Wild Magic (30 page)

Read Wild Magic Online

Authors: Ann Macela

Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Paranormal, #Romance, #Suspense

BOOK: Wild Magic
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Irenee nodded, and Jim said, “Fine.”
What now? Or rather, what else? She didn’t have a clue what Fergus’s “private word” might be, so she applied herself to her fresh strawberry and hot fudge sundae.
 
“You two must mate tonight,” Fergus stated bluntly, when he had them seated next to each other in a small conference room on the first floor of the residence building.
Irenee opened her mouth to refute his statement and closed it again abruptly. Yes, she wanted to make love with Jim, but not be pressured into it. Soul mate or not, she couldn’t shake the feeling they were being forced into it and entirely too fast.
Fergus, however, was using his implacable “I am in charge” voice—he would accept no arguments.
Jim obviously didn’t realize it—or maybe he didn’t care—because he said, “Wait a damn minute, Whipple. Who are you to decide that for us?”
“I’m the leader of Irenee’s team, for one. For another, I’m the one who caught the bolt of energy you let loose in the arena.” Fergus held up both hands. “Hear me out.”
Irenee grimaced. Here came the need for teamwork again, and this time it was infringing on what was supposed to be between her and Jim. She resented Fergus’s intrusion—although he did bear the final responsibility for the success of their mission. She put her hand on Jim’s arm and sighed. “I think we need to listen to him, Jim.”
Jim clasped her hand and sat back with a squinty stare at Fergus. “Okay, but I’m not agreeing to anything in advance.”
“You first, Irenee,” Fergus said. “The way you’ve been going up in levels—
spontaneously
—is spectacular and unprecedented.”
He pointed to Jim. “We still don’t know what you can do. Johanna said it looks like you can’t transfer energy the way Defenders do, with other Defenders. On the other hand, Irenee says you can share with her. You have some firepower, as shown by your demonstration in the arena. What kind or how you can control it is a mystery. Do you agree so far?”
Irenee looked at Jim. “I can’t disagree with Fergus’s assessment. Can you?”
Jim paused, looked like he wanted to object, but said only, “So what?”
“It’s inevitable,” Fergus continued. “We’re going to fight Ubell’s bigger, stronger Stone. It’s going to throw everything at us, whether Ubell is directing the action or not. Furthermore, we have to assume you’ll be its target again, Irenee.”
“I think so, too,” Irenee said. “What does it have to do with our mating?”
“When you two make love, the soul-mate phenomenon will, most probably, increase the energy and potential in both of you,” Fergus stated. “We’re going to need every ounce of power in the coming fight. We need both of you at full strength, with Jim pouring power into you. I think he’ll be able to share at will after you bond. Jim once said Ubell would think of the most evil way he could to get back at you. I agree. We’re meeting with the man tomorrow. We have to be ready for any and all reactions from him.”
“Yeah, but what good will it do us to have more energy?” Jim asked. “I don’t know how to use mine, and Irenee hasn’t practiced the higher spells for her new level. Johanna and I tried to share power, and nothing worked.”
“Think of the larger picture. Irenee proved today she can pour more into the spells she has. You’re already linked to each other. Soul mates always are. If you can feed her power, that’s more for her to use. Once you experience the bonding, where you
will
share energy, you’ll have a better idea what I mean.”
Jim slumped back in his chair, looking disgruntled and obstinate.
“Irenee, you’ll be able to fight longer and stronger,” Fergus continued. “Your energy well will increase in size and amount. With more firepower, we’ll be able to destroy the thing faster and stop its attacks on Jim or you.”
Irenee turned to Jim and shrugged. “He makes a lot of sense. Where going up a level is concerned, I’ve been explaining it to you mostly in terms of new spells I need to learn, not my overall power increase. Using my increased capacity is what today was all about.”
He stared into her eyes with an expression she could only interpret as extremely worried—almost agonized. “Yeah, but...”
“Look at it another way,” Fergus interrupted with a big smile. “You two are soul mates. You both know it, don’t you? Why not capitalize on the connection? Trust me, you won’t regret it.”
Jim didn’t say anything to that.
Irenee studied the man sitting next to her. Something else was bothering Jim, and she ... , well, she hadn’t had time to process her own feelings, much less understand his. They were back to the “I’m not ready” state.
Then she noticed he had a faint blue aura. Whatever was going on in his head, she suddenly, simply
knew
they needed to be alone to work this situation out. The revelation was an interesting sensation, sort of an itching along the scalp. Was Jim’s hunch ability transferring to her?
She rose and put a hand on Jim’s shoulder. “Thanks for the advice, Fergus. We’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s go upstairs, Jim. We need to talk—again.”
Fergus looked from her to him and back. He offered no argument, only nodded and said, “Have a good evening.”
On the way up in the elevator, when Jim didn’t say a word, Irenee reviewed her options. Mate or not? The way Fergus laid out the situation, they had no alternative.
She almost snorted in derision at her circumstances. Since when had she had a true choice about anything?
Zip, and her levels increased and she was a Sword.
Zing, and she had met her soul mate—a wild talent, no less.
Zap, and she had an evil item out for her blood, and probably her mate’s, too.
Her soul mate
. Yes, she’d imagined what would happen when she met him. Days of happiness, nights of rapture. None of it had come true. Where was the time to enjoy the experience, to take pleasure in each other’s company, and, yes, to wallow in the sheer
romance
of it all?
What did she get instead?
Zoom! Get in there and mate!
She certainly couldn’t deny that every single indication and every individual cell in her body screamed that Jim was her mate. The few kisses and embraces they’d shared had lived up to all of the phenomenon’s legends. A little shiver of expectation and excitement had been running up and down her backbone since Fergus had told them to get on with it.
She almost laughed. If theirs was a “shotgun mating,” an “arranged marriage,” at least she didn’t have to do like women of old—lie there and think of the empire while the man did his thing. No, their actual mating was bound to be stupendous for both of them.
She had to trust in her heritage and her liking and admiration for this man. Love would surely follow—if it wasn’t here already.
Was she in love with him? She didn’t know, and once again, didn’t have the time to think about it. Anyway, not to worry—the phenomenon guaranteed love and a happily-ever-after.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
 
When they finally made it to Irenee’s, Jim stalked across the living room and stood staring out the window, his arms crossed over his chest. His focus, however, was not on the landscape outside, but inward, on his reaction to Whipple’s commands.
What was the matter with him? Why was he suddenly so irritated by the idea of making love with her? Why was he fighting the Sword leader’s directive? He’d already decided he would be with her forever.
Wishing he could scratch his hunch antennae wiggling in the recesses of his brain or yank the irritation out by the roots, he rubbed the back of his neck instead. Why couldn’t the damn things make up their minds? What the hell was going on?
One hunch was saying he ought to take her straight to bed. A very important body part agreed. Yet, here he was, unsure and angry. He didn’t like the idea of “performing” on command—although he certainly didn’t doubt his ability. Around her, he had an almost constant hard-on.
So why wasn’t he listening to—and acting upon—what his hunch was telling him?
Because Irenee’s test had scared the shit out of him. Because Whipple’s predictions for the coming fight were awful to even consider. Because now he understood the
absolute need
for him to transfer power from himself to her—if he didn’t, the Stone could destroy her. Because he couldn’t. He didn’t have the ability to share.
Because another hunch had coalesced with Whipple’s orders and was beating on the inside of his skull. This one was telling him her Defender team wouldn’t be enough. He and only he was
absolutely crucial
to her survival.
How could he be when he couldn’t send her energy? He didn’t know how, or if it was even possible, no matter what anybody said. He was one big failure.
Where did his failure leave them? Especially her? Yeah, he knew more now about the awesome power of a Sword, and everything he’d heard about the fight with Finster’s Stone meant the one with Ubell’s would be worse. Worst of all, the damn item would target her, and he wouldn’t be able to help.
“Jim?” Irenee said as she came up behind him and put a hand on his back. “What’s going on in your head? Your aura’s blue, like it is when you’re having a hunch.”
He turned, took her in his arms, and held her close, rubbing his cheek on her hair. When her unique scent wound around and into him, he almost grew dizzy with desire. His center practically fainted with happiness. After a minute of wallowing in sheer pleasure, he separated enough to see her face. “I guess I just can’t hide a thing from you, can I?”
She grinned. “I turn red, and you turn blue. What a colorful pair we are.” She gave him a little shake. “So, tell me.”
He let go of her and stepped back to regain his control. “One hunch is telling me Whipple is right. We need to mate. I guess I’m scared. Not so much about the commitment we’ll be making, because I certainly want you forever, but ...”
“You do?”
She had a confused look on her face. Hadn’t he told her? He mentally winced. No, there hadn’t been time after lunch. When had they had the chance for privacy?
Before he could elaborate on his declaration, she nodded, her expression changed to delight, and she said, “I came to the same conclusion.”
Confusion returned when she said, “Well... what’s the matter, then?”
She came to the same conclusion? She was his? The thoughts hit him like a tidal wave of happiness.
Followed by a hurricane of doubt.
Would she still want him after he told her what he was really thinking? After he told her he couldn’t help her? He stiffened his backbone. Neither hunch helped here. He had to find out. It was time to tell the truth flat-out, whatever the consequences.
He took another step back and a deep breath and began, “Until the little demo you and the Defenders put on, I didn’t fully realize what you go through as a Sword—the power you have, the dangers you face. When Baldwin threw that mega-bolt in a cheap shot, I came unglued. If I’d been on the arena floor, I’d have blasted him, or at least decked the guy. I felt so damned helpless up there in the balcony. Whipple’s demands and the reasons behind them and his plans for killing the damned Stone underscored another, even bigger problem.”
She stepped forward, but he held up his hands. “Let me explain. It’ll be easier if we don’t touch. I have a hell of a time concentrating when we do.”
“I have the same problem.” Smiling faintly, Irenee walked over to the couch and, sitting down, looked expectantly at him.
“I’ve always been about protecting people.” Too restless to stand still, too nervous about how she’d accept what he was about to tell her, Jim paced by the windows. “When I was young, I watched out for littler kids. I beat the crap out of a bully who was terrorizing some guys in the seventh grade. I later had the satisfaction of arresting the bastard for abusing his wife.”
God, the memory of that was still sweet. He couldn’t, however, dwell on the past.
“I’m still all about protection.” He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to face her. “But, Irenee, it sure doesn’t look like I can help you at all in the fight against Ubell and his damned Stone. Certainly I won’t be able to protect you like I want to.”

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