Hells Magic (The Armistice Book 1)

by Leslie Vatenar

  I saw all the blood and limbs from people who greeted me earlier in the day scattered on the floor. Their smiles had turned into screams of horror; their lives had been taken away from them. And despite Liam’s heartwarming words, I felt downhearted. I cried my eyes out; I trembled when I had to be strong for Alice, for mages, for me.

  After several long minutes, I calmed down long enough to tell Liam that I needed to be alone.

  “Katy, I can stay with you. I don’t mind; if you need me, I’m here.”

  My heart tightened. We had just met. How could he be so compassionate? It was greatly appreciated, but I felt I would resume my crying session and the second session wouldn’t be much better compared to the first. Every time I blinked I saw chaos, I saw Alice covered in blood. My brain was yelling at me that I had to fight and yet it was also yelling at me that the situation was all too overwhelming.

  “No, I’m good, Liam, give me a few minutes,” I said between sobs.

  And two unsexy sniffs.

  He hugged me as well as he could, for at that moment I was an enormous ball made of 90% blankets. The last thing I needed was for him to leave, but I couldn’t add to my vulnerability. I was pathetic enough.

  “As you wish.”

  I waited a few minutes for him to leave, and I started shaking again. “What am I going to do?” was the question I asked myself every second. How was I supposed to handle this? Hells soldiers after me. The danger personified with his friendly sidekick as only allies against the evil incarnate. And in the middle of it all, me. The lost young woman who was there in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  I wasn’t a warrior who saw blood and death every day. I was living a normal life at Alice’s palace. I had the right to stay in the palace because my parents, who worked for Alice, had asked for it, knowing they would often be absent. Living in the palace and being the queen’s best friend were the only unusual things in my life. These last few days had been an unprecedented nightmare. The mission entrusted to me was clearly beyond my capabilities, but I’d do anything to save our people and I refused to give up.

  Amid my panic, I felt surrounded and caressed by a magical air. I felt a breeze of sea air under the covers. When I closed my eyes, I could smell the sea air, I could hear the waves, and I could feel the peace of the wonders of the earth. I could feel the waves on my skin, the sand under my feet. I dwelled on every detail, on every sensation, and, finally, I calmed down.

  A seaside sunset replaced Alice’s face. My sobs dwindled. My heart stopped its marathon and a feeling of peace and calm took hold of me. I took the covers off me and got up, looking for the source of that bewitchment.

  I could only see Jayden’s back, which was moving away from the room discreetly. I lay down, enjoying this brief moment of peace that had been offered to me. Why did he do that? Why did he help me? I didn’t know, but I thanked him in my heart.

  CHAPTER 12

  I woke up for the second time. After the previous night’s horrible nightmare, after Jayden brought peace to me, a different dream had warmed my heart. As if his power had remained etched in me, I had dreamed that I was introducing Jayden to Alice as my boyfriend and she accepted him with intense joy. A joy that still lingered when I woke up.

  Well, a woman could dream. The Jayden in my dream had the intelligence and beauty as in real life, but he was much warmer. He’d talk to me for hours and I’d laugh at his jokes. Sometimes I had this amazing gift of dreaming of the opposite of what was happening in my life.

  Thanks to this dream, I had woken up in peace. A few hours before, I was clearly not. I remembered the night before, lifeless bodies littering the ground, guards who caught fire in an instant before my eyes.

  I also remembered the way Jayden had protected me. At every moment, he’d protected me from Malik’s guards, from the Hells soldiers and even from the horror of the massacre. I kept these episodes in my memory, erasing everything else, for it was the only thing that could stop me from losing my mind.

  I took a long, well-deserved shower and went into the kitchen. Liam was sitting at the table. He was eating cereal while Jayden warmed milk on the stove, shirtless. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

  “You’re feeling better?” Liam asked me, genuinely worried.

  We were protected from an attack by the Hells soldiers thanks to the flower, so we could go to the Armistice and stop Craid. Part of the work was done, and I’d had a beautiful dream that laboriously overshadowed the puzzling nightmare I’d had just before.

  I needed to know how to take advantage of minor victories. Well, I had to because otherwise I would cry because of the horrors I’d seen, and this solution wasn’t conceivable. Not now anyway.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “You always sleep well when you dream of me.”

  I lost my smile. The bastard had dared. I sent the water from my glass into his face without notice.

  Liam burst out laughing behind me. “Oh! Katy, it was a real pleasure knowing you.”

  Jayden still hadn’t moved. He looked coldly at the water dripping from his beautiful face and bare torso.

  Sexy.

  I understood right away what I’d just done, but I tried to remain confident.

  “You see that,” I said, pointing at my head with my index finger. “No-go zone! You don’t get in my head anymore.”

  And… he laughed. “I didn’t go into your head.” He smirked.

  Oh, no, no, no, I’d played myself. He’d simply been arrogant and teasing, and I thought he’d gone into my head. I put my hand to my mouth. Oh, the blunder.

  “So, you dreamed of me. Tell me, what role did I have?” he drawled, his smile devastating and smug.

  My heart maintained a sped-up rhythm as I remembered his closeness in my dream. Under no circumstances was he to see that if he spied on my thoughts. But as I tried to contain my thoughts, I forgot to answer and his speech became dangerously precise.

  “An important role then. Who was I? An interesting stranger? A close friend?”

  His questions were getting closer and closer to the truth.

  “A best friend? No, even in a dream I can’t enter the friend zone.”

  May someone burst his bubble! Although it was totally justified.

  “Then I’d say a lover.”

  My body stiffened, and his smile grew. His gaze swept over my body and unreal warmth kissed me. My heart stopped as he gloated over the effect he had on me.

  This man was sin on legs, it was impossible to resist.

  “It was your stupid magic that bewitched me!” I blamed.

  “My magic has only soothed you. That’s all. The rest comes from you,” he said with a satisfied smile.

  There was nothing more I could say. I had both feet in the quicksand; the more I struggled the deeper I went.

  “Thank you for last night anyway.”

  He lost his smile and looked down with a frown. “You’ve already told me, which isn’t supposed to be possible.”“What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that you can send me your thoughts. Or that I can feel your deepest feelings unintentionally. You lowered your mental barriers, not me.”

  His eyes widened as if he had just realized something and his gaze came up to me. “Can you also read my thoughts?”

  I tried to get into his mind, but his mental barriers pushed me away.

  “No, your mental barriers are in place.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” he said with a grimace.

  I thought about what he was talking about. He was right, this couldn’t be possible. The link should have been one-sided. He could do anything in my mind, but I shouldn’t have been able to reach him. Allowing someone to enter one’s mind was a pact with the devil if the other person didn’t return the courtesy.

  The memory of an event came back to me.

  “While you were reliving the scene at the Armistice, something happ
ened with our minds. Mine touched yours.”

  “During a moment of weakness,” he whispered.

  I looked at him, intrigued. He confirmed what I’d thought during the merger of our minds. He had been deeply affected by what had happened at the Armistice.

  He grimaced. “A breach has been created.”

  “I cannot reach your mind if that is what you’re concerned about. And I don’t feel your emotions. I’ll find a way to keep mine from you.”

  He studied me silently. Now I’d have liked to know what he was thinking.

  “We’d better go,” he finally replied.

  CHAPTER 13

  We hit the road in the afternoon, heading for the Armistice. And surprise of the day? Liam was arguing with Jayden. I sighed. It seemed like those two always disagreed, for the most important things and the most mundane things. Just then, they were bickering over the absence or presence of music. Jayden wanted calm and Liam demanded music in the car.

  “Turn on that fucking radio, Jay!”

  “I don’t want to. For once in your life, enjoy the quiet. Concentrate.”

  “Concentrating means assessing our failure fate in this mission or thinking about the past, which isn’t much better. Music distracts me from my own thoughts. So, please turn on the radio.”

  “The noise you listen to isn’t music to begin with.”

  “Jayden, I swear to you, if you talk bad about my electronic music, we’ll have a bigger problem than Craid,” Liam said through gritted teeth.

  Before it got out of order, I stepped in.

  “Have you two ever shared the same opinion?”

  The two supernaturals really seemed to think about my question.

  “At war, we agree on who to kill,” Jayden replied.

  “What fantastic common ground,” I said wryly.

  “Rather useful indeed,” he said, without grasping the irony.

  The car fell into a pleasant silence. I was looking at the cars to my right. The silence didn’t last long.

  “Okay, you had your moment of silence. The radio now.”

  “Liam, you’ll have plenty of time to listen to the cries of your victims at the Armistice. It’ll be the same as your electronic music.”

  Liam gasped, and I tried to stifle my laugh. He reacted as if Jayden had just spoiled him on his favorite show.

  “Katy, choose your side well. He who laughs last laughs best.”

  “Liam, I have no side. Without or with music, nothing bothers me.”

  But I felt bad when I heard his desperate sigh.

  “But I think we can share. Jayden has had his moment of silence; Liam may have his moment of music now.”

  Jayden turned to me, frowning. I shrugged.

  “Listen to the voice of reason, Jayden,” Liam whispered.

  “The voice of reason? What is it?”

  “You know that sweet, feminine voice you never listen to. That voice that always says to you, ‘Don’t do that, do that,’ and to whom you always answer, ‘Shut up!’”

  “Oh, that voice. I’m surprised you describe your voice as sweet and feminine, Liam.”

  “Very funny, Jay.”

  Jayden and I were laughing in the front of the car while Liam was still sneering. But in the rearview mirror, I saw a brief smile on his face. Eventually, Jayden turned on the radio and put on some electronic music for Liam. He danced and sang, as happy as a kid on Christmas morning.

  We had agreed a few minutes of music then a few minutes of silence for Jayden. But once the music started, it seemed Jayden didn’t have the heart to stop his friend. I embraced this moment, knowing full well that this might be the last moment of pure joy the three of us would have.

  I looked in the rearview mirror at an excited Liam. Then my gaze landed on Jayden. He was focused on the road, totally over the speed limit by the way. He was definitely attracted to speed. He seemed both focused and concerned. Something seemed to torment him, but I had no idea what. There was a significant contrast between the two characters. Liam was expressive, full of life, and Jayden was reserved. No doubt he appreciated the silence.

  When he turned to me with a questioning look, I realized that I’d been staring at him for some time trying to guess what might be going on in his head. I dodged his gaze, lowering mine. Big mistake. His impressive biceps, molded by a black jacket over a T-shirt of the same color, reminded me of his bare torso and his abs wet with water. My brain formed a whole new image. Involving our two bodies against each other. My hands against his torso. His mouth against my neck.

  I turned my head toward the road. Oh, that was bad. Biceps I’d already seen, they were an asset in a man’s body, but never had my thoughts drifted so fast just glancing at a man’s biceps.

  His gaze still rested on me. I pointed to the road with my index finger to tell him what he should look at.

  “Princess, I can assure you we won’t die of a car accident.”

  “What do you know?”

  “I’m a very good driver.”

  But my brain had stopped at my last question: “What do you know?” Actually, I knew someone who knew. Who knew a lot. Alice often called on him when she had to make a radical decision. He was a powerful seer, he might tell us what was to come with Craid, so we wouldn’t show up at the Armistice like, “Good evening, we came to save the world,” and, in the end, be slaughtered by Craid.

  “I have to see someone.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Four hours later, there we were. In front of the home of Maurice Grandson, one of the best seers that could exist. An excellent friend to Alice. The closer we got to the Armistice, the more I thought about it. I hoped that she was somewhere safe, that she had run away. I comforted myself in this thought, but I knew it was unlikely. Running away wasn’t in her genes. She was a fighter willing to do anything for her people. She believed in the purity of every mage, in redemption, in the goodness of each, regardless of the supernatural.

  I got out of the car and went to knock on the door. Maurice’s home was also a library. The first floor served half as an apartment and half as a small library. The most impressive was the second floor, where the most important books that existed were. They held the darkest secrets of history, from great spells to contact the dead to the most bizarre historical murders orchestrated by mages and other supernaturals.

  Magic revolved around feeling. Being one with oneself and one’s power, that was magic. But to get some results, you had to have certain conditions. Nature was a powerful ally, its energy was unrivaled. A full moon or a sacrifice could triple the power of a supernatural. And the books contained the secrets of these requirements.

  Conspiracy wars between humans and supernaturals, everything was transcribed. Maurice had access to everything. But to get access to those books, one had to get up early. He lived in the library with the consent of the Order who felt that it needed a powerful and dedicated guardian. Maurice would have died to protect his books. Literally. He was magically connected to them. If he died, bye-bye books of knowledge, we’d find ashes.

  Maurice opened the door after three knocks, dressed in his alb like a priest. He had small brown eyes and a big nose. He was a few years older than me, but a thick beard aged him.

  His face lit up when he saw me, but he soon lost his spirit when he realized that Alice wasn’t with me. He frowned as he analyzed Liam.

  “Come on in,” he said coldly as he walked aside to let us in.

  “Do we have to? I mean we can chat outside,” Liam whispered in my ear.

  “What? What’s the problem?”

  “The problem? This guy lives in a library. It only shocks me?”

  When Liam took his first step into the house, his face fell. “Oh fuck. My worst nightmare.”

  His gaze swept over the thousands of books that surrounded us. An ambient brown color brought the age of this place out.

  “Katy! I apologize for my behavior. I’m so happy to see y
ou. It’s just that… if she isn’t here with you…” He shook his head and invited us to sit down.

  “Has he already started, Maurice?”

  “Who?”

  Liam scanned his surroundings, distracting Maurice, who had already spotted that Liam wasn’t a reader. Which bothered him. He loved children eager to know and didn’t get along with those who rejected the most beautiful medium of knowing, according to him.

  “Craid,” I replied.

  “Who is Craid? Should I serve you tea, Katy?”

  What was happening to him? He seemed totally out of it. I hated tea. And he avoided my questions. A man couldn’t have attacked the Armistice without Maurice knowing. He had visions that informed him of the most serious events, not before they occurred but often at the time when they occurred.

  So why was he pretending he knew nothing? I eyed the place and the surrounding magical essences. There was nothing. Liam and Jayden lay low and the only magic essence present here was that of the books releasing a unique magical fragrance. A mixture of black magic and white magic.

  Maurice kept looking at Liam. An explanation, though far-fetched, popped into my mind. Perhaps it wasn’t Liam who made him uncomfortable. Not once had he looked at Jayden.

  “No thanks. What about you, Jayden?” I turned to him and placed a hand on his thigh.

  Jayden gazed at my hand on his thigh. A micro-expression of confusion passed over his face. In the corner of my eye, I saw Maurice tenser than ever, eyes resting on my hand. My hand on Jayden’s thigh had become the most horrifying thing on the planet. Maurice looked at it as if it had caught fire, but it was Jayden’s gaze that set me ablaze.

  He stared at me as if he could decipher the depths of my soul that I didn’t know myself. The shadow of a smile spread across his face, but I was sure I was the only one to see it. My idea had backfired, but I had my answer. Maurice didn’t appreciate Jayden’s presence. So, what was it? Fear? Mistrust? Distrust?