Legacy of Magic

by Denise Carbo

  “I know I promised to feed you, but do you have any idea how badly I want to crawl back into bed with you?” Finn stood at the end of the bed staring down at her. He had dragged on his jeans, leaving them unbuttoned and clearly showing the truth of his words.

  She smiled. “There’s always after dinner.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  A refreshing breeze whispered through the leaves of the trees—cooling the back of her neck. The sun lowered on the horizon, and shades of peach, pink, and yellow stretched across the sky. The scent of grilled food still spiced the air. Cory sank back against the cushioned chair on Finn’s back deck, sliding her empty plate away and lifted her water glass to take a sip. “Dinner was delicious, thank you.”

  “My pleasure. If you want dessert, I’m afraid the best I can do is probably store-bought cookies. I think I still have a box in the cupboard somewhere.”

  She slanted a look his way. “And here I thought you had something else in mind for dessert.”

  “Oh, we’ll get to that, but we need to chat first. Clear some details up.”

  Cory opened her eyes fully and stared. “Oh?”

  “Don’t look so surprised. I said we needed to talk.”

  “Yeah, but I had begun to think that was a euphemism for sex, or something, since you hadn’t said anything earlier, or all through dinner.”

  Finn smirked. “I was pleasantly distracted, and then I figured it best to have a nice meal first and chat on a full stomach.”

  Cory tapped her toes against the wooden deck. She rested her arms loosely on the cool metal arms of the chair and returned his gaze. Her mind raced, but she couldn’t decipher what he wanted to talk about.

  “So, spill it, what do you want to discuss?”

  Finn rubbed his palms on his jeans and glanced out into the yard at Bat rolling in the grass, and then back to Cory.

  “It occurred to me, we might be at a point in our relationship where it’d be a good idea to establish some guidelines.”

  Relationship? He wanted to talk about their relationship. She wrapped her fingers around the arms of the chair. The tapping of her foot increased.

  Of course, they had some sort of a relationship. They were neighbors. They had gone out a few times. They’d had sex a couple of times, all right more than a couple if you counted the actual acts rather than occasion.

  She took a breath. “Guidelines? Maybe you should clarify what you mean before my mind starts jumping to conclusions.”

  “No big deal, I just think it best to clear the air and make sure we’re both on the same page.”

  Cory sighed. Okay, this she could handle. Typical guy. He was concerned she was getting expectations in her head about them being a couple. Probably worried she would start ordering bridal magazines or something. A tad bit insulting to say the least, but it was normal guy behavior.

  “Look, Finn, you have nothing to worry about. There’s no need to warn me off or anything.”

  Finn leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “Warn you off?”

  “Yeah, you’re obviously worried I’m going to get too attached, and start putting more significance on our relationship than you intended, right?”

  “Is that what I meant?” Finn sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “And there’s no worry about that with you, because you’re what? Scratching an itch? Enjoying your new found single status?”

  Cory blinked and bit her lip. Umm, okay, she was starting to think she had misread the situation. “Exactly what is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means exactly what I said. I’m not sure I want to be one of the crowd. A stopover on your road to husband number two.”

  She lunged to a stand. “One of a crowd? Husband number two? What the hell are you talking about?”

  Finn slowly stood and placed his palms on the table. “Don’t play games, princess, it’s beneath you. I’m talking about Sebastian Marks. What? He’s not doing it for you, so you decide to slum a bit?”

  Cory narrowed her eyes and folded her arms in front of her waist. “You’re lucky I don’t smack your face for that. Not sure whom you’re insulting more with that accusation, me or you. I’m not dating Sebastian. I had one date with him when I first arrived, that’s it. Not sure where you get off accusing me of being a slut and a gold digger. You can go straight to hell, Finn.”

  She swiveled and stalked down the stairs of the deck and started across the cool grass.

  “Damn it! Wait a minute!”

  The hard thump of his footsteps pounded across the deck and stairs. The urge to run flashed in her mind before she stopped and swung around. She’d be damned before she ran from anyone.

  “What the hell for? You have more insults to hurl my way?”

  He stopped in front of her, gazing down at her with his hands on his hips. “I saw him drop you off earlier. Care to explain that?”

  “No, I don’t. I don’t owe you any explanations. Goodbye Finn.” She turned and started back across the lawn.

  He grabbed her arm. “Wait.”

  Cory glared down at his hand on her arm and then back to his face. “Let go.”

  Finn dropped his hand. “Damn it, Cory. I may be going about this all wrong, but could we please just talk about this rationally.”

  “Talk about what? The fact you think I’m a slut or a gold digger?”

  Finn ran his hands through his hair roughly. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, okay?”

  She folded her arms and stared silently.

  Finn started to pace back and forth in front of her. “When I saw you get out of his car…I didn’t like it, okay?” He stopped and stared at her. “I don’t want you seeing him, or anyone else.” He shrugged and opened his arms. “There you have it. I wanted to talk about exclusivity between the two of us.”

  Cory gripped the sides of her waist and stared off into the woods. “You were jealous.”

  “Yeah, you want to label it? Fine, I was jealous.”

  She glanced back at him and away. Scrambling to organize her thoughts, she curled her toes against the cushion of grass beneath her feet. Finn was the casual, good time guy, it never occurred to her he might be interested in a real relationship with her. What chance did that have? Her life was a mess right now. She didn’t even know if she would be alive in a few weeks. Her plate was more than full, it was cracking under the strain.

  “Say something.”

  “I’m not sure what to say, Finn.”

  “Say you’re willing to give it a go.”

  Cory met his gaze. “I don’t know if I can right now. I’ve got a lot going on in my life.”

  “Does it have anything to do with him?”

  “Not in the way you think.”

  “Then what? What were you doing with him? I should’ve confronted the bastard like I wanted to this afternoon.”

  “No!” Cory held up the palm of her hand. “Stay away from him.” She had no doubt Sebastian could and would kill Finn if he got in the way. “You know what? This isn’t going to work. I’m sorry.” Cory started backing away and then swung around to jog across the backyard.

  He caught up with her at the back door. “Cory, wait, stop.”

  “No, I’m sorry, but this is over. It’s best if you and I go back to being reluctant neighbors.” She started moving the pot of flowers by the back door, looking for the key her aunt had once mentioned keeping there. She needed to get inside now, before she lost the tenuous control she had on her emotions.

  “Are you afraid of him? Has he hurt you?”

  Cory froze and turned around. Finn stood with one foot on the bottom stair and one foot on the ground.

  “Answer me, Cory.”

  She should’ve let him believe she was involved with Sebastian, but the revulsion was too strong. She had to convince him it was over though.

  “No, just stay away from him and me. Please, it’s for the best. You need to go.” She continued searching the pots, frantic to find
the key, before she gave in to the threatening tears.

  The creak of the steps and give of the wood planks of the porch announced his ascent rather than retreat. “What the hell are you doing? Cory, I’m not going anywhere until we talk this through. Look at me.”

  “I’m looking for the damn key!”

  He sighed. “It’s not there. I convinced her it wasn’t safe. I’ll tell you where it is after we finish talking.”

  Cory closed her eyes and tried counting, it didn’t work.

  She whirled around and gave him her best glare. He now stood at the top of the stairs watching her.

  “Give me the key. There’s nothing more to say.”

  “Oh, I think there’s plenty more to say.”

  “No, there is not.” She raised her chin. “You were right, I am seeing Sebastian.”

  His jaw flexed.

  “Yeah, the question is why?”

  “For the obvious reasons. I told you, you were right.”

  Finn rubbed his jaw with one hand. “Yeah, see, princess, I don’t believe you.”

  Cory blinked.

  “You were pissed when I brought it up before, and then I saw the fear on your face when I mentioned confronting him, and now here you are trying to convince me you’re dating him. I’m not buying it. If you won’t give me an explanation, then I guess I’ll have to go find Marks after all.” He turned to go. “Looking forward to it, in fact.”

  “No!” Cory lunged forward and grabbed his shoulder.

  He slowly turned back around, pinning her with his gaze. “Start talking Cory.”

  Cory threw her hands up in the air and stared around wildly. She didn’t know what to do.

  She dropped her face into her hands and fought the desire to start bawling or laughing hysterically. She wasn’t sure which urge would win.

  She sensed him step toward her, and she moved away, walking down the length of the porch. But she then stopped and faced him.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  “Promise you’ll stay far away from Sebastian. Safer if you stay away from me too.”

  “So far everything you’re saying is making me want to find the bastard and pummel him into the ground. You’re obviously afraid of him, Cory. What has he done?”

  “You have to promise to stay away from him. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “Probably better if I show you.” Cory waved her arm toward the holly bushes edging the porch. Branches coated in dark green leaves stretched and lengthened rapidly, shooting across the railing toward Finn.

  He jumped back, flinging a hand out against the house to steady himself. He stared at the branches in horror before turning his gaze to Cory.

  She waved her arm again, and the branches receded.

  “He’s a witch, and so am I.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Okay.”

  Bile rose in the back of her throat. What had she done? Finn stared at the deck, silent and unmoving. At best, he was probably figuring out the best way to drag her off to the looney bin. At worst, well, at worst he believed her and would want to confront Sebastian. He’d get himself killed.

  “Okay, what?”

  “When I was twelve, my Dad had died a few weeks before, and I had too many emotions I didn’t know how to deal with. I fell in with this group of kids that…well to put it mildly they were a bunch of troublemakers. One day, we’d ditched school and were causing as much mischief as we could get into, graffiti, some vandalism. You get the idea. Anyway, there was this dog in the neighborhood everyone knew to steer clear of. A real nasty bit of work, and so was its owner. We were walking down the sidewalk past the yard that was surrounded by chain link fence. The dog stood in the middle of the grass watching us. One of the guys yanked my hat off my head and tossed it into the yard with the dog.”

  His gaze slowly rose to meet hers. “My Dad had given me that hat.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes.

  “So, I climbed over the fence. I remember the silence, like everyone and everything was holding its breath. The harsh pounding of my heart echoed in my ears as I inched my way toward my hat, while keeping my gaze firmly fixed on the dog. It didn’t move, just watched me. I reached my hat, and slowly bent to grab it. That’s when it lunged for me.”

  Gasping, she clasped a hand over her mouth.

  “I turned to run with my hat clutched to my chest, but it snagged the back of my ankle, and I crashed to the ground. I yelled out in pain, and out of the corner of my eye saw the guys scatter. They weren’t sticking around for the aftermath. They must have thought for sure, I was a goner.”

  “I heard a low murmuring, and the dog released my ankle. I flipped over and started scrambling backward. The pain shooting up my leg made me cry out. A young woman stood inside the yard. I’d never seen her before. She was staring at the dog and whispering something—no idea what. It wasn’t a language I had ever heard. The dog was whining, staring at her. It slowly lowered to its haunches and dropped its head down on its paws. The damnedest thing it was, the dog just fell asleep. I was frozen. The woman ran over to me yanked up the torn leg of my jeans to examine my ankle. She wrapped some cloth around it and asked me if I lived nearby.

  “When I nodded, she helped me to stand and asked if I could walk. I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to say no. The dog started whimpering, and she told me to go. I did. She held out her hand toward the dog and started whispering in that language again. I didn’t stop until I was on the other side of the fence. I looked back, and the dog was quiet again. She was gone. Nowhere to be seen. I hobbled home and cleaned up my leg. I never told a soul that story.”

  A chill danced over Cory’s arms, and she rubbed it away.

  Finn walked toward her and stopped. “So, what I’m saying is I believe you. I think there’s plenty of unexplained things in this world. I’m not saying I understand it, or what it means, but I’d like to try.”

  She closed her eyes. Tears slid down her cheeks. “My life is a mess.”

  Warmth encompassed her, as he wrapped his arms around her. She dropped her head to his chest.

  “Tell me.”

  She told him everything—from discovering her powers to finding out about Sebastian and his father’s dark plans.

  His arms rubbed her back through the entire explanation, tightening briefly at the mention of Sebastian and his father.

  “Anything else?”

  She wiped her cheeks and snorted softly. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “I mean is that everything? You’re not holding anything back?”

  She showed him the tree symbol on the back of her neck that he had thought was a tattoo. He placed a swift kiss upon it. “Nothing more?”

  “No, that’s everything.”

  “You said Melanie was helping you? She find anything out about his family?”

  Cory shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m worried she’ll draw attention to herself and get hurt. And now I have to worry about you too. Please, promise you’ll stay away from this. Stay away from Sebastian.”

  Finn stared down at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way in hell I’m ever leaving you alone with that guy again. I don’t trust him a bit. I’m going with you to these so-called training sessions.”

  Cory’s mouth dropped open and then snapped closed. “Absolutely not! Didn’t you hear what I said? He can knock you out with a thought. Most likely kill you with one too.” She wrenched herself out of his arms and started pacing across the porch. “I should never have told you about this.”

  Finn grabbed a hold of her arms and drew her close. “Stop. Yes, you should have, and I’m glad you did. I wasn’t about to drop it or let it go. I wasn’t letting you go. I don’t know what this is between us, but I’m not ready to walk away. We’ll deal with all this witch stuff together. You, me, and Melanie, three heads are better than one, right?”

  Cory
rested her cheek against his shoulder. She didn’t know whether to be relieved, or terrified.

  “First things first though, I’m going to get the key for Addy’s house. I’ll be right back, and then you and I will discuss this some more and come up with a plan, okay?”

  He waited for her agreement before jogging over to his house. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. He was right, she needed a better plan. She couldn’t take back her words or actions, he already knew, so she needed to concentrate on the coming weeks and move forward.

  Finn was back in a moment and unlocking the back door. He held the door open for her and she walked past him into the kitchen.

  “How about I get us something to drink and we sit down and hash this out?”

  “All right but let me run upstairs and check my phone. I should see if Mel or Aunt Addy called while I was over at your house. My aunt should be home any minute, and she knows nothing about this. I insist on keeping it that way.”

  “Agreed. Grab your shoes and we can head back to my house.”

  Cory jogged up the stairs and checked her phone. Melanie had called. She played the short voicemail, “Call me as soon as you get this.”

  Pressing call back, she started to walk back downstairs, but the headlights of her aunt’s car beamed as she entered the driveway. Cory stepped back in her room and closed the door as Mel answered.

  “Hey Mel.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Cory sighed. “You know me too well. First tell me why you wanted me to call.”

  “Okay, but only because I’ve been dying to tell you. You will tell me after, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I found Sebastian’s family. His father’s name is Edward Marks. Here’s the sketchy thing, no birth certificate, no social security number, no trace of his identity anywhere. I found him by tracing Sebastian. There was an obscure mention of Sebastian attending a charity fundraiser along with other members of the Marks family including his father and sister. His sister’s name is Miranda. He has a brother too, Miles. I discovered a foundation the Marks family runs, but every time I try to uncover more information I hit more walls. Not surprisingly, they’re very secretive. I did find proof of an Edward Marks in England during the seventeenth century. I’m not one hundred percent positive it’s the same one, but I’m waiting on more reference material which should tell me either way. It does corroborate Sebastian’s story if it is indeed him.”