Shine (Mageri Series: Book 5)

by Dannika Dark

  When no one answered, I sharpened my light and prepared to flash.

  In the garage full of cars, cylindrical pillars went down each row of parking. There were no openings on the outer walls, so the only light came from caged bulbs affixed to the concrete pillars.

  Energy continued to prickle my skin and my hands were out of my pockets as I turned in a slow circle, scanning the room.

  With impossible speed, a figure flashed from the right and I ducked, avoiding a punch to my face. I flashed to the right toward a line of cars and turned to look at the Mage.

  He had a full beard and dark eyes, like you would imagine any villain to look. Maybe it was his thick brows and chalky skin, but a chill went up my spine.

  “Did Nero send you?” I asked.

  A grin hooked the corner of his chapped lips. “I’ve always hated the chatty ones. Let’s just get down to business, shall we?”

  “Why don’t you kiss my ass,” I replied.

  He belted out a laugh and stroked his beard. I couldn’t take my eyes off him to look around and see if he had any friends.

  “You’re a mouthy little bitch. Not like that blond human who pleaded for her worthless life.”

  Snap.

  Whatever thread of reason I possessed, vanished. This was the Mage who’d juiced Sunny and almost killed her. This was the man who’d fired bullets at two people I loved, murdering one of them. Images flashed in my head of what those last moments must have been like for Knox, and I barely noticed blue light bleeding from my fingertips.

  The Mage noticed. In fact, he was quite confused by it. A Mage often leaked visible light during the healing process or when pushing out a burst of energy, but not while standing still. His eyes flicked up to mine—the silvering must have been noticeable. It only occurred in my pupils, but against my bright green eyes, it looked bizarre.

  “What the fuck are you?” he breathed.

  A malicious smile appeared on my face. “The last thing you’ll ever see.”

  I rushed at him with impeccable speed and punched his collarbone. I felt it crack and thrust my elbow into his side when he hunched over.

  The Mage reached for my ankle and almost got a hold, so I flipped him off-balance and kicked him in the stomach.

  Tires screeched around the corner and Logan’s car appeared, grinding to a halt. When I turned to look, the Mage yanked my feet out from under me.

  The hard concrete slammed against my back and knocked the wind out me. Pain radiated across my shoulder blades and I expected him to jump on me, but he didn’t. A dagger appeared from his pocket and he directed his attention to Logan, who had flung open the car door and stepped out.

  Logan’s eyes were obsidian black, and his fangs glimmered like weapons. He walked with a heavy gait—spotted patterns rippling across the skin on his neck but hidden beneath his white sweater and tan slacks. If this turned bloody, Logan was going to look like a hot mess.

  I sprang to my feet and the Mage flashed toward Logan.

  “No!” I screamed.

  It was too late. Logan’s moves were raw as he took on a brazen Mage who thought he could best a Chitah of Logan’s caliber.

  The Mage swung his fist a few times before Logan caught his arm and held it. Every attempt the Mage made to touch Logan with his other hand was thwarted with a block or a strike. Logan flung the Mage on the hood of the car, causing a clamor. Logan had lunged forward to bite when the Mage kicked him in the gut with brutal force, thrusting him back five feet, and he fell to his side.

  The bearded man rolled off the hood and we flashed at each other simultaneously. A rapid pulse fired off in my chest as I spun out of his way, but he gripped my hair and yanked me back. Justus knew hair was a weakness and maybe that’s why he kept his head shaved.

  Gritting my teeth against the pain, I punched him in the stomach with several blows before he threw me to the ground and landed on top of me.

  By this time, Logan had risen to his feet, and the Mage whirled around and threw his dagger with precision. It sank into Logan’s chest and he began to fall.

  Without hesitation, I reached out with my hand and used my energy to pull the blade before Logan had even dropped to his knees. I manipulated my energy to flip the blade around, and the handle came into my hand.

  Startled, the Mage’s eyes widened when I stabbed him in the back. The stunner paralyzed him and his dead weight pinned me to the floor.

  “Logan?”

  “I’m fine,” I heard him grunt. “Did you get him?”

  “Yeah, he’s out like a light. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  When Logan fell silent, I reached in my pocket and turned on my phone to text Simon a brief message. I wasn’t sure if he’d flashed down the stairs or caught the express elevator, but he was in the garage within moments.

  I glanced up, trying to see through the Mage’s beard. He was still on top of me and half my face was covered. Simon was wearing a T-shirt that said Dirty and Flirty.

  He glanced at Logan and then back at me.

  “Is he all right?”

  Not being able to see, I couldn’t answer. “How does he look?”

  “Well, the white sweater was a mistake, but I suspect he’ll live. Judging by the bloodstains, it looks like he took it in the shoulder. Hope it didn’t sever an artery; that hurts like buggery.”

  “Simon, a little help would be appreciated.” I grunted.

  He glanced down at the heavy body lying on top of me. “You took him out yourself?”

  “No,” I replied. “I just felt like making out with a total stranger in front of my boyfriend in the garage.”

  He winked. “Atta girl.”

  “Simon?”

  His eyes still surveyed the scene with amusement. “Yeah?”

  “This is the Mage that killed Knox.”

  All color bled from Simon’s face, leaving a cold and stoic expression I’d never seen before. He wasn’t even looking at me when I broke the news, but his eyes remained fixed on a caged bulb. “You sure?”

  “Positive. He’s the guy who pulled the trigger.”

  Simon’s gaze nailed me to the floor and sparks of light flickered in his eyes. His lips mashed tightly together and he lifted the man off me by his hair. As I scooted back and caught my breath, I noticed Logan was making a call and removing his sweater at the same time. His eyes searched the garage—we were in the open and couldn’t risk having a human call the police.

  “Logan, where’s Christian?”

  He hung up the phone and lifted his eyes to mine, walking with a compelling stride in my direction. Blood trickled from the stab wound and he looked pale. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, I’m fine. He just knocked the wind out of me.”

  Logan scanned my body, brushing my hair away from my face and then glancing at my arms. “Novis called before you came down. He said your phone was off and he couldn’t get through. There was an emergency and he had to summon Christian for help.”

  “What kind of help?” I asked, twisting my arm around and noticing I had a skinned elbow.

  “Perhaps he needed him to charm someone for information, or there was another attack. I don’t know. I assured him we were heading straight home and you would be under my protection.”

  Simon dragged the Mage to a dark corner behind a large van. I winced when I heard what sounded like Simon beating and kicking him relentlessly.

  “Novis left me without a guard?”

  Logan helped me to my feet and I placed the palm of my hand over the puncture wound in his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

  “Novis knows a million Vampires, so if he asked for Christian, it must be related to Nero. Or maybe they’re trying to locate another lab. He said he was sending a replacement, but maybe he hasn’t made it yet.”

  “Maybe the Mage took him out before I walked in.”

  Logan shook his head. “I couldn’t scent anything in the car with the windows rolled up. I felt the spike of energy and only when I cracked th
e window did I scent your emotions.”

  “I wonder if I should call Novis. Maybe there’s another attack underway. Sunny’s in the house,” I began, my voice becoming panicked.

  The first thing I did was call Page to let her know we were on our way over because Logan needed immediate medical attention.

  Then I called Novis.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked.

  “Fine, Silver. I’m sorry I had to remove Christian temporarily as your guard, but his services were required. There’s a delicate matter and I need his skills to question the despicable man who attempted to assassinate Hannah.”

  “Hannah?”

  “Yes. You made a valid point about sparing lives in order to obtain information that could prove invaluable to our efforts. We can’t afford to miss an opportunity that would lead to Nero’s capture or the shutdown of these labs. My fear is they are more widespread than we realize.”

  “Is Hannah okay?”

  Not that I liked the woman, with her wolfish eyebrows and all those damn pins in her hair—she had a frosty personality and we didn’t mix. But Hannah was one of two Councilwomen in our territory, and I respected a woman in a position of leadership.

  “She was injured but has since healed. Christian will return to his watch shortly—this evening at the latest. I trust no other Vampire and can’t risk bringing in someone new. I would advise you to go straight home.”

  “Your competent man hasn’t arrived and I’ve already been attacked.”

  His voice lowered. “What?”

  “The man who killed Knox and shot Sunny is being taken care of,” I said, glancing to where Simon had gone. I couldn’t see anything but heard noises that made my skin crawl.

  “Bring him to me,” Novis insisted in a textured voice, ripe with malice.

  “Simon has a hold of him and the odds aren’t in his favor. He’s not walking out of here alive—we’re going to need some cleaners to tidy things up.”

  He answered with silence.

  “Novis,” I began, lowering my eyes to the ground. “Tell Sunny. Let her know that she’ll never have to worry about that Mage again. Tell her the man who killed her lover is dead.”

  Chapter 15

  “We’re here,” I said into the intercom. Thanks to Cognito traffic, it had taken forty-five minutes to get to Page’s apartment, and Logan had begun to get drowsy from the blood loss.

  Page buzzed us inside her building and I helped Logan down the hall as he used my shoulder as a crutch. A Chitah wouldn’t die from those wounds—in fact, they healed much quicker than a human. The bleeding had slowed down and Logan looked to be in pain, so I wondered if the knife had severed a nerve or cut a bone. We needed a doctor to check him over and stitch him up. I joked in the car he could lick his chest, but he just gave me a bemused look. Clearly, he didn’t get the joke about his long tongue.

  He held his sweater against the wound, concealing most of the blood. But it didn’t stop people from gawking at the six-and-a-half-foot man with firm muscles, walking shirtless in broad daylight on the wintry streets of Cognito.

  Page swung open the door and we hurried inside.

  “Not in the living room,” she said. “Come into the kitchen.”

  Page had a small kitchen with a round table in the middle. Logan pulled back a chair and sank into it, eyeing the equipment she had laid out on the table. I peered around the corner into the living room.

  “Ghuardian?”

  Justus stood in the center of the room, looking at his phone. He slipped it into his pocket and closed the distance between us.

  Then his large hands grasped my arms. “You were attacked?”

  “I’m not hurt, but he stabbed Logan and Page is taking a look.”

  He searched my eyes. “Simon took care of the problem.” He hesitated for a second before an intangible emotion glittered in his eyes. Was that pride I saw when he looked down at me? “Simon mentioned you single-handedly took down the Mage.”

  “Guilty as charged.”

  “You should have been armed.”

  With Christian around, I’d been doing that less lately. Mage or not, I was still a woman, and going out with a knife strapped to my chest was all kinds of uncomfortable.

  “I didn’t know Christian would be summoned away. Novis said he wouldn’t need him much longer.”

  Justus uncharacteristically slid his hand around the nape of my neck. I felt a warmth rising to my cheeks. It was pride in his eyes, after all. I’d held my own, although Logan had fought by my side.

  And wasn’t that a wonderful feeling? To know the man I loved had transformed from the Chitah who once covered me like a shield and took a beating to protect my life. Now he respected me as a Mage, and even in his primal state, he hadn’t pinned me to the ground as if I were some damsel in distress. Logan would die for me, but he would also fight by my side—as equals.

  “Why are you here?” I finally asked Justus.

  “Miss La Croix was without transportation.”

  A smile touched my lips by the way he pronounced her name in perfect French. “So now it’s Miss La Croix? What happened to Page?”

  “Learner,” he began.

  “How’s Adam? I hope everything’s okay with him, but he didn’t give me any details. Why did he need a Relic?”

  “He is caring for a woman—a human attacked by a juicer.”

  I sighed, knowing the grave reality of juicers among the human population. “Did she die?”

  “She has received treatment and her recovery is uncertain. Not many humans survive a juicer stealing beyond the limit of what their body will restore.”

  I wanted to ask what he thought about Page being pregnant but decided it would be a major faux pas given their past relationship. So I let it become the elephant in the room.

  Logan roared and I dashed into the kitchen. He gripped the seat of his chair while Page sprayed a solution on his wound. The ends of her hair were wet and it looked like she must have taken a quick shower before we had arrived. I guess after two emergencies in one day, she was squeezing in personal time wherever she could.

  “He’s lost quite a bit of blood, but he’s lucky it didn’t pierce his lung or it would have taken much longer to heal. This formula will help the internal injuries mend faster.”

  “Maybe we should call Adam to come heal him.”

  When I saw the scornful look in Logan’s eyes, I took that as a no. Male pride. Chances are it had more to do with the fact that Adam had once carried a torch for me and had already saved Logan from death.

  “Fine, sit there and bleed,” I said, tightening my expression.

  Logan relaxed and the Cross smile made a guest appearance. “Female, you know how I love that fire.”

  The way he said it was smooth like brandy and wildly seductive—enough that I got a few butterflies and smiled against my shoulder. Damn, how was it possible for that man to still make me nervous after all this time?

  “You need to rest,” Page ordered. “Once I stitch you up, I want you to lie down for at least an hour. I’ll give you a mild sedative, but your body’s natural healing abilities need to do their thing and I’d rather you stay motionless.”

  “I’m familiar with the drill,” he murmured in a dispassionate tone.

  “I also want to give you some electrolytes—you need plenty of fluids so you can replenish the blood you’ve lost.”

  Page sat across from him and leaned forward to clean the wound. Her fastidious demeanor was admirable as she prepared him for stitches. Logan studied her attentively. “You are a fearless female.” Then he placed his hand on her stomach and she looked up at him. “I wish good health for your young. I hope that one day a male of worth sees your noble qualities and cares for you and your child.”

  Page’s voice softened and she looked at him, her eyes benevolent. “Thank you, Logan.”

  I glanced to my left and Justus watched with a distant expression, his gaze centered on Logan’s hand.


  I kissed Logan on the mouth and he stirred a little in Page’s bed. He’d been asleep for a while after she’d given him fluids and a sedative. The drapes in her bedroom were closed and I glanced around, noticing she hadn’t bought anything for the baby. I guess with work, she hadn’t had time to think about it. I indulged myself in another kiss, feeling how pliant and soft Logan’s mouth was. It made me want to curl up beside him and tuck my body against his. My fingers traced the features of his face—his strong nose and cheekbones, the tiny lines at the corners of his mouth, and his brow, which seemed more relaxed and less menacing. His hair was a couple of inches long and looked sexy the way he styled it. He was undeniably attractive now that I could see all of him without the long strands of hair falling in the way.

  Page and Justus were in the kitchen, talking in low voices. When I joined them, Justus had set a bowl of fruit in front of her and she was giving him a funny look.

  “I think the donuts will tide me over until next millennium,” she said with a private smirk.

  “Eat,” he insisted, taking a seat to her right.

  I sat across from her and admired the kitchen. It was a step up from her last place. The fridge was stainless steel and all the cabinetry was painted white. It complemented the wallpaper, which had tiny yellow flowers. Then there was another feature about her apartment that didn’t go unnoticed.

  The orchids.

  I hadn’t said anything, but my God, they filled every room. Several were dead, while the rest held the most gorgeous blooms of lavender and pink. They lined the windowsill in the living room and all along the walls—I couldn’t imagine how much money that totaled up to.

  “Do you like flowers?” I stupidly asked, breaking the silence.

  Her chest flushed with scarlet and Page pulled an orange from the bowl, holding it in front of her nose and smelling it.

  Part of me was curious if Page had decided to give the baby up. “Um, I noticed there aren’t any baby things around here. You’re due pretty soon.”

  She set the orange down. “I haven’t had time. I’m a little worried because I still don’t have a partner and I won’t be able to make all my appointments. It’s becoming more difficult to keep up the pace—especially without a car.”