Resistant Magic (Relic Hunter Book 5)

by R. Leonia Shea

  I looked into his eyes and thought about the dilemma; it took me a second to understand what he was implying. “If we both get into trouble, you won’t be able to call in the cavalry.”

  Surprise flashed in his eyes, but he nodded. “If I’m on the outside, and you don’t come back, I can at least make some calls.” He wouldn’t look at me as he said those words, and I couldn’t read his tone.

  I shook my head. “Why is this so complicated?”

  “Welcome to your new life, my little witch.” He said with a somewhat cavalier shrug of his shoulders. “This is entirely your show.” His tone was snarly, but he let out a small sigh and finished in a softer voice, “For what it’s worth, I have enough faith in your ability that I don’t think you’ll need the cavalry.”

  I thought about that for a long time before deciding there was a massive problem with the logical course of action. “So our new cover story is I’m an American fattucchiera, and you’re my clueless human boyfriend? Can we live with that?”

  Kai looked somewhat doubtful, but he smiled. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at my knees. Kai waited in silence. “I didn’t realize this was going to be so complicated. Doing these things with you has always been so much fun, even when it was scary.”

  “As you pointed out, things have changed,” Kai replied, sounding flippant.

  “I didn’t intend for that to happen.”

  Kai sighed. “You didn’t make it happen; I did. It certainly wasn’t my intention, either. I thought that I could still be involved like I always had been, but you’re right. I am a liability right now.” His eyes met mine, and that seductive smile that made my heartbeat surge slid onto his handsome face. “On the upside, I am still very entertaining.”

  I stood up and pushed the table away from him. I swung one leg over him and sat on his lap, brushing his hair back from his face. “Would you like to hear my very vague theory?”

  His hands settled on my hips, and he leaned his head back. “Not yet. I think your meeting with the Guild might shake a few pieces loose. It’s a shame you’re going alone because I was rather looking forward to playing corporate hardball in a boardroom.” The corner of his mouth lifted, and I groaned. If I started playing flirtatious word games with him, I’d never get any work done.

  I took a moment to firm up my resolve, and I sighed. “I’m pretty disappointed because you’d deal with them much better than I will, and you do look delicious in a suit.” I teased, nibbling his ear.

  He chuckled, and his lazy grace settled back into his body. “I’ll wear a suit any time you want me to. After you've mastered your lessons.” He added the last part in a low tone, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

  “So where are we meeting after I’m done sizing up the guild?”

  “The restaurant your mom suggested. Where we might fight, and I might storm off to parts unknown. I’ll make myself very hard to find for everyone except you.”

  I gave him a confused look, and he looked around the room as he continued, “They need to focus on you and stop looking at me. I’m going to be more useful if I don’t have their attention. I’ve also been thinking we need to upgrade these accommodations. There aren’t enough exits, and unless you want me to keep my distance, a larger hotel will make sleeping arrangements much easier.” He slid his eyes toward the bathroom where Ka’Tehm and Basir were currently hanging out. It would also make it easier to keep our magical accomplices with us.

  “Definitely time to upgrade. Do you think you can do it without being followed?”

  Kai smiled. “So far, they’re only using one person to trail both of us. If we split up, they’re going to have to decide between us, and I bet they follow you. That’ll leave me enough room to get lost.”

  I sighed. I didn’t like the thought of splitting up, but it made sense. “How will I know where to find you?”

  Kai grinned. “We have air support. I’ll find us a five-star hotel, and you follow the winged assassin. He’ll lead you right to me.”

  Chapter 5

  I climbed out of the taxi at the address Peter had given me and smoothed my hands down the front of my dove-gray jacket. It was a power suit that would be equally appropriate if worn by the editor of a fashion magazine or a spy going into hostile territory undercover as a CEO. The short-sleeved asymmetrical jacket fell beneath my hips, tied with a wide gauzy ribbon in a lighter shade of gray that snapped onto the special button which closed the jacket. If anyone tried to hold me back by grabbing at the tie, It would pop off, and I’d leave them holding it while I escaped their clutches and sprinted through the door.

  The wide-legged pants fell to my ankles and reminded me of dojo pants with just enough stretch that I could move easily. My shoes were ivory ballet flats that I could kick off to grab more power from the earth or run away if that was the wiser choice. I felt chic and elegant but still able to kick butt if I actually knew how to do such a thing, hence the ballet flats. I’m more of a run away than a let’s get ready to rumble sort of girl.

  I carried no handbag or briefcase. My phone was buttoned into the pocket of my jacket, and I had a single credit card and fifty euros tucked in my bra. I had loosely gathered my hair into a chignon at the back of my neck, and my eyes were lined in charcoal gray gel liner with a subtle cat-eye swoosh at the corners and two coats of mascara. Pink lip gloss and pressed powder rounded out the minimalist look. At least I looked like someone who knew what the hell she was doing.

  The glass doors into the building were unlocked, and I crossed the empty lobby and climbed a flight of marble stairs to the second floor of the old building, noticing the mosaics and frescoes that adorned the walls. I gave La Gilda credit for investing in art that depicted magical rites, camouflaged as ancient Roman pagan ceremonies. It was both subtle and completely obvious.

  Down the corridor, a woman leaned against a marble column; her short dark hair was pin-straight and cut into a stylish bob. She followed my entrance with narrowed dark eyes as if assessing my power. I pushed my magic down into the wood floors beneath my feet, trying to make myself appear as harmless as possible while I drew a veil down around my thoughts in case she had any psychic ability. I also tried to shed the nervous jitters that made my spine feel like it was going to snap, but that was less successful.

  Peter Picenzia was leaning against another wall, looking much less regal out of his cardinal’s robes. His golf shirt showed a slight paunch, and he was remarkably bowlegged.

  “Dr. Cerasola. So nice to see you again.” He said, sliding his eyes toward the woman who watched us with a wary look. “You can go ahead, Mariella. I’m the contact person for our guest.”

  I didn’t miss the wary tone in Peter’s voice, and I looked closer at the woman, guessing her to be a few years older than I was. She raked her dark eyes over me, and a smile that was closer to a sneer settled on her full lips.

  “Doctor?” She asked in thickly accented English.

  I smiled and gave a short nod. “Ph.D. in Anthropology.”

  She sniffed in that familiar dismissive way that let me know she didn’t consider me a real doctor without an M.D. and walked toward the door at the end of the hallway. She flicked her fingers for me to follow.

  I turned toward Peter. “I get that a lot.”

  “Don’t mind her,” Peter whispered. “She finds it inconvenient that La Gilda demanded all the heads of the families attend because she believes this is a local problem that won’t impact her villa in Lombardy. She doesn’t think this problem is worth the time she has to spend away from home.”

  Mariella opened the door, and the conversation inside the room died abruptly. Thankfully, Peter’s flow of words also died because his idea of a whisper was equal to normal conversation. Mariella-the-inconvenienced stepped against the door and swept an arm dramatically in front of her, mocking my grand entrance. “Doctor.” She sneered as she glared at Peter to make sure he knew she’d heard every word he said.r />
  I couldn't resist letting out a short whisper of contemptuous laughter as I walked by her, pushing my power down even further despite the temptation to do the opposite. With my power so suppressed, I noticed a faint tingle of magic coming from her that left me equally unimpressed with her.

  A man about my mother’s age pointed to a tan leather chair. The other twelve people at the glass conference table swiveled in my direction. I let my eyes sweep the room, taking in the appearance of each member. Their ages ranged from near my own to older than my grandparents. Their attire spanned the spectrum between CEO and neo-pagan cult leader and their temperaments from recently neutered junkyard dog to moray eel. This was not a welcome to Rome sort of meeting.

  Nervous energy hopscotched across my skin as I slid into the chair and rested my forearms on the table, waiting for someone to break the ice. My eyes roamed the faces again, repeatedly stopping on a man in his late sixties with silver hair and light green eyes. His mouth was drawn into a tight line, and hostility rolled off him like lava. I guessed he didn’t like the idea of having an outsider fix the jinn problem, or maybe they’d dragged him from a distant villa like Mariella. Either way, he avoided meeting my gaze.

  Chairman Mariani, the man at the other side of the table who’d waved me into the chair, smiled, but it was a tepid professional smile at best, so it didn’t do much for my nerves. I felt like this would be the most challenging job interview of my life until I realized I already had the job. As long as I didn’t accidentally start a fire, the meeting was probably just a formality that would give me more information on the job expectations.

  “Dr. Cerasola, it’s a pleasure to have you join us.” He said smoothly. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the angry man grip the edge of the glass so hard; I felt the tremor travel across the table and through my palms. Something told me not to look at him, so I fixed a patient smile on my face and looked at the man who’d spoken, nodding in acknowledgment but letting him continue.

  “As you may have heard, we have a small matter in Roma with a jinn.” The chairman said.

  Mariella’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly hid that look behind another sneer. Several others looked uncomfortable with that statement, and that piqued my curiosity.

  “How do you know it’s a jinn?” I asked, leaning forward.

  “It seems like the antics of a malevolent sort of being.” He said, smiling reassuringly and spreading his hands in a casual gesture.

  I looked at the chairman with a perplexed expression. There was no way he was guessing about the jinn. They weren’t particularly malevolent by nature, and they didn’t leave calling cards with their ‘antics’ as far as I knew. It just wasn’t the way magic worked, but for some reason, he thought I’d swallow that without a strong whisky chaser.

  “Malevolent?” I asked. “Can you be more specific about what this jinn is responsible for?”

  “Two buildings have collapsed, and one street has been damaged. This entity is destroying the tunnels beneath the city.” His tone was smooth and reassuring, making me feel like a cobra swaying from a basket in Marrakech. He picked up a remote control from the table, and a huge map of Rome appeared on the screen behind him. Digital pins marked several locations, and text boxes detailed the date, time, and the number of casualties.

  The fact that there were casualties made me nod. Yeah, that was pretty much the definition of malevolent. I looked closer at the map, realizing that the building collapses were localized in one region. The other markers highlighted minor damage around the city.

  “Will you forward that map to Majeedah Gobain, please?” I asked. If the go-between got the information, she’d pass it on to me, and then hopefully, nobody on the Italian board would have my contact info. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to stay in touch with any of the people in that room because most of them wouldn’t even look at me.

  The man nodded and flipped to the next photo. “Fires have sprung up in a few locations in the city, mostly hidden below ground, but recently the jinn has started using more conspicuous locations. That is making concealing the activity quite difficult and very dangerous for us.”

  I nodded. Magic being out in the open was never a good thing. Just ask the Salem witches and the accused in the inquisitions. Having your powers on display brought a level of crazy to your door that just wouldn’t go away until you were strapped to a pole surrounded by a large pile of kindling or strapped to a rock and tossed off a bridge to see if you’d float.

  “Did someone perhaps summon a jinn?” I asked, sliding my eyes around the table.

  The horrified expressions and a few nervous glances answered that question. Bingo.

  “None of us practice that sort of magic,” Mariani said, giving a light chuckle as if I were simply ridiculous for having asked.

  I hid my smile. There was no way that room didn’t contain at least nine people capable of summoning a jinn, controlling high-level demons, or causing mass casualty events with a flick of their elemental powers. The other four people were probably talented but too new-age kumbaya to do it. I was suddenly aware this meeting was a load of BS being served to me by an amiable maître d’.

  “Has anyone had direct contact with the jinn?” I asked, glancing around.

  A few gasps and a bit of nervous laughter floated from the people around the table, and there was even more white-knuckle table gripping from the angry guy who glared at me. I felt like Pompeii when the first puff of smoke rolled out of Mount Vesuvius, but I wasn’t about to back down. I had no idea why someone so angry had even bothered to attend the meeting.

  The Chairman smiled in a way that told me he was charmed by my ridiculous question. “No, none of us should ever engage such a creature. We practice Benedicaria; that is why we called Signora Gobain. None of us have the power to deal with such entities. It would be very dangerous.” He smiled around the table, and many of his peers nodded, looking almost grateful.

  Horse feathers. My eyes went to Vesuvius, who was grinding his teeth but staring at the Chairman. That was a mystery for later. “Tell me about the magical blackouts,” I said, careful not to phrase it as a question. Peter had mentioned those, and a magical blackout didn’t seem like a good thing in times of magical war. That was probably closer to the real reason I’d been called.

  “That is a problem, Dr. Cerasola.” The Chairman said, his voice dripping with regret. “As you may be aware, there is an issue with La Chanson in Europe. For centuries, we have survived as an independent organization practicing the healing arts, and we are not interested in losing that autonomy. La Chanson has other ideas about how magic should be governed, and we are not amenable to those changes. The blackouts are leaving us vulnerable, so this jinn must be stopped.”

  Yes, that would be a problem if you were trying to battle the Chanson. You wouldn’t want your magic to get all fritzy at the wrong moment. Then again, a true blackout would put the Chanson at an equal disadvantage. That was also worth considering later.

  “Well, that is why I’m here,” I said with a smile. “Have you been able to get a fix on the location of this jinn?”

  I watched the room, and a few of the members dropped their eyes, becoming fascinated with the surface of the table. A few others exchanged wary glances, and Vesuvius looked about ready to blow.

  The Chairman smiled again, reassuringly. “We have isolated the location to underground, but you must understand there are miles of tunnels, crypts, and several necropolises under the city.”

  I smiled benignly. “Again, there’s a reason Majeedah called me. Can you narrow the location to a particular region of the city? It would expedite things.”

  After a few nervous glances, the Chairman picked up the laser pointer, and all eyes turned toward a map behind him. He drew a small circle around the area where I would have guessed the problem had started because it was right in the middle of the other incidents. That wasn’t helpful, but at least my theory had been correct that the jinn had been active in a
limited area.

  “And what of the incidents in the surrounding countries? I believe there have been situations in Greece and Turkey as well?” My question was out of curiosity to see how widespread the problem was.

  The Chairman scoffed. “That is beyond our jurisdiction, Dr. Cerasola. We can give you the contact information for those locations, but we cannot be sure it is related to our situation.”

  I nodded at his optimism. “One more question: Since you haven’t provided me with any new information, why are we having this meeting?” A few of the people around the table dropped their eyes to the surface of the table again, but I saw a few try to hide small grins.

  “So we can be assured that none of the members of the families assist in the apprehension of this jinn. We have strict policies which we must follow. To be a member of La Gilda Maghi, all practitioners must agree to engage only in healing practices or the remedy of harmful situations which have been pre-approved by this board.”

  Pre-approved? These people were seriously uptight. “Well, this situation seems pretty harmful if it leaves you vulnerable to the Chanson.” I ventured. There were a few more nervous looks around the table.

  “Indeed. But it is important for our structure that no one family can take credit for solving the problem. That is your task. To ensure that when you leave, an identical balance of power exists, just like the one you found here today. There will be serious consequences for any member of the guild if they lend assistance to an outside agent and either break the rules or later claim distinction as a result.” He shot a stern glance around the table, and Vesuvius returned the glare but didn’t openly disagree.

  Ah, that explained it. The purpose of the meeting was to put me and all of the guild members on notice that I was one hundred percent on my own, and I was to leave Rome precisely as I’d found it. That might not be possible if my suspicions were correct, but hopefully, Mariani had better luck with the members of his little club following his rules. They were all on notice that helping me would mean being excommunicated from the group, and they wouldn’t even get any credit for solving the problem for their trouble.