To Take Up the Sword

TWO TAKE UP THE SWORD

Elemental Magic, Book Two

By Brynna Curry

LYRICAL PRESS

http://lyricalpress.com/

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/

A teacher’s heart is so precious. With their infinite wisdom and unending patience, they guide their pupils unerringly through life long after they’ve left the classroom. This is for my mother Dianne–my first teacher–and for all those who choose to make teaching not only a profession, but a way of life.

In memory of my Aunt Brenda, who welcomed all children through her classroom door with a questing mind and a loving Christian heart. She passed away on a beautiful June day with injuries she suffered in an automobile accident while on her way to teach vacation bible school. Brendie, thanks for believing in that kid who kept her head in the clouds, for always reading my daydreams, and not being afraid to tell some racy stories yourself. I miss you more every day.

Acknowledgements
 

Thanks to my family for putting up with me and being there, I love you all. As always, a huge thank you to my editor Piper, and Renee and Frank Rocco. A very special thanks to C.J. Ellisson author of
Vampire Vacation
for her help critiquing and keeping Gabe in line. You rock, C.J

Foreword

As with
Earth Enchanted
, I decided to go with the old adage ‘write what you know’ for
To Take Up the Sword
. Gabe’s cabin is fictional but it is set in a real town called Bear Creek. There are actually two gas stations, a school, a carwash, a bank and the usual municipal building in town and that’s it. The rest is rural country roads, farmland and forests. It’s beautiful here, especially in the spring and fall when everything turns green and changes color. The trip from here to Florence, Alabama is one I’ve traveled more times than I can count. Between here and there is a lovely old home called the Belle Mont Mansion. They offer tours even though the renovations are only partially complete. Unlike some house museums which have the rooms displayed but barred or roped off, the curator takes you through every part of the grounds and all the rooms which are structurally sound. You can literally walk through history. If you’re ever in the area, you should take the tour. It’s an experience you won’t forget. I knew I’d write about it or at least include it in a story. A special thank you to the curator for his informative and easygoing approach and wonderful tales of Belle Mont and times gone by.

Author’s Note

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed Gabriel and Leannan’s story. Look for
Wait for the Wind
, the next installment in the
Elemental Magic
Series. Love is the truest magic and with it life is an adventure.
 

Prologue

Washington, DC

FBI Headquarters

Special Agent Gabriel Spiller took the cup of coffee his assistant offered him and flipped through the thick manila file Serena had left on his desk the day before. In-house security photos of Niccolo Gueraldi stared back at him, along with the details of his next heist. Damn. The pictures were too grainy to identify the jewel Gueraldi examined. They were so close to having enough evidence for an arrest, if he could just connect him to the stolen diamonds.

Around him was the chaos of men and women at work, chasing down leads. The diplomacy of working with local law enforcement wasn’t something he enjoyed, but he and Serena Roarke had managed to work well together. Almost too well.

His cellphone vibrated, alerting him to a call. He opened it and answered.

“Spiller.”

“Hello, angel.”

Lust swamped him with the sound of her voice. “Serena. I thought we talked about this.”

“We did. I’m not changing my mind. This is what I want.”

“You’re married, Reni. That’s not a line I’m willing to cross. As long as you are, this discussion is over. I won’t talk about this now.” Gabe tapped his pen on the desk in an effort to calm his irritation. They’d been over this before.

“I filed for divorce this morning.”

The pen fell from his hand, rolled across the floor and underneath Agent Wyatt’s desk.

Stunned into silence, he let the words hang in the air between them.

“I love you, Gabriel. Marrying Jack was a mistake. I’ll be back in Washington this weekend. Meet me.”

“No.”

“Just to talk.”

“Here, then. That should be safe enough.”

“Afraid I’ll jump you?” Her laugh floated out to him, dark and smoky.

“Maybe.”

“I’ll call you when I get into town.” She paused on the line. “I love you, angel.”

“I know.” Gabe put the file in his briefcase and shut his computer down for the day, torn between what was right and what he wanted.

* * * *

Serena clicked the button on her Bluetooth headset to end the call. The black catsuit and leather boots she wore made it easy for her to blend in with the night. She was beginning to enjoy these little larcenous trysts with Devin far too much for anyone’s good. Grabbing one end of the cable, she wrapped her ankles around the thin but strong line and slid to the museum floor.

Devin shimmied down the line and dropped soundlessly beside her. Like her, he wore all black. The only colors shining in the room were his amber eyes and a brilliant yellow diamond. “Gueraldi knows you’re a cop. Be careful,
cherie.
He isn’t one to dally with.”

“We’ve talked about this before. I know what I’m doing. He found out I’m undercover, but he thinks I am a dirty cop playing the FBI for part of the take. It wasn’t that hard to convince him.” Serena winked at Devin and knew her longtime friend caught the aside.

“Jack would kill you if he knew what you were doing right now. Hell, he’d probably kill me, or he could try anyway.”

“It’s rude to brag. Besides, that’s for me to know, and you to keep your mouth shut. Jack won’t be mine much longer. Maybe he never really was. Let’s get this rock and get out of here. Come on. Twitch your nose or something, Dev. This place gives me the creeps.”

“You’ll hurt him, you know. There’s no way around it.”

“I’ll hurt him worse if I stay. I do love him, but I’m not in love with him.”

“Love is the most damning power and the purest magic. As long as we live–and I should know–we’ll never understand it.”

“Gabriel’s my heart. Do you know what’s it like to be cut off from your soul, Dev?”

“If you only knew.”

“Will you do something for me?”

“Of course.”

“If I don’t make it through this. If Gueraldi…well, you know. Will you tell Gabriel I love him?”

“You’ve my word.”

He flicked his wrist–just a hint of heat brushing the air–and mumbled the spell under his breath. The glass cover over the twenty-carat yellow diamond dissolved. An eye blink later, it was back in place, the exquisite stone in her palm, the fake under glass. “I wish you’d teach me to do that. I could make a ton as a locksmith.”

This elicited a rolling laugh from the man she’d known for years. Devin was a true friend, in spite of his larcenous traits. Sometimes it paid to know people.

“You know I can’t. You have a different kind of magic, the kind that requires no spell, just a fiercely protective heart. Fly or climb?”

“Fly.” Serena held tight to him as he stirred the air, lifting them through the ceiling to land safely three alleys away.

* * * *

Haleyville, Alabama

Two days later

Devin woke from the darkness of sleep to the sound of sirens ripping the night air and knew with a sickening certainty Serena Roarke was dead. He’d kept a mental thread tied to his friend since she’d gone undercover.

He snapped his fingers and was dressed completely. This time he threw caution to the wind. He followed the sirens in his mind and flashed to their destination. Cloaked in a shield spell, Devin remained in the shadows watching the cops pull Jack away from Serena’s lifeless body. He wanted to reach out to his friend, close her eyes, but was so lost in his grief he couldn’t. Serena was one of the few people he’d trusted with his secret. Not just his magic, but the whole of his existence, all one thousand years of it. She might have betrayed Jack and the FBI, but she’d kept his secret.

Back in his apartment, he picked up his cellphone and dialed the number Serena had given him. A code between friends, he accepted the task of notifying the man she loved of her death.

“Spiller.”

“Special Agent Gabriel Spiller?”

“Yes, who is this?” Devin heard the irritation in the other man’s voice.

“A friend of Serena.” He could tell when worry began to creep past temper, when panic began to take hold.

“What’s happened?”

“She’s dead.”

“No.” And there was the hitch of heartache, the silent scream of pain. “How?”

“Sniper’s gunshot wound to the chest. She’s lying in an alley behind a crack house in the south part of town, in her husband’s arms. She asked me to tell you she loved you. I’m sorry for any loss you feel.”

Devin quickly disconnected the call before Spiller could trace it. He would have vengeance for the loss of his friend, in his own time, his own way. Gueraldi would suffer.

Chapter 1

Birmingham, Alabama

A year and a half later

Gabe watched as Judge Leroy “Mad Dog” McCoy stared down a courtroom full of noisy lookie-loos and thugs. A few folks who needed to be there, and ten times that many looking to stir up trouble. Press from every major network throughout the US had flown in to get the story firsthand on one Ashton Smythe.