Chapter 20 Luciu
My eyes cross, and it feels as if my body is attached to a wire and I’m being pulled through myself. The pain rips through my body, and I barely have the presence of mind to shout, “Stop!”
The car lurches to a stop.
A moment later, the wire goes slack.
I gasp for breath as my head buzzes.
Puck reaches over and touches the side of my head. I’m vaguely aware of his magic working through me. It’s really remarkable. I’m ashamed I ever feared it.
There’s this tingling sensation all through my veins. It’s faint. Almost imperceptible. I suspect most people wouldn’t be aware of it. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten very acquainted with his magic today as we test the magical link between Gracie and me.
I feel terrible. Totally worn out. My muscles are like jelly, and I slump in the passenger seat, sucking down air.
“He doesn’t look too good,” Puck says into the phone.
I shake my head in agreement. I haven’t seen myself, but I can guess.
“So, we know five miles is as far as they can go,” Puck says.
Groaning, I shove my hand back through my hair. I know it’s going to be a poofy, frizzy mess. But that’s a problem for me to deal with later.
It feels like I’ve been strapped to a taffy-pulling machine.
“Yeah, we’re in the hardware store parking lot. I see you.”
A moment later, the passenger side door opens, and soft hands cup my face. I know without opening my eyes it’s Gracie. I smile, and suddenly all of this just seems worth it. She’s worth it.
Suddenly, there are lips pressed to mine. My foot kicks out in surprise, and it takes me half a second to return the kiss. But that’s when it’s over.
Gracie eases back and straightens her hat. “Sorry.”
I grin at her. While I know her kiss didn’t have any magic behind it, I do feel as though I just drank three energy drinks. There’s something about her being near that just makes me happier. And my magic seems to agree.
It could also be that Gracie’s magic has accepted some of the others and has begun to bond with them. Unlike the magic that ties me to her, these bonds are less rigid. More organic.
I’m glad she’s going to have those connections with the others. It’s good for all of us. And it will strengthen her magic.
A bit of me is jealous. I want to be there. But it’s too soon.
I shake my head. “We have to figure out how far apart we can be .”
We started the day by walking in opposite directions, but quickly realized the invisible tether is longer than we expected. That’s when we got behind the wheel to test things out.
A shadow looms over us, and I glance up at Vyslan. I know he’s not dangerous, and his human form isn’t exactly scary, but he still makes my balls want to hide. “How you feeling, mate?”
“Fine,” I croak.
“I think we should give Briella’s theory a crack,” he says.
Fuck. I’m not sure about this.
“I don’t know…” Gracie mutters.
“Gracie, you have to get to the shop. Luc needs to get home and get his stuff. He lives seven miles from the shop. If Briella is correct, the tether between us should allow a bit more slack in Luciu’s bond if I’m with him.”
I really need some clothes. Also, there’s only so much work I can do from my tablet, even with the keyboard attachment.
I need to break down at least one of my computer rigs and some of my workshop stuff if I have any hope or prayer of keeping my business alive.
I’ve got enough money saved to live off for a while, and the only jobs on my radar aren’t time sensitive.
It’s the logistics of my work that are going to pose some serious problems.
“What do you think, Luc? Want to try it?” Gracie asks.
No.
But that’s the coward’s answer.
“Yeah. Sure,” I croak.
She nods and glances at her watch. “Ezra’s opening the shop any minute now. I’ve got to get in there. Let me know if this doesn’t work, okay?”
Puck gets out from behind the wheel. It takes me a moment to gather myself and remember the demon can’t drive.
Ezra and Darius went into the shop earlier while we were running this test. So that leaves Puck with Gracie and me with Vyslan. My work truck has yet to be returned. I’m not worried about that—yet. No human or mundane tool can get into the back, so there’s time to worry about that later.
“This is fun,” Vyslan says as he straps into the front passenger seat.
I glance over at him and swallow. Even with the distinctly human appearance, there’s this vibe to him that screams dangerous on a fundamental level I can’t ignore. Yet I’ve seen Gracie cuddle him like a teddy bear.
He reaches over and smacks my shoulder. “Little bonding time. It’s good, don’t you think?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat and throw the car into drive.
“Sorry, I can’t drive, mate,” he says.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“We’re going to have to do something to make you more comfortable around me. There’s a yummy quality to the scent of your fear that’s giving me a boner.”
“What?” I yelp as we stop at a red light.
Vyslan grins at me. “Careful. You’re going to make it get to more than half-mast.”
I feel the heat rising up my neck, and my ears are practically sizzling. Vyslan, on the other hand, cackles and relaxes back into the seat. He tips his head back and rocks it from side to side with the music.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” I mutter.
“I’m an incubus. Everything leads back to sex.”
“How is Gracie unaware of your aura?”
“You’ve got a bit of non-human in you. That’s why. Gracie’s pure witch.”
“I… I do?”
“Yeah, mate. At least, that’s my theory. You don’t vibe totally human or witch to me. But it’s not enough of a vibe for me to identify it.”
“So… Huh. I… I never thought of it like that…”
“And I imagine your sperm donor situation makes it so you can’t exactly ask what’s in the mix, can you?”
“No…” Though knowing that tidbit does narrow the pool of potential donors down a lot.
“What are you thinking?”
I merge onto the highway and drum my fingers on the steering wheel for a moment.
“The non-magic human that is diluting my mother’s side is minimal at this point.
Her father and her mother’s father were both witches in good standing with the coven.
So it’s never made sense why… Why I wasn’t more powerful… ”
I shift in my seat. Admitting that isn’t easy or comfortable.
Power matters to witches and warlocks. I don’t have a lot of raw potential, so I’ve had to be creative with what I have. I think it’s made me a better practitioner. I can do more with a drop than most witches can with a cup, so to speak. But it’s always rubbed me wrong.
“Wait…” I glance at the demon. “You knew?”
He lifts his shoulders. “Suspected.”
“Fuck…”
“Who do ya think it is?”
“It’s hard to say… Mom might have a better guess, but I don’t think she wants to know.
” We’re quiet for a moment while I gather my thoughts considering this little bombshell.
“Given the timeframe, there have been about a dozen different potential men. Based purely on looks? That eliminates a few of them. I’ve thought it had to be one of five specific men, all in good standing with the coven and supposedly pure-blooded witches. ”
“Someone’s lying?”
I nod slowly. “Three of those men have been involved with… I guess you’d call them scandals.
Witch gifts are documented and monitored.
It’s how the coven decides your worth and what you’ll be doing.
If they don’t see value in your gift, you get relegated to a less desirable position or match.
Those three have displayed abilities outside their documented gifts. ”
“You don’t have to figure out who it is to figure out what you are. If you don’t want to, I mean.”
“I think I’d prefer it that way.”
“I bet Puck could help. He could analyze your blood or some shit like that.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.” Vyslan snorts. “Hell, he’s probably already figured it out but isn’t volunteering the information. I like that about him. He’s thoughtful.”
“You think so?” I mutter. “I mean, the analyzing part.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. Back to this fear problem we have… I can do better masking my presence, but I am shit at it.”
“This is where we’re getting off the highway.”
He sits up a little straighter. “Nice and easy, mate. Nice and easy.”
I practically hold my breath as we roll downside streets toward my apartment.
We’re past the five-mile tether the bond seems to have.
My skin does feel a little tight, but it’s not uncomfortable.
Which means that Gracie has bonded with the demon on a base level.
The essence of her magic that he carries is enough to allow me some flexibility. It’s progress of a sort.
“This is me,” I mutter as I pull into the parking garage under the building.
Vyslan smacks my shoulder. “Fuck yeah, book witch! We’ll have to thank her for this theory. Come on, mate. Put me to work.”
It’s only been a few days since I tore out of my apartment to see the elders, but it feels much longer. I gather the mail and wave at the nice werewolf couple as we pass on the stairs. They give Vyslan an uneasy couple of glances, but his aura is better concealed than before.
“Do you have an office or something somewhere else?” Vyslan asks as I fumble with my keys. My head is still quite muddled from earlier.
“No, I tend to travel to my clients. For what I charge, it’s part of the fee. Come in?” I shoulder-open the door and peer around, but everything seems to be as it was.
Then again, my personal security might even keep Vyslan out. About the only person who could come and go as they pleased besides me is Mom.
Oh, shit.
Mom.
Vyslan smacks my shoulder. “What’s wrong, mate?”
“Uh, well, you see… I just realized I haven’t updated my mom on everything…”
The demon’s eyes go wide. “Shit.”
I groan and rub my face. “One thing at a time…”
“That’s the spirit.”
“She’s going to have all kinds of questions I have no answers for.”
“Did she know you were applying to the coven the way you were?”