by Kimbra Swain
“You expect that to stop me?” she said. “If you come with me willingly, we will let your aunt live.”
“How do we know she isn’t dead already?” Dakota asked.
“You’ll just have to trust us,” Rowena replied.
“Not likely,” Dakota replied. “Stay close. I can take them.”
Zuri threw a blast of fire at my shield. The shield flared under the strain but held. “Not bad for an untrained mage.”
“Good for her. She can read. She’s obviously read the books. Where are they by the way? I looked in your little sex pit but they weren’t there,” Rowena said.
“Such a dirty mouth for a child,” Dakota said. The ground rumbled between us. I hoped we weren’t going down. I wasn’t fond of subterranean travel. Instead of us going down, the ground upturned in a mound running in both directions like a psychotic gopher. The earth upturned so quickly that neither of them could move. It knocked them down. Dakota wrapped his arms around my waist. “Point your shield down, and hold on.”
“What?!” I exclaimed as a rush of wind lifted us off the ground, casting us toward Zuri who was trying to climb back to her feet. She fired balls of flame toward us, and I deflected them with my shield rotating it as we flew past her.
“Down. Point it down!” Dakota yelled.
I pointed it back down just as we impacted the ground. The force caused me to lose my concentration. It had softened our fall, but we still rolled down the ground. We were short of the house by fifty yards.
Dakota hauled me up off the ground, throwing his shield up. “Run, Lacey, run!”
I ran without looking back toward the house. Dakota’s shield faltered at the onslaught from Zuri and Rowena. I made it to the back door of the house, banging on it to open. The knob would not turn. Jerking and twisting, my panic took over my good senses.
“Help! Help us! Help!” I screamed. Hurried footsteps filled the house, and Isaac’s face was the first I saw heading to the door. I turned back to Dakota as his shield fizzed, and he took a blast of air to the chest. It threw him to the house. His body went limp immediately and sank to the flower bed below him. I ran over to him and put up what was left of my shield as Isaac barreled out of the door with Grant on his heels. The attackers saw our reinforcements and ran back into the woods.
Releasing the power of my shield, I focused on Dakota. I patted his face. “Dakota, wake up. Come on, hey you.”
Culpepper rushed over to us, and he gently pushed me out of the way. He lifted his hand forming a circle the size of his palm. He pressed it to Dakota’s chest where it pulsed with power.
“He used everything he had. I’m trying to restore it before we lose him,” Culpepper explained.
“Lose him?” I cried. “No.”
Isaac knelt down next to me. “He will be fine. Culpepper is a good healer.”
“At some point, Denton, you are going to have to tell me how you know so much about me,” Culpepper said.
“My mother was Carlyn Norwood,” Isaac said. Culpepper tensed, but continued the spell on Dakota. Grant and Ronan kept watch to see if someone else was coming or if the two little beasts returned. Dakota groaned as Culpepper held the spell in place.
“Carlyn was a wonderful woman. I didn’t know she had a child,” Culpepper said.
“She said you were friends and that if something ever happened to her, I should find you,” Isaac explained.
“Do you have proof that she is your mother?” Culpepper asked, moving his hands from Dakota’s chest to touch his forehead.
“Lacey,” Dakota muttered.
“I’m here and I’m fine,” I assured him, grasping his hand.
“Damn that hurt,” he said.
“Your power is restored, but you are going to be sore from the hit,” Culpepper said. “I need you to block the pain until this is over.”
“Yeah, Boss, I’m good,” Dakota said, lifting his gaze to me.
“You should have seen her, Fane. She ran over her with that weak shield of hers and stood between you and the killing blast,” Grant said. “Saved by a girl.”
“Hey! Girls are tough,” Isaac shot at him. “My mother was.”
“Isaac, do you have proof?” Culpepper prompted.
Isaac reached into his jeans and pulled a picture out of his wallet. I watched him hand it across me to Culpepper. It was of a younger Isaac standing next to a naturally beautiful brunette with tanned skin and full lips.
“That’s definitely her. Who was your father, Isaac?” Culpepper asked, handing the photo back to Isaac.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. She would never tell me anything except that his name was Grant.”
“Hey, Grant is a good name,” Grant said. Everyone ignored him.
Culpepper rocked back on his heels, then unceremoniously fell on his butt. “You know him?” I asked.
“A 3rd generation mage is rare, so it was entirely possible to have two children where one would have the talent, and the other would not,” Culpepper explained. “Grant was my twin brother. So, you are my nephew and a very powerful 2nd gen mage. I didn’t know that Carlyn and Grant were together. He never told me.”
“So, you are my uncle?” Isaac asked.
“It seems so,” Culpepper responded.
“That’s cool.”
“What’s the plan?” Dakota asked, breaking up the family reunion.
“He’s right. We’ve got to get to Clara and fast. Lacey will go with us,” Culpepper said.
“She’s going to be sick,” Dakota said.
“Sick?” I asked.
“The sudden fever you had in the hospital was an effect of using magic without training yourself. You used enough to help a dying man breathe, so it took a toll on your body,” Dakota explained. “After all of this today, I’m afraid of what it will do to you.”
“Sorry about that, by the way,” Isaac said.
“What happened that night? No one was in the other car.” I remembered never seeing anyone else at the scene and got the impression that they thought Isaac was drunk.
“The doctors found something in my blood stream. A hallucinogen,” Isaac said. “I’m currently on suspension from the baseball team, because they thought I was taking drugs. Someone must have put it in my drink like a stalker.”
“Or a bunch of crazy mages,” I said, looking at all of them.
“We need to move. Less talk,” Dakota said, pushing himself up off the ground.
“Take several cars. Dakota, you and Lacey come with me,” Culpepper said. Dakota was slow moving, but he shook off the attack pretty quickly. I had to think that Culpepper’s healing was the major reason he survived. They moved toward the front of the house while I stood still. Dakota looked back at me.
“Lacey, what’s wrong?”
“You were just hurt badly, and I don’t…”
He walked back to me and leaned down over my face, digging into my heart with his dark eyes. “I’m fine, but it’s good to know that you would jump in front of a blast of magic for me. It’s wonderful to know that you are so concerned about my well-being. Because whatever happens today, I want you to know that I still love you. I never stopped loving you.”
My heart beat my brain into submission, and I gave into what I wanted despite my better judgment. I believed better judgment probably kept a lot of people from being happy.
“Damn you,” I said, grabbing the back of his head, pulling his lips to mine. His shock wore off after a second, then he matched my desperate kiss. The kiss I’d needed and missed. After a few moments of reminding ourselves how good we were together, he pulled away from me.
“We gotta go, Lacey,” he said.
“I know.”
Dakota put me in the front seat next to Culpepper, and he sat in the back of the Mercedes. We sped out of the driveway as a large explosion rocked the house. It went up in flames. Culpepper never let off the gas. He and Dakota discussed what approach to take and what to do with me.
“She shou
ld stay with you,” Dakota said.
“I need my full attention on Stanwick,” Culpepper responded. “You can protect her, Dakota. You have just as much power as I do. For that matter, so does she. Funnel her, if needed.”
“Funnel?” I asked.
“Yes, you are able to lend him power that you aren’t using. All you have to do is be in contact with him. However, you have your circle and shield ready at all times,” Culpepper instructed. “We will keep you safe as much as we can. And, if we get through this, I’ll teach you everything you need to know. I promise.”
“Thank you, Professor Culpepper,” I said.
“Lacey, you can call me Gil. Just not in my class.”
“Got it.”
“I apologize for my part in keeping Dakota away from you, but there are still concerns,” he said.
“I understand. Well, I think I understand. I mean, I probably don’t, but yeah,” I replied.
He pulled the car over several blocks from my aunt’s house, but didn’t exit the car. “All the same. I once had someone that meant the world to me, and instead of listening to my heart, I pushed her away.”
“Gil, this wasn’t the same,” Dakota said.
“No, not exactly. But I see how you look at her. She’s still trying to figure it all out, but I have no doubts about your feelings. I’m just going to have to buy you a box of condoms and put an unbreakable spell on them,” Gil said.
Heat rose to my face, and I looked away from him while Kota literally choked in the back seat. It triggered a memory of our first time together. He’d insisted on a condom. Like emphatically. I thought he was just being uber safe. In a sense, I guess he was.
“Someone has to watch out for you guys,” Gil said. “Let’s go bust some ass.”
I laughed, and I heard Dakota holding back laughter in the back seat. He got out and opened my door. He offered his hand to me.
“Thank you, Sir.”
“You are welcome. We do have a lot to talk about,” he said.
“Like spelled condoms,” I said.
“I already have some of those. Well, the ones we didn’t use,” he said.
“Dakota!”
He laughed. “It’s true.”
I huffed and rolled my eyes. “Can we go save my aunt now?”
“Yes. Lacey, if something happens, you know I’m here for you. It seems you’ve picked up several protectors along the way. Isaac. Even Brax,” he said.
“It’s not like I’m with them,” I said.
“If you were it would have been hurtful to me but deserved. I left even though everything inside of me told me not to leave,” he said.
I spun around to face him. “Dakota Fane, we are not talking about this right now. I kissed you. I miss you, but my aunt is down there with a madman. I need you to go get her, because I can’t!”
He paused at my outburst. So typically, Dakota. Anytime I was frustrated or upset, he would never fuel the argument. He shut things down. Let me win. “You are right.” He turned and picked up the pace to catch up with Gil.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, but I was sure he didn’t hear me.
We rounded the corner to see my home. Marley stood on the front porch, but there was no sign of the others. We walked down from our point while Isaac and Grant walked from the other end of the street. Ronan was nowhere in sight.
Marley stood staring at us as we approached. Opening my mouth to speak, she lifted her hand and shot once.
A bright blue shield appeared before me. Dakota’s arms stretched out framing me, holding the shield in place. The bullet hit it with a force that made the shield wobble, but held. I still flinched, backing up into Dakota.
“Circle up, Lacey,” he said quietly. Gently, so as not to piss me off. But it did as he asked. Dakota and I needed to have a big fight. Then, perhaps, some really fantastic make-up sex. I lifted my hand matching his shield with mine. He dropped his, then the bastard kissed me on the cheek. “Always here. Always watching.”
“Stalker,” I muttered.
“Marley, put the gun down,” Gil said.
“Let me,” Isaac said, walking toward her without a shield. “Hey, sexy. How about another roll?”
Marley turned the gun to him. “Stop or I’ll shoot.”
“What and ruin your chance for mind-blowing sex?” Isaac said.
“What’s he doing?” I asked. “He’s not got a shield.”
“He does. It’s invisible. Pretty cool trick actually. I’ll have to get him to show me that one,” Kota said.
Gil and Grant approached her from two sides while Isaac continued to talk to her.
“I will shoot,” Marley said.
“She’s enthralled. She has no choice about her actions. She’s given her power over to Stanwick. The only way to save her is to get to him,” Kota explained.
“What about what she did to me? When she shot Brax?” I asked.
“None of it was her choice. However, it was her choice to give herself to him,” Kota said. “She will have no power left.”
His words shook me. My aunt said that she had once lost her power, giving it to the wrong person. Or something along those lines.
Isaac moved closer to Marley. She looked at him without being distracted by the rest of us. He held out his hand to her. “Come with me, honey. I can make you feel better than he ever did.”
She quirked a smile, then narrowed her eyes firing three times. His bright green shield flashed to life with each hit of a bullet. Grant rushed her knocking her to the ground. He wrestled with the gun, until Kota dashed past me to kick it out of her hand.
“I’ve got her,” Grant said. His voice sounded weird to me. Like I was hearing him speak twice. I focused on him through the glow of my shield. “Sleep, Marlow Vernon. Struggle no more.”
Marley’s body went limp beneath him. He took each of her hands swirling his hand around them. A pulsing red rope circled her hands. Kota helped him drag her out of the front yard.
“They know we are here, Lacey. Focus on your shield. Let it guard your body, but mostly your heart,” Gil said. He placed a caring hand on my shoulder. I nodded in understanding. My only living relative was in that house. I needed to be smart, but I was pretty sure that I’d do anything to keep Aunt Clara safe.
“The books are in the attic in a trunk. I placed a protection spell on it from the Grimoire,” I told him.
“Well, then. The books are safe. I’m not as concerned about those as I am Clara.”
“They are safe?” I asked.
“If you successfully completed the spell, Stanwick cannot get into it. He’s never seen the book. We will talk about that book later,” he said.
“You requested it,” I said.
“I did. For you,” he replied. “Now, let’s go in here and get your aunt.”
“We are ready,” Kota said, running up next to me with Grant. Isaac nodded in agreement.
Gil walked up the steps first, and we followed them. Kota kept me in front of him with Isaac directly in front of me. My aunt was seated in the living room on the left. Zuri stood to our right. The child stood at the top of the stairs. Stanwick sat next to my aunt with a stupid grin on his face.
“Bringing her back to me. That’s a bold move, Gil,” Stanwick taunted. “I need her to remove the spell on the books. In fact, I’ll give up my quest to create a 4th gen if she will give me the books.”
I started to speak, but Kota cleared his throat. Stanwick laughed. “Lacey, are you going to let these men control you?”
“Like you controlled Marley?” I exclaimed.
“Yes, well, Marley gave herself to me willingly. Like Shawnna,” he said. Shawnna moved out of the darkness in the back of the room to stand behind my aunt with a pistol to her head. “You saw that I was willing to shoot my own son to get what I want. You know I’ll kill her.”
Aunt Clara sat silently looking down. I wanted so much for her to make eye contact with me, but she wouldn’t.
“You cannot ha
ve the books, Clanton. I won’t allow it,” Gil said.
“Why? Because you checked them out in your blood?” Stanwick asked. “Let me translate for you, Lacey. To remove books like the grimoire from the library, you sign your power away in blood if they do not return. If I take them, Gilbert Culpepper dies. So, you get to choose. Your aunt or your would-be trainer.”
“Where is Elmira?” I asked.
“She didn’t make it,” Stanwick said.
The rolling thuds of her body rattled the old house as the demon child pushed her down the steps. Her eyes were open, but clearly dead.
“You see, Lacey, if you stay with Gil, you will lose your power like your aunt here or end up dead like Elmira. This house is just full of his failures,” Stanwick taunted.
I saw Gil’s strong shoulders hunch slightly with the words. Stanwick was getting to him.
“I will go with you. You can’t have the books and you can’t kill my aunt,” I said.
“No,” Kota growled.
Stanwick looked like the devil when he smiled. A half smirk grew into a wide pleasurable smile.
“What if I say no?” he said. “You see, destroying Culpepper is pretty high on my list. I think I’d rather him die than fuck you.”
“You can take the books. Lacey, go upstairs and remove the protections,” Gil said.
“I’m going with her,” Kota said.
“No,” I muttered.
“Just do it,” Kota insisted.
“Rowena will go with you to insure no funny business. I’d hate for the two of you to get all lovey dovey and decide to have a romantic interlude upstairs,” Stanwick said.
Dakota went up the stairs first to keep himself between Rowena and me. I listened as Stanwick taunted Gilbert below.
“Such a noble gesture, Gil. I knew I could count on you,” he said as his voice was obscured by our footsteps on the wooden floors. We climbed the steps to the attic
“No sudden movements, Rowena. I’d hate to flinch and take you out,” Kota said.
“As if you could,” she snarled.
When we reached the attic door, she opened it, but didn’t step inside. “Go in,” I said to her.