Charmed by the Beast: an Adult Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Conduit Series Book 3)

by Conner Kressley

  Tears pricked at my eyes. I wanted to tell myself it wasn’t possible, but I couldn’t believe it anymore. I couldn’t discount the fact everything Charlie and I had ever shared might have been a plot. There was no denying there was a chance he’d only been seducing me to harvest my magic.

  My life was a lie. Had been, anyway. Now I needed to find out the truth.

  Biting back tears, I forced out the words to keep my voice steady. “Do you remember our first date, Charlie?” I asked, moving forward with my bobbing blood sun following me. “I thought you were the cutest thing I had ever seen. You picked me up in that Mustang your dad gave you for graduation, the one with the Black Sabbath bumper sticker.” I swallowed hard, moving into the bedroom and finding it similarly empty. “Do you remember where we went?”

  “Who cares about that?” Charlie’s voice boomed, seeming to reverberate off the walls. “Is that really what you want to ask me right now?”

  I stumbled backward, startled. Quickly though, I steadied myself and solidified my stance, barefoot and all. “Yes, Charlie. It is. I need to know. Do you remember where we went?”

  “I already have the woman, Charisse,” he said, a tremble in his voice. “You really want to waste time reminiscing? Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”

  “We went to the beach,” I said, stepping forward this time. “You threw a blanket on the ground, and we had a picnic. Do you remember that, Charlie?”

  “Of course I remember,” he said, almost casually dismissive. “But it hardly matters now, wouldn’t you say?”

  A light shimmered through the room, and everything changed. The bed was turned onto its side, and dry blood patches splattered along the walls. My adrenaline kicked up, and I scanned the room, seeking out more of the truth beyond the veil of the illusion.

  That was when I saw her. A blonde woman lying on the floor. Her head was bludgeoned, and her skin sallow.

  “She—she’s dead,” I said. I shook my head, stepping back and away from the body. “She didn’t die tonight, did she? She’s been dead for quite some time. Hasn’t she, Charlie?”

  “What can I say?” he asked, appearing in front of me. “I wanted to get you alone.”

  I staggered sideways out of reach, putting my arm out for balance. Energy rushed through me in some sort of preparatory reaction. “Why are you doing this?”

  Charlies sighed. “I figured that would be obvious by now. I’m looking for something.”

  “By killing people?” I asked as gold sparks crackled at my fingertips.

  “Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways,” he said. “And sometimes, the really old ways are the only ways that work.”

  “This isn’t you,” I said. “You aren’t even making sense.”

  “People change, Charisse. The man you knew, I’m not him anymore. Maybe you killed him when you left.”

  “You cheated on me,” I said. As the angry words left my mouth, a gold spark shot toward him.

  Charlie lazily lifted his hand, and it dissipated.

  I clenched my teeth. “This isn’t you, Charlie. What’s really going on?”

  “I told you,” he said with a smug grin. “People change.”

  “That’s interesting,” I said, nodding with a self-satisfied expression of my own. “That’s quite some change, you see, because Charlie and I have never been to a beach together. Our first date was at a steakhouse.” I spread my fingers, letting power run freely through them. “So I’m saying that, whoever you are, it isn’t Charlie.”

  The bravado dropped from his face, his expression turning cold and unaffected. “Pity,” he said. “I was just starting to have fun.”

  He clapped his hands, and a wave of energy blew toward me, but I flinched and threw my hands in front of me, redirecting it back at him.

  His eyes went wide as he was thrown against the wall.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” he said, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. “Let’s see if I can top it.”

  His hands dug into the floor, and a shock of electricity burned my feet. I jolted forward, leaving the ground and floating in midair.

  “You can fly,” Charlie said, his gaze lighting up. He snapped his fingers. The energy sapped from my body, tossing me back to the shock-infused, burning floor. He grinned. “I meant to say, you could fly. But not anymore.”

  I tried to lift myself from the floor again, but it was no use. The burning electric seared against my flesh. “How—?” I whispered, wincing and tensing against the scalding pain. “—did you do that?”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he said, settling above me. “I’ve got moves you’ve never seen before. Too bad you won’t get the chance. I think you would be impressed.”

  Rearing back, he kicked me in the gut. I shot forward, slamming through the window and flinching as it shattered around me.

  A blast of cold air forced its way into my lungs. I gasped as I realized that that meant—I was outside.

  Charlie had kicked me clear out of the window, and I was falling from the fourth floor of an apartment building. I was hurtling face-first toward the ground, and I didn’t have the power to stop myself.

  Chapter 8

  The pavement rushed toward me. I blinked hard, hoping my power might come back. Praying I could snap my fingers and float, instead of plummet, to my landing. There was a time that would have been no problem for me. But that time, of course, was ten seconds ago, before the Charlie impersonator did whatever he did to render me powerless.

  I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see it coming. My impending death was tearing toward me all too fast, but my brain was experiencing it all too slow. My mind was a swirl of faces: Mom. My best friend, Lulu. Her kids. Even Briar and Ramsey over in Grimoult.

  But more than that, more than anything, was Abram. Any moment now, I would smash against the pavement at his feet. He would stand over me, not a week after he had just saved me from taking a header off an island cliff, knowing that—in a different world—he could have saved me again.

  He would blame himself. Of course he would. Because of it, he’d spend the rest of his life sulking in the shadows, keeping himself a prisoner in a constant state of mourning.

  That was strange. Of all the things that coursed through my mind in the moments before I was to hit the ground, none of them was about me.

  Maybe the self-involved model who went rushing from one party to the next in six-hundred-dollar heels was gone now. Or maybe it was because my life finally meant something.

  In the back of my mind, nestled inside a love of fashion and excess, was the piece of me that wanted to make something of myself. It had always been there, drowned in perfume and star-struck adoration. But something about being with Abram brought it to the forefront. I was more me when I was with him, more the person I knew I could, and wanted to, be.

  There was no forgetting that we saved not only ourselves on those trying and fateful missions, we also saved the world too.

  I mattered. What I did mattered. And even if I died now, that at least brought me peace.

  Of course, it didn’t bring me salvation.

  It was strange how long I had been falling. How hadn’t I hit the pavement yet? Was I already dead?

  When I couldn’t take it another second, I opened my eyes to see that my procession toward the ground had noticeably slowed. But how? It wasn’t my magic.

  Nearly to the ground now, my body tipped, and then my feet gently touched down on the pavement. I glanced around until my gaze landed on a bruised and beaten Satina off in the distance.

  “Thank God,” I exclaimed, looking upward.

  “Thank him another time,” Abram said, coming toward me. “What happened?”

  “Charlie happened,” I said. “Or not Charlie. I’m not sure yet. He was in that apartment, but the girl he threatened to kill has been dead for days now, maybe weeks.” I shook my head, trying to catch my breath. “He did something to me, and now my powers don’t work.”

  �
�It’s just a low-level binding,” Satina said, nearing us. Up close, she looked even more tired than she had before. Droplets of blood, my blood certainly, sat across her fingers. “By the way, you owe me your life. You know I despise saving people.”

  This was true. Satina often gave guidance, but it’d always been Abram and me doing the actual saving.

  Suddenly, being alive felt kind of lame. “Well, thanks for saving me. Now, how do I save myself the next time?”

  “Protect your mind,” Satina said. “No one can actually remove your abilities, but if they fog over your mind, it will stop you from being able to access them. It’ll fade soon.”

  The scowl on Abram’s face was more horrifying than the beast he used to be. “Where is he?” he asked, his jaw set.

  “I’m not sure.” I shook my head. “He was in the room, but he could be anywhere by now. Should we do another locating spell?”

  “There’s no time for that.” Abram grabbed my hand. “Your blood healed the man I shot, but apparently, you can’t just shoot someone on a crowded city street without people calling the police.”

  That would explain the sirens in the distance.

  Satina rolled her eyes. “Who’d have thought?”

  Abram pulled me forward. “We need to get out of here. Fast.”

  I held steady, my barefoot heels digging into the ground beneath me. “No way. We have to find Charlie. You should have seen what he did to that woman. We have to put a stop to this.” I let go of Abram’s hand and stepped back. “You should go, though. The police aren’t looking for us. Satina and I will stay here and locate Charlie.”

  Abram stepped toward me. “Not a chance in hell,” he growled, and I knew better than to think I was going to get anywhere with him. Still, I had to try.

  “You won’t be any good to us in a jail cell.”

  “I won’t be any good to anyone running away from this, either. I might not have my powers anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t protect you.”

  Satina clicked her tongue, her gaze trailing up the side of the building. “While I probably disagree with that, I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue.”

  Following where her stare fixated, I saw Charlie standing on the roof of the building. His heels hung off the side, and he smiled down at us. He reached his hand out, spreading his fingers wide.

  “What’s he doing?” I asked.

  Satina raised her eyebrows. “Calling for us.”

  Charlie pulled his hand back toward him, and the three of us levitated up from the ground, rushing toward him like yo-yos on strings.

  For the second time in as many minutes, I found myself flying through the air. I held my breath, unsure of where I was going to land.

  As the three of us crashed onto the garden rooftop of the apartment building, I sighed with relief. Then panicked as I realized what all of New York City had just witnessed. After muttering a quick spell to erase the last few minutes from the minds of any bystanders, I let myself relax completely. A little. Ah, who was I kidding? I was still freaking the eff out.

  But at least whatever Charlie was going to do didn’t involve killing us by repeatedly pounding our bodies against the rooftop. At least we had that. Although, I had to wonder why he left me alive when he’d just tried to kill me moments earlier. Had my survival somehow changed his plans for me?

  I wobbled, but Abram was already beside me, steadying me as I got to my feet. Satina glared at Charlie as she settled beside us.

  Charlie, for his part, tapped his foot a few feet away from us, grinning like an idiot.

  Abram stepped in front of me as if he could do anything other than get himself killed. “What do you want, Charlie?”

  “That’s not Charlie,” I said. I wasn’t entirely sure before, but I was now. It was in his eyes, in the feral wildness that danced around them. If Charlie was in there, he definitely wasn’t in the driver’s seat.

  “I don’t care who it is,” Abram growled. “He’s about to get taught a lesson.”

  Charlie chuckled. “And how do you figure that? Two thirds of you don’t have enough magic to power a child’s birthday party.”

  He was right, but only barely. While Abram’s powers seemed to be permanently on the fritz, I could already feel my own magical energy building back up. Of course, there was no need to let him know that. Better for me to pretend to be a damsel in distress until I was powered up enough to put him on his ass.

  Satina cracked her knuckles. “It’s the other third you should be worried about, asshole.” When she waved her hand, a hole opened under Charlie’s feet.

  But the bastard just levitated over the damn thing.

  “Did you see that on an episode of Bewitched?” Charlie grinned. “Or Sabrina the Teenage Witch?”

  That’s it. Just float there all smug and indifferent. Make your jokes while my energy builds.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on pulling the last of my power from the pit of my stomach. “Hey, asshole!” I said when I was sure I had enough magic to do some real harm. “I saw this on I Dream of Jeannie!”

  I hadn’t. In truth, I had no idea what form the energy was going to take. Magic was weird like that when it came to me. But when I did see it take shape, I realized that what happened was way too dark for a show from the sixties.

  Bats flapped around Charlie by the dozen. Their red eyes glinted as they attacked him with wings and fangs as he swiped fruitlessly at them. Their screeches lit up the night sky, eclipsed only by the sound of Charlie’s yelp as he lowered to the rooftop.

  They didn’t stop, though. The bats swirled around him, a tornado of darkness and fur.

  My mouth fell open. I had done this. I was capable of this. And, as blood dotted along Charlie’s face, neck, and arms, I wondered just what type of darkness lurked within me.

  “Enough!” Charlie screamed.

  A flash, bright blue and horrible, shot out of him. My bats disintegrated into puffs of nothingness. Energy crackled around Charlie as he glared at us, all pretense of playing around dropped from his expression.

  “This foolishness ends tonight,” he nearly roared. “It ends with all of you.”

  Satina rushed in front of me, stretching her hands wide and gathering wind before her. Perhaps it was meant to form a barrier. Maybe she was going to use it to try to blow Charlie off the roof.

  I would never know because, without even blinking, he called down a bolt of lightning, which struck where she stood.

  Heat rushed off her in terrifying blankets, and I bent toward her. “My God, Satina!”

  She was still conscious, but barely.

  “Which one of you is next?” Charlie asked, floating again. This time, toward us.

  “Get out of here, Abram,” I screamed.

  He looked right at Charlie. “Not a chance.”

  “Go,” I yelled, panic filling my throat. “He’ll kill you!”

  Charlie was nearly on top of us now, blue energy flickering through his eyes. “Oh, Charisse. It doesn’t matter if he runs. I’m going to kill him anyway.”

  “Abram, run,” I yelled, but he didn’t move. “If you love me, you’ll run!”

  “I do love you,” he said, his eyes moving from Charlie to me. “That’s why I can’t run.”

  “Good man,” Charlie said, contorting his hand. “I admire that. Besides, running won’t save you.”

  Abram lifted off the ground, his body going rigid.

  I jumped to my feet to go after Abram, but Satina grabbed my ankle, muttering something I couldn’t hear. As I tried to pull away, she grabbed me even tighter.

  “Drain…him,” she muttered.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, getting closer. “You said yourself I can’t just take a Conduit’s powers away.”

  “I said he couldn’t,” she whispered. “But you…are…different. He doesn’t have your blood. Something else must be powering him. Draw it out.” She swallowed hard. “The same way you did with Ameena. Otherwise, he�
�s going to kill Abram.”

  I looked up. She was right. Abram was twisted in an unnatural position, several of his bones already undoubtedly broken. His mouth was pressed closed, his jaw held tight. If I knew Abram, he wouldn’t scream. He wouldn’t give Charlie the satisfaction.

  I held my hands out and tried to draw on the energy surrounding Charlie. At first, there was nothing at all, but I pushed past that. There had to be something there. That was when I hit it. Some kind of magical wall. The kind of magical wall I needed to put up to block myself from him.

  I drew that magic out first, taking his wall and making it my own. Then I pushed forward more, into his actual source. A flood of power sent me stumbling back, but I steadied myself. Abram needed me.

  Sending my magic barreling into him, I searched for the Supplicant blood that was almost certainly running his little parlor tricks.

  But I didn’t find any.

  What I did find, however, was something much more curious.

  As I tapped into the energy—his dark, twisted energy—the entire scene before me fell away. Power coursed through me with an ambience that was sticky and tar-like. There was no world anymore. No sun or moon, nor a universe to house them. There was only me, the darkness, and two sets of glowing green eyes floating in the black.

  These eyes didn’t blink. They didn’t move. They just sat stalwart, staring at me, judging me. And though no words accompanied them, I knew they found me lacking.

  When I screamed, the world went back to normal.

  I was on my knees, rocking back and forth on the rooftop.

  “I couldn’t…” I said to myself. “I couldn’t do it.”

  “You did do it.” Abram was over me, his hand brushing through my hair. He was healed. Satina must have done it. But how long was I gone for?

  “Ch-Charlie,” I murmured.

  “You stopped him,” Abram said. “Look.” He motioned forward, and I saw Charlie lying flat on his back. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open.

  “Is he…?” I started, but terror stopped me from finishing the sentence.