Page 8 of Magic and Medicine

‘Yeah, we are all wilting roses.’ My words were garbled but must have amused him because I felt a soft chuckle when he lowered my feet to the floor.

‘You are anything but a wilting rose or any other flower. Now give me your keys,’ he said, still embracing me.

I blinked several times, trying to focus my eyes, only to notice we stood in front of my apartment.

‘You wish. What next, a toothbrush in the bathroom and a drawer for your boxers?’ I said, patting my trousers till I pulled the keys from the back pocket. It took a while to slot the key into place, and with each moment, I felt his gaze following my every movement. When the door finally opened, Leszek pressed his hand to the door frame, locking me between the wall and his body. ‘I don’t invite you in. You can’t cross my threshold.’ I said and saw his body shake with a quiet chuckle.

‘I’m not a vampire, and I don’t need a toothbrush… yet, but I will visit you tomorrow evening around six o’clock. Your life is changing, Sara. Whether or not you like it, you are part of my world now, but I promise to make this transition as easy as possible for you.’

‘The hell it will; I like my life just the way it is.’ My chin lifted defiantly, but looking at him from such an angle was difficult. I was going to say more, but as soon as my lips parted, he inhaled sharply, looking down at me.

‘Yes, you will. Now go to bed before you tempt me too much.’ His words were harsh, but the hand trailing along my neck in a soft caress sent a different message, and I shivered, leaning closer. What the hell is happening to me? I saw his pupils widen and his body press closer the more I leaned toward him.

‘Go!’ Leszek pushed me inside and shut the door behind me. The loud thud and sudden space around me shocked my thoughts awake, stripping all the charm from the encounter.

‘What in the ever living fuck was that?!’ I asked, turning back toward the door, only to be met by solid wood and silence. Why he can’t be normal? Why my life can’t be normal? A few days ago, my only problem was worrying about slowly getting crazy. Now, I suddenly advanced to become a gangster trophy, isolated and untouchable, and I couldn’t even talk to my best friend, Nina, for fear of retribution. After shaking my head in disbelief, I picked up my cat, who’d strolled from the bedroom and was now rubbing himself against my shin. I needed to sleep it off, but didn’t want to be alone in an empty bed. In his strange demand for my chastity, Leszek didn’t mention the cat, and it was about time my furball earned his keep. My world had imploded, and I was very much in the mood foralittlecry.

Chapter five

Magic danced around my fingertips as I stood there like a fool, looking at Sara’s closed door, wondering what was wrong with me after pushing the confusing woman into the apartment, slamming the door closed to avoid surrendering to the strange craving burning inside my body.

I’d almost crashed the car when she mentioned letting another man touch her, the mere thought of it causing me to lash out like a child. Sara was a seer, which should have been reason enough to avoid her, as my relationship with the Tricity Coven was strenuous at best. Those damn women blamed me for everything in this region, but there was something. Her mere presence expanded my perception of magic, her touch… embracing her. I felt like I’d never tied my magic to the Gates of the Nether, and that disturbed me, as no mortal was supposed to have such power. She couldn’t bespell me, and I was sure she was as annoyed by our mutual attraction as I was. Damn woman is up to something; she must be. The thought eased my disquiet, but the image of her during that first meeting swept aside my calm as I remembered foolishly trying to coerce her mind into forgetting me, only to falter at the fierce magic burning in her soul, its fragile beauty belying the strength hidden in its depths. Her magic, her beauty, but most of all, the bold defiance she showed defending Adam, knowing I could destroy her, had awakened something I’d buried in the past. A need to care for someone who would fill the loneliness of my soul, someone who wouldn’t be afraid or subservient to me. A need for a companion.

I rarely paid attention to humans. After a thousand years, you learned to keep a distance from such a foolish, short-lived species even while protecting the land from their wasteful habits, but something about this one, as fierce and blond as a Valkyrie, had forged a connection I didn’t want to deny, awakening a possessiveness that surprised me.

It didn’t make sense. Even if she was willing, her life would be just a grain in the sands of time marking the trail of my life, yet the thoughts of seducing the alluring woman elicited a groan of desire. The visions of her naked body, lost in passion, sent a shiver down my spine, but now wasn’t the time for frivolities. An unknown enemy threatened the balance between Gdansk and Gedania, and I needed to discover a way to free us both before my cravings destroyed everything I had built. Sara is human. She will fade and die like all the rest. I repeated the mantra because even the strongest seer’s life was a blink of an eye in the Forest God’s lifetime. What if she was put on my path by my enemy? A sweet little morsel to distract me. Was that why Adam landed in the human hospital with Czernobog’s knife in his chest? This thought was disturbing, but even worse was that it was working, and even with such suspicion, I barely cared. The desire to rip her from the concrete cage and make love to her in the glory of Mother Earth was undeniable, and whoever chose her did it well.

You are mine, Sara. You may not know it yet, but you are mine. My hand pressed against the dead wood of Sara’s door, and green tendrils of ancient magic carved intricate patterns on its surface, sigils of protection and possession, a stern warning for those with the wit to see that the woman who lived here was inviolate and protected. That was the best I could offer her, especially as the recent attacks left me little time to deal with… this.

Whatever I felt had to cease, even if I couldn’t stop thinking about the raw hunger on her face at my touch, my fierce little seer. As soon as I sorted out whatever was causing problems in my city, I would return to her, even if only to find out why this fierce doctor was so alluring.

The journey home was the perfect time to mull over the situation, and I couldn’t help but smile at the realisation that Sara’s magic placed her firmly within my jurisdiction, along with the other supernatural communities within Gdansk. The forest and the sea had divided this territory hundreds of years ago when it was still a fishing village with barely a few citizens. Jurata never disputed this. It felt natural, as she preferred her ports and sailors while I presided over the verdant forest and inland dwellings.

Then came the split, and the magic that freely coursed in those lands was locked in the Nether, with old gods and beings that could not live without it, leaving those too human to survive behind. That also left us, the guardians of the order and keepers of the Gates to the Nether, the gods and spirits willing to sacrifice their power to help those we were forced to abandon in the human world. We kept ourselves and our people hidden in plain sight, but with modern technology impacting every piece of life, more and more ordinary people knew of our existence. The bullets Sara removed from the shifter were evidence of that, man-made and created to kill those of the elder races.

The plans I’d made to insert a mole in the hospital were now superfluous, the opportunity Sara had presented too good to pass up. Watching her perform surgery she insisted was beyond her was a revelation. She was so innocent and unaware of her magic that I realised we had gained an asset worth keeping. It also made me wonder if there were more ordinary people who lived their lives unaware of the gifts they carried. All because of one woman who resisted my compulsion. If she was my enemy’s gift, I had to monitor her, but if not, I had already decided to use her to further my plans, but now new possibilities presented themselves. I had to create a place where she could thrive, expanding her skills without worry or hesitation. I will build an Emergency Room of her very own, a safe space for her and my people. I thought, remembering how repulsed she was by the ancient tools she’d had to use.

The laughter that escaped my lips was unaffected by recent events, and I almost crashed a second time that day as my car danced on the road, imagining how surprised she would be when I showed her a brand new workplace, which would be very close to my office. I reached for the phone and rang Adam.

‘Find me a small empty warehouse, preferably close to our main building, and contract our builders to renovate it.’

‘What for?’ Adam’s voice was surprised, and I didn’t blame him. That purchase would be a significant investment, and I was always prudent with money.

‘We need our own treatment facility, especially now with these recent attacks and having careless men show up in the hospital with knives in their chests.’ That was partially true. Lately, more of my soldiers returned injured from their guarding duties, and it was time for me to do something about it.

‘Of course, blame it on me. I’m betting it has more to do with our latest acquisition.’ Adam’s sarcasm was palpable but not without its merits. Still, discussing my decisions about Sara’s future was not his place.

‘Keep your thoughts to yourself, bloodsucker, and find me somewhere.’

The laughter on the other side of the call annoyed me enough to schedule an extra weapons training session. Adam clearly needed a reminder of who was in charge. I’d allowed the vampire to get away with far too much over the years, but I couldn’t help seeing him as the young man who’d awoken irrevocably changed after overindulging at a wedding, the desperate craving for blood making him dangerous. With no one from the local nest claiming him, I was tasked with this burden, and through the years, his charm had grown on me, like mould. If nothing else, he was entertaining and loyal, which eternity knew, I needed.

The car came to a stop with the tyres protesting loudly, the gravel still scattering as I walked into my house. White walls contrasted nicely with the vivid green overabundance of plants filling every corner. I chose this oasis of calm when the small island was still covered with forest, its temple filled with tribute to the Horned God, and I used some of my power to cloak this place, discouraging most visitors.

Human progress had barely touched this pristine land, as I only allowed the elder races to settle here, giving them refuge from persecution and intolerance. It was not isolated from humanity, but I restricted how much technology encroached on the sanctuary, allowing only a superficial environmental impact.

As I settled in my favourite chair, I released the magic that hid my form from human sight, the Chesterfield creaking as it accommodated my primal form. I allowed my thoughts to drift to the past, to the last time I allowed love into my life, committing everything to a woman as capricious and wild as the sea. My sight drifted to the desk holding a statue of a woman painstakingly carved in glowing amber.

Eyes trailing over the beautiful form encapsulated by the magical amber, nostalgia and bitterness fought as memories played out in my mind. Why do I still keep you here, little warrior? You chose the Nether while I remained here. I knew why, despite the passage of time, it was both a warning and punishment for the betrayal that only a loved one can inflict. Now, there was another form eclipsing that of the Warrior Queen from my past, Sara’s determined expression battling past her doubts as she fought to save a stranger.

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