Magicorum Box Set (Books 1-5)

4. Chapter Four

4

Chapter Four

Knox

I can only stare at the closed office door. My chest feels so tight, I can hardly breathe. Bryar Rose just walked away. Her silky voice still wraps around my thoughts.

“Don’t order me around.”

Damn. I want to do more than order her around. I want to build my life around this girl. Know her thoughts. Touch her skin. Bring her into my world and never let go.

How can one woman upend your entire existence so quickly?

I scrub my hands over my face. There’s no way Bryar Rose should be able to get under my skin. I’m a werewolf. She’s human. Which means she’s just sexy and tempting, that’s all. And I haven’t hooked up with anyone in too long. Too much of my time is spent hunting Denarii on the sly.

“An internship.” Alec leans back on his desk. “Tell me that wasn’t brilliant.”

“You cannot hire her.”

“Why not? I like her. And if she can get something new of out those papyri, we need to try.”

“We’ll figure it out on our own.” Inside my soul, my inner wolf is pacing with frustration. The moment he scented Bryar Rose, he wanted me to shift into wolf form so she could pet him. Talk about crazy.

Alec folds his arms over his chest. “If there’s some secret in there to taking the Denarii down, our people haven’t found it in the last—what is it again?—oh yeah, that’s right. Two thousand years. I don’t see the harm in giving Bryar Rose a chance. Besides, she’ll just keep trying to copy them illegally otherwise.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You heard me.”

“Then what about our little issue?”

There’s no question what “issue” Alec is talking about here—he and I are both wardens of magic. At any point in time, there can only be three wardens in total, one for each category of Magicorum. Alec is the warden for witches and wizards. I’m the warden for shifters. We have no idea who’s the fairy warden, but we’re not too broken up about that fact. The fae are crazy. Our jobs are to police and protect our people, which is why we’re super-powerful for our kind. That’s the nice side of this gig. The awful part is that we’re supposed to guard the fountain of all magic. The trouble is, no one knows where the damned fountain is hidden. So until that thing is found, our powers prevent us from getting married or having a family. Consider it extra motivation to get our asses in gear.

Not that it’s worked, though. No one’s found the damned fountain for the last two thousand years.

“I mean it,” says Alec. “We can’t get married or have a family until we find the fountain. That’s an issue for me.”

I shoot him a sly look. “Don’t pretend you want a wife. You’re seventeen and like sleeping around.”

“That is not true for either of us, and you know it.”

I grit my teeth. Alec’s right. We’ve known each other since we were kids, and yeah, we both want families. Maybe it’s because everyone always told us it was impossible because of the warden thing. But for whatever reason, having a wife and kids is important to us both. Still, I see right through Alec’s plans here. He just wants to pull Bryar Rose deeper into our crazy world, and I won’t let that happen.

When I speak again, I let a little growl into my voice. “Leave Bryar Rose alone.”

“What is it with you and this girl?” I don’t like the over-curious look on Alec’s face. “Is it because she’s so different from your regular werewolf ladies?” Alec isn’t a werewolf, but he tilts his head to bare his neck, which is the shifter sign of submission. After that, he lets out a high-pitched whine. “Bite me, big boy.”

“Shut it.”

“You’re a warden, and that means your wolf is a megabeast. Everyone rolls over and submits to your awesomeness.”

“Really? You don’t.”

“I’m a wizard. We don’t let the furry little creatures get to us.” As a point of fact, Alec is a senior wizard. Usually, wizards and werewolves can’t stand each other. But since we make up two out of the three wardens, we’ve been friends for ages. Long story.

Alec bobs on the balls of his feet. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve never had to hustle for a girl before, have you?”

“Screw you.”

“Hey, I’m not that kind of dude.”

“I mean this. The internship is a crap idea. Let Bryar Rose go.”

Not that I can. My inner wolf is aching to break free and track her.

“We’ll drop the subject…for now.”

I grunt. Dropping the subject isn’t agreeing to back off Bryar Rose, but it’s the best I’ll get out of Alec at this point. I’ve been friends with the guy since we were kids. I know how to get what I want out of him. Eventually.

“In the meantime,” says Alec. “I’ve another area of interest.” He rocks on his heels, a smug grin still stuck on his stupid face. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a handful of rubies, and stares at the gems on his palm. “Cinderella, Cinderella.”

“You gonna cast a spell on her?”

“I was toying with the idea.”

“Toying? Those gemstones contain more magic than I’ve seen you handle in months. Why are you pulling out the big guns?”

Alec eyes the gems. “Guns?”

“You know what I mean. Have you been trying to cast spells on her before?”

“If I had, it’s none of your business.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Alec.”

“Fine. I’ve been casting spells on her. None of them have worked. This girl has a null zone around her when it comes to magic.”

“Is she a witch?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Fae?”

“Maybe. She said she has a fairy godmother.”

“That’s bad news, Alec. Fairies are crazy.”

“I’m a tough wizard. I can handle crazy. But if I want to find out more about her, it means I have to call in extra power.” He raises his fist high. The gemstones gleam until red light shines from between his fingertips. The temperature dips a few degrees, too. That means Alec’s starting to cast a spell. No way.

A protective instinct stiffens my spine. “Stop it right now. Elle is Bryar Rose’s friend.”

“So? I’m not going to lure her here to have my wicked ways with her. I just want to talk to her soul without her knowing anything about it.”

“Liar. You’ve nailed every Cinderella template girl in the state. You’re all about wickedness when it comes to any girl like her. Leave Elle and Bryar Rose alone.”

Alec taps his cheek. “Now, you have me curious.” The red light inside his closed palm grows brighter. The room gets downright chilly.

My hands ball into fists. “You have some serious listening issues, you know that?”

“What?”

“You’re casting a spell on Elle.”

“False.”

I know how Alec thinks. If he’s not casting on Elle, that only leaves one option. “Don’t you dare cast a spell on Bryar Rose.”

“It’s only a soul speak.” That spell pulls out part of someone’s soul so you can talk to them while their body stays somewhere else. It requires tons of power to pull off.

“Stop it. You’ll hurt her.”

“False again.”

“Hey, I haven’t forgotten the frog incident from third grade.” After school one time, I dared Alec to pull the soul out of a frog. The thing exploded all over the driveway.

“That only happened because I pulled out the soul from the frog while it was right in front of me. If I’d picked one farther away, it would have been fine.” He bobs his eyebrows playfully. I want to tear them both off his head. “Bryar Rose is far enough away, dummy. From a distance, she’s in no danger. I’m not a murderer.”

“Find some other way to get your answers.”

“I’m merely curious. Besides, you won’t let me find out more about Elle. This is the next best thing.”

“Damn you, Alec.”

“Too late, my fellow warden.” The light glows brighter inside his palm. This is a rare sight. Alec keeps his magic on the down-low, as a rule. Neither of us advertises that we’re part of the Magicorum. There’s no point in attracting attention—you just end up another casualty to the Denarii.

Alec opens his hand, and his spell takes shape. The glowing red gems fall to the floor, where they multiply until they look somewhat human. Within a few seconds, the glittering form settles into the shape of Bryar Rose. The sight makes my chest ache.

When Alec speaks again, his voice resonates with magic. “Bryar Rose.”

The gemstone version of Bryar Rose turns to Alec. “Yes?” The way this spell works, the real Bryar Rose has no idea what we’re doing. Alec has summoned an echo of her soul to get some answers. I’d complain, but it won’t hurt her. Besides, I’d like a few answers myself. My wolf is still going nutso inside me. I’ve never seen him this bad, but I’ve witnessed this kind of thing in other weres. You don’t grow up in a pack and not know the signs of a werewolf finding his mate. The thing is, your inner animal doesn’t care how old you are or what else is happening in your life. When it wants a mate and cubs, that’s it.

Me. Having a mate. How could that work?

Werewolves only mate with their own kind. And the werewolf warden, like me? I don’t mate with anyone. Sure, I can sleep around. But this bone-crushing desire to center my life on one person? It’s just not right.

“What template are you?” asks Alec.

“Sleeping Beauty.”

“You don’t have any werewolf blood in your family?” I ask.

“I wouldn’t know. My aunties adopted me when I was a baby. But they’ve tested me a million times. I always come back human.”

“Do you have any magic?” Alec asks this one, which makes sense. The occasional human can gather magic into them. It’s rare, but it happens.

Her glowing face turns to me. She’s so beautiful it knocks the breath from my lungs. “No, no magic at all.”

I step closer. This girl. “That’s good. The Denarii won’t want anything to do with you.”

She frowns. “What do you mean? The Denarii League is one of the only places that actually tries to help me.”

“What do they do for you, exactly?” My claws come out on instinct and press into my palms. The Denarii are sneaky as hell. They run all sorts of pretend charities that really screen for members of the Magicorum. If they think you have real power, then you wind up missing or dead. I shake my head. Humans wonder why magic is missing from the world. The Denarii are the reason why, only they’re too good at hiding their tracks.

“They run my Magicorum Teen Therapy Group,” says Bryar Rose. “If I ever want to attend a real high school, then I need to deal with them.”

“Wait a second.” I ball my hands tighter until my claws break through my skin. The coppery tang of blood fills the air. “That brochure you had. Who gave it to you?”

“Madame Grimoire. She leads my Magicorum Teen Therapy Group. We always meet at the Midtown Denarii League.”

“You get near the Denarii?” I absently rub the scar along my jawline. I got this fighting a Denarii in Brooklyn. They may be able to hide their true nature from the world, but I hunt them down all the time. Except for their leader, Jules. That guy has been hard to track. “Promise me something.”

“What?” she asks.

“You’ll never go near them again.”

“Trust me, none of us want to be in that group.”

Alec actually stops smiling for once. “You said ‘us.’ Is your friend in that group, too?”

“Elle? Sure.”

My eyes widen. “That brochure talked about Magicorum teens going missing.”

“Yes.” Bryar Rose nods. “It’s very strange. Madame gave out that brochure once before. Afterwards, one of the girls in our group went missing.”

“Blanche.” I’d heard about that.

“Yes. She’s the one.”

“Does Elle have any magic?” asks Alec.

“I’m almost certain of it. The way she cons people?” Bryar Rose sighs. “It’s not of this world.”

Alec races closer to Bryar Rose. He reaches out to grasp her shoulders, but his hands slide through her gemstone body.

“Watch out,” I warn. “You’ll break the spell early.” Alec is a high-level wizard. He should know better. But when it comes to Elle, it seems like the guy is a little off his game.

Glad to know I’m not the only one. My inner wolf is howling up a storm. He never wanted to let Bryar Rose out of our sight.

Alec heaves in rough breaths. “Where’s Elle right now?”

Bryar Rose’s gemstone eyes flare brighter. “I’m not telling you that.”

“If she has magic, then she might be in danger.” Alec rummages in his pocket for more gemstones, ignites them, and then pours more stone power into the spell. Deep circles of fatigue appear under his eyes. All this casting is pulling on his life force. “Where is she? Where is Elle?”

A dreamy look takes over the magical version of Bryar Rose’s face. “Elle has a place in the Village. That’s all I’ll say.”

“Please,” begs Alec. “I won’t hurt her.” I’ve never seen my friend so worried. But if Elle has magic, he’s got reason to be out of his mind. We’ve known for years what the Denarii really are: a bunch of extremists out to destroy magic.

The gemstone version of Bryar Rose shakes her head. “Fine. She lives on Seventh Avenue between Perry and Charles. It’s a brownstone called the Barrow Arms. You can’t miss it. Apartment 6D.”

Alec turns toward the door. “I’m out of here.”

“Wait, Alec. Bryar Rose could be in danger, too.”

“You know the drill,” says Alec. “The Denarii only set up stuff like that therapy group so they can screen potential Magicorum for power. If anyone proves to have magic, then they kill them. Bryar Rose has no magic. No one is after her. It’s Elle that they want.”

My voice lowers to a growl. “Call it a protective instinct. You’re not going anywhere until I find out where Bryar Rose is.”

Alec rakes his hand through his hair. “Fine.” He glares at the gemstone version of Bryar Rose. “Where are you?”

“I’m heading to Elle’s cabin in the Adirondacks. It’s at Six Old South Road, right at the foot of Mount Marcy.”

“Got what you need now?” asks Alec.

“Yup. And you’re loaning me your Mustang.”

“Take whatever car you want from the garage. I’m getting a driver to the Village anyway.” He pauses. “You sure you can find her?”

“I’m a werewolf, and she’s heading to the mountains. Once I get out of the city, she’s all mine.” And the way my wolf is howling inside me, I mean that in more ways than one.