He lit up a palm. “Again.”
The Bolt left his fingers in a whirl of energy. Halfway to its target, it clashed against an equal force. The ground rumbled beneath them as blue light exploded into the air.
Sage had thrown another Bolt. The power lines running parallel to his yard sparked then plummeted to the ground. Electricity sizzled around them. Sage’s hair floated in the static-charged air. The side door floodlight flickered before bursting into dozens of pieces.
Bloody hell!
More worrisome than Sage’s enormous amounts of uncontained power was the expression on her face. Not a single sign of remorse. With eyes wide and lips curled into a smile, Sage looked hungry for more
And wasn’t that a disturbing thought.
Chapter 5
“I am seriously going to hurl if I read one more sentence about how respectable sorcerers are supposed to act,” Sage exclaimed. Curled up in the recliner, she had the sorcery book open and resting on her knees.
The next sentence read, Sorcery is a gift we must choose to wield with respect and honor –
“Gag me.” She flipped ahead several chapters, looking for something worth reading, but James watched her too closely.
“Don’t skip ahead.”
“I’m just trying to get to the good stuff.”
“The good stuff is built on the foundation. If you want to be a strong sorceress you have to start at the beginning. I know your generation has a hard time grasping the idea of patience, but you’ll just have to get used it.”
She was growing tired of his pious lectures. And what was all this about “your generation?” He couldn’t be that much older than her.
“If sorcerers are so high and mighty, why do you teach little kids how to fight?” she asked. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
James put down the papers he’d been grading and leaned forward to the edge of the couch. “Sorcerers have been at war for the last five-hundred years. We teach young sorcerers to defend themselves from the dark forces that are against us. This is a fragile time in our history –”
“Five hundred years is a fragile time? Exactly how far back does your history go?”
“Since the beginning of time.”
Well, shit. There was a lot she didn’t know about the world. Did she even want to know? “Okay. So, what’s this war about? It must be pretty important to go on this long.”
“It’s very important.” He shifted in his seat, intensity blazing in his eyes. “It’s all to do with land.”
“Land!” She slapped her hands on her thighs. “Why is it always about land?”
“Not just any land. See, my people – our people, are from Wales. There’s a large Sorcery community living there.”
“A Sorcery community? Do they have a Facebook page?”
That earned her a sharp look. “Actually, the community is more like a kingdom. It’s called Caerwyn, which means ‘white fortress’ in Welsh. It’s ruled by a counsel of sorcerers. They’re kind of like…elected officials acting on behalf of sorcery affairs.”
“Donkey or elephant?” Another fierce glare made her smile.
“This bit of land, where our descendants have lived for thousands of years, is what we are at war to protect.”
She leaned back against the chair. “Fighting over land? Like that’s never been done before. Does this story get exciting anytime soon? I’d just as soon read the lame-ass book –”
“It isn’t the land that’s important,” he snapped. “It’s what’s under it. It’s enchanted. Some magical force beneath the layers of the earth allows the people who live in the city to be…immortal.”
Now things were getting interesting. “Immortal?”
“Well, not exactly. You see, when they reach adulthood, they keep aging but very slowly. Most sorcerers are over two hundred years old, but look, at the most, in their thirties or forties. They never get sick and they heal quickly from most injuries.”
“So, someone is fighting you for the land? Is that what the war is about?”
“Yes. But it belongs to us. We’ve held it since the beginning of time.”
“Wait a minute. You said living there made people immortal.”
He nodded.
“Have you lived there?”
“Yes. I grew up there.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-two,” he answered, his gaze averted.
Sage knew a lie when she heard it. “Okay, fine. Dodge my questions.” She paused, watching him warily. “How long have you been alive then?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re only immortal for the time you spend there. Once you leave the land, you age just like everyone else.”
“So you’re not, like, a thousand years old or anything creepy like that?”
“That’s not what I said. But it doesn’t matter. For all intents and purposes, I’m thirty-two. Back to the war. We train kids how to fight because Caerwyn has been attacked intermittently for the last five-hundred years. We’ve held strong, but still, as in any war, there are casualties.”
“Who’s trying to take the land from you?”
James took a deep breath. “It was pretty easy for you to believe in sorcery and witches, right?”
“Well, yeah. If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of a freak.”
“This is going to sound implausible but I need you to remember that just as there are people that can do magic, there are other…creatures that come from myth too.”
“Okay. Keep going.”
“There is a sorcerer named Cadmael. We call him Adwyth Hun, the evil one. He was cast out of Caerwyn six-hundred years ago when he committed the ultimate crime.”
“What was that?” She edged forward in her chair.
“He killed a brethren in cold blood. And he took his power before he died. There is only one way to do that.” He gave a dramatic pause. “By drinking his blood.”
“Ew.”
Some dark emotion flickered in his eyes. This Cadmael was significant to him somehow.
“Cadmael always had dreams of enormous power. You could say he was obsessed with it. Angry he was banished from his homeland, he plotted vengeance. And he’s been trying to get it ever since.”
She held up a hand. “Back up. You said he was banished from Caerwyn. Then how is he alive after five-hundred years?”
“That’s the other part to the story.” James shifted and took a deep breath. “Cadmael disappeared into the Underworld when he was banished.”
“The Underworld?” This was getting too Hollywood even for Sage, the sorceress-slash-witch.
“It’s on a different plane.” At her puzzled expression, he explained, “Um…like a different dimension, halfway between earth and hell. You have to petition the guardian to open a door to get there. It’s…not easy.” He paused and studied her expression. No doubt she looked as confused as she felt.
“This is where the creatures I was talking about come into the picture. The creatures of the Underworld are immortal by nature. They don’t need the land. But, the other advantage Caerwyn has is that it, sort of, exaggerates our power. Those who live there are stronger, faster, smarter. So of course, everyone and every…thing…wants it for himself.”
“Okay. Stop.
Can you please tell me what these Underworld creatures are? Just so I have a picture in my head. It’s kind of freaking me out.”
“It should freak you out,” he answered gravely. “Blaidd and Fampir.”
She shuddered.
“Werewolves and vampires.”
Sage leaned back. “Vampires? Like…ridiculously good-looking, stuck-in-their-teens, animal-drinkers that glitter?”
“No. Like Dracula.” His voice grew even more frightening. “Murderous, evil, blood-thirsty demons from the depths of hell. Monsters from your worst nightmares.”
She sensed his fear and felt it too. It was clear he’d seen one. Maybe worse.
“And werewolves are no better. Both species are fast and incredibly strong. Our magic helps protect us, but physically we are much weaker. Without the use of our powers, we would be helpless against them. Even with magic, many great warriors have fallen. That is why we teach our young to fight.”
Sage was stunned speechless, which was becoming uncomfortably common around him. The whole story was hard to believe, but there was no lie on James’ face.
“Cadmael couldn’t stand the thought of losing his immortality,” he explained. “So he found a vampire that would turn him in exchange for the information about Caerwyn. Then he took control of the Underworld. And now he’s even more dangerous. He’s not only a more powerful sorcerer, because he’s been drinking the blood of others, but physically he is superior as well. Many call him the Dark King. He’s building an army in the Underworld to take back Caerwyn and claim it for himself.”
“My god,” she said, shaking her head. “You guys are screwed.”
He sighed and nodded.
“Well, why haven’t you gone after this guy? Build an army yourselves and counter attack?”
“We tried. But away from our land we are vulnerable. I was there the last time we attacked. It was a bloodbath.” James stood up and walked into the kitchen then placed his coffee mug in the sink. “The Counsel is getting lazy about finding the Dark King. They don’t want to launch another attack. They just continue to build defenses, waiting for Cadmael to come to them, again and again. But it doesn’t accomplish anything. And eventually, the Underworld will succeed.”
“You want to kill him, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”
He hung his head as if he were hiding some shame. “Yes, I do. He’s…wronged me.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“It’s…complicated.”
“Well, what the hell are you doing here in Massachusetts? You have revenge on the brain. Go out there and get it.” Did she really just go from loathing the man to giving him career advice? She sighed at her fickle emotions.
“It’s not that easy. I’m here consulting with an oracle named Ruby. She lives in Boston. She foretold an heir has been born. This heir is the key to Cadmael’s success in taking over my home. I’m going to find him before the Dark King can.”
“So the heir is half-vampire, half-sorcerer?”
James rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Ruby said vampires were only created by the exchange of blood, not necessarily by birth. But no one knows for sure. And then there’s the complication that we’re looking for a baby. She called a few days ago and said he was just born.”
“You’re not planning to kill a baby are you?” she asked, horrified.
“No, of course not. But I want to keep an eye on it. Make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Cadmael’s heir is likely to feel a pull toward darkness. Power hungry, greedy, vengeful. If we monitor the child, we could intervene when necessary.”
Sage nodded absently. But something nagged at the back of her mind. Where did she fit into all this? Why would James take on a student if he was already packing in the extra-curricular sorcery activities? It certainly wasn’t because of her winning personality.
“Why are you training me, James?”
He hesitated. It’d be a lie, whatever he told her. She could tell already. Before he could answer, his phone rang. Saved, for now.
Chapter 6
Two more days of training and Sage still couldn’t produce a Shield. James had been holding his temper but she could see the frustration simmering in the tightness around his eyes.
She was still flinging Bolts. James would growl and curse in foreign languages as clumps of dirt exploded in the yard. The formerly well-manicured lawn now looked like a mine field.
Her ass hurt from days of falling on it. Bruises covered her elbows and forearms. James was patient, but stubborn. He refused to teach her anything else until she’d mastered a Shield.
Finally, on day four, James threw his hands up in the air and ordered her into the car.
Entering a confined space with an agitated sorcerer seemed like a bad idea. “Why?”
“Time for a new strategy,” he answered, striding to the house and returning with his keys. “In the car. Let’s go.”
Sage hesitated. Dusk was settling earlier as they moved toward the end of October. The nights were getting chilly and she didn’t own a coat.
James gave her a formidable glare. “Sage, get in.”
With a groan, she slid into his sparkling silver Lexus. On the other side of town James pulled into a recreation center. He gave a curt nod to the front desk employee and they walked to the batting cages uninterrupted. Judging by how empty the place was, she guessed it was closed.
When James placed a helmet on her head and pushed her into one of the cages, she panicked.
“No! No, no, no, no.” She dug her heels into the dirt and clung to the fence post.
James’ grip was like steel. He pulled her free from the gate and forced her into the center of the cage.
“Are you insane? You can’t do this to me, James. You just can’t!”
He held her upper arms in his firm grip, keeping her from running back out. “This is the only way I think you can learn. You’ve gotten too used to falling on your ass. This will give you…” he eyed the pitching machine with a smirk, “new incentive.”
“I will kill you James!”
He trailed a knuckle down her cheek. “Ah, cupcake, you will be fine.”
Cupcake? She smacked his hand away. Rage pulsed through her body like a living thing. Light burst into her palm, burning down her arm, itching to hurt, to kill. She would let it this time.
James rushed in and placed his lips firmly on hers. It was a punishing kiss she couldn’t draw back from. He grabbed her wrist with the growing Bolt and pinned it behind her back then squeezed hard until the light flickered out.
She let her teeth graze his bottom lip. He pulled back and appraised her. Black flecks threaded through his indigo eyes, indicating danger lurked close to the surface.
“Bite me and I’ll bite you back,” he said in her ear. “But it will be in a far naughtier spot.”
She was tempted to test him, but the batting cage wasn’t the best spot should he prove to keep his word.
He kissed her again, softer now. He tasted like sweet ocean air. She breathed him in, repressing the urge to wrap a leg around his waist.
Fuck! How did she keep getting lost in his kisses?
She tried to push him away and realized her free hand was clenching his shirt, holding him to her like he was a freakin’ life raft. She unclenched her fist and shoved at his chest.
He took a few steps back.
“What are you doing?” she yelled.
He clasped his hands together calmly in front of him. “I believe it was obvious I was kissing you.”
“You hate me. We hate each other!”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t make your lips any less kissable.”
She stared for a moment, gathering her scattered thoughts. She was panting – feeling fidgety and unsettled. First, because he was about to batter her with baseballs. Second, because he just kissed the hell out of her…and she wanted more. “Fine. Let’s leave and you can kiss me again. I’ll even let you.”
“Let me?”
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “If I remember correctly, angel, you were pulling me so hard against your body, I don’t think I could have gotten any closer without being inside you.”
Her cheeks heated when she pictured him inside her, both of them naked and writhing, growling and –
She shook her head, erasing the image like an etch-a-sketch. “Whatever. Let’s just go. You can kiss me more at home.”
He arched a brow. “Home?”
“Don’t get any ideas. For me, home is where my backpack is.”
He stepped back, his face an impassive mask. “No. We’re doing this.”
“It’s going to hurt me, James!” Her nails dug into his chest as she grasped his shirt.
“Not if you block it.” He pried her hands from his shirt, spun her around and shoved her further into the cage.
When she swung back around, he was gone.
“I’ll point the pitching machine low so it doesn’t damage any internal organs,” he said from outside the cage door. “But I recommend not getting hit at all.”
“Yes, thank you for that, boy genius,” she bit. “Where did you graduate from? Hogwarts School for the Mentally Unbalanced?”
He smiled, sincerely, and damn if it wasn’t…pretty. Then he had to ruin it. “I’ll give you a minute to get ready.”
She may be brave and a natural fighter, but that didn’t mean she liked pain. If they posed a threat to her or someone she cared about, she’d kick ass, but she would never willingly sign up for a boxing match. But now her barbaric sorcery teacher had just shoved her into the ring to get her ass kicked in the name of teaching. How he tainted the word!
“I hardly think this qualifies as teaching,” she told him with her back up against the side of the cage.
“Get in the middle or I’ll anchor you there.”
She couldn’t think of a single way he could force her to remain in the middle, but she didn’t doubt he’d figure it out.
Damn it! She inched out in front of the menacing machine.
“I’m starting the machine in five, four –”
“All right! Just go!”
The first ball hit her thigh and it stung. She grunted in pain then spat a dozen violent ways she would make James pay.