Retribution (7 page)

Caitrin touched the back of Serafin’s forefinger, and Serafin softly cursed while jerking his hand away. “No, it didn't work.” He took a moment to heal the burn. Then he cocked an eyebrow at Caitrin. “One more shot, my old friend. Then you'll have to find someone else to practice on.”

Caitrin smiled as he attempted the magic again, and Serafin cursed louder the second time. “No, it's definitely not working.” A devilish grin youthened his features as he reached for Caitrin's hand. “Let's see if mine's any better.”

Caitrin laughed and prepared himself for a burn, but still yanked his arm back when his skin singed. “You're not getting two attempts,” he refused, shaking his head.
 

Layla laughed then glanced at her grandmas. “Let the ladies try.”

So they did. Daleen was the first to try, burning Serafin with the attempt. Then Morrigan had to be coaxed into testing the magic out on her mate.

“If you’re not going to try it on me,” Caitrin insisted, “grab Serafin’s hand, because I want to know if you can do it.”

Morrigan was obviously tempted to take him seriously, but after a deep breath, she clutched his hand and touched his finger.

Caitrin sucked in a deep breath when her fire hit him, and Morrigan murmured an apology as she healed the burn, a tear skating down her cheek.

Caitrin dried her cheek as soon as his finger was healed. Then he looked down the line. “What do you think, Kemble? Will you bother trying?”

“I am curious,” Kemble replied, turning deep dimples on Cordelia. “What do you think, love? Want to hurt me?”
 

She returned his grin and grabbed his wrist. “Of course. You know how much I like torturing you. It's my favorite pastime next to hammering nails through my feet and pouring lemon juice on my self-induced paper cuts.”

He laughed and kissed her nose. “Torture away.”
 

Squeezing her eyes shut, she touched her finger to his, but her attempt was no more successful than Morrigan’s and Daleen’s.

“Who wants to be my lab rat?” Kemble asked, looking between Caitrin and Serafin.

“I say Caitrin does it,” Serafin answered. “He offered me up like a pig for slaughter just moments ago.”

“Guess I deserve that one,” Caitrin laughed. “Get it over with, Kemble.”
 

Kemble gave it a try, but his magic couldn't successfully penetrate skin without burning it. “Sorry,” he offered.

Caitrin shrugged and passed his hand to Morrigan for healing. “Have you tried it, Quinlan?”

Quin sobered and tilted his head. “Do you think I’d try that on her?”

“No.”

“I told him he could,” Layla interjected.

“And of course I refused,” Quin added.
 

Layla scowled then grinned at him. “You're stronger now. I bet you'd have no problem doing it.” She held out her hand, and he actually took it… so he could pull her fingers into a kiss.
 

“No,” he refused.

“Of course not,” she whispered. “So who's going to be Quin's lab rat?”

Kemble stood and approached the sofa. “Ready when you are.”

Quin grimaced at his dad’s hand. Then he found Layla’s stare. “Just make it so, huh?”

“Yep,” she answered. “I think you'll do fine. Then you can try it on me.”

Quin watched her eyes for a moment then turned his attention on his dad’s hand. After staring at his mark for several seconds, he touched it, but only summoned fire into his own fingertip. Merely pushing the flames toward his goal seemed doomed to fail, so he decided to transfer them without passing through skin. He used the concept all the time with objects, so why not do it with fire? Fire constructed by imagination – malleable and harmless in its current state, warm but not hot, formulated but not created. If it would remain that way through the transfer, it would be painless for his father, who’d then be set with the task of making it a reality. Quin took a steady breath before releasing the heat from his finger. Then he let go of his dad’s wrist and looked up.

Eyes wide with wondrous comprehension, Kemble raised his hand and flicked a small fireball toward the ceiling.

“See?” Layla beamed, taking Quin's hand. “I told you it would work.”

“It was easy,” Quin confessed, pulling her closer. “The concept is simple.”
 

“What concept?” Kemble asked.

“Just transfer it,” Quin answered. “We use the theory all the time with objects.”

“I tried that,” Daleen interjected. “It didn't work for me.”

“So did I,” Caitrin added. “On my second try.”
 

Serafin raised his hands, remembering. “I didn't notice it at the time, but now that you mention it, I received two different types of burns with you, Caitrin. Your first try singed the outer layer of skin, while the second, and Daleen's attempt, burned beneath the flesh as well. So in all likelihood, it did work in that you successfully transferred it, but the fire was in the form of an attack rather than a delivery, which is natural for the spell. When it leaves our bodies it's very real and will burn whatever it touches, but apparently our newest bonded mates are somehow handing over an incomplete spell, one that's missing the final component, the act of turning it into a reality. They give us the product they create, but we have to turn it on, physically and mentally make it happen.”

Quin took Layla’s jaw and brushed his thumb across her lips. “I'm glad I didn't try it on you before we bonded. If Caitrin and Daleen failed, I would have failed.”

“Hmm…” she hummed. “Maybe. So you transferred it, huh?”

“Yes.”

“That's not how I do it.”

“It's not?”

“No.”

“What's your theory?”

“It's hard to explain. I never even feel the magic. I don't summon it in myself first. I summon it straight into you. Like... if I
were
you, or part of you. Or vice versa, I guess.”

Everyone contemplated this as they stared at her. Then Quin looked at Serafin. “What do you think? Has she figured out how to manipulate other people's magic?”

“It's hard to say,” Serafin answered, “but I doubt it. It sounds like she's combining… or incorporating, I should say, herself into others. She's not manipulating their magic. Like you said, it's definitely hers. She's just giving them the short-term ability to possess what's hers, the power and the body to handle it. I can't say for sure, but I imagine she can cast any spell she wants using a foreign body. She's working her magic through others.”

“Have you heard of another magician doing the same?” Quin asked, ever intrigued by his angel.

“No,” Serafin answered, “and here's why. All of us, with practice, can bend, break, heal and manipulate a body and its physical functions, inside and out. And we can negatively affect another's spells by magically tweaking the brain with corporeal force, which scrambles the senses. We can even boost another's magic with emotional encouragement and physical contact, which is simply a manipulation of the psyche, a stimulation of soul and personality. But we can't make a person do what they're not meant to do. We can't make their magic and body surpass what they were made to handle. We can't create within them something that wasn't there to begin with. We can speed up a heart, but if we pump it faster than it was made to withstand, it's going to bust. If we provide a body with magic it's not built for, it's going to break or burn or freeze or explode. I have a feeling Layla can prevent those consequences. Now keep in mind this is all speculation, but from what little information we have, I’d say that, with a touch, she gains... an equal of sorts, and somehow, while that equal remains cognizant, in control of their mind and body, she's in there, too, molding their bodies to meet her requirements while mentally operating from within. She's, in a sense, living inside them, raising them to her level.”

Quin found Layla's face and smiled. “Does that sound right?”
 

“Kind of,” she answered, “but I never really thought of it like that. I didn't put that much consideration into it.”

“Thinking up and performing that kind of magic is probably as natural to you as hovering is to everyone else.” He paused and ran a forefinger down the bridge of her nose. “No wonder it feels so good when you share your magic. You become part of me, and I can't think of anything more pleasing than that. You're incredible.”

“Thank you, but it sounds kind of creepy – living in someone else. Not you of course. I could live in you forever. But others.”

“You're not, though. You're doing it with a touch. It's wonderful magic, Layla.”

“I guess.”

“I know,” he countered. Then he kissed the tip of her nose and looked at Serafin. “I'm not working the magic like she is. Does that mean I shouldn't fill people with a full dose of heat?”

“I wouldn't try it yet,” Serafin advised. “With some experimentation, you might be able to do what she's doing. Or you might be able to adjust your own theory to compensate. It's undiscovered territory, so it's going to take trial and error to get it right. We'll need to figure out a way for you to safely test yourself.”

“And we will,” Kemble cut in, giving Quin’s shoulder a proud slap before returning to his chair. “Have you experimented with Layla's trick?”

Layla and Quin grinned and answered in unison. “Yes.”

Layla laughed as she turned her face into his neck, and his smile stretched as he drifted his lips across her hair. “It was fantastic,” he recalled. “I don't think you guys will believe it until you see it. If the media reports a meteor landed off the coast of Oregon last night, don't buy into it.” He paused, remembering they were even stronger now. “I can't imagine what we can do now. It might be difficult to figure out. We’ll need a huge testing area.”

“How large was your combined fireball before?” Caitrin asked.

“I can’t say for sure,” Quin answered, “but it was unlike anything I've seen or heard about. I wouldn't feel comfortable trying it on our lawn.”
 

Everyone's foreheads wrinkled, and Quin laughed as he shook his head. “Just wait. You'll believe it when you see it. We'll have to figure out a safe place to play. Then we'll test our new abilities.”

Layla’s aura flashed with colors that didn’t belong, and though her face remained hidden, her voice was sure and strong. “I like that idea.”

Chapter 4

Quin stared at the top of Layla’s head, the haunted haze around her squeezing his heavy heart. “What's on your mind, love?”

“Lots of things, Quin.”

“I know,” he whispered, nuzzling her hair. “Would you like to tell me what you're scheming on?”

“I'm not scheming on anything. I'm just trying to figure out how to stay alive, and I think testing my magic is a good place to start.”

He knew there was more to it than that, and so did everyone else. He looked at their worried faces and could tell they felt as helpless as him. “So we're going home?” he asked, looking back down.

“Yep,” she answered, “as long as it’s okay with the coven. If not, we’ll find a place nearby.”

“We'll stay
in
the community, not outside of it.”

“Then it's settled.”

“It's not settled.”

She pulled her face from his neck and found his stare. “What do you mean?”

“What do you intend to do about Agro?”

Layla opened her mouth, but didn't answer, because she didn't know what to say. What she wanted to do was let the bastard come so she could tell him to go to hell, but a response like that would get her family killed, so of course it was out of the question.

“Layla.”

“I don't know, Quin.”

“You're not facing him. I can't let you do that.”

She twisted and pulled herself up, bringing her face closer to his. “How much sense does it make for me to run and hide while others stay and face him? I don't have to be helpless anymore, Quin, and it's unfair for other people to protect me. Do you think our family wanted to face them? No, but they did.”

“This is different.”

“You're right. It is different, but no matter how the victims vary, this is about me, so it's something
I
should be dealing with. Not everyone except me.”

He took a measured breath while laying his palm on her heart. “It is about you, and that's exactly why you're not facing him. He may be hurting our loved ones, but he's not stealing them, or cursing them, or killing them. Those are the things he’d do to you, and those are far worse than torture spells.”

“He hasn't done any of those things to our family yet, but it’s going to happen. Caitrin told us Agro had to refrain from slaughtering the entire coven the second time he blew through. Then he slaughtered his own soldiers when he dropped in to find the community empty. If he sits on his hands while rebuilding his army, his patience will be spent by his next visit.”

Quin's jaw flexed as he breathed through his nose. “And what do you plan to do about it?”

Hating his tension, Layla snuggled closer and ran her fingers along the curves of his face. “I don't know, but we need to figure it out. I don't want to hide like a helpless victim while others die for me. I followed your rules and ran from him while everyone else stayed, and I did it because I was helpless to do anything else. I'm still helpless, but I don't have to be, and I need to learn how not to be. Until that point, I don't know what I'm going to do.”