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

by Conner Kressley

  “And that would mean you don’t have to kill Charlie,” he finished. “It’s a smart move, given how thoroughly backed against a wall we are.”

  “I need you to find Satina and the others. Make sure they’re okay.” Every sentence came out with more confidence than the last. Abram trusted me to handle this. Or felt we had no other choice. This was either really good or really bad. “I’ll find you. I’ll meet you at the hotel. And when I do, we’ll have one less lunatic to worry about.”

  I grabbed the slipper and felt its power surge through me. “It’s time to end this.”

  * * *

  As I made my way through the city toward where the magic told me Edwin would be hiding, I couldn’t shake the conversation I had just had.

  Abram wasn’t acting like himself. For him to just allow me to do this, to dictate the rules when the stakes were this high, it just didn’t mesh with the man I knew.

  What if he wasn’t being supportive? What if he was up to something?

  Then again, if he were, it would only be for the best of reasons—at least in his mind. But surely, he wouldn’t keep things from me. We were past that. I hated myself for even doubting it.

  Then again, I’d kept things from him, too. Back in Grimoult. If he was up to something, I had to trust him and hope that whatever it was would be a boon for us and not a liability. The last thing I needed was for Abram to put himself in danger trying to save me.

  That was my job.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. In a lot of ways, that shook me more than the slipper’s energy ever could. Who could this be? What sort of news was on the other end of the line?

  Looking down, I saw that it was Ramsey and rushed to answer. “Thank God,” I blustered. “I didn’t know what had happened. Abram is looking for you guys now.”

  “What are you talking about, looking for us? I’m alone. And why would Abram be looking for us anyway?” he asked. “Has something happened?”

  My heart fell. “What do you mean by you’re alone?”

  “I had to run out of town to pick up some supplies. Who’d have figured that the greatest city on the face of the planet wouldn’t have Rathbone root and eagle liver?”

  I thought about asking him what kind of magical mumbo jumbo he had planned for those ingredients, but we had bigger problems. “So you don’t know what happened to the others?”

  “They were fine when I left,” he said. “A little on edge, which is understandable given what we’re going through, but that’s all. Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”

  “No,” I said, sharper than I intended. I took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone. “No, that’s okay, really. You’re not the only one with an errand to run.” I steeled myself. “I have the slipper. If my magic is right, I’m about a minute and a half away from Satina’s father. I’m taking him out.”

  “Think of the bond,” he said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “If you’re holding the slipper, that means you’ve bonded with it. It’ll do as you wish. It just has to believe you value it. So think of the bond, and then extend that bond to Satina’s father. The slipper is powerful, but it serves one master at a time. As soon as it comes in contact with a former master, it’ll strip it from him and give it to you. But be careful. In the moments that you’re connected, Satina’s father will have access to your power, too. And if things get intense, he’ll have access to your blood.”

  “My blood?” I balked, moving down to the subway station, the place the slipper was taking me.

  “Blood is your energy source. It’s what the slipper draws from and augments. It’ll all be connected, Char. So, if you want to do this, just keep that in mind. Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”

  “I’m sure,” I confirmed, walking down steps that seemed eerily empty. “Just get to the hotel. Abram and I are supposed to meet there when we’re through. And Ramsey?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful.”

  “Look who’s talking,” he quipped, and he hung up the phone.

  By the time I made it to the platform, where the pull was the strongest, I knew something was up. I had lived in New York long enough to know that the subway was never this empty, not even at night.

  But right now, it was completely bare, save for a solitary man.

  “Get up,” I yelled at the old man. Dressed in rags and covered with a newspaper as a sheet, he glared up at me. But I wasn’t fooled. “And take off that glamour!”

  I waved my hand, and the energy surrounding him faded. The old man transformed into Edwin, and he hopped up, scowling.

  “I was going to give you the night off,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Who said I wanted it?” I let the energy from the slipper crackle around me. It was a statement. The tables had turned now. I was in charge.

  “That belongs to me,” he said, eyeing the slipper.

  “Come closer. I’ll return it,” I said, shooting out energy.

  Edwin clapped his hands together and disappeared. But I knew better. Ramsey told me about these warlocks. For all the show, they couldn’t move quicker than the speed of flight. And I wasn’t about to let this bastard fly out of here.

  I sent out a pulse of energy from the slipper, and Edwin reappeared, falling to the floor and smacking hard against the concrete. “Not so fast.” I moved toward him in a flash. “I’m not done with you.”

  He tried to move, but I was too quick.

  Think about the connection.

  I let the truth of things rest on my mind. When I was learning to use my powers, I had to let my emotions take over. This was no different.

  I let it all go—let the slipper take control. And once I did that, the stupid thing handed control right back to me.

  No,” Satina’s father screamed when he saw what I was about to do. But he couldn’t stop it. No one on Earth could stop it.

  I slammed the slipper into his chest.

  His body convulsed. Surely, he thought he was about to be electrocuted. But I wanted more than that. I wanted him to suffer for what he had done, for what he wanted to do.

  I let the connection spread to Edwin, grinning as I felt the slipper pull the energy from him. It was so much. It was so strong.

  I held tight, choking up on the slipper.

  But, as fervent as I was, I forgot one thing.

  Too bad Edwin didn’t.

  His eyes flickered open. Just as I remembered what Ramsey said about my blood, I felt it.

  Edwin pushed the slipper back, hard, twisting the heel toward me. It pierced my skin, jutting into my chest.

  Blood—my blood, my source of magic—poured down the staff, falling onto Edwin.

  I could feel it powering him. I could feel it leaving me. Worse than that, I could feel the slipper fleeing to a more capable master.

  I fell to the floor as blood continued to rush out of me. “No!” I screamed, and I gave a final push.

  With all the energy I could muster, I forced the power of the slipper into Edwin. He shrieked as it overpowered him, knocking him out.

  I had him now. I could feel the slipper. I could feel Edwin under my grasp.

  But I could also feel myself dying, and that was the strongest sensation of all.

  Chapter 27

  I struggled for breath, feeling everything about myself spilling out with my blood. Edwin was unconscious and not getting up anytime soon, but what would that matter if I were dead?

  Right now, I had to focus on what seemed like an impossible task: getting Edwin back to the hotel before the slipper’s effect wore off.

  If anyone could stop him, it was me. Problem was, I wasn’t sure anyone could stop him. I couldn’t let that deter me, though. If I failed, what hope would the rest of them have? What hope would the other women have? For that matter, what hope would the world have?

  These were heavy questions—questions too serious for a has-been model from Connecticut. But I wasn’t just a has-been model. I was some
thing more. Much more. I was a Conduit. I was a Supplicant. I was something badass and threatening enough to strike fear into the hearts of gods. And I was a woman in love, which might have been the most powerful thing of all.

  I couldn’t let this stop me. I wouldn’t. I would fight through to the end. For Abram, for the others, for the world, and for myself.

  I deserved a life, damn it. I deserved to live and be happy, just like everybody else. And I wouldn’t let anybody take that away from me without a fight. Even if that fight was to the death.

  Pulling myself up, I tried to gather some of the energy I had always used to heal myself before. But it was gone. It had drained out with the blood, with the rest of my power.

  If I was going to heal, it wasn’t going to be by my own hand. Not this time.

  So I pulled open my phone and called the only person I knew to call—the only one who knew enough about this sort of thing to be of any use. I quick-dialed Ramsey and brought him up to speed in as few words as absolutely necessary. My pain wouldn’t allot for much more.

  “Bring him back here?” Ramsey repeated. “Charisse, you can’t be serious. Get rid of him before he hurts you!”

  “He already did that,” I said between wheezing, painful breaths. “Didn’t work out so great for me, but I think he got the worst of it.”

  “This is serious, Char.”

  “I am being serious. We need answers from him. He knows more about The Brothers than all of us put together. He’s our only chance.”

  “Or our biggest risk.”

  Ramsey huffed. “Fine. How long until you’re back here?”

  My vision darkened, and the word tilted. Or maybe that was me.

  “Char? Are you okay? Should I come get you?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but instead, I fell to my knees.

  “Charisse!”

  “Ramsey,” I said, surprised at how weak my voice sounded. “I—need—” I swallowed hard. “—help.”

  And then I passed out.

  * * *

  When I woke up, we were moving fast. I lay flat on my back against something soft with the wind in my hair.

  For a moment, I thought I was in Abram’s arms again, rushing with him at full speed, the way we used to.

  Now that he was here, I would be safe. Nothing could hurt me now, not with Abram.

  But it wasn’t true. It couldn’t have been. Abram wasn’t that person anymore. He didn’t have that speed, that power. And, if I was ever going to be safe again, I was going to have to make that safety for myself.

  “Charisse?” A familiar voice echoed in my ears. It was distant, as if I were hearing underwater. Still, I could make out the words.

  “Charisse, stay with me. I need you to try to keep yourself awake. We’re almost there.”

  “W-where?” I asked, my voice still weak, almost silent.

  “Back at the hotel.” I could tell it was Ramsey now. He must have traced my phone’s signal and found me. But where was Edwin? Where was the Glass Slipper?

  I was in Ramsey’s car—a convertible, obviously, given the amount of wind rushing through my hair.

  “I don’t know what you’re saying, Charisse. But just keep talking. We’re almost there.”

  “We can’t,” I said. “We have to go back. You have to get Edwin and the slipper. He’ll kill so many girls if he gets it.”

  “Charisse,” Ramsey said, his eyes planted on the road. “You’re not making any sense. You…”

  His voice faded out, and, try as I might, I was gone again.

  * * *

  When I woke, I knew that I had been healed. I could feel it in the clearness of my thoughts and the ease in which my body moved.

  I was back in the hotel. Familiar walls and a comfortable bed greeted me as I came back to consciousness.

  Pulling back the blankets, I found that my clothes had been changed. I was now wearing a clean, fresh shirt and dress pants. The old me probably would have blanched, wondering which of the people here had changed my clothes. But that seemed like a ludicrous worry right now. There was so much more to do, so much that needed done.

  Finding my feet were strong and my step spritely, I pushed out of the room and marched into the spacious living area.

  Ramsey crouched in a corner, testing the strength of the chains around Satina’s father. Timmon stood off to the side beside Cindy, each standing silently with either coffee or tea in their hands. That would be why I was in good health despite another near-death experience.

  Our gone-girl Satina stood near the kitchen as big as life and arguing with Abram.

  And on the counter in the far side of the room sat the slipper, glowing and crackling with energy.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked as I entered the room, making sure no one would confuse me with a shrinking violet.

  “You’re up,” Abram said, turning to me. “Are you all right?”

  “Of course she is,” Satina bit back at him. “I fixed her up. She’s fine.” She grabbed Abram’s arm and pulled him back toward her. “Which is more than I’ll be able to say for anyone else on the planet if you don’t let me finish what’s been started.”

  “I said no,” Abram growled through gritted teeth. “It’s too much, Satina.”

  “It’s my choice,” she said evenly, much quieter than I had ever heard from her before.

  “That’s not a choice. That’s giving up.” He yanked free of her grasp and walked over to me.

  “What’s that about?” I asked. I had seen enough to know a bad scene when it was laid out in front of me. Just like I knew Abram would brush it off.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” I answered.

  “Yes, Abram. Let her decide for herself,” Satina said, walking behind Abram with one eye trained on her father.

  Abram turned and glowered at Satina. “If I were you, I’d worry about making sure the enchantment on those chains is strong enough. Otherwise, your ridiculous ideas won’t matter.”

  I looked over. Ramsey was circling an unconscious Edwin with a metal chain thin enough that I could have wrapped it around my waist and called it a fashion accessory. But I knew girth had nothing to do with this. There was magic on this binding. I just hoped it was enough to hold one of the strongest beings I had ever come in contact with.

  Satina shouldered past him. “I don’t need your permission.”

  “You might not, but you need my cooperation,” Abram shot back.

  “That’s where you’re wrong!” She spun toward him again, arms crossed and leaning forward. “If I’d have found the Vector, then I’d have needed a level of compliance from you. But since it’s lost, all I need to do is remember the incantation. And I promise you, big boy, that’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

  “No,” Abram shouted so loud I thought the walls might shake, if such a thing were possible. And really, what didn’t I consider possible these days?

  I stepped between them. For some reason, this was the pet peeve of mine they liked to drill into the most. I glared from Satina to Abram. “Tell me what you’re talking about.”

  “I went looking for an artifact called the Vector,” Satina said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist anymore.”

  Abram’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “You didn’t look hard enough.”

  “You knew, didn’t you?” I asked, looking to Abram as the pieces of everything clicked together. “You knew where Satina went. That’s why you were okay to let me go off to fight Edwin. But that would mean…” I shook my head. “Wherever you went was more dangerous than me going to see Edwin alone?”

  “I wasn’t okay with any of that,” he said, his jaw clenching. “But I knew arguing with you wouldn’t have changed anything, and I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure you were safe. In this case, that meant letting you go after Satina’s father alone.”

  My eyes went wide. I couldn’t even begin to imagine. Biting my lip, I tilted my head.
“And how, exactly, were you going to do that?”

  “Guys,” Ramsey said, a nervous break in his voice.

  Looking down, I saw that Edwin was beginning to rouse. “Guys, I don’t think the enchantment is in effect yet.”

  “My God,” Satina answered. “I told you we shouldn’t have done this here. I told you we should have taken him out in the middle of the ocean and chopped him into little pieces or something.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Abram answered.

  “It will,” Satina answered as power began to shine from her very pores. “No thanks to you!”

  “Don’t you dare,” Abram warned.

  “Abram, what’s going on?” I asked. “What was the Vector for?”

  His eyes remained trained on Satina. “Don’t do this!”

  “Abram, what was the Vector for?” I repeated, more adamantly this time.

  “An energy channel, Little Supplicant,” Satina answered, calling me by a name she hadn’t in quite some time. “One that only Abram’s family line can control, and one that was meant to save my life.”

  “What do you mean? Save your life from what?”

  “Guys, we need to do something,” Ramsey shouted. “He’s waking up.”

  “Satina?” I asked.

  She was literally levitating now, energy enveloping her in a bright light.

  “I was stronger in the other body,” she said, her voice sounding like many voices layered atop each other. “It was designed for the magic. But even then, I wouldn’t have survived that long after placing it. The curse was too strong. It requires too much of a sacrifice.”

  “Satina, don’t,” Abram screamed.

  “I didn’t understand about sacrifice then. But I do now.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I understand why I came back now. It was always for this. I did it before, and now I will do it again.”

  “He’s starting to glow,” Ramsey yelled, his focus on Edwin.

  “It’s sort of poetic when you think about it. Not a bad way to go, all things considered.” A thin smile graced her glowing lips. “Although, I’d have definitely preferred alcohol poisoning in Vegas.” She winked at me. “I guess God doesn’t give with two hands. Take care of Abram, Little Supplicant. He’s a hell of a beast.”