Page 34 of Soulmates

In the same way he knew the magic covering their path, he knew they were getting closer to another mage. A mage that was just as powerful as Forrester.

“Do you feel that?” Santiago said.

“Yes,” Maddox and Jake responded simultaneously.

“We’re almost there,” Maddox said.

The road curved into another uncleared path, but the magic thrummed through Maddox, the rhythm heavier with every inch they drove, overlays upon overlays of earth magics.

“It’s a driveway. Look,” Maddox said, and a house came into view.

House was a generous term. Surrounded by trees with a live oak growing through one side, the porch didn’t look like it would hold a small animal, much less a person. It was made entirely of wood, rotting in places, black with water and mold that had crept up from the ground as if to take back what was owed. Maddox didn’t know where that thought had come from.

A sluggish stream ran behind the house where a mostly collapsed dock had fallen into the murky waters.

The whole place looked to be a moment from total collapse. But, like the trail, the magic around it was palpable.

“This can’t be right,” Santiago said.

“Just wait,” Maddox said.

As Jake began to fidget, a man rounded the corner.

His brown hair, shot with grey, fell limp and unkempt around his face. Green orbs hovered above his raised hands, illuminating gaunt features and tattered clothes, his long, grey beard practically glowing with it.

“Show me,” he demanded, his voice gruff.

“Show you what?” Santiago asked, already putting herself in a fighting stance.

“Your magic, idiot.”

“Hey!” Santiago said.

“Stop,” Maddox said, pulling Jake forward. “Show him your colors.”

“Oh, right,” Santiago said, backing off. Not a traditional way of identification in their circles, Maddox had read of this practice.

Jake held up an amber mage ball, Santiago her aggressively bright pink one, and Maddox his green flame for the man’s inspection.

The man eyed Maddox with a glare. “You’re not done.”

Maddox added red and silver to his green, showing a swirl of his three elements, and waited.

The man stared him down. “And?”

Maddox didn’t know what to say. He scrunched his eyebrows together. “I…this is my magic.”

The man continued to look at Maddox, but Maddox had nothing else to offer him.

“Okay. I’m Cricket.” Their magic flashed and vanished as they released it. “I assume his eyes don’t always look like that,” Cricket said to Jake, clearly uninterested in niceties.

Jake, looking wary, simply said, “No.”

“Did you not get messages from Maggie?” Santiago said.

“The last thing I got was he was sleeping too much. I don’t get cell service all the time when I’m home. You were lucky I was in town when she first called, or we might have been too late.”

Cricket turned toward the house. “Let’s go. I’ve got a potion that should help while we sort out what to do.”

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