Magic Edge (22 page)

“Either the Convictionites have an artifact, or a supernatural is helping them.”

“No supernatural would help those people.” Marek rubbed his head. “They’re trying to exterminate our kind.”

“Never say never,” she said. “Did you get the device she was using to control Logan and the Orbs?”

Marek showed her a warped piece of metal that had melted, then reformed as a shapeless blob. “I’m not sure what we can discern from this broken thing. It looks like it’s been through a magic compactor. What happened to it?”

“When the spell over Logan broke, it overloaded.” Alex plucked the sorry thing from his hand. “I’ll ask Daisy to have a look. She has a knack for fixing magical objects.”

“How did the spell overload?” Marek asked, his eyes full of suspicion.

Uh…

“I broke it,” Logan told him.

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Your mother called you her weapon.”

“She’d like to think so,” Logan said. “But I choose my own targets.”

Marek looked at Alex.

“He helped us,” she said.

Marek tapped her bruised wrist, and she winced. “He hurt you.”

“The device she used to control him is broken.”

“And if she has another?”

“That’s why I’m going to ask Daisy to have a look at it. Maybe she can figure out a way to counter it.”

Marek sighed. “Alexandria Dering, you are the most reckless person I have ever met. I’m going to get this boat moving. We’ll drive it to Gaelyn’s house.” He walked off toward the glass cabin.

Logan glanced at the fairy and vampire standing nearby, then back at Alex. “Come on,” he said, waving for her to follow.

They walked by the glass cabin, where Marek was looking over the various levers and buttons. Alex hoped he knew what he was doing. After the night she’d had, the last thing she needed was to crash into a ferry and have to swim all the way to shore through dark, cold, monster-infested waters.

Logan swiped a box from one of the cabinets they passed and continued on to the other side of the ship. He scanned the area to make sure no one was nearby, then sat down with his back to the wall.

“Let’s talk,” he said, patting the floor next to him. He pulled a bag of chips out of the box.

“Is this our talk about my recklessness?” she teased, sitting down across from him.

His brows lifted. “Do you want to discuss your recklessness now?”

“Uh. Not especially.”

He opened the bag of chips and offered it to her. “You’re not wearing lacy pink lingerie anyway.”

“How do you know?” she said with a big smile and grabbed a handful of chips.

“Alex,” he said, then stopped. He tapped the knives strapped to his chest, as though he needed them to feel safe. So knives were an assassin’s teddybear.

“Logan,” she replied, eating one of the chips. It let out a satisfying crack.

He stared at her in silence for a few seconds. The only sounds were the gentle gush of waves sliding against the ship and the cracking of chips.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “Sorry about what happened. That I hurt you.”

He touched her cheek, and she set her hand over his.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she told him. “You were being controlled. And I could see you fighting the magic.”

“I couldn’t,” he said in a whisper. He stole a glance at Marek, who was still playing with the controls inside the glass cabin. “I lied to him.”

“I know. I broke the spell.”

“I figured as much. You can break anything. Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for doing what I was too weak to do.”

“You’re strong,” she told him. “I always felt something in you. I thought your willpower just gave you a strong aura. But it wasn’t that. Your magic is strong. I can feel it now. The magic was always inside of you—beneath the surface, lying in wait. That device unlocked it. Whatever else it did to you, it shattered the barrier hiding your magic.”

Logan punched the wall, putting a sizable dent into the metal. His fist came back bloody.

“Logan.”

“They lied to me my whole life. Genetically engineered?” He punched the wall again. “I can’t believe I fell for that. I was made with magic. What does that even mean? What am I?”

She took his hand before he could punch anything else. “Your magic is unique. You don’t feel like anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Will other mages be able to sense me now?” he asked her.

“I’m not sure. Your magic might be different enough that they can’t sense it, even the really good Magic Sniffers.”

“But you can feel me?”

“Like you, I am different.”

And happen to be a dragon, by the way. She didn’t share the thought. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. She wasn’t sure who she was anymore either. Her life had been as much of a life as his. Had Dad known and kept it from her? Or had he been just as ignorant as she?

Logan offered her the bag again. “This wasn’t the nice meal I’d had planned, but it will have to do,” he said as she ate another handful of chips.

“Do for what?” she asked, licking the salt from her fingers.

He cupped his hands on her cheeks, leaning in to kiss her lightly. She arched forward to follow him as he pulled back.

“There’s something between us,” he said, looking into her eyes.

She nodded. “I know.”

“Are you willing to figure out what it is?” he asked.

“Are you?”

In response, he kissed her again. His hands slid down her back—his touch soothing her bruised body, his lips swallowing her pain. Pulsing with a slow, steady burn, her magic split open, drawing him in. His kiss grew urgent, his magic taunt. It slammed against hers, flooding her with heat. She gasped.

Marek cleared his throat loudly. Alex pulled away from Logan and looked up, suddenly cold. She shivered in the late night air.

“We’re almost there,” he said, giving her a stern look.

“Who’s driving the boat?” she asked as she and Logan stood.

“Breena.” He said her name like he wanted to write a sonnet about her.

“I didn’t know you had a thing for fairies.”

“I didn’t know you had a thing for assassins,” he shot back. “That’s twice in one night, Alex.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “I can kiss him if I want to.”

“That looked like a lot more than kissing,” he said, zipping up the back of her wetsuit.

Logan wrapped his arm around her waist. “Do we have a problem?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to try to kill her again?”

Logan’s hand dropped from her back.

“We’ve docked,” Marek said as the boat rocked. “I need to go and tell Gaelyn’s guards to check the ship for any Convictionites who may have hidden below deck.”

He didn’t have to go looking. The guards were waiting for them as soon as they stepped onto the dock. Most of them boarded the ship, but two stayed behind to help the fairy and the vampire toward the house. Marek followed behind them. Alex and Logan took up the rear.

“Gaelyn wants to speak to you,” Marek told Alex, grabbing her hand. He pulled her quickly through the door and toward the ancient immortal, who was standing beside the kitchen bar.

Metal screeched behind her. She spun around just in time to see a cage crash down over Logan, trapping him.

“What’s going on?” she demanded as Marek pressed a button that opened up a hole in the floor. It swallowed the cage, lowering it into the basement.

He and Gaelyn exchanged wary glances.

“Explain,” she growled at them.

“I called Gaelyn from the ship. We decided this had to be done. The assassin is a threat. He’s been engineered and enhanced with magic to kill supernaturals. We can’t just let someone like that run around. Enchanting someone with magic is not like enchanting an object. People are living, and there are side effects. You experienced one of those side effects yourself,” he said, pointing at her bruised wrist.

“The artifact his mother used to control him has been rendered useless,” she said.

“That doesn’t mean she hasn’t got another,” countered Marek. “Logan is a trained assassin enhanced with powerful magic. We don’t even understand the full extent of what he can do. We cannot let him go before we figure this out.”

Alex turned to Gaelyn. “Do you endorse this?”

“He is dangerous, Alex. Give us some time. We’ll figure this out.”

“This is ridiculous,” she said, storming off.

She passed the fairy and the vampire, who were sitting on the sofa drinking hot healing drinks. Sweet nectar steamed up from the fairy’s mug. The smell of blood rose from the vampire’s. Alex wasn’t even tempted; she was revolted. So she wasn’t turning into some weird hybrid after all. She’d only ever wanted Logan’s blood.

“We’ve thwarted the Convictionites’ plan for now, but they still got away with the Blood Orb,” Marek told Gaelyn. “Could they use it to control the vampires?”

“Yes, if they can fill it with vampire magic. Was it glowing crimson when they escaped with it?”

“No, it wasn’t glowing at all. When the device controlling the Orbs broke, the magic streamed back into us. I woke up fully charged.”

“Power you used to turn the Convictionite guards to ashes.”

“Did you want them to live?” Marek asked.

“I wanted them to talk. We need information.”

“Next time I’ll try to save one for you.”

Alex passed into the hallway, hurrying toward the staircase that led to the basement. Gaelyn’s guards were already there, blocking her path. And at the front of them stood Holt.

“Alex,” he said, a smug smirk on his face. “Shame about your assassin. If you’re looking for a shoulder to cry on—”

“Move,” she snarled at him.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that, “ he said, looking entirely too pleased with the turn of events. “Gaelyn’s orders. No one is allowed to see the prisoner.”

Alex pivoted around and stalked off. She would find another way.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Hidden Threat

EARLY IN THE morning a few days later, Alex descended the stairs into the basement. She walked around an assortment of exercise equipment—big, beefy machines with stacks of heavy weights. This was where the house guards bulked up. The sweats of sweat and testosterone hung heavy in the air.

In the far corner of the expansive underground room, past the bodybuilder paradise, a cage was pressed against the wall. Inside, Logan sat on a cot, reading a book. She crossed the room with whispered steps.

They weren’t whispered enough.

“How did you get down here?” Logan asked, his eyes lifting from the book.

“The guards decided to take a nap.”

He stood from the cot. “Hmm.”

“Ok, I decided for them,” she admitted. “By putting a sedative into their drinks.”

His eyes panned over her running outfit, the hint of a smile touching his lips. “You’re missing your morning run.”

“I thought we could take it together.”

His smile waned. “I wish I could.”

“I talked to Gaelyn about letting you go,” she said.

“And how did that go for you?”

“Not well,” she said, frowning. “Marek got to him first. They don’t want me talking to you. And they’ve posted extra guards at the stairs and all exits.”

“I’m flattered.”

“They’re for me as much as for you. Apparently, Marek has convinced Gaelyn that I might try something reckless.”

“That doesn’t sound at all like you.”

“Marek and Gaelyn think you’re a threat.” She closed her fingers around the bars. “But they’re wrong.”

“No, they’re right. I was made to hunt and kill supernaturals. That part is still inside of me, lying in wait. If my mother got control over me again… I attacked you.” He reached toward her, then quickly retracted his hand.

“Logan.”

He shook his head. “No, I won’t hurt you. Not ever again. Everyone is better off when I’m stuck in here.”

“I’m not better off,” she said, squeezing down hard on the bars.

“I’m an assassin, Alex.” He set his hands over hers. “I warned you that hanging around me wasn’t a good idea.”

“You didn’t exactly stay away.”

“No,” he said, laughing under his breath. “I couldn’t.”

“I couldn’t stay away from you either,” she told him. “I tried. I told myself that I hated you. I cursed you for always interfering with my jobs, but you weren’t really interfering, were you? You were looking out for me.”

“You didn’t need my help. It was just an excuse to see you. I was always thinking about you,” he said, pulling her hand through the bars. “Ever since the day we met, there was just something about you. Something unique. There aren’t many people who can mouth off to a pack of werewolves.”

“Or to a notorious assassin?”

“Are you goading me?”

“I would never goad the great Slayer.” She grinned. “He might show me his knives.”

“Your smart mouth is going to get you into trouble,” he said, tracing his finger across her lips.

She closed her eyes and slid her magic through the bars. “It already has. It got your attention.”

“You have my complete attention right now. What are you doing to me?” he asked, his voice strained.

She pushed her magic against his, grinding it into his soul. “Making sure you remember me when I’m gone.”

“Are you going somewhere?” He gave her a rough tug.

“The guards are coming. They won’t be happy to find me down here.”

He kissed her—long and hard and deliciously sweet—then pulled away from the bars. “Then you should go.”

Orange and vanilla teased her tongue. “On second thought, I don’t think I’ll go. I’m not leaving you here.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re in a cage.”

“As far as prisons go, Gaelyn’s is a luxury resort,” he said. “There’s even a shower behind the door.”

“Logan—”

“You’re not safe around me, not until I’m in control of myself again.”

“I’m going to figure out what the Convictionites did to you, and I’m going to fix it,” Alex promised.

“Don’t get yourself into trouble on my account.”

“Alex doesn’t need your help to find trouble,” Marek’s voice said.

She turned around to find him standing amongst the exercise machines. His eyes were agitated, his expression resigned.

“She finds it all by herself,” he finished with a heavy sigh.