Surge Of Magic (2 page)

Kip was frantic,
and it wasn’t because his brother had his arm cut open. With a few stitches, the wound would heal, and the bruising on his face and hand would fade with time. What Randy had just confided in him, however, had pushed his panic button.

Kip looked behind him to make sure the curtain to the small emergency room cubicle was closed. Randy was hooked up to monitors that thankfully showed normal readings. “What do you mean you have no powers?”

“Just what it sounds like,” Randy said, as he held up his uninjured hand the same way Kip had seen his twin do so many times before. With his fingers extended, he narrowed the tips to the size of a half dollar and aimed at the metal chair across the room. Instead of an electric arc coming from his hand, the overhead light flickered briefly. Normally, the chair would have jumped from the current sizzling through it, scorch marks marring its surface. “See?”

Kip’s heart nearly broke at the pain radiating off his twin. A Wendayan losing his magic was tantamount to a
Were
not being able to shift. If Kip could donate half of his abilities to Randy he would.

Not wanting a passing nurse or doctor to overhear his conversation, Kip pulled the chair closer to Randy’s bed. “Tell me exactly what happened. I don’t understand how someone could
steal
your magic right out of your arm.” The whole concept scared the shit out of him.

Randy rested his uninjured forearm across his pasty forehead. Some flecks of blood were still caked above his right eye from a small cut, and his short dark hair was mussed. Randy’s red eyes were proof of too much stress, and the bruises on his knuckles implied that his brother had fought back.

“I was working at my office desk when someone knocked at the front door. When I answered it, I saw two men wearing masks so I tried to slam it shut, but they barged in anyway.”

“Why didn’t you check the peephole? That’s what it’s there for.” Damn, now wasn’t the time to chastise his brother for being careless.

Randy blew out a breath. “My mind was on my case. Besides, we live in the fucking Cove—a place where crime rarely happens.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“They smashed their way in, and before I had a chance to zap them, the taller of the two held me down while the second man waved a knife then stabbed me. I was able to break the big man’s hold and put up a fight for a few seconds, but in the end they overpowered me. Knife wounds tend to take the steam out of a person.”

Fuck. The mere thought of the anger and panic ripping through his brother had Kip’s stomach in knots. “Did you do any damage to them?” Kip worked at McKinnon and Associates, a private investigation firm. “If you bruised even one of the attackers, it might be easier for us to spot him.”

Randy lifted a shoulder. “That’s hard to say since they both wore masks. I did manage to kick the stocky guy in the gut, spin around, and then land a punch to the tall one’s face before they pinned me down again.”

Kip dragged a hand down his scruffy jawline and blew out a breath. This was bad. Really bad. “Did they say what they are after?” Perhaps the thugs could be identified by their accent or the deepness of their voices.

“No. They didn’t say a word. They ambushed and tackled me, and then sliced my arm. They didn’t make any demands or attempt to take anything.”

Kip wasn’t convinced the men had really stolen Randy’s magic. The fear of being attacked might have caused some kind of mental block. With time, he hoped Randy’s abilities would return. If Kip brought up that theory now, given the strength of his brother’s conviction, it would piss him off.

Kip slumped back against his chair. “Tell me again, how did you know that they stole your magic? They could have been there for some kind of vengeance against you. You do deal with the criminal element.” Until last year, Kip had been right beside his brother at the law office.

“Right after the beefier one stabbed me, he pulled out the knife and took off. Just as they reached the door, I lifted my good arm to send a few hundred volts of electricity through them, but nothing happened.”

Kip studied Randy and wondered if maybe the blade had been dipped in a strong paralytic or something. “I’m not seeing it. How exactly did they
take
your magic? Fuck, I didn’t even think it was possible.”

“I know, right? I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“I’d say they might have mistaken you for me, but with my short beard and longer hair, they wouldn’t have mixed up the two of us.” When Kip left the law firm, he let his hair grow and swore he’d never wear another tie again.

“I agree.”

“No one runs into a house, stabs the person, and then leaves, especially if he wanted that person dead. In the ten years I worked for the Public Defender’s office, I never heard of any criminal acting that strangely.”

“Strange or not, that’s what happened,” Randy said. “They might have had a witch put a spell on the knife.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them. Regardless, I’m going to do my best to find the bastards.” He leaned forward. “You sure you didn’t piss off any clients?” Randy worked for the prosecution.

“Lately I’ve been dealing with some lowlife thugs, but I can’t imagine anyone caring about what happens to them.”

Some piece was missing. “Can you describe the knife?” Kip wasn’t even sure why he asked, but there had to be some explanation. Kip had heard stories as a kid about Wendayans losing their magic, but he thought those were just stories. He figured the witches had lost their powers due to old age.

Randy slowly lowered his arm and his gaze shifted to the left. “It had a red blade, but why would that matter? Or more importantly, why use something other than steel? I will say though it was damned sharp.”

“I don’t know. There has to be a connection as to why you were targeted.”

Before Randy could answer, the curtain parted. It was Missy. “Kip?”

He jumped up from his seat. “Hey, thanks for coming by.”

Her smile looked like she was having a hard time staying positive. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but many strands had come loose. She nodded, rushed over to Randy, and then set her flowered bag on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Randy glanced up at him. They were all Wendayans and aware of each other’s powers. “I’m going to tell her everything. Missy might be able to shed some light on the situation.” Kip nodded. Randy went on to explain what happened, leaving out no details.

“Do you think your powers were transferred to them when they hit you or when they stabbed you?”

Kip hadn’t thought of that possibility.

“I was thinking when I was stabbed, but I’m not sure it matters. My magic is gone. What I want to know is if they took something as valuable as my ability to control electricity, why not use that power against me right away? By all rights, I should be dead. Not that I can identify them, but I will hunt them down when I’m able.”

His brother’s face was red, and some blood had already seeped through the bandage. “Hey, you need to rest. I’ll do the looking.”

“Fine, but take Connor and Jackson with you. Those men meant business.”

Connor McKinnon and Jackson Murdoch also worked at the private investigation firm with him. Connor had taken over as head when his father retired. The fourth member, Devon McKinnon, mostly ran the branch office. As much as Kip wanted Missy to start her healing ways, he had to find out about Teagan. He faced her. “Does Teagan know what happened to Randy?”

Missy glanced away. “Yes.”

That wasn’t good. He wasn’t one to beg, but he needed to find out why she hadn’t come. Teagan was one of the most caring women in the world, and yet she’d turned from being wonderful to standoffish in a flash. Something had to have happened, but she refused to tell him what. “Did she say if she would stop by?”

“No.”

He needed to speak with Teagan. “Do you know why she won’t return my calls?”

Missy pulled out a small burlap sack from her bag. “I’ve asked, but she won’t say.”

Now wasn’t the time to interrogate Missy—not when his brother needed her help. “Thanks. I appreciate all you can do.” Maybe she could pull a miracle out of her bag and bring back his powers.

She placed the special sack under Randy’s head. “Close your eyes.”

Her calm and caring manner was similar to how Teagan had been until the night of their big fight.

Kip vowed that as soon as he found the men who stole his brother’s magic and had brought them both to justice, he’d win over Teagan Pompley—no matter what it took.

‡

T
eagan waited until
five, and when her aunt didn’t return, she locked up then headed to the grocery store to stock up on at least a week’s worth of food. She wasn’t sure what her plans were or how long she wanted to stay holed up in her house, but one thing she did know, was that she had to stay away from those she loved or take a chance on them being injured.

Maybe with time, the evil chasing her would disappear, and she could once more focus on the positive events that were happening around her.

Even though she ran into a few people while cruising the aisles, she kept the conversation brief to prevent having to answer questions about how she and Kip were doing.

After she checked out, she drove home to the Cove, and as soon as her yellow house came into view, some of her anxiety flew away. Her home might be square and small, but it had everything she needed. While she could use more counter space in the open concept kitchen, the high ceilings and abundance of natural light made her home feel peaceful and cozy. It had become her emotional safe haven.

As she set her groceries on the counter, she glanced over to the chair where Kip liked to sit, and an ache pressed in on her chest. Kip Landon was perfect in every way—tall, broad shouldered, smart, and best of all, super protective. The fact he adored her—most of the time—had made it even harder to leave him, but she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for his safety. Not telling him her motives had hurt him, but she felt the pain just as much.

She sighed. Even when she’d moved a book with her mind, which almost hit him in the head, he said he wasn’t jealous of her talent. She wasn’t totally convinced, however, since men as virile as Kip always wanted to be the one in control—especially when it came to their bedroom antics.

Kip
. She sighed as she remembered how excited and giddy she’d been when they first met. While eleven years wasn’t a huge gap in age, he was so mature, more confident, and much more capable than she was. She’d seen him around town when he worked at the law office, but it was only after he joined forces with McKinnon and Associates that she’d finally spoken to him.

Teagan smiled. She could still picture that meeting. Someone had broken into the Crystal Winds Spa and stolen about three hundred dollars from the cash register—okay that wasn’t anything to smile about, but what happened next was. The police had investigated, but when they came up empty handed, Uncle Len had contacted Cameron McKinnon, who was Alpha of the bear and wolf Clan at the time. He sent his son, Connor, along with Kip to investigate. Not that it was love at first sight, but Kip’s tanned skin, short-cropped beard, and long dark hair tied back had turned her insides to mush. And those nearly black eyes. Oh, my. They could pull a girl in and make her never want to look away.

Stop it
.

Reminiscing about Kip wouldn’t help. Something bad was going to happen to him, and the more she focused on him, the higher the probability that it would occur.

As strange as it may sound, staying away from him was her only option to keep him safe. Teagan unpacked her groceries, putting away the refrigerated foods first and then filling up the cabinets with the dried goods. Even though she had bought ingredients to make many of her favorite meals, she suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore.

Knowing she had to eat something or chance a headache, she grabbed two hard-boiled eggs that she had made the other day and peeled them. As she reached for the salt, her cell rang, and her heart skipped a beat. It was Kip’s ring.

Don’t answer it.

As much as she wanted to hear his soothing voice, she might cave and tell him everything. Her voicemail kicked in and she suspected he’d leave a message, but she didn’t want to listen to it. To do so would only weaken her resolve.

Taking her eggs into the living room, she clicked on the TV. No sooner had she finished one egg than someone rang her doorbell. Her pulse soared at the intrusion.

The curtains on her front window were still open. Damn. Whoever was there could easily check that she was home, plus the fact that her car was in the driveway also implied it.

The doorbell chimed again, followed by a knock. “Teagan, it’s me, Izzy. I need to speak with you. I know you’re in there.”

Relief washed over her that it wasn’t Kip. Izzy had recently struggled with losing some of her magic, so she of all the people would best understand Teagan’s dilemma, though most likely, she was here to chastise her. “Coming,” she called out.

Teagan clicked off the TV set and opened up the door. From Izzy’s firm lips and rigid stance she appeared ready to pound some sense into her. Given she had on a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and sensible shoes, she hadn’t even gone home to change after teaching school.