Chapter 3 #3
Malcolm shook his head. “Not really. I grew up near old school magical families, and most of the kids didn’t want to hang around a house with a kid whose powers were a bit wonky and who had a mom that was non-magical.
When I switched to a non-magical school when I was older I made more friends there. ”
He glanced around. “You really don’t have a familiar?”
His change of subject caught her off guard. A pang of sorrow hit her hard. “No, my grandmother said in our family we tend to get familiars when we open ourselves up to the most powerful magic there is.”
“What kind of magic is that?” he asked.
Her face flamed as she answered. “Love.”
“Ahh, the answer to life’s mysteries,” he chuckled.
“Well, my grandmother always was a romantic. I think it makes sense. Blood magic taps into your soul, hedge magic taps into nature… but love… everyone has access to love if they’re brave enough to let it in.
And that’s an entirely different sort of power…
one that would create a familiar to bond to. ”
“You’ve never been in love then?” Malcolm’s voice was colored with surprise.
“I guess not. Not a lot of eligible warlocks come through town except during the Halloween festivals, and they often leave a day or two later.”
“You’re determined to marry a warlock, then?”
She shook her head. “Not necessarily, but werewolves are a little too overactive for my liking. I work with a vampire at my bookstore in town, and he’s wonderful, but there’s no chemistry between us.
As for humans… I wouldn’t want to hide my magic from whoever I love.
People like your mother, humans who aren’t afraid or jealous of magic, are pretty rare. ”
“That makes sense,” Malcolm agreed. “I’m sure if you liked magic it would be hard not to use it. I never use mine, so living a human life is easy.”
They enjoyed the rest of their drinks in silence, then Malcolm suddenly sat up. “I just remembered why I’ve heard of this place!” He laughed. “That must be how I ended up here.”
Calli waited for him to explain.
“Much to my father’s dismay, I went to MIT, a non-magical human college that focuses on technology, not a place like Darkwing Academy. You know, that university for supernaturals just outside of Boston?”
Of course she knew about it. Darkwing was a prestigious school that was almost impossible to get into.
It took witches, shifters, vampires, banshees, fae, anything really, but those who applied had to have pedigrees or powers that set them apart.
Its motto was Faciamus Periculosa which meant something like “Becoming Dangerous” if she remembered her Latin correctly.
“I met my best friend, Jasper Reed at MIT. He abandoned his tech career to become a travel writer. He’s the one who came here and told me about this place.
” His eyes narrowed slightly as if he realized something.
“Just before the witch wormhole, I had this fleeting thought about getting out of Boston, being somewhere else. I wondered if Moonstone Falls was in the back of my mind.”
Calli found herself grinning again. “Jasper Reed is your friend?” Jasper was a regular to Moonstone Falls. He was currently staying at the Moonstone Inn and tended to hang out at Mystic Mornings, the coffee shop her friend Sage Sinclair owned.
“Wait, you know him?”
“I do. He somehow got past the town’s protective wards on his own even though he’s non-magical, but none of the locals are too worried about him. I see him at the coffee shop all the time.”
“How long have those wards been around?” Malcolm set his empty pumpkin mug on the coffee table.
“The elders of Moonstone Falls put them up after the Salem witch trials. A lot of places did back then.”
“Oh, right, of course. Makes sense.”
She paused, wondering how he didn’t seem to know about towns like these. There were several other towns across the country that had similar wards set up to keep humans out.
“We’ve become a safe haven for creatures that don’t want to live among too many humans.
Our wards weaken around Halloween, and now we let in humans from all over the country to celebrate Halloween since it’s a huge boom for business.
After the humans leave, we revitalize the wards again, and the humans forget our little town exists until next October.
” It was always sad to see the tourists leave after the festival, their memories wiped of all but pretty memories of spending the holiday in a cozy little town they just couldn’t quite remember.
It was hard to see new friends she’d made leave, knowing they would forget her.
“But Jasper got through your wards?” Malcolm asked. “And he didn’t forget about you?”
“Yes.” Calli frowned, considering the problem from a fresh angle.
“For a human to get past the wards, they need to know about magic, not fear it, and have no ill will towards magic users. So, because he knows you, you must be the reason he was able to get through. He wouldn’t forget because he already knew about magic. It’s a loophole about the wards.”
“That makes sense.”
“So you told him about our world?” She was super curious to know about Malcolm’s friendship with a non-magical human.
Malcolm’s face reddened as he glanced away, then cleared his throat.
“We roomed together during college. That first week we were in our dorm, I had a nightmare and levitated everything in our dorm room, including Jasper. He woke up floating six feet above his bed. It was kind of hard to explain my way out of that.” He shrugged. “So we had the talk.”
Calli chuckled. “How’d that go?”
“He was a little freaked out at first, mostly because I warned him I couldn’t control my powers, but he was more curious than afraid.
” Malcolm’s face softened. “I think I only survived college because of him. I was afraid to put myself out there, always worried my magic might show up at the worst time. Because of Jasper, I wasn’t lonely, and I managed to keep the magic from getting out of hand. ”
“I have a friend like that. Sage. We’re the same age.
After my parents died, I was scared of magic, but she reminded me how magical having magic was.
I know it sounds silly and cliché, but having someone I could be myself with was really important, especially at that age.
” She drank the last bit of marshmallow and whipped cream dregs of her hot chocolate.
The warmth of the fire seeped into their bones as they sat in comfortable silence.
Calli marveled at how relaxed she felt sitting here with a mostly naked stranger only a few feet away.
Her body still hummed with that feminine awareness of him and a growing desire to touch him, to put her hands on his skin and just… let go.
“Feel better now?” Malcolm asked.
“Yes.” She was glad he had no way of reading her mind or he’d know how much better she felt whenever she looked his way.
“Good. I’ll clean up.” Her eyes locked on his abs as he retrieved her mug from her. Wow.
Once she was alone, she took a moment to gather her thoughts.
Malcolm was a half-warlock who’d been closed off from his own power.
The sorrow that such a thought left in her made her want to do something to help him.
No one should be shut off from part of who they were.
She sensed that he believed it was tied to having a non-magical parent, but Calli believed that Malcolm’s real issue might be more psychological.
Being able to use her magic gave her peace, and Malcolm deserved to know his own peace. Even though he was a flirt, he was also kind and sensitive. He wore the facade of a man who didn’t care or want his magic, but she’d seen his reaction to her home, her spells, that look of wonder…
When he came back, Calli cleared her throat. “You know, I could teach you how to use your magic.”
Malcolm stiffened at the suggestion.
“It wouldn’t have to be bad. Learning to use it, I mean,” she promised. “It might even be fun.”
“I set your garden on fire, Calli.” The storm clouds in his eyes didn’t scare her off.
“Not on purpose.”
“That’s the problem. It never is. Half the time my magic works, you know, on small stuff.
” He flipped his thumb up and a small flame blossomed at the tip.
“But when I try bigger things, things that matter, it’s unpredictable.
Point is, it’s not worth me trying anything when it could blow up in my face.
” His face was covered in shadow as he looked away.
Calli tossed her blanket back and got off the couch. “All the more reason you should learn how to use it. Besides, every warlock should be able to control their magic. It’s a part of you.”
He laughed as he got to his feet, but the sound was raspy with old pain. “You sound like my father. He wanted to send me to a witch tutor this year.”
“Really? That’s not so bad.”
“One that teaches children, the kids that couldn’t keep up in regular magic school. Picture witch kindergarten.”
Calli flinched. “Ouch. But, you know, maybe private lessons with someone who won’t treat you like a kindergartner are more your thing?” She walked up to him, head tilting back so she could keep her eyes locked on his.
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh? How private are we talking about?”
Calli laughed and pushed against his bare chest, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he stepped closer, gently grasping her wrist and rubbing it with his fingers.
Her heart leapt in a mad rhythm as her gaze dropped from his bewitching green eyes to his sensual lips.
As much as she was tempted right now to give into his sensual suggestion, she knew that this flirting was a way for him to distance himself from the problem.
She couldn’t let him use it as a coping mechanism, or a distraction.
“Not that kind of private.” She managed to say. Barely.
“Too bad… that kind of private could have been fun.” His low and husky voice sent shivers down her spine. “Every time I get a spell right… you take off a piece of your clothes.”
“Strip magic lessons?” She giggled, but then the reality of how… hot that would be actually sent a wild hot flash through her entire body.
He didn’t have control over his magic, but his flirting was almost as powerful as a lust spell. She gave herself a shake, reminding herself that what he was really trying to do was distract her from his problem.
“Look… since you can’t fix my garden or replace my prized pumpkins…
why not agree to one lesson?” She tried to push him back, to give herself some space so she wouldn’t keep thinking of sex, lots of sex, but he kept hold of her wrist, keeping her close to him.
“If you hate it, then fine, but if I manage to teach you something, then you have to stay here a while and let me show you more about your magic.”
Calli had no idea why she offered that, but there it was. “Sage says I’m a great teacher.”
“Who have you taught?” Malcolm asked.
Knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer, she finally said: “Mostly kids.”
“Oh great, it the tutor situation all over again.” He tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling.
“Yes, but there’s no pressure here, and I’m betting one on one lessons with me would be more fun than whoever your dad planned to send you to.”
“Can’t argue with that. You are certainly much prettier than Curtis Batsford,” Malcolm snorted.
“Seriously though, you’ll think about it, right?”
He bit his bottom lip, then released it as if considering her offer.
“You don’t have to get back to the office right away, do you?” she asked.
Malcolm shook his head. “I was taking the week off when my dad summoned me to Boston.”
“Perfect. Just think of it as an unexpected change in vacation plans.”
His eyes narrowed a little. “Why are you doing this?”
“I told you. Everyone should be able to control their magic. It’s a part of you. Hiding from it doesn’t change that.”
“Is that all?”
She gulped. He still hadn’t let go of her wrist, and she could feel the warmth of his fingers. She couldn’t answer him.
Malcolm reached up to twine a lock of her hair around his finger. His focus lowered to her mouth. “One lesson…”
She had never wanted to be kissed more than at that moment.
It was such a bad idea. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would be content living in a small magical town. Being with him could be wonderful. It could be magical. But it couldn’t last. Sooner or later, he’d leave. It was better not to get attached.
That was what she told herself right before his lips covered hers.
Magic exploded all around them. Her skin tingled in the most erotic way, as if he was somehow kissing her everywhere and all at once.
Her knees buckled as Malcolm let go of her wrist and held her up against him with his strong arms. His chest was like a warm fire on a cold night, making her want to snuggle closer.
She parted her lips to let his exploring tongue in and, oh God, he tasted like her favorite cinnamon and spice cookies. She groaned and dug her nails into his shoulders. A second later, the smell of something burning jerked her out of her sensual haze.
The rug was on fire.
“Shit!” Malcolm lifted her up onto the couch, setting her safely away from the flames before he grabbed the blanket from the couch and threw it over the small fire, stamping it out with his feet. Gray smoke coiled up in the air, and he looked at her with a dark, unreadable gaze.
Calli’s lips were swollen from his kiss and her breasts felt heavy. She felt like she could drift away on the cloud of desire he had created for her, but the smell of singed carpet and their ragged breaths kept her grounded in the moment.
“Still think teaching me magic is a good idea?” he asked, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone.
She swallowed hard, looking between him and the burned patch on the rug. “I think it’s more important than ever…”