Sudden ice frosted her hand. Evie cried out as Chase dropped her hand. “Helen, the bitch, will pay for her lies. As will Lynna.”
Mrs. Burke stepped forward, wringing her hands. “My dear, I had no idea. If I had known you had been there that night…”
“What mother? You’d have welcome Evie with open arms?” Chase’s tone remained scornful. “You would have kicked her out on her behind surely as Helen did.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Chase,” his father snapped. “We aren’t snobs. If you’re in the love with the girl, damnit, tell us and stop hiding in the shadows. Make up your mind.”
A wider smile, showing those jagged teeth as he glowed cobalt blue. No, ice blue. Chase stretched out his palm and flicked his wrist.
His parents cried out as they fell backwards.
Evie ran to help them up. “He’s not feeling himself these days,” she whispered. “Please don’t provoke him.”
But Cal Burke stood and scowled at his son. “What the hell is going on here, Chase?”
“Oh, you’ll find out. All of you need discipline. Punishment for making my Evie feel unwelcome.”
“Chase.” Evie tugged on his arms, alarm racing through her at the glow in his eyes, the menacing stance. “You love your mom and dad. Don’t do this.”
But he shook off her hand and focused on his parents. “Both of you think no one is good enough for me. Especially not Evie. You never asked me about her, how she’s doing or not once invited her over for dinner. You were hoping she was a fling I’d get out of my system.”
Summoning one of those dreadful blue glowing fireballs, he laughed. The maniacal sound terrified her.
Reason urged her to leave, let him alone with his family. She would not be to blame.
Love urged her to stay, for Chase would never hurt his parents if he hadn’t been affected by the dragonspice potion.
“No Chase.” Evie ran to his parents and splayed out her arms, shielding them both. “They’re not to blame. I am. Remember, you had to convince me to attend your parents’ ball!”
The glow faded slightly from his body. Behind her, she felt Mrs. Burke tremble, heard her teeth chatter ever so slightly. Chase was their adored youngest son. To see him filled with hate and wrath must be breaking his mother’s heart.
She turned to Mrs. Burke. “It took everything for me to show up that night here at your house. I wanted to meet you, but I was afraid. I was afraid I wouldn’t meet your expectations. Not as a Skin… or as a dragon.”
Her voice dropped, but she was no longer ashamed. “Because something is wrong with my left wing when I shapeshift. It has been since my first transformation into dragon. I can’t fly for very long without tiring. I didn’t want… you to think I was dragging your son down. And then when Helen tossed me out…I figured it was with your blessing.”
Evie bit her lip. “But now I realize I am good enough for him. I love Chase and if I’m not your ideal, I’m sorry. It won’t keep me from loving him, for as long as I live.”
Chase’s mother looked at her with gentle eyes, as blue as her son’s. “My dear, that would never bother me. How you treat my son, and how much he loves you matters more than being a dragon. Physical defects have a way of strengthening us, and when we find someone who loves us despite them, they’re worth keeping.”
To her shock, the elegant socialite slipped off her right sneaker and sock. It was then Evie saw Mrs. Burke’ foot was missing three toes.
“Frostbite, the winter Cal and I were visiting the Alps. I was so enchanted with the scenery I forgot how susceptible we dragons are to the cold. By that time, I was too cold to summon magick and shapeshift to fly away. I could have died, but he carried me, on his back, for four miles until we found help.”
“I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, Charlotte,” Mr. Burke said softly, squeezing his wife’s hand. “Losing you was not an option.”
The adoring look Mrs. Burke gave her husband as he squeezed her hand made Evie’s heart clench. This was the kind of love that sustained a marriage, a solid, real love that surpassed everything.
“Mother, that’s all very sweet, but there’s no excuse for how Helen and Lynna treated Evie. You allowed them to become bullies,” Chase growled.
Charlotte sighed. “You are correct, my son. We’ve indulged them because we never had daughters of our own to spoil. They need discipline.”
“And I shall be the one administering it. I have power enough to control all dragons.” Chase bellowed a roar and his parents stepped back, alarm on their faces.
“Come out from hiding,” he yelled. “Come out or it shall be much worse for you!”
To her shock, he waved a hand and Helen and her twin sister materialized before them. But the magick took a toll, for he grew deadly pale, gasped and put a hand over his heart.
Even where she stood Evie could tell it raced harder and harder. The more magick he did…
“Please Chase, please don’t hurt us,” Lynna squeaked.
“No Chase.” Evie knew she was the only one he’d listen to, not his parents and certainly not the twins. “Helen and Lynna are still family. Let your mother and father deal with them.”
“They won’t,” he protested.
Horrified, she watched him summon an energy ball. “My family all deserves to die.”
Oh dear goddess, he meant it as well. The potion was warping his mind, making him see every one of his family as the enemy. His parents stepped back, and the twins huddled in front of them.
She must stop this. Evie stepped in front of him, worried about the sweat trickling down his temples, the vein pounding in his neck.
“Chase, don’t do this. I’ve never had a mother of my own. But I’ve known love, and I know how much you love your parents.” A side glance for the twins. “Even if Helen and Lynna are jerks, your parents are not. They don’t deserve your anger.”
Chase hesitated a moment. Then with a mighty roar, he took the energy ball and flung it at an elegant white pillar in the living room. She pulled his parents’ downward and shielded her head as the pillar exploded, showering them with dust.
He went over to a chair and sat, breathing deep. Evie sat on the armrest, slid an arm around his shaking shoulders. She could tell he tried hard to control himself, but pain gripped him.
Despite the twins’ fear, she didn’t trust they would seize the advantage if they sensed Chase’s weakness.
“They won’t do anything, Evie. They won’t discipline them for hurting you.”
“Oh, but we will.” Mrs. Burke glared at the twins. “We’ve been far too indulgent for too long. It’s time they left our house and went back to New Mexico. Their parents have been urging them into attending college. Or selecting mates.”
“No! We like it here better, there’s no night life like there is here, auntie,” Helen wailed.
“Give us another chance,” Lynna pleaded.
Mr. Burke gave the twins a stern look. “Go upstairs and pack your things. We’re going to escort you out tonight. From this moment on, there will be no disrespecting anyone, no matter what. Is that understood?”
“Yes Uncle Cal,” Helen said meekly.
“Of course Uncle Cal,” added Lynna.
The twins trudged upstairs, not even glancing at Chase, who struggled to control his breathing. Finally his color returned.
“Evie, I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he whispered. “I feel torn in half, as if my spirit is draining.”
She kissed him. “I know, darling. It will be better. Please, you have to trust me and do as I say.”
“Evie, dear, we are so sorry for everything that has happened.” Mrs. Burke looked at her son, lines etching her face.
“Thank you,” she told them. “All is forgiven.”
Cal Burke stared at his son. “I don’t know what is going on with him. Is he getting this power from Drust because he’s his apprentice?”
You might say it was from Drust. “In a way, but that’s not i
mportant now. What is important is that Chase and I need to fly right now to fly somewhere that’s critical to his well-being. We can’t waste another minute more.”
Evie stroked Chase’s sweat-dampened hair. No time to go to Lacey’s shop. Even now she could tell Chase was growing weaker, his body failing.
She glanced at his worried parents. “Can we have a moment alone?”
They exchanged glances and then went upstairs. Evie turned her attention back to Chase.
“Preppy, we have to go now. You need to shift into dragon and take me to that place where you rescued me. Swamp World. There’s a cure there to make you feel better. I promise. Will you trust me in this?”
Chase lifted his head from his hands. “Why?”
She only hoped he would.
Chapter 12
Never had he felt this bad before, as if he’d aged five hundred years in five minutes.
A nagging voice in his mind urged him against it. Swamp World was home to the Brehon’s practice sessions, and Drust had spent much time there. The risk of running into one of the wizards was too great.
But Evie’s big, sad gaze beseeched him. “Trust me, Chase. It’s the only way to cure you. I would never hurt you.”
She kissed him, her mouth warm and soft beneath his own. He took a deep breath, inhaling her essence and felt measurably better.
Evie stepped back, cupping his cheek. “You look stronger now.”
He was stronger. Feeling almost as invincible as he had previously. Chase figured it was the potion Lacey had made. Perhaps it would not last. If so, he needed to use this magic while it lasted.
“All right. I’ll go with you to Swamp World. But first, something for you, Evie. I have the power now. I can make you whole again.”
For a moment wild hope flared on her face. Then she shook her head. “Is that it, Chase? I’m imperfect, but your parents accept me for who I am. Can’t you? My malformed wing never bothered you before.”
“Before there was nothing I could do about it. I can now. I can heal you, punish anyone who even thinks about insulting you. I can be your champion.”
“You already are.”
Moisture swam in her eyes. Evie hugged him tight. “I don’t want to lose you, Chase. Please, let’s go to the swamp.”
Sudden suspicion filled him. “Why the rush? What’s so important about that place?”
“Because when you touched the dragonspice potion, it gave you immense powers, my love. But it won’t last. You burst like a firecracker, lighting everything up and then you sizzle out and…”
Her lower lip wobbled as her voice faded. She didn’t need to say the rest.
You’ll die.
There always was a price to pay for magick, Drust told him when he’d started his apprenticeship. His uncle never fully explained the cost of that price.
Now he knew.
Chase blinked, and the yawning pit in his stomach opened further. He went to fist his hands.
Nothing happened with the right hand.
He stared at his hand. Tried to flex his fingers.
“Evie, I can’t move my hand.”
Her mouth opened and closed. She jumped upward, tugging at his arm. “Come on, Chase let’s go. Now. We have to get to the swamp. There’s power there, power that can cure this.”
They went outside onto the expansive, green lawn.
With all his might, he called upon his magick. Relieved, he felt the power flowing, his senses sharpening, his bones lengthening and changing. Pain briefly flared as Chase shifted into a dragon. He lay on the ground for Evie. After a moment’s hesitation, Evie climbed onto his back, clinging to one of his spikes.
He knew it pained her to fly long distances.
He knew it pained her to admit that fact.
With a beat of his wings, he did an almost vertical takeoff from the ground. His powers of invisibility extended to Evie. No Skins could see them from the ground, only Others.
The immense pressure in his chest and the numbness in his arms fled. In the air as dragon he felt stronger and more normal. Chase craned his neck to study the trees dotting residential areas and parks. Still far from the swamp.
Wind blew against him, making the flying more challenging. Chase focused. Had to get Evie to safety. Deep in his bones existed a gnawing knowledge that the magick that infused his body was wrong, too much, eating at him like acid.
Finally the homes and trees vanished, showing a vast expanse of the Florida Everglades. Clouds blocked his vision suddenly, so he swooped down and swept his gaze over the land.
There.
In the near distance, Swamp World pulsed colors like a neon sign, colors he knew only he and the Brehon could see. Crimson for Gideon, the Crimson Wizard. Silver for Tristan, the Silver Wizard. Gray for Cadeyrn, the Shadow Wizard. A clear glittering quartz crystal for Xavier, the Crystal Wizard. And cobalt blue for Drust, the Coldfire Wizard.
Murmuring the incantation Drust taught him, he winged downward into the abandoned amusement park, landing on the ground next to the zip line. Evie slid off his back and walked toward the water.
A hush slid over the place, a thin ribbon of silence, not even broken by the faint breeze his wings created as he folded them back. The air felt heavy and smelled like the beach at low tide, oppressive and rotting.
Chase shifted into human form, clothed himself by magick with jeans, a Tshirt and bare feet. He shivered, his blood growing to ice.
Flying as dragon had calmed the power inside, strengthened him. Now he felt numb and aged all over again.
This place, filled with powerful magick, did it. Somehow it reached inside him, felt the power he held, and trebled it.
But I’m not immortal like the wizards. I can’t hold it.
Wanting to suddenly retch, he dropped to his knees. He felt a gentle hand at his back, rubbing soothing circles.
“Deep breaths, preppy.”
Despite the horrid nausea, he smiled. “Breathing in this dreck is a solution?”
Peering down at him, Evie nodded. “It stinks. I wish I could change it for you, preppy.”
He imagined the air clear and fresh smelling, filled with the brine of the sea. Suddenly the air cleared and a cool ocean breeze swept over them.
The nausea cleared. He stood, his feet on solid ground, his strength returning. Power surged inside him once more.
Perhaps this was the reason Evie had urged him return here. “I’m better, Evie.”
“No, you’re not. You need to go into the water, Chase. Please.”
Chase shook his head. Last month he’d seen those gators consume an ogre Xavier had tossed in there for execution. The ogre had murdered two other ogres to steal their land.
The gators had made quick work of the ogre, who died screaming.
He’d saved Evie from a horrible death and now she wanted him to go… swimming?
“It’s the only way to cure you of the dragonspice potion, and restore your human half.”
“Where did you hear that?”
Guilt crossed her expression. “Lacey told me… she knows.”
Lacey, the one who’d stolen the Bloodmoon flower potion from his house? He was supposed to trust her?
“I’ll call on Drust. He must have answers.” Chase lifted his arms to the sky and chanted the words Drust taught him to call upon him.
Nothing.
No Coldwire Wizard appeared. Nothing stirred in the still air.
Numbness struck his hands again, and his arms fell to his sides like dead weights.
“Now, Chase. If you go into the water, you’ll be yourself again.”
But his legs became lead weights, and breathing became difficult again. That little bit of magick had taxed him. He could not move.
Summoning his magick, he felt only a small pulse of power. Not enough to shift into dragon.
“If you won’t do it, then I’ll force you into it. The only way you’re getting me out is by pulling me out, Chase.” Evie kicked off her shoes and shr
ugged out of her jeans.
She started for the swamp.
“No, you’re not. I won’t let you.” Forcing his numb limbs to move, he hooked an arm around her waist and started to drag her away from the murky water.
Suddenly a whistling noise cut through the air. Chase looked up. Horrified they watched a baby descend through the clouds and land in the swampy water with a loud splash.
His blood froze in his veins.
Evie stared, and then wriggled out of his grip.
Chase made it to the water before she did, diving into the swamp, swimming frantically toward the child. Giggling, the baby girl gripped onto a log and splashed the water as if the swamp was a bathtub.
Alligators lazily began swimming toward the baby, snapping their jaws. Tentacles snaked out of their open mouths. He knew those tentacles, knew the acid they emitted and how it ate at flesh, leaving the victim screaming in pain.
He thought nothing except Evie and her strong, sure strokes taking her closer to the baby, and the baby herself. Power faded from him, leaving his arms and legs shaky, but he pushed on as the gators closed in.
The log was within reach, almost there… he touched it and reached for the baby as Evie grabbed the log’s other end.
“Evie,” he gasped. “Grab the child and get the hell out of here!”
But as he spoke the words, the first alligator reached them, and a deadly tentacle wrapped around the child’s middle.
Cursing, Chase moved in for the kill.
Chapter 13
She could not let the baby or Chase die.
Evie paddled toward both, and reached for the child to yank it free from the alligator’s grip. At the same time, Chase seized the tentacle holding the child fast and grimaced as acid sank into his hands.
Suddenly the baby vanished.
Chase yanked hard, and the gator roared and turned toward him, jaws snapping, jagged teeth moving closer. Releasing the tentacle, his hands a bloody pulp, Chase grew paler.
He was weakening, and she saw it in his eyes.
THE MATING MAGIC: Werewolves of Montana Book 13 Page 8