Midnight Magic, page 153
“Why did you follow me?” Magnus asked.
“How do you know I was following you?”
“I could sense it,” he replied, touching a finger to his ears and nose.
“You saying I smell?”
“Everyone carries a unique scent, Rio. It’s something shifters learn to discern at a young age.”
“I guess I should have figured that out, huh?”
Embarrassment burned my cheeks, and I tucked my wet hair behind my ear. There was so much about this world I had yet to learn. But no one ever learned anything without asking questions. So, I started walking next to him, trying to find the courage to speak.
There was something calming about being near Magnus. Something that felt familiar and right. I turned to look at the lake before it was no longer visible from our path and shivered at the vision I saw there.
Darkness and cold batted against me as I stared directly at La Llorona floating above the mist-covered water. Her face was hidden from view by the white veil she always wore with her white gown. Both were rotted and decaying, just like her soul. The malicious spirit had tormented many through the ages, and I shuddered in repulsion. I could feel her evil grin as she reached out toward me with her malicious thoughts.
There is no place for you but here, Rio Milagros.
You are next.
“Rio? Rio! You alright?” Magnus had stopped with one hand on my shoulder, and I raised my face toward him.
“I’m fine,” I said.
I turned my back on the weeping woman and looked at Magnus’ concerned face. His chiseled good looks would have made him a supermodel back home, and that body would have had my high school football coach drooling over him. I had a run in with a running back my junior year. Thought I was in love then, but it turned out to be nothing a petting session in the back of his old Honda couldn’t cure. But Magnus wasn’t a human jock looking to get to third base with me.
If only he was.
I tripped at the suddenly naughty turn of thoughts.
“Careful,” he murmured, taking my hand in his.
It felt good, walking with him, holding hands like this was a normal date. I was desperate to leave that gory visage behind.
“Want to tell me about what you saw?”
“How do you know I saw anything?” I asked.
“Rio, you should know that shifters can scent lies. Now, I will never judge you. I want to help. Honest.”
We paused on the pathway with only the moon above us. Our hands were still connected, and I really wanted to believe him. Westwood Academy was so different from what I was used to. Being roommates with Jade, Maia, and Tana was taking some time to get used to. I had no doubt we would find out rhythm, but I could really use a friend.
“My family is cursed,” I began, and told him the story as I knew it.
“So, this weeping woman, she wants you?”
“Yeah,” I said, and for some reason, I knew he worried for me.
“It’s because you’re coming into your powers, you know,” Magnus said with a remarkable clarity I lacked.
The fact he was right had me frowning. It was a real possibility, and perhaps even the reason my grandfather hated my powers to begin with. All my life, I had wondered about the things I could do. Like swimming under water without ever having to come up for air.
“Um, enough about me,” I said, wanting to change the subject. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he said, flashing a thousand-watt grin that almost had my knees buckling.
Damn.
He was gorgeous.
Like totally smoking hot.
“What kind of shifter are you?”
“But you saw me, yes?” Magnus asked, tilting his head, and a trace of his Nordic accent teased my eardrums.
“Yes, but I don’t know the term,” I hedged.
“Term?”
“Yeah. Like, are you some kind of squid?”
“A squid? You think I turn into an appetizer? Like a calamari?” He honest to goodness squeaked in his mock outrage.
“Come on. Tell me,” I said, and laughed.
“I will have you know, I am one of less than a thousand remaining of my kind in all the world.”
Magnus stopped beneath my dorm window, and I regretted having walked so fast. I wanted this time to last longer.
“I am a kraken shifter, water witch.”
“Oh,” I replied, licking my lips.
“I think I read about that in a book when I was a kid.”
“Yes, that seems the way with most normals. We are elusive, rare.”
“So, I bet your parents expect you to date one of your kind, right?”
The words slipped from my mouth before I realized I had said them.
Was it possible for me to sound any more desperate?
Fuck.
I closed my eyes, hoping a hole would open up and swallow me. Instead, I felt a big, strong finger tilting my chin gently up.
“Actually, shifters believe in fated mates.”
“What’s that?” The words rushed out in a breathy whisper that I hardly recognized as coming from me.
My nerves were going haywire as Magnus took his other hand and placed it at my waist, pulling me into direct contact with his hard body. He lowered his head.
“Fated mates are those destined to be together by the Fates, the universe, and all the powers that be. Soul mates, if you will.”
“You have one of those?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, brushing his impossibly soft lips against mine in a tease of a kiss.
“I do,” he finished his thought, then crushed his mouth to mine in a kiss that ruined me for any other.
Mine.
CHAPTER 13
“Are you coming to the mingle tonight?” Jade practically bounced when she caught up with me in the hallway as I walked to my next class.
A week had passed since the night I’d followed Magnus into the woods, and I’d been on edge ever since. Waiting for him to say or do anything about what transgressed between us.
Was I a fool for wanting a repeat of that single tumultuous kiss?
Maybe.
But it was all I could think about. Auditing my classes made the days pass easily.
Without any fuss or worry, what else did I have to do beside moon over my tall, silent bodyguard?
I was forbidden from doing actual magic without supervision, and there wasn’t much else to think about.
Hormonal much?
Maybe.
But every time I caught Magnus’ stormy gaze resting on me, I felt it down to my bones.
Bored out of my mind during those long hours where I had to pretend to listen to my teachers, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering back to a certain midnight stroll where I’d come upon a misty lake where Magnus swam in his other form.
Picturing his naked body as he’d emerged from those still waters had me tripping over my own feet in the crowded halls. Thankfully, I was alone for the moment, saved from embarrassment. Even sentinels had to take breaks. Truth was, I was more nervous around him than anything. He hadn’t mentioned that night or our shared kiss at all. In fact, he hardly even spoke to me anymore.
The thought left me depressed, and though it was lunchtime, I hardly felt hungry. Wandering to the library, I ducked inside to see what I could find out about the weeping woman. I’d asked my History of Magic teacher, Professor Ingram, where I could find information on folklore and legends. He’d suggested The Book of Spectres by Grand Wizard August Cassio.
I asked the librarian for help and was directed to the shelf where the book was located. After thumbing through the pages, I realized this was not at all what I wanted.
A ding on my tablet had me looking down to see the Council of Covens Daily News had just released their latest issue. The headline caught my eye. An article titled, This is Why We Have Separate Covens, was splashed across the screen in bold, black type.
I placed the heavy book my professor had recommended back on the shelf. It wasn’t going to help me, anyway. Scrolling through the article, I recognized some of the ideology that had been regurgitated to me in my classes and from my roommates. After the second witch wars, a vote was called for and the Council of Covens was created to regulate elementals and to keep any one of them from growing too strong.
“It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that we of the Council of Covens Daily News congratulate the council on entering its fortieth year of service to the witches and wizards on this day of remembrance of the final battle of the second witch wars.
Let today’s date serve as a reminder to the supernatural world that we who use our magical talents to better our society are the true heroes of the war, actively working to make our world a better place.
Adherence to our laws is vital in keeping magic safe and out of enemy hands. The law which required elementals to be restricted to covens where benders of their element can learn from each other is by far the most important of all those which resulted from the wars. Experience is the best teacher, and as a supernatural society, we have learned from our past that this is the best course.
Today, we remember why the council was formed. To serve magic and the witches and wizards who wield it for a safer today and a better tomorrow.”
Sounded like a bunch of double talk to me, and by the time I ran into Jade, I was more confused, and even a little pissed. Fuck people who tried to control others. I mean, I get that wars suck, but I’d never been in one. Still, seemed like a shitty excuse for taking away a person’s freedom.
Maybe it was just my ignorance of the subject talking, but I didn’t think it was cool for anyone to decide where I belonged. Water witch or not.
What if I hated the Cumatilis Coven witches and wizards?
I mean, I certainly didn’t like the ones who attended Westwood.
Shit.
I wish I could ask someone about this.
My mind immediately went to Magnus, but he was nowhere to be seen. I exhaled and tried to rein in my runaway emotions. Lucky for me, my roomie was talking excitedly and motioning with her hands about something or other. I could always count on her to grab my attention and shake me from my melancholy. Still, I hadn’t gotten one single word in, and I was trying to catch up with whatever the heck she was saying.
“Jade!”
“What?” she said, taking a break from texting and blinking up at me.
“What the hell is a mingle?”
“Oh,” she replied, and the girl blushed. Like a full on, apple-cheeked blush.
“Well, it’s like, we all meet in the woods and sort of forget that we shouldn’t talk or hang out or, um, you know…”
Understanding dawned, and I felt my own cheeks heat up. Little innocent Jade was talking about sex. And not the romantic Jane Austen wait until you fall in love. She meant the dirty, sweaty, bump and grind, no strings attached kind of sex.
Was it wrong my thoughts immediately went to one person?
A vision filled my mind. He was tall and impossibly muscular with blond hair and only a hint of an accent. Maybe I was more like my mother than I thought if the guy who looked like a Viking warrior appealed to me.
After all, my father had a similar countenance. Fair-skinned and tall with sandy hair and blue eyes. I looked nothing like him, save for my straight, stubborn nose. I often wondered about their story, how they fell in love, and why he walked away. I used to wonder what it would have been like had he stayed.
Would my mother have broken the curse that now threatens my very existence?
I had no way of knowing, and besides, now was neither the time nor place for childhood dreams and wishes.
“I’ve only been to one mingle,” Jade was saying, and I didn’t have to pretend interest.
“Is it just students or do other people come to these things?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t being too obvious about it.
“Depends,” she said with a sly grin. “Why? Are you hoping for someone in particular to be there?”
Rolling my eyes playfully, I bumped her with my shoulder, and we chatted some more while heading to the cafe for some food. Jade might be petite, but she sure could pack it away with the best of them. Maia and Tana were already there, and we joined them for some pizza and breadsticks.
“Hey, you guys going to the mingle?” Jade asked excitedly.
“A mingle? When?” Maia’s clear blue eyes lit up as she started to type the info in her smartphone.
“Fuck this,” Tana growled and stood up.
“Who spat in her coffee?” Jade said, frowning after the tall redhead.
“You know Tana,” Maia shrugged, still typing away.
I swear the woman had like sixty million friends and was forever sending private messages and insta-chats or whatever the magical equivalent to social media was called. Shy by nature, I steered clear of all that.
“Is she alright?” I asked aloud when she zapped a student who’d blocked her way with a bolt of fire shot from her finger. The guy ran, crashing into the nearest wall headfirst with a tiny little singe mark on the ass of his jeans.
Yikes.
“Well, after what happened at the mingle last spring, I can’t say I blame her for being angry,” Maia said nonchalantly.
“Last spring? Wait a second,” I said. “Back up. I’m like a freshman here, right? Aren’t you guys too?”
“Oh,” Maia paused.
“Well, you see,” Jade started, searching for the right words to explain the dynamics of Westwood to me.
Of course, I felt like an idiot for not asking sooner, and for just assuming it worked the same as in human schools.
“Witches and wizards start Westwood when their powers begin to show. It varies age wise and strength wise. I’ve been coming here for about a year now. Tana too. But it doesn’t work like schools for normals, I don’t think,” Maia said.
“Right,” Jade jumped in. “Because you graduate the Academy, but it’s not like you have any set number of years or courses to take. A witch or wizard leaves when ready.”
“How do you know you’re ready?” I asked.
“The headmistress decides that, along with the Council,” Maia said.
“They test you,” Jade added.
Well, shit. I hated tests.
CHAPTER 14
Later that night, I tugged on a pair of black jeans and a sleeveless top. I was not one of those girls who took forever with their makeup and hair. We were going to a party in the woods. A hookup party, to be exact. And while I was not looking for a meaningless sexual encounter, I certainly didn’t begrudge anyone else.
“It’s not like an orgy, Rio! My gods, look at your face.” Jade laughed when she found me worrying my cross pendant between my fingers in the kitchen.
“Sorry,” I said, blushing.
“You’ll be fine.” Jade giggled, straightening her miniskirt, and zipping up her knee high boots.
“You know, if you want to have a good time tonight, you are going to have to leave your mortal morality at the proverbial door.”
Maia’s voice rang out from her bedroom, and Jade nodded her agreement. I understood the sentiment, but I’d been raised by my grandfather. He was something of a Catholic, and his views on moral ambiguity were pretty damn clear.
By the time the air witch joined us, even my jaw dropped. She was drop dead gorgeous in low rise, skintight blue pants, with a crop top that was practically sheer.
“Maia! That outfit is scandalous!” Jade squealed, but excitement glittered in her gaze.
“Thanks. I have my eye on a certain teacher’s aide,” she said with a wink, and I had an idea who she meant.
“I’m not judging anyone, I swear, but I am not looking to hook up. I just want to hang out,” I said, biting my lip.
“No pressure, Rio. It’s just a party. Hook ups allowed, and maybe encouraged, but they are not a requirement,” Jade said.
“And if a witch or wizard gets pushy, or if you need us at all, just yell.” Maia nodded and I felt immediately better knowing the two of them were going to be there.
I worried about Tana. The fire witch hadn’t come back to the dorm room, but once we arrived at the designated place in the woods, I saw why. The redhead was with a bunch of her other friends. They were drinking and talking amongst themselves, not bothering with the other students who were mixing with others not of their coven.
It was easy to distinguish who was who during the school day, but not so here. Under the cover of darkness, I really had to pay attention to the varying shades of hair color that gave away each person’s element. I’d learned that quirky trait was something built into the school’s magical protection to stop fraternizing among covens.
A witch or wizard could choose to keep their hair that way outside of Westwood Academy grounds, or not. It was entirely up to them. My own locks were the same dark color they’d always been. I wondered if that meant I had nothing special at all about me aside from an affinity for water. Of course, the whole whirlpool on the ceiling thing made me doubt that.
“Well, well, well,” someone said, siding up to me. I turned and recognized Otto Grimes and his clique.
“Hey,” I replied, noncommittally.
“I see you’ve decided to come to our mingle, little Rio,” he said, moving his lips close to my ear and causing me to shiver a little.
It was revulsion that caused me to tremble, not attraction. A distinction I thought I made clear when I stepped away and wiped at the spot. Kelly looked angrily between us before stomping away. The rest of the students ignored us. They were all leaning against a few trees or sitting on some magically enhanced boulders and stumps as makeshift chairs or lounges.
Music played, and I watched as people passed around bottles of wine and ale. Cigarettes too. It was like any other party, except these were magic folks. And they were fraternizing in ways not allowed during the school day.
“How about you and I take a walk?” Otto said, not quite catching on to the fact I was not interested in him.
“No, thanks,” I replied, maybe a little too quickly.
