Irresistible Magic (26 page)

Thankfully, the witches were able to wield a spell to carry the vampire and his two sidekicks to the cars. We’d fished the keys out of Von’s pocket, and after a walk around the block clicking the unlock button, we finally had success with a beige Suburban. It was the fully loaded version, complete with drop-down movie screens and a rear full of kids’ toys. Who the hell had they stolen this mom-mobile from?

Once we had the Suburban open, Harrison hauled our tranq’d victims into the back, piling them in a heap. Limbs tangled and poked into backs and ribcages. If they woke up in those positions, we were going to have some very cranky bad guys on our hands.

“I’ll drive this one.” Phoebe snatched the Suburban keys from me and pressed the keys to her Camry into my palm, nodding to me, Tal, and Link. “You three take my car.”

Harrison and Nicola climbed into the Suburban. Phoebe waited for the rest of us to get safely to the Camry before she jumped in after them and took off.

Tal sat back in the passenger’s seat and closed his eyes.

I twisted the key in the ignition and let the car idle for a moment. “Tal?”

He didn’t open his eyes. “Hmm?”

I gripped his hand and squeezed, trying not to cry from the emotion swelling in my chest. “Don’t ever do that again.”

He opened one eye and peered at me. “Do what?”

“Get yourself abducted,” I whispered. “I can’t take it.”

His eye closed and he sighed. “Be thankful they didn’t succeed in killing me.”

The statement hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. He’d just confirmed what I already knew the moment I saw him in that chair. There was no denying they’d been draining the life from him. I leaned across the car and rested my head on his leg, needing to be connected to him.

He placed his hand on my head and lightly stroked my hair. “I love you, too, Wil,” he said very faintly. I sat stunned, not sure what to say. Then, as I sorted my thoughts, his shallow breathing became steady and I knew he’d fallen into an exhausted slumber.

I love you, too.
The words ran through my mind over and over as I sat up and then eased the car into gear and headed back through the quiet streets. We’d never said those words to each other before. A month ago, I would’ve brushed them off as a brotherly type thing. But everything was different now. He’d said
the
words and I’d said nothing.

Son of a…cripes.

That was not how a declaration of love was supposed to go. I pressed my foot on the accelerator and sped the rest of the way to Mid-City. The beige Suburban was parked in David’s driveway when I stopped Phoebe’s car at his curb.

“Tal,” I said, nudging his shoulder.

He blinked, glancing around in confusion. “Where are we?”

“David’s house. Remember? We brought Von and his minions here.”

“Right.” He rubbed his eyes and reached for the door handle.

I caught his arm. “Wait.”

He glanced back at me, his face drawn with a bone-deep weariness.

“Are you up for this? I mean, all your healing crystals must be back at your apartment, right?”

He gave me a weak smile. “They are. But we both know we can’t go back there right now.” The door creaked as he climbed out.

Link and I followed. I clasped Tal’s arm and the three of us headed into David’s house uninvited. A pit formed in my stomach. What would David say when he found out we’d barged in without his permission?

Right then, I decided I didn’t care. He could find a way to deal with it. David hadn’t exactly been looking out for my welfare. No, he’d had his own agenda where I was concerned…again.

Inside the house, I led Tal straight to the study where I knew Phoebe would be. She was huddled around the desk with Harrison and Nicola. No one even acknowledged us. A sense of déjà vu settled over me.

Not too long ago, we’d had Clea locked in the sunroom while David and Phoebe shut me out of the interrogation process. That wouldn’t be happening again. I stalked over to the desk, hands on hips. “We’re here.”

Phoebe glanced up. “I know. I heard you.” Her gazed flicked to Tal. “You probably want to find a guest room for him.”

Anger seemed to seep from my pores, but before I could argue, Tal shook his head and said, “No. I’m not the only one who was taken.”

“Elissa?” I asked.

Tal gave me a confused look. “The lab assistant?”

“Yeah. She hasn’t been home in days.”

His brow crinkled as he frowned. “She was at work yesterday morning, but she left before the attack.”

Well, that was something. “Then who?”

“My boss. Professor Dawson. They took him at the same time they got me. I saw them stuff him in another car before they knocked me out. But when I awoke in the warehouse, he wasn’t there.”

Phoebe sucked in a sharp breath. “Shit. We can’t leave him.”

I shook my head and grabbed Tal’s hand. His boss was his only friend in town besides Phoebe and me. “Do you have any idea where he could be? You had multiple places to try, right?”

Phoebe bit down on her lip, thinking. With a grimace, she said, “We could check them out, but those were long shots. The warehouse was the only one that seemed plausible.”

Tal’s eyes narrowed. “You have other addresses to try?”

“Well, technically, yes. But I doubt we’d find anything except car parts or other petty-theft items.”

“Give me the addresses. I’ll go myself.” Tal grabbed a pad of paper from the desk and reached for a pen.

“Wait.” I wrapped my hands around his arm and gently pulled him to my side. “You can’t go anywhere quite yet.”

“I’m not leaving him with those monsters, Willow. You have no idea what they’re capable of.”

An image of Tal, white and drained of life, made me tremble with delayed shock. “I think I do,” I said quietly, clutching the edge of the desk. “I know you have to do what you have to do, but please, take some time to heal first.” Tal was a healer. He had the magic within himself to become whole again. He just needed to focus.

Tal sucked in a breath. “I don’t have my amethyst.”

“What? You always…shit. They took it from you.” It wasn’t a question. Tal never went anywhere without an amethyst on him. It was either in his pocket or around his neck.

Tal’s lips formed a tight line. He nodded once and turned to Phoebe. “Can I borrow your car?”

“Wait.” Nicola reached into her purse and rummaged around.

We all stared at her while she dumped handfuls of receipts and gum wrappers on the desk. “It’s in here somewhere,” she said under her breath.

“What?” I asked.

She grumbled and then a smile lit her creamy features. “Aha!” She pulled out a severely knotted silver chain, but on the end dangled a wire-wrapped pale lavender stone.

Tal stepped forward and wrapped his hand around the pendant. His eyes closed and the tension instantly drained from his face. A tiny bit of pink colored his cheeks.

I sank into a chair, finally able to relax for the first time all day. He was recovering right before my eyes.

Nicola let go of the chain and stepped back.

“Thank you,” Tal said.

“No. Thank you.” A trace of a smile graced her lips. “Ever since you healed me last week, that amethyst seems to take away any minor ailment.”

“It’s a side effect,” I mumbled.

“What?” She turned, glancing at me.

I cleared my throat. “After Tal touches someone with his magic, it lingers. If you keep an amethyst on your person, the magic will flair to life when you need it.”

“Sort of like an energy boost?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Tal’s coloring was better, but the way his body swayed slightly indicated the bone-deep exhaustion was catching up to him.

I put an arm around him. “Let’s go in the other room so you can concentrate.” What I really wanted to do was lead him to the guest room so he could lie down. But I knew he wouldn’t do that in David’s house and he wasn’t going to let anyone treat him like an invalid. Not that he was one. He just needed some time and space to recover. We moved into the living room where Tal took a seat on David’s pin-striped settee and leaned back. His shoulders hunched forward as he clutched the amethyst.

“Tal?”

“Willow,” he said, not opening his eyes. “Please. Let me be for now.” His voice was strained and full of something close to desperation.

I backed up into the doorway. “Of course. I’ll be with Phoebe if you need anything.”

He gave me one nod and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he hung his head.

I’d give anything to be able to help him the way he’d helped me more times than I could count. The times I’d been battered and aching to the point of almost no return until his cool tingling magic took it all away. Now he’d have to use the last of his strength to heal himself. He could do it, but he wouldn’t be in any shape to fight for his boss. I’d guess he’d need at least a week to fully recover. He wouldn’t admit that to anyone, though. Not even himself.

“Hey,” Phoebe said.

I jumped and whirled to find her standing right behind me. My heart pounded as if it were trying to beat right out of my chest. “Dammit, Phoebs. Could you have been any quieter? You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.” She placed a gentle hand on my arm. “I need to talk to Tal for a sec.”

I shook my head. “He needs some time to himself.”

“Let her in,” Tal said from the settee. “I’m fine.”

I clamped my lips together, forcing myself to not say anything. Phoebe hurried in and sat next to Tal as I leaned against the doorframe. They weren’t touching, but something about their interaction made me think Tal was more comfortable with her presence than mine. Something close to jealousy ignited inside me and I had to turn away to get a grip on myself. Absolutely nothing was going on with them. I knew that right down to my toes.

But that didn’t stop the ache that formed in my chest at knowing he needed her more than me at that moment
.

Stop it!

Talisen told me he loved me. He’d just been through a terrible ordeal. Whatever he needed, I’d make sure he got it. I turned back around, listening in on their conversation.

“Nicola and I think we can perform a spell to help us track your boss.”

Tal raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I’ve never heard you talk about a tracking spell before.”

She shrugged. “They’re highly unpredictable and dangerous if the witch doesn’t know what she’s doing. I’ve cast a few while in Void training and Nicola was present once when her grandmother cast one, so she knows what they’re supposed to feel like. We’ve worked together enough this past week that I think we’ll be okay to at least try it. But I need something to tie us to him. Do you have anything at all that belonged to him at one point?”

Tal frowned and rubbed a hand over his face. “There are a ton of items at the lab.”

Phoebe shook her head. “Can’t. There’s a team of at least three men watching the place in case one of us shows up looking for your new drug.”

“There are?” We hadn’t seen any earlier.

Phoebe cast a glance in my direction. “Yeah. I have a contact at the campus keeping me informed. They were there when we were, but thanks to our undercover mission, we went through unnoticed. It’s too late for that sort of thing now. There aren’t enough students to help us blend into the crowd.”

Tal eyed us both and I knew he wanted to know what we’d been doing there, but he didn’t ask. Instead he reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn black leather wallet. “Here.” He handed Phoebe a battered business card. “He gave me this the day I interviewed.”

Her eyes lit up like she’d just been presented with a new set of vampire cuffs. Or a supercharged sun agate. “Perfect. This is more than perfect. Thanks.” She stood and smiled down at him. “Rest up, Talisen. We’re going to need you in about thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes!” I cried and ran forward. “No. Tal needs—”

“Willow,” Tal cut me off. “I’m not broken. I just need a few minutes to myself.”

I’d never seen him appear so shattered before, so depleted and on the edge of life, yet determined to force his way through whatever came next. His condition had to be hard for him to accept. I nodded once, not meeting his eyes.

“We’ll be in the library if you need anything.” Phoebe held the business card at the very edge with two fingers and joined me in the next room. “Try not to worry so much,” she said to me.

“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled.

“Actually, no. It isn’t. I like Talisen. And he’s important to you. So I’m worried not only about him, but you, too.”

I gave her a weak smile.

“Try to remember he’s in love with you. He doesn’t want you nursing him or seeing him like that.” Her lips quirked up into a knowing smile. “Imagine what it’s doing to his ego.”

I bit back a tiny surprised laugh. She was right. He was usually putting me back together, not the other way around. And to top it off, this was his skill. The thing that set him apart from everyone else. To seem so
broken
in front of everyone must be killing him inside.