Fury (Institute of Unpredictable Magic Book 2)

by Sadie Moss

  My brain feels like it’s running a mile a second. “So we have to get it out of its current host and then prevent it from getting into another host. Trap it in its natural form and starve it out.”

  “If it can’t get any more energy and can’t get more magic, it’ll just die,” Logan says, catching on.

  “We hope,” Saint rumbles, his expression hard.

  “I don’t have a better idea.” Nick shrugs. “And theoretically, it should work. I say that we give it a shot.”

  I take a deep breath and nod.

  Okay. We’re doing this.

  Chapter 22

  First, I take the plan to Stone for approval. He’s all for it, seeming impressed by our ideas and theories.

  “I admit that I was worried we might have to resort to violence against the host,” he says. “I’m glad to know we won’t have to do that. Your commitment to this case is appreciated, Agent Parker.”

  I don’t know what to say to that, so I just thank him before my embarrassment can take over, then take the plan to the rest of IUM so that they can help us.

  The Circuit officer who’s currently possessed has family that Logan had to speak to, so we go to them to get information on him.

  “The thing is,” I explain to them as we all crowd into their small living room, “the magic isn’t in control of the person constantly. The person inside is fighting for control. So he might go to places where he feels safe, places that he finds familiar. He might even be going about his day normally with the magic in control so that the magic makes it seem like there’s nothing wrong. Is there any place you can think of that would fit that description?”

  “Um, yes.” The officer’s mother nods, her voice low and calm despite the glassiness of her red-rimmed her eyes. “I can think of a few places.”

  We compile the list of places, and Nick enchants a bunch of small objects to be set in place by IUM agents, one at each location, that will scan the area. If the officer appears, the object will alert us.

  After that, it will all be on us.

  I’m nervous as hell. We won’t really get a second chance at this. If we fail, the magic will know what we’re up to. It’s clearly intelligent, and it won’t fall for such a trick again. This is our only shot.

  With the scanners in place, me and my guys wait in the portal room at IUM, with Lito ready to go and send us directly to the location once a magical device goes off. If it goes off, which I really hope that it does.

  I shake out my arms and legs and take deep breaths. This is just like before any other exam, test, or challenge that I’ve run into in my life. This is just another hurdle to overcome. I can do this. And the good part is, I don’t have to do it alone.

  Now I have my guys with me. My team. They’re going to be with me, they’ll be supporting me and taking on this magic right by my side.

  It’s not all on me.

  “Thank you,” I blurt suddenly, looking over at the three of them.

  Saint, Nick, and Logan all look over at me. Nick’s been chatting with Lito because he seriously can’t stand still or be quiet to save his life, while Logan has been talking quietly to Saint while the gruff man stands with his shoulders hunched, watching the spot where the portal will appear as if something’s going to just pop into existence there without our knowledge.

  Nick moves away from Lito, who politely coughs and says something about checking on the… something-or-other. Honestly, I have no idea what he just said. My heart is beating hard against my ribs, and I’m too focused on the three men gathered around me to care about what excuse Lito made. I’m just grateful to him for giving us some space.

  “What are you thanking us for?” Logan asks.

  “For everything,” I tell him. “For being here for me and supporting me. I couldn’t have done this without any of you. And I don’t just mean—you guys all have specific skill sets that really helped with this, and I’m glad for that. But your support, honestly. That’s what’s meant the most to me. And I really appreciate it, really, I can’t… I don’t even have words. Thank you.”

  There’s a moment of pause as the men all seem to hesitate. Not like they’re unsure, but like they’re trying to see what the other two are doing without being obvious about it.

  Logan moves first, taking a few steps toward me, and cups my face in his hands. He’s sweet, like he always is, and his touch is so steady that it grounds me instantly. I know what he’s doing even before he starts to lean in, and I lean in myself on instinct.

  He kisses me, nothing too dirty, but soft and sweet and familiar. His kisses are familiar to me now, and the knowledge of that makes me smile against his lips.

  Logan steps back, and then turns, making a sort of go on gesture at Saint.

  My breath catches in my throat. Of course I’ve known how the three of them feel. It’s been pretty obvious. Saint’s been staying with me, and both Nick and Logan have stated their intentions. But none of them have really done anything in front of the others. I’m not sure if it was out of respect or if they were unsure before now, and I wonder if they’ve spoken about this privately and figured out what to do about this… about me… on their own.

  It’s kind of sexy, and kind of sweet, to think about them talking about me and us.

  Saint moves forward, his hands falling to my waist, and kisses me without hesitation. It’s firm and full of emotion, and I wrap my arms around his neck to assure him that yes, I want this too. I want him.

  I have no idea how long the kiss goes on for, but it feels like forever, until at last we pull away to breathe, and I see Saint looking at me with the softest, warmest glow in his eyes.

  “Hey, don’t hog her,” Nick teases, swooping me out of Saint’s arms and kissing me soundly. I laugh a little against his lips, and he tightens his arms around me as my hands brace on his shoulders.

  This is all sort of mind blowing. My heart feels like it might explode. I didn’t know that it was possible to feel this happy, especially in this particular situation. We’ve got all this sentient magic nonsense going on, danger lurks right around the corner, our plan might not work, and yet… all I can feel is happiness.

  Because I don’t have to choose. It’s all three of them.

  I get to have all three of them.

  If I’d told myself a year ago that letting myself be vulnerable and open-hearted would be this amazing—that I would have not one, but three men who care about me and want me—I wouldn’t have believed myself.

  But it’s real. It’s happening. This is my life.

  I’m so fucking grateful.

  Nick and I part, and I can’t stop the goofy smile that spreads across my face. But even though there’s so much I want to say, now’s not the time. We have to focus and take care of this magic.

  As if on cue, the device Nick’s using to track the scanners lights up.

  “Lito!” he calls.

  “On it!” Lito begins opening up the portal.

  I take a deep breath as the portal opens.

  It’s time.

  Chapter 23

  We step out into, thank goodness, the car garage where the officer’s car is stored. I was worried that he would show up at his favorite coffee shop or one of the other locations that have a lot of people in them and we’d have to find a way to do this and keep people safe at the same time. Unlucky passers-by getting hurt is the last thing I want.

  I look over at Saint. “Are you sure about this?”

  I don’t want him to be uncomfortable or do something that will make him hate himself. Our goal is to stop this magic, but I’m not going to sacrifice the wellbeing of someone I care about in order to do that. Maybe before, when I didn’t have anyone to really care about besides my siblings, I would’ve been willing to do whatever it took. I’m certainly willing to risk myself in any way necessary to reach a goal.

  But not Saint, or the other men. Not my teammates.

  Saint nods, a determined look on his face. He doesn’t look hard and distant
the way that he did in prison, and he doesn’t look tormented like he did when he was talking about his powers coming out for the first time.

  “Okay.” I nod at him, and he moves forward, getting into position.

  It doesn’t take long for us to spot our target. The possessed officer appears just a few seconds later, heading for his car.

  The magic must want the officer to flee, to get out of town or something—I’m not sure. I have no idea what kind of plans this magic might have in store, and honestly, I’m scared to find out. I don’t want to know. I just want it gone.

  As Saint steps out of the shadows, the officer pauses, his head turning in a way that’s somehow fast and slow at the same time. It’s that unnatural kind of movement that tells me instantly that the magic’s in charge, not the officer.

  My stomach twists and I feel horribly sick inside.

  Before the officer—or the magic, really—can do anything, Saint sticks out his hand, and I feel something shift. It’s like I’m seeing an explosion while I’m standing behind a blast wall. I’m protected from it, but I can still sense that something’s happening.

  The officer gasps and clutches at his head, and I know Saint’s fear power is working.

  We weren’t sure that it would. We don’t know if this magic can really be affected by another person’s magic, but Chelsea was trapped by Nick’s enchanted dryer in the laundromat, and the magic had control of her then, so we’re going to try.

  Saint’s using his fear powers to make the magic afraid of its host, so that it’ll leave and we can destroy it before it can infect and take over someone else.

  I just hope that we’re not too late—that the officer isn’t dead, walking around as a re-animated corpse possessed by the power inside him. I don’t have proof of it, but I’m pretty sure, looking back on it, that the mage in the mountains was already dead by the time we killed him. That there wasn’t anything of him left in that body when we had our final battle.

  Just the magic that had taken over.

  At least, in a small way, it’s a silver lining. Saint didn’t really kill anyone else. The magic killed the mage long before we got to him. But it still makes me feel horribly sick. Does the magic just feed off of a person’s life and magic until it’s completely drained away? Like some kind of vampire?

  What a horrible thought.

  Saint keeps his distance as the man bends over, and a scream wrenches itself out of him. It’s terrifying to watch. I know intellectually what Saint’s doing, that he’s making the magic scared of its host, but I can’t actually see what the magic is feeling or seeing. I can only see someone screaming in fear.

  It’s disconcerting, and I know why Saint doesn’t like to do this.

  But he has control over it. I can see his fingers twitching as if he’s carefully working puppet strings, his face a flat mask of concentration.

  Nick readies his caging device, the one that he tried to use before when the magic possessed the man in the park. He’s reinforced the enchantment spells on it and will create a force cage to keep the magic from entering someone else. There’s nobody else around, thank goodness, except for just the four of us, but no way do we want to take chances with ourselves, either.

  The officer—or the magic, or both—screams again, and then out of his mouth shoots this huge blue ball, crackling and twisting like it’s made of electric yarn.

  Nick dashes forward, activating his device, and the magic-containing cage appears.

  “It could find a way to break out!” he warns.

  Even without a body, this magic is still powerful. I’ve got no idea what magical powers it can do without the help of a host, but better safe than sorry. We might as well assume that it can do everything.

  I hit the magic with my telekinesis, holding it in place. I can feel it jerking, trying to wrench itself out of my hold. I tighten my hold in response, gritting my teeth. I feel like I’m trying to contain a hurricane, but I’m not about to let it get the best of me. My entire body strains forward, my hands like claws, but I hold on.

  This is what all of my training has built up to, I remind myself. This is what I’ve been doing all my life, challenging myself, pushing my powers and strength to the absolute limit.

  The magic can’t speak in this form, but I feel like it’s somehow mocking me all the same.

  No. You fucker, you’re not getting the best of me. I throw all of my strength into holding the magic in one spot. Not today, not ever.

  “I think it’s working!” Logan yells. He’s getting right up close to the magic, ready to use himself as a shield if something goes wrong. I hate that he’s doing this, basically cannon fodder, but with his imperviousness, he’s the best one for the job.

  Saint’s got both hands outstretched now, just like mine, his face scrunching up as he has to work harder.

  “It’s fighting hard!” I yell. The magic’s starting to thrash in our holds, bashing itself against the walls of Nick’s magical cage.

  “This isn’t going to hold for too much longer,” Nick warns.

  “It doesn’t have to,” I snarl, putting even more work into my telekinesis. This is going to exhaust me, I can just feel it, but it’ll be worth it to end this insanity.

  “It’s going to break!” Nick warns.

  “Let it!” I order. I can feel the magic straining against me harder and harder, exhausting itself, mad with fear and fury, just like we had planned. That’s it, you monster, overextend yourself, come on, fight me, fight me…

  Nick’s force shield dome goes out as the magic lets out a final burst, short-circuiting Nick’s device, and Logan dives to the side as the magic shoots out. Saint strains with me, the both of us keeping the magic somewhat contained as it tries to fight its way through the air toward us.

  No, not toward us. Toward me. It’s after me, specifically.

  I remember how the magic mocked me for trying to help people, how it targeted me more intensely than any of the others. I can’t hear it saying anything, not in this form, but I still feel it. I just know that it’s looking at me, ridiculing me in its own, silent way right now.

  No way. No way am I letting this get the best of me.

  We have a plan and I’m sticking to it. I keep fighting the magic with my telekinesis, making the magic give me all it’s got, and I can see it starting to break down, magic spurting out of it and vanishing into the air.

  “It’s getting smaller!” Logan yells.

  “I can see it!” Nick agrees.

  Great. Okay. Just a little longer. Saint’s starting to sweat as he works his fear magic, making it even more desperate, assaulting it with images and emotions. I can’t increase my telekinesis any further. Not yet, anyway. The magic has to think that I’m giving it all that I’ve got.

  I’m pretty sure this magic thinks I’m weak. Why else would it keep mocking me for not being able to help people? Why else would it keep pointing out my failures?

  Well. It’s about to find out just how strong I actually am. I haven’t failed a challenge yet.

  I keep up the telekinesis until I can feel the magic starting to spin out of control, and then I take the risk.

  I let go.

  This was the part that the guys didn’t like, but what else were we supposed to do? Saint keeps up the fear, and without the telekinesis holding it, the magic is going to overextend itself. It’s going to be so used to fighting against my power that it’ll be like having someone run at full speed and then you put a cliff in front of them. They can’t stop themselves in time—they’re going to keep sprinting.

  The magic flies everywhere, parts of it flying off like shed skin and disappearing into the air, almost like puffs of smoke. It goes sailing right for me, ready to get inside of me, and I hold my ground until it gets almost right into my face and I grab on to it with my telekinesis again.

  It’s too worn out, now. It can’t fight me. I can feel it weakening, I can feel it falling apart from the inside.

  “Rae!” Lo
gan yells, clearly worried about me. I can feel the tension in Saint, only a couple of feet away from me, and I’m sure I heard Nick yell something too but I can’t make it out. I have to concentrate.

  Everything in me I throw into the telekinesis, and this time, I’m not just trying to hold the magic. I don’t think it realized that I can use this for more than just moving something around or holding something in place. I can use my telekinesis to crush something too. To destroy it. I don’t do it often. Usually, at Griffin, I would practice with soda cans.

  But it is possible, and I’m going to do it now.

  I clench my hands and squeeze hard, concentrating, my head pounding. My entire body is screaming and aching with pain as I push and push and push my power. I’m using it harder, and using more of it, than I think I’ve ever used before. Crushing, pulling apart, obliterating. I’m ripping this thing to shreds like it’s cotton candy.

  Inside of me, almost like I can hear it, but not quite—like it’s being thrust into my mind instead of hearing it the normal way—is a scream, a scream of pain and death and dying. It worms its way into my brain and rattles my very bones. It hurts.

  But I suppose, this is the price I have to pay for killing something, even if we could debate about whether this magic is truly ‘alive’ or not.

  Someone is screaming, I realize, and that someone is me, as I put everything I’ve got into destroying this sucker, into crushing it into a million tiny little pieces and then hurling those pieces out into the stratosphere, scattering it like an exploding star so that it’ll never hurt anyone ever again.

  I can help people. I can stop this. I’m going to win.

  The magic convulses a final time, I hear that screaming in my head, and then… it winks out.

  My knees buckle. I feel both Saint and Logan catching me, keeping me upright.

  Holy shit. We did it.

  It’s gone. It’s done.

  Chapter 24

  Stone is impressed with our work. I’m exhausted, and Logan has to help me stay upright while we report to him, but I’m not going to waste a second telling him what went on. He needs to know.