Magical Seclusion

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  Chapter Eighteen

  My magic was having a tug-of-war with the magic in the charm. I wanted to do one thing, and it pulled back, refusing to listen. I could feel the ticking time bomb. I didn’t have long to do this and precious minutes had already passed. The others stayed away, giving me the space I needed to focus.

  They weren’t the ones pressuring me. I was. Once the baddies realized no one was in that apartment, their next destination was Dwight’s office. I trusted that Ami would get there in time, but after that? Once they hit Dwight’s office, then what? They weren’t going to leave. They wanted us dead. We could ID them, and that made us unfinished business.

  Drawing on my determination, I pushed harder, no longer willing to play nice. Magic worked best when coaxed to act a certain way, but sometimes, a hammer was needed. I was going to use it now. Once I gathered enough magic within me, I smashed it into the charm, demanding that it bent to my will. Instead of transporting a person, it was going to warp space and create a safe doorway. The sage was going to make sure the body was protected as it went through the doorway. The arnica was going to help hold back the ward. As I forced my magic into the charm, I twisted the intent of each component. Once I got to the metal, my teeth were grinding, my skin was hot, and my clothes were damp from sweat.

  I thought about how the metal, silver to be exact, acted with magic. The type in the bag used was made by magic, but it was close to acting just like silver did. I could work with that. Silver represented pureness. It drew out negative energy, protected the very existence of a being. In transportation, the greatest danger was losing oneself. If a person wasn’t strong enough, they’d crumble, turn into nothing. The metal in the charm was to combat that. Silver was not corruptible, and apparently, neither was this metal, which meant it denied my magic. Deflected it.

  Wanting to swear, I pushed on, drawing back just enough before going in for another attempt. This time, I went in slowly, probing at the metal, sending a mental image of what I wanted and how it could help me. It could purify the door created, just long enough for someone to come through. It could protect them, make sure their very being didn’t become ash. I kept going, coaxing, striking a deal.

  And finally, my magic was accepted, the new metal liking what it could potentially do. It wanted to help. I smiled, thanked it, and finally pulled away. I slumped in my seat and sighed.

  “Done.” My voice was a rasp.

  “Here.” Alijah passed me a water bottle, and I gratefully accepted it, chugging half of the contents down.

  “It’ll work?” Logan asked.

  Eying the content, I nodded. “It’ll work.” It had to. I didn’t have time to test it out. The charm bag pulsed in my hand, warmth seeping into my bones, as it reminded me that it would work. It’d do what I wanted.

  “What’s the plan?” Logan asked.

  “I throw this at the ward, activate it, and hope Lombardi makes it through,” I said.

  “I’m coming with you,” Alijah said.

  Biting my lip, I stared at Alijah until his eyes met mine. “You get to climb the building,” I said.

  “Really?”

  “You need to take out the sniper. Unless Ami got to him already?” I glanced at Henzie.

  “They climbed up and entered a window, away from the sniper. He’s still active.”

  “Then we need to worry about the sniper.”

  “I’m coming with,” Elliot said.

  “No.” I shook my head. “You’re pushing my limits. I can’t keep transporting everyone around, especially after changing that charm.”

  Elliot scowled and stalked over the wall to lean against it and glared at the floor. He could pout all he wanted. There wasn’t any time to soothe his grumpiness, even if I found myself wanting to do it.

  “We’ll be back.” I grabbed onto Alijah and managed to transport us to a hidden spot right next to the building under a tree and bushes.

  Alijah pushed me down until I was tucked between two bushes. He hunched over me, his heat a comfort on my back. One of his hands rested on my waist.

  “Look.” He pointed forward.

  Dwight was pacing the front now with Rhett by his side. I didn’t know where Venni or Davies were, hopefully not doing anything insane, though if Davies was involved, he wouldn’t be doing anything less.

  My eyes followed the path I would need to get to him. It was all open space. Easily snipeable. And I needed to get close enough to throw the pouch along with my magic.

  “How far away would you say he is?” I asked.

  Alijah quickly calculated the distance. “Thirty yards.”

  “Might as well be a mile,” I said and sighed.

  “How does it work? Can I just go out and throw it?”

  I shook my head. “I need to be close enough to activate it.”

  Alijah was silent for a moment. “How close?” he asked.

  Giving him a wry smile, I twisted my lips to show how much I was displeased by this too. I wanted to stay here, where it was completely safe, not charge out into the open field only to get shot. That was not in any of my plans for today. None of this was.

  “Laila?”

  “How far can you throw?” I asked. I could play distraction with the sniper. I had the tools to do that.

  “I could make it from here.”

  I suppressed a whistle, jealousy coming out to play. Admitting to myself that this was going to suck, I shook my head. “Well, I don’t really go around throwing things. I’ll have to get a lot closer.”

  The space between us and the gate taunted me. There really wasn’t any coverage once I stepped out from where we hid. It was all open. This was part of their security measures, so it was harder for someone to get in through the front and sneak up to the building. Granted, the front would be the weakest point in security with so many people in and out. If the baddies had tried to go that way, we would have seen them coming. In theory at least. But somehow they snuck in through the fricken back, taking us all off guard. My head was not happy right now. The remnants of a headache still played a tribal beat on my brain.

  “How close?”

  My cheeks went red as I answered, “About five yards maybe.”

  “No. That’s too far.”

  I sighed. “I know, but the charm needs something that will activate it when it hits the ward. That’s my magic. You’ll need to get up to the roof and either distract the sniper or take him out.” When he didn’t respond, I turned to him, not caring about the cold wetness soaking through my jeans from the ground. “We have a pregnant woman in labor and distressed in the lower levels. Admins probably scared out of their mind, trapped in their own workplace. Labbies, Henzie and I, who can’t back you guys up if they all come at us. Your guards are split around the building. Something needs to change and apparently, that is by bringing Lombardi in. You agree he needs to be in here, not out there.” I pointed at the ward.

  His jaw tightened, and he nodded.

  “I don’t really understand what will happen if Lombardi gets inside, but I’m trusting you guys. If you say we need him, we need him.”

  “He’s strong,” Alijah whispered, his eyes flickering toward the front gate. “He never shows it, he holds it back, but he’s strong. Stronger than any of us. Even you.”

  “He can be the top dog in the entire world,” I said slowly. “But if he can’t get through a ward to where he needs to be, he’s still just as useless as the rest of us.”

  Alijah winced and nodded. “Too true.”

  “He can’t break that ward.”

  “Neither can you.”

  “If the ward didn’t turn people into dust, I’d have a chance. I’m sure Lombardi would too. But it does just that. We can’t get close enough to break it. For a ward of that length, blood and touch would be needed.”

  “Okay.” Alijah leaned over and pulled me into him, squeezing tightly. “We need Lombardi, but we need you too. Don’t do anything stupid. If you can’t make it, don’t push yourself
. I’ll climb up and see what I can do about the sniper. Don’t move until you know you can make it there.”

  “I will.” I smirked. “And I have my own magic. He won’t notice me.”

  Alijah’s grip tightened, and he kissed my temple.

  “My tiger is about to burn this place to the ground. That’s how much he doesn’t want to leave you right now.”

  “Sounds like he’s a great kitty.”

  He snorted, chuckling softly. “Not a kitty.”

  “Oh, he’s a kitty. He’s very much a kitty. Let’s not argue about it right now.”

  “Afraid you’ll lose the argument?”

  I pulled back and grinned big. “I’ll win. Just ask Rhett. I talked him into circles with a sound argument and everything and by the end, he caved and had no choice but to agree that my behesiff is in fact a kitty. Dwight saw the logic too once I was finished with him.”

  “Oh, I wish I was there. Or maybe not. I don’t think I should ask.”

  “Go.” I pushed him away. “No more stalling, big guy. Go take care of the mean sniper man for me so I don’t get my head blown off.”

  Alijah snarled, his eyes flickering as the orange deepened and the reds flared, making it look like dancing flames in his eyes. “No heads are going to be blown off.”

  “I know.” I patted him and then motioned toward the wall. He moved away, the distance creating a deep ache inside of me. There was a very good chance that this could be the last time we saw each other. Things could go so very wrong. My heart twisted with pain at the thought of him no longer being in my life. That was not an option. I didn’t realize how quickly all my guys became important. The thought of just one of them gone was enough to want me to make this world implode along with myself. There was no room for this world to exist without my men.

  Distracted by those thoughts, I nearly missed watching Alijah scale the wall. He was fast and sure as he pulled himself up, using holds I couldn’t see. His large frame was at the top of the building in less than a minute. Once Alijah was out of sight, I shook out my limbs, trying to calm down.

  Blowing out a long breath, I thought about how to approach this. I was too far away to get Dwight’s attention, and he needed to know what I wanted before I threw the charm. He needed to know he needed to come through.

  I focused on the clothes on my skin and pulled my magic up. A current of tingles ran through my body, and I made sure it stretched through every limb, to the very tip of all my fingers and toes. Then, once I was full and brimming with magic that was excited to be used, I pushed it out just enough to soak into my clothes. I kept the image I wanted and fed it into my magic. Light refraction. Going invisible wasn’t in my repertoire unfortunately. Without the aid of a potion, I couldn’t do it. And I couldn’t move fast enough to give the impression of disappearing.

  Once I was sure my magic was in place and that I’d be unseen if the sniper didn’t look too closely, I stepped out from the bushes and went to the gate. My heart was heavy in my chest as it pounded, each beat to match each step that I took. I felt like there was a target on my back screaming ‘I’m here, shoot me now!’ and my legs shook. I licked my dry lips and kept my focus on Dwight.

  He had stopped pacing and was now staring at the ward where it met the ground. Maybe he was contemplating if he could dig underneath it. Unfortunately, this was the kind of ward that went deep into the ground. He’d have to dig very far down before he’d be able to get around it.

  I glanced up at the building, knowing I needed to show myself so I could play a game of charades to get Dwight to understand what I wanted.

  I didn’t see the sniper, but that didn’t mean much. I had to trust that Alijah was doing his part because we had no way of communicating with each other.

  Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath, my fingers twitching with fear and anticipation. Once I forced my heartbeat to slow down just a little bit more, I opened my eyes, and dropped my magic.

  Dwight froze, Rhett at his side as they stared at me. I gave them a shaky smile and lifted the charm. They zeroed in on it like it held all their answers. It held at least one answer, though I didn’t think it was one they wanted. I pointed at Dwight and then did a come-to-me motion with my hand.

  He nodded. Rhett scowled.

  I didn’t see Davies or Venni, but that was probably for the best. They’d try to come through and there really wasn’t much time to get them all through. Seconds.

  We had seconds.

  I motioned that I was going to throw the charm and where it was going to go.

  Dwight nodded.

  I gave them another smile, hoping it came off as calming. Rhett’s wince told me it was a fail. I probably looked scared out of my mind. No surprise there since I was scared. Glancing at the rooftop once again, I lifted my hand and prayed to Hekate this worked.

  Focusing on the spot where the charm was going to go, I put my weight into it and threw. The leather bag flipped through the air and once it was halfway there, I shoved out some of my magic to spark it. The charm hit the ward just as my magic reached it, and it did what I needed, though not quite how I’d expected.

  It exploded. My eyes widened as the ground rumbled and a hole broke through the ward right where the charm landed. It was just big enough for someone to slip through.

  “Hurry!” I yelled and Dwight dove. Not even a moment later, the ward slammed shut.

  My eyes met with Rhett’s, chest tightening at the pain that filled them. He wanted to come over too, but even his vampire ability wasn’t going to cut it in this case.

  I wanted to say something to him, anything.

  I mouthed, “See you later.”

  His gaze focused on my mouth and I did it again. “See you later.”

  His eyes went to mine and he nodded, his jaw tight. He mouthed back, “Later.”

  Just that simple response made me feel like it was possible. We’d really be reunited once this was all over.

  Dwight pulled me into him as he walked us back to the building. He didn’t let me go, instead carrying me. I didn’t complain, wrapping my arms and legs around him, breathing in his scent. His steadfastness calmed me down.

  “Laila,” he whispered.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” I said into his neck, my lips grazing his skin. He shuddered underneath me.

  “Shit. That was torture.” His grip tightened around me.

  “I know.”

  “I’m going to tear them all to pieces.”

  “Please do.”

  “None of them are going to see the end of this hour.”

  “I’d like that.”

  He finally put me down and looked me over. “Are you okay?”

  I shrugged and glanced at the building. We were still out in the open, about halfway to the building. “Alive, but we do need to go. Alijah should be distracting the sniper but I don’t want to push our luck.”

  There was a soft pop and dirt only inches from my right foot popped up. I spoke too soon. Dwight grabbed my arm, and we broke out into a sprint toward the building. I tried to use my magic, but I was at my limit. It didn’t want to listen to me, not when I couldn’t completely focus as more dirt shot into the air because of the bullets.

  Pain seared through my thigh, feeling like someone took a blowtorch to my skin and then dug their finger into the wound. I whimpered and Dwight swore.

  He pushed his speed even more until we were pressed up against the wall of the building. He jostled me as he changed the way he carried me, and I bit back a scream. Burning heat spread across my thigh, and I tried to breathe through the pain. Apparently, being shot felt like being set on fire. That was not a tidbit of information I’d ever wanted to gain from experience. Tears fell, and I tightened my grip around Dwight. I was too scared to look at my leg. Looking at wounds always made it worse.

  “Hold on,” Dwight said. He glanced up at the building.

  A moment later there was a shout and then something hitting a tree as it crashed to the groun
d. For a moment, I pictured it being Alijah. I bit back a sob and closed my eyes.

  Please, not Alijah. Please, Goddess Hekate, please don’t let it be Alijah.

  “Laila, open your eyes. How bad is it?” Dwight asked.

  I shook my head. “Is it him? Is it Alijah?” I asked.

  Dwight was quiet for a moment and it was the worst moment of my life as my breath froze in my throat.

  “No. It’s the shooter. Alijah got the shooter. Look, he’s climbing down now.”

  Pushing away from Dwight, I glanced up and sobbed in relief when I found Alijah carefully climbing down the building back to us. He moved with ease, every grip and movement sure. Cats always landed on their feet, and Alijah wasn’t an exception.

  “Is she okay?” Alijah asked when he finally reached us.

  “I’ve been shot,” I whispered. My eyes widened as it all clicked in. “Holy shit, I’ve been shot.”

  Dwight’s grip tightened on me. “We need to get her inside and cared for.”

  “Three are guarding the bottom floor.”

  Dwight’s expression hardened as he passed me off to Alijah, who easily took the burden of my weight. “Not anymore.” His voice was deep, his eyes going black.

  Then the next moment, he was Black Dog, his black fur a reflection of the death he was about to dole out. He was massive too, going up to Alijah’s chest. He snarled and then took off with a massive stride toward the front of the building. He smashed through the door, using his strength to get through. Who needed doorknobs when you could just knock a door off its hinges?

  A man screamed inside, and Alijah took that as his cue to go in, still carrying me.

  “We’ll get you help in a moment,” Alijah said.

  I nodded, my head resting against his chest. I was so tired now. With the wards breaking, and my magic being stretched thin, I was at the end. Plus, I’d never really fully recovered from pushing myself on the MBG prototype.

  A few feet from the door was a mangled body, limbs twisted, blood all over, claw marks etched deep into the flesh. Even I smelled the metallic scent. The air quivered with Dwight’s rage, and I was glad that I was not on the other side of his fury. His energy was sharp and painful against my skin. I swallowed bile just as another man screamed out the same moment the witch yelled out a warning. The air was charged with energy and magic, and I knew that the witch wasn’t going to be as easy to take out like the two men were.