Undercover Magic (15 page)

I don't think you can make me
.

Dad looked sad for a moment.
No. You have to want it.

The child hit the body's face harder. "No dying! I'm too young for you to die!"

What about Addison?
Dad asked.
How can she live without you?

Addison...

An explosion of love raced into Cooper, strong and pure and unexpected. He knew he
couldn't leave her.

Vibrant energy rushed through him and the world went dark

Something hit him hard across the cheek, the sudden sting of the blow shocking him.
His chest spasmed and yanked in a sharp slice of air and then another. Cooper's eyes
snapped open. Terrible, terrible pain flooded his awareness.

The witch girl had her hand raised for another strike. He grabbed her wrist on the
down stroke, stopping her palm inches from his aching, swollen face. 

"Ouch," he croaked.

He was back.

*  *  *

Victory was moments away, I could taste it. Aches and pains forgotten, I fought like
the demon Navarro claimed I was, driving him mercilessly before me. His clothes were
soaked with blood, his right arm dangled broken and useless at his side, forcing him
to wield the sword with clumsy defensive swings as I hammered him ferociously.

His eyes burned with a dark hatred as he backed toward the circle of children. I moved
to the side to herd him away from them. With a sudden surge of energy, he executed
a series of diagonal cuts, forcing me to dance back or get my stomach sliced open.

He dashed toward the children. Stopping a few yards from them, he turned, his face
cruelly triumphant. "
Athosay 'tor
!" he screeched.

The children stopped chanting like a switch had been thrown, the sudden silence deafening
and eerie. A chill ran over me as they turned as one to face him.

He raised his sword and pointed it at me. "
Athosay 'tor isek!
"

They turned away from him toward me, staring with dead eyes. Terror frayed the edges
of my confidence. I took a step back.

Silently, they rushed me. Swarming over me, they bit and clawed, digging out chunks
of skin and flesh. I frantically dodged away, pulling them off as fast as I could
without damaging them. I tried to run, but they kept coming. Unwilling to hurt them,
I quickly lost ground.

As I battled, Navarro limped up the ladder to the top of the platform where the last
sacrifice, a girl no more than ten, lay curled up, crying. He grabbed her by the back
of the neck and hauled her to her feet. Tears streaked her round cheeks. The whites
of her eyes stood out around the blue, terror and despair drenching her gaze. She
knew he was about to kill her.

Desperation clawed at my stomach.

With a violent shake, I dislodged the children like a large dog would a pack of insane
kittens. I bounded clumsily into the air, streaming blood, and went airborne.

My torn wing gave out and I listed to one side, quickly losing altitude. I landed
several yards from the children and they swarmed after me, ravenous, mindless nightmares.

Fear pounded through me and I took off again. If I could make it to the upper level
walkway, I could push off and dive for the platform, grabbing the girl. Pain pierced
into my wing as the tear lengthened and I tumbled to the ground. It was no use. I'd
never make it.

I looked up at the platform. The vampire shoved the child to the edge. His gaze met
mine and he laughed.

As the mindless practitioners came at me again, I gathered the last of my strength
and pushed off the floor, heading directly for the platform. I had to stop him.

My powerful legs buckled as I landed and collapsed to the floor of the platform with
a crash. My strength had finally abandoned me.

Navarro had won and he knew it. He smiled at me magnanimously. "Your blood for the
girl's."

The child whimpered.

What did it matter? We'd lost. Cooper was dead. Marc probably, too. Stillman would
keep Falcon safe. She'd promised before I'd left.

I crawled to the edge of the platform where I collapsed again. The black vortex swirled
below me and hope touched my soul. I could still do it. I could take him down with
me.

When Navarro moved to kill me, I'd grab him and dive for the vortex. The kids would
be safe. We would beat him.

Navarro shoved the girl away and strode across the platform to loom over me. I could
smell his excitement mixed with the metallic scent of my blood. I pulled the last
shreds of my strength together as he raised the knife.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

There was a blur of movement above me. As Navarro raised the knife, Cooper plunged
from the walkway above the platform and hit him full force.

With a powerful swipe of his arm, he knocked the knife out of the vampire's hand as
they crashed down on top of me. I grunted from the impact and fought to stay conscious.

"Shift back!" Cooper shouted.

Navarro struggled like a mad man and Cooper fought to hold him against me.

"Now, Addie!"

With sudden clarity, I understood.

I closed my eyes and focused inward on the pure light at my center that contained
all I was—the energetic force that made me more than just a monster. The part that
made me human.

I opened my eyes. Cooper's and my body each glowed with a soft, gentle light. Maybe
we weren't so different after all.

Desperation saturated Navarro's eyes and he fought wildly to get away. Cooper strained
to contain him as I let go and let the shift sweep over me.

With a final frenzied effort, Navarro broke free as twin orbs of light burst out from
Cooper and me and wrapped around us. Navarro made a run for it as the edges of the
orbs snapped together, entrapping him. The vampire screamed in terror.

A blinding flash of light and a sharp clap of sound slammed into my mind as if a giant
door had slammed shut.

I heard an explosion of glass as if from far away and then we were gone.

*  *  *

I stood in world of light and color. A single tone of sound like the note of a flute
filled the air. I glanced down at my human body and admired the beautiful shimmering
silver gown covering it. A huge brindled wolf stood at my side.

Navarro staggered away from us, his expression twisted with abject horror. He held
his hands up as if to ward us off and his fingers dissolved into flakes of light.
His palms and wrists followed, the sparkling limbs quickly breaking up and flowing
away like fairy dust.

He screamed and screamed as arms broke apart, a high, desperate sound that faded into
nothing as his face dissolved. Then his body, his legs... In a matter of seconds,
his molecules had disintegrated and drifted away.

He was gone. Forever.

I rested my hand on the back of the wolf. "Why am I dressed like this?"

The wolf smirked at me and Cooper's voice came out its mouth. "Sexy. I like it."

"And how are you talking?"

"We're in the fourth dimension. Anything is possible." He looked out over the landscape.
"You've been here before."

"It was nothing but light then. I thought I was dead. Then I was back and you were
gone. Then I thought you were dead."

"So did I."

"Do people come here when they die?"

"This dimension only bridges the physical and spiritual. Your parents aren't here."

I looked around at the swirling, dancing colors. "It's nice. I like it."

"As Demon-Were, there's a part of you that recognizes this realm as home."

"So peaceful. Colors I've never seen before and light and music."

Cooper huffed, a very wolf-like sound. "I see a blackened wasteland reeking from millions
of years of human despair and greed."

No, it was beautiful. "I wouldn't mind staying."

"We have to go. Before the things inhabiting this realm realize we've arrived."

"Angels?"

"
Suir aosar
. Devourer of Souls. Our life force is like nectar to them. Every time we enter this
place, we risk being attacked. We have to shift back."

He moved closer to me, pressing his shoulder against my thigh, making me feel safe
and protected. I thought about home and begin to glow. "Too bad about the dress."

*  *  *

A cracking boom shattered around me, the world stuttered. I found myself back in the
mansion beneath the platform, naked. Cooper stood next to me in a matching outfit.
My wounds were fully healed.

Above us, there was a hole in the floor of the platform. The shape looked like two
eight-foot wide bubbles had cut through the metal, which probably was about right.

Around us stood a ring of vampire assassins with their rifles trained on our heads.
Huddled into a corner behind the vampires, the group of children clung to each other.

Chiwa stood between them and the vamps, her expression fierce, her hands raised as
if ready to cast a death spell on the first vamp to so much as twitch in the kids'
direction. In front of her, Marc, shirtless and looking about the same only with guns.

Opposite the children, the assassin circle parted and Bellmonte strolled through.
Cooper stepped between me and vamp lord.

Bellmonte hardly seemed to notice he looked so pleased with himself. Lovely.

"According to our law, murdering an Archon is punishable by death. Death by torture,
to be precise." He smiled without showing his teeth. "What a sad ending to an otherwise
successful evening, wouldn't you say?"

He took in the au natural state of Cooper and me and gave the vampire behind him a
hard look.

The assassin stared back, confused.

"Your clothes, man. Must I spell it out for you?"

The assassin's eyes widened in surprise and Bellmonte impatiently gestured in our
direction. Reluctantly, the vampire passed his gun to the guy next to him and stripped
out of his shirt. He tossed it to me. Ick.

"And?" Bellmonte said.

The assassin looked shocked.

"Any night now."

With slow, unwilling movements, the assassin shed his pants and threw them to Cooper.
Reclaiming his gun, he pointed it at us and did his level best to look professional
and serious in his underwear. When the guy next to him snickered, he rammed him in
the ribs with the butt of his rifle.

Beggars can't be choosers, so we quickly pulled on the clothes as Bellmonte stalked
toward us. "I don't suppose you can produce a body?" he asked.

Cooper scowled at him. "You know we can't."

"Pity. That does make things more complicated. Happily, two cases of VR survived your
animal rampage along with an office full of spells, receipts, and lists of distributors.
Though I cannot provide Lord Navarro for the Emperor's entertainment, I am exonerated.
I feel so giddy with relief that I've decided to keep your involvement out of my report."

"Thanks ever so," I said in a flat tone.

He gave me an assessing stare. "As for you. We have much to discuss. You spoiled a
pair of antique brandy snifters."

"As to that. Too bad." I said.

"Addie," Cooper said in a warning tone.

I looked at the ring of assassins and then back at Bellmonte. "I'm sorry."

Bellmonte beamed. "There. Was that so difficult?" He turned to Cooper. "You have a
suite at the Ritz for forty-eight hours and a limo waiting to take you. I suggest
you make use of it. Unless you enjoy long nights being grilled by the FBI."

"Why?" Cooper and I asked at the same time.

"They love to question people so they have something to justify their reams of paperwork."
He stopped and feigned surprised embarrassment. "Oh, silly me. The gift of the rooms.
My dears, tonight you have delivered my fondest desire."

I did my best not to roll my eyes, I really did. "Dare we ask?"

"With my brilliant destruction of Lord Navarro's disgraceful attempt to become solvent,
I will be offered the position of Archon. Right on schedule."

I frowned. "You had no way of knowing it would play out this way."

A smug satisfaction settled over the vampire's face. "Didn't I?"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Safe house number six was a small cabin on the edge of town. Cozy, well stocked, big
fireplace, plenty of wood stacked up outside—definitely a favorite.

My beautiful new silver dress was tossed across a chair by the bed. Cooper's shirt
and pants were crumpled in a pile next to it.

We cuddled in bed under a thick quilt. I felt luxuriously relaxed and content and
if Cooper's face was any indication, he was right there with me.

I snuggled into his chest and his arm tightened around my shoulders. "How long do
you think it will take for Bellmonte to realize we ditched his vamp escort?" I asked.

"Before the sun came up he knew. But I doubt he minds. He'd lose all respect for us
if we let him keep tabs on us that easily."

"Having the new vamp Archon in our lives doesn't bother you?"

"You'd never bite through a poisoned three-inch chain to save his highness' ass. I
feel pretty good about that."

I winced at the memory. "Worst heartburn I ever had."

"I still don't understand how it all fits together. Your father was Were. Demon-Were
actually. Generations of legends all end with that clan getting completely wiped out."
He lazily slid his palm up and down my bare arm. "According to the biology class I
barely paid attention to in high school, your existence is impossible."

"I want answers, too. Laswell wants to meet. Ought to work out fine."

"I should be there."

"That'll probably kill the answer side of the formula." He started to protest and
I stretched up and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "I don't trust him or his sister
either. They don't smell right."

He looked pleased. "Spoken like a true Were."

I smiled and hugged him, then made a show of pulling back and scrunching up my nose.
"Or maybe it's you."

"Race you to the shower," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Laughing, we wrestled our way out of the tangle of bed sheets. The sheets won and
we tumbled to the floor, kissing. Cooper paused in his amorous attack on me and leaned
back.

"Hey, Addie?" he said, his silver-green gaze dancing with happiness.

"Yes, sugar britches?"

"I love you."

My stomach plummeted with surprise and then a full, sparkling joy burst into my chest.
"You'd better," I purred. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back toward
me.

"I should really go to that meeting," he murmured, his hand sweeping up my waist.
"He's up to something."

"Nope." I covered his mouth with mine and went to work making him forget all about
Laswell and his strange request.

*  *  *

I followed one of Laswell's new Were security guards through the luxury of the practitioner's
house and out onto a beautiful flagstone terrace with a view of an even more spectacular
garden. I'd give this to the guy. He sure knew how to live.

Looking unsurprisingly elegant and prosperous, Laswell and Holly relaxed at a table
loaded down for high tea. Laswell indicated that I should take a seat.

I did, making sure I picked a seat with a view of the house and the garden. Holly
handed me a cup of tea.

"I understand Mr. Daine's brother has summoned him to return home and that you plan
to accompany him," Laswell said as I settled against the deep cushions of my chair.

"I heard you finagled a way to make the school complicit in what happened to the kids
instead of you," I said.

"The principal has been provided with the best lawyers money can buy. How much do
you plan to reveal to Mr. Daine's clan?"

The breeze shifted as I picked up my tea. "That's interesting cologne you're wearing,"
I said, setting the delicately painted cup down. "Whenever I smell that particular
scent, it means someone, or something, who doesn't belong here has recently crossed
into our dimension."

Holly gracefully reached for one of the tiny sandwiches on the plate by the tea service.
"Jasmine is a very common perfume."

"Rotten jasmine, actually. And I never said what the smell was."

"We brought you here to urge you to keep what you are a secret," Laswell interrupted.
"To make your nature public could be very dangerous." 

"For me? Or you?"

"Do you trust the three witnesses?" Holly asked.

"More than the two individuals talking to me right now." 

Laswell leaned toward me, his expression worried. "Bringing your form into this world
triggered a vibration that rippled across time and space. That signal will awaken
something that hasn't walked this dimension of Earth for ten thousand years."

"Which brings up a wonderful topic for discussion. How do I even exist?"

Laswell and Holly exchanged glances.

"None of that cryptic look stuff, you two," I chastised. "You want something from
me or I wouldn't be here. No answers? No cooperation."

Holly sat back and gave her brother an exasperated look. "She's too young to know,
Jacob. We discussed this."

Laswell offered his empty cup to Holly. She frowned.

"Oh, very well." She gracefully refilled his tea, though her expression remained disgruntled.
"When it became apparent that your father's clan was on the brink of extinction by
a creature created to kill them, actions were taken."

"Practitioners and the Demon-Weres joined forces," Laswell added.

Holly considered her words for a moment like she was trying to figure out how to dumb
down a complicated concept for my sake. "They created a protected space beyond this
dimension and shifted the clan and their village into it."

"From this side, they seemed to vanish without a trace." Laswell took a sip of his
tea. "Once they no longer existed in the physical world, the edict of the creature's
edict was fulfilled. It went dormant."

Holly nibbled on her sandwich and a smile played around her perfect mouth. "Spells
always have a loophole, or so my brother tells me."

I pushed my full cup away. This was the biggest crock of nothing I'd ever heard. "Once
upon a time I was conceived thousands of years ago. It's been a pleasure." I shoved
back my chair.

Holly's expression sharpened and a chill clawed my shoulders. "Though quite young,
your mother was a powerful practitioner."

If she thought intimidating me would get her anywhere, she was going to be disappointed.
"So I've heard."

"She accidentally accessed this protected area and summoned your father," Laswell
said and I was surprised to hear the note of regret in his voice.

Surprised, but not swayed. I got to my feet. "In other words, I'm some kind of demon
spawn. How nice. It's an orphan girl's dream."

Holly made an exasperated sound and glared at her brother. "Do you see? Her limited
mind can't grasp what she can't see."

"And you should be her greatest advocate!" he growled at her.

"You're too idealistic. You always have been," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Spoiled
by nymphs."

"Not everything can be solved by going off in the woods and shooting things," Laswell
snapped.

I planted my fists hard enough on the table to rattled the china. They looked up,
apparently startled, or maybe just put off by my rudeness.

"Here's what I do grasp." I looked at Holly. "I don't know how you're connected to
the Weres or what your hold is over them, but I intend to find out. I do know that
you like to toy with people's emotions, especially if they're in love. Well, back
off. When Cooper's ready to tell me he's some kind of prince or something, he will."

I gave Laswell a hard look. "And you. Thanks for calling the FBI and nearly getting
my boyfriend killed just to force me to shift. I don't know what you hope to gain
by it, but I'll find that out, too. Meanwhile, watch your back because I don't forget
a betrayal."

I straightened up. "Thanks for the tea. I'd appreciate never hearing from either of
you again."

I stalked down the stairs, heading for the garden below and the front gate beyond
it. No reason to give the house guards an opportunity to teach me better manners.

"What an unpleasant child," Holly said behind me like I wasn't still within ear shot.
"She didn't even drink her pomegranate tea."

"For the first time in four millennium, I have hope of success," Laswell replied.

What a pair of weirdoes. I quickened my step, impatient to get clear of them.

I heard the faint tinkling of a silver bell behind me and Laswell ordering champagne.
His sister said something about nymphs and then I was blissfully beyond range and
plunging into the garden.

The earthy, sweet scent of cedar and flowers flowed over me and the anger cooking
my nervous system started to cool. I headed down the first path that looked like it
led to the gate on the side of the property. The white pebbles covering the trail
crunched under my boots and I started to feel my irritation from the meeting fading.
Twenty minutes later, I found myself in a dead end.

I turned around and headed back to the main trail and took the next right. Another
dead end. I wasn't feeling relaxed or peaceful anymore and I stomped back to the main
path like a frustrated toddler.

This time I took a left, though it didn't go in the direction I needed. It would be
just like them to create a counter intuitive garden.

The path wound along and then doubled back, giving me hope. I turned a corner and
nearly ran into a statue.

Backing up, I surveyed the alcove I'd been dumped into. It looked like a shrine that
would have been right at home in ancient Greece.

In front of me was a Greek-styled statue of Hermes and a nymph cooing over a fat baby
with the legs of a goat. Huh. The lawn at the Rhea School for Practitioners had one
just like it. I wondered what that meant.

Next to it was another statue, this one of a beautiful woman in Greek-styled clothing.
It looked so much like Holly that I half expected its eyes to snap open and glare
at me. The statue Holly had a quiver of arrows strapped to her back and held a bow.
An unnaturally large wolf stood at her side.

The wind sifted through the leaves of the tall box woods around me and I imagined
I smelled rotten jasmine. Suppressing a shiver, I peered at the plaque on the statue
of baby Pan. "In loving memory of my mother."

Then at the other. "Live for the hunt -- Diana."

I stood back and frowned at the statues. No way. "They can't possibly be..."

Could they be...? I looked at the faces of baby Pan and the goddess Diana. The resemblance
was
freaky.

I pivoted and stared back at the house, just visible on the low hill past the gardens.
"You've got to be kidding me."

Words from the past that haunted my nightmares echoed in my mind:
My brother and sister have waited a long time for a creation such as you....

Oh crap.

*  *  *

Agent Stillman, Cooper, Falcon, Chiwa and I collected in the back storage room of
Falcon's store near the open tunnel entrance. I hadn't told any of them about who,
or rather what, I thought Laswell and Holly were. I didn't think they were the same
kind of threat as their murdering brother, Aedodra had been. No need to worry anyone
until necessary.

I hadn't even needed to pull out the interdimensional gods card to get everyone moving.
The new Archon was a big enough threat. We all knew Bellmonte wasn't done with us.
He was only taking a break to lower our guard so the kill would be that much sweeter.

Making yourself scarce when you didn't know what your enemies had up their sleeves
was always a good idea. The urgency behind the summons from Cooper's brother gave
us the perfect opportunity, though it had added to Cooper's worries.

Hours before dawn, the five of us had loaded up with hiking backpacks, gear, and in
the case of Cooper, Stillman and me, various types of weapons. As soon as the sun
rose, we planned to make tracks.

"You're sure Ms. Fairview can run the shop competently?" Falcon asked for at least
the tenth time.

"With Wizard's charm and good looks to draw in customers? You'll be a millionaire
by the time we get back," I reassured him.

He stared down into the opening to the tunnels. "Danger and adventure is overrated."

I'm diggin' it!" Chiwa piped up. "The only thing that would make this more fun is
if all those other kids had seen everything, too."

"It's not that I don't want to hang out with you guys," Falcon interjected, "but since
I didn't actually see anything incriminating—"