The Lunar Magic (The Ayla St. John Chronicles Book 4)

by C. J. Pinard

  He regarded me for a minute, and then said, “I hope you succeed. Miss St. John… she’s been good for him. He’s less wounded and better tempered when she’s around.”

  I grinned. “Ayla has that effect on people.”

  Chapter 7

  Sanja

  “We should probably come up with some kind of plan before we go storming the castle of a very old vampire,” my mother said, looking at me with concern after we’d left Kellan’s place.

  Jeffrey had offered no help or had even hinted at coming along, so I knew we’d have to call other reinforcements. “Please, Mother. I’m not stupid.” I pulled out my phone, scrolled through the contacts, and hit the send button.

  I winced when a very groggy Evan answered the phone. “Hello?”

  Glancing at the car’s clock, I could see it was just after two p.m. “I’m sorry to have woken you, Evan. It’s Sanja.”

  “Hi. Hold on, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  We were still sitting in my car outside Kellan’s place, and I stared at the pristine street and the homes that lined the block. Most of them were pretty old, but had been maintained immaculately. Dark curtains and shutters blocked all the windows.

  “Sorry, didn’t want to wake my wife,” he said, sounding more alert now. “I’m glad you called. Have you seen Ayla?”

  I sighed. “That’s why I’m calling. She and Kellan are being held against their will at Linden’s house.”

  A small hiss escaped through the phone, and it worried me even more.

  “I visited her in a dream, or rather, I had her come to me. I don’t know where in the house they are, but she mentioned a dungeon prison of some sort. It was hard to understand her or get her to talk straight, it was like she was drugged.”

  “Even in her dream?” Evan asked.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. It was odd. But, anyway… we need to do something.”

  “I agree,” he replied. “Have you contacted Aden yet?”

  I shook my head. “No, I called you first.”

  “All right. And how do you plan on finding Linden’s place? My brothers and I have searched the whole area. We can’t seem to find him.”

  This confused me. “I’ve got an address. But why are you looking for him? What do you and your brothers want with him?”

  “Can we meet somewhere? Obviously Karina can’t go, but I can. Where are you?”

  “I’m in Boulder,” I said.

  “Great, let’s meet at the magic shop you used to work at in twenty minutes.”

  “How did you know…?” I sighed. “Never mind. See you there.”

  We hung up and I looked at my mom. “Well, it’s off to Magik’s. He’s meeting us there.”

  She nodded. “You better call Aden now.”

  “Agreed.” I opened the car door. “You drive, I’ll call.”

  She nodded and we switched places. She put the car in drive and headed straight for the highway.

  I was sipping a latte and feeling really guilty about it when Evan walked in looking fresh out of the shower with dark, damp hair in a pair of dark jeans and an orange Texas Longhorns hoodie. Aden had already arrived, apparently immediately leaving the jobsite where he worked and heading straight here. His rough-worn khaki pants, tan work boots, and olive-green T-shirt looked as though he’d been wading in mud. He was still ruggedly handsome, though, and if he wasn’t a wolf, I certainly would have flirted with him long before he had hooked up with Celeste and gotten her pregnant. Not only that, Ayla had told me he had it bad for the pretty brunette waitress, but that she was human and that their future seemed uncertain because of it.

  I waved Evan over and he sat at the table. He looked around nervously, and then sat. I made the introductions to my mom, and when Derrick, the flirty young waiter and friend of mine, came over and tried to take his order, he declined any coffee.

  After Derrick walked off, Evan looked at me. “It feels… weird in here. Off somehow. It’s giving me a headache.”

  My mother nodded and set her tea down. “This place is spelled to the nth degree. Even I feel off in this place, and I’m a full-blooded witch.”

  “Glad it’s not just me,” Aden muttered, lifting his chin at Evan in greeting.

  Despite the grim circumstances we found ourselves in, Evan appeared more enthusiastic than worried. I hoped that was a good sign. He looked at the three of us and said, “Listen, y’all don’t know how excited I am that you got a location on him. He’s got to have a witch or something hiding his whereabouts. Karina’s brothers have been searching for him for decades, and had tracked him to Colorado. It’s why we moved here. Well, that and I kinda had my face plastered on missing person’s posters all over Dallas after I was turned and we had to leave. Anyway, he used to go by the name Malcolm. He murdered their vampire father and drove them out of New York. He’s ruthless and they have been seeking their revenge for close to a four decades.”

  “I’m fairly sure they’d have to get in line behind Ayla, who’s gonna want to be the one to off the guy,” I said, knowing my best friend a lot better than anyone.

  “They can get in line behind me, too,” Aden said, his face stormy. “Austyn was my only brother. His death was…” He stopped talking and balled his fist up.

  I put my hand on his warm one. “We know.”

  He nodded.

  “Look,” I said. “Linden’s death aside, our first priority is getting Ayla out of there safely, and it won’t be easy.”

  “I just thought of something,” my mom said. “When’s the next full moon?”

  “In nine days,” Aden and Evan said in unison.

  With a small smile, she said, “I wonder if this Linden guy knows about her transformation? Surely he knows she’s a wolf?”

  I nodded. “He does know that, she told me Linden referred to her as the ‘young wolf’ when she had her vision of Kellan and him video-chatting.”

  “We have to get her out of there before the full moon. She’ll be stronger, but she’ll also take them by surprise if they see her like that. Linden will think it’s an abomination and kill her onsite. From what my brothers and Karina have told me about him, I’m certain of it.” Evan shook his head.

  “Shit,” Aden said. “We need to go tonight.” He looked at Evan. “Do these brothers of yours have any more information about him? Like… something we could use to gain access to his place? Does he have any weird quirks or superstitions? I know how those old vampires’ minds work. The older they get, the more paranoid the fuckers grow.”

  Evan looked away from Aden and stared off into space, his dark-blue eyes thoughtful and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. “That’s one question I’ve never asked, but you can bet I will when they wake up.” He looked at his watch. “In fact, I bet they’re up now, it’s nearly four. They’re going to be so stoked once I tell them the news!” He stood up. “What’s the address, by the way?”

  I worried my lip and looked at my mom, who nodded. “It’s on the corner of Cottonwood Road and Lofton Drive outside of Boulder, but”—I pierced Evan with a stare that meant business, and even used my pointer finger for emphasis—“no going there without us. Without a plan. Call me once you and your brothers come up with a scheme that won’t get us all killed.”

  He grinned his boyish smile at me, and I had to remind myself that he was over thirty years old and not twenty, which was how old he looked. He saluted me. “Yes, ma’am.”

  We watched him leave the shop, and I turned to Aden. “You good for doing this tonight?”

  He nodded, his face still a raging storm of determination and anger. “Fuck yeah, the sooner, the better.”

  As we drove back to the shop downtown, my mind was a whirlwind. Would Ayla’s friends and brother be able to pull this off? Was I a powerful enough witch to pull it off myself? What would happen if one of them died during this rescue mission? Or worse—me? Ayla wouldn’t survive if she made it out of there only to find out me, her brother, or one of her
friends had perished trying to rescue her. She was damaged enough as it was. She’d turn into an even bigger homicidal maniac.

  A slight shudder rippled through me as I pulled onto the highway and weaved my way through traffic.

  “Your aura is damn near black, my daughter. Please share what’s inside your pretty head.”

  I turned and looked at my mom. I loved her so much. She’d been the perfect mother in the absence of my father. My brother Raj and I had only known one parent our whole lives. Sure, there were some sad moments for my mom as we grew up, as we questioned her about our father, but she’d handled them with grace and class. We’d never received a straight answer about his whereabouts, but the subject hadn’t been brought up again once she had told us he was gone. She never eluded that he was dead, but rather somewhere on his own and not interested in parenting. As an adult now myself, it still upset me, and I knew one day I’d confront him, but now obviously wasn’t the time to be thinking about it.

  “There are a lot of dark things in my head, Mom,” I said with a sigh, aware she already knew as much.

  She put her hand on my arm. “All witches have dark things hidden inside. It’s whether you choose to let the light shine through those cracks in your tough exterior that determines what kind of life you have.”

  I shot her a sideways glance and then put my eyes back on the road with a smirk. “You’re full of useless wisdom today.”

  She chuckled. “It’s not useless. I mean it, child. You were born good. I knew it from the moment they laid you in my arms the night you came into this world. Your eyes shone goodness and strength. They are the same as they were twenty-four years ago. This fierce determination to help Ayla… it doesn’t surprise me. You’ve created a bond with her, and you’ve always been the type to do anything for those you feel protective over.”

  Her philosophical words weren’t anything I hadn’t heard before. My mother was wise beyond her forty-six years, and I always paid heed when she went on a roll like this. I slowed the car down to exit the highway to downtown and just nodded so she would continue.

  “There was a reason you saw her ad for a roommate at the university those years ago. You know that, right?”

  I chanced a glance at her, and nodded. “Yeah, Mom, I do. I made the rest of the ads disappear, too. I knew I was meant to get close to her.”

  Mom smiled and kept her eyes on the road until we reached our magic shop. As we approached, Mom looked wistfully at the Victorian. “Home, sweet home.”

  “I agree,” I replied with a dreamy sigh. “Texas ain’t got nothing on this place.”

  We got out of my Honda, made our way into the house, and closed and locked the door behind us.

  Chapter 8

  Ayla

  I tried numerous times to talk to Phil as he escorted me up the stairs, but his mouth seemed to be sealed shut. He wouldn’t engage with me at all, not even a look, nod, or shake of his bald head.

  “What’s he paying you? It can’t be that great. I bet I could match it if you’d help me… Help us. Kellan trusted you, you know. Your betrayal has cut him deep. I can feel his anger and sadness through our bond.”

  I was laying it thick now, but I needed him to talk to me.

  He said nothing, just clenched his jaw in defiance, and I watched as it bunched and jumped.

  Frustrated, but intrigued, I stopped trying to get a reaction out of him and watched as the door to the main level of the house opened. Light poured in as we reached the top step, and I realized it was from the chandeliers sparkling above us. Kellan had said it was daytime, but maybe he meant it had been daytime when they’d brought him to where he was—because I could clearly see through the large glass windows that it definitely was nighttime.

  As Phil walked ahead of me, I saw my dagger sticking out of his back pocket. I was overjoyed he had fished it from its hiding place in the pillow, but I knew he certainly wouldn’t be handing it over to me. So, without thinking, and with my hands still in cuffs in front me, I gripped the heavy steel door with both hands. “Hey, Spike.”

  He turned around, first looking irritated, but then surprised when I swung the door with all my might at his head. It connected beautifully with his temple, and as he went down, I lifted my leg and used my boot to kick him. I watched with glee as he flew across the room. I knew I had mere seconds before people came to help, so when he tried to get up, I kicked him again so he was on his stomach. I used preternatural speed to grab my dagger from his pocket, and then I blitzed toward the back door as I awkwardly shoved my beloved weapon into its thigh holster with both hands. The back door opened easily for me, and I ran as fast as I could around the lighted swimming pool, and across the vast, moonlit lawns that stretched the length of the property.

  “There she is, get her now!” I heard a deep voice boom.

  Realizing there was no way I was going to have time to search for Kellan, and needing to find a good hiding place, I blitzed behind a small outbuilding, putting my back against it. I took a quick look inside through a dirty window to see it was some kind of toolshed filled with equipment for maintaining the grounds and the pool. I looked around desperately for anywhere else to hide, as I knew the toolshed would be a fatal funnel that I would most certainly die in or be recaptured from.

  Squinting my eyes in the dark, I saw a small ditch up ahead, and with a frantic glance behind me, I could see a group of three or four large men with flashlights searching the property. I blitzed toward the ditch and realized it was some kind of storm drain, and inwardly groaned. As I jumped down into it, I began to make my way along the small stream, my boots clomping along in the ankle-deep water, until I reached the large hole set into the side of a small hill.

  “Over there!” I heard Phil yell.

  “Shit,” I muttered under my breath as I ducked my head and began walking into the storm drain.

  Once inside, I immediately had to breathe through my mouth, as the smell of the damp and dank tunnel assaulted my nose. As the light began to fade behind me, I had to squint to see where I was going. After a couple minutes, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, and I began to panic that I was walking into oblivion. I pulled in deep breaths through my mouth and pushed them out, willing myself to be calm.

  As I walked deeper through the storm drain, the silence began to get more and more deafening. The only sounds I could hear were my boots sloshing through the water, and my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

  With my hands still cuffed together, up and out in front of me as if I was blind, I kept walking. Thankfully, the water stayed below ankle level, but I worried it would get deeper. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to do. All I knew was that I had to get away from Linden’s house and then go back when I had a plan. When I was prepared to take him on. I had my dagger, but I also knew it would be taken from me the minute I was caught. I was going to kill him, but it would be on my terms. When I was ready, and he wasn’t.

  “I think she went in here,” I heard a deep voice say.

  I froze, and panic washed over me. Instead of slow and steady steps to be sure I didn’t fall, I began to run through the storm drain, desperate to get away from Linden’s goons.

  Footsteps behind me began to get louder until I could hear breath being expelled as they tried to reach me. Even though I told myself not to panic, I couldn’t help it. The steps were getting closer and it was clear I probably wouldn’t be able to outrun them. But it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

  Realizing I had to keep going, I ran as fast as I could through the tunnel, my hands out in front of me to keep me from hitting something. When I heard heavy footsteps trudging through water and getting closer, I turned around and saw the light behind from the mouth of the tunnel illuminating three figures. Phil and two other huge men—vampires. They were gaining on me quickly, blitzing as fast as I was. When I turned back around to face front, my hands clamored into something cold and wet, and I fell on my ass into the muddy water that had run dow
n the sides of the hilly backyard and into the storm drain. I stood immediately and could feel bars blocking me. Some kind of grate. I pulled on it, trying to get it to come free, but it wouldn’t. I pounded it with my fists in rage and terror, but it wouldn’t even budge.

  Dammit! I should have known better! Something had to keep the leaves, trash, and debris from continuing onto where the stream of water led—probably a large lake or even a water treatment plant.

  I turned around with my back against the grate and saw the three figures getting closer. I was in an utter panic now. There was no way I was going back to Linden’s dungeon. It wasn’t that he had treated me—treated us—poorly, it was that I knew his intentions were nothing but evil, and that he thought he had some sick little claim on Kellan, and that I was in the way. I knew that because I had escaped, I’d probably be punished, and there was no way I was having that. Besides, I had to rescue Kellan and get the hell out of there.

  I felt terror and rage begin to burn inside my gut. I was literally backed into a corner like an animal, and I watched as the small pinprick of light behind the men began to turn red. I couldn’t see them clearly now, anyway. They were just blurry shadows.

  “Ayla, we’re not gonna hurt you,” came Phil’s voice.

  An angry, guttural snarl rented the quiet, damp, and smelly air of the tunnel, and I realized it was me. Now seeing a red tinge to everything, and feeling hot all over my body, I lifted my hands to see that my pale, manicured fingers were now claws, capped in sharp black nails. I looked down at the handcuffs still secured around my hairy wrists, and realized that, where they were somewhat loose before, they were now tight and causing me pain. With an angry growl, I threw my hands apart and watched in fasciation as the steel chain holding the cuffs together exploded into tiny bits.

  “Fuck me,” I heard one of the men say.

  “What the hell is happening to her?” I heard another ask.