Magic Resistant

by Veronica Del Rosa

Julia responded so nicely. It made him want to kiss that adorable look off her beautiful face. Not that he’d ever tell her how adorable he found her. He might not survive the consequences.

  Gathering the energy to leave the bed, he sauntered over to the small table. Her eyes dipped low, caressing his naked body.

  “Now sweetheart, unless you plan on joining me in bed, better keep those eyes upwards.” He chuckled as she slowly lifted her gaze, tracing a burning path along his chest.

  Grabbing one of the cell phones, he passed it to her, letting his hand linger on hers.

  “Call or text me if you need help. I’ve been to the AGO, so porting’s easy.” He leaned in for a kiss. Giving in to the urge, he pulled her close, her hands resting on his bare hips, stroking his heated flesh. Another second of that and he would tumble her back into bed.

  Reluctantly releasing her, he said, “Be safe and come home to me.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  JULIA EXITED THE bus, Dawn’s house less than a block away. Feeling bold and daring, she chanced the exposure and walked the rest of the way. Thanks to Revenant’s apparent protection, she made it there undisturbed.

  She stopped for a moment to admire Dawn’s house. A gorgeous, two-story Victorian home with a soaring turret in the back. The dark burgundy with pale green trim suited the house. Bold, yet unassuming. A sprawling, immaculate lawn dominated by large oak trees that attempted to hide the house but didn’t quite manage it. Shrubs lined the property to create a natural fence.

  Steel shutters covered all the windows. During the day, they kept sunlight from creeping in. Summer, a frustrating time for a vampire; the sun didn’t set until well past nine.

  The art show, however, wasn’t until ten o’clock, giving them enough time to make a fashionably late entrance.

  Eager to see her friend, Julia showed up mid-afternoon.

  And, she thought wryly, it’d take a fair bit of time and effort to make me sexy and eye-catching.

  She strode along the cobblestone path, enjoying the riot of flowers surrounding her. It was like being transported to a magical fairyland, one without the vicious, cruel Fae. Instead it ended with a friend who happened to be a bloodthirsty vampire.

  The doorbell rang throughout the house, announcing her arrival. Smiling broadly, she waved to the security camera. Tiny and unobtrusive, she wouldn’t have found it if Dawn hadn’t pointed it out to her ages ago. It vetted all the visitors. Her friend refused to be caught flat-footed again.

  Tales of running from rampaging villagers caused Julia nightmares and she wasn’t the one who’d lived through it. She couldn’t imagine having to flee her home, watching it burn to the ground. Even worse, having friends who didn’t make it, ones who’d died due to fear and hatred.

  The magic resistant must’ve experienced the same horror.

  She shivered in the muggy heat.

  The click of the lock scattered her disturbing thoughts. Dawn’s housekeeper opened the door wide, a discrete smile showing her joy. Sarah believed she was to make Dawn’s life easier and be as unobtrusive as possible, to act as the perfect servant.

  Another door stood directly behind her, this one with a steel core instead of a hollow one. Julia once made the mistake of knocking on it, a move her knuckles still hadn’t forgiven her for. Setup as a security precaution, it guaranteed sunlight never made its way inside and kept out intruders.

  “Hi Sarah. You’re looking well.” She smiled wide at the housekeeper. For as long as Julia had known Dawn, Sarah’s worked for her. The passing of years slowly crept up on her. Her light brown hair was turning grey, fine lines had appeared around her grey eyes and she had a slight rounding to her shoulders, but she had a healthy, vibrant glow. She was a woman who loved and enjoyed life.

  Sarah embraced Julia then chided, “I’m so happy to see you. Dawn’s been out of her mind with worry. She almost cried in relief when you called.”

  Guilt scratched at her, an angry kitten demanding attention. Somehow, she should’ve gotten word to her.

  She drew back to look at Julia. “Come, you can also meet her nephew.”

  The last bit said with some distaste, though Sarah was too proper and well-trained to gossip about her employer. Confused, Julia wondered about this person. When did Dawn get a nephew? Granted, it had been a few months since they last saw each other, however, they kept in touch via texts and email. Not once had she mentioned a nephew.

  She shrugged and figured she’d find out soon enough. Following Sarah to the library, she let her gaze wander. Dawn’s house was full of priceless paintings, sculptures and other artifacts, collected during her long life. They showed the history of her travels. Greek, Roman, Russian, Indian, Japanese, Australian and finally North American cultures all represented. Dawn had come to Canada in the early 1900s, after she’d explored everything the other continents had to offer. She once explained to Julia that living here for the past thirty years in this home was the longest she’d ever managed to stay in one place. Toronto constantly changed and had enough vitality to keep her settled - for now, at least.

  They passed by the formal dining room on one side and the sitting room on the other side of the hallway. They continued on until they arrived at Dawn’s favourite room, the library. The impressive room took up the entire back half of the house. Julia loved this room, filled with rare and exotic books, many written in languages now long dead.

  The same thought she always had popped into her mind. Exactly how old was Dawn? She never got a straight answer whenever she asked.

  Sometimes, Dawn claimed to be barely a century old and then in the next breath discussed Roman gladiators she’d met. An intriguing puzzle for Julia to figure out and a favourite pastime for the both of them. Julia would ask questions and then decide if Dawn truthfully answered her. She still had no clue if Dawn had met Socrates and Genghis Khan, if she’d visited Rome before it burned or watched as they built London Bridge over the River Thames.

  Even with the steel shutters down, the room was bright and cheerful. Vivid sunrises, oceanscapes and lush forests painted on the shutters brought the forbidden sunlit world to Dawn. Some, she said, done from memories, others from movies or pictures.

  Her friend sat in the middle of the room in an overstuffed leather chair, legs dangling over one arm. Julia wasn’t sure which book she read, written in a language unknown to her. Some days she regretted having her earring imbued with only spoken language and not written as well. A difficult spell to cast though, never mind making it permanent in a gemstone.

  Dawn tilted her book downwards and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

  “I’m so sorry I worried you.”

  “You should be. I hate losing my pets. As a mage, you’re to last longer than a human pet.” Said partly in jest, Julia heard the grain of truth to her words. As the other races had much shorter lifespan (eighty or so years for humans and a few millennia for a mage), it was easy to see why she viewed them as pets instead of peers. Dawn refused to befriend either demons or Fae, said they were nasty, backstabbing, vile creatures. Werewolves, she was indifferent to, not caring for them one way or the other.

  Placing the book on the arm of the chair, Dawn stood up and glided over to Julia. No other words described it so accurately. Graceful, beautiful, a regal queen walking among commoners. She was a tiny goddess, barely hitting 4’11”. Her thick black hair cascaded over her shoulders, falling down to the small of her back. Her creamy chocolate skin held no hint of age, free of wrinkles and blemishes.

  Julia deduced she’d been in her early twenties when she’d turned into a vampire; from royal lineage due to the pampering of her skin. The hard life of a peasant would have shown through even at such a young age. Again though, Dawn wasn’t telling.

  Years ago, Julia had stuffed aside her feelings of inadequacy when compared to the tiny vampire. There was no comparison. Few could even hope to compare to Dawn so no point in suffering from envy. Sometimes, though, she indulged in wishful thinking and dayd
reamed about having long black hair and silky brown skin.

  A man near one of the bookcases detached himself from the shadows. He hardly made an impression on her peripheral vision. She almost jumped but was too well-trained to betray her emotion.

  How odd. She hadn’t sensed him, only Dawn’s presence in the room. Very unusual, almost like he masked himself from her. Now that she was aware of him, she could feel his signature. Human, a regular human. She opened herself up a little more and could sense no spell energy on him, nor any residue. Why was he blocked from her? Curious...

  As he came closer, she noted he was unremarkable, an ordinary person. As someone overlooked most of her life for the same reason, she empathized with him.

  Then he smiled at her, a slow, disturbing smile, like he knew an awful secret she didn’t and all her empathy for him disappeared. She wanted to yell for Dawn to run, to stay away from this vile human, except he’d done nothing but smile.

  Pushing aside her uneasy feelings, she fell into her training - calm, neutral and friendly until circumstances dictated otherwise. She made a mental note to keep defensive spells ready and perhaps a painful offensive spell as well. None of this showed on her face; the schooling too deeply ingrained. Only another Enforcer would have detected the change in her.

  She smiled back and held out a hand to shake his even while her whole being violently rejected touching him. She honestly had no idea why she reacted so strongly to him. His unremarkable short blondish hair, light brown eyes and somewhat pleasant looking face held no hint of malice, nothing about him screamed “Murderer, sadist!”

  Even his handshake non-threatening, a firm, dry grasp. He didn’t try the over-squeeze, nor was it a limp shake. Respectable and a few seconds long.

  “Hi, I’m Brian, Dawn’s nephew.” His voice even-toned, friendly and, this time, his smile more inviting. “You must be Julia. Dawn’s told me all about you. You’re one of her favourite people.”

  Julia glanced to Dawn who smiled a little dreamy, “Yes, a favourite. And you’re my favourite nephew. I love having you here and I hope you never leave me.”

  “I didn’t know you had a nephew. Did you recently find each other?” Curiosity uncoiled, a beast hungry for information. Why hadn't Dawn told her about Brian? Sure, she didn’t expect every detail about Dawn’s life laid out for her, but she figured this was the kind of big news shared among friends.

  “Oh, Brian found me.” Again, Dawn seemed a little unfocused, drifting in her own world. “He showed up a few months back with some genealogy papers showing how we’re related. He’s a great, great, great, and so on, nephew. Such a fascinating read. I asked him to stay. He’s been such a big help around here, taking care of me.”

  Julia’s suspicion piqued at those words. Dawn was centuries old, if not a millennia or two. No way did she need a short-lived human to help her with everyday life. She was about to inquire when Dawn snapped back to her usual self.

  “Oh Julia, I can’t wait to play dress-up with you. I’ve been itching for ages to get my hands on you. Now, you agree I get full rein, right?” The giddy, happy smile distracted Julia.

  This was more like her friend and her happiness was infectious. Pushing Brian to the back corner of her mind, she meekly followed Dawn to the stairs.

  “I couldn’t help myself. I peeked at the dress. It’s simply gorgeous and I can’t wait to see you in it. It’s about time you played up that sexy body. And speaking of sexy body, who’s the man?” The impish smile lit up Dawn’s face, transforming her into a young teenager, wiping the world-weary look from her golden eyes.

  Julia gawked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, come on, I may be old, but I’m not brain-dead. First off, you're glowing and happy under your stoic Enforcer glare and second, my sense of smell is a hundred times better than yours. You’d be amazed at what I can tell by scent alone.” She grinned mischievously. “So, spill it. Who is he? Anyone I know?”

  Julia snickered. “Well, I’m not sure if you know him, but you’ve definitely heard of him. He’s a little notorious.” She wasn’t above teasing Dawn with information. After all, Dawn loved to do the same to her.

  “Ooh, notorious. Those are the best kind. Wait, holy crap, no! Seriously? Are you telling me this whole time you’ve been missing, it’s because you’ve been hiding in a love nest? Naughty!”

  Delighted laughter filled the air. Dawn didn’t have much use for toeing the line. If people believe Jackson kidnapped her and instead had been out living it up, that was fine in her books.

  “No!” Julia couldn’t contain her own horrified chuckle. The notion of disappearing without informing anyone too absurd. “While he did abduct me, it was a misunderstanding. He didn’t mean to. He was trying to save my life. One thing lead to another and well...” She trailed off.

  “You don’t need to draw me a picture.” Dawn winked at her. “However, I wouldn’t object if you did. So tell me, how’s he in bed? Did he learn any interesting moves from an incubus?”

  “Dawn! You’re incorrigible! No, he hasn’t learned anything of the sort. Well, at least I don't think he has. Either way, amazing.” Julia leaned against the staircase wall.

  A fit of uncontrollable giggles overtook her. How she’d missed her friend. So little ruffled her.

  “Hmm, or better yet, does he know an incubus he could introduce me to? I’ve never been with one before and I bet it’d be one hell of an experience. Plus, he wouldn’t drain any life from me because I’m already dead.” She had that glint in her eye showing she was half-joking.

  Julia shook her head. “I’m not helping you to seduce an incubus. Poor thing wouldn’t know what hit him. He’d end up infatuated with you and then he’d be the laughing-stock of the demon world.”

  “Me?” Dawn gazed at her innocently, batting her long lashes and playing up the sweetness inherent in her youthful face. “Why I would never to do that.”

  She ruined the whole act by cracking up, unable to contain her mirth. “Oh, do you remember the one poor fellow sent to kill me? He took one look at me and assumed I needed protection, not assassination. He had no clue I could have killed him before he even realized he was dead.”

  A hard expression crept in belying the sweet naivety most people took at face value.

  “Why didn’t you kill him? You were well within your rights to do so. The Coterie wouldn’t have interfered.” Julia had always wondered about that incident.

  It seemed out of character as Dawn usually showed no hesitation in eliminating enemies and threats. Treaties between the different races stated any hostile or murderous intent could be met with equal force. Numerous wars had occurred with the sole purpose of genocide before the Treaties went into effect. That’s not to say everything’s been smooth sailing since, but it did allow proper protection if a vampire found him or herself jumped by several humans wanting to cut off said vampire’s head.

  “It wasn’t his fault. He believed the lies and propaganda spouted about us vampires. He actually had crosses and holy water! Bram Stoker has a lot to answer for with his silly book.” She shook her head at the gullibility of her would-be assassin. A soft smile showed she remember him with great fondness.

  What Dawn didn’t realize, as well as the rest of the general population, was the Coterie had fed Stoker the misinformation. They didn’t want the hysterical masses with a handbook on how to kill one of the races.

  “I explained to him I didn’t hurt people. Those who donate blood to me do it willingly. It’s not even addictive although not according to the fanatical humans. Sure, it feels good when it’s happening, but there’s no narcotic in our saliva. The cult he’d fallen into brainwashed him, made him think we were villainous monsters, out to destroy humanity. Which is pretty stupid. Do humans destroy their entire food supply?”

  Dawn paused, waved a hand to dismiss her previous words. “Oh wait, that’s not a good analogy. Humans haven’t been the most conscientious towards their food supply. However, we vam
pires know it’d be hard to survive without humans and so we help to protect them. Werewolf and mage blood just doesn’t taste good to us.”

  Grabbing Julia’s hand, she tugged her upwards and continued, “Enough of this depressing topic. I want to dress you up, make you smoking hot.”

  She led them to her private quarters where she allowed no one, not even a lover. Julia was the sole exception. Why, she had no clue. This was Dawn’s inner sanctum and it showed.

  She loved stepping into this room. Massive skylights covered almost the entire roof with steel shutters in place. The view, when opened, was impressive. The majestic murals covering them were all fantasy based. Unicorns cantered in a golden meadow, a sphinx barely visible in the nearby forest, and a Pegasus winged through the sky. Every time she contemplated the stunning mural, she found something new. This time, it was a tiny phoenix hidden in a forgotten campfire near the shimmering lake.

  Dawn kept adding to the painting. Each time, she swore nothing else could make it more breathtaking. She was always wrong.

  Forcing her gaze away from the ceiling, she surveyed the room. It never failed to shock her as to how neat and tidy this room was. Forbidding Sarah's access meant Dawn did all the housekeeping herself.

  She was not, in general, a tidy person.

  The bookshelf to the left contained all of her favourite books within easy reach, many of them duplicates from the library downstairs. Several shelves lined the walls with different keepsakes from her long life. Julia had heard the story behind each one many times and never tired of listening. It fascinated her that Dawn had such a high level of attachment to certain periods when she seemed unwilling to form any deep bonds with her “pets”.

  In the center of the room, a huge sleigh bed with deep purple Egyptian cotton sheets beckoned. A nightstand next to it had an open book, waiting for Dawn’s attention again. Following Dawn over to the bed, excitement bubbled in Julia.

  The plain white box begged her to open it, uncover the dress waiting for her. Reaching out to touch it, she snatched her hand back, not wanting to ruin the moment. Her mind painted an image of her sexy and desirable, proud and confident.