The First Spell Read online

  Knowing he’d pushed the leader to his limit, Jensen gave in and walked to the wall, his brother right behind him. A rush of sound heralded Falcon’s departure, and Jensen immediately targeted his brother.

  “You are, without a doubt, the most pompous ass I have ever known, and I am ashamed to say that, considering you are a member of my family.”

  Remy touched the wall, and it gave way, leading them outside the Assembly room. “Duly noted, my brother, but I will do what I must to protect this family, and I speak not only of our blood kin. The Assembly is our home, and bringing another wizard into this fortress without knowing if her words are true, risks us all.”

  Picking up the pace toward his chamber, Jensen hoped Remy would get the hint and stay back. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not with him that day. Remy stayed right behind him as though afraid Jensen might abscond with Charlemaine instead of following Falcon’s command.

  He should not have been concerned. Jensen might cross the line a time or two, but he had learned a long time ago there were certain boundaries one did not breach. Disobeying a direct command from Falcon ranked high at the top of that list.

  Jensen tapped once on the door of his chamber to make Charlemaine aware of his presence. When she did not respond, he walked inside, surprised to find her standing at the dormer window, her hand touching the glass as though she had never felt such a thing before.

  “Charlemaine? Are you ill?” He came toward her, and she turned to face him, a radiant smile on her face.

  “I’m starting to remember things. Does the name Nocturne mean anything to you?”

  Remy coughed into his fist, but Jensen recognized the sound of an “I told you so.”

  “It’s the name of your guild, where you were born and raised, where your family is.”

  Charlemaine’s face lit up even more. “Then you can take me home now.”

  “In time, yes. Our leader would like to speak with you first.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “Because it is against the rules for you to be inside the walls of this fortress, and he must ensure the safety of our people.” Remy had no problem providing the explanation.

  “He thinks I’m here to harm you?” Joy fell away from her face, and she clasped her hands together.

  Jensen tried to sweep away her concern with a shake of his head. “He just needs to be sure. I told him I saw no guile within you when I swept your mind.”

  Her brows creased into a worry line. “Could I be hiding something that I’m not aware of? Could I have brought harm to your people without knowing it?” She shook her head so hard, her hair slipped across her shoulders. “I can’t be such a person. Can I?”

  His hands on her shoulders, Jensen guided her away from the window. “There is no need for alarm. Falcon is merely being cautious. He would not be the leader if he did put the protection of his people above all else. I’m sure he does not think you are an evil one.”

  “Is the coddling over now? Falcon awaits us.”

  Jensen ignored him, focusing instead on erasing the fright from the beautiful face in front of him. “Whatever concerns Falcon should not worry you.”

  She pulled herself slowly out of his embrace. “But…what if he’s right?”

  Charlie watched both brothers exchange glances, and she backed away from the looks on their faces. “I’m sorry, but you said I’m a wizard. So how could I have gotten hurt so badly that I couldn’t protect myself?” She folded her arms, her body tightening defensively. “I don’t know why I was even in those woods, and if your leader is worried I’m here for nefarious purposes, he could be right.”

  Jensen shook his head. “He is not right.”

  “How can you be so sure? You don’t even know me.”

  “Because he is thinking with something other than his brain,” Remy inserted in a sardonic drawl.

  The look on Jensen’s face had his brother backing away. “I have been around long enough to recognize evil, Charlemaine. I see none in you. Now come,” he extended his hand. “We will talk with Falcon, and then he will help us find your home.”

  She didn’t take his hand. Her knees wobbled and bit, and she wondered if she would be able to go anywhere with him. Why couldn’t she remember anything? If only she could recall even a fraction more of who she was, it might be enough to alleviate both Falcon’s and her concerns.

  “And what happens if you just aren’t seeing the evil because I don’t know who I am?” Her resolve strengthening, she shook her head. Whatever her purpose was, she wasn’t going to harm these people, this man, who had saved her life. And if staying here meant that was possible, she wouldn’t stay.

  Before Jensen could respond, she held up one hand and directed her gaze toward Remy. “I want you to take me back.”

  “Me?” Remy jabbed a finger at the center of his chest.

  “Yes, you. You want me gone more than Jensen does, and I know you’ll do what needs to be done to protect your family.”

  Jensen barred his brother’s path before Remy could make it to her. “You are not leaving here, Charlemaine. Not until we know you are well and you have spoken with Falcon.”

  Remy lifted his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “As much as I would love to take you back and pretend all of this was a really bad dream, it is out of my hands now. Falcon insists upon talking with you, and while I do not know how things work in your guild, I can tell you in ours, Falcon generally gets what he wants.”

  Her nose wrinkled. The more she heard, the less she liked of this Falcon. “You make him sound like a dictator.”

  “Stop.” Jensen pointed a finger at Remy before he could say anything. “Leave us. I will bring Charlemaine to Falcon.”

  “Make sure that you do, little brother. I do not want to have to scour the universe to find what is left of your carcass if you disobey Falcon.”

  “I know where your daughter is.”

  At the seer’s words, Riordan jumped to his feet, his wife at his side. “Where? Is she unharmed?”

  The elderly lady held up one wrinkled hand. “I can only sense her presence not much more. The Assembly has a strong shield of power surrounding the fortress.”

  Riordan’s blood ran cold. A sworn enemy of the Nocturne Guild, the Assembly were the most powerful wizards in the Universe. Few dared to challenge them because of that power. But he would do it if it meant saving his daughter.

  His wife, Dena, must have sensed his decision for she laid a restraining hand on his arm. “Riordan, you cannot.”

  “They have our daughter.” He ground his teeth together, muscles bunching as he walked across the marble floor to stand face to face with the seer. “If you can only sense her, how can you be sure she is with the Assembly?”

  “Because of the power. It is unusual for my visions to be blocked at every turn. For a brief moment, I was able to see Charlemaine, but then the door to my images closed. No other guild can restrict my mind in such a manner.”

  Riordan ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair, cursing underneath his breath out of deference to his wife. She didn’t abide obscenities.

  “I must go after her.”

  Dena’s hand tightened. “Perhaps they intend to bring her back safely.”

  “Then why haven’t they?”

  “We have to give them a chance.”

  “To what? Hurt her?”

  The seer clucked her tongue. “The Assembly does not harm fellow wizards, Riordan, unless they have first been subjected to a direct challenge or one of theirs has been injured at the hands of those wizards. They are a peaceful lot no matter what you may think of them.”

  He didn’t care for the old woman’s allegiance to the wizards but knew she had a point. Though possessing extraordinary capabilities among their kind, members of the Assembly had never been known to initiate battles.

  “Very well. I will send a messenger requesting a meeting with the leader.”

  “You will not go alone.” Dena’s voice held mor
e determination than Riordan had ever heard, but he wouldn’t put his wife in any danger.

  “No. You will stay with our other children.”

  “You forget that Charlemaine is no longer a child, my darling.”

  “She’s only two hundred.” Riordan’s brows dipped. “That, to me, is still a child.”

  She smiled at him and took hold of his arm. “Send your message, but I will be at your side when the meeting is granted.”

  “When will you ever listen to me, woman?”

  “One would think the last three hundred years of our marriage would have already answered that question.”

  They began walking toward the doorway of the community gathering room when the seer gasped and dropped to her knees. Riordan raced to her side, his heart spinning out of control.

  “What is it? What do you see?”

  She lifted bleary eyes, her face ashen. “Nothing. I can no longer sense Charlemaine’s life essence.”

  Jensen caught Charlemaine just as she collapsed, lifting her unconscious body into his arms as he bellowed for the healer. With Falcon and his brother watching, he carried her to the closet settee and laid her atop the crushed velvet.

  “Damnation! Where is that healer?”

  The air contorted in a rush of wind, and a gray-haired man with a matching beard stepped through the portal. “Patience, young Jensen. I cannot be in two places at once, and Lady Astra was bringing her daughter into the world.” He peered down at Charlemaine’s body and frowned. “She is not one of us.”

  Jensen considered shaking him. “That does not matter. Heal her.”

  “Jensen.” Falcon’s reprimand reverberated around the room. He then turned his attention the wizard stooping over Charlemaine’s body. “Can you help her, Napoli?”

  The healer mumbled something, dipped his fingers in the pouch that always seemed to be attached to his side, and dotted his thumb to Charlemaine’s forehead. “She has had a head injury.” He aimed a disapproving look over his shoulder. “She should have been brought to me sooner.”

  “You can heal her, though.” Jensen didn’t make the statement a question.

  Wise eyes pinned Jensen’s face. “I can attempt to do so, yes, but my abilities are limited, I am afraid.”

  “You have healed many of us with more catastrophic injuries than she has.”

  “Yes, but most of us have immortality running through our veins. Wizards from other guilds are not as fortunate. She cannot be more than two hundred, and at that age, she is still quite vulnerable.” The healer brushed a lock of dark hair away from Charlemaine’s face. “Quite beautiful, though. ‘Twould be a shame to lose such a one as this.”

  “Then do not let her die.” Jensen emphasized each word, desperately trying to quell the panic rising in the center of his chest. He could not explain this connection he had to Charlemaine. Perhaps there was not an explanation.

  Growing up, he had often heard of his fellow wizards that had been magnetized by female wizards. He had scoffed at such nonsense, believing such things to be for the weak-minded. Now he was not so sure.

  Falcon laid a hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “Allow Napoli to work. We will adjourn to the Assembly room to convene with the others. Now that we are aware of her guild, we must send word to her people.”

  “Have you gone mad?” Riordan’s brother snagged hold of his arm to cease his progress.

  “They have killed my daughter.” Each word ripped another piece of his heart. He’d paced far too long while awaiting the seer’s feeble attempts to sense Charlemaine again. He would wait no longer.

  “If that’s so, going up against them is suicide.” Galen’s grip tightened. “We should speak to the others. They will want to avenge Charlemaine’s death as well, and we’ll need the numbers.”

  Riordan shook his head violently. “No! She is my daughter. This is my fight.” He yanked his arm free.

  “It won’t be much of one if you go up against the Assembly alone,” Galen snapped.

  “You would understand if you had children, my brother.” Riordan closed his eyes the moment he said the words, wishing he could take them back. His own pain didn’t give him leave to awaken his brother’s grief.

  Almost a hundred years had passed since Galen had lost his family in a senseless battle with the bloodthirsty Coven of Allesandra. And now, Riordan had just laid the wound bare once more.

  “Forgive me, Galen. For a moment, I allowed myself to forget that you have experienced such a loss.”

  Galen inclined his head to acknowledge the apology. “My only concern at present is your safety. I shall contact some of the other guilds. Should we need to attack, we will need their assistance if we are to be victorious. For now, do as you had intended, my brother. Send the messenger. Listen to what the Assembly has to say in response before you attack. ”

  Riordan considered his older brother’s words but, in his heart, he knew he would dismiss them. No amount of explanation would suppress his need for revenge.

  Chapter Three

  She floated in gossamer, trapped somewhere between the world she knew existed and that which seemed almost surreal. Her mind tried to drag her back to consciousness, forcing her to open her eyes, but Charlie held tight to the slim grasp of darkness. For now, it held much more appeal.

  Here she could pretend she knew what awaited her when she awakened, that once she faced the eyes of her savior she would know her life, who she was, and if she had been sent to infiltrate their guild.

  A strong odor wafted under her nose, and her eyes watered. She coughed as the vile aroma intensified. Spluttering to draw in a breath that didn’t contain the noxious fumes, she rolled to her side and tried to prop herself up on one arm.

  “She awakens.” An elderly man’s voice reached her ears, and he sounded quite smug as though he personally had something to do with her consciousness.

  Then Charlie opened her eyes and fixed them on a wrinkled face for a moment before dropping her gaze to the black vial he held in one hand. Apparently, he had everything to do with her departure from the dream world.

  “What is that horrific smell?” She pressed the side of her hand underneath her nose in an effort to ward off the lingering fumes.

  The man beamed. “Tis only bat guano, decayed snake carcass, and the slime from an aging barlett tree.” He capped the vial. “It is quite efficient at refreshing the mind.”

  Charlie’s stomach protested, and she pushed upwards, needing far more space from the hair-curling odor than what the wizened old man afforded her. “What happened?”

  “You had a severe blow to the head, I am afraid. Our good fellow, Jensen, brought you here and—”

  “I remember all of that. I meant what happened that necessitated your bat guano intervention?”

  He studied her with a bemused look. “You lost consciousness. I was not sure if your body had prepared itself for death so I thought this might be worth a try.” He waved the vial triumphantly. “My deduction was correct.”

  “Apparently.” Her nose wrinkled. “Now, could you please get that stuff away from me?”

  The old man made a noise that sounded like a grunt and got to his feet. Wearing a long, blue robe, he toddled to the door of the chamber without looking back. “I shall send Jensen in to see you. He has been most concerned.” At the edge of the doorway, he paused to add, “And you are welcome.”

  Charlie winced at the verbal hand slap. “I apologize. I should have thanked you for making sure I did not cross over to the ethereal realm.”

  “True. I am sure your family would not want your magic to fall into enemy hands.”

  Her magic? Charlie’s head ached at the thought. To her knowledge, she didn’t possess any magical abilities. If she had, how had someone or something managed to render her unconsciousness and leave her in the woods to be found by Jensen and his surly brother?

  “I think your people must be mistaken. I have no magic to give.”

  He harrumphed but didn’t tu
rn back. “Jensen will be with you shortly.” The door slid shut behind him, but Charlie didn’t have time to think before it opened again, and Jensen walked into the chamber.

  “How do you feel?” He sat down on the edge of the bed without permission. Something told Charlie that wasn’t proper, but she didn’t protest.

  “Like I don’t know who I am.”

  His full lips curved into a smile. “Not even a fleeting memory?”

  “Just bits and pieces, but it felt like a dream so maybe those memories weren’t even real.”

  “Perhaps.” Jensen lifted a hand and glided it up and down in front of her face.

  She stared back at him, torn between batting his hand away and simply watching those mesmerizing eyes. “You shouldn’t sweep my mind without my permission.”

  A laugh broke forth. “I am unaccustomed to asking for permission to do anything, Charlemaine.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  He started to respond, stopped, and got to his feet. With a curt order to stay put, he disappeared in a flash of light.

  Grasping holding of the headboard, Charlie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, testing the strength of her legs. When sufficiently sure she could stand without assistance, she dropped her hand and began to take in her surroundings.

  Nothing looked familiar, seemed familiar. She wasn’t supposed to be here. That much her mind told her. But where she was supposed to be was something it kept to itself.

  Before she could contemplate her situation further, the door swept open once more, and two men she didn’t recognize crossed the threshold, their brows lowered into thunderous scowls.

  “You will come with us peacefully.” The tallest of the men spoke with a point of his finger.

  Charlie didn’t like his tone. “Actually, Jensen instructed me to stay put.”

  “Jensen will not be returning to you. As your family has seen fit to initiate an attack against our people, you are now a prisoner of The Assembly.”

  “This is absurd.” Jensen kept pace beside Falcon as they traversed the span of the hallway leading to an unpopulated area of the fortress. “Charlemaine could not have given any attack sign to Nocturne. She has been unconscious. She could have no knowledge of this.”