Renegade Magic (Legacy Series Book 3)

by McKenzie Hunter

  She gave me a naughty grin. “I can assure you Lucas cares about more than just my neck.”

  Well, I can’t un-hear that. I made a face. Just when I thought I was getting used to them as a couple she said something like that and I realized I hadn’t.

  I redirected the conversation. “Next week after the Solstice festival we’ll go looking for the Legacy. Between the Trackers’ dossiers and blood location, we should be able to find them all.”

  She smiled gently before she leaned in and hugged me. I wasn’t expecting it and tensed when she did it. Responding to the look I gave her, she said, “You seem happy about it.” I wasn’t ever going to relax, but this was a step in the right direction.

  “Okay, which one?” She held up another sexy pairing, a light apricot and black. I was about to make another neck comment when she gave me a preemptive eye roll and turned to our detail, who were seated on a bench just a few feet away. Waving until she got their full attention, she held up the two pairs of underwear and mouthed, “Which one?” I wasn’t sure if they really loved or hated their job at that moment.

  CHAPTER 17

  The Solstice parade was the best part of the celebration. The streets cleared out as people stood on the sidelines, food or alcohol in hand for the elaborate and grand presentation. It always started with a graceful and agile group who danced in front of a float. It was hard to differentiate the shifters from humans until I got a glimpse of that telltale shifter ring. No one cared as they were drawn into the extravagant presentation. The dancers moved through the streets, their movements fluid and easy as water moving over a waterfall. They twirled and did cartwheels. The crowd cheered as they lunged into splits and moved out of them with the same ease. Acrobatics that required a lot more strength than most humans’ were another distinguishing feature between the shifters and the humans. The choreography was so complementary that all the crowd saw were rhythmic back-and-forths, whirls, twirls, leaps, and sweeps of their hips as they rotated to the music.

  We all stood in awe as we watched fae on a float doing tricks of magic—it was the one day they were able to use their glamours legally. We watched them shift into beautiful creatures and then change into something horrendous, changing their appearances with the same ease as shedding a shirt. People were enamored and entertained by the very magic that had once been used against them. At this moment they found a little glimpse of beauty in it and forgot the misery that it could cause.

  My mind went to the discussion I’d had with Gareth and the FSR the day before. The FSR wanted him to convince us to wear iridium bands that couldn’t be removed. No matter how they phrased it, it seemed like a punishment—and a preemptive one. There was no other way to look at it, but it was for the greater good. In some way, we all were being punished, and it was deceptively called restrictions; but it was punishment for having powers and magic that could be potentially dangerous to a large number of people. But no one wore bracelets or shackles unless they’d been found guilty of a crime. That was their punishment because they couldn’t be trusted and were unable to demonstrate self-restraint. Everyone else was trusted at their word; why couldn’t I be? I think that was what bothered me the most. How did they expect me to feel like I was blending in when I was always an exception?

  Gareth was adamantly against it, and by the end of the meeting a decision hadn’t been made. I gave the typical nod and platitude that I would think about it. I hadn’t thought about it until I started watching the mages and their magical presentation on their float and realized the band wasn’t going to stop much. I wondered if the FSR knew that and it was a false security for the public. If I had no other choice, I might be willing to go along with it if it came with freedom and sanctuary for the Legacy.

  Scanning the crowd, I didn’t see a city in conflict or one that just weeks ago was in the throes of one. Bodies rocked, gyrated, and bounced around to the music. The pageantry of it seemed to erase the memories of the hostile last couple of weeks. I hated that pang of guilt that I felt about killing Harrah. I hadn’t done anything that warranted it. She’d had other options and she’d chosen the wrong one, but I couldn’t help but feel that guilt that comes with killing someone. These festivities were exactly what Harrah had clung to: ideology and illusion. And yet things were not quite what she’d wanted because as people watched the performances they got a glimpse of magic—true magic. My eyes suddenly fixed on the pile of untidy brown hair on Avery, Gareth’s nephew. A sparkle of mischief always had a place in his eyes, and the crooked smile didn’t help. It was a unique mélange of innocence and miscreance. He raised his cup to me and grinned. I assessed his crowd of friends, who all had cups in hand. They were shifters, and the legal age for them to drink was eighteen. I was sure those cups didn’t have juice in them. If they did, they were probably mixed with something quite strong.

  Savannah saw him as well and waved. As soon as she did his grin broadened—it was apparent that like most men, he had become smitten with her, even though the last time he’d seen her, she’d been wrapped in Lucas’s arms and a few minutes later throwing Molotov cocktails, trying to keep him and his uncle from attacking each other. Savannah took me by the wrist as we navigated through the crowd to get him. As soon as we were within inches, she reached out to him and gave him a hug. When he pulled away, he looked surprised. You did have to get used to Savannah, who was overly friendly. If she met you once, you were probably getting a hug as if you were a long-lost family member she hadn’t seen in a while.

  “Where’s your uncle?” I asked.

  “To be honest, probably behind bars,” he said with a hint of amusement. “He and that FSR agent aren’t getting along.”

  I wondered if they’d reopened the discussion about the iridium band. “Why do you say that?”

  He made a face. “I had to go into the office early this morning to work and saw him walking toward Uncle Gar’s office. They looked as if they were ready to punch each other. I’m a little offended—I thought only I could get under his skin like that.”

  “Why did you have to go to the office this morning? I thought your work sentence was commuted.”

  Avery looked at me with soft limpid blue eyes and I had to agree with Gareth, he was spoiled to the core. He’d mastered a look that pretty much ensured that he would get away with a lot of things. Except with Gareth.

  “I never know with him. Everything I do is a punishable offense. You can ask him when he gets here. All I know is I got a call last night telling me to be at the office at five in the morning. Five! Can you believe it?” He frowned. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” he said with a little chuckle that made the rest of his friends laugh as well.

  A slight blush whispered across his cheeks and he shrugged. “It seems like whenever he suspects I’m somewhere having fun he has a knack for showing up and ruining it.”

  “Does he? Your uncle sounds like a piece of work. Maybe you should be better at finding fun that won’t get you in trouble,” Gareth said from behind him. I was surprised to see him, but the others weren’t. Heightened senses had their advantages.

  Uncle and nephew locked eyes, and I quickly ascertained they were embroiled in a battle of the wills. I didn’t want to be around when everyone cleared out as they tried to thrash each other into submission.

  “Are you giving Levy your sob story of why you had to work early this morning? Perhaps you gave her the same version you gave your mother last night. You know, the one where you told her you were staying at my house, which you did for a couple of hours. Coincidentally I got a call from my neighbors, surprised that I’d come to visit the loft since I had not been there in over a year.”

  Avery’s face flushed as he looked around at his friends, all of whom looked guilty. Gareth’s eyes roved over each one of their faces. “Let me guess—if I went and looked in my parking space my car wouldn’t be there.”

  “Well, I needed a car to get here, and mine simply wasn’t big enough for all my friends.” He waved over
the people behind him. “Thank you for letting me borrow your SUV, Uncle Gar,” Avery said nonchalantly then took another sip from his cup.

  This wasn’t going to go well for him at all.

  Gareth grinned, baring his teeth like an animal ready to pounce on his prey. “Of course. And thank you for forgoing your trip this weekend in order to clean it and make it ready for the next time I visit. I have to tell you it was really kind of you to agree to detail the car after borrowing it. I love that you’re going to do it yourself instead of taking it to be done. And offering to clean my collection of blades was an exceptionally kind offer. Since they’re in the basement they rarely get handled properly. I forget about them, so they really are going to need special attention. And since you’re going to be at my house all weekend, I gave Leslie the time off so you can do the groceries and cooking.”

  “I know Mom did not agree to that—we’ve been planning this trip for over a year.”

  “It really sucks that you’re going to miss it. All because you never learned the words may I.”

  Avery backed away and disappeared into the crowd with his phone in hand. He reappeared a couple of feet away. All I saw was his mouth moving and the bridge of his nose streaking a ruddy color that quickly moved across his cheeks. Anger. He turned and glared at Gareth, who now was wearing the haughty smirk that had graced Avery’s face just moments before.

  He bounded back. “Charges. Really. You said you were going to report the car stolen and say I broke and entered. What is wrong with you? You’re my uncle.” Avery’s defense was that Gareth was his uncle and was supposed to allow him to get away with things. It was as if he’d just met the man.

  I really wanted to introduce them. Avery, this is Gareth. Gareth, Avery.

  “The car was stolen, and you might not have broken and entered but you didn’t have permission. You stole my keys,” Gareth pointed out. “I was at work, never gave you permission to use the loft, and you took one of my cars for the second time without asking. That’s theft. It’s not like I wouldn’t have let you have it if you’d asked.”

  Avery was seething. Flicks of anger bounced over his eyes and the more perturbed he became, the more amusement Gareth found in it. “Let’s use this as a teachable moment. Ask.”

  “You’re the cool uncle, I knew you’d be fine with it,” Avery said, plastering another sheepish look on his face, and his friends started to nod emphatically in agreement.

  Really. Clearly this is your first time meeting your uncle. Do you have amnesia?

  “Come on, Uncle Gar, if I would’ve asked, you would have had someone checking in on me and I didn’t want to put you through all that trouble. I was really helping you out. You’ve been through so much with the FSR, the whole job thing, the city imploding, HF, I didn’t want to burden you with something else.”

  Now I was the one amused at how easily he spewed his lie, the docile and genuine look. I started laughing and tried to cover it up with a cough. If nothing else, Avery was persistent and full of it.

  “Wow,that sounded authentic. Kudos. Now if only I was as bad at detecting lies as you are at telling them,” Gareth said sarcastically.

  Again they were at a standoff, eyes narrowed as they studied each other. Even Savannah was distracted by their show of obstinacy and defiance. Avery’s glares at his uncle had little to no effect on him. His smile widened the harder his nephew glowered.

  “You’re ruining my summer,” he grumbled under his breath.

  “That’s okay, you’re ruining my tolerance for teenagers,” he retorted. Then he flashed him a half-grin. Avery’s defiance quickly dwindled to acquiescence and then defeat. It was a short battle, and I was never confident he would win. After spinning any time with his uncle, he should have known better. I had a feeling this was just one of the many they would have.

  Savannah split her attention between watching Gareth and his nephew and the presentation in front of us. The sides of the streets were getting even more crowded. It was easy to become immersed in the festivities, and the crowd was.

  Gareth had inched closer to me, the heat of his body brushing against my back and his hands resting on my hips. It was weird, and my overactive and cautious mind went to work. It wasn’t as if people didn’t know about us, but I didn’t want to flaunt it. It seemed like everything had been swept under the rug. Our breaking into the Magic Council’s storeroom had never been reported, and Harrah’s death became a story of a random act of violence. Cities had crime, and supernaturals as well as humans died. I wondered how it was cleaned up so neatly—who else did they have in reserve to take over Harrah’s job? Politics. I hated everything about the illusions presented in the effort to maintain an amicable relationship with the humans. At some point all the lies and manipulation would devolve us into nothing more than fun house mirrors where nothing was what it actually was.

  I tried to push those thoughts out of my head but couldn’t help but wonder if people speculated about the influx of men in suits roaming around the city. Perhaps they went unnoticed. If they didn’t flash their guns you wouldn’t know they had them. Their badges were kept concealed. Maybe they were seen as nothing more than men in business attire.

  Eventually I allowed myself to be distracted by the vampires who’d arrived at the parade and whose appearance made the men in suits look less audacious. The older vampires seemed to have an aversion to casual wear, women and men alike. I didn’t see it as much with the younger ones, who transitioned well into the casualness of society, but the older vamps seemed too resistant to give into it. The men showed a preference for expensive suits, and the women favored delicate fabrics that molded to the curves of their bodies. Their clothes were modern, although some seemed to hold on to anachronisms like a pocket watch, pearls, or an antique broach. Some liked large outdated hats, like those I remembered seeing in old Western movies, but with today’s fashion it was easy to think they were being ironic or ultra-trendy. One thing that remained consistent with the majority of vampires was that they dressed a little too extravagantly.

  When one of the vampires held my gaze too long before allowing her eyes to rove over Gareth and his placement of his hands on me, I became aware that I wasn’t just being caressed by any man but by the head of the Supernatural Guild. I wasn’t sure if it meant anything to the vampires or not. Savannah was very enthusiastic about the public display of affection since she was the founder of Team Gareth and me not being single.

  The floats with supernaturals performing continued down the street. This time it was another mage. A beautiful kaleidoscope of colors danced over his fingers as things disappeared from the float, reappeared and skated across it, and then had their own little performance. Suddenly the mage dropped to the ground. A mage behind him succumbed to the same fate. I watched bodies drop in front of us, one after the other. The float came to a complete stop. Navigating through the crowd, I ran to the front. Dancers were now sprawled out in front of the float. I didn’t see any blood or bullets, and everyone was still breathing, a light rise and fall of their chests. Each one of the fallen had a small entry wound but not an exit. Not one of them showed signs of trauma or distress. Instead, they were in a state of deep sleep. As Gareth and I examined them between glances around to see where the shots had come from, they began to sit upright, rubbing either neck, shoulder, or arm. Some stood and tried to go back to business as usual. The mage flicked his fingers, and the spark of magic that should have come to life didn’t. He furrowed his brow again and gave another flick—nothing. His face strained with effort, the muscles of his neck bulging out as he made another unsuccessful attempt. He collapsed again and didn’t move. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

  People scattered, and an SG officer moved through the remaining crowd with an FSR agent beside him. The officer pressed fingers against the mage’s wrist. The grimace remained on his face before he moved to the neck and nodded once he found a pulse.

  Other members of the FSR edged out of the crowd to get a b
etter look. Some of them had their hands at their sides touching the guns holstered there while scanning the crowd and the buildings above it. I knew one was a vampire because he couldn’t resist, like most of them, drawing back his lips—bearing his other weapons. For anyone who wasn’t a shapeshifter or vampire, the distance of the buildings, nearly forty feet away, would’ve made it difficult to get a good view. The vampire squinted, and I realized that he couldn’t see anything, either. I trailed his eyes as they skipped along the roof of the building. There had to be more than one magical sniper. I counted at least twenty victims.

  I continued to scan the buildings as more people were targeted in the crowd. The assailants were indiscriminately shooting. I wasn’t sure how it was affecting the humans, but I could see the effect it had on the supernaturals.

  Shots whizzed through the air and more bodies fell. Chaos ensued as people scattered, running through the streets, screaming as they tried to take cover. Gareth instructed Avery and his friends to go. Just as he started to walk away, Gareth heard the sounds and instructed them to get down, but it was too late. A shot hit Avery and another one hit his friend just a couple of feet away. They both fell to the ground After a few moments, just as the mage had recovered, so did they. Gareth and I quickly moved in Avery’s direction, and Savannah went for the friend. We scanned their bodies trying to find the entry wounds. Gareth’s sight being much better than mine, I stepped aside and let him assess Avery.

  “What exactly are they shooting?” Gareth asked, his fingers moving along his nephew’s arms and legs, still unable to find the entry point. Was it that small? What could be shot from a distance and not leave a significant mark?

  “Can you stand?” he asked his nephew. Avery nodded, but when he made an attempt he lost his balance. Gareth studied him and lowered him back to the ground. “I want you all to try to change now.”

  Having seen Gareth change a couple of times, as well as Avery, I knew it was a process they did with the ease of shedding clothing. Avery and his friends were having problems changing. Strained grimaces stretched over their faces, panic in their eyes, and their mouths parted slightly, aghast. They couldn’t change.