Page 33 of Hunted
We tested it on Richard.He was also blood bound to Acacia, though not with a maker’s bond.She couldn’t read his mind, only exert her will on him when she chose to, through concerted effort.It wasn’t the same as Josh’s deep bond with her, but it was the best way we had to test the charm against Acacia’s magic specifically.
Richard grinned like a madman as he reached for the finished charm.When activated, the charm pulsed, sparked, and did something that made Richard shudder and start laughing in glee.
We all froze.
“Did that just...work?”I asked slowly, not sure if the dhampir’s reaction was good or bad.He was such a lunatic, it could be either.I could feel the magic but wasn’t sure of the effect on him.
“It did...something,” Richard said with that same manic grin.“I feel like a weight just lifted from my body.Like I could fly.”
Cicely signed,“We need to make another one.”
I agreed.We had promised to help Richard escape Acacia’s influence.If this charm was blocking her, then it should do the trick.With a bond like his—a non-maker’s bond—all he needed was enough distance and her hold would be inconsequential.This charm would allow him to leave the city without her calling him back.And as unimportant as he was in the vampire court, no one would go looking for him.
Now we just needed to whip up another charm and see if it worked on Josh.
*****
Josh sat in the middleof the theater space, where the seating had long ago been removed to allow Robin room to roam in dragon form.His legs were folded, hands on his knees in meditation posture.His face was devoid of emotion.He looked like someone waiting for execution, not a protection spell.
Though, the way our experiments had been going up ‘til now...I couldn’t blame him.
I handed him the charm.The layered spell was embedded in a dragon scale that Robin would probably kill me for using, but which greatly amplified the power.It was suspended from a leather cord.“If you feel anything wrong—tightness, pain, whatever—just drop it,” I told him, leveling him with a serious glare.Just because it had worked safely on Richard didn’t mean it would be the same for Josh.His entire physiology and aura was different, not to mention the magic involved.
He nodded silently.Poor guy had to be feeling so many different emotions right now—hope, fear, anger...but he didn’t let them show.It was fucking sad.A beta wasn’t meant to be so cold and stoic.
I crouched beside him and put a hand on his knee, lending him a little comfort, one beta to another.“You ready?”
“No,” he said softly.“But do it anyway.”
Giving him a nod, I stood and activated the charm.
Josh gasped and pressed his hands to either side of his head.I immediately tensed, ready to disarm the magic before his head exploded.Ruya and Sadavir would never forgive me if I blew up their lover.
But then he lifted his head and his hazel eyes met mine.Not pain.His gaze was full ofrelief.He looped the charm around his neck and smiled.
His whole body sagged.His aura, usually dark and cracked, eased.Lightened.For ten seconds—tenwholeseconds—he looked like himself.
Then his whole body went rigid, his hands pressing into the sides of his head like he was trying to hold himself together.He screamed, a sound of inhuman pain.The charm lying against his chest flared red, sparked, then went black.
I rushed forward, my own magic reaching out, the nullifying spell already half formed.But the charm was dead.Cicely caught Josh before he hit the floor.Richard snatched the dragon scale charm from around Josh’s neck and flung it away.
Josh panted, shaking in Cicely’s arms.“She felt it,” he rasped.“Shefeltit.”I knew what he was getting at, what sparked the note of renewed fear and anger in his voice.She knew we were trying to block her out, and she’d probably be pissed off.Which would mean more of her petty games.
“But it worked,” I said.“Not for long, but itworked.”
He nodded.“Briefly.”
I helped him sit up.“It’s a step in the right direction.We’ll make a better one.”
Richard examined the smoldering charm that dangled from between his fingertips.“Hopefully he’ll survive it.”
