Broken Bonds (Lizzie Grace 3)

I snorted. “It’s going to take more than one brew to get the alcohol out of my system.”

“Yes, but I’ll add clarity herbs, which will at least help the brain power. Go.”

I gripped the handrail and quickly hauled my butt upstairs. Jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers were quickly thrown on, but the pulsing energy of the wild magic was becoming more desperate.

I stumbled back down the stairs. Belle handed me a cup of coffee that smelled faintly of licorice—a herb often used to boost energy levels—and the backpack. She was carrying a second cup—one that smelled like straight coffee.

The sunrise had gathered strength in our brief time inside, but her golden flags were now tinged with a bloody red and I seriously hoped it wasn’t an omen of what we were about to find.

Ashworth’s old truck came roaring around the corner and slid to stop in front of our café. Belle opened the passenger door, handing Ashworth his coffee before stepping aside to let me in.

“Keep in contact,” she said. “And be careful.”

“Always.”

She slammed the door shut and then stepped back. I shoved my coffee mug into the center console’s cup holder and pulled on the seat belt.

“Where to?” Ashworth’s voice was only a little less gruff than before. He’d pulled on old track pants and weather-beaten runners, but he was still wearing what looked to be a pajama top.

I hesitated as the wild magic gathered around me. It was so damn thick I could barely breathe, but while it held a sense of awareness and purpose thanks to the woman whose spirit now controlled it, there was no clear sense direction coming from her. Unless....

I glanced at Ashworth. “The only way I’m going to get a clear sense of direction is if I make direct contact with the wild magic.”

He frowned. “I know the magic in this place has an odd sort of cognizance, but I wouldn’t have thought it was capable of any sort of communication—”

“Technically, it’s not. I’m going to draw it into my body, and let it guide me that way.”

His frown deepened. “That’s damn dangerous—”

“Yeah, but I’ve done it before, and it’s the only way we’re going to get to whatever it is it’s trying to show us.”

He studied me through narrowed eyes for a second and then nodded. “Do it.”

Belle, can you monitor me? If things get dangerous, pull me out. While I’d certainly drawn the wild magic into my body before, I’d never consciously given it any sort of control, even though I’d briefly shared Katie’s senses when she was helping me hunt down the man who’d bombed our café. I doubted she, in any way, would want to cause me harm, but there was nevertheless always a risk inviting another into your body.

But no spirit or power, no matter how strong, could ever break the bond between Belle and me. We knew that from experience.

Will do.

I took a deep breath in an attempt to ease the gathering tension, and then closed my eyes and reached out for the wild magic that sat thick and heavy all around me. Come to me.

She did. Swiftly, and with such force that for a moment it felt as if it would tear me apart. The wild magic was a white-hot energy that thrummed through my muscles and veins, and everything around me suddenly seemed brighter—sharper. I could smell the somewhat stale pine remnants of Ashworth’s aftershave, hear the steady pounding of his heart, and feel the caress of the aircon on my skin as sharply as a gale. Katie’s natural werewolf capabilities were once again sharpening mine, despite the fact she was little more than a soul within energy.

But that soul gave me a clear path to follow. And then she fled.

It still left me weak and shuddering. I took a deep breath that did little to help, and said, “Head for Luna.”

He threw the truck into gear and immediately took off. I picked up my coffee cup and tried to ignore the fact my hands were shaking so badly little waves of dark brown were washing up through the drinking hole. I

sipped the waves away; the coffee was strong and tart, tasting of licorice and a multitude of other herbs I couldn’t name. But at least it was drinkable, and that was a vast improvement over many of Belle’s brews. It didn’t immediately ease the ache behind my eyes, but it did at least help calm the somewhat scattered pounding of my pulse.

Once Ashworth was on the highway out of Castle Rock, he gave me a long, somewhat wary look. “What is it between you and the wild magic? Most of us can sense it, but I’ve never witnessed the sort of interaction you’ve got with it—not without disastrous consequences, anyway.”

I knew all about those consequences—my mother, despite the fact she was one of a handful of the most powerful witches in Canberra, had almost died the one and only time she’d tried to redirect wild magic. Or so I’d been told—I hadn’t actually been born at the time.

“I honestly don’t know why this connection has formed. It’s not like it should, given I’m not even a highly powered witch.”

He grunted but didn’t say anything, undoubtedly because we’d been over this ground more than once before, and I couldn’t in any way provide the answers he was seeking.