Rise: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Spelldrift: Coven of Fire Book 1)

by Sierra Cross

  Now what? It was too late. How could I prevent the tree from taking over me, turning me?

  “Don’t hold back.” Eric’s melodic voice was in my head. “Drink it in, my queen.”

  That was it. That was what I needed to do. Stop holding back. Either this would work or I would destroy myself and Eric and the tree. Either way my coven would be safe.

  I drew all of the tree’s magical energy to me. But not only that, I drew on my magical connection to Liv. As always, her golden witch magic strengthened me. We were two nodes on the way to a complete circle. Next I reached out to Asher; testing out a magical bond between us. His golden warlock magic was different, but it dovetailed in with our witch magic. As I reached further, I found the magic in Matt. He had blue guardian magic surrounding him and deep in his core, though he’d pushed them down, were faint streaks of golden magic. Individually neither man’s magic was enough to be their own node. Following an instinct, rather than pulling their magic toward me I turned their magic to flow towards each other. Like two puzzle pieces fitting together, they were parts of a whole. Once joined, they were the third node that completed the circle. A wonky circle, but a circle. I drew on it and pulled the strength I needed. I drew magic in with every molecule in my body.

  Branches cracked as tree limbs weakened. I tumbled to the ground, landing hard on my back. Above me, the tree was whitening from leaf tips to trunk—then turning black. The song faltered in my head; because that’s where it was now, in my head. It was no longer coming from the tree. I had absorbed its song, made it a part of myself. But I wasn’t done. Still running on the cosmic energy I’d sucked from the tree, I pulled the light from every Nequam in the cave. They were extinguished at my thought. Leaving only the writhing Eric, Aunt Jenn, and the Wonts she had come in with. Finally, I crouched over Tenebris’ flailing body, laid my hands on his chest and sucked what was left of his green magic into me.

  “No!” The Caedis’s voice contorted with pain.

  “Alix, stop!” Asher yelled.

  But I was a storm that could not be stopped. The skin on my hands turned ash white. Tenebris groaned in agony again, and then the body of Eric Starr went still. Like a dying sun, Eric’s charismatic gaze went out, and from the corpse rose an enormous, red, smoke-like form. To survive in this realm, Matt had told me, a Caedis needed a human or magicborn body—willingly given or at the moment of death. Tenebris Stella had lost his. Looking around the cave I saw no takers and no body he could steal. The red smoke sailed over my head and dove through the Demongate. Back to his own realm.

  “Appreciate the assist, Alix.” I turned to see Aunt Jenn gazing warmly at me. For a moment, she sounded startlingly like the woman who raised me. “You’ve taken care of my biggest pain point for me. Partnering with Tenebris turned out to be…an unwise investment.”

  “The demon was a bad boyfriend,” I deadpanned. “Who would have guessed?”

  To my surprise, she smiled ruefully. “You know, it always seemed to me that your mother and grandmother let their emotions rule them,” she said. “Intuition, they called it. Instinct.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought I was immune to such sentimental tripe. And here I’ve gone and made the wrong choice, out of weakness.” Aunt Jenn’s gaze turned wistful. “If only I’d focused on mentoring you. Tenebris was right about your potential, but you’ve surrounded yourself with bad influences.” Her smile hardened. “Your new friends are holding you back, Alix. I’m just trying to steer you in the right direction, bring you back home.”

  “It was you.” My chest flared at the realization. “You’re the one who set fire to my apartment.”

  “Only to bring you closer. When you were growing up I kept waiting and waiting for the right moment to open your eyes to the truth. But I had to be careful. Your mother had filled your head with simplistic nonsense about good and evil. In the end, the right moment never came. I choked, failed to show up as your mentor. That failure’s on me. But Alix, I won’t fail you a second time.” Nimble fingertips blazing scarlet, she pivoted to Liv and Matt.

  I saw the trajectory of her blasts, saw the surprising power in them, the lack of strength remaining in the wardsuits. My fingers darted toward my vest pocket, freeing the spellbead from its quick-release compartment. Clutching the flat disc in my hand, I crouched and pounded my fist to the floor. A great white burst of energy engulfed and exploded around me.

  Liv, Matt, Asher, and I were thrown at high speed into Asher’s lab. My head cracked into the leg of the desk, my body bouncing past Liv who’d landed sprawled across the rug. Asher landed knuckles down in a three-point stance, looking like a football player on the starting line.

  Matt was standing above me. He took my hand in his and rubbed the ash that seemed to have replaced my top layer of skin. “What have you done, Alexandra?” he said, voice heavy with sorrow as the world went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Curled up on the couch in the cozy corner of Asher’s lab, I drifted in and out as if in a drug-hazed sleep. Over the next several hours—or days, for all I knew—Liv and Asher came and went, but Matt remained with me. It was an eerie sleep. Every time I stirred, I’d look up into all their pondering eyes—as if they expected me to be a demon they’d reluctantly need to vanquish.

  When I finally woke up, groggy and thirsty, Matt was kneeling at my side.

  “Liv and Asher went out to pick up some takeout for dinner. You slept through breakfast and lunch.”

  “It is so you to measure time in meals.” I laughed, but the look of deep concern on Matt’s face wiped the smile off mine. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I stretched, and the skin on my fingers cracked as if all moisture from my skin had been removed. My hands were still covered in a layer of white ash. Horrified, I tried to rub the last layer of it off but it wouldn’t budge.

  “It’s from the tree.” Gently he took my hand between both of his. “Let me help.” I nodded eagerly, remembering our last healing session. Gold magic rose from his fingertips and I felt a tug, as if he was drawing something from under my skin. No, deeper. Almost like it was being culled from my blood. Matt was gathering the residual invading magic. Wrenching it out of me until it oozed from the pores of my hands and arms, thick and purple. As soon as it hit the air, it smoked and turned to white ash that piled on the floor.

  He breathed hard as he worked, pausing several times to catch his breath. Finally he let out a long exhale, like a runner who’s just crossed the finish line.

  “So, doc, am I cured?” I felt so amazing I was sure the answer would be yes.

  To my surprise, Matt’s brows knit. He seemed to be scanning me with his magic to answer my question.

  Before he announced his conclusion, the door opened and Liv and Asher entered, loaded down with brown paper sacks. The spicy scent of chana masala made my mouth water. They looked from Matt to me and back again. Matt stood and backed away from me, like he was almost caught doing something wrong.

  “Relax,” I said, wanting to keep Matt’s secret. “It’s just me. No evil tree sap.”

  Liv looked relieved. Asher, apparently not quite convinced, grabbed my hands. The skin was back to normal.

  “Well?” I asked. “Any demonic vibes rolling off me?” I sniffed my pits to lighten the mood.

  Liv laughed and hugged me. “No, it’s really you.”

  “How the hell did you do that to the tree?” Asher demanded. “And to Eric?”

  “What does it matter?” Matt countered. “We won.”

  “Guys, can my full recap wait till tomorrow?” Something about narrowly avoiding marriage to a demon and keeping my soul intact made me want to down an ice-cold beer and a burger. “I feel like tonight calls for celebration.”

  Not twenty minutes later we were sitting in a booth at Sanctum. It was about half full, too early for a big crowd, but that wasn’t the only thing about the place that looked different from the last time I’d stopped by to collect my final paycheck. The chipped paint on the walls had been fixed. There w
asn’t a single burned out bulb in the ceiling. My backbar, well, what used to be my backbar, was gleaming and stocked like I had never seen. Hard to believe Randy finally got his ass in gear. It felt good in here—or maybe I was just feeling pretty good about life.

  I had resisted the ultimate temptation. Asher still seemed a little wary of me, but I knew absorbing the tree was the only way to kill it. The bomb wouldn’t have done it. That’s what the ancient texts were telling us. Either he’d see that in time or he wouldn’t. What I didn’t tell him was that I wasn’t sure if I needed to do the same to Tenebris. But I was feeling no demonic urges, so I was going to count this as a win and not look back any more tonight. Liv ordered a round of shots. Asher was making jokes at my expense. Matt sat so close I felt the heat radiating off of him.

  “Alix.” Emma stopped over. “You are a black hole of communication.”

  I slapped my own forehead. “Shit. I’m sorry. It’s been so hectic.” I really meant to call her. “It looks good in here. How’d you get Randy to fix it up?”

  “We bought the bar from him,” she said smiling. “That’s what I’ve been saving for, for years. If you’d called me back, I’d have told you that we want you back behind the bar.”

  Not too long ago I was a bartender here, thinking I was wasting my life. Not realizing that doing something that brought you that much joy could never be a waste. I accepted Emma’s offer with gratitude…then playfully smacked Matt for not telling me.

  He shrugged. “Wasn’t my story to tell.”

  Liv was wrangling another round of shots when we heard a scuffle at the front door. Adrenaline flooded my veins. But when I looked, it was just two bro-ish looking dudes shoving each other while an irritated-looking young woman yelled at them to grow up.

  “You’re off duty tonight,” I protested to Matt, who was hauling himself to his feet.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  With Emma ducking back to work serving tables, that left me and Asher. He looked at me and I couldn’t read his expression.

  “What, you still think I’m evil?”

  “No.” He winked at me. “Dangerous maybe, but not evil.”

  “Thanks. I think.” I hesitated. There was a question I’d been longing to ask, and Asher was the only one who wouldn’t soften his answer to protect my feelings. “What did Tenebris mean when he said my magic was malformed? Is it ugly?”

  “Just the opposite.” He didn’t miss a beat. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If I had to, I’d say the martial art training you did with the ethereal Matt affected your magical development.”

  I still didn’t understand. “But my magic was dormant back then. Marley’s spell--”

  “Prevented you from accessing your magic, yes. But it was still growing and developing inside you. Puberty is a formative time in a magicborn’s life. Combine that with the lack of formal witch training, and those sparring sessions shaped your magic, molded it. Causing it to mimic that of a guardian.”

  Goosebumps rose on my arms as a perfect cocktail of emotions swirled through me. I knew there was a reason I was drawn to daggers. I couldn’t wait to tell Matt that I came by my guardian tendencies honestly. Not only that, he was mostly to blame. He was gonna love it. Then I was struck by a new fear. “Did it weaken my witch’s magic?” I asked. “If it’s not concentrated on my fingertips?”

  Asher shook his head. “Lying dormant all those years made it stronger, not weaker. Like it needed to get out so badly rather than just dancing on your fingertips, it now decorates your whole body.” He paused for a minute as relief washed over me. “And you’re not the only one with anomalies.” He arched an eyebrow like he was about to divulge something. My heart thumped nervously. Was he talking about Matt’s secret? I wasn’t ready to have this conversation and I knew Matt sure as shit wasn’t either. But Liv came back with the drinks as Matt walked back over. Asher clamped his mouth shut.

  The subject changed to a recap of our victory, fears we each had along the way, surprising self-discoveries. With every shared detail, it felt like we were knitting our coven closer together.

  A group of four guys and one woman walked past us on their way to the bar, laughing amiably. They looked more like a work crew than just simply friends. A big guy in a Carhartt jacket looked at me and did a double take. He stopped and let his friends continue on to the bar. Matt was about to get all up into his face, but I put my hand on his arm, calling him off. He was too teed up from all the fighting tonight. Excess testosterone was spilling out all over the place.

  “Hey.” I hadn’t recognized the guy without his uniform at first. “You’re the firefighter from the other night.”

  “Alix, right? Stay right there.” A huge grin spread across his face. “My car is right out front. I’ll be right back.”

  “What’s that all about?” Liv asked.

  “No idea.” I shrugged.

  True to his word, the guy came right back in the front door carrying something, but I couldn’t see what it was through the crowd.

  Then he walked up to the table and set down my mother’s velvet coven bag. A dusting of ash clung to its edges, but there wasn’t a single burn mark on the fabric. The jolt of emotions hit me so hard it stole my breath. A sob caught in my throat and I clutched the bag to my heart. It must have been warded to keep it intact. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from a Coven of Fire witch.

  “Damnedest thing I ever saw.” The firefighter shook his head. “Everything else in that place burnt to a crisp. And this came out unscathed.”

  I wanted to say thank you or how did you find it or heck, anything, but the lump in my throat was too thick.

  “Yeah, well, I’ve been doing this long enough to know people are happy to see anything that’s salvaged,” he said filling the gap my dearth of speech created. “I was going to turn it in, but they didn’t have your current address and it would’ve gotten lost in the system…”

  I swallowed and nodded, hoping my tear-rimmed eyes were full of the gratitude I felt.

  “She says, thank you very much,” Asher said for me. “She’s usually much more eloquent. But seriously, it’s a great kindness you’ve done. We owe you one.”

  “Aw, just part of the job,” the firefighter said, trying not showing his emotions but I could tell he was genuinely moved too. He turned and walked over to his friends.

  Matt put his hand on my shoulder as I composed myself. His finger brushed the bare skin at my neck and my senses lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “Well,” Asher said, knocking back his shot. “I think that’s it for me.”

  “What? No,” Liv pulled at the lapel of his leather duster. “You have to stay. The night is young.”

  Asher shook his head and started to leave.

  “Hey!” I called him back. “You know what this means? The way winning that battle felt? The way our magic all worked together? That we—ragtag misfits that we are—are the new Coven of Fire.”

  My grin ghosted when I saw the look on Matt’s face was halfway between mortally insulted and horrified.

  “Dear gods.” A similarly flabbergasted Asher turned to face his guardian foil, for once in solidarity. “Emasculating as that is, she’s right.”

  Liv beamed. “Come on. It’s a brave new world. Let your freak flag fly and embrace it.”

  Matt took a thoughtful slug of his beer, but his jaw was set tight. Apparently, he had mixed feelings about the notion of a brave new freaky world. Or maybe he was just exhausted. Not having spent ten years imprisoned in a foggy Void realm myself, I decided not to judge.

  “Tomorrow night,” Asher called over his shoulder, “I will start teaching you two actual magic.”

  Liv asked, “What the hell have we been doing up to now?”

  “In comparison?” I heard the smile in his voice. “Parlor tricks.” And he was at the door.

  “Hang on, I have to know what you mean by that.” To Matt and me she said, “I guess I’m heading out too.
” She leaned in for quick hugs and dashed after him, leaving me to raise my eyebrow.

  “Think there’s something going on between those two?” I asked.

  Matt shrugged and made a face. Like Asher’s love life was the very last thing he wanted to consider. “At least, there’d be nothing taboo about it,” he allowed. “A witch and a warlock, they’d have the blessing of the Council Suprema to go forth and hook up.”

  Of course, every conversation between us led back to his vow.

  Matt and I were quiet for a moment. And then, on the giant wall TV in the corner of the bar, the evening news came on.

  A makeup-laden Barbie doll anchor said, “Tonight’s top story is an explosion at Millennium Dynamics that has taken the life of CEO Eric Starr.” I saw the Fidei had been working their magic creating a plausible cover story to continue to keep the Wonts from catching on to magic. “COO Jennifer Hill has been named his successor and ensures stockholders, ‘despite the terrible loss of a great man, Millennium Dynamics will follow his vision and prevail.’” The image cut to a somber yet controlled Aunt Jenn. I thought what I’d eaten was about to come up when the camera panned slightly left and I saw Callie standing right behind my aunt, nodding along. Her sweet face smiled out at me, looking like the Callie I loved—and then her eyes flashed with an otherworldly neon green. As much as I hated to admit it, my Callie was gone, replaced by the tree’s dark energy. I pushed the rest of my burger away.

  “Not tonight.” Matt gently cupped my chin and turned my face away from the TV, looking directly at him. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow.” He took my hand. A jolt of delicious electricity ran through me. Did he feel it too? He raised his shot. “Tonight we celebrate our victories.”

  I raised my shot high. Matt was right; there was a war going on out there. Who knew if we’d win in the next battle? “Tonight, we celebrate,” I repeated, and relaxed into the muscular arms of my guardian. Maybe this was as much physical intimacy as he felt comfortable with tonight—or ever. But as I pulled back a little and turned to meet his searching, burning gaze, I thought, I wouldn’t trade my life in the Spelldrift for anything.