by Lexi Ostrow
“Sorry,” Alcott mumbled and stepped to the side.
Her heart fluttered — whether from excitement that she hadn’t imagined him or relief that someone hadn’t broken in to kill her, she couldn’t be certain. “You’re here,” she said casually as she pulled a bottle of water out and closed the door, all without turning her back on him.
“I cannot go anywhere. I had a special arrangement with the man who used to go by the name Ryce, you know him as the prick that laid out the rules. I was allowed to stay in his realm, grow stronger and become more than I was written to be. I blackmailed him to get it, if you’re curious. He had to change his name because I figured it out. Anyway, it apparently means that I can find you via our connection when you leave me behind, but I am not zapped into the pages of my novel. Instead, I’m stuck wherever you’ve left me.”
She took a sip of water and tried to act as nonchalant as she could with the information. There was too much going on, and it seemed as if all the rules changed whenever they felt like it. The only thing that hadn’t been altered was the way looking at him seemed to make her smile. Connection or not, she certainly found him attractive.
“Well then, I guess that means you’ll have to be more careful with how you interact with me then. I assume being something akin to a ghost would be rather boring for two years.”
His eyes flashed a dark blue. “It would be inconvenient. I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. Or rather, how I said it. I am honored to have been chosen by someone who is interested in more than the world they can see. You are beautiful, and I can assure you that the small bouts of lust you are feeling are happening to me as well.
“However, I grew fond of my last Guardian without any strings attached. I would like to continue down that path with you. I, likely more than any Guardian, understand the need to strengthen a partnership in a physical way. Still, if it is alright by you, I would prefer to come to that bond in time. We have no need to rush things, and if we select books together, I can assure you of my ability to protect you.”
She didn’t want to admit that his words were not only logical but were also rather admirable. She smiled despite herself at the idea of a sexy, attractive man wanting to take things slow. It was different than the drunk tourists that typically pawed at her, and while she certainly knew a seduction between them would be more than welcome, the idea of treating whatever the strange connection was like a relationship made it feel oddly intimate for someone she had just met.
“I respect that. In fact, I’m rather pleased to know that the honorable man you were written to be is still lingering deep inside you. I would like to approach this in any manner that the veteran sees fit. I promise you, I won’t shed my clothes and force myself on you.”
Alcott gave a short, curt laugh and smiled. “I am glad to hear it.”
She could practically feel her next question burning away, like an itch that would not quell. Twice she had been given the distinct impression that something had not gone as planned with his prior Guardian. Not to mention that the past was clearly haunting Alcott.
“If we are going to do this, in any fashion, I want to know your past. You’ve had other . . . assignees. One that was clearly near and dear to your heart. I want to know what went wrong and where they are.”
The darkness that overtook him almost suffocated her. His blue eyes shadowed slightly, and his brows knit together so furiously that it was as if they became one. A tangible thickness filled the area around them, and Kellie wondered just how much of his magic was based on energy patterns and how much was the stuff of fairy tales and wand waving.
“My past with a prior Guardian doesn’t shape my abilities or capabilities with you. I am not asking about your past, you have no need to ask about mine.” His words were a loud growl that felt as if they could shake the ground with their intensity.
As quickly as the anger had come on, it drained out of Alcott’s eyes, replaced by a look marred with fear. He shook his head, closed his eyes and blew out a slow breath. “Now, while you were away, I thought of something. You are Wiccan, are you not?”
Kellie was torn between keeping quiet about his past or pushing forward. There will be time. Secrets do not always remain as such, and if you are treating this like a true friendship, they will come to light when you trust one another.
Focusing on his questions, she realized how differently he’d asked it than her aunt and uncle would have. She appreciated that there had been no disdain in his voice. She supposed, with him being a true witch like the ones in fairy tales, there would be little room to put down her beliefs.
“I like to consider myself one, though I’ve always been a loner. There are many true Wiccans in New Orleans, but I had some less than desirable experiences trying to find a coven as a teen. I decided being on my own was still honoring the Goddess.”
Alcott smiled again — a warm and wonderful smile that made her all the happier with being stuck with him.
“I was rather hoping you would say that. I will always be here. Never doubt that. My last Guardian almost never saw anything occur, and I will do my best to ensure the same with you. However, I would like to try something different. Or rather, something extra. Can you cast a protection spell? One you would truly believe in?”
She thought the latter part of his question was a little strange, but nodded. “I have cast many while walking home in the dark. I love my city, but it is not always the safest.”
Alcott looked pleased with her response. “Good. I will leave you to that. I have had plenty of time to place wards around the windows and doors, but with you out somewhere, I was unable to help you directly.” The hint of displeasure over her leaving was obvious.
“I have a small room near my own that I have set up for spell work. I know from your story that you need very little prep work. It is not so while practicing energy magic.” She started to walk out of the kitchen and paused. “What will you be doing?”
“I’ll remain here. Your roommate cannot see me. There is nothing I can do without you in this world, and I suspect you would like your privacy. My mother always did.”
While his words had held no emotion, she was stricken with grief as she recalled the moment she’d connected with his character — when his brother had murdered their mother.
She’d never known her mother, but her father had been stricken down by friendly fire. While certainly not a purposeful act, the idea of a loved one killing another tormented her. Kellie forced herself to smile and walked out of the kitchen.
She could almost feel him slip away as she put distance between then, a sensation she hadn’t noticed when she’d stormed out. It was odd, really, to care so much about someone being there that she had just met. Opening the door to the small hallway closet she used as a sacred space, she couldn’t stop the smile as she inhaled the lush pine and lavender scent.
Every person cleansed their space in a different way. She preferred to use smells that reminded her of the master bath in her father’s house that was filled with cologne and shampoo, because such things made her feel as if he was with her once more. Picking up the pack of matches from the stool, the only furniture in there, she struck one and a lit a white candle, purity, for light.
Tugging the door closed behind her, she sat cross-legged in the center of the room. She wasn’t certain how other Wiccan’s would feel about it, but she had found leaving her circle cast, even when she was not using it, was more powerful than drawing the elements each time. It gained power from being left intact, despite what others would say.
Closing her eyes, she visualized a small blue glow forming around her. Gradually, the pale light grew and enveloped her. Focusing on maintaining the azure radiance she began to whisper. “Protect me, that is the key.” Repeating the small prayer twice more, she finished, “By the power of three times three, so shall it be.”
Slowly, she allowed the glowing blue aura around her to diminish. Most protection spells were temporary, and she hoped th
at this smaller one would be enough to shield her. “It’s not as if you know how large the threat even is,” she muttered, opening her eyes and rising off the wooden floor. It felt a little strange, only asking the Goddess to protect her when Alcott was clearly in any danger that she was in, but he’d been specific in protecting herself. Perhaps he thought she couldn’t work with energy enough to protect them both since she’d never truly belonged to a coven.
Shrugging off the thought, she pushed the door open and was shocked to see Alcott leaning against the opposite wall. Her heart stopped beating for the slightest second as she looked him over. He appeared every bit the model she’d always pictured him to be, but buffer. His caramel-blond hair was more mussed than spiked, something she always found attractive in a man. With his arms crossed over his chest, she could see the way his black shirt pulled taut over big pecs and large biceps. His blue eyes were staring intently at her, as if he’d sensed her finishing her spell and had walked to confirm it. She was thankful she didn’t feel a wet drop of drool on her lips because mortification wasn’t really her thing. Alcott, however, was most definitely her thing.
“It is done then.” His words were more of an observation than a question.
“Yes.” She looked down at the ground and felt slightly like her awkward teen self, waiting for Finn DeLucio to ask her dance at homecoming. “What happens next?”
Alcott smiled, a playful lift of his lips that did reach his eyes. “We continue to live.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. While you read, dangerous things will sense your powers — both on their own and because the other brother will urge them too — and that is where I come in. You are a Word Speaker. Reading is in your blood, and it would be futile to attempt to not read altogether.
I have been with Ry — the brother that came to you in the trench coat when Word Speakers have tried to stop. Their Guardian somehow begins to weaken, as if ignoring what they are causes more harm than any could imagine.” He looked puzzled as if the idea of anything hurting a figment of reality was strange to him. “So, we go on. As far as I can tell, I am stuck here. I would like to go out on my own, but I am tied to you. I will, of course, remain out of your way unless you wish me not to.” There wasn’t even the slightest hint that Alcott cared either way.
“I think some alone time, not always, but sometimes, would be rather preferable. What happens if something does go wrong? How will you know if I’m taken unaware?”
“There is a link between us. I can hear your thoughts, sense when things are wrong.” He laughed, likely at the startled look on her face. “Not all the time. Just in times of danger. Though, with my powers, I am able to look into your mind if I wish. I give you my word that I will not.”
Blowing out a breath through her nose, she offered him a lopsided, not totally convincing, smile. “Well then, I think I’d like to search my kindle for something to read. Make yourself at home if you haven’t already.”
He gave her a slight nod and walked out, almost dismissively, but not quite as rude. Turning down the hall just to her left, she went to her room and debated closing the door. She wasn’t certain if having to open a door if she was attacked would be disastrous or not, so she left it open and climbed into her soft Tempurpedic.
Leaning over, she grabbed her Kindle off the nightstand and powered it on. She had an entire library of books that she’d downloaded prior, but she couldn’t help but want to read Alcott’s second book. He had warned her off, but he’d also successfully protected her from Cal already. Pulling up the book on the webstore, she one-clicked and snuggled into her bed as it downloaded. She had a feeling it wasn’t the smartest way to start their partnership off, but curiosity killed the best of cats.
Chapter Five
Hayley took off her lab coat and hung it up on the peg near the door before walking out. He nearly growled as she left his sight. He’d learned that her hanging up the coat meant lunch, not going home.
“Which means now is the only time to go see what you can learn.”
He didn’t often travel to see anyone that wasn’t a Word Speaker, except to get laid, and it had been some time since that too. But he didn’t have a choice anymore. Kellie appearing on his radar had further piqued his interest about her cousin. Truthfully, just the simple act of watching her often had done that, but he’d been wondering if she wasn’t struggling to fully awaken as Word Speaker as well.
With merely a thought, he flashed himself inside the lab. He needn’t worry about being seen, as he could be as invisible as he wished, and often was when guiding his warriors. The sterile smell or rather, the utter lack of smell in the lab surprised him. He knew Hayley worked with specimens of all kinds, from excrement to blood. Naturally, he’d expected that the smells would permeate the air, even in a clean environment.
Moving on, he looked around. He’d watched her log into her computer enough to make out her password. The problem was that he wasn’t alone, and a computer moving through screens on its own typically drew attention or ended with the plug being pulled. Instead, he moved over to the coat and fished around the pockets.
“There it is,” he grinned as he pulled out a small, thin wallet.
Flipping it open he was even more pleased to see her Louisiana driver’s license behind a thin piece of plastic. That was where his enjoyment of the situation stopped. His eyes stared at the small numbers indicating her year of birth, 1984. Hayley was most certainly not a Word Speaker. Passing twenty-seven was the only way to truly determine if someone couldn’t be one.
Frustrated, he snapped the leather wallet closed and stuffed it back into the coat. Practically growling at the situation, he flashed back to his home, into his gym. Whatever had created that tear, leaving Hayley consistently exposed to him, had absolutely nothing to do with Word Speakers and Guardians. It was probably some dumb coincidence. He needed to learn to ignore it and her.
Cal rubbed the back of his head, trying to remember just what it had been like before he’d been a skilled enough witch to heal himself.
“Likely a fucking pain,” he said, smirking into the mirror at how he’d been able to perfectly restore his appearance. “Alcott is getting lazy. He tried much harder to actually kill me with his last Word Speaker,” Cal mused and spun away from the mirror.
He’d been startled to see the terrifying god-like man in leather appear once more. It had been years since he’d been any sort of pawn in the war. But, the idea of getting another crack at removing his do-gooder brother from existence was more than he was able to resist.
Cal was wronged, but that wouldn’t change anything. Alcott would destroy him. He knew his brother would seek revenge for their dearly departed mother.
Cal’s head jerked upright as he heard the sensual voice narrating his life. For a moment, he was confused, and then he realized that the Word Speaker must have picked up the second book. That meant he’d have more allies to draw on during the next attack.
“Do remove such a ridiculous grin from your face. You’ve been nothing but a failure to me, do not think you are better than you are,” a voice growled from behind Cal.
His blood ran cold. He hated when the man in leather — Demus as he called himself — showed up. Not simply because it always took him unaware, but because Cal knew he was powerless against a creature that lived between worlds and was nearly as old as the world he called the “true world”.
“I only failed because you assured me that Alcott had not yet approached the Word Speaker. Instead, you dropped me directly into a scenario where my brother was alert, and somehow, more powerful than ever before.”
“Yes, well, my brother has begun to break rules as well. Rules that give him control over things best left to me. Your brother has had the entire time, since his departure from his last Word Speaker, to grow. My brother kept him alive, between realms, and trained him. It would appear that he was nervous after losing Ciara’s power to one so close to my side.”
Dem
us’ voice was laced with a bitterness so strong that Cal could practically taste it on the air. “And that is my fault then? Because my supposedly weak and small brother is suddenly far more powerful and built like a house because your brother allowed it to be so?”
Cal felt the crack of bone before the agony of it raced over him. He tried to cry out, but was only able to gasp. A small trickle of blood seeped over the seam of his lips, and the warmth trickled down his chin.
“Do continue to struggle and insult me. You have at least two ribs puncturing your lungs at this very moment. Continue to speak, to cast magic or anything else that is not respecting me and doing as you are told, and you will likely suffocate or bleed to death.”
The words were already growing distant as Cal desperately clawed at his neck, trying to force any magic he might possess into healing himself — a skill he most certainly did not have. Tears quickly tracked down his face as he scrambled for any air that he could choke down, doing his best to ignore the searing pain.
“Why I am doing this is utterly beyond me. I must like seeing that brother of yours have a shit fit as much as I like seeing mine have one.” Demus stepped closer and held out his hand. A moment later, brilliant white light flowed from his palm to Cal’s chest. “There. Don’t make me regret that.”
Air rushed into Cal’s lungs, nearly knocking him backward at the force of finally being able to breathe properly again. His hands stopped clawing at his throat, and he used them to wipe away the salty tracks left on his face. For the briefest of seconds, he could feel his eyes narrow into a threatening glare. As quickly as he’d started, he pulled the expression off, knowing that angering Demus again would be stupid beyond belief.
“Now, you are going to go after Kellie and your brother again. Immediately. I do not want to risk them becoming a happy partnership. I have grown in number since you were last summoned, but my brother seems to be gaining all the power.” Demus waved his hand and the air next to him began to distort. It rippled and shimmered just as any doorway did, and then it turned black.
