The Joy of Hex Read online

  Soon I heard the crackle of static and the buzz of the power in the lines. A bright light illuminated the station.

  Vega’s eyes went wide when she saw the generators. “I’ve never seen so much electricity. That could kill an entire Fae court.”

  Now that we were here, there was no way the Raven Court or any other Fae were going to try to abduct us. This was the safest place we could possibly go in the Morty Realm. At least safe from Fae.

  “There might be Morty security guards. Or a security camera,” I said. “We should probably walk around the facility and plan out where we want to get in.”

  We surveyed the facility before selecting what we decided was the place least visible to security cameras. We couldn’t use Elementia metal bending to alter the fence with so much electrical magic nearby, and neither of us knew how to use the Red affinity to perform some of the same spells another affinity might use to walk through metal or fashion a set of stairs so we could gracefully waltz over the barbed-wire fence. Not that I could use magic at the moment anyway.

  We found a different area where a dog—perhaps the one following us—had dug underneath.

  Vega squirmed under the fence, getting mud all over herself, as I pried a section up for her. The metal caught on her dress and snagged it. She swore loud enough to raise the dead.

  Wouldn’t it have pleased her if she figured out that was her superpower—waking the dead by using her potty mouth?

  “Be quiet! Someone is going to hear us,” I said.

  She held the fence for me next. “Next time you’re bringing bolt cutters or your lockpick kit. I can’t believe you didn’t come better prepared.”

  Her foul mood was short lived. She walked over to a transformer and inhaled deeply. “This isn’t so hard. It’s a lot like starbathing. Should I take off my clothes?”

  “Um, no.”

  If there were security cameras and guards watching, I was sure they would love that.

  Electricity vibrated in the air. My skin tingled, absorbing excess waves of energy. It felt like it had been too long since I’d done this.

  Vega swayed her hips. “If only there were music. This feels almost as good as dancing.”

  Dancing did draw out her affinity. I wondered whether that would help her pull in more magic or overload her.

  “I’m going to show you what Felix taught me, then we can make some modifications,” I said.

  I walked over to a generator and hesitated. Felix Thatch had taught me how to use an electrical outlet to gather magic. This was a lot more power to digest. It would have been smarter to start with an outlet in a house or business and work our way up to an outlet with higher voltage like one meant for an electric car or a washing machine before handling anything this strong.

  Then again, we didn’t have time to build our affinities up slowly. Elric was dying from a contract I couldn’t fulfill, Imani had been abducted by the Raven Queen, and the more time passed the less likely Vega would be able to cure her adopted daughter, Dora. We had a serious time crunch.

  Plus, when did I ever think things through and make the safe choice?

  I removed my wand from my pocket. “We have to be careful with electricity. Too much at once can burn us. We’re going to start with a small amount, and then work our way higher.”

  “Whatever.” She removed her wand from her sleeve. “I’m a Merlin-class Celestor. I can handle anything.”

  She touched it to the metal and screamed.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  How Shocking

  My natural instinct was to grab Vega and yank her away from the conductor. The logical part of my brain knew that would add me to the circuit, and I would be fried by more volts than a human could handle coursing through my body. It was more than any other affinity could handle.

  In that split second, I took a risk. Either Elric was wrong, and I had magic inside me ready to return, or he was right, and I wouldn’t be able to process this much electricity or magic.

  I brought my awareness to my core and readied my energy center before grabbing Vega’s arm and funneling the electricity into my body. I pushed the excess into the ground. Delicious energy spilled into me, almost too overwhelming to handle. My back arched. Pleasure exploded inside me. I could barely breathe, let alone think.

  The first time I had done this on my own had been with the lightning on the roof of the school. I hadn’t known to temper the intensity so that it didn’t all come rushing at me at once. Thatch had taught me that.

  Even knowing what I needed to do, taking this much in at once was a lot like eating pizza that was hot out of the box, the cheese too molten to taste. I would have liked to give Vega instructions on how to process this much electricity, but my attention was stolen by the intensity of what I was doing. I forced myself to focus. I needed to ensure Vega didn’t end up brain dead and charbroiled.

  For one thing, I wouldn’t be able to get home if that happened.

  When Vega finally dropped her arm from the position where she touched her wand to the metal, her hair was frizzy and fried.

  I felt strong. Power pulsed inside me. I wasn’t filling a void created by a phantom limb—or phantom affinity. It was inside me, thriving and strong.

  Vega closed her eyes and moaned. “That was better than dancing. Better than sex. Better than eating human flesh that has been fermenting in the ground for three months.”

  Apparently that was the ghoul talking.

  Electricity flashed under her skin. The two of us glowed like lightbulbs.

  “So, here’s my plan,” I said. “Electricity can break through Fae magic. We need to use this to our advantage and attack the Raven Queen.”

  “Close your mouth, and let me savor this,” Vega said, leaning against the fence.

  The dog barked, sounding closer. I hoped it wasn’t going to draw attention to us.

  “Come on, Vega. This was part of the deal. I was supposed to teach you how to use your affinity. Now we need to see whether my powers are restored.”

  She ran her hands through her hair. One of her feet caressed the ground as if she were hearing music in her head. “It’s a nice idea, but I just want to savor this feeling for a little bit.”

  I offered her a bite of temptation. “Do you want to see whether you can wake the dead first?”

  “Maybe.” A smile tugged at her lips.

  The dog barked louder. Footsteps crunched somewhere nearby.

  Vega’s eyes locked on to mine. Someone had found us.

  “Security! Freeze,” a man said.

  For the amount of light radiating from the exposed areas of our skin, our magical luminescence didn’t reach that far into the shadows. I only knew where the man was from his flashlight.

  “What the hell?” he said.

  “No. I will not freeze. You will freeze.” Vega waved her wand dismissively at him.

  “Vega,” I said, hoping she wasn’t going to hex him.

  “You’re trespassing,” he said.

  She made an arch of light with her wand, and a set of stairs materialized at her feet. The steps crackled with flashes of purple and red light. The man swore and stumbled back, his flashlight falling to the ground. Vega grabbed me by the collar and hauled me up her stairway to heaven.

  As we ascended the stairs over the barbed-wire fence, Vega glanced over her shoulder and winked. “Toodles.”

  “Wow, cool! How’d you do that?” I asked as we descended the steps to the other side.

  Vega stepped onto the earth outside the electric station. “Duh. Magic,” she said, a wicked grin on her face.

  Vega and I returned to Elric’s estate. I humored her and followed her down to the crypt so she could see whether she could resurrect Dora. It didn’t work. I hadn’t expected it would.

  “You can’t use the Red affinity to Frankenstein someone back to life,” I said.

  “No, all you have to do is touch someone.” She glowered at her
hands as though she thought them useless. “But it doesn’t work for me like that.”

  “Not all Red affinities are the same, just like not all Amni Plandai are the same. Some have a special bond with animals, some are powered by plants and can make things grow, and some are shifters.” I gazed down at the five-year-old’s peaceful face.

  “Don’t lecture me. I’ve read more books on this than you’ve ever dreamed of reading.”

  “Right. Where did you find books on the Red affinity?” All those books had been banned for centuries.

  “From the library,” she said with a knowing smile.

  Probably she meant from the secret room under the library. I probably would have ventured down there more often if I hadn’t feared Principal Dean catching me back in those days.

  I leaned against Dora’s coffin. “All right. So why do you think you can’t wake the dead and I can, Miss Bookworm?”

  “It’s Mrs. Bookworm to you.” She drummed her long nails against the gem-encrusted coffin. “I think it’s because of your ability to draw out the magic of others. Not all Red affinities do that. Imani, Felix, and two of the children do, but I don’t. Little Sebastian doesn’t. Elric said he might someday since he was born a Red affinity, and my powers might change and increase the longer I’m a Red affinity, but I suspect he’s just trying to be nice. You know how he is, sickeningly optimistic.” She tried to hide her smile as she turned away.

  I suspected she liked it that Elric was so sweet.

  Thatch had never told me whether Priscilla and Odette had been able to draw out the magic of others. Probably it was a hereditary trait. I assumed my own daughter would draw out the affinities of others and amplify it with passive magic—if she was anything like Felix and me. My biological mother probably had possessed this trait as well.

  I hated to imagine what the Raven Court would do with Imani. If only she hadn’t used her affinity in front of the Raven Court and exposed what she was. Then again, if she hadn’t, a nursery full of children would be dead.

  Since dancing was her affinity, I hoped they wouldn’t subject her to sex magic or pain magic. I wanted to believe Odette was looking after her, but she played her cards close to her chest like Thatch. Imani was likely to be scared and hungry.

  We needed to get her back. We needed to rescue Aubrey. It was up to me to save them both, and I needed Vega to hurry up and help.

  I hated to be cruel, but Vega didn’t speak the language of caring and compassion. She was fluent in revenge, power, and glittery coffins.

  I stood. “Are you done playing at necromancy? We need to get Imani back and punish the Raven Queen for what she’s done. I know I can use my affinity better if I can recharge myself again.”

  Vega sighed and closed the lid of the coffin. “Haven’t you done enough recharging for one night? What can you possibly do that might increase your affinity? Please say I don’t have to sex you up.”

  “Felix said electricity is the purest form of our magic. I don’t know whether this will work, but I think if I try meditation and use my lucid-dreaming techniques while you push electrical magic into me, I might transcend my body. I will be able to return to the cosmos to get the Ruby of Divine Wisdom and use it to accomplish everything I need to do to defeat the Raven Queen.” I had felt so powerful and wise when I had touched the ruby before—even if the knowledge hadn’t lasted.

  She plopped into the chair beside Dora’s coffin. “Why do you think that would work? Have you ever done this before?”

  “Sure, I have. Loads of times.” Okay, so that was a lie, but Vega didn’t need to know that. I was just tired of relying on other people to stoke my fire. I wanted to use that dragon egg for knowledge—not for getting pregnant. Not yet anyway. I could do that after I saved the world.

  “Fine. I’ll help you meditate your heart out. And then you’ll help me get my own dragon egg so I can resurrect the dead.”

  Because the crypt was one of the most secret places on Elric’s property, and far from anyone who might be harmed by electrical magic, we conducted our experiment down there.

  I meditated, entering the landscape of dreams that my subconscious conjured to bring me to the sleeping minds of others. Each sleeper resembled a star on the desolate lunarscape. The nearest twinkling clusters of lights tasted like the magic of those I knew, children and servants in the household. More affinities sparkled red than I was used to seeing.

  The moment Vega jolted electrical magic into me, I had hoped to reach a Zen state where I would be one with the universe. Unfortunately, I didn’t transcend my body. I was vividly aware of Vega’s hands on me, anchoring me to my body with electricity. I fought to control the voltage she pushed into me.

  The electric power had tasted clean and pure, as sweet as sugar. Drinking the magic through Vega, the Red affinity was like drinking dirty water. It made my stomach churn. I wrenched myself free before I vomited.

  “Did it work?” Vega asked.

  “No.” I sniffed at the air. “Is that burnt smell me or you?”

  “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “It’s you.”

  Vega and I went to electrical power stations to drink our fill two days in a row. I didn’t see a lot of Thatch, who spent every waking moment when he wasn’t at work powering up his affinity with self-inflicted torture.

  Though he did smell my hair and raise an eyebrow at one point. “Why do you smell like barbeque?”

  I threw my arms around him. “Because I know you like food, and you’ll want to gobble me up if I smell like steak.”

  He shook his head and smiled. Even as he did so, the suspicion didn’t leave his eyes.

  I focused on attempting to restore my magic during that time. Despite Elric’s words, I felt my magic returning. I taught Vega what I knew about being a Red affinity. Vega’s affinity was dancing. We tried an electrical exchange as she taught me to tango—or tried to teach me anyway. I kept slipping into salsa because that was what I had learned during my date with Thatch using the competency pill. In any case, dancing was more satisfying for her than it was for me, but neither of us reached dragon nirvana.

  Felix Thatch noticed the change in my energy after another day. “What are you doing with Elric that has replaced your affinity?”

  He said “replaced,” not restored, as if he didn’t think I could renew my magic either.

  “Nothing,” I said. I wanted to be honest with him, for us to no longer have secrets. At the same time, I didn’t completely want to confide the truth in him. As soon as he learned why I wanted my magic back, he would try to stop me. “Vega is helping me. She’s been giving me dance lessons.”

  He snorted. “I can only guess what kind of dance lessons Vega would have to use to refuel your magic.”

  “Jealous?” I asked.

  He tugged me onto his lap and kissed me. “Jealous of you? No. Jealous of Vega? Maybe.”

  I laughed at that.

  He tried to smile, but the sorrow in his eyes kept his face from expressing true joy for more than a fleeting second. The waves of his dark hair fell over his eyes, cloaking his face in shadows.

  “I’m going to have to give Elric a baby,” I said.

  “I know. That’s what he’s been attempting, unsuccessfully thus far.” He nuzzled his face against my neck, inhaling deeply. “You smell like thunderstorms. And rainbows. What perfume are you wearing today?”

  “Magic.”

  I tried several small spells. The last time I’d been drained, at Derrick’s hands, Thatch had warned me not to use magic because I might permanently damage myself. The pain had been excruciating. I was careful now, not wanting to overdo it. It didn’t make me feel excessively tired or hurt me when I used my affinity, so I knew I was doing something right.

  Every night for a week, Vega and I visited power stations in the Morty Realm. Most of our excursions were during the evening when the household was asleep and it was easier to sneak out. I felt stronger than e
ver, but I still couldn’t reach that place in the stars where I had been a dragon and the Ruby of Divine Wisdom had waited for me.

  During one of these excursions, we left during the day while Elric was napping because Vega suggested we try a lightning storm. There were moments I feared what might happen while we were away, that the Raven Court might attack while the household’s strongest Celestor was out and Elric was weak. Alternately, I considered that the Raven Court might be watching and see us leave, surround us, and attack.

  All that stood between us and a swarm of harpies was some electricity.

  In the lightning storm, rain soaked us to the bone and lightning filled us to the brim with energy. I kept on drinking it in far after I could absorb any more, hoping this time would be different.

  It wasn’t.

  I pushed my red hair out of my eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. There must be something missing from this equation.”

  “I hate to say it, but I’m not surprised,” Vega flicked a ball of lightning at me.

  I batted the ball back at her.

  She tossed the red crackling light up into the air and caught it again, sections fragmenting off into the rain. “I’ve never experienced this vision of dragons like you’ve had and don’t expect I ever will. It isn’t one of my talents.” She poked me in the nose. “You, on the other hand, are going about this all wrong.”

  “How do you know?” I asked. Besides the fact that she was a Merlin-class know-it-all.

  “I asked Thatchy. The only way he’s ever arrived at his happy place is through pain. The only way you’ve gotten there is with pleasure. For me, it was dancing. Electricity is sufficient for increasing power. But if you want to get to your special dragon breeding ground in the sky, you’ll need to get there the good old-fashioned way.”

  “It drains Felix when we’re together like that. He needs to recover first.” Even if he used vises, and I raked my fingers against his bruises, I didn’t want to risk setting him back. He needed to heal without my interference.