Shifters And Glyphs

by Bauer, Christina;

  More smoky glyphs appear.

  “Five, four.”

  “We don’t have much longer,” I call to Knox. “I’m almost out of fae power. Shifter energy is next.” With all my will, I try to move. Magic keeps me locked in place. “I can’t get out of this.”

  “Let me try,” calls Knox. His entire body trembles as he fights to move. “I can’t. The magic is too strong.”

  The channel of power between me and Elle dies out. “I can move, guys.” Her head lolls from side to side. “Let me help.”

  The bright lines of magic between Elle and her obelisk disappear. The structure turns dark once more. Elle crumples onto the ground, passed out. My pulse beats so fast, I can feel it in my throat.

  The Void sends up another smoke-glyph.

  “Three.”

  Nausea rolls through me. I’m almost out of time. There has to be something I can do here. Some way to stop myself from losing all magic.

  Think, Bry.

  My wolf whimpers in terror. Fear overtakes every cell in my body.

  I don’t have much longer.

  “Trust your instincts, Bry.” Knox’s deep voice rumbles across the desert. “Think through the problem.”

  Knox’s obelisk looms behind him, dark and waiting. Shifter magic dances inside me, ready to finish off the ceremony. With a flare of golden light, fresh lines of power wind between me and Knox.

  “Two.”

  And in this moment, I learn something. There’s a sort of calmness and clarity to the end of your life. For so long, I’ve hedged and waited. I’ve thought that maybe Knox and I could write our own fairy-tale life template, but I didn’t believe that could happen. I thought magic wanted us to be apart. Everything was a matter of fate or someone else’s power. I didn’t believe in myself.

  No, I didn’t believe in us.

  That changes now. I’m going after this with all my faith and heart. After all, love is the greatest magic there is. Knox is right. With love, we can create any story we want.

  With everything inside me, I focus on the problem. A solution appears.

  “Alec and Elle could move right before they collapsed,” I say. “If we try to reach each other at the same time, maybe we can break the connection with the obelisk before …” I can’t make myself say, before I die.

  “Let’s do it. On my mark. Ready, set, go!”

  A final glyph appears before me.

  “One.”

  Howling with rage, fear, and faith, I twist against the magic that holds me. I struggle.

  Writhe.

  Fight with everything inside me.

  And I break free.

  Across the desert, Knox snaps loose from the cords of golden magic around him. He races toward me across the sands. I’m not sure when it happens, but I start running to him as well. We meet halfway in an embrace.

  I’m alive.

  A blast of golden light surrounds us. Then everything goes dark.

  Chapter 36

  When my eyes open, I’m lying on my back. The sky is clear blue again. Heat from the desert sand burns along my limbs. A figure in white looms above me.

  The Void.

  “Where am I?” Every inch of me feels drained. I can’t remember ever being this thirsty. “Am I dead?”

  “Far from it,” says the Void in his booming voice.

  My inner wolf perks up. “I’m alive, too!” She prances about in a happy circle.

  Seeing her so well makes me think of everyone else I love. Worry zings through my nervous system. I look to the Void. “What about my family?”

  “Your wardens and father are all fine.” The Void leans in closer. “By the way, you and your mate took back a lot of shifter magic. No one has ever done that before. You’ll be the most powerful mated pair of your kind.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I shake my head. “Because I don’t think I could handle more magical bad stuff right now.”

  “I’m unsure.” The Void stands upright again and stares out to the horizon. “We shall wait and see.”

  Wait and see? Really?

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but as a magical ally, you aren’t all that helpful sometimes.”

  His all-black eyes narrow at me. “It goes with being immortal and not being able to reincarnate, unlike some people.”

  My mouth falls open. “Hey, did you just make a joke?”

  “Why, yes. I think I did.” The Void bows slightly at the waist. “Until the next time you are reborn.”

  “Until then.”

  “I officially declare the ceremony over.” With that, the Void disappears.

  For a moment, I can only stare at the spot where the Void once stood. “You really need to work on your interpersonal skills, my friend.”

  Low groans sound nearby. Worry ricochets through my nervous system. My family! I rise, finding the Colonel standing a few yards away, hands on his hips, a cigar clenched in his teeth. Elle, Alec, and Knox all lay nearby, knocked out but breathing.

  “You.” I point at the Colonel’s nose. “You were passed out.”

  “I’m a quick healer. All of us dragon shifters are.” He flips the cigar to the other side of his mouth with his tongue and grins. “And guess what? Since you called me Poppa and all, I’ll now heal our little family for you, too.”

  I set my fists on my hips in a pose of mock annoyance. “You were eavesdropping?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good. Let’s heal our family, Poppa.”

  “We should help Elle first. I think she’s worse off than the rest.”

  “If you think—”

  But there isn’t time to finish my thought. With a great rumble, the pyramids lower back into the ground. Shifting across the sands, they retake their former spots on the Giza Plateau. Next, the bubble of magic reappears as it starts to constrict around us. As the shimmering sphere speeds closer, it leaves behind modern Egypt in its wake.

  Tourists return to the darkened sands. Tents reappear. The noises of human voices and dance music fill the air. A red haze of magic fills the air once again. This time, it’s accompanied by the unmistakable gurgle of water, as well as the outline of someone I hadn’t expected.

  Knox’s ex-girlfriend, Ty.

  I’d thought I’d seen her in the Cairo crowds, but I wasn’t one hundred percent certain. Now, there’s no question about it. Ty appears in all her yellow-gowned glory. She leans over Knox’s body. I round on her, ready to confront her at last.

  At that moment, the bubble disappears entirely. A burst of blindingly bright red light surrounds us all. The gurgle of flowing water fills the air once more.

  Ty is casting another spell.

  The next thing I know, we’re all sitting in the back of the Escalade, awake and refreshed.

  All of us, that is, except Knox.

  My inner wolf growls with rage. “Ty took him,” she howls. “Can we bite her face off now?”

  “No, you can’t. But I love you for wanting to.” What can I say? Almost losing my wolf has made me learn to appreciate her, even when she does want to bite someone’s face off.

  Alec is the first to speak. “What the hell happened?”

  “I’ll give you the quick summary.” I count off the news on my fingers. “We recharged magic, I’m alive, and Knox’s ex-girlfriend showed up. The good news is that it looks like she cast healing spells on you both. The bad news is that she took Knox with her and poufed out of here.”

  “That witch?” asks Elle. “I’ll kill her.”

  “No, she healed you and Alec, remember?” I lean against the leather seats. Air conditioning never felt so good. “I don’t think she means to hurt us or Knox. In fact, I think she’s trying to help him.”

  “If she wanted to help him,” says Alec, “Ty could have set Knox down in this car with the rest of us.”

  “No, Bryar Rose is right.” The Colonel gives me a sly look. “I’ll transport you to wherever Knox may be.”

  I smile, noticing how the Co
lonel finally called Knox by his right name. “That’s perfect.”

  “Besides, I think we both know what Ty is really up to.” He bobs his eyebrows. “When do you want to go?”

  And maybe I’m becoming more like my crafty fae poppa, but yes, I think we’re in agreement on what’s truly going on with Ty.

  “How about now?”

  “Whatever you wish, sugar.”

  “Thank you, Poppa,” I say.

  And I mean it.

  Chapter 37

  A few moments later, I’ve got that Ferris wheel feeling again. Why? Alec’s magic is transporting me to see Knox. Alec and Elle aren’t along for the ride, though, not that they didn’t want to come along. Even so, I insisted on visiting my mate alone.

  I have a theory about Ty, and to see if I’m right, I need to talk to her alone.

  Soon, Alec’s transport spell drops me off at the very spot where Knox is. In this case, it’s his castle, the one where Ty is living. I can tell because I find myself standing inside a bedroom made of gray rock. Threadbare tapestries of wolves hang on the walls. A random fountain sits in one corner. And Ty is here. She sits on the edge of a large four-poster bed, wearing the same yellow gown she did a few moments ago in Egypt.

  But Ty isn’t what holds my attention. Atop the mattress, there lies Knox, passed out and pale.

  I stand by the doorway, waiting. “I’m here, Ty.”

  Ty is across the room. She doesn’t look up when she hears me speak. “I’d expect nothing else,” she says. “I’m not going to hurt him.”

  “I got that part. You brought him here to heal him, didn’t you?”

  “That’s right.”

  “So go on. I’ll wait.” Closing my eyes, I search for my inner animal. She’s pacing an angry line inside my soul.

  “Our mate is sick,” she growls. “And you’re letting that witch tend to him? There are other healers around, you know.”

  “But she’s here and doing a fine job, isn’t she?” I ask. My wolf doesn’t reply to that, which I take to mean that she agrees. Whatever else you can say about Ty, she’s a very talented witch.

  And I have my suspicions about why Knox is really sick in the first place.

  Across the room, Ty raises her fist. Even from a distance, there’s no missing the giant ruby that gleams through her fingers. Ty lifts her arm and speaks in a loud voice. “With this spell, I release you from my curse. From now on, you may stand beside your mate without pain.”

  Inside my soul, my wolf growls with rage. “She cursed our mate? Let’s tear her face off!”

  “No,” I say in my mind. “She cured our mate. That’s what important.”

  My wolf pauses and narrows her eyes. “Our mate always suspected it was Ty who cast the spell on him to make him ill. He was right all along.”

  “Yes,” I reply. “He absolutely was.”

  As Ty keeps her hand held high, the gemstone in her fist brightens. Beams of crimson peek out through Ty’s fingers. Magic. For a moment, the red light becomes blindingly bright. After that, it disappears. Instead of the stone, Ty now holds a vial of red fluid in her hand. Miniscule points of brightness appear inside the liquid.

  “Is the spell cast?” I ask.

  “That’s right.”

  “Now you need him to drink that, don’t you?” I ask.

  Ty shoots me a quick glance over her shoulder. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but closes it just as quickly. In the end, she only nods and offers me the small vial.

  I step over, take the vial, and kneel by Knox’s side. He’s still unconscious, so it takes a while for him to drink the vial. I can only pour a few drops on his lips at a time. He swallows them slowly. Perhaps an hour goes by this way. Once the last sip is down Knox’s throat, a thin layer of red mist encompasses his body. Tiny beams of crimson light leak from his pores. The curse is disappearing. The red light dies out, and Knox sighs with relief. Still kneeling beside him, I run my fingers through his silky black hair.

  “Your curse made Knox sick when I was around,” I say to Ty. “You took his energy.”

  Ty steps away. “You have every reason to hate me.”

  “That depends.” I glance at her over my shoulder. “Why did you do it?”

  Ty stares down at her hands for a long moment. “Reggie told me who you were. Magic reborn. You were going to die on the autumn equinox. I didn’t want Knox to get hurt, so I tried to help. I thought if he saw that being around you made him sick, then he’d break up with you.”

  “And the fact that you wanted him to date you?” I ask.

  “That was just me wishing that my life was different, that’s all. It was all wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

  I keep brushing my fingers through Knox’s hair. We’re shifters; touch is always important. I shoot Ty a knowing look. “So, what was all this really about? What have you been hiding from in here?”

  Ty exhales a long breath. “I hate my fairy-tale life template.” She stares longingly at the fish fountain set into the wall.

  The one she conjured.

  Because this is one sorceress who’s obsessed with the ocean.

  And with that, I know exactly who Ty really is.

  “All this fish stuff. You’re the sea witch from The Little Mermaid, aren’t you?”

  “You guessed it.” Ty shakes her head. “That’s my nightmare.”

  “How did Knox get mixed up in all this?”

  Ty huffs out a long breath. “It doesn’t matter.”

  I stand up and look at her straight on. “I think it does.”

  Ty paces a line across the bedroom floor before pausing. “Knox and I used to hunt Denarii. For me, it was a good way to make money. Plus, Knox was a great client. He always paid on time, and Denarii are easy to kill once you know how. Knox and I were pals, you know? Like work buddies.”

  “I understand.”

  “So, we went on this one gig, and that’s where I met two men that changed my life. One was Reggie. The other was Triton.”

  “Like King Triton?”

  “The same. Lives in the Red Sea. He’s a merman and a ruler of his people. Smoking hot.” Ty fans herself at the memory. “Like, on fire. We met when I was swimming one night. The guy is a total player, but I thought to myself: Ty, all you do is work. Why not have some fun and kiss a fish guy? So I did. Triton invited me to see him again, and when I did? He was there with another woman already.” She rolls her eyes. “So dumb of me.”

  “You didn’t know you were a Little Mermaid life template?”

  “I didn’t think about it much, one way or another. Fairy-tale life templates are for Magicorum who take part in society, not rogues like me and Knox. But after Triton? I’ll be honest. I freaked the hell out. This is like the worst life template to be stuck in.” She taps her chest with her fingers. “I’ll spend my life sulking at the bottom of the ocean with eels for friends.”

  There’s a rickety wooden bench on the other side of the room. Crossing the chamber, I sit down on one end and motion for Ty to sit on the other. This isn’t the kind of conversation to have standing up. Or while sitting on your boyfriend’s mattress, for that matter.

  Ty worries her thumbnail with her teeth for a moment. Then she sits beside me. “After I caught Triton with the other mermaid—” Ty makes quotation marks with her fingers when she says other mermaid “—that’s when I met Reggie. Or rather, that’s when Knox and I caught Reggie. Now, most people can’t understand most of what Reggie says, but I get him. He said I was Beauty, not a Sea Witch.”

  She taps her forehead with her fingers. “That’s when the crazy idea started that I was Knox’s Beauty and he was my Beast. It just got worse from there. Then Reggie told me you were doomed, I put Knox under a curse, and here we are.”

  “Look, Ty—”

  “You don’t need to lecture me. I know I acted like a total ass.”

  I slide closer to her on the bench. “That wasn’t what I was about to say at all. I almost lost Knox because I didn’t hav
e enough faith in us.” I set my hand above my heart. “Love is the greatest fairy tale. With it, you can make anything happen. I know it sounds sappy, but it’s true.”

  Ty tilts her head. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  “Because I’ve been where you are now. Make your own fairy-tale life template, Ty. Find Triton. See where it goes.”

  Ty looks away, her eyes glistening with tears. “I’ll think about it.” She walks across the room and pauses by the door. “You can have Knox back now,” she says. “He’s always been yours.”

  With that, she steps out of the room.

  Ty doesn’t need to say another word. I know what she’ll do next—pack up and move on. For a long minute, I stare at the empty doorway, wondering if I’ll ever see her again. It may be strange to feel this way, but I certainly hope I do. In fact, I’m so wound up in my thoughts that I don’t even notice that Knox is awake.

  When I become aware of him again, I find Knox lying on his side, looking over at me, and smiling. “How’s your wolf?” he asks.

  I know the reason for his question, too. It wasn’t guaranteed that my wolf would make it through everything that happened at the pyramids. “She’s fine, thanks to you.”

  Inside my soul, my wolf yips with glee. “Our mate is so wonderful to ask about me!”

  “That he is,” I reply in my mind.

  Knox narrows his eyes. “And what about the other magic that was inside you?”

  “My witch and fae powers are gone. Somehow, when we broke the connection with the obelisk, we got ourselves a ton of shifter power. So there’s that.”

  My inner wolf perks up at this statement. “I never liked the other magic in here anyway,” she sniffs. “All those red and silver strings of power taking up space and getting in the way. Shifter magic, that’s the best.”

  “You were always the strongest of my powers,” I say to her in my mind. “You fought that lockbox of Colonel Mallory’s like nobody’s business.”

  Inside my soul, my wolf prances in a happy circle. “Yes, that’s right. Shifter power is supreme.”