Magic Resistant (23 page)

Before her worry consumed her, Dawn hauled
her along to another piece of artwork, having bounced back to her
normal, devilish self. They spent time, tongue in cheek, analyzing
some of the sculptures (the dog created from broken toys spoke of
the artist desire for childhood again), a few of the paintings (a
large seascape teeming with fish made them giggle as it was the
ultimate “fish that got away” tale) and a stunning mosaic of
stained glass (this artist wished to live in Italy or perhaps Fay
if he had a death wish).

Julia had a hard time catching her breath,
both from uncontrollable giggles and the speed at which they
wandered through the gallery. Sometimes, Dawn forgot Julia had
human limitations and tried to move at a faster vampire pace. She
tugged on Dawn’s arm, needing a few moments to compose herself, to
don the mask of stoic bodyguard again. A few curious peeks tossed
their way reminded her she didn’t want to draw too much attention.
Granted, Dawn would always draw attention no matter where she
went.

A tiny, regal queen caught the eye with ease,
especially when she tossed her head back to give a full-throated
laugh like she did now.

“Oh darling, that was so much fun. I’m glad
you’re here with me to take my mind off certain sounds and scents.
I’m less hungry when you’re around.” Dawn hugged her, squeezing
tight, though not tight enough to cause discomfort. At least she
didn’t forget her vampire strength. She might be tiny, but had
enough strength to bench press a car. Blew her mind when it
happened. While it’d been a small Volkswagen Bug, it was still a
car.

“Any time.” Julia tossed her a small grin
before smothering it as the art director joined them. Tall and lean
with thinning grey hair, the epitome of breeding. His smile was a
shade on the side of phony, obviously used to smiling even when he
didn’t feel like it.

“Dawn, darling, I have someone you must meet.
They’re interested in several of your paintings but want to speak
to you first. They said they wanted to know your inspiration.” His
tone gave nothing away, a smooth evenness with no personality
anymore.

Julia wondered how many years and difficult
customers it took to create such a bland persona. Then realized how
hypocritical that thought was. The Enforcers had their emotions
trained out of them as well.

They were to present a stoic front at all
times in public no matter the occasion, although in the past little
while her training had slipped numerous times. Good thing her
superiors had no way of finding out. She didn’t want them having
any reason to study her.

Once again, Julia found herself alone in the
crowd and she furtively glanced around, not wanting a repeat of the
earlier odd conversation starter. No one paid her any attention and
she let out a mental sigh of relief. She needed some time to
recover from Dawn’s tour of the gallery and didn’t feel up to
making small talk. Wondering if there was a place to hide, at least
for a few minutes, she made her way to the nearest staircase.

Surely there was an office or bathroom
upstairs. She needed to spend a few minutes gathering her
composure. If her superiors scrutinized her too closely, one of
them might realize the truth of her nature. She’d been lucky all
these years, slipping through the cracks, hiding in plain sight.
Just one person noticing though and there goes her head.

With that cheerful thought in mind, she
swiftly went up the stairs.

Chapter
Nineteen

JULIA SLIPPED INTO
an empty office, glad to have a few moments to herself. She glanced
around, taking in the heavily masculine decor. A large wooden desk
took up a portion of the room with a brown leather couch dominating
the left side. Abstract paintings covered the walls, their colours
clashing with each other. Her eyes crossed as she tried to figure
out what they represented. She gave up looking at them and was
about to move closer to the desk, to take a seat in the overstuffed
chair next to it, when a voice behind her said, “What are you doing
in here? This room is off limits.”

She whirled around, surprised at being snuck
up on, and by a human, no less. Twice in one day now. What in the
nine hells was going on? At least this one had the faint threads of
magic shimmering on and around him.

He was attractive in a clean-cut, urban kind
of way. Hair neatly styled and cut short. Pale blue eyes framed by
rimless glasses. His smile, though, was a curling of the lips, not
making it to his eyes. A sense of familiarity nagged her but she
couldn’t place him. Perhaps a part of the crowd downstairs? Her
subconscious was riddled with half-remembered faces thanks to her
job.

“Oh, you startled me.” She gave him her best
innocent, I’m-a-helpless-woman expression and a simpering smile. “I
shouldn’t be in here, but I just had to have a quick peek once I
saw the furniture. It’s simply gorgeous and would look wonderful in
my cottage.”

“Cut the act. I know who you are, Julia. They
told us to keep an eye out for you; that you’d be here.” The man
stepped closer to her, crowding her near the desk and
snickered.

“Did you really think your disguise would
work? I have mages working for me, powerful mages and they made
sure to protect me. No poisoning, a shielding and the ability to
see past glamours. You’ll be a
very
nice prize, a great
bargaining chip to trap Jackson. Little meddling bastard.” He
sneered at the mention of Jackson, his handsome face turned
ugly.

How had the mages kept from laughing at this
man? The spells they casted on him were pitiful and weak. She could
barely get a read on them. Never mind the fact she had no magical
disguise. Magic resistance made it useless and unreliable. Instead,
she became unnoticeable by blending in with the beautiful and
glamorous, a complete opposite to her usual cuteness. Would’ve
worked too if someone hadn’t alerted this guy to her presence, if
he hadn’t been specifically looking for her.

How did he know she’d be here?

“They didn’t tell me what a hot piece of ass
you are. Look for a plain-jane with brown hair, brown eyes, they
said. Doesn’t begin to do you justice. I’ve been watching you and
you have the sexiest little wiggle in your walk. I’ll enjoy seeing
you on your hands and knees.”

That’s why he seemed familiar. He’d been in
her peripheral all night, following her.

A nasty gleam lit up his eyes; lust and
perverted desire rolled off him, brushing against her, repulsing
her. He casually ran a hand along the front of his pants and the
movement caught her eye. Looking down, the bulge told her the state
of his arousal.

She curled her lip in disgust and took a step
back. He followed as she bumped against the desk. Straightening her
back, she drew herself up to her full height and then wished she
hadn’t. His eyes dropped to her breasts, fondling them, stripping
her naked with his gaze.

Now regretting the plunging V neckline, the
urge to wrap herself up in a thick blanket and barbed wire took
hold. His breathing grew ragged and the moist air blew across her
face. Her stomach churned in anger. How dare he?

Fingers clenched, she resisted the
overwhelming desire to deck him as he crowded her, almost made
contact with his body.

“You can’t touch me. I’m protected by
Revenant.” Julia hated using his name as a talisman, but couldn’t
risk alerting the others of her presence by casting offensive
spells, no matter how strongly she wanted to set his hair on
fire.

She’d detected several wards running to warn
security if a spell battle began. Way too many mages were here and
she didn’t know how they’d react to her presence. Would they be
happy they “found” her or consider her a threat after she attacked
this arrogant, distasteful man.

Plus, the day she couldn’t handle one upstart
human was the day she’d quit from the Enforcers.

“Revenant? Like I’m afraid of him. He’s not
real. And even if he was, he can’t hurt me. I’m untouchable. I can
do whatever I like, to whomever I like.” He reached out and trailed
a finger along her cheek. Jerking her head back, she slapped his
hand away.

“Touch me again and I’ll rip your hand off
and shove it down your throat.” Her tone frosty. She had several
ways to make good on the threat and her hand itched to grab her
hidden knife.

Would blood show on her dress? Too bad the
vampires and werewolves would smell it. She mentally shrugged. If
it came down to it, she’d chance a little blood versus letting this
slug touch her again.

He laughed, a loathsome and cruel sound, “Oh,
you’ll be fun to break. I only hope Jackson’s other bitch is as
entertaining as you. I can’t wait to have you groveling on your
knees.”

Neither one paid attention as the door behind
him slowly closed. Julia registered the faint click as the lock
engaged, but was too intent on the human in front of her. She sized
up his weak points - the jugular, bridge of the nose, eyes, and, of
course, the family jewels. Bigger and taller didn’t mean he’d best
her.

“Has he hurt you?” A voice came out of
nowhere, suppressed rage vibrated through the words. Both of them
whipped their heads around, trying to pinpoint the location of the
voice. Julia found him first.

A faint shimmer, a telltale ghosting moved
closer to the human. When he was a few feet away, Markus dropped
his invisibility. His familiar face framed by his gorgeous black
hair was a welcome sight.

“Markus!” She gasped and then shook her head.
“No, he hasn’t hurt me.”

Markus glared at the human, a lethal look on
his face. Julia shivered. She’d never seen such pure unadulterated
fury from him before, as if he’d tear the human apart simply to
hear him scream.

“Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?” The lack
of warmth in his voice was unlike him too. Glacial ice was
warmer.

“Yeah Markus, I’m fine. He just startled me.
He can't hurt me.” She replied, her lack of concern evident. She
could’ve handled this person without any interference.

A cold, quick laugh escaped from Markus. He
gave a derisive glance to the human and stepped closer to him. When
Markus first spoke, the man had turned to keep both of them in
sight. Now he backed up, intimidated. Markus had that effect on
most people if they valued their life. Sometimes, Julia suspected
he casted an illusion on himself to scare the other person, to give
himself an edge over them.

“Oh he would've tried to hurt you, make no
mistake. I know his kind all too well. He likes to make others beg.
Makes him feel like a man, doesn’t it?” He sneered at the human.
“He thought he got lucky, cornering you by yourself. She would've
destroyed you.”

Anger brought out his faint Spanish accent,
thickening his voice. Only a generation or so separated him from
his ancestors, the conquistadors, and he looked every inch the
invading conqueror. Arrogance exuded from him, daring this human to
protest.

Flames danced in his liquid black eyes as he
struggled to control himself. Immense power coursed through his
body, the cause of the fire in his eyes and showed how close he was
to exploding. The hair on Julia’s arms stood at attention, reacting
to Markus’s energy. A small shiver of fear skated across her
skin.

Slowly, he transformed back into the kind,
loving man she’d known most of her life. Her regard for him would
never be the same though. Facets of him she’d been previously
unaware of glared at her, twisting the image of Markus, remaking
him into something she didn’t recognize.

Jackson was right. She wasn’t the only one
keeping secrets in this partnership.

Wordlessly, the man slide to a boneless heap
in front of Julia. The eerie glow faded from Markus’ eyes as the
released energy from his sleep spell dissipated.

“Markus! Why'd you do that? We could've
interrogated him.” She exclaimed in anger. “Damn it, you’ve
probably set off the wards. We’ll have security crawling all over
us now.”

He grunted in disdain. “Please, I’m too
subtle for their inferior wards to detect me. Disgustingly easy to
bypass them. If any Enforcers had a hand in them, we’d have to fire
them.”

Raising an eyebrow at her with a smug smile,
he added, “And I'm not a newbie. A misdirection spell's on the
room. Anyone show up, they’ll think it’s empty and feel the urge to
leave immediately.”

She should’ve known. Of course Markus
wouldn’t make rash decisions. Always several steps ahead. Some days
she wondered if she’d ever be in his league. The Mage Coterie
relied on him for the tough cases and asked his opinions on
political situations. He had the respect of every mage, both
civilians and Enforcers alike. Although with some, it might not be
respect but fear they felt towards him. Cunning, determined and
powerful, no one wanted to piss him off.

If he found out she was resistant, her head
would be gone within seconds, dead before her brain got the
memo.

Arms wrapped around her, hugging her tight,
pulling her away from Irene’s headless body.

“
Shh, it’s okay, Julia. Time to go.” A
hand smoothed her hair, a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Come,
there’s nothing you can do. But remember, always remember, this is
what happens to magic resistant mages. There is no second
chance.”

Markus had found her within moments of the
death, sheltering her from any questions. But he was right; it
wouldn’t do to forget the punishment. While she tried to bury the
memory itself, she never forgot the importance of hiding, holding
her secrets tight even when they threatened to suffocate her.

Briefly closing her eyes to gain her
composure, she opened her senses to the wards, testing them again.
As the energy washed over her, she realized the truth. Before,
she’d checked to see what was running, not the strength of them.
They were feeble, shockingly so. The same mages must have casted
the spells on the human. Which meant they weren’t trying to give
him weak spells, but were weak themselves.