“Yes.”
Silence rose in the room.
Sutton joined them. “Risa, it’s a pact we all took before we were mated. Dead is better than a soulless rogue.” He glanced at Axel then back at her. “I was blooded and nearly lost my soul. Axel would have killed me if Carla hadn’t been able to save me. It’s what Linc would have wanted too.”
This group had a deep bond, one that was more than friendship or a cause. She was the outsider.
“He would have,” Axel agreed. “But I’m damned glad I didn’t have to. Thank you, Risa.”
She flushed. This wasn’t at all what she’d been dreading when coming down and mixing with everyone. “I’m glad I could help.” She turned to Carla. “Will you help me with my magic? I know it’s stronger. I can feel it in my chakras, but I can’t really control it.”
Carla hesitated. “Maybe we should wait. Linc needs to be here. His falcon will help you with control.”
Frustration rattled her nerves. She wanted to find the baby soon, both for Kendall’s sake and to stop lying. “He’s being too protective and refuses to help me yet.”
Darcy snorted. “They’re all like that.” Grabbing Risa’s hand, she tugged her. “Come on, I’ll help you. We’ll go outside.”
“Darcy.” Carla trotted beside them. “This might not be a good idea. Risa’s still healing.”
Out in the warm sunshine, Darcy turned to them. “We need Risa, Carla. We don’t have time to be cautious. Archer is hibernating, recovering from his spawn, and once he wakens, we’re going to need all the help we can get. And Risa has some kickass shield magic that held off Archer’s hellfire arrows. We need her, and we don’t have the luxury of time.”
“True,” Carla relented. “But no shield magic today. That triggers the soul screams.”
Risa held up her hand. “Believe me, I don’t want to trigger that. Darcy’s right, I’m going to have to attempt my shield magic at some point to see what the souls do.” She repressed a shudder. “But now, I just want to test how many chakras I can open and see if I can reach Kendall. You said you might be able to see her with your third eye through my connection to her, right?”
Carla’s eyes searched her face. “Possibly. Let’s go to the field. Being in the open with the elements should help.” As they walked, Carla asked, “How did you learn you were a shield witch? Was your mom one? It’s normally impossible to control without your high magic.”
At least this she could answer honestly. “My mom and her family were music witches. They would play and weave their magic into the notes, invoking emotions and spreading comfort or calm.” She’d heard their recordings, and even those evoked a deep response in her. “Most of her family are dead now. Their music attracted rogue’s attention. The few in hiding won’t talk to me.”
“Why?”
“Because my mom ran away, left them and her career, to be with my father. They tried to tell her he was evil, but my mom fell for his charm and wealth. He isolated her.”
Carla sighed. “It’s the way of any brainwashing, take the victim from their support system and immerse them in reconditioning.”
Risa turned and said, “You know a lot about brainwashing?”
“I specialized in it for years as a psychologist. It’s not as hard to break down a psyche and get control as people want to believe.”
Impressive. Carla had struck her as intelligent, but this amazed her. Old feelings bubbled and spilled out. “When it was me and my mom, she was kind and loving. And brilliant when she played the piano. I loved her. Then after she died, I found out she helped my father kill people. I don’t know how far she went—maybe she even had sex with the marks to distract them. Yet she insisted my father loved her, that they were this great love story.” All her feelings about her mom poured out of her in a huge wave.
Carla nodded. “He broke her, Risa. Took her from her family and her audiences that fed her music. I’m not excusing your mother, believe me. She made bad choices, which led to worse choices. But at the same time, it’s important to understand it’s very likely your father controlled her.” She brushed Risa’s arm. “And it’s okay to love the woman you remember as your mom while hating the choices she made with your father.”
Something old and tight unlocked in her chest as Carla described exactly how she felt. She did love her mom. “You’re good at this.”
Carla smiled. “Do you have any ability as a music witch?”
“Marginal.” Although more since she had met Linc. “My mom was baffled by that. We both assumed I was weak as a witch.”
“When did you realize you could weave a shield?” Darcy asked.
“Shelby, my miniature horse. He was barely thirty inches tall and the love of my life.” She smiled at the memory of her sweet, stubborn horse. “I was grooming him in the barn, and my mom came out there to find me when she accidently knocked a pitchfork off a hook. It fell straight toward Shelby. I panicked, my magic surged out, and I threw up my hands. The pitchfork stopped mid-fall. I felt the impact rattle through me like a tuning fork. Freaked out, I grabbed Shelby and moved. Then the pitchfork hit the ground. My mom was stunned. She said she could see my shield.”
“How old were you?”
“Thirteen. About a year before my mom was killed.”
Carla nodded. “Most of us come into our magic around puberty. Fear and panic probably released the hormone surge you needed to make that happen.”
They passed by the pool area. A glance over at the water made her think of talking out there with Linc, his kiss…Focus. “Probably,” she agreed. “But it was a weak shield, barely holding up a pitchfork for maybe thirty seconds. Looking back, I know it wasn’t a true and strong shield, more like a couple threads of yarn. It took years to learn to grab the threads of magic and weave them together into a shield, throw it and hit the target. Anyway, my mother recognized it as shield magic and pushed me to learn. We’d practice together when my father wasn’t around.”
“Interesting,” Carla said. “She hid your power from your father?”
Risa nodded. “She kept telling him I was weak…” And for the first time, she understood. “She was protecting me.”
“I can’t say for sure. I didn’t meet her. But I’d guess the mom in her was, yes. She knew what your father was and what she’d become, even if she couldn’t admit it.”
Darcy stopped in the middle of the athletic field. “When did the soul screams start?”
Risa thought back. “At first it was a headache and ringing in my ears. But by about the fifth soul I failed to save, it pitched up to screams. I could hold them off for a couple hours, but once I relaxed at all, they’d attack, and it’d be like a migraine for an hour or so. It progressively grew worse over time.”
Darcy pursed her lips then said, “Mating makes your magic stronger and more controlled, so in theory, you should be able to maintain your hold on your magic, which would keep the souls from taking over. But the pressure on your mind is intense. You need to access your high magic to figure out how to release the souls.”
Risa looked down at the grass. “Will they know where to go?” And what about Nola? Risa hadn’t seen her since the night she’d mated with Linc.
Carla glanced around, then said, “Let’s sit here in a circle.”
Tapping down her impatience for an answer, Risa sat on the dry grass and crossed her legs, with Darcy on her left and Carla on her right.
Carla squinted into the sun. “Now that you have a familiar, if you cast a shield and someone dies, your bird will keep any other souls from lodging in your magic. But for the ones already trapped in your magic, you need to ask the Ancestors how to do the spell to release them to their afterlife. That will require your fifth and sixth chakras.”
Risa nodded.
“If you haven’t already,” Darcy added, “you should start a witch book to store your magic and knowledge in.”
“I had one. It was in my luggage in my car that burned.”
Darcy
slipped off a silver ring from her thumb. “Here you go. Size it with your magic and you have a witch book.”
Risa stared at the bold yet elegant ring made from polished silver that wrapped around the thumb, two sides passing each other and arcing away. She hadn’t worn jewelry or anything pretty in years. She hated even looking at herself in a mirror. What others saw as beauty, she saw as something ugly. Hideous. But she wasn’t that girl anymore, was she?
Risa took the cool ring and slid it on. “Thank you. I’ll return it when I get something else to hold my magic.”
“I’d like you to keep it, Risa. You’ll know you have friends, and the ring will help connect us if we have to circle our magic when we’re not together. It’s a symbol of friendship.”
Her throat clogged. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Let’s work on transferring what you know about your magic into your ring. You’ll need to open your fifth chakra—communication with other realms—to do that.”
Excited and hopeful, she concentrated.
“Wait,” Carla said. “You use your hands for shield magic, right?”
Risa nodded.
Carla took her right hand. “We’ll hold your hands. It will help us circle magic together and stop you from using shield magic.” Once situated, Carla said, “Start opening your chakras.”
The hot sun poured over her, a light dry wind blew and the ground beneath her vibrated with life. Her first four chakras opened in seconds, spilling out power. Heat spread, whispering sensations filling her belly, making her nipples pebble. Too weird, especially without Linc here. Her magic slowed, beginning to retract.
“It’s normal,” Darcy said softly. “It’s in all our magic. Accept it.”
Risa took a breath. How did the other witch know? “Really?” All witches felt this?
“Yes,” Carla assured her. “All of us know that part of our magic belongs to our soul mirrors. Believe me, Axel and Sutton are feeling it right now. They won’t interrupt us, but they feel it.”
“Oh yeah.” Darcy laughed. “Axel will make me pay for torturing him.”
A giggle bubbled up in Risa’s chest. “It tortures them?”
“Instant boner if they’re close enough.” Darcy flashed a wicked grin. “Try it sometime.”
Oh she would. Risa loved feeling like a part of their world. Doing magic with the other witches, talking about sex, chuckling a bit about their mates. She had the sensation of belonging, of being home. Wanting to make the girls proud of her, she pushed her magic, and it rose through her heart chakra, then down to her pelvis in a continuous stream. Pressure began to build in her throat, her magic slowed, and strands leaped out of the stream. Seconds later, Carla and Darcy’s magic joined hers.
“Don’t worry about the stray magic right now.”
Darcy squeezed her hand. “Normally your familiar would help you with that. Just concentrate on opening your throat chakra.”
Risa closed her eyes, picturing the stream of power growing and thickening, pushing it harder and harder.
Pop.
Her fifth chakra opened, and more magic poured out.
“Perfect.” Carla’s voice was nearly hypnotic. “Now direct your power into the ring.”
Shifting the magic stream was like trying to turn back a tidal wave. But she focused and mentally drew the magic down her right hand to the ring, willing it to saturate every atom.
Her skin tightened, and heat spread. The souls sat quiet and undisturbed like stones at the bottom of a riverbed. But she had a weird vibration at her throat. “I feel something.”
“Your communication chakra. It’s sending info to your witch book. Everything your magic knows from experience is being stored in there.”
The vibration stopped. “I think it’s done.”
“Doing okay?” Carla asked.
Power zinged along her veins, her awareness sharp and vivid. “Yes. I want to see if I can find Kendall. Or at least connect to her.”
“Concentrate on her.”
She filled her mind with the baby. Kendall’s round face, her grin and laughter. A vibration sparked in her throat. Her pulse shot up. It was working. She might really—
Her magic slammed into a wall that reeked with sulfur.
“Demon magic.” Carla squeezed Risa’s hand hard. “Pull back. Now.”
Her magic scattered at the impact, and she couldn’t catch it all. Panic spiked. Oh God. What should she do? Her magic spun too fast, and she couldn’t get control.
Huge wings swooped in between her and the demon magic wall, and a screech rang out. Falcon. Every cell in her recognized the bird and honed in on him. The creature’s wings flapped in long, smooth strokes, corralling her magic and pushing it into a stream and back to her chakras.
Away from the threat.
The sensation of the bird moving through her, weaving in and out of her magic, was like discovering a missing piece of herself. She called her power back, and the falcon easily chased down the stray threads. Deep joy filled her heart, even as the threat of demon magic lurked in the back of her mind.
Finally the bird slowed and relaxed, indicating that the threat was over. Opening her eyes, she took in Carla and Darcy. “That was a rush.”
“Sugar, you have no idea,” came the deep, golden voice behind her.
~ 19 ~
It took everything Linc had to resist tugging Risa up into his arms and kissing her. Tasting her. His entire body buzzed with the sheer power of her vibrant magic winging through him. Heat coiled low in his stomach, his cock thick and hard, aching.
He’d returned to the academy after more searching for Archer, chasing down leads on Kendall and a few other things. As soon as he’d gotten out of the car, he’d been slammed with Risa’s magic. Not bloodlust. Instead it’d been the incredible magnitude of her power that had sent him into a run, pulled both by attraction and concern. What he’d found had ripped the air from his lungs. The three witches holding hands, sun gleaming off their witch shimmers. Carla and Darcy were pretty girls, but his witch?
Stunning. Just days ago, she’d been trapped in the cracks of her mind, and now? She radiated strength, magic and pride in what she had done.
Until he’d heard two words—demon magic.
She rose and whirled to face him. “You’re back.”
He nearly laughed at her half-defiant, half-busted look. Where did she think the falcon had come from? He knew she’d felt the bird—the connection between them at that second had been intense and vivid. Linc couldn’t see what the bird did, but he’d sensed danger like a physical threat, and he’d smelled sulfur. Now that the bird had chased off the threat to their witch, the creature made ridiculous, happy noises.
Taking a step closer, he locked gazes with his witch. “Just in time, it would seem.”
She glanced back over her shoulder.
Linc resisted the urge to grin. Risa fit right in, clearly having bonded with Carla and Darcy, now looking to her girls for support. “They aren’t going to save you.”
She turned back around, her eyes taking on fire. “I don’t need them to deal with you, birdman.”
He jerked up an eyebrow. That was new.
Risa hurried on with, “So here’s the deal. I need my magic. And I need you to help me. But if you won’t, or you just don’t believe I’m strong enough—”
He moved so fast, he had his hands around her arms and her chest pressed to his before she could react. “You almost drove me to my knees with your power. I’m not worried about your strength, toughness or bravery. You don’t know the meaning of giving up. And for your daughter? You’ll risk anything, including your sanity.” He drew one hand up her arm, gliding over her shoulder until he got to the delicate skin of her throat. The residual magic from her fifth chakra tingled up his arm and straight down to his cock.
A shudder ran through him. His mouth watered, but he needed to stay focused.
Risa stilled, wonder sliding into her expression, softening the distrust and f
rustration into something so beautiful it captivated him. “You think I’m brave?”
“You talked your way into a locked room where I had been losing the battle to hold on to any shred of my humanity. Then you cast your shield, knowing you’d pay a heavy price. Your bravery isn’t in question.”
She opened her mouth but said nothing.
“I didn’t stop you, Risa. When we were in that room together, I was inside you and didn’t stop you, didn’t protect you. I used you, drank in your magic, and was so goddamned lost in you that I didn’t protect you. That’s what scares me.” Linc hadn’t forgotten the other two witches, he just didn’t care. Let them hear. What mattered was he and Risa came to an understanding.
“Linc.” She wrapped her hand around his resting against her throat. “I didn’t even know you were here, yet your falcon linked with my magic and pulled me back from the block around Kendall. I didn’t fight him, even though Kendall was behind the danger that he pushed me away from. I won’t do her any good if I’m dead, incapacitated from demon magic, or let them track us.” A heavy frown settled between her brows. “Oh God, that’s how Archer found your house. I was trying to reach Kendall and hit the demon block—”
“Stop. You were trying to find your baby.” Linc didn’t like the dawning horror on her face. “You couldn’t have known what would happen, and neither did I.”
Some of the tension eased in her. “But that’s why you were being so cautious about helping me do high magic.”
He pulled her tighter against him. “That’s half the reason. The other half is that I didn’t know if our bond was strong enough yet for me and the falcon to protect you.” Linc looked down at her, seeing a woman who’d been used and hurt but who’d trusted him to touch her magic. A growl worked up his throat, and he shifted, lifting Risa in his arms.
“Linc! What are you doing?”
He glanced down. “Claiming you. Our bond is strong enough, and I’m done being careful.” He couldn’t wait, couldn’t hold back, and launched into a run.
Caged Magic Page 24