Sorceress, Interrupted Read online

  God must have a strange sense of humor.

  I sipped my drink and kept a wary eye on all my bar’s patrons. They were doing the same thing. The mood was definitely tense. I watched the familiar faces at the card game in the corner, each player giving the others worried glances over the tops of their cards. There were no more easy card games or conversations, just strained, going-through-the-motions awkwardness.

  “Excuse me, madam,” one of my djinn servants said, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Yes?”

  “Someone is here to see you.”

  “Cyrus?” I looked around but didn’t see him. I tried not to acknowledge either my excitement at the thought of him or my deflation when it wasn’t.

  “No, ma’am. Adam Grayson.”

  It took me a moment to recognize the name. Howard’s grandson. Howard, my friend, one of the people who was playing cards the night Joseph first mentioned the magic-draining spells. Howard, who was also very powerful but who’d asked for my protection if it came down to it. “What does he want?”

  “He didn’t say, ma’am, only that he wants to meet you in private.”

  I nodded. “Give me a moment and then send him back.”

  Moving to my VIP suite, I nodded to the djinn sentry. Taking a moment, I let myself fall back into character, into the person Adam expected to meet. I hadn’t been the same since hanging around Cyrus, especially after that kiss. Damn him.

  “Adam, darling!” I purred as one of the djinn ushered him in. I opened my arms to receive him. He came forward hesitantly but let me embrace him. “Good to see you again.”

  The tension was radiating off him, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of me or something else. He looked exactly as Howard had back in the day: tall, over six foot, with broad shoulders, wavy auburn hair, a sleek mustache and a distinct presence that made people sit up and take notice. It almost hurt to see him, because doing so brought back all my memories of Howard before age began to devour him. Back when I’d led him a merry chase and he’d willingly done the chasing.

  There were differences I could see between Howard and his progeny. Where Howard had been loud and congenial, Adam was more reserved. “H-hello, Fantazia,” he said, looking about the room as if he expected something to jump out at him. “Granddad sent me.”

  The pit of my stomach burned. I tried to remember if I’d seen him since the day Joseph and the others were attacked.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked carefully. Maybe he was sick and needed a healing spell. But I quickly dismissed that idea; Howard was powerful enough to cast his own healing magic, and in the more major spells he could be assisted by Adam.

  “I think so,” the young man said. “But he’s really upset about something. He’s been going on about it all day. Something to do with these attacks. He wouldn’t tell me—said it might put me in danger—but he wanted you to know the truth. He thought you might take care of it. He’s too worried to fight back on his own.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not sure I understand, Adam.”

  Howard’s grandson looked around. “No one can hear us, right? What I say won’t go out of this room?”

  I shook my head. “I put a silencing spell on it.”

  He looked pointedly at the djinn guards. “What about them?”

  There was another way in which they differed: Howard was never this much of a drama queen.

  I stifled the urge to roll my eyes. “Boys, can you give us a moment?” I asked the djinn. They nodded and took themselves outside, though not so far that they couldn’t be summoned back.

  “Now, we’re all alone and no sound is getting out of this room,” I said, realizing how scary that might sound under the right circumstances. But I didn’t fear Adam, only that he was never going to get to the point. “What does Howard want? What does he know about the attacks?”

  Adam’s dark eyes bored into mine. “Who’s doing them. And he wants you to stop them.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Did he say who it is?” I asked Adam for the fifth time as he drove us toward Howard’s house in a gold-colored version of Lainey’s car, the PT Cruiser.

  “He said it was safer for me to not know, that once you knew you could take care of it.”

  Great, I was a superhero for the magic set all of a sudden? I briefly wondered what had changed that made them think I might sweep in to save the day. Granted, I was probably the most powerful of them, but when was the last time I’d done anything remotely heroic?

  I turned back to Adam and said, “He couldn’t come to my place to tell me because it’s someone we both know.”

  Howard’s grandson nodded. “He was afraid this person would see him there and suspect him. He apparently stumbled on something he shouldn’t have seen. He acted like he didn’t see anything, but if he suddenly shows up at your place—”

  “This person will get suspicious. I get it. But, why couldn’t we just teleport to Howard’s?”

  “Same reasons, I guess?” Adam blanched. “I’m as much in the dark about this as you are, Fantazia.”

  I frowned. “If this is a trap, Adam, I will kill you.”

  “He said you’d say that. He also said to say he’d never try to trick you. He values his life and my life too much to try.”

  I smiled. That sounded like Howard.

  We pulled up to a modest house in a nice section of town. It was a quiet, secluded neighborhood, away from the hustle and bustle that was Megolopolis proper, but still close enough that a trip to the city wasn’t too bad of a commute. The neighboring houses were all like Howard’s, well-worn but dignified and homey. They needed paint jobs or a new roof here and there, and the cars in the driveways were older makes, but everything was routinely maintained.

  There were no nosy neighbors hanging around outside, no kids playing in yards. Somewhere off in the distance a lawn mower could be heard, and birds sang in the trees overhead while cicadas buzzed from somewhere hidden. No cars other than ours had pulled onto the street—which wasn’t enough to make me think anything was unusual, especially since I hadn’t been out and about this much for ages, but my brain was buzzing that something wasn’t right.

  Adam seemed unaffected as he got out of the car. He headed for the door and knocked, and I got out of the car and looked around. Was it my imagination, or was it quieter here than was normal?

  Adam knocked again. “That’s strange. He knew I was coming right back.” He tried the handle as I came to stand next to him. “Oh, good, he left the door open.”

  Opening the door, he stuck his head in, yelling, “Granddad? I’m back!” He stepped through the door, paused and shivered briefly, like the air conditioner was a bit too cold, then continued on. “I brought Fantazia.”

  As soon as I crossed the threshold and followed him inside, all of my nerves began burning, like someone had thrown an ice-cold bucket of water over me. I gasped and staggered back. Someone had set a massive concealing spell on this house, which was why everything seemed a bit too quiet. Someone was going out of the way to make sure no one noticed anything going amiss here. Was Howard this terrified, or was it something else entirely?

  “Adam,” I whispered, calling him back. “Wait!”

  He turned. “What?”

  “Don’t you feel it?”

  “Feel what?”

  “Someone’s been doing a lot of magic in this house. Also, that concealing spell we just walked through.” The atmosphere was so heavy it almost felt like a lightning cloud, and I had a vague taste of iron on the back of my tongue. That was never a good sign.

  “Granddad probably cast it.” He didn’t look convinced.

  He tiptoed to the door of the next room and through. There came a sharp intake of breath, so I hurried inside myself. The scene made me stare in horror. The atmosphere here was ten times as heavy, and I had a feeling that trying to switch on the television, lights or other technology in the room wouldn’t work. Someone had performed the same spell that I had w
itnessed with Donald and Chad. But that person hadn’t stopped there. Howard lay on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding his head like some sort of horrible halo.

  He was making a horrible choking sound. His cane lay nearby, its heavy knob covered in blood.

  “Granddad!” Adam wailed. He rushed to his grandfather’s body, half slipping in the blood, and made to reach for him.

  “Don’t!” I cautioned. “Call the hospital.” But even as I spoke I knew it was way too late for human medicine. Possibly even magic.

  Adam staggered to the other side of the room to pick up the phone. He immediately started telling someone on the other end of the line about his grandfather’s attack.

  I knelt next to Howard and assessed the damage with a spell: a skull fracture and a crushed larynx, for starters—so he couldn’t tell what he knew. The assault had brought on a heart attack. Also, he’d had his magic drained. He was as bad as I’ve seen anyone in eons.

  As I looked into his fading gaze, I knew he wasn’t long for this world no matter what I did. He was so far gone that I was amazed he’d lasted this long. It was a testimony to his strength.

  “Howard,” I said softly, leaning close and trying to impart a feeling of calm. “It’s me. It’s Fantazia. You wanted me, I’m here.” I smiled, trying to act like nothing out of the usual was going on. “What did you want to tell me?”

  His hazy eyes focused on me for a moment, but a choked noise came out of his throat. He couldn’t speak.

  “Shh. Not that way. Like this.” I brushed a light hand over his lips and then traced a pattern lightly over his brow. Never mind the blood. “Unisci la mia mente alla tua.” My mind to yours.

  I couldn’t tell how much damage had been done to his brain by the skull fracture, never mind the spell, but I stared right into his eyes, willing him extra clarity for this one last moment. Howard. Focus on me. Who attacked you?

  The lizards corrupt.

  I felt my heart sink. He was talking nonsense, like Donald.

  Howard, I pressed. Who did the lizards corrupt?

  Memory . . . I felt him start to drift away. He was going so quickly. I bit my lip in frustration, but someone less jaded would have cried.

  Howard! I practically shrieked in his mind. Stay with me!

  He wasn’t even sending me word-based thoughts now; I saw flashes, flickering pictures in his mind. Memories? Yes. I saw a flashback of a weekend he’d spent with me back when he was Adam’s age. I smiled. That had been a good time. Then there was a flash of him leaving me after that weekend, a slashing grin and a jaunty wave.

  I understood the implication. Yes, I know you’ve got to go, I thought back gently. But before you go, tell me who did this to you.

  Our connection was fading, going black around the edges. I got one last flash: someone at my bar, sitting at one of the tables—

  There was a sudden glare of brilliant light; it seemed to sweep in and consume both Howard and me. I had a sense of happiness and peace . . . and then something tore it away from me. Its loss was like a sledgehammer of realization. It was perfect peace. It was the end of a life. It was something I would probably never experience.

  I had the sense of Adam pushing me away from Howard’s side. I stumbled to my feet and made it to the trash can on the other side of the room, but then I heaved. A good friend of mine was gone, dead and traveling to someplace I’d never visit. And I’m not talking Heaven versus Hell, I’m just talking Peace. My insides were torn up from having lost yet another friend, and for that friend go in such a terrible and violent way. I also was jealous of his passing.

  In the distance I could hear Adam crying, but I felt as disconnected from him as ever. Then the tension in the room expanded and there came the bright flash of a teleportation spell.

  Four people stepped out: one woman and three men. All were pretty nondescript—you would pass them on the street without a second glance—and all were wearing simple black garments that left their arms exposed. They’d clearly dressed this way on purpose just to show off the markings of the Dragon, the tattoos they all took when they joined his service. The lizards corrupt, Adam had said. That was for damn sure.

  My first thought was that my father was going to be weirdly pleased to be proven right; the Cult of the Dragon was behind this! My second thought, on the heels of the first, was that none of these was the leader. These were all obviously minions sent to do some dirty work. Since the Dragon was still locked away in the DarkLands, courtesy of my father, it couldn’t be he.

  “Well, at least I know what the deal is with the magic stealing and the will draining now,” I announced. “You’re trying to gain enough power to perform a spell.” I shook my head. “Well, tell your boss this—he’s still not going to be powerful enough to let the Ancient Ones out.”

  The female cultist gave me a nasty smile. “We’re not trying to skip ahead quite that far, love.”

  Before I could reply, one of the men cast a spell. It was a blast of power strong enough to obliterate a normal magic-user, and it would have obliterated Adam if I hadn’t shielded him from it. This made me revise my previous assumption. Minions these might be, but our nameless enemy was sending out some heavy hitters.

  The spell hurt me like hell.

  I glared at the quartet. “Not powerful enough, junior.” And before he could say or do anything else, I unleashed on him the power he’d used on me.

  He went down quick, his body convulsing as it hit the ground. The other three cultists scowled hatefully and launched attacks at the same time, magically dogpiling me. I gritted my teeth in concentration, managing to get a new shield up at the last possible second. The cultists were powerful, not a huge threat on their own, but working together they gave me a run for my money. My shield was weakening, and when it went down they might take me out of the game long enough to do to me what they’d done to Howard.

  Would physical damage coupled with such powerful magical damage be enough to kill me? I wondered for a brief moment and, God help me, part of me remembered that moment of peace I’d seen of Howard’s and longed for the end. It had an effect on my shield. I dropped my guard just enough that the cultists pushed all the way through.

  I began to sink to the ground, my mind shutting down in the face of all the pain. Off in the corner I dimly recognized Adam picking up his grandfather’s cane . . . He took a swing at the nearest cultist. The man’s head twisted back in a mix of blood and teeth. I felt the pressure of his magic vanish even as I saw Adam swing again at the second.

  The female cultist seemed torn between helping her fellow members and continuing her assault. When it became evident that Adam wasn’t going to stop until the both her companions were down, she turned her attention to him.

  “Fantazia, get out of here!” Howard’s grandson called out. A moment later she blasted the cane out of his grasp. He took the full brunt of her magical attack and went down.

  The cultist’s head whipped in my direction. “Fantazia?” As if on cue, ambulance and police sirens started to wail; the help that Adam had called for was arriving. The cultist grabbed up her bloody friend and wobbled over to where the other two lay. With one last hateful glare, she teleported them all away.

  For a moment I considered tracking her, considered magically giving chase, but jumping into a situation where I was vastly outnumbered and injured didn’t hold much appeal. My moment of suicidal contemplation gone, I now wanted to come back with reinforcements to avenge Howard. I wanted to find out which of my bar’s patrons was now working for the Dragon.

  Unfortunately, we were dealing with my father’s archenemy. While that meant I could probably expect whatever help I possibly wanted, it also meant I’d have to talk to the EHJ again.

  I cast a quick glance at Adam, who was still holding the bloodied cane, visibly shaking. Maybe I’d deal with the stuff here first.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  After answering multiple questions from the police back at the site of Howard’s murder, I was e
motionally drained but knew I still had work to do. Summoning all my courage, I popped back to the Elite Hands of Justice headquarters. I was ready for Wesley to give me an I’m-so-disappointed-in-you look for wandering off in a snit after I said I’d help out. I was ready for Cyrus to have returned to his normal self, tormenting me with heavy doses of sarcasm about my attitude, denying any feelings left over from whatever we’d shared. And the rest of the EHJ wouldn’t care less. No one would be welcoming me back with open arms.

  Well, maybe Emily.

  Instead of the “look what the cat dragged in” welcome I was expecting, I was met with something else entirely. The entire roster of the Elite Hands of Justice was gathered in their war room, all except Wesley. Computer monitors were everywhere, and they flashed in urgent supplication.

  “Have you gotten in contact with anyone else?” Paul was barking orders like usual, good little leader that he is.

  “Some, but nothing good,” Selena said, talking on a strange headset. “Everyone’s busy. There’ve been some riots. People are freaking out.”

  “Nothing’s hit here so far,” Lainey said, looking away from one of the monitors and nudging Emily away from a keyboard. “I’m monitoring several channels, keeping an eye out.”

  “If we need a presence out there, take Toby and go,” Paul said. “Don’t stop to ask, just go.”

  Lainey nodded. “Anything from Forrest yet?”

  Toby shook his head. “They won’t let me through to him.” He put his cell phone back to his ear. “No, this is not a personal call. I’m not calling as his boyfriend, I’m calling as a representative of the EHJ. Yes, I know he’s in a meeting. That’s why I’m calling. It’s a meeting we need access to. He’s not just the Presidential Secretary of Heroes, he’s also acting government liaison to the Elite Hands of Justice. We’re the Elite Hands of Justice. He needs to be liaising!” He rolled his eyes in frustration, barely even taking in the fact that I was watching from the background. “Bureaucrats.”