Abducted by Magic

by Kelli McCracken

  Without a word, he turned, clearing a path toward the back of the room. People shifted and swayed as we passed. But I only had eyes for the man in front of me. I felt a subtle shift in our bond. Not like with Jax or Quinn, but the relaxed tether strengthened with each step we took.

  Stopping in front of an elevator, Roark pressed the button to ascend. When the doors slid open, he tugged me inside and faced forward.

  The swish of the doors closing cut off the orgasmic energy that hadn’t stopped caressing me since I stepped into the bar. I breathed a sigh of relief as the tension in my core released. The need to clench my thighs was no longer there.

  I waited for Roark to select a floor. When he didn’t make a move, I glanced up and found him smirking at me. The heat that pooled between my thighs now fled to me cheeks. Crap. Did he know I’d eaten some of the sexual pie in there?

  “I didn’t want to have this conversation when you were…distracted.” The humor in his eyes faded when his gaze fell to our joined hands. “I don’t hate you.”

  I expected him to release my hand when he realized he was still holding on. Instead, he tightened his grip and met my gaze.

  He continued, “What’s happening between us is not supposed to happen between a guardian and his ward. We are matched to protect, not to fall in love.”

  My heart hitched in my chest. Was he trying to tell me he loved me or that our connection could lead to love?

  “Do you believe in fate, Roark?”

  “I believe in the oath that I took to protect at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing my own life.” He shook his head, his expression regretful. “I can’t give you what you want. My love for Samara, even as a sister, played a part in her death. I was too lenient with her. We allowed her to break rules that we should have enforced. Love makes us soft.”

  My lip trembled. Tugging it between my teeth, I averted my gaze. His words hurt, but I wouldn’t let him see how much. I wouldn’t waste another tear on him. He was right, though. I was foolish to think this bond meant anything. I was a temporary host, a means to an end. Soon this would all be over. I disentangled my fingers from his and pressed the button to open the door.

  Quinn and Jax appeared on the other side. Their smiles at seeing us were replaced with frowns when they glanced between me and Roark. I was sure they could feel the tension as soon as the doors opened.

  “Mathias is ready for us.” They stepped into the elevator. Jax pressed the button for the fourth floor. His gaze lifted to the camera in the corner of the elevator. After he gave it a slight nod, the elevator climbed in response.

  Humiliation sank its claws in deeper, because whoever monitored the camera bore witness to everything that happened between Roark and me. I wasn’t sure why I even cared. People were having sex in the bar. A break-up video was boring compared to that.

  The space around me felt like it was closing. The power prickled under my skin, itching to get out. I focused on taking slow and steady breaths. If I didn’t get out of this elevator soon, what little restraint I had left would dissolve.

  I prayed my uncle would still want to help me, even if it meant selling a piece of my soul.

  Chapter 15

  ~Katarina~

  Four shades held positions around the room. Their forms shifted in and out of the shadows. Their inky hue was a stark contrast against the white and gray decor in the room. The space was open and inviting, reminding me of the lofts in the city. What little furniture he had was comfortable and modern. From the looks of it, he didn’t buy anything off a showroom floor. It all looked expensive and custom. I wondered if this was where my uncle lived or if he divided his time with another home.

  I waited in an oversized chair by a window that overlooked the lights of the city, giving the impression we were twenty floors up instead of four. I wondered if he could change the view to whatever scene he wanted. I gave a mental eye roll. Of course he could. It was magic.

  Our tense silence hung heavy in the room. I could sense Jax and Quinn’s anger toward Roark thrumming through our bond. I wanted to tell them it was fine, that he was just being honest. There was no reason to continue whatever was happening between us when the inevitable would soon take place.

  Once I regained my sight and could speak with Samara, we would clear up all of this. She could then give us the spell to undo the link between me and her power. Maybe she could move on then. Even though my gift was gone, I could still feel her presence. A part of her linked to me through her power.

  I hadn’t voiced my concerns to the High Priestess, but my gut told me that the words spoken under Samara’s breath differed from a normal binding spell. Her journal showed that she was delving into old magic and no one but me knew. I couldn’t betray her memory by revealing her secret. It wasn’t mine to tell.

  Footsteps approached from behind, so I stood and turned. My uncle looked the same, but different. His normal attire of jeans and a t-shirt were now replaced with a well-tailored suit and silk tie. He looked every bit the god I now knew he was, but in his eyes, I still saw the warmth of the man who’d loved me.

  “Hi, Uncle Mathias.”

  His long strides closed the distance between us. Strong arms wrapped around me and his cheek rested on top of my head. “Hello, Kat.”

  I let the tears I’d been holding fall. It had been a year since I’d last seen him, and I only had myself to blame. I let my work consume my life, rarely taking the time to maintain my relationships. The only contact I’d had were quick texts here and there. If anything came of this mess, it would force me to reevaluate my priorities. Was my career the right path to take, if it sidelined my happiness?

  Leaning back, I glanced up, giving him a tremulous smile. “So I hear you’re the lord of the underworld.”

  A smoky cloud swirled in his eyes when he smiled back. “Prince is the correct term, but if you wish to call me lord, I won’t stop you.”

  I laughed, feeling the tightness in my chest loosen. He always knew how to lighten a dark mood.

  He glanced at one of his shades and gave a curt nod. He must have dismissed them, because a moment later their human forms dissolved into a wisp of smoke. They floated across the room before disappearing through the wall. I shivered as goosebumps sprang up on my arms. I didn’t think I would ever get used to seeing something like that.

  With his arm still around my shoulder, my uncle’s gaze swept across my guardians. “Thank you for taking care of my Katarina. She is more precious to me than you could possibly know.”

  His arm flexed around me as he placed a kiss on the top of my head. I blinked back the new batch of tears that threatened to spill. How could I have stayed away for so long?

  He guided me toward the couch and motioned for my guardians to join us. I needed to stop thinking of them as mine. They were never mine to begin with. Claiming them was not an option for me.

  “We have much to discuss,” my uncle said. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I will try my best to answer them all.”

  I settled into the corner of the couch, drawing my knees to my chest. Realizing that leather and a corset weren’t comfortable in this position, I unfolded my legs and set my feet on the floor. “I wish you would have told me. It might have made me feel like less of a freak, knowing you could see spirits too.”

  “But it still wouldn’t have stopped the teasing. I could never reveal who I really was to you. That would have been a secret too big for a young girl to handle.”

  What he said made sense, especially with what I knew now. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been different if he’d confided in me.

  “How much do you know about what’s happened to me?” I asked.

  He scratched his chin, then stood and removed his suit coat. Draping it over the arm of the couch, he resumed his seat next to me.

  “Being a god has its advantages. I have my own network of spies.” He glanced at the guardians, probably gauging how much he should reveal in front of them. �
��Even though we didn’t communicate regularly, I always knew what was going on with you. If you were safe, if you were happy.”

  My stomach clenched when my mind drifted to the camera in the elevator. “Umm. What do you mean you always knew? How?”

  He held up his hands in defense. “I’ve never intruded on your personal life. Everything was done at a distance. My main concern first and foremost was your safety. If you were in danger, I would be alerted.”

  “So, the night that I found Samara?”

  “There was already a shade outside with you, making sure you made it to your car without incident. When Samara arrived, a reaper appeared moments later, ready to escort her soul. By the time I was alerted, your guardians were stepping through the portal.” He swung his gaze to the guys. “Luckily I recognized you, otherwise I would have dragged you back to the underworld with me.”

  Each of the three guardians wore a mask of composure. It was through our bond that I felt a twitch of fear. Must be the underworld lived up to its reputation if it had the guys on edge.

  “So you obviously know about the power I’m carrying and that the coven has been unable to retrieve it from me.”

  “I do.”

  At that declaration, I felt the energy in the room shift. My guardians were alarmed about something. It wasn’t until I saw they were glaring at my uncle that I realized why. They wanted to know how one of his shades was able to breach the ward protecting the coven. If they were able to get through, others might also.

  Ignoring the fact that he just poo-pooed on the coven’s security, my uncle continued, “Any being that comes into contact with you can sense the amount of power churning inside. It’s like a vortex of energy waiting to explode.”

  “Since it isn’t mine to keep, and the previous owner is no longer alive to tell me how to reverse the spell, I only have one option.” I sucked in a breath and blurted the words out before I could change my mind. “I need you to restore my gift.”

  I expected him to smile, to be glad I was ready to move forward again. I wasn’t expecting him to purse his lips and abandon me on the couch.

  With his back to me, he stared at the imaginary scenery in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, it shifted from a serene bluish-gray night to an orange and red abomination. It flashed again to a serene meadow with the sun shining and flowers blooming. Another shift and there was nothing but a rocky plain.

  My guardians all looked as confused as I felt. Why did my grandmother send me here if he couldn’t help me?

  “Take everything that you know about the underworld and eliminate half of it. Most of what you see in the movies is rubbish, but there is a hint of truth to some.” He scrubbed his hand over his face and hung his head. Minutes passed before he finally turned to me. “Did your grandmother tell you that giving you back your gift would cost you?”

  All I managed to do was bob my head. If my uncle was worried about the damn price, then it had to be bad. Maybe I really did have to give up a piece of my soul? Dread wound around me, closing off my airway.

  Jax moved to join me on the sofa, but I waved him away. I ignored the ache in my heart when I saw the pain in his eyes. I didn’t need his pity right now. Roark had made it clear what their duties were and I was sure coddling me wasn’t one of them.

  I’d already taken on a witch’s powers, faced an angry coven, nearly drowned in the sacred pool, and been tossed off a balcony. I could do this. Squaring my shoulders, I prepared for the worst.

  “So, what do I have to do?”

  During my musings, he had unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and was now rolling the sleeves. Once he had both rolled, he reclaimed his seat. His expression filled with sympathy, and he grabbed both of my hands.

  “This is out of my control. Even I have rules that I must follow. To reclaim your gift, you will need to agree to a lifetime of service to the underworld.”

  My guardians sprang to their feet, their voices raised in protest. Uncle Mathias released my hands. Smoothing his hands across his thighs, he pushed himself to his feet. Not even the threat of his heated glare stopped them.

  “Kat, you don’t need to do this.” Jax turned to my uncle. “You rule the underworld. Can’t you reach out to Samara and get the information we need?”

  “If that’s what you want. I can get the information you need. She isn’t here at the moment, but it wouldn’t take me long to track her down. I did sense her energy around you, which means she’s been close to you recently.”

  It was a tempting solution. I could solve Samara’s murder and get the spell to release her power without having to become a reaper. I thought back to my reading. I needed to trust the voice inside me, and right now it was screaming to seal the deal.

  Making up my mind, I shook my head. “No. I’m the one Samara entrusted her power to. I’m the only one she will speak to.” I had never met her, but with each passing moment, I believed that we would have been friends.

  Quinn approached me, sidestepping my uncle. “There must be another way. We can leave now and meet with the guardian elders.”

  I remembered their fear when my uncle had mentioned dragging them to the underworld. That was nothing compared to the fear they had for me going there. Our bond quivered, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand at attention.

  “We can’t guarantee that your elders will know what to do,” I pointed out.

  A heated argument drew my attention away from Quinn. Roark stood toe to toe with my uncle, who topped him by a few inches. Roark’s body rippled, ready to shift at any moment. Jax flanked him and I saw a spark light up his fingertips. Swirls of smoke sifted through the wall. Aw, hell. Now the damn shades were here.

  I jumped off the couch and pushed past Quinn. Stepping in front of my uncle, I faced Roark, my palms pressed to his chest. “This is my decision to make. Not yours. I think we made our boundaries clear earlier.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. I’d pushed a button. Well, too bad. He’d pushed all of my buttons earlier, and not in a good way.

  “This affects the rest of my life. Soon I will no longer be your problem.” Quinn opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “If you can’t sit quietly and listen to what my uncle has to say, then you can all leave.”

  Giving Roark my back, I clenched my shaking hands into fists. My uncle seemed completely surprised by my outburst. Yeah. I wasn’t the same Kat that he used to know. “What would I have to do?”

  “Once I restore your gift, you are obligated to use it to help the underworld. You would need to become a reaper.”

  “Like the Grim Reaper?”

  Mathias chuckled. “No, not exactly like the Grim Reaper. He’s a distorted representation of what a real reaper does. You won’t be floating around in a cloak and carrying a scythe. You’ll carry a blade. This is used to sever the soul from the body. If this is not done properly, the soul can either be trapped on the human plane or stuck in limbo.”

  “Does that mean I have to live in the underworld?”

  “No. That is not a requirement. Once you are a reaper, you will be able to transport wherever you need to. There will be times where you will need to stay for extended periods. You will have your own residence, decorated to suit your needs.”

  “When would I have to start?”

  “I can grant you a temporary reprieve. Once you choose what you are going to do with your powers, then we can begin training.”

  “What do you mean, once I choose. There is no choice. These powers aren’t mine to keep.”

  “Katarina, my darling, that is where you are wrong. The universe plays a role in everything that we do. You’ve received these for a reason. The why is not my place to tell, but you will learn in time what your purpose is, if you choose to become a witch. Know one thing. No matter what you choose, you will never go back to your old life. You will never be human again. The underworld will always own a part of your soul.”

  “So when you say lifetime, I’m guessing that’s a
little longer than I would have as a human.”

  “Yes. When you become a reaper, you will become immortal. You will outlive even your coven if you choose to stay. This part will affect your guardians, because they will be bound to you for eternity as well, or at least until a new successor is chosen. So when you make the choice of whether or not to keep Samara’s powers, that is a discussion you must all have.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to look at the three men who I knew were staring at me. It would be a life sentence for them. And they would agree to it, solely based on their damn guardian code. I was thankful Roark had been honest with me. Now I could make my decision with a clear head.

  “So how does this work?” The power inside me flowed through my body in approval. It was the final confirmation I needed to know I was making the right choice.

  Roark’s body tensed behind me. I stepped closer to my uncle. Having Roark that close made it difficult to concentrate.

  Uncle Mathias’s compassionate eyes searched mine. “Are you sure this is what you want? You’ve always been under my protection and that won’t change if you say no. I will give all of my resources to find your witch.”

  “I’ve always felt like something was missing in my life, so I dumped all of my energy into advancing my career. Even then I didn’t feel fulfilled. This gives me a purpose. So in answer to your question, yes, I’m sure. This is what I want.”

  My uncle’s face filled with pride. Maybe my grandmother was right. I was a lot stronger and more courageous than I thought. Uncle Mathias pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, then replaced his lips with his hands. Heat poured from his fingers, flooding my head. My magic stirred at the intrusion, but instead of forcing it out, it guided it through me.

  As quickly as it began, my uncle’s hands drifted down my face until they cupped my cheeks. “Welcome to the underworld.”

  I laughed, then choked back a sob as tears spilled down my cheeks. I searched for even a nugget of fear and found none. Only a sense of peace filled me. I slipped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest. The steady thump of his heart relaxed me. I tipped my head back and smiled. “Thank you.”