Chapter 19 #2
I drove us back to Perna Harbor and the house that was now our home.
I typically found driving up the coastline peaceful.
This time, my mind refused to settle. I felt disoriented with what had almost just happened.
That feeling, combined with my inability to reach some of the names on the list of clients, made me jittery.
Hikaru easily picked up on my unease. Several of his tails found their way to my hip, caressing as I drove. I usually found their presence soothing. I don’t think anything could have pulled me from my funk tonight.
Some of my tension eased as we drew closer to the turn-off for my home.
That tension skyrocketed again when I saw the car parked at the end of my long drive.
There was only one reason it would be there and not closer to the house.
The warlock standing there, leaning against his vehicle, had intentions that were not benign.
My wards might not work on Hikaru, but they had no trouble keeping out ill-meaning warlocks.
“Who’s that?” Hikaru asked, leaning forward and staring out the window. “Is it someone I can play with?” Just like that, Hikaru sounded like an excited toddler. “Please tell me it’s someone I can play with.”
Despite the situation, my lips twitched. “Let’s see what Alistair Raiden wants first.”
“Oh! That’s one of them then?”
I nodded while placing the idling car into park and turning off the engine. “It is.”
“Goodie. You want me to stay here and surprise the fucker later, or do you want me beside you now? Either way is good, although I like surprising them the most.”
Hikaru’s enthusiasm forced a harsh chuckle from deep within. “Why don’t you stay here. For now.”
“Surprise it is. You’re the best, Niki.”
I somehow doubted that but let it go. Getting out of my vehicle, I strode around the front while keeping a weather eye on Warlock Raiden.
He was older than me by about one hundred and seventy years, give or take a decade or two.
His hair wasn’t completely white, but it was a near thing.
Black covered his fingertips past the second knuckle, headed for his hands, and rings covered every available finger.
Tall and broad, Alistair and I were of similar breadth and height.
When he spoke, Alistair’s voice was just as deep, if not deeper, than mine.
“Holland,” Alistair said by way of brief greeting.
“Raiden,” I followed in kind. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
In answer, Alistair reached over and grabbed an envelope that had been sitting on the hood of his car. “Warlock Danzig asked me to deliver this. Personally.” A cruel smile twisted Alistair’s lips.
I stared at the black paper, embossed, gold swans covering its surface. It was similar to the letter I’d received earlier. The wax seal was overkill.
Rage and anxiety made an unhealthy emotional cocktail. “You dare come to my home?” I glanced up my driveway. I could feel my wards tickling my left shoulder. We were close and yet outside their protective sphere. “Given your current location, this far down the drive, your ill intentions are clear.”
Alistair’s eye twitched. “And if you came to my home, would my wards not do the same?”
“I’m not sure. It depends on how you have them set. I don’t mean you harm but I am furious. Who’s to say what that fury could lead to?”
Alistair’s shoulders tightened. Standing at his full height, he no longer held the look of someone casually leaning against their vehicle while patiently waiting. “You have always been an arrogant fool.”
I shrugged. “I’ll own the arrogant part, but I’ve never been a fool.”
“Your inability to leave your necromancer child is proof of your foolishness.”
Magic danced around my fingertips. Crafting magic from a point of fury was never wise, and yet that was the emotion fueling my actions. Erasmus would always be a trigger point.
“My, my, my, what do we have here?” Hikaru purred. Manifesting behind Alistair, Hikaru’s tails flipped back and forth. They didn’t seek him out as they did me. I’m not sure why, but that made me feel ten feet tall.
Jerking, Alistair nearly fell to the side. His fingers danced through the air, automatically weaving an assault spell.
“Ah, ah, none of that.” Hikaru dissipated before Alistair’s magic could make contact.
The spell sailed through Hikaru’s scattered mist as if he were nothing more than air.
“Goodness. Reactive warlock, isn’t he.” Manifesting beside me, Hikaru’s tails wrapped around my waist, sliding down my leg and hugging me close. “You have the jumpiest friends, Niki.”
Alistair’s large, black eyes narrowed upon realization of what Hikaru was. “Kitsune,” he spat. “Trickster. Menace.”
“Niki’s the only one that gets to call me menace.” I rarely heard Hikaru’s voice so frosty. “That’s an interesting envelope you have in your hand. So ugly and gaudy. No taste whatsoever.”
Alistair sneered. “Not just slumming it with necromancers now, but kitsune as well. You are a disgrace, Holland.”
My previous, out of control rage settled into something more useful and infinitely more dangerous.
Controlled fury was a different beast all together.
“Careful, Alistair. I think Fairy would have a completely different perspective on which of our actions are more disgraceful.” Threatening Fairy intervention wasn’t a tactic I threw around often.
In fact, I could most likely count on one hand the times I’d invoked thoughts of their involvement.
The fear was immediate. No matter how hard Alistair attempted to cover the reaction, it was clear to see. He attempted to hide his fear with bravado. “Fairy would have no interest in warlock matters, especially something as mundane as policing our own.”
“Hmm, perhaps. Perhaps not.” My words were far more benign than the intention behind them.
“I grow tired of this back and forth.” Alistair gave Hikaru another scathing look. “Had I known you were keeping a pet kitsune, I would have told Danzig to deliver the letter himself.”
Alistair’s perception was odd considering Hikaru often referred to me as his.
If anything, I was the pet, not Hikaru. If I’d expected the kitsune to get angry, I’d have been wrong.
As it was, I’d sort of stopped trying to anticipate Hikaru’s reactions as they constantly surprised me. Tonight was no different.
Head thrown back, Hikaru’s laughter lit up the night. “Oh, that’s precious. He’s really not very bright, or creative, is he, Niki?”
My snorted laughter surprised Alistair almost as much as it did me.
“You find this humorous? If you’re found guilty, your powers will be bound. That is no laughing matter, Nikodemus Holland.”
Alistair’s words should have sobered me, instead they only fueled the crazed laughter bubbling within. “Do you know what is truly humorous? The fact you truly believe I would ever willingly allow that.”
“You are bound by warlock law. If the council—”
“The council is a depraved, twisted version of what it once was. The Warlock Council is so corrupt that it regularly breaks its own laws to the point it warrants disbandment.” I hadn’t truly considered the idea until the words slipped through my lips.
“You have the best ideas, Niki,” Hikaru murmured into my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.
“I do, don’t I?” I leaned into Hikaru’s touch.
“Disgusting. You truly have no shame, Holland.” Alistair’s disapproval wasn’t an act. His displeasure dripped through every word and every scathing expression. “Here.” He shoved the envelope in my direction. “I am quite done with this conversation.”
“I’ll take that.” Hikaru snatched the envelope before I could reach for it. Alistair didn’t look happy that Hikaru had grabbed the envelope before me, but beyond a furious glance the kitsune’s direction, he said nothing.
“Good evening, Holland. I will enjoy being present at your sentencing and when Danzig binds your powers.”
Hikaru shifted in front of me, the envelope held loosely between two of his fingers. “And I’ll enjoy the moment Niki strips you of yours. You’ll be so much fun to play with while he’s dismantling the constraints on the magic you’ve forced into subservience.”
I couldn’t have hidden my shock if I’d tried. Eyes wide, I stared at Alistair. What Hikaru said couldn’t be true. It was…such a thing was beyond comprehension. Tampering with another warlock’s charms was bad enough. Constraining magic—forcing it to obey your will…that was beyond unthinkable.
I stood there, waiting for denials that never came. Instead, Alistair’s widened eyes narrowed, and a smug smirk tilted his lips. “That’s an interesting and rather inflammatory accusation, kitsune.”
“That’s the first thing you’ve gotten right tonight,” Hikaru calmly answered. “Interesting how you’re not denying it.” Hikaru’s arms crossed over his chest. Given his position, his tails flicked over my body with obvious agitation.
“Goodnight.” Without another word, Alistair got into his sportscar, revved the engine, and backed out of my drive onto the road.
The rumbling of the car engine faded as I stood there, blankly staring as my brain struggled to contemplate what I’d just heard. “That can’t be true.”
I wasn’t sure I spoke aloud until Hikaru answered, “It’s very true.”
“Dear Gaia, how could he?”
“Not just him, Danzig too.”
The world tilted as my head spun. I reached for the hood of my vehicle, desperate for some stability.
“They wouldn’t. I mean…coming after me is one thing, but to abuse Magic in that way…
no warlock is that corrupt.” Magic was sacred.
Being able to manipulate magic was a Gaia-given blessing to witches and warlocks.
To capture magic and force it to obey our commands…
it was no better than what witches had done when they’d created djinn.
I held my hands out, watching the magic weave and dance through my fingers. Warlocks tweaked magic. We guided and cajoled it; molding it into charms, spells, and potions. We worked with the magic. We did not force its actions.
“Come on, Niki. It’s late.” Hikaru touched my forearm, his fingers gentle but attention-getting.
I stared at the black envelope still clutched between his fingers. “I should open that before we head inside.”
Hikaru swatted my hand away when I reached for the envelope. “No, you shouldn’t.”
I drew back. My immediate reaction was to berate him for keeping it from me, but time with Hikaru had tempered that quick-fire response. There was a reason Hikaru kept it from me. “What is it?” I stared at the envelope, attempting to see beyond its gaudy appearance.
“Let’s just say I doubt Alistair’s as far away as you think he is.” Hikaru’s gold-green eyes focused on the envelope. His eyes dissipated, turning hazy as he concentrated on the black, embossed paper. “Let’s get behind your wards before doing anything further.”
For possibly the first time in my life, I didn’t argue.
Instead, I did as told. Sliding back into my vehicle, I waited for Hikaru to settle into the passenger’s seat before starting the car and driving forward.
My wards passed over us, settling my nerves and easing my soul.
Glancing over at Hikaru, that ease dissipated as he continued staring at the envelope as if it held more than toxic words alone.
Hikaru was doing his best to protect me. The only question was, from what?