Luminescence Trilogy: Complete Collection

by J. L. Weil

  “Never,” he swore, a corner of his mouth lifting in a way that did nothing to ease my nerves. “Close your eyes,” he instructed.

  “But how are you—?”

  He put a finger on my lips, silencing me. “Don’t question. Just trust me.”

  Trust.

  Such a complex and simple concept. Why was it so hard to trust Lukas, but Gavin I trusted with my life? All these thoughts and questions tumbled into my head as I closed my eyes. I assumed Lukas did some kind of hocus pocus mojo to put us both under.

  The next thing I knew, Lukas was calling my name. His voice had that underwater, muffled quality to it, as if it was being overpowered by something. Time ceased to exist. It could have been seconds or minutes, but eventually I followed the sound of his familiar voice.

  A whole new world of vibrant, flashing color opened against the blackness. Music blared all around me in patterns of erratically flashing disco lights, shining on the floor under my feet.

  “Took you long enough.”

  I whirled around at the sound of Lukas’s voice, my hair flying out around me.

  “Remind me to have us work on your timing. It blows.” He stood in the middle of a sea of people who were bumping and grinding to club music.

  There was a clear, straight path to him, like the Red Sea parting. I walked right up to him and socked him in the gut.

  “Ouch,” he complained, not really in pain. There was too much amusement sprinkled in his eyes.

  I grinned. “At least I know you can be hurt here. And my timing does not suck.”

  He gave me a dry look. “Very funny. Whatever happens here can very easily affect us in the real world.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I’d already learned that lesson the hard way.

  I glanced around my surroundings. We were at some underground club, complete with the half-naked girls hanging from the rafters, strobe lights, and ear-deafening music. “So this is what you dream about? Figures. Typical guy.” I had to admit though, it was pretty freaking cool. And so out of my league. Gaping, I could feel color staining my cheeks. The place oozed sweaty bodies, perfume, and sweet alcohol. It wasn’t necessarily a bad combination.

  He was unfazed by my sarcasm. Holding out a hand, he asked, “Dance?”

  I bit my lip. Everyone around us was doing some form of dirty dancing. It was sex on the dance floor, a real classy joint.

  “I don’t bite…much. You aren’t scared, are you?” he baited, knowing very well I would take the hook.

  Please. “Only that I will trample your feet,” I subtly warned.

  He chuckled.

  I put my hand in his, and we swayed with the music, but I made sure to keep a reasonable distance between us. Occasionally our bodies brushed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was deliberate. I definitely wouldn’t put it past him.

  “So who are all these people?” I yelled over the pumping dubstep.

  With a snap of his finger they all vanished, leaving just him and me. “Nothing but a product of my ingenuity. None of their faces are real to me, just a part of the illusion I created.”

  I pulled away, needing distance. We stopped dancing.

  Lukas grinned. “Playtime is over. Time to move into phase two. I summoned you here, now I want you to block my thread to your dream, pull yourself out.”

  I looked at him like he was speaking Greek. Here I was, in an empty underground club and he wanted me to do magic? I couldn’t even think past the blazing music and the lightshow overhead.

  After minutes of nothing but me standing there like a lost puppy, he tilted my chin up. “Push out,” he stated like it was the simplest thing. He should have known better. Nothing with me was simple.

  “How?” I countered, skirting near frustration.

  “I’ll show you. We can share magic. Give me your hands.” He held out both of his. “It’s easy as pie.”

  Nothing with magic was ever easy as pie.

  Our hands clasped, on cue a bolt of energy charged the air. I had only ever shared magic with Gavin once, and Morgana, if that counted, but immediately, I noticed something off. An edge of darkness hugged over my skin, transferring into my energy. It was addicting in a bad way. I like it too much and that scared me. There was a hint of something dark, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  I shook my head and started to pull away, intending to break the connection of our magic, but Lukas’s grip tightened. Everything inside me wanted to reject what we were brewing. I had to stop this.

  Now.

  Power surged inside of me, and I was unable to stop it. An electric shock emitted from my fingertips, loosening Lukas’s hold. Somehow I found the strength to rip my hands from his, severing our connection not only to each other, but the dream as well.

  The whole thing happened in a matter of seconds, but my insides felt as if they were being ripped in half. Inhaling sharply, I tore open my eyes and bolted upright. I seethed with annoyance as I looked over at him in the recliner, eyes just starting to flutter. Everything all at once went to my head, dizziness overtook, and my stomach rolled.

  “What the hell was that?” I demanded, hands still tingling.

  He dragged in a ragged breath, eyes beaming like a glowworm. And he didn’t look pleased. “You ended the dream abruptly. That doesn’t come without a price.”

  I pulled a shaky hand through my hair, starting to feel a pressure building inside my head. Before I had the chance to bombard him with a string of questions, the doorbell rang.

  My eyes immediately connected with Lukas. A feeling of panic overcame me, pushing aside the irritation. Please don’t let it be Gavin. Snapping myself out of my internal dread, I began to walk to the front door. For a split second, I thought about ignoring whoever was on the other side, but as if on cue, the musical chime sounded a second time.

  “This better be important,” I growled under my breath.

  I should have known. Tori stood on the porch with the sun at her back looking impatiently beautiful. Caramel golden waves framed her frowning face. “Finally. For God’s sake, what took you so long?” she huffed, pushing her way inside. Tori never waited for an invitation, and really, she never needed one at my house.

  “Tori, this isn’t a good—”

  Her hand flew to her heart, and she let out a tiny gasp. “Oh.” The exasperation fled from her expression and was replaced with one of keen curiosity.

  My back hit the wall as I followed her gaze.

  Lukas was leaning in the hallway looking like an archangel. His dimples twinkled, and his eyes were brimming with laughter. He enjoyed seeing me ruffled. Both hands stuck into the front pockets of his jeans, his college T-shirt stretched over his taunt chest, emphasizing the emerald green of his eyes.

  Even I had to suppress a sigh, Tori wasn’t so subtle.

  Her big brown eyes zeroed in on Lukas like he was a decadent piece of cheesecake she was dying to take a bite. After she took her fill, she glanced back to me, uplifting a perfectly manicure brow in a quizzical glare. The corners of her lips twitched. “Why have you been hiding all this hotness to yourself?” she whispered. “You know it’s really not fair that you have two sizzling guys, and I don’t have a single one. Didn’t your aunt ever teach you to share?”

  I elbowed her in the side, and she glowered at me.

  Lukas’s grin only grew.

  Goodie gumdrops. How the hell was I going to explain this? I needed to think fast on my feet. I needed a lie. Of course, everyone knew that I was queen sucky at lying.

  Lukas became my savior. He swaggered into the hallway, giving Tori the full swoon-worthy treatment. She looked ready to collapse.

  There was nothing I could do but roll my eyes.

  “You never told me you had such a beautiful friend.” His voice was as smooth as a honey and as lethal as a killer bee.

  It was almost comical how easily she fell prey to his charm.

  “I’m Tori,” she purred like a sex kitten.

  I trie
d not to giggle at her trying to be sexy.

  He would have to be gay or a dunce to not pick up Tori’s obvious and downright embarrassing flirting. Hell, it was even making me uncomfortable. I suddenly felt like a third wheel. Maybe I should have offered them my bedroom.

  “Tori, Lukas. Lukas, Tori. Now with the introductions out of the way…” I turned to Tori. “What are you doing here?”

  Her eyes were still glued to Lukas.

  “Earth to Tori,” I called, waving my hand in the air.

  “Hm. I-I wanted to talk to you about the party,” she tripped over her words, clearly flustered.

  “Couldn’t you have just called?” Yes, I was being rude, but she had caught me off guard. A few minutes earlier, and she could have walked into an extremely awkward and hard to explain situation.

  “You should come…to my party,” Tori suggested, extending Lukas an invitation and ignoring me. She batted her eyelashes to sweeten the deal.

  I wanted to gag.

  And it had nothing to do with jealousy. Okay, maybe just a teeny, tiny tad of jealousy. As much as it didn’t make sense, Lukas had only ever been mine. Mostly though, it was a heavy dose of oh shit.

  I wanted to keep my witch live separate from my normal life, and I couldn’t do that if Tori was making starry eyes at Lukas.

  I glared at her. She feigned ignorance and was going to pay for it later, when I got her alone. This was bad. Very bad. Gavin and Lukas in the same room, I internally groaned. I got that whole punched-in-the gut feeling and nearly couldn’t breathe. Hell must have frozen over.

  Things between Gavin and I were finally at a good place. A great place. This party was going to be my downfall.

  I could feel Lukas’s gaze burning at me, trying to get a read on my reaction, which was sort of a feat in itself. Tori was holding her breath. I tried as hard as I could to keep my expression blank, but it wasn’t working. My eyes were pleading with him to say no.

  Begging him.

  If I could have forced the thought in his head or made him say no with magic, you bet your ass I would have. I concentrated until I was blue in the face, but unlike Gavin, Lukas seemed to be able to ignore my powers of persuasion, not that I actually thought I had such powers. I wanted to kick myself for not getting this whole witch thing, and then I wanted to just kick Lukas. Tori, too.

  Lukas gave Tori an impish, floor-dropping grin, his dimples winking on either side. “Is Brianna going to be there?” he asked Tori, like I wasn’t even in the room.

  My mouth gaped open, and I crossed my arms over my chest. This was turning into an epic debacle. He had deliberately ignored my plea. There had been no mistaking that he knew I wanted him to say no. My eyes had practically screamed it at him.

  Tori threw an around my shoulder. “Of course she is going to be there. She’s my best friend. You have to come, it will be a blast.”

  Tori was about two seconds away from going into full fan-girl mode. I cringed.

  Lukas’s eyes twinkled. “Sounds like fun. Count me in.” Much to my chagrin, he accepted.

  My shoulders went lax. No. No. No.

  I was royally screwed.

  Chapter 20

  I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE GAVIN waiting for me in my driveway the next morning. I assumed since he knew I had a training session with Lukas, our relationship would take two steps backward, but seeing him sitting on the hood of his car, my heart inflated with hope. Coping with all the uncertainty about us was wreaking havoc on my wellbeing.

  I skipped off the porch, the wind blowing my hair off my face. The cool morning breeze heightened the color in my cheeks. When I reached his car I was feeling a little breathy, entirely his fault.

  “Need a lift?” His voice sounded like a dip in the ocean after a hot summer day—refreshing.

  I responded with a radiate smile.

  He held the door open as I slipped in. A few moments later, the sound of his turbo charged engine tore through the quiet street as we sped to school. My butt vibrated on the seat, but it wasn’t an annoying feeling, more like a gentle lull.

  The question had been on the tip of my tongue since he showed up looking heart stopping. I was confused. Why the about face? Why now? “You make my head spin,” I said, breaking the silence.

  That wasn’t meant as an ego booster, but the deadly smirk on his lips said he thought it was the highest of compliments. “I tend to have that effect on girls.”

  “I just bet. But seriously, I’m confused. A few weeks ago you wouldn’t talk to me. What changed?”

  He shrugged. His hand skillfully turned the wheel as we rounded a corner, and then he blessed me with a killer smile. “I realized that you were worth fighting for.”

  My body went into shock.

  I was at a loss for words. That was not the answer I had been expecting. He left me tongue-tied with my thumping heart echoing in my ears. The love struck gleam was on my face all morning long.

  By lunch, I was dying to see him. We were all sitting in the cafeteria listening to Tori rant on and on about her holiday party. The whole blasted school was invited. Little miss social butterfly felt the need to throw the party of the year as her one last act of senior year. I didn’t need to mention that we barely knew or could stand half the kids in our graduating class.

  She was over the moon excited.

  I was dreaded it like a trip to the dentist, but worse. Much worse.

  My eye caught Sophie’s. She was studying me like an algebra problem. Something was definitely nagging her. I was about to ask her what was up when she gave me a little shake of the head. Whatever it was, she didn’t what to talk about it in front of everyone.

  That could only be one thing.

  Magic.

  Normally, it was the kind of thing I would dwell on, but with Gavin beside me, it was hard to think of anything else.

  My half-eaten chocolate chip cookie was forgotten as our fingers played under the table. I snuck a sideways glance at dark and gorgeous beside me. Our eyes locked, and a flood of heat rippled through me.

  There was a pattern developing I noticed. When he looked at me like this, the world vanished and everyone in it. I was totally anti-PDA, but today there must have been something in the air. Or it was just the boy next to me. He made me want to do things that were out of character for me. I leaned into him, our fingers clutched under the table, and pressed my lips to his, but he took it to another level.

  What started as sweet and simple turned downright steamy in seconds. His tongue swept over mine in a game of cat and mouse, and I felt the kiss all the way to my black-painted toes.

  Sophie made a gagging noise. Austin was grinning. And Tori…well she had an opinion about everything.

  “Ah. I’m so glad you guys kissed and made up, but I don’t want to watch you two swap spit over lunch. It’s not only unsanitary, it’s depressing. The rest of us don’t have hot dates. Well, yet…”

  Sometimes Tori’s untamed and loose tongue could be just too much. My stomach pitched. I knew what she was thinking or who she was thinking of. Her eyes got that glossy, starry look.

  “Girl, you better dish,” Austin demanded. “Are you seeing someone?”

  I groaned.

  Tori’s doe eyes twinkled. “I’m working on it. Our girl Brianna has been holding out on us.”

  Gavin lifted a brow, suddenly more interested in what she was saying than in me.

  My stomach hallowed. “I have been doing no such thing. He’s a friend,” I defended, my teeth clenched tight.

  Austin’s eyes gleamed. He thrived on drama, and I could see the wheels turning in his over-styled head. It was all the encouragement Tori needed. “This friend is yummy. I could eat off his abs. And he is coming to the party. My goal is to be feasting off those abs by the end of the night.” She nudged Austin in the arm. “Sorry, I’m calling dibs.”

  I wanted to crawl under the table.

  Hide in the darkest hole.

  Sophie’s eyes widened, and Gavin whispered in
my ear, “Looks like I get to finally met the guy who consumes your dreams.”

  I gave him a dry look. That wasn’t even close to being funny, and the intense flare in his sapphire eyes said he was looking forward to it, but not in a good way.

  Right after lunch, Sophie pulled me aside—literally, dragging me off to a corner in the library. She scanned the deserted rows before facing me. Somehow this had become our place to talk, our secret meeting place.

  I hoisted a seat on top one of the empty tables, letting my feet dangle over the edge. They were all empty. “What is going on with you? I swear, at lunch you where dissecting me like a lab rat.”

  She kept her voice low. “You have a hole in your aura.”

  “What!” I screeched.

  She put a finger to her lips. “It’s small, but a spot is missing.”

  “Missing?” I echoed.

  “Missing. Gone. Finito.”

  I could tell by the puzzled expression on her face that it wasn’t a good thing. “I’m assuming that’s not normal.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  Of course not.

  “But I’ve heard stories,” she continued. “It usually only happens when someone has been touched with dark magic. Or…”

  “Or?” I prompted quickly. This wasn’t the time to leave a girl hangin’.

  “Or if a witch has been practicing dark magic.” There was an ill omen tinged to her words.

  “I haven’t done either,” I argued. “That I know of.”

  “It’s so strange.” She reached out a hand like she wanted to touch the missing chuck of my outline. “I can’t tell if it is black or just a missing hole.”

  “Should I be worried?” A hint of dismay laced my voice.

  She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “I’m not sure. This is out of my realm. Anyway, I think you have more than enough to stress about. Gavin and Lukas in the same house? Are you insane? We’ll be lucky if the structure is still standing.”

  That’s what I was afraid of.

  The bell rang.

  “We’re late,” I sighed.

  “Here take this.” A slip of paper appeared between her slim fingers.