Magestorm: The Awakening (19 page)

44

Should he hang out in the hall, just in case?  Figuring that would be weird, especially if any noises
starting coming from inside,
Dhane
headed back down the elevator.  When he reached the main floor, he stepped off and returned to the party.

After
several more rum and cokes, someone had worked their way nearby.  He didn’t really notice.  Getting plastered was his intention, and he was well on his way.  The figure loomed behind his chair.  After going unnoticed, a tongue to
Dhane’s
ear nearly made him leap up from the chair.

“What the fuck?”

“
You always have such a way of greeting a girl.”

Heather. 
Fucking great.

“What are you doing here?  I didn’t know vampires were invited.”

“Yes well, I
w
as
n’t
not
invited, either.
  I believe I’m the only
vampire
in attendance, however.  So, when were you going to tell me you were moving here?”

Dhane
stared at his glass.  He was planning to use the moving as a perfect time to make a clean break with Heather.  She had stalker written all over her.

“Listen, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.  In fact, I’m not so sure you should be hanging around at all.  Things with you have been…nice, but I need to concentrate on other things, like…”

“Like fucking the werewolf?”

Funny, it didn’t come out in an angry voice from her.  She seemed amused, actually.  Sleeping with a mage, who was also sleeping with a werewolf, was that exciting to her?

“I was going to say that I need to concentrate on my studies in magic.”

“That is exactly why I came back, and why I’ve stayed.  You’re finally starting to show the promise, show what you have inside.  You are the son of Algernon, the great wizard, and as his heir, you will take the throne.  I’m here to help you with that.  Those spell pages, you couldn’t even figure out what they did without me.  I helped you learn, and I help you practice.  Well, most of them anyway.  What’s wrong with the animate spell?  Are you only using it on the dog these days?  It’s fine if you save it for her, I just want to make sure you’re staying on it.”

“I don’t use that spell anymore.  Something happened that day.  It’s like it tried to do something to me.  I can’t use it again.”

Heather ran a tongue up his neck and wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his chest with her hands.

“Oh, you can, and you will, I promise you that.  The spell didn’t do anything to you.  In the heat of the moment, you wanted to have sex.  After I pushed you away, the spell helped you get what you want.  You controlled it, not the other way around, my dear.  It’s all you.”

Dhane
stood up and shook his head. 
The alcohol was kicking in good, and he couldn’t think too clearly of what to say.  He just wanted to get away from her right now.  She wasn’t having it, though, pulling him against her as she continued.

“Listen, I’m not going anywhere.  You know what kind of trouble I could stir up, don’t you?  And not just for you, for sev
eral of your friends
as well.  Bottom line is, I’m here to help you, and I’m going to continue to do that by any means necessary.  I suggest you get used to it.”

Heather kissed him and then strolled off, disappearing among the other guests, whose numbers seemed to have multiplied while he wasn’t paying attention.  He needed some fresh air to clear his mind.

Working his way through the crow
d
, he reached the other side and opened the door.  Before
him
was a stunning Asian woman with
bodacious curves that would stop a man in his tracks
.  He froze and couldn’t speak.

“Greetings,
Dhane
.  I hope you weren’t leaving.”

“No, I wasn’t. 
Not now, at least.”

He held the door for her and she entered the room.  A live band had set up and replaced the artificial music that had previously filled the air.  As people danced, it was hard for the couple to work their way through the crowd.

“We should not fight the rhythm, but instead join it,” she suggested.

Unsure if he would be able to dance without killing her feet, he reluctantly agreed and gave it a shot.  Her elegance countered any clumsiness on his part, and soon they were holding each other and dancing in sync. 

For the next hour they danced off and on, mostly on, until at
last
he couldn’t go any more.  She wasn’t winded or anything.  Even wearing the high heels didn’t bother her in the least. 
Dhane
was clearly in over his head with this whole dancing thing.

“I need a break.”

“Of course.
  I forget we are different.  Shall we go for a walk?”

“Sure.  I can show you the room I’ll be staying in upstairs.”

They exited the event room arm in arm and took the slow walk up the stairs instead of the elevator.  On the third floor he unlocked a door with his magic.  He would like to say he was just doing what he always did, but there was a little bit of showing off involved.

“This is it, my humble abode.”

Amelia walked into the room and looked around.  It was much bigger and nicer than where he s
tayed at now.  It wasn’t as elegant
as where she stayed, but it was definitely bigger.

“This is much better for you,
Dhane
.  It’s
more suited
for a man of your stature.”

“I’m just an average guy who does a little magic, that’s all.”

“No, you are much more.  Ever since we joined together, after you rescued me, I can feel the power within you, always calling to me.  I can sense you thinking about me, wanting to touch me, wanting to tie me down and have your way with me.”

Holy shit!  Can she sense when I’ve had sex with Heather?

“
I
..uh
…
don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say
anything,
just know that you belong in a nice place like this.  You should be
…
”

She stopped and turned her head suddenly.  Sniffing the air, it was clear she had caught wind of something.

“What is it?”

“I smell something. 
Vampire.”

Oh fuck me.  Was Heather here?

Dhane
stepped up next to Amelia, planning to protect her, just in case Heather had any ideas.  He raised his hands and sent light throughout the room.  Two male vampires emerged from what had been a dark corner.  Teeth bared, they looked to be in for a fight.

Out of the corner of his eye,
he saw Amelia start
to drop.  Fearing that she was fainting, he reached out of her, but she didn’t need help.  She was changing to werewolf form and he swallowed hard.
  This was going to get bloody.

4
5

The dress was shredded as Amelia erupted in
to
werewolf form. 
Dhane
knew this was exactly the situation he had been training for.  Only, he wasn’t
used to
training drunk.  The only spell that came to mind was the animate spell.

The vampires had separated and Amelia was charging one of them.  The other was moving in on
him and the words just escaped his lips.  Cords from the curtain reached out and grabbed the vampire by the arms and yanked him through the window.

Dhane
was stunned by how quickly it happened.  He looked over to the other vampire,
who
was fleeing for his life from Amelia. 
He jumped through the now broken window. 
Dhane
walked over and watched the two flee down the street.

He turned around and Amelia was standing before him, back in human form, naked and beautiful.  A small bit of blood was on her mouth and had dripped own to her right breast.  She was deadly
.

“You have a little something…”

With a wet towel from the bathroom
he wiped her face, then her breast.  She took the towel from him and threw it onto the floor.  They embraced and locked lips
.  Their hearts were beating quickly as he picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Amelia tore off his clothes and pulled him onto her. 
Their eyes met as he entered her and slowly moved his hips.  They kissed as she wrapped her legs around him and gripped him tightly.  He clutched her breasts as he drove into
her
as deep as he could.

“Don’t ever stop,” she whispered.

He
leaned back and reached for the headboard for leverage.  Soon she was crying out in pleasure, and
he
was trying to hold him
self until she was ready.  At last she finished and he let go.

Exhausted,
Dhane
laid down on the bed next to her she put her head and hand on his chest as he pulled her close.  She leaned up and kissed him and
laid
back down.

“That was wonderful, as always.”

“You’re not lying.”

A kiss to the top of her head was meant to be his last action before going to sleep, but he caught something moving out of the corner of his eye.  At first he thought the vampires may have returned.  It was a vampire, but not them.

Fuck.

Heather smiled and gave him a soft golf clap, quiet enough to not be heard.  With a wink she
slipped out of the room.  Had she watched the whole thing?  Of course she had.  Why w
ouldn’t the
crazy bitch do something like
that
?  Now he’d be checking over his shoulder any time he was with Amelia.

That was surely just what she wanted.  She would be on his mind when he wasn’t with her.  He had to find a way to end things with her.  Or else, he would need to end things with Amelia, for her own protection.

Dhane
took a deep breath and tried to doze off, but couldn’t.
  Every creak of a floorboard
or passing car had him checking again that they were alone.  Instead of sleep, he made a to-do list in his head.

1.
       
Tell Cassandra about the spell pages

2.
      
Move into the Grand, if still allowed after 1

3.
      
Break up with Heather or Amelia, or both

That should all be simple enough.

Fuck me.

4
6

The
banging on his door startled him awake.  Amelia was gone and his head was killing him without the extra noise.  He got up and threw on his pants and walked over to the door.

“Lila?  What’s going on?”

“
Dhane
, it’s terrible.  Someone has cast a spell on the hotel.  We had the spell to keep us protected within, but now nobody can get out.”

Was it the damn spell page?  If so, he was screwed royally.  However, if that was the case, he should be able to work magic against it.

He ran over to the window
and could see nothing but darkness.  This didn’t happen when he used the spell.  Reaching out to touch it, severe cold ran through his hand and made him pull back.

“
Dhane
, what are we going to do?  Nobody can find Cassandra, either.  It has to be Rachel, but why?”

“The spell book.”

Lila turned pale.  The book in the wrong hands would mean certain doom for
the entire council, and possibly
the world.  Lila wasn’t sure what else to say. 
Dhane’s
hangover disappeared and his thoughts became clear.

“
Gather the witches
and concentrate their magic on the front door.  The spell’s power will
be strongest
there, especially if someone is watching.  If it’s weak enough, maybe I can force my way out the back and try to break this spell.  Give me ten minutes,
then
have them all attack.”

She nodded and he waited
until she was out of sight. 
Dhane
hurried up the stairs to the master suite.  He beat on the door, but nobody answered.  He forced his way in and found the suite a mess.  Nothing
was really
broken, but chairs were overturned, the bed was a mess, and the sink was running.

Did something happen to Cassandra?

He didn’t have time to find out.  He raced back downstairs to the main floor, to the kitchen’s back door, and counted down the minutes.  At the ten minute mark, he tried several spells, but none got through.
  The risk of the spell book being captured was too
great,
it was time to take a leap of faith.

Dhane
backed up until he had room for a running start.
  A sprint towards the darkness, and a leap sent him into…nothing.

The alley was clear and he apparently made it right through.
 
Weakening the spell must have worked, and he sprinted down the alley towards their complex.  If this was Rachel’s work, she knew right where the book was.  It was just a matter of getting through the vault and then through the spells attached to the book.

From outside, the complex was quiet
, which was to be expected in the early hours of the morning
. 
Dhane
took a moment to catch his breath and
make sure his mind was clear.  If this was going to be a battle of magic, he had to be ready.

With a deep breath, he stepped out from the alley towards the front door.  Suddenly he reali
z
ed he wasn’t alone.

“Been waiting for you, boy.”

The werewolf was massive.  He was sure it was Sebastian.  Several spells sprang to mind, but maybe it would be better to go with him.  After all, if they wanted him there, presumably so he could remove his own spell from the book, he would be taken straight to it.

“Well
,
now I’m here, so what’s up?  Think you can take me on?”

“Don’t get smart
,
boy!  I don’t care who your daddy was, you clearly
ain’t
him.  Do as I say and I won’t tear you to pieces.”

A clawed hand went to the back of
Dhane’s
neck and he was shoved forward, towards the
witch facility.  Straight to the war room they went, and inside two more werewolves and four vampires were waiting.  Apparently the escape wasn’t the extent of their working together. 
The vamps snarled at him when he entered the room. 
Sebastian forced him into a chair with straps and tied him in.

“You know what we want.  Remove your spell from the book.”

“You do realize that it’s not just my spell on the book right?  Removing mine won’t get you in.”

“Of course, but removing each, one by one, will work.  Do you think you escaped the hotel by accident?  Once you remove the spell, you’ll be taken elsewhere and another will be allowed to escape.  Each can either remove their spell or be killed.
  Once enough of them have removed their spell
s
, we should be able to break through the remaining.”

“Nice plan, but it only works if enough believe you.”

Sebastian got right in
Dhane’s
face and grinned.

“Do you think killing every member of the witch council would be a failure?”

Dhane’s
defiance left him for a moment.  The thought of the entire council being killed angered him, and he knew Sebastian wasn’t bluffing.
  He thought about trying to stall until sunlight, but undoubtedly they would simply hold him here.  There were no windows, so they could wait him out.

“Fine, but I’m not doing it in front of those blood sucking scumbags.”

Enraged, the vampires tried to charge, but the werewolves held them back.  Sebastian laughed and signaled for the vampires to leave the room.  Reluctantly
,
they did.  So much for turning the once fe
u
ding sides against each other again.

“That’s strike one.  Remove your spell or perish. 
Now!”

There wasn’t much else he could do right now.  He
spoke words only he understood while the werewolves stood by.  Once he finished, they looked at each other and wondered if it was really done.

“Is that it?”

“Don’t you have a way of finding out?”

Sebastian gave a glare that told
Dhane
not to be a smart-ass.  Not that
Dhane
cared.  He wiggled his wrists and confirmed the spell had worked.  The animate spell released his straps, now he just needed to figure out what to do next.

Meanwhile, the head werewolf had removed an object from his pocket and placed it over the book.  After a couple of moments, he stood up and turned to
Dhane
.
  He knew the spell wasn’t removed, somehow.  Back into human form, he leaned down to
Dhane
, a hand on each arm of the chair.

“Guess you just blew your chance, kiddo. 
Time to die.”

The straps unclasped
from
Dhane
’s
wrists
and
they
grabbed Sebastian’s wrists instead, digging into them tightly. 
Dhane
ducked under his arms and sprinted to the table to grab the
book.  The other two had both rushed to their leader’s aid, so the book was quickly in hand and
Dhane
ran out the door.

The vampires weren’t paying much attention as
Dhane
sprinted through the room and out the main entrance.  He reached the street and just started running, not thinking about where he might be going.  The hotel wasn’t safe, and he didn’t know where Cassandra was.

He was vaguely aware of the footsteps behind him.  It was surely the vampires.  Werewolves would’ve caught him already.  The vamps were s
lower, but they never got tired. 
Dhane
didn’t have long to figure something out.

A split second decision as he reached a corner determined his path.  The only place he had a chance was with the werewolves.
  He just had to last long enough to reach it.
  Lungs gasping for breath, heart ready to explode, and the werewolf territory came into view.  He was almost there when three men rounded a corner, blocking the way.

“Nice try.  Now I’ll be prying that book from your dead hands.”

Sebastian’s wrists were bleeding and raw.
  The enchanted straps had tried to separate his hands from his forearms. 
Dhane
really had to stop using the spell.  Two of the men changed to werewolves, and moved towards him.  A glance over his shoulder told him the vampires were still approaching as well.
  He was out of options.

“Come and get it then, you piece of shit.”

Dhane
tried not to tremble as the killers approached from all sides.
  As they closed in, he didn’t notice the figures in the distance, coming towards them.  He began to get dizzy and dropped to one knee.  Sebastian was amused.

“Don’t pass out now, boy.  This is about to get good.”

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, or at least your own
species?
”

Xander
approached with three of his men.  Close behind,
Nicole
lips were moving as she cast a spell of healing on the
friendly
werewolves for the impending battle.

“Stay out of this,
Xander
,” Sebastian snarled as he changed to wolf form.  “You don’t want an enemy in me.”

“That’s funny, Sebastian.  You already have an enemy in me.”

One of the
Xander’s
men got between
Dhane
and the vampires, just trying to stall while the others fought. 
Dhane
clutched the book close, but his head was beginning to spin.
  He lost consciousness to the sounds of wolves fighting.