A Touch of Brimstone (Magic of the Damned Book 1)

by McKenzie Hunter

“They must have a weakness. Vampires can be staked and silver affects shifters. You’re telling me that witches don’t have an Achilles heel?”

  “Ah, they do. Iridium metal prevents them from performing magic. It needs to be a cuff at least three inches wide. Anything smaller weakens them but doesn’t inhibit their magic. There are some archaic spells that can obstruct it and weaken them. But good luck finding the spellbooks that contain those spells. Witches have spent much of their lives and resources wiping them from existence.”

  “But you have some.”

  I took his sly smirk as an admission. “Witches have no need to align with humans to protect themselves. Of the supernaturals, they are the most adaptive. Before technology, there was no such thing as techno-magic. Now there are witches who are experts at it. What controls your planes, missiles, bombs, and communication? Technology. Witches have the ability to control weather, time travel, and perform strong defensive magic. Seers are loosely aligned to witches, which gives them a prescient advantage. You are under the naïve illusion that humans would be a match against us. It wouldn’t even be close. It wouldn’t be humans against a few supernaturals, it would be against all of them. Alliances would form against the common enemy. Humans.”

  His hand pressed gently against my back, guiding me along another path, toward the patio. The curtains of the pergola were tied back, revealing a large round stone table with a marble top and a centerpiece of rose petals floating in a low bowl, illuminated by candles. A meal of glazed chicken, salad, roasted carrots, and an assortment of breads was laid out, along with two bottles of wine. I had no intention of drinking any more, but I’d probably get a chocolate high from gorging on the platter of decadent-looking chocolates. Forgoing the plate Dominic placed in front of me, I ate two chocolates and knew the platter was coming with me. I sipped on water between bites of food. Dominic took more sips from his glass of wine than he took bites of food.

  “Do you not need to eat?” I finally asked.

  “I eat.”

  The vagueness of his answer made me wonder if this was another thing he had in common with vampires.

  “I eat food,” he offered, amusement flickering across his face. He read me too well, and that was going to be a problem. Although Dominic was content with the ensuing silence, I wasn’t. I hoped the two glasses of wine he’d drunk meant he’d be even more free with information, although I suspected alcohol didn’t affect him the way it did humans. Perhaps it was just an indulgence that he thoroughly enjoyed.

  With each sip, he made the wine seem even more enticing. I took a small sip from the glass he’d poured for me.

  That pleased him.

  “I’m glad you tried it. No need to be so guarded with me, Luna. As you said, we don’t need to be adversarial. Our interests align, despite our motives being different.”

  “Exactly.” I raised my glass to him, took another small sip, and set it on the table. “But you have to understand my lack of knowledge makes me a weakness, not an asset.”

  “Of course, Luna,” he said in a cool, husky voice. Despite schooling all emotions from my face, his expression held a knowing look. He seemed unconvinced that my interest was solely in order to be a better asset. Suspicion existed between us and complicated our tenuous alliance.

  “How can I make this better for you?” Dominic asked.

  The BS between us was stacked high and reeked. But we ignored it and continued with our faux pleasantries, aware that the only thing that aligned us was mutual distrust and strategic maneuvering for the advantage.

  “What troubles you, Luna?”

  His question snapped the tendril that was holding things together for me.

  “All of it, Dominic! Four days ago, I was the weird one because of my odd reading choices. I wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that anything in The Discovery of Magic was remotely true.”

  “Most of what’s in The Discovery of Magic isn’t remotely true,” he said drily.

  “I know, but the factual information about supernaturals is even more difficult to process. The most complex thing about all the new information is you.”

  Amusement flashed. “Me?”

  “Yep. I need to know about your magic as it relates to other supernaturals. How similar is it? You can go between here and my world, a version of what vampires can do. You can do spells, control elements, and…” Helena could grow claws and slice and dice people like a well-dressed wolverine. What she did wasn’t exactly shifter-ish, but it was an aspect of it. Dominic traveled through the worlds with ease, and he possessed strong magical abilities. “Helena has claws. Do you? Can you shift like the shifters? One minute, will I be standing in front of you, a man—or whatever you are—and the next I need to give you a raw steak or doggie treat to distract you from attacking?”

  His lips twitched but he didn’t give in to the smile. He put down his glass. His eyes remained trained on me as he pushed from his chair and walked to me. His eyes locked with mine as his index finger elongated and the nail extended into a gruesome and scary-looking claw.

  A sharp breath caught in my throat when he ran it along my neck with so much control that it was a feather touch grazing over my skin. A shiver ran through me when he leaned in closer.

  “I can’t shift into an animal, so no treats necessary,” he whispered, his warm breath teasing my bottom lip. The solitary claw vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Once he had eased away, I grabbed another chocolate from the platter, slowly unwrapping it from the gold paper, and popped it in my mouth. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction of either my fear or my intrigue.

  “Continue,” I told him. “I don’t need the watered-down version.”

  He didn’t immediately speak. Perhaps he was debating how much to share with me. I forced a look of impassivity and waited patiently.

  “Unlike the shifters, silver doesn’t bother me. My magic is strong, comparable to a Strata Three witch, but I can’t control the weather and I don’t possess any techno-magical abilities. I don’t have seer abilities, either, which is why we employ Nailah… who seems to have a soft spot for you.” His eyes sharpened on me, his lips pulling into a thin, tight line. Nailah’s information sharing hadn’t gone unnoticed. “I’m skilled at spell casting and weaving, but to the witches’ disappointment, I do not share their weakness to iridium.”

  “But you do have weaknesses?”

  He chuckled. “Of course, but none that I care to share.”

  “You can zone?”

  He shook his head. “Unlike the vampires, I don’t zone. I can only move between the Underworld and another location. For example, if I travel to your apartment, I must return home first before going to another destination.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. The disclosure of his limitation and information was clearly a struggle for him. He took a slow sip of wine. Both of us were in a state of wary apprehension. It weighed so heavily on me, it was doubtful that I kept it from my expression.

  “Go on, Luna,” he urged. Averting my gaze to the garden, I tried to work out how to make my request in a persuasive way. This was a delicate dance.

  “We both want this over and I just can’t totally stop my life to be at your beck and call, and I’m sure you have other responsibilities as well. I believe it would advantageous to us both if I didn’t have to rely on you or Anand to travel here.”

  “You’d like to come to the Underworld freely, without an escort?” He seemed surprised.

  “Not indefinitely. Just until the spells are undone. Then we return to our normal lives. You imprisoning the most horrible of the supernaturals while apparently pissing off the others, and me to my family, friends, job, and normal life with none of this.” I waved my hand, including him in it along with the mystical garden. It was a place of unique beauty that under any other circumstances I would have found enchanting.

  “Is that what you truly want?” he asked. That confirmed he hadn’t destroyed all the Trapsens; he just didn’t want anyon
e else to have one.

  My mind was winding around everything Nailah told me. Despite my suspicion that he was aware of everything she’d disclosed, I was committed to not betraying any of her confidences. I had to navigate delicately.

  I nodded. Without Dominic and Anand being so entwined in my daily life, if things went into a downward spiral, I could escape. I had four thousand dollars in my savings account. It wouldn’t get me far, but I could lie low enough to figure things out.

  “And?” he asked. “There seems to be more, Luna.” Relaxing back against the chair, he stared at me, cold wariness moving over his face. The smoldering fire in his eyes sent chills through me.

  “I have every intention of helping you undo the spells, but I need to know that my friends and family are safe. No more erasing their memories—”

  “I didn’t erase his memories, I simply manipulated aspects of it so he would forget the ring and what you told him.”

  “Exactly. I want to protect the people I care about from that. Leave them out of this. I need you to make that oath to me and that whatever happens, I come out on the other side, alive and unharmed.”

  It was a big ask. Go big or go home. Although going home wasn’t really an option.

  Dominic’s jaw clenched like he was biting back words. Was he about to deny the request or stop himself from agreeing?

  “He won’t make such a promise to you,” Helena hissed, a wine bottle in one hand and partially filled oversized wine glass in the other. She had changed into a shimmering, billowy, mint-green, long-sleeve dress. The severe bun she’d pulled her hair into made her features appear sharper.

  Unconstrained anger filled her eyes, and it was directed solely at Dominic. “My brother is calculating and strategic at all times. For now, you are of use to him. Despite him finding you entertaining, it adds little value to your life. If he determines there’s more benefit to your death, he won’t think twice. But you don’t know that, do you, Luna?” She was gifted with her brother’s ability to add just the right inflection, modulation, and venom to make my name sound like a curse. Like something vile to be spat out.

  Peeling her eyes from Dominic’s, she finally looked at me, staring at me over the glass before tossing back the remainder of the wine. “For now, you’re the queen in his game of chess. He will protect the queen, sacrificing anyone as a pawn to do so, including me.” She put the bottle and glass on the table and yanked up her sleeves, revealing rust-color interlocking glyphs encircling both of her wrists like manacles.

  Dominic maintained a chilly indifference as he leveled his eyes with hers.

  “You weren’t sacrificed. You offered yourself as a sacrifice by your actions,” he said, then took a leisurely drink, banked fire hot in his glare.

  I shot up to standing, backing away when Helena grabbed the wine bottle off the table, smashed it against the edge, and pointed the jagged edges of the bottle at him.

  Fuck this psychotic family. This level of dysfunction was only acceptable in poorly scripted TV. I did not know what to do. Should I attempt to deescalate the situation? Was that even possible? Or maybe this was the time to call their father? Hey, Lord of the Underworld, come get your terrible ass kids. One is about to assault the other. The one being assaulted doesn’t seem too worried about it.

  Dominic remained unbothered, choosing to take another slow, indulgent sip from his glass.

  Helena’s anger was stormy and pervasive. “Return my fucking magic!” Helena shrieked, bringing the jagged glass toward his neck, which Dominic was so kindly baring to her. A taunt and a challenge.

  Frozen in indecision, Helena seemed coiled for violence. Her breath came at irregular clips. It might have been the first time she didn’t give in to her first impulse. That denial showed in the furl of her frown.

  In helpless rage, she released the bottle at his feet. While they held each other’s stare in an icy silence that stretched, I became a voyeur, gawking at a family dispute instead of having the good grace to look away.

  I snapped myself out of it and started to slowly inch away from them, afraid that a sudden movement would draw her ire. Her need for violence was wound so tight, it was just looking for a target.

  “As you pointed out, I protect the queen. And far too often, a princess undeserving of such protections,” Dominic whispered.

  The moment was forged in hostility. She glared back at me, her hatred intensified by the belief that I had dethroned her. I did not want her to believe that or to think she needed to wrench the position back by any means.

  “I hate you!” Helena bellowed. I thought it was directed at me—after all, she probably blamed me for her magic being restricted and not her clawing her brother’s face. But a declaration with such impassioned vehemence came from years of emotional connection. It could never be directed at some random stranger—despite how she perceived my part in having her magic restricted. And that’s exactly who I was. Some random stranger, pulled into this complex world, who had caused cataclysmic problems.

  “A pronouncement you make often when you are forced to deal with a miniscule consequence for your actions. You hate me. Okay. That dagger has dulled from overuse. Find another way to hurt me, you’ve exhausted that one.”

  She whipped around, stomping past me while Dominic stood and began picking up the large pieces of glass. It seemed to provide a moment of catharsis.

  “Luna, you may return to your seat. We have more to discuss.”

  We did, but we weren’t going to do it then. I wanted—no, needed to be away from him.

  “We can talk later. Perhaps you need some time to mend things with Helena.”

  “The mere fact you suggested that shows you do not know my sister,” he offered with a wry twist of his lips. He was still gathering the broken glass as if there was something symbolic in the gesture—cleaning up a mess that Helena had created.

  “Goodnight, Dominic,” I said.

  He looked up momentarily and smiled at the sight of me grabbing handfuls of chocolates.

  “We’ll talk later.”

  “Tomorrow, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Before he could object, I moved swiftly toward the house, stopping at the fridge to get some water before going to my room. I locked the door and pushed one of the accent chairs in front of it. It was doubtful it would do anything to stop anyone in this house from entering, but it gave me a small sense of security. At least I’d hear it move.

  Pacing the floor, I thought that despite Helena’s histrionics, there was truth to the things she said about Dominic. Him being calculating wasn’t a surprise, but I wondered at what point he would perceive my life as a liability rather than an asset. Unformed plans and tactics ran rapidly through my mind, but none had a high rate of success because magic, the supernaturals’ world, and their rules were unreliable variables.

  A ragged breath caught in my throat at the knock on the door.

  “May I come in?” Dominic’s voice was low, entreating.

  “No.”

  The chair against the door slid from its position, levitated, and was eased down in a silent, sweeping movement that rendered its purpose obsolete. A sliver glow flicked along the inside of the door and Dominic strolled in, hands in pockets, face expressionless, and pitfall-deep eyes sharpening on me.

  “Why ask if I didn’t have a choice?”

  He shrugged. “The illusion of choice can be comforting.”

  “Anything tied to this situation has no comfort.” Including you.

  Walking farther into the room, his eyes dropped from mine. “We hadn’t finished our conversation.”

  “I felt it was necessary for you to resolve the issue between you and Helena so your next interaction isn’t a homicide.”

  “Helena was just venting,” he offered in a tone too passive for someone who had enraged his sibling to the point of them holding a broken bottle to their throat.

  “Well, it was kind of you to give her better access to those vital arteries she was aiming fo
r.”

  His lips curled slightly and he lifted his eyes to meet mine, showing a primal amusement.

  We fell into an uneasy silence.

  “Are you two always so…” I searched for the word. Dysfunctional? Masochistic? Ridiculous? Unhinged? “Intense?”

  “Sometimes Helena doesn’t like me very much.”

  I wasn’t sure she even loved him. I saw the rampant hate in her eyes and the thirst for retaliation.

  “What about you?”

  “Sometimes I don’t like her, either.”

  That was fair. Three years older than my twenty-three-year-old brother, I got into fights with him that devolved into childish antics. But I could proudly report neither one of us clawed each other’s face or held a broken bottle to the other’s throat. Despite our fights, we still loved each other. I wasn’t sure that was true with him and Helena.

  “Our conversation, we never finished it,” he reminded me. I wondered if he didn’t like revealing that part of him or being reminded of the dysfunction of their relationship.

  “Is there anything more to discuss? Based on what Helena said, you’d never make a promise to protect my life.”

  His jaw clenched and with some effort, it relaxed. “You would like a way to return here on your own, correct?”

  This was his concession and the only thing I’d get from him.

  “It would make things easier.” My heart pounded at the anticipation of some freedom. Leniency in supervision would give me some options of escape if necessary.

  He nodded once. “I think that’s a good idea. I will make those arrangements.”

  When he started in my direction, I shuffled back a few steps, increasingly aware of his all-consuming presence. There was a feeling of something ominous and foreboding lurking just barely below the surface.

  I held my breath, realizing they were coming at rapid clicks at his approach. He touched my hair, running his hand lightly over the loose strands that had fallen from my ponytail, twining them around his fingers, holding my eyes the entire time. With one quick jerk, he pulled out some strands and was at the door before I could react.