Illicit Magic (Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series #1)

by Camilla Chafer

  “Very much so,” I answered as I kissed him lightly on the lips, lingering until he pulled me into his lap and kissed me deeply. Losing ourselves in each other, neither one giving a damn who saw us now.

  It was Evan who pulled away first. “We should get back to work before I become very distracted,” he murmured, trailing kisses along my neck, his warm hands on my back just under my top. “I could feel you control your magic. Well done.”

  A thought popped into my head, one that overpowered the urges that were drawing my body to Evan’s. I disentangled myself.

  “Evan, I have to ask you something.” Evan nodded, though not looking entirely thrilled at the interruption. “Last night you said Robert Bartholomew had personally asked you to come here.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why would he ask you to come here if you’re not a regular teacher? You are only teaching me, but why not let David? Or Étoile?”

  Evan pushed his chin out in thought and seemed almost embarrassed when he admitted, “I never thought to ask. He was calling in a favour.”

  “But why you? Of all people?”

  “Complaining?”

  “Of course not! But, Evan, there must be a whole bunch of people who can teach magic, why ask you to help me?”

  “I think he wanted someone specifically to teach you. He wasn’t pushy about it, but he made it clear that he wanted me to come.”

  “Yes, but why you? What made it so important that he had to come to you to ask you to teach me?”

  Evan thought about this for a moment. “He must have wanted the skills I had, or known that they would be compatible with yours. He must have been aware of what you could do already or, at least, what you had the potential to do.”

  “Does that make any sense to you?” I still couldn’t work out why Robert would call in a favour from Evan. Sure, he had powerful magic. I could sense it in people, in my kind, now that I knew what to look for, but what made him so superior to the other witches?

  “Sort of. If you want someone to learn a specific lesson, you go to the person who can offer it.”

  “The teleporting and the telekinesis, a lot of our kind could help me with, right? What things would he want me to learn from you?”

  “Those traits aren’t widespread,” he said to my surprise. “And they usually only run in certain family lines; but it’s not just witches who have those talents.”

  “But you have the same traits. What else could Robert want from you in particular?” I was sure I was on to something; all those veiled comments that Evan wasn’t the same as us. What else could he be, I puzzled: warlock, wizard or sorcerer?

  “Maybe he wanted you to learn how to track people, things,” Evan mused but he didn’t seem entirely convinced. “Maybe he thought with your ability to move, to teleport, you might make a good tracker. They actually would be excellent traits for a tracker to have.”

  “What do you track?” He said that was what he was, but he never explained what it meant.

  “People mostly.”

  “Like a bounty hunter?”

  “Close, but not exactly within the law. I track people, people who’ve double-crossed or murdered or kidnapped. Not just people though. Other beings too. I find things that have been stolen or gone missing. Sometimes I escort people places.”

  “Like a bodyguard?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Where to?”

  “To justice, often,” Evan said simply, which wasn’t quite the question I’d asked.

  “Why would Robert want me to learn that?”

  “Maybe to help you find work later, when things are quieter. You might not want to return to normal life, doing whatever it was that you did before you came here.”

  Evan might have been right about that but I still felt uneasy. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

  We were silent for a while, my head resting against him as my mind raced.

  “There is another possibility, of course.” Evan mulled the idea and seemed reluctant to voice it as if it were ridiculous. “Maybe Robert just wanted me to protect you. I don’t lose people and I can track them down, especially when I have a connection to them. I’m strong. Not many people would try attacking me. No harm would come to you with me here.”

  “Why would Robert go to so much trouble?”

  “Why not? He was a friend of your parents, right?” I shrugged. I didn’t know. I remembered that Steven, Robert’s second in command said he was a friend but I didn’t recall whether Robert himself was. Evan continued regardless. “He must have felt pretty bad that they disappeared and he couldn’t find them. Then they found you just as the Brotherhood were torching whomever of your kind they could catch.”

  “Could be. Though I would never have had Robert down as my biggest fan.”

  “He’s one of life’s good guys, Stella.” Evan’s voice was warm and sincere, but it still surprised me. Apparently, a lot was catching me unawares today. “I’ve known Robert for a very long time and he is one of the most stand-up guys I’ve ever met.”

  It seemed strange to hear the man I cherished speak so well of the man I inexplicably feared. From the moment I met Robert, I hadn’t been able to shake off the feeling that something was not right. Either Evan had been duped for years or I had misplaced my instincts. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

  “Have you spoken about this to anyone else?”

  I shook my head. “No, of course not.”

  “Let’s keep it to ourselves for a while. I’ll ask Étoile what she thinks later, if that’s okay?”

  I nodded.

  Evan shuffled me off his lap onto my feet and, with a small groan of disappointment, stood too. We walked back to the house, passing no one and not in any hurry and then entering through the kitchen door. If we were sullen and thoughtful, then it was no surprise to find how subdued our housemates were. I wondered briefly if we could be considered a coven. When I asked Evan, he laughed.

  “Not exactly hubble, bubble, toil and trouble, is it?”

  I smiled. “Far from it. I clearly have to reevaluate all my fairy stories.”

  “Don’t just stop with the witches.”

  Which reminded me, what exactly did Marc mean when he announced the differentiation between us? A whisper on the corner of my mind reminded me that it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it implied that Evan was something “other”.” I’d assumed from the moment I met him that he was a witch too, or a warlock – isn’t that what they call boy witches? – but when I thought about it closely, the magic I sensed from him was a different feeling than what I got when I was near Kitty or Étoile. Kitty hadn’t been overly perturbed when I mentioned what Marc said to me once before. It dawned on me that despite whatever everybody else saw and understood, I just wasn’t getting it.

  I wished I had had time to ask him but at that moment, we came to a dead stop in the living room.

  Robert Bartholomew stood in the centre of the room. Seren sat to one side of him, ramrod straight with her hands in her lap. Her face was unreadable.

  “We don’t have much time.” He dispensed with any greetings which was far from the genteel and courteous Robert I first met. He looked at Evan but nodded in my direction. “We have to get Stella out of here.”

  “Why?” I asked, aware that Evan was standing silently beside me.

  “We’ve been infiltrated. It’s not safe here.”

  “What makes you think Stella isn’t safe here?” Evan bristled beside me, even though he was fully aware of my fears about someone intent on frightening me. Robert seemed to be implying that I would have to leave and Evan didn’t seem one bit thrilled about only now being notified.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I answered, even though my opinion hadn’t been sought. What was new here? “I’ve already been forced to run from my home and then to here. When will I stop running, if not now?”

  “She’s got a point, Robert.”

  “Seren tells me your room was rifled this mornin
g?” Robert solicited, looking at me finally, I thought sadly.

  “Last night I think. But it wasn’t someone from the outside.” I’d had the time to process it now. I was certain. “It was someone here. No one else could have gotten in or out without being noticed. It had to have been someone here.”

  “Then things are worse than I thought.” Robert paced the floor for a moment before turning to me when I asked,

  “Do you know what were they looking for?”

  “I don’t know, Stella. Perhaps nothing. Do you know who it was?” He was looking at me strangely. I thought he had come to the same conclusion as I, that the whole aim was to frighten, not to steal. Perhaps it was to set me up to flee. “Did you sense a trace?”

  “No.” I wasn’t sure what he meant but I hadn’t felt anything but anger and then fear, and, come to think of it, nothing magical at all. “It could have been anyone here.”

  “Except me.” Evan’s voice was soft, so soft that only I could hear. I gave him a nod and Robert looked at him sharply.

  “It wasn’t me,” said Seren. “And I will vouch for David too. He was with me all night.”

  “That leaves Étoile, Jared, Kitty, Christy and Clara,” mused Robert. He added, “Marc too” as an afterthought, then signalled for us to sit, which we did. He perched on the sofa in front of us as he asked me, “What do you imagine they wanted?”

  “Either to find something they thought I had or to frighten me.”

  “Which is most likely?” Robert pressed.

  “To frighten me,” I said. “I have nothing much of value and I don’t think anything was taken.” I thought again, now I was certain which path I wanted to pursue. “If someone wanted me to run again, they would want me frightened. They turned over my room to make me feel unsafe, to make me want to leave.”

  “Or,” said Seren. “They wanted to make the council move you somewhere safer. Or, at least, somewhere other than here, maybe where you weren’t among so many people. What do you think, Robert?”

  “I think,” he said, his face etched with concern, “I think that would ensure my coming to make sure you were all right.” His fingers brushed his chin while he thought it over.

  “If so,” Evan chimed in, “Wouldn’t that make this a trap?”

  “Who would want to trap me?” Robert was perplexed but not without concern over his sudden predicament.

  “Someone who has an interest in both of us. We both pose a threat to someone, though who, I couldn’t say.” I surprised myself by speaking up. I searched through my mind for all the people I had recently met, and those I was only aware of. Could it be a Brotherhood trap? Maybe they were using me to get to Robert who was much further up the magical totem pole than I was. I wasn’t sure their reach stretched to America yet, or was so subtle that it could subvert an entire household of witches. Besides how would they get through the wards that guarded the house?

  A cough sounded from the doorway and we turned to look at Marc waiting there hesitantly. “I can answer, at least partly.” He scanned the room and was careful not to let his eyes linger on me as he said, “I went through Stella’s room.” He looked about as guilty as a man could be and I had to stifle a gasp. At least that explained why I hadn’t felt any magical trace; Marc didn’t have any to leave.

  “Why would you do that?” Robert seemed relieved but cautious.

  “I had to,” Marc explained, taking a step back and holding up his hands as Evan stepped towards him, thunder marring his eyes. “Wait; hear me out. I was told to keep an eye on Stella, watch what she was doing and report back.” Whoa! News to me! I gaped at him and wondered if it was distrust I saw mingled with the guilt?

  Robert was similarly puzzled. “We have no reason to watch Stella, other than to make sure she’s safe. What were you looking for?”

  “Evidence,” Marc said flatly.

  “Of what?” It was my turn to question him and, shocked as I might be that he had rifled through my room, I wasn’t going to miss my chance.

  “Your parents’ death,” Marc answered.

  “What kind of evidence could I have had?” I protested and Marc returned my look with a steely gaze. “I was five years old when they disappeared. Five years old!” I yelled. Marc at least had the grace to look ashamed.

  “Mom told me I had to check. She wanted to be sure she’s the real Stella. She asked me to find out what Stella knew about her parents’ death and said I had to mess up her room to freak her out. I’m really sorry, Stella, I shouldn’t have done it.”

  Boy, this conversation was getting weirder.

  “Eleanor never said anything of this to me.” Robert looked across at Seren who shook her head. “She was the one who was eager to bring Stella here. She wanted Stella where she could...” He trailed off.

  I finished for him. “Watch me,” I said, and it felt clearer now.

  “Why the hell would Eleanor want to check up on Stella? Why should she suspect a kid of having something to do with her parents’ death?” Evan stepped away from Marc and was addressing Robert now but Robert had sunk his head in his hands. When he finally came up for air, his face was chalky white as if he had endured a horrible shock.

  “Oh no,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Oh no. I should have realised. I should have known.”

  “I don’t understand. Robert, what should you have known?” I might respect my elders but I was tempted to cross the carpet and shake the man. Seren was looking at him in utter bewilderment. I rather thought she might want to give him a shake too.

  “There is only one reason why Eleanor would want to know as much as she could about what Stella remembered of Jonathan and Isadore’s deaths.” Robert scanned us all, his eyes landing on Marc last, his voice heavy with grief and disappointment.

  I was sure he would have told us then, but instead, a bright explosion sent us flying from our feet.

  ELEVEN

  As it turned out it wasn’t an explosion; I just assumed it was because that was what my brain rationalised. But it wasn’t a bomb or a faulty electricity socket or even a gas line leak. It was a powerful surge of magic that smashed through the room like a tsunami.

  The first, a bolt of magic with a purple haze, caught Robert squarely in the chest and he crumpled to the floor, his mouth half open in surprise as we were knocked backwards. I don’t know if he even saw what hit him. I sure hoped not. He lay in a pool of his own blood, his torso ripped to pieces by the impact. His eyes glazed over and rolled into his skull as the last bit of life ebbed out of him in a whisper.

  Seren vanished from her chair as Evan grabbed me and pushed me through the doorway to the hall while we half scrambled to our feet. Marc was nowhere to be seen and even though I was pissed off, I hoped he wasn’t hurt. Seren reappeared in front of us and we almost collided as we skidded down the polished floor of the hallway to the kitchen. Evan pushed me into a corner of the kitchen as a flash of magic rushed past us, like a flame, the heat catching at our skin.

  “Jared?” I whispered, wondering, hoping, somehow this magic was merely a horrible accident.

  “Definitely. Not.” Evan said slowly and decisively. He shook his head and I could see he was desperately worried.

  The next flame was followed by Kitty, who had thrown herself through the doorway to the kitchen as shouts of fear and surprise followed her but I couldn’t work out who they were from. She crouched near us. “We’re being attacked,” she whispered incredulously, fear evident in her voice, which rose a couple of octaves.

  Seren was crouched on the other side of me and leaned in to whisper. “I’ll warn the others.”

  “Get them out of here,” ordered Evan as she flashed out of existence.

  Someone screamed and I was just about to peek around the doorframe when Evan pulled me back. “Do you want your head blown off?” he hissed.

  “Not really.” I muttered. “I’m quite attached to it.”

  “What the hell is going on?” asked Kitty, keeping her voice to a whisper. �
��I was just walking down the stairs and got a flame ball thrown at me.”

  “We were talking to Robert in the living room,” I answered, when it seemed Evan wasn’t going to respond. “Seren was there but you’ve already seen she’s okay. Marc was there too.”

  “Where is he? Is he hurt?” Kitty’s eyes widened in concern.

  I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t ambivalent but I certainly wasn’t feeling like Marc’s best friend right now. “I don’t think so.”

  Evan was listening with more than his ears. The hallway was quiet again and I wondered if Marc had found somewhere to hide. I didn’t want to think about the other possibility. “I think Robert’s dead,” he whispered after a moment and I nodded.

  “Stella!” The voice was clearly female and most definitely calling me.

  Evan put a hand on my arm, even before I started, and shook his head.

  “Stella, I know you’re there. We need to talk.”

  I looked to Evan and he slid his hand down to hold mine, the mere proximity of him giving me the strength I needed.

  “I know you were going to tell, Stella.” The voice crooned in such a pleasant, cajoling way that I had to remind myself of the inherent danger of answering the woman. “I couldn’t let you do that. You would have ruined everything.”

  “Who the hell is that?” Kitty shuffled closer to me. I wasn’t sure if she were trying to camouflage herself by me, or protect me. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she started putting some distance between us. “Is it ..?” She looked green.