Magic After Dark Boxed Set (Six Book Bundle)

by Deanna Chase

  My forearm weakly wiped away beads of sweat rolling down my temple and all the little synapses in my brain were firing off. If what he said was true, what else did that mean?

  “Do we age? Will my hair grow longer, can I gain weight infinitely?”

  Justus snorted. “You should not make light of this, but you will not age. We are one of the few Breeds who truly never age once we are made. Your body will remain in a… suspended state from the time you are made. So no, you will not gain weight, nor obtain any grey hairs.”

  That was a nice thought—no more guilt about taking out a carton of ice cream. “Why all the training if we can just heal in the sun?”

  “Something to remember, Learner—most challenges against a Mage are at night because of that very fact. An experienced Mage who is capable in fighting need not worry as much as an inexperienced Learner, which is why they are so closely guarded by their maker.”

  “You’re telling me that I can do sit-ups infinitely?” I began to laugh and rolled over. Every thought revolted. I sighed into the mat.

  “That’s exactly what I mean, Learner. As long as you have sunshine or a willing Mage, you are quite capable. Stand up.”

  “Sorry, my legs are going to have to turn down your offer.”

  Justus bent over me with determined speed and locked his hands over mine. “We’ll just do it this way, then.”

  “NO!” I shouted, pulling my arms away as a sudden burst of energy sent me fleeing from him. “I’ll get up.”

  I didn’t need to be bullied, but when I looked at him, there was a severe look in his expression. It slivered those eyes, straightened the brow, and turned his mouth into a thin line. There was an awkward pause.

  “Is that what your maker did?”

  I didn’t think I had it in me, every muscle screamed in protest, but I pushed myself up and met him face-to-face. “I don’t want to talk about it, just don’t do that again, okay?”

  Justus gave a single nod and laced his fingers with mine as we stared at each other. My hands were swallowed by the sheer size of his.

  “This is borrowing, Learner. I’m giving you some of my light.”

  “Hallelujah,” I sang. “Heal me, brother.”

  “I’ll do the willing, but we will switch our training later so you can learn how to draw from a Mage whose shields are down. If you dabble your inexperienced hand in the sun, you’re likely to light yourself up like a Christmas tree. At least this way I can assess your ability to measure.”

  Blue threads formed between our hands and I felt sharp tingles like when your arm falls asleep and is waking up. This was the first time I would experience someone else’s light and I was a little nervous. If I had to describe the feeling, it’s as if your fingertips are drinking in energy. It moves throughout your body like a living organism with such speed and urgency that it’s incredible.

  “Your body is a glass with a line in the middle,” he said. “When it begins to reach that line, you need to know when to stop. Never go past the line and fill the cup. Focus, you’ll sense when that limit is reached. I can feel your light so I’m going to pull away when it’s there, so pay attention. There will be a distinct fullness. That’s it…”

  The ache of hours of physical training melted away and I felt so revitalized that I could have sprinted out the door and run for miles. Within a few seconds, my lips were numb and there was a fullness in my chest.

  Too much.

  I pulled back and the connection stopped.

  “Very good, Learner.”

  “That’s amazing!” I gasped. I walked around, flexing my hands open and closed. “I feel like I could…” I turned and gave him a sharp look.

  I felt like I could kick his ass, that’s what.

  He must have read it in my eyes and stepped back.

  “Easy, Learner. With power comes responsibility. Learn to redirect that energy, and keep in mind I could mop up this room with you in five seconds. Skills, Peaches—I got ’em. I can pin you against that wall in three ticks of a heartbeat. Now push it down,” he said with irritation.

  A minute later I felt less like a streak of lightning and more like myself. Not a single muscle ached.

  “Holy shit. I’m a rechargeable battery!”

  I was something more than I was yesterday. An old knowledge that settled in my bones was awakening, melding to my marrow, and becoming the very essence of who I was.

  “You can see why it’s addicting and we have a problem with juicers. The energy will allow you to heal or recharge, but once it leaves, you will be temporarily weakened. The more you have to take in—for example, if you had a severe injury—the worse off you’ll be later. Your body will lose that energy and require sleep. So it would be better to let your body heal itself naturally for most injuries. Our healing is quicker than a human’s.”

  “Got it.”

  “Feel like you could do five hundred sit-ups?”

  “Tell you what—I’ll let you know when I get to six hundred.” I sat on the mat with an ear-to-ear grin. This was my new life, my new body, and I was excited to learn more about what I could do. Suddenly my life was brimming with a newfound hope and a future, whereas before it felt aimless and bleak.

  He tilted his chin. “That’s my girl.”

  “I’m not your girl.”

  Chapter 16

  Six hours later, I took a long, hot, blissful shower. Today’s attire would be casual—jeans and a green shirt with my laceless sneakers. I entered a dining room just off of the main hall and nearly choked with laughter.

  There was a heaping pile of ribs with Justus parked in front of them. What had me absolutely tickled was not the ungodly amount of meat that was spread before him, but Justus wearing his napkin tucked in his shirt like an adult bib. He was ready to chow down with those hungry eyes already feasting. I slid into my chair and snatched a few ribs and rolls for my plate.

  “Homemade?”

  His fingers were laced as he hid a smile. “I don’t cook. That’s what you’re here for.”

  “I’m not your slave.”

  “No, Learner, that you are most definitely not,” he mumbled.

  The moment I tucked a piece of bread in my cheek, Justus dug in. His whole body seemed to ripple at the joining of meat to his lips and I watched in awe a man who had the table manners of a troglodyte. His teeth gnawed into a rib, smearing a streak of sauce across his cheek as his entire body sighed in satisfaction.

  My mind floated back to my ex, Brandon, who once ran a finger full of tomato sauce over one of my favorite tablecloths because he was mad at me, trying to provoke a fight. He challenged me with the look in his eye and all I could do was sit there and watch. He liked instigating things.

  “Something bothers you.”

  I shook out of my past and flicked my eyes up to his. I could tell he was considering whether or not to pursue the comment.

  “I can’t cook, so you’re out of luck,” I lied. I buttered my roll with a dull knife and took another bite.

  “That’s all right; I prefer my women barefoot and pregnant.”

  I knew that was intended to be a joke, but it struck a nerve.

  Justus looked up and his smile lowered. “What is that look, did I offend you?”

  I tapped my knife on the table and just spit it out, something that had been bothering me for a couple of weeks since I missed my period. “I might be pregnant.”

  My panic turned into a wave of anger when he began to laugh uncontrollably. I grabbed a plastic container and threw it as hard as I could at Justus. He ducked as it smashed against the wall, sending a thick splatter of yellow potato salad sliding down like a horrendous display of artwork.

  He sighed in disgust. “You will control yourself, Learner.”

  “That is not a funny joke.”

  “You are not with child.”

  He smirked and reached around, scooping up a finger full of the potato salad that still clung to the wall and put it in his mouth.

 
; “What makes you so certain?”

  “A Mage cannot have children. Females do not menstruate. I’d actually prefer not to discuss this topic over my meal,” he said with a mouthful.

  “Are you sure; what if I was before?”

  He considered that a moment. “Were you?”

  “No, but the man who attacked me, I uh… I don’t know what happened after—”

  “You are not pregnant. Males are not…”

  He ended the topic, gnawing on a bone and I watched a dribble of sauce run down the edge of his hand.

  Thank God. It was something I could hardly discuss with Adam, but when my period never came, I was scared and hoped that maybe stress was causing it.

  “So, Justus…”

  “Ghuardian.”

  “What?”

  “That’s what you call me, Learner. You cannot address me by my name while you are under my Ghuardianship.”

  “Yes, master,” I said sarcastically.

  He licked the sauce from his thumb, tongue slowly curling around the knuckle. “Master. Now, I kind of like that—has a ring to it.”

  “You are so obnoxious. Why don’t you have any clocks or windows?” My eyes scanned the room. “Or electricity?” I chewed on some baked beans and washed them down with a can of soda, watching the shadows dance across the table from the candles. The only time I had ever eaten by candlelight was when the power went out after a tornado hit a few years back, knocking out the power lines.

  “I prefer candlelight, it soothes the mind. And you will not have need for clocks.”

  “Elaborate?”

  “You can sense time as accurately as an atomic clock in most circumstances.”

  “Does my body know when it’s daylight savings?”

  Ignoring me, he continued. “What time is it now? Don’t guess… feel.”

  I set down my rib and licked my fingers as I tried to feel. But I didn’t know what I was feeling for.

  So, I guessed.

  “Two thirty?”

  “You’re guessing.” He reached over the table and grabbed a roll. “Soon it will come natural to you.”

  As we sat quietly, I noticed Justus had changed into a tight black shirt. I wondered if he bought it a size small intentionally to attract women, or if the fabric had simply shrunk in fear of him. Did he work for a living? Clearly, he did well for himself. Hell, just look at that car.

  When my eyes bumped into his, I noticed he was staring at me… staring at him. I dropped my eyes to my plate and picked a few pieces of meat free from the bone. I could still feel him looking and he had even stopped eating—so the silence was a banging drum.

  “Do you live here alone?”

  “No one comes here.”

  I arched a brow. “So, no girlfriend?”

  “I have no need for ties to another. This is my home and I enjoy the peace.”

  If that were true then why exactly was I here?

  “What are we doing the rest of the day?”

  I relaxed when he commenced eating.

  “You will study. Much to learn.”

  There was little conversation as we were still getting used to one another’s company. At one point, he nodded back at the crime scene on the wall and said, “You’re going to clean that.”

  “Funny, I thought you might save me the trouble and lick it up.” He cocked an eyebrow and I couldn’t read his face.

  I remembered the swarm of women with him at the bar, never a minute alone this guy had when he went out. But he seemed oddly uncomfortable with my presence in his home, not very chatty unless he was trying to educate me. How could a man of such prowess be so solitary? It was also worth noting that any time I contradicted him it drew a strong reaction. So as a result, there were long stretches of silence as we ate.

  I also noticed Justus had a strange way of speaking. There was a layer beneath his tone that hinted he once had an accent of some kind. It was thick, every word meaningful and not rushed, and for the most part he didn’t swear.

  “Have you ever done this before? I mean, have you ever been a Ghuardian?”

  Justus pulled his napkin free, carefully wiping his large hands on it. “No.”

  “Well, I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

  I stood up and began clearing the table. I moved around to take his plate and ran my thumb along his cheek, scooping up that streak of sauce that had been annoying me the entire dinner.

  “Missed a spot.”

  Before my thumb even finished pulling away, Justus took my wrist in his hand and swiftly rose from his chair.

  He stood awkwardly, looking at the sauce on my hand before he let go. “Don’t touch me. Go clean up and we’ll meet in there.”

  I shrugged, wondering if I broke some cardinal rule of touching the Ghuardian.

  I would later find out that Justus, much to my surprise, wasn’t a very touchy-feely guy. Despite the fact that the first time we met he was being handled by every female within a fifty-foot radius, he didn’t know how to handle personal affections.

  “This is where we study; we have a history and you need to know not only where you came from, but also our laws.” Justus paced in front of his bookshelf with his arms crossed.

  I stepped over to the fireplace and ran my finger along the wooden shelf mounted above it, which held a large series of thick books. My god, did he expect me to read all of those? The hell I will.

  I loved to read, but some of those monstrosities looked like they could be used as a weapon.

  “Ouch!”

  The wood plank used in the shelving was not polished down and a splinter—just the tiniest little sliver—went into my finger. I squeezed the tip painfully as it turned red and a small droplet of blood appeared. When my thumb brushed over it I hissed through my teeth. The splinter was still in there.

  “Here, let me see,” Justus said with disdain. “Hold very still.” His focus was concentrated and he held my hand, using the very tips of his fingers to feel where it was. I winced again and he reached into his pocket, pulling out one of those handy little knife survival things that has everything from a screwdriver to a set of jumper cables. With a tiny set of tweezers, the little spear that impaled my finger was plucked free. “There.”

  “How can something so small hurt that much?”

  “Because size doesn’t matter?” He gave a sideways smirk and leaned up against the stone wall.

  With a heavy groan, I plopped down on the leather chair. “All right, Ghuardian, teach me.”

  If I didn’t know better I would have sworn I saw flecks of light dance in his eyes.

  I studied for hours. We started out with basic 101 Mage history. We didn’t work magic or sorcery, not exactly. Our kind had been around for centuries, and while nobody knew their beginnings, they remained secretive among humans in the latter centuries. Humans that discovered their abilities grew jealous, while others fabricated false rumors. Humans sought out to find Mage and other Breed and staged executions in manners that would guarantee their death. Often anyone suspected of alchemy or witchery was arrested. Justus confirmed we weren’t the only preternatural beings, but this was a later lesson. Yes, save all the good stuff for last.

  Each Mage has common abilities. Flashing involves riding the energy and moving at high rates of speed for short distances. We can also sense time and direction; we are able to heal; and flaring—well I couldn’t quite grasp that.

  “The only way I can explain it, Learner, is think of it like heavy cologne.”

  “You’re comparing our aura to stinky cologne?” The air was chilly and I held my hands over my arms.

  “In public places, your shield naturally goes up as a defense mechanism to protect your light by concealing it. But to conceal entirely in a human dwelling or establishment is a threatening gesture. We must make our presence known by occasionally leaking out our energy. The idea is that if you conceal while another does not, he is vulnerable and you are the threat because your motives become questionab
le. To avoid confrontation, we flare—allowing our bodies to release energy every so often to announce our presence. It’s like shooting off a flare or waving a flag. If you pick up on another Mage, it is customary to seek them out and give introductions.”

  Justus slid down in his leather chair with his legs spread open and pulled the zipper of his hoodie down a few inches. The fireplace only had one log burning, but there was a comfortable heat that was beginning to build in the room. “It is not necessary in places where Breed congregate.”

  “So that’s all we can do?”

  He half smiled. “Not quite. Each Mage is born into their light with special abilities. Some have one, some have several.”

  “Such as what?” I leaned back on the sofa, noticing how ultra-soft it was for leather, and pulled a pillow underneath my arm. I later found a furniture catalog in a drawer with that exact sofa—and the price was listed at fifty thousand.

  “Jumpers can ride the channel, like flashing, except against gravity. The distance of jumpers is longer, and is not unlike the concept of teleportation. Thermals, well… they have a gift with temperature. There are also different types of Mentalists: those who can send thoughts, those who can only receive them when called upon, and those who can do both. Then there are Creators, who are very rare and given special exceptions within the Mageri, as it is within their power to retain our lineage.”

  He leaned over and took a sip of water, setting the glass back down on the end table. “You can see why some are feared; there are a number of abilities out there, probably more than we even know of. Some gifts you can conceal, and it is within your right to do so. Only the Council and Mageri are required to know your gifts. There are some we know little about simply because most of us prefer not to elaborate to anyone but the Mageri—it could be a weakness for others to know your limitations.”

  “So, what can I do?” I asked.

  “Annoy?”

  I gave him a hurt look.

  Justus pulled the tip of his hoodie over his eye and lowered his voice. “It remains to be seen; sometimes it takes years to uncover abilities.”

  “Maybe I can’t do anything.”