[Willow Harbor 06.0] Warlock's Embrace

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

“The replay or the thing about my mother?”

  “Both,” I answered honestly. “I’ve thought about both.”

  “You were there for me after all of that, even though all you got in return was grief from me.”

  “No. I got a whole lot more than that.” I got to experience love at it’s most heightened form. I’d always known she loved me. I’d known it enough to look past her fear and anger. She was always still inside, she just needed help breaking through her walls. Until this point I’d never been able to do it.

  “I can’t really believe you’re still around.”

  “I’m still around because I knew we were meant to be. And I know we are better together. I’m not going to throw away what we have because of some fears. Not that the fears aren’t very reasonable. That’s not what I mean.”

  “I know.” Her smile lit up her entire face.

  “Should we go meet the others?”

  “Not yet.” I put my hands on either side of her face. “I need a few more minutes alone with you first.”

  She leaned into my hand. “That sounds perfect.”

  “Well, I have to hand it to you.” Billy grinned from across the table. “You make a good pizza.”

  “Of course he does.” Delpha scooted her chair closer to mine. “The best.”

  “And it’s not all magic?” Billy narrowed his eyes. “Not that I’d hold that against you.” He was in surprisingly good spirits, and I wondered if Pax had put some sort of alcohol in with his soda.

  “Just the water.” I wasn’t going to hide that part. It didn’t make sense to mislead people. “The rest is magic free.”

  “What’s this pie called?” Billy held up a slice of Sicilian piled high with pineapple and kale. “It’s a fantastic combination, but I don’t think I’ve had it before.”

  “Now we know where I get it from.” Delpha laughed.

  “You like it too?” Billy took a bite.

  “Yeah. It’s Delpha’s pizza. I might as well name it after her though it’s not officially on the menu yet.”

  “You going to put it on?” There was an almost hopeful note to her voice. “I promise I won’t change my mind and choose a different kind.”

  I knew we were no longer talking about pizza. “I’ll make it a featured pie.”

  “For how long?” Her voice wavered. Her eyes widened.

  “Forever. I’ll make a new section.” I called over to Pax. “Got that for when we reprint the menus?”

  “Got it, boss,” Pax grinned.

  “As enjoyable as the pizza is,” Vicky wiped her face. “And it’s as good as I’ve come to expect from you, we have other things to discuss.”

  “That we do.” I knew we did. I knew that everything we’d done would amount to nothing unless we tried to find Delpha’s mom, and got rid of the other dark ones. Maybe Vicky was right and we couldn’t kill them, but keeping them far away from Willow Harbor would be a good start.

  “You are going to have to practice combining your power. This isn’t going to come naturally.” Vicky had gone all business, which I appreciated considering the circumstance.

  “Even with our connection?” I was hoping that was going to make this easier.

  “That’s going to make this possible. Not easy.” She pushed her chair back. “I suggest you get to work immediately.”

  “So it’s back to the beach then?” Delpha set down her half-finished slice of pizza.

  “No.” Jackson shook his head. “It would be safer to practice on land.”

  “I still don’t get how you know so much about all this.” Delpha took another bite of pizza. I was glad she had an appetite. The second she lost it you usually knew you were in trouble.

  “It’s because I spent many years with them.” Jackson slumped down in his chair.

  “You spent years with the dark ones?” Billy nearly choked on his drink.

  “Not by choice. Why do you think I was so desperate to…well, to do what I did to Vanessa?”

  “You still haven’t even really explained what you did to her.” Billy’s face was stone.

  “It was a trade.” Jackson looked down at his empty plate.

  “A trade?” I asked for clarification.

  He turned to Delpha. “My freedom for a better shot at getting you. Being half-Oceanid you were more valuable than me.”

  “That’s not true.” Delpha pushed her chair back. “Being pure makes your magic more powerful.”

  “Is that what you think?” Jackson laughed dryly. “Are you crazy? Has no one ever explained exactly how powerful you are?”

  “No. No one has.” Delpha glared at her father. “No one thought it was worth their time.”

  “Delpha, you know that’s not—” Billy started.

  Jackson interrupted before he could continue. “Why do you think combining your powers with Cad will work? Because you two are both formidable powers and together you are nearly unstoppable.”

  “I’m not strong with magic. I’ve barely ever even used mine.” Delpha wrapped her arms around herself. She was losing confidence by the minute.

  I had to do something, or at least say something. “You don’t even know your potential yet. That’s the point.”

  Jackson waved me off. “And you think all your abilities with water are pure Oceanid? Have you ever seen your mother manipulate water the way you can do effortlessly?”

  “She can move water.” Delpha wouldn’t make eye contact with him.

  “But can she use it as a weapon?”

  “Yes…” Delpha trailed off.

  “When? When did she use it as a weapon?” Jackson pressed.

  “She never had to.” Delpha went quiet.

  “Delpha… she could have done it to protect you. She had the ability to defend, but not the offensive way you use it. That comes from your magic.” There was something akin to awe in Jackson’s voice.

  “Why were you with them?” Delpha turned the subject around. “How did you end up their prisoner?”

  Jackson met her glare head on. “I owed a debt. I was traded.”

  “There is entirely too much trading going on.” Pax spoke my thoughts out loud.

  “I’d have to agree. Completely,” Delpha agreed.

  “Finish eating and get to work.” Vicky stood.

  “Work as in at the library?” Delpha asked. “Because I thought it was assumed I wouldn’t be back for a few days.”

  “That’s not what I meant, but you may want to practice at the library. You’re going to need a large space to prepare.”

  “I hope you know what we’re doing.” Delpha nudged me with her shoulder. “Because I don’t.”

  I shrugged. “I had no idea what I was doing last time, and it worked.”

  “I’m going to help.” Vicky took a few steps from the table. “As will everyone.”

  “Want me at the library with you or making pizza?” Pax stood and started cleaning plates.

  “With us at the library. You never know when we may need a vampire.” I collected the rest of the plates. We could toss them in the kitchen and worry about the rest later. I’d given the rest of the staff the entire day off.

  Pax headed back toward the kitchen. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Tired of making pizza?”

  “Nah. But I’d rather be part of the action.”

  “I really hope this is the last of the action for awhile.” I wasn’t sure how much more facing down of crazy creatures I could take.

  “Well, of that kind of action.” He waggled his eyebrow.

  “Pax, my dad is right there,” Delpha snapped.

  “What did you think I was implying?” He feigned innocence.

  Delpha narrowed her eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Seventeen

  Delpha

  I closed my eyes as Cad and I moved around the room. I pulled inside myself, looking for my magic. I grabbed hold of it, but as soon as I tried to pull it out of myself I freaked out thinking it would hurt
Cad and released it. We needed to find a different way to connect.

  I opened my eyes and looked at Cad. “Why does it feel like we’re dancing?” My hands were wrapped up in Cad’s while we circled the lobby of the library. Vicky suggested we try moving around to better connect our powers, but after a series of failures I was beginning to doubt her.

  “Because we pretty much are.” Cad smiled. That smile was making it really hard to concentrate.

  “Ok, so it’s not just me.” I looked around the mostly empty lobby. Vicky, Mattie, and Pierce sat at the reception desk reading through some more books. The others had wandered off somewhere or other. There was too much at stake to worry about them.

  “At least it’s with each other. There’s no one else I’d rather be dancing with.” He was in such a good mood. Watching his face it was easy to forget we were trying to figure out a way to defeat monsters.

  “Same to you, but I’m hoping this kind of dance helps us find my mom.” I wasn’t trying to burst his bubble, but we had to stay focused.

  “It will.”

  “You’re that confident?” I readjusted my hands inside his. I was too comfortable, and comfort wasn’t going to help us.

  “What’s the alternative?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just I’ve tried to find her for years. Why will this suddenly work?” I couldn’t ignore the doubts in the back of my mind. I was lucky I was even alive. I was lucky Cad didn’t hate me for everything I’d done. What was the chance I was due more good luck?

  “One, you’ve always looked for her assuming she returned to be an Oceanid guardian. This time you know that’s not true. And second, you’re finally using your magic. It’s very powerful magic.”

  “Or so they say.” I still wasn’t convinced.

  “So I know. I had that magic running through my veins. The power was immense. It’s not just a possibility. It’s the truth.”

  “What did that feel like?” This was a topic that could help us. Maybe if he explained I’d have an easier time really grabbing hold of it.

  “Having your magic?” he clarified.

  “Yeah.”

  “It felt like holding you close but with burning pain throughout my body that carried your scent.”

  “You mean like a typical day with me?”

  “I mean like a typical day without you.” His expression turned serious.

  “Stop making me want to kiss you. It’s distracting.” Everything about him was distracting.

  “Maybe it would help you know. We are supposed to be combining our magic after all.” He waggled an eyebrow.

  “Then why stop at kissing?”

  “Your bed is right upstairs.” His eyes searched mine, as if trying to figure out if I was being serious.

  “No, I think we need to focus on this motion thing for the time being.” Getting into bed with Cad wouldn’t be a quick thing. It would mean losing the rest of the evening, and we definitely didn’t have time for that. Vicky had stressed that time was of the essence.

  He laughed. “Whatever you say.”

  “Did you really bring my dad back for me?” Yet another conversation we needed to have. Maybe it wouldn’t help, but I needed to get it off my chest.

  “Well, for me too. Part of it was selfish because I was tired of you leaving me.”

  “I don’t know what to think about him.” I wanted to apologize again for the latter part of his statement, but I couldn’t without spiraling our conversation down a very long tangent.

  “The beautiful thing is you don’t have to know yet. Let’s focus on your mom first, and then you can worry about him.”

  “Don’t you think he should be doing more?” I glanced around again just to make sure he wasn’t back.

  Cad shrugged. “Yes and no. We don’t really know what he’s doing.”

  “He’s not going after her.” I didn’t remember tons about my dad, but I remembered how much he loved my mom. I was surprised he was just sitting back and waiting for us to figure things out.

  “Not diving in the water, but he could be using his magic too.”

  “Do you like him? Is that why you’re defending him?”

  “How could I possibly like someone who abandoned you and caused you pain? I’m not defending him, I’m just being honest. He’s been talking with Jackson for well over an hour. My guess is it’s for a reason.” Cad made complete sense.

  “Ok. Let’s try this again.” I took my hands from his, rubbed them together and then put them back in Cad’s. “We need to focus.”

  “Yes. We both do.”

  “Are you blaming this on me? I’m not focusing enough?”

  “No, but this is harder for you. Not because you’re weaker or anything crazy like that. First of all, I’ve used my magic every day for years. Second of all, I’ve had your magic inside me so I know it. You don’t know mine as well.”

  “But I should.” No reason to deny it.

  “This isn’t about should. It’s about doing.”

  “Ok. Let’s do it.” I focused on him, only thinking of Cad. I didn’t worry about grabbing my powers, I’d let it happen naturally.

  I thought of how he seemed to see inside my soul, how I could always tell when he was near. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. I focused on how warm his hands felt around mine. And then I envisioned a flame. A small one at first, but it grew bigger. At the same time my hands started to heat up, not in a painful way, but it was noticeable nonetheless.

  “Delpha?” Cad said my name softly.

  I opened my eyes, and my heart about stopped. There were real flames emitting from our clasped hands. “Wait. We made that?”

  “I’m pretty sure we did.” He grinned. “Not bad, huh? Imagine what else we can make?”

  My mind immediately went to a vision of our future children. Cad would be such a great dad. I quickly pushed that thought away. We couldn’t go there now.

  The flame slowly died out. We let go of each others' hands and examined our own. There was no evidence any fire had touched them. “Should we try that again?”

  “Sure.” I returned my hands to his and closed my eyes again.

  This time it happened much faster. Within seconds our hands were a giant flame.

  “What do we try next?” We were on a roll. We needed to keep pushing forward.

  “We did fire, should we try ice?”

  “Ok. Can’t just think of you then.” My thoughts about Cad were far from icy.

  “Glad to know thinking of me gets you hot instead of cold.”

  “As if you didn’t know.” It was odd, mixing our personal life with such a strange and frightening situation.

  “Maybe this is a good test then. Creating something not out of our feelings for each other, but out of working together.”

  “True. Plus I have an idea for how to do this.” I returned my hands to his and closed my eyes. I thought about how I felt when he wasn’t around. About how lonely the nights were that we spent apart. I felt cold. All of me did. Particularly my hands. I opened my eyes, not all that surprised to find our hands surrounded by a block of ice.

  He laughed. “Were you thinking about being apart?”

  “Yeah, I take it you were too.”

  “I was. I guess the next challenge is doing something we can’t relate directly to us and getting it to expand beyond just our hands.”

  “Is that even possible?”

  He smiled. “I take it you mean to find something that we can’t relate directly to us?”

  “Yeah. But I guess what we really need to do is find something that isn’t so clear. And something that will help us. How are we going to keep the dark ones out?”

  “You are going to make a big net.” Vicky walked over from the desk carrying a large book. “A very big net.”

  “A net?” I narrowed my eyes. “We’re going to try to catch them in a net?”

  “Not exactly. You are going to create a magical net that will repel anything completely dark. You need to c
ast it over the area where the dark ones are concentrating their power. I could already see the darkness earlier, and I believe it is likely so strong now that even you will see the dark.” She tapped the cover of the book. I assume it’s where she got the net idea from. “The net is only going to work as long as they haven’t taken over the entire harbor. When they do that they will have grown too strong for even the two of you to fight.”

  “But they aren’t completely dark.” Cad released my hands, sending ice scattering onto the floor. “When I defeated that one it went off in a poof of light.”

  “That was your light. Not it’s.”

  “Are you sure?” He furrowed his brows. “It didn’t look that way to me.”

  “I’m positive. The dark ones didn’t earn their name for nothing.”

  “Ok. So we make a magical net? Then it keeps them out, and my mom is going to resurface?”

  Vicky nodded. “That’s the hope.”

  “What’s this net made out of?” I asked.

  “Pure magic. The kind only two as powerful as you can make.” Vicky nodded in our direction.

  Her response didn’t help much, but we didn’t have time to waste.“Ok. So we can do this.” I nodded. “We just have to concentrate really hard.”

  “It needs to be incredibly strong. The strongest kind of magic possible,” Vicky continued. “This has only been done a handful of times.”

  “And it’s worked?”

  “Not for long.”

  “Great.” Just when I was feeling hopeful.

  “But the entities that did it didn’t share the kind of connection you do.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I took Cad’s hands again.

  “Start believing in yourself, Delpha. I don’t know where your confidence is hiding, but you need it right now.”

  “I don’t know either.” I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head.

  The sound of the front door of the library opening had my eyes flying open.

  My father ran in clutching a brown paper bag in his hands. “Delpha, try this!”

  “We already ate.”

  He sighed. “It’s not food.” He dipped his hand into the bag and pulled out a shiny silver coin.

  “What is that?” Did he think we needed money or something?