Celestial Magic

by T. M. Cromer

  “It’s doubtful I will, either,” he said dryly.

  “If the Aether will light the stones, we can get started.”

  Once Isolde and Sabrina were safely outside the circle, Damian moved from pillar to pillar, touching the symbol representing the elemental magic. When he was done, he crossed to stand on the opposite side of the altar, directly across from Serqet. “What’s next?”

  “This ceremony is for my sister and myself to perform. Those of you present should touch the symbol representing your magic to ground yourselves.”

  After they’d done as she directed, Serqet extended her arms, palms toward the sky. Isis mirrored the action. “Father,” Serqet called out, her voice booming like thunder. “Hear our plea and assist us in this, our time of need.”

  Lightning zagged sideways above their heads.

  “Father,” Isis called. “We need you now to help restore the souls of these two trusted Guardians.”

  A second bolt of lightning danced along the top of the pillars, and Preston felt the electric vibration down to his toes. From twenty feet away, Alastair looked as if he’d experienced the same sensation. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant, just different. Had the atmospheric lightning actually struck them they’d be barbecued right now, but this particular magic show was from the one god who knew how to play to the crowd.

  “I shall pay the forfeit, father,” Serqet said. “Their stasis was my doing. Take my life to restore theirs.”

  Preston and Isis registered the words first, and in doing so, recognized the problem. They needed Serqet for the Netherworld!

  “No!” he shouted. Forgetting himself in his frenzy to stop the deal from being struck, he released the stone and ran for the altar.

  He heard Castor swear and the pounding of feet as the first shimmer from the next lightning bolt formed. Hard hands shoved him to the ground, and he rolled on his back, arms lifted to instinctively fight. But Alex wasn’t attacking. He was saving Preston’s life—again.

  The bolt hit Castor with the weight of a freight train and knocked him off his feet. He writhed on the ground as the convulsions racked his body. The scream of pain wasn’t one Preston would forget anytime soon. His instinct was to help, but touching an electrified warlock was suicide, and he stared, helpless to correct his stupid mistake.

  In the end, it was Damian who saved Alex. Abandoning the safety of his stone, he knelt beside him. With one hand, he parted the earth, only creating enough room for the width of his forearm. The other hand he placed over Alex’s heart.

  The current was redirected using the Aether as a conduit.

  “Miss Spring!” Sabrina shouted. “Do like Papa and touch the altar!” It was a miracle she could be heard over the increasing volume of the thunder. But Spring had, and she took off at a run. Preston swallowed the fear she would be electrocuted. If the Oracle was providing instruction, she wouldn’t put Spring’s life in jeopardy.

  Preston felt like a damned fool for his spontaneous move. If Alexander was seriously injured or impaired because of his impulsiveness, he’d never forgive himself.

  Isolde cried out when Sabrina crossed the barrier and entered the circle. Alerted to the danger his child faced, Damian started to withdraw his hand from the earth’s cavity.

  “No, Papa!” Sabrina warned. She didn’t stop walking until she reached the altar. Climbing atop, she placed one hand against Nathanial’s chest and the other against Evie’s. She nodded at Spring. “Now, Miss Spring.”

  Using the hand not touching the altar’s base, Spring parted the earth like Damian had and plunged her hand inside. The lightning’s current found her immediately, and she cried out as it coursed through her body.

  Preston desperately wanted to get her to safety, but he ignored his instinctive paternal response and forced himself to trust in the magic of the Aethers.

  Sabrina channeled the power Spring fed to the stone base. Her tiny hands glowed red where they rested against the Guardians. “Exsuscito!”

  Nathanial’s and Evie’s bodies arched upward, yet Sabrina managed to remain kneeling between them.

  “I need more power,” she cried.

  Isolde ran to Isis and bowed her head. She spoke one word. “Please.”

  Isis nodded, seeming to understand the request. At the gesture, Isolde climbed onto the flat surface, next to her granddaughter, set her palm on Evie’s chest, and took Sabrina’s small hand in hers.

  Isis placed her index finger in the center of Isolde’s forehead, and Serqet did the same for Sabrina.

  As one, they shouted, “Exsuscito!”

  Chapter 28

  “I have the mother of all hangovers,” Nathanial complained. He huddled under a thick fur blanket with Evie tucked against his chest.

  “Shhh,” she whispered, ending on a moan. “You’re too loud, darling.”

  GiGi had tended to them when they first returned to the Drakes’ home, and now, she held out two glasses filled with a Pepto-Bismol pink liquid for them to consume.

  “That looks frightening,” Castor muttered from the comfort of his wingback chair.

  “If it comes from my sister’s medicine bag, it probably is,” Preston replied.

  Alex snorted, winced, and grabbed his head. “Don’t tell GiGi, but I have the mother of all hangovers, too.”

  “Since I owe you for saving my life, mum’s the word, pal.”

  “What possessed you to pull a boneheaded stunt like that in the first place, Thorne? It isn’t like you’re a stupid man.”

  “My mind took a vacation when Serqet offered herself as a sacrifice. As I understand it, we need her to stop the Evil.” He grimaced and took a sip of his coffee. “What can I say? I panicked, and I can’t apologize enough for what you went through.”

  “Look, had I been faster in processing the problem, I might have been the one running to stop her. But I didn’t. The only reason I reacted fast enough to help you was the voice in my head, screaming at me to save you.”

  Preston paused in taking another drink and stared. “What voice?”

  Alex shot a quick glance toward the Dethridges gathered on the other side of the great room. “I think it came from Damian’s daughter.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah. The kid is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if our friend realizes exactly how powerful she is.”

  Damian’s head lifted, and he sent them a sharp look.

  “I think he does,” Preston murmured before taking another sip of his beverage. “Honestly, I don’t think we know just how powerful any of them are. And I like it that way. If I knew, I’d probably crap my pants.”

  “Not you, Thorne. You and Alastair are giants in the magical world. The stuff of legends.”

  He snorted at Alex’s drivel. “I think that lightning bolt scrambled your brain, Castor.”

  “Preston.”

  The serious note in the other man’s voice caused Preston’s stomach to tighten. “Shit, you’re not going to say something nice to me, are you? I don’t want to throw up my coffee on Baz’s priceless rug.”

  A twitch of Alex’s lips showed his amusement. “I promise not to say anything nice if you’ll let me speak.”

  With a roll of his eyes and a wave of his hand, Preston encouraged him to continue.

  “As I was about to say before you turned into a sarcastic ass, Selene deserves to be happy. If you don’t think you’re that man, if you’re still hung up on your wife—”

  “Alastair likes to remind me that Rorie’s my widow,” he said, effectively cutting Alex off. “And I’m fine with it. I love Selene. More than I believed it was possible to love anyone. Yes, I did love my wife, but not in this all-consuming way.” He rose to his feet and zeroed in on Selene chatting with Aurora across the room. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy, Alex.” He glanced down at the other man. “Just like you.”

  “Okay. Go away now. You’re making my head hurt worse.”

  “I think perhaps this conversation makes yo
ur heart hurt, not your head, but I’ll leave you to it.” He took two steps and spun back around. “I meant what I said. I owe you.”

  “I’ll keep the favor in my back pocket for another day.”

  Preston gave a quick nod and went to find the goddesses. They had all the power they were going to get, and now they needed a solid game plan.

  From the corner of her eye, Selene saw Preston’s brisk exit from the room. As she turned and met Alex’s solemn gaze, she was forced to wonder if the two men had a tiff. His smile, when it came, was tired and a little melancholy. Part of her wanted to go to him and hold his head to her breast like she used to do to chase his worries away. To soothe his active mind that never seemed to find a quiet moment other than when she held him. She had a strong desire to speak to him and assure herself he was all right after the trial in the garden.

  Twice, he’d risked his life for Preston, and Selene had no doubt he’d done it for her happiness. Alex had turned out to be a good man after all.

  “Is it a difficult choice for you to make?” Aurora asked, pulling Selene’s attention from Alex.

  “What do you mean?” She pasted on a confused look and a half smile, hoping the other woman didn’t see right through her.

  “I think you know.” Aurora’s light eyes focused on something beyond Selene’s shoulder. “You have two handsome men ready to lay down their lives for you. Both appear to love you beyond reason. Who do you intend to choose?”

  Anger tightened Selene’s chest, causing her heart to hammer and her lungs to work harder at drawing in air. “I’ve made my choice, Mrs. Thorne, and it isn’t for you to question. You left Preston for another man, but don’t assume I’ll do the same.” Until that moment, she hadn’t realized she was jealous of Preston’s ex-wife. Perhaps if she’d had longer than two madcap days to think about it, she’d have discovered it sooner. But standing before her was the only woman, other than herself, who he’d loved.

  Aurora’s eyes hardened, and she stepped a foot closer. “Don’t mistake the situation, Ms. Barringer. I did love Preston. I still do. If you hurt him, I’ll rip your head from your shoulders and—”

  “Now, now, my love.” Alastair cut her off with an arm around her waist and a kiss on her temple. “You’d be the first to say it’s bad form to maim future family members.”

  She glared up at him, and without any concern for the roomful of people, tweaked his nipple through his dress shirt.

  He dodged backward and rubbed his chest. “For fu—for the love of the Goddess, you bloodthirsty woman! I was trying to stop a bloodbath, but if you’re determined to go to war with Selene, be my guest.” Alastair turned his attention to Selene. “Run while you can. Aurora on a rampage won’t be stopped.”

  With a suddenness that confused Selene, Aurora laughed and wound her arms around his neck. After meeting his challenging stare, she gave him a lusty kiss.

  Embarrassed and perhaps a little hot from the display, Selene looked away, but not before Alastair met her eyes and winked. Face burning, she turned to beat a hasty retreat and ran smack dab into Alexander’s massive, rock-hard chest. His arms contracted around her, and he helped her remain standing. If her nose wasn’t throbbing from the contact, she might’ve buried it against the warm skin at the V of his shirt to sniff and savor his unique scent. A mix of fresh apples and cloves, the man smelled like a baked tart. Preston, on the other hand, smelled of cinnamon and sin.

  Her head came up as she realized Alex hadn’t released her yet. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  “I noticed you were upset, and I thought I might help.”

  She tossed back her hair and met his searching eyes. “I promise I’m fine, Alex. You don’t need to run to save me every time someone insults me.”

  “I didn’t insult you,” Aurora was quick to say. “I asked if choosing between Preston and Castor was a difficult decision for you.”

  The arrogance and smugness in her tone grated on Selene’s last nerve, and she might’ve given her the dressing down she deserved if Alex’s magnetic eyes hadn’t sharpened on something over her shoulder.

  She started to turn her head, but he stopped her by lightly gripping her chin.

  “Yes, darling Selene. Tell us if the choice is hard for you,” he purred.

  “Not at all. I love Preston. Now release me.”

  “You heard her, Castor,” Preston said, pure steel in his tone. “Release her.”

  Alex quickly disguised his disappointment with a dramatic sigh. “Ya know, you save a guy’s life a time or two, and you’d think he would allow a reward by way of stealing a kiss from his beautiful woman. But noooo. He has to bluster and be a total dick about it.”

  Selene felt relief when he let her go with only a light, platonic kiss on her nose. Facing Preston, she held out a hand. “I need a break from your family.” She gestured over her shoulder to Alex with her thumb and said, “And from all this false modesty.”

  Alastair huffed out a laugh at the same time Preston grinned.

  “Come on. I know just the place,” he said, and his tone indicated she’d absolutely love it.

  “I thought you were meeting with the goddesses to get this wrapped up,” Alex said.

  Preston had an extremely frustrated air about him. “Can’t find them, and they refuse to answer my summons. It’s a waiting game now.”

  Alastair dropped his arm from Aurora’s waist. “I believe Nate was the last one to speak to Isis. Let me see if he has any idea where the sisters disappeared to.”

  “Still want a quiet time?” Preston asked Selene in a low voice.

  “Please. Just for a few minutes.”

  He nodded, made their excuses to Aurora and Alex, and teleported with Selene to their shared bedroom. Once they arrived, he drew her to the mattress and urged her to sit. He squatted in front of her and clasped her hands in his. As he stared at their joined hands, he rubbed his thumbs over the backs of hers. “Care to tell me what I stumbled across down there?”

  “Your ex-wife making trouble,” she ground out, still angry by the way Aurora had tried to manipulate the situation. “Who is she to question our relationship, Preston? What right does she have? She left you for your brother!” Selene was working herself into a fine fit, but she didn’t care. The outrage she was feeling was on Preston’s behalf, not her own. “It’s almost like she was encouraging me to choose Alex. Who does that to someone they profess to love?”

  “If I know Rorie—and I believe I do after all these years—she was testing you, my love.”

  “What was the point?” Selene didn’t understand. She had a role to play in the upcoming drama regarding the Evil. “If I decide I want Alex back after all this time, am I going to be kicked out of your superhero club?”

  He went completely still. After a long moment, he asked, “Do you want Alex back?”

  With a few choice swear words, Selene jerked her hands away and stood up. “Not you, too! Am I so untrustworthy no one believes a word out of my mouth?”

  Her tears came unbidden, and her embarrassment over her emotional state was keen. With no thought but to get the hell away from the Thornes, she teleported.

  When her cells cooled, she opened her eyes. Her mother’s headstone. How sad she only had one place to go, and it was to run to a dead woman. Katherine Salinger. Running her fingers over the engraved letters, Selene wondered why there was no true sanctuary for her anywhere other than here.

  The air around her grew heavy, indicating an incoming witch, and Selene didn’t bother to turn around. She’d already guessed who it would be. After all, in the entire time she was in the Otherworld, she’d never seen a trace of her mother. “Isn’t it odd I never figured it out until now? All this time, I believed Victor was the instigator behind my miserable existence when it was actually you.” She faced the woman who’d given birth to her. “Why not kill me outright? Why drug me and leave me to burn in the fire?”

  Chapter 29

  “It took you long enough to figure it
out, my dear.”

  Selene looked at her mother with new eyes. Not through the love-goggles of a child, but through the eyes of a woman who’d been ill-used time and time again by those who were supposed to love her. She was surprised how much alike they were in appearance. The only difference was the hardened expression on Katherine Salinger’s face and the uncaring hazel eyes staring back at her.

  “I’m not your dear, Mother. I’m not anything other than a pawn. Who’s my real father? Victor prefers men, so I doubt it’s him.”

  “Oh, I never lied about your father. But he was easily manipulated. Much like yourself.”

  “I understand you were in league with Victor all this time. But why?”

  “I’m surprised you need to ask. Power, Selene. It’s the only thing worth having. It has a value all its own.”

  “I’d have to argue that point. Love trumps all else.”

  Her mother scoffed as she dropped her gaze to the tombstone with her name and the supposed date of her death. “Love trumps nothing. Tell me, girl. Did your love for Alexander Castor make you stronger? No.” The disgust on her face tore at Selene’s heart. “It made you pathetic and weak. It allowed you to be used by Victor and, by extension, me.”

  “You never cared about me at all, did you? All the affection was a pretense.”

  “Exactly. I’d hoped to mold you as I’d been molded, going so far as to create the same circumstances. Domineering parents, unscrupulous brother, and orphaned at a young age.”

  “But I’m not you.”

  “No. You’re not. You’re a severe disappointment in that regard. I blame Preston Thorne.”

  “Why?”

  “He spirited you away, and we had the devil of a time locating you. He undid all my hard work.”

  Selene sent up a silent thank you to Preston for his foresight in hiding an unprotected child from her devious relatives. “Why do you believe it was him?” She tried to deflect her mother’s growing fury from Preston. “It could’ve been anyone.”