by Ciara Graves
Sorcery
Magic & Alchemy
Ciara Graves
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Afterword
Sorcery
Magic & Alchemy Book Three
Necromancers. Druids. Shamans. Priests. Familiars. Experiments. Attackers of magic. Magic and Alchemy will suck you in.
Rori’s dream to bake in her mother’s shop went up in smoke when she was pulled into a supernatural school for magic types.
On her first day there, she meets two guys. Chas and Brogan. One’s mysterious and brooding. The other one’s sweet and hunky.
And Rori’s in the middle of a rock and a hard place when she can’t figure out what type of supernatural she is and what path she should follow.
And what does her missing father have to do with any of this?
Warning: Unputdownable action-packed fantasy, with necromancers, druids, shamans, and priests.
Chapter 1
Brogan
Rori was missing for a week and a half.
A whole damned ten days with no leads to where she was, but a good idea of what was happening to her, thanks to the news Chas brought back from the void. From my uncle who had decided to kill himself to end the torture, rather than fighting to live. Greyson, the uncle I grew up hearing stories about, had taken his own life. The strong shaman who showed no fear. Who was the strongest member of our family.
How was Rori supposed to hold out if he couldn’t?
And her Dad. He was alive, but it seemed he might not be of sound mind anymore. If Rori did survive long enough for us to find her, would she still be herself? Or a monster we would have to put down like Graham had to be, turned against us by what they were doing to our kind. Corrupting our magic at its simplest form. I continued to tell myself it wasn’t possible, but the proof contradicted me.
More and more reports were coming in of entire magical towns being attacked, shocked, in an attempt to destroy their magic. The government had finally stepped in, made note that they were aware it was happening, but not really done anything to help. At the end of the day, it was left to us to deal with the issue.
Brunie tapped my shoulder, and I jumped, forgetting she was so close. Her brow furrowed, but I waved her off and focused on our goal.
The soldier captured during the attack at the outpost had been quiet about where Rori was taken, but we managed to get a few answers out of him, including the location of a supply depot, where they were making all their plans to attack the magical communities. It wasn’t their main base of operations, but it was a start. And like Chas, I needed to destroy something. And soon. He’d been nothing but a growling bear for most of the last week, barely talking or eating. Hardly sleeping. And he still refused to be alone with me.
I was upset about Rori being gone, but he was taking it much harder than I expected. My gut nagged at me that something else happened in the void which he had yet to share with me. Sooner or later, it would come out.
“Got movement,” Brunie whispered.
“Two guards… No, three.” I peered through the brush at the warehouse across a gravel lot, tucked away a few acres on a chunk of land owned by one T.S. Bogard. They had covered their tracks well, but after going through shell companies and tax records, Moran’s tech team was finally able to use those names and track down their properties. We were still missing any official records on who they were before this shit began, but it was a start. “Chas.”
I perked up when his power kicked in and cursed when his bear form shoved through the underbrush, moving toward the warehouse. Bears were uncommon in these parts, but any idiot with eyes would see the druidic markings in his fur.
Apparently not these idiots though.
The three guards froze at the sight of the massive brown bear as if he was a regular bear. They tilted their heads together, lips moving as they figured out what they should do. One of them stepped forward cautiously and clapped his hands loudly.
“Go on. Get!” he yelled and whistled.
The two guards looked at their companion like he was stupid, walking backward away from the bear who had stopped short, shaking out his furry neck.
What the hell was Chas playing at?
The three of us were only meant to scope out and report back to, not charge in there.
Chas suddenly stood up on his hind legs and roared in the guard’s face.
The man paled, fumbling with his rifle, except Chas was faster. He swiped his paw down on the gun, breaking it in half, while magic swirled around him.
The two guards behind their companion yelled in warning.
Brunie and I charged out of the trees, dragging the soldiers away from the warehouse using a furious gust of wind, while Brunie trapped them to the ground with golden bands of light. Chas picked the first guard up in his jaws, shook him hard and spun around, then tossed him through the doors and into the warehouse.
“So much for laying low,” I yelled at him. “What are you thinking, huh?”
He huffed and snarled at me what I was pretty sure were curses. Then with another angry growl, ran inside as fast as he could.
“Is he always like this?” Brunie asked, leaning on her staff, wincing each time she heard a man yell in pain. “Shouldn’t we go in there and help?”
“No.” I leaned against the outside wall. Our intel from the day before showed maybe ten guards in there, at most. With Chas in a rage and in bear form, he was quite capable of dealing with those bastards alone. I preferred not to get in the way of his anger.
Brunie poked her head around the side and raised her staff, glowing a soft white signifying she was about to heal.
I shook my head.
“He’s bleeding.”
“Is he on the verge of dying?”
“Well, no…”
I raised my brow. “Then don’t heal him. If he wants to be a dumbass, let him deal with the consequences. Save your strength.”
She hesitated but lowered her staff, and the light receded. There was a loud crash, and when two men came sprinting out, I punched one in the face and tripped up the second. Lightning struck the ground around their fallen bodies when they tried to get up again.
“Best you boys just stay down.” I smiled at them and leaned against the wall. “You got them?” I asked Brunie.
“Yeah, I can handle them. Are you sure you can handle him?” She nodded toward the massive bear inside, tearing apart crates and furniture.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
I called Blade first, to let him know the warehouse was no longer a problem. When he asked why, and I told him, he cursed, then said he’d be there in five with a team, then hung. Shoving my cell in my pocket, I let out a deep breath and strolled inside, taking in the sight of the rest of the guards in various, unconscious positions. Chas stood on his hind legs, shaking a duffel bag with his teeth, his body was surrounded by a green and blue swirling mist
“You finished, or do you want another five minutes?” I asked loudly.
He spat out the duffel. When the blue mist surrounded him more fully, then it parted, and Chas was back to himself, wiping his face on his sleeve. “What? It was faster than waiting for Blade.”
“We are under strict orders to not engage the enemy.”
“Moran’s just scared he’ll lose another one of us. But I am not going to stand around wasting time for other soldiers to come to fight our battles when we need to be looking for her. We’re running out of tim
e and each day she’s with them is one more day they get to torture her, break her!”
“You don’t think I know that?” I snapped, losing patience. “You think I don’t want to find her?”
“You seem content to follow whatever orders Moran hands out at the moment.” He crossed his arms, growling at me quietly under his breath. “We need to find her.”
“And we will, but you can’t rush headlong into the enemy.”
“Why not? Worked, didn’t it?”
“This time. What if next time the place is a trap? Or they have more guards than we originally thought? Moran’s orders are to keep us out of their hands.”
“I can take care of myself.”
I threw my hands up, grunting in annoyance. “Do you even hear how stupid you sound? I’m not questioning your fighting ability. I’m questioning your strategy. We have one of their soldiers, and we’ll get him to talk.”
“When?” he threw back furiously. “When will he give us the answers we need?”
“You have to have faith,” I tried to tell him.
He shook his head. “We need answers now, and I will do whatever I have to do to get her back.”
I glared at him across the warehouse. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You’re acting like I won’t!”
“You’re the one who’s hesitating to do what’s necessary!”
“I want to find her just as bad as you do. What’s gotten into you?”
Chas rolled his shoulders, and his gaze shifted away from me. “Nothing. I just want to find Rori and their damned leaders and end this war.”
“No, you’re different. Something about you changed in the void.” I stalked closer, and he took a step back as if anticipating an attack. “Why are you so intent on killing everything in your path to get to her?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered. “She’s part of our team. That’s it.”
“Bullshit.”
He took another step back. “Just let it go, Brogan.”
“No, because for a week you’ve been on edge, snapping at everyone, and not talking to me at all. Especially not about Rori,” I pointed out. “What happened between you two?” I sensed it the moment I saw them join the fight back at the outpost. Knew there was a change in the connection between the three of us. I had seen the briefest glimpse of confusion and guilt in Rori’s eyes, but then she was gone, and Chas had refused to tell me. I told myself I knew already what was going on, but I had to hear it from Chas. I had to know the truth, so we could both get over it and move on.
“Chas, tell me.”
Outside, two trucks from the convoy pulled up. Doors slammed, and gravel crunched as our men unloaded, but I kept my gaze focused on Chas.
Waiting.
Blade’s voice reached my ears, but Brunie answered whatever questions he was asking—actually, the demands he was making.
“Chas,” I said through gritted teeth, waiting for the anger and hurt to hit me when he said the words.
I held my breath as he finally sighed, hanging his head.
“We shared a moment,” he said so quietly I almost didn’t catch the words.
“A moment,” I repeated. “What the hell does that mean?”
“We kissed, alright?” he rumbled. “We talked, and then one thing just led to another, and we’re both confused, and she’s lost and… I’m sorry, alright?”
“Sorry you did it, or sorry you lied to me?” I asked quietly.
He exhaled heavily. “Lied to you. It wasn’t our intention, but then she was taken, and there never seemed to be a good time to explain—”
My fist collided with his face without even meaning to do it. I brought my other fist up and hit him hard enough to send him into a metal table behind him.
Blade yelled my name, but Chas and I were scuffling. Actually, he wasn’t really fighting back, just guarding his face as I tried to hit him again and again.
“Enough!” Blade yelled.
I was thrown backward.
Blade stepped between us. “What the hell has gotten into you two? This is not the time for whatever spat you have with each other!”
Chas wiped the blood from his split lip, not saying a damned word. I tugged my shirt and glowered at him, honestly not even sure what had gotten into me in the first place. I was mad they lied to me, yeah, but if I was honest… somewhere deep down I knew it wasn’t going to last with Rori and me. We had fun together, but these fights, they’d changed us both, and I saw her more as my teammate. More like my companion than the girl I thought I was falling for. I’d become a new person, just as she had when she began embracing both paths.
“You good?” Blade asked sharply. “Brogan? Chas?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied stiffly.
Chas nodded.
“Good, then can someone please explain to me why you all ignored my order?”
I pointed to Chas. “Ask him.”
“Chas? Explain why I shouldn’t throw your ass in a truck and drag you back to Moran and tell him the shit you just pulled.” Blade’s voice was strained.
“We were wasting time. I saw an opening; I took it.”
“You shifted in bear form and charged in,” I corrected. “You didn’t even ask Brunie and me, you just waltzed on in here and had at it!”
“I knew you two were there. You would’ve kept me alive.”
I shook my head, walking away to let my temper cool as Blade lit into Chas about not following orders.
At least, now I knew why he was more hot-tempered than normal.
I thought I had deep feelings for Rori. And I did, as a friend, I realized now. But Chas, he had it bad, and it was killing him slowly, not knowing what was happening to her. He had to think before he acted though, or he was going to get himself killed. I was not going to be the one to tell Rori, if and when we found her, that the guy she might’ve liked more than me got himself killed in the process of looking for her.
“Pack it up,” Blade bellowed. “I want prisoners loaded and every scrap out of here in twenty!”
I said nothing else to Chas as we packed up crates of weapons to be taken back to our labs for examination.
Brunie asked me if I was alright, and I managed a nod but had no words to really tell her exactly what was going on inside my head.
It was a jumbled mess, and it was going to stay a jumbled mess until we got back to the outpost and I could lock myself away for a while.
Chapter 2
Chas
I touched my busted lip gingerly as the door to my room opened.
I expected to see Brogan there, ready to chew me out some more, but it was Agnes.
She leaned on her staff, watching me plop down at the end of my cot.
“What?” I finally grunted when several minutes of silence passed.
“Hear you and Brogan are not getting along today.”
“Nah. Just a spat between friends,” I muttered and hoped that would be the end of it.
Agnes sighed.
“What? I told him the truth.”
“I don’t care what’s going on between you and Brogan,” she said firmly.
“Then why are you here?”
She pushed off the door and walked around my small room. “Because you are part of a team now, and a team must function well together at all times, no matter what drama is going on in your lives. Do you hear me?”
“It’s not like I did it on purpose.”
“And what exactly did you do, Chas?”
I chewed on my cheek and shrugged. “It’s nothing, just drama like you said.”
“From the way you’ve been acting lately I’m going to assume you and Rori have come to understand how much you truly mean to one another and you did not tell Brogan.”
“I did tell him. Later,” I mumbled. “He’s my friend. Not the easiest thing to admit to your friend.”
“That is not an excuse. Emotions can have a massive influence on your powers. You know this!”
&
nbsp; “It’s not like you understand where I’m coming from,” I snapped, my temper, constantly so close to breaking all the time now, raged again. “You and Moran are together, and it’s easy. But Rori, she was with Brogan first, and I feel like the asshole who somehow got in the middle without meaning to!”
“You truly believe Moran, and I have it easy?” she whispered. “Chas, by rule we cannot be together. Every day we have to hide what we feel for each other.” She patted my cheek as she smiled at me sadly. “If we were not at war, this would not be such an issue, but you four are still the only Elite Guard team we have. Whatever emotional turmoil you’re going through right now, there is no time to wait for it to pass. You have to face it head-on and accept the consequences of your actions.”
Admitting the truth to Brogan had been hard. How did you tell your friend you kissed the girl he’s with, and you’re pretty sure she now likes you more than him? He’d decked me, but he could’ve struck me with lightning, thrown me through a wall. Instead, he’d punched me a few times.
“I’ll go find Brogan,” I told Agnes as I rose to my feet.
“And I suggest you take time to work with him and Brunie. She is an excellent priest. I trained her myself for a while. She will make an excellent teammate.”
I’d meant to speak to Brunie more and see how well the three of us could work together until we got Rori back, but I wasn’t in the mood. Maybe because I hadn’t slept much, if at all. When I wasn’t flopping around in bed, I was finding something—anything, really—to do to keep me busy and get my mind off how long Rori had been gone and at the mercy of those bastards.
I clenched and unclenched my fists as I exited my room to track down Brogan first, and take whatever else he wanted to throw at me. I longed to be outside in the woods, letting my anger out through my bear, but Moran would skin me alive if I did that right now. We were still making repairs to the outpost, and after my disobeying orders once today, I was lucky Moran wasn’t the one who came to talk to me.