Rogue Magic

by McKenzie Hunter

  “Is she okay?”

  It took him a moment to answer. I speculated whether he had bad news and was searching for the appropriate way to deliver it or if he needed a place where he could speak privately and freely.

  “Something’s off with her,” he admitted. His voice was devoid of emotion, and I felt as if he were talking to a victim’s family member as opposed to his girlfriend or whatever I was to him. “Just get here as soon as possible.”

  “Is she injured?”

  “No.” Again, he responded with a professional detachment that made me nervous.

  Gareth was waiting for me outside of the Isles when I arrived.

  “Who found her?” I asked.

  “No one, she just walked into the Supernatural Guild’s building.” This was the first time he’d shown any emotion, and it was abject confusion.

  “She just walked in?”

  “Yep. She walked in and asked for me.”

  He took me to the examination room where she was being kept, and I walked in to find my perky roommate looking normal and uninjured. Her long blond hair was twisted into a messy bun on top of her head and she wore the same clothing she’d had on before I’d left the house: a pair of multicolored yoga pants, a loose-fitting shirt with an open neck that allowed it to slip off her shoulder, and a pair of socks. The moment I entered, her eyes snapped up to look at me. She inclined her head to the side and the smile that was feathered over her lips disappeared. Her gray eyes turned icy cold and sharpened. She lunged at me, pushing past the doctor next to her and knocking me to the ground. The first punch shocked me. When she landed the second one, I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was trained to hurt, possibly kill. I didn’t want to do either to Savannah. Forced into defense mode, I blocked the next set of blows.

  “Savannah! It’s me, Levy.”

  Gareth had his arms around her waist and had hoisted her away as she fought to release herself with the sole purpose of getting back at me.

  “Gareth, let me go,” she growled through clenched teeth.

  She knew Gareth. “It’s me,” I repeated.

  “I know who you are, Anya,” she hissed angrily.

  I stared at her, wide-eyed, trying not to be offended by the level of ire in her eyes and her frown of disgust.

  My presence made her angrier, and each time she thought Gareth’s hold had loosened, she made another attempt to come after me. A low, velvet voice spoke from behind me. “Savannah.” Lucas purred her name, and she responded in kind. Smiling, her anger lifted momentarily—until she looked in my direction again. Fire and fury, targeted solely at me.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked several times. Once Lucas was next to her, she hugged him. She knew Gareth and Lucas. What she knew of Anya she hated. What had Conner done to her? What memories had he planted?

  “I think you should step out, Levy Anya,” the doctor urged.

  “It’s Levy,” I said as I backed out of the room. But I didn’t move fast enough to miss the glare Savannah gave me when I corrected the doctor.

  “She doesn’t know who I am,” I said to Gareth after he found me in the waiting room. I was staring at the choices in the vending machine. Each time I looked at the healthy options of nuts, dried berries, and fruit, the image of Savannah looking at me with undiluted hate sparked.

  “She knows who you are, but what she knows of you is different. That’s what I was saying. She’s off. She knows who I am, that I’m the head of the Supernatural Guild, and she believes we are friends. When they asked for her residence, she gave Lucas’s address. How could her mind be that messed up in just hours?” Gareth inquired, exasperated.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply. “It only takes minutes, and I’m sure Conner’s an expert at it. That explains why he wasn’t using a great deal of magic to transport. He needed it to screw up her head.”

  “There has to be a way to undo it.”

  “I’m sure there is, I just don’t know how—” My voice broke. I felt helpless. I hated feeling that way.

  CHAPTER 2

  “What do you mean, Conner isn’t dead?” Kalen asked, leaning against the table, before bringing his large coffee cup to his lips. As usual, he looked as if he’d experienced a moment in heaven from that single sip.

  “I’m not sure how much clearer I can be. Conner’s alive. He took Savannah and did something to screw with her head, and now she hates me. Really hates me. She attacked me.”

  Pushing up from the table, cup in hand, he paced the area. He stopped mid-length and frowned. It was the same area where he’d been rendered paralyzed by a Mors, a supernatural assassin that Harrah had sent for me. I knew that image haunted him as it did me. We’d both lain on the ground, powerless. It had given Harrah the opportunity to slash my throat. I brought my hand there and ran my fingers along it, gliding over unmarred skin. Except for the memories, there weren’t any remnants of the attack. Conner had made sure of that when he’d healed me. I’d been thankful for his assistance although I knew it hadn’t been an act of altruism. He’d wanted something from it. Me.

  “Now, I have to figure out a way to undo it,” I said.

  “Undoing a spell isn’t really hard,” Blu informed us, walking into the office, her neck stretched over the stack of books in her hands. Kalen quickly placed his coffee on the table to take them from her. He grinned at the mocking glare I gave him.

  “What? I would have helped you, too,” he asserted.

  “Sure, after I’d fallen on my face. I’m not completely confident that you wouldn’t check to make sure the books were okay first.”

  He rolled his eyes at my claim. Once the books were on my desk, I stood to examine the stack. They were old magic books. Their leather bindings were worn, and there was a distinctive smell of aged vellum along with a light scent of sage and tannin. I’d forgiven myself for being so reluctant to learn everything I could about my magic. It was a juvenile act of rebellion over a situation that my parents couldn’t help. Because of it, I was tasked with learning what I could as an adult. I was lucky that Blu had a wealth of knowledge to give.

  “Reversal spells are easier than they sound, if you have access to a great deal of magic”—Blu smiled—“which you do.”

  “What if the person who cast the spell is stronger than I am?” I asked. She looked flummoxed, as if she couldn’t imagine anyone more powerful than me. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that it was flattering.

  Kalen’s lips fanned out into a scowl of derision. “You’re thinking of yourself as a superhero, aren’t you?” he teased at my silence at Blu’s comment.

  “Of course not.” I winked and then grinned.

  “Liar.” I was happy for Kalen and his levity. If he was concerned about Savannah and Conner, he was good at hiding it. I’d come to work just to do research. I couldn’t stay in the house with all the things that reminded me of Savannah and not constantly think about her attack on me the previous day. This morning, I’d made the decision to see her again, which Gareth urged me against.

  Lucas’s position in the city and various connections had made it easy for him to quickly make changes in his home to make it look as though Savannah had lived there. It probably hadn’t taken a great deal of effort. Although he spent most of his time at our home, Savannah had spent considerable time there. Even if she’d really lived with him, I doubted he would have been willing to change his modern black and gray–themed home, with stylish stainless steel appliances and expensive white furniture, for her. It fit who he was—one of the oldest vampires in the world and Master of the city. Gareth had been convinced it was the best thing to do, but I’d disagreed. I felt if Savannah saw that Lucas’s home wasn’t set up as her residence, it would jar her memory. Gareth and Lucas felt it would traumatize her more. It had been two against one, and I was willing to do anything to make the situation better for Savannah, so I’d conceded.

  I also suspected that Lucas wasn’t opposed to having Savannah in his home permanently.
His interest in her seemed to be more than just a conquest, or something fleeting that he had no intention of allowing to last very long. His adulation for her was hard to ignore. It probably had a lot to do with Savannah’s adoration of vampires and her overly traditional ways. When he’d sent us flowers, I’d been okay sending him a text message to thank him. She’d felt the need to accept his dinner invitation and send him a thank-you card. A real card—one that you had to leave your house and go to a store to purchase. He’d appreciated the effort and thoughtfulness of it. From the look he’d given me, it had been apparent he knew the only hand I’d had in it had been signing my name, after she’d done all the hard parts. A smile came to my face as I remembered the dinner, and then I felt a sharp ache as images of Savannah attacking me surfaced. The rage and anger that had shone in her eyes unsettled me.

  Stop thinking about her, I chastised myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to think about her, but it was a distraction from what needed to be done. I needed to help my best friend.

  “There are people stronger than a Legacy: Vertu.”

  Blu nodded slowly. She knew who they were, but I assumed she thought we were equal in strength but had different types of magic. And perhaps we were. Maybe I hadn’t tapped into all of mine and I was just as strong as Conner. Cynicism rose in me and I quickly squashed the idea. In this situation, I’d rather be a cynic and proven wrong than an optimist and proven foolish.

  “But I don’t need to be that strong. If I can use Savannah, it will boost my strength enough.” I ignored the underlying problem of getting close enough to Savannah to allow her to help. I just needed to find a reversal spell. I’d figure out the rest later.

  “Leslie made you food,” Gareth informed me as soon as he entered my apartment. “I’m sure you haven’t eaten,” he said, looking at the stack of books on the coffee table.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the dish and setting it on the table next to the pile. It smelled delicious, but I had more pressing things to deal with.

  I pushed two books at his chest and placed multicolored strips of paper on top of them. “Look for all reversal spells,” I instructed. “Once you find one, just slip a strip of paper in to mark it.” I would have highlighted them if they were my books, but they were loans from Blu.

  With a half-grin, he gave the books and then me a look. “Good evening, Anya.”

  I glared at him.

  “Levy. Do you ever plan to use your birth name?”

  I shook my head. I was Levy, and even if the Legacy were out, I’d been Olivia far longer than Anya. Pain was attached to the name Anya. Not just my parents’ deaths, but years of running because of it.

  Although I disliked his greeting, at least he’d given me one. I couldn’t say the same for me. Leaning forward, I gave him a light kiss on the cheek before sitting down and grabbing the plate of food.

  “Thank you,” I added as I yanked off the cover, and started picking at the mac and cheese. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I’d smelled the food.

  “Sexy,” Gareth mocked as he headed for the kitchen. “Why don’t I get you a fork, since that’s what most people use when they eat macaroni and cheese. Maybe I’ll get a knife to keep you from clawing at the chicken, too.” He mumbled loud enough for me to hear, “I’m supposed to be half animal.”

  “I heard that,” I shot back, laughing.

  “Wasn’t trying to hide it,” he said, returning with the utensils and napkins, handing them over as he sat next to me.

  I wiped my hands on the napkin and used the fork to finish the rest of the mac and cheese.

  I smiled. “I appreciate it. Tell your nanny it’s delicious.”

  “House manager.”

  “Fancy word for nanny. She cleans your house, prepares your food, grocery shops, and maintains your home. I call that a nanny. But if you want to call her house manager, so be it,” I countered with a smile.

  He shook his head and turned to the books. “I’ll let her know you didn’t bother to use any utensils. After her initial shock that I’m dating a cavewoman, she’ll be flattered.”

  “Betty Rubble is hot,” I said. When he picked up one of the books I had already gone through, I informed him, “There are a number of reversal spells. They are very specific. I thought there would be a global one—there isn’t. So I need to find one specific to what happened to Savannah.”

  “Her mind was altered. How hard can that be?” He frowned as he thumbed through the book, looking at the various spells that Blu, Kalen, and I had found earlier that day.

  “I’ve modified memories before, but I don’t know what memories were implanted in her.” It was something I’d done to the Trackers from the Brotherhood of the Order who had come after me. Their name made it seem more respectable than what it really was: a bunch of radical supernaturals whose sole purpose was to find Legacy and kill them. Gareth had been part of that organization. He’d left because he said he couldn’t blindly follow their tenets, but it was still a topic of contention between us. I’d like to say it lessened with each day and was easier to accept, but it wasn’t. I still had a hard time dealing with it. “Did Savannah say anything to you?”

  He nodded, his face grave. Sympathy coursed through his words as he spoke. “She thinks you’re evil. In her mind you’ve killed people indiscriminately. She has an unreasonable amount of fear and hate toward you, and I can’t explain it. It’s hard to interrogate her because she gets upset the more you’re defended. Caution is needed when dealing with her.”

  “Did you tell her that she’s my roommate?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it. His frown deepened, and as his eyes darkened, the shifter ring seemed to dance a little brighter. It was rather off-putting, as if his eyes were lit from within. “I tried to, but each time she got more and more upset and accused me of lying. And it seemed so incongruent that she considered me a friend, and yet I was defending a person she despises.” Gareth rested back on the sofa, running his hands over his face as he breathed out, “What the hell did he do to her?”

  “I don’t know. But we have to fix it.”

  “Can he undo it?”

  “I’m sure he can. First we have to find him. But even if we can, this is his revenge and what he did to Savannah is a product of it. He wants me to pay.” I choked out the last part of the sentence. Needing something to focus on, I grabbed one of the books and perused it.

  Three hours later we had gone through all the books. I did a second review trying to decipher which would be the best spell. The pressure started to build as I looked at the number of colored slips peeking out from the pages. There were so many, and I didn’t have the option of trial and error. It felt like a one-shot deal. If it failed, not only would Savannah see me as the enemy, but it would confirm her belief that I was some type of monster: after all, I tried to put a spell on her.

  I joined Gareth and rested back on the sofa. He placed his hand on my leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure something out. I have the SG working on it, too. Unfortunately, with Victor there, his orders are taking precedence.” Of course they would; he was the head of the Federal Supernatural Reinforcement, a federal agency equivalent to the FBI. My introduction to them hadn’t occurred under favorable conditions. In fact, they were downright hostile. They’d arrested Gareth and me after I’d killed Harrah, who’d sent assassins after me. It had been a messy situation and a source of discord between Gareth and the FSR head, but eventually we’d been released. The FSR had remained a presence in the city since the attacks at the Solstice festival. Since that incident, they’d joined the Supernatural Guild in looking for the people responsible, and Victor, the head of the FSR team, had started the initiative to introduce the remaining Legacy to the world. Well, to have me do it, which left me with being tasked with finding the remaining ones.

  “Have you found out anything about the attack?” I asked.

  The muscles of his neck became extremely taut. His nephew, Avery
, had been one of the victims. Although Gareth seemed hellbent on making Avery’s life a living hell to counter the teen’s mother’s extreme leniency and indulgence of his whims, he loved him and would do anything to protect him.

  “No, we have no idea. It seems like Humans First has disbanded and the offshoot radical organizations that have sprung up in their place aren’t considered a threat. Just a bunch of idiots screaming their dislike for supernaturals. I figure if they’re ignored long enough they’ll go away.” He sighed heavily and looked at the clock. “It’s getting late, we should get to bed.”

  I scoffed. “We.”

  “Yes, we.” He took off his shirt and I averted my eyes with great difficulty. Looking at Gareth, the well-formed muscles of his chest, torso, and back, and the sexy knowing smirk, made it difficult to deny him. Something he wasn’t oblivious to.

  “You seem to be working really hard at that,” he teased, pointing out how much effort I was putting into ignoring the half-naked man standing in my living room.

  He approached me and kissed me on the cheek. The second time he kissed me his tongue slipped out, tasting my skin, teasing me. I would have given in—but the smirk. Why the haughty smirk? It just pinged at my obstinance.

  Stretching, once again giving me a full view of his body, he grinned when I looked, taking him in before snapping my gaze away when he noticed. “I’ll just wait for you in the bedroom. I’m sure you’ll be in after you finish making whatever point you’re trying to make. I’m assuming you’re trying to prove you’re not that attracted to me and we both know that’s not the case. But, please, do carry on.”

  A mischievous smile kinked the corners of his lips as he turned and headed for my room.