Seduced by Magic

by Cheyenne McCray

  Copper cleared her throat. “Last night—in my nightmare, that was the door.” She pointed to the rectangle. “I dreamed that I was standing in the middle of a circle just like that one, except that at the center was a giant eye, like a big flat version of the one Darkwolf wears around his neck.” She looked from the parchment back to Silver. “It was bloody. And it was my blood beneath my feet, as if the thing were sucking the blood out of me.”

  Everyone remained silent as they looked from one to another. Silver’s face had gone beyond pale.

  Copper went on to explain that she’d had various versions of this dream, each time traveling a little farther, and each time it got more frightening.

  “I’m certain now, very certain, that these are dream-visions, not just nightmares.” Copper glanced at the parchment, but didn’t want to hold it—the evil in her vision came strongly and forcefully just from staring at it.

  Tiernan put his hands at her shoulders and massaged some of the tenseness from her. She was surprised at his consideration and she leaned back into his touch, enjoying the way he loosened up the muscles of her neck, shoulders, and upper back. He was very, very good.

  Hawk gave Tiernan a look of disapproval, and Copper wondered what Hawk’s problem was.

  “Maybe I can scry again, and learn more from your vision.” Silver took the parchment to the table reluctantly, as if she were afraid of what she might see.

  Copper began clearing away the now-empty casserole pan and juice pitcher, and the men took their dishes from the table into the kitchen and to the sink. Apparently these men had manners—or Silver had trained them well. Before Silver dragged out her pewter cauldron and the jug of purified water, Copper washed and dried off the table.

  Everyone had crowded around Silver by the time she’d filled the cauldron and was ready to scry. Polaris was up on the surface of the table now, his body wrapped around the cauldron, obviously to add his own magic.

  Silver held up her hands and glared at the men. “Back off. I can’t do this with you hanging over my shoulders. It’s probably better if you leave.”

  Both men scowled. “I will not,” Hawk said.

  Silver jabbed her finger at the big man’s chest. “You will if you want me to get anything out of this. Last time you two watched, it made me nervous. Copper and her familiar can stay, but the two of you have to go.”

  Their scowls deepened, but Hawk and Tiernan strode from the apartment, and Hawk closed the door just a little too loudly.

  “Phew.” Silver pushed her hair over her shoulder so that it didn’t hang into the cauldron. “It’s not easy getting rid of those two.”

  Copper smiled, but her insides were still chilled from the sight of the drawing on the parchment.

  Zephyr buzzed from Copper’s ear to perch on the lip of the cauldron. She felt his magic, along with Polaris’s. The honeybee might be small in comparison to Polaris or other familiars, but his magic was just as strong.

  Silver braced her palms on the tabletop, to either side of the cauldron. Copper waited two steps away, not wanting to distract Silver. Sometimes Silver could see visions in the water itself, while other times images rose up in misty fog and played themselves out in a three-dimensional scene.

  Copper forced herself to pick up the parchment, her hands still shaking, and focused on the crude drawing. At the same time she lent her own magical support to Silver’s.

  Wisps of fog dragged her attention from the parchment to the cauldron. The strands coalesced, slowly combining to form figures that Copper immediately recognized. The forms were Copper and her sister. Both were at a lonely pier at the bay, a pier that wasn’t familiar to Copper. No one else was around and light from a waxing moon glistened on the water that barely moved against the shore.

  In the foggy image from the cauldron, both Copper and Silver crept through the darkness to one of the huge pilings, telephone-pole-sized legs holding up the wooden pier. They peeked around the pilings, obviously taking care not to be seen.

  Three figures stood beneath the pier. Darkwolf, Junga in her human form, and someone who was standing too far into the shadows for Copper to make out. The figure had long hair that glistened in what little moonlight there was, and something struck her as familiar.

  In the next moment purple light blazed through the darkness—

  And the foggy images vanished.

  Both Copper and Silver stared at the cauldron, willing the images to come back.

  “No!” Silver shouted, and Zephyr flew off the lip of the cauldron and returned to Copper’s ear. “Bless it, that wasn’t enough! I hate when that happens.”

  Silver looked to Copper, frustration on her features as she continued. “I recognize that pier. That’s where the D’Danann and some of our group of witches battled the Fomorii. We won the battle, but we lost one of the D’Danann and McNulty.”

  “McNulty?” Copper’s heart fell. “I really liked her.” Then she added in a growl, “Fucking demons.”

  Silver sighed. “I was so full of rage when she died, that I helped the D’Danann kill the demons,” she said as she looked to her sister. “I came so close to turning to the dark that time that it was frightening.”

  Copper wrapped her arm around Silver’s shoulder and said in a matter-of-fact voice, “That would never happen. You did what you had to. I’m sure I would have done the same in your place.”

  She released her sister after one last squeeze and met Silver’s gray gaze. Silver cleared her throat. “Darkwolf . . . he has some kind of pull on me. It’s like we’re connected on some wavelength, and he uses that to try and manipulate me. I’ve fought him off before, but I’m afraid one day I might fail.”

  Copper rubbed Silver’s shoulder, the purple silk sliding beneath her palm. “You’re strong. He can’t hurt you.”

  Silver sighed and said nothing.

  “Do you think we’re meant to go there?” Copper turned back to stare at the now quiet cauldron. “Or is it a warning?”

  “I think we are supposed to go to the wharf.” Silver pushed away from the table and pursed her lips. “The only one dangerous magically is Darkwolf. The other Balorite warlocks are not even close to being as strong as he is, and the Fomorii have no magic other than being able to shift into human form and back. We probably wouldn’t have any problem binding those other two with our witchcraft before they knew what was happening.” She tapped her chin with her finger as she looked thoughtfully at the cauldron. “The third figure, though, I’m not exactly sure what it, he, she, is.”

  Copper’s gaze returned to the cauldron. “That blaze of light—where was it coming from?”

  At that Silver paused. “I don’t know for sure, but I think from us. Sometimes my magic takes on a purple hue—when I draw from the gray.”

  Copper frowned at that. The gray caused Silver’s magic to change hue? “When do you think this vision will happen?” Copper asked.

  “Late this evening,” Silver said with conviction. “I have no doubt about it. The waxing moon will be in that phase tonight.”

  With a sigh, Copper said, “I think you’re right. We’ll need backup.”

  Silver rubbed the snake bracelet that wound from the back of one hand and up her wrist. “Yeah, and the D’Danann will want to go barreling in there with swords and fists, and we’ll never find out what’s going on.”

  At that Copper had to grin. “Men. They have no subtleties.”

  Silver smiled. “At least not ours.”

  Ours. The word gave Copper pause, and she thought of her relationship with Tiernan. He’d been so possessive last night, yet he was possibly going to end up marrying a woman who was pregnant with another man’s child.

  The thought of him being married made her stomach pitch and she had to push it away.

  A knock on the door startled them both and Silver rolled her eyes to Copper. “No doubt they’ve been trying to listen in while we’ve been talking.”

  Silver let the warriors into the apartment. After she
closed the door behind them, she and Copper explained the vision they had seen and what they were positive they must do tonight.

  “I will not allow you to go to the pier, Silver,” Hawk said in a growl as he banged his fist on the table, causing water to slosh from the cauldron. “Especially not so close to the warlock and the demon.”

  “Get over it,” Copper said to Hawk, causing the warrior to pause. “You’d better get used to us in the thick of things.”

  Hawk looked to Tiernan. “Is she as difficult to contend with as Silver?”

  Tiernan sighed. “Worse.”

  Copper sniffed. Silver glared at Hawk and said, “After all we’ve been through together, you know I am more than capable of handling myself. I’ve kicked more ass than you can count. Our relationship is based on trust, isn’t it?”

  Hawk took Silver by the shoulders, and he looked so concerned and genuinely afraid for her. “I know, a thaisce. But I worry so about you. And with our babe—”

  “You’re pregnant?” Copper nearly shouted as she looked at Silver in amazement. Happiness rushed through her for her sister, yet frustration, too. “You guys are having a baby and you didn’t tell me?”

  “A babe?” Tiernan echoed, looking from Silver to Hawk.

  “I was waiting for the right time.” Silver’s cheeks turned pink. “It’s just been so crazy. I’ve been so thrilled that you’re here, and with everything that’s been happening—I just wanted some quiet time to sit down with you and share the news.”

  Copper folded her arms across her chest like she was mad, then grinned. She pushed Hawk out of the way and hugged Silver. “We’re having a baby.” She bounced up and down on her toes. “We’re having a baby!” She pulled away, still grinning like an idiot. “I’ll have a niece or nephew!”

  “A son, I think.” Silver pressed her hand to her still flat belly and smiled. She glanced up at Hawk and the love in their eyes made Copper ache inside. “A boy who is the spitting image of his daddy.”

  “Or a girl.” Hawk kissed the top of her head. “As beautiful as her mother.”

  “As beautiful as Shayla.” Silver smiled. “I’m sure Shayla will love either a brother or a sister.”

  Hawk kissed her and the next thing Copper knew, Silver and Hawk were in a serious liplock. Copper glanced up at Tiernan, who looked slightly uncomfortable, and Copper couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m going to be an aunt,” she said, feeling incredibly giddy.

  Copper turned her attention back to the smooching couple. “Hey, get a room already.”

  Silver and Hawk separated. She had a lovely flush over her features and her lipstick had been thoroughly kissed off.

  Hawk held Silver by her shoulders and looked directly at her. “You know that I fear for both of you.”

  Silver sighed. “I understand that. But the baby will be fine. I’ll be fine.” She reached up to cup his cheek. “You can’t treat me like a fragile piece of blown glass.”

  Resignation was in the big warrior’s eyes. “Nothing I can do will change your mind?”

  Silver shook her head. “Nothing.”

  Copper glanced up at Tiernan, who was looking at her as though he was ready to argue, too. “Don’t even think about it,” she said. “Just zip those lips.”

  Adrenaline heightened Copper’s senses as she and Silver moved silently through the night along the narrow strip of rocky shore with Copper leading the way. To the right was a high concrete wall, to the left was the bay.

  The pier extended far from the shoreline, out into the bay on its sturdy, water-stained, wooden pilings. A white and blue boat was moored at the end of the pier and the boat gave creaks of age as it moved with the gentle swells of the water. The waxing moon cast silvery ripples on the water’s surface through the breaks in the clouds.

  Both sisters were wearing all black—bomber jackets, jeans, and T-shirts. Silver wore her special boots that had sheathes for her stiletto knives. She’d clipped back her long silvery-blond hair with a silver Celtic-knot pin, and had a black stocking cap pulled over her head. Copper wore black jogging shoes and had her copper braid up under her stocking cap.

  Tiernan, Hawk, and two other D’Danann hovered somewhere nearby. They were able to cloak themselves in invisibility when they were winged. Unfortunately, they could not maintain their invisibility when they fought, whether it was in the air or on land.

  The not-so-distant sound of traffic and the gentle waves of the bay washing ashore were the only sounds Copper heard until a foghorn blared in the distance, causing her to jump.

  She just couldn’t get enough of the scent of brine and wind off the bay. So what if the fishy smell was a little pungent? She didn’t care. She was home.

  They continued stealthily through the night toward the pier. Copper had her wand up her jacket sleeve so that the moonlight didn’t glint off its surface and the crystals didn’t sparkle to give them away. Silver had done the same with one of her stiletto knives while her free hand was at the ready to do her magic. Her other knife was in her boot.

  Copper often wished she could do the kind of magic that Silver did with her hands. But from the time she was a young girl, Copper had always relied on her wand as a conduit for her witchcraft.

  Voices floated on the salty breeze, along with the scent of wolfsbane, moss, and rich earth. Copper and Silver stilled and glanced at one another. The sounds were coming from beneath the pier. Copper’s blood throbbed through her veins as they moved silently forward. The voices grew louder the closer the sisters got to the pilings. They finally reached the pier and eased up to it, each standing behind one of the pier’s large wooden piles.

  Copper tried to control the nervousness and her breathing as she peeked around the curve of the thick wooden leg. She had to blink until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moonlight didn’t fully reach below the pier.

  “You will ensure her safety and deliver her to me,” said a man’s familiar voice, but she couldn’t place it. It was as if that man didn’t belong here, not at all. The man was so concealed by the darkness that she couldn’t make out anything but the slightest shine from the hint of moonlight on his long hair. Perhaps he was one of the Fomorii demons and that was what gave her the sense of wrongness.

  Junga folded her arms across her chest, her glare focused on the shadowed man. “First you must continue to aid us in our search for the door. How close are the—”

  “Quiet, woman,” the familiar voice ordered Junga, and Copper saw the demon-woman’s body go rigid at the same time she flexed her fingers.

  Darkwolf shot her a look, as if in warning. Junga clenched her fists and for an instant Copper caught a glimpse of the demon inside warping the stunning woman’s features, but then it was gone.

  The Balorite warlock opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped and raised his chin, his nose slightly to the air, like a wolf scenting the wind for prey. Copper’s skin chilled. Did he sense them?

  Darkwolf gave a smile as his gaze returned to the man whom Copper couldn’t see. “All you need to know,” the warlock said, “is that I will deliver what I have promised when you and your . . . people have reached the door.”

  The door! Copper thought. They have to be talking about the same door from my dream-vision. The same one from the parchment.

  She moved back against the pile, no longer looking at Darkwolf, Junga, or the mystery man. She glanced at Silver, who was also leaning with her back against the pile, away from the trio under the pier.

  Copper’s heart pounded harder as she saw the rapid rise and fall of Silver’s chest and heard her breathing growing harsher. Copper’s alarm grew at the expression on Silver’s face, the way she turned her head from side to side, as if saying no and as if she were fighting something internally.

  Silver let her stiletto slip from her jacket sleeve and into her hand so that she was holding the hilt tight. The metal glistened in the moonlight as Silver clenched her teeth. She seemed to be at war with something inside.

  Fear gre
w rampant in Copper’s heart. What was happening to Silver? Copper eased her wand from her own sleeve and gripped it in her fist, prepared to fight. Was Silver struggling with her gray magic, walking dangerously close to the dark? Or did it have something to do with Darkwolf?

  Copper peeked around the corner and a glimmer of light lit the features of the mystery man.

  Garran. Oh, my goddess, it’s Garran!

  Every piece of the puzzle came rushing to her and her head spun with it. The dark familiar shapes in her dreams had been the Drow. Their continuous digging. The giant that had made its way to the Drow cavern, obviously woken from its post in guarding things better not reached. The human-made clock in Garran’s chamber that showed the date and time—probably telling him when to meet with Darkwolf.

  “But for now . . .” Darkwolf’s voice reached through her fear for Silver and her shock at discovering Garran’s betrayal. “Two of our treasures can be found.”

  Alarm bells went off in Copper’s head, but not before brilliant purple light flooded the pilings, just like in the vision.

  Instinctively, Copper threw up a golden bubble, intending to surround both herself and Silver. But to Copper’s horror, the dark purple magic wrapped around Silver first, separating Copper’s shield from her sister. Purple ropes immediately bound Silver to the pile. She couldn’t move!

  The stiletto slipped from Silver’s hand and clattered on the rocky shore. She shouted, “No!” and struggled against the magical ropes.

  Blood thrumming through her veins, Copper dropped her own protective bubble and pointed her wand at Darkwolf’s shimmering purple barrier. She released a powerful blast of witchcraft, trying to break through the warlock’s shield.

  His shield wavered.

  Adrenaline surged through her as she sent another blast of power at the barrier.

  It dissolved into a million purple sparks.

  But Silver was still bound to the piling with the magical ropes.

  At the same time Copper struggled to fight Darkwolf’s magic, D’Danann cries had rent the night.

  Darkwolf appeared at Silver’s side almost instantly. Copper’s heart raced as she aimed her wand at him and muttered a chant under her breath. Golden spellfire shot from the end of her wand, but Darkwolf held up his hand and deflected her magic with his own. It struck a piling and the acrid stench of smoke and burning oil filled the air.