My Boyfriend Merlin (Book 1, My Merlin Series)

by Priya Ardis

  I grabbed Vane’s arm. “Vane, stop.”

  “Visrajti,” Matt barked.

  “No,” Vane shouted at Matt.

  The magic choking Gordon fluctuated. I could see the faint red of Vane’s magic battling with Matt’s blue. The boy levitated up a few inches off the ground. There was an odd crunching sound. Gordon fell to the ground. His eyes wide open but oddly still.

  Matt hurried over to him. He knelt on the ground and put two fingers on the boy’s neck, feeling for a pulse. Matt closed Gordon’s eyes.

  He turned back to Vane.

  Vane scowled at Matt. “I had everything under control and then you had to interfere. He was starting to talk.”

  Matt shook his head. “So this is my fault?”

  “No, you could never do your own dirty work, Merlin,” Vane said softly.

  “Matt, we’ve got company.” I pointed to the end of the alley. A few curious onlookers were whispering among themselves. I could see a few of them working up the courage to come into the alley. A white van pulled up, scattering them.

  It blocked the alley entrance.

  “Cleaners,” Matt said. He turned to the candidates. “Return to the school please. Right away. We’ve got a huge mess to clean up.”

  “I think I’ve had enough of this festival,” Grey said.

  There were murmurs of agreement. Grey led the candidates out of the alley.

  Matt brushed by me. I caught his sleeve. “Matt, I’m sorry.”

  He stiffened. “I specifically told you not to do this. You went ahead anyway and look at what you’ve accomplished. Your friends are barely standing. A boy is dead. Is that what you wanted, Ryan?”

  “No.” I watched the Cleaners put a white sheet on Gordon. I hugged myself. “I wanted to help.”

  “You did,” Vane said. “We caught the spy.”

  “You put every single candidate in danger.” Matt looked at us. “Do you two have any idea how much worse that would be than not capturing one collaborator? He may have been a traitor but he was barely a threat.”

  I made a sound of protest. Matt cut me off. “Go home, Ryan. Next time, maybe you’ll take a moment to think before acting.”

  My jaw clenched. “This may not have turned out as we wanted, but I know one thing, Matt. I’m not going to regret acting rather than sitting around waiting for my family or my friends to get attacked. I’ve already had that moment.”

  I read the faint flare of surprise in Matt’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

  “But you’re right. I think I should go home.” I stalked out of the alley.

  I stopped just around the corner. The nightmare of the entire night threatened to crush me. I took a heaving breath. Vane came up behind me.

  “Ready to go home, Goldilocks?”

  I scowled. “I am not Goldilocks.”

  “Yes,” he said with utter seriousness. “You would never push around a pack of cuddly bears that way. I’d say you’re more Dorothy.”

  I tilted my head to look at him. “If I’m Dorothy, what does that make you?”

  Vane cocked his head. “Toto?”

  Unable to help myself, I laughed. Vane put a hand under my elbow and guided me across the noisy square. The festival raged on around us. The frolicking had only increased as the night lengthened. I stopped just in front of Vane’s SUV.

  “Did you really have everything under control?” I asked.

  “You heard the mighty wizard. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “You don’t seem very sorry.”

  Vane’s jaw tightened. “I found him in Hong Kong. He told the gargoyles burned down his house. They’d killed his grandmother. I’m sure they did. But now I wonder if that was the bargain price.”

  “Would you have killed him?” I asked.

  Vane opened the door to the SUV. He ushered me inside. Resting one hand on the car, he leaned close. “Absolutely. I would have done what was necessary.”

  He moved to close the door.

  “Wait,” I said.

  I held out my left arm to show him a jagged scratch that extended from wrist to elbow. It had become swollen. “A gargoyle swiped me with his claw.”

  Vane traced the scratch with his thumb. The scratch disappeared. “That’s the third time, DuLac. No more free services.”

  “Nothing with you is free,” I said lightly.

  “You have a cut here too.” Vane traced my lips with his thumb. Every hair on my body stood on end as if he’d stroked me with lightning.

  Vane groaned.

  I pulled away.

  He let me go. “You and Matt can’t be.”

  “I know,” I said. Not that it mattered. Matt hated me.

  Vane closed the car door and crossed to the driver’s side. He slipped into his seat and started the car.

  “One more thing,” I said. “Even you can’t deny that I’ve proven myself tonight.”

  Vane startled for a second. “What?”

  “I want to advance to swords.”

  Vane let out a laugh. “You’re nothing if not surprising, DuLac.”

  Snowflakes started falling. One by one they splattered against the windshield. I stared out at the serene scene. The night looked deceptively peaceful. I wondered how long it would last. I tucked my hair behind my ear. Outside the windshield the stars winked like ice crystals.

  “I can learn to do what is necessary.”

  Vane’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He didn’t say anything. I started to feel the car close in on me. I huddled in my coat. Vane turned on the engine. Heat sprayed out through the vents.

  “Yes, I think you can.” Vane pulled a knife out of his pocket. It was the one he’d used in the basement, the one that elongated into a sword. He held it out to me. “Bring it to class.”

  I took the knife. “I also want the others moved up to swords.”

  A smile broke out over his face. “Undoubtedly.”

  ***

  “You’re not even trying,” Vane growled as he straddled me.

  Sweat covered every inch of my body. I lay under him on the practice mat. The hard length of his thighs held down my hips. The training room had emptied hours ago. I stretched my hands as far as I could above my head. My fingertips brushed the hilt of my fallen sword. I couldn’t reach it. I made a sound of frustration.

  “You have to do better, DuLac,” Vane said. His hand traced a line of my jaw, following it up past my ear. He caressed the thick strands of my hair. “Time is running out.”

  I arched my back. Vane sucked in a breath. His legs gave a bit. I had enough room to twist my hips. I did. With an inelegant turn, I toppled him off me.

  Vane fell on the mat. “Better,” he said.

  With a grin, I sat up. Moonlight beamed in through the windows. Weeks had passed since the night of the festival. Outside the cathedral, snow buried the courtyard, kissed the naked branches of trees, and generally consumed the school. Not much had happened as we rapidly approached Christmas.

  “I’m missing dinner again,” I said.

  Vane rose up on one elbow. “It’s your turn to cook.”

  I pushed myself up with effort. I went to the end of the room and got my bag. I didn’t bother to change from uniform back into regular clothes; there weren’t many students walking around outside at this hour. I thrust my legs into thick snowboots—the ones with the soft Sherpa-lining inside. Vane pulled on a black wool coat.

  I texted Gia to get dinner started. I asked him, “Did you agree to extra training just to get free meals?”

  “I made dinner yesterday.”

  “You fetched it from the dining hall. There was no iced tea.”

  Vane grunted and started down the spiral stairs. I followed him. The banisters of the stairwell twinkled with Christmas lights. The lights had been twined around a fresh pine garland. I inhaled the clean scent letting it wash over me.

  As soon as I stepped outside a blast of blizzard hit my face with bone-chilling force.
Vane stepped ahead of me. He took the brunt of the cold. The stone buildings seemed to glow in the dark thanks to the blankets of snow covering them. White Christmas lights and garland decorations had been tied around all the trees. Bright red bows adorned even the tallest of the buildings. For the first time, the school looked like a place of magic to me.

  We fought our way to the teachers’ residence as quickly as possible. Pine garlands decorated the lobby also, but here they had been unafraid to show-off. Small glowing sleigh bells danced and jingled merrily in the air.

  Occasionally they would dance in sequence and play a familiar Christmas tune. I sang along to Jingle Bells. I wasn’t the only one. Vane hummed them under his breath too, although he got all the words wrong. He kept substituting odd words I’d never heard before… maybe from his time. I wondered if he realized what he was doing.

  A few teachers in mage’s robes hung around the glowing fireplace in the lobby. A hint of pumpkin spice filled the air as they drank from hot mugs and chatted.

  They looked up as we entered.

  A couple of them stared at Vane but they didn’t greet him. A few sent him leery glances. One sat in the center of the group. He wore a white Councilmember’s robe and played with an apple in one hand. It took me a moment to place him. He had held the jug at the admissions test. Thornton.

  From the worshipful way the others were looking at him, he was obviously holding court.

  “Banning the sale of magic is ridiculous,” he said loudly. “What do they want us to do?” He floated the apple casually in the air. “Hold regular jobs?” He laughed at his own pun.

  The others tittered.

  Vane didn’t bother to glance in their direction as we walked past. The Councilmember Thornton nudged a much younger brown-mage. The young mage cleared his throat and straightened his shoulder. He ran after us.

  “S-Sir,” he said to Vane.

  Vane didn’t stop. The mage moved to stand in front of him. Vane halted. He harrumphed at the mage.

  The mage swallowed several times before continuing, “We were told that you could create fireballs like Master Merlin.”

  “Yes,” Vane said shortly.

  “You must be very powerful.” When Vane’s eyes narrowed, the brown mage laughed nervously. “They say you chopped off a gargoyle’s head.”

  “Yes,” Vane said in a measured tone.

  “That’s fantastic. Brilliant,” the mage flustered. “I didn’t know wizards battled with their hands. Was the blade magicked to strike true?”

  Vane cocked his head. “No.”

  “Oh,” the mage said nonplussed. “I guess we thought it might have been.”

  “You can do such things without magic,” I stated the obvious.

  The brown mage sent me a quizzical look. “But why would I if I have magic?”

  In one smooth movement, Vane drew out a knife from his coat and threw it across the room. It speared Thornton’s apple and pinned it into the wood wall. Beside us, the brown mage’s mouth opened and closed.

  Vane’s voice boomed across the room. “Magic without work makes you sloppy.” With a flick of his hand, he called the knife back. The apple dropped into the Councilmember’s hand, cut neatly in half. “Sloppy will get you killed.”

  The Councilmember gave us a mock salute.

  I followed Vane into the lift. I’d gotten out of habit of calling it an elevator. Vane punched the button to our floor.

  As soon as the doors slid shut, I rounded on him. “Magic without work? Don’t tell me you secretly like Regulars now.”

  “I don’t dislike them… in this century. I just refuse to entrust my life to them.”

  “I’m a Regular.”

  Vane’s lips curved up. “I don’t dislike you either.”

  Something stirred in the recesses of his eyes. It beckoned me to look closer. I turned away before I could get drawn in. The old-fashioned lift jerked up. I said quickly, “You and Matt have more in common than either of you will admit. You obviously know the importance of not just depending on magic for everything or you wouldn’t be such a good trainer.”

  Vane raised a brow. “Good?”

  I cleared my throat. “Mostly good.”

  Vane repressed a smile. “How is training going with my brother?”

  My heart gave a little twist when I pictured Matt. He never spoke to me outside of what was absolutely necessary for class. I bit down on the inside of my cheek. “He can barely stand to look at me.”

  “My brother hold a grudge.”

  I looked down at my snowboots. “You’re happy about it, I’m sure.”

  “I’m not unhappy. We need Merlin’s abilities to stay intact.”

  “It doesn’t matter who gets in the way,” I said dully. I shivered, cold despite the fact that it was a heated building.

  Vane caught me by the waist. He pulled me closer. Warmth seeped back into my bones.

  “I can’t let him screw everything up again. He ruined it by allow Arthur to rule Camelot even after it became obvious he couldn’t.”

  I titled my head up to meet his gaze. “Who should have been the ruler?”

  “Merlin, of course.”

  The lift doors opened. Vane walked with me to my door.

  I said, “The sword didn’t pick Matt or you. It picked Arthur.”

  “Another piece of misinformation I see my brother didn’t bother to correct—the Lady offered the sword to us first. To bring the land together. Merlin turned it down, saying it was too powerful in our hands. I never got the choice. The Lady loved his idea. She made the sword a bridge between all of our races.”

  We reached my door. I touched Vane’s shoulder.

  He stilled.

  “You said time is running out. How do you know?”

  Vane’s eyes glittered. “My brother isn’t the only smart one.”

  I bit my lip. “Are we ready?”

  Vane touched my neck. The amulet warmed under his touch. I felt its heat spread across my chest. My pupils dilated.

  “I’d say you’re ready,” he said silkily.

  I shook his hand off the amulet. “Be serious.”

  “I’d rather stray off the yellow brick road into the poppy fields.” Vane smirked. He touched a hand to the knob and it turned and it turned on its own. It had been magicked to recognize only Gia and me. So, of course, Vane had found a way to grant himself access.

  Gia banged dishes as she set the table inside.

  “Alas.” Vane sighed in mock regret.

  With a shake of my head, I brushed past him. He caught my wrist.

  “There is one requirement you should know. The Sword can only be pulled my someone…”

  I arched my brow expectantly.

  Vane’s lips twisted into a strangled smile. “Pure of heart.”

  ***

  An hour later, a knock sounded at the door. Gia let Grey in. A few minutes later, Blake entered. Vane, Grey, Blake, Gia and I regularly ate dinner together. But word was out and others would show up. Tonight, two other wizard candidates, Paul and Oliver were to join. The doorbell sounded again and they came inside along with two more of Vane’s candidates.

  Evening meals at our place had turned into an event. Maybe because Vane brought ale. We had no idea how he managed to get it every night, but nobody had gotten up the courage to ask.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I sat down in my usual chair.

  “We need two more chairs,” I told Blake.

  He said a spell and the circular table expanded. Another kid pushed the couch into a corner. The food, which had been placed around a centerpiece of wreath wound on white candles, remained undisturbed.

  Vane gripped the back of the chair next to me and leaned on it, waiting. He wouldn’t sit until everyone else had—even though I could hear his stomach grumbling.

  The etiquette continued to surprise me.

  For someone who could be so blunt, he had really beautiful manners. I could picture him at the Royal Court of King Arth
ur. He would have loved the pomp and ceremony. I couldn’t picture Matt enjoying it. He would have wanted to hide away in a remote tower reading a book. If I were to pick, I would have chosen the tower too.

  Since he’d acquiesced to train the Regulars, Vane had been grudgingly cordial—at dinner. He still drove us into the ground during training. I’d almost blacked out once or twice while he’d been yelling at me to try harder. Between class, training, and dinner we spent most of the day together. However, since the night of the festival, he hadn’t even tried a peck on cheek. I sighed and played with the silverware.

  As if he could tell what I was thinking, Vane cocked a very male eyebrow. I swallowed.

  He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Feeling dry?”

  Issuing one magic command, Vane filled our goblets with ale.

  Another knock pounded on the door. Vane sighed. “What do you do, Dorothy? Post suppertime on a billboard?”

  The door flew open.

  Matt stumbled inside, one hand clutching his head like he had a terrible headache. He glanced around the dinner table. He didn’t seem surprised to see the large gathering. He motioned at the flat-panel TV that hung on the wall. It switched on.

  A news reporter stood next to the Stone. “This is Anders reporting live from Trafalgar Square where—” The camera expanded to show a boy holding a sword in his hands.

  “—this young man has just pulled King Arthur’s sword.”

  CHAPTER 15

  THE DECOY

  Oliver sprang up. “It’s not possible!”

  “Who is he?” Grey said.

  “Quiet,” Vane told them.

  On TV, the reporter stuck a microphone in the boy’s face. “How do you feel?”

  “It’s crazy. I came out here on a dare from my buddies.” He pointed behind him to a group of guys wearing University of Boston sweatshirts. “I was just fooling around. I almost left when they closed off the square to clean it, but I was first in line… and I don’t know… it just came out.”

  “And nothing unusual happened? You know that is supposedly King Arthur’s sword. It fell out of the sky. Some people have said they felt tingly like they’d touched something with an electric current. Several young men have died from heart attacks—all with no prior history of any medical problems—after trying to pull it.”