Chapter 28.

"WHAT YOU NEED IS SOME defensive training." That was Gavin solution after I finally told him about the dark spots on my aura. Then you throw in the attack from the other night, and I was a helpless sitting duck.

That wasn't all I needed, which was neither here nor there. After being tossed like a Raggedy Ann doll by one of Morgana's spells, and then strangled by another witch's weaving spell, it made me realize that I needed to learn how to protect myself. It wasn't enough to just learn magic or control it. I needed to put it to good use, especially when I felt like something horrible was looming in the horizon.

Instinct.

That was what Morgana had told me to trust, and every instinctual bone in my body was telling me that something wicked this way comes. I needed to be ready, prepared. Gavin couldn't have agreed more and insisted he help me with my bada.s.s fighting skills.

Who was I kidding?

Hopefully, I didn't hurt anyone in the process.

We were sitting on my couch, thigh against thigh and I was doing everything in my power to not stare at his lips.

Fail.

Oops. Fail again.

At this rate I was going to be the most preoccupied student. And this student was crushing hardcore on her teacher. The last week of school flew by, but there was this dark cloud over my head preventing me from really enjoying the time I spent with Gavin. I finally caved and told him about the dream I'd had with Morgana and the whole black marks on my aura.

He took the news far better than I had. Of course he put the blame on the one person he couldn't stand. Lukas. Unfortunately I knew that Lukas hadn't made me drop Rianne from the gym ceiling. Nope. That had been all me.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if I hurt someone?" I asked, thinking about Rianne.

He gave me a goofy grin. "Trust me. You can't hurt this."

I rolled my eyes. "Someone please pinch that oversized ego. We aren't going to end up leveling my house or something are we?" I was remembering when I had blown out all the windows, not exactly something I was anxious to repeat.

He glared at me in exasperation. "What have you been doing in your practices?"

"You don't want to know," I mumbled.

"You are probably right." The implication behind his words was obvious and probably stemmed from jealousy. He thought more than just practicing had been going on, like maybe Lukas and I were making our own kind of magic.

I narrowed my violet eyes. "It wasn't like that," I demanded, not really wanting to get into right now. Especially with the beginnings of a migraine working at my temples and we hadn't even started yet. "There is this weird vibe with our magic. Not like the connection I feel with yours. Ours is more... intimate, personal. With Lukas..." I watched as his eyes flamed at the mention of his name, still a touchy topic. "With Lukas it's like our magic are companions brother and sister somehow. Does that make sense?" I didn't even know what nonsense I was spewing.

Slowly the fire defused, and he cupped my cheek in his hand. "Yeah I get it. I'm sorry. It just p.i.s.ses me off that you share anything with him. I don't like it. And I don't trust him."

I nodded understanding. It was exactly how I would feel if roles were reversed, except I am not sure I would have the grace not to gouge her eyes out. "I know," I conceded.

He sighed looking over my shoulder. "Let's just get started."

I stared at his face and a cl.u.s.ter of fireflies swam in my belly. He could do that to me without even trying, or maybe I did that to myself. Who knew? "Kay," I agreed.

We stood facing each other, and I couldn't keep a straight face. This was supposed to be serious, but that was just it. He looked too serious. I giggled. The corners of his lips twitched, and my heart soared. I angled my head. "We could make-out first," I suggested, thinking I could stall this lesson. I don't know why but I had a bad feeling about this, the kind that planted itself in your stomach and took root.

The look he gave me was lethal and should have been outlawed. "After. It will give you something to look forward to."

Apparently my teacher was all work and no play. "Harda.s.s," I mumbled under my breath.

He grinned, stepping back before either us forgot why he was really here. "Okay the goal here is to not get hit. I want you to stop it before it strikes you, and I don't mean throw yourself in front of it."

That earned him the stink eye. "Funny. What kind of spell?"

"That is the beauty of it. You won't know until it's been cast, but I think your best shot at diffusing the spell would be a shield. It's fairly simple, but effective."

I didn't find anything remotely pretty in that. "Like what you did the other night?" Just thinking about it made fear lance through my heart.

He crossed his arms, leaning a hip on the edge of the couch. "Exactly. The spell I cast at you won't hurt you seriously. It might sting."

Oh great. "Just please tell me you aren't going to throw a knife at my head and expect me to stop it."

A single brow arched. "I'm not s.a.d.i.s.tic."

A girl had to ask. "Good to know."

He must have noticed the spike in my blood pressure. "Bri, everything is going to be okay. I promise."

How does someone make a promise like that? He couldn't possibly know that, but it didn't stop me from wanting to believe him. I sighed. He tugged me between his legs, rubbing his warm hands up and down my arms, sprinkling them with tingles. I stopped thinking altogether.

"Are you sure we don't have time for just one kiss?" I leaned my head on his chest, feeling it vibrate with a groan.

He tilted my chin up. "It's not rocket science. You can do this. I'll go easy on you."

I snorted, always a lady. "Please. Bring it."

He gave me a patient look. "Bri, I need you to take this seriously. This could be life or death, and I want you to live. It's for your own good. You need something to really motivate you. We are treating this like a real threat, no joke. I don't want to hurt you..." There was a pleading look in his eyes, asking me to understand.

I could see the struggle going on inside his eyes. "I can handle this," I a.s.sured with a boost of self-confidence.

He smiled, a calm and arrogant smirk. Raising his hand, he stalked forward sliding effortlessly into predator mode. "Remember don't hold back."

I gulped, stepping away from the furniture. In the s.p.a.ce of a blink, the first little bolt of blue energy hit me like a wasp sting, piercing and unexpected. "Ouch blast it," I complained frowning. "That hurt."

He sent me a humorless smile. "Don't let it touch you next time."

I stared at the guy in front of me like I didn't recognize him. His sapphire eyes were cold as ice, hard and unyielding. He looked dark and grim. I got that it was for my own good, but he was starting to really scare me, and it wouldn't be long before that fear turned to anger. That was kind of how I operated.

By the third or fourth p.r.i.c.k of magic, I wasn't laughing. I wasn't nervous, and I sure as h.e.l.l wasn't c.o.c.ky. If anything I was irritated and getting more irritated by the moment. To make matters worse, I got hit, a lot. I could throw up the shield, but he was always faster, beating me to it. By the time the shield encompa.s.sed me, some part of me was already feeling the sting of his spell.

I swore under my breath as another globe of blue light pierced me through my jeans. The stuff was no joke, and the more I got hit, the more it stung.

Oookay. I knew that he was helping, but he was starting to get under my skin. I could feel the tingles of rage skirting below the surface, ready to break free. In my heart I knew he didn't like this, hated that he caused me even the tiniest of pain. It went against his protective nature. I got it. This was the real deal, and I had to be able to act fast and be quick on my feet if I wanted to survive.

The next time he came at me, I was ready.

It was like flexing a muscle. Suddenly a dizzying rush of power whipped through me and a part of me liked it really liked it. That scared the c.r.a.p out of me. I didn't want to give into that kind of darkness, but it was right there within my fingers grasp, just a flick of a finger. It teased me with its potency, and I found myself unable to stop. Even the part of me that knew this kind of magic was bad wasn't able to break through.

The goal had been a protective barrier. Somewhere along the way I forgot the plan. The magic I conjured had other ideas. No longer did I know what I was doing, only what I was feeling.

Rejuvenated.

Exhilarated.

Supreme power.

Above all things there was this utmost intoxicating feeling filling my veins. I lavished in the sensation and closed my eyes. It was a better high than the fountain of youth. Better than s.e.x. Well, what I thought s.e.x would be like.

The best part was, I finally didn't get struck by Gavin's spell. Success. Truthfully I had been worried that I would never be faster than him. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face. I'd blown the roof off this spell.

With each second that ticked by, my strength grew, not weaken. Was that normal? When I didn't hear his voice, I became alarmed. Opening my eyes, the world evaporated around me. What I expected to find was Gavin smiling and telling me that I had done it, not him on the floor, grasping and in evident pain. It seared straight through my heart. I immediately dropped the spell I wove, breaking the connection it had on him.

He was kneeled on the ground, face contorted in pain, and sapphire eyes gleaming. My stomach seized up, coiling in tight knots. And all I could think was, I had done that to him. I had almost killed my boyfriend, the boy I loved.

Oh my G.o.d.

Dropping beside him, his face was ghostly white and a line of sweat covered his brow. "I I almost killed you," I said in mortified shock. Shame and outrage swarmed through me. I should be burned at the stake. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I cried.

"You didn't Bri," he gasped, struggling to speak. "I swear." His voice was rough and gravely which made what he was saying hard to believe.

"Really?" I replied sarcastically hysterical.

"What you did wouldn't have killed me." He ran a hand through his messy dark hair, leaning against the nearest wall. Those eyes I loved glimmered with incredulity or fear. I couldn't decide. "You were absorbing my powers."

"What?" I was beyond totally freaked out.

His head rested on the wall. "Well more than just absorbing them, you were stealing them, draining them from within me." There was a charred hole in his shirt were my magic had hit him, sucked his essence, the soul of his magic.

I was going to pa.s.s out. Luckily I was already sitting, there wouldn't be far to fall. Instead I sunk against the wall beside him, careful not to touch him. Dropping my face into my hands, I asked, "What's wrong with me?"

He turned his head, staring at me. "There was probably a reason you never were told you were a witch... to protect you. Witches will kill for your kind of power, or kill to protect themselves from your power. Either way it ends with your death. If others knew, you would be hunted nonstop."

Okay. I think I got it.

I was dead meat.

He looked at me gravely, meeting my frightened gaze. "You're a clr silte."

I gulped. Why did that sound like a death sentence? "That doesn't mean anything to me," I whispered, barely audible.

"It's the rarest and oldest form of craft."

This wasn't making me feel any better. I thought I was going to be sick. Pushing to my feet, he followed me. "This is bad isn't it?"

His hands spanned on either side of my waist and I winced. When I went to back away, he held steady and pulled me closer. "Don't." There was hurt in his voice. "Don't cringe from me."

Tears gathered in my eyes and coated my voice. "How can you be near me after I did that to you?"

"We didn't know Bri." He cupped both hands around my face, and like a contented cat, I leaned into his touch. "I won't let this come between us. Not when I just got you. We will figure this out together. I promise." Softly and sweetly he brushed kisses over my face before pressing them to my lips.

What did I do deserve such a guy? Wonderful. Understanding. Hot as h.e.l.l.

I vowed then that I would never take him for granted. Not. One. Single. Day. For as long as he was mine.

Chapter 29.

THERE WERE NO WORDS TO describe how I felt that night, the night I almost stole every ounce of magic from my boyfriend. Just what kind of girlfriend does that? Magic was such a huge part of Gavin that I couldn't imagine stripping him of his abilities.

But that was just what I had started to do.

What would have happened had I not stopped, had I been unable to stop? Because I'd felt that addictive pull. I still don't know why I stopped. That intense mind-altering, heady feeling was still beating inside me. It felt like I had a piece of him living, pulsing alive in me, which was sort of cool and pretty freaky at the same time. I didn't like that I had stolen it from him without permission, but I loved the idea of a part of him would always be in me.

Pretty messed up, I know.

Maybe seeing him withering in pain had snapped me out of it. Whatever it was, I was eternally grateful.

A clr silte was a witch with the capabilities to strip powers from another witch, but there was a huge cost for such abilities...my soul. The more I tapped into that kind of magic, the more of my soul I lost. That's pretty much how these things work.

As far as I was concerned, I should never need to use that kind of power. My soul should be safe as long as I keep it under lock and key. Then throw that key into the vast ocean, safe from my temptation.

Okay I knew that wasn't really an option, but the princ.i.p.al remained the same. I could never use that kind of magic again. Ever.

Fine by me.

My head hit the pillow like a brick of lead.

Of course I couldn't actually expect an undisturbed slumber. That would be just too much to ask for. My eyes had barely closed when I felt the familiar p.r.i.c.kles and weightlessness. There wasn't a sc.r.a.p of restraint in me. I was exhausted mentally and physical. I couldn't have fought it even if I had found the strength.

Letting the floating feeling take me away, I waited for the transition to complete. Before I felt solid ground, I was blasted with an icy wind and cool crisp air. Snow topped mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, and of course I was on the tiptop of the highest one. I shivered as another round of wind blew through my chilled bones. Snuggling deeper into the parka I was wearing, I turned looking for my target.

I pounced on her the second I was grounded in the dream like a wild panther. "Why didn't you tell me?" I screamed above the howling winds. That I can suck a witch dry, I mentally added.

She moved with liquid grace, flowing over the rocky ground, and I envied her for it. "Well someone is feisty this evening. Do tell what I failed to inform you of dear granddaughter? Though I think I am getting the message loud and clear."

"You know what I am talking about. That I'm a a clr silte." I was spitting fire. Not literally, though I was surprised the ice didn't melt.