Page 36 of The Curse

Her gaze fell on Corbin, and I wanted to scratch her eyes out. The arrogance swirling around her made me want to forget magic and just smack the ever-lovin’ shit out of her.

“Thank you for joining us…brother, dearest. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

I felt my body jerk in shock.Brother? Morgan was Corbin’s sister? It couldn’t be.

I looked at both of them, studying their features. The resemblance was so blatant that I’m ashamed that I hadn’t noticed it before. Their oddly colored amethyst eyes--Corbin’s beautiful and Morgan’s ugly with evil--were identical in shade. Both of them had dangerous amounts of magic swirling inside them. Alastair was right. Morgan’s magic had gone dark. As with Roman, I could see the difference between them and the rest of the witches.

“We stopped being family long ago, Morganna,” Corbin said quietly. His voice was filled with hatred and disgust as he spoke to her. “The day you murdered our mother and used her precious blood to cast this evil spell of yours.” He glanced back toward me and his eyes were filled with love. “Just finish this. I long to spend eternity with my beloved.”

She giggled. “You always were such a nag, baby brother. Stop hurting the animals. Be nice to people. Don’t kill mommy. Blah. Blah. Blah.” She blew a kiss to him after she’d finished. “I’m almost going to miss tormenting you. Almost.”

I searched the faces of Morgan’s coven, hoping to see something that would make the person I was looking for stand out. And…score. There was my little prize.

“Tick tock, Nico. Ready to die again?” she asked. “Trust me, darling, this will be the last time. Burning witches is such a nasty job, but it is…final. Seven minutes and counting.”

She walked toward me, and with a wave of her hand, a container of gasoline was in her possession. I watched, helpless to do anything to stop her, as she dumped half the contents all over me. When she finished, she whispered, “I’m not going to kill him until I’ve forced him to watch you die. I think it will hurt more that way, don’t you? No, wait, I know it will. I’ve done it time and time again!”

I shrugged and her eyes glittered dangerously.

“You could always save yourself, you know, Nico? All you have to do is vow your allegiance to me and my coven and I’ll let you live. Corbin will, of course, still die and you’ll be my plaything for the remainder of your life, but you’ll live. What do you think pretty one? Would you like to live a little longer?”

I took a deep breath, focused on love, and hoped for the best. “Megan Buchanan! I demand that you pay me the debt you owe!”

There was a nervous murmur from Morgan’s coven, but the high witch merely looked amused at my request. Surprised, but amused. With an arched brow, she asked, “You think there’s something Megan can do to save you, Nico? She couldn’t save her mother, so I assure you, she won’t be able to save you. You’re wasting precious time…time that you don’t have, love.”

Megan stepped forward, her hand clutching the shoulder of the young daughter I’d saved from being flattened in the street. “I’m honor bound to fulfill his request, Morgan.” She looked at me and asked, “What is it that you request of me, Nicholas Bailey?”

Morgan snorted out a laugh. “Be prepared to join your mother, Megan,” she warned. “But, please…go ahead--amuse me before I destroy you.”

Megan leveled her gaze at me. “I don’t have the power to lift the binder on your magic, Nicholas. Nor do I have the magic to fight Morgan. Don’t ask for what I can’t give. You have one request…make it a good one.”

Morgan’s eyes narrowed in fury.

“Unbind Alastair’s magic,” I demanded with confidence.

Alastair’s head whipped up to look at me. There was a stricken expression on his face as he shook his head from side to side. “I…I can’t help, Nico. You know I can’t help.”

Roman and Morgan burst out laughing. Riker growled. As for Corbin, he watched me closely, a thoughtful and proud expression on his face.

“For a moment there, I was worried about some plan you might have cooked up. You think theweaklingcan help you? Surely that’s not the best you’ve got, Nico?” She squinted. “Is there any Banks’ blood in your veins at all?”

Megan looked disappointed, but she turned, and with a wave of her hand, I assumed she released Alastair’s magic. She turned back to me and said, “It’s done, young one.”

I looked at Morgan and answered, “As a matter of fact, there’s plenty of Banks’ blood flowing in my veins. My mother sends her regards.” I watched with a smile as Morgan took a couple of steps back from me.

“Your powers are still useless, Nico. You’re as helpless as a kitten for the next minute and, trust me I won’t need more than a minute.”

Flames tickled her fingertips, and she laughed hysterically when I jerked back in fear.

“Ooh, baby, this is going to hurt so badly…so much more than jumping off that cliff. You remember, don’t you? You remember what it felt like the second your body made impact with those rocks? This, Nico, is going to be so much more painful. Fire is a most…unpleasant way for a witch to die.” Her eyes danced with laugher as she mocked, “Tell your mother I said hello.”

“The curse leaves me powerless against Morgan until the very second of my birth, Alastair.” I turned from Morgan and locked eyes with my friend. “I have faith in you. Corbin has faith in you.” I looked at the man next to Corbin and then back to Alastair. “Riker has faith in you.”

“Stop wasting my time,” Morgan hissed and raised both her hands to send fire flying in mine and Corbin’s directions.

I never winced…never felt fear. I wanted to look at Corbin, but my eyes were locked with Alastair. I saw his fear and his doubts, and then I saw his conviction. With a graceful movement that could only be described as sexier than shit, he waved his beautiful arm into the air…and the world froze.

One Second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. More time than I needed. The clock ticked past the second of my birth, and I wasfree.

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