Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(9)

“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. No questions asked. But then, maybe he thinks I’ll have a vested interest in you by the time I figure out he’s manipulating me, which would make it harder for me to walk.” She bit her lip. “Hmm.”

I rubbed my temples. “Sorry…what?”

Reagan fanned the air like she was trying to rid it of a bad smell, shook her head, and took a step back. “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.”

“But…” I just could not get a grip on this conversation. “You and he are an item. You’re bonded, and Callie says that’s forever. Or until she kills him.”

“Yeah. I’m an idiot, aren’t I?” She rolled her eyes.

“Reagan, hello,” Dizzy said from just outside the door. “Oops, it seems you’ve misplaced your eyebrows again. I thought you’d moved on from those days?”

“My neighbor surprised me with a blowtorch,” she answered. “I got my hair covered in time, but my eyebrows didn’t make it.”

He tsked, and I didn’t know if that was because of Reagan’s slow reaction speed, or her neighbor thinking it acceptable to blast someone in the face with a blowtorch.

I knew she had a strange relationship with fire from when I helped her that time in Seattle, but I’d never gotten to delve further into it. Clearly, this wouldn’t be that time, either, because Dizzy had edged into my line of sight, his gaze taking in the damaged door. “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.

Reagan grinned at me, delighted with herself.

“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!

“You have a package downstairs,” she said. “Callie thought you’d want to know.”

A shock of adrenaline coursed through me. I tried to bat it down. “Is it from my mother?”

Her eyes started to sparkle and a little grin wrestled her lips. “Nope. Anonymous. Postmark is from Ethiopia. It was delivered by carrier a half-hour ago.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. I was running before I could attempt any sort of decorum.

Only one person sent packages like that.





4





Callie was at the stove on the other side of the enormous kitchen, tending something in a pan. The fan wafted the smell of bacon through the air, immediately making me salivate.

On the island sat a small box wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with scratchy brown string. Colorful stamps adorned the top and sides, marring the handwritten address.

I let my hands linger on the counter while analyzing the graceful, tightly knit magic coating the surface of the package. I would have recognized Emery’s deft touch anywhere.

I’d received a total of five power stones, nearly one a month since I’d said goodbye to him. He knew how much power stones meant to me, and that I collected them, after a fashion. He also knew where I was staying. He’d not only remembered and was okay with my idiosyncrasies with the power stones (most people laughed when I mentioned that the stones had personalities), but he’d clearly checked up on me to see where I was. The packages never came with a written note—his only signature was his magic, the feel of which only made me miss him more—but at least he hadn’t forgotten about me completely.

“I was wondering—” I started.

“Hey!” Callie half spun to look behind her, her brown eyes wide. She had on a bright orange velvet sweat suit with “Queen Bee” written across the backside. “What did I tell you about sneaking around?”

“She all but sprinted in here.” Reagan filled the archway of the kitchen. “If you weren’t deaf, you would’ve heard her.”

“My hearing is just fine, thank you very much. It’s these accursed fans.” Callie turned back to the stove.

“Humor…longing…” The words spilled out of my mouth as I studied the nature of the spell, but I didn’t want to say the next word out loud. Lonely. He wasn’t happy. I could feel that hidden in the depths of the weave. He wasn’t willing to stay in one place for me, but he missed me, too.