Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem Trilogy, #2)

by K.F. Breene

and that girl Reagan that broke you out of the broom closet in that old church doesn’t think you’re nuts—”

“That’s because she’s insane.”

“Reagan, I thought you weren’t supposed to kick in doors in this house.” “Oh yeah.” She grimaced. Dizzy scratched the wispy gray hair on the top of his head. His red shirt was burned and torn in places, and his pants looked like he’d stolen them from a homeless painter. “Callie likes order and intact doors, you know that.” “I do. That was my bad.” “It’s not a strange rule, if you think about it,” Dizzy continued, still studying the door. “Kicked-in doors are very dramatic. You should only do that when the situation calls for it. Like busting in on the bad guys, or breaking and entering.” “Well…” Reagan gestured at my room at large. “Technically I was breaking and entering. She had a ward up and everything. I didn’t knock or seek permission to enter. I just busted in. So at least that part of things lines up.” He nodded. “That’s true. Okay, then.” He trudged past.

“See? Darius was playing me. Do you see how sneaky elder vampires are? Well I’m not so stupid as to fall into his plans, willy-nilly.” “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.”

“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. “She’s not wrong.” Reagan pursed her lips in agreement.

“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.”

She sauntered in like she belonged, when she most certainly, without even a question, did not.

“Yes, look at her. Look at the untrained mage who killed four newbie vampires, scared the fifth so badly it cowered from her, and protected a mid-level vamp from one of the oldest vampires who walks the earth. A vampire so old and powerful that she very nearly killed my boyfriend—who is a blood junkie, by the way—and the higher mid-level vampire fighting by his side. If I hadn’t given him my blood just now—which is legal, since I’m magical and also willing—he would’ve perished, I would’ve gone crazy, and you’d all likely be dead. All because no one has ever documented what happens when you force an untrained natural into a life-or-death situation.”

“Congratulations,” Reagan replied. “You’re as dumb as you look.”

That power is unheard of, as far as I know. And it is massive. You’re the sneakiest type of thief. I’m not even mad about it. I’m too jealous to be mad.”

“You’re a nut. No, they probably don’t call it that, but I have no idea what they do call it. Because I don’t care. ‘Monster form’ is a good description. I suggest you use it. To their faces. Especially when they’re angry. You’ll appreciate the fireworks in their eyeballs.”

Tomorrow we’re going to hit the books. You have the power to be great. I’m going to help you blindly stumble into actually being great. It’s a foolproof plan.”

There’s no way I want Darius on my case about doing something stupid. And that’s the problem with boyfriends—they’re always on your ass about jeopardizing your future and committing yourself to an eternity of servitude.”

“You’re trying to swear your way into my heart, aren’t you.”

She’s a rather nice lady in times of strife, with a fiercely bad, and mostly undeserved, reputation as a bringer of death. Welcome to being a woman—always blamed for shit going wrong whether it’s our fault or not.”

“I usually don’t have partners because they are ineffective, and I need to do a better job of hiding my magic. But you’re basically in the crew now, and are quite hilarious to watch, so I’d consider adopting you.”

The pull of him washed over me, begging me to close the distance between us. Emery felt like a lifeboat in the midst of a storm. A place where I could safely unburden myself. He wouldn’t judge me or tell me I’ll get used to it—he’d just listen, and hold me, and make it more bearable.

“No, she’s…” Reagan stopped what she was doing, the dagger suspended over Callie’s finger, and lifted her eyebrows at me expectantly. “She’s an asshole.” “I’ve trained her well,” Reagan said. “No, she’s just stating the obvious.”

I shrugged aggressively, because if you were going to make an ass of yourself, you should do it Reagan-style.

“I only want what’s best for you, Penny,” he said, his hand braced against the side of my face and his thumb stroking my lips. “I know that isn’t me. I know that I should leave you alone. That I should give you time to find someone worthy. But I can’t. I can’t stay away from you. I think about you constantly. I pull up memories of your smile. Your laugh. Your eyes…especially when they burn for me, like they’re doing now. And I’m not strong enough to ignore your pull. So any time you want, I urge you to push me out of your life and shut the door. To do what’s best for you. But until then, I’m at your mercy.”

“Clearly this is why Reagan and I work as a team. Because I don’t know any better, and she’s cracked.”

“No killing, remember?” Penny yelled over her shoulder. “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to kick you.”

“You embodied his magic, though. Like you do mine. I could tell because it was so much more interesting than your peaceful, lovey-dovey bullshit.” “Wow.” Penny shook her head. “No wonder you love a vampire. You two have the same emotional landscape.”

Welcome to Reagan Land, where every day was a new nightmare.

“If you’re so close to Red, why did he call Penny?” Emery asked. “Two reasons.” Reagan gunned the car down the lane to the highway. “Man, but I do miss that Lamborghini.” She turned. “First, Red doesn’t understand what friendship means. Sure, I make his life hell, but does he get picked on by anyone else? No, he doesn’t.” I could just barely see Emery nodding slowly. “Second, Penny’s special look lured him in. He wants to protect her. They all do. It is pretty damn fantastic. I want that talent so bad. Alas, I’ll just have to rely on inspiring blind fear.”

Reagan laughed and stepped back. “I’ve always wanted to do that. I could get down with having a girlfriend to defend.” “You don’t need more reasons to fight.” “What a horrible thing to say to me.”

“Why, I’ll raise hell, of course. Smacking down mages in bars seems to be a specialty of mine.”

“The line between good and evil is horribly blurred,” she said. “Good people sometimes do horrible things. Bad people occasionally do good. So trust in the person who shows their good intentions. Do not listen to their words. Watch their intentions.” She held up her finger as the commotion around the bar began to slow. “But be slow to trust, if you have to at all.”

“You’re out of your mind,” I said, barely keeping up with the adrenaline trying to lock my knees. “We’re in a fight right now. I know you’re just back, and this should be the honeymoon period or whatever, but we’re fighting.” “Thanks for the warning.”

“I’m going to put you on speaker. Can you be normal for just a few minutes?” “Penelope Bristol, I am your mother. You should know that I do not have an ounce of normal in my body.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I heard Reagan ask, her heavy boots treading over the door she had just kicked in. Her own door. But not the original door, oh no. It had been replaced a time or two before this, if Mikey next door could be believed.

“Penny? Drink?” “Water. Without the tequila or lime.” Reagan frowned at me. “I don’t carry that.”

“I love you too,” I said against his lips, and my stomach flipped over. “It’s deep, it’s constant, and it will never go away. I can feel that as strongly as I feel the nature around me. It’s a certainty. I don’t know that I believe in fate, or soul mates, but…” “I do.” His lips curved. “Or, I should say, I do now.” He went in for another kiss.

“You are a dream come true in a life full of nightmares.”

“What the hell?” Reagan shouted through the door. “You get a boyfriend and suddenly I can’t kick open your door without breaking shit? That ain’t right, Penny. That ain’t right. Wake up! It’s time to kick some ass.”

“Have you told Darius about this?” Penny asked. “No.” Reagan filled the doorway, wearing her standard uniform of leather pants, a tank top, and her hair in a ponytail. “Let’s see how he likes secrets. And it’s day, so when the shenanigans wake him up, he’ll be half panicked, knowing I did something stupid.” “You two have such a strange relationship.”

“Madness,” he murmured, the first traces of uncertainty worming through his gut. “That’s how you know you’re doing the right thing. When the odds are severely stacked against you,” Reagan said, turning into the small lane leading up to the warehouse. “I think you’ve got the wrong idea about how math works,”

“Training is going to get a lot worse now that she can show all her powers,” Penny mumbled. “See?” Reagan took her phone from her back pocket. “This is why I love Penny. I create a huge illusion, with fire-spitting dragons—” “More like Dumbo’s un-talked-about uncle—” Penny mumbled. “—move fire through the air, lift her in the air, and all she can think about is how I’ll torment her in training.”

He glanced down at us, and Reagan reached over and took his hand, twining her fingers in his. In that moment, I saw it. His eyes flicked to her and softened, the deep light of emotion shining within them. A small smile curved her lips. While she always tried to make his life hell, and he tried to manipulate hers, they were doing it out of mutual adoration. Their relationship was still weird. Strong and deep, sure, but still weird.