Sloe Djinn Fizz, page 6
An involuntary shudder slithered down my spine. I'd seen this woman in battle, but this time she was different. Somebody had attacked one of hers, and as long as she drew breath, I had a feeling there was nowhere they could hide.
Chapter 7
While Caitlin helped Magnus and Lapis conferred with his clan, Ronan and I teleported back to the portal and then stepped through to our side. We needed to discuss the situation with Alexa. Ronan would be at the meeting at the Hall of Fae as my advisor, but he was also the pack leader and representative for all wolf shifters. Since a person could only claim one seat at the table and the Mistress of Balance and her team were supposed to be impartial, he couldn’t stand in his role as wolf representative.
Ronan’s brother Seamus was technically his beta, but the two had decided it was best for Seamus to stay near the homefront in case anything happened. Alexa was still the female alpha. She managed the communication within her pack and between their pack and the others. As such, she would attend the meeting as Ronan's second in command.
When we got back to the bar, she was sitting there with a glass of iced tea talking to the guys. As soon as she saw us, she jumped to her feet. "What happened? Is Magnus okay?"
I nodded. "He will be. He was almost dead when we got there, but we managed to save him."
"We didn't manage to do anything," Ronan said. "Jules did everything all on her own. I've never seen anything like it. I couldn't sense a shred of life force from within him, yet by the time she was done, he was standing on his own two feet. He was shaky, but I'm willing to bet that a couple glasses of honeybrew will fix him right up."
Alexa arched a dark brow at me. "See? You complained about all that training we make you do, but you just saved a life."
"Was he attacked in the same way as the others were?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah, did they use lightning like they did with Charles and me?" Blain added.
I nodded. "Exactly the same way, except there were three attackers this tie."
Blain pursed his lips in thought. “I suppose it’s possible there was more than one attacker waiting in the trees, but if so, I didn’t see them.”
I thought for a moment about whether or not I wanted to tell them about the reason behind the attack. I didn’t know Blain well enough to trust him, but even if he was somehow working against me or even if he just had loose lips, I wanted it known far and wide that the attempt was a failure and that Magnus was ready to die rather than open the portal. If word got out that torturing him to make him cave wouldn’t work, maybe it would protect him. There was no reason to try because he couldn’t open it dead.
“That’s not all,” I continued. “The reason they attacked him was to make him open the portal to Otherworld. He took the torture and was willing to die rather than do it.”
Eddie put his hand over his mouth. “That’s not good no matter how you look at it. Though he lives on this side, Magnus isn’t on the fringe of things. He’s in regular contact with the queen and has the gargoyles looking out for him, too. That was a brazen move on their part. It makes me wonder what kind of forces they have that they’re willing to step from the shadows and flagrantly make a move on Otherworld.”
I wanted to tell them about the djinn, but that would have to wait until Blain wasn’t around. I didn’t want any part of that story getting around.
Despite the extra push of earth magic, I was still a little wobbly from healing Magnus. Ronan frowned and nudged me toward the chair. "Sit down. I’ll get you some tea to sip on. You need to get some sugar into your system. We don’t know what’s coming or when, so you need to be at your strongest."
As I sat, Erik brushed his fingers over my bare shoulder, nudging me so he could get a better look. "What's this?"
I twisted my head around so I could see what he was talking about but all I could see was the edge of a dark, inky outline. It was far enough back on my shoulder that I couldn't make it out.
He pulled his phone out and took a picture, then handed it to me. "I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and assume you didn’t go get some random tattoo, but that's not a witch's rune. Unless I'm mistaken, that's Elven. I think you need to tell us what happened over there in more detail."
Before I could speak, Alexa moved behind me and examined the mark, her expression thoughtful and a little befuddled. "This could only appear if you were accepted into the Elven community as one of them, and I’ve never heard of that happening. I think Erik's right. You need to tell us a little more of the story. Like, all of it."
I examined the rune in the pic with mixed emotions. Other than a little Tasmanian devil on my butt that was the result of a college dare, I had no tattoos. Or at least I hadn't when I’d left for Scotland. Though I liked and respected Caitlin, I had mixed emotions about having a permanent brand identifying me as a member of her clan without even consulting me. The political implications, both good and bad, weren’t lost on me, either.
Ronan told the long and short of it as he poured my tea. "When she saved Magnus's life, he swore a blood oath to her, then Caitlin bonded her to their clan."
"That's what that was? A bonding?" I wasn't sure how to feel about that mostly because I wasn't sure what the implications were. "What does it mean?"
"It means that no matter where you go, you'll be welcomed as an elf," Blain said, sounding a little awestruck. "I've never heard of that happening before. It's a real honor and could work to your advantage at some point."
"But I wasn't looking for an advantage," I said as a barrage of emotions swirled through me. I felt like I’d gained another responsibility when I was barely managing the ones I already had. "All I was doing was helping Magnus."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Eddie told me. "Being considered family to an elf gives you an extra layer of protection. You need all of that you can get, and another benefit is that if there are elves around when you're in danger, even if you don't know them, they're bound to help you. Elves have an abiding respect for all life, and Blain’s right—she bestowed a great honor upon you."
Rather than say anything else, I took a few moments to digest that while the sugar and caffeine in the tea replenished my energy stores. As Mistress of Balance, it was critical that I remained neutral or at least appeared to, and now I wasn’t sure that would be the case.
“That doesn’t sound like something that comes without a personal cost,” I said. “If they welcome me as one of their own and will have my back if I need it, what’s expected of me?”
“That’s an excellent question,” Alexa replied, shifting on her stool. Her expression became troubled. “I know if you’re accepted as a member of a shifter pack, you have the same obligations to your pack as your pack does to you. When you consider it from that point of view, it could present complications for you in your role. You’re supposed to be impartial.”
“Yeah,” Eddie replied, “but I think y’all are reading too much into it. Caitlin knows what’s up. She didn’t bestow her with the privilege with expectations because she understands Jules has a higher duty.” He turned to me. “Accept it for what it was—an honor and an extra tool in your bag. Elves have power even though they’ve been removed from our world for centuries. That may even add to their mystique and reputation as badasses. Just roll with it, sweetie.”
That actually made more sense to me. Caitlin wasn’t a woman to do something without thought, and I trusted her. She would never give herself an unfair advantage by tricking me. That just wasn’t how she was wired, but she would do something she thought would protect somebody she cared about.
Alexa’s phone buzzed, cutting into my thoughts, and she scooped it off the bar and unlocked it. She scrolled for a second, then looked at me and nodded. “Okay, that makes it official. I've heard back from everybody. All of our pack members are accounted for, and as far as we can tell, nobody is missing from any neighboring clans either. I instructed them not to go anywhere alone no matter what and also ordered the handful of people who do live alone to move in with a neighboring clan temporarily."
That was a huge relief, and the weight on my shoulders lightened a little.
"We put the word out too," Eddie said. "So far, everybody's safe and sound, but we haven't heard back a few folks yet."
Janelle, who'd sat there quietly up to this point, nodded. "I called Julie, and she teleported straight back. She said to tell you that everybody's accounted for in her coven and that she'd check on lone practitioners and get back with us."
I wouldn’t rest easy until every single magical was accounted for, but for now, I'd take all the good news I could get.
Chapter 8
"Come at me again," I told Ronan two hours later, crouching and motioning to him with my fingers. Even though I was drenched in sweat and out of breath, I needed the outlet. My clothes were sticking to me, and hair that had come loose from my ponytail was plastered in damp curls to my neck. The physical exertion and mental focus required to spar with him helped push the helpless anger and guilt aside.
"Okay," he replied, shaking his head as he leaned into his battle stance again. "But you realize punishing your body now isn't going to negate what happened to Magnus, right?"
I concentrated on his body language to figure out how he was going to attack. "Maybe not, but at least I'm getting some of my aggression out. It beats punching out the little old dude who checked thirty lotto tickets in front of us at the store."
When he didn’t immediately pounce, I motioned again for him to come toward me with my fingers.
He laughed as we circled. "That it does. I like to think I'm a little more durable than he is. Seriously though, we've been at this for over an hour. I know you've built up your endurance, but you've taken a beating. It might be time to call it a day before too long."
Before I could reply, he charged at me. Even though my brain was sluggish, he and Alexa had worked hard to teach me to expect the unexpected. I let him get almost to me, then grasped his wrist and used his momentum against him. Opening my mind to his, I tapped into just a little bit of his wolf strength and use it to flip him onto the mat.
"Excellent job," he exclaimed from the floor, where he'd landed on his butt. "You managed to use my own strength against me in more ways than one."
I grinned. I'd been working hard on taking advantage of our bond every chance I could. I wanted it to become second nature so that when we were fighting as a team, I could mitigate some of my human weaknesses.
"Thanks,” I replied, “and since you mentioned it, why don't we work on that a little? I'd feel much better if you could access my magic as easily as I tap into yours."
He frowned as he swiped a damp hank of dark hair from his brow. "You say that like I'm not trying."
I arched a brow at him. "No, I say that because I know you're not trying as hard as you could. All you have to do is let go of just a little bit of that control and trust that my magic will be there for you."
For his entire life, he'd depended on his physical strength, heightened senses, and instincts. Of course, he could transform into a wolf and was amazing at being strategic and thinking faster than his opponent, but now he had another powerful tool in his bag that he wasn't using.
He pulled me into a hug and kissed me. I let myself lean into it for a minute but then pushed him away. "One, I'm sweaty and gross and so are you. Two, don't think you can use your wicked ways to distract me from the subject at hand."
He grinned at my use of wicked ways and waggled his brows. "Unless there's been another smoking hot witch in my bedroom, I'm not the only wicked one."
I punched him on the shoulder. "There better not be. And again, I’m not gonna let you distract me. Let's go practice your magic."
"It's not my magic," he grumbled, following me.
I scowled at him. "It's as much yours as it is mine, just like you share your strengths with me. The necklace and the ring bound us for a reason. All this macho crap is annoying."
Alexa, who’d stepped outside to take a phone call, pushed back through the door in time to hear what we were talking about. "It's incredibly annoying." She waved her hand impatiently and rolled her dark eyes. "You're just like your father. It took me years to get him to accept any help at all, and frankly, it's stupid. The goddess has given you an incredible gift. Did you ever stop to think that it might be because she knows you're going to need it?"
Ronan ran his tongue over his teeth. She had him backed into a corner, and he knew it. "Fine. Let's go to the training room. I'll try harder to make the connection."
I smiled at her when he stomped toward the door. He'd said that like he was talking about getting a root canal, but I'd take the win.
The place where we practiced magic was an old warehouse that a couple of wizards had bought and converted. To humans, it looked rundown and dilapidated inside and out, and the guys had even used illusion magic to make it look as if it was falling in if non-magical people did come in. To magicals, though, the inside was a full-fledged state-of-the-art training facility. They’d used every square inch of available space to its best advantage.
In addition to rooms specifically designed to practice different forms of magical, there were also rooms such as the one we’d just been using that were equipped with thick blue gymnastics mats and even various weapons so people could practice hand-to-hand combat. Initially, I'd wondered why they'd used so much space for that when there were suitable gyms in the human world. I’d gotten my answer to that the first time Ronan and his mom had transformed mid-air while sparring. That would have drawn some unwanted attention at the local Pump and Grunt for sure.
The magical training rooms ranged from areas for kids to practice remedial magic to full-on hurricane- and fire-proof rooms for the more advanced or skilled. Or, in my case, for people with way more magic than control. I’d been a menace and still was in many ways, but I was getting better. Sometimes I wondered if that was why Ronan was so hesitant to use my magic. He was most definitely a control freak, and it wouldn't have surprised me to find out he was worried he wouldn't be able to manage it if he truly tapped into it.
I understood that feeling because he'd watched me accidentally blow shit up when I was only trying to move it, but that was different. I'd been completely unaware magic even existed until I’d summoned a hurricane while I was on the phone fighting with my ex and then almost burned my house down an hour later. Considering Ronan had pretty much taught me all the basics despite his lack of magic at the time, failure shouldn't have been as much of a worry for him. Still, men were weird.
“Let’s work with earth,” I suggested. “It’s the one that comes easiest to you.”
Alexa shook her head. “No, I think he needs to work on air. Earth is handy, but as a shifter, air will be more useful in a fight. He’ll be able to jump farther and higher as a wolf if he learns to use it, and it’s the least invasive for him. If he calls a rockslide, it’s an obstacle he’ll have to deal with as well. If he uses a wall of air to push an opponent over or to hold them back, he’ll have a pure tactical advantage.”
I hadn’t thought of it like that. In fact, I hadn’t even broken it down like that for myself. It gave me pause and I wondered for a second if maybe I should focus on mastering the elements one at a time rather than dividing my attention between them.
Alexa, who almost seemed to be able to read my mind sometimes, waggled a finger at me as she made her way down the brightly lit hall. “No, absolutely not. You’ve accepted your magic, and all your gifts work better as a whole rather than breaking them into little chunks. What you’ve been doing is working for you.” She shifted her gaze to Ronan and frowned in consternation. “My lunkheaded son, on the other hand, apparently needs us to dumb it down for him.”
I snuck a peek at Ronan from the corner of my eye and did my best not to smile. The irritated frown tugging at his lips was such a mirror image of his mother’s that I barely pulled it off.
“I don’t need anything dumbed down,” he grumbled. “It’s complicated.”
“Only because you’re making it that way,” I replied as we followed Alexa into the air room.
The place still amazed me. It had everything from feathers to anvils for beginners to practice moving with air. One whole corner was filled with sand and small rocks to practice blowing around, and there were also several different dummies in various weights, sizes, and species so you could get semi-realistic practice “sparring”. There was even a small fountain for people who wanted to practice using air to manipulate water. All in all, the guys had gone above and beyond when they’d built the room.
“I suck at air,” Ronan groused. “I also don’t see the point. I can jump plenty high and far, and I’m heavy enough that the momentum of my body is enough to topple an enemy.”
He reached over to take my hand and I pushed a little air from mine. I only used enough to keep him from being able to touch me, and he growled and put a little more force behind it. I upped the airflow so that it was blowing up between us and ruffling my hair. I added a little more gusto and pushed him backward onto his butt.
When he couldn’t push through it to stand, I shrugged. He needed to learn sooner rather than later that although I thought he was all that and a bag of chips, he wasn’t even proficient if it came down to battling somebody with magic who was intent on either taking him down or stopping him.
Alexa smiled. “All you had to do was access her magic and you could have fought her on even ground. You could have put a barrier around yourself, or you could have turned her own air magic against her. Nobody would expect you to be able to reverse that air, so you would have had two tactical advantages—the magic and the element of surprise.”
Ronan was stubborn as a mule, but he wasn’t stupid or slow to learn. He furrowed his brow. “Do it again.”
His mind touched mine. That connection was never the problem because we talked back and forth all the time. Letting go of his control and letting the magic in was where he usually fell down. I considered giving it a push in his direction but smothered the urge; in battle, I’d be focused on fighting, not holding his hand while he accessed magic that was already there and waiting for him.
