Fairy Magic (27 page)

Letting Go

MAKANI JUMPED THROUGH the open window and hit the ground running, charging toward the intruders.

“Stop!” Naomi shouted. “You haven’t fully acclimated to this realm.”

He just kept running. Not that she was surprised. She jumped out the window after him. As she reached him, Makani swung his sword in a perfect arc, cleanly cutting off the head of the vampire he was fighting. A mage was sneaking up on him from behind. Naomi knocked her out with a blast of Fairy Dust. She turned to blast another mage, but the pink magic sizzled out on her fingertips. Damn it. Her magic was so weak here.

Laughing, the mage shot a stream of fire at her. Alex jumped in front of Naomi, casting a barrier of ice that froze the fire solid. Then she whirled her magic around the gigantic icicles. They shot toward the mage, stapling him to a tree.

Sera fought beside Makani. She twirled in a graceful loop, shooting a wave of wind at the two vampires closing in on them. Kai tackled them as they fell, bathing the vampires in magic fire.

The ghosts swooped down. Logan ran into their path, dodging around them as their bodies turned solid. With inhuman speed, his knife darted and slashed, cutting at them. Makani turned back-to-back with him, his sword glistening with icy magic. One-by-one, the ghosts flickered out, ejected back to the spirit realm to heal their injuries.

A fairy closed on Naomi. She spun a kick, knocking him in the head. He dropped beside Kai and Sera, who were stringing elemental magic together into a symphony of spells.

Monsters roared. A great beast Naomi didn’t recognize leapt over the fence. Two more followed, landing beside the first. They looked like a hellish mismatch of monster parts. Each had a huge, beastly body in the shape of an enormous wolf and dragon-like wings. They opened their mouths, snarling at Naomi with teeth pointier than Alex’s magic icicles.

Naomi reached for her magic, trying to summon it again. It refused. No matter how hard she pulled and pushed, it wouldn’t come. She lifted her sword as a beast leapt at her. Her blade slashed at it, breaking on the fur. No, not fur. Each hair was a spike of something stronger than steel.

Naomi jabbed her broken sword into the beast, but its spiky shell was too hard. And it was protected by magic. Her weapon shattered in her hand. The beast knocked her to the ground, its massive body pinning her down. It opened its mouth, drool dripping off its fangs as it moved it to bite her.

Something hit the beast, knocking it off of her. Naomi jumped to her feet as a huge dragon dove toward the beasts, its mouth opening to expel a sonic cry. Kai. No, Naomi realized as she saw him standing beside Sera, staring up at the dragon. This was Makani’s dragon. The dragon prince waved his hand forward, and the great gold dragon swiped its clawed front feet at one of the beasts, tearing it in half. It turned midair, wind whistling across its massive wings. The dragon punched the second beast so hard that its armor shattered into a million shards. The third beast took flight, trying to get away. Makani’s dragon opened its mighty jaws and gold fire poured out of its mouth, burning the beast. The enflamed heap of beast flesh dropped to the ground, hitting the grass with a wet, sizzling splat.

Makani held his hand up to the dragon. The beautiful creature, shimmering like sunshine, extended a single clawed finger, tapping Makani’s fist in the Dragon Born equivalent of a high-five. Then the dragon unraveled into a golden, sparkling mist of magic that absorbed into Makani. He turned to stare across the lawn at Naomi, his eyes glowing gold as he ran toward her.

“Are you all right?” He held her arm gently in his hands, looking over the bleeding slashes on her shoulder.

“I’m fine. What… Was that your dragon?”

Alex and Sera came up behind Naomi, gaping at him.

“Yes,” Makani said. “That was Eero. My dragon half. It has been so long since we’ve fought together.”

“He is beautiful,” Sera told him, her eyes shining with wonder.

Makani dipped his chin.

“And so powerful,” Alex said. “I can’t wait to see my dragon.”

Sera nodded.

“How did Darksire find us?” Naomi asked Makani.

“That wasn’t Darksire,” he told her. “That was Bael. He sent people after us. He must still be tracking you.”

“The mark?”

“The mark shouldn’t work outside the spirit realm,” he said. “Perhaps the tear in the veil has made it possible. We need to remove it. But first we must move to a new location before Bael sends more of his minions. This was only a small scouting party.”

Naomi looked across the front lawn, which was covered in corpses. “Small?”

“The next group he sends will be more formidable.”

Kai came up to them. “Sera, I just got a call from Tony. The Grim Reaper has struck again. We need to get on the plane and get to New York.”

Sera looked from Makani to Kai. Questions swirled in her eyes—so many questions.

Alex’s phone buzzed. She glanced down at it, sighing. “It’s Marek’s mother,” she told Logan. “The Convictionites have struck in Paris. We need to go too.” She looked at Naomi. “I hate leaving you like this.”

“Go,” Naomi told her. She squeezed Sera’s hand. “Both of you. You have your own crises.”

Sera wrapped her arms around Naomi, embracing her. “Be safe.”

Alex joined in the hug, adding, “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She winked at Naomi.

Then they all went inside to pack up. An hour later, they drove off in their separate cars, waving goodbye to one another—and to the Gothic castle that had been their home for the past few weeks.

“Where do we go?” Makani asked her.

Naomi pulled out her phone. “Leave that to me.”

* * *

With Gran’s help, Naomi managed to set up new housing for herself and Makani. It wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the Gothic castle they’d been staying at before the demon’s attack, but at least it was off the grid. The empty warehouse was—well, empty. The big loading bay had bare concrete walls that were slowly blackening with time. The windows beside the garage doors were crusted over in a layer of hardened dirt that was nearly opaque. On the bright side, at least they didn’t need to invest in curtains for their new castle.

The warehouse boasted of a couple of air mattresses and a few rickety old lawn chairs. It didn’t even have a kitchen—at least not a functioning one. It was just as well. Naomi wasn’t much in the mood for baking, and Makani’s idea of cooking was to put meat over a fire. At least the warehouse had a toilet. That made their current living arrangement a solid step up from hell.

The loading bay of the warehouse sure was as hot as hell right now. Naomi and Makani were kneeling across from each other as he chanted old spells. The sweet mix of magical herbs wafted in the steamy air. Naomi had stripped down to a tank top and shorts, but it was still too hot. Whatever Makani had mixed into that magical steam had made the air over a hundred degrees. The steam was supposed to sweat the magical mark the ghosts had made right out of her—if it didn’t kill her first.

“You could just break the mark,” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The tiny, sticky drops splattered against the dirty floor.

“If I break your magic, you’ll pass out.”

“I might do that anyway.”

Her head was dizzy with heat and steam and magic, her vision doubled. She swayed to the side. His hands caught her arms.

“See what I mean,” she said, blinking to refocus her eyes.

“If I broke the magic on that mark, it would hurt you.” His finger traced up her arm. “This is a gentler method.”

“And dragons are gentle,” she teased, lifting her brows. The steam really was going to her head. She knew better than to tease him.

Magic electrified his eyes. “No. We’re not.” He patted his hand against the filthy ground. “Let’s go.”

He lowered onto his stomach. She followed, mimicking his movements as he went through a series of stretches designed to sweat the mark out of her.

* * *

An hour later, Naomi was covered in a paste of dirt and sweat. There might even have been some old motor oil mixed in there somewhere—and possibly some things she didn’t want to think about. Who knew what this loading bay had been used for over the years.

There might have been a toilet, but the warehouse wasn’t upscale enough to have a shower. There was a big overhead faucet at the side of the loading bay, the kind used to clean vehicles and shipping crates. Naomi stepped up to it, praying that it was connected to the hot water. She turned the knobs, relieved when warm water gushed down from the enormous industrial shower head. Slowly, she began to scrub the dirt from her body. She watched with strange satisfaction as the brown water swirled down the drain. Sometimes it was all about the little things in life. She couldn’t free the world of Darksire’s dark influence—yet—but she could free her skin of that wretched layer of dirt. That counted for something. Right now, it counted for a hell of a lot.

“You are clean.”

Naomi jumped at Makani’s voice. Settling herself, she turned and smiled at him. “Not yet clean.” She picked up a bottle of peach body wash. “But I soon will be.”

“I meant clean of the mark,” he said. “Bael won’t be able to track you anymore.”

She turned around and peeled off her clothes. Rubbing her hands together, she built up a thick lather of body wash and set out to scrub herself clean. By the time she was done, there wouldn’t be a single speckle of dirt on her entire body.

Her back brushed against smooth skin. She looked over her shoulder to find Makani there—and he was completely nude. Smiling through the warning bells ringing inside of her head, she handed him the bottle of body wash. He took it in silence, his eyes never leaving hers, even as he scrubbed the dirt from his body.

She rubbed the shampoo into her hair, hyperaware that they were both naked and standing just inches from each other. Any other man would have stolen a peek, but not Makani. His eyes were locked on hers, the look in them burning hotter than the fires of hell. She kept that easy smile on her face. It was her armor, her protection against the dangers of men and dragons. And especially men who were dragons. She forced herself not to steal a peek either. Whatever she could have seen would only tempt her.

When they were finished cleaning, she wrapped a towel around herself and pulled on a fresh tank top and shorts. She hung her wet clothes from a few hooks in the wall, then slid into a pair of running shoes.

“Naomi.”

She turned to face him. He was dressed now too—well, except for his unsettling habit of not wearing a shirt.

He never stopped watching her, as though he were drinking in every breath that she took. “You need to let go.”

“Do I?” she asked, her heart thumping as he closed in.

His hand flicked to her shoulder, tucking the strap of her bra beneath her tank top. “You need to let go of your magic,” he clarified. “You are trying too hard to control it, to force it.”

“My magic won’t come. I feel weaker on earth than in the spirit realm.”

“Because your magic feeds on the energy of the spirit realm. You need to open a conduit to the spirit realm to draw magic from it.”

“Won’t nasty hell beasties use that conduit to get out?” she asked.

“No, only you can access this conduit.” He fell quiet.

“I’m sorry. This must be hard for you.”

“Why do you think that?” he asked.

“Because you once loved a Spirit Warrior.”

“Naomi, it has been seven hundred years since I lost her. That is a long time. The pain has faded over the centuries. Only vengeance and hate remain.”

“For Darksire,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” he said. “Darksire.” Anger cut across his face, but his touch was surprisingly gentle as he set his hands onto her shoulders. “I will help you build up your power, and then together we will end him.”

“I’m ready.”

“Close your eyes.”

She took a deep breath to settle herself, then did as he asked.

“Spirit magic is your natural state, but it is not natural to the earth.” His voice circled around her. “It is hidden beneath the layers of other magic. Think of it like a rose drowned out in a garden of other flowers. The other flowers are overpowering it. You need to learn to ignore the other flowers, to know your own magic so well that you can find it anywhere, no matter what other magics are around.”

“The spirit magic is everywhere?”

“Yes, the spirit realm overlaps ours. The magic is always here, even if it’s hidden. I can feel it in this room. Reach out with your magic. Try to find it.”

She tried to extend her magic to fill the room. It refused to even leave her body. She tried again, pushing harder this time.

“No, not like that,” Makani told her. His finger traced her spine all the way up to her neck. “Relax. You are still fighting it.” His hands rolled against her back, every wave of his massage penetrating her tired muscles. “Stop fighting. You need to let go. Give up the control. Your magic knows what to do. Let it.”

She unrolled her magic, her senses brushing against a tiny spark of spirit magic. She reached for it.

“Yes. You’re getting there,” Makani said, his words trickling down her neck.

“I can feel it.”

She drank in the familiar sweetness, lapping up the spirit magic greedily. Faster and faster, she pulled at it. This was just a hint of the real thing, an echo. She wanted more. She pushed harder, trying to break through to its source. Her magic snapped and sizzled out.

Sighing, she opened her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She slouched down, heaving in deep breaths. She felt like she’d just sprinted across the city. “I guess you’re right. I don’t know how to let go.”

His hand locked around her wrist, pulling her around. He looked at her for a moment, then took her other hand.

“What—”

“Trust me.” He pulled her down.

“But I just got clean,” she protested as her knees touched the dirty floor.

“Trust me,” he repeated. “Close your eyes.”

Her lashes brushed against her cheekbones. “Ok, now what?”

“Listen to my voice. To my magic.”

Magic hummed against her skin, a warm note of pure contentment. It felt like her magic—and at the same time not like her magic.