Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem Trilogy, #2)

by K.F. Breene

She even got a break on rent when she straightened up Dizzy’s constant messes, which, being an organizational freak, Veronica was all too happy to do (much to Dizzy’s dismay).

We don’t fear people we perceive to be weaker than ourselves, so we aren’t as worried about our vulnerabilities in their presence.

“When it comes to magic, the perceived nature of the spell itself is not what matters—it is the intent with which the mage uses the spell. There is no inherent right and wrong. No light and dark.

I myself was a headstrong, entitled youth…I only wish I had started the journey as unburdened by hubris as she is. It wasn’t until everything was stripped from me—my love, my youth, my strength—that I learned what was truly important.”

“I guess that’s why I haven’t seen you before,” I said without thinking, connecting the dots. “You can’t be the best in the room when Callie and Dizzy are present.”

“Magic should be marveled at and respected,”

“It’s natural, it’s beautiful, and it exists all around us. It should be revered.”

“It shouldn’t be used for some sort of ego boost. If you aren’t good enough without magic, then you will never be good enough with it.” Mary Bell rapped her cane on the ground. “Hear, hear!” she shouted.

No, you should learn the spell, alter it in your weird way, and then string it up. That’s how you’ll be the best. Because here’s the thing…” She straightened up. “Before you came on scene, Darius thought the Rogue Natural was the most talented mage in the world—” “Emery.” “—but Darius doesn’t think so anymore. He thinks you’ll surpass the guy.”

“He knows that if there’s a chance you could be pushed into becoming the best, I’ll make sure you reach your full potential. I mean, what else have I got to do with my time, right? I’m supposed to lie low. A hobby would be good for me, and you’d be a worthwhile hobby. But if Darius is just saying you’re the unrealized best because he wants me to push you, which will also push the Rogue Natural to be his best—” “Emery.” “—then Darius would be manipulating me to get what he wants. Which I do not take kindly to. If I find out he’s manipulating me, I’ll walk from this game.

“Vampires twist my brain up. It was so much easier when the most confusing part of my day was which pair of leather pants were cleanest. Bottom line, I hate getting involved in vampire politics. Helping you is cool. Helping him is not.”

“Reagan, I thought you weren’t supposed to kick in doors in this house.” “Oh yeah.” She grimaced.

“Callie won’t be pleased she has to repair my door again,” I said. The smile drifted off Reagan’s face. Score one for me!

He wasn’t willing to stay in one place for me, but he missed me, too.

“The woman hasn’t been on the run for years, suddenly came back on the grid, then disappeared again. Mysterious is more interesting. Penny has to work on her marketing.” Reagan studied the package,

“You bonded him, didn’t you?” Callie muttered from the stove. “That was different,” Reagan said, her hands still over the box. “My blackened heart was involved in that one.”

She’s different. She should celebrate that.”

No, her power is in her uniqueness.” “That’s basically what Emery always said.” I broke

“A little touchy-feely for my taste,” Reagan muttered, her hands out, feeling the dissipating spell. “A punch in the mouth is a little touchy-feely for your taste,” Callie said, cracking an egg.

“You have problems,” Callie said. “Again, not wrong.”

“Would it be too dramatic if I said I hated my life?” I mumbled. “Not at the moment, no,” Reagan said. She had vampire-like super hearing. “You’re surrounded by a bunch of annoying mages without a clue, a couple of annoyed vampires, and a newbie vampire on scene that is going to lose himself to bloodlust and try and drain you dry. I doubt your strange fascination with rocks will help, so I’ll have to step in to protect you. Everyone will see things they can’t, and then Darius will have to kill all of these powerful mages. Someone is terrible at planning.” “That someone would be you,” Callie called out. “And for the record, this situation is taking the fun out of my being right.” “That’s only fun for you, hon,” I barely heard Dizzy say.

And here I stood, a know-nothing mage with witch tendencies, standing on my own, facing off against two columns of power and a pair of dual-mages in sports gear. While being watched by an immensely powerful supernatural of unknown origins. “It is definitely not too dramatic to mention that I hate my life.”

No, he found himself thinking of the jokes and laughter he’d shared with his brother before their lives had fallen apart. Penny’s warm embraces, and how she’d grabbed hold of his heart.

The feel of that stone was special. It called to him. Whispered to him of the woman who plagued his dreams. Begged him to grab it, package it up, and send it to her.

But they weren’t natural witches like Penny. They wouldn’t give him any surprises. They’d been brainlessly trained in the same lessons he’d learned: learn your spells, guard your secrets, and, above all, power is king.

Nothing that drew and kept the eye, making a person want to look at it for hours on end. Basically, it was more like him than her.

I grimaced. That had been seriously gross. I definitely blamed Darius for making me do it. Which fit, because I kind of blamed Darius for everything horrible I’d done since meeting him. It was easy, particularly since he usually owned the questionable achievements with pride.

“Want to be my best friend?” “No,” I said without meaning to. She nudged me with her shoulder. “You’ll change your mind. I’m really fun.” “No,” I repeated, my politeness filter missing in action. She laughed, and I was glad her feelings were almost impossible to hurt.

“We’re not handing her over for good. And she’ll still live here. I already lost one to their devious ways, I will not lose another.”

“In magic,” she went on with a patience I seldom saw in her. It meant this was important. “You are the one with the power. Even now, not knowing how to use your magic, you are still the one with the power. You can accidentally kill a vampire with nothing more than fear and two seconds of your time. If you start to feel bullied, or charmed, or things are going too easily or not easily enough, just remember that at the end of the day, you call the shots. His job is to help you. His purpose is to make you happy. You don’t owe him squat, and you don’t have to bend one bit if you don’t want to. Now do you get what I’m saying?”

“You’re easy to get along with, but you aren’t easy to push to the side.”

“You have no control, is that it?” Darius asked, studying me. “Absolutely none, no. Not when I’m in the thick of things. I don’t think about what I’m doing at all, I just do.” “Yet in the training session, you could not do at all.” “She countered the spells with ease,” Moss said. “Her defense wasn’t lacking—it was her offense.”

“You have a fantastic imagination when it comes to spell work.” “I don’t know about fantastic, but it’s certainly overactive.”

“I would like to get you doing as many spells as possible in Reagan’s warehouse,” Darius said, and a soft scrape sounded from outside the room. “Over and over. I want them in your muscle memory. That will take the thinking out of the equation. I also want you exposed to dangerous or uncomfortable situations as much as possible. You need to spend some time living in fear to get used to what it does to you. Only when you understand your reactions can you begin to control them. Lastly, you need a teacher that understands you. That knows how to work with you.”

“Why the hell did Reagan bond you?” I asked. “You are, quite possibly, the worst person alive.” “I am not alive.” “That just makes it worse!”

Callie had been dead wrong. Darius held all the power in this situation. And he’d continue to hold all the power until I mastered my craft enough to put him in his place. Which I would absolutely do.

“When she finally lets out her fire, it always scorches,” Marie said in approval.

“You will regret this,” I ground out, anger flaring deep inside of me.

By running at the enemy and letting nature guide my hand.

“The worst part about you is the way you look, did you know that?” I said through my teeth, my courage waning. “Oh holy crap, I’m not up for this. I’m not made for this kind of thing.”

“Yes, I am,” I said. Arguing with yourself was a sure sign of insanity, wasn’t it? Maybe insanity would help. It sure seemed to give Reagan a leg up. “Yes, I am made out for this kind of thing!”

Eat ants, Darius. I’m about to tear up your house.

Because trying to control Penny was like trying to keep a candle flame lit when running in the wind. Getting into trouble was as natural for her as breathing, no matter how much the people around her wanted to keep her safe. The best thing to do was stick by her side and run with her through the middle of chaos. Try to be on her team, letting her lead as often as she followed, and hold on for dear life.

I would love to leave you alone and see what new surprises you have in store, but you are exuding a lot of magic right now. Strong, powerful magic.

“I have badly underestimated what it means to be an untrained natural in a pressurized situation. Marie, get her out of here,”

Darius and Moss might have died to give me a fighting chance to escape. Marie stood in front of me, crouching and hissing, ready to fight for me too. They were putting themselves in harm’s way to protect me. I’d always heard vampires weren’t loyal. That they couldn’t be trusted. But Darius had tried to save me twice tonight, and his people had backed him up.

“No more hiding in closets,” I whispered. That was the promise I’d made to myself after Emery had left. That I would learn magic, excel at it, and never hide again. Well, here I was. Challenge accepted. I flexed my fingers and squared my shoulders. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, but I was going to do it big.

What do you want to do, Penny? What do you want to do? “Go!” Marie said, getting ready to fight. “Penelope, run!” I want to protect Marie. I took stock of the knowledge that she believed in me, that she was willing to risk her life for me,

Sometimes, the hardest person to fight was ourselves. I hoped that was as true of vampires as it was of humans.

“But you are different, Penelope. I am glad you won’t be training like other mages. It would reduce you.” “That’s another lovely way of calling me weird.” “Yes.”