Page 34 of Deadly Reckoning
“Alright, you know the drill,” I start to say, then change my mind. “Actually, let’s switch it up so that we can get home quicker. I’m going to put my hand on the ward, and then I need you all to touch me. I’ll funnel a small portion of your magic into the ward.”
“Are you sure you want to do it with all of us at the same time?” Doc asks.
I nod, and since I know that he’s worrying, I add with a smile, “You can monitor my vitals at the same time, and if it looks like something is going wrong, you can stop me.”
Doc nods, my suggestion offering him the reassurance that I intended it too, “Deal.”
“Alright, come on then.”
I move forward, feeling with my magic until my hand comes in contact with the ward, and it shimmers as I make contact with it.
Reaching my hand out to Neith first, she takes it, smiling up at me and making my heart skip a beat.
Seriously, what is this woman doing to me? I have never reacted this way to someone else, and up until recently, I had thought that I had been in love before.
Clearly, I was very wrong about that.
Not able to help myself, I lean down and kiss her softly. When I pull back, the smile that she gives me is so fucking beautiful that I almost bend down to kiss her again, completely forgetting that I’m supposed to be doing something else that is actually pretty important.
Unfortunately, I remember at the last moment, and look up at the guys who are all smiling at me knowingly.
I smirk.
They all get it. It’s Neith. She has a way of consuming you completely as soon as her attention is fully on you. Hell, even when it isn’t.
I’m so fucking far gone for her.
We all are.
Strangely, it's actually kind of reassuring that they’re all in the same boat that I am and feel the same way that I do. At least I know that if I’m crazy for feeling the way that I do about her, they are too.
The guys all put a hand on me, and I concentrate on asking my magic to pull small amounts from each of them to strengthen the ward. I shouldn’t be able to do this all at once, I shouldn’t be able to do this without using any words to help strengthen my magic, and I definitely shouldn’t be able to do it when I’m not at full strength.
Yet, with an ease like I’ve been doing it my whole life, that’s exactly what I do. It only takes a few moments to strengthen the ward, and I’m once again surprised by how strong it is once I’m done. Before I pull away from it though, something new stirs within my magic. It’s different from what I’m used to, and yet, it feels like it belongs to me.
It's curious, but it’s not something that I can explore right now. I don’t have the mental capacity to do it. It’s not a threat, it's mine, and I’m assuming that it has something to do with the extra magic that we were gifted at the Choosing.
“It’s done already?” Raiden asks with surprise.
I nod, “Yep. All done. These wards aren’t quite as strong as the ones at the house since Neith didn’t let off a power boom into it, but they’re almost as strong.”
“They’re stronger than the wards at the Training Academy and SID headquarters,” Neith says with a smile as she studies them closely.
She shouldn’t be able to see the magic. It should remain completely invisible to her, but it's clear from the way that she’s looking at the ward that she can see it in some capacity.
“Can you see the ward?” Raiden asks curiously, following my train of thought and noticing what I have.
Neith nods, “Kind of. If I focus hard enough, I can see this sort of shimmer in the air. It’s not easy to do though, and I have to concentrate.”
“You shouldn’t be able to, but we already know that you can see through glamours, so it would make sense that you can see wards too,” Griff replies. He adds, “You might find that it gets easier the more you practice with it.”
“He’s right,” Coen nods. “You are, after all, a brand new supe. Technically speaking.”
She grins, “Cool. I like the idea of being able to see wards, and if I can strengthen the gift, then hopefully I will be able to see through the glamour that the Blue Fucker wears.”
“Shit, that hadn’t even occurred to me,” Van says with surprise. “If your gift is strong enough, then you should be able to identify him.”
I grin, “Exactly.”
