Page 20 of That Mafioso Magic
“That is why our families have been haunted. Because of how powerful this book is if it were ever placed back together,” I said.
“Not only that, but obviously, the power of this book belongs to us… to our combined clan. The other mage clans must have resented it. If there is one thing I know about mages, it is that they are extremely jealous of each other’s power… of each clan’s power,” Adrian said. “Now, I’m wondering if the person that is trying to kill you is actually after your territory or if they just found out who you were and want you dead.”
“And our birthmarks, all of our ancestors who were killed had the same ones,” I pointed out.
Adrian nodded. “And with your dragon being prominent on your neck, maybe one of them finally saw it.”
“Took long enough, I suppose.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked, a confused look on his face.
“My age, that’s all.”
“How… how old are you?” he asked apprehensively as if he were too afraid of the answer.
“Almost a century and a half,” I said.
His mouth dropped open. “You, shit… I mean… I know shifters live a really long time, but… wow.”
It was true, shifters weren’t immortal, but we did have very long lives, yet we continue to age. However, we will never look our age. I wondered why it took this long for them to discover me, if that really was who was trying to kill me. I still wasn’t ready to rule out a rival mafia or supernal being. I had two greedy motherfuckers in my city always eyeing my shit. Salino and Damon could never be underestimated. We had a treaty between us, but it was as thin as wet toilet paper. It allowed us to share the city to a point. My people could enter their territory, but only for business purposes and emergencies and vice-versa. I couldn’t rule them out, nor could I rule out a rival from outside of the city.
“If it is them, why do you think they are after you now? Like you said, it took them long enough,” Adrian asked.
“Maybe because there’s not as many of them as there used to be throughout the centuries. Maybe because I was a shifter and since my mother took me to a pride, I was protected growing up. Of course, I’ve been on my own since I was sixteen. They could have attacked me at any time.” I shrugged, not sure how or why I’d survived this long.
“Maybe your shifter blood prevented them from tracking you down. And it was only one them actually seeing your tattoo that put you on their radar,” Adrian said.
“I’d only recently gotten it tattooed about two months ago,” I said.
“Maybe when you did that, you destroyed some kind of protection that your dad put on you,” Adrian said.
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“My grandmother once told me that the angel on my ass was my protector. That a spell from God would keep me safe from harm. Maybe she put a spell on me and that’s why I’m still alive? Maybe it's the same kind of spell she had and that’s why she was over fifty when she… disappeared. Maybe someone on that cruise saw her birthmark on her shoulder, someone powerful enough to see through her spell, and that’s why they killed her.”
“I don’t remember my father doing anything to me, but you have a point. I’ve lived this long and never been attacked magically. So, something different happened, because it’s not like I’ve been hiding it. The tattoo may have damaged any protection spell the mark had and exposed me,” I said. As far as logical explanations went, it made the most sense.
“I used to believe that I was being watched over until the moment I’d lost everyone I ever loved and had to move into a foster home with a woman who only cared about the check she got every month,” Adrian said, and I could hear the sorrow of the memories in his tone. “Nevertheless, I’m inclined to believe it now.”
I sighed. “If that’s the case, it’s all the more reason for you to help me. Because if this isn’t about my territory… which by the way… plenty of supernal out there want it… then it’s about our clans’ legacy. And that means they are looking for you, too. We need each other,” I said. “The sooner we take the care of them, the safer we both will be.”
“‘Take care of’… like kill?” Adrian asked. The way he asked it was kind of adorable. There was an innocence to the words and something about his Georgian accent greatly appealed to me.
“Leave the details to me,” I said. Hell yeah, I meant kill, but I didn’t want to just say it outright to him since he already seemed squeamish about the dark spells. I had no problem getting blood on my hands, especially when it was the blood of my enemy.
There was a knock on his office door. “Sage, are you all right?” Shi asked.
“We should probably let them in,” Adrian said. “Xavier is my partner. He knows about my grimoire.”
I didn’t bother to respond. I rose and took one step toward the door, then I stopped. I made a sweeping gesture with my hand and the door opened. “Oh, I like this new power already.” I smiled, because I couldn’t do that before. I didn’t even have to say a spell to do it. The magic just flowed from me and my will made it happen. “Did you see that?” I asked Adrian.
“I did, and I wonder to what extent our powers have increased. Obviously, some spells require reciting incantations, relics, and ingredients.”
Shi stepped inside, followed by Xavier. “Did you just open the door with magic?” she asked.
I nodded. “A lot has changed. Call Nadia, I want her here.”
“Impressive. All right,” Shi said, then stepped off to the side and pulled out her cell phone, calling Nadia.
