Magical Midlife Dating (Leveling Up 2)

“Not all today, no.” Edgar leaned back. “The other hikers were a couple of days ago. It’s a lovely area. I usually get a few people passing through for one of the local festivals.”

“Why didn’t you mention this?” Austin asked.

“Mention what?”

I heard the sound of a body sliding against the wall.

Austin stood in a graceful rush of power. “Festivals are on in the summer and fall, when the weather is nice. They don’t put on events in the winter. There aren’t a lot of tourists around at this time of year, and those who do visit typically don’t spend their time outdoors. Not Janes and Dicks, at any rate.”

I pushed forward to the edge of the couch, half turning around. Doilies fell to the floor. I remembered Edgar talking about those hikers the other day, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. Most of the time I tried to ignore any and all talk about his feeding habits. Maybe that had been a mistake.

“Oh, well, they didn’t put up any kind of fight,” Edgar said, also pushing to the edge of his seat, looking up at Austin. “Magical people would’ve known what I was right off the bat—I keep forgetting to try to hide it. They wouldn’t have offered to be a snack—they would’ve fought back. Jessie even fought back before she became the chosen.”

Austin walked around the couch and bent. When he stood, he was clutching the gently flailing man’s flannel shirt. The guy’s face came around, and I recognized him immediately. The younger guy who’d been sitting at the bar of the Italian restaurant the night of my botched date with Ron. The one with the young face and those old-soul eyes.

I opened my mouth to say as much, but his eyes snapped open and his body went taut, straightening within Austin’s hold. His hands jerked up as Austin let go, dropping him.

Too late.

A jet of magic exploded out, punching into Austin’s bare chest and flinging him back. He hit the wall, sticking into the plaster, his eyes widening before fluttering closed. He sagged, sliding bonelessly to the ground.

Terror kick-started my heart and adrenaline flooded my body. There wasn’t any blood—maybe it had just knocked him out?

Another jet of magic flew out, catching the edge of the couch and exploding the back. I dropped to the ground in a hail of doilies. The guy popped up, his eyes focused, his movements reeking of confidence and experience.

Edgar dashed forward at incredible speed, but he wasn’t fast enough. Magic slammed into him, tossing him back against one of his barrels. Canisters thumped forward and fell off, drenching him with plant juice.

An invisible weight dropped down over me, covering my body and sticking me to the ground. It shimmered within the afternoon light, hazy gray, similar to the net that had caught me—and then let me go—when I was falling, but translucent.

Clearly this guy was much better at his craft than the others had been. He’d done what they could not.

He’d trapped me.20A smile slowly spread across his thin lips. “This is such a backwoods town. Dormant. Anyone at all can walk in here and hang around. If you stay away from that big alpha and don’t cause any trouble, no one bothers you. You even get welcomed into homes with open arms. All you need to do is sustain a little bite and there you go, no one suspects you.” He walked around the couch, his old-soul eyes sparkling. “I didn’t even have to go find you. You came right to me. Is it my birthday?”

“I hope so. Not many people get to exit the world on the same day they came in. It’d be a real treat to make that happen for you.”

Anger raged through me, fueled by fear for my friends who’d just been taken down, and I sent a pulse through the very fiber of Ivy House, rumbling along the ground, flowing through the air, hopping from tree to tree and flower petal to flower petal. Across the expanse of garden, within the house itself, I felt my team stir. I felt them move, first to the windows and then to the stairs, running to get the gargoyles.

“Big words for such a young little thing.” He bent to me, his eyes roaming my face. “A pretty little thing, too.”

“Young? I could be your mother.”

He laughed, delighted, and then made a motion through the air. My translucent cage lifted from the ground, and me with it. “You see? So young and inexperienced.” He continued to lean toward me, his face right in mine, his stinking breath making me cringe. “Magic can give us any kind of face we want. Young, old, male, female? We can be anything at all.”

“Except a good person. Magic can’t make you likable.”

He tsked. “Of course it can. It is human nature to crave power. The more you have, the more everyone wants to be in your company.”