Sigils and spells, p.89
Sigils & Spells, page 89
Dammit.
I should not be having thoughts like that. I wondered if the academy was to blame. Whoever was responsible for breaking tradition, and probably a few laws, when they choose the inhabitants of room 563W, had created this whole impossible situation with their meddling.
Was it on purpose?
To what end?
“Fire, like water, can represent rebirth and purification,” Professor Grimes said, carrying on as if I was not sitting there, having a mild panic attack.
She’d just started her comparisons of fire and earth when I picked up the sounds of footsteps in the hall. Odd, since my hearing was not any better than anybody else’s, but I paid it no mind. Classes stuck to the same time slots, and it was strange that anyone would walk around so loudly during them.
“Excuse me, Professor Grimes, I need to take Tana McKenna to see the headmistress,” Brandon’s slightly accented voice interrupted the lecture, and the professor’s head whipped from the strong, handsome sentinel to me and back again.
“Of course. Ms. McKenna, you are excused,” she told me, and I nodded at her before following Brandon into the hall.
“What is it? What’s going on?” I whispered, but he was moving so quickly I did not know if he heard me.
Finally, Brandon rounded a corner and stopped. I was walking so fast to keep up with his impossibly long strides, I would have crashed into him had he not steadied me with his hands.
“Don’t be mad. Just hear her out,” he said ominously.
Curiosity piqued, I followed him into a small storage closet where a row of mops, brooms, buckets, and old rags sat against a dusty shelf. Weird that the cleaning supplies were kept in a dirty closet, but whatever. I scrunched my nose as the harsh smell of chemicals filtered through my nostrils. The closet was big enough that I didn’t see who waited for me until Brandon flipped the light switch.
“What are you doing here?”
My head snapped to Brandon, whose face was schooled to be blank. For a shifter, he was annoyingly good at turning off his emotions. This was so not cool. I glared at the witch, standing in the corner with her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
“I heard something you should probably know about. In fact, our friend Brandon insisted on it,” she said, and her expression was mutinous.
“Our friend?” I asked, and could not keep the snark from my tone.
My magic pulsed beneath my skin, the flames of power I kept hidden from the world tingled, desperate to burn the grin off her face.
“Sure, I know I call him a friend. Brandon and I had potential once upon a time, didn’t we, baby?”
My heart thudded painfully inside my chest.
Was this true?
Did Brandon have history with the short-haired witch?
Fine. Props to Mabe, her stylishly unkempt bob was almost as black as Brandon’s, and I hated to admit it, but it looked cool. Just like her reddish brown eyes. The closet seemed to grow smaller as the short, curvy witch smirked at me.
I was taller, and my chest was flatter than hers. Sure, my ass was round enough, I supposed. And I usually loved my long, red hair—when it wasn’t dull from non-use of magic. I had never had a problem with my looks before, but suddenly I felt insecure.
Mabe seemed to feed off that, and the little witch walked over to where Brandon stood slightly to my left. She slid her hands up his chest and turned to wink at me. Before I could even process the show she was putting on, Brandon grabbed both her wrists in what looked like a painful hold and pushed her off him.
“Stop fucking around, Mabe. Tell her,” he growled.
It was a mistake to forget the power Brandon kept hidden beneath his cool, unflappable shell. Dragons, even hybrids, were remarkably strong. The fact he was half Druid meant he had reserves of magic only admissible to his kind. I was intrigued as fuck when it came to the sentinel, and apparently, I was possessive, too.
“Fine,” she grunted, rubbing her wrists. “I was waiting outside Stolbright’s office and heard her speaking to Armstrong. Your father was picked up prowling around some old, haunted graveyard with a necromancer. He’s being held by the Council—”
“No!” I gasped, covering my mouth in horror.
The Council of Covens outlawed the use of necromancers without special license, and I sincerely doubted Da had gone through any such niceties. He hated the fucking council, as did I. Traitors and users, the whole lot of them.
How else could they justify sitting on the sidelines while clans and covens held grudges and waged guerrilla warfare years after the last battle had been declared done?
“Stolbright seemed quite happy to have a McKenna behind bars. Apparently, she’s been holding a grudge against your family. She mentioned you by name. I didn’t realize you were flunking every single one of your courses. Ha! She didn’t seem to think you were any kind of threat at all, fire witch,” Mabe sneered.
I ignored the last of Mabe’s nasty commentary, hightailing it out of the small closet, like my tail was on fire.
Fuck.
Da was in trouble!
I wanted to scream and rampage. He would not do well behind bars. My father had been closed off ever since my mother’s death, and the idea of him at the mercy of actual criminals terrified me. I just had to find him.
“Tana? Tana!”
I heard Brandon calling to me, but I had no time to spare. If the Council of Covens was holding my father, I needed to figure out where he was and how to get him out. I should have probably called a magical lawyer, but the library was my next best resource.
“Tana, wait. You can’t just run off half-cocked,” he growled, grabbing my elbow and spinning me to face him.
“I don’t have time for this. My father needs me—”
“Does he need you to get kicked out of the academy for skipping another class? Look, I know you’re upset. But Armstrong gave me orders. I can’t disobey.”
“Fuck your orders,” I snarled, angry as all hell. How dare he think he could tell me what to do!
“Dammit, mo spréach, that temper of yours drives me mad. Stop! Listen. Please.”
His pupils changed shape to vertical slits. The color, a molten silver with so much heat and depth, I felt the burn all the way to my soul. I could not deny I wanted him. Arousal sparked to life, warming me in ways I hadn’t felt in, well, ever.
His nostrils flared and the dragon hybrid’s expression changed in an instant from fury to sexy. Brandon cupped one large hand around the back of my neck, his countenance fierce as he tugged me toward him.
“Get off,” I growled, pulling back.
He released me immediately, to my surprise and annoyance. I was a walking fucking contradiction. Brandon’s silver eyes narrowed, and his chest heaved with the strength of his breathing.
“Why don’t you grab your friend and see if she wants your paws on her cause I sure as fuck don’t!”
I was so mad at him. Mad at me. Fuck, mad at everyone, I guessed. I missed the feel of his hands on my body. Silly really, telling him to get off me. It was a lie. My entire body was begging him for the kiss his eyes promised.
“You’ve got one more class, Tana. I’ve made some calls. Let me find out where he is, then we can see about getting him.”
My lips trembled and for one instant I allowed the fear I felt to fill me.
“Hey, it will be all right. I got you.”
The concern on his face broke me. I was scared, and I was tired. Bad enough I had to grow up without my mother and a father who was only there half of the time. But it was better than having no parents. I was tired of feeling this way. Tired of stifling my magic.
Fuck.
What was I doing?
I did not know. But I knew one thing. Brandon Flint was offering to help me, and I just did not have the strength to turn him down. There were bigger things at play than I could handle alone. A terrible thought for someone as independent as me. But I was honest enough to admit it, even if only to myself.
“Come on. One more class. You can do this,” he said. Pressing warm fingers into the small of my back, he nudged me forward.
Brandon had left me outside the classroom, and I saw him take the special communications device all sentinels had tucked into their uniforms. It resembled a cell phone, but it was smaller and magicked to only work for them.
My last class was with Professor Smitty. The fucker hated me for some reason. Probably because I was flunking Advanced Pyromancy. He probably thought I was the least talented fire witch in the universe. I snorted and shook my head.
If he only knew.
CHAPTER 8
Class got out ten minutes late, and I was just about as aggravated as I could be. A chilly breeze swept through the halls, and I wondered idly if any airheads were responsible. Brandon waited for me with a hooded expression.
When I turned right, I saw why. Stolbright was monitoring the hallway. I hated that woman. Something was just not right about her. The constant smirk she wore, as if she knew something no one else did.
Her gaze landed on me, and my stomach filled with rage. This woman knew where my father was and why he was taken, and I was powerless to do anything but pretend ignorance.
“Ms. McKenna, how nice to see you attending class.”
“Good evening, Ms. Stolbright. Are you going out to hunt up prospects at this time of night?” I asked, eying her cloak and boots.
“Not hunting, dear. I have other duties tonight,” she replied, her smirk growing wider.
My heartbeat hammered loudly, and I felt a tingling sensation along my fingertips. Brandon moved behind her, standing in my line of vision with his impossibly beautiful face, and he shook his head once.
“You know, you really should attend class more. The magical world needs more candle makers.”
I exhaled a trembling breath, trying to hold on to my temper.
Candle makers?
I would show her a candle maker!
“Tana! We came to get you for dinner!” Jade exclaimed.
She’d appeared suddenly with Enid, Rio, and Maia in tow. Magnus and Enok hung back, joining Brandon, who’d moved back against the wall without me even noticing.
Fuck, he was fast.
“Hi there, Ms. Stolbright. Wanna join us for a meal?” Enid asked innocently.
I was too distracted to hear the woman’s reply. Jade elbowed me and I looked down to see my fingertips sporting some red, flaming fingernails.
Fuck.
Maia squeaked, elbowing Rio who, looking down, saw my dilemma. She waved her fingers and focused and suddenly my hands were soaking wet, as were my boots, but at least the flames were doused.
For now.
“Shit. That was close,” Rio mumbled.
“All right, Tana, spill,” Maia whispered, tugging my arm as we walked down to the cafeteria. Might as well grab some munchies. I was starving.
“Nothing to spill,” I tried, but Jade cut me off with a firm shake of her head.
“Brandon called us down here to get you out of trouble when he saw Stolbright gunning for you ten minutes ago. We hauled ass to get here, McKenna, and I am not letting you brush me off,” the feisty little earth witch snapped.
“Drinks?” Enok called out as we found a table in the busy caf.
“Tea.”
“Coffee.”
“Cherry cola!”
“Want something?” Brandon murmured, and I nodded my head.
For some reason, he seemed pretty intuitive when it came to discerning my likes and dislikes. I doubted I would taste anything, anyway.
“We’ll grab the drinks and food. You ladies can stay here,” Magnus offered.
I was grateful not to have to go through the whole menu and deciding thing. The sprites were great at their job, but sometimes there was just too much to choose from. The room was abuzz with conversations from groups of witches and wizards winding down their day. This was the last call for dinner. The cafeteria was open for small plates and snacks after hours, but full meal service ended in less than an hour.
“All right look,” I said, lifting my head to look at three pairs of concerned eyes.
It touched me deeply, knowing I had the support of these three witches. Enid was new to our group, but no less important. I exhaled slowly as they waited, their faces expectant.
“My Da’s been arrested—”
“What?”
“No way!”
“Why?”
“I can’t go into details here, but I didn’t come to Westwood with the same intentions as you.”
“What do you mean?” Maia asked.
“Well, duh. I mean, I’m an earth witch, she’s water,” Jade said pointing to Rio. “We don’t know what Enid is, but we will. Maia is air, and you’re a fire witch. None of us have the same end goals.”
“No, I don’t mean that,” I said, taking a deep breath before I began to even think of an explanation for my being there.
The men came back, taking seats around the table. Enok and Magnus sat beside their mates. Brandon sat next to me, and I was so damn grateful for that even though we were only—well, I didn’t have a name for what we were, but I was happy he was near me.
“I came to Westwood because I needed to learn how to use my magic. Well, that’s not exactly true,” I mumbled, pausing to take a sip of the ginger ale Brandon had brought me.
I bit my lip, but everyone was still behaving normally, taking bites of food and sips from their drinks.
Shit.
I never thought about how they would look at me if they knew the truth. I never thought I would care. But I did. A lot, actually. This was one of the side effects of having friends, I supposed. I never had any before, and the experience was both new and a tad overwhelming.
Were they going to hate me?
It shouldn’t bother me. Really, it shouldn’t. Still, it did, and as I gathered my nerve, I noticed Brandon sliding his chair closer, his big, muscular thigh brushed against mine and my whole body seemed to sizzle at the contact.
“Hang on,” Enok said, and closed his eyes.
He whispered a few words, and I recognized them from a privacy cast I’d read about once upon a time.
Smart.
“We should be good now. No one but those at our table will hear what we say.”
“Thanks,” Maia told him and nuzzled his nose. “Come on, Tana. We can’t help if you don’t tell us.”
One look at the air witch, and a very familiar looking rose colored sweater, and I found the courage to tell my story for the first time.
“You all know the Second Witch Wars ended about forty years ago, and I may have even mentioned my grandmother died in battle. Florence Newton. My mother’s mother.”
“Oh no,” Jade said, patting my hand.
“I’m so sorry,” Rio murmured.
I nodded, pushing through my explanation. It was going to be long and sad, and well, I had to keep my emotions under control if I was going to get through it.
“I suppose every one of us grew up with fun tales of our family, but that was never entirely my story. You see, my mother died when I was little. It looked like an accident, but Da found proof of magical residue at the scene. He’d been a police officer for years, passing as a normal but actually working on a task force for the Council to keep magical crimes a secret from the human world.”
“Wow, I had no idea that was even a thing!” Jade gasped.
“Makes sense, though,” Rio remarked. “I mean, someone has to clean up magical messes, right?”
“Right,” I continued. “Da was working that night, and even though it was a conflict of interest, his human bosses allowed it. They didn’t see the harm cause it was an accident. A tragedy. They said a truck driver was careless with a cigarette at the gas station where Ma was filling up her car. The station was getting a delivery of oil, you see, and when the driver tossed the cigarette, kaboom,” I muttered.
“Oh shit, Tana, I am so sorry.”
I waited for everyone to finish, allowing myself to gain strength from the steady pressure of Brandon’s thigh against mine. He dropped his hand on the table, and I moved mine closer, brushing my pinky along the length of his. His hands were so much bigger than mine. Not many people made me feel small, but Brandon Flint, the Druid dragon shifter hybrid, sure as fuck did.
“Da found trace amounts of evidence the gas station had been touched by magic. He re-energized it with a spell, captured the signature of the practitioner who cast it, and then, he started tracking it.”
“Holy shit. Your father turned into a hunter,” Magnus grunted.
“Yeah. He did. And when I became a teenager, he started training me.”
The table grew quiet after my admission. My roommates looked equal parts shocked and awed. Magnus and Enok stared at me with curiosity in their eyes. But I was not worried about their reactions. There was only one man seated there whose opinion mattered. I turned my head and gazed into molten silver eyes with serpentine slits and waited.
“More to you than meets the eye, mo spréach,” Brandon murmured.
He grinned suddenly, so breathtakingly beautiful I forgot what I was saying. Finally, I exhaled, not even realizing I’d been holding my breath. Then I made the move. I clasped his hand in mine, reveling at the way he held on, giving me just the right amount of squeeze and comfort.
“I never took the tests officially, but if I did, I’d pass at level four,” I said. “When my elemental powers revealed themselves, Da knew I would need training. He had me apply and sent me to Westwood.”
“But why haven’t you been using your magic, Tana?” Jade asked.
“Yeah, I mean you’re failing your classes. It makes no sense,” Rio added.
“Makes perfect sense,” Enid said sadly. “Tana, you’re wrong, though. Using some of your magical stores won’t deplete them like you think. You need to practice, or your fire will not only consume your enemies, it will consume you,” she said, and I could hear the fear in her voice.
“What if I’m not strong enough? Da has been taken, thrown in jail, and it’s because he got too close. I have to use the tracker spell to find him. I have to avenge my family,” I whispered, laying all my greatest fears on the table.
