Magic After Dark Boxed Set (Six Book Bundle)

by Deanna Chase

  “No,” she forced out before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out.

  Chapter 23

  “She’s been spelled.” Phoebe tucked a thin blanket over Nicola’s lifeless form. Talisen took up position on the other side of the bed, healing stone in hand. We’d moved her down to Phoebe’s bedroom, the only place besides the kitchen that wasn’t a disaster.

  “What does that mean?” I asked. “What kind of spell?”

  “A truth blocker, I think.” Phoebe pressed her lips together in thought. “She isn’t Influenced anymore. You broke that, but I think something’s forcing her to lie, and she passed out because she was trying to overpower the spell.”

  That made a certain amount of sense. It certainly explained her struggle while trying to answer questions. “Faery or witch?” I stood leaning against the doorframe, more than a little jealous. All of Phoebe’s shoes were neatly tucked into the elaborate shoe organizer hanging on the far wall. She had a pair for every occasion.

  “Ninety-five percent positive a witch did this. Fae magic feels different. Lighter or something,” Phoebe said.

  “Tal?” I cut a glance to Nicola. “Can you check?”

  He ran a light hand over her forehead, stopped right before he reached her temple, and shuddered. “Witch for sure.”

  “Thanks.” I pulled Phoebe aside. “We can’t sit around here waiting for whoever did this to her to strike again. We have to do something.”

  She nodded. “I’m way ahead of you.” With our heads huddled together, Phoebe filled me in on her plan.

  A few minutes later, I turned and walked back into the living room where David was pacing a small circle around a sea of papers littering the floor. “What other witches are on Allcot’s payroll?”

  He paused, fished his iPhone out of his pocket, and touched a button. “Besides Nicola?”

  “Yeah,” I said with very little patience.

  “No one in the US. There’s one in France and one in Australia, and last I heard he had a contact in Rio.” David touched the screen of his phone once again and then shook his head. “Vampires and witches don’t exactly get along. Or hadn’t you noticed?”

  I sent him a flat stare.

  “I guess you have.”

  Phoebe appeared, dressed to the nines. “Here.” She handed me a small tote bag. “Everything you need should be in there.”

  “Going somewhere?” David broke the circle he’d formed and shifted so he was between me and the door.

  “Yes. And so are you. Phoebe’s going to Cryrique’s fundraiser to scope out any possible suspects. Everyone who’s anyone is on the guest list. There’s an excellent chance whoever did this to Nicola will be there. Only someone with a lot of power would dare to mess with one of Allcot’s employees.” I pulled my long hair back into a low ponytail and adjusted the tote on my shoulder. “And you’re coming with me on our own fact-finding mission.”

  “Jesus, Willow. Your neck.” Phoebe grimaced. “You can’t go out like that. I’ll get Talisen.”

  I clamped my hand over the vampire marks still marring my skin. “No. Wait. He already tried. It didn’t work.”

  “Really?” She kicked a toppled magazine rack to the side and reached out to pull me closer. “I thought that amethyst of his could heal anything.”

  I frowned. “It usually does. But not this time.” Just thinking about the burn from the morning made me break out in a sweat. It had hurt. A lot. Just like when Nathan bit me.

  Phoebe pulled her keys out of a tiny silver clutch. It offset her plum sheath dress, giving the illusion she ran with the upper echelon of New Orleans. “You’ll have to cover it up. Maybe you should change to a turtleneck or wear a scarf.”

  “In September?” Was she out of her mind? Because neither of those things would be suspicious in ninety-two-degree weather.

  “Makeup?” She held her hands out, palms up. “I have the professional stuff if you want.”

  I fingered the two puncture marks and struggled not to wince. They hadn’t hurt before Tal tried to heal me, but now they ached under any sort of pressure. Using thick makeup would be a bitch. I took a deep breath and nodded. What else could I do? No way could I go out flashing my vamp bites. Talk about calling attention to myself. Faeries never let vampires bite them. Never. “Okay,” I said.

  “I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into her bedroom again.

  David appeared by my side in another flash of vampire speed.

  I dropped my hand from my irritated neck. The pain was making me lose focus. “I’d prefer if you acted like a normal person. This super speed thing is giving me whiplash.”

  “Sorry. I’ll slow it down.” Shifting half a step closer, he brought his hand up and gently caressed the area around Nathan’s bite marks. “I can heal those if you’d like.”

  I swallowed. “Talisen already tried. It didn’t work. They must be infected or…”

  “I can heal them,” David said again. “Trust me.”

  The way he said it and the sincere look on his face had me nodding before I thought through what I’d just agreed to. It wasn’t until David leaned in that I panicked. “No.” I pushed at his shoulders, struggling against his rock-solid form. I couldn’t have his lips on me. Not again.

  He caught my hands in his and brought one up to kiss the palm. A tingle rippled from the touch of his lips all the way up my shoulder. “I’m not going to bite you. Not now, not ever. Okay?”

  I stared at the tiny scar above his left eye, not saying a word. So much for staying away from his lips.

  He bent his knees, lowering himself until our eyes were level. I had two choices: deliberately look away like a seven-year-old or meet his calm, steady gaze like the supposed adult I was. Reluctantly, I chose to be an adult.

  “Okay?” he asked again.

  “Yeah,” I breathed. It wasn’t his teeth I was worried about.

  “I promise it won’t hurt.” David stood inches from me. His familiar cypress scent filled my senses. And his touch was so gentle that when he leaned in this time, I didn’t try to stop him.

  Suddenly, his cool lips were brushing against my skin, forming a circle around the wounds. A bit of the burn eased and my muscles began to relax. I hadn’t realized how much I was actually hurting before he started to contain the pain.

  Another circle. This time he pressed deliberate kisses, sealing the trail. I tilted my head to the side, giving him better access. No need to make him get a crick in his neck just to help me out. His lips spread into a smile against my skin. I wanted to smack him. Nothing about this should’ve been amusing. Not my pain and definitely not my desire. Which even if he wasn’t a vamp, he would have sensed. Lord help me, my body was tingling all over.

  “Ready?” he asked, his cool breath numbing the puncture wounds.

  Afraid I’d chicken out, I nodded once and braced myself for the worst. I mean, how could he know what was going to happen? Vampires rarely bit faeries. He couldn’t have bitten and healed one in his short vampire life. Could he?

  David wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me toward him.

  A fear that hadn’t been there before materialized out of nowhere and trepidation froze me in place. Not that I could’ve moved if I wanted to. I forced myself to breathe. Snap out of it. He’s not biting you, I scolded myself. He’s not Nathan. He’s healing you.

  “Relax,” he whispered, and his magical lips pressed against my wounds, instantly soothing the last of the dull burn. He flicked his tongue over the raised marks, slow and deliberate.

  I clutched the front of his shirt as the mess around us faded into nothing. Nicola and my friends in the other room disappeared. Maude, Eadric, Cryrique, and the Arcane ceased to exist. My whole world was David, our legs tangled together, his touch healing more than the marks marring my skin.

  I’d missed him. Missed his body pressed against mine. Missed the tenderness I knew lurked beneath his hardened exterior shell. My David, who I’d always believe
d would follow me into Hell, was holding me in his arms. And at that moment, I never wanted him to let go.

  Everything heated except where his tongue caressed my neck. A soft moan escaped from the back of my throat, the sensation tender and unbearably erotic. I wrapped my free arm around him, pressing my fingers against the base of his neck.

  David pulled back, and traced his thumb over my neck. “Better?”

  “Uh huh.” I met his blazing eyes, breathing heavily. I nodded, thunderstruck by the wonderful sensations still consuming my neck.

  David was the first to break eye contact. His whole body tensed as his face hardened.

  “David?” I asked.

  He let one arm drop but kept one hand on my hip. Then he gave the tiniest nod over my shoulder.

  I followed his gaze, and my heart plummeted. Standing near the staircase, his face white with what could only be shock, was my oldest friend. My stomach fell to the floor, and I stepped away from David. “Tal?” Oh good God. How long had he been there? What had he seen? David kissing my neck? Please, no. Why did that bother me so much? He was only healing me. Right. I could lie to myself all I wanted, it wasn’t going to change what happened.

  He glared at David. “She’ll never be yours.”

  David didn’t betray any reaction to Tal’s statement. He stood still, waiting.

  “You’re not good enough for her,” Talisen said.

  “Tal!” I cried, but he ignored me.

  “And you are?” David asked dryly. “You’ve known her for how many years? Ten? Fifteen? And you’re just now interested? Seems you’ve had plenty of time to make a move. Looks like you need to work on your technique.”

  “David!” I scolded. Damn them both. I wasn’t a piece of meat to be fighting over.

  No one even acknowledged me. It was as though I were an invisible toy.

  Talisen took two steps closer, leaving me trapped between them. “You can make this out to be about me all you want. But we both know she’ll never end up with a vampire. Her very nature demands she should be surrounded by life magic. You bring death. Eventually she’ll have to leave you, if only for self-preservation.”

  A tiny flicker of something close to concern flashed through David’s eyes as he glanced at me. But then it vanished. He turned his attention back to Talisen. “I think whoever Willow decides to spend her time with is her decision.”

  Talisen finally turned to me, anger clear in his deep green eyes. “Yeah. It’s her decision. But make no mistake, I’m not going to stand by while you break her heart again. Or get her killed.”

  His last word hung in the air like poison, slowly filtering its way into my system. Whether Talisen had romantic feelings for me or not, he was my family and his concerns were more than merited. I looked at each of the men I loved and suddenly didn’t know if I wanted to scream or cry.

  “Noted,” David said.

  Talisen stared him down, then abruptly turned and went back into Phoebe’s bedroom.

  “Well.” I let out a frustrated breath. “That was tons of fun.”

  David held his hand out to me. “He’s only filling the role your brother was meant to take.”

  I closed my eyes. Beau. He would have hated my involvement with David. Still, I’d like to think he would’ve trusted me to take care of myself. Or at least tried to see things from my perspective. My relationship with Talisen was a lot messier. I opened my eyes and took David’s outstretched hand.

  He pulled me close to his side. “Now, what’s the plan?”

  Plan? Oh, right. We had work to do. “You and I are going to the Arcane building. It’s time for answers.”

  Chapter 24

  “I’ll drive.” David guided me toward the door. “We need to stop and see Eadric first.”

  I planted my feet. “No. Phoebe’s going to do some recon and then track him down.”

  “Willow,” David warned. “I need to talk to him about Nicola.”

  “Fine. Call him from the car. But I’m going to the Arcane.”

  “Why?”

  “Because even though we think Nicola’s been hit by a truth blocker, we can’t know for sure. Allcot could have force-fed her Influence. I think it’s unlikely, but her information is suspect at best. And no matter what your father says, I’m not going to be able to trust his word. I need evidence.”

  “You think you’re going to find it at the office?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Maybe. Look, Eadric wants information about who’s working with Maude. And the Arcane is the first place to look for it. If we find out why she’s investigating him, the information might lead us to answers. Or at least lead us to the right questions.”

  He jammed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Father’s going to want to see me in person.”

  “Tell him we’ll meet him later tonight, after the benefit.” I brushed past him toward Phoebe’s bedroom to let her know we were leaving. While staying at Allcot’s mansion, Phoebe had managed to snag a copy of his schedule. Goddess only knows where she lifted it from. But, like the highly trained Void agent she was, she didn’t take anyone’s word at face value. And having an agreement with Allcot meant keeping careful tabs on him.

  Once back in the living room, I noticed my destroyed recipe journal peeking out from under a throw pillow. I kicked the pillow aside and grabbed the book. To the right, the Orange Influence wedge lay exposed, ready for anyone to use. I grabbed it and shoved the chocolate in my front pocket. It wasn’t an ideal spot. The chocolate would probably melt, but I couldn’t just leave it lying around. The last time I did that, Phoebe’d almost used it.

  “Phoebs,” I called from her open door.

  “In here,” came a muffled voice from her closet.

  Talisen sat on a chair near the bed. I gave him a halfhearted wave but avoided looking him in the eye. Phoebe was knee-deep in a pile of clothes, searching through pockets. “What are you looking for?”

  She held up a silver beetle. “The other bug. I want to be able to hear what’s going on. Especially if, for some reason, you can’t get out again.”

  “It won’t work once I go through security.” What was she thinking? She knew as well as I did all her charms would be neutralized by the disarming machine.

  “Ahh, that’s what I never got around to telling you.” She grabbed a faded pair of jeans, and as she pulled them toward her, something landed with a thud at her feet. “There you are!” She snatched up the other beetle, turned it over, and flicked a tiny switch. Its mate gave off a faint buzz. “Perfect.” She handed me the one that wasn’t buzzing and made an adjustment to stop the noise on the other one. She pinned the beetle to her dress and flashed me a satisfied smile. “There.”

  I glanced at the bug in my hand. “And the thing you forgot to tell me is…?”

  “Oh. Right. You know how the neutralizer doesn’t affect Link as much as it does us?”

  “Yeah.” I eyed her suspiciously.

  “Well, while you were in California, I did a lot of experimenting. One of the things I worked on was smuggling magic into the Arcane building, just to see if I could. You know, testing limits.” A satisfied smile lit her face.

  “And Link is the secret?” Please tell me she wasn’t going to make him eat something. I was not going to fish the bug out of his waste. Not in a million years.

  “One of them. If he carries it in his body, the magic is so insignificant compared to his wolf abilities, the machine doesn’t pick up on it. Voilà. Problem solved.”

  “Ugh, Phoebe! That’s disgusting.” I glanced down at Link. He tilted his head to the side in a quizzical glance. “Not on your life, buddy. No way. I’m never doing that.” I grimaced at Phoebe. “Besides, I don’t plan on being there that long.”

  She jumped over the pile of clothes and landed back in the bedroom. “What are you talking about? All he has to do is put it in his mouth and when you get somewhere private, he drops it. Get a grip, Wil.” She pulled a white cloth out of her chest of drawers. “W
rap it in this if you’re so slobber adverse.”

  “In his mouth? That’s all?” I clutched the handkerchief.

  “Yeah. What did you think I meant?”

  A low chuckle came from Talisen across the room. “She thought you wanted Link to swallow it. Then wait for it to work its way through his system.”

  I shot Talisen a dirty look.

  “Gross.” Phoebe wrinkled her nose. “God, no. Can you see me digging—”

  I held my hand up. “Stop. Just stop. I got it now. Link will carry the bug in his mouth. Great. Then what?”

  She tapped her beetle. “I’ll be able to listen in. If there’s any trouble, I’ll form a plan. We can’t have you locked up in there again. Breaking you out a second time will be virtually impossible. Maude will leave nothing to chance.”

  “David will be with me,” I countered. “Even if they lose their minds and decide to incarcerate Eadric’s son, he’ll be hard to overpower.”

  “He’s not your savior,” Talisen said, contempt clear in his tone.

  Phoebe cast him a sidelong glance.

  I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to get into it with him. We needed to have a serious conversation, but now wasn’t the time.

  “I think she means her chances are better with an important vampire around,” Phoebe reasoned, then narrowed her eyes. “Willow doesn’t wait around for anyone to ‘save’ her.”

  Thank you, I mouthed. Talisen’s shitty attitude was really starting to piss me off. He could be mad at me all he wanted, but he didn’t have to be an ass.

  Phoebe grabbed her silver bag and shrugged as if to say her support was no big deal. “I’m off to the fundraiser. Remember to turn on your bug as soon as you get to the Arcane.”

  “Okay. Be careful.”

  “Aren’t I always?” She cast me a wicked smile. There was no doubt Phoebe had phenomenal undercover skills, but this was different. She was headed to a high-end fundraiser attended by the right hands of all the important supernaturals in New Orleans. It would be a fantastic place to pick up hints of the truth about whatever was going down with the upper class. The only problem was no matter what Phoebe looked like or how convincing she was, she was still an outsider. They’d regard her with suspicion no matter what. And that meant she needed to be a hundred times more careful. Blending in wasn’t easy in that tight-knit crowd.