Dark Magic

by Cali Mann

  I had one last letter I’d gotten from Mom before my dads had cut off communication. She’d sounded happy, cheerful, and eager for me to visit. She hadn’t sounded evil, but I knew she was. I bit my lip. I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again or even recognize her if I did. I just knew that I needed to stay as far away from dark magic as I could. I didn’t want to lose myself.

  When I got back to the dorm after classes, my roommate was all excited over some pub downtown. I wasn’t excited to have the bubbly blonde as a roommate. I’d seen plenty of her type on the boardwalk in California, and I found them boring cardboard copies of each other. But she was pledging a sorority first thing, so I figured she’d be out of my hair soon enough. Maybe the university would just forget to assign me a new roommate. A witch could hope.

  “You should come, Greer,” Ella said. “There’s pool and darts and chicken wings and beer. It’ll be a great time.”

  I looked at my pile of homework that was nearly falling over onto my bed, and I just couldn’t deal. Before I knew it, the words tumbled out of my mouth: “Sure. Sounds great.”

  Maybe a distraction would be good for me. Maybe I’d forget that Mr. Tall, Dark, and Nerdy had bad magic fuzzies on him and have some fun. Whatever someone was doing to him to cause them couldn’t be good, but Seb was not my problem. My problem was failing classes and too much work to do. Still, I was a freshman and I couldn’t work all the time. I deserved to have a little fun.

  “Really?” Ella said, grabbing my hands and jumping up and down. Her blonde ponytail bobbed behind her head.

  I laughed, nodding. She seemed so excited for me to go. Maybe she just needed a friend. I certainly wasn’t making any this semester.

  “You won’t regret it,” she said. “Chad says it’s a blast.”

  My stomach twisted. Suddenly leery, I asked, “Who’s Chad?” A girl’s night out I could handle. The frat boys Ella collected? Not so much.

  “Oh, just one of the frat guys I’ve been talking to. He’s super sweet.” She peered in the mirror as she adjusted her cleavage. “He’s gonna walk uptown with us.”

  Wonderful. A bar and frat boys—just what I wanted. I opened my closet and sighed. College was supposed to be an adventure. This was fun, right? I pulled out a red blouse and held it up to myself.

  “No way,” Ella said. “You look like a Christmas tree.”

  I raised my hand to change my hair color and stopped. Papa’s voice echoed in my head, “No magic in front of mortals.” Crud. I shoved the red blouse back into the closet. Guess it was black again. I pulled out a lacey blouse and a mini skirt.

  “Are you sure?” Ella peered into her mirror, applying her mascara. Her mouth gaped like a fish.

  “What’s wrong with this outfit?” I asked, wincing at the grumpiness in my tone. Seb must have rubbed off on me.

  “It’s supposed to be really cold tonight,” Ella said. “Don’t you have a sweater?”

  I frowned. I really needed to shop for some more cool weather things. I shoved my hand in the back of my closet and whispered the magic words, then I pulled out a sweater dress. My stomach soured a little with the energy loss. All magic had a cost, but like warming coffee, day-to-day things were minimal. I looked over the dress; it was a thick cable-knit, but still short. I wasn’t ready to give up my minis yet, but it would be warmer.

  I showed it to Ella. “Will this do?”

  She grinned. “Yup, that’s perfect.”

  I yanked it on and looked in the mirror. The navy blue knit hugged my curves just right. I pulled out some knee-high boots instead of tights to go with it. Without thinking, I swiped a hand across my face, adding makeup, then glanced at my roommate to make sure she hadn’t noticed. I thought having a human roommate would be fun, but I hadn’t realized how many common tasks I did by magic. It had never been a big deal when I lived at home since my dads were witches too.

  “You look great!” Ella exclaimed. Her outfit was almost the opposite of mine—jeans and a bright pink fluffy sweater.

  What was I doing? I sighed. No, I needed to be positive about this. Ella might not be friend material, but there had to be someone on this campus. It was going to be a lonely year if all I did was wander back and forth to classes and tutoring. I needed to join a club or go to an event or something. My eyes darted to Ella again—but not a sorority. That wasn’t my thing and besides, how would I hide my magic in a house full of people?

  I followed Ella downstairs and out onto the green where we met up with Chad and Lance, two strapping frat boys. They were idiots—showing off for us as we walked toward town—both broad and built like football players.

  But it was nice having Main Street right up the block and not having to drive to go out. That was one of the reasons I’d chosen to come here. The campus wasn’t totally isolated from real life. Well, that and my mother. I bit my lip. I did hope that by being here I might grow closer to her, or at least who she used to be. I knew where she lived, but I hadn’t seen her in person since I was little. I hoped some day we might be able to talk again.

  I shook myself as we wandered down the street. Greville was a small town, so a few small sports bars were about the limit to late-night partying, especially on a Tuesday. The old-fashioned street lamps lit our path along the cracked sidewalk. I was grateful Ella had talked me into a sweater when a cold breeze rushed through me.

  The buildings clustered together along the main street. A couple of restaurants, a yoga studio, a second-hand clothing store—the usual small town assortment. There wasn’t a good coffee shop that I’d found yet. At least nothing to rival my dads’ place in Cali.

  Chad led us into one of the bars. The smell of cheap beer and sweat rolled over me as soon as he opened the heavy wooden door. Crowded with college kids, we barely snagged a grimy table to stand around. The guys ordered a pitcher. Ella and I were too young to drink, but it didn’t stop Lance from enthusiastically filling our glasses. Rock music blasted over the speakers, and Ella tittered at each of Chad’s bad jokes. Lance soon gave up on engaging me and wandered off into the crowd. Last I saw he was hitting on two giggling girls at the bar. They looked like they were in high school, not college. I rolled my eyes.

  I was just about to say goodbye to Ella, who now had her tongue down Chad’s throat, and head back to campus on my own when I glimpsed a familiar head slipping through the crowd. Seb? At a bar? Curiosity got the best of me, and I darted after him.

  He stopped at the bar and leaned forward to grab a drink. He wore black jeans that hugged his ass and a leather jacket.

  I frowned. Was it him? It didn’t seem like a very Seb kind of outfit. But the black hair was the same, slightly long, and the broad shoulders not meant for a geeky teaching assistant.

  When I reached him, I tapped his shoulder. “Seb?”

  The man turned to meet my eyes with his coal black ones. “Looking for someone, darling?” He asked, a sharp twang in his voice.

  My eyes roved his face looking for Seb, but though the features were similar, this wasn’t my tutor. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Bash,” he said, dropping the affected twang. Then he leaned forward, whispering in my ear. “And who might you be?”

  “I’m Greer,” I replied, tripping over my own words. His voice was like velvet. When he curved his hand around my waist and pulled me against him, my whole body lit up. I leaned closer, wanting his skin to touch mine. He ran his finger along my neck and I shivered.

  “Well, Greer, how about we duck out of here,” he said, with a jerk of his head toward the door, “and go back to my place?”

  I nodded, every nerve singing yes. This was a man I wanted to go home with. I’d let him do deliciously naughty things to me all night.

  He led me out of the crowded bar, our hands entwined.

  We hit the street and the wood door swung closed behind us. Fresh air invaded my lungs. I gasped, ripping my hand from his. “Vampire,” I hissed.

  He grinned, giving me an old-fashioned bow.
“At your service, witchy.”

  I shook myself, taking great gulping breaths to wash away the compulsion. “You bastard.”

  “Oh, it’s not as bad as all that,” he said, his charm-coated voice still turning my insides to goo. “We would have had a wonderful time.”

  “No,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself. Fresh air had always done it for me. Most glamor magic couldn’t handle it. I glared at him.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. He was still deliciously sexy and definitely giving off that bad boy vibe that I always had trouble resisting, but I knew who he was now.

  I spun and started stomping back toward campus, but Bash strolled alongside me. I wasn’t afraid of him. Once I had the fresh air to clear my mind, it wasn’t possible for him to cloud it again. I was more annoyed that he’d gotten the jump on me the first time.

  “You know if I’d really wanted to compel you, I’d have stayed in the bar,” he said casually, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. “I know it doesn’t work in the fresh air, at least for your kind.”

  “You know a lot about witches, do you?” I studied him out of the corner of my eye. The moon was full and even the darker shadows weren’t that shadowy, so I could see that he really did look a lot like Seb, just darker and more dangerous.

  “Enough.” He chuckled, warm and low.

  I could feel that laugh in my nether regions. It was taking a lot of willpower not to let myself fall into his arms again, and it wasn’t compulsion this time. I was just that lonely. Frustrated, I stopped, hands on my hips. “Why are you following me?”

  “Well, maybe it’s nice to hang out with someone who knows what you are once in a while.”

  “A blood-sucking demon?” I asked.

  “Now, Greer, you know that we’re not all like that,” he said. “I, for one, try to give as much pleasure as I get.”

  He gave me a smile that promised all the things and despite myself, a shiver of interest ran through me. I knew better. Vampires were dark magic through and through and if there’s one thing I don’t need, it’s dark magic in my life. Just look what it had done to my mother.

  Sensing that I was weakening, Bash moved in for the kill. “You seemed bored. I just thought maybe I could spice things up.”

  I nibbled on my lip. Because that was just it. I’d been so eager to arrive in New England and try all the exciting classes, but the shine had worn off. My roommate was dull and nothing interesting seemed to happen on our small college campus. I missed the beach. I missed the influx of tourists. I missed magic and the magical people who came into my dads’ coffee shop.

  Bash offered me his arm. “Shall I show you the town?”

  I couldn’t help myself. I took it. It was stupid and foolhardy, but Bash was the first really interesting person I’d encountered here. At least this night wouldn’t be a total bust. We strolled down the main street, and Bash pointed out the all-night pharmacy and the all-night yoga studio. Why would any town need an all-night yoga studio? I shook my head. “Are those the only businesses you know?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “Well, nighttime is the best time.”

  “Are you a student?” I asked. I hadn’t encountered very many vampires over the years, but Papa had warned me that finding a nice vampire was like throwing a rock in a ravine and hoping to find it again.

  Bash shrugged. “I audit classes a lot.”

  I laughed. “Maybe that’s what I should have done.” Just sat in on all the classes I thought sounded engaging, so I could know which ones were worth it and which ones weren’t before I took them for credit.

  “Why’s that?” he asked.

  I don’t know why I did it, but I blurted out all my problems. Bash was easy to talk to. I told him about the classes I was struggling with, like History of the Celts, and how I had tutoring with this guy named Seb, who was kind of a jerk.

  Bash snickered.

  “You actually kinda look like him,” I said, studying his face again. His eyes were black and ringed with red as vampires’ tended to be, but he had the same bone structure and he even smelled a bit like Seb’s cinnamon spice.

  “Do I?” he asked, pulling me into a little park off the main drive. The trees were full of autumn-colored leaves, glinting silvery in the moonlight. A pair of swings and a shiny metal slide sat off to one side, a sandbox on the other.

  I dropped down onto one of the swings and Bash sat on the other. I inspected him, grateful for the full moon. There was something he wasn’t telling me. I didn’t always trust wisely, but I could usually tell when someone was being evasive. I frowned. There had to be a connection between Bash and Seb. “Is there some reason you look like my tutor?”

  Bash sighed as if I was dragging it out of him. His gaze dropped to the sandy ground. “It’s kind of a sad story.”

  “Tell me,” I insisted. My gut swirled with possibilities, but I didn’t expect what he said next.

  “He’s my brother,” Bash said, looking up at me. “We’re twins.”

  I blinked, my thoughts whirling. It kind of made sense. So similar they could be identical, but the magic of vampirism made them different. “You got turned and he didn’t?”

  “Yes, but Greer—” He scowled. “Seb doesn’t remember me.”

  “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he remember you?” Then I thought of the black magic fuzzies I’d found on Seb’s shoulders. I gaped at Bash. “He was cursed?”

  Bash nodded. “Our mother isn’t very fond of vampires.”

  “But to make your brother forget your existence? That’s just cruel.” Vampires weren’t known for being warm and fuzzy, but family was family. Of course, I was one to talk. When my mom had turned to dark magic, we’d been quick enough to shut her out. If she’d been turned, would we have done the same?

  He shrugged, a heavy sadness settling over him.

  “My mother practices black magic.” I didn’t know why I said it, but maybe because I wanted him to feel less alone. I reached out and squeezed Bash’s hand. “My dads and I don’t talk to her either.”

  “But she chose that life,” Bash said, his eyes looking up at the moon. “I didn’t have any choice.”

  Seb

  I woke up with a splitting headache the next morning. Staring at my shadowed eyes in the bathroom mirror, I popped two ibuprofen before breakfast. My mom said I sometimes sleep walked, so I’d always made a point of locking my door at night so I couldn’t wander off somewhere embarrassing. But even if I didn’t go out, I still must have run laps around the bedroom, because I was exhausted.

  The morning sun streamed in through the high windows in my apartment and I had to squint to make it to the kitchen. I’d taken a basement apartment off-campus because I valued my peace and quiet. If I’d lived in a dorm, I would have never gotten anything accomplished. With my horrible sleeping patterns, I couldn’t imagine how badly I’d rest in a building with all those other people. I went to pull the coffee out of the cupboard and I saw the time and groaned.

  I grabbed my backpack and bolted out of the apartment, stumbling over the rat on my step. What the hell? Who kept leaving these dead animals everywhere? Definitely no longer living, but still pumping blood from its veins. The metallic scent hit my nose and I coughed. Ugh. Gross. There was a reason I’d avoided pre-med. I used my foot to push it off to the side of the path. I was already late. Nothing I could do about it now.

  Here I’d been yelling at Greer for being tardy the other day, and it was already eight-fifteen. I grabbed a coffee from the truck parked on the curb, tossing Lenny a couple of bucks, and ran up the library steps.

  I knew when I got there, even though I was late, I’d still beat Greer. She wasn’t the type to be on time for anything ever, but guilt still rumbled through my gut. I hated letting anyone down, even a silly freshman who couldn’t be bothered to drop her classes before the deadline.

  But when I rushed into the study room, Greer lifted her gaze from a book and raised a
n eyebrow.

  “Hey Seb, where have you been?” she asked, snapping the book closed.

  “I’m sorry. Got up late,” I said, setting my coffee on the table and opening my bag. I glimpsed the cover as she slipped the novel back into her bag. Of course, she couldn’t be bothered to use the time to actually study.

  She stood and peered at me with those amazing gray eyes of hers. They looked like the sky on a cloudy day. “You don’t look well. Have you been sick?”

  “Thanks a lot for that,” I muttered. I knew I looked like hell, I didn’t need to be reminded.

  Her hand reached out toward me, and then she shook her head dropping it.

  “More ‘magic fuzzies’?” I growled, then sighed. I was in a bad mood. I shouldn’t take it out on her.

  “No,” she said quickly, her mouth twisting. But then she sighed and rubbed her temple. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

  Huh? I hadn’t expected her to back down so quickly. Did she suddenly develop some common sense? I took a sip of my coffee and opened my notes. “Let’s start with religion.”

  She nodded, her eyes sad.

  “Why are you looking at me like I just killed your puppy?” I squeezed my pencil between my fingers. We didn’t have time for this nonsense.

  “My cat,” she said absently. “I’m not a fan of dogs.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, your cat. What’s wrong?”

  Greer tilted her head. “What’s your family like? You said you didn’t like your dad?”

  “Yeah, he ran off before I was born.” The last thing I wanted to talk about was that asshole. He’d been gone from my life before I had any memory of him.

  “Oh.”