UNDER HIS SPELL (25 page)

Rane stood outside the door of the kitchen, his brother at his
side.
 
“What are they talking about in
there?”

Jaxon clapped him on the shoulder.
 
“Why do you care?
 
Scared Tess
might tell her something about you she should not know?”

Rane brushed his hand off.
 
“Tess has no business interfering.”

“And where were you when Tess decided to interfere?”

Rane turned around.
 
“I had to
make sure Emily was safe.”

“And is she?”

“For now, but we have to get her out of there.”

“She will be safe in her sister’s arms before nightfall,” Jaxon
responded.

Rane held up one hand.
 
“I
know she will.
 
I will take care of this
myself.”

Jaxon frowned.
 
“Not exactly the smartest decision you have
ever made.”
         

“Nevertheless, it is my decision.
 
If we go in there with a full band of wizards, there is a chance Emily
could get hurt.
 
I cannot let that
happen.”

Jaxon acknowledged his words with a short nod.
 
“You take on a lot of responsibility.”

Rane started walking away from the kitchen.
 
“And you wonder if I can handle it.”

“Responsibility has never been your strong suit.”

“Perhaps I have never had anyone I wanted to be responsible for.”

Jaxon caught hold of his arm.
 
“Wait.
 
Are you telling me you are
in love with this witch?”

Rane looked down at the hand and back up at his brother’s face.
 
“I do not believe I have told you anything,
brother.
 
You are jumping to
conclusions.”

Jaxon released him and folded his arms across his chest in what was
supposed to be an intimidating gesture.
 
“Helped, no doubt, by your hidden meanings and unspoken words.
 
You realize you are talking about a witch
here?”

Rane faced his brother, eye to eye, nose to nose.
 
“No, I am talking about a woman who happens
to be a witch just as I am a man who happens to be a wizard.”

Jaxon’s brows lowered.
 
“You
cannot separate the two.”

“Would that I could,” Rane returned almost bitterly.
 
He looked away from Jaxon’s probing gaze,
instinctively knowing his older brother would want more information.
 
To Jaxon, being a wizard was an honor, though
it wasn’t so long ago that Jaxon wasn’t so keen on the idea of following the
rules himself.
 

The eyebrows went up.
 
“What
does that mean?”

“Since you are so adept at reading my life, you should be able to
answer that question yourself.”
 
Rane
knocked Jaxon’s shoulder with his fist on his way past him.
 

“Do not be so sure that I cannot,” Jaxon called out.

Rane lifted his hand in a small wave and continued walking.

***

Skye snapped her fingers.
 
Nothing happened.
 
She wrinkled
her nose.
 
Nothing.
 
Not that those things had ever helped her
before, but she was willing to do anything to find her magic.
 
If it was, indeed, lost.
 
She wasn’t so sure it hadn’t been taken from
her.
 
Of course, she had yet to pinpoint
who could have taken her magic without her knowledge, unless it was one of the
wizards.
 
But Rane wouldn’t allow that
and they would have had to go through Rane.
 
Wouldn’t they?

She’d tried everything she could think of in an attempt to restore
it, even spending a few hours in the Serenity Chamber at Tess’ suggestion to
clear her mind.
 
The only thing she’d
accomplished was yet another nap.
 
For
some reason, she was extremely tired.
 

She stepped out of the whirlpool, wrapped a towel around her
dripping body, and padded across the floor leaving damp footprints on the
marble floor.
 
Images crowded her
mind.
 
Emily laughing, playing with
Romper, the toy poodle she’d owned since she was two, and Christmas Eve,
toasting marshmallows and singing Christmas carols.
 
And Emily’s first dance.
 
She’d gone with a boy two years older and
Skye had been as nervous as a mother, even waiting up until Scott had brought
Emily home safely.
 
Emily had walked on
air for the next few days and Skye had gotten a glimpse of what she had to look
forward to raising a child.

It had been difficult since Ingrid had sacrificed herself after Emily’s
birth.
 
Skye had raised her youngest
sister from birth and though she’d never had parenting skills, she’d managed
and Emily had turned out to be a typical, opinionated, temperamental, loving
teenager.
 
And Skye loved her.
 
She hadn’t thought she could love one person
as much as she did Emily.
 
Until
now.
 
She’d taken an impossible situation
and turned it into an even bigger problem.
 
She’d fallen in love with a wizard and the chances of any type of
relationship working between the two of them, was, well, barely visible on
reality’s scale.
 

She fought back the tears and wandered into the bedroom.
 
She checked her face in the mirror over the
vanity and a scream bubbled up within her throat.
 
Her own reflection didn’t stare back at
her.
 

It was her mother’s.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Skye, do not be alarmed,” Ingrid spoke softly, her green eyes, so
like her daughter’s staring out through the shining glass.

Skye shook her head, rubbed her eyes and peered even closer at the
mirror.
 
“Mom?”

“Yes.”

Skye took a step closer.
 
“But, but, why?
 
Why are you
here?”
 
She twisted her hands together.

Ingrid pressed her palm against the glass.
 
“I have missed you, my daughter.”

Skye closed her eyes.
 
“I’ve
missed you, too, Mom, but you’re not supposed to be here.”

Before Ingrid could say anything further, the door to Skye’s bedroom
flew open and Rane barreled inside.
 
“Are
you alright?”

She blinked at him.
 
“What?
 
Why?”

“You screamed.”

“I did?”

Rane stared at her.
 
“You
didn’t hear yourself?”

She shook her head and pointed toward the mirror.
 
“That’s why I screamed.”

Rane looked at the mirror, turned back to look at her and then did a
double take.
 
“Excuse me.
 
I do not believe we have met.
 
Although, I do know who you are.”
 
He walked closer.
 
“Ingrid Logan.
 
Am I correct?”

Ingrid’s lips tilted in a small smile.
 
“Rane Hansen.
 
How nice to finally meet you.
 
I
have to say you’ve really changed the look in my daughter’s eyes.
 
I’ve never seen her--“

”Mom, tell me again why you’re here,” Skye quickly interrupted.

Ingrid tapped her chin.
 
“I do
not believe I told you in the first place.”

Skye sighed.
 
“Mom.”

“Oh, alright.
 
You would think
after fourteen years she would want to spend more time with her mother,” Ingrid
said with her eyes on Rane’s face.
 
Then
she added, “I know about Emily.”

“We’re going to get her back,” Skye inserted quickly.

Ingrid held up one hand.
 
“I
don’t doubt that, darling.
 
I simply
thought there were some things you would need to know before you challenged
Unger.”

“I see the spooky telephone lines have been keeping busy,” Skye said
as she walked even closer to her mother’s clear face.

Ingrid chuckled.
 
“I keep my
ears open, but when Allessandra told me Unger’s plan, well, I couldn’t let you
walk into his trap blind.”

“What trap?”
 
Rane took over
the conversation.

“He has every intention of killing Emily before the deadline.
 
He wants to catch you off-guard with her dead
body and make it easier to kill you.
 
He
knows that the death of your sister will overwhelm you.”

Skye jumped up straight.
 
“Then we have to get Emily out of there tonight.”

“There is one more small matter, dear,” Ingrid called her daughter’s
attention back to the mirror.

Skye’s hands tingled.
 
“Do I
even want to hear it?”

“Your magic, Skye.”

“What about it?”

“It’s gone because I took it,” Ingrid replied simply.

Skye stared at the mirror.
 
“Then give it back to me.
 
I can’t
fight Unger without it.”

“You know the rules, Skye.
 
If
you kill Unger, you will join forces with the darkness.
 
I cannot allow that.”

“I thought those in the afterlife weren’t allowed to interfere in
the lives of the living.”

Ingrid lifted one slender shoulder.
 
“I bent some rules.”
 
She opened
her hands wide in a gesture of surrender.
 
“You are my daughter.
 
What was I
supposed to do?
 
Besides, I knew you had
your wizard to help you.”

Skye felt Rane’s eyes on her face, but she didn’t look at him.
 
“Mother, I want you to return my magic and
let me decide how this will unfold.”

Ingrid folded her arms.
 
“I
cannot do that.”

Skye leaned in closer, fury tightening her voice.
 
“Then I will contact Allessandra.”

Ingrid didn’t even blink.
 
“Do
as you must.”

“Ingrid,” Rane finally spoke up.

“Yes?”

“I have no intention of allowing Skye to confront Unger.”

“Allowing?”
 
Skye shot back.

Rane spared her a glance.
 
“Allowing.
 
I believe that is what
I said, yes.”

Skye pushed one hand against his shoulder.
 
“You don’t have any control over my life,
Rane, and you have no ability to allow or ban me from doing anything.”

Rane and Ingrid continued the conversation without Skye’s
input.
 

“I know I’m not supposed to intervene, but I do still worry about
her.
 
She can be so impetuous
sometimes.
 
I mean, honestly, breaking
into a wizard’s home.
 
She had to have
known her magic was no match for yours and had I been alive, I never would have
allowed it.”

Skye’s jaws ached from her gritted teeth while Rane responded.
 
“I understand your concerns, Ingrid, but I
promise, I will make certain Skye is safe when I confront Unger.”

Ingrid’s shoulders visibly relaxed.
 
“You have no idea how much better this makes me feel.”

Skye smacked the mirror and captured both of their attention.
 
“Sorry to break up the party, but I do have
the right to decide my next move.
 
I have
not, nor will I ever be, controlled by a man . . . or a wizard.
 
And mother, the next time you cross the line
like this, I will contact Allessandra and make sure your projectional
capabilities are neutered.
 
Now, if you
both will excuse me, I need to get dressed.”

“She’s always been so high-strung,” Ingrid asked.

Rane grinned.
 
“Still is.”

“I want this room empty in two seconds,” Skye called over her
shoulder, “and I also want my magic back before you leave, Mom.
 
I can always get in touch with Allessandra.”

“So what is it like on the other side?”
 
Rane asked Ingrid.

She grimaced a little.
 
“Oh, a
lot like you would expect.
 
Green
grass.
 
Blue sky.
 
Eternally friendly people and absolutely
nothing to do except remember the past.”

Rane chuckled with understanding.
 
“You want to take some advice from a wizard who has no right to give you
any?”

Ingrid laughed a little and waved a hand.
 
“By all means.”

He lowered his voice to a whisper.
 
“Give Skye her magic back.
 
She
needs to know she tried to help Emily.
 
She cannot do that without her power.”

Ingrid considered this information before finally responding.
 
“Very well.
 
It is done.”

“Peachy,” Skye called out over her shoulder.
 
“Now I can break the mirror without even
turning around.”

“Skye, I only do this because I still worry about you,” Ingrid
responded in an airy tone of voice.