In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1)

by Heidi Vanlandingham

  “Especially if he’d been the one wronged,” I added. “What if he was never at fault like we all believed? It would answer the second clue, ‘fix the lies.’” I stared at Max. We were definitely on the right track. He was crying.

  “Grandpops?”

  “I . . . I remember. Dear God, but I finally remember. It’s still in bits and pieces, though, but for the most part, I have my memories back.” He looked so sad. “You don’t know how horrible it is to go through each day, year after year, and know something is missing. I kept thinking, maybe, if I delved deep enough within me or thought hard enough, I would find it.”

  His soggy eyes moved from me to Niki to Malachi and back to me again. “You thought I was going to kill you, yet you were the only one who had faith in me.”

  Niki replied, “Well, I’m not sure about faith . . . more like a dog with a bone. However, she always did doubt us when we told her you were evil. She has good instincts—when she follows them.”

  I punched his arm. Hard. “Watch it, bub. My tolerance only goes so far.”

  I stifled my own urge to grin when Malachi's amused snort abruptly cut off after another small rock flew up and hit the back of his head. I was beginning to enjoy this new power. I also knew everyone was on an emotional overload, so a bit of lightness was definitely called for.

  “So, are we now thinking the person behind all this is my dad’s mother? My grandmother?” At my grandfather’s confirming nod, I muttered, “What a bitch.”

  “You’ve no idea,” he agreed.

  I wondered at his tone, but before I could form the question, Niki stepped closer to the barrier, his expression dark and serious as he beat me to the next question. “What aren’t you telling us, mage?”

  “Please call me by my true name. I am so very tired of master and mage. I never asked for those titles and don’t want them now. My name is Maximilian.”

  “What a mouthful,” I replied. “I vote for just Max since that’s what everyone’s been calling you.”

  Grandpops met my smile with one of his own. “I like it. I will answer to Max.”

  Niki growled impatiently. “Max. An answer?”

  “You will not like what I am going to say and may even have a hard time believing me. But it’s the truth. I loved her then and still do, even after all the pain she’s caused me. She gave me a beautiful son. However, I don’t believe Giselle can truly love anyone, including herself. She’s driven only by power and hatred.”

  A new feeling of apprehension prickled along my skin, and I held my breath while Niki's expression went from a clenched jaw to wide and worried eyes.

  I stepped closer to him and placed my hand on his arm. Through his sleeve, his muscles tightened and released in his agitation.

  Oh, this was so not good.

  “Niki, what is it?” I whispered.

  “Giselle . . . as in Queen Giselle? Lucien's mother?” He spat out the words.

  Groaning, I dropped my forehead against his shoulder. This was worse than I thought. We were doomed.

  Malachi whistled softly from behind us. “Talk about your ill-fated relationships.”

  I wanted to throw something at him but didn’t have the energy. After all, he’d only voiced my own thoughts. I’d never met the queen. From Niki's reaction, though, she wouldn’t be an easy adversary. Maybe an impossible one.

  “No, imp. Not impossible,” Niki answered, reading my thoughts. “Just close to it. We have to find her weakness.”

  “Does this mean what I think it does?” I turned, resting the side of my face against Niki’s chest and trained my gaze on my grandfather. “Giselle had an affair with you, didn’t she? My father and Lucien are half-brothers?”

  Max nodded.

  “We need to report this to Lucien,” Niki’s voice rumbled in my ear. “Maybe between the four of us, we can figure out what to do.”

  “Can I talk to Grandpops before we leave? Just for a moment.” I held my breath, waiting for Niki’s agreement, which came with a clipped nod.

  He leaned forward and kissed the top of my head then walked away. Even watching the muscles play across his back as he motioned something to Malachi as they gave me some privacy, didn’t cheer me up. Without his warmth surrounding me, my loneliness returned. I hated it.

  I faced the barrier, needing, no wanting to reassure both myself and Max somehow this would all work out. Had Lucien kept the Shadows away like he promised? I brushed the toe of my boot against the edge of a gnarly weed growing on both sides of the invisible wall. Nothing.

  Al, are you awake?

  Yess.

  Can I cross the barrier safely?

  Safe now. Shadowses gone.

  I know they’re gone. What I mean is can I cross over, yet still be able to cross back?

  Yess. But only you—when Shadowses not here.

  I had a plan. I wasn’t going to leave my grandfather here. He didn’t deserve this punishment. If our hypothesis was true, for years he’d been blamed for something he hadn’t done. Now, I just had to figure out how to get him out. I stepped through the barrier and stood toe to toe with him. His eyes widened, and he sat with a hard thud.

  “Grandpops?” I knelt in front of him and grabbed his hands, my gaze never leaving his. I liked the soft gray of his eyes. He smiled and something inside of me broke. With a sob, I threw my arms around his thin shoulders, the anger and resentment inside my heart slipping away with each tear.

  His voice crooned as his hand awkwardly patted my back. I relaxed my tight grip around his neck. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered brokenly. “You’re here because of me.”

  “No, child. I’m here because of what I did, not because of you.”

  I pulled back and wiped the tears off my face with trembling fingers. “You wouldn’t have done those things if the queen hadn’t manipulated you, or the situation. It’s not right that you’re here and she isn’t.”

  “Logically, I can’t argue. Giselle is excellent at making a situation fit her needs, getting whoever or whatever to do what she wants.” He spread his hands. “I was the one who compromised my morals, and I have to atone for it.”

  “But not this way. Not with your life. Make up for what’s been done by helping us defeat her.”

  Emotions played across his face while he seemed to consider my proposal. Doubt darkened his gray eyes. I did the one thing I’d never done before. The one thing I didn’t think I could do without adding a few sarcastic barbs. I spoke from my heart.

  “Grandpops, I haven’t had a real family in a long time. Since being pulled into Dark World, I’ve found out Mom is still alive and Grandma Gaia has been my guardian angel. And there’s Niki. He drives me crazy, but he’s also given me a peace I didn’t know was possible.”

  I cupped his cheek with my trembling hand. “And you. You’re the only grandfather I have. Please don’t take that away from me. I need you to stay strong—for me. Dad needs you too. Whether you believe this or not, when he finds out the truth of all this . . . Well, he’ll need his father.” I gave him a tremulous smile. “He’s even more stubborn than I am.”

  “Oh, child.” It was all he could choke out as emotion overwhelmed him. Through my watery vision, his face blurred as tears welled up again. He pursed his lips several times, as if trying to get his feelings under control. Seconds passed, then he raised his head high, a tight smile forming on his mouth. He took a shaky but deep breath. “I would like nothing more than simply to be your grandfather.”

  I kissed his weathered cheek and smiled. “I want the same thing, Grandpops. Somehow, I’m going to figure out how to break you out of here.” I turned to holler at Niki and Malachi and found them glaring at me from the other side of the barrier. I raised my brows as high as they would go.

  “What? What have I done now?”


  Chapter 13

  Niki’s scowl deepened, flaring his nostrils, making the scar on his face stand out. He looked even more like a pirate. I would have to irritate him more often to get this delicious reaction. An emotion I’d never felt before, some visceral feeling deep inside me, clenched in response.

  “Johnna, what in the hell did you do? How did you even get in there?” Curiously, his tone sounded more desperate than mad. “You can’t be on that side of the barrier.”

  “All I did was walk through the barrier to talk to Max. I didn’t do anything else—for once.” I glared back, not understanding what the fuss was all about. It wasn’t like I’d snuck away again. I actually asked this time. Besides, I was a big girl—an adult—although no one seemed to treat me as such. Maybe I was still young compared to Niki and Malachi, but I was quite capable of taking care of myself.

  “The barrier is there for a reason, imp. Once it’s breached, there’s no going back.”

  I smiled. “That’s so sweet. You’re worried about me, but it isn’t necessary. Al said I could return through the barrier without any problems.” I stepped through the invisible wall to the path and into Niki’s arms, not feeling anything more than the regular heavy air I’d been breathing since we first arrived. I stood on my tiptoes, my eyes level with his mouth. His sexy mouth, momentarily holding my complete attention as I remembered our last kiss, and ignored my grandfather’s loud throat clearing behind me.

  Not one week ago, I’d been so totally repulsed by those same lips. I raised my eyes to his and felt myself falling deeper into him. There were two parts inside of me fighting each other. One part still struggled, not wanting to give up the strong person I’d become on my own. The other part wanted nothing more than to give in and accept what seemed to be happening between us, although what that was, I didn’t yet understand. All those sappy movies and romance novels were right. Time really did make a difference.

  Unfortunately for Niki and me, time was also the problem. How could I fall for someone who had lived thousands of years? He was ancient. Long enough to have all sorts of sordid relationships. And me? I didn’t even know how to kiss properly.

  Still, I rose onto my tiptoes and kissed his chin. “See?” I kissed him again. “We need to find some alone time. I like kissing you.”

  “Niki,” Malachi interjected, “she broke the barrier. The old man’s telling the truth. This also answers so many questions we’ve had about Gerard and things he’s done as well.”

  My gaze moved from one to the other, the deep ache returning between my eyebrows. “I’m not following. What questions?”

  Niki sighed, releasing his hold on me, and stepped back. “Johnna, only royalty can break realm barriers in Dark World.”

  “And my dad can do this too? Like me?”

  “He can. He broke his first barrier as a toddler. It was more than that. He and Lucien formed an impenetrable bond even as babies. Your father always took on the role as Lucien’s protector. Giselle being Gerard’s mother explains everything. His role as the older brother was his birthright.”

  A horrible thought hit me as the ramifications of the brothers’ relationship clarified in my mind. “Wait, if Dad’s the oldest, won’t Lucien fear for his throne?” The blood froze in my veins at the thought of what it could mean for my father. A demon king who had absolute control over a demon army? It could be scary bad.

  Niki squeezed my shoulder gently. “No, imp. Only a full-blooded demon can be king. Gerard is only half demon.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. One less worry.”

  Malachi frowned. “You, however, are a question mark.”

  My head flew around so fast, my neck popped. “Ow—excuse me?” I massaged the tensed muscles behind each ear.

  “Well, think about it a second. Your father is half demon, making you only a quarter. But when Niki gave you part of his soul . . .”

  “He did what?” my grandfather shouted, managing to find enough energy to throw himself at the barrier. His nose smashed against the invisible wall.

  Holding up my hand to placate him, I smiled. Men. “I’m okay. It’s a long story, which will have to wait until next time. Actually, it’s kind of funny.”

  His brows rose. “I will be the judge of that. Explain now.”

  “Fine. The condensed version? Dad protected me from you since your apprentice killed Mom. When Mom gave you her diary, he did the only thing he could think of and hid the key inside me as one of my ribs.” My smile widened. “Skeleton key, get it?” When he didn’t even crack a grin, I sighed. “You have no sense of humor. Because of my magic, magic Dad didn’t know about then, the only way to get the key out of me was to kill me.”

  I held up my hands as his face turned crimson, as if he were about to explode. “Wait a minute, Mister. You were after the key too, so how is what Niki did any different? You would’ve had to do the same thing. Niki shared a part of his soul to save my life. We owe him everything, Grandpops. You weren’t thinking clearly, and neither Dad nor Niki had a choice. We were out of time.”

  I looked up at the gorgeous hunk of demon towering over me, before I dropped my gaze back to my grandfather. Reaching my arm through the barrier, I placed my palm against his cheek. “I owe you everything. If not for you, I would never have been brought here, nor met Niki.”

  “Johnna, be reasonable. He’s a demon. Have you learned nothing from my story?”

  Ignoring the pleading in my grandfather’s voice, I let my hand fall to my side. I only had eyes for Niki as I drowned in his beautiful yellow gaze. “Yeah, so what. I’m a demon too.” Before I admitted something I wasn’t ready to admit, I reluctantly pulled my gaze from his.

  “Cut it out, you two. You’re making me nauseous.” Malachi groaned. “Back to my point. If my calculations are correct, you would be three-quarters demon. The problem is on your mother’s side. Legend states Ouranos is Sabine’s father, but only Gaia knows the truth.”

  I shook my head. “None of this matters. I don’t care about Lucien’s throne. I’m not a ruler. I can’t follow rules, much less enforce them.”

  Niki snorted. “I’ll remember you said that.”

  “Oh, shut up.”

  I relaxed when Max chuckled, the sound dry and unused. “I’ll admit, Johnna is not Giselle. While it is quite enjoyable to sit here and listen to the bantering, we need to stop Giselle.”

  Niki pulled me back against his chest. More than anything, I needed to feel his warmth. His strength. For the next few minutes, I wasn’t going to question my feelings for him or what they might mean. I was simply going to accept the comfort he offered. Nothing more. I’d keep things simple.

  “You know the queen better than we do, Max. Or you used to. Can you think of anything we might be able to use against her?” Niki's chin brushed against the top of my head while he waited for my grandfather’s answer. I was enjoying the feeling coursing through me too much to worry about him messing up my hair.

  Max rubbed his jaw slowly with his knuckles, pondering the answer. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he dropped his hand back to his side. “I believe I do know something. There’s just one tiny catch.”

  “What is it?” we asked in unison.

  “If I’m supposed to do this, I can’t be in here.”

  I groaned. “Even without knowing what the plan is, I’ll do it. I’ll break you out.”

  Niki's voice rumbled at my back. “No you won’t. Like I said before, once a person is placed in the Pit, they can never leave.”

  The light caught one of the charms hanging from the bracelet on my grandfather’s wrist, and a sneaky smile curved my lips. “I might know a way around that, but I’ll need some help.”

  “What—” Niki began again, only to have my hand cover his mouth. I didn’t want to hear his protests.

&nb
sp; “Look, you said no person. He’s not going to leave as a person. He’s going to leave as a charm.” I pointed to the bracelet and hoped I’d added enough conviction to my voice to convince them I could pull off this stunt.

  “Unique, I’ll give her that,” Malachi remarked. “If she’s this creative now, man, I’m glad you’re the demon in her life.”

  Ignoring the fluttering in my gut at what having Niki in my life would be like, I tried to sound syrupy sweet, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from creeping in. “Haven’t you forgotten something, Malachi? Niki's best friend is my best friend.” I batted my eyelashes at him as his brows bunched together. “You’re stuck with me too, big guy.”

  His face fell.

  I glanced at my grandfather. “What do you think, Grandpops? Can we do this?” I held my breath in anticipation of his answer.

  “If your magic is as strong as I think it is, then yes, it’s possible.”

  I released my breath in relief. Things were looking better.

  “What’s your plan for Giselle?” Niki asked.

  “Johnna’s idea of getting me out of here blends well with what I had in mind. Giselle’s weakness is anything shiny. She’s like a dragon with gold and jewels. Dangle a sparkly in her face, and she’s mesmerized. So, all Johnna has to do is hold the charm. I will do the rest,” my grandfather assured.

  “How do we communicate while you’re a charm? Since we’re dealing with your ex, I think your input would definitely be a plus.” I twisted to see Niki's face. “Am I wrong?”

  My demon lowered his head and kissed the side of my mouth. My insides melted. “You’re right.” From this angle, the planes of his face were sharper, more pronounced, making him look devilishly handsome. The red tones of his skin deepened under the shadows created by his black hair and gave him an almost sinister look. I shivered, loving the tingly feeling crawling over me. Bad boys were so much more fun.