Fusion Magic

by Lucia Ashta

  Fusion Magic

  Sirangel: Book Three

  Lucía Ashta

  Fusion Magic

  Sirangel: Book Three

  Copyright © 2019 by Lucía Ashta

  www.LuciaAshta.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover design by Sanja Balan of Sanja’s Covers

  Editing by Lee Burton

  Editing also by Elsa Crites

  ASIN B07STQ5GDN

  Version 2019.09.02

  Books by Lucía Ashta

  WITCHING WORLD UNIVERSE

  Magical Creatures Academy ~ Next Level

  Power Streak

  Magical Creatures Academy

  Night Shifter

  Lion Shifter

  Mage Shifter

  Sirangel

  Siren Magic

  Angel Magic

  Fusion Magic

  Magical Arts Academy

  First Spell

  Winged Pursuit

  Unexpected Agents

  Improbable Ally

  Questionable Rescue

  Sorcerers’ Web

  Ghostly Return

  Transformations

  Castle’s Curse

  Spirited Escape

  Dragon’s Fury

  Magic Ignites

  Powers Unleashed

  Magical Arts Academy Omnibus, Books 1-4

  Magical Arts Academy Omnibus, Books 5-8

  Magical Arts Academy Omnibus, Books 9-13

  The Witching World

  Magic Awakens

  The Five-Petal Knot

  The Merqueen

  The Witching World Omnibus, Books 1-3

  The Ginger Cat

  The Scarlet Dragon

  Mermagic

  The Witching World Omnibus, Books 4-6

  Spirit of the Spell

  The Light Warrios

  Beyond Sedona

  Beyond Prophecy

  Beyond Amber

  Beyond Arnaka

  PLANET ORIGINS UNIVERSE

  Dragon Force

  Invisible Born

  Invisible Bound

  Invisible Rider

  Planet Origins

  Planet Origins

  Original Elements

  Holographic Princess

  Planet Origins Omnibus, Books 1-3

  Purple Worlds

  Mowab Rider

  Planet Sand

  Holographic Convergence

  OTHER WORLDS

  Supernatural Bounty Hunter

  (co-authored with Leia Stone)

  Magic Bite

  Magic Sight

  Magic Touch

  Pocket Portals

  The Orphan Son

  STANDALONES

  Huntress of the Unseen

  A Betrayal of Time

  Whispers of Pachamama

  Daughter of the Wind

  The Unkillable Killer

  Immortalium

  About Fusion Magic

  Since Selene was flung onto land, she’s been on the run.

  And legs aren’t her thing.

  As knowledge of Selene’s unique powers spread throughout the supernatural community, her enemies have grown.

  Power-hungry vamps, witches, and shifters hunt her relentlessly. To claim the power of the angels, they’ll stop at nothing.

  Never has Selene loved another as she loves Quinn.

  Which means she’s never had so much to lose.

  Or so much to gain.

  For Catia Victoria,

  who loves books as much as I do

  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

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Want More?

  The Magical Creatures Academy Series

  The Magical Arts Academy Series

  The Witching World Series

  The Dragon Force Series

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  1

  The crone drew to a stop without warning and slammed her staff against the lush grass that covered the valley in a vibrant green. Liana and I piled up behind her, sucking in urgent breaths. The sea witch, who’d already been old and gray when my mother was born, had been running without pause so long now that I worried Liana and I, who were young and fit, wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  “How much longer do you think she’s going to make us run?” Liana wheezed, hands pressed against her thighs as she bent over, wincing. “I can’t keep this up much longer.”

  Though Liana had spoken to me softly, Mulunu whipped her head around to glare at her, milky eyes glowing like the fist-sized opal that crowned her staff. “Are you saying I made a mistake in allowing you to come along?”

  That question was dangerous on at least two fronts: no one accused Mulunu of making a mistake more than once, unless they were my mother—though Orelia seemed to operate by her own set of rules, ones I didn’t fully understand. Then if Liana admitted to her weakness, obvious considering legs were new appendages for her, Mulunu would have no problem ordering her back to the Kunu Clan, deep underwater, where my best friend would mourn the loss of her one opportunity to have an adventure on land. No merperson was as intrigued by the life of landlubbers as Liana.

  With evident effort, she forced her back straight, pretending she wasn’t about to keel over. “No, Mulunu, of course not. I’m fine. I’m grateful that you’ve allowed me to be here with you both.”

  If I hadn’t known my friend our entire lives, I would have been inclined to believe her sincerity.

  Of course, Mulunu was no ordinary woman. She narrowed her eyes until their corners crinkled into myriad crags, as deep as canyons some of them. “Un-huh.”

  Liana plastered a winning smile on her face, but her eyes were wilder than usual, bouncing around in their sockets as she forced her attention on the one person who had the power to decide her fate. “I can’t wait to keep running.”

  Mulunu narrowed her eyes more, until their glow had to shine through a sliver of skin. Then her face released its skepticism all at once and she laughed, suddenly and unexpectedly, like the barking of a seal. “Is that so, child? Well, in that case, I’ll see what I can do to oblige.”

  Liana swallowed visibly; she flicked a frantic glance at me. How far would the sea witch take her assurance? It was impossible to know. Mulunu was predictable in one regard only: she was consistently unpredictable. Well, that and she was as powerful as any other witch. Though Naomi Nettles had been formidable enough to shake me to my core, she would have been no match for the likes of Mulunu. Of that I was sure. There was no one like Mulunu.

  There couldn’t be. Fate wouldn’t be quite that cruel.

  “Now, enough with your jabbering,” Mulunu said. “I need to confirm we’re still heading in the right direction.”

  It was a challenge to hold off on my questions, but I managed it. I had to. I knew better than to irritate the witch, who wore irritability like a cloak.

  She wrapped both knobby hands ar
ound the shaft of the worn, wooden staff while her eyes lost focus as she went within. It was difficult to be sure; her milky eyes lacked pupils to begin with. Still, I was familiar with the sudden vacancy of her expression that suggested she was connecting to something beyond the physical plane. I’d witnessed the process enough times during the eighteen years I’d lived with the clan that had ultimately sent me away, proclaiming I didn’t belong.

  Her long gray hair was drying in thick, corded strands. As she began chanting beneath her breath—a string of rapidly spoken words that merged into one long, drawn-out wail—a preternatural breeze raced across the valley, whipping through her hair and ours. I flicked at the violet strands of my hair as they clung to my mouth and slashed at my eyeballs. Her hair, longer than mine even, rose higher as the energy of the wind surrounding us increased. The shells she’d woven into her hair chimed and rattled, but soon their clatter was shadowed by the crying of the wind.

  Mulunu flung her head back toward the heavens and her chanting became faster, deeper, a keening that sent a shiver racing along my skin, pebbling it with goosebumps. Her hair rose around her face until it floated there, similar to how it did in the water.

  Liana and I exchanged glances. Being in close proximity to the witch when she performed magic had always been unsettling. Electricity charged the air, thickening it with vibrant life.

  Just as I’d convinced myself there was no cowardice in retreating and placing a bit of distance between the witch and us, she stopped speaking and the wind vanished. The usual gentle murmurings of nature settled upon the valley, and our hair plopped back heavily to lie against our backs.

  Staring expectantly at the witch, I waited, wondering, as I’d been since we first set off, who had taken Quinn, where they’d taken him, what they wanted with him, and most importantly, whether he was all right.

  He was still alive. I felt him through our connection. Since we’d joined our physical bodies, the bond between us had only strengthened. He was definitely alive, but after our experience in the vampire Antonio Dimorelli’s dungeon, I understood there were varying degrees of life, and many of them were decidedly unpleasant. After what Quinn had survived during the previous two months as Dimorelli’s prisoner, I could only pray he was being treated well enough. No one should have to endure more suffering after what Quinn had survived.

  When I’d last seen him, my magic had been attacking him so intently that it had dragged him into unconsciousness...

  “He’s on a neighboring land mass,” Mulunu said, dragging me from my worries. “We have to get to the water. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  My heart thumped noticeably. “Why don’t we have a lot of time? Is he all right? Were you able to sense him?”

  “My hurry is not because of Quinn, but because of who has taken him prisoner. She’d shielded herself from me until now. I doubt she would have lowered her guard without intention. For some reason, she must want me to know.”

  Or maybe the witch just didn’t realize Mulunu was on her trail. After all, Mulunu was leader of a clan in the waters at the other end of the world. Her concern had never extended to life on land—not that I knew of.

  Mulunu spun in place slowly, her fingers tightening along her staff. We were in the middle of nowhere, still somewhere in Ireland. That’s where Naomi Nettles’ house had been, and we hadn’t traveled that far yet; certainly we hadn’t left the island.

  The witch slowed and finally stopped, peering off into the distance. Liana and I turned to follow the direction of her stare, but all I saw were more rolling hills covered in green, and clouds heavy with rain.

  “There,” Mulunu announced. “The witch is in Scotland. Figures.”

  Liana quirked an eyebrow until I finally asked, “Why does that figure? What’s noteworthy about her being in Scotland?”

  Mulunu didn’t answer for so long that I wondered if she would. When she finally did, it was in a distant voice, as if she were lost in memories of long ago. “The world has always been one of great magic, but there are parts of the world that have amassed more of it as witches and wizards have performed spells to harness its power. Since ancient times, these isles have been a focal point of power. Magic has been focused in this area throughout all the spells performed on the land, calling on the elements to concentrate within them. The witch is in Scotland because there she can access more magic than in most other places of the world. It is likely where she feels most powerful.”

  “Is she more powerful than you?” Liana asked, and I cringed. It was a daring question when we couldn’t anticipate Mulunu’s reaction.

  But the crone didn’t visibly react to Liana’s lack of tact. “I don’t know, child. I’ve never met this witch in person. I’ve only ever heard of her. Witches of land tend not to enter the sea, for there they know my power is at its highest. The stories of her, however, suggest that she will be a challenging opponent.”

  “You’ll take her on?” I asked. “To save Quinn, you’ll fight her if it comes to that?” I couldn’t ask for a fiercer ally, not even at the Magical Creatures Academy.

  “Oh, with this witch it always comes to that. She’ll kill you in a heartbeat if you give her the chance.” Mulunu spun and pinned her gaze on me. I forced myself not to squirm. “But no, child, I’m not doing this to save Quinn. I mean to kill him as Irving was supposed to have done a decade ago.”

  I opened and closed my mouth a few times before finally spluttering, “You can’t be serious.”

  The witch’s milky eyes were grave, not a hint of amusement evident in any of the lines of her crinkled face.

  “You can’t do that,” I protested. “I … I love him.”

  “Yes, and that’s one of the biggest of our problems. I don’t like ordering the death of any living creature. But even when Quinn was eight years old and Irving requested a meeting with me to arrange for his care, I knew he had to die. Like you, he’s a hybrid. He contains powers that were never meant to mix together. Again … like you.”

  I swallowed thickly and looked frantically to Liana for some kind of help. But my friend’s eyes were sorrowful, her mouth downturned in lament. In the Kunu Clan, what Mulunu said was as good as law. To my best friend, Quinn was probably already dead.

  “But … but you can’t. Please!”

  “I’m sorry, Selene, but I have to. It’s what’s right.”

  “Right? Right? You can’t be suggesting that killing an innocent man is somehow the right thing to do. Quinn is a good person. He’s caring and kind.”

  Mulunu sighed. “I know it’s difficult to understand, but I do believe it to be right. The powers of the elements aren’t meant to mix within a person to the degree that they’ve mixed within Quinn, or within you even.”

  I waggled my jaw as I worked to control my temper. Unleashing it on Mulunu would only make things worse. She had no problem punishing me; she’d proven that already, many times over.

  “The shifter magic within Quinn was already volatile when I last saw him as a child. It isn’t safe for him to continue.”

  “‘For him to continue?’ You say that like he’s an ocean current. He isn’t volatile or dangerous. I know him.”

  “How well could you possibly know him, child? You’ve only been on land for a couple of months.”

  “Yes, and Quinn is the one who helped me when you threw me into a situation I was wholly unprepared for. Talk about dangerous! I was attacked within minutes of arriving at Irving’s, and the attacks never stopped. Wards, witches, vampires, goblins … I’ve been attacked and pummeled and hurt. Quinn helped me when you cast me from the clan without any real explanation or preparation. When no one else cared for me, he did.”

  I wouldn’t ordinarily have accused Mulunu like this. If anyone was dangerous, it was she. But there was nothing ordinary about her suggestion that Quinn needed to die. I sensed Liana’s attention on me but refused to meet her waiting look. None of this was Liana’s fault, but she hadn’t been there for me when I’d needed her e
ither. She’d had no other choice, but right then, my heart didn’t care.

  “I wish there were another way,” Mulunu said.

  “There’s always another way. Quinn and I haven’t fought this hard to be united only for you to come along and destroy what we share—to destroy us.”

  I figured Mulunu would scold me for my insolence, but she only tilted her head and studied me until I scowled at her. “You’ve grown stronger during your time on land.”

  “I have, but not by choice.” I squared my shoulders to her. “I had to in order to survive.”

  “That’s good.”

  Seething, I breathed in a few times before speaking. “The only good part in all of it is Quinn. And now you want to take him from me.”

  “Haven’t you been listening, child? Always so tempestuous, even when you were too meek to speak your thoughts and heart. I don’t want to kill him. I must.”

  “Well, then I must protect him.”

  Mulunu stared at me so long that some of the bluster fled from my words. “Mulunu,” I started, “the way you talk, it sounds like you even want to kill me. This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Magic doesn’t always make sense, especially powerful magic. Sometimes things are just the way they are, and the best we can do is walk the path our magic shows us. Nature and magic require balance in all things. Quinn—and you—defy that balance with your very existence. If you remain on this path you’ve chosen for you and him, your magic will set off a reaction you aren’t capable of dealing with. It’s something this world isn’t prepared for. I must correct things. It’s my obligation.”