Natural Dual-Mage (Magical Mayhem 3)

“There’s no way that Redcap received a gift. No way,” Reagan said with raised eyebrows. “It was a nasty little creature.”

“By force, then.” The crease in Darius’s brow deepened. “I have not heard of someone being blessed in…years. Years upon years—”

“That means, like…five hundred or more,” Reagan said, and finished her cup of tea. “He’s over a grand old.”

“As soon as it was learned that the magic could be transferred,” Darius went on, locked in a recital of information and ignoring her, “those who received the boon were quickly found and destroyed for what they possessed so as to gain the magic. Anyone rumored to have the magic became a target. For this reason, the gods withdrew their generous hand, including the gift of Dream Walking, which allowed magical folk access to them. They closed their gates to outsiders, as it were. Now, as far as I know, the Dream Walker ability can only be passed down genetically. That is why it is so incredibly rare.”

He blinked a few times, looking up at me. Studying me.

Emery bristled and laid a warm and reassuring hand on mine.

Darius’s smile was slight. “Have no fear, Mr. Westbrook. The godless do not have the ability to harness the magic of the gods. She is safe from me.”

“Can I harness it?” Reagan asked, raising her hand. She looked at me. “I’m not saying I’m going to kill you for the magic. But in the event I kill you for some other reason, I want to know if I can reap the rewards of your magical, goblin-stolen gift.”

“I didn’t steal it,” I muttered, uncomfortable about this whole conversation. About what it might mean.

Reagan must’ve seen it. “We have no idea if this is true,” she said, leaning toward me. “Darius has been known to pick up information from books and pass it off as though he lived it. When it comes to things that happened that long ago, I honestly think he gets confused. And we all know people who write books just want to spout off. It’s not all true.”

Darius studied Reagan for a moment, his eyes dulling, indicating he was back to sifting through his memories. If he’d heard her dig, he didn’t show it.

“No, I shouldn’t think you could use the magic, Reagan,” he said. “The human myths on angels have such a strong likeness to the gods that it is almost as if the gods walked among the humans. I’m not sure why magical creatures shifted to thinking about them as gods—”

“Stick to the topic at hand, please,” Reagan said, rubbing her temples.

Darius’s eyes fluttered, as though he were coming out of a trance. “Yes, of course. As I said, the human myths on angels are pretty accurate, and one of those is that angels are at odds with Lucifer’s realm. That would mean you are forfeit.”

“Okay, sure, but my mother’s lineage stems, in part, from a god.” She held up two hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I think this is all a little far-fetched”—she pointed at me—“I told Penny that earlier. But just for shits and giggles, wouldn’t I get to play with the godly power since I am…some part god?”

Emery cocked his head at her. “How were you able to keep your pedigree a secret this long?”

“I was kept apart from society at an early age by a woman much better at staying hidden than I ever will be.”

Darius glanced between Reagan and me before shaking his head. “I don’t know. I’d have to research further. I was a young vampire when I came upon this knowledge, in the middle of some tumultuous times. The memories are not clear.”

Reagan tightened her lips as she gave her knowing nod. “So we really have no idea what crazy power Penny stole from the goblin.”

“I didn’t steal it, I just…cut the goblin off from it for a moment. I think.” Something occurred to me. “But it stands to reason that godly—or angelic, I guess—magic would null the magic of the Underworld, right? As its opposite?”

“For every spell, there is a counter-spell,” Emery said as though reciting it.

Darius was staring at me, and his eyes sparkled in a way I did not love. I could tell he was eager to learn more about this new facet of an already prized asset (me).

Thin strands of anxiety crawled up my spine. I wasn’t just in danger from the Mages’ Guild, I was in danger of my world being controlled by an extremely intelligent, strategic vampire who was always way ahead of me. I needed to deal with the Mages’ Guild and get out from under his thumb.

If only it were that easy.

Emery pushed back his chair and took our plates to the sink. “What happened today might not have anything to do with godly power,” he said. “As Reagan said, it seems far-fetched. If the gods stopped giving gifts of power many generations ago—which they must’ve, because I’ve never heard of this—then it is hard to believe the power would be found in a goblin, of all things. Regardless, this changes nothing. We need to focus on what comes next with the Guild.”

Darius cocked his head, and a small smile played across his lips. “I wouldn’t say it changes nothing. For one, if she does possess a magical gift from the gods, she will have an incredible asset with which to take on the Guild. Secondly, the target on her back right now will be nothing compared to the price on her head if this were to get out.” Darius’s eyes glimmered. “Third…” His smile grew. “She would be the key to unraveling the Underworld.”

Emery bustled me out of that room so fast that my head spun. “We need an exit plan,” he said when he got me upstairs to our shared bedroom.

Only the four of us were staying at the modest farmhouse in the middle of Ireland, located about an hour away from the recent bounty hunter gig. Darius had thought it best that we keep a low profile, which meant not including his super-pretty, well-dressed, and fast-moving entourage.

Moss, Marie, and the rest of his usual group awaited us up north in a place called Derry. That was the set location for the high-powered gathering the next day.

“There is no point in leaving now,” I said as Emery shut the door. He didn’t bother locking it, since vampires could magically pick locks. Instead, he slapped a ward across the wood that would alert us if anyone came through. “We’d be hunted down. Besides, we need him to confront the Guild.”

Once the shades were pulled, Emery turned to me, his deep blue eyes lost to the shadows in the room. He moved toward me slowly, deliberately, not bothering to switch on the light.

The fire of expectation sizzled up my skin as I took in his handsome face, with his sharp cheekbones and full lips. His touch whispered across my body.

“I’m not sold on the godly power idea, but one thing is certain… you were able to null Reagan’s magic,” he whispered, running his palms up my arms and stopping at my neck. He ran a thumb along my jaw. “That makes you even more important to Darius. He’s mentioned some wall in the Underworld that keeps non-demonic creatures out. He thought maybe you and I could crack it. That was before this new situation.” His hot breath dusted my face. I saw his smile in the dim light. “How do you get yourself into these messes?”

His teasing tone loosened my shoulders, and the sensation of his hands sliding over my shoulders and onto my chest set my heart to thumping.

“It’s a gift,” I said with an answering smile and a sigh, knowing by now that he didn’t hold my constant weirdness and abnormal…everything against me. Often he relished in my unique way of doing things. I exhaled and dropped my head back. He yielded to my silent demand and skimmed his lips along my neck. “I was just trying to solve the problem of how we could stop that creature from constantly shifting to stone.” My eyes fluttered shut as he lightly sucked in my fevered skin.

His palms slid down my hips before drifting inward, toward my pants buttons. “You had a close call. Hearing about it scared me. Reagan had assured me you were never in any real danger on those bounty hunter gigs.”

I huffed. “I’m always in danger. She thinks it’s hilarious.”

“I saw her expression.” He swallowed hard and his hands stilled. He leaned his forehead against mine. “She didn’t think it was funny this time.”