When Ian heard me talking to the doctor about it, he shushed me and told me not to tell anyone else. He didn’t want anyone to know what my magic had done. The only person he wanted me to tell was Kellan, but Kellan was so busy that he never came to the infirmary, or he came while I was asleep. I planned on telling him as soon as I could get up and walk to his office.
I tried to get Beth to wake up multiple times a day, but she didn’t. I even resorted to trying to use my magic on her, but that didn’t work either. The doctor told me to be patient. It could take weeks for her to wake up, if she ever did.
I was leaving the medical room today. Ian would be here soon to get me. I didn’t want to leave Beth, but I would visit every day. I got the rest of my stuff together slowly as Ian walked in. He grabbed my things from me, and I stiffly walked to the door.
“Bye, Beth. I’ll be back later to see you. Please wake up soon.” I walked out the door and almost bumped into Micah. His bloodshot eyes looked from me to Ian.
“You’re leaving?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m going to Ian’s. I’ll be back later to check on her.” Micah had come to see Beth every day. Whatever made them argue before the demon fight was forgotten as he sat by her side and told her about his days.
“Please watch her,” I told him.
“I will.”
I walked away, tears falling as I thought about Beth and how I was the cause of this.
Ian wrapped his arm around me. “You didn’t do this. The demon did.”
“My magic did this. You didn’t see it as it went inside her. It did the same thing to the demon, and then you and the other guardians were able to kill him. My magic is dangerous.”
“The demon would have killed her. Your magic gave her a fighting chance.”
We walked silently to his car, and he drove us back to the cabin. I wouldn’t have made it if I had to walk the whole way. My ribs ached, and my head pounded as I sat on the couch. Ian sat with me and tried to cheer me up.
Eventually, he left to patrol the compound. Molly took his place next to me and laid her head on my thigh. She hadn’t stayed in the medical room with me, but Ian said she and the other hounds guarded the compound day and night. No one knew what they were guarding though, or why.
Molly had been hurt in the fight, too, but she recovered faster than I did. I guess being a hellhound had some benefits. I spent the next week recuperating at Ian’s. The only time I left was to go sit with Beth for a couple of hours every day.
There was no change, but I talked to her and told her everything going on each day. When I left Beth, Micah would come and sit with her. We watched over her the best we could.
Ian made me start training again slowly. It was hard at first, but I quickly managed to get back to my normal strength. By the end of my third week out of the medical room, I was in good shape. I knew I would need to be ready soon.
Whatever those demons wanted from me wasn’t going away. Jabari came by to talk to me about it. He spoke to Kellan, and they figured we had a few weeks to prepare before more demons came. I still hadn’t seen Kellan to tell him what my magic did to Beth. Every time I went to his office he was gone. I was starting to think he was avoiding me.
Jabari came by to check on me a few times. He wanted me to practice my magic so I could weaken the demons, but I refused. My magic couldn’t be trusted. He tried to persuade me, but I refused to listen. He finally left, saying he would come back later when I was in a better mood.
Finally, I got the call I was waiting for. Beth was awake. I ran from the cabin to the compound, barely stopping myself from pushing people out of the way.
“Where is she? Is she ok?” I asked, running into the room.
I looked around but didn’t see her. Micah was there sitting next to the bed, and a few other guardians were standing around.
I walked over to Micah. “Where is she?”
“They took her for some scans,” he told me. He should be happy, but instead, I saw sadness and fear.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked quietly, scared of the answer. Maybe Beth didn’t remember us. Maybe she was paralyzed. So many bad thoughts went through my head in that second, but what Micah said floored me.
“She woke up and used magic,” he whispered.
“What? That’s not possible. There must be a mistake.”
“I was here. She used magic. Not much though. She seemed confused, and when I went to grab her hand, I startled her. She shot fire at me. Thankfully, it was weak. She doesn’t know how she did it, but it’s definitely magic. They’re trying to figure it out now. We don’t know how this could happen. We were sure she was human.”
“She is,” I said.
Kellan walked in and looked at us. “We’ll find out what happened and help Beth,” he said when neither of us spoke.
“It must have been my magic somehow,” I desperately told Kellan. I needed him to believe me.
“I’ve been looking it. Ian told me what you think your magic did, but I want you to explain it to me too,” Kellan said.
When I got to the part about my magic pulling at the demon and distracting him from hitting me Kellan stood up quickly.
“I may know what happened,” Kellan said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I need to make a few calls.” Micah looked at me and shrugged as Kellan walked out quickly.
“At least he has a better idea now,” Micah said.
“Let’s hope it helps her.”
I stayed there, waiting for Beth to return, but when she did, she was already asleep. I left telling Micah to call if he heard anything from Kellan or if Beth woke back up. I wasn’t ready to go back to the cabin, so I went to the training grounds instead.
I spent hours practicing with different weapons but I wasn’t ready to stop. I was working on my form with the daggers when I heard a noise behind me. When I turned around, Ian was standing there, watching me.
“Come home,” he said.
“I’m not ready yet,” I told him, gasping for air.
“Yes, you are.” He walked over and grabbed my waist, effortlessly lifting me and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down,” I yelled, pounding my fists into his back. He ignored me and kept walking. I tried to squirm free, but he only tightened his hold. “Why are you doing this?” I yelled at him, tears in my eyes as he shifted his grip on me.
“You’re completely out of control and don’t need an audience watching you.”
“No one was watching,” I said, hitting his back harder with every word.
“Not that you saw, but anyone could’ve been watching from the windows overlooking the training grounds. What if you accidentally used your magic and lost control? They already know that you’re powerful. We don’t need them knowing you’re part demon.”
“I wouldn’t have used magic,” I told him angrily. “I never will, again.”
“Yes, you will,” he said gently. “Eventually, you’ll use it, and I don’t want anyone becoming more suspicious of you. Or worse, what if because you don’t practice, you lose control and really hurt someone.”
“Like Beth,” I yelled. “My magic did that. I already hurt someone.”
“You don’t know what happened with Beth. Until you do, you should stop feeling sorry for yourself. I expected you to be stronger than this. If you care about Beth, then you better practice your magic. She is tied to you, so you need to be able to help protect her when the demons come again,” he said harshly as he dumped me on the ground.
I was so busy yelling at him, I didn’t notice we were back at the cabin. Ian barely glanced at me before he turned and walked away. I ran up and pushed him.
“I can’t use my magic,” I screamed. I felt Ian put a protection spell around us as he turned to me.
“No. You don’t want to. There’s a difference. You’re too scared to do what you need to do. I’m done babying you. If you want to wallow in pity, you can do it on your own.” He turned to leave again, and this
time my fist met his shoulder.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I told him as I swung again.
I was so angry I could barely think. He gripped my arm before I could hit him and pushed me backward. I threw myself toward him again, and he ducked before swinging his leg out to the side, knocking me on my back. I growled and narrowed my eyes before lunging upright.
I took Ian by surprise and jumped on him, knocking him back as I wrapped my legs around him, trying to force him down. He stumbled back a few steps before falling. I raised my fist to hit him, but he used the motion to roll us over and pin me down. I struggled to break free, but Ian wasn’t budging.
“Are you done?” he asked quietly, staring at me.
I looked at him and could see compassion instead of anger in his eyes. It broke me, and I started to sob into his shoulder. He held me tightly as I let the frustration over the past few weeks out. He slowly lifted me up and carried me to the house.
Once I was settled on the couch, Ian made coffee and sat next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and I rested my head against him. We didn’t speak but sat there for a long time, each lost in our own thoughts.
When I finally felt better, I turned to Ian.
“Thanks. I’m sorry I freaked out on you.”
“It’s ok, sweetheart. I’m surprised you lasted this long. Most magi’s would have come apart weeks ago. It’s ok to lean on me when you need to. That’s what mates do for each other. I can be strong when you can’t, and vice versa. Everything will work out. We’ll figure out what’s going on with Beth and help her.”
“I know it was my magic,” I said, putting up a hand to stop Ian when he tried to speak. “I also know my magic saved her life. The demon already had her. She would have died if my magic hadn’t strengthened her somehow. That doesn’t make it any easier to see my best friend hurt, especially because now she can use magic she wasn’t born with. She was looking forward to going home and getting back to normal. I doubt she ever will now, and it’s my fault for dragging her into this huge mess from the beginning.”
Ian didn’t argue with me this time, knowing I wouldn’t change my mind on whose fault it was. He pulled me closer for a deep kiss. We spent the rest of the day relaxing around the cabin. After the training session I put myself through earlier, I didn’t think I had it in me to do anything. My body was already sore. I pushed it too hard.
No one called or came by the cabin, so I read the books Kellan gave Ian for me. I learned more about the realms than I wanted to and had to ask Ian at one point if werewolves really lived in a realm called Agganon. He said they did, and many other creatures did too. Supposedly, it was a very dangerous realm. I decided I wouldn’t be going to visit there anytime soon.
A letter from a demon
Kellan called in the morning and asked us to meet him at his office. We got there as fast as we could. He was the only one there, and he ushered us inside quickly.
“Do you know what happened?” I asked.
“Yes. It appears your magic was able to take away some of the demon’s powers and transfer them into Beth.” He continued before I could start asking a bunch of questions. “Your magic would have transferred the magic into you, but for some reason, it gave it to Beth instead.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I think it was to save her life. The demon would have killed her without your magic. I think your wild magic sensed that and gave Beth the magic to try and save her. I’m assuming your last thought was about saving her, so the magic did what you wanted, just in a different way than you expected.”
“This has happened to other people?” Ian asked.
“Only a few, but all were magi before another magic was transferred to them. I couldn’t find any record of a human absorbing magic, and none of the magi were taking a demon’s powers. It was usually from another magi during a fight. Like I said, there are so few who can wield wild magic as it is, and this seems to be a rare skill even among wild magic users.”
“Will Beth be ok?” I asked.
“I hope so. It will take her some time to get used to her new life. She’ll need to learn how to use the magic she has. It’s from a powerful demon, so once she accepts it, she’ll probably be very powerful,” Kellan said. “She’s leaving today. We’re transferring her to a safe house, and a friend of mine will be meeting her to help her cope.”
“Can I see her before she leaves?”
“You can, but I don’t know how she’ll react. She may know your magic did this. Even though it saved her, it’s changed her life forever. No one knows how she’ll react to you. Try not to upset her. If she seems agitated, you need to leave and give her a few weeks to settle into her new life.”
“Ok,” I said. I was worried about how Beth felt about me, but I needed to make sure she was ok before she left. “Can we go now?”
“Not yet. I’ve narrowed down more about your magic. It’s definitely from your mother’s side. The only record of this type of magic is mystic dissipation, and it’s only passed down from mother to daughter. As you know, wild magic is not for a specific breed of magi, but wild magic users will usually join a clan who have similar powers. I’m researching the different clans right now and have been able to cross over half off the list. We should know more about you in the next few weeks.”
“Thanks, Kellan,” I said, slightly disappointed that he hadn’t found my mom yet. I had a lot of questions for her.
“I’ll let you know when I have more information. Now go see Beth and keep training. This magic is rare, but it isn’t dangerous, especially once you learn to use it. It could really help us defeat the demons that are after you.”
I nodded and left, not agreeing to anything with my magic. I needed time to think about what Kellan told me. First, I had to see Beth. I hurried to the medical room, but Micah blocked the doorway.
“I don’t know if she wants to see you.”
“What?” I was expecting Beth to maybe be upset, but not Micah.
“She’s very emotional right now. Seeing you might tip her over the edge.”
“She’s my best friend. Unless she specifically told you not to let me in, get out of my way,” I said, straightening my shoulders.
I heard a weak, “Come in,” from Beth and grabbed the handle shooting Micah a dirty look.
As I stepped into the room, I looked Beth over. She was disheveled. Her hair was sticking out in all directions, and she had large bags under her eyes. I could tell she had been crying, and I rushed forward. I was almost to the bed when she told me to stop. I stopped and looked at her. Her eyes filled with tears, and I tried to walk closer, but she held up a hand.
“I love you, Serena. You’re my best friend, but I need time to figure out how I’m feeling right now. I’m so scared and angry that this is happening. If you get too close, I could hurt you. I hurt Micah when I first woke up, even though I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to do the same to you.”
“I don’t care, Beth. You’re my best friend too. I know you can get through this.” I took a small step forward. “I’m sorry for everything that’s happened,” I said softly, taking another step so I was standing right next to her bed.
“I know you are. I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but I’m still angry that it happened. I’m not angry at you, though,” she said quickly.
I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her. She stiffened up, but when nothing bad happened she relaxed into my arms. She cried for a few minutes before pushing me away.
“They’re sending me away.”
“To get help, and to make sure you’re protected.”
“And to keep me away from everyone else, so I don’t hurt them too.”
“Yes, but it’s only a precaution until you figure out what you can do.”
“I know. I wish this hadn’t happened. I had a pretty decent life, and now I can’t go back to it,” she said bitterly.
“If it saved your life, I can’t be unhappy about it. I wish I
had never gotten you involved in the first place. Then nothing would have happened, and you could be out there living your normal life.” I saw a flash of pain cross her features, but she didn’t say anything.
Micah walked in with Ian and walked over to the other side of the bed. “It’s time to go,” he said. “There’s a car out front waiting for us.”
“You’re going too?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Please take care of her.”
“I will,” he answered my plea as he helped her walk out the door. I followed behind and watched as he helped her into the waiting car and got in the other side. Beth turned back and waved as the car pulled away. I leaned into Ian as I watched them leave, hoping I would get to see my best friend soon.
After seeing that Beth was ok physically, I was able to think more rationally. My magic had saved her, even if she wasn’t happy about it. My magic couldn’t be that bad if it saved my best friend. I debated with myself for days, but I finally decided to start practicing with my magic again.
I wasn’t any better at controlling the wild magic when I tried using it again. I could control it as long as I only took a tiny bit of magic in or if I was in dire circumstances. I was pretty sure I could defeat almost anything with the skills Ian and Jabari taught me, but they insisted I needed a lot more practice.
Nothing happened at the compound, and I started to feel like maybe the demons had given up. Molly didn’t stay with me all the time anymore either. She started taking off at different times during the day and night. I never knew if she would be there when I woke up in the morning. I missed her presence more than I thought I would, and I tried to spend extra time with her when she was around.
She showed up during training at Kellan’s after being gone all night with something tied around her neck and huffed at me. Ian came over and untied it while Molly looked at me. Ian opened the cloth, and a rolled up letter fell out. The cloth looked like a scarf, and he handed it to me along with the letter.
Demon Hunted Page 14
