Magic and Mayhem: Any Witch Way (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Lori Ryan

  There wasn’t so much as an ounce of recognition in Leeds’ face. Just a blank stare coming back at Gideon. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

  Gideon blew out a breath and rubbed his jaw with one hand. “The flicker. Your glamour is flickering in and out. Like you can’t hold it or something. I’m only asking because I’m worried. Is there something going on?” Gideon would have asked Leeds if he was sick, but it simply wasn’t possible for Leeds to be ill. He couldn’t carry disease.

  Leeds scoffed and shook his head. “You’re fucking losing it, Gid. And I don’t need this shit. I came here to try to help you out and instead I’m getting the third degree? Fuck that.”

  Leeds turned toward the bar’s back door, but Gideon reached out to stop him. One minute he was touching his friend’s shoulder, and the next he had his back to the brick wall of the alley with the Jersey Devil’s hot-as-fuck breath in his face. He was in full-blown form: the wings, the horse face, the horns—all of it.

  The beast pinning him to the wall growled, and Gideon shifted into Boguman form, letting the full size and weight of his power show through. Fangs and horns and the whole thing. Leeds stared him down for a few minutes, as Gideon held his ground. He wouldn’t fight his friend unless he absolutely had to, but he’d be damned if he was going to back down completely.

  With a final growl, Leeds vanished and Gideon was left in an empty alley, no closer to answers than he had been an hour ago and wondering what in the hell had just happened.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What are we doing?” Gwen asked, stretching her legs to keep up with Gideon.

  “Walking.” Gideon squeezed her hand in his, but continued as though he were on a mission. Which technically they were, but still. She didn’t know where in particular this little piece of the mission was going.

  “I see that. What I mean is, where are we walking to?”

  “Oh, that part I don’t know,” he said, smiling a little playfully at her before kissing the back of her hand.

  He’d been in a strange mood since they’d woken that morning. He was both playful and loving, while at the same time more agitated and frustrated than she remembered him ever being. And since she now had all the memories of their time together from the last time she’d come to the world in this form, she actually had a reference point for that statement.

  It was a little overwhelming, suddenly having the memories of months of talking to Gideon, lying in his arms, making love to him night after night. It was as if she’d known him forever, even though if you asked her yesterday morning, she’d have said they had only known each other for a few days.

  She’d also realized something else since getting her memories back. She hadn’t been without him the whole time they were away, the way she thought she had at first. He had always been with her, and she with him. After all, he was a warlock, so his magic was in her and her magic was in him. They were two pieces of the same puzzle. For him, that had been painful. He’d had to feel her and be aware of the pain of her leaving, the pain of their separation.

  For her, she hadn’t had any awareness at all, but looking back, she could see that she’d always found something comforting about that small bit of her that was, essentially, him. He was her light. It was confusing and not something that could really be put into words, but she tried to take comfort in the fact that when she had to leave next time, maybe she’d be able to hold on to the feeling of being with him. To the feeling of their love, of their being two parts of a whole. Maybe that would make things better somehow.

  “I’ll know where we’re going when we get there,” Gideon said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

  “Okay.” She was content to simply be with him right now. It was enough for her to have more time by his side.

  Gideon stopped. “That’s it.”

  “What’s it?” She felt like they’d had this conversation before. Well, not exactly, but with very slight modifications.

  “Old magic. We need to go to the cemetery.” He tugged her hand, pulling her across the road to wrought iron gates that lay slightly crooked, leaving an awkward opening they were able to squeeze through if they turned sideways.

  “At this point, we’ve met all of the witches and warlocks who either live in town or are here temporarily with the carnival, and you haven’t been able to see the siphoned magic in any of them. If you can’t see the siphoned magic,” Gideon said, “then it must be very powerful magic that was used to steal it. And the most powerful magic is usually old magic—with some exceptions, of course.”

  She smiled at him. “Uh huh.” He was lecturing to the anchor of magic herself about how magic worked. Funny man. She knew there were very powerful witches and warlocks alive. Gideon and his sister being two examples. For the most part, old magic was extremely powerful. When people referred to old magic, they didn’t simply mean old in terms of age. What old magic more often referred to was the old families. The set of seven old familial lines whose magic was so old, it held a special place in the world.

  The only thing was, several of the old magic familial lines had either died out or had become so diluted that they no longer had the power they once held. Zelda’s family line on her father’s side and Gideon and Carol’s family lines on both parents’ sides were lines that remained strong to this day.

  So, she guessed, a cemetery made sense. It was where one would go to see what familial lines from the old days had been in this area. The fact that the carnival came back here year after year might not be solely due to the freedom from humans they enjoyed in this area. Perhaps there were family connections that drew them to the area again and again.

  They walked among the gravestones, each absorbed in reading the names. In the distance there were tombs, where whole families would be interred.

  “Come on,” Gwen said, this time taking Gideon’s hand in hers and pulling him toward the tombs. “We should be looking for a family line, and families mean tombs.”

  “Good thinking.”

  They found it almost instantly. Mirga.

  “Mirga! That’s it. Luca said that Tink and Floarea and several others in their camp were descendants of Guibran Mirga!”

  “And I’ve seen that symbol before,” Gideon said, pointing to the large glowing eye on the outside of the tomb.

  “Where?” Gwen asked, her eyes still locked on the tomb. Even from beyond the grave, there seemed to be power emanating from it. She could feel the strength of the warlock who had made that symbol one of the most revered in the world. Even more, though, something told her the symbol should mean something to her, personally. Only she wasn’t quite able to place why.

  “I’ll tell you on the way.” Gideon put one arm around her waist, and she knew he was going to poof them somewhere. He’d taken to guiding them when they transported, and things had gone a lot more smoothly in her landings that way. “We’re going to need backup.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Baba Yaga!” Gideon called, as they stood out in front of Zelda’s house. Gwen wasn’t sure why they’d come here, but as a few of the Shifters came out of the woods, she thought maybe she knew why. Backup. He really must think they needed a lot of it.

  Baba Yaga appeared in front of them in a cloud of pink and purple chiffon, Fabio by her side wearing spandex in matching colors. Gwen didn’t even want to guess what the couple had been doing. What on earth would require outfits like that?

  “Busy working on a Chimera problem, huh, Carol?” Gideon eyed Baba Yaga, who merely shrugged.

  “I may have exaggerated a bit.” She didn’t look the least bit sorry as she smiled at the way Gideon’s arm stayed around Gwen. “You needed to be the one to handle this, so I made sure that happened. Does this mean you’ve solved the mystery, little brother?”

  “Yes,” Gideon said, and Gwen was surprised he let the little brother comment go. She was beginning to worry at this point. She’d never seen Gideon so intense. “We need backup. We’ll need you, and
probably Mac and Zelda as well.” He looked around. “Maybe even the Shifters, if they’re willing to come.”

  “We’ll come,” said Roger the rabbit, stepping up behind them and making Gwen nearly jump a mile. That rabbit could be quiet.

  “So will we.” Zelda and Mac walked out of the house, joining the small group. “The cats will come, too. They might look fat and lazy, but they’re hell in a brawl.”

  “So, what’s the backup for?” asked Sassy, coming over from her yard. “Ice cream heist? I’m always in for one of those.”

  The group looked at her, but only got a shrug in response. “What? I like ice cream. So, uh, you said you need help? What kind of help?”

  “To go confront a few descendants of Guibran Mirga to get back the magic they’ve been illegally siphoning.”

  “Holy shitballs.” This had come from Zelda, who seemed to have a pretty colorful mouth. Gwen really needed to try to spend more time with her before she went back.

  This brought Gwen’s mood down even further. She’d be going back soon. And no, she wouldn’t be spending any time with Zelda or any of these wonderful new friends. Because the only person she wanted to spend any time with was Gideon. She needed to soak up every minute, every second she could with him.

  Maybe if the Goddess was in a benevolent mood when they tracked down the siphoned magic, she’d allow them to have one more night together.

  Gwen paused and listened, trying to feel for an answer in her mind or her heart. There was no sudden knowledge that it wouldn’t be allowed, so she guessed that was as good a confirmation as she’d get from the fickle female who ruled them all.

  “I guess since you’re not talking about any of us, it must be over at the Komolvo encampment?” Mac asked.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. There’s at least three descendants, one of whom is Floarea, the leader of the Komolvo. There’s her cousin, Tink, and her brother, Harmen, but I would guess that many more of them are related. I don’t know how many there might be in total, but I’d say at least Floarea is involved, and maybe Tink.”

  “Tink isn’t very powerful,” Baba Yaga said with a frown. “Floarea has some degree of power, but not all that much. She’s sharper than Tink. She knows how to use the power she has, that’s for sure.”

  “Yeah,” Gwen said. “Tink isn’t the brightest bulb in the pumpkin patch.” She ignored the puzzled looks from those around her. “But if they have any of Guibran’s possessions, they might be capable of this.”

  Gwen remembered now why the Goddess had brought her here two hundred years before. It had been to destroy a tool said to be capable of hiding power once it was drawn out of another witch or warlock. They’d destroyed that one, but surely others could have been made. She wondered now if Guibran or one of his descendants had figured out how to make such a tool and altered it to draw straight from the source of magic itself. She quickly explained her line of thought to the others.

  “Oh, I didn’t even think of that!” Baba Yaga said.

  Fabio nodded. “The Mirga line were well known for using physical objects to absorb power. They collected their own power and that of others in small amounts over and over, pushing it into inanimate objects so they could use it when needed. Guibran in particular was famous for this. He reportedly had a number of things he used to collect power, and it’s rumored the power he took from others wasn’t always given voluntarily. He had a habit of twisting arms and pressuring witches and warlocks with personal information, or threatening to harm a loved one. He was a lovely man.”

  “Oh!” Gwen blushed when she realized everyone was looking her way. “Sorry, never mind.”

  Gideon grinned at her. “Yes, that was sarcasm.”

  He turned back to the group. “It’s possible Guibran figured out how to create a tool to hide power before he died. If they’ve got some of those articles, they could be using the power Guibran harnessed to siphon magic.”

  Gwen looked around at them all. “They’re taking a small bit from every witch and warlock out there. I didn’t mention this before, because it’s nothing you all would notice yet. It’s such a small bit from each of you, but if they continue to draw more and more… Well, you get the idea. It wouldn’t be good for any of us.”

  “So, we go as a group?” Gideon looked from one to another, all the way down the line for answers.

  The answering chorus of yeses was underlined by Zelda’s “Fuck yes,” making Gwen laugh. It really was too bad she wouldn’t get to spend more time with Zelda. She had so much to learn from her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Gwen stays here.” Gideon’s tone said he wasn’t going to accept any argument on her part, but she didn’t care. How could she let him go out and fight this battle—her battle—without her?

  So it sucked to see Mac nodding his agreement. “Agreed. She can stay here at Zelda’s.”

  “Hey! I’m not staying anywhere. I’ll be going with you guys. This is my fight.” Gwen stepped in between the overly testosterone-filled males and looked back and forth between the two. “I’m not letting all of you go fight my battle for me.”

  Both men opened their mouths to argue, but it was Zelda who got the first word in. “I’m sorry, Gwen. I think they’re right.”

  Gwen was stunned for several reasons. For one thing, she’d never heard Zelda speak so quietly. Almost apologetically. And second, she hadn’t expected Zelda to take Gideon and Mac’s side. If anything, she thought Zelda would understand what Gwen was feeling.

  Zelda shook her head at Gwen’s unasked question. “I’m sorry, Gwen, but you don’t have any magic of your own. It’s too dangerous for you to go up against any witch or warlock, much less one who’s figured out how to siphon magic.”

  Gwen looked around at the group and saw Baba Yaga and Sassy both nodding their agreement. She looked to the Shifters, but there wasn’t any backup from any of them.

  Gideon came forward and put his arms around her. “Gwen, it would kill me if anything happened to you. I need you to stay here for me. I need to know you’re safe or I can’t go fight this battle.”

  Baba Yaga stepped forward now. “We all need to know you’re safe. We don’t have any idea what would happen to all of our magic if you were killed in this form. Being corporeal makes you vulnerable, Gwen. Staying here is the best way for you to protect us all.”

  She nodded, but didn’t speak. The thought of Gideon going into battle was killing her. But if she needed to stay here to keep him safe, she would.

  They all looked up at the sudden rustle of leaves above to see Leeds in his fully winged form crouching on the branch of the tree above them.

  “Over your PMS, Leeds?” Gideon called out.

  Leeds didn’t answer. Simply nodded.

  “Great. Get your ass down here. You can explain what that little episode was about later.”

  Leeds jumped from the tree, landing almost silently and tucking his wings behind him. In the blink of an eye, they were looking at man instead of winged beast, and Gwen knew he’d slipped his glamour into place. From what Gideon had told her, it may or may not hold.

  “All right, what’s our plan?” Mac asked.

  “Whoever’s doing this must have a relic of Guibran Mirga’s. Something that allows the user to draw the magic from the well of magic itself and hide it within the relic when it’s not in use,” Gideon said.

  Gwen nodded. “That’s why I was able to see the magic’s signal here in Assjacket, but then it disappeared. Whoever has it is able to hide it.”

  “The relic could be anything,” Gideon said. “Guibran lived a very long time, so we’re talking anything as far back as a thousand years ago, right up until his death.”

  “When did he die?” Mac asked, looking to Baba Yaga for the answer.

  “Not all that long ago. It was in the 1970s, I believe. And the relic he chose could have come from one of his ancestors, so really, I guess it could go back even further than a thousand years. We’re really looking for anything.
”

  “Look for the Mirga symbol,” Gwen said. “Anything he used will have the Eye of Mirga on it. He would have used the eye to seal in the magic. Destroy the eye, and you’ll destroy the relic, releasing its power back into the world.” It felt good to have her memories back. She felt stronger, like she really had something to contribute now. Like she knew who she was and what she had to do.

  There was still that nagging sense about the eye symbol, but no matter how much she reached for it, she couldn’t grasp the threads of memory surrounding it.

  Gideon nodded. “She’s right. We find the symbol, we likely find our thief. Problem is, I only know Floarea, Harmen, and Tink are members of the family line, but my guess is there are others in the Komolvo encampment. It could be any of them. So, watch for the symbol anywhere on anyone.”

  “The other Shifters and Leeds will stay here with Gwen, to help guard her. The rest of us get to go to the carnival,” Mac said.

  “Yippee. A carnival.” Zelda’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and this time, Gwen got it right away. Nothing about this would be fun.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As Gideon approached the Komolvo camp with Baba Yaga, Fabio, Zelda, Mac, and the fat cats by his side, he half wanted to turn and scoop Gwen up and take off with her. See how long they could hide before the Goddess took Gwen away from him.

  Not because he was afraid of battling the Komolvo. He’d never walk away from a fight voluntarily. The fight? That was nothing. It was what might come afterward that had him worried.

  This time, the Komolvo didn’t come out to greet them, but he could see them standing in a group, Floarea, Luca, and Harmen at the front. They had at least twenty witches and warlocks behind them, ready to fight by their sides. Fantastic odds.

  “Another visit, Boguman?” Floarea made a show of looking behind Gideon. “Without your little witch?” Clearly she wasn’t feeling hospitable and welcoming this time around.