Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(12)

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

I pulled away the string and tore open the paper, finding a pink box underneath.

“Ew,” Reagan said. “Why not red? I’d much prefer a deep crimson.”

“Who is that package for, her or you?” Callie said, glancing back before cracking another egg.

“Just saying.” Reagan moved so she could watch me pull the top off the box. “Pink is highly overrated. As is yellow. I hate yellow. I don’t need a color telling me to be happy any more than I need one telling me to be soft.”

“You have problems,” Callie said.

“Again, not wrong.”

I peered in the box and my heart squished. A single power stone, about the size of my hand, lay on a bed of pastel tissue paper. Stripes of vibrant color sliced through its brown surface, turning an ordinary stone extraordinary. The stone couldn’t wait to get out of the box and be shown around its new home, very happy-go-lucky for a power stone.

“I know what would help with your wards,” Reagan said, sitting at the island in anticipation of Callie getting her plate ready. “A night sleeping at Darius’s French Quarter house. That would scare the bejeezus out of you. Oh!” she snapped. “And what about trips to the bad parts of town? You need to get more street-wise. Maybe it would also help if I exposed you to some serious spells to get the juices of creativity flowing. I have a couple books you’re probably nearly ready for.”

“She is not ready for those books, Reagan Somerset,” Callie said. “It hasn’t even been a year since she turned all those witches into zombies. Not that I’m blaming you, dear.” Callie gave me a grimace that was probably supposed to be a smile. Years of scowling had clearly frozen her face. “Any idiot that would make a potion without knowing what it does, while letting a complete novice with more power than sense lead, deserves what they get.”

“Wow. Don’t hold back for her sake,” Reagan said with a laugh.

“If you gave her that book, she’d end up accidentally killing someone,” Callie said, turning with a plate heaped with food. She set it in front of Reagan. “Honestly, she has come a long way, even in the last couple of weeks. Just you wait and see.”

“We need to fast-track her training. And if there is one thing I know all about, it’s fast-tracking training.” Reagan eyed me. “I hear she’s great at creating spells when she fears for her life. Let’s put that to the test.”





5





The next night, I stood trembling at one end of Reagan’s large warehouse. The warehouse, where she could practice her powers in peace, had been Darius’s idea of a present. My utility belt encircled my waist, filled with herbs and grasses and other elements I thought would be useful. My power stones were precisely positioned in various places around the floor, and would hopefully help me when things got dire.

So…in about five minutes.

Callie and Dizzy stood at the other end, each with an open satchel, wearing padded catcher’s vests and helmets. On their right side waited six of the mages from the party the other night, John being one of them. Currently he was leading the others in snickering at the Bankses’ choice of headgear.

They wouldn’t be snickering for long.

Reagan stood in the far corner draped in dark leather and shadow, her head slightly turned, studying me. I didn’t need to see her eyes to know the violence that lurked there. She was in battle mode.

Four vampires, one of whom seemed jittery compared to the rest, drifted out to line up on the other side of the room. All of them were completely nude, their clothes neatly folded and stacked on a chair.

“That new vampire is a true danger, Darius,” I heard Callie call out. “He’s bloodlusting—look at him. He won’t be able to come back from the brink.”

“I inherited him,” Darius said in a cool voice. “This is his trial. If he disappoints me, I will kill him.”

“Preferably before he kills Penny,” Dizzy said in a strained tone. That wasn’t usual for Dizzy—he was legitimately worried that the vampire could kill me before anyone could stop it.

As if I needed more anxiety to fuel my rising blood pressure.

“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.

“The child will be monitored,” Darius said in a voice that effectively ended the discussion.

“Am I the child?” I asked softly. I needed to know where I stood—not that it would help anything.

“No. I was speaking of the vampire,” Darius answered. “You are in no danger.”