Page 108 of Magic of the Damned

“Madeline appears to be confident that she and her coven can figure out a way to lift the spell or circumvent it,” Nailah added.

“Confident and sure are two very different things,” Areleus pointed out.

Dominic’s eyes settled on his father for a moment before he snapped his focus back to Nailah. “What will be the cost of this help?” he asked.

She frowned. “Removal. They believe you are no longer of use. They remove the spell and all ties between you and the supernaturals are severed.” She returned to the table, reached down for the bag she’d placed next to her, and pulled out a roll of vellum. Opening it, the yellow glow of magic illuminated the words and below it her blood signature. Areleus took the paper, reading slowly over it, Helena easing in next to him to look at the terms. Once they were finished, they handed it to Dominic who gave it a long viewing. After he finished, he exhaled a ragged breath.

“What exactly do you expect us to do with our time?” Helena snapped.

Nailah kept a reserved demeanor, irritation flaring only momentarily in her cedar-brown eyes. “I’m sure you’ll find other ways to entertain yourselves. The question remains, what is your freedom worth?”

“Everything,” Areleus said. Despite being aware of their deadly speed and imperceptible movement, I wasn’t prepared. The sphere of magic slammed into my chest. I soared back and slammed into the wall. My breath huffed out, making it difficult to take another.

Get out of the way, I scolded myself. Unable to get to my feet in time, I rolled to keep the next sphere from hitting me in the same place. It smashed into my leg with an explosion of pain. Sure that my leg was broken, I prepared for another surge of pain and scrambled to my feet. It didn’t seem to be broken, but pain bolted through me.

With his claws exposed, Areleus lunged at me, but a burst of Dominic’s magic smashed into his upper chest. Another arrow-shaped illumination hit the middle of his forehead, snapping his head back. In his falling, a chaotic turbulence of magic: a cyclone of fire, furniture flying throughout the room. I tried to follow Nailah as she dashed out of the room, Anand blocking the furniture careening in my direction leaving me to dodge the ones he missed. Again, I was slammed to the ground. Wincing and gritting my teeth through the pain, I yanked out the large shard of glass from my leg, tossed it aside, and forced myself to stand.

Areleus was on his feet, his attention split between me and Dominic. Fire blazed in Dominic’s and Areleus’s eyes as they locked on each other. Their magic came to an unsettling halt, as if an implicit decision had been made not to use it. Claws bared, they lunged at each other. Colliding, Areleus’s claws retracted and he landed a hard punch on Dominic’s chin. And with the other hand, which remained clawed, he slashed Dominic across the shoulder. As they fought, it was apparent that Areleus had a better command of his claws than Dominic. No restraint was shown as the fight devolved into a brutal exchange of flashes of movement, dodging, blows to face and body, and blocking slashes of claws to the neck. A powerful strike to Dominic’s chest sent him soaring through the air, smashing into the stove and denting it. He recovered and plowed into his father, his claws scraping into his chest, shredding his clothing and making superficial gashes.

Helena looked perplexed. Immense calculation was in her eyes as she watched the fight.

My heart pounded hard when she directed her attention to me. Limping back, I eyed the stairs where I planned to retreat. Helena would have come for me if it wasn’t for the shades taking the limited form they could, beating against the glass in an attempt to get in. Blood. I’d spilled blood and they were after me. Areleus’s lips parted as he risked a glimpse over his shoulder at the shades’ desperate attempts. Speculation on his face was quickly replaced with understanding. Ignoring Dominic, he rushed toward me. He got within inches of me before Dominic sank his claws into his stomach. Areleus dropped to his knees, eyes widening at Dominic whispering a spell. Magic thrummed the air with force. Areleus dropped his eyes to the small portion of skin exposed by his ripped shirt, where he could now see the markings that once covered his daughter, on him.

“Get her out of here,” Dominic commanded Anand. I should have moved. Wanted to move. But found myself rooted, unable to rip my attention from witnessing Dominic murdering his father. If Areleus didn’t have magic, he couldn’t heal.

My breaths were coming too fast. I wasn’t going to get any oxygen. I had to breathe. It was justified. He would have killed me. Those things replayed in my head as Anand ushered me away. Or rather dragged me away until he noticed my limp. Against my weak protests, he scooped me up, and the last thing I heard was Dominic’s grave voice telling his father to look at him, and the shades’ urgent attempts to get into the house.

CHAPTER 12

Anand deposited me on the sofa in Dominic’s bedroom and took a position of sentry at the door, as if there was a plausible threat of me escaping. If I could, what would I see: the fall of the lord at the hands of his son? Two siblings fighting over patricide? Helena pressing Dominic for more information about me? Or her plotting to complete what her father had started?

This had to end. I had to end it. I wouldn’t be safe in the underworld until we were free.

“I have to go to Dominic’s office. I know how to fix this,” I blurted.

Anand’s face was more emotive than I’d ever seen it. Pure. Undeniable. Doubt. He topped it off with a derisive smirk. He had every right to his misgivings, but I hated that he saw me as inconsequential. I wasn’t and he needed to know that.

Anand was of the few people I felt comfortable telling everything about me. So, I did. As I told him about Dominic’s discovery of me being a source for magic, the marking being concealed, and how my body responded to the magic being removed, Anand’s derision became genuine concern, proving to me that Dominic hadn’t shared the information with anyone, even Anand.

How dangerous was this information that Dominic hid it from his friend? It led to more questions that I wasn’t sure could be answered. Was Dominic protecting him? What was the root of Anand’s concern: me or the situation?

“That’s why he’s been able to use you so easily. Your magic is his magic.” He wiped his hand over his face and sighed, a grim edge to his voice. “You’re not just an innocuous human.”

Fear slithered over me at the dark, considering look he gave me. It reminded me that the other supernaturals feared him, too. He wouldn’t have survived being so close to the royals if he wasn’t a force himself.

“I have magic but can’t use it. Somewhat human.” A tool that could be used for dangerous things.

How did the vessel of Tenebras Obducit magic fare in my world? Would Peter’s demise really bring me safety and peace? Would my life be marked by the supernaturals trying to discover the link between me and him? If it was ever discovered, what would happen then? As a tool of powerful magic, I would never be left alone. My hope was to use the orb to remove the magic and render my connection to Peter moot.

“I’d like to try the spell again and remove the magic from me. If that can be done, then we’ll be free. At least that’s one problem I could solve. We could solve.”

Assuming he could do the spell. I needed him or someone who could. Anand was an anomaly, a shifter who couldn’t shift but had specific magic. I hoped that he could at least invoke the spell.

After several moments of contemplation, he gave me an unenthusiastic nod. Soon he was next to me, lifting me with that unsettling shifter’s grace and power.

“I can walk,” I told him with far more bravado and confidence than I felt. All the pains had merged to aches throughout my body with the mildest movement.

I should have taken the shifter-carry ride. My legs were giving my pride the finger and rightfully so. Nothing was broken, I was pretty sure of that. But I had suffered a strain or sprain. Each step sent a shock of agony through me. Determination fueled my journey to Dominic’s office where I breathed a sigh of relief when it opened without the need for magic. My discarded clothing had been put away, but the orb and knife remained on the desk. I went to the bookcases and scanned the books. When I didn’t find the spellbook Dominic used, I frantically searched the drawers, ignoring Anand repeatedly calling my name to get my attention. I was sure that I looked unhinged, because that was exactly how I felt. The mantra ‘get the hell out of the underworld’ cycled on repeat in my head. The mission was clear and I had no intention of being sidetracked.

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