Page 22 of Kiss of Magic

But it was a demonstration of what she and Kam had hoped for when they’d called the meeting. Unity. A sense that they were in this together.

And as insurmountable as the odds seemed, it was a start.

Ten

Baltimore

Dani sipped her coffee and looked at the skyline. It was early morning and the harbour was largely deserted. Frost tinged the air but the cold was tempered by the sunlight glinting off the water. It was beautiful she thought, the crescent of gleaming high-rise towers contrasting with the crab shacks and bars along the front.

Gulls wheeled overhead, calling shrilly, and her eyes followed a white sail bobbing in the bay. She wondered what it would be like to skim along the waves with the wind in her face and salt on her tongue. To leave her worries behind.

Even now, here, in this place of peace where no-one knew who she was and no-one was looking for her, she could feel the blackness whispering in her mind. She’d always struggled with her mood, her foul temper and her dark thoughts. It was one of the reasons she’d run away, convinced that if she could just leave it all behind – her destiny, her purpose – she’d feel normal again.

But it was getting worse.

She wondered what had happened to the big man who’d tracked her down in New York. Blake. Was that even his real name? Her stomach tightened in anger as she remembered she’d liked him at first. Even considered flirting with him. What an idiot she was.He was a mercenary, another tool of the Angelus Coven. Just like she was.

She wondered if she was being selfish, turning her back on her fate. As far back as she could remember, her mother andgrandmother had told her she was special. She’d started out being proud, beinghappythat she alone had the power to hold back demonic forces.

Until she’d learned what it would actually cost her.

Of course, it hadn’t mattered then. The key had passed from one generation to the next for hundreds of years with no incident. She’d assumed the same would be true for her. That she’d go her whole life without being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. And then the coven had got word that the seal was failing.

Was she a coward, to run away? But why the hell should she give everything up for a world that wasn’t hers?Thiswas her world, the only one she’d ever known. She wasn’t going to fucking die for people she didn’t fucking know.

“I never asked for this,” she muttered defiantly. “I’m not the key any more. I’m not. Someone else can do it. It’s not wrong to choose to live, is it?”

There was no answer, other than the gulls screeching.

She tucked a stray blue strand under her woollen beanie and stood up. She needed to find a place to stay for the night. There was no lack of options – Baltimore’s harbour was a big tourist area. She’d deliberately chosen it for that very reason, figuring she’d blend in better. Most of the hotels looked pricey but luckily money was no object.

She reached into her pocket and brought out a handful of napkins from the coffee shop, all emblazoned with the familiar two-tailed mermaid logo. She splayed the fingers of her other hand and let raw energy from her surroundings seep into her cells. There was plenty of it here by the water, with the waves and the wind. Magic hummed beneath her skin as she channelled it, moulded it.

When she looked down at the napkins again, the mermaid logo had been replaced by the stern features of Ulysses Grant. She flicked through the wad of fifty dollar bills with satisfaction.

Transformation spells were tricky. They lasted longer if the thing being changed was similar to the thing it was being changed into. In this case, she’d turned one kind of paper into another, so she knew it would last several hours. Enough to procure a room for the night.

In the morning, the early desk clerk might wonder why there was a bunch of napkins in the till but she’d be gone by then.

She gave one last longing glance towards the yachts and turned to go. Her feet skidded to a halt and her heart lurched into her mouth.

He was there. Behind her. How long had he been there? It was impossible. He couldn’t have sneaked up on her. No-one was that quiet.

“Hey, Blue,” he drawled, his eyes alight with mischief. Her face drained.

“How… how did you find me?”

“One of my many skills, sweetheart. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which will it be?”

He gave a smile, an insufferably cocky smile, and her temper boiled over.Deluded human. Did he honestly think he was a match for her?

She gathered her magic, her mouth already shaping the words, intending to blast the smugness off his face. Supernatural wind poured from her fingers, a cyclone of air which would hurl him off his feet and knock him unconscious.

But instead of hitting him, the wind curved round his form and left him unscathed. Her jaw dropped in astonishment. What the…?

He grinned again. So infuriatingly sure of himself.

“The hard way it is.”

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