Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(8)

“I’m not Callie and Dizzy.”

“Yeah but…you’re not anybody. There is no logical magical explanation for half the stuff you do.” Something I had learned firsthand when I was helping her with a situation in Seattle a few months before. I’d helped them take down a couple of mages who were protecting a summoning circle, and also helped dissipate that circle.

She held out a finger, and I readied myself for a blast of fire or something else surprising and horrible.

“That you know of,” she said. “You just started learning magic. How could you possibly have explanations for everything?”

“Okay, but…” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Following that logic, you shouldn’t be mad at me for putting together the best ward I could. I’ve just started learning magic.”

“Anyone can read a spell out of a book. With power like yours, that’s easy. And guess what else is easy? A counter-spell.” She leaned against the doorframe, a problem-solving stance, which meant she was less likely to attack me (at the moment). “What you need to do is get creative. You need to use your power in ways people don’t expect.” She crossed her arms. “I had a lengthy talk with Darius. He thinks you don’t go about magic like normal mages. That Rogue Natural mage you know—”

“Emery,” I said with a pained release of breath. It would be easier on me if his name would stop coming up.

“—said something to Darius about it. He seemed to think you were more like a witch than a mage, but with a crap-load of power.” Reagan tapped her chin.

“I just don’t understand how witches and mages are different,” I admitted. “Everyone acts like they’re so different, but when you drill down to the root, the only real difference is power quantity.” I paused, suddenly unsure of myself. Reagan was an encyclopedia of spells and magic. She could read, if not speak, multiple languages. I was confident this was something she’d know about. “Right?”

Reagan’s finger stilled. “Yeah. Well, and training. Mages get formal training, and witches work together in circles and kind of learn in a community.”

“Formal training like…school? Because my training isn’t formal.”

“Say that to Callie, I dare you.”

I pressed my lips together. No, I would not.

“Mages can visit the Realm, too,” she said, “whereas witches can’t.”

“That’s still just power quantity.”

“And with vampires, it’s just age.” She shrugged. “It’s a big enough distinction to create two separate groups. Anyway, you’re different. You shouldn’t just memorize a spell and then plaster it up on your door. That’s for Guild members. They’re drones. 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.”

“I doubt it. Emery is unbelievably adaptable. Everything I came up with, he could alter and enhance on the fly. He is worlds ahead of me and excellent at survival. I don’t even have the tools to be better than him.”

Reagan’s focus homed in on me, and the room stilled for a moment…before she made a sudden movement.

I jerked as though slapped. Magic ballooned in front of me, my reaction speed significantly faster after the last few months of study, but nowhere near as fast as hers. If she wanted to attack me, I’d have to jump from the window to escape. And she was so unhinged, she’d surely jump after me with a manic cackle. She had absolutely no fear.

Reagan finished scratching her chin—oops—and then waved her hand through the air. My magic fizzled away with little sparks and spits.

“How do you do that?” I muttered, not able to see the magic she used to counter my weave, and not able to get a whiff of intent when she did it. I was flying blind when it came to her. When I didn’t get an answer, though, I left it alone. The dual-mages could be prickly about my continuing to ask questions they weren’t ready to answer. Reagan was the last person I wanted to piss off.

But I wondered if Emery would know more about her abilities, since he’d traveled far and wide.

I wondered if he would ever come back.

I wondered if I’d stop thinking of him if I started punching myself in the face every time his name popped up.

Reagan crossed her arms and tapped her finger against her chin again. “I think Darius is trying to wind me up.”

“Wind you up?” I asked, reaching for my robe while keeping a wary eye on her movements.

“Irritate me. Get me agitated—sorry, I was in London and Ireland for a while. They talk funny.” Which she’d probably told them to their faces…and started a bar fight because of it. “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—”