Page 17 of Tricky Magic
When? No one knew. There wasn’t a way to tell time in her vision. Next month, next year, a hundred years from now? Only the universe knew.
After a few more minutes of her thoughts spiraling, the home decided it was time to get out of bed; it yanked the curtains open on its own gust of magical wind. The sun shone through the tall windows, and Ellea closed her eyes in protest. Billy raised her head and gave her a gentle nudge to help coax her to get up.
Come on, Bug, we can’t do anything about it right now. Let’s get up and find you some coffee.
Ellea rolled herself out of bed and grabbed a t-shirt from the floor. She shuffled to the kitchen mindlessly, and as she rounded the corner, a large hand grabbed her right shoulder. Everything came crashing down at once, the vision, the fear, the unknowing, and all the feelings from last night instantly weighed her down. Her magic ignited, and the crackling energy under her skin caused her heart rate to pick up. Ellea whirled around, stumbling back a few steps. Her eyes widened as she looked up into Isaac’s curious face. His hand hovered between them, and he looked down at it as if he could feel her energy.
“Rough night?” His face held no concern.
“You could say that,” she said, still frozen in place.
“Maybe if you opened up to someone, allowed them to share a bed with you outside of meaningless sex, you would sleep better.” He reached for her, grabbing her shoulder again. Her skin crackled and zapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me,” she snarled, rearing back from him further.
“Woah, why are you overreacting?” he asked, his hands raised.
“Overreacting?” Her eyes widened.
Fuck all the reasons I continued to sleep with him.
“Look, I’m sorry. Let’s talk about this.” He began backpedaling, but she was done—so very done. Her magic crackled again, and she struggled to rein it in.Let’s play,it cooed in the depths of her mind.
“There is nothing to talk about,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose and steadying her breathing and her magic. “I need coffee and need to forget about my horrible night. You should—”
“Horrible?” He said it like a curse. “Everything was fine until you left. You always leave. It’s like you don’t want to be with me.”
“I’m not with you, Isaac! I’m not with anyone—”
“Don’t do this. Things could be so much better. We are perfect for each other, all of us. This could be more than just hanging out and hooking up,” Isaac said, his eyes pleading. “Think about it. Your powers combined with mine? We would be unstoppable.”
Why is he trying so hard to make this work?
An oily feeling crept up her spine, and her powers raged. She could see it, the similarities between him and her parents. Their hunger for power was the same as the hunger he’d shown last night. The same desire shone in his eyes now. She searched for Billy as it became more difficult to suppress her magic. When she couldn’t be found, she thought about the man in her dreams. He promised her so much, freedom from her fears and a magic she was comfortable using.
“No.”
He reached for her again, and she couldn’t suppress the surge of chaos that exploded around them. Isaac threw himself to the floor as her power raged.
“Zaza!” her uncle yelled from somewhere behind her.
No! Why is he here?
Every glass vase broke, every picture frame shattered and fell to the ground, and she sobbed as her magic left her. Something cracked the wall behind her, and as she slowly turned her head, fighting to control any part of herself, she saw her uncle sprawled on the ground. Blood slowly leaked from his head.
Everything screeched to a stop and then everyone was moving. Luke and Aiden came from the guest quarters, and Billy growled at Isaac until he was sprinting out of her home. She fell to her knees by her uncle, dragging him into her lap as she tried to wake him.
“El, he needs a healer,” Luke said, coming to stand behind her.
“I didn’t mean to.” Her words came out as a sob.
All her life, she’d practiced control. She’d used her magic to mess with someone a few times, but she’d never hurt anyone before.
“I know.” Luke reached down, touching her gently on the top of the head. “Aiden is getting the car. Let’s get him to the healer’s.”
* * *
The healing centerwas a short drive from the historic district that Ellea lived in. Every part of the building was meant to be soft and comforting from the high-back chairs to the soft blues of all the decorations. It should have felt more like a home than a hospital, but Ellea didn’t feel comforted as she paced the hallway outside of her uncle’s room. She didn’t feel any ease when the healer said he was fine; her heart only settled slightly when she was allowed into his room.
