I blocked out everything around me and focused only on one thing.
Hold on, Lizzy.
I opened my eyes to see my hands glowing a subtle white instead of the normal orange hue I was used to. To everyone else around me, I was just sitting there awkwardly next to Lizzy holding her hand, blood dripping onto the floor. When I really focused on the magic energy around me, I could see it wasn’t just white magic, but a swirling rainbow of magical colors. It was working, but Eli was right. I was draining too much of Lizzy’s magic.
Dizziness overwhelmed me and I nearly fell off the stool. This was a complicated process that required intense concentration, and a lot of magic had to be removed. I couldn’t give up yet.
I shifted my focus to Nolan’s magic and reminded myself how it felt when I endured it. I willed my power to seek out that familiar sensation and remove it. I then tried to do the same with Raven, Daisy, and Isaac.
My body started to feel heavy, and sweat pooled around my brow. I was nearing my limit, but I wasn’t done yet. There was more to remove.
“Adrian, you alright?” Julie placed a hand on my face and lifted my chin with her fingers. I couldn’t even see her standing right in front of me.
“You gotta stop, Adrian.” Eli could see the distress I was under and tried to pull me back before I shrugged off his hand from my shoulder.
“Just...a little...more…” I began panting, as I all of a sudden felt like I was baking under the hot desert sun.
“Stop, now!” Blair stepped forward and ripped my hand away from Lizzy. I immediately collapsed from the chair onto the floor.
Chapter 37
W hen I awoke, I was sprawled out in Julie’s office chair and was happy to see I didn’t explode. Maybe I was getting better at this magic thing after all.
My eyes were locked onto the ceiling, my head hanging off the back rest like a limp noodle. When my thoughts finally came back to me, I instantly shot myself upwards into an alert position. The rolling chair banged loudly as it collided with the metal desk, then skidded across the wooden floor when I pushed it away.
Lightheadedness overcame me as my unfocused eyes frantically searched the room for Lizzy, but the exam table was empty. My heart jumped at the thought I may not have succeeded. Julie then scampered through the doorway to investigate the commotion.
She pried my eyelids open with her thumbs then took some vitals for a quick medical exam. “Well, seems like you recovered just fine.”
“What happened to Lizzy?” My eyes fell on the empty exam table where she had been cared for.
“By some miracle, she survived. I don’t know what you did, but I’d very much love an explanation one day.” She smiled then gently slapped the top of my bandaged hand. “I’ll go get her.”
“Um…” She stopped and turned her head back when I spoke. “Maybe you shouldn’t. It’s probably best I just...leave.”
“You can’t be serious.” She put one hand on her hip and wagged the other one in my face. “I don’t know what happened, but you just saved that woman’s life. And besides, she’s been asking about you. You guys are sooo cute together. It’s adorable.” Her stern posture transformed into a comical one when she began batting her eyes and making kissing faces at me.
“Ugh, not you too.”
“Whatever. I’m going to get her. The only way you’re escaping is if you jump out that second story window. And I’m going to be really pissed if I have to replace those windows again.”
Julie left and my shoulders dropped to my sides. What was I going to say to Lizzy? The only reason she’d ever want to see me again is so she could murder me herself. A few minutes later, I heard a clambering of heavy feet coming up the stairs.
“Adrian!” As I expected, it wasn’t a very friendly greeting. Lizzy’s hostile voice growled like an angry tiger as she hobbled furiously over to the chair I was sitting in. Blair and Eli kept their distance behind her.
My heart raced at the sight of Lizzy moving toward me. Relief swept over me and I was happy to hear her voice again, but I was terrified at how she would react.
The open handed slap to my face gave me my answer.
“How dare you insult me like that!” My eyes caught a glimpse of the bandaged shoulder wound peeking out of her half missing tank top exposing a little more skin than she probably preferred. She closed an oversized black cardigan across her chest that Julie must have given her.
Her voice turned to a whisper as she leaned in to speak something into my ear. “I’m...glad you came back, though.”
She leaned in a little too far, and she lost her balance. The wheels on the chair rolled backwards and she fell into my lap as my arms wrapped around her. Normally, I would have expected her to slap me again and push herself away but instead she melted into my embrace.
“Awwww. A touching reunion.” I forgot both Eli and Blair were watching this whole soap opera unfold.
“Shut up, Eli.”
“Well, looks like everything’s under control here so we’re gonna go back to investigating Julie’s arsenal of awesome magic objects. But Adrian...just so you know...we still haven’t forgiven you.”
“I know.” I sank my chin into Lizzy’s neck and gave a tender squeeze, her calming smell of vanilla relaxing me.
“Ouch, dammit that hurts!” She let go of her affectionate embrace, climbed off me, and grabbed the stool next to the exam table.
“Yeah, um, about that…” I scratched my head and diverted my eyes to the wall.
“I did something you didn’t like, you did something I didn’t like. So I guess we’re even,” she spoke casually as she placed the stool next to me and sat.
“Huh? I nearly killed you.” Just saying the words out loud caused a tightening in my chest.
“And then you realized your mistake and saved me. Which, by the way, I’m still winning by a count of four to two.”
“What? The coffee shop incident was a draw. That totally doesn’t count.”
We argued over it for a few minutes until I finally surrendered and let her win. But she was still wrong.
Lizzy’s tense shoulders dropped with a sigh. “You know...you jump to conclusions and rush to judge people too quickly. I’m betting you didn’t hear that whole conversation before you stormed out. I never wanted to harm you, Adrian. I was trying to convince them we needed to figure out how to get rid of that other person hiding inside you. He is dangerous, not you.”
I laced my hands behind my head, rubbing a fingertip over the bump forming at the nape of my neck and reminding myself I should ask Julie to take a look at it. I leaned back in the chair gazing at the newly repainted ceiling. “Well, I guess you won’t need to worry about that anymore. Now that I pretty much compromised your whole mission, you’ll go back to Iradel and continue on with being the badass, stuck up scary lady with ninja combat skills who doesn’t need saving from anyone.”
I knew the day would come eventually. They didn’t live here and they couldn’t stay. When I first met them, I didn’t really care. I was just happy to have a warm meal and a place to stay. But now, after all we’ve been through, thinking about their absence left a void inside me. They helped me learn so much about myself these past few months. And aside from the whole dying part, it was nice to know I wasn’t as useless as everyone made me out to be. That maybe one day, before Rezith took over my body, I could be recognized like my dad for doing something good. Which reminded me…
“What ever happened to Nolan?”
“Thankfully, the magic held. According to the news, he confessed and you’re off the hook. They arrested him at the lab and now he’s awaiting trial but I mean, he confessed, so he’s already guilty, right? Daphne’s fine too. Tell her to stop calling every five minutes. It’s annoying.”
Mike had given me a spare cell phone he kept around in case of emergencies. With Eli’s help, we were able to track down Daphne while we were waiting for Lizzy to recover. We had left a message with the front desk at Arcane Enterprises
suggesting she call back Patsy’s, the name of the bakery below the apartment, regarding a special order of red velvet cake. She got the hint and called back the number we left the receptionist.
We thanked Julie and Mike for their help and got out of their way. Over the next week, Lizzy continued recovering while Blair, Eli, and Porky tied up loose ends before they packed everything up and prepared to leave for good. I couldn’t believe how fast Lizzy had healed. Although not all of her injuries were magic related, the most serious ones were. By the end of the week, her cuts had scabbed over and she had a few bruises along with some minor aches and pains but otherwise, it was like nothing had ever happened.
The day finally came to say goodbye, and as much as I tried to convince myself I didn’t care, my heart sank a little at the sight of the completely empty apartment we all used to live in together. We gathered around a shiny gold floor mirror decorated with ornate twisting vines, the only thing left in Lizzy’s room.
“Well, um, thanks for everything, I guess.”
I held out my hand for one of those professional, manly handshakes with Eli. He snatched it and pulled me in for a half hug, half handshake and a firm smack on the back.
“You act like we’ll never see you again,” Eli spoke as he pushed away.
“Um, you’re leaving. To another world. Through a mirror that I can’t use.” Eli glanced back at Blair and Lizzy, who was beaming a smile in my direction.
“The mirror is staying here. You won’t be able to visit us, but we can come visit you.”
Blair raised her chin and slightly widened her eyes which was the closest she’d ever get to an actual smile. Lizzy, on the other hand, was fighting hard against a grin and rocking back and forth trying to cover up her excitement.
“You still want to see me after all this?”
“Well,” Blair began, “your other half is still a threat to us. So it’s only natural we keep an eye on you. If things progress too far, we still have to do something about it.”
“Way to ruin the moment, Blair,” Eli spat. Blair just shrugged as she forced reality upon us. With that, Eli grabbed the last of his bags, waved goodbye, and casually walked through the mirror.
Next up was Blair. I half held out my hand, unsure if I should give her a hug or handshake. She didn’t reciprocate anything, but cemented her feet firmly on the floor glowering at me.
“Um...it was a pleasure to serve under you, Ms. Unrelenting Commander Lady?”
She raised an eyebrow searching my words for truth. “I am not the commander of this mission. Porky is.”
“WHAT?!” My ass nearly hit the floor along with my jaw. “No way…”
Porky stepped up from beside Blair and spoke in his robotic voice. “You underestimate us canines. Just because your people can’t understand us and think of us as lesser beings, doesn’t mean we are treated the same elsewhere. We are intelligent creatures. We are unassuming, our senses are heightened, and many of us are smaller and more agile than humans making us a better fit for a variety of missions.”
“I still don’t believe it…”
“I infiltrated the Black Mark hideout by myself and retrieved valuable information that allowed us to capture a dangerous criminal. When Raven trapped you in her illusion, I pulled you out. And while you were at the lab, I ignited a fire in the stairwell that gave you some extra time to escape.”
“Wow. Alright. Well, then, I guess I should say it was a pleasure serving under you, Commander, um...Porky. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“It was a pleasure learning about you, Adrian.” And with that, Blair and Porky passed through the mirror and disappeared.
That left only Lizzy. She stood there staring longingly into my eyes making this way more depressing than it should have been. I mean, the mirror was staying here. I’d see her again, right?
She moved in to wrap a hug around me, pinning my arms uncomfortably to my sides so I couldn’t hug back. “Everything I said at the lab I meant. I will find a way to fix this.”
“I know.”
“Oh, so now you believe me?”
“Well, you were still under the effects of the truth serum when you said it. So I have no reason not to.”
She smiled and pulled her head away from resting on my shoulder, those somber turquoise eyes staring back into mine.
“Just so you know, though, I never wanted to kill you. There are other words that start with those same two letters.”
“Oh really? Hmm. Remind me what that word could be? Kidnap? Kick?”
“I won’t say it,” her cheeks flushed pink as her eyes hit the floor.
“I’m an idiot, remember? You’ll have to spell it out for me.”
I had a hunch what she wanted to say, but I was enjoying teasing her about it.
She reached out a hand to brush away a curl from my face. I was unable to peel my eyes off her as she ran her finger down my cheek, locking her deep, passionate gaze on my lips. Reaching to pull me closer, she squeezed me tightly against her chest and swept her lips across mine until they were barely touching.
“Remember, I can always find you,” she whispered. Her warm breath and the scent of vanilla filled the air around me. Butterflies filled my stomach as she lightly pressed her lips against mine. The tingling sensation I knew now was her magic filled my chest with warmth.
She pulled away and chuckled halfheartedly, a forced smile playing at the corner of her lips, but the mirth didn’t reach her eyes. This was goodbye, but hopefully not forever.
She slumped her shoulders and stepped a thick black boot into the rippling mirror. Seconds later, the glass solidified and I was all alone. Just like how things were before I met them.
As if anticipating my sorrowful thoughts, my phone began chiming. Daphne. Well, I wasn’t completely alone anymore.
I let the call go to voicemail, not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now. I had other pressing issues to deal with. Like where the hell am I going to live and how am I going to be able to afford to live there.
I sat down on the floor in the empty room, brushing my hand along the carpet where Lizzy last stood. My gaze tilted upwards out the window into the mesmerizing brick wall of the building next door. I couldn’t let myself forget the most important problem that needed to be solved. How am I going to stop Rezith from taking over my body?
Thanks for reading! Look for Adrain’s return in book 2 of the Black Sheep series: How to Rescue a Dangerous Deadly Princess
About the Author
Christine Schulz is a fantasy writer and lover of all things magic. As a young child, she would put her imagination to work, pretending to live in a fantasy world where she could fly, fight the bad guys, and save the world. Although she could never master the art of flying, she did manage to put together all those creative ideas into a compelling story that formed her debut series Black Sheep. When she's not writing, Christine can be found reading, cooking up a delicious meal, and spending time with her furry pug companion.
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