Magic Side: Wolf Bound Complete Series: Books 1-4, page 36
My gut twisted. Some part of my soul knew it was true.
“You can only ever rely on yourself, Savannah. That’s why you need to master your power.”
I’d been practicing sorcery with Aunt Laurel every day, but I couldn’t manage too much yet. So far, I’d found that I could release bursts of power, control shadows, and snuff candles. It seemed so small compared to the blood sorcerer, compared to what Casey and my aunt could do…but it was more than I’d ever imagined two weeks ago.
I looked down at my right hand and drew in a little of my power. It appeared as dark wisps of shadow that trickled over my skin and stung like ice water. “I’m not even really sure I understand what my magic is.”
“You need to know who you are to understand what your magic is, and what your magic is to understand who you are. Right now, you’re searching for both. That’s why we’re going to accelerate your training.”
The last time my aunt had wanted to accelerate my training, she’d tried sucking my magic out with a doohickey that, if dialed up to full strength, could consume half of Magic Side.
I stirred my cereal nervously. “Please tell me that this doesn’t involve the Sphere of Devouring again.”
“No, don’t worry. We’re only going to be summoning a few demons.”
My spoon froze halfway to my mouth, and bits of fruity cereal slowly dribbled off into the bowl. Why did my long-lost family have to be insane?
5
Savannah
Half an hour later, and after much protesting, I found myself in my aunt’s “workshop,” a massive candlelit room in the bottom of an old, elaborate red stone building. The floor was inscribed with dozens of interlinked magical circles, rings of arcane runes.
I slowly stepped across the black stonework, deliberately avoiding the magical sigils. I had no idea if anything would happen if I stepped on them, but I wasn’t about to experiment.
“These look similar to the ring that contains the Sphere of Devouring,” I said uneasily, then met my aunt’s eyes with an accusatory stare. “As well as the circles of blood the sorcerer used to summon blood demons.”
Aunt Laurel swept effortlessly across the floor to the center of the room, her silver hair trailing behind her. “Circles are powerful tools for containing and controlling magic. Some of these are for focus, others for protection, and some for summoning demons and other spirits.”
My stomach churned, and it felt like something was trying to push its way out of my chest. Probably the massive boatload of doubts I had about this particular venture. We needed to talk about this before things got out of hand.
I steeled my nerve. She was my aunt, but also as intimidating as a dragon.
“Aunt Laurel, I don’t want to be rude—you’ve been so kind and opened new worlds to me—but we need to have a frank discussion. I have some sort of twisted shadow magic, and you’re about to summon demons. These both seem…”
She raised an eyebrow. “Diabolical? Evil? Sinister? Like witchcraft?”
I gave an apologetic shrug. “Pretty much.”
She strode over and grabbed my shoulders. “Savannah, these are labels that people use to try to take your power. Don’t ever let anyone take your power or make you doubt yourself. Magic is a tool. It can be used for good or bad.”
“But summoning demons? That seems, like, always bad.”
“Gun violence is a plague in Chicago. You’re a good shot. Does that make you evil?”
I grimaced. “I hope not. I just worry…” I held up my hands and summoned my magic. Dark, smoky shadows twisted around my fingers.
“Would you rather make leaves grow and flowers bloom?”
I looked at the inky darkness drifting from my hand. “Maybe? Could I do that?”
She shook her head. “I know a young woman, like you, who had power over plants. She nearly brought a blight on the whole world. There are two sides to every coin.”
I let the magic dissipate.
“Savannah, you’re strong, and you have a good heart. Trust it.” She clapped her hands. “Now, let’s summon some demons. Casey, fetch the coal.”
My head spun.
Having a conversation with my aunt was like listening to an airline captain come over the intercom and say, “Sorry about the turbulence, folks. Everything is going to be okay,” followed shortly by, “Good news, there are enough parachutes for everyone, and the flight attendants are standing by to help you put them on.”
A scent of nutmeg filled the room as a stream of light poured from my aunt’s hand into the runes of one of the circles. The sigils illuminated one by one until the whole circle was lit and crackling with magic. “This is a circle of protection,” she explained. “As long as we’re in here, we’ll be protected from the demons.”
Casey dumped a hefty bag of coal into a wide brass brazier set into one of the other circles.
“The coal is an offering, used to lure the demons and give them form in our world,” my aunt continued. She flicked her eyes to me. “Kahanov would have used blood to summon the blood demons that attacked you. A lot of it.”
Memories of the blood drainers with all their tubes and IV bags brought bile to my throat.
At my aunt’s command, Casey lobbed a fireball into the pile of coal. Bright orange flames flickered in his eyes as he grinned at me. “You’re going to love this.”
Why didn’t I believe him?
Laurel gently shoved me inside the glowing circle of protection, and Casey joined me. She strode to the burning heap of coal and poured her magic into it until the surrounding circle of runes glowed bright red.
With a swift gesture, she raised her hands, and all the shadows of the room swung toward her. She began chanting and weaving her hands, and the world twisted around her silhouette. Vertigo squirmed in my belly, and I grabbed Casey’s arm as the room spun.
As my aunt’s voice rose in tempo, the air crackled with power, and the scent of brimstone burned my throat. The fire seemed to suck the shadows inward.
No doubt about it—this was definitely diabolic magic.
An ear-splitting screech echoed through the room, and a sinister form rose from the flames, clawing at the air.
My aunt scurried back to the circle of protection just as the lighting in the candlelit room returned to normal, leaving a flaming demon perched atop the pile of coal.
It was about two feet tall.
“That’s it?” Casey asked.
“Baby steps, Casey,” my aunt responded.
I was too busy trembling. My very own aunt had just summoned a creature from hell.
The thing screeched, glared at us, and then scampered on all fours across the room and ran up one of the walls.
Holy shit.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, my voice not quite as steady as I’d have liked.
“Extinguish it. Like you’ve practiced with candles and fire.”
I bit my lip, uncertain what to think. “You want me to…kill it? After we just summoned it?”
She shrugged. “You can’t really kill demons, at least not in the way we think of death, not without a lot of trouble. They just disappear and go back to whichever hell they came from. I’m sure it’s unpleasant for them, but they’re embodiments of chaos. This is like recess for them.”
I raised my hand toward the creature on the wall, but hesitated. “Isn’t Zara a demon?”
Casey snorted. “Half-demon. There’s a big difference. As in real death. So don’t kill her, no matter how mouthy she gets.”
I licked my lips as the thing jumped down and scrabbled over the stone floor, then slammed against the steel exit door.
“Actually, you make a good point, Savannah,” my aunt mused. “Why don’t you negotiate with it?”
She shoved me out of the circle of protection. The instant I was out, the thing screeched and charged at me, flames billowing from its coal-like eyes.
Heart racing, I bolted for the opposite end of the room, desperately trying to summon my magic. Icy shadows swirled around me, along with the memories of being chased by blood demons. I tried to call the long, dark shadows that stretched across the room to smother the monster, but I couldn’t concentrate.
Searing pain lanced through my skin as the devilish thing’s burning claws raked into me. With a yelp of surprise and despair, I spun and sent a burst of uncontrolled dark magic at the monster. It flew backward with a sizzle.
Casey hooted. “Nice shot! Now extinguish it before it extinguishes you!”
The thing charged, but feeling more confident, I backpedaled, calling the shadows. Streaks of darkness coiled around my hand and slithered across the floor. I waved my fingers, and the shadows moved like a black fog, but before I could strike, the burning thing leapt to the wall, and then plunged down onto me.
Its claws dug into my shoulders, and its touch burned like pressing my hand to a hot grill. I screamed and lashed out with my magic, sending the demon careening across the floor.
I struck out with the shadows, pushing them toward the demon. The shadows slithered and darted like serpents, and the creature’s flames flickered and began to fade. It screeched and struggled to get away, but I showed no mercy as I willed the darkness to extinguish it.
Suddenly, it vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving an unearthly chuckle hanging in the air. It was laughing? How was I supposed to interpret that? You got me this time? or I’ll be back?
I shook my head in wonder as Casey started applauding. Chest heaving, I placed my hands on my knees.
“You got it, Cuz! Nice job,” he shouted.
“Yes. Well done. Now try more,” my aunt quipped, and then began chanting again. Seconds later, the room twisted, and demons began leaping from the flames.
I was still bushed. This was too much.
My heels pounded on the stone as I darted toward the circle. Casey shoved me back before I could get in.
“What the hell?” I shouted as I dodged away from the clutches of a diminutive yet deadly, charging fire demon.
Casey dramatically put the back of his wrist against his forehead and gave a plaintive and deeply sarcastic cry. “Oh, save me cousin. I can’t protect myself with my weak fire magic. It’s useless against fire demons.”
The trio of fire demons darted toward me, and I retreated as quickly as I could, trying unsuccessfully to repel them. “Casey, you asshole!”
My aunt Laurel grinned. “You make a good point, son. As a specialist, you’re woefully unprepared for a battle like this.”
She clapped her hands, and he was ejected out of the circle of protection with a yelp.
“Oh, shit!” he cried as the demons converged on their juicy new target.
Chaos ensued. Blasts of magic filled the room as we tried to contend with the fiery devils. As soon as one was down, my aunt summoned another.
Finally, I screamed, “Enough already!” and pointed my hand at the burning pile of charcoal and ash. The shadows converged like serpents and extinguished the flames. Unfortunately, the little bastards didn’t disappear.
Well, it was worth a shot.
Deprived of their burnt offering, one charged at me in a rage, and I stumbled back. My foot caught on a seam in the stone, and I slammed down onto the hard floor, sending a jolt of pain up my tailbone and through my spine.
I gasped as the burning beastie lunged, but before it landed on me, my aunt clapped her hands again, and the red glowing circle vanished. A surprised screech erupted from the flaming demon as it poofed out of existence, along with all the others.
Pulse hammering in my temples, I flopped back onto the mercifully cold stone as bits of ash rained down around me. I was more drained than I’d ever been in my life, but the glowing warmth of triumph trickled through my veins.
I’d lived. And I’d actually slain demons with my magic. Not bullets. Magic.
Casey dropped to the floor and rolled onto his back, chest heaving. “Holy shit, Mom. Are you nuts?”
As fit as he looked, he was really out of shape, and she gave him a kick. “Practice outside your specialty, you little pyromaniac.”
Then she headed over to me and helped me up. “You did so well. Wasn’t that fun?”
My mouth was dry, and I didn’t have the strength to respond. My family was comprised of demon-summoning lunatics who were definitely into the dark arts.
Seemed about right.
My phone alarm began to buzz. I swiped it off and glanced up at my insane family. “Shit. I lost track of time. I’ve got a date with a devil.”
6
Jaxson
I parked my truck in the lot at Old Channel Harbor, got out, and slammed the door harder than I’d intended.
I had two days to hand over Savannah Caine, or the sorcerer was going to make my pack pay. How, I didn’t know, but I believed his threat. I could watch over Savannah, but I couldn’t watch over everyone in my pack.
That meant I had two days to bring him down.
I wound my way through the lot over to the two women waiting for me by the dock—Nevaeh and Amal, both agents of the Order. I didn’t trust the organization, but I’d trust both women with my life.
No sign of Savannah. Maybe she wouldn’t show.
“Good to see you, Jax,” Amal said as she stepped forward and clasped my arm.
She’d spent her childhood torn between Chicago and Cairo, and we were old friends. She’d been like a sweet little sister then. Now, she was one of the deadliest assassins I knew.
I tilted my head to Neve, whose red hair gently floated in the still air—an enchanting quirk of being a powerful djinn, a genie of the winds. “Nice to see you, Detective Cross.”
She smiled. “I’ve been out of town, but I heard you’re the new alpha around here.”
I’d helped her and Damian Malek, one of Magic Side’s wealthiest and most dangerous underlords, overthrow a demented mage who’d managed to tear open a portal to the hells and had been amassing a demon army. This was after he’d unleashed a water genie on Bentham a month ago, allowing five prisoners to escape—including Kahanov.
Since I’d taken over as alpha from my father, we’d faced one crisis after another. I’d hoped Billy’s death had been the tragic end of it, but now, I worried that was only a prelude. “Any new leads on the sorcerer?”
Amal shook her head. “I lost his trail in Italy. Sorry, Jax.”
“Then this visit better pay off. We need a lead. Fast.”
I’d told them about the note, as well as most of the details surrounding the abductions and blood demon attacks.
“Is Savannah supposed to be meeting us?” Neve asked. “You had me get clearance for her.”
As if mentioning her name summoned the she-devil up from the pits of hell, Savannah’s Gran Fury peeled into the parking lot with the radio blasting. The werewolves I’d assigned to her protection detail followed shortly behind in a black SUV.
She was late and loudly broadcasting that the world revolved around her. I clenched my fist. Just the sight of her made my blood pressure rise. She was insufferable and obstinate…and frustratingly arousing.
Savannah climbed out of the car and strode over to us. Her white T-shirt was tucked into high-cut jeans that accentuated her curves, and I had to dig my claws into my palms to keep my head straight.
Amal leaned close and whispered, “A new love interest?”
“Never. She’s a LaSalle,” I snapped, too quickly. Unfortunately, Amal could probably smell the desire that plagued my mind the minute Savannah showed up.
Her hips swayed as she crossed the parking lot, and I forced my smoldering arousal down, reminding myself that Savannah was the reason my pack was under threat.
I tensed as she drew near. “Nice of you to show. At last.”
“Better late than never.” She shot me a glare, then extended her hand to Amal. “Hi, I’m Savy. You two must work for the Order.”
Amal shook Savannah’s hand. “I’m Amal, and this is Neve. We’re hunting Kahanov. It’s good to meet the woman he’s after. I’ve got a lot of questions for you.”
“Likewise,” Savannah said.
Neve shook her hand as well. “Your illustrations helped us identify him. You’re quite the gifted artist.”
Savannah’s expression darkened. “That bastard turned my life into a nightmare. Even if I never saw his face, it’s hard to forget the details of someone like that.”
A jolt of anger and protectiveness tightened the muscles in my arm. “Let’s go,” I growled.
“What’s at Bentham?” Savannah asked as we headed toward the two-prop boat waiting for us in the marina. “Jaxson mentioned a bloodthirsty devil.”
Neve nodded, her mood suddenly dark. “Kahanov escaped from Bentham with the help of a devil known as the Ripper. He might know what Kahanov’s plans were. It’s all we’ve got to go on, so we’re going to bash him around a bit until he coughs up something useful. He’s a real bastard.”
A cold wind whipped around us, and the boats at the dock started bobbing gently in the breeze. Neve had a temper, and when it rose, so did the storms.
We boarded the black Order patrol boat and sped across the harbor toward Bentham Island. Over the roar of the engines, Amal and Neve relentlessly grilled Savannah about Kahanov, his magic, and what she’d seen while scrying on him. But silence fell when we approached the massive prison, and Nevaeh whistled low as we pulled into the recently outfitted dock. “What a change. The last time I was here, this place was crumbling into the lake.”
“What happened?” Savannah asked.
“A water genie hit it with a tsunami and cursed its defenses.” Neve pointed to a faint shimmering dome in the air above the prison. “That spell protects Bentham. When it came down, five prisoners managed to escape, despite a half dozen backup measures. Kahanov is the only one still on the loose.”
The captain killed the engine and secured the boat against the concrete jetty. Neve stood and levitated onto the dock, while Amal leapt up. Savannah’s eyes rounded, and her jaw dropped. “Holy hell, that’s…awesome,” she said, then stood and placed her foot on the gunwale. Amal and I both extended our hands to help her up, and Savannah paused.
