And then there were the ones that Eden didn’t like to think of, the ones that claimed to really like her but flinched every time she hugged them with her stubby arm. Eden decided a couple years after the accident that she was finished with the whole song and dance and stopped dating. She separated herself from situations that would tempt her and buried herself in activities that wouldn’t reinforce her loneliness. Irony laughed in her face as she continued toward the house that held two beautiful, perfectly whole people. The universe possessed a dark sense of humor.
Chapter Six
Alena
Alena was debating whether to venture outside and find Eden when the woman stepped through the front door. Her expression was one of disappointment, and Alena wondered why. Zar accompanied her, silently communicating that the man his human slept with had upset Eden. Alena’s brows drew together. That didn’t sound like Alec; he was as harmless as a fly.
Eden didn’t see Alena at first. She shut the door, put her butt up against it, and pulled off her dirty socks. Alena hesitated, not wanting to alarm her, but the other woman startled anyway. She stumbled, and Alena quickly moved forward to right her with a hand under her good arm. A powerful zap at the connection hit them at the same time. Alena let go quickly.
“What was that?” Eden demanded. “That wasn’t a normal static charge.”
Alena rubbed the back of her neck, trying to dispel the shocks that tingled up and down her spine. Her magic was still confused, but the longer she was around Eden, the more irritated it became. It was like it saw a treat it couldn’t have and was being a spoiled brat. Magic really did have its own personality.
“No, that was my magic reacting to your – you,” she stuttered, nearly revealing that her power was reacting to the younger woman’s shielded magic. Eden’s eyes narrowed. She straightened, pinning Alena with her gaze.
“If I’m going to stay here, I can’t handle all the secrecy. There’s something you’re not telling me, and I want to know what it is.”
Alena sighed. She had wanted Eden accustomed to the house before the truth was revealed. Eden was far too perceptive, however, and held some fire Alena hadn’t encountered yet.
She motioned Eden into the small sitting room. Its magic was comforting and isolating. It also had the added benefit of being completely soundproof, even if the door was wide open. Conversations in the sitting room always stayed in the sitting room. Alena remembered a time when she and Alec had taken advantage of its unique quality.
The shadows lengthened through the room, and Alena sparked a mage light in her hand, sending it flying toward the sconce on the wall. Eden stared, her luminous eyes sparkling in the shadows. She didn’t ask about the magic though. Instead, she sank into the antique settee, setting her dirty socks in her lap. Alena’s lips quirked when she realized the younger woman must have been walking around without her shoes. The sacred grove had that effect on mages.
Zar trotted into the room, settling his bulk on the rug in the middle of the room. His eyes shifted back and forth between the women. “Ok,” Alena started, clasping her hands in front of her to still their shaking. “I think the stalker is targeting you because you do have magic. I don’t know his intent, but…”
“That’s impossible,” Eden interrupted. “I’ve been tested.”
“I think someone, or something, has been repressing your magic since you were very young.”
Eden considered Alena’s words, again gnawing her lip. The habit amused Alena; it also made her want to kiss Eden so she'd stop. The sudden, stray thought surprised her, and she studied the younger woman. Eden was gorgeous, something her arm could never detract from no matter her insecurities. She also possessed strength rarely seen in mundanes, the outcome of surviving difficulties and coming through a stronger person. Alec might have been right; she was attracted to Eden. First, though, she had to prevent the woman from having a nervous breakdown.
“Is that possible? I didn’t think magic could be repressed.”
“It usually can’t,” Alena admitted, “but Zar thinks you have magic, and I’m inclined to agree. You feel the wards in the house, right? Like a shiver on your skin?” Eden nodded. “Non-mages can’t feel that. Alec can’t feel it; he feels nothing from the house even though the aesthetics of its age please him. The static charge that passes between us when we touch wouldn’t happen if you didn’t have magic. I wouldn’t feel anything from you if you were a mundane. Strong mages can identify others by their eyes, and some can see the magic surrounding another mage. I am a sensor mage. I can feel and identify other mages; it’s always been a special ability of mine, and I am better at it than most. Your eyes are strange like they are hiding something, and I feel nothing in your aura. Someone has capped your magic and stuffed it deep inside you. If Zar hadn’t alerted me to your presence, I might not have guessed.”
Eden looked at the creature in question. “So, you know he’s been following me? Even before the break-in happened? How do you communicate with him? Is he a shapeshifter?” Zar made a noise that was something like a cross between a sneeze and a snort. Alena knew it for a laugh.
“He’s not a shapeshifter, he’s my familiar. We don’t speak in words; we speak in images and sensations. It’s not an easy process, and sometimes things get lost in translation, but we communicate fairly well.”
“Not a shapeshifter, but a familiar; I suppose that was my second guess. Do all mages have familiars?”
“No, only a few; it’s unknown how the selection happens. Very little is known about familiars in general. To answer your earlier question, yes; Zar knew you had magic before the break-in occurred. But I also wasn’t lying earlier. I think you’re in danger. Mages have been killed in Brenville, and the entire Eastern population has been warned to be on the lookout. The main perpetrator has been caught, but he wasn’t working alone. We don’t have much information, which makes the situation more dangerous because we don’t know what to expect.”
“Why me?” Eden asked, her voice thoughtful. To her credit, she seemed to be handling the news reasonably well.
“I don’t know the reason, Eden. Because I can’t sense your magic, I don’t know what makes you a target. All the murders have happened in the larger cities unless some of the crimes haven’t been reported. I haven’t dealt with this sort of situation before, but my job is to protect mages. We believe you need protection. If we know the nature of your magic, it will help us better understand.” She cocked her head at the younger woman, studying her. “Do you wear anything that you never take off? Like a charm or an amulet?”
Eden’s eyes went curiously blank, and Alena shivered. She knew that look; the younger woman was under a spell or a curse. “Charm or amulet,” Eden gasped, and Alena was uncertain whether it was an answer or a question. Zar whined, sensing the young woman’s pain. He rose and placed his large jaw on Eden’s knee. Eden jumped, emerging from the momentary trance she had been under.
“Interesting. Your actions suggest you are wearing something and that it has a spell on it that makes you forget or deflects direct questions.”
Eden blinked. “Really?” Zar’s muzzle sniffed at her shirt, and Eden leaned out of slobbering range but didn’t push the animal away. His nose rooted at her neck and he sneezed, a typical reaction around magic objects. Something rested under Eden’s shirt, now that Alena knew where to look.
“Eden, do you mind? Can I see that necklace around your neck?” She refrained from mentioning any magic words because the spell might be keyed to specific triggers. Her suspicion was confirmed when Eden looked down and wrinkled her nose.
“This old thing? It’s just something my mom left me; it’s pointless. I don’t take it off because it’s too hard, you know, one-handed and all.”
Zar sneezed again, confirming the necklace was blocking her power. Eden pulled it from her shirt, and the moonstone winked in the magelight. Alena reached for it, curious to know what kind of spell could be strong enough to sufficiently restrain a mage’
s power. When her fingers lightly grazed the surface, stinging fire burnt through her flesh. She yelped and jumped back, cradling her hand.
“What happened?” Eden asked, but she still seemed dazed, like the last few minutes had been a strange dream.
“It burnt me.” Alena’s fingers throbbed. It had to be a potent spell to completely repel her, and she suspected no mage would be able to touch it. She stifled a smile despite the pain still scorching her fingertips, imagining how Eden would respond if she insisted Alec remove her necklace.
“That’s weird,” Eden muttered dismissively and slipped the necklace back under her shirt. Alena knew the spell forced the strange interaction from Eden's mind. She redirected the conversation away from the amulet, making a mental note to mention it to Bette. The Brownie might have an idea.
Alena cleared her throat. The burn was already starting to calm; the spell hadn’t meant to cause harm, merely to dissuade interest. She imagined a mundane or a tech wouldn’t have been hurt as harshly. “Anyway,” Alena continued, not mentioning the amulet on purpose, “if we can figure out what is blocking your magic, we can uncover the reason you’re being targeted.”
“I still don’t think you’re right,” Eden protested, but her voice wasn’t as confident as it had been.
Alena forced a shrug. “Maybe I’m not, but at least you’re safe here. We’ll find out the reason for your break-in, and no one can reach you behind the house’s wards. Was there anything else stolen that you didn’t mention because of the asshole policeman?”
Eden snickered. “You don’t like him either?”
“He’s a self-centered techie with a superiority complex.”
Eden’s face grew pensive. “I didn’t have a chance to look through all my stuff because I got too scared when I saw that guy outside, but I think my sketchbook is gone.”
Alena’s brows rose. “You draw? Do you draw images from your dreams?” Eden bit her lip, answering Alena’s question indirectly, and Alena experienced another shudder of dark premonition. In the hands of the wrong person, that could be very bad.
“What about work? I can still go to work, right?” Eden sat forward on the settee eagerly.
“You really shouldn’t. You’re in danger if you leave the wards.”
“You don’t understand,” Eden complained. “You’re a mage, not a dud. If I don’t work, I lose my job, and I have no money. No one will ever hire me again, and I was lucky to get that job in the first place.”
Alena hated the word dud. It suggested mundanes were useless, which they weren’t. They kept the country running by building the inventions the techies created and worked the fields alongside mages to provide food to both territories. Some were even exceptionally creative, writing novels or songs that matched the level of mage creations.
“I’ll talk to your boss; I have some influence as the police liaison,” Alena reassured her and held up a hand before Eden could protest. “Any mage involvement will stay silent, I promise.”
Eden appeared agonized, and Alena waited for her to keep arguing. Finally, she sighed. “Fine, just for now. So, I have to stay here?”
“It is the best course of action until we figure out what the threat is and how to keep you safe. When we unlock your magic, you might not want to leave.”
Eden shrugged dismissively. “If I have magic,” she countered, and Alena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Mages were always stubborn. “What about my stuff? I don’t have anything to wear.”
“We can make a trip into town tomorrow morning. I’ll go with you to make sure there’s no one watching, and we’ll do a quick in and out. I can let you borrow some of my clothes for tonight…”
“No, I’ll be fine until tomorrow,” Eden answered quickly, seeming nervous about the idea of wearing Alena’s clothes. Though Alena was several inches shorter than Eden and slightly curvier, her clothes would fit the younger woman.
“If you insist. Let me know if you change your mind. If that’s it for now? I think dinner is about to be served.”
Eden scrunched her nose. “Do you always eat together?”
The question revealed a lot about Eden’s childhood. Eating together was a common custom for loving families, techie or mage, but it seemed like a strange concept to the young woman. Alena realized she didn’t know anything about Eden’s history, and she wondered if her memories were also spelled by the amulet. “Bette insists on it, and she’s not a woman to cross.”
“OK. I’ll freshen up and drop these off in my room.” She held up the offending socks, dirt and leaves still clinging to them and skipped up the stairs. Zar watched until she was out of sight, told Alena he was going to hunt, and loped from the room.
Chapter Seven
Alec
Alec waited until after Eden made her way upstairs before entering the sitting room. He had just taken a shower, and his hair was still wet. Thursday was chore day, and he had been accomplishing his usual tasks until the wild fairy emerged from the woods to stare at him like she saw something both horrifying and beautiful at the same time. He still wasn’t sure how to interpret her reaction and wanted to ask Alena’s opinion.
His partner rose and kissed him, her lips lingering on his with a tenderness she rarely showed. He loved the feel of her against him, the curves that fit so well against his muscles, and how he could rest his chin on her head. He stroked her lower back, his hands wandering to the luscious curve of her backside, but he wasn’t entirely focused on where his hands roamed.
“I met the new girl,” he began without preamble. Alena’s eyes brightened with interest, but she merely waited for him to continue. “She seemed very uncomfortable, and I wonder if I did something to offend her.” It bothered him more than he wanted to admit. She had a look of softness and haunting sadness to her. He’d felt an overwhelming urge to draw her into his arms and soothe her, an instinct Alena didn’t appreciate because she always had every situation under control.
Alena giggled. “Oh, Alec, you are amusing. You have no clue how attractive you are. Any red-blooded, straight woman might be uncomfortable meeting you for the first time, or even the second time.”
Alec processed Alena’s words. He wouldn’t usually be happy about that, but this time, he wouldn’t mind. “Is she straight?”
Alena shrugged. “I don’t know, probably. Statistically speaking, it’s more likely.”
Alec chuckled. “Statistically speaking? I think you’ve been hanging out with a techie too long, Alena dear.” His gaze absently centered on the empty fireplace. He trusted Alena implicitly and never lied to her, but his next words escaped from a tight throat. No matter how many times they’d talked about it, telling his girlfriend that he found another woman beautiful was never easy. It didn’t make Alena any less beautiful; their differences enhanced their individual beauty. “She’s a lovely woman, but she seemed very self-conscious of her arm. I’m sure more than a few assholes have made her feel bad about it.”
“I agree. People can be shallow, and she’s probably had more than one bad experience. She also lost the arm at 17. That’s a harsh age for anyone developing their love life or relationships in general.” Alena paused before smirking. “So, you think she’s hot?”
Alec grinned sheepishly, tugging at a lock of Alena’s fiery red hair. His mid-length black hair was slicked away from his face, and he rarely touched it because he didn’t like to mess it up. But Alena loved it when he played with her hair. “Yes, I think she’s stunning.”
“You’re lucky I’m not a jealous woman, Alec Carlisle,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. “You’re also lucky that I share.”
Alec shifted uncomfortably, his cock hardening with the image of both Alena and Eden in his bed. The idea held tremendous appeal, something Alec was a little ashamed of. He was familiar with Alena’s body and something urged him to know Eden just as thoroughly. Alena’s look suggested she knew exactly what was going through his mind, and he rapidly changed the subject. The poor girl was po
ssibly getting death threats, and he imagined her naked body beneath him. It wasn’t characteristic of his mentally driven personality.
“Did you talk about her magic?”
Alena laughed at his blatant redirection and perched on the arm of the loveseat. “We talked about it. She’s wearing a spelled necklace, and the magic on it is stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced. It burned me when I touched it.” Alena held up her hand. Her two middle fingers were still red but appeared to be healing. Alec studied the skin just to be sure until Alena’s next words jogged him out of his concern. “I think it hurt me because of my magic, so I thought you would have better luck.”
Alec’s eyes widened. “I don’t know how she would feel about that. Does she want to remove it?”
“The spell is strong. If she thinks about it, it’s like a slippery thought she can’t grasp. Her mind skips. Eden might not want magic, but I know she’ll feel relieved with the spell gone; it’s trapping her. It’s also very convenient that she can’t remove it herself,” Alena mused. “The clasp is difficult for her to manage with only one arm.”
“Maybe she just needs time,” Alec replied, pulling her in for another kiss. He would leave the magic part up to Alena, but the possibility of a spelled charm fascinated him. Spells didn’t typically react differently to people. To Alec’s techie mind, it almost seemed like the amulet had thoughts of its own. The idea reminded him of a coded program and sent his techie mind down several rabbit warrens of possibility. For the moment though, he let Alena’s lips and tongue distract him from his thoughts. Her touch increased the desire his earlier fantasies had kindled.
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