Insidious Magic: A Snarky Paranormal Romance (Modern Magic Book 2)

by Nicole Hall

  “And it’s only mid-morning. If it makes you feel better, you’re adapting remarkably well for someone whose life changed in an instant. If I had to adjust to living in a new world, I’d have lost it on day one.”

  Some of her ire drained away. “The food helps.”

  Ryan grinned, possibly thinking he was out of danger. “Speaking of food, Jake and Sera want us to come over for dinner tonight.”

  Zee’s mouth dropped open. “I can finally find some answers and you want to go to dinner like it’s some kind of double date?”

  “How do you even know about double dates? And no. I want to relax and go visit my best friend after a hard week at work. Best case scenario, I’ll drink more beer than I should, eat some steak, and give him shit for letting Sera take over his life. That’s what I want to do tonight.”

  She waved him away and opened the laptop. “Give me access, then go I’ll probably get more work done if you’re gone anyway.” As much as she wanted him to stay away as ‘Ryan the temptation’, she wanted his help as ‘Ryan the tech god’, his words. But she was also disappointed in his seeming unwillingness to truly help. No matter, I’m used to working on my own.

  Ryan shut the lid again. “No can do, princess. They want us both there, and if I give you access now, you won’t go.”

  “Why is it so important that I go?”

  “Sera is worried about you, and Jake is smitten with Sera. Your fault, by the way.”

  Irritation mixed with a strange sense of longing grew inside her. “I thought you liked Sera.”

  “I love Sera, but Jake’s life revolves around her. She’s everywhere, and sometimes a guy just wants to sit on the couch without being buried in throw pillows.”

  Zee glanced at his bare couch. She didn’t understand the connection, but she wasn’t going to digress further by asking. Ryan was excellent at dangling tangents in front of her during conversation when he didn’t want to discuss the original topic.

  She shook her head. “I’ve wasted a week chasing information in circles, and I’m not going to wait any longer. Go without me.”

  Ryan stood up and leaned into her face from across the table. “You don’t get to give orders this time. You’re not the leader, and you can’t force me with your magic. These people are your friends. They care about you, and it won’t hurt anything to spend time with them. It might even help if you told them, and me, what you’re looking for.”

  He was close enough that she could feel his breath. The table really was tiny. “My life is in limbo, and you want me to go and talk about the problem instead of looking for a solution?”

  “Yes. I want you to stop acting like the world is going to end if you can’t wave your hand and get what you want. We’re a team. You need to stop hoarding all the information all the time. We happen to be subject matter experts on the human world and how to do things here. You could’ve had access to your records days ago if you’d included us.” He stood up and planted his hands on his hips.

  She stood up so he wasn’t looming over her, but she didn’t back away. “This goes beyond me and my predicament. The Wood is disturbed, Torix is on the loose, and my people could be in danger.”

  “I highly doubt the Fae are in danger from some trees. If they were, they’d send out a distress call. Besides, Sera said Torix is magicless. Those are convenient excuses, but they’re still excuses. You’re obsessed with returning to the Wood because you believe it’ll give you back the most important thing in your life. Your magic.”

  Zee narrowed her eyes. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he had the direction mixed up. She wasn’t running to her magic; she was running from him.

  “Come with me tonight, relax, have dinner with people who care about you, and then I’ll give you the access to the database.”

  The offer was tempting. She enjoyed the company of Sera and Jake, and he was right that the Fae would most likely send out a distress call if they were truly in danger. That eased some of the pressure, but she never made a bargain without knowing all the options. “And if I refuse?”

  He leaned back and crossed his arms. “Then you can keep throwing yourself against the wall of human stupidity.”

  “You win.” Zee straightened, carefully stepped over the power cord for the laptop, and went into her bedroom. She could feel Ryan’s eyes on her until she closed the door and slumped down against it. There wasn’t another option. She was going to dinner.

  It sucks to be powerless.

  5

  RYAN

  Winning that battle should have felt better. He’d never had to blackmail a woman into having dinner with him before. Granted, Zee always won, so he was happy to come out on top for once, but it had hurt her. He could see it in the way she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Also, in the way she hadn’t left her room for the rest of the afternoon.

  The whole morning had been a mess anyway. He hadn’t forgotten she was there, per se, but he hadn’t been fully awake when he’d come out of his room. All he’d wanted was some juice and maybe another couple hours of sleep. The weeks before winter break were no joke with teenagers. They were either not there at all or so zoned out they might as well not be. The next week would be worse. Ryan thanked God all he had to teach were two classes and he could zone out himself in the computer lab the rest of the time.

  If his brain had been fully functioning, he might have put on a shirt. Her double-take then lazy perusal when he opened the door almost blew through all the control he’d been practicing. He wanted her hands on him the way her eyes had been, better yet, her mouth. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but he was obsessed with her full lips. She’d almost caught him staring the couple of times they’d crossed paths in the last week, and he was supremely grateful she’d taught him how to shield his mind. The last thing he needed was her knowing smirk when she got a headful of his thoughts.

  Zee hadn’t left the guest room all day. She wasn’t making any noise, so Ryan assumed she was asleep. He almost checked on her, but even though Sera had dropped off a few more basic outfits, she hadn’t provided any pajamas. Too much of him wanted her to be sleeping naked, so he resisted and worked on some other projects in his room. Sometimes, he was surprised by how easily they’d fallen into a rhythm living with each other. He cooked all the meals, mostly because he didn’t trust her with the stove, and often left her a plate on the counter. She ate, sometimes with him, sometimes after he’d left, and cleaned up the mess. They almost never saw each other, like being roommates with a very polite ghost.

  It was time she joined the living.

  Ryan knocked on her door and yelled without opening it. “Zee, it’s time to head out.”

  He heard shuffling on the other side, then the door opened and Zee barreled into him. “Whoa.” He caught her arms before she bounced onto the floor. “Everything okay?”

  She frowned. “Of course. The sooner we have dinner, the sooner I can start my research. Let’s go.” She scooted past him and slipped into the sneakers he’d found the second day, then tapped her foot as she waited at the door.

  He shook his head. “Part of the deal was you had to relax.”

  “I am relaxed.” The tension in her glare matched the stiffness in her shoulders.

  Ryan shrugged. “Fine.” This is going to be a long night.

  They didn’t talk on the way to Jake’s place. The sun was setting in a glorious display of purple and orange, and Zee couldn’t keep her eyes off of it. He kept sneaking glances at her. At some point since leaving the Glade, she’d changed. She was subdued, smaller than usual. Like the sunset, she was a force of nature, and he missed that aspect of her personality.

  On Jake’s street, Ryan passed Will going in the opposite direction. The jerk smiled and waved like he always did, and Ryan’s hands clenched the steering wheel. The man was a menace. He hid in his car and tortured Sera, and the cops couldn’t do anything about it. Nothing illegal in driving. Tiny red sparks of magic from Ryan’s hands danced over the wheel and toward the c
onsole. He fought to pull them back in like he’d been practicing, but when he was tired and angry, it took concentrated effort.

  He pulled into Jake and Sera’s driveway and shifted the car into park, still watching Will’s taillights fade into the distance. Zee put a hand over his before he could move. He turned and found her watching him with a smile. “I’m proud of you.”

  Gratification unfurled in his chest. Not a lot of people had said that to him in his life. His anger drained away, and the magic settled back inside him. “Thank you.”

  She nodded, and her hand slid away. The side of Zee that represented her strength and compassion instead of her magic intrigued him. She was so much more than what she could do or be for other people.

  Zee didn’t go very far once she got out of the car. Jake’s place was across the street from the Wood. She stood at the edge of the driveway and stared into the expanse of trees with her arms wrapped around herself. The forest was dark, but sprites were flitting around Jake’s porch. A group of them looked like they were trying to get into Sera’s house next door through the kitchen window. He guessed Evie was in there blessing people or something.

  Sprites were drawn to magic, and as far as he could tell, they didn’t do anything other than light up like tiny useless puffs of smoke. Sera claimed they could open doors, turn lights off, clog sinks, and all kinds of other little things, but he was skeptical. Zee ignored them.

  She wanted to go home. Ryan could see the longing in the way she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around herself, and he didn’t know what to say to ease her pain. Every time he opened his mouth, they started fighting about priorities. Maybe if you kept your mouth shut…

  Her shoulders stiffened slightly as he approached, but she didn’t turn. Ryan wrapped his arms around her from behind and settled her against him, careful not to cross the line from hug into something more. After a second, she relaxed and let him take her weight. Her hand gripped his arm, and they stood together watching an empty forest.

  Ryan admitted to himself that he shouldn’t have forced her to come out to Jake’s. He’d told himself he’d been trying to take care of her, to give her a break, but she was a grown-ass fairy, she could decide when she needed a break all on her own. Standing with her in his arms, he felt like an ass for hiding behind the shallow excuse.

  He’d been upset at her rush to go back.

  She had this unique chance to try something new, to live a life she hadn’t experienced before, and all she focused on was what she’d lost. Ryan wanted her to look around and see the humanity he embraced, to recognize that it had value. Why is it so important?

  The longer they stood there, the darker the underbrush became, and the scene in front of him finally penetrated his thoughts. The forest shouldn’t be that dark. The sun had barely set, and the rest of the neighborhood was still bright enough that kids were playing outside down the street. He couldn’t see more than a few feet between the trees.

  A chill of foreboding ran down his spine as the neighbor kids screeched with joy, and the red ball they’d been using flew into the woods. Normally, the Wood stayed dormant when non-magic users went into it, but the strange shadows made Ryan nervous. When one of the boys started forward, he released Zee and took off running down the street toward the kids. He didn’t glance back, but the silence behind him said she’d stayed put. Good.

  The kids were a couple of houses down, and as he got closer, he could hear them daring each other to go get the ball. None of them had left the safety of the yard yet. Thank goodness. The kids were young enough that a strange man running toward them made them get quiet and back up toward the house. He thought about introducing himself, then decided it would be a waste of breath. They wouldn’t care anyway.

  Ryan slowed down on the sidewalk and crossed the street at a slower pace. The ball couldn’t have gone far, though it had been a wicked throw from way back by the house. He stopped at the tree line and peered into the dim interior. A splotch of red peeked out from some brambles about twenty feet in, but it disappeared in darkness almost immediately. If he didn’t know better, he’d say the Wood had been tempting him with a glimpse of the ball, but the Wood wasn’t sentient or playful. Was it? The wind picked up a bit and the trees swayed madly. Ryan couldn’t see the ball anymore among the shifting shadows.

  He hesitated.

  The whole situation felt off, like he’d stepped into a horror movie. The trees creaked in front of him, but the kids had gotten silent. Ryan squared his shoulders. If he was this unnerved, he definitely wasn’t letting the kids do this themselves.

  He took a couple of steps into the brush and stopped. The ball was at his feet, clear as day, but the wind had stopped. Ryan stooped down and grabbed it, but when he stood and turned to go back, there were only trees shrouded in darkness.

  His first reaction was a mental high five because he’d been right. The Wood was dangerous. Or at least suspicious. He wasn’t clear on the danger level. The landscape was dark and creepy, but nothing was threatening to eat him or anything. Yet.

  Movement above him drew his attention up. He didn’t feel any wind in the silent forest, but the tops of the trees undulated back and forth. All the branches near him were still, and he was pretty sure he didn’t want to find out what happened when they started moving too. He could run, but every way he turned looked the same.

  His heart beat wildly. The hand clutching the ball started to glow a darker shade of red as power oozed out. For once, he was glad to see it. Magic had gotten him into this mess, so as much as he hated it, maybe he could use magic to get out of it.

  Ryan closed his eyes and leaned into it. With his magic loose, a subtle feeling of comfort and light emerged behind him. Focusing on the impression made it clearer as he turned toward it, but he didn’t move forward. He’d spent a lot of time in these woods, so he respected the danger of walking around blind. Branches and crap littering the forest floor would for sure impale him if he tripped.

  His body warmed and relaxed as if turning toward the sun. A pull from the middle of his chest drew him in that direction. Screw the debris. He took a couple of halting steps, then opened his eyes when he was sure it wouldn’t break his concentration. The dark, silent forest still engulfed him, but the pull got stronger, and he thought he heard his name.

  He took one more step staring into the shadows, but not really seeing them. The pull guided him. When he paused, something grasped the front of his shirt and yanked him forward.

  Between one moment and the next, the shadows were gone, and Zee had wrapped her arms around his middle. Ryan craned his neck to peer back so he wouldn’t have to let go of Zee. Sure enough, the Wood had returned to normal. No more mysterious shadows or phantom wind.

  “What were you doing?” Zee’s voice was muffled because her face was buried in his shoulder.

  “The woods looked weird.” The kids had moved to their porch, but they cheered when he flashed them the red ball. With one arm locked around Zee, he tossed it firmly back into their yard. His magic had receded at some point, thankfully. He’d never tested it to see if non-magical folks could see it the way the rest of them could, and he hadn’t planned to start with those kids. Jake didn’t count because even though he didn’t have magic on his own, he could use Sera’s through their bond.

  Zee lifted her face. “You disappeared. Literally disappeared. I couldn’t see you. I could sense you, though.”

  Ryan studied her. She was so tempting with her mouth right there and worry in her eyes. “There was something wrong with the shadows, and I didn’t want those kids to be wandering around in the woods at night.”

  “Good instincts. When did you turn into a white knight?”

  Just now? Being a white knight was worth it if he got to feel the entire glorious length of Zee pressed against him as a reward. He let his forehead drop to hers and sighed. “Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation.”

  Zee patted his chest, but it ended up more like a caress. “Your s
ecret’s safe with me.” She pulled away, and he reluctantly released her.

  “Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?”

  “I was never mad at you. Frustrated by my inability to handle the situation myself, yes, but you were right about the collaboration part. And you were genuinely trying to help.”

  “How do you know that? Maybe I get off on being a jerk to women?”

  She tapped her own chest. “I can feel it. You have your shields up, but I can read the emotions behind your actions.”

  Ryan was glad he didn’t have to grovel, but he also thought her reading might have been clouded by her judgement. As fun as digging through his complicated emotions sounded, it would have to wait. He was pretty sure the Wood had just tried to kidnap him, and that trumped roommate squabbles.

  The walk back to Jake’s house seemed much shorter than when he was running to the ball’s rescue. “Are we going to ignore what happened back there?”

  “I thought we should include Sera and Jake in the conversation.”

  Ryan shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Good thinking. They’re more likely to be eaten.”

  Zee started. “Did you see a creature in there?”

  He hunched his shoulders. “No, but it was dark and creepy. I feel like we should put up a sign or something at least. ‘Do not enter, scary shadows ahead’.”

  She didn’t answer him, and when he glanced at her face, it looked like she was considering it. If he hadn’t been there, one of those kids would have gone in after the ball. What then? Would the others have even told anyone? How long before that kid’s parents noticed that he hadn’t come home? Ryan shook his head. He was making jokes, but the situation was seriously messed up.

  He stopped Zee in the driveway. “Before we go in there and share our fun little adventure, I want to say something to you. Thank you.”