Legacy of Magic

by Denise Carbo

  “Found this one online. Sending you some images. I’ve also requested some books from other libraries I’ve come across. We’ve got this!”

  Cory couldn’t help but smile. Her friend was the best. She was convinced Melanie could rule the world if she wanted to. Swiping through the images, page after page of various spells and incantations with instructions of when and how to perform them were listed. She shook her head and sighed, the full moon was last night, and it seemed most of these required its presence. Wonder why? This one called for a blue moon, whatever that was.

  Hmm. This one was in Latin. Not a required course when she attended school. Rudimentary French was the best she could handle. Wandering out the door to go to the barn and collect some more supplies she mumbled the words trying to derive their meaning.

  A surge of power vibrated her body. She stopped abruptly and whirled around, searching around her.

  “Oh my God!”

  The apple tree she had just passed which marked the beginning of the orchard was covered in deep red fully ripened apples. In June.

  Frantically looking to see if anyone had witnessed the odd event, Cory ran to an empty bucket determined to get rid of the evidence. How could she explain an apple tree ready for harvest a good three months early?

  Returning with the bucket she began picking every apple she could grasp. The bucket rapidly overflowed with apples, and she ran to the barn for another bucket.

  “Please, please, please.” She stretched to her tiptoes snagging the ruby red apples from their branches. One by one the branches bent toward her, and the apples dropped to the ground.

  Cory gasped and jumped back. Another shower of apples plunked to the ground in rapid succession.

  She looked around wildly before grabbing them all to stuff in the buckets and lugged them to her car trunk. Luckily, as an employee she always parked in back by the barn leaving the front lot for customers.

  Leaning against the wall in the coolness of the barn, she wiped the sweat from her brow. That was the last time she would attempt to read an unknown spell. What had she been thinking? That it was harmless, and likely a load of blarney.

  “Cory? Are you all right?”

  Cory straightened from the wall and faced Alec, forcing a small smile to her lips. “I’m fine, just resting for a minute. It’s hot out there.”

  He made his way over to her. His kind, weathered face wrinkled in concern. “You’re flushed. Are you feeling okay? Perhaps you should go home.”

  “Oh no, I’m fine, really.”

  “Well, at least have some water and stay out of the sun. I don’t want you overtaxing yourself. It’s easy to get dehydrated in the summer heat.”

  Cory touched his arm and smiled. “I will, Alec. I’m fine, thank you.” His gaze followed her as she walked back to the greenhouses.

  Note to self, magic is amazingly real.

  ****

  Lights flashed behind her. A quick glance in her rearview mirror revealed a dark sedan flashing its headlights. What on earth? Cory slowed and looked again. It was Sebastian.

  Her phone rang, and her Bluetooth picked up notifying her of an incoming call. He was calling.

  Can’t really ignore him when he’s right behind me, now can I? She pressed the button to answer, as she searched the road ahead for a public place to stop. There was none.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Coralea. There’s a turn off up ahead, take it. We need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “I’ll explain in a moment.”

  “I’m in a hurry, Sebastian. Can’t we talk another time, or over the phone?”

  “No, this is best done in person, and time is of the essence.”

  “Well then, how about you follow me back to Aunt Addy’s and we can talk there.”

  “This is best done in private. There’s the turn.”

  Cory gripped the steering wheel. Indecision warred inside her. If she pulled over, and he meant her harm, she was in the middle of nowhere. Her magic was unreliable. What if she couldn’t defend herself? Was she being crazy? He’d never done anything to suggest he meant her harm. She’d based her worries on a mysterious glow and her admittedly unfounded suspicions.

  She turned left at the turnoff. A narrow dirt road meandered before her. Where did this go? She slowed to stop as his car crowded behind her.

  Frantically texting Melanie while keeping her gaze peeled on Sebastian as he approached her car, she told her friend what was happening in case he had bad intentions. Cory exited the message application and slid her phone beneath her. She hadn’t been able to check what she sent. Hopefully it hadn’t autocorrected her to send an illegible message, or something so dire Melanie panicked and called the police, the military, or any other emergency number she could find.

  Lowering her window, she forced a tight smile to her lips. “What is so important, Sebastian? I’m running late. People are expecting me.” Couldn’t hurt to slip that in and let him know she’d be missed.

  He stared down at her. He didn’t smile. His gaze searched her face, and then he sighed. “Have you been avoiding me, Coralea?”

  Absolutely! “No, of course not. I’ve just been exceedingly busy with my new job and all. Sebastian, I explained to you why I wasn’t interested in dating right now.” Was that what this was about? Had anyone ever turned him down before?

  “What about D’Orsey?”

  She tried to prevent the blush she could feel heating her cheeks, but it proved to be a fruitless endeavor. Damn it, what was she supposed to say? They weren’t dating, not exactly. They’d had sex. Fantastic sex. She winced. Her face was probably the color of a fire engine.

  “It’s really such a shame.”

  Cory glared up at him. All right, she probably could’ve handled it better, but wasn’t he taking it a bit far? “What is?”

  “I am sorry, Coralea.”

  For what? His features grew indistinct as the world around her appeared to tilt. Black spots danced across her vision, and her limbs grew heavy.

  Her world went dark.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Consciousness teased the edges of Cory’s mind. Weakness permeated her limbs. A rough material irritated her skin. Her eyelashes fluttered open to reveal a wall of blurry gray in front of her face. An unpleasant mixture of odors assailed her nose. Her mouth was dry as a desert.

  “Drink this. It will help.”

  Cory flipped over, and the world tilted out of focus. Sebastian stood in front of her holding out a bottle of water. Her frantic gaze took in her surroundings. She was in the open trunk of her car. The bastard had knocked her out and put her in the trunk of her own car!

  She smacked the bottle out of his hands. The motion caused her to sway and fall back against the bottom of the trunk.

  “Or not.” Sebastian glanced at the water bottle on the ground and then back to her. “You’re dehydrated. You need the water.” He picked up the bottle and casually handed it to her once again.

  Her limbs shook as she attempted to support herself. Think Cory! What did he want from her? She needed to stay calm and focus. She needed that water.

  Snatching it from his hands she diligently checked the seal. It appeared intact. Could he have injected it somehow?

  “For what it’s worth, it’s just water. Not that I expect you to believe me.”

  Cory glared at him before wrenching open the bottle with shaky hands and gulping down the entire contents. He handed her another and she polished it off as well after examining the container.

  She began to feel half way normal. If sitting in the trunk of her car after being abducted could ever feel normal. “What do you want from me? Why did you do this?”

  Cory adjusted her position in the trunk while surreptitiously cataloging her surroundings. They appeared to be at the edge of a small meadow surrounded by trees. His car was parked behind hers on a dirt road. The same dirt road he had her turn into most likely. Which meant she knew where to go if she ma
naged to escape. She wouldn’t have to waste precious moments blindly fleeing through the woods while she figured out where she was.

  “To talk.”

  “Talk? You knocked me out and abducted me to talk? Not a good way to engage someone in conversation, Sebastian. Did you ever think to ask?”

  “I believe I tried on several occasions if you recall. You rebuffed me each time.”

  He stood with his hands casually resting in the pockets of his trousers, as if they were just having a pleasant chat. He returned her glance with a bland stare. Was he insane? Should she try to reason with him? Placate him? Play along? Act weak and look for an opening to escape?

  “All right, obviously you have my attention, and I’m at your mercy. What do you want to talk about?”

  Perhaps she should try to sound more like a scared, simpering female in distress and less hostile captive, but she’d like nothing better than to kick him in the balls. The son of a bitch!

  She narrowed her eyes as he gave her a one-sided smirk and a tiny dimple appeared. He thought this was amusing?

  “Coralea, I do find you interesting, and that is saying a great deal, as nothing has interested me for some time.”

  Well, bully for him. Found her interesting, did he? How interesting would he find her when she knocked him on his ass?

  Vines climbed the nearby trees, seeking precious sunlight, circling branches and trunks like giant snakes. Cory delved deep inside for her powers. The answering surge steadied her as she glanced up at him through her lowered lashes. “And what do you find so interesting?” Shifting to her knees she feigned a weakness she no longer felt and grasped the edges of the trunk in readiness.

  The vines wrapped around his ankles and yanked him off his feet. She sprang from the trunk and raced to the front of her car, praying the keys were still in the ignition. If not, she had a spare hidden under the wheel well in one of those nifty security boxes, but that would take precious seconds she didn’t have.

  Wrenching the door open, her gaze frantically searched the ignition. Yes! The keys were there.

  The door slammed shut, knocking her on her ass when she leaped back to avoid being hit.

  A soft chuckle announced his presence before he loomed over her. “Nicely done, Coralea, but you’ll have to do better than that.”

  She glared up at him. One question had been answered. He had powers. Was that how he had knocked her out without touching her? Nifty trick. She wished she knew how to do that.

  The tall grass tickled her bare skin. The blades fluttered against her in a soothing pattern. Could she somehow lure him to the trees and knock him out with a branch, or even skewer him? She began to feel quite murderous.

  The energy flowed into her from the plants, burgeoning her powers. Small twigs and branches flew through the air pelting Sebastian. He threw up his arms to protect himself as she scrambled to her feet. Since Sebastian was between her and her car, she twisted to run in the opposite direction toward his vehicle and the road.

  The slap of power knocked her to her knees and left her gasping for air. Sweat poured from her as weakness spread. She fought it, but it left her floundering. She braced herself on her hands and knees as his feet appeared in her line of vision.

  “Your follow through needs work.”

  Cory scowled. Tilting her head, she watched as he gingerly plucked a twig from his hair and smoothed the strands back in place.

  “This can go one of two ways. One, we continue to fight and you lose. I deliver you to your own personal hell as I have been ordered to do. Or second, you listen and learn.”

  Sebastian raised one imperious eyebrow. “The choice is entirely yours. I don’t care either way.”

  She leaned back on her heels, resting her hands on her thighs while she stared at the ground mulling over his words. He was more powerful than Cory. He’d made that abundantly clear. Someone had ordered him to abduct her. The question was who and why? Most importantly, did he mean Hell literally?

  “I believe I’ll take option two.”

  “Sound choice.”

  He held out his hand. She eyed it like a coiled rattlesnake. Was he serious? Although a bit unsteady, she managed to stand without assistance.

  She ambled to her car and leaned against it for support. Folding her arms across her middle, she stared at him, waiting.

  “I’m going to get you some water from my car. If you attempt another escape, option two is off the table. Understood?”

  Her mouth was again dry as parchment, so she nodded slowly. She had no intention of doing anything until she had some answers, and she was in no hurry to be delivered to the hell he mentioned.

  Handing her a bottle as he returned, he opened his own and drank. Cory did the same. Drinking deeply at first, and then taking a few smaller sips. “I’m listening.”

  Sebastian capped his empty bottle before taking hers and tossing them both in the back of his car. He walked back to her and surveyed her from head to toe. “Is the weakness gone?”

  “Yes, pretty much. Are you going to tell me how you did that? Better yet, teach me? You did say listen and learn.”

  His single dimple appeared briefly. “You can’t be taught that trick.”

  “Try me.”

  He sighed. “You really are clueless, aren’t you?”

  Cory straightened against the car. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Power is derived from the four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. You can only have power from one element. Nature’s way of checks and balances. Yours is from the earth, obviously. Control of plants, more specifically.”

  “Where does your power come from?”

  “What do you think?”

  Well, he can knock her out without a touch. He slammed the car door without touching it. “Air?”

  “No.”

  “Then how did you slam the door, or knock me out without touching me?”

  “The door was simply a shove of power. You can learn that given enough time and practice. What is the human body mostly composed of?”

  Cory shrugged. “Skin? I’m not a doctor.” Although her mother was. What would her mother think of all this? A laugh threatened to bubble up her throat. Perhaps she was becoming hysterical, because she couldn’t help but be amused by the thought of her mother’s reaction.

  “The human body is more than half water. Each individual is slightly different of course, some have more than others.”

  “So water is your element?”

  Sebastian nodded once. “What you experienced is rapid dehydration. A little will weaken, a lot can render the person unconscious.”

  Didn’t seem particularly fair. How could she fight against someone who could simply knock her out every time? Water appeared to be the more powerful element at the moment.

  “I can teach you to resist it, up to a point.”

  That was interesting. He would teach her how to fight his magic? “Why? Why would you teach me how to resist your powers?”

  “Because you’re strong, not just with power, but strength of will. I believe you can learn to fight. With the right instruction, you could help alter the course of both our lives.”

  “And why would I want to do that?”

  “Remember option one? It leads to a continued life of servitude for me, and most likely death for you, or at the very least you’d wish for death.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  That didn’t sound promising in the least. Death, or wishing for it, was something she wanted to avoid. Life of servitude? What did that mean?

  “Who exactly do you serve and why? And what does it have to do with me?”

  Sebastian stood at ease with his hands once more in his pockets staring off into the distance. His gaze rested on Cory for a moment before he finally replied. “It all centers around power. You have it, others want what you have. If they can’t control the power through you, then they’ll take it from you.”

  “Take it from me how? People can do that? And what do you mea
n control me?”

  “He’s not what I would describe as a person, not anymore anyway. His humanity, if he ever had any, has long since disappeared. He’s the only one I know of who can steal another’s power.”

  “Who is he, and how does he steal powers?”

  “The exact process is known only to him, but it is a ritual which can only be done during a total solar eclipse. The next one is less than two months away, August twenty-first. Which is why we don’t have much time. You need to learn to access your power and control it at will, or you won’t have a chance.”

  Cory rubbed the goosebumps spreading up her arms. A few months ago, her life was hard enough, her marriage had ended badly, she had no job or home, but at least she had her health. Now, it looked like someone wanted to take that from her as well.

  “Stealing my power will kill me?”

  His gaze delved into hers. “Most likely. There have been a few to survive it over the years, but not for long, and it was not an existence I would wish on anyone.”

  Okay, not a viable option, got it. “What did you mean about controlling me and my power?”

  Sebastian sighed. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. That is not likely to be an option for you. He’s desperate for power and you’re the only outsider with power right now.” He shrugged. “Of course, if he decided your power was more valuable to him than another’s then he wouldn’t hesitate to take theirs instead if he thought he could control you. I have my doubts whether you could manage the subservient role, however.”

  Cory’s foot began to tap. “Are you saying if I could convince him I would join his little band of witches, or warlocks, or whatever you call yourselves then he might keep me around instead of killing me and taking my power? Yet, at the expense of one of your members?”

  Could she convince someone that she would serve them to save herself? Depends on what she had to do? Could she do it, knowing someone else would die in her place? Well, hell, were they evil? That might help.