Institute of Magic

by Linsey Hall

  Holy fates, that had been wild.

  A demanding meow sounded at my feet. I looked down.

  Muffin stood there, glaring. He had one of my boots gripped in his jaws. At his side, Bojangles held another boot. Princess Snowflake III had brought my T-shirt.

  Just my T-Shirt.

  Was that intentional?

  Whatever. “Thanks, guys.”

  Fortunately, I’d shoved my socks into my boots, so my feet were comfortable once I’d pulled those on. Then I tugged on my T-shirt and wrapped the towel around my waist.

  “How do I look?” I asked the cats.

  They looked at me dubiously.

  “Lovely,” Lachlan said.

  I turned to face the exit. Lachlan stood there, perfectly dressed and looking too damned good.

  “I take it you had some luck?” he said. “I saw you dart into the men’s caldarium.”

  “I had some luck. You?”

  “Just seeing you in your towel. Which I count as fairly lucky.” His cold eyes weren’t so cold anymore. In fact, heat burned in their depths. The grin that softened his lips made me want to lean up and press my lips to his.

  Bree was so wrong about him being cold. “Let’s go before we get caught. I can tell you what I found when we get back.”

  He nodded, and we hurried through the darkened streets of Pompeii. Fortunately, we met no trouble as we made our way back.

  Fabio hadn’t waited up for us, but the servant who opened the door got me some fresh clothes. At least I made a habit of not carrying identification with me, so there was nothing of value left in my jeans and leather jacket back at the baths.

  Quickly, I changed into the new jeans—which fit amazingly well, surprisingly—then I joined Lachlan out in the sitting room where the servant had brought food and wine.

  Exhausted, I flopped down and picked up a glass. I sipped, then scowled.

  “It’s the old style,” Lachlan said. “Not to my taste, either.”

  “This is what they drank in ancient times?”

  “Yes. Fabio is a purist. Now tell me, what did you find? Because there was nothing in the men’s baths.”

  Nothing but a whole lot of naked Lachlan.

  Which was really not where my mind should be going.

  I ate a bite of bread and cheese as I tried to recall exactly what the women had said. “I didn’t see their silver circle tattoos, but they mentioned you by name. And said it was hard to outsmart you and your goons.” My brows dropped. “Presumably I’m one of your goons.”

  “You make an excellent goon.”

  I wanted to chuck my piece of bread at him, but my tiny well of manners stopped me. This place was way too nice for me to be throwing food. “Anyway, there’s going to be a drop-off at a port tomorrow night. They’re making a portal, and I think the boss is coming to pick up the spell. A sorcerer had it, but now it’s going to its final destination.”

  “Which port?”

  “The one at Pompeii?”

  “Pompeii used to have a port, but no longer. The sea line has changed. Now it’s just grass near some tourist shops.”

  “Hmmm. Crap. Not Pompeii’s port, then.” Disappointment filled me.

  “At least they’re unlikely to move the location of the drop. If they never said which port, they’ll probably doubt you can find it.”

  “If they thought I was looking. They were just suspicious. They didn’t have any confirmation of who I am or what I’m after.”

  “So we should try to find out which port and ambush their drop-off. It may be canceled, but probably not.”

  “I bet it’ll have extra security, though.”

  “Which means we should probably have some backup.”

  “We can ask my sisters. And Caro, Ali, and Haris.” I frowned. “But first, we should find out which port. I’ll call them. Maybe someone else found a clue.”

  He nodded. “Good.”

  I touched my fingertip to the comms charm. “Bree? Rowan? Any luck?”

  “What’s up?” Bree sounded like she’d just finished running a marathon.

  “You okay?”

  “Just polished off some demons. Getting my exercise in.”

  “You and Rowan safe?”

  “Better than safe. We might have a clue.”

  “Had to kill some demons to get it, though,” Rowan said.

  “Ain’t easy without magic,” Bree added.

  “What’s your clue?” I asked.

  “Found a mage with a silver circle on the back of his neck. He had a plane ticket to Rome, scheduled to leave tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, interesting.” My mind raced. Rome had to have a big port, right? “That helps.”

  I told her everything we’d found.

  “Excellent,” she said. “We’re headed back to the Protectorate now. I’ll ask Jude if any other teams have found something.”

  “You read my mind. Thanks, guys.”

  “Always,” Rowan said. “We’ll call by tomorrow morning, all right? Hopefully we’ll know which port by then.”

  “Perfect.” I hung up and looked at Lachlan.

  “That’s some good family you have there.”

  “I’m lucky.” I ate a grape and watched him, realizing that I knew so little. “What about you? Family? Friends? Anyone you want to call in to help us tomorrow night?”

  He shook his head. “I work alone. Besides Decker, who helps me occasionally. But as you know, he’s not available.”

  “Trying to survive an abduction. Right. Of course.” I wanted to ask about family again, but he’d avoided the question. Mildred the ghost had said he had none, so the question was probably better saved for another time. “We’ll be fine with this team. And with any luck, we’ll catch them in the act. Get the spell, save your friend, and retrieve our magic.”

  “You don’t seem to be too uncomfortable without your magic,” he said. “It’s not all gone, is it?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe the curse missed me.”

  His brows lowered. “What are you?”

  “I’ve told you that plenty of times.”

  “A garden variety shield mage?” He shook his head. “You’re not. Even if you had no other magic, you’d be special.”

  “Yeah?” I had to admit that I didn’t hate hearing it.

  He moved closer. “Aye.”

  I drew in an unsteady breath. Was he flirting with me? Or trying to get info? Either way, I kind of liked it.

  But he was dangerous.

  The thing was, I didn’t really care right now. In fact, I liked it.

  I leaned toward him, drawn by the softness of his lips. His cheekbones were sharp as glass, and his eyes hot as molten metal. The scent of him wrapped around me, capturing me in a haze of desire.

  Lachlan leaned toward me, seeming pulled by a force that he couldn’t fight. His gaze dropped to my lips.

  I didn’t know who moved first, but in half a second, we were pressed together, his mouth hot against mine. His strong hand cupped the back of my head, and I pressed myself against him, lining my curves up with his harder angles.

  His lips were hot and fierce on mine. He kissed as if he were starving, as if he hadn’t felt the touch of another in years. He devoured me, making my mind spin and my skin heat.

  I moaned against his lips, and he murmured my name.

  There was so much desperate want in the single word that I knew it would be imprinted on my mind forever.

  No one had ever wanted me this much.

  I sank my hands into his hair and licked his lips, trying to get as much of him as possible. He groaned, a raw sound that ripped through me. I was about to push him down on the seat when he pulled back, his gaze torn.

  “What’s wrong?” I panted, trying to catch my breath.

  He looked like he was in agony. “We have to stop. We work together.”

  What?

  Oh crap.

  He was right.

  My cheeks burned, even as everything in my body screamed
at me to kiss him again.

  “We can’t do this.” Gently, he let go of me and stood. His hands fisted at his sides, as if he ached to touch me again, but couldn’t.

  He was right. Wasn’t he?

  Either way, this was clearly over for him.

  I stood abruptly and nearly tripped over the seat. My face flamed. “Of course. Right. Bedtime for me. See you in the morning.”

  I fled the room, but my narrow escape felt more like a defeat than a victory. What had just happened?

  11

  My comms charm blared to life the next morning, Bree’s voice interrupting a wildly inappropriate dream about Lachlan.

  “Ana? You there?”

  “Yeah.” I wiped drool off my face and rolled over, falling out of the unfamiliar bed and landing splat on the rug. “Ow.”

  “Are you okay?” Worry sounded in Bree’s voice.

  “Fabulous. Just grace incarnate, as usual.”

  “You fell out of bed?”

  Aching, I climbed to my feet. “Nailed it in one. But enough about my glory. Did you find any more clues?”

  “Caro did. She was tracking a group of transport mages who said the word Civitavechia.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Google says it’s the biggest port near Rome.”

  “Bingo.” Between my clue about a meeting at a port, my sister’s clue about Rome, and Caro’s clue about Civitavechia, we’d figured this out. “Teamwork for the win.”

  “My kind of victory. Will you head back here first?”

  “I don’t think we can waste the transport charms. If you’ll bring me a change of clothes, we can meet at Civitavechia. But we’ll need a team.”

  “Definitely. I’ll talk to Jude."

  “It’s got to be a huge port, right? If it serves all of Rome.”

  “Yeah. What are you thinking?”

  “I think you should bring the buggy. We’ll need it to cover ground fast. Rowan should be done with the engine by now, and I just repaired the stealth feature last week.” We’d need to be able to move silently if we wanted to succeed. And if I were being honest with myself, I wanted to get back on the buggy. I missed it.

  “Without our magic, we’re going to need every advantage we can get,” Bree said.

  “Seriously.” And if we didn’t find the answer about the curse when we found the missing spell, we’d be well up a creek.

  Later that afternoon, Lachlan and I arrived at Civitavechia. We hadn’t spoken about the kiss. It was as if it had never happened. Except for the fact that I replayed it in my mind, over and over. But if he was going to pretend it hadn’t happened, so was I.

  Easier said than done, however.

  Civitavechia was about three hours away by car, so we’d managed to save his last transport stone by borrowing a vehicle from Fabio. It was no buggy, but it wasn’t bad. I wasn’t the type to complain about a Lamborghini, after all.

  Fortunately for me—and unfortunately for Lachlan—I had driven.

  He climbed out, slightly shaky and pale, and met my gaze. “I’ve fought a dozen demons at a time and scaled El Capitan without ropes, but that was something else entirely.”

  “Aw, don’t say my driving scared you.”

  “Your driving would scare Hercules himself.”

  I laughed. “I like to go fast. You weren’t in any danger.”

  He grinned, and I kind of wanted to jump on him. “Aye, you’re a good driver. But you don’t like to go fast. You like to go insanely fast.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  I inspected the parking lot that I’d chosen—an old employee lot that seemed to be infrequently used—then locked the car and hid the keys under the front wheel so that Fabio could retrieve it.

  We hurried toward the meeting point in the southwest corner near one of the large docks. Bree had used a map on the internet to choose the location, and as expected, she waited there with Rowan and her boyfriend Cade. The buggy sat next to them, beautiful in all its intimidating glory.

  Their eyes brightened when they saw me. I grinned.

  Cade, who was about the size of Lachlan, towered over Bree. His magic smelled like a storm at sea and sounded like clashing swords—appropriate for a Celtic god of war. He was one of the few earth-walking gods, and he wore his power comfortably.

  My gaze darted between him and Lachlan. Did Cade realize that Lachlan had been impersonating him?

  He didn’t seem to, and Lachlan didn’t seem bothered. I’d be nervous. But not Lachlan. He just stuck out his hand and introduced himself, comfortable as could be.

  “Was it hard to get the buggy here?” I asked.

  “We had to hire a transport mage since all of ours are affected by the curse,” Bree said. “But it worked.”

  “Thank fates.” I petted the front bumper, admiring the repairs I’d made recently.

  “I’d think you were happier to see the buggy than us.” Bree grinned.

  “Never!” I threw my arms around her neck and smacked a kiss on her cheek. Then I pulled Rowan in.

  “Enough, enough!” Rowan pulled away.

  Shoot. I’d forgotten how easily startled she could be after her time in captivity.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Rowan turned in a circle to inspect the port, shrugging it off. “This place is massive! It’s like a city in itself.”

  She was right. There were dozens of massive docks, thousands of shipping containers piled up like towers, and cranes everywhere. It was a nautical industrial mishmash. The place was closing down for the night, but during the day, I had a feeling the sound of new construction was cacophonous.

  Bree held out a plastic bag. “A change of clothes.”

  “Thank you.” I took it gratefully, then found a quiet corner between some shipping containers. It smelled a bit weird, but it did the job.

  Once I was changed, I returned to my sisters. They were interrogating Lachlan, while Cade watched with a grin on his face. He’d once been interrogated and passed. Is that what Rowan and Bree were thinking? That Lachlan would become my Cade?

  I had no idea what to make of that, so I shoved the thought away. I caught snippets of the conversations, latching on to words like for a living, your family, and intentions.

  Intentions?

  Towards me?

  I ambled up, glaring at Bree and Rowan. They shrugged.

  To Bree’s left, the air began to shimmer. I pointed to it. “Incoming.”

  Bree moved right, and a second later, Caro appeared out of thin air, her bright platinum hair gleaming in the light of the setting sun. She darted out of the way of the portal, and Ali stumbled through next, followed by Haris. Each wore a heavy bag slung over his back, no doubt full of potion bombs since they couldn’t use their magic. The djinns would normally possess someone, while Caro would fight with high-powered water jets, but they were as powerless as the rest of us now.

  “Hey!” Caro said. “Perfect timing.”

  “I just hope we’re in the right place,” I said.

  A few more people arrived through the portal, Jude and Hedy among them.

  Jude’s gaze met mine. “What’s your plan?”

  The slightest bit of apprehension shivered over my shoulders, but excitement followed. This was a chance to prove myself. If she didn’t like my plan, she’d no doubt veto it. But giving me a chance to run this operation was a huge step.

  I took a deep breath and laid out my idea.

  As soon as it was full dark, we put my plan in motion. Jude had liked it—jackpot!—and now all we had to do was make sure it ran flawlessly.

  No problem.

  Ha. As if.

  But I had my sisters and friends at my back, along with Lachlan. I wasn’t sure if he could be called a friend, but in a fight, I was glad to have him at my side.

  “Ready?” Rowan asked.

  “Yep.” I climbed up onto the buggy, then jumped into the driver’s seat.

  Our plan was to use the b
uggy to search the massive port for our targets. We had a dozen Protectorate members taking their positions around the port. They were perched on top of cranes and towers of shipping containers, getting as high as possible to get a good view of any activity. Using comms charms, they’d direct us where to go.

  Bree and Rowan climbed onto the front fighting platform. It covered the hood of the car and was surrounded by a single railing to keep them from flying out when I made crazy turns.

  Cade and Lachlan took the back platform, while Caro jumped onto the bench seat next to me. She could stand and fight from there—every spot on the buggy was a fighting spot. Ali and Haris took the back seat, crowded in with a pile of shields that we’d probably end up needing in a fight.

  Jude stood on the ground, catching my eye. “Good luck, Ana.”

  “Thanks.” I sucked in a steady breath.

  Please let me be right about this.

  Sure, I wanted to ace the Academy. Though ace was a bit generous. I’d settle for passing.

  But there was way more at stake here. This would be our last chance to retrieve the spell—I could feel it. We’d had two near misses now, and they were about to hand the magic off to the person who had bought it.

  We couldn’t fail.

  “Harnesses!” I said. “Safety first!”

  Bree grinned at me, then snapped the climbing harness around her waist. It was attached to the railing surrounding the platform and was our version of a seat belt.

  As soon as everyone was buckled in, I hit the stealth button. Then I cranked the key in the ignition. It was as silent as an electric car, but I could feel it rumble under me.

  I pressed on the gas and took off, trying to recall my memory of the map of the port. Caro had a cell phone just in case we needed to use GPS.

  “Testing, testing.” I touched the comms charm at my neck.

  “Katie here.”

  “Jude here.”

  “Hedy here.”

  All of the team members who were perched around the port reported in. Most had binoculars, though a lucky few were wearing Hedy’s eyesight enhancement charms.

  I drove relatively slowly through the darkened port. It was a maze of tiny roads through the piles of shipping containers. I kept my senses alert, feeling for any signs of dark magic.