Missing Magic (8 page)

She drove the speed limit, taking care not to
break any laws. The last thing they needed was for one of her
former co-workers to pull them over.

“Look.” Cenrick pointed at the horizon in the
general direction of Mick’s place. “What’s that?”

A soft glow lit up the sky.

Damned if she knew. Light like that usually
meant spotlights and crowds. If there’d been smoke, she’d have
suspected a fire.

She pushed the accelerator harder, gradually
picking up speed.

When they reached the end of the Mick’s
block, she pulled to the curb. Though they were still four houses
down the street, Mick’s place appeared lit up from within, lit up
so brightly it positively
glowed
. A quick check assured her
there were no spotlights, or exterior lighting of any kind.

“What the—?” She pressed on the accelerator,
moving forward, one hand on the butt of her gun. The weapon felt
wrong, the size and weight of it different than she was used to.
But that was because she was carrying her personal gun rather than
her service revolver.

“Hey, what are you doing? We don’t want to
attract their attention.” Cenrick’s husky voice brought her back to
reality. Even though her adrenaline was high and her heart was
pumping, she wasn’t a cop, not right now. She couldn’t just pull up
in front with a squeal of tires and barge in there with her weapon
drawn.

No crime had been committed. No one had
called for help. Even if they had, some other uniform would have to
answer. Dee was suspended. She had no right.

She eased off the gas pedal.

“Sorry. Habit.” She flashed Cenrick a quick,
sheepish smile, deliberately unclenching her fingers from the
steering wheel. “You’re right. We’ll drive by slowly and then
circle the block.”

As they passed in front of Mick’s, the
brightness was almost blinding.

“Don’t you think the neighbors would notice?”
Even once she’d turned the corner, Dee could still see the light in
her rearview mirror.

“Not if it’s only visible to those attuned to
magic.”

She felt obliged to point out that she could
see it. “And I’m quite possibly the least whimsical person you’ll
ever meet.”

“You’ve been to Rune, using magic to travel
across the veil. That alone may have made you attuned to magical
vibrations.”

Dee shrugged. “Whatever.”

As they turned onto the street again, she
pulled over to the curb and parked, killing the ignition.

“What are you doing?” Leaning forward,
Cenrick squinted through the window towards the glow. “We’re too
far away to see anything in detail.”

“This is as close as we can get. That’s the
point of a stake-out – to observe without being noticed. If I park
across the street, they’re bound to notice two people sitting in
this car. Either they’ll investigate, or call the cops.”

“They wouldn’t call the cops.” Cenrick
sounded positive.

She supposed he was right. Criminals never
wanted the law around. “Either way, anything that attracts
attention to us will ruin this. I don’t see any other option.” With
a sigh, she settled back in her seat, trying to make herself
comfortable. Unlike television, real-life stakeouts were frequently
long and boring.

“I think we should leave the car here. We’ll
go on foot and just stroll by the place, as though we’re neighbors
taking our evening walk.”

“Won’t work.” She shook her head. “If Mick
sees me, he’ll know damn good and well I don’t live in this
area.”

“You can always be trying to visit him. You
would, if things were normal.” He gave her a grim smile.

“He told me to stay away.”

“Normally, would that stop you? Besides that,
do you have a better idea?”

He had a point. A damn good one.

“We can try it,” she said grudgingly, one
hand already on the door handle. “If blondie is watching, there
won’t be a problem. I don’t know her. I’ve never met the other man
either.”

Cenrick took her arm, making her jump.

He noticed. “Part of the camouflage. We need
to look like an old married couple.”

She didn’t bother to point out that most old
married couples rarely touched.

The first pass was unremarkable, other than
the way the house appeared. If she’d had a poetic bone in her body,
she’d have said it looked otherworldly, like an intergalactic UFO
about to blast off.

They managed a nonchalant saunter to the stop
sign, crossing the street to continue down the other side. From
there, they had an unobstructed view of Mick’s house.

Other than the neon yellow glow, the house
looked unremarkable. Nothing stirred, no breeze, no curtains, not
even a bird sang or a single squirrel scampered up one of the oaks
that ringed the lawn. The same vehicle, combination SUV and truck,
was parked in front of the garage. She saw no sign of Mick’s Ford
Explorer. She dug in her pocket, located a scrap of paper,

“Even the insects avoid the place.” He
pointed at the house next door. It had the front porch light on,
drawing a small cloud of moths and assorted other small, flying
insects. Mick’s house, illuminated a hundred times brighter, was
completely a bug-free zone.

“Strange,” Cenrick murmured, as though
speaking to himself. “What kind of magic could do this?”

“Or machine.” She felt obliged to point out
that magic wasn’t behind everything. “I still think the glow comes
from some sort of machine.”

“Machines and magic don’t mix. Whoever is
harming Fae is stealing their magic. I doubt any man-made machine
could do that.”

She didn’t, but saw no reason to tell him so.
Not without proof. If machines such as CT scanners and MRI’s could
exist, who could say someone hadn’t invented a magic-stealing
machine?

Someone evil.

“One more pass.”

As they turned to head back, another car
pulled up, in front of the house.

Two men got out.

“Not men,” Cenrick said, as though he’d read
her mind. “Fae. I can see their auras, though they’re weak.”

Not wanting to be noticed, Cenrick and Dee
slowed their pace to a virtual shuffle, though they had to keep
moving.

The two visitors didn’t even glance at them.
Instead, they walked up the flower-trimmed sidewalk towards the
house. No,
walked
didn’t even begin to describe the way they
moved. They
marched
, moving stiffly, like Ken dolls provided
with bendable legs.

Something, some sound or intuition, drew
their attention. They froze, swiveling their heads to look at Dee
and Cenrick.

Now Dee got a good look at them. Her skin
crawled as she realized what had happened to them. Oh, they were
beautiful, to be sure. Much more up Mick’s alley than the blonde,
sharp-faced woman. But they looked like poor imitations of men – or
Fae – empty of spark, empty of life.

They looked like robots.

They were well on their way to becoming one
of the soulless.

Dee made a strangled sound.

Cenrick growled, low in his throat.

After the one disinterested look, the men
continued forward. The front door opened as they approached. Even
brighter light spilled out, illuminating the sidewalk like some
giant, malevolent spotlight. Looking neither left nor right, the
two stepped inside.

When the door closed behind them, Cenrick
cursed. “Did you see that? They’re becoming soulless.”

“I know.” Dee answered truthfully. “However
and whatever, the process has already begun.”

“Lothar’s plains!” His arm tensed under her
hand and a muscle worked in his jaw. “But how? How is this being
done?”

“And why? It’s Mick’s house.” Though she
hated to admit it, she’d never been one to lie to herself. “Mick’s
involved, somehow. After growing up longing for a family of his
own, I can’t believe he’d harm his own people.”

“After all you’ve seen, do you still
doubt?”

“I’ve been working in law enforcement. It’s
my job to question. It’s entirely possible that Mick’s under their
spell, you know. He might be in trouble too.”

Cenrick opened his mouth. Just then, the glow
vanished. Mick’s house went dark.

CENRICK LOOKED at Dee. She stared back. Then
they both turned to Mick’s house, which sat silent and dark, as if
a giant switch had been flicked to cut off the glow. Black, but not
empty. He could have sworn the blackness pulsed.

He shuddered. Though he didn’t like to
remember, he’d seen this utter and absolute darkness once before,
when helping Alrick fight the Warlord from the future.

The shadows around Mick’s house danced and
swirled and
breathed
. Evil was at work here. This darkness
signified more than a mere absence of light. Cenrick sensed the
absence of magic as well. While his mind screamed
not
possible
, the scholar in him couldn’t help but wonder how this
could be.

Everything that lived had some small particle
of magic. Even in the human world traces of magic remained in every
living thing, from the smallest blade of grass to the tallest,
towering oak.

But now, in the swirling black air around
Mick’s house, there was none. No magic. Nothing. Only a complete
and utter void, as though someone – or something – had sucked all
the magic from the immediate universe surrounding the house.

If this was true, Mick must be dead. Or
worse, one of the Soulless.

Intrigued and puzzled, Cenrick moved away
from Dee, towards the house. Immediately, he fell to his knees as
wave after wave of negative energy swamped him, sapping his
strength.

“Cenrick?”

He could only point towards the house,
praying she’d understand.

She crossed to his side. “Take my hand.”
Touching his hand, she threaded her fingers through his.

Right away, he felt better. Protected. Her
touch restored his strength, allowing him to climb to his feet.
Her touch
.

How was this possible?

Experimentally, he pulled free. Instantly,
everything went blurry as the thing – whatever it was – hammered at
him.

Again he grabbed her hand, holding on as
though she was a lifeline.

In a way, she was.

“Your touch…” He lifted his head. “Helps
me.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Dee moved quickly.
One arm under his, supporting him, she helped him get back to her
car. With fumbling urgency, they got the passenger door open and,
without him touching any metal, he dropped himself into the
seat.

Without another word, she cranked the engine,
slammed the car into drive, and took off.

He felt better as soon as they turned the
corner. Better still by the time they reached the main road. One
stark truth stood out – anywhere near Mick’s house was extremely
dangerous for him.

Except, he shot her a glance, when Dee
touched him. Somehow, she blunted the effects of the
magic-stealer.

He didn’t understand how such a thing was
possible.

“Are you going to live?” she asked.
Something, some catch in her voice, made him turn to face her. The
streetlights illuminated her delicate features and lush figure and
suddenly, he wanted her.

What the hell? This was wrong. More than
wrong, completely bad timing. They were partners, co-workers in a
way. She’d freak if she saw his arousal.

No. He could control this, would control it.
He’d survived a magic-stealing attack. He’d channeled the rush of
adrenaline to desire. Very natural and normal and, now that he
understood, easy to control.

He hoped.

Analyzing the why and how didn’t change the
way he felt.

Still, he wanted her. Badly
.

“Yeah,” he managed. “I’m okay.” His swollen
body pulsed, despite his attempts to think of something else.

“I’m not,” she said, her voice shaky. She
pulled into a deserted parking lot, driving around the back of the
closed store, and parking.

He tried to concentrate on the fact that
she’d left the engine running, but all he could think about was how
badly he wanted to touch her.

The seat creaked as she swiveled to face
him.

“What
is
this?” Her eyes widened,
pupils dark, and he knew she felt the same, overpowering need.
“What’s happening to me?”

He swallowed. “I know. Maybe you’d better
drive.”

“Drive? I can’t. I wouldn’t be able to
concentrate on the road. All of a sudden, I’m overwhelmingly aware
of how large you are.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “How
tightly corded your muscles are. You’re beautiful, Cenrick of Rune.
And I want you.”

Each husky murmur acted like oil poured on
his fire. Staring back at her, he clenched his gloved hands to keep
from touching her. He could feel his pulse, heavy and urgent, his
body, thick and ready.

“I—.” He tried to articulate a warning, but
couldn’t speak.

“Damned if I’m not,” she licked her lips, the
quick, sexy movement sending his heartbeat into overdrive, “aroused
as hell.”

Unable to help himself, he moved closer.
“Touch me,” he growled, his face inches from hers.

She shook her head, then reached out her hand
to do as he asked anyway.

He had to warn her. This wasn’t real. This
was a magical rebound. Now, with his magic channeled into his
libido, the overflow must be radiating from him, affecting her
too.

This wasn’t real. She didn’t want him, not
really.

But dragon’s lair, how he wanted her.

He opened his mouth to tell her the truth.
She kissed him instead. As her lips moved over his, he felt himself
sinking into need. He wanted to refuse her, to help her resist, but
he couldn’t make himself push her away. Merely being kissed by her
made him more aroused than he’d even been in his life.

Somehow, he broke free. “Dee—.”

“I want to climb all over you, take you
inside me, swallow you up whole.” She sounded stunned, amazed, and
excited, all at once.