by Sadie Jacks
Wild Magic
Iron Serpent Chronicles Book Two
Sadie Jacks
© 2020 Sadie Jacks
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at [email protected]
Cover by Natasha Williams from DAZED designs. www.dazed-designs.com
Editing by Niki Trento-Spencer
1st Edition
Note to the Reader
Hi there! Hopefully you’ve read Caged Magic, because this book picks up immediately where that one cut off. I know, I know. I’m an awful human being for giving you such a horrendous cliffhanger ending. Please accept my gratitude for your patience.
This book contains explicit sex scenes, rampant cursing, humor, sarcasm, and the feels.
Potential Trigger Warnings:
In this book, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse are described by one of the characters. Some of this abuse happens to the character at young ages. There are descriptions of the abuse, but not graphic detail.
Iron Serpent Chronicles
Caged Magic
Wild Magic (the book you’re currently reading)
Warring Magic (releasing April 22, 2020)
Broken Magic (releasing May 27, 2020)
Magic Freed (releasing June 23, 2020)
Dedication
There are so many people to thank. God, for letting me do something I love. Niki, for keeping me on track and making sure I don’t make too big a fool of myself. Niki, for helping me produce the best possible story. Niki, for being the best darn PA known to mankind. There’s a ton more, but I don’t want to be too obnoxious. ARC Team, the discussions and territorial debates over the characters has me up at nights making sure I keep delivering on my initial promise.
Seekers: you make my heart happy every freaking day. Keep being awesome.
Readers: without you, none of this would be possible and I would just be that crazy lady who talks to the people in her head (not the best picture for someone who also works in mental health). You allow me not only an outlet for my creativity, but a place where my weirdness and nerdiness are accepted.
THANK YOU!!
Glossary
Setting:
Azica (rhymes with Africa) is an Alternate Universe
Iashira (EYE-AH-sheer-rah) - similar to North America
Sheocreth (SHE-OH-creth) - similar to the UK/Ireland
Adune (AH-dune) - similar to EU
Olon (OH-lon) - similar to Africa
Upari (YOU-pair-ee) - similar to Russia/Middle East
Characters:
Kiema Feuer (KIE [rhymes with pie] -eema FOY-ah)
Ransom Kolefni (RAN-sohm KOH-lef-nee)
Saint Smok (SAY-nt SMOH-k)
Asher Kandma (ASH-er KAND-ma)
Atlas Wilks (AT-less WILL-ks)
Xander Kandma (ZAN-der KAND-ma)
Taryk Panterri (TARE-ek PAN-ter-ee)
Lukas Niala (LOO-kus NEE-al-ah)
Chapter 1 – Ransom
“What the fuck do you mean I’m a wolf?” I asked Taryk through our mental connection as he got in the van’s front passenger seat.
“Just what I said. You’re a wolf this time.”
No freaking way! I looked down at my feet. Definitely not big cat paws. I tried to speak. It certainly sounded like a dog trying to tell its owner that he was an idiot.
“Atlas, what the fuck is going on?” I asked.
“Come back to the lab. I forgot to mention some things about your medical chart in all of the ruckus surrounding Kiema,” Dr. Atlas said.
“Any word on her, Xander?” I asked.
“Not yet, Ransom.” His voice was flat, almost devoid of any humanity whatsoever.
We were all feeling her loss. Like the sunshine had gone out of our lives, we were living in the shadows. The only thing that got me out of bed was taking over my father’s company.
That brought a smile to my face, but it had nothing to do with joy. Retribution was enough on that end for me.
Within minutes, we were back at the lab in the dilapidated section of town that housed our home and company.
Asher pushed me to the side and opened the back door. I leapt to the ground. Stretching my new canine body out to its fullest length, I shook myself before heading into the building across from our warehouse.
I nosed through the door, Asher, Taryk, and Saint with me. We made our way to the infirmary.
“What the fuck, Atlas?” I asked as soon as we were all in the doors. None of the staff were in this weekend, so I didn’t have to be careful hiding my animal form.
“Remember I told you I would go back and look through your medical records with Xander?” he said, still using our mental connection, presumably to keep Xander in the loop.
I nodded. The different muscles and how they fit on my body amazed me. I was just as comfortable in this body as I was in my lion form.
And human form, for that matter.
“Well, turns out you were given different species’ essences to help with the pain from the various witch doctors you saw throughout the years.”
“How the hell is that still in my system?”
I sat back on my haunches, my tongue lolling out of the side of my mouth. This recycled air didn’t really sit well with me in this form. I wanted fresh air, full of the scents of nature.
“I have a hypothesis.”
“Go on,” Taryk said before I could.
Atlas nodded, his white blond hair glowing in the lights overhead. “If we’re all sick with the same sort of illness…” he looked at all of us.
“We are,” Saint said.
“Then it would stand to reason that we all have latent magic. In Ransom’s case, his magic absorbed the different animals’ essences, allowing him to shift into any of those ‘pre-loaded’ animals.” He made air quotes. “If we could figure out how to do magical testing, we might be able to determine which animals we all carry.”
I looked at Saint. His dark brown eyes were pinched.
He sighed the longer I looked at him.
“If my family’s oral history is to be believed, I could be a dragon shifter,” Saint said without looking away from me.
Taryk cleared his throat. “My grandfather, Iago, spoke of family legend about giant cats in our lineage.”
I turned to look at our Security Chief. “That might help explain why you seem to not only have nine lives, but can also ghost in and out of any place you want to without notice.”
His mouth was hard.
Something clicked in my brain. “That’s why you were so pissed with me about not telling you Kiema thought I had magic.”
He dipped his bald head, once.
“I’ve always known I was different. More so than just being ill. It’s like I can feel him moving around inside me. Brushing against my skin from the inside, waiting. Always waiting.”
“For what?” Asher asked. He was looking at his hands and arms as if they would start sprouting fur or feathers. He looked up, a smirk on his face. “Can I get something rubbing up against me?”
We all rolled our eyes.
Taryk growled at him. He turned to the rest of us. “To get out. Then Ransom gets ‘healed’ and suddenly he’s got fur and four fucking feet.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I was so fucking pissed.”
“She can still heal you, T. She said she would,” Asher said, his hands in his pockets.
“If we can fucking find her!” Taryk raised a hand, pin
ched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry. I know we all want to find her. But to have answers that close, to finally be who…” he trailed off.
Saint walked over, clapped his hand on Taryk’s shoulder. “I fully understand,” he said quietly.
“What about us?” Xander asked as he walked through the infirmary’s doors. “Asher and I don’t have any legends or stories. At least, I don’t think we do.” He looked at his twin.
Asher shook his head. “I never heard Grand or Gram mention anything.”
“And Mom and Dad never left anything for us before they...died. So we have no idea.”
“I have no indication as to what my animal could be, either. Nor any way to test this hypothesis. It is just my best educated guess,” Atlas said, hands in the air.
“Can you do a full blood panel on me while I’m in this form? See if there are any differences to my human biological makeup?” I asked.
I was the only one with some kind of answers to the rest of my brothers’ issues. They could poke and prod as much as they wanted to find answers for themselves.
“I was going to ask you privately. But since you’ve offered, I’ll do the draw now, if that’s fine with you.” He looked at me.
I nodded.
He patted the cushioned stainless steel table in the middle of the room. “Up you go then.”
Without too much thought or effort, I leapt up to the table. I was going to share my joy with my brothers, but everyone still looked a little raw.
The far side of the room was lined with shelves and cupboards that held all of Atlas’ doctoring stuff. One wall held machines of all shapes and sizes. One of the benefits of having a doctor on staff was that we received top notch medical care without the hassle of a hospital or Center. The last wall was sectioned off with curtains and other beds.
Atlas gathered his supplies, turned to me.
I felt the edge of my top lip pull up in a snarl. I could feel my muscles bunch and tighten, ready to spring myself at my friend if he came near me with that.
“Ransom?” Atlas questioned me.
“Sorry. I think someone is going to have to hold me down. My wolf is not feeling particularly excited about being stabbed with a needle. Even if I am the one who suggested it.”
“Fascinating. Do you feel that you and the wolf are separate entities?” Atlas asked, the needle and syringe completely forgotten in his hand.
Through my wolf’s senses, I could feel the others sidle up to the table I was perched on. My hackles went up as a low menacing growl rumbled out of my mouth.
“The fuck, Ransom?” Asher asked. “We gonna have to hogtie you?”
I turned, nipped the air in front of him. “Bring it on.”
“Atlas, get your head out of your mental research. If we’re going to do this, you need to be ready. I don’t know how long Ransom is going to be able to hold out against his wolf,” Taryk said.
Atlas shook his head as if clearing it. Nodded firmly.
He put the needle and specimen collection tube behind his back. “All good. No more needle.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but my wolf was decidedly happier without the sharp stabby thing in sight. He was still bucking at my hold though. “Might want to hurry this along guys. Wolf is about as happy as he’s going to get.”
“Asher, get a couple of those gowns from the door there.” Taryk pointed with his chin.
“Cause we’re all going to get naked? T, how many times do I have to tell you, I don’t like boys.” He turned and snatched up a couple shapeless robes.
“Ha, ha. Very funny. Stretch them out. We’re going to make a net to hold Ransom down with. Atlas, you’ll have maybe a minute to get what you need.”
“Fuck. I need at least six vials, T. A minute isn’t nearly long enough.” Atlas shook his head.
“Can someone knock me out?” I asked. Watching the guys behind me wasn’t really helping my wolf stay under control.
“Me! Me! Let me!” Asher danced, his arm up in the air.
Taryk chuckled. “You’ll get one shot. If you don’t get it done, Ransom will probably take a bite out of your ass.”
“More than a bite,” I said, lowering my head to the table.
“I’ve got an idea.” Atlas looked at the readout at the end of the table. I looked down to see a display of my weight. I looked back up at my brother. His gaze was flicked up towards the ceiling and to the right. “I’ve got something that will put you down for about half an hour if I get the dosage right.”
“Damn it, Atlas!” Asher whined.
“Oh please. Better to do it this way than to have to take you to the hospital for surgery and skin grafting. Stop whining and get back in position.” Atlas turned, pulled out a small bottle with a stoppered cap. He inserted the needle into the bottle, pulled back the plunger on the needle.
“Three,” he said. The guys gathered around my table. Robes held open over my body like a tent.
The snarl in my throat lifted until it filled the room around us.
“Two.” The opened robes settled over my fur, still loose.
“One.” The robes tightened around me. I lifted my head, nipped at Taryk
“No.” He slapped my nose with a sharp, open-handed smack. He glared at me.
I snarled at him.
“Ransom just got bitch-slapped by T.” Asher laughed from my right side.
A pinch, a stick, then blackness enveloped me.
Chapter 2 – Kiema
“Wh—”
A hand slapped over my mouth.
“Do not make a sound. They’ve found us,” Lukas breathed against my ear.
Fuck. It was bad enough that I’d been stuck in this stupid place for the last two days without anyone telling me what was going on. But now Lukas loomed over me, his usually open and happy face dark and closed.
I nodded. All I’d been told was that we were waiting for Reece. Who apparently wasn’t part of Iron Serpent. Yeah, I’d believe that crap when I saw it.
I pushed myself up from the cot I was sleeping on. Luxury conditions, this. I shoved my legs into my pants.
Standing up behind Lukas, I tapped his back when I was ready to move. He reached around and grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers. He opened the flap of the tent.
It was pitch black outside. To the far side of the camp, I could hear dogs braying and sniffling around. Arcs of light from flashlights zoomed over the low hanging mist in the sky, setting up a lightshow the likes of which I’d never seen before.
Lukas led me around the far side of our tent, made a beeline for the outcropping of rocks that huddled around the slight bowl of the campsite. Hunching over at the waist, we quickly—but quietly—made our way over to the biggest rock.
Lukas pushed me to the ground, tried to shove my head into the rock. If he was aiming to knock me out, he was doing it in an agonizingly slow way.
“Under the rock, Kiema. For fuck’s sake!”
Oh. Oops. I dipped my head under the edge of the rock into the small channel that had been dug. I held my breath as I scooted my way beneath the edge of the rock. As soon as my head and shoulders were free on the other side, I inhaled. The scents of earth, decay, and nature assailed my nostrils.
Lukas pushed his way in behind me, a flashlight in his hand. I grabbed it from him and flicked it on quickly. I’d never thought myself to be claustrophobic before, but camping with a large group of men in a tent clearly not designed to hold them all had me rethinking my neuroses.
The space under the rock was quite roomy for the conditions. I was able to lie flat on my back and not touch rock on either end.
“Scoot over, luv.” Hands settled on my side and pushed me over.
Well, it had been quite roomy.
“What the hell is going on, Lukas?”
“Montague is back,” he said.
I felt my body stiffen. I’d sooner fling myself into the fires of hell than deal with that man again. My arms and legs ached remembering the restraints. The
needles.
“Thought you’d like to get away,” he said. “Here. Managed to snag this on my way back to the tent.”
He handed me a small rectangle of plastic and glass.
“Where the hell did you get a phone?”
He shot me a wink, his pale face covered in dirt. His bright blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “To tell would make you blush. Just use it. Call those boys of yours, yeah?”
I stiffened. I wouldn’t be putting any of my boys in danger. Not for this man. Not for Iron Serpent. They had no idea that animal shifters were real. They certainly weren’t going to hear the freaking news from me either.
“I don’t know their numbers.” Which was nothing but the truth.
“Fuck.” He scraped a hand down his face. “Montague isn’t fucking about, luv. We need to get out. Fast.”
“Where’s Reece?”
Lukas growled. “Bloody tosser’s with them, the git. He was rooting out the ‘problem’ of the Resistance. He’s no good to us.”
“Shit.” Could I still trust Lukas? Did I take the chance? What if he was playing triple agent as well? I was well and truly up shit creek with no boat let alone a paddle if that were the case.
“Another guy came into the camp today. Escorting Matilda.”
I felt my stomach bunch up. “Lots of facial piercings?”
Lukas turned as much as he could, looked at me. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“That’s Hellion. He’s the one who pushed me from the helicopter.”
Lukas chuckled. “Hate to say this, luv, but I’m pretty sure that was Aeron and Reece. Unless Hellion is packing some kind of power no one knows about, then the rucking about and tossing you from the copter was of Reece’s doing.”
“Those fuckers.” I glowered in the low light.
Lukas held a hand to his chest. “Darling, I’m crushed. You landed safely into my arms.”
