On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(27)

“Commence.”

“In front of her?” Sasha asked in a small voice.

Charles’s heart went out to her, but the Boss was doing the right thing. If Sasha couldn’t pull this off, he needed a mate, and Darla was the best contender. Still sucked for poor Sasha, though. She didn’t need the reminder that she was human, and might not be good enough.

Chapter 7

“I did it!” Sasha’s glance flew around the living room in the main cabin, landing on Charles. He momentarily dropped his knitting. “Charles, look. The dog-thing found me without shocking me. Finally. It only took the better part of a freaking week.”

A black, smoky blob fizzled at her feet. The intent had been to leave a charm in a place an enemy might travel. Then, when said enemy stepped through, the magic would return-to-sender with a light hum, alerting of trespassers. In the past Sasha had always gotten one hell of a shock. Today, she’d done it. She was making strides.

They sat in the living area of the largest log cabin, Toa wanting to be indoors to reduce the amount of distraction for Sasha. Jonas stood by the door, looking into the hall, monitoring someone’s progress toward the room. Either that, or looking at the ghost that set off that charm. Charles, as usual, sat in a chair, ready to have magic blasted at him at a moment’s notice. While Sasha was getting a hundred times better, she still had mishaps. None so far tonight, but Charles knew better than to get his hopes up.

“Good.” Toa glided over to her in that creepy way he had. “That is a moderate charm which those with less than red power levels cannot achieve. Now we will take the next step up.”

Moderate? Charles was suddenly extremely glad he was both violent, and great with a sword, because no way could he do that spell with any sort of results. He had plenty of power, but he’d never been great at magical finesse.

Sasha took a big breath as Toa started explaining something to do with the elements fire and water. The man could bore a plant with the way he droned on. Judging by Sasha’s quickly glazing eyes, her mind was already drifting.

“I shall demonstrate,” Toa cut off suddenly. Sasha wasn’t the only one learning.

Pure white magic drifted into existence, creating a beach ball sized orb in the center of the room. Translucent, it hovered beautifully, reminding Charles of the first snowfall of winter.

“Now, walk into it,” Toa instructed Sasha.

“No.” Jonas straightened, stepping further into the room. “That spell can kill.”

“By applying the proper defensive magic, and if the sphere is a solid color, then yes, it will kill if the caster has enough power. This sphere, as you can see, is not solid. It will simply be unpleasant,” Toa explained patiently.

“Oh, fantastic,” Sasha muttered.

“Ah, yes, baby steps,” Darla said in a silky purr as she stepped into the room behind Jonas.

“What’re you doing here?” Jonas asked in a thick growl.

“Assessing the level of training. Making sure our star pupil is worth all of our time. The sooner she fails, the sooner I’ll be back on top.” Darla gracefully lowered herself into a chair beside the door, her legs peeking out from the slit in her shimmery dress all the way to her enticing upper thigh.

Charles’s mouth went dry. He hadn’t had sex in a while. Those damn Mata were worse than Sasha for being prudes. Well, not worse, but certainly as bad. And more violent, too. He’d merely hinted to one of their females that he was available should she need a ride. He did not appreciate the sudden punch to the balls. It had been completely uncalled for. A simple ‘no thanks’ would’ve done the trick.

Charles huffed with the memory as Toa turned. As if on a hinge, his shoulders swiveled, sparing one glance for the new arrival. She gave him a scorching glance and licked her lips, probably desperate for a drop of his blood. Toa turned back to Sasha just as slowly, somehow failing to get wood. Unlike Charles.

“Walk through the sphere please, so you can try it.” Toa elegantly gestured Sasha toward the floating ball. “You only seem to learn when you experience something. I am simply instructing in the approach that is most likely to be received.”

“Okay, but what’s the point of it?” Sasha asked dubiously, stalling. “You can see it. Why would someone just walk into a magical ball? I think I’d avoid it.”

“In battle, you can create one of these and send it floating. If you have sufficient energy, you can take down a few unaware or distracted fighters.” Toa gestured her forward.

Sasha’s eyes flicked to Darla’s chair. The other woman winked, her smile smug. Taking a determined breath, Sasha stepped forward slowly. As her face and torso drifted into the bubble, she gave a huge jolt.

“Holy—ˮ

She stepped back quickly, rubbing her arms. “Dang it, Toa. That hurt!”

“Yes, it is not pleasant. Now you try.”

Charles suddenly did not want to be in this room. If she managed to do the spell, he’d have to test it because Jonas ranked higher than him in the violence department. If Toa’s spell hurt, hers would probably blast his face off.

For all the work Jonas did with this detail, it was a wonder heʼd come with them at all. Charles had no idea what the Boss was thinking on that score. Jonas hated Sasha, didn’t want to be here, but wouldn’t let her out of his sight, thus being a hostile nuisance to everyone else. Plus, he didn’t help with any of the unpleasant stuff. If he wasn’t so damn hostile and wound up, Charles would have mentioned it.