Page 67 of A Touch Charmed

“Damn right I do.” He pressed his lips against mine.

Kissing Finn when our powers were combined was so much more intense. The way I made him feel pulsed deep within me. With our magic combined and our connection whole, there was nothing between us anymore. I saw myself the way he saw me. From the light in his eyes, something similar had happened to him. Together, we had no limits.

I took the kiss deeper, pushing every bit of love I had for him into it. His erection pushed against my stomach, sending a flood of heat into me. Neither of us took it further though. We had plenty of time for that later. Right now, it was just about feeling the magic between us, celebrating the moment when our souls connected, and holding tight to the knowledge that nothing could come between us again. Not even each other.

When I opened my eyes, I stared up at Finn, letting his love wash over me. A teasing breeze carrying the earthy scent of night ruffled my hair. The stars pulsed overhead. It took me a second to register that there was a breeze in the dead zone.

I looked away from Finn and sucked in a quick breath. All around us, the dead zone bloomed with life. The brown grass had turned into a thick and lush lawn. The birch trees surrounding the open ring now created a canopy with their leaves. A cluster of daisies stretched their petals toward the moon while a small rabbit munched on the stems.

“Look at what we did.” Awe brought my voice down to a whisper. “We healed what the curse had killed. We can reverse what it’s done.”

“Maybe we can reverse what it’s done to Nirah as well.” Finn gripped me tighter. “Our magic is stronger. What if it’s enough to remove the curse from him?”

Smoke poured out of the entrance to the cave, angry and violent. It dove for us with the fury of a thousand storms. We let go of each other to duck and roll away from it. As the thick funnel of smoke parted, Nirah appeared. His eyes were pure black and swirling with madness. The curse had a hold on him. He lunged for Finn, but I jumped in front of him and shoved both hands into his chest. He recoiled. Inky vapors leaked from his palms.

“Touch makes him weak,” I yelled at Finn. “It’s the opposite of our magic.”

He pushed his palms out. “Throw your power at mine.”

I raised my hands and shot the energy inside me outward. Finn combined his healing power with mine. Beaded droplets clung to the grass and surrounding flowers like fairy lights. A melody rose from those baby bulbs of light, haunting and lovely.

As the song played on, glowing threads of gold flowed from the depths of the cave. They stretched outward and stitched together to form what looked like a sheer cloak. I ran my fingers through it. It was thick and had a sweet scent like warm honey.

It reminded me of the first rays of dawn.

Nirah backed away from it, fear widening the bottomless pits of his eyes. “You’re playing with magic you don’t understand.”

Finn and I glanced at each other, a silent plan passing between us. We both counted to three under our breaths, then broke our connection. We activated our speed power, slowing the world to a near stop. The cloak still hung in the air, suspended by its own magic.

Finn grabbed it and threw it over Nirah.

It molded to his skin, trapping him in a golden glow, brighter than the morning sun. The song continued to rise from our tiny orbs of light. I released the portion of energy that controlled speed and stumbled as time resumed a normal pace around me. Black smoke surrounded Nirah in a vicious funnel as it battled the golden casing that held him hostage.

His eyes began to clear. The liquid ink of his irises was replaced by the tawny color I’d seen in the woods when he told me to run. He blinked. For the briefest of moments, I saw the full man beneath the curse. So much pain. He held it too close.

Black liquid poured from his eyes, leaving long tar-like streaks over his face. The tawny color disappeared and a filmy black haze covered his pupils. The curse had taken him over again.

“Did you see that?” I asked Finn. “His eyes.”

“I saw, bluebird.” Finn tucked me against him. “Not sure what it means.”

Nirah raised his arms, a slick smile playing over his face. His forked tongue coated his lips in a slimy layer of oil. The golden cloak burned away from his skin like morning dew evaporating in the rising sun. Whatever power it held was gone.

Shards of panic dug into my throat as the ground rumbled under our feet. The same clouds that had poured acid over the beach gathered overhead. We didn’t have Wes and Audrey’s protection to cover us. We could heal, but it would hurt like hell. I gritted my teeth as the sky opened up and black rain fell over us.

The sting of acid never came. The water slid over us, black and thick as tar, but it didn’t singe our skin or cause any pain. Finn looked at me, surprise widening his eyes. He grinned then let out the laugh I loved so much, rich and full-bodied.

Nirah’s face pinched with rage as the shaking ground picked up force. The cracks in the cave widened. The song still playing from the light Finn and I had created rose an octave. As the pressure began to build, a deep rumbling from inside the cave split the earth open.

Finn grabbed me and pulled me to the ground. “Stay down.”

The song stopped and the lights went out. With a final push, the cave shattered in an explosion loud enough to pop my eardrums. The world went silent, then came roaring back to life as they healed. I covered my head as bits of rock rained down. A plume of black smoke rose in the air, forming a mushroom cloud at the top that blocked out the moon.

Nirah let out a scream, dropping to his knees in front of the open pit. The birthstones were destroyed. He couldn’t trap our magic without them.

Out of the black mushroom cloud, a swarm of walnut-sized wasps dove for us. I raised my arms to protect my throat, but their stings healed as quickly as they landed. No poison entered my system. Finn pushed the wasps off him with disgust and annoyance, but he wasn’t grabbing for his throat, trying to breathe.

“I think the cloak nullified the poison.” I glanced to where the cave had stood. Those golden threads had come from inside it.

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