by Mary Hughes
Mason rolled up the bay door as they ran for the garage. He disappeared into the shop.
“Which motorcycle?” she panted as she dashed through the door. She headed automatically for the store, but Noah stopped. Anxiety tugged her toward the connecting door, but her mate must have paused for a reason. She quivered in place.
“The only one with a prayer of catching that bike is the Ducati.” He grimaced at the disassembled motorcycle. “Too bad we can’t use it. I tried to fix it but—”
“Hell with that.” She pointed her wand at the pile of engine parts. “Fix!”
Metal pieces flew, clanging together just as Mason ran back in with two helmets. He tossed one to Noah.
“Fix?” Noah stared at her, catching the helmet without looking. “Not overhaulus machinus, or repairum cyclum or something properly esoteric? Fix?”
“It worked.” She dashed to the bike and put a hand on the throttle as she threw one leg over the seat. “I’ll drive.”
“Who’ll fight Burgot? I’ll drive.” He nudged her back on the seat and settled in front of her.
“Can you even operate a motorcycle?”
He glared at her over his broad shoulder. Clamping the clutch, he flipped the key to on. Mason tossed her the second helmet. She was still fastening it as Noah roared out of the garage.
Burgot and his ferret were long gone, but above them, Bram cawed.
“What’s he saying?” she asked Noah.
“I can’t understand him…wait. Yes I can.” There was wonder in his tone. “He’s saying Burgot is headed for the highway.”
“Got it.” She cast a map spell and swept a hologram at Noah’s eye level, a glowing orange line highlighting their shortest path to US 10. “That way.”
Noah poured on the throttle, and it was all Sophia could do to hang on. He zipped along so fast Bram quickly fell behind.
They caught Burgot and his ferret hitting the freeway. The moment the wizard saw them, he started casting spells.
Sophia prepared to block.
But he didn’t cast his magic at them. No, he tossed deadly spells everywhere else, at their bike, at the road in front of their bike—and worse, at random innocent traffic.
Sophia found out how much worse after the ferret zipped a quick pass around an old family station wagon, cutting it close, so close the car had to brake. Noah zoomed after. As she and Noah passed the station wagon, Sophia saw two car seats in back, a baby and toddler strapped in.
With a cackle, Burgot let loose a screaming rocket at the family wagon.
How could he even…? Horrified, she swung a shield in front of the car barely in time, got the angle wrong, and sent the rocket into the roadside grass. Turf burst into flame. Two degrees more and she’d have incinerated a farm.
She had to get off defense and onto offense. Reaching into her memory for her brother’s training, she almost heard him say, “Change up the rhythm of the attacks.” Right. She crammed in a quick blast of power to Burgot’s front wheel.
With a flash of wand, the evil wizard intercepted her power before it struck, and bounced it into a car on the other side of the road. The car wobbled with the hit and started to skid before Sophia pulled it straight with a suction spell.
Inside, she bristled. Twice now, Burgot had used her own damned magic against her.
How could they stop him? Noah was busy keeping them on the road, and if Sophia had to use all her talent to protect the innocents, the few offensive opportunities she had wouldn’t make any difference. If she could have created a big oil slick or something he couldn’t divert…but no, she could just picture the pileup that would cause.
Maybe Rodolphe was right. Maybe she was hampered by her limits. Her conscience.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Burgot glanced back and grinned savagely—and shot an arrow of fire magic into a barn.
The roof exploded in flames, magical tongues dancing from board to board. It would only be a moment before the fire found its way inside and hay would send the thing out of control.
Waving one hand, she filled the air over the roof with water vapor. Slashing the other, she cut a seed spell into the vapor. She had to let go of Noah to do it, but otherwise she wouldn’t be able to do this fast enough.
Dark clouds boiled up and let loose with a downpour. Wind—!
A ramming spell smashed into her. Untethered, she started to topple from the bike. All she could see was the road below, zipping by so fast it was a blur. Her heart leaped into her throat. Hitting pavement would hurt.
Burgot had capitalized on her weakest moment. He was a seasoned battle mage, she wasn’t, and several layers of her skin would pay for it.
Something jerked her back onto the bike. Noah’s hand, fisted in her blouse. He yanked her back up and released her.
Her heart slid back down into her chest. That had been close.
She had to break the stalemate, but how? No oil slicks, Burgot intercepted offensive magic aimed at the bike, and the Hungry Ghost could suck any magic she threw directly at him…
The Hungry Ghost. That ravenous hunger made him scary, like greed, of the seven deadly sins. But like greed, it was also a bad thing. A potential weakness, if she could just figure out how.
The Ghost was never satisfied. Power, magic, he’d always want more.
Even when it was bad for him.
A plan birthed in her mind. If she threw power at him, he wouldn’t shield. In fact, he’d latch onto it, suck it down, and ask for more.
Having felt her heart leap into her throat had inspired her. If she offer Burgot her magic to siphon, then waited until he was drawing as fast as he could with that straw of his throat… She’d used Share Power to share a thread of magic with Jayden, but that was nothing compared to the deluge of a complete Evacuate.
Like going from sipping water from a hose to having the thing shoved down his throat and cranked to full. His straw throat? He’d choke. Maybe burn him out.
Maybe—or maybe not.
Objections started to crowd out her idea. There was no certainty her Evacuate would short him out.
And she’d become irrevocably, forever mundane.
Give up her magic, forever. Damn it all to hell, she’d just gotten it back. Anguish clogged her throat. She nearly wept.
But if we continue like this, disaster will strike sooner or later.
Oh, and news flash. If the Hungry Ghost gets away with the Heart medallion, it’ll be the end of the world as we know it.
She nearly wept—but she breathed instead. Fighting was about breathing. And preparation.
And refusing to lose.
She opened her third eye, reached deep, and targeted the motorcycle ahead of her.
“Blast!” She flung the spell at Burgot.
“Sophia, no!” Noah tried to intercept her magic. The motorcycle wobbled. He grabbed the handlebars to steady it, and her spell shot past them.
“Trust me,” she whispered. His shoulders tensed, hopefully remembering when he’d said the same thing to her. But he didn’t try to block her anymore.
Ahead, Burgot had spun up both a bloody grin and his wand. Touching his robe’s breast first with the wand, he then spun the stick into the air. His vortex whirled into being just as her spell hit. The whirlpool sucked up her blast spell. She’d expected that, but not the hot rush of fear she felt when the seeking hooks flooded out.
She watched the deadly hooks coming and swallowed hard. Refuse to lose. Breathe.
They hit her. She flinched, but managed to breathe them in. She breathed again and let the hooks grab her. Sink in.
It felt like breathing razor blades. Her nose and lungs screamed. Then the hooks swam around her body—and embedded in her brain.
Her head exploded, worse than breaking her head seal. The rest of the cloud came, buzzing. She sucked them in too—and felt like a thousand hornets stung her from the inside. Her bloodstream lit with fire. The hooks sank into every corner of her body, every cell.
J
ayden’s drawing on her power had hurt. This was as excruciating as if her very cells were being hollowed.
Lightning sliced through her brain…and a light went out inside her head.
Trembling, she turned her third eye on herself. Her magic was a fierce ball of rainbow lights surrounding her like a globe. Red fire and yellow earth and green sea and blue sky—and a black pie-shaped wedge like a slice had been removed.
Part of her magic was dead.
She sobbed. And still Burgot drew, his hooks sinking deeper, drinking faster.
Noah reached back for her. “Sophia.”
“No.” She swallowed and gripped his shirt in one hand, hanging on for dear life. “Let me…let me do this.”
He jerked a glance back at her. Whatever he saw made him slow the motorcycle.
“No!” She tried to communicate her need through her clutching fingers. “Must…finish.”
He glanced back again.
His golden eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
He knew. He knew what she was doing, and what it was costing her. And maybe even guessed why she had to do it.
Or maybe he just trusted her. Her heart hiccupped.
Just as another wedge went black. In conjunction, her arms went numb. Another link to her magic, dead. She closed her third eye, not being able to watch. But she felt the progress when her feet went numb then her legs.
Burgot was drawing as hard as he could through that little sniveling straw. Time to finish this.
Fury enveloped her. “You want my power? Choke on it. Evacuate!” With a roar she rammed every last bit of her power into the hooks.
They exploded as the energy hit them, pop-pop-pop. But her power was already roaring toward him like an ocean wave, huge and unstoppable.
The wall of power slammed into Burgot with such force that he lifted from the pillion seat and sailed into the air. He cartwheeled over the head of his familiar on the speeding bike, hitting the pavement with a wet smack. His limp body tumbled a few feet onto the hard shoulder as the ferret went roaring past.
Noah clamped on the handbrake and practically stood on the footbrake. Sophia slammed into his back. She couldn’t feel it. Her body was numb. She tried to open her third eye. Either it didn’t work…or her entire etheric world was now black.
The Ducati stopped inches from Burgot’s still form. Noah kicked the stand and got off.
Sophia’s chest felt empty. Her cells felt hollow. Her muscles wouldn’t hold her. She tried to get off, wobbled—and crumpled onto the pavement.
Noah turned in time to catch her. His gaze flew over her face, her limp limbs. “Oh no, no.” He eased her gently to the pavement as cars zipped past them, the wind buffeting them. She waited for his arms’ healing to take effect. She felt his warmth and support…and emptiness.
Her body was dark. Her magic, her power—the thing that had defined her—was gone.
Ahead, the ferret man hit the brakes. She hardly cared.
Refuse to lose. “Noah.” She flicked her eyes toward the familiar. “You can’t let the ferret rescue Burgot or worse, take your mother’s medallion.”
Noah swung a hand toward the familiar. Without looking, he blasted the cycle. The ferret went ass over teakettle and face-planted on pavement.
She managed a grim smile. “Let’s get your mother’s wolf.” She tried to rise. Noah had to help her. It took everything she had to get her dizziness under control. The sense of emptiness didn’t leave her. She would have cried, but her eyes were too dry from the wind. She settled for fumbling off her helmet. With Noah’s shoulder under her arm, his arm wrapped around her waist, she managed to get to Burgot.
The evil wizard’s chest…rose. And fell. And rose again. She wasn’t sure if she was glad or not.
To Noah, she said, “You’ll have to…” She made a circular motion and pointed at his wrists and ankles.
“Right.” Noah repeated the gesture, and magical zip ties wrapped the evil wizard.
By now Sophia felt as if she could stand on her own. Not that she felt less numb, but she was getting used to it. She lifted her arm from Noah’s shoulder, tottered a moment, then nodded as she found her balance. “You should go restrain the ferret. I’ll find your mother’s medallion.”
“Right.”
She came across the pink rod first, the shifter siphon, in an inner breast pocket. A blue rod lay beside it.
She pulled both rods out and laid them on the pavement. She knew from Rodolphe that the pink siphoned shifter magic from their cells. Burgot had used it plus that tornado spell to try for Noah’s dual magic. Why did he need a blue one…? Oh. The other probably sucked up cast magic. Maybe the blue rod plus the tornado was what had sucked her magic out.
If she hadn’t felt numb, she would have wept.
Burgot woke as Sophia searched him for the medallion. Heart beats for a wolf and a Blue… This was the Heart piece. The fury in the evil wizard’s eyes as she pulled it from an inner pocket was enough to tell her he knew exactly what it was.
As she pulled it out, for an instant, it dangled in front of his face.
He snapped his teeth at it as if he’d eat it—as if he were the Hungry Ghost in fact.
She yanked it away and clasped it to her breast. They locked gazes. Burgot slowly licked his lips.
She swallowed bile and turned away.
Noah returned and plucked up the pink siphon. It dangled from two fingertips as he glared at it, disgust clear on his face. “What do we do with this?”
“Both rods are dangerous. Only a truly wise creature can know what to do. If Kat were here, I’d ask her. As she isn’t…well, without knowing who to trust, we need to keep them away from any mages for now. The medallion, too.”
“Why my medallion?”
“It’s a long story.” She glanced at Burgot, who scowled at her. He seemed to know the medallion was significant, but in case he didn’t know about the prophecy, she’d rather not fill him in. “I’ll tell you later. My cousin Daniel has avoided the Council for months despite being mated to a wolf. Let’s give them to him.”
“A wizard prince mated to a shifter…?” Noah’s disgust at the pink rod cleared to surprise. “Is the wolf named Zoe?”
“Yes.”
“She’s family. Yes, that’s a sound plan. Speaking of wisdom creatures…”
Bram appeared in the sky over them, descending quickly. He transformed midair and touched down on one foot in human form.
“Take these to Zoe Light.” Noah gave the siphons and medallion and instructions to Bram, who leaped into the air, transformed easily to Raven, and flew away with them.
Then Sophia called the Council police to come collect Burgot and his familiar—just before she passed out.
* * *
She regained consciousness to the soothing smell of chamomile tea, patchouli incense, and Aunt Linda’s perfume.
“Are you sure she shouldn’t be in a hospital?” Noah’s deep tones thrummed with concern.
“I’m sure.” That was Jayden’s voice, unpeppered with sarcasm for a change. “Your little witch is very lucky. If she’d been with anyone but you, she’d have been a husk.”
“I don’t understand.” That was Bram. “She’s a witch—or she was a witch. But she’s also a shifter? And my master is both a wolf and a wizard? That’s forbidden. I don’t understand how any of this happened.”
“Some things, young one, are not meant to be understood.” A soothing purr underlay the deep, melodious voice—Mr. Kibbles. “Just accepted and cherished.”
“Shh.” Aunt Linda’s voice sounded nearby. “She’s waking up.” Footsteps shuffled closer.
Sophia’s eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Noah’s face, relief instantly lighting his golden eyes. Auntie stood beaming beside him. Behind them were Mason, Jayden, Bram, and Mr. Kibbles. Everyone except for Noah and Aunt Linda had a cup of tea in their hands.
“Are you feeling better after your little nap?” Aunt Linda said.
Sophia blinked. She lay on a couch in the reading area of the Uncommon Night Owl Bookstore. She did feel a little better. Less empty…or maybe just more used to it now. The thought depressed her.
“Oh my, what’s that grumpy face for? A nice cup of tea will cheer you up. Noah, be a dear and help Sophia sit while I get it?”
“What happened?” She tried to sit up. Noah helped her, easing pillows behind her back.
“Here, dear.” Aunt Linda offered her a cup and saucer. “I’ve started some incense burning, that patchouli Gabriel got me for Christmas. Do you like it?”
Sophia stared at the tea without taking it. So normal. As if Aunt Linda hadn’t disappeared…as if Sophia’s magic hadn’t disappeared too. “Where have you been?” Her gaze rose to her aunt’s. “Didn’t you know I was worried about you? How long does it take to find the reversal for a simple hex?” Which turned out not to be so simple, but that was beside the point.
“Here, dear,” Linda repeated.
“Better take the tea,” Mr. Kibbles said. “She won’t explain anything until you’ve had some.”
“And cookies,” Auntie said. “The Misses Jamies sent over a batch.”
“Oh, well, cookies.” Giving in to the inevitable—Linda was a textile witch, but when she wanted to, she could be as irresistible as the most basic elements—Sophia took her tea. Noah snatched a couple cookies, dropped one on her saucer, sat, and snugged her feet in his lap while he munched the other cookie. Everyone else sat in chairs and on couches arranged in a sort of semicircle around her couch.
She took a perfunctory nibble of cookie. The sweet morsel stung her taste buds awake. Suddenly ravenous, she gobbled the cookie, then two more, and drank down the entire cup of tea. After which she felt stronger, almost herself.
Aunt Linda smirked. “Auntie knows best, dear.”
“Yes, Aunt Linda.” Now that the time for questions had come, Sophia found herself at a loss for words. Am I really mated? tangled with Is my magic gone? The answers might be too much for her to handle.
Noah laid a supportive, warm hand on her thigh.
It helped her to start. Still, she started small. “So Auntie. What’s with the mirror?” She pointed. “Why do you have a malifier in your shop?”
