Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem Book 2) Read online

  A faerie giggled as she or he—it was hard to tell the fair folk apart from a distance—drifted past. Purple magical dust sparkled and swirled behind her or him, washing into the eyes of a sylph, a species of notoriously ill-tempered air sprites about half the height of humans. The sylph waved his hand in front of him in annoyance, trying to wash away the magical dust before sliding to the side.

  Emery let his gaze drift up to take in the other flying creatures, but a cloud of black mist rushed in to disrupt the scene. He went on edge immediately, ready for the premonition that would tell him from which direction the danger would come.

  Penny’s beautiful face came into view. Her luminous blue eyes held blind terror and sweat beaded her forehead. She stood at the mouth of a darkened corridor in what looked like a well-appointed house. An oil painting of a small boat in turbulent sunset seas hung on a wall to the left, and a small column to the right held a large vase full of flowers.

  If she went down that corridor, she would die. He felt it as clearly as he did the dirt under his suddenly clawed fingertips.

  Throat constricting in panic, he scrambled to his feet. But what could he do? He was worlds away, literally. If he took the absolute fastest route back, it would still take him a week or more. That, and the fastest route through the Brink would put him on display. Considering how easily the Guild had tracked him so far, they’d catch sight of him in no time, and he’d essentially lead a hostile army to Penny’s door.

  A sick feeling twisted his gut.

  He’d told himself he had to leave, that she’d be better off without him, but he’d walked away and left her in danger. He’d all but put her on display for the Guild, then abandoned her.

  He shoved away the guilt, trying to think rationally. Trying to use logic.

  She was extremely valuable. The Guild wouldn’t kill her. Neither would Darius. They would protect her and try to use her to further their own ends.

  So why had his foresight kicked in?

  Because trying to control Penny was like trying to keep a candle flame lit when running in the wind. Getting into trouble was as natural for her as breathing, no matter how much the people around her wanted to keep her safe. The best thing to do was stick by her side and run with her through the middle of chaos. Try to be on her team, letting her lead as often as she followed, and hold on for dear life.

  He’d barely had any time with her, but he’d learned that much. And using that method, they’d made it through impossible odds.

  He paced, waiting for another premonition. Wondering if he would somehow feel it if something happened to her.

  His head said not to go to her right then. It said to stay apart from her and force the Guild to split their resources. Logic dictated that one of the most strategic, powerful, and ruthless vampires alive would not let one of his prized assets fall into irreparable harm. If Emery had to trust one vampire, it would be Darius. In all of their dealings, he’d learned that Darius’s strict code kept him largely predicable and trustworthy…for a vampire.

  Emery bit his lip.

  It was that last part that threatened to unravel that line of thinking.

  For a vampire.

  That wasn’t saying a whole helluva lot.

  The black mist drifted in again.

  13

  Heart hammering, knowing I should turn and fight rather than run, I jogged toward the hallway on the right and peered down it. The old-fashioned electric candles bracketed to the wall were turned down low, and dark shadows lined the walls and pooled along the ground. There were doors on either side, probably bedrooms. The sweet smell of flowers from the column on my right tickled my nose, helping to calm the magic gathered above me. Even so, the picture up on my left felt like a perfect representation of my mood. A small boat rolling amidst crashing waves, its passengers wondering if this was the end.

  It won’t be the end.

  It couldn’t be. I couldn’t die before I got to slap Emery in the face for failing to meet my expectations. I didn’t even care if it wasn’t his fault; he’d still get a slap.

  And Darius needed that punch in the kisser.

  But as I stood in the archway of that hallway, the hard clicks of nails on wooden floor of my newbie pursuer getting ever nearer, joined now by other clicks from other pursuers, I couldn’t seem to will myself forward. Vampire magic hung heavy in the air like a fog, hot and sticky. The vampire lurked in these walls somewhere. Not Darius and not a newbie.

  A soft hiss invaded my decision-making. The clicks stopped, so damn close.

  A glance back and I started.

  The newbie vampire stood in the archway behind me, braced and ready to attack, claws out.

  “Fickle blanket weavers.” Adrenaline dumped into my body.

  I spun and launched forward, readying a spell to toss behind me as I went. Movement registered in my peripheral vision before I could even gasp. Strong fingers wrapped around my forearm and yanked me back.

  “No,” I heard, low and urgent.

  Magic swirled through my fingertips as I came to a stop, facing Mr. Devilishly Handsome Vampire.

  Electricity surged around me, charging my skin before pumping into Darius’s hand and arm. A bug zapper sound preceded him flinching away, and I jumped to the side, my hands already up and weaving a spell. The act strangely felt like knitting, and a stray thought curled away—I wondered if that was why my mother had taken up knitting (before failing at it and stabbing the couch in frustration).

  Darius stood in front of me, his hair standing on end and his hands fisted at his side. He looked like he’d just stuck his finger in a light socket.

  His hard hazel eyes beat into my head. “No,” he said, and despite his hair issue, his voice came out calm and unaffected. “Do not go that way.”

  I glanced down the dark hallway before looking back at the room from which I’d come. The green monster stood frozen in place, looking at me with bunched muscles and thick cords of drool falling from its mouth.

  “Why should I trust you?” I whispered.

  “I am training you, not trying to kill you,” he said, unconcerned about the newbie vampire panting in the doorway behind him.

  “You didn’t do a lot when that other one had its fangs on my neck.”

  “I was about to step in when you handled the situation beautifully. I would love to leave you alone and see what new surprises you have in store, but you are exuding a lot of magic right now. Strong, powerful magic. Helpful in keeping weaker creatures at bay, yes, but I worry it might awaken aggressive urges in the elder residing down that hall. I am not sure I could defeat her should she decide to engage, so I would rather not take the chance.”

  There was a lot to unpack in that speech, like his belief that my magic would keep weaker creatures at bay when they were still clearly chasing me through the house. Or how my anger toward him softened just a bit from knowing he’d kept an eye on me this whole time. Or the absolute terror of imagining a vampire capable of intimidating him.

  Hard clicks sounded, and I tore my focus away from Darius and shifted it to the newbie vamp edging closer. A strange sort of growl preceded a glob of drool dropping from its mouth.

  “That must destroy the rugs,” I mumbled.

  Another vampire waited behind the first, impatiently shifting.

  Darius barely moved, his head turning just slightly, and a wave of his spicy magic filled the space. The closest vampire stopped where it was, but the one behind it scooted up so they were clustered again. Their bloodlust was rising; I could feel it in the dizzied magic mingling with mine. With Darius’s.

  My mind whirled, back to wondering if I could trust him, or if he’d purposely stopped me from escaping.

  “Why would you let such a powerful creature hang out in your house?” I asked, watching his face for signs of lying. “Especially when you invited me over?”

  “I did not foresee you would use your magic this way. I’ve never experienced it before. I wonder if Emery knows of it.�
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  I pointed up at the organized mass above my head. “That, you mean? Because lately, I always have that brewing, and it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else.”

  Darius’s brow wrinkled as he followed my point. “I don’t know what you are pointing at, but what is happening with your magic is a recent development, and it is not standard.”

  “That’s a nice way of calling me weird.” I gritted my teeth as the clicking resumed, those hungry buggers edging toward me again.

  Darius glanced over his shoulder. But instead of warning them back, he offered me a slight bow and then stepped away. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  As if on cue, the closest vampire broke from the pack and lunged for me.

  Eat. Kill. Devour.

  Fangs, claws, and sinewy muscle stretched across its bones.

  That was all I could see. All that registered.

  My body locked in deep, paralyzing fear. Energy pulsed and throbbed around me. Spells rolled through my head, one by one, but the only ones I could latch on to were mostly steeped in feelings. Random thoughts. An image of a sunny day, a magnifying glass, and an anthill.

  “How is that helping?” I whispered, watching the creature cross the small patch of hallway between us, intent on reaching me and ripping me open.

  I knew I needed to move. To do something other than stand around like a fool. Very recently, I had been better than this. I had reacted.

  Why was I locking up again?

  The creature’s claw came up to slash. Darius twitched, and I thought he would step in. I thought he would grab the hand.

  He stepped back.

  “Help,” I begged, a sad, feeble little cry that would do nobody any favors.

  The vampire grinned, of all things, and the claw swung at my neck.

  14

  A shock of power ripped out of my middle, yanking on my ribcage and spilling heat down through my core. Heat turned to fire and filled me to bursting, tingling in my fingers, my toes, and all the way up to my hair follicles. White blasted out from my body, a blanket of white-hot power that punched through the vampire’s middle, creating a hole as big as two of my fists.

  The creature didn’t have time to howl. It jerked once, its limbs thrown wide, before it fell to the ground in a pile that quickly turned into oozing black sludge.

  My survival magic didn’t stop. It rocketed out again, aiming for the first one’s buddy. Its eyes widened a moment before my magic pierced its middle, the hole smaller but just as deadly.

  It howled and clutched at its chest before its legs buckled.

  A metallic click sounded down the hall at my back. The soft creak of hinges announced a door opening. A magical presence filled the hallway. Fight. Tear. WAR.

  “Go!” Darius shoved me behind him. “Marie! Moss!”

  A woman wearing a beautiful crimson evening gown glided into the space. Small and slight, she held her hands up near her chest, worrying one of her nails. Her shoulders were straight, but her bowed head put me in mind of a timid housewife from a 1950s TV show.

  Kill. Kill. Kill.

  No matter what she looked like, there was no denying the rush of intent filling the hallway.

  Marie was by my side in a moment, her hands bracing my shoulders and her gaze rooted to the woman. Moss zoomed in next, taking up a position beside and a little behind Darius.

  An ancient sort of power filled the hallway, long dormant and just waking up, like a mummy throwing off the lid of its sarcophagus and slowly sitting up. It was the magic I’d sensed before Darius’s arrival, only stronger. Active.

  “I have badly underestimated what it means to be an untrained natural in a pressurized situation. Marie, get her out of here,” Darius said, his usually calm demeanor tense and voice tight. “Hurry! Moss, we must keep Ja confined to this house until she regains sense.”

  “What’s—”

  Marie lifted me and threw me over her shoulder before I could get another word out.

  “And Marie,” Darius said, and she stopped to turn. “Bring back blood offerings.”

  I could just see the woman’s hands separate and move to her sides as claws grew from her fingertips. Very little about her posture had changed, but a primal fear I could barely understand crawled through my insides. Moss braced for an attack and Darius stripped down, even now worried about preserving his expensive suit.

  Logic fled. Trying to do the right spell wasn’t even a concern. Like I’d done in the warehouse and in the Guild’s compound, I instinctively wove Marie’s magic into my own. The pattern came naturally, my focus on protection and repulsion both. My goal was simply to keep the vampire away, but if push came to shove, I would unleash hell.

  Marie’s body tightened under me. More of her magic pumped out, primal, aggressive, and thrilling. I wrapped it into the spell I was weaving, going with the flow.

  “Get the natural out of here,” Darius yelled, startling Marie into action.

  She spun, but not before I loosed the spell. It tumbled down the hallway, barely missing Darius before expanding.

  Ja hissed. Her clothes ripped, and milky-white skin burst through them as she changed into her monster form.

  “Oh crap,” I said, her image jiggling as Marie ran. “That one is really old.”

  My magic flowered right before it got to the vampire, flashing brightly colored light, but I didn’t get to see anything more than that. Marie turned the corner into the room I’d walked through earlier, finding one last new vampire, huddled near a couch. Even upside down and bouncing around on her shoulder, I could tell it was shaking like a frightened animal.

  “That old vampire is intense if she’s making the new one cower,” I said, trying to keep my breath with her shoulder cutting into my gut.

  “The young one is afraid of you.” She gracefully sped down a hall and to the mouth of the stairs, so much faster than a human.

  “Feel free to take these slow—” A shock wave rumbled through the house. The walls and ceiling groaned with the flux. The floor shook.

  Marie put on a burst of speed, taking two stairs at a time. I felt weightless, then slammed down on her shoulder. Weightless, slammed down.

  “Slower,” I tried to get out between the grunts, struggling to find a way to stop the pain.

  She leapt three-quarters of the way down, holding my legs with one hand and holding the other out for balance.

  “Nooooo—”

  She landed, something snapped, and she guided my body to land on her shoulder again, all in one graceful, ice-skater-like movement.

  I wasn’t so graceful.

  The impact knocked the air from my lungs. I gasped and shoved at her, trying to get free. Trying to straighten up, or curl over, or something that might help me get more air.

  She staggered to the side, and I realized it was her shoe heel that had snapped. The dip helped me escape, and I rolled off, hitting the ground painfully.

  Kill. Kill. Kill.

  I looked up as the corrosive magic slammed into me, trying to drag me under its hypnotic spell. Marie’s body ripped through her beautiful dress as she shifted to her monster form, taking two fast steps before crouching in front of me with her claws out, hissing.

  “Go.” The scratchy, badly articulated word came from Marie’s vampire form, something I hadn’t realized was possible. “Go!”

  A white, black, and red form walked in jerky steps to the top of the stairs, one of its legs crunching with each step from a wonky knee, causing the lower leg to angle off in the wrong direction. Once it reached the top of the stairs, I could make out the intense burn marks scoring its front, some of them dribbling blood. Other areas, not burned, had gaping wounds, some showing bone and others dripping blood like a faucet. One arm was out of the socket, and two fingers were missing off the other hand.

  That vampire should be dead. My spell had obviously blasted through it. Charred it. Cut it. Darius and Moss, the backups, had clearly smashed and ripped at it. Had stood in its way and fought tooth
and nail.

  “Oh my God.” I breathed softly as realization dawned. My lower lip trembled. “Did that thing kill Darius and Moss?”

  Something else occurred to me, and it squeezed my chest painfully until I could barely breathe. Darius and Moss might have died to give me a fighting chance to escape. Marie stood in front of me, crouching and hissing, ready to fight for me too.

  They were putting themselves in harm’s way to protect me.

  I’d always heard vampires weren’t loyal. That they couldn’t be trusted. But Darius had tried to save me twice tonight, and his people had backed him up. Even now, Marie could easily stand aside. If that thing up there had killed her boss, she could walk away without looking back.

  Yet there she stood, her body trembling and her fangs and claws out, ready to fight a much more powerful vampire.

  What type of person would walk away from this? Would whisper a thanks and saunter out the door?

  “No more hiding in closets,” I whispered. That was the promise I’d made to myself after Emery had left. That I would learn magic, excel at it, and never hide again.

  Well, here I was. Challenge accepted.

  I flexed my fingers and squared my shoulders. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, but I was going to do it big.

  15

  The vampire stared down at us, ready to descend.

  Pushing away the fear, ignoring the list of spells running through my head that only seemed to throw me off, I centered myself by focusing on the nature drifting around me. The fragrant smell of the flowers. The air drifting along my skin.

  The magic leveled out, balanced. My knees shook.

  Another footfall hit the stairs. The old vampire’s magic tried to swirl within mine. She was gaining power. Healing.

  Gotta go quick.

  Shut up, that’s not helping.

  What do you want to do, Penny? What do you want to do?

  “Go!” Marie said, getting ready to fight. “Penelope, run!”

  I want to protect Marie.