by Lily Luchesi
As we drove away to meet up with the rest of the carnival, I considered Granna’s words.
Stay together and be prepared.
I would never leave Kizzie.
But I wasn’t sure there was any way to prepare for what was coming next.
Still, I would do the best I could.
Even when the Tower came crashing down around us.
Because no matter what, Kizzie and I had each other—and her tarot cards.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, be sure to leave a review for the set! Also, you can read about the first time Kizzie’s tarot cards saved Evan’s life in Major Arcana, available FREE here.
About the Author
USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins is a former college English professor who, tired of explaining the difference between “hanged” and “hung,” turned to writing romance novels instead. Sometimes her heroines kill monsters, sometimes they kiss aliens. But they always aim for the heart!
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Read more of Margo’s Books
Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance
The Vampirarchy Urban Fantasy Series
The Shifter Shield Series
Science Fiction Romance
Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery
Captured for the Alien Bride Lottery
Claimed for the Alien Bride Lottery
Enemy of the Alien Bride Lottery
Tiny & Fierce (A Reverse Harem Sci-Fi Romance)
Contemporary Romance
Taming the Country Star
Opposing the Cowboy
Hot on His Heels
WILD MAGIC
Maggie Alabaster
About Wild Magic
Tia Williams is running for her life. And her magic. With the help of Riley, Connor and Declan, she might just escape. But that's just the beginning.
Chapter 1
If they caught me, I was screwed.
I ducked behind a tree trunk and leaned against it to catch my breath. The wind picked up and blew past. It brought with it the sound of voices and baying dogs. I caught a word or two.
"This way…"
"…can't be far."
I pulled my jacket tighter around myself with one hand and kept running.
With my spare hand, I shoved branches out of my way. A spiderweb caught my fingers. I shook it off and suppressed a shudder.
To my ears, my breath was loud, laboured, surely audible over the wind.
My pursuers were getting closer. I all but felt their breath on my neck. I bit back a sob and staggered a few steps. It was all I could do to keep myself from falling to my knees, but I forced myself on.
I didn't want to think about what would happen if they caught me. I knew, all too well. My mother, my sisters, my youngest brother…
I stopped at the edge of the trees. An open field unwound in front of me.
Shit.
I had two choices: take my chances in the open or stand and fight. I bit my lip and tasted blood, metallic and sour in my dry mouth.
A cloud skidded over the moon, leaving me and my decision in darkness. Before I could move another step, a hand clamped around my wrist and another over my mouth.
The voice in my ear was male, deep and softer than the breeze. "Don't scream. Don't make a sound. I know you can do magic, I can feel it."
I struggled, but he held me tight.
"Don't fight me," he whispered. "I'm trying to help you. You can make a bubble around us?"
He lowered his hand from my mouth, except one thick, calloused finger, which he kept pressed against my lips.
I nodded. "Yes," I whispered around it. "But the dogs—the bubble will only keep them from seeing us." The hounds would still sniff us out.
"I'll take care of it. Make the bubble. Now, if you value your power."
And your life. He didn't say it, but the meaning was clear.
I hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. I tucked one hand under the side of my jacket to mask the glow, then drew. Just a trickle was all I could manage. It would have to be enough.
I pulled it from the trees around us, from the tiny creatures who lived amongst them, from the blades of grass which layered the field like a carpet.
Warm and pulsing with life, the magic expanded until it covered us both like a cocoon of darkness. Beyond it, the forest became contorted, the trees looked like shadows doing a bizarre dance. The only sound I heard was my own heart, hammering hard in my chest.
He crouched down and held his arms up behind him. "I need you to climb onto my back."
"I beg your—" My voice sounded too loud in the darkness. I bit my words off.
"Hurry up," he urged.
I shook my head, but took his hands and straddled his back.
"Put your arms around my neck and hang on."
The moment, I did, his neck and back expanded and became covered in a layer of fur. I wound my fingers into it and clung to him. The ground dropped away from beneath my feet and I let out a squeak.
It's all right. Was he speaking directly into my mind? He sounded amused. I've got you. Just don't let the bubble go, they probably have guns.
They wouldn't shoot me. They would shoot him and keep me alive long enough to get what they needed from me. I didn't want to end up a husk, so I gritted my teeth and held the bubble.
He slinked silently through the trees. Then without warning, he began to run. We shot across the field as though he was in pursuit of prey.
We reached the middle just as my pursuers—our pursuers—burst out of the trees. Through the blur of the magic and my fear, I saw the dogs turning circles, confused by the new scent.
The moon reappeared.
Maybe I imagined the animals barking and growling in frustration, the men and women with them cursing, angry and confused.
Keep holding it, sweetness. He turned his head to look at me.
I took a moment to get a look at him. Shaggy mane, enormous paws. Were lions in the wild this big? Part of me insisted that I should be scared of him. He could rip me apart in a blink. But I wasn't scared, I was fascinated.
I looked into his eyes, but I got no answers there. All I saw was the reflection of moonlight and concentration.
"I'm doing my best, but it's hard at this speed," I told him. The wind whipped my words away.
We're nearly there.
We all but flew across the field and into more trees before we reached several houses.
I'm going to put you down, he said. The moment we stop, I need you to drop the bubble and run like hell. Stay as close behind me as you can, all right?
I thought for a moment. "Okay."
I get it. You don't know why you should trust me. How about—I just saved your ass. That and they kill me if they catch me. Like it or not, we're in this together.
"All right, all right." A least for now.
What's your name, sweetness?
"Tia. Tia Williams."
I heard him suck in a surprised breath. Riley Hamm. Nice to meet you. Ready?
"Yes." I felt the ground under my feet and let the bubble dissipate. The magic separated into a thousand tiny droplets and disappeared into the plants and trees around us.
"Good." Riley, already back in human form, grabbed my hand and ran. "Thank the gods you have practical shoes." That was more than he had, naked as he was.
I choked back a laugh and ran as silently as I could, trusting he wouldn't lead me into some kind of trap. Instead, he led me to a motorcycle. He grabbed a helmet from a pannier on the side. He tossed it to me, pulled on a pair of jeans and jammed another helmet onto
his head.
"My mother would kill me," I said, pushing my helmet on and fastening the straps. "These things are dangerous."
"They're safer than the people you're running from," he said.
"Good point," I replied dryly.
He climbed onto the motorcycle and gestured for me to sit behind him.
"Hang on tight."
I wound my arms around his waist. He was all hard muscle under my hands.
"If you see anything funny, make another bubble." He started the engine.
"It's harder when we're moving fast," I reminded him.
"If you need me to slow down, just yell in my ear, but it will be risky."
We pulled away from the curb and accelerated before we took the corner at an angle.
I bit back a squeak of fear, but we righted and raced down the street. The world passed in a blur.
As we drew toward the highway, we had to slow for a set of traffic-lights, then stop. Over the sound of the motorcycle engine I heard a new sound.
The whine of a helicopter.
Shit.
"They want you badly, sweetness," Riley shouted over his shoulder. "Don't worry, they won't catch us."
I ducked my head as the helicopter passed over us. The helmet might have obscured my dark brown hair, but I still wore the same clothes they had last seen me wearing. I held my breath, but a shout from above confirmed it. They knew it was me.
The light turned green and we were flying again, faster and faster. We reached the highway and weaved through the traffic.
A car horn beeped as we cut in front of them.
I looked back over my shoulder. There, a few cars back, was a black SUV. As we wove around a truck, they followed.
"We have people behind us!" I called out.
"What?" Riley shouted back.
I drew a little magic from the only source I could reach at this speed—him—and used it to magnify my voice.
"We're being followed! There's an SUV back there."
"Crap. All right, I'll do what I can."
The motorcycle jerked as we went even faster.
"You're going to get us killed!"
His laughter blew back on the wind before it was dragged away. "Not a chance."
I closed my eyes for a moment, but regretted it immediately as a wave of nausea passed over me.
I forced them back open. That was almost as bad. The world flashed by; greens, browns, the occasional red.
The helicopter buzzed over us again. A figure hung from the doorway, harness on, some kind of weapon in hand. Gun, taser, stun gun, I couldn't tell at this distance and speed.
My arms convulsed around Riley's waist.
"We need to go where there's no other cars!" I shouted. "Someone else will get hurt."
"That won't be our fault," he called back.
I hesitated. "I'm not willing to take the chance."
I thought he might argue, but he slowed and we turned into a side road. A glance back showed the SUV was still following.
"I hope you have a plan, princess, because we're more or less screwed right now."
I looked up. The figure hanging out of the helicopter had his weapon trained on us.
On me.
"Pull over."
"Are you crazy? I didn't help you, just so you could—"
"I said pull over, please. It's me they want."
"Don't count on it." In spite of that, he drew the motorbike to a stop on the side of the road and let it idle.
The SUV pulled in behind us and four heavily armed men and women tumbled out, guns trained on me.
One gestured to his companions to wait, and stepped toward me.
"We don't want any trouble," he said, his expression guarded.
I took off my helmet. The wind from the helicopter hovering overhead whipped my hair around my face.
"Obviously," Riley growled.
I shot him a look. This didn't need to involve him. They hadn't seen him shift, didn't know what he was.
He was unrepentant.
"You should go," I told him.
"Not without you," he replied.
I shook my head and turned back to the man in black.
He was watching me over the barrel of his gun. He was just as much a pawn as I was, under the thumb and watchful eye of Zeta. A top-secret branch of the military, they'd been after me for quite some time.
I raised my hands to either side. To anyone who didn't understand, it looked like a gesture of surrender.
The man in black, he knew. His eyes widened and he threw a hand over his face.
It wasn't enough.
I drew magic from the trees and plants around me, drawing from roots and stems, flowers and petals, ants and flies. Around me, the leaves started to turn brown and wither.
The blast of magic which flew from my hands knocked everyone and everything aside for a radius of a hundred metres.
The helicopter was knocked back. The gunshot the figure in the doorway took, went wide.
Men and women, as if they were little more than pieces of paper, were flung back into the SUV. The car itself skidded sideways, back toward the highway.
I heard Riley's shout of surprise. For a moment I thought I'd caught him in blast as well, even though he was behind me. I whirled as he let out a whoop.
"Fucking hell, that was incredible!" He was grinning from ear to ear. "No wonder they're after you." He righted his bike, picked my helmet up from where it lay by the side of the road and tossed it to me. "Why didn't you do that back in the trees, when we first met."
"I was drugged. Ready for siphoning." I was still not fully recovered, but it was enough.
His smile faded. "We only have a few minutes before the helicopter comes with backup. How about we get the hell out of here."
I nodded and jammed my helmet back on. "Let's do it."
"Maybe when we get somewhere private." He winked at me. "What can I say, danger is an aphrodisiac."
I shook my head and climbed behind him. "You're going to be horny as hell if they catch up with us then."
He laughed, but the wind drove it away before we passed the SUV and the broken bodies around it.
We got back on the highway and let the traffic swallow us up.
Chapter 2
"You're the Tia Williams?" the man asked. Blonde-haired and as muscular as Riley, he had introduced himself as Connor.
Another man watched from across the room, an equally doubtful expression on his long face. "We're just supposed to buy that?"
Connor waved a hand in his direction and said, "Declan here is the sceptical one."
I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He didn't look amused. He looked—focused, intense.
"You seem pretty sceptical yourself," I pointed out.
They had let me in the door, given me food, coffee and a chair, but only Riley seemed unconcerned by who or what I was.
Connor ignored my jibe. "Daughter of the famous, or infamous, depending on who you speak to, Lena Williams. You know what they did to her, right?"
"Yes, I know my mother is dead," I said, my voice tight. "I know they caught her, siphoned off her magic and left her to die."
"How do you know?" Declan asked. He was the slender one of the three men, with long fingers, an angular nose and a mess of dark curls.
I turned to him and locked my blue eyes to his brown ones. "I read the files."
Connor sat up with a jerk. "You read…"
"How do you think they found her?" Riley asked, nodding toward me. He stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. "Tia was inside their facility."
I scowled at him. "How did you know?" Had he seen me running from the search team? I had assumed his presence was a coincidence. I should have known; there's no such thing.
He raised and lowered a hand in a smaller version of a shrug. "We have someone on the inside of Zeta." He stepped over to me, put his palms on the table and bent so his face was a handspan from mine.
"D
idn't you think escaping their facility just in time was a little too easy?"
As a matter of fact, I had, but I tilted my chin.
"I would have gotten away anyway," I said with certainty.
Declan snorted softly, but Riley just smiled.
"Of course you would, sweetness."
"I'm not sweet." I favoured him with a scowl.
He smiled in reply. "It's just a nickname." He stood and stepped back. "What else did you learn while you were there?"
I averted my face. "There are records of every witch they've caught and siphoned magic from. Names, dates. Ages," I added in a whisper. "Including two newborns. They both survived. There are adoption records."
Riley nodded, looking grim. "Children who will grow up never knowing they were born with magic."
"What about shifters? Are there any records of them?" Declan asked.
"You're a shifter too?" I asked.
"Yep." Declan's face was unreadable.
That seemed to be all the answer I would get from him, so I looked back to Riley. "They can't siphon the ability to shift. It's more like a reflex than magic."
He nodded. Of course he knew all of this. "That doesn't mean they didn't try."
"I found a folder on shifter experiments right before they found me." I blinked back a tear. "Most of it contained photos and dates of death."
Riley pulled out the chair beside mine and sat. He took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"I thought that might be all," he said gently.
I wiped my cheek, sniffed and then frowned. "You risked exposing yourself to save me. Why?"
"I was in the area. I figured, why not? Any enemy of Zeta is a friend of mine."
"Why were you in the area then?" I pressed.
"I was meeting with our inside person," Riley replied.
"Why were you there?" Dylan demanded, the question directed at me.
I turned to him slowly. "I was going to blow the place up. I wanted to send the files to some of my friends first though."
Connor chuckled, the first break in his serious facade. "You're everything they said you are, aren't you? Crazy, sexy, wild."
