Bug Magic: The Paranormals of Ahl Book 2, page 26
Mat sighed. “This is going to be a nightmare.”
“Yes. Funny thing is, I have nightmares all the time, so what’s one more?”
His golden eyes examined me as if he were trying to solve a puzzle. “Very well. But I don’t like it.”
“Noted.” I strode back toward the clearing. “We need to return to Allure.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Jen
Verity trailed behind me as I stormed into my office. “What happened to you?” She reached out and touched my hand, gasped, and dropped it. “Holy hell. Ever consider having a normal day?”
“I have a lot of normal days. Sort of.” My shoulders slumped. “I can’t run away now. And there’s so much I need to deal with.” I needed to confront my mother and see if I could push enough buttons so she’d brag about her plans. I lay awake the night before, going over scenarios in my head and trying to deal with my emotions. It didn’t help. My stomach was still in knots, and the giant ball of rage made me feel like I’d swallowed a balloon. I stopped by the office before going to Dragon Headquarters to check in. Not because I was procrastinating.
“Right. And your freedom?”
I lowered myself into my chair and rubbed my eyes. “I loved having new experiences and doing what I wanted when I wanted.”
“And according to my calculations, you can still have that for two more years.”
“Except my magic is a beacon now and I can’t hide it. Besides, the coalition might not have two more years.”
She leaned against my desk. “And you don’t think Mat’s been doing the job well?”
“He’s a great regent.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “But he doesn’t have ruling magic.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “I’ve heard you say that before. What is ruling magic, exactly?”
“It’s hard to explain. Ruling magic kind of protects and guides. It gives me insight into people, kind of like your magic does, but not as detailed. It makes people want to follow me, among other things. I can also suspend other people’s magic as a punishment, I think. Though, I don’t want to do that. My ruling magic always wanted to beat people down when they disrespected me and offered some protection. When it wanted to.”
“You speak in past-tense.”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I can’t exactly use the new stuff. And it kind of did this weird thing to the shifter alpha where it restored him. I need to relearn it.”
“Well, that’s certainly a problem.” Verity moved over to the windows. “You can’t be out experiencing life and detecting when everyone can sense you.”
“Nope. I can’t even return to my house, so here I am.” I moved to stand beside her. “It’s okay for now. I’ll have to figure out a way to have freedom while I rule.”
Her calm gray eyes focused on me. “You don’t believe you can do that?”
“Not really, no. What about humans? What do their rulers do to keep their identity?”
Verity shook her head. “It’s different for them. The media constantly chases them around, so it’s hard for them to have a second of privacy.”
“Sounds exhausting.”
“I’m sure it is. We don’t have royalty in the U.S., but I’ve seen presidents go into office looking young and spry and leave looking old and grizzled. The only thing I know about monarchs is what I’ve seen on social media. Most of that’s gossip.”
“It’s probably not a fair comparison, anyway.” It didn’t really matter. I was born into the position. I had the magic, and I wanted to save the people who were being kidnapped and tortured by the Bellicose. My freedom was insignificant compared to their lives. Besides, we didn’t have media that would follow me. Assassins, sure, but not media. I snapped my fingers. “That’s it. I’ll just go about my business until people stop with the bowing when they see me wondering around. If they don’t, maybe Drake will eat them.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “You’re not going to do that.”
I gave her a flat look.
Her laugh cut off. “Are you?”
I chuckled. “The wondering around without an entourage part, yes. It’s up to Drake who he does or does not bite.” It was one of the things I liked about the bond. I could roam around Allure alone, and he’d show up if I needed help. I wondered for a second if he knew how much freedom that gave me. He knew a lot that I didn’t, so it wouldn’t surprise me. I turned my thoughts to the Bellicose and their experiments. I couldn’t fight that on my own. Mat had used a lot of resources and hadn’t even found the leaders. They were bringing demons across, and we hadn’t figured out where or how. That had to change. “Let’s have a meeting with the magic-wielding leaders. We’re going to have to band together if we want to survive.”
“That’s a little dramatic, but sure.”
“Oh, and I declared Drake my Consort. Sort of. I’ve tasked him with hunting down the Bellicose leadership and put him in charge of gathering information. So, make sure he’s involved as much as possible.” I tapped my chin. “Do you think Charlotte would transition to his assistant?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why Charlotte?”
“Because I like her. She’s competent, and I like having an urban sprite on the team. Since they can blend into any garden, they see a lot of things no one else does. Drake is patient for a dragon and will help build her confidence, and she’ll give him a different perspective. He likes that.”
“You are insane if you think that First will let you run his life.”
“I’m not interested in running his life. I just want him and Charlotte to feel like they belong. Oh, and give him the office across from mine. He’ll just perch on the roof and stalk me if he doesn't have his own place here. Might as well accommodate him.”
Verity strode toward the door. “Like I said, insane. I’ll set it up.”
“And give Quin an advisor’s office down the hall. Maybe he’ll stop hanging out in here.”
Her laughter echoed through the room as she shut the door.
We held the meeting of magic-using rulers in a large conference room on the castle’s second floor. I sat at one end of the enormous oval table, with Drake on my right and Quin on my left. Deva sent Bastien to represent the dragons so she could keep an eye on my mother. Tracy got squished between him and Drake. Mat sat at the other end of the oval, Emine on one side, Olwen, the Snow Elf King, on the other. Olwen’s long, silvery blue hair gleamed in the light and contrasted against Mat’s golden tones. The shifter alphas occupied the chairs beside him, even though they weren’t magic users. The centaur queen and a dwarf’s Crown Prince sat across from Bastien and Tracy. He’d created a defense system that he incorporated into dwarf properties across the planet, and we needed his expertise.
Several others filled in the gaps, representing twenty-five paranormal races who used magic. Twenty-six if I counted the shifters. I didn’t bother asking Mat why they were there because I was afraid of accidentally killing him during an argument. Besides, Quin wasn’t a magic user, and I didn’t want his presence questioned.
I peeled my eyes away from them when the tension in the room became thick as soup as the President of Covens led her team in. She glared at Tracy as they took the remaining seats.
Bastien growled.
Tracy ignored them and beamed at Calvin. Her dad and the Vice President of Covens smiled back. I was glad he came because he had a calming demeanor that the President of Covens lacked. I hoped he’d help with communication between us and the witches. Still, it had to be hard for him.
I waited for the griffins to finish setting up sandwiches from Thaddeus, my leprechaun friend’s deli, and leave before I spoke. “We recently found a demon in Mage Mountain. The Bellicose are targeting smaller pockets for now, but they are amassing in the Treasure Valley. I’ve called this meeting for two reasons. The first is to develop a strategy to counteract the bug magic and save our people. The second is to inform you that we’ve captured and are holding one of their leaders. Emine, what have you got?”
She glanced up from a heaping plate of food, then held up her fork. “According to the Enforcers in Mage Mountain, the locals reported Bellicose operatives in the area last week. The locals hunted them down and killed them. Brumal mages take guarding the mountain seriously and have trained to use the neutralizing magic that Tracy created. The Rübezahl notified the queen about an outbreak in a rural area. We went in and took out the demon and brought the rest of the Bellicose to Allure. Very few reports came from Pyron before a recon team stumbled on it. The pocket is still a mess, but we sent resources their way, including architectural mages, healers, and extra protection. We’re investigating what happened in Ferine. It doesn’t fit with the small pocket theory because it’s got a good-size population, and the only target was a shifter compound.” She stuffed a big bite of food in her mouth.
“It is too bad your table manners are not as clean as your report,” Quin said.
Tracy shook her head. “Geez, Quin, that was rude.”
“Yes.” Quin turned his focus to me. “I have deployed several vampires to the rustic human city in the valley. They report a large Bellicose presence in areas where hybrids have settled. Their numbers increase daily.”
“How many of them voluntarily work for the Bellicose, and how many were abducted?” Olwen, the Elf King, asked. “And what types of paranormals are they?”
“We assume the majority are volunteers, as they do not carry the disease,” Quin answered. “There are various types of paranormals, with the majority being shifters.”
“We need to communicate better,” I said. “And we need a better strategy for finding the traitors among us.”
Mat leaned forward. “Agreed. Let’s go over the measures we’ve taken and see where we can expand on them.”
I inclined my head.
He motioned toward the alpha shifters. “Linda is working with the PISD to find the missing shifters.”
“I’ve hired several private detectives to find them and gain intelligence about the Bellicose. They are infecting and abducting entire packs. The packs are infecting any low-level magic users they come across. A detective we hired almost got caught in it. We’ve traced most of them to a few apartment complexes in the human world, but it’s unclear if it’s another lab or a training ground. We suspect it’s the latter.”
“I’ve deployed several magic users to there. They’re working with the hybrid leadership, and distributing dissipating spells that non-magic users can activate. It has been an effective defense, but not sustainable,” Mat added.
“It’s not.” Bastien leaned an elbow on the table. “Dragons are patrolling both the pockets and the hybrid communities in the valley. The only activity they report is in a few smaller pockets surrounding Allure. We are monitoring the apartment complexes the Alpha shifter refers to. We believe their next target is the hybrids.”
I turned to Drake. “Is Jonas working on that?”
“Yes. Ann Marie is working with the alchemy witches to develop a potion to make them immune. Still, she’s unsure if she can protect them all.”
Emine raised her hand. “Speaking of witches, the Enforcers have contacted various witch covens to see if they will help to make spells to protect non-magic users. The covens have been resistant. Something about an order from the top.”
Heads swung to the President of Covens.
Her lip curled, and her muscles tensed. “You don’t have the right to commandeer my people without my permission.”
“No, but I do,” I said. “I’d rather not because we don’t want to undermine you. The written decree the Leadership Council approved allows the teams to access cross-species resources. That means the enforcers can request help from the covens without your approval.”
“It’s your fault they’re in peril. Therefore, you can clean up the mess. It’s not our problem.”
The entire table went still. I kept my face blank and didn’t comment because she was just trying to get a rise out of me. After an uncomfortable silence, I raised an eyebrow.
She slammed her fist on the table. “Everyone knows the Bellicose are after the incompetent upstart queen. I do not see why the rest of us must sacrifice for someone so obviously unfit to lead. Look at the ridiculous team she has assembled. Two manipulative dragons, an excommunicated witch, and an insane vampire. We should hand her over to the Bellicose and be done with it.” She flung a spell at me.
The spell hit me mid-chest and dug for my heart. I scooted my chair back and jumped to my feet. My new ‘fixed’ magic eliminated it and pinned her to the wall. It didn’t vibrate or warn me like the ruling magic used to. I flung my hands over my ears when a deafening roar came from my right.
Tracy pounded on the side of a now much bigger and harrier Drake to help me. Bastien snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her back. A massive furry clawed hand swiped at the president, leaving gashes across her torso. The wounds closed. She’d taken a strong healing potion before the meeting. That meant she planned the attack.
I put a hand on Drake’s fluffy arm and opened my mouth to speak.
She threw another spell.
Drake’s magic flooded me, and a green barrier formed and blocked it.
Ice coated her hands, compliments of King Olwen.
Quin became a blur as he lunged.
He didn’t make it before two glowing katanas blocked his way. Mat didn’t even bother to stand as he conjured them, ran his magic through, and flipped his wrist. The katanas pinned the President’s stomach and right shoulder to the wall without wasting a drop of blood. Magic spread through her, paralyzing her and sealing her lips.
The entire room froze. Drake shrunk back to human size and inclined his head at Mat. Quin dropped to the floor in a crouch.
“Tracy, see to Jenella, please.” Mat’s rough voice was as icy as it was calm. He turned his attention back to the team of witches, his eyes molten gold. “Perhaps you have forgotten who I am. I admit I have become lax since taking on the role of regent, a side effect of being a diplomat.” He leaned forward, meeting the eyes of everyone in the room except mine. “Do not underestimate my ability to kill without remorse to protect my sister. You attack her, you will die. I will not hesitate, nor will I bother asking questions. This is your only warning.”
Chills ran down my spine at his cold, calm statement. I knew without a doubt that he meant every word. The realization hit that I was one of those people guilty of believing he’d mellowed over the years. Even though I’d witnessed him kill several times when we were on the run. Even though he tried to insist I be more diplomatic. Time and love for my brother had dulled my memory. My anger at him making that deal with my mother drained. I still had issues with it, but I understood it. He made it his life’s mission to protect me and he would sacrifice anything, including my trust to accomplish that. I shook myself out of my thoughts and realized the room was so silent I could hear Emine chewing her popcorn. My eyes narrowed. “Are you still eating?”
“Oh, yeah. That was the best show I’ve seen in a long time. Can we do it again?”
A witch bent over and vomited.
“Let’s take a break and reconvene in an hour.” I pointed at Calvin. “The President of Covens will be turned over to the Crown Juror for examination and punishment. She is no longer welcome in my leadership council. The witches will need to send a new representative if you want to keep the seat.” My voice shook more than I wanted, but I kept my shoulders squared as I skirted around Drake, latched onto Tracy’s arm, and marched out of the room.
By the time we got to my office, we had a procession following us. I dragged Tracy in and shut the door in their faces. I waited for the privacy spell to snap into place. “Talk to me.”
“He…it…Was that real?”
“Yes.”
“But it happened so fast.”
“Not really. That was kind of slow for Mat.”
Tracy melted into a chair and rubbed her chest. “The witches will not be happy about this. I mean, they worship her. They’re never going to believe she started a fight.”
“Right.” I flung the door open. Verity sat at her desk, eyeing the crowd of people in the waiting area. “Will you send someone to retrieve the observation spell from the conference room, please? Use it to release a statement that the President of Covens attacked me unprovoked and has been removed from her position on the leadership council.” I shut the door and turned back to a wide-eyed Tracy. “Problem solved.”
She raised her head, her eyes filled with rage and determination. “What will happen to her?”
“It depends on what Titus finds. If she’s working for the enemy, she’ll be put to death. If she attacked me unprovoked for any other reason, it’ll be up to me and Mat to decide her fate.”
“I hope she’s working for the Bellicose. I’ll be glad to kill that monster.”
“Will you? Kill her, I mean.”
“Yeah. No. Can we just not talk about it right now?”
“Sure. Do you want me to let Bastien in?”
“Yeah.”
I opened my office door and a group of people rushed in. Bastien picked Tracy up and swept her out the door before anyone could talk to her. I watched them go, then turned my attention to Drake. “Your new office is across the hall. I’ve made Charlotte, an urban sprite, your assistant. She’s great, but a little skittish.”
His lip twitched. “Really. And will I be staying in your apartment?”
I hadn’t thought about that. Well, I had, but more as a fantasy than reality. Plus, I had a lot of issues to work through before I could even consider that. “Um…”
