Forbidden Magic: The Complete Collection

by Anya Merchant

  “Who the hell is that?” Kiara’s mouth hung open in disbelief, and her eyes blinked as though stuttering over the sight.

  Victor bit back his initial reaction, which was to jump in and try to smooth things over. He wasn’t overly thrilled with either of the two women at the moment, and the idea of letting them fend for themselves against each other was wickedly appealing.

  “I’m Sabrina.” Sabrina’s smile was cold and scarily menacing. “And who might you be?”

  “Victor, can I talk to you for a moment?” Kiara shot him a furious glance.

  “Nope. I have to get dressed.” He walked past both women and into his room. The door was thin enough to let him overhear their conversation as he hunted down articles of clothing.

  “Look, I didn’t realize that Victor had a girlfriend,” said Sabrina. “I’m sorry that you had to find out that it was over this way.”

  “I’m not his girlfriend!” shouted Kiara.

  “Then why does it matter to you who Victor falls in love with?”

  “He hasn’t fallen in love with you!” said Kiara. “Victor!”

  “Oh, but he has,” said Sabrina. “He showed me how much he loves me last night. We had fun.”

  “Do you even realize what you sound like, you tramp?”

  “Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but I guess that’s why it looks right at home on you.”

  Victor was still pulling on a sock as he hopped out into the living room, but he was sure that if he waited a second longer, he’d have a cat fight on his hands. He finished stepping into it, straightened his t-shirt and jeans, and smiled at the two women.

  “Sabrina, I have to go to work now,” he said. “I’ll call you later, I promise.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  He looked at Kiara, who was smoldering with rage.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. Her reply came through gritted teeth.

  “You are disgusting.”

  Victor felt a grin creeping onto his face as he pulled his shoes on.

  At least I managed to keep my tone civil when I met Bruce.

  CHAPTER 12

  The air was warm. Most of the snow on the ground was well on its way to melting, and Victor felt comfortable in a zip down sweatshirt. The wind smelled of spring and felt refreshing against his face.

  “Do you want to talk?” he asked. Kiara was walking next to him. The two had traveled down the sidewalk in silence ever since leaving his house.

  “Talk about what?” asked Kiara. “It’s none of my business who you decide to mess around with.”

  “Then why are you acting like it is?”

  Kiara rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “She just… doesn’t seem like your type,” she said. “I’ll admit, I am a little concerned.”

  “Yeah, well, right back at you,” said Victor. “If you’re going to badmouth Sabrina, then it’s only fair that you listen to what I have to say about Bruce.”

  Kiara flashed him a glare sharp enough to strip paint off walls.

  “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You were jealous of Bruce, so you went out and found a dumb wench to get off in?”

  She’s not going to hear anything I have to say right now, not with her emotions like this.

  “Let’s change the subject, Kiara,” said Victor. “Please.”

  She didn’t say anything, but met Victor’s stride as they continued down the sidewalk. They continued like that all the way to Monteiro Tower, silent and civil.

  The elevator bank in the front lobby had a queue of employees on their way up to their floors. Victor and Kiara waited for their turn and ended up stepping onto an elevator already packed full of people. Several more employees stepped on behind them, and Victor found himself pressed tightly against a tall woman behind him, and Kiara in front.

  “Comfy?” he asked her, his voice a whisper that everyone around could still easily here. Kiara let out a huff.

  The elevator door closed and the car lifted up to the first floor. Victor caught a whiff of what he was pretty sure was Kiara’s perfume and felt a sensual stab of excitement push into him.

  The elevator stopped, a few people got off, and a few more packed in. Kiara’s butt pushed back against what was behind her, which was Victor’s crotch. He felt himself growing excited and silently cursed under his breath.

  On the next floor, even more people packed into the elevator. Victor could feel Kiara against him, and did his very best to ignore how good it felt. She shifted slightly, pulling her short blonde hair forward, and her butt pushed against his slowly stiffening cock. Kiara froze and tried to glare over her shoulder at him.

  The elevator stopped again, and again. Each time people got off, more people got on to take their place. Kiara ended up bumping and rubbing against him in a regular pattern. Victor took deep breaths and tried to calm himself down, but it was impossible.

  It’s just Kiara. I need to relax.

  She shifted against him, and Victor was sure that he’d felt her buttocks squeeze together around his hardness. He stifled a moan and let his hands settle onto her waist. Kiara leaned her head back slightly, almost resting it on his chest.

  The elevator crept up to the next floor. This time, as the passenger exchange took place, Victor squeezed Kiara in closer to him, grinding himself into her. Her body tensed up for a split second, and then she responded, arching her back and pushing out her butt suggestively.

  The exchange continued like that for floor after floor, with Victor slowly growing bolder as his hormones urged him on. His hands had almost meandered all the way up to Kiara’s breasts when the door opened again, and he recognized the décor of the 13th floor.

  Kiara practically bolted off his crotch, smoothing out her skirt and clearing her throat as she pushed by people to get off. Victor hunched over and an awkward angle and tried to act natural.

  Well, that was interesting.

  Lucy was standing almost dead center in the main room, leaning over some papers on her desk and directing a few employees at the same time. She was wearing jeans, a green blouse that pulled tight against her breasts, and a black button up sweater. When she saw Victor, she waved him over to her.

  “Hey,” he said. “I was just-“

  “What happened between you and Kiara?”

  Victor frowned and considered how to answer the question. Lucy said something to the employees waiting on her in a low voice and then started walking toward her office. Victor followed her without being asked.

  Once they were both inside, and the door was closed, she leaned against her desk with crossed arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Nothing happened between us,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Victor,” said Lucy. “I sent her to wake you up because I figured you’d be exhausted after last night, not so the two of you could hash out your personal baggage.”

  Victor scratched his head, doing his best to not think about why he was exhausted from the night before, and push his excitement even further into the red.

  “She got a little bit huffy with me over something,” he said. “That’s it.”

  Lucy stared at his face as though her eyes were lie detectors.

  “Victor, she’s my little sister. I know her, and you, well enough to know that it would never work out.”

  “Uh… what?”

  “The two of you are like oil and water,” she said. “It’s better if you just accept her as a friend, and leave it at that.”

  Victor blinked at Lucy, speechless.

  Why is my dating life such a hot topic, all of the sudden?

  “Anyway, we have to continue from where we left off last night,” said Lucy. “Kronenberg brought the drone you torched in with him this morning.”

  “A drone carrying a drone.” Victor smiled. “There’s got to be some irony in that.”

  “Pure coincidence.” Lucy walked over to him and set a hand on his shoulder. “I want you to follow up on it. There has to be a way
that we can trace it back to the source, which will set us up to figure out what’s going on.”

  “It’s source? You mean Bruce, right?”

  Lucy frowned at him.

  “I mean, whoever it ends up leading to.” She took her hand off his shoulder and flicked him on the chest. “Don’t let your own prejudices cloud your judgment. We don’t know if Bruce was actually the one in charge of the things that attacked you.”

  “We also don’t know if humans have ever been to the Moon, but given the evidence, it seems like a pretty good bet.” Victor shook his head. “Come on, Lucy.”

  “This is exactly what I’m talking about.” Lucy took him by the shoulders, turned him around, and pushed him toward the door of her office. “Stop thinking with your emotions and let yourself be objective. Please, for my sake as much as yours.”

  She opened the door and all but pushed him out of it. Victor scowled and stopped himself just short from swearing at her.

  “Whatever,” he said. “I’ll be in touch.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Kronenberg’s office was right next to Lucy’s. Victor walked in without knocking and took a seat in front of the desk, which his friend’s drone body was perched atop.

  “Oh, of course, make yourself right at home,” said Kronenberg. “Don’t mind me!”

  “Is that what you said when Sabrina the stalker showed up on our doorstep last night?”

  “From the sound of things, you seemed happy enough to have her around last night.” Kronenberg made a whistling noise with his audio processor.

  “You’re a real pain in the ass sometimes, Kronenberg,” said Victor, grinning.

  “Right back at you, Vic. Anyway, we’re here to discuss business, not your personal life.”

  Kronenberg’s dome light flashed orange, and the HD monitor on the back wall of his office flicked to life.

  “I sent your drone over to the Applied Robotics Department on the 22nd floor,” he said. “I’ll head up in a little bit and give them a hand dismantling the thing, see what can be found.”

  “Do you think we’ll get much out of it?” asked Victor.

  “Given how severely you doused the thing in flames? I’m not sure…” Kronenberg tilted back pensively. “Lucy’s friend Rachel works up in that department, though, and if there’s anyone who can get something out of it, it’s her.”

  “Groovy,” said Victor. “Let me know when you guys are done and I’ll be up to check her out.”

  “You mean ‘it’?”

  “What?”

  “You just said… You know what, nevermind.” Kronenberg let out a synthesized sigh and ran one of his drone’s arms over the dome.

  “Alright,” said Victor. “Anything else?”

  “Yes, actually,” said Kronenberg. “Piper needs another blood sample. She says you’ve been dodging her for the past few days.”

  “Dodging her? I’ve been busy for the past few days. It’s not a conspiracy or anything.”

  “Whatever it is, it needs to stop,” said Kronenberg. “She’s a good woman Victor, and she’s done a ton for you. Cut her some slack.”

  Victor winced. Piper had been the first doctor he’d seen after discovering his nanites. She’d walked him through the basics in more ways than one, without any drama.

  “For a man with a metal body, you sure do know how to turn on a good guilt trip.” Victor shrugged. “I’ll go stop by her office right now.”

  “She’s not there. She works part-time in the clinic at Undercliff General Hospital.”

  “Huh. I didn’t know that.” Victor smiled. “Does Lucy not pay her enough to get by?”

  “I think she just enjoys helping people,” said Kronenberg. “I know, go figure, right?”

  Victor rolled his eyes and shook his head at his friend and then turned to leave.

  “I’ll let you now as soon as we find anything,” said Kronenberg. “Like I said before, though… don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Don’t worry, we have another lead, in case this doesn’t pan out.”

  The respective lead, as Victor discovered walking out into the main room, was on the 13th floor. Bruce Stillman walked past the cubicles with sunglasses on and a smile on his face. Victor approached slowly, arms crossed.

  “Victor,” he said. “You seen Kiara?”

  Victor hesitated, scanning Bruce’s face for any sign of emotion.

  I can’t be sure if he saw me last night. And I guess, technically… someone else could have sent the drones.

  “Victor?” Bruce waved his hand. “Helloooo?”

  “Oh, sorry.” He shook his head. “Last time I saw her was on the elevator. She’s around somewhere, though.”

  Victor smiled to himself and walked by Bruce. For a brief instant, he got the sense that the young billionaire was taking appraisal of him, scanning him over with his eyes. And then, it was gone.

  He took the elevator, which was much less crowded than it had been before, down to the first floor and headed out onto the street.

  The sun was out, and the snow was melting. A tiny river ran against the sidewalk, branching off toward sewer grates. Victor savored the weather as he walked north, toward the hospital.

  There was only one reason why Piper could want another blood sample, and it worried him. He’d felt off ever since receiving the forcible injection at the hands of Father Auggie, in both good ways and bad ways.

  My rib… It almost feels normal now.

  He frowned slightly as he thought about it. His injuries had been healing quickly, and he was positive that it wasn’t just his imagination. But Victor had also felt his emotions more over the past month. They’d been heavier and harder to see through.

  Is that unusual, though?

  He sighed and sped up his walking pace as he neared Undercliff General.

  CHAPTER 14

  The hospital was wider than it was tall. Victor headed for the main entrance, which sat in the middle of the u-shaped building, with both of the wings extending out on either side.

  He hadn’t given how he’d find Piper much thought. The receptionist behind the desk was a nice enough looking woman, and a short line of hospital patrons stood waiting for their turn in front of her.

  After a few minutes, Victor smiled and nodded at the woman, whose nametag said “Deborah”.

  “Hi,” he said. “I’m looking for Dr. Piper August. I’m a work associate of hers, stopping by to check in on something.”

  “She’s in the clinic,” said the woman. “Take a left and head straight. You can’t miss it.”

  Victor nodded to her and set off down the hall. He’d never been a huge fan of hospitals. The reason behind it had nothing to do with bad or traumatic memories, but rather, an intangible essence, or vibe that the smell of antiseptic and soothing white walls gave off.

  He heard something as he approached the door to the clinic. Victor pushed through the swinging double doors and walked in on the scene of an emergency.

  Piper was standing on one side of the clinic’s lobby. Across from her, a disheveled man held a female hospital orderly in front of him and pressed a medium sized pocket knife against her neck.

  “We aren’t trying to trick you, Doug,” said Piper. “Please… just put the knife down.”

  “I’m not going back!” screamed the man. “I’m better now! It was just that one time!”

  “Doug…” whispered Piper. “Please. Gina’s scared. We’re all scared, Doug.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her!” shouted Doug. “Just… stay back!”

  A doctor in a white lab coat crept down the hall on the other side of the man. One of his shoes scuffed against the tile, and Doug whirled to face him.

  “See! He’s still trying…” Doug spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re all still trying to get me!”

  “Doug, don’t do this!” Piper’s voice was desperate and shaky. Doug pulled the blade of the knife back and tensed up, preparing to stab it into the woman’s neck.

  V
ictor acted without thinking. He reached out with his onyx aura, binding it to Doug and taking control of the man. Time slowed down, the split second he had to work with stretching out into minutes, hours, from his perspective.

  Using the onyx aura was not something that Victor did flippantly. He could feel the effects of it overwhelming him as the connection formed between his mind and Doug’s. A bitter taste filled his mouth, as though he’d just taken an enthusiastic bite out of a lemon.

  Flashes of memories and imprints of emotions flooded over Victor. The connection went both ways, and he knew that his life, in the same way, was washing over Doug.

  It was only the second time that Victor had used his onyx aura to touch the mind of another, and if anything, it was far, far worse than it had been in the first case. Doug was severely mentally ill, and each scrap of experience hit Victor as though he was playing emotional russian roulette, or on an intense drug trip.

  Doug had been beaten by his father. His dog had been killed in front of him by his neighbor when he was in elementary school. The other kids had tormented him, his guidance counselor had sexually abused him, and the first woman he ever fell in love with had stabbed him in the hand with a bic pen.

  Victor gritted his teeth. He felt himself shaking violently, but wasn’t sure if it was restricted to his inner experience, or taking place in his physical body. He reached out an ethereal hand of control and forced Doug to pull the knife back, to let it fall to the ground.

  “Victor!” Piper’s face appeared in his field of view. He realized that he was flat on his back on the cold tile floor.

  “…What?” Victor blinked and brought a hand to his face. Blood was streaming out of his nose, running hot and sticky across his lips. His head pounded, and he wasn’t sure if it was from using his onyx aura or the concussion he likely suffered from his collision with the ground.