Unwanted Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 3)

by Stephany Wallace

  I stared at her taken aback. There was a hint of amusement in her eyes. What was the deal with these freaking Druids? Eghan was the only one who was acting in a way I could understand. Didn't they hate my guts?

  “Oh. You thought I was checking you out? You are not my type. I'm sorry," I answered jokingly, before I realized what I was doing.

  Her eyebrow rose sarcastically. “Not in a million years, Roman.”

  I fought the urge to smile. I had no freaking idea what was going on. I had never been so confused by a woman in my life. She walked to the end of the room. Her eyes fixed on me. The tigress was back. She paced slowly, back and forth, holding my gaze. I could almost see the internal battle inside her. Her eyes were calculative and focused. She was trying to figure me out I assumed. Good luck with that. Right now I didn't even know who I was. Stopping in the middle of the room, she took a deep breath and as she exhaled her shoulders slumped. I could tell she didn't want to be here and was trying to find a way to be ok with what she had to do. I wouldn't want to be forced to look after a guy who killed my friend and was responsible for so much pain in my life either.

  “You don’t need to be here if you don’t want to. It’s ok. I agree. They are asking too much of you, but you can leave. I won’t hurt myself or anyone else.”

  She sat on the chair Ronan used before and looked at me, not hiding her confusion.

  “Why, Roman?”

  “Because the only fight I have to endure is going on inside me.”

  She leaned back, taken aback by my answer. She became quiet once again. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself back on the mattress, resting my back against the wall. Bringing my heels up, I put my forearms on my knees. The minutes passed as she just stared at me, and I stared right back at her.

  "I was asked to come every day and assist Ronan.” She finally said, breaking the silence almost half an hour later. “No, the truth is I do not particularly like the task, but I will do as the High Priest requests of me."

  I took a deep breath and lowered my legs, sitting forward. "Who is your High Priest?"

  “Cynwrig Bressall.”

  I nodded. “I can understand that.”

  “Ronan vouched for you. He assured me you would act respectfully while I was here, that you would not cause me any trouble. Do not make him a liar, Roman.”

  I looked at her confused. Why would Ronan vouch for me, why would he even tell her that? He didn't know me. He was taking risks with me he shouldn't be. "I have no intention to."

  She nodded, pleased by my answer. "Take off your shirt."

  My eyes widened. “You move fast for a woman.”

  "What?" She asked, insulted and I couldn't help but chuckle. "You think too much of yourself, Roman. I just want to see your wound and the condition of your body."

  The insult ground on my back like nails on a chalkboard. I took a deep breath pushing it aside, and holding her gaze I reached for the edge of my shirt slowly pulling it off. Her eyes went to the wound. It still had the ointment Ronan had placed on it, but the swelling had gone down since he cleaned it. Eisha unconsciously reached for it to inspect it, her fingertips almost touched my skin, but she pulled her hand back at the last minute. Her gaze went to my face. Her eyes had slightly widened when she realized what she was doing. There were only a few inches between us and I suddenly found myself hypnotized by her eyes. There was something about her eyes. I cleared my throat, and she leaned back continuing to inspect my body.

  “You look better than the last time I saw you. Have you been eating?” I nodded. “Good. You need the nourishment. Have you ever conditioned your body?” I frowned not sure what meant. “For endurance,” she added.

  "Um, yes since I was thirteen." What did this have to do with anything? "I go to the gym every day twice a day except on Sundays. I do cardio and weights in the mornings, then train for my kickboxing tournaments at night. I also do sword fighting practice once a week."

  “Kickboxing?”

  “Yeah. It’s a combat sport based on kicking and punching your opponent. It was developed from Karate.”

  Her face contorted in the funniest way. She seemed seriously appalled by the idea. I tried not to smile.

  “Never mind that kickboxing. It is not real exercise. You have lost much muscle weight since you have been here, and your body needs the conditioning to help you recover. You have been inactive for too long. I shall come every morning at the crack of dawn. We will continue your training tomorrow.” She stood and turned as though to walked towards the door.

  "Wait, what?" I asked, straightening. She was kidding, right? I had barely started regaining my strength.

  “We shall begin tomorrow." She confirmed. When I didn't agree she sighed. "I do not know how to do this, Roman. Talking is Ronan's skill, not mine. If I must keep you company, then it will not be in this cave. You shall train with me each day."

  My eyes widened. I would be able to leave this cave, at least while training. Realization suddenly dawned on me. Eisha could be the key to me being able to get out of this place and look for my father. If I could show her that I wasn't a threat to them, maybe she could relate that to the others, and they would let me leave.

  "I will do it. I'll train with you." My heart raced with the possibilities.

  She frowned noticing my sudden enthusiasm. “Very well. I shall see you tomorrow.”

  She turned to leave but her hand suddenly cupped her head, and she sidestepped, trying to regain her footing.

  “Not here.” She whispered pleading, and looked at me from over her shoulder.

  My eyes widened. Her ice blue eyes became pure white as they began to glow. Everything appeared in slow motion as her knees gave way and her body collapsed before she even finished facing me. I didn't even think. I jumped off the bed and threw myself towards her, catching her body in my arms before her head hit the hard stone floor. My hips hit the ground while my back and head banged against the wall harshly, and she fell on me.

  The second my skin touched hers, the blue fire ignited. The flames rose scorching my body. A gut-wrenching scream ripped through me, escaping from deep within my chest. The bright blue flames traveled over my skin like wildfire, melting it and consuming everything in their path but leaving Eisha unblemished. Her body was shaking in my arms, and even through the burns, I could feel the freezing cold that had enveloped her. I clenched my jaw as tight as I could to stop the screams from leaving my throat, but I was losing the battle. My eyes shut tightly, the agonizing pain was robbing me of sanity as it began melting my muscles, but I couldn't bring myself to let her go. All I could think about was, what was happening to Eisha? And would she be ok?

  My eyes snapped open, and another scream ripped through my throat when the flames finally reached my face. Eisha's beautiful glowing eyes through the blue haze of the fire were the last thing I saw before my body gave into the pain, and everything went black.

  ART

  * * *

  My brother’s words were all I could think about as I stood outside his hut.

  “I know it has been hard for you to find your place in this village, brother… I know you are trying to prove your worth to yourself, even when the rest of us see it as clear as day...”

  His words had stirred so many emotions within me, and the truth was he was right. The uncertainties I had nurtured growing up beside him, seeing first-hand everything his kind of magic could do, and even after he became our Àrd-shagart lived just under my skin. There was truth to the phrase, “You never know what lies just beneath a smile.” I had tried to convince myself for so long that his magic didn't mean I was less capable than him, or less worthy but it was the truth. I would never be able to mean as much to our people, or do for them as my brother did, no matter how good my intentions were, or how hard I tried. I knew it wasn't a competition and I was proud of my brother, I loved him, but even as a child people had always expected more from me once they learned what Cyn could do. I couldn't help but feel inadequate. I wasn't
enough to stand beside him, and I wasn't enough to be with Eisha.

  I was an immortal, yes, but I was still just a man.

  A Warrior.

  Nothing else.

  I lifted my fist to knock on the door, but it opened wide before I could. My brother was on the other side. Even before his eyes settled on mine, he knew why I was here. He could feel my essence, and I had no doubt he knew exactly how sorry I was for disrespecting him and my little Sis. He was aware of that what I was feeling right now. He always did.

  He threw his arms around me and hugged me fiercely. “I know, Art. I’m sorry too, Brother.” He patted my back and let go. I nodded seeing him step aside.

  I took a step inside but stopped when he frowned, looking beyond me. I turned around to find Ronan rushing through a portal from the mountain.

  “It’s Eisha. I mean Felix. You have to come with me. Now!”

  The second Eisha’s name hit my ears I was on the move.

  Cyn and I rushed through the mountain towards the cave after Ronan. My heart slammed against my chest imagining what that bastard had done to her. We went into the cave and stopped in our tracks.

  “They were like this when I came to bring Felix dinner.”

  Ronan’s voice and everything else around me disappeared as my eyes saw Eisha’s body on the floor. “I’m going to fucking kill him!” I yelled launching forwards. Cyn’s face came into view as he stopped me.

  “Stop, Art.”

  “Get out of my way, brother. I’m going to rip his spine out through his mouth!” I shouted seeing the awkward angle Eisha’s body was in. I wanted to pick her up and make sure she was ok.

  “Daingead, Art. Stop!” Cyn yelled, bringing my eyes back to him. “You need to let go of your rage towards Felix, and see the full scene before you, brother.”

  I frowned looking at him and closed my eyes taking a deep breath. When my gaze returned to Eisha, my eyes widened. I took a step back shocked by the horror in front of me. I couldn't move. Cyn bent down next to Felix. He was the reason her body was laying at an odd angle. She was lying on top of him. Her eyes were glowing, and she was shaking from the cold. It was evident to me by the way his arms were around her that he had stopped her fall. I looked at Ronan and saw his eyes filled with tears. My chest tightened as my gaze returned to Felix. Half his body was severely burnt. The protection spell had ignited the flames, as he held Eisha to stop her from getting hurt. There was no way he was alive after suffering those kinds of burns. I could see his bones in some places. The flames had receded, but he was as good as gone.

  "Is he alive?" Ronan asked, distressed, but Cyn didn't answer.

  "Can we please take her away from his body?" I asked, not wanting her to stay there one more second. My brother remained silent. His eyes were closed as though he was trying to sense something.

  "What is happening to Eisha?" Ronan asked worriedly, and only then did I realize he was seeing her this way when he had no idea of her power. No one except Cyn and I knew. I searched my brain for an excuse, but Cyn's eyes suddenly snapped open.

  "He is alive!"

  "Thank you, Mother Goddess," Ronan whispered.

  “How do you know?” I asked, shocked.

  "I can feel his essence again." I rushed to Eisha. "Be careful, brother," Cyn said, as we both reached for Felix's arms.

  We slowly removed them from her body, and I gently pulled her arms, lifting her off him. The second her back cleared his skin I wrapped my arms around her and carried her off. I rushed to the table and placed her on top, not letting go of her. I kissed her cheeks and forehead, caressing her to make sure she was ok, and that the magical flames had not hurt her too. I breathed a sigh of relief when I confirmed she was fine. She was just immersed in the trance.

  I kissed her lips while my hands trembled on her cheek. If something happened to her…

  “For all that is good and holy! What is happening?” Ronan said alarmed, just as Cyn gasped.

  I whirled around, and my eyes widened. "What the fuck is going on?"

  A soft blue light was radiating through Felix's burns. It was as though it was coming from inside him. It slowly moved over the blisters and scorched tissue regenerating on its way up his body. It had started on his thighs, and it was making its way towards his hips. As the light passed over the torn, incinerated muscle and nerves, they became new, stretching, reconnecting and covering his bones once again. His skin formed just above it. The process seemed very slow, but it was happening before our eyes.

  “What the fuck is going on, brother?” I asked again, holding Eisha tighter in my arms.

  Cyn’s wide eyes focused on me. “He’s healing.” He answered, as shocked as I was.

  "What the fuck do you mean he's healing? You mean you are treating him?”

  He frowned and looked at Felix again. “No, brother. He’s healing on his own.”

  “Surely you cannot mean that, Cynwrig. It is impossible.” Ronan countered. “Perhaps it is the remains of the healing spell you had placed him under before. It is healing him now.”

  Cyn stood and took a deep breath. "No, I am certain that is not the case, Ronan. I have seen this type of magic before. With the extent of his burns, he should not have survived. Nevertheless, his body is healing. There is only one being that can do something like this." Ronan and I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. He looked at us concerned. "Felix is a Healer."

  “What?” Ronan exclaimed while I looked at my brother stunned.

  What the fucking fuck?? Like what the actual fuck?

  “He’s a fucking Roman, Cyn. How can he be a Healer?!” I shouted, pissed off.

  You have got to be kidding me! He is not even one of us, yet he has powers? What the Hell is the Goddess’ game?

  Realization dawned on me. Cyn hadn’t just looked at “us” concerned. He was concerned about me.

  "He is not even one of us, brother. How can he be a Healer?"

  "I am afraid I do not have an answer for you. Of this, I am certain though. He is a Healer."

  "I do not mean to question you, Cynwrig but you are a Healer, and I have never seen you heal that way. Nor treat an injury to that extent, without using another type of magic to aid the process." Ronan asked, unable to take his eyes from Felix's body. The light continued the regenerating process while we spoke.

  "That is because I am not a true Healer, Ronan. I have magic inside me, and that allows me to restore health but is an entirely different type of power." Cyn's eyes found mine again. "Nels was a Healer. His magic worked this way. His body restored itself in this manner."

  I shook my head. “He is not even one of us, Cyn. Why would our Mother Goddess give him this power??”

  My brother's eyes softened. "I wish I had the answer, Brother. I am sorry."

  I turned away from him and fixed my hold on Eisha's body, lifting her off the table. "I'm taking Eisha to her place. She needs to be taken care of." I said, without looking back.

  "Let me open the portal for you," Cyn offered, and I stopped, taking a deep breath while I watched him do it. Before I crossed over, his voice stopped me once again. "Brother, I need you and Ronan to promise that you will help me keep this a secret for now. No one must know of this, at least not until I am able to discover why this has occurred. I suspect this might not be something random. When I placed Felix into the Air ais bhroinn—Restoring womb his essence was blocked to me. It was as though something had caused it to become inert, yet now that this has occurred I can feel it once more but is not the same I had felt before. It has changed. There is a purity to it that was not there before. I think the process of healing he endured during those three months might have awoken something that was already inside him, dormant. This ability is not something you acquire overnight, brother. This is something you are born with."

  “You have my word, Àrd-shagart," Ronan answered bowing his head.

  I nodded once and turned around feeling the pain rip through me. Our Mother Goddess had chosen a Roman a
s worthy of her powers over me. Things couldn’t be clearer.

  I had always known I was nothing. Now I was certain.

  My fingers slowly traced Eisha’s delicate face as I held her in my arms. We laid on her bed, my body wrapped around hers and covered by the thick blanket as I attempted to chase away the freezing cold that invaded her body.

  I hadn't seen her in over a week. Since I made the choice of leaving Eisha during a trance, to help Lia with her torturing nightmares. She had woken up alone and hadn't spoken to me since then. Not even to let me explain. If she only knew how my heart had ripped in two that night. Had the circumstances been different, I would have never left her side but Lia needed me, and I had to be there for her. I took a deep breath and slowly leaned in, kissing her lips. I gently brushed mine over hers, then kissed her once again. Her lips slightly closed over mine, and I opened my eyes to find her waking up from the trance. I smiled as the glowing of her eyes receded and her gaze fixed on me.

  “You are here.”

  “Of course I’m here, mo sgòthan.” I kissed her again feeling her lips respond to me. Relief washed over me. I thought she would reject me, stay mad at me once she woke up.

  Her eyes clouded with confusion. “But I was at the cave with Felix, I...”

  "Shhhh. It's ok. I'll explain later. That is not important. You are here now, with me."

  Her arms wound around me, and she pulled me closer, I turned her so that she could rest her head on my chest and tightened my embrace on her. My hand caressed her back while her body continued to warm against mine. I truly enjoyed feeling her this way. I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

  “I’m sorry for not being there.”

  Her gaze became sad. "When I woke up, and you weren't there, I felt so alone, Art."

  My chest tightened. “I know. I’m so sorry. I left because Lia was screaming in her nightmare and she needed me. I should have come back it’s just…”

  “You should have never left.”

  I frowned. “But she needed me.”