Magic in Her Touch

by Kate McLay

  Mina tried to use this distraction to throw an old spell at him. It was one of her first combat spells. Simple, but effective.

  She conjured it up in the back of her mind, keeping her primary focus on the magic in front of her.

  Once the spell was ready, she dropped her magic volley, physically dodging out of the way of the red fireball and shooting her spell at him.

  It was meant to stab, at best opening up a wound a few inches deep and as wide as her palm. Deadly if aimed correctly.

  Instead it glanced off his arm. A nuisance.

  "I didn't realize I was sparring a child," he spat.

  Mina couldn't think of a retort. With the spell still fresh in her mind, she sent another his way. This one hit him in the chest, a bright splash of red on his white shirt.

  But with the second hit, Alexander grew wise to her tactics and raised a small deflective ward. It wasn't strong enough to protect him from big spells, but it would stop the little ones.

  Mina raised her own ward, drawing a symbol in the air with her fingers.

  The air between them warbled as Alexander prepared his next attack. Mina started chanting out a defense. She had no idea what he had in store, but it wasn't going to be pleasant.

  It grew hotter and hotter. Sweat beaded on her brow and her palms. In less than thirty seconds, her shirt was drenched. It had gone from a pleasant seventy-five degrees to over a hundred. Mina could barely make Alexander out through the haze of his magic, but she got the impression that he wasn't any worse for wear.

  He was clever, too.

  She'd been expecting battle magic. Not this. It meant that she needed to take a moment to change her tack and defend against it. She tried to cool the air around her, but while her skin prickled with goosebumps from the sudden change, she still leaked sweat, her blood hot and overwhelming.

  Mina stumbled back as something thumped against the outer ward. His guards were trying to fight.

  Between the heat and the attack, she felt the tide shift in his favor.

  That couldn't happen. If he defeated her now, there was no one between him and Darby and Chloe. Darby didn't have the skill to fight him off, and Sarah couldn't protect her sister for long.

  Mina had to end this.

  She could stop Alexander Lotharian right now, but to do so, she would need to move the outer ward and expose herself to his guards. He would be finished, but her power would be drained, and they would be on her the moment it was through.

  So be it.

  Mina opened up her magic, summoning all of the power that she could hold into herself. She was filled to the brim, the air around her crackling with electric power, her eyes glowing blue. She could feel Alexander trying to disrupt her, but she had been holding back. Now she let herself off the leash.

  Full of magic, Mina acted without hesitation. She focused, narrowing her ward until it encompassed Lotharian completely. Then she unleashed the magic within, letting it swirl in chaos around him.

  He tried to fight, tried to defend himself. But there was nowhere to go and his magic was used up in seconds.

  Her own power poured into him and drained him further, sucking the smallest dribbles of magic out of him. It would be painful, devastating. A witch was never cut off completely, and yet that was exactly what Mina did to him.

  The last of her magic rushed out, and the ward collapsed around an unconscious Lotharian. He was pale, as if half of the life had been sucked out of him.

  Mina took a step, trying to turn to face the other guards. But she stumbled, falling to one knee before she could turn completely. She put a hand to the floor to brace herself. She needed a minute, just a minute, and then she could fight again.

  She sagged down further, falling to her second knee and collapsing to both hands.

  Maybe two minutes.

  Mina waited for the attack, for the fatal blow to take her out. But when she looked up, she saw that one of the guards was occupied. Ken, the other guard, was nowhere to be seen.

  Darby punched him and he went down. She didn't fell him with a single blow, but Mina hadn't been there for the first part of the fight.

  She tried to get up, but the effort was too much and she fell forward, lying on the ground.

  She'd used too much magic to take care of Lotharian. Her body was trying to compensate, but she could feel that she was collapsing in on herself as her body tried to make up for the hole that her magic had left.

  Mina needed power. She tried to summon a little, but even that was too much. She'd made a fool's mistake and used all of her magic at once. The only bit that she had left was what was keeping her alive, and even that was turning against her. It was what was devouring her.

  She had won. Lotharian was defeated. Darby was safe. But Mina was exhausted.

  It was time to rest.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Darby finished off the second werewolf just in time to see Mina fall to the floor.

  No!

  She rushed over and gathered Mina close. They couldn't stay here long. Even with Lotharian unconscious - or dead, she wasn't quite sure which - the rest of his guards would find them. They had to be gone before that happened.

  But at the moment, Darby didn't care about the guards. She needed Mina to be okay. That had been a hell of a lot of magic, too much for any one person.

  Mina's eyes fluttered open. "Where's Chloe?"

  Darby caressed Mina's hair out of her eyes and reassured her. "She's safe. For now." Darby had gotten her out of the building and past any extra guards. At the moment, Chloe was on an L train headed for her sister.

  "Didn't mean to use so much power." Her words barely registered above a whisper. She was fading fast. "Used my whole reserve."

  Panic surged through Darby. That could mean death, especially for someone like Mina. The more power a witch could summon, the bigger hole it left when it was used up. Leave too big a hole, and the body devoured itself to try and fill it back up.

  "You're going to be okay," Darby said. It was more of a prayer than a promise. She kissed Mina's forehead. "You still owe me and we can't make up if we don't talk." She was babbling, but she didn't care. She would babble forever if it meant that Mina would recover.

  "Sorry," Mina gasped, "I love you."

  Hell no. Darby kissed her again, this time pressing her lips against Mina's. Their breath mingled and Darby's power tried to pour out of her, tried to brush back up against Mina's. In their time together it had become second nature.

  It shouldn't have been possible, this feeling between them, their powers' reaction. That didn't happen. But right now Darby didn't question the whys. She thought fast. Mina needed power and she needed it quickly. Darby wasn't a magical powerhouse, but she had enough power to spare at the moment. To her, fighting werewolves was a more physical task than magical.

  So she was going to try to use this impossible connection and save Mina.

  She pushed out more of her magic. It brushed against Mina, forming a barrier around her, but it didn't go in. Magic was not something that could simply be given. The recipient had to accept the gift, she had to take it.

  "Open up," Darby urged. "Please."

  She let the magic build until it would have crushed Mina if it were a physical thing. But after more than a minute it was still connected to Darby alone.

  Mina was barely conscious, her mouth opened and closed, desperately trying to draw in breath, and her eyes were unfocused. She didn't have the presence of mind to open herself up.

  Darby leaned all the way down, cradling Mina to her and pressing their foreheads together. "Listen to me, Mina Poole. If you die on me, I am never going to forgive you. I'm in love with you, you beast of a woman. So open your damn shields and let me in." The confession was more command than sweet sentiment.

  But Mina responded. She didn't move, but Darby felt Mina's shields shutter, letting her in by just a crack.

  It was enough.

  Darby's magic poured into Mina, filling the void inside
of her. She didn't push the magic out anymore. Only Mina could know how much she needed, and Darby had no desire to overwhelm her. It seemed to take forever, but after a while, Mina gasped, jerking up and sucking in deep, painful breaths.

  Darby pulled her magic back and smiled. Mina would live.

  Darby helped Mina to her feet. “We’ve got to go,” she said. Every second wasted put them in more danger.

  Mina stumbled forward, but she didn’t fall. She took a deep breath and said, “What are we waiting for?”

  But they didn't have time to celebrate yet. Darby helped Mina up and pulled her down the hallway toward the exit. They made it out and into the dark night without running into any of the other guards.

  It wasn't until they were both in Darby's car and she was pulling onto the highway that she began to feel safe.

  They made it back to Sarah's building, and Mina insisted on walking up the stairs unassisted. She took it slow, and Darby stood behind her, ready to steady her if it came down to it.

  But Mina made it, and when they knocked on the door, Sarah welcomed them both, pulling Mina into a tight, thankful hug.

  Chloe sat next to Tommy on the couch and they both watched a movie on the TV. "I'm glad to see you here," said Darby.

  Chloe smiled, "You were right. No one even tried to follow me."

  Mina leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. She was trying to look tough, but Darby could see the exhaustion clawing at her. Darby could feel it herself. This had been the longest day of her life.

  "What do you mean no one followed you?" Mina asked.

  "I put her on the train. There was an L station two blocks from the hotel." It had been a risk, but Chloe had been willing, and Darby had felt in her bones that Mina would need her help.

  She'd been right.

  Mina opened her mouth, but she closed it before arguing. She looked too tired to fight. "We should head back," she said.

  "Nonsense," said Sarah. "Crash here tonight. You’re welcome to my room. It’s the least I could do to repay you for helping Chloe."

  "If anyone is repaying them, it's me. I don't need your charity." Things were clearly not all sunshine and rainbows between the sisters, but Darby figured they would work out their issues in their own time.

  Mina's head started to list to the side. Darby knew that she didn't want to collapse in front of them, so it was time to get her out of sight. She crossed the room and looped her arm around Mina's shoulders. "I'm exhausted," she said. "Let's take Sarah up on her offer."

  Mina swung her gaze towards Darby and gave her a weak smile. "Alright."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sunlight filtered in through the window and woke Darby up. She and Mina were tangled together on Sarah's small bed. Mina had fallen asleep the moment she sat down on the edge of the bed and collapsed onto her side, nearly falling off. It had taken Darby a little more time, but she had slept like the dead.

  A glance at the bedside table showed her that it was already after ten. They'd been asleep for over twelve hours, and Darby knew that she could easily sleep for several more.

  But she felt Mina wake beside her and knew that the time for sleeping was over.

  "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the binding as soon as I knew." Mina didn't bother with a good morning, and a part of Darby was relieved. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could move on. Mina continued. "I freaked out. Everything was going so perfectly with you and I didn't want to ruin it." She flipped over so that she faced Darby. "You have every right to tell me to fuck off. I deserve it. But if you give me another chance, I will never lie to you about something like that again."

  That sounded great, but Darby was still raw. How could everything have blown up in one day? "What about our families?" she asked. "I told my mom that the binding is off and I meant it. I'm not ready. It's such a big step."

  Mina laced her fingers with Darby. "I'm not ready for it yet, either. But I didn't just tell you that I loved you because I thought I was dying."

  Darby's heart started beating faster. Her pulse fluttered against Mina's skin. She'd been moved by the words last night, but unsure whether they would hold in the morning. "I wasn't lying when I said it, either," she confessed.

  "Do you want me to grovel?"

  Darby shook her head, "No. But I'm scared."

  "About what?" Mina traced the lines on Darby's palm.

  "This has all happened so fast. I've never fallen like this before. Our magic has that weird ass reaction. I don't know what your plans for the future are. Until yesterday I didn't even know your last name." All of the fears tumbled out of Darby's mouth. But as she said them, they didn't grow worse. As a matter of fact, each confession caused the worry to lessen, as if sharing her burdens caused them to evaporate. "But the only thing I'm sure of right now is that I don't want to lose you."

  Mina smiled, her face lighting up, her entire posture straightening as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "We'll figure the rest of it out together."

  There was a lot to figure out. But as Darby leaned in and kissed Mina, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close, she couldn't wait to get started.

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  Kate McLay grew up in the Midwest, but after a short stint in Europe she finds her home deep in the heart of Austin, Texas. By day, Kate does IT support. By night she dreams of magic and romance and can usually be found with her fingers on a keyboard or her head buried in a book.

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