Magaestra: Found: An urban fantasy series Page 2

  Crissy raised her eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. "If you would stop taking on so much damn work that you can't breathe, you'd have plenty of time to date someone. That's the joy of freelancing, after all, right? Making your own schedule? You took the time to come here with us at the last minute, taking the time for a date should be easy."

  "How do you think I managed to get two weeks free to come up here? I shuffled my projects around and squeezed the time out. As it is, I'm going to have to find some internet somewhere and get an hour or so of work in, before too much longer."

  "Don't dodge the question, sis."

  Faith sighed and drained her own glass– er, cup.

  "Crissy..."

  "Faith."

  "You know perfectly well how much men suck," Faith said, pouring the last of the wine. She glanced pointedly at the room in which Kaylee was sleeping. "Your baby-daddy didn’t even leave you a phone number, let alone helped raise his kid.”

  "Don't start with me, miss one-bad-apple-spoiled-my-life. I had a one night stand in L.A. that ended with an statistically unlikely accident, which wound up becoming the best thing to ever happen to me. He has no idea he’s got a kid so you can’t be mad at him,“ Crissy stabbed a finger at Faith. "You let a slimy jackass talk you into a few dates– after I warned you about him, I might add– and then when you found out he was going out after your dates to troll the clubs, you shut yourself down. And now we're done wallowing in self-pity, it's been a year and a half. I'm signing you up for some online dating site or something when we get back."

  "Crissy!" Faith groaned. She knew that her sister meant it, was the worst part. "Come on, why do I need to date to be happy? I'm fine. Besides, Dad set the standards way too high. I'm never going to find a guy like that so I'm not going to bother. I'm perfectly happy on my own."

  "Uh-huh. Sure," Crissy drew the word out as she rolled her eyes the way only sisters can.

  "You suck."

  "Not lately, but hey, a girl can dream!" Crissy wiggled her eyebrows and leered at Faith. "Maybe when we get back I'll call that guy back. The one from Kaylee's favorite restaurant."

  Faith cracked up.

  It was easily the best week she'd had in months, and it had only been a few days.

  "Aunt Faith! I'm all done!"

  Kaylee's voice rang out through the cabin and Faith grinned at the sound. It was just her and Kaylee in the cabin at the moment, making sure that all the mud was out of Kaylee's hair. Chasing frogs was all well and fine, but Kaylee had needed to be convinced that they don't belong in the house. Then she had to be convinced that she didn't belong moving into the frog's house either.

  "Are you sure? Really, really Kaylee-bee?" Faith wandered down the hallway toward the bathroom. Between the two adults, they had finally coaxed the mudball formerly known as Kaylee into the yard to get hosed off then into the shower to get washed, by making promises about baking brownies. This meant that someone had to go to the grocery in the nearby small town and get brownie making supplies.

  And more marshmallows. Because there's no excuse for staying in a cabin and not having marshmallows, Kaylee had explained. Faith was pretty sure the kid was onto something.

  "Really, really! See?" Kaylee threw open the bathroom door and revealed herself, all wrapped up in a towel, her hair half combed, but clean enough to qualify in Faith's book.

  "As long as there's not going to be any mud on your pillowcase in the morning, I'm convinced," Faith laughed. "Now scoot on into your room and get some clothes on. Your mom'll be back soon and we don't let chefs into the kitchen if they're not dressed. The health inspectors would shut us down so fast!"

  "Aunt Faith, there's no spectors! There's no such thing as ghosts!" Kaylee giggled but dashed into her room.

  "Inspectors, sweetie. That means people who come and look really hard for something wrong and then write a really long report about it and send other people to stop us from doing things," Faith said. "Like making the best brownies ever known!"

  Kaylee giggled again and went dashing off into her room. Faith smiled. She hadn't been convinced that her sister hadn't lost her damn mind when she got pregnant with Kaylee and insisted on raising her on her own, but the kid had turned out to be the light of both their lives. Aunt Lucy was completely charmed, too, and was determined to fill in for all of the girl's lost grandparents.

  Faith headed back to the kitchen, popping her laptop onto the breakfast table and double-checking the recipe they had settled on. It seemed entirely ridiculous but then smores brownies while at a cabin was significantly less silly than when they were back home. At least here it was a reasonable thought that they might work off all those calories.

  Faith smiled to herself and stood up to start making a new pot of coffee. Keeping up with Kaylee was a workout all by itself. Who needed a gym membership when they had her?

  She scooped the grounds into the basket then dropped it back into place and pulled the pitcher out to carry it to the sink. As the water ran into it she glanced out the window, letting her mind drift around between thoughts. Kaylee thumped around in her room. A bird startled out in the woods and went flying away from the trees, protesting loudly. Some other animal had disturbed it.

  She shut the water off and poured it into the reservoir and put the carafe back into its slot, and flipped the switch, starting the machine to gurgle itself from separate ingredients to that life-giving elixir known as coffee. Faith grinned as a poster she almost bought the other day popped back to her mind. It was black with white cursive writing on the front, like words forming out of the steam that drifted out of a cauldron-shaped cup, and it said I'm a witch! Every morning I brew a magic potion from beans!

  Maybe she would pick it up after all. Crissy's birthday was coming up soonish. She could get them one each. Crissy would be amused at the semi-truth behind the flippant words.

  "Aunt Faith?"

  Something in Kaylee's voice snapped Faith out of her mental wandering. "Yeah, sweetie?"

  "Did you hear something weird?" Kaylee popped around the corner where the open living room fed into the hallway. Her hair was still half-combed, but she wore shorts and a blue t-shirt with a glittery rainbow and had sandals on her feet. That counted as dressed to Faith.

  "No, I didn't, but then I wasn't paying attention," Faith said. "I was making coffee."

  Kaylee grinned. "No Aunt Monster here!"

  "Ha ha ha," Faith crouched over and reached for Kaylee, drawing her niece close and wrapping her up in a hug. "I'll give you Aunt Monster!"

  Faith blew a raspberry on the side of Kaylee's neck and danced her fingers over her ribs.

  "No! Aunt Faith! No tickles!" Kayle dissolved into shrieks and giggles and Faith felt the world right itself. Everything was better when Kaylee was happy.

  The low growl outside the back door was quiet but still managed to drown out the joyful sounds. Both Faith and Kaylee froze at the sound.

  "What the hell is that?" Faith's voice was soft now as well, and Kaylee shrank into her arms.

  "That's the sound I heard," she said.

  "Maybe it's a bear? Stay back here, behind the sofa. I'm going to look," Faith said. She gave Kaylee a little push, then turned toward the kitchen.

  3

  Faith stepped close enough to the window to peek out and immediately wished that she hadn't.

  What the hell IS that thing? As soon as she thought it, four more of the things slunk out from the cover of the woods. Whatever they were, they were nasty, and they were coming towards the house.

  They looked more movie monsters than any kind of real dogs she could think of. Or… wolves? These creatures were way bigger and way more mangy looking than any wolf she had ever heard of, with red eyes and teeth that were not just there for decoration. The growling stopped and for a moment the only sound was the gurgling drip from the coffeemaker.

  One of the creatures swung its heavy head around and looked right at her through the window, making her yelp and scramble back from the kitchen
.

  The front. They'd go out the front and... shit. Crissy had the car.

  Well, then, they'd stay inside. The doors were closed, so they should be safe. Wolf… things... whatever they were, they didn't have thumbs, so they couldn't open the doors, right? She reached into her pocket for her phone to call Crissy and warn her. Maybe she could bring some hunters or a SWAT team or something?

  The back door rattled and she imagined the– screw it, she was calling it a wolf, though she had a feeling that she was insulting real wolves everywhere. She imagined the wolf sniffing at the door, pawing at it. Kaylee whimpered.

  Faith hurried over to her niece and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Don't worry, Kaylee-bee. I'm right here. Those things are outside and we're safe in here, okay?"

  Kaylee just nodded, her eyes wide and scared. Faith swallowed and glanced back over her shoulder at the door. The wolf-thing was now banging against it and the growling had started again.

  Faith's mind flashed back to her mother and a conversation from so long ago she could barely even remember it. Monsters aren't real, she had assured Faith. They're just your imagination putting a form to your fears. She shook her head to try to clear it because her fears never tried to break down a door. She had to focus on the present, and she fumbled her phone out of her pocket.

  The first crashing bang made her jump and her phone went flying, skittering across the floor to slide under the table. The imagined-form-of-her-fears was trying to break through the door.

  "What the hell?" Faith whispered and Kaylee whimpered again and pressed herself against Faith's leg. She had just enough time to reach down and smooth her hand down Kaylee's shoulder when the wooden for Fram splintered, cracked, and gave way. "Stay behind me, Kaylee-bee."

  The monster wolf growled– a sound that rumbled against her brain like a buzz saw before it swung its head around, nose and ears twitching. Its crimson gaze landed on her and she would swear the damned thing smiled. She didn't even think, flinging her free arm up and pulling on the few lessons that her mother had managed to pass down before she died. The power tingled as it erupted from her hand, but it formed a barrier just like she hoped it would. Just like she remembered.

  The dog-thing in front launched itself at her and slammed into the magic shield, the impact reverberating up her arm and she hissed with the shock.

  Another of the things shoved through the door, its matted fur catching in the splinters that had recently been the door frame. Faith couldn't quite get her mind to accept that these creatures were not only real but were in the cabin's kitchen. Claws that made her think of dinosaur movies dragged across the wood floor but barely left scratches. Some tiny, vaguely rational part of Faith's brain was impressed at how delicately and carefully the creature was putting its paws down.

  The rest of her brain was nearing panic.

  The first wolf-thing slammed into her shield again and Faith gritted her teeth together. She kept one hand wrapped around Kaylee's shoulders, holding the girl's face into her side to keep her from seeing these monsters while the girl whimpered.

  Up close she could see that the dog-things weren't actually gigantic, only eye-level with her hips, but they were dense with muscle. The huge claws were matched by teeth that were revealed by the snarling jaws, and those horrifying red eyes...

  She pushed her power through her arm, strengthening her shield where it glimmered faintly in front of them. Her mother's words flitted through her mind, warning her to never, ever use her magic in public where anyone could possibly see her. 'They'll find you and they'll kill you, baby. So make sure you only ever use your power when you know you are alone and safe, and that nobody can see you.”

  Well, Mom. Sorry to break that rule, but I think this would be considered a special circumstance. Not that I know if these things can talk or tell anyone or... god what the hell are these things?

  The monster growled, low and angry, and the sound went straight to her monkey brain and activated just about every flight instinct she had. If she and Kaylee weren't backed into a corner, literally, she might have tried it. Although, weren't you supposed to never run from a predator?

  Whatever, her shield would only last so long. The second of the monsters flung itself at her and snarled when it bounced off her shield. The impact reverberated up her arm again making her flinch slightly, and she realized that she had less time than she had thought. The first monster noticed her reaction and it growled a bit louder before lowering its head and charging her.

  Damn, that hurts! She bit her lip to stop a sob. This wasn't anything like her practice sessions or her childhood tousles with Crissy. She didn't remember the pebbles or paper airplanes that they used in those easy moments ever hurting her. This was neither easy nor painless as the impacts reverberated through her magic and into her body.

  Small hands curled into her shirt and held tight, and she clenched her jaw and dug deep to send a little more power into the shield. She didn't have much more left to give.

  There was a bang in the backyard and one of the monsters glanced toward the sound but the other one– the leader, she thought– leaped up, slashing its claws down the shield. A trail of sparks showered from the impact and skittered over the floor to fade away quickly.

  She cried out, startled as welts formed on the arm she held up in front of her, supporting the shield. What the hell?

  "I want to go home. I want to go home," Kaylee was whispering into her hip. Me too, sweetheart.

  The monster shook itself and turned back, getting ready for another lunge, but before it could leap, the last remnant of the door crashed open, ripped from the hinge, and a blur slammed into the creature's side with a loud crack. When they skidded into the far wall and stopped, she saw it was a man– well, probably a man? A man-shaped creature at least, but no human was that strong or that fast.

  The man– for lack of a better word– stood, and after a glance to make sure the creature was down, spun to face the second monster who had stepped back momentarily in surprise. That moment didn't last long before it leaped at the man, claws out and its teeth bared in an angry yowl.

  The man dodged to the side and brought his hand up, and the creature made a burbling, choking sound before slamming into the wall about where the man's chest had been before sliding down to land on the first one. The man jerked and she saw that he was pulling a long knife out of the creature's body.

  Was this a good thing or a worse thing, now?

  The man pulled a cloth out and cleaned the monster's blood off his blade and contemplated the bodies on the floor at his feet, then as he slid the knife back into the sheath on his thigh, he turned, obviously getting ready to leave.

  And stopped dead, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes.

  She stared back, frozen, but determined to keep Kaylee safe at all costs. She tried to find more power to send to her shield but could tell that she didn't have much left to use.

  The man walked over to her slowly, hands clearly visible and palms out, as if he was approaching a stray animal. Heavy biker boots didn't make a sound on the scuffed wood floor of the cabin, and considering how big the man was, that was impressive as hell. Every move was careful and deliberate like he didn't have any movement to waste.

  She suddenly knew what a mouse felt like when staring at a housecat. It was both scarier and, weirdly, more comforting than the brute force attack the monster dog things had thrown at her.

  He moved like a predator. It was a phrase she read all the time in the romance novels Crissy kept giving her, and she had always thought it was a sort of ridiculous way to describe someone's walk. Moved like a dancer would be better she had always teased her sister, who scoffed and said that's only because you've never seen it! The familiar, friendly argument played through her mind in fast forward and all she could think was that Crissy was right.

  The man was tall, with dark brown hair and bright green eyes, and while he had muscles to spare he wasn't bulky like he spent too much time in a gym. Dressed in
loose black pants with pockets everywhere, a black t-shirt, and a leather jacket, he could be any dangerous biker she had ever seen in the movies. It was something in his dark eyes that said clearly that he was not just dangerous. This man was lethal. And those eyes were aimed right at her.

  "It got quiet, Aunt Faith, are they gone? Can we go home now?" Kaylee asked her hip, not looking up at all.

  The man's eyes flicked down to take in the small body, and she moved to try to block Kaylee from his sight.

  "Magaestra," he said, his voice pitched low and gentle and deliberately non-aggressive. A shiver slid down Faith's spine.

  Damn, even his voice is dangerous. like steel wrapped in silk and chocolate and hot bubble baths on cold nights.

  "I will not harm you or the girl, Magaestra. I swear it," he said. The man sounded slightly awestruck, not that Faith could understand why. He stopped right in front of her and held his hands out, showing that they were empty. It seemed like he was trying to be non-threatening, but she had seen what he did to those monsters. There was no way he wasn't extremely dangerous.

  She flicked her eyes over to the pile of monster bodies and gasped.

  "Look out!" Faith didn't think, just reached out with her free hand and yanked the man to them, throwing the shield back up just before the beast slammed into it, pushing her back a step from the impact on her magic.

  It landed on three legs, visibly favoring a serious injury, and before she even knew what was happening, the man was standing over the creature again, his knife in his hand and buried in the thing's neck, up to the hilt. Now there was no question that both the monsters that had come inside were dead.

  "Holy fuck," she said. "What are you?"

  The man turned and blinked at her, his own shock clear. "You... you protected me."

  It was her turn to blink. Huh, she had, hadn't she? She glanced at where her magic shield glimmered faintly in the air between them once more. How did he get through it? He was going the other way, not the way I was stopping. I guess that makes sense. I wasn’t trying to keep us from getting out. And now I’m rambling in my own head. Focus, Faith!