Casted (Casted series) (20 page)

“If you hurt her…” I pointed my finger at him in warning.

He threw me a hearty chuckle. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s weird how all of this has happened so fast,” I said.

He chuckled. “Tell me about it. One minute I’m devoted to protecting you and the next minute I’ve got this 5 foot nothing of a girl, sweeping me off my feet.”

“5 feet, six inches…thank you very much,” Jessa said, coming to sit in front of him. She had a smirk on her face as she arched her brow at me. “And that’s what happens when you’re preordained.”

“There’s a lot of spunk in those six inches.” I laughed. “See ya in the morning.”

“Smart ass,” Jessa said, as she cuddled up to Dagger.

Wearily, I made my way up the stairs, grabbed some pajamas and headed for the shower. The air outside had felt wonderful, but it had left a thin layer of salt on my skin.

The hot water had felt good, but the thought of climbing into bed made me hurry for a quick shower. Edge was tossing pillows and blankets on the floor when I came out of the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He quirked his eyebrow in question. “Getting ready for bed?”

“And you’re sleeping on the floor because why?” I asked, grabbing the pillows on the floor and tossing them onto the bed.

Edge stared at me. We’d never gone to bed together. Sure, I’d ended up in his bed after my body had been book-jacked, but this was different. This was my choice. And I chose for him to sleep beside me. I wasn’t looking for anything else right now. Just getting comfortable around him was the first step.

“Are you sure?” he asked, pulling me close.

“Yes, I’m sure, but no funny business,” I warned.

Edge smiled as he pulled me close for a soft kiss.

“No funny business,” he said. “But you better tell that to the book,” he smirked, releasing me.

I slid in between the sheets and rolled over to face him. “I want to learn how to use my magic,” I told him, as he settled in beside me.

He grabbed his pillow and pushed it up under his head. “Right now?”

I rolled my eyes at him as I shoved his arm. “No, but I’d like to try tomorrow.”

Edge reached out and pulled me into his arms, settling my head on his chest.

“I’ll alert the guard then,” he said, squeezing me.

“Ha, you’re real funny,” I said, trying to wiggle away. But Edge held me tighter, foiling my escape.

“Edge?” There was so much I wanted to say but I swallowed the words.

“Yes?”

“Good night, Edge.” I was a total chicken.

“Yes, with you here beside me, it will be,” he said, snuggling further down into the bed. My body relaxed against his and his heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

“What is wrong with me?” I shouted against the wind. We’d been at it for what seemed like hours and the only thing I’d been able to do so far was flip over a small seashell in the sand. The wind was howling furiously as if matching my mood and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the wind and not me that had moved it.

“It takes time,” Edge replied.

I tossed my hands in the air. “Yeah? How much time? This is ridiculous! If I can’t use my magic, how the hell am I supposed to help any of you if we get caught in another attack?”

How could I have used it before, and now when I wanted to, it wouldn’t come to me? Even the book had helped me at one point.

The book!

When it went silent, did it take my magic with it? Could it be that the woman of the book was so hell-bent on me sticking to my promise, that she would take what little defense I had in my poorly-stocked arsenal? The answer to that was probably a big fat yes. Of course, she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

I kicked my toes through the sand. How was I going to explain this to Edge?

“Jade, it’s okay. Not everyone gets it their first time,” Edge coaxed.

“Believe me when I tell you, I wish it were that simple,” I said, wringing my hands. How far would my mind let me go with this?

“What do you mean?”

“It’s the…” my voice strangled off on a sigh and I tried again. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“Yes,”

“Care to explain that better?”

I just stared at him as I tried to make the words move past my thoughts and out of my mouth. They were stuck. I was stuck. I probably looked really weird standing there, with my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Edge brushed his hands along my cheek. “I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.”

I closed my eyes in frustration. “I know,” I whispered.

“So let me help you. Tell me what’s wrong.”

I rubbed my head in frustration. There had to be a way around this.

“Jade?” Edge pulled my chin up forcing me to look at him.

“I’m trying,” I said, biting my lip to keep from freaking out.

“It can’t be that bad. Can it?” he asked.

I huffed. Can’t be that bad? At least he could speak freely. “Trust me, if I could tell you, I would.”

Confusion crossed his face. “I don’t think I understand.”

“I can’t tell you how much I wish you did. It would make this so much easier.”

Edge rubbed his chin in thought as he pierced me with his gaze. “You want to talk about it but can’t. You try to talk and your words stop.” He began pacing.

Yes!
I silently urged him on.

“Are you afraid?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” I replied.

“Nothing like that,” he repeated, “so if you’re not afraid, and you don’t want to talk about it, then where does that leave us?”

“Edge, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. I do…I really do. I just…I just can’t.”

The wind began to pick up again. Angry bursts pushed at us making it almost impossible to stand up straight.

“Come on, lets get back to the house before we’re sandblasted,” Edge said as he put his arm around me, “We’ll figure this out, Jade, I promise.” He squeezed my side and we hurried back to the house.

Jude was waiting for us in the living room. He looked worried. “I, uh, I have to leave for a little bit.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Edge asked.

He swallowed nervously. “I’ve been summoned by the Nomads.”

Edge cursed. “This isn’t good.”

“No, it’s not. But if I don’t show up, it’s treason and I really don’t think it’s a good time to die,” Jude said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Do you think this is about the book?” Edge asked.

“Most likely. They’ve never had any reason to call me in before and now that the book is missing, they’re probably questioning everyone,” Jude replied.

“Be careful,” Edge told him.

Jude nodded. “See you soon, I hope.”

Edge took a step forward as if he wanted to stop Jude from leaving. My heart sank as Jude closed the door that would take him to the Nomads.

“Is he going to be alright, Edge?”

“I don’t know, but if he isn’t, I will stop at nothing until I destroy them,” he growled.

“Why didn’t you keep him from going?”

“If he doesn’t show up, they would kill him the next time they see him.”

“But they could kill him now!”

“With any luck, they’re just going to ask questions. Jude knows how to keep out of trouble. He’s been doing it for a long time now.”

“Do you think this might be about the Triad?” I asked.

“We’ll know soon enough,” he replied.

I busied myself reading my mother's journal until Jude returned. Dagger and Edge were in the office keeping tabs on all the intel coming in and were constantly checking the monitors for activity. Hours later, Jude stumbled back in the door. I jumped up and grabbed him to keep him from falling face-first to the carpet.

“Oh my…EDGE!” I screamed. Pounding feet raced across the floor and then Jude was swept out of my grasp.

Edge put him on the couch in the living room and started barking orders. “Get some ice and some towels,” he shouted at Rainy. She darted out of the room at his request.

Jude pushed Edge’s hands away. “I’ll be fine…it’s just a few bruises and some blood.”

“Have you seen yourself?” Edge barked.

Jude winced. He looked like hell. His face was bruised and bleeding like someone had used his face as a punching bag. Rainy tossed a wet rag to Julie and she began to wipe his face. He kept trying to pull away, but Julie wasn’t having it. “If you don’t sit still, I’m going to black your other eye!” she snapped.

“A man can’t even be broken around here,” he said with a sigh.

“You can be broken all you want. Just sit still!” Julie hissed.

Jude winced but sat still until Julie cleaned the blood from his face. Immediately, livid bruises stood out against his pale skin. I had to hand it to Jude. He’d taken a sound beating and was still holding strong.

“What happened?” Edge said, pulling up a chair to sit closer to Jude.

Jude sucked in a deep breath. “They know I had something to do with the missing spell book.”

“How?” Edge asked.

“My contact inside had to tell them. It didn’t help him in the long run though.” Jude tried to shrug but stopped on a groan.

“What do you mean it didn’t help him?” I asked.

“They’re ah…they’re really angry. When my contact told them about me, they summoned me for questioning,” Jude said, pointing to his face.

“Is your contact okay?” I asked.

“Nope,” Jude said, ending the word with a pop of his lips.

“They killed him?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice.

My legs backed into a chair and I fell into it. Jude’s contact had been murdered. Another person had died because of me.

Julie kept fussing with Jude’s cuts until he swatted her away.

“Stop it, woman!” He tried to sound demanding, but the smirk on his face kept him from looking serious.

“Don’t call me woman. Besides, your cuts are bleeding again,” Julie said, dabbing at the corner of his eye.

“Admit it…you’re worried about me,” Jude said, trying to wink. “Ouch!”

Julie was so tuned in to him that her face mimicked his every wince. She handed him the ice and gestured for him to put it on his swelling eye.

Edge pulled the conversation back to the problem at hand. “What did they say?”

Jude pulled the ice away from his face. “Can we talk privately?”

What! Jude was hiding something he didn’t want us to hear.

“No way. You can’t just rush off with Edge and not tell us what happened,” I sputtered.

“Yes I can…and I will,” he said stubbornly.

“Edge?” I looked at him in question.

“Just…can you guys give us a minute?” he replied.

I couldn’t help but feel hurt that Edge and Jude were picking and choosing what to tell us. Julie squeezed Jude’s hand and got up. She stood in front of me and extended her hand. I wasn’t planning on moving. I crossed my arms and looked away. “I’m not leaving. If this has to do with the book that’s inside of my head, then I have every right to hear what Jude has to say.” I knew I was acting like a child and I didn’t care. They were not going to keep me in the dark. Not about this.

“It’s fine…she can stay,” Jude said.

The room broke into a shouting match. It was clear that everyone didn’t want to be left out.

Jude broke the silence. “SHUT UP!” He wobbled to his feet and would have collapsed on the couch if Julie hadn’t slid her arm around him to keep him upright.

The room silenced as Jude had everyone’s attention.

“If you really want to know, then stay, but stop yelling…my head is killin’ me,” Jude said, gently touching his brow.

Julie helped him settle back into his seat. Everyone kept their mouths shut and waited for Jude to start. It looked like he was struggling with his words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he began to talk.

“I was summoned by the Nomads after they got the information from my contact.” He paused and closed his good eye. “After that, they knew that I’d been asking questions about the book. They’re really angry. They want the book back by tonight or…” Jude stopped speaking. His throat bobbed up and down a few times before he tried again, “I have to go back tonight,” he finished.

“Why? You don’t have the book, so why would you go back there? If they did that to you, just to question you, what will they do if you go back empty handed?” I blurted. There was no way Edge would let him go back.

“It’s not a question of wanting to go, Jade. I
have
to go,” Jude explained.

“You have to go?” Julie sucked in a sharp breath and bolted out of the room.

What was I missing? It wasn’t like the Nomads knew where he was. I mean, I know they summoned him and if he didn’t show, the next time they saw him they would kill him. But he was here and we could protect him if they came. So, why then, would he just go back because they told him he had to?

I was so immersed in my own thoughts it took me a minute to notice Edge was pacing. His hands were braced on the back of his neck.

I stepped in front of Edge to get his attention. “What? What am I missing?” He looked like he was ready to explode. I held his gaze for a brief moment before he grabbed me and held on so tight that it hurt.

Jude cleared his throat, “It’ll be okay. I’ll be fine.” The hope in his voice fell flat.

I pulled away from Edge. “You can’t be serious. You’re not going, Jude.”

He grunted out a laugh filled with anger. “I have no other choice.”

“Yes you do! You stay and we’ll keep you safe,” I told him.

Jude tipped his head back to rest in on the back of the couch. “Jade, believe me, if there was a way out of this, I’d take it.”

I screwed my face up in confusion.

“They placed a return spell on me. Come nightfall, if I don’t show up on my own, it will bring me to them anyway.”

That stopped me short. How could he go back without the book, if the book was inside of me? They would kill him because of me. My hands started to shake. My body followed suit. “I’ll go with you.”

“No! You will not!” Edge bellowed, slamming his hand against the wall for emphasis.

“You can’t let him go alone! I have the book. It’s me they want,” I shouted back.

“Jade, you can’t go. Whatever reason, the book chose you, and it means more than me giving myself over to them,” Jude said, trying to diffuse the situation.