Covetous: An Urban Fantasy Romance (The Marked Mage Chronicles, Book 2)

by Victoria Evers

  Even worse, Blaine walked me down to the curb where a pristine black 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass SS was parked. With white stripes running up the hood, it looked just like a model I’d seen before… It was a beautiful car, and he knew it.

  “HOTTIE ALERT!” announced Hannah’s text message as Blaine pulled into the school’s parking lot. She obviously hadn’t gotten a good look at who was sitting in the passenger seat, because her jaw dropped the moment she saw me exit the vehicle with him. Even Sam was grinning like a fool.

  “Holy Crab Cakes! We were wondering where you guys ran off to yesterday,” Hannah declared, wrapping a lock of my naturally frosted blonde hair around her fingers. “Did our new neighbor whisk you away to a salon? Because I most definitely approve of the new-fangled hair color!”

  A smile pulled at Blaine’s lips that he did very little to hold back.

  I snatched up my bag and turned to Sam instead, praying he’d give me an out.

  “Seems someone’s thawed out the Ice Princess,” he teased me quietly with a nudge. “Did his shirtless escapades next door finally get to you?”

  Or not…

  “Oh, he got me, all right,” I murmured. ‘If only he’d lose me’ is what I didn’t say. Instead, I was forced to give Blaine a polite, “Thank you,” before heading inside the building. It was the first thing I’d said to him since leaving his house, and I had no intention of adding to it.

  My entire arm ached as vibrations danced across my skin. Anger, despair, confusion; every emotion roared through me as I desperately tried to calm down. But I couldn’t. My life had finally found some semblance of normalcy again, and it got blasted all to Hell the moment he strolled back in. I’d made it ten minutes through History class before a flex of my fingers sent a stack of textbooks shooting off Mr. Hennessey’s desk into the chalkboard. Everyone yelped, especially our teacher who had been standing not a foot away from the spot of impact. Unable to contain it anymore, I asked if I could be excused. Even with my leather jacket on, it barely contained the pale blue light humming beneath the fabric. As I approached the bathroom, I could hear voices inside, making me slam on the brakes. I needed somewhere empty. And fast.

  Hurrying down the hall, I yanked on the side exit to the locker room, only to find it locked. Everyone was already running drills in the gym, so I slinked past Coach Niles and ducked into the main door of the locker room, thankful to find it vacant. Heading to the far back, I slid down to the floor. My chest heaved, my heartbeat pounded in my ears, my entire body damn near convulsed. I crumpled forward, my hands clutching to the sides of my head. I’d never felt this before. Not to this extent. Every cell in my body was brimming with this barely contained power, begging to be unleashed. One silent scream, and everything shattered.

  Even with my eyes pinched shut, light exploded behind my lids from the sheer intensity. Relief was immediate, the power uncoiling itself from around my bones, as the air rippled and expanded out. In an instant, my head snapped upright as the laundry bin beside me disappeared from my peripheral vision and slammed into the opposing wall. And it wasn’t the only casualty left in my wake. Every locker door in sight flung open, the combination locks snapping right off as an assortment of clothes, purses, perfumes, and cosmetics launched out across the space.

  “Shit!”

  I scrambled to my feet at the sound of the intruder, finding Blaine standing at the entrance with his hands shielded over his face as the debris finally met with gravity and rained down to the floor.

  “What’re you doing here?” I demanded, furiously wiping the tears from my face.

  “I thought something was wrong. You ignited half the runes on your arm,” he panted, hinting he’d been running.

  The heavy main door swung open behind him. Coach Niles poked her head inside, taking in the catastrophe that was now the locker room. “What happened?”

  “Everything’s fine,” Blaine said, motioning her out with a dismissive hand.

  Our P.E. teacher was a total hard-ass when it came to following rules. Seeing the entire girls’ locker room destroyed would have made her blow a gasket. To find a boy in there as well… Oh, Hell hath no fury. So imagine my shock to find her walk out, closing the door behind her without protest.

  “What did happen?” Blaine asked, looking about the destroyed space.

  The side exit was usually unlocked—from the inside—so I rounded the closest set of lockers and headed for the door.

  “Kat?” he pleaded.

  “Just stay away from me,” I bit back, charging out into the hall.

  ***

  “I can’t do this.” I was practically wearing a hole through the tiles as I continued to pace the short length of the bathroom with my cell to my ear, grateful to find the space finally empty.

  “Reese just informed me,” confirmed Dr. Madsen. “It’s important right now that you try and stay calm.”

  “You should’ve seen it; I had no control! Someone’s going to get hurt, and I highly doubt it’ll be the person I want to.”

  “Where’s Blaine right now?”

  “Probably drinking the blood of the innocent or telling children there’s no such thing as Santa Claus. Who the hell knows?”

  “Do you think you’d be able to get out of town for a short while, without Mr. Ryder knowing about it, I mean?”

  “Why?”

  “Are you familiar with the Bridgewater Triangle?”

  “The what-what-what?”

  He sighed. “Bridgewater. Otherwise referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Massachusetts. It’s something of a hotbed for paranormal activity, particularly in the forests. Ghosts, aliens, Indian curses and whatnot. There’s someone there I think you should see.”

  “Who? Bigfoot?” I mocked, throwing myself against the wall.

  “I wouldn’t be too quick to laugh,” said Madsen. “There have in fact been sightings of that as well.”

  “Seriously?”

  “But thankfully, you won’t have to contend with Chewbacca’s cousin today. You’d only be visiting Freetown, not the State Park.”

  “And who might I be ‘visiting,’ exactly?”

  ***

  Due to me arriving in the middle of the semester, my schedule was a bit screwy, which right now played out in my favor. Each class was ninety minutes long, with a ten minute break between each subject, and Freetown was a half-hour drive each way. Given that Study Hall didn’t require attendance, I essentially had a free period. So long as I hauled ass, I’d be able to make it there and back again before Lunch, where Blaine would surely notice my absence. And thanks to Hannah lending me her Prius, I wouldn’t have to resort to magical grand theft auto for a ride. So long as I could keep my runes in check, I stood a chance of Blaine not monitoring me.

  And I’d made better timing than I thought, entering Freetown almost ten minutes ahead of schedule. What Madsen failed to mention was that the town happened to be divided into two villages: Assonet and East Freetown. I wasn’t sure which one the shop was located in, and Hannah had already warned me about not using the GPS in the car. Last time she tried, she ended up three towns over for a trip that was supposed to be only about ten blocks down the street. Plus, Google Maps kept trying to take me down the same dead-end road for the fifth time. As it turned out, Lucinda Palatine, the woman Madsen sent me to meet, had closed down her shop and relocated to another storefront in Bristol County that took another fifteen minutes to find. So much for good timing…

  On arrival, I found that the fortunetelling shop wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting. I’d never been in one of these places before, but I’d seen some from the street when I was in New York. Tacky neon signs, depictions of creepy eyeballs and palm readings, weird talisman symbols hanging in the windows, the whole nine yards.

  This shop, however, had nothing but a clear glass door with elegant writing that simply read, “Mystic Tarot.” A sign out front also advertised $10 Specials on Crystals and Love Stones, promising to “Reunite Lovers.” What
mattered most to me though: “Walk-ins Welcome.”

  The pleasant aroma of lavender, rose, and other essential oils greeted me as I opened the front door. And I laughed to myself, hearing Calvin Harris’s “Feel So Close” playing quietly in the small foyer. Again, some part of me had expected the weird mood music from The Legend of Zelda or something.

  The corner shop was small enough to see it in its entirety from the front door. To my right, a couple customers meandered about the sales counters, checking out the variety of “magical” crystals and tarot cards. With the chic display cases and classic furnishings, the place looked more like it sold upscale cosmetics rather than cheesy charms and false hopes.

  “Can I help you?” asked a woman, emerging from the back room to my left. She was maybe thirty at best, her light brown hair pinned up in a trendy bun. A simple long-sleeved black dress and killer knee-high boots solidified the perfect balance between casual and classy. Behind her was a fogged-glassed, black paneled door with “Private Reading Room” labeled across it.

  “Hi, is Lucinda here by any chance?”

  She smiled. “That depends. Why are you looking for her?”

  “I was wondering if she could give me a reading.”

  “Then it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she chuckled, shaking my hand before escorting me to the room she’d just emerged from.

  The space was simple enough. No traditional lamps or light fixtures. Just a few candle sconces that were dialed down to give the beige walls a peaceful, warm glow. A small table sat in the middle of the room, draped with a champagne chiffon overlay, and apart from a few plants, nothing else occupied the space.

  “It’s always nice to know you’ve left a positive impression with a client. Who recommended you see me?”

  “Doctor…Madsen,” I muttered.

  “Madsen?” She seemed to consider the name, but clearly came up empty-handed as she closed the door behind us.

  “He came to see you, about eight years ago,” I said sheepishly, nodding to her left hand.

  At the very cusp of her sleeve I could see the edge of a metallic tattoo entangling her wrist. She immediately recoiled, frantically reaching for the door handle as if my head had just done a full 360 Exorcist rotation.

  “I’m not here to cause you any trouble. All I’m looking for are some answers,” I said, pinning my hand against the door before she had the chance to pull it open. “Please.”

  Her grip on the handle loosened as she noted the runes on my own hand. “I already told your friend years ago, I want nothing to do with your world. Being what we are…it cost me everything. I just want to be left alone.”

  “And no one understands that better than me.”

  “I seriously doubt that.”

  I removed my hand from the door, only to hold it in front of her face.

  She studied the metallic runes imprinted on my skin, only looking more confused. “Are…are those Enochian?”

  “Yeah, and they were gifted by a High Prince of Hell after he put a binding hex on me,” I affirmed, tapping the intricate inked band tethered around my ring finger.

  Her already-pale face only grew whiter. “What do you expect me to do?”

  “Madsen told me you were prophetic, that you could see glimpses into the past and future. I need to know if there’s any chance that your visions could somehow give me a clue on how to break the spell.”

  “I don’t dabble in casting—”

  “And I’m not asking you to. I just want to know if there’s a way that you could maybe see how the spell was performed, or maybe even see how I eventually break it. Hell, even if you could tell me whether or not I still have the branding in the future… I’ll take anything I can get.”

  She at last sighed. “I can’t control what I see.”

  “And I understand that.”

  Lucinda nodded, gesturing me to the reading table. We both took a seat on opposite sides, and she fanned out what I assumed were tarot cards.

  “Run your hand over the deck,” she instructed. “It’ll help connect me with your energy.”

  I did as she said, letting my palm hover just above each card as I drew my hand across the entire deck.

  “Good.” The woman ushered my hand away, sliding out three cards at random from the pile. She flipped the first, revealing the depiction of a reaping skeleton. It was labeled Death.

  Not a promising start…

  The next, a picture of a man being strung up by one leg, labeled The Hangman. Though, the image was upside-down.

  Lastly, a card titled The Three of Swords, where a trio of blades pierced a bleeding heart. It too was upside-down.

  “Interesting,” the woman murmured, more to herself.

  “What?”

  “Each card represents a stage in your life. Past, present, and future.”

  Well, Death definitely seemed accurate, being as how Blaine had already killed me and all. But the rest…? “So I died, only to come back and be hanged before getting stabbed in the chest? Very encouraging,” I huffed.

  “It’s not always so literal. In fact, it’s quite rare.” She gestured for me to give her my hand again. Turning it over, her fingertips softly grazed over the lines inside my palm, making the skin tickle ever so slightly.

  Lucinda closed her eyes and hummed quietly, focusing her touch on the mating rune. A good minute or so passed before she gasped. Her spine stiffened in an instant as her grip on my hand tightened. I panicked, trying to pull away. It was no use. The woman’s eyes flew open, only to roll back into her head until there was nothing showing but white.

  Her voice came out ragged, as if strangled. It didn’t even sound like her. Each syllable dragged out in a low, vicious hiss. “Mors venit ad vos.”

  Suddenly, against all my willpower, my eyelids grew heavy. Unable to rip free from the woman’s grasp, rapid imagery ran through my mind like a film reel gone awry. I couldn’t make much out, but a glimpse of woodlands and an open field… Something blasted through the air. A gunshot! A sharp pain instantly tore into my shoulder. But it paled in comparison to the slow, deliberate drag of steel plunging into the left side of my chest not a moment later!

  “Sanguis quia sanguis.”

  I reeled back, nearly falling out of my chair as I at last managed to yank my hand free from Lucinda’s hold. My eyes flung open, the pain disappearing in an instant. Lucinda startled away too, seeming to also regain consciousness.

  I mindlessly examined myself, finding no wound where the momentary agony promised there’d be. I knocked my chair over as I scrambled back. “What the hell was that?”

  “Your…your death,” she muttered.

  Praying that perhaps we saw different things, I asked, “Was it a car accident, by any chance? That’s how I first—”

  She shook her head, her hand involuntarily covering her mouth as she looked down at the last tarot card. At the image of the swords piercing a heart.

  ***

  To say the news put a damper on things would have been putting it kindly. Not only had I learned nothing helpful from the trip, but I was officially freaked. From what Lucinda could see, her vision had been from the vantage point of my killer, so she couldn’t help in identifying the culprit. I’d relayed the session to Dr. Madsen, who confirmed the fortuneteller’s suspicions. Something about the mating bond had triggered the vision.

  Somehow, someway, I was going to die—because of Blaine. Only this time, there would be no coming back.

  But when? And why?

  Attempting to pay attention during my remaining classes for the day was the last thing on my mind. Amid the constant yammering from my teachers, I tried desperately to fend off the darkness behind my sinking eyelids. Every time I’d begin to doze off, my mind continued to replay snippets of the vision, particularly the painful parts.

  “I didn’t know you could draw.”

  Hannah’s voice snapped me out of my mini-nap, and my eyes shot to the open notebook sitting on my desk. The pencil immediately
rolled out of my hand. “What the hell?”

  “It’s really cool. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s kinda creepy, but still…” She sighed, doodling something of her own on the corner of her Literature homework. A simple smiley face.

  It wasn’t that I couldn’t draw; it was the fact that I didn’t know I had been. I’d closed my eyes a good ten minutes ago, when the only thing in front of me had been a blank sheet of notebook paper. Now, the entire page was filled with an intricate design I’d never seen before. Two swords were crossed together, making what looked like an upside-down crucifix. And there was a gigantic snake wrapped around the blades, seeming to consume fire. I looked down at my drawing hand, seeing my fingertips completely gray from the shading I hadn’t realized I’d been doing.

  Staring back at the illustration, my eyelids drew heavy again. Something flashed behind my closed eyes, and the sound of a gunshot blasted again. Gasping at the searing pain, I startled awake with a stifled yelp.

  Just as before, I was okay. The instant I opened my eyes, the pain vanished.

  “Kat, you okay?” Hannah muttered, looking at me in concern, along with the rest of the class.

  Um…no.

  Chapter 6

  Sweet Dreams

  Today was not my day. Things continued to get weirder, and by Math, something just didn’t feel right. Electricity clung to the air as the skies continued to darken to the point that it looked like it was nighttime. The windows lining the side of the classroom continued to emit a low howl as devastating gusts of wind battered the building, and the bare branch tips to the birch tree right next to the school scraped shrilly across the glass pane. Mr. Kroeger tried his best to earn our attention, but as soon as the lights began to flicker, we all lost interest in the lesson plan. Though most of the students were praying that the electricity would go out, forcing the school to call an early dismissal, I found myself unable to shake off the sensation of a looming threat. One unassociated with the weather. My heart was suddenly racing, my inner core felt oddly cold, my palms were sweating, my chest was tightening, and a faintness had washed over me.