Page 15 of Magic & Secrets (Twisted Magic #1)

I offered her a slow, prideful grin. If she weren’t a mystery and I weren’t a Bane Shifter, the world might have bowed to this magic between us. I wanted to know her. Calla fascinated me. I wished we could walk alone for the day, talking about our lives before we met yesterday.

However, this magic wasn’t our making. Something treacherous was afoot.

I also sensed Calla’s past would drive us apart.

If the Murade had created her to replace the Bane Shifters, she was my enemy.

The human government couldn’t be trusted.

I wasn’t wholly certain they weren’t behind the attack on Haven Junction.

As the day grew hotter and we prepared to travel, my thoughts returned to the past. There was much pain and rage during our time as the Murade’s slaves, but I also held many fond memories. I often thought back to my time helping Lavinia’s citizens.

One day, I hoped to return to my mountain and reminisce about this day with the beautiful Calla. I couldn’t imagine being satisfied with only memories, but the warrior wouldn’t be safe on Mt. Elysium. The polluted magic was too powerful for an Elven half-breed.

I almost hoped she might be the Murade’s newest invention. If she were made like my kind, she could survive on the mountain. I might be able to steal her away and keep her close.

Hours passed as we raced to catch up to the Wolf Shifters and the Sorcerer. Mina said she thought they had stopped traveling. If we hurried, we’d reach them before sunset.

While my packmates and I could handle the heat, the horses eventually needed to slow down. The warriors climbed off and walked their steeds slowly down a road.

“Have you heard news from the Murade?” Koda asked after we returned to our human forms.

His question wasn’t out of curiosity. I sensed him testing the females. Delta traveled in the woods, distracted by the proximity to the Wolf Shifters and the Sorcerer. I sensed our targets were no longer hoping to outrun us. Instead, they prepared for battle.

“Do you mean since your kind retired?” Enya asked Koda.

They stared at each other for a moment, locked in a battle of wills. Mina nudged Enya to break the spell.

“The Murade hoped to discover what existed beyond the ocean circling Lavinia’s shores,” Mina explained. “They sent ships manned with their finest warriors. Many vessels simply stopped reporting back. Others were known to be lost to violent storms over dark waters.”

Mina glanced back at us as she walked ahead.

“With their finest warriors gone, the Murade, in their infinite wisdom, sent more ships. These were filled with the common folk. The technology on the ships was improved. The vessels were larger, allowing for aircraft to come and go. They set sail in all four directions, searching for land beyond the dark seas.”

When Mina fell silent, Enya noticed Koda’s gaze on her and shrugged.

“Most were also lost to storms. One was reportedly swallowed by a sea beast. This news was salacious back in their capital. The humans became worried that the ancient ones remained alive and were hiding under the endless pools of dark water.”

Calla added, “Undaunted by their failures and the lost lives of their people, the Murade created more vessels and sent the armadas in all four directions. These ships were even more technologically sound. Several satellites were in the sky by then. They helped direct the fleets. These ships were not crewed by their finest warriors or common folk. Instead, the Murade sent criminals. If the thieves and murderers returned with news of the world beyond Lavinia, they would be pardoned.”

Mina surprised me by laughing. “These massive ships filled with criminals immediately went off course. There were mutinies and mass suicides. They say madness left the ships abandoned. Most sailed directionless for years before storms finally sank them.”

Calla glanced at me and smiled. “Finally, the Murade decided humans were the issue. Warriors were ill-suited for such long travels. The common folk were too witless to handle the endless water. The criminals were too easily tempted by the devious voices in the winds. Their last attempt was filled with scientists and androids. These ships were the most advanced and built to withstand harsh storms and even the hungriest sea beast. That was several years ago. Rumor has it, they are still sailing and searching for land.”

“Can there be nothing beyond Lavinia except dark, violent seas?” Enya asked no one in particular.

“Perhaps, it is like the night sky. There is a moon and tiny lights they call stars,” Koda said, glancing up before focusing hard on Enya again. “But everything is so far away that we might as well exist in a void. Life carries on in Lavinia despite what remains beyond our knowledge.”

Koda and Enya again lost themselves in the magic. They walked side by side, gazes locked together. Mina was forced to clear her throat to break through the fuzzy thinking around her.

“The Murade pretends to view their kind as special while wasting thousands of lives on a pointless endeavor. How many brilliant minds were lost in their ridiculous desire to conquer more land?” Mina grumbled under her breath.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to learn these creatures we hunt were sent by the Murade. ”

“For what end?” I asked when my packmates remained silent.

“They took the hearts of your friends. The Murade used magic to make you. They might want to recreate you by using what they stole from Haven Junction.”

Shaking his head, Koda explained, “The Murade claimed to have destroyed their research into our creation. I can’t imagine that was true. If they wanted to recreate us, I’m certain they could do so without drawing our ire.”

“Besides, those at Haven Junction were failed experiments,” I pointed out. “What use is there in harvesting from them?”

“Harvesting from you would be impossible, don’t you think?” Mina replied. “The Murade’s technology is more advanced these days. What they couldn’t do in your time, they might be capable of doing now.”

“But you believed this Ivitithi was the reason for the attack,” Koda said and glanced at me.

“The Murade wouldn’t be foolish enough to tell magic folk the truth. They’d use the magic folk’s superstitions to gain power over them. The world isn’t always what it seems. Alliances forged in the darkness can cloud what we believe is happening.”

“This conversation is a waste of time,” Delta said after shifting into human form and standing near Mina. “If the Murade is behind this madness, what does it change? Soon, all those who claimed lives at Haven Junction will be dead. The force behind them can’t stop what’s coming.”

“True,” Mina said, nearly snarling up at the Shifter. “But what if the reason you were attacked remains in the world, plotting over another opportunity to harm your kind? You should want to learn the meaning behind the attack.”

“Let’s kill these creatures today before we worry about the big picture,” Delta insisted and began walking.

As Mina frowned at Delta’s back, I thought of my dream. The dark-haired warrior was less controlled than her sisters. The magic she revealed might have been real or my mind playing tricks. What I did understand was how dangerous this particular warrior could be.

I wasn’t certain if the magic affected her like it did her sisters. My gaze flashed to Calla at my side. Intoxicated by the magic in the air, she hid nothing from me. Her face glowed with fondness. I felt her drawing me closer.

“Your kind is nearly impossible to kill,” she said in a throaty voice filled with need.

“So?”

“We’re readying for battle,” Calla replied and gave me a quick sniff. “I want you to survive long enough to tell me more stories about your mountain.”

“You should be more bothered about your safety than mine.”

“You’re the unkillable beast,” she murmured and flashed me a little smile. “Shouldn’t you keep us both safe?”

As Calla followed the others, I leaned down to whisper, “Consider it done.”

The last leg of our journey brought us through a redwood forest toward Golyana Territory. The Sorcerer’s magic left a foul odor in the breeze. Another kind of magic flowed gently in the air, as if in a holding pattern. Was this the work of Ivitithi?

“I sense a dozen Wolf Shifters waiting on the other side of the valley with their Sorcerer wielding magic similar to what caused the storm,” I told my packmates in the tongue taught to us by the Murade trainers.

“There is too much magic in play here,” Koda said. “Whatever magic clings to the warriors clouds my instincts.”

“Should we leave them behind?” Delta suggested.

Shaking my head, I answered, “To avoid the distracting magic, we should have left them back at Opal Outpost. Discarding them now won’t help.”

Stepping to the edge of the forest, we found a valley filled with sunflowers.

Across from us, on the other side of the valley, stood a Sorcerer.

He was stout with a bald head and deep lines across his thick forehead.

His pointed ears implied an Elven bloodline, but he could have just as easily been poisoned by his magic.

The Sorcerer wore battle garb. In his right hand, an orb glowed brightly. Wolf Shifters stood on each side of him. Each one was half transformed, standing like men, yet wearing the snarling faces of beasts.

“I intend to tear off the Sorcerer’s head,” I growled, recalling his magic hiding the violence against our friends.

“Roque, wait,” Koda suddenly said. “This feels like a mistake.”

Delta was already on the move, transforming into a massive tiger as he raced across the valley.

Nearby, the warriors were off their horses. Mina cried out in a foreign language before breaking into a sprint and drawing her sword. Her sisters quickly followed. I hurried to stop Calla, but she was as fast as the wind.