Her Wild Magic (9 page)

“He rules unchallenged,” Caleb broke in.

“For the most part,” Michael replied with a sly smile. “But nothing will be left to chance. From your seed an elite guard of pure-blooded Lycans will be bred. They will be invincible, and they will be loyal protectors of the master. I see by your reaction, this does not entirely surprise you. But here is something your spies could not have told you because no one except the master and I know the full scope of his plans.

“Using the stone of Asreal, he has the power to bring his elite guard from babe to adulthood in a matter of months. The Rephaims who stand against him will have no chance against warriors bred from the seed of our most gifted. Those who manage to survive the coming war will serve his will, just as the human monkeys will learn to serve their betters.”

“Never thought you’d go into the bootlicking business, Michael. You were always so proud of your family and its position in the Alliance. What caused the about face?”

“It is better to serve one who is worthy than to serve the offshoots of apes.” He turned to the two mages standing off to the side. “Leave us. I no longer require your presence, and the smell of your arousal offends me. Find a servant girl and relieve yourselves, but bring her here when you are finished. After the ceremony is performed, I will need a human to restore my strength.”

The men left, but both of them glanced repeatedly back at the woman, clearly reluctant to leave her presence. Sasha was certainly beautiful, but Max had a feeling the heavily scented perfume she wore was a powerful pheromone that intensified their sexual attraction to her and clouded their judgment.

As the door closed behind the two men, Michael nodded to Sasha. “He can no longer speak, but I will need a moment to secure my control over him. His mind is impenetrable.” He parted his robe to reveal a blood-red stone suspended from a chain around his neck. “But the Stone of Asreal will force a reaction from his body. Milk him dry. Leave him impotent as well as sterile as an example to others who would stand in my way. Your fee will be doubled.”

Max forced aside the horror of Michael’s words as she watched him move his hands in an intricate pattern, gathering his power. She had to find a way to stop him, but how? And even if she managed to hold Michael at bay until help arrived, there was Sasha. Even now, the woman was crawling atop Caleb’s body, her eyes gleaming with avarice.

Caleb snarled, drawing her attention back to him, and Max saw his canine’s had elongated and his eyes glowed. He couldn’t speak nor move, but he unnerved Sasha enough that she glanced at Michael for reassurance. Michael’s eyes remained closed, one hand now clenching the glowing Stone of Asreal, but something she saw must have reassured her, because she turned back to Caleb with a smug smile on her lips.

“The mated Lycan does not want what other men have killed for,” Sasha mocked, running a hand over her breasts and across her stomach as she leaned over Caleb. “But despite his anger, his great strength is harnessed. He cannot speak, he cannot move, and he cannot deny me his seed. I will take what I want. And though I no longer enjoy the bodies of men, I think I will very much enjoy this coupling. Your anger fires my blood better than the sweetest of wines.”

“Don’t worry,”
Max whispered, hoping to connect with Caleb and provide him some measure of comfort. “
When I’m done frying this bitch, she’ll be so thin you can roll her up and smoke her.”

“Relax honey
,” Caleb returned.
“This woman is no threat to what we have. And may I say, I like your new skill. I can’t wait to hear the naughty thoughts running through your mind when we make love.”

“You can think of love making at a time like this?”

“When it comes to you, it’s never far from my mind. You’ve become my world.”

“You’re going to make me cry, and that’s the last thing I need when I’m thinking about putting my foot up Sasha’s rear end.”

“I know, babe, but I’ve managed to connect with the others. Help is on the way. And although I can’t stop Michael, I can slow him down. Remain hidden.”

“I don’t know if I can. My gift really doesn’t like her touching you.”

“You and it are one and the same. It feels what you feel, and loves where you love. Just as my wolf and I love you.”

“Great, now you tell me when you have a belly rolling whore crawling all over you! When we get
out of this, I am so going to make you say it again.”

“For the rest of my life, babe…and as often as you like.”

Max was left speechless by that, while Michael, as if on cue, raised the stone of Asreal to his lips and began to chant out loud.

Caleb’s body jerked suddenly, and his eyes widened. Max bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as she watched Caleb’s body began to contort, his bones and muscles shifting against his will. Caleb fought back, using what strength he had left to block Michael’s power, but Max could see he was losing the battle.

“
Babe,”
Caleb whispered into her mind, his voice laden with pain was almost unrecognizable.
“You must remain hidden. No matter what happens. Remain hidden!”

Max didn’t answer him. She couldn’t. Her mind was filled with the horror of what was happening to him. She could hear the crunch of bones and sinew twisting and contorting as Caleb’s body became a battleground. The bastard was literally tearing his body apart in an effort to control him.

“Sorry, big guy,”
Max finally managed to whisper
. “Looks like the posse has been delayed. I have to do something or there won’t be anything left of you to
rescue.”

Knowing Caleb would continue to press her to remain hidden, Max shut down the mind link between them and reached for her gift. In nearly the same moment, Sasha flung her head back and laughed triumphantly. Caleb had lost the battle to retain control of his body, and his cock rose fully erect.

Afraid of delaying a second longer, Max flung the heavy drape back and leaped onto the table. Her gaze never left Michael, but she grabbed a startled Sasha by the roots of her long black hair and forced her into a kneeling position at her feet.

“Michael, you will release Caleb or the whore of Babylon will be practicing her profession in the afterlife. And don’t think I won’t do it. Watching you tear into Caleb has put me in a really ugly mood.”

Michael remained where he was, his face devoid of all expression, but Max sensed he was surprised he hadn’t detected her presence. It was another mark against her, and this time Michael wouldn’t back down.

He moved his hand, a barely discernible movement. Sasha’s form wavered and then disappeared. Max was left holding…nothing.

“As you can see, my powers have increased considerably since the last time we met,” Michael said with a small smile. “It would be quite satisfying to correct your earlier impression of me, but I am well aware that my home is being invaded by your allies.”

He angled his head, the red stone hanging around his neck glowing as the sounds of battle rang out from the floors above them. He was drawing on the power of the stone, attempting to shore up the defensive wards encasing the room, but she hesitated to make a move to stop him while Caleb lay vulnerable to attack.

“I must leave you now. But when we meet again, the score will be settled between us.”

Max shook her head. “I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.” She allowed her power to rise, hoping it would siphon enough of Michael’s power to delay his departure until help arrived. “You can’t just walk away from what you’ve done.”

Michael’s gaze shifted pointedly toward Caleb. “I know that in your rage over what was done to Caleb you want revenge, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Your mate is weak and defenseless, barely conscious. It is possible you might succeed in harming me, but if you strike at me, I will strike at him. And in his current state, it would be a killing blow.”

He was right; she did want to punish him for what he’d done to Caleb, but she was willing to leave that to others. Keeping Caleb safe was all that mattered. She climbed down from the table, and took a protective position in front of Caleb. Totally focused on Michael, she was slightly surprised when Caleb’s voice poured into her mind.

“Babe, you know better than to fall for his drivel. He’s little more than a mage on steroids. Being in your presence has weakened his power. I can feel the wards loosening. Add your power to mine, and the wards will fall away. When I shift, I will be restored to full strength.”

“But I don’t know how to do that!”

“Visualize the wards. See them as a chain holding me down. Then imagine them dropping away. Your gift will do the rest, but keep your eyes on Michael. He won’t go without a parting shot.”

Max kept her gaze trained on Michael, but in her mind she drew a picture of chains breaking all around Caleb. In the next second he stood at her side, fully shifted to were, completely unscathed, and staring at Michael with bloodlust in his eyes.

Michael shouted a dark incantation, and a blast of pure red fire shot from the stone around his neck. It hit Caleb in the center of his chest. Max screamed, certain her worst nightmare had come to fruition, but Caleb did nothing to douse the flames racing over his body. Instead, he stood like a warrior of old, fiercely proud, with his inhumanly beautiful eyes locked onto his prey.

“Got anything else you want to try?” Caleb growled as the flames died out, leaving him unscathed. “Cause I gotta tell you, if that’s the best you’ve got, your ass is mine.”

Michael snatched the stone from around his neck and stared at it incredulously. “Impossible. The fire from the Stone of Asreal is indomitable. You should not have been able to extinguish its flames.”

“You’re right, but that’s not the Stone of Asreal.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Not the stone? But my master—”

“Lied to you. He stole the Stone of Asreal from the Alliance’s vault, but he also took another stone. The stone in your hand is sister to the Stone of Asreal and nearly identical in appearance, but unlike the Stone of Asreal, each time you use it, it grows weaker. Which means your master put that pretty bauble in your hand and sent you off to war knowing you wouldn’t make it home for dinner.”

Michael’s eyes darkened with rage, and he flung the stone against the nearest wall, where it shattered into pieces. When he looked again at Caleb, the glamour maintaining his facial perfection had dropped away. Unadorned, Michael’s face was austere, his eyes tainted with madness.

“It appears your assessment of the situation is correct, and the master will answer to me for his actions, but neither of you will live to see it.” He threw his arms out, clearly intending to strike a killing blow, but this time Max was ready for him.

She mirrored his actions and found her magic flowing seamlessly out her fingertips in a stream of white-red fire. The opposing powers clashed, and Max felt a jolt of pleasure as if her wild magic reveled in the confrontation.

“Max,” Caleb called out over the roar caused by the clashing forces. “Can you hold him?”

“I’ve got him,” she shouted back. There was no going back now. No denying who and what she was. She was Mage Slayer. And God help her, she loved it!

“Good girl.” Caleb grinned down at her. “Just save some of that fire for later, because that kick-butt look on your face has got me hard as nails.”

Max rolled her eyes mockingly in disbelief, but Caleb only laughed. A second later, Michael’s head hit the floor, ripped from his body by a single blow of Caleb’s clawed hand.

Max called her magic back, but it didn’t respond immediately. Instead, it lightly caressed Caleb along the side of his face, before returning to Max.

“Eww,” Max said, turning away from Michael’s headless body. “Did you have to do that? I had him locked down. He wasn’t going anywhere.”

Caleb shifted back to human and tried to pull her into his arms, but Max resisted him, more than a little annoyed at him. “Why did you intervene? I’m Mage Slayer here. If this thing between us is going to work, I’m going to have to be allowed to do my thing.”

He brushed aside her efforts to keep him at bay and pulled her into his arms. “You’re not a killer, Max. You’re resilient, determined, and just looking at you starts a fire in me that will never be quenched. But you’re not a killer. One day you will have no choice in the matter, but I want to spare you that fate for as long as I can.”

“Okay,” Max said, allowing his words to soothe her. “But I’m in this thing with you as a full partner. I can hold up my end.”

Caleb chuckled and gave her a sexy wink. “That you can, and it was one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen.”

Max pushed him away, feigning disgust. “Back off, wolf man. We still have work to do. We need to help the others finish this thing before you drag me off to your lair.”

Caleb shook his head, still smiling at her. “I’m going to help the others. You are going back to the cabin.”

Max’s eyes flashed with anger. “I thought we just came to an agreement. And in case you missed it, I just held my own against the number two bad guy in this war.”

“You wiped the floor with him, babe, but you need training. Some of the mages fighting on the floors above us are on our side, and I know you’d never forgive yourself if you harmed one of them because you didn’t have full control of your magic.”

“I guess you’re right,” Max conceded reluctantly, and then she did her best to look wistful. “But maybe I can just hang around, you know, learn a few things by watching you guys in action?”

Caleb eyes narrowed at her obvious attempt to manipulate him, and Max dropped the pretense with a sigh. “It was worth a try.”

“If you say so.” Caleb planted a brief kiss on the tip of her nose. “But Stefan is on his way, and you
are
going back to the cabin.”