Warlock's Mage Read online

  Most mages would argue this was impossible, but as long as her spell’s signature mimicked Edith’s, her magic wouldn’t detect the breach, or the building spell in her body. It was her greatest achievement in spell work, and the spell she’d used to track Andrew used the same concept.

  Once the spell had gotten through, it activated, and Edith Graves, mage councilor, fell to the floor unconscious. They both still had over three quarters of their magical pool left, and she could already feel hers absorbing and replenishing from the air around her, her affinity.

  The other councilors stared at her in disbelief. All duels ended either because the loser had run out of magic, or the loser had his or her shields taken down because they misjudged how much power to feed the active defensive spell. Yet, they could all feel Edith’s protection from general magic spell, which meant there was no way a sleep spell should have worked on her. In fact, they hadn’t even seen her cast an offensive spell for the last minute of the duel. Her new magical theories and creations had them confused, and possibly a little afraid. She wondered if she didn’t go too far in revealing her true and previously unheard of capabilities. She should have just defeated Edith the old way, but it was too late now.

  She said, “I resign my position as councilor, and nominate Edith Graves to take my place. So… did anyone else want to take the case away from me?”

  She suppressed a wince at her defiant tone, what was wrong with her? She was acting like a fire mage for goodness sake, air took the path of least resistance to their goals, and danced past obstacles, they didn’t annihilate them. Maybe… she’d just never wanted anything this badly before?

  Carlos cleared his throat, “No Samantha, you are certainly… capable of handling the case. Keep us informed with daily reports, you may go.”

  She nodded, and felt a little uneasy now that she’d gotten her way, and turned and left the room…

  Arthur wasn’t quite sure that he’d heard right. Which was saying something, since his hearing was good enough to hear a mouse squeak a hundred yards away.

  “What?”

  Jason Andrews, his personal turn, and head of security said, “The head alpha and wolf alpha have both been killed, leaving them with no central leadership, and two of their packs leaderless. My spies recorded it on a high-speed camera. Based on the speed of her movements during the battle between Joseph, and the abomination Julia, we estimated her demon’s age at about fifteen hundred.”

  That’s what he thought Jason had said. His demon was only about half that age, he himself was only eight hundred years old, and he’d started out like every other vampire, with a wispy half demon creature that had to grow over the years. Warlocks, annoying enough, could bypass that and summon full demon animals for possession. Worse, the bitch was also a cat shifter, an abomination and some kind of hybrid of both shifter and vampire. Regardless, the only reason Joseph hadn’t died under his claws, was because he was nowhere fast enough to beat the head alpha. Which meant this Julia was far more dangerous.

  He asked, “Did you follow them back to their lair?”

  Jason cleared his throat, “No sire, the warlock’s guardian has the ability to teleport. We didn’t see him leave the property, but we’re sure he’s gone.”

  Helen, his other turn and his mate cursed fluently.

  He shook his head, it would have to be dealt with, he couldn’t tolerate that kind of threat. Yet, he wasn’t sure how, right now that abomination would kill him rather easily, and he was the strongest in his coven. Not to mention the chaos they were having on the power landscape of the city. He’d have to think about it for a while. In the meantime, they had another opportunity to take care of.

  He said, “Very well, keep looking for his location, and what about the attack I asked you to set up, without two alphas and no head alpha, a hard strike now will decimate them and give us breathing room for years.”

  Jason said, “We should be in position and ready to attack a little after ten tonight. I’ve arranged two large forces of thirty each to go after the wolf and snake packs. There will be five man teams raiding the other shifter packs as well, cats, bears, dolphins, sharks, and sea lions.”

  He nodded, “Good, I doubt a few hours will give them time to organize, shifters are too erratic and undisciplined. Report back when it’s completed.”

  “Yes sire.”

  He waited for Jason to leave.

  Helen asked, “What do we do about this warlock?”

  He said, “I’m not sure yet, he was an unwitting ally, but with this abomination under his command… I’ll think on it. There’s nothing we can do before we find out where he lives.”

  Helen said, “Do you want me to reach out to my mage contacts, perhaps they have a lead, or can find out.”

  He thought about for a minute, “Yes, but don’t tell them why we want to know. Say that we want to keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of our interests.”

  Helen said, “Of course. They wouldn’t want to put their precious neutrality in danger.”

  He was happy enough with what was going on, hopefully they’d take care of the problem before the chaos turned against him…

  “Anyone have any idea how the hell she did that? Or even what she did?” Sara demanded.

  Carlos looked at the closed door, Samantha was gone from the council chamber, and he admitted to himself he was rather shaken. The whole duel she hadn’t even looked worried, much less scared or even focused. She’d taken Edith who was a formidable spell caster, with the ease of a parent dealing with a precocious child.

  He also knew they’d never get her to share her discoveries, although she had shared a few harmless spells with the council in the past. Either way, he had no answer for Sara, he didn’t have a clue what the hell she’d just done in here.

  Edith growled, “Does anyone else feel like we have two problems to handle now, instead of one?”

  He wasn’t comfortable with that line of thought. He didn’t relish the idea of losing his power or position, and he was ambitious, but he drew the line at the idea of taking out the competition. At least, in the way he felt Edith had just implied.

  Carlos frowned over at her, “Are you suggesting she would betray us? She’s uncommonly powerful yes, but I’ll remind you she could have been sitting in your chair. I don’t believe she’s a true threat to the council. Still, her actions do bother me, and I fear you were right, she’s compromised in some way, or at the very least biased in regard to the warlock.”

  Sara asked, “So what should we do about it?”

  Edith suggested, “You may be right Carlos, maybe we should just keep an eye on her, while she keeps an eye on the warlock? Chances are she’s just fascinated by the young man in some way, it would be prudent to make sure she isn’t fooled, or worse falls under his influence in some way. We could put Jake Crandall on her.”

  Carlos had almost bought the idea that Edith felt some concern for their young female investigator, until she’d suggested Jake. Jake was her major competition, and he was extremely competitive and didn’t like Samantha at all. He was sure Jake would be looking hard for some infraction of the rules or misconduct. Still, if there was something to find, Jake would find it.

  “Vote?” he asked shortly.

  Every single hand went up, including his. He guessed he wasn’t the only one that had been shaken by their flighty investigator turning so damned intimidating…

  Chapter One

  The bed was warm, comfortable, and just a little decadent as I held Katia in my arms.

  We’d spent the afternoon making love, and more than that, she was mine for life. I couldn’t imagine being any happier, that I actually got to keep her too was incredible. I scented her dark brown hair, and then noticed her chocolate brown eyes staring at me as if she’d won the lottery, instead of it being me that had gotten everything I’d ever wanted. Somehow, I got my power, two lovers in a succubus and a guardian who were my faithful servants, and I got to keep the human woman I l
oved.

  We’d exchanged a pact. She became my mate, the mother of my first child and heir, and a willing part of my crazy life. I’d also taken her jealousy away with magic, at her request, so she would be content with my love and with our life, and not have the jealousy of my other lovers poisoning those things.

  I couldn’t imagine my life without Katia in it, and given what she’d done to get here with me, I was sure she felt the same.

  I didn’t love Lilith or Julia yet, but I cared for them, and they were both loyal, and very worthy in my opinion to be loved. Not for what they could bring me, but for who they were. I figured it was probable just a matter of time. The sex, shallow reason or not, made me like them more, and there were other reasons as well.

  Suffice it to say, my life, and love life were rather complicated right now. Lilith had told me that Julia was already falling for me, simply for the way I treated not only her, but the cat pride that she loved. I was sure that in her case, it was about what I did and who I was, and not about the artificial closeness that sex brings. She was a cat shifter, and needed sex two or three times a day due to her races libido, which meant she was long used to divorcing those types of emotions from sex.

  I’d be jealous of her willingness for casual sex with anyone that attracted her that way, except she seemed thrilled and more than accepting of the idea of being faithful to me. In fact, she seemed to prefer it that way, being mine. Of course, that put an onus on me to fulfill her needs, which wasn’t a chore at all in my opinion. She was one of the most gorgeous woman I’d ever met, incredible in bed, and her pheromones along with my pact with a succubus ensured my libido would always be up for the effort.

  In short, things were going extremely well there, even if I didn’t quite understand what she saw in me. Sure, I was a pretty good guy, but she treated me like I was the best thing that ever happened to her. Honestly, it made me want to live up to those expectations, so I supposed it was a good thing. She was a wonderful woman, and I didn’t want to take advantage or take her for granted, which meant for me that our relationship would inevitably advance. I wasn’t built for casual sex, I knew I wouldn’t be able to help falling for her over time. Julia was my lover, protector, advisor, and truly a joy to be around.

  Lilith was a little more complicated. She’d fooled and tricked me into accepting her as my patron, and into tying my immortal soul to her for eternity. It was all about her and some competition she had with her sister, my father’s succubus. She was rather mercenary, and almost completely ruined my life when she did it.

  But… once the pact was made she became my servant, my protector in times of great need, and an advisor. She also built her body and personality to my own ideals of the perfect woman, which was why she looked a lot like Katia, except for the hair color, and lighter brown eyes. Their bodies were very similar as well, and both had that sexy innocent girl next door look.

  At least, in my eyes they did.

  Some might think it a deception of sorts, but that’s who Lilith really was now, in that body she experienced life as a young woman, with those personality traits. She was still a fallen angel, a greater demon and succubus underneath it all too, which is why it was more complicated. Still, I’d forgiven her for what she did to me, and now with Katia in my arms, the damage had truly been wiped away in my opinion, and if anything, my life was quite a bit richer, if crazier.

  Being a warlock felt… right, like it was exactly what I’d been missing in my life. And Lilith was faithful, playful, and gorgeous. She too was incredible in bed, so it was hard not to like her. I had a feeling like Julia, my feelings would grow, I just wasn’t sure if she could ever love me back. Underneath who she was, lay a consciousness who had endured eternity, since the start of time. I knew there were parts of her I’d never understand. Then again, that was true of about any woman.

  Bottom line, unless I died due to violence, I was looking at several centuries of life, loving and being loved by three unique and amazing ladies, who most likely would love each other as well. It seemed a little selfish to me, too much of a good thing having three women in my life who loved me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to say no. It was also a bit intimidating, it would take some real effort to keep them happy.

  It wasn’t all puppies and rainbows, the power and my new life had some problems too. The power, happiness, and ladies came with a cost.

  We’d managed to handle the head alpha problem, as well as kill Carmine. I imagined Celeste was toying with Carmine’s soul down in hell about now. The sadistic bastard deserved it. She’d sent me a message over the spell link about her success just a little while ago, and I’d let the spell go from my mind which held her here on this world. I imagine she dragged his soul along as she was banished.

  I had a treaty with the cat shifters, and had put magical protection wards on their pride home. I just hoped the shifters pulled together with new leaders that would respect the cat shifter’s right to choose their partners. I hoped that mess was taken care of, but for all I knew the new ones would be worse, so I’d have to keep an eye on it as their ally. As for what else they did, as long as it wasn’t hurting me or the pride I didn’t care.

  Then there were the vampires, I wasn’t sure how they would take what I’d done, and of course there were the mages to worry about as well. Seattle was not a peaceful city. I hoped to have a few weeks or months to study, and learn all about the magic. It would take me decades to learn it all, and there was no end really, since I could develop my own magic once I’d mastered spell craft and ward craft, but I’d be able to reach competency a lot sooner than that. But, I highly doubted life would slow down for me anytime soon, I just wasn’t that lucky.

  Still, I’d study, love on my ladies, and take the rest as it came, what other choice did I have?

  Katia asked, “What are you thinking about?”

  “That I want to stay here in bed with you, but we should probably get up and see about dinner. I felt Lilith and Julia head that way a little while ago. How about you?”

  Holding the natural ability to detect magic seemed almost natural now, and it seemed prudent to hold it in my mind if I could. Not only would I feel when my other ladies moved around, but I’d feel any attack on the wards while at home and relaxed.

  Katia grinned, “I feel amazing, weightless. When I picture us sleeping in the master bedroom tonight with Lilith and Julia, I just feel… excited by it. Accepting. It’s… freeing. I feel safe here with you, and I love you. I’m still worried about you though, and this new life, I know it’s dangerous. I love that I’m already carrying your baby, and I’m thinking I need to go shopping for clothes. I also need to unpack my car and get it off the street. Oh, and how the hell am I going to explain this to my family?”

  Sounded like Katia had a lot on her mind, and I was pretty sure that was just a partial list.

  I shrugged, “Mostly truth? Just not all of it. I inherited a crap load of money and businesses in Seattle, and you’re living with me now. Did you want to get married?”

  She asked, “Was that a proposal?”

  I frowned, “It seems like a small thing now, we just made a much bigger and unbreakable commitment together. But if it’s something you want, I’d love to marry you.”

  Katia lifted her head and nibbled my lip, and kissed me softly, “Maybe. But if you really want to know, you’re going to have to ask.”

  I laughed, “Cruel woman, well this is hardly the place for a romantic proposal, is it?”

  Katia shrugged, “Maybe, we just conceived a baby in this bed, but I suppose I’m not going anywhere if you want to entice me with a romantic date first.”

  I kissed her softly, just to buy some time to think. It shouldn’t be that hard, should it? Not after a pact and swearing on our souls like we had. Still, women had certain ideas about weddings and proposals, perhaps I should make more of an effort than in bed after making love, even if it is technically is less of a commitment than a pact given the divorce rate.

/>   “Sounds good, you’ll have to wait then.”

  She smiled, and I knew I’d made the right decision, “Shower, then kitchen.”

  I rolled out of bed, and helped her up before heading to the bathroom. We’d just showered a few hours ago, but we were both ready for another one after our sex marathon…

  Julia felt very comfortable with Lilith as they worked on dinner together. The succubus was a generous and talented lover, and she’d enjoyed their time this afternoon. She still wanted Andrew though, Sapphic love could tide over her appetites to some degree, and was fun, but to be truly sated she needed Andrew, and his long thick cock inside of her.

  She was still thrilled at how he treated her, like a whole person, instead of an object or toy to be possessed, or merely a warm hole to slake his sexual thirst. She’d never loved a man before, they were just necessary, and she’d never believed that she’d find a mate. She supposed she still wouldn’t, only another shifter could satisfy and initiate the mating bond, but with Andrew she’d come closer than she’d ever supposed was possible.

  The point was though, she wasn’t sure if she was in love or not, but she knew she cared for her charge very much. She might even love him already, but she had nothing in her past to judge her intense feelings by. Her thoughts about him bordered on devotion, and thoughts of him being in danger made her want to kill things. Even without the pact which required her to serve, and which had saved her Pride from the head alpha’s degradations, she would have enjoyed serving him anyway just for the feeling of being needed and useful past her talents in bed. He also had only given her one order so far, otherwise he’d treated her as his equal, and sought her council multiple times.