by J. G. Massie
Awakened
Magic
By
J. G. Massie
Copyright J. G. Massie 2019
All rights reserved
Prologue
Squinting against the discomfort, I rolled away from the morning light filtering down through the canopy of leaves. Between my crispy, crunchy bed of leaves and an endless drizzle that seemed to go on all night long, deep sleep had been hard to come by. Throw in the occasional nightmare whenever I did manage to drift off, and this was a night I’d just as well forget. I’ll just chalk this night up to pure suckiness and leave it at that.
I thought about going back to sleep, but everyone else was already up. Even with my eyes closed, I could practically feel their shadows passing back and forth across my damp face. “All right, I give up,” I groaned, rolling up from my crackling pile of nature. “Any chance we could get delivery at this hour? I’m starving.”
My attempted joke didn’t really go over so well. Mandla flashed me a weak smile, but no one else even acknowledged me. Lindsey and Margie were kicking around their makeshift beds, trying to destroy the evidence that we were here, as far as I could tell. Marco and Turner were too busy patting themselves down to notice anything, oblivious to the world as they checked to make sure all their weapons were still in place.
“Sheesh, tough crowd,” I mumbled under my breath. But then I remembered why the energy seemed so awkward this morning.
All that magic talk from last night must have rattled them worse than I thought, particularly Lindsey, who hadn’t so much as glanced at me yet. What was the big deal anyway? I mean, after learning about the existence of vampires and werewolves, then learning that I was a Keeper charged with uniting the underworld for the sake of all mankind, the idea of dabbling in a little magic seemed pretty damn tame in comparison.
I pressed my rumbling stomach with two hands to help tame the sound. I was only half kidding about getting some delivery. Man, I could eat a horse right about now, but the last thing I wanted to do was start bitching about how hungry I was. I needed to prove to the others that I could be tough too.
Okay, not thinking about eggs, or sausage, or bacon, or—Grrr... Stop it!
When it rumbled again, I decided that maybe just a little bitching might be in order. And I knew exactly which shoulder to go cry on.
“Hey!” I glanced around, confused. “Has anyone seen Isaac?” I needed to whine. Of all the times for him to run off...
“He left about half an hour ago,” Turner said as he kicked around his own bed of leaves. I really hoped none of them actually believed this half-assed effort to break up our camp was actually going to fool anyone. If anything, it looked like the aftermath from a Slayer mosh pit. “Said he had something to take care of. I don’t know...”
I went from agitated to worried in about two seconds flat. “You let him go off on his own?” With an island full of vampires searching for us, that hardly seemed like the best idea.
“Hey, don’t blame me,” Turner shrugged. “It’s not my turn to babysit him. Besides, he’s a big boy. I’m pretty sure he can take care of himself.”
A brief gust of wind blew up against my back. I smiled, resisting the urge to spin around and throw my arms around him. No way, better not seem too eager. Make him earn my affection for a change. “Surprise,” he whispered in my ear. When I turned around, Isaac had both hands hidden behind his back. But rather than make some sort of irritating guessing game out of it, he proudly presented a basket full of berries.
Now that is how you earn my affection!
“Is this what you’ve been doing all morning?” Excited, I greedily snatched the offered basket from his grasp. “Thank you so much!”
“Sorry, I know it’s not a breakfast from McDonald’s or anything, but I did the best I could. I couldn’t risk heading into any populated areas.”
“Good job there vampy,” Turner said, swooping in out of nowhere and snatching a healthy-sized handful from the basket. “I always suspected your kind might be good for something.”
“Er, yeah...no problem,” Isaac grumbled, doing his best to keep his rising irritation in check. “Anyone else want some before we head out?” He looked around expectantly.
“Oh, it looks to me like someone else couldn’t help themselves either.” But when I moved my finger towards the line of red near the corner of his mouth, Isaac jerked away. “Hey, I’m not going to bite,” I said, wondering why I was the only one still smiling. “It’s just that you have a little berry spot of juice—”
I froze, then jerked back while cupping a hand over my mouth. Shoulders slumped, eyes on the ground, Isaac couldn’t even look at me. Tilting his chin down at an angle, he managed to wipe it on his shirt collar.
The ensuing silence was utterly painful. And worse, it was all my fault. Did I seriously forget that he was a vampire? How could I be so stupid? “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled incoherently, trying to piece together some kind of awkward apology. “I wasn’t even thinking about—” My voice trailed off in a murmur, and now both of us were staring at the ground in silence.
As much as I wanted to drop it, my curiosity still managed to get the best of me. Which made me feel even more guilty. No doubt it was blood, but whose? A squirrel, a rabbit perhaps, or maybe something bigger?
“All right, guys, let’s move out,” Marco called, his feet moving before he finished his sentence. “The longer we wait around, the harder it’s going to be to get off this island.”
“He’s right,” Isaac agreed, his hand flowing up the side of my arm. “We better get moving.” His renewed smile made my heart melt. Even after I put my foot in my mouth, he was still able to push us both through it. That meant a lot to me.
“Question,” Margie said, waving her hand to get everyone’s attention. “Can any of you walk on water? Because I’m pretty sure I can’t.”
“Who says humans aren’t an observant breed?” Marco taunted with a snap of his fingers. Margie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but said nothing. No reason to respond to his every childish barb. Besides, that still didn’t answer her implied question. “True, we no longer have a boat,” he went on, gesturing toward the shoreline off in the distance. “We don’t have a boat,” he repeated.
“But they do,” Isaac said as he looked off in the distance. “I suppose we’ll just have to borrow one.”
“Let’s not forget I recently had the displeasure of needing to blend in with these creatures,” Turner chimed in. “And among other things I learned, I know which dock is least guarded. Follow me.” Mandla was the first to fall in behind, already cracking his knuckles in anticipation of some fun. The gentle giant didn’t normally say too much, but he certainly wasn’t one to shy away from a fight.
* * *
Hiding in the bushes, we watched the water from a short distance away. It was a pretty good-sized vessel, bigger than Marco’s boat at any rate. Three vampires marched back and forth across the deck, stopping every so often to gaze out across the island.
Now that my senses had sharpened, I had also gained a better understanding of how to stay hidden. It took tremendous control, to the point where I was even weary of how fast I blinked. Closing my eyes, I strained to listen.
“Keep your eyes peeled,” the first one warned, his elbows propped up on the rail as he scanned the trees for signs of movement. “They can’t hide out forever. Sooner or later they’ll have to—” He flinched as a bolt thumped into the cabin’s doorframe just over his shoulder. Heads jolted this way and that as they tried to determine which direction the attack had come from.
Eyeing the quivering bolt, the other vampire angrily snatched the coile
d paper tied to the shaft. Still keeping a lookout, he unrolled it in one hand and read it out loud. “Whatever you do, don’t turn around.”
As if the simple words carried all the weight of a magic spell, all three turned around at once. From their blindside, Turner leapt down from the top of the cabin. A well-placed flying kick struck the first on the side of the head, sending him stumbling hard against the far rail. Rings clicking together as he landed, Turner whirled back while making a looping gesture over the head of another.
With a quick tug and twist, a smoking line formed across the vampire’s neck. Other than a brief widening of his eyes, his expression remained unchanged as his head slid from his shoulders and went bouncing along the deck.
A clawed hand lashed out but caught nothing but air when Turner sidestepped the lightning-quick strike. It was strange watching a human move so fast that it made a vampire look slow. But of course, Turner was no ordinary human. A master Keeper for many years now, he really was on a totally different level.
Turner dodged the return backhand, as well as the follow-up uppercut. With only his upper body jerking from side to side, his feet practically nailed to the ground, the taunting dance was almost comical to watch. After another loop and tug, the vampire’s hand seemed to pop free on its own. Screeching, eyes fixed on the smoldering stump, he fell to his backside and rolled onto his stomach.
Pouncing quickly, Turner made short work of the downed vampire before turning his attention to the one he kicked earlier. Just now pushing himself off the rail, he had only been out of the fight for a short period of time. But just like that, the fight was basically over.
Turner watched and waited, wondering what the vampire was going to do. His decision was quick and decisive. After having seen quite enough of this human, he simply jumped over the side with a splash.
And that was that. Three vampires up, three vampires down. To add insult to injury, the Keeper had made it look all too easy. Turner marched over to the headless body and glared down at it. Judging by the angry look on his face, it was hard to believe he was the winner here. “Whatever you do, don’t turn around?” he said, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. Of course, the vampire was quite dead, but apparently Turner still needed to get this off his chest.
“Aren’t you like hundreds of years old or something?” He shook his head and groaned in disgust. “How could you possibly have fallen for that?!” He stood up straight and smacked himself in the forehead, now looking even more disgusted. “This was Mandla’s idea, and it worked to perfection. Oh my God, I’m never going to hear the end of it!” Still shaking his head, he motioned to us that the coast was clear. As promised, we now had ourselves a boat.
A moment or two and we were off and sailing. Turner and Lindsey went down below while the rest of us stayed on deck. I had to admit, there was nothing quite like the sight of a bunch of pissed-off vampires shaking their fists at us from the beach. If they had had another boat ready, they might have actually made a chase of it. But we had already put too much distance between us and the island. And believe me, I was glad to watch it disappear from sight.
“Oh man, it feels good to get out of there!” I sang with relief, leaning up against Isaac’s shoulder. “But, um, now that we’re free.” I pivoted around to face him. “Now what?”
“I’ll tell you what now,” Marco answered instead, stepping over to invade our space. “Now that that threat has been dealt with, it’s time to push forward.”
“True enough,” Isaac agreed. “Uniting the underworld will be no easy task, but even the longest journey must start with a single step.”
“And what step is that?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer. It seemed like I was in the dark on this one.
“It is no secret that my people are the most likely to resist,” Marco admitted. Never one to mince words, at least he was honest if nothing else.
“So that is our next challenge?” I asked. “We’re going to try and solidify an allegiance with the Noctem?” Their initial silence was answer enough. Great, this is going to be so much fun! I wonder if it’s too late to turn back to Red Rock? I suspect those vampires might actually be friendlier.
“Indeed,” Marco confirmed after a lengthy pause. “Onward we sail...for Darkeum Cove.”
Chapter 1
Although I was glad to put Red Rock far behind us, finding ourselves all alone on open waters wasn’t exactly a vacation either. With nothing but angry blue kissing the water in all directions, the solitude was making me uneasy. I was quickly reminded of just how vast the ocean really was. Looking down at the breaking waters, my stomach swishing from side to side each time the boat rocked, it was all I could do to keep my breakfast down.
“Whoa. Hold on there, Tessa.” Isaac moved up from behind and slid his arms around me. “We’re almost there. It’s just a little further.”
“Really?” I asked, my spirits lifting as I peeked back at him. I knew my face had to be as green as pea soup.
“Beats me,” he admitted with a laugh. “How would I know? It’s not like I’ve ever been there.”
“Why, you...” I would have punched him in the nose if I wasn’t so seasick. “Of all the cruel, inconsiderate...”
“Calm down now. Hey, I was just trying to make you feel better.” He moved closer, his chest and rock-hard abs pressed up against my back. “So, do you feel better?”
“Go jump in a lake.” I tried to keep my head turned so he couldn’t see me grinning, but he must have heard the smile in my voice, because my scolding only made him laugh.
“Whose idea was this anyway?” Turner came and leaned against the rail right next to us. With our alone time all but vaporized, Isaac let go of me and slid to the side. “Honestly, I have no idea what’s wrong with you two.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Isaac sighed, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like we can do this without the Noctem on our side.”
“You of all people,” Turner scoffed. He turned his back to us and leaned over the rail, gazing out across the water. “In all of your dealings with the savage Noctem, have you ever once known them to be reasonable? How do you suppose this is going to end?”
“I admit they can be somewhat difficult at times.” Turner laughed at his downplaying of the situation. “Difficult at times” just might be the understatement of the century. “But I’m not so arrogant as to try and predict the future either. This time around, it will not be so simple as a difference in opinion on how to try and live together in a world we are forced to share with the humans. Even they should be able to see that this is bigger than any one race, bigger than any vampire faction. You should try having a little faith for once.”
“Faith?” Turner repeated. He summoned a huge loogie and spit over the side without turning around. “And what does a vampire know of faith?”
“Faith.” Marco scoffed as he came sauntering up. “A useless, made-up word. It’s just another way of saying luck. And quite frankly, I don’t believe in either one.” Mandla took that as his cue to go below deck and join Lindsey. He patted me on the back as he marched by, his way of saying good luck, I suppose. As far as he was concerned, vampire affairs should be left to vampires.
“As usual, you two are way off the mark,” Marco went on once Mandla was out of sight. “What the Noctem want,” he threw up a set of finger quotes, “doesn’t actually matter at all. Our society does not work like yours. There will be no vote, no show of hands deciding which plan is best for everyone. There is only the word of our leader. Me... And any who dare oppose me won’t be around long enough to inspire any others, a fact well understood by all.”
“Perhaps I missed something during all my many, many dealings with the Noctem,” Isaac interrupted, tapping his chin as if trying to remember some nagging, elusive detail. “But unless my memory fails me, it is not actually you who is in charge.” Marco’s top lip curled up in a snarl, his eyes taking on a slight hint of redness. “I was under the impression
that it was your father. You know, the same man who has ruled the Noctem for several decades now. Of course, if I am wrong about all this, then by all means please correct me.”
Marco’s long, low growl was that of a primal beast. I thought for sure he was going to lash out and the two would start tearing each other apart. But to my surprise, he quickly regained his composure and stood up straight. “A minor formality.” He shrugged, his posture cool and relaxed once more. “The torch must be passed sooner or later. That much is a fact and not up for discussion.”
“And was your father planning to pass it today?” Turner pressed. “Because that’s basically the only way that any of this happens the way you seem to think it will.”
Marco flashed up to him, his spread fingers stopping just short of Turner’s throat. “Our future heir is not in question,” Marco growled, hands trembling with violent intent. When Turner just looked at him, his sleepy-eyed expression showing no real change, Marco closed his fists and took a step back. This time it took a few deep breaths to fully compose himself.
“Marco, calm down,” Isaac chimed in, trying as usual to be the voice of reason. “As of right now, your father is still in charge. That is a fact. And although not everyone agrees with his views or methods, it is still safe to say that over the years he has probably gained a loyal following among the Noctem. That, too, is also a fact. We must look at this from every angle.”
“Agreed,” Marco reasoned, eyeing the sky as if attempting to choose his next words carefully. “I suppose I must accept that a stalemate is still a possibility, no matter how unlikely. If that were to occur, then things might get a little...interesting. You see, it really only comes down to two things. Are your interests aligned with supporting the past, or the present? If it is the former, then as far as I’m concerned, your days in our clan are now numbered. The Noctem will simply move forward without you. Those who stand in the way of progress will be deemed traitors and dealt with accordingly.”
