by K. F. Breene
“There, see?” I said, and my voice seemed muffled, as though I were speaking through fabric or fog. “No more black survival magic for you—now you’re colorful, like a unicorn.”
Emery stood slowly as this crazy magic flitted in and around us. Pumped through us. Set me on edge.
“No.” Emery held out his hand, and a wave of support and comfort welled up through me. Emery, filling in all the holes with his presence. “Don’t hide from it, Penny. Accept it. It feels foreign, just like my magic does, but it won’t hurt you.”
“Will someone tell me what’s happening?” Reagan asked, and I could tell she was on edge.
I could also see a thin strand of gold connecting her and I, floating through the air, though not taut. Another strand connected Emery and I, and this one was as thick as my arm and glittering gold. Then another hung between Reagan and Emery, basically flapping in the breeze.
“Uh-oh.” I pointed it out. “There’s the triangle my mother was talking about. Seems like my mother was right. But where’s the kingdom?” I squeezed my eyes shut and grabbed my head. “I really, really hate hallucinating. I didn’t like when Reagan made us do it, and I don’t like that this magic is making me do it.”
“I know.” Emery put his arm around me and walked me out from under the canopy. “But you can’t keep resisting it. That has been your problem in the past. You’ve pushed it away.”
“What the hell is going on?” Reagan demanded again, following us.
Vampire magic throbbed from two points close to us—one was unmistakably Darius, and the other was a mid-level vamp hiding in the trees.
“Huh,” Emery said under his breath. “That’s helpful.”
“What is?” Reagan asked, by our side.
“Penny has shared her rare ability to feel other creatures’ magic.” He gave me a squeeze. “It’s…helpful.”
“It’s stronger than usual.” I wiped my face of sweat before realizing it was rain. “I feel like I’m cracking up. Worse than before. I hate this.”
“I know. Shhh. I know.” Emery rubbed my arm before marching me into the trees. There he stopped and turned me, positioning my body opposite his. “You haven’t totally assimilated my magic with yours, and you’re resisting what I can only assume is the goblin’s magic. I can feel it tearing you up. Messing with your mind. It’ll drive you crazy eventually, Penny. You have to open up and let it all mix together. To fuse. Otherwise you’ll never totally be at peace with magic again. You’ll always feel like you’re cracking up.”
“Can I help?” Reagan asked, peering in my face.
“She needs to do this herself.” Emery’s thumbs stroked my arms. Rain trickled through the trees and splatted on the top of my head in fat drops. “Go back out to the clearing. Keep her mother and the other dual-mages there. Keep them away from her. And get rid of that vampire that’s hanging around. He’s distracting me.”
“So it worked?” Reagan asked. “Did the dual-mage spell work?”
“Not yet. First she has to accept the magic. Then we need to finish the spell with a blood oath.” Emery wiped the increasingly wet hair away from my face. When Reagan was gone, he lowered his voice, calm and confident, “We’re going to do this together, okay? I’m going to walk you through it.”
“Have you assimilated the other magic?”
“I’m ready to—on your go-ahead. This is the beginning of our dual-mage partnership. We have to learn to mix our magic together and work with unity.”
“I thought I accepted yours.” I closed my eyes and leaned into his body, feeling the raging storm of his magic and the ethereal, sparkling tidal wave of the foreign power.
“Good. Close your eyes. And breathe. Take in your surroundings. Open up to them. Listen to the nature around you. Feel it.”
I did as he said, worried about all that power that wanted to suck me under and consume me. Afraid that if I completely gave in, I’d see light flares and rainbows forever.
“It’ll all be okay, Penny,” Emery said into my ear, helping me relax, pushing me toward a trance. “You can create a new normal, but first you have to accept that which feels different.”
It almost sounded like he was reading it out of an ancient book. “Did you have to be coached like this?”
“No, but I’ve heard stories of people not being able to assimilate. Conrad and I prepared for it just in case it happened. I know the basics of what needs to be done, and I know you. Trust me, Penny. You’ll be okay on the other side of this. And you won’t be alone. I’ll be right there with you, feeling the same things you do.”
It was the last bit that finally tipped me over the edge. That reminded me that he was a man I trusted with not just my life, but with my very soul.
“Okay,” I said, loosening up. Trying harder.
He started his coaching again, taking me into a trancelike state. To the edge of a cliff. All I needed to do was step off. Step off and fall into the absolutely enormous pool of magic waiting for me.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“I know. But we’ll jump together.”
He took my hand, and though there wasn’t an actual pit, I felt like he was readying us for one. Taking a deep breath, I kicked away my last safeguard. I mentally stepped forward.
And I fell.
21
Emery sucked in a breath as the gush of magic enveloped him, dragging him under. He held on to Penny for dear life. This wasn’t what he’d expected—he’d thought there would be a momentary feeling of drowning, not this sensation of being dragged to the bottom of a vast ocean. It felt like the world should be in utter chaos to match what was happening to them.
“Breathe,” he forced out as he was turned upside down and ripped from side to side, all without moving a muscle. “Breathe.”
Her breath came in ragged pants, and he could tell Penny was clawing for air.
“Keep breathing,” he said, forcing himself to do the same, crushing her to his chest.
Air went in, got stuck, and was then forced out. In, stuck, forced out.
“Almost there,” he said, really hoping it was true. His legs weakened. His arms shook. He didn’t know how much longer he could take it.
He didn’t hear Penny breathing. Fear gnawed on his nerves.
“Come on, baby. Stay with me. Keep breathing.”
He heard a ragged breath. A stifled sob.
She was terrified. As a woman who was new to magic, and felt everything incredibly deeply, this had to be ten times worse for her. Given that he felt like he was going to drown…
“Almost there, baby,” he said, rubbing her back. Pressure squeezed his chest.
He hadn’t mentioned to her the risk that one of the partners, or both, couldn’t assimilate. Such a failure would stunt the mages magically, maybe even kill them. He hadn’t mentioned it because he hadn’t thought it would be a problem. And it wouldn’t have been, if not for the raging, all-encompassing magic she’d stolen from that goblin. Thank God they were forming a dual-mage pair, because if they hadn’t, she would’ve eventually had to either assimilate the stolen magic or go crazy. And if she had been forced to face it alone, she might not have made it.
“Almost there,” he said, his heart lodged in his throat as he listened to her ragged wheezing. “Almost. Don’t fight it.”
He felt her nod, and her nails dug into his sides. Slowly, painfully, the magic seeped into him. It expanded through his body and scratched down his bones.
Penny whimpered, but her chest rose and fell. She held on.
“Almost…” Little by little, the fog started to clear. The intense pressure eased.
A sob ripped from her throat, and relief flooded him. If she had enough breath to cry, she had enough to live.
“We’re there.” His eyes misted as the pain drifted away, slowly but steadily. Magic still tore at them, whipping around and within them, but it was manageable.
Penny’s breathing evened out. Her muscles loosened.
Th
e strange flares of light—the splashes and splotches of rainbow—disappeared from his vision, and a new feeling welled up. Like their perfectly balanced bubble, this felt calming and blissful. Serene.
The feeling wasn’t around them, though—it ran through them. Emery gasped as all the dark, painful places in his soul were filled with light and goodness. Her touch was soaring through him, sweet and lively and perfect.
He sighed and leaned back so he could look down on her face. Only a glimmer of light made it through the trees from the tent in the clearing, but even still, he could see her expression. Her beautiful smile took his breath away.
“We made it.” She blinked as a drop of water landed on her eyebrow. She shook her head to get the water off. “I was worried, but we did it. And this…” She snaked her hands up so she could wrap her arms around his neck. “This feels…like perfection. Utter perfection. And…magnificent. I feel like I am the holder of the universe. That sounds weird, but—”
“No.” He kissed her, harder than he’d intended, and was relieved when her reciprocation was just as ferocious. “That magic you shoplifted is…incredible.” And it was. It felt like it spanned space and time, limitlessly. Awesomely complex in a way that was mystifying, while still simple enough to be effectively used in their everyday magic. “Hanging out with Reagan has been good for you, Fast Fingers.”
“I did not mean to steal it,” she said in a grumpy voice. “Wait—I didn’t steal it, I meant.”
“Too late. You admitted it, klepto. Come on; we have a spell to finish.” Feeling lighter and more jubilant than he had…maybe ever, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the clearing with the cauldron and the canopy.
His mood died quickly.
The other dual-mages and Penny’s mom stood near the cauldron, looking down in confusion.
“What spell did they use?” Dizzy asked. He bent to look under the cauldron. “There’s no fire.”
“Well then, how is it bubbling?” Callie bent to check what Dizzy just had.
Reagan was at the binder containing the spell. “Your potion didn’t bubble when you did this spell?”
“Of course not. There’s no fire.” Callie stomped over to the spell stand. “But it’s the same spell.”
“Well, clearly they’ve gone off track, hon.” Dizzy crossed his arms.
“Are we sure this Emery boy is playing for the right team?” Ms. Bristol stepped away and put her hands on her hips.
Dizzy turned to survey her. “You think he’s gay?”
“No—that’s not—” She dropped her hands, and Emery wondered where her shotgun was. “Is he really against the Guild? Would he have any reason to change the spell to something else?”
“Oh no, I don’t think that’s the case. That boy is smitten. No, but this wouldn’t be the first time Penny altered a spell.” Callie flicked through the pages. “Hey…what are these—”
“They are here,” Darius said quickly, and he walked faster than was humanly possible to the spell stand to capture the binder.
“Just what are you hiding in there, vampire?” Callie centered her weight and lifted her chin. “We never did hear how you got Vlad and Roger to come on board. Maybe you don’t play for the right team, huh?”
“It’s the right spell,” Penny said. Having slowed when he did, she now strutted forward again. Unlike usual, she wasn’t hunching under the combined stares of everyone in the tent. And when she glanced up at Emery, he knew why.
She had a teammate for life, an equal who’d agreed to stand in her corner, no matter what. Having always felt singular and solitary, different from the world around her, she could now feel the proof of her inclusion through their connection.
Likewise, he’d gained a more inclusive, consuming connection than he’d ever experienced. The dual-mage connection with his brother hadn’t been this strong, and not nearly this balanced. He felt…at peace. Finally, for the first time in his life since his parents had died, he felt contented. Calm.
“It’s the right spell.” Penny put her hand out, and Darius filled it with the binder. “And the rest are spells Darius must’ve collected from the most advanced spell books in the world.”
“I had them translated by the best,” Darius said.
“Notice he never answered your questions,” Ms. Bristol said to Callie.
Callie’s eyes narrowed. “I did notice that, as a matter of fact.”
“Mother, quit stirring up trouble,” Penny said.
Ms. Bristol’s stare swung around. “Young lady, just because you and that boy have come to an arrangement, doesn’t mean you can sass your mother.”
“Yes, Mother,” she said, slinking up to the cauldron. Emery slunk along behind her like the coward he clearly was. Some things transcended confidence, it turned out, and Ms. Bristol was one of them.
“Clear out, everyone. Head to the house. The vampires can take over security.” Reagan walked through the tent, waving her arms. “Looks like the danger has passed for the moment. Let’s let them finish up.”
“I still don’t know if this is a good idea,” Ms. Bristol muttered.
“Well, it’s not a bad idea, you said so yourself.” Reagan shooed everyone along.
“Yes, but we still haven’t answered the question as to why it is boiling…” Dizzy checked to make sure there wasn’t a fire again before allowing Reagan to move him along.
Darius lingered at the edge of the canopy, and Emery knew what was on his mind.
“You would not believe what she has been storing inside of her,” he blurted out, unable to stop himself. “You wouldn’t believe it.”
Darius blinked, and a knowing gleam lit his eyes. Without a word, he turned and followed the others.
“You think he was right?” Penny asked, replacing the binder on the stand.
“I don’t know if he was right about the godly power thing or not, but I do know this added magic is going to give us an incredible edge over any other magical workers. Thievery becomes you, Turdswallop. Who would’ve thought?”
She scowled as she flicked the binder open. Her expression cleared as she leaned over the page. “We have to self-mutilate and then drop our blood into the suspiciously bubbling cauldron.”
“Now who’s going through the motions instead of sinking into the actual spell?” Emery took a deep breath before ducking to a duffel bag under a poncho in the corner. He extracted a case and took it to Penny. “I’d like to use this, if you don’t mind.”
She lowered her Swiss Army knife and waited while he opened the case. Gold and jewels glinted under the glare of the battery-powered lanterns. The six-inch blade was slightly curved, its length inscribed with intricate scrollwork.
“We found it among my parents’ things,” Emery explained as her eyes traveled the weapon. “My brother and I used it for our dual-mage spell, and I know he’d want me to use it for this. To keep my parents’ memories alive…and his memory alive.”
Tears glimmered in her eyes as she looked up at him, deep and soulful. “It’s perfect.”
They got into position, side by side and facing the cauldron. Ghosts of Emery’s past soared around him, reminding him of when he’d done this last, of everything that had happened before and since. Underneath it all was the deep, throbbing peace that he now felt. The unity and oneness with Penny and the world around them. The past was there, and the hurt was there, but he wasn’t afraid of it anymore. He didn’t want to run from it.
He wanted to take her hand and embrace it.
“We can make the Mages’ Guild something just and good,” he said as he brought up the knife. “We will tear it down, but we can make sure it is rebuilt properly. With better checks and balances. With less power in the hands of a few, and more power in the hands of many.”
She smiled at him, holding out her finger. “Yes.”
He pricked her finger with the tip of the blade before doing his own. A crimson drop welled up. Meeting her gaze, he tipped his finger over the c
auldron. She tipped hers.
“May we bind our strength, our power, our essence, and our magic. What is mine is yours, and what is yours I will cherish, until the sands of time call us home,” he said, and waited for her to repeat the line.
But when she spoke, it wasn’t the line from the spell.
“The Fates have brought us together, and in their image, I will cherish and honor you as my natural partner in this life and the next. With you, my life will truly begin. Our whole is more powerful than the sum of its parts.”
The drops of blood hit the rolling waters. Black and white shot out of the cauldron before forming a resplendent rainbow. Magic danced and rolled. A fizzy feeling crawled up his spine, making him gasp.
“And now it’s complete,” Emery said, taking her into his arms. “We’re dual-mages.”
“We don’t have to drink it?”
He shook his head and smiled at her. “Counterintuitive, but no. This is one potion we don’t have to drink.”
Her smile was dazzling. “That’s excellent. Now there’s just one more thing to do, and we can finish out the rest of our lives in safety.”
22
The next day I was sore, tired, and groggy. None of it had to do with cementing my dual-mage connection with Emery. It was all related to the private celebration we’d indulged in afterward.
I felt my face heat at the thought, but thankfully I was in the back seat. We’d taken one of the loaner cars, and Reagan was driving Emery and me down the winding road leading away from Darius’s house in the woods. We were heading to a meeting with Roger. Emery sat in the front seat, going through some pictures Vlad’s people had taken around town. He was trying to identify people he knew from the old days so the vampires could get a small idea of the power and experience they might expect in the coming showdown.