Magical Seclusion

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  And let’s face it. Outside of my magic, I was a weakling. I couldn’t fight. Ami would. She’d have my back and that’d draw in Dion. Worse case, a brawl broke out everywhere, every person for themselves. I shivered. I didn’t want that.

  I just didn’t want Alijah in there.

  With my thoughts distracting me, I missed the announcement and the bell went off, signaling the start of the fight. The emcee booked it out of the cage. The door slammed shut, and the ward activated.

  At the same time, the shadowsmith disappeared. Completely. Ami gasped. I bit my tongue. If I were in the cage, I could pinpoint the guy, but I wasn’t, so I couldn’t sense anything because of that damn ward. My anxiety went up a notch. The only thing keeping me from losing it was the fact that Alijah didn’t seemed bothered. He looked completely relaxed, arms loose at his side.

  I held my breath and waited, desperate for this to hurry and end. Seeing Dion in there was fine. I didn’t know the man. But with Alijah, I knew him, and I liked him. I didn’t want him hurt. This was painful to watch. My insides tightened, my magic begging me to use it. I was so damn tempted.

  Alijah rolled and the air shimmered briefly before the shadowsmith came into view. He was just behind where Alijah had been standing. Somehow, the tiger was able to sense him. A flurry of movements that were too hard to follow occurred, only stopping when Ajax hit the ground. Alijah jumped on top of Ajax and ruthlessly pounded his face in. The shadowsmith managed to toss Alijah off and my guy smashed into the cage, the metal chains rattling against the pressure.

  The crowd went wild.

  I stepped forward, not knowing what I wanted to do, just knowing I needed to do something. An arm wrapped around me and Ami pulled me back against her chest. Ami was a female but she could hold her own in a fight against a man. She proved to me how strong she was when she held me still.

  “Be calm,” she whispered into my ear. “He’s going to be okay.”

  I bit my lip, frustration building inside of me.

  Alijah was okay. He got to his feet and they went at it, circling each other, most of their movements too hard to follow. They were so fast. It looked like they were far apart and then suddenly one of them would flinch or be hurt. A couple minutes into the fight and the damage was building between the two. A move from Alijah had Ajax’s nose bleeding. A move from Ajax had Alijah favoring his right side.

  At one point, it looked like the shadowsmith had Alijah trapped, but then it was reversed, with Alijah pinning him down and mechanically smashing the man’s face in. They rolled until Ajax was on top and got a few of his own hits in before he was forced off him and slammed into the cage. Alijah followed through and pinned the shadowsmith against the corner pillar, his eyes blazing red, hands claw-like as his beast fought for control.

  Determined to get freed, Ajax threw his elbow and clipped Alijah, who staggered back from the hit. He shook his head, in a slight daze. Not wanting to give him time, Ajax went in for the finish, throwing a combination of kicks and punches at Alijah. Ami kept me pressed up against her, but my body strained to get free, wanting to help him. I didn’t know how I would do that, and knew I wasn’t capable of protecting anyone in a fight like this. It didn’t stop my body from wanting to try.

  Ajax disappeared again, and then Alijah was on his stomach on the ground. I still couldn’t see the shadowsmith, but however Alijah was tracking him was enough, because the tiger shifter rolled and then popped up. He threw a punch that landed. The air shimmered before the cloak around Ajax dropped and we could see him.

  They exchanged more blows, blood soaking the matted floor. I winced at the sound of someone’s bones snapping. My own bones ached. Ajax elbowed Alijah, sending splashes of blood across the floor. The crowd was a bloodthirsty mass of excitement with the sight, pushing up against the barrier set by security. I gritted my teeth, hating every second of this.

  Alijah didn’t let that deter him. In fact, the opposite happened. He fed on the rage that erupted inside of him, his body exploding into his beast. I’d only seen Alijah’s tiger form once, when I watched him take down a crazy lizard man before I began working at Biomystic. He was still gorgeous, still just as breathtaking as before. He had a thick reddish coat of fur with black stripes running down his body. Standing on all fours, the creature came up to my chest, nearly double the size of a normal tiger and over eleven feet long. I didn’t need a scale to know that if he pounced on me, I’d be crushed.

  Ajax had similar thoughts because he blinked out of existence once again. The tiger wasn’t deterred and stalked around the platform, red paws soft on the mats. I shivered as he strode around the cage, nose flaring as he scented for his opponent. Being so close to a predator set my body on edge, and when Alijah passed by my side of the cage, I thought I would be his next dinner.

  The next scene was almost a blur as Ajax appeared, landing on top of Alijah’s back. The tiger made a coughing roar noise and rolled, forcing Ajax to let go or risk getting squished. He made the smart decision of letting go and putting distance between him and the man-eating creature before him.

  Alijah pounced and Ajax danced backward, out of the way. Despite Alijah’s huge form, he was still fast and within a blink, the two of them were across the cage, rolling around. The fencing around the cage rattled when they smashed into it. Alijah snapped, long sharp incisors gleaming in the light, as he went for the kill. Ajax barely dodged him.

  Finally, Alijah was able to sink his teeth into the opponent—or his foot to be exact. Red-faced and hurting, the shadowsmith grunted, as he tried to get away. Not one to show mercy, the tiger dragged the man across the mat, and I winced when he shook his head, trying to tear his foot off. When Alijah was happy with the results, he let go, but not for long. Ajax tried to get back to his feet, determination the only thing keeping him going. It was in the way his expression twisted together. He was furious, and he was determined. His body swayed, his foot not able to fully support his body weight.

  Using all seven hundred pounds of himself, Alijah jumped on his opponent as they fell back down. He then struck out with his paw, hitting Ajax in his head, and followed through until the shadowsmith’s head hit the ground.

  He didn’t move.

  Alijah jumped off him, circled the cage, and roared. The crowd went wild.

  The fight was over.

  Ami finally let me go, and I stepped away from her, wanting to cover my ears from the onslaught of cheers currently booming through the crowd.

  “Damn, that was too intense,” I said and rubbed at my face.

  “See, nothing to worry about,” Ami said, and I sent her a glare. I knew she was just as worried as I was. She wasn’t as close with Alijah, but he was a BMS employee and so was she. There was a sense of camaraderie between all BMS security members.

  “I don’t think I can go through that again,” I said, hating that I had to admit to that.

  Ami pulled me into a side hug. “Not everyone can, and that’s perfectly okay.”

  I tried to wipe away the fears that surfaced. The cage was cleaned up by some witches and a little bit of magic, wiping away the violence that had occurred.

  Ami grabbed my hand and shoved her way through the crowd, keeping a tight grip on me. She led the way to the fighter tents and the security guard recognized Ami and ignored us as we went by. I glanced all around at the fighters. There were going to be two more fights until the championship. I wasn’t sure who was up for the trophy or award or belt, and I wasn’t really interested. I was ready to get out of here.

  When I spotted the familiar head of red hair, I yanked out of Ami’s grasp and ran toward the idiot shifter.

  “You’re crazy,” I said in lieu of a greeting. I took in his wounds, some of them already closing.

  “Good to see you too,” Alijah said and smiled.

  I scowled. “I get it. You like violence, you like fights. I get it. But I refuse to watch again.”

  “She was ready to break through and save you,” Ami said
with a grin.

  Alijah pondered what Ami had said. I ignored her and reached out to touch a rather painful looking wound on his arm. A chunk of skin was missing.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said.

  I poked it, and he winced, moving away from me. “Really?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  I glanced around at the other fighters. “Are you done for the day?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He smiled.

  “Good, I’m going home.”

  “Aw, don’t leave so soon,” Ami said.

  I shook my head. “I can’t… I’m done with all this violence. I don’t get it. I really don’t, and it’s painful to watch. I’m going to go home and bleach my eyeballs.”

  “I’ll walk you,” Alijah said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I will.” He turned, pulling off his shirt at the same time. I would have enjoyed the show if his back wasn’t covered in bruises and blood. There were some scrapes too. He pulled on a black t-shirt, covering it all up, and turned back to me.

  Something in my expression gave my emotions away because he sobered. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be all healed up in a couple of hours.”

  “Shifters don’t heal that fast.”

  “I do.” He grabbed my hand. “Now, come. I’ll drop you off at home.”

  I followed, not saying anything as he led us away from the cage, the fighters, the spectators. Away from all that blood and violence. We walked in silence until I could no longer hear the roar of the crowd.

  “Thank you for watching,” Alijah said. “Even though it isn’t your thing, having you out there supporting me really helped. Thank you.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I can do that again. That scared the shit out of me. Ami had to hold me back. I like it only when it’s people I don’t know. They can hurt each other all they want. But that…” I shook my head.

  He chuckled. “Then you have my undying gratitude.” He pulled out his phone, glanced at it, sent out a quick text, and then tucked it back away.

  “A job?” I asked. Seemed like if the guys looked at their phone like that, then they had to take off for a job or something.

  “No, just confirmation.”

  We got to my apartment and stopped at the entrance. “Get ready, you’re going out tonight.”

  “I am?”

  He nodded. “Someone will be here to pick you up at nine. Dress pretty.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “See you in a couple hours.”

  “You should rest.”

  “And I will. Bye, Laila.”

  He strolled away, his hands in his jeans.

  I shook my head. What did he have planned for tonight?

  Chapter Six

  As I went through the process of getting ready, I kept thinking about what Alijah had planned for me. He said to dress pretty, so that’s what I did. I dressed pretty.

  Digging deep into my closet, I managed to find my purple ombre cocktail dress with a shark bite hem. The material was light and airy and tended to give others the impression that I could glide across the floor. I matched it with gold strappy heels to help bring out the little bit of glitter sewn into the dress.

  After adding in some more waves to my hair, letting it fall around my shoulders, and light makeup to make my eyes pop and lips seductive, I was ready. I double checked my little purse to make sure I had everything. The intercom by the door beeped, and I went over, answering it.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “Dr. Porter, a Mr. Alijah Orr is here to pick you up,” Roman said in a professional voice.

  “I’ll be right down.”

  I smiled and blew out a breath. I didn’t know what to expect for tonight. Giddiness swirled inside of me. I was finally going on a date with one of the guys. And the way Alijah said someone was picking me up, I had a feeling it wasn’t just going to be him tonight.

  When I got downstairs, my smile widened as I took in Alijah. He wore a suit, black jacket over a white shirt, with black pants, and shiny black shoes. No tie. The suit was definitely tailored to fit over his massive chest and arms, and he looked out of his comfort zone.

  “Don’t you look dapper,” I said and laughed. I could see the lines in his expression deepen just as he went to scowl, but then he froze, his eyes turning into a dark amber as they trailed over my body.

  I grinned and did a little spin that sent the hem fluttering around my legs and then stopped in front of him with a teasing expression. “See something you like?” I asked.

  A growl slipped out, and he froze when he realized what he’d done. His expression cooled as he collected himself. “You’re beautiful as always, Laila.” He held his arm out for me to loop mine around his elbow. Ever the gentleman, he escorted me outside to his vehicle. His car was a smooth looking black one, more for practicality than to show off. Acting like a gentleman, he opened the door for me, and I slipped inside.

  As I settled and got comfortable, he got into the driver’s seat and then we were off.

  “So, what’s going on tonight?” I asked. “Why the sudden date?”

  “Why not?” he asked. “If we’re to get to know each other, we need to go on dates.” His gaze flickered to me briefly before focusing back on the road. He sped through traffic seamlessly, avoiding other vehicles, the odd giant, and even a few feathery folks that thought it’d be fun to pretend they were cars as they glided over the asphalt.

  We pulled up to a restaurant that had managed to claim a small square in the middle of the city to call its own. The building was small, two stories, and definitely not what I expected. Granted, I’d never been on dates before, but from talks with Ami, normally a man took the female out to expensive places for two main reasons: to show off their money and to make the woman feel special.

  I chuckled. This was better. “Barbeque?” I asked.

  Alijah nodded, his expression softening. “We figured you weren’t much for fine dining.”

  “You told me to dress pretty.”

  “Of course. This is a date after all. Besides, this is barbeque fine dining. A piece of meat here is easily triple what it’d cost in a normal restaurant.”

  “Okay. I’m game. Let’s check this out.”

  He drove around the corner into a parking lot in the back and smoothly parked between two massive trucks. When he came over to get me out of his car, I took a moment to gaze upon the massive silver Sierra Denali. The beast looked like it could mow me down and not even notice. I loved it.

  “I think I’m jealous right now,” Alijah said, and I turned to see the amusement in his expression.

  “You should be. If it were between you and this truck, you’d lose. Look at it. It looks like it eats creatures like you for breakfast.”

  “You know shifters are strong enough to lift vehicles, right?”

  “And you know any magic user can do a simple enchantment so you won’t even be able to touch their vehicles, right?”

  He snorted and escorted me inside. My own truck had a similar set-up. I still didn’t know how Alijah got past it when he’d picked me up at the airport after I’d helped Shanton. When I’d asked him about it, his answer was that he was a Sumatran tiger, as if I should have known what that meant.

  The outside of the building was beautiful: the first floor all brick to fit in with the barbeque joint theme and the second floor a silver-gray modern look to it, the store sign in a handwritten style.

  “The Lunar Oxen, huh?” I asked.

  “Wolves,” Alijah said. “They own this place. The wolves enjoy howling at the moon, so their goddess is Luna. It’s said that she rides a chariot pulled by oxen. Hence the name. The wolves see themselves as her support.”

  “So really the oxen are them?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  I mulled that over as we headed inside. I wondered how Venni viewed Goddess Luna. I had trouble thinking about gods and goddesses out there other than Goddess Hekate heh-KAH-tee. To me, she was very much real. She existed every
time I weaved magic, every time I sang to it and spoke her language. As the Goddess of Magic, I saw tangible proof. I wasn’t so sure about the others. For a long time, it was thought that shifters were created through a disease. It was only in the last two hundred years that it wasn’t seen as such.

  In Europe, there were a few large shifter packs, but America had the biggest shifter population in the world due to genocide. Many of them were pushed out of their homes in Russia and Europe, migrating to Asia. When America was discovered, they beelined it here and ingrained themselves into the population.

  America became their salvation.

  Alijah held the door open for me, and I slipped through. Inside was nice with dark wooden tables spaced out evenly, with silverware wrapped in napkins, and glasses waiting. Along the walls were booths with plush seats and high backrests to create privacy.

  “Miss Porter,” a man said when he spotted us. He flashed us a smile. “Right this way. The rest of your party is already waiting.”

  I glanced at Alijah, who just motioned for me to follow. The man walked with grace, his uniform stretching over his shoulders and down to his narrow waist.

  “Stop checking out the host,” Alijah growled into my ear. The deepness in his voice created a little whirlwind of warmth low in my stomach.

  “I’m not checking him out,” I whispered, aware that the host could probably hear us with his heightened senses. “Besides, I’m a nineteen-year-old woman. I have a right to check people out.”

  “Not anymore,” Alijah said. He pulled me into his chest and then moved me until I was tucked into his side, his arm wrapped around me, his protective instincts coming out.

  “Okay, caveman,” I said, patting his chest.

  We ended up going through a set of propped open doors and into a private room. I froze at the entrance, gaping at the table and the men standing there, grinning at me. They were all there. Every single one of them.