Abducted by Magic

by Kelli McCracken

  I shook my head, doing my best to try and soothe her. “I know this is confusing and I promise it will all make sense. It may not be what you want to hear, but we will speak nothing but the truth with you. In order to do that, we need to know what happened next.”

  She studied me for a moment, as if she were gauging whether or not to trust me. I couldn’t blame her if she didn’t. She was actually handling this better than we could have hoped for. There was no denying the strength she had inside.

  “Samara said something in a foreign language, and it caused a red mist to spiral around us. The longer it was there, the darker it became.”

  When her eyes lowered to floor, Roark stepped away from the French doors. “Please finish. I need to know everything.”

  Granted, Roark and I had already been on the scene when this happened. We’d witnessed what she described, but he wanted to hear her take on it.

  Katarina’s gaze lifted as she turned toward me again. I nodded at her, but it took a moment for her to face Roark. When she finally did, she quickly looked away.

  “I heard someone scream. Then it felt like a cold slab of concrete slammed into me. I don’t recall anything else.”

  Guilt crashed into me like a tidal wave hitting a rock. I was the one who had shouted Samara’s name when I saw the blood mist forming around her and Katarina. I didn’t know why she was using old magic, and from my position, I’d assumed Katarina was another witch stealing Samara’s powers. It wasn’t until this moment that I understood what my ward had done.

  “Do you remember what Samara said in the foreign language?” Roark asked.

  When Katarina nodded, Roark closed the gap between them and asked, “What was it?”

  She tugged her lip between her teeth and closed her eyes. Her fingertips pressed between her brows as she tried to remember. “It was something about magic. Sanguim, sanguin.”

  “Sanguinem?” I asked, praying I was wrong.

  Her eyes snapped open and she replied, “Yes! She said sanguinem magicae.”

  Roark glanced my way as he whispered the words, “Blood magic.”

  “Beg your pardon?” Katarina’s face pinched in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing.” Roark did his best to cover his slip as he frowned at me. He wanted my help covering up what he said.

  In all fairness, she needed to know what Samara had done to her. It was better if it came from us and not the council.

  Ignoring his cue, I focused on the young woman next to me, then at my brother once more. “Do you believe Katarina’s innocent now?”

  “Her story sounds plausible, but she still has to go before the council. They said they want to see her.”

  “Council?” Katarina clutched the blanket close to her. “What is the council and why do they want to see me? Am I in trouble? I swear I didn’t do anything to Samara, and I don’t know who did. All I want is to go home.”

  “It’s okay.” I used my soothing voice to calm her as she wrung her hands together. “You swear you’re innocent, and we believe you.”

  She snorted and motioned her head toward Roark. “He obviously doesn’t.”

  A pained expression covered Roark’s face. I knew her words stunned him, but something in his eyes said he was hurt too. I’d ask him about it later. For now, we had to focus on Katarina. Patting her shoulder, I did my best to make light of the situation.

  “Roark’s bark is fierce but there’s no bite.”

  I didn’t miss the side glance my brother gave me.

  “So what’s going to happen next? Why am I meeting with a council and not talking to the cops? And when can I go home?”

  “This could go one of two ways, Katarina, and I won’t sugarcoat it.” Roark replied before I could answer her.

  She studied him for a moment, and each second she did, I swore she was judging his soul. “I’m listening.”

  It took a moment for Roark to speak again. “What will happen is Quinn and I will escort you to the council room. You will go before a council of peers who will listen to what you have to say. They may even do a spell on you to see if you’re telling the truth.”

  “Spell?” She glanced at me again. “Was Samara a witch or something?”

  When I didn’t answer, Roark cocked his head to the side, as if he was waiting for me to speak. Now was our opening. We had to lay it all on the line and deal with the consequences later.

  Judging by her reaction to the thought of Samara being a witch, we may have read her all wrong. Was it possible that she wasn’t human? We should have been able to sense if she wasn’t, but there were still supernatural creatures out there that had gone undiscovered. Either way, she needed to know what she was facing when she met with the council. Depending on the ruling, if she was lucky, this would all be erased.

  Why did the thought of her forgetting bother me so much?

  “Yes, Samara was a witch.” Roark said the words before I could. I guessed he realized she did need to know. “The council you’re going before is made up of supernatural beings.”

  “Brother, be careful how much you say.” I warned.

  “I know, but what does it matter, if she’s going to forget it all anyway?”

  “Brother?” Katarina’s brows folded as she examined Roark and me. “I didn’t know you were brothers.” It was obvious that we looked nothing alike. Where he had dark brown hair and blue eyes, I had blond hair and amber eyes.

  “Not by blood, but by honor and duty.” Roark crossed his arms over his chest, placing his hand on his heart.

  “You said Samara used blood magic,” Katarina said. “What did she do to me?”

  I shifted my position on the couch so that I had better access to Katarina if she became distressed by what I was about to tell her.

  “Before Samara died, she transferred her magic to you. That’s why she couldn’t allow you to leave. If she had died before she could be placed in stasis, her powers would have died with her. If not for you, the entire coven would have been left vulnerable. The council owes you a great debt. I will make sure that they realize that.”

  Katarina sprang off the couch. Her eyes turned frantic as she looked from Roark to me. The reaction was exactly what I was afraid of.

  “I don’t want this. Any of this. You have to get it out of me.”

  Before I could rise from the couch, Roark approached her, careful to not startle her. He gripped her arms and bent his head until they were eye to eye. “That’s one of the reasons that the council wants to meet with you.”

  I was thankful that Roark had softened his tone. I could feel her magic crackling just below the surface.

  “Once they gauge if you are telling the truth or not,” Roark continued, “they’ll transfer Samara’s powers to another chosen witch. Then your memory will be wiped of everything that happened and you’ll be returned to your home. We have to continue to protect our kind from the outside world.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away. “Will you be there with me?”

  “We are sworn to protect you. We won’t leave your side.”

  Her body visibly relaxed at his response. At least it did for a moment. Then she started wringing her hands together. “You haven’t told me what will happen if they don’t believe me.”

  Roark’s throat wobbled. He didn’t want to explain what would happen any more than I did. Still, she deserved to know the truth. She was human and as supernaturals, we weren’t supposed to harm them…or desire one. It was why the veils existed between realms.

  But it didn’t make the truth any easier to say.

  When he glanced my way one last time, the concern Roark felt washed over his face. I understood his worry. The alternative Katarina faced went against everything in our code. She needed to know everything so she could prepare.

  Nodding at my brother, I gave him my approval to tell Katarina the rest. Roark turned to her, and for the first time since he arrived, I could see he was afraid for her. He didn’t wa
nt to say the words. Our duty to the human girl left him with no choice.

  “If the council discovers you’re lying or guilty of hurting Samara, you will be executed within twenty-four hours.”

  Chapter 5

  ~Katarina~

  The lights leading through the council room flickered as I walked under them. It made the white walls appear brighter, and it gained me discerning looks from the row of people lining a long table. Spread across a raised level, anyone sitting behind the table looked down at those who entered.

  Five steps inside the room, and the little voice inside my head sent warning signals to the rest of my body. My heart raced faster, my breaths grew more frequent, and I couldn’t stop shaking. I hoped the council would see I was innocent of killing Samara and that I hadn’t stolen her powers. She had given them to me. I never wanted them. If they could transfer them to someone else, I would relinquish them as fast as I could.

  This was all too close to the part of my life I had left behind. Was this why my grandmother had wanted to talk to me? Had she known something bad was going to happen? I should have listened to Natalie and called her. My stubbornness was the reason I was here.

  Both Quinn and Roark walked beside me as I played with the sleeves of the shirt they brought me. They didn’t say if it belonged to Samara, but it was a perfect fit. So were the jeans that accompanied it. I didn’t like the thought of wearing a dead girl’s clothes, but it was better than wearing my blood-stained ones.

  We were halfway through the room when I glanced at Quinn. He was compassionate and caring. From the moment I’d awoken, he did his best to take care of me. Samara said her guardians would help me. He was proving her right, but Roark…

  I didn’t know why, but it felt as if the larger of the two guardians was distant. Perhaps he was upset over losing Samara. Quinn had tears in his eyes several times through our conversation. Roark masked his emotions better. He struggled to keep eye contact when he was near. Just like now, as he grew closer to the platform where the council awaited us. Quinn checked on me for at least the tenth time. Roark didn’t even give me a side glance. His earlier compassion had vanished.

  Why was I so worried about what he was thinking anyway? Providing this meeting went the way I hoped, someone else would receive Samara’s powers, then my mind would be wiped clean. I wouldn’t remember anything.

  My stomach clenched. As much as I wanted to forget what had happened with Samara, part of me wished I could keep in contact with Quinn. The pull I felt around him left me curious, and for whatever reason, something about Roark tugged at me too.

  Deep down, I knew that niggling feeling was the real reason why I was upset with him for ignoring me. Quinn swore they both believed me, but I wanted to hear the words from Roark. I needed to see it in his eyes. I would never see them again after all of this, so why was it so important to me?

  Caught up in my thoughts, I bumped into the brooding guardian when he stopped a couple of feet from the council table. I finally gained his attention, but not the way I’d hoped. His steel-blue eyes were like daggers through my heart.

  Yet when I mouthed the words, I’m sorry, his piercing glare disappeared. He gave me a slight nod before facing the council.

  “Honorable ones,” he said to the group, “my brother and I bring before you the human girl at your request. She is here for trial, judgment, and verdict.”

  “Thank you, Roark of the Stone Isles.” An older woman spoke to him with a gracious nod.

  I gazed at her a moment, in awe of her beauty. Silver hair pulled high up on her head as ringlets draped below. High cheekbones set off her slender face. Eyes as blue as the sky found me, and she gave me the same courteous nod she’d given Roark.

  “Welcome, young one. What is your name?”

  I drew in a deep breath and raised my chin, praying my voice remained steady. “Katarina West.”

  “You needn’t fear. If you are innocent, we will know and we will take the proper measures to make sure you are taken care of.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I’m not guilty of any crime.”

  The older woman nodded. “It’s reassuring to hear you say so. My name is Rayna. I am the high priestess of this coven. Samara Haylen was a student here. She will be missed.”

  No one could ignore the eye roll or the grunt coming from another woman toward the end of the table. Even Rayna peered at her. Yet unlike the others staring in the same direction, the high priestess drew her brows lower.

  “Do you have something you’d like to add, Melynn?”

  The other woman narrowed her eyes at Rayna and clicked her nails against the table. She pursed her lips with a reply and chuckled. “Nothing new to add, my High Priestess.”

  When someone describes silence as deafening, this moment would fit the scenario. Both glared at each other as everyone in the room looked in a different direction. A moment later, Melynn did the same.

  Rayna said nothing else before turning to me again. “Have Samara’s guardians explained anything to you about Samara’s background and who she was?”

  Quinn and Roark glanced at me before returning their attention forward. They hadn’t told me much. At least not until we were about to come here. Since then, we hadn’t spoken. I was too paralyzed by fear to say a word. My only thought was they were leading me to my death.

  Was this the moment that thought came true?

  “They explained that Samara was a witch and that her power is inside me. They said you will get her power out of me and wipe my mind clean. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.”

  Rayna observed Quinn first and then Roark, who bowed to her and said, “She has a right to know what circumstances she faces. She is human. It is only fair.”

  “It matters not. We all know the choices that lie ahead. Everything will depend on you, Miss West.”

  “I’m ready.” My voice shook enough that Quinn and Roark turned to me. The back of Quinn’s hand brushed against mine. Whether in comfort or by accident didn’t matter. I was just grateful he was here.

  I wasn’t surprised by the concern on Quinn’s face. Roark’s was a different matter. His gaze drifted from my face to my feet, and when he lifted his eyes back to mine, he mouthed four words.

  It’s okay. We’re here.

  Quinn nodded as both stood on either side of me. They braced my shoulders and motioned me to look at Rayna. When I did, I found her standing a few feet away. She’d left her chair at the table and come close to us. Her hands lifted higher.

  “I’m going to cast a truth spell that will prevent you from lying.”

  “But I’m not.”

  She motioned me to stop. “This is for your benefit. This spell proves to the council that you aren’t lying. No member can question what you say during this time. It is the utmost truth.”

  “Relax, Katarina,” Quinn murmured to me. The sound of his voice made my heart race.

  “We won’t let anyone hurt you.” Roark added. His words made me melt. It was good to see him lower his defenses. It drew me to him more than ever. Having both of them here, holding me between them as Rayna spoke in a foreign language, waving her hand in front of me, brought me peace.

  My head tingled with warmth. I blinked my eyes at the heaviness invading them. When it didn’t help, I giggled. Roark and Quinn stifled their laughter and touched my arms. The coldness in their hands faded and heated. I enjoyed the sensation so much, I moaned. It gained me an odd look from Rayna, but I didn’t care. The feel of Quinn’s and Roark’s hands made my body come alive.

  “Miss West, please concentrate on my voice.”

  It was hard to resist the urges I had and focus on the woman in front of me. Still, I complied, despite how uncomfortable I felt. “I’m listening.”

  “Good. I’m going to ask you a series of questions beginning now. Did you stab Samara Haylen?”

  I shook my head.

  “Miss West, I need you to speak the words.”

  “No,” I replied
.

  Rayna studied me a moment before asking her next question. “Do you know who murdered Samara?”

  “No, I don’t know who killed her.”

  The room was buzzing with whispers until Rayna peered around at the council members. All grew silent again, then she refocused on me. “How did you discover Samara?”

  “I was walking to my car when she stumbled toward me. I thought she was drunk until I found the blood. It’s when I realized she’d been stabbed.”

  “And what did you do?” Rayna asked.

  Trying not to think about the blood or the terrified expression Samara had worn, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I tried to get help, but she begged me to stay with her.”

  Rayna’s brows folded. She craned her neck closer. “What happened next?”

  “She said sanguinem magicae and then I passed out.”

  It was hard to read Rayna. I couldn’t tell if she was believing what I said or looking for some sort of crack in my story. I hoped it was the former. She was the one who’d said this spell would prove my innocence.

  “Thank you, Miss West. We’re almost finished.” Her soothing voice eased my anxiety. “Had you ever had contact with Samara Haylen before the night in question?”

  “No, ma’am. I never saw her before that night. I’m sorry she died, but I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Did she give a name as to who might have done this to her? Did you see anyone?”

  “No. She didn’t say anything. She was alone when I found her. I searched every inch of the street looking for someone to help. There was no one in the vicinity. If there had been, they didn’t make their presence known.”

  “Thank you, Miss West. Allow me a moment to confer with the other council members.”

  After she motioned to Roark and Quinn, they escorted me a couple of yards from the table. I noticed the council members gathering around Rayna with their heads bowed. They spoke in hushed whispers.

  Quinn and Roark released my arms but stayed by my side. I didn’t know what to say at this point. Being stuck between them was causing my body to heat. It was getting harder to resist the pull I felt. I still didn’t understand it. How could I be so drawn to two complete strangers? Not only that, they were supernatural beings.