Page 85 of That Mafioso Magic
“Don’t underestimate what humans are capable of. Like you said, mages are human…sort of,” Xavier stated.
Shanie smirked. “I could kill twenty of you in less than ten seconds.”
“Not if mages are on the side of humanity,” Xavier pressed. “So, that’s why you all stay in your lanes, I bet. For fear that the mages will rise up against you.”
Shanie leaned forward, fangs bared, eyes glowing yellow. “I welcome the fight.”
I felt the chill of her threat down my spine and I was sure Xavier did too. “I don’t doubt, but let’s just move on. I’m going to make the talisman,” I said, hoping to squash the growing tension. I loved thefact that Xavier was fearless and spoke his mind, but sometimes… I wish he opted to keep his opinions to himself when dealing with hostiles like Shanie.
Regardless of how threatening the conversation got, it did reveal information I didn’t know. The more I was learning about mages and what I was, the history of my people and Sage’s, I couldn’t help but wonder who all was involved with killing off our clan to keep us apart. To keep us from coming into our true power. Did vampires play a part by aiding other mages? What about other supernals? How deep did this go?
I decided to complete my end of the bargain after I thanked Shanie for the info on the mage council. I was going to have to ask Sage if he knew anything about it. I worked the spell and once the object was enchanted, it glowed bright white, then returned to the original black orb it was. “Here. As long as he keeps it at the location, it will protect you from all enemies. To lower the barrier, just say, ‘Rumpelstiltskin.’”
Shanie took the orb talisman from me with an unconvinced expression. “That was all it took? And ‘Rumpelstiltskin?’”
I nodded. “Yep. Please thank your master for his help.”
“Mr. Corteo Alonzo is more than a master vampire. He is the Archduke of the Blood Dynasty under Emperor Malek Adan,” Shanie corrected.
He held up a hand. “My apologies. Still, please pass my gratitude along,” I said. I was grateful to have James and Shanie’s help. Having gone toe-to-toe with Lacey, I’m not sure if I would have been successful in trapping her without them.
“I’m sure you’ll be hearing from him in the future for his assistance,” Shanie said, then studied the glass orb a bit more, turning it in her hand and watching as the roses and dirt shuffled around. She looked back up at me. “This better work, or you will be seeing me again and I won’t be in a good mood. I don’t care how much power you have; no one screws over my Archduke and gets away with it,” Shanie said.
It was kind of weird getting threatened by someone who looked like she belonged in middle school, but it wasn’t anything I was taking lightly. I saw her in action and could tell that she was old and powerful from her aura. “It works. I don’t go back on my word,” I said.
“Good,” Shanie said just as the limo stopped in the same place we had picked her up at. She climbed out, closing the door behind her.
“My turn.” James smirked, then he handed me a chess piece, a black knight made from marble.
I took it. “Fancy.”
He shrugged. “My alpha wanted something less conspicuous. It opens at the bottom.”
“I suppose, and it’s functional. Just know that if he breaks it, the spell is destroyed. So maybe he should not play chess with it just in case,” I said.
“I’ll pass that info along,” James said, then nodded at the object I was holding as if telling me to get to it. Like Shanie, he’s also provided me with the roses and dirt.
Everyone was quiet as I worked my magic and said the incantation. The object glowed, then the light faded, letting me know the spell worked like it did with the orb. I handed it back to James. “To disable it to let someone pass through, your word is Dracula.”
James took the chess piece with a frown. “Oh, you have jokes.”
I nodded. “Because I’m petty. And I have a weird sense of humor.”
James actually chuckled at that. “My alpha might just find the irony in that funny. He’s got a peculiar sense of humor too.”
“Hey, how long will this spell last on this bitch again?” Jewel asked, pointing to Lacey’s body.
“About four hours, well, three hours now,” I said, having looked at my watch.
“We won’t have enough time to get back to Sage’s condo. You better call him and tell him to meet us at the hangar,” Xavier said.
I nodded, because he was correct. I pulled out my cell, then looked at Jewel. “Can you make sure the pilot is waiting for us and has the plane ready for take-off as soon as we get there?”
She took out her phone and began dialing. I dialed Sage and waited for him to answer. God, this really was going to stress me out the whole flight back. Only ten minutes away from the airport. James was kind enough to tell his driver to speed up. I guess he wasn’t as bad as I thought him to be when we first met. Still, I’d be glad when I was back in Sage’s arms again.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Is everyone all right?” I asked as soon as I answered my phone and saw that it was Adrian calling me.
