“Dealt with,” Max said in a strong tone.
The witch tilted his head back up and looked at Max and didn’t appear to need an explanation.
Then the guy returned his attention to me. “You got here just in time. I’m Brian, by the way. Thank you, seer. But you’re injured,” he frowned as he flicked his gaze down my pants. They were now completely covered in blood, and as I’d knelt beside him, I’d left a small smattering of droplets over the floor.
“I’ll be alright. We have to get back to the coven to get you some help. You were out for quite some time.”
“I can make my own way back to the coven. You need to go after the other one.”
“Other one?” both Max and I asked at once.
The guy nodded, a gritty, hard quality to it. “There was another faceless assassin. He’s going after a friend of mine – Jim. I tried to buy my mate some time – tried to lure both assassins away. But that other prick got out of here before you came. He’ll go after Jim. You have to stop him.”
I paled. I felt cold. All over. All through. It wasn’t like I’d been transported into outer space – it was as if my whole body had become outer space with no hope of ever heating up again.
Just when I thought I couldn’t take it, Max reached out, leaned forward, and placed a hand gently on my shoulder.
He didn’t lean in – I didn’t hear the shadow’s rumbling tone by my ear telling me to use my powers.
No – it was just Max.
Brian continued to shoot me a grim look. “The Lonely King sent the assassins. As far as I can tell, he’s ramping up his activities. I’ve been investigating him for Sarah. There’s no doubt that asshole is trying to cast a time spell. And we have to stop him.” On the word we, the guy looked at me directly, and there was absolutely nowhere I could look to ignore his penetrating gaze.
“Where’s Jim?” Max snapped.
“He works in the local university library. He curates their other collection.”
Max nodded, obviously needing no explanation as to what that other collection was.
I doubted it was dirty magazines or comic books. Which just left one possibility – the local university must have an expensive collection of magical books.
Which didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered here was that another faceless assassin was going after this guy’s friend.
And I had to stop him.
… I had no choice, did I?
I’d barely managed to pull myself free from my vision last time. And if I threw myself into another vision, who knew what would happen? Maybe I’d be lost to the future forever.
Max never shifted his hand from my shoulder. “I’ve got this. She’s injured. Take her back to the coven,” Max began.
Brian shook his head. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny vial. It was no longer than his thumb and about as thin as a Biro. Inside was the most luminescent blue liquid I’d ever seen. It looked as if it belonged in a painting.
Max hissed through his teeth. “You sure? Those are pretty expensive.”
“We have to stop the Lonely King.”
I was completely lost. But when Brian shifted forward and handed me the vial, I suddenly realized what was happening.
With that same grim expression crumpling his brow, he nodded at me. “That stuff is purified healing liquid. That one dose applied to your injury should be enough to seal it and kickstart the healing process. It’ll give you the time you need.”
I hadn’t accepted the vial yet, and now I didn’t want to.
“Please,” Brian’s voice dropped down low, “Jim won’t have any time. Seer, you’re the only person who’ll be able to save him and stop the Lonely King.”
Though every scrap of sanity I had told me not to accept that vial and to walk away, I had no option. With a shaking hand, I took it from Brian.
It was surprisingly warm, like I’d just accepted a hot water bottle.
“I’ll help you apply it,” Max offered, leaning in, grabbing it from my palm, and shaking it up before he tore the top off with his teeth.
Max dropped to his knees, and I felt him place a steadying hand on my left hip as he leaned in to access the cut on my upper back thigh.
I wanted to be distracted by his firm grip on my hip, by his soft, gentle touch along my thigh. My body wanted to be distracted, too. Tight, racing tingles escaped up my leg and sank hard into the base of my stomach. But there was only so much they could do. For nothing could distract me from what would happen next. This strange liquid would heal me, then I would be thrust back on the trail of the Lonely King.
I’d never felt more trapped in my life. And considering I was the kind of girl who always chose to run from her troubles, this was the worst thing that could have happened to me.
But it wasn’t over yet. And I couldn’t forget one fact. The Lonely King could still win. My treacherous visions may not be able to save me in the end.
It didn’t take long for Max to finish, and all too soon his tantalizing touch shifted from my hip, and he stood. He corked the vial and threw it back at Brian.
Brian caught it and stowed it in his pocket. He nodded at me, the move tight with warning. “You have to go now. You’re running out of time – all us witches are. Heck, the whole city is. If we’re right, and, honestly, we can’t be wrong, then the Lonely King is trying to gather as many magical hearts as he can for a time spell. We have to stop him. Who knows what he’s trying to bring from the past.”
With that ominous warning, Brian shifted back, pushing out a hand and steadying himself against the wall.
The guy looked like hell and probably felt worse. And yet, he found the power to stand. He nodded at me one more time. “Our lives are in your hands, seer. Good luck.” Brian shifted away, scribbling something on a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to Max. It was the coordinates of the other library.
Then the guy walked out, leaving us alone.
So this was it, ha? Nowhere to go. Either the Lonely King would kill me and rip out my heart for his spell, or the future would consume me whole.
Chapter 6
The other library was all the way across town. Max drove as I sat in the seat beside him, contemplating my future or lack thereof.
Though my thoughts should probably have centered on my own demise, they kept ticking back to Max. Not the shadow – but the apparently real man who sat beside me. It was clear the shadow was using him to get to me. So what would the shadow do to Max once it was done with me? Would it wipe his memory clean this time? Or would it simply dispose of him?
As we drove, Max kept shifting his head to the side, obviously checking up on me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see how concerned he was. “This will be over quickly,” he promised. “We’ll get to that library, save this guy, and I’ll get you home. The other witches can do the rest.”
He was lying, even if he didn’t know it. This would not be over quickly, and the witches would not be able to step up to this fight.
Only I would be able to end this.
I shifted back in my seat, pushing my shoulders as far as I could into the leather until it creaked around me. I closed my eyes.
Instantly, the fireflies were there, begging me, beckoning me. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to follow them. It would wash away the doubt, wouldn’t it? I’d never have to worry, because I would never have to make a decision again.
I’d never been the kind of woman to pick my path and forge ahead. I’d always just kind of vacillated with no real idea what I wanted to do with my life. So maybe it was fitting that this power would decide my future for me. I’d never used my free will, anyway.
Yet, as soon as I thought that, I curled my hands into fists and fought against that conclusion. This wasn’t fitting. Nor was it something I deserved. This was a freaking curse. And there had to be a way – just had to be a way – to fight it.
All at once, I opened my eyes. It was in time to see Max staring a
t me, paying no attention whatsoever to where he drove. For anyone other than a fairy that would have been a seriously bad idea. But Max managed to keep us on the road and out of the ditch despite his break-neck speed.
“Chi,” he began, but he stopped abruptly, clearly having no idea what to say next.
So I got there first. “Max, I know you never want to talk about this, but just this once, answer me. What’s it like losing your memories? How much do you remember? I mean, how come you never forget about me? Or, if you use enough magic, will you forget me?”
Max pressed his lips together in the world’s softest smile. “How could I ever forget you?”
Once upon a time – in fact, not all that long ago – Max had never been anything but defensive and rude towards me. How much he’d changed.
“Why?” I pressed the point, watching him carefully for his reaction.
He only had one hand on the steering wheel, and he took it off as he gripped his chin. Miraculously, the car stayed on the road and didn’t plow into any pedestrians. “Those memories can never leave me. It’s only day-to-day stuff that can be lost by the use of magic.”
I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but I couldn’t. “Isn’t that a little convenient?”
Max swiveled his gaze towards me, obviously trying to judge my expression. “It’s not convenient – it’s just how it is. Plus, my contract with your family could only work if I remembered it and you. I imagine it protects that knowledge, but there’s not that much it can do for the rest of me.”
I nodded. It was a tight move. “How much do you know about that book, anyway?”
“As I’ve already told you – it’s the physical manifestation of the McLane curse,” he said, and the automatic way he spoke sounded as if he were repeating a statement he had rote learned.
I nodded. If Max had been watching me fully, he would have realized it was a forced move. He would also have appreciated that I was staring at him with the intensity of a scientist surveying a specimen.
“Do you have any choice in the matter?” I asked abruptly. “I mean, can you choose to break the contract with the McLanes and go and work for someone else?”
Max had turned from me to face the road, but slowly he returned his full attention to me. “What are you trying to get at?”
The truth, I thought to myself. “I just wondered if you’re like other fairies, that’s all,” I commented quickly. “From what I’ve seen of other fairies – like Dimitri – it seems they have the choice to switch employers whenever they want. It’s been clear from the beginning that you don’t think I’m a match for my grandmother. So I’m just wondering why you chose to stick around?”
He shot me a dark look. Or maybe it wasn’t dark. Maybe it was wounded. “Yeah, maybe to begin with I didn’t think you were a match for your grandmother. But I thought you’d changed?”
I didn’t nod or bother to affirm that statement in any way, I just watched him impassively, always sure to keep an eye on his shadow. “Maybe I have,” I finally conceded, “but I’m more interested in you. Like I said before, do you have any choice in this, Max? Or are you forced to be the McLane bodyguard?”
It was super clear that he hated this line of questioning, and yet, surprisingly, he wasn’t shutting it down with the same efficiency he usually used when he didn’t want to answer something. I watched him grit his teeth with enough tension to crush a bullet into dust. “It doesn’t matter what I want. All that matters is I’m here. And don’t compare me to that bastard, Dimitri – he had no loyalty.”
Max always talked about loyalty, and whenever he did, he would always get the same stiff, righteous look about him.
… The Max from the past had talked about loyalty, too, hadn’t he? Mary McLane had broken his trust, had been disloyal, and she’d paid the price.
“But if you want a real answer,” Max suddenly added, “then… no. I don’t have any choice in the matter.”
Don’t ask me why, but I swore he hadn’t been intending to tell me that. It was a combination of how wide his eyes suddenly flared and how stiff his hands became as they locked on the steering wheel.
I flicked my gaze back to the shadow. Was it just me, or was it weaker for some reason?
It was clear that the shadow could not control Max at every moment. If it could, then Max wouldn’t have just done what he had.
… This meant something, didn’t it? If I could just find the conditions that bolstered Max and protected him from the shadow’s influence, maybe I could save him.
I brought my hands together in my lap and locked my fingers so tightly, I could have pulled my knuckles free from my tendons.
“Why don’t you have any choice in the matter? How come you’re not like an ordinary fairy?” I continued.
Max’s jaw stiffened, and a memorable flare of anger burnt deep in his gaze. As it did, the shadow grew and elongated.
“How many times do I have to tell you? There’s only so much I can remember about my past. Questioning me won’t help.”
That was most definitely the shadow speaking. It wasn’t just the angry tinge to Max’s gaze – it was everything. His tight, defensive tone, the fact his hands locked so tightly around the steering wheel he could have pulled the damn thing off.
I paused, reassessing the situation. What exactly had I done wrong? What exactly had I done to initiate the shadow Max?
As silence filtered between us, Max quickly lost his defensive edge. I heard him sigh heavily as he brought a hand off the wheel and patted it through his hair.
“Thank you,” I suddenly said.
This got his attention. He frowned as he shifted around to face me. “For what?”
“For being here even though you don’t want to be. Thank you for being my magical bodyguard. I may not always be the easiest person to be around.” I laughed abruptly. “Okay, I’m definitely not the easiest person to be around. But thanks for sticking by my side.”
Silence. Dead silence met that sudden comment.
I’d been absolutely honest in what I’d said. This wasn’t some ploy, some game to try to get Max to tell me what he knew. This was me speaking from the heart. And that was a pretty rare occurrence. My life had taught me to keep my heart tucked well and truly within my sternum. Wear your heart on your sleeve, and it will just fall off.
And yet, it worked.
I watched Max take a breath, one that drew his previously tense shoulders down a notch. “You’re right, I’m not an ordinary fairy,” he answered, voice low, small, almost as if he were worried it would carry. But there were only the two of us in the car, so who could it carry to?
… Could… could Max know about the shadow? Could he have a suspicion that there was something occupying him, controlling him?
I may have gotten away with asking the questions I had, but I seriously doubted I’d be able to ask that one. I still didn’t know if the shadow was aware that I’d seen it – that I knew what it was. But I could bet that if I faced it directly, it would push back.
So I had to play things carefully. Play things carefully….
I swallowed. “Max, is there any way to save you?” I suddenly said, and goddamn if it wasn’t the most honest question I’d ever asked.
It took Max a long time to react, because it took Max a long time to turn to face me. I watched as his whole body stiffened in a wave of tension. Yet it wasn’t with anger, wasn’t with hatred.
Just the opposite.
As Max faced me, he did so with a completely unguarded expression. His eyes were so open, I saw flecks of hazel I’d never noticed before. I picked out little wrinkles I’d never seen, sun spots, smile lines. All of it. All because for the first time since I’d met him, Max wasn’t wearing a mask around me.
… And maybe I wasn’t wearing a mask around him, too, because his gaze kept flicking across my face.
Was he reassessing me? Coming to some new conclusion about the lying little witch he’d been forced to work for?
We w
ere having a moment. The kind of moment that stretches and stretches until you realize that time really is an illusion. The kind of moment that opens not just your mind but your heart to new possibilities, to new futures.
I was never someone who’d believed in destiny, despite the fact my entire job was meant to be reading other people’s. For me, you made your own life. To date, I’d been doing a pretty shoddy job of it, but the fact remained that your future was in your hands.
… But how could I reconcile that fact with this – the way my heart was beating so hard, the warm, pleasant tingle spreading through my chest, the expectant energy in my lips? How could I reconcile the fact that Max felt like my destiny when I didn’t believe in destinies at all?
Finally, Max answered. “You can’t save me, Chi. That’s not how this works. I’m here to save you.” His voice was so quiet, it was little more than the tiniest exhale of air.
And yet the effect it had on me was like a battering ram.
My heart skipped a beat.
Max was still looking at me, but it didn’t last. He nodded forward. “We’re here.”
There was no more time to contemplate destinies. For now, it was time to save a life.
Chapter 7
So this was it, ha? We reached the university.
It was downtown, sprawled across a large campus with all sorts of different buildings from different ages. From the little I knew about the university, it had been started some 150 years ago. As it had sprawled, its architecture had changed. There were mottled brown brick buildings from the ‘20s. There was awful brick cladding from the ‘70s, and a few new, modern, gleaming structures that would have cost a packet.
Max pulled the car up to the curb, turned around, kept one hand on the steering wheel, and looked at me.
“There’s no turning back now. We have to get in, find this guy, save him, and get out. You’ll need to use… your powers,” he added.
He’d paused. But the question was, had his hesitation meant anything?
I could question all day, but the fact was, I didn’t have all day, neither did Jim. So, stowing the last of my dread, I got out of the car.
A Lying Witch Book Three Page 6
