35. Damian

Chapter thirty-five

Damian

I had not been prepared for the world I'd stepped into. I should've recognized that Owen had been tagged. The fact that it took the witches to find it, even after he and I had slept together repeatedly, told me how out of my depth I was.

The ritual, however, was easy enough. It required that I drain the poison out of his arms. Unfortunately, it'd grown, so I knew there would be more pain to remove it now than if we'd caught the tag early.

The four witches in Owen's law firm had already begun the process of removing the poison, so I decided it was easier to use their spell and finish it with my own than it was to take him back to the attic and use my powers on him. I intuitively knew the witches' way would hurt less and could be done quicker than my method.

I had a vast knowledge of the witches' magic. One of my predecessors had been a witch. That's what it felt like, at least. The knowledge must've come down from her .

Mugwort was needed to relax the muscles, and cayenne to force the blood to flow through the spell and drain the nastiness out of him and into the tin.

Luckily, tin was one of the metals that could be manipulated to hold magic, at least temporarily, and I sensed Cary had a tin container in his desk.

Once the spell was over, I collapsed on one of the chairs beside Owen, the four witches doing the same. "That was intense, and I'm afraid a glimpse of what's to come," I said.

"What do you see, wizard?" Mr. Harrison asked.

"There's a group of vipers gathering on the edge of town. They're angry. That's what I sense."

Mr. Stage's forehead creased, and I looked around the room to see the other three witches were equally concerned. "The vipers," Mr. Stages said. "They are a modern-day gang of thugs. Most aren't magical. All are somehow associated with the darkness. I…well, none of us thought they were a real threat to the overall balance of power."

"Apparently, they are or want to be. My friend Molly has been taken, and I assume so has our mutual friend Shadow, although I'm not certain. I went to Molly's place and was confronted by a disembodied entity. He told me to trade the man for her, although I don't know what man he meant."

I could tell they were all as confounded as I was. I'd taken Owen's hand and slowly sent him healing energy. He appeared very relaxed and maybe just a bit high from the act. But I figured that was fine, especially considering what we'd just put his poor body through.

"We need to figure out what man he meant," Mrs. Paterson said.

Owen replied. "I-I sorta think it's me."

We all turned toward him and stared for a few moments. I let go of his hand, afraid maybe I'd sent too much energy into him.

"I… I was the one who was attacked, and that guy tried to attack me again. They also came to me in my dream. They wanted me to come outside and kept enticing me. Cary even had to drive one of them off when they impersonated a taxi driver. If they're looking for a man to trade for Molly and Shadow, doesn't it make sense it would be me?"

The tag put on him certainly explained how they got past my wards. That mystery was solved, at least. What didn't make sense was why they wanted Owen. "I'm sorry, Owen," Cary said, saying the same thoughts I'd just had. "Why would they want you?"

He shrugged. "To screw with Damian? You all? I don't know. It seems like a good way to create havoc."

Cary chuckled. "Sorry, Owen, the powers that be never pay attention to nonmagicals. Not even those who are light or dark sources. No offense, but you don't even register on the chessboard as a pawn."

"Cary," Mrs. Patterson chastised, but Owen just laughed .

"I get it, and I'd agree, but I was the one attacked and tagged, as you called it. The man wanted me. He was trying to get to me and would've, had it not been for your necklace. Why would they want me otherwise?"

"Bait," I said before I could catch myself. "I'm so sorry, Owen, but I have to agree with you on that. They want you because of me, and just like Molly, they'd use you to get to me, to all of us."

I sighed at the reality of that. "Maybe you should consider staying somewhere else for a while. I-I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Maybe, you would be safe if they think we broke up."

"Psst," Mr. Harrison said. "They know you care about him. Even if you were to break up, he'd still be vulnerable because they know you'd come for him. No, Owen needs to stay put, and now the tag has been drained from him, they won't be able to cross your boundaries."

"I daresay," Mr. Stages added, "you shouldn't be inviting any other magical beings into your home though. We all appreciate the openness with us, especially Cary, but your home needs to be your refuge and a place for you to keep Owen safe."

Owen looked around the room and then at me. "Damian, you want to break up with me? I-I can stay somewhere else, with maybe a witch or someone that can watch out for me."

My eyes grew large at what Owen must've interpreted from my words. "No, no, Owen, I don't want you to go. I… It's just so dangerous. I don't want you to be in jeopardy because of whatever this is I've become."

He stared at me for several moments, then sighed. "I need some time to figure all this out, and I've got some more work to get done in my office…but we can talk tonight," he said, standing to go. I almost thought he'd sway, considering how much energy we'd taken from him to do the spell, but he remained strong. Maybe the energy flow I'd given him had been enough after all.

When he was gone, the four witches stared at me, none of us talking. "I don't want him to move out; it's just I don't want to put him at risk," I said more to myself than to them.

"Young wizard, your predecessor went to great lengths to create an environment where your perfect mate would be available for you. He often spoke of being lonely in the last decades of his life. He didn't want that for you. I'm not sure how he managed it, or why he was able to attract Owen to come work at our firm, but I believe you have an opportunity that none of your predecessors had. You should be very careful before squandering that."

I nodded, then stood to go. "I will need your help—not just yours, but the magical community you trust. I have resources you don't, and I will send out scouts to try to help me find Molly and anyone else being held with her. When they're found, I will need to take the vipers on. I know as a wizard, I should be able to do this alone, and I suspect I can, but being new and still developing a sense of the community, I'd prefer to have help so I don't mess things up or inadvertently get my friends killed."

Mr. Stages came over and placed his hand on the table in front of me. When he turned it over, palm up, in it was a small gemstone. "You have us and our coven. As the leader, I assure you we will come when you call."

I took the stone, and it was immediately absorbed into my skin. This was a huge honor, one that witches didn't bestow easily. I suspected they cared as much about Owen as they did for me. Cary had even liked Molly, although I didn't think it was enough for such a generous offer. If Molly and Shadow were indeed darklings, I'd need the witches more than ever. I wouldn't be able to protect them. Wizard's magic wouldn't allow it. However, the witches were freer, and their power was more forgiving when it came to the dark.

I nodded, left the conference room, then looked down the hall to where I knew Owen was. I was about to go that way to say goodbye when Cary came up behind me and put his hand on my arm. "Give him a moment," he said.

I decided not to wait because Cary was right, he needed space, and it was probably best if I just left.

Besides, I needed to get the ghosts started searching for Molly and whoever else was being held anyway. Then, I needed to figure out how to protect Owen. Of course, I also needed to ensure he understood I was there for him and I didn't want him to leave .

Shit, I'd screwed up. He thought I didn't want him. He couldn't be more wrong. I sighed heavily as I walked outside. I looked both ways, trying to discern if anything was amiss. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except now that I'd detected the vipers, I could feel them, like a small splinter or something. Annoying but not life-threatening.

I certainly hoped that applied to Molly. However it worked out, I needed to concentrate on her right now because I wasn't at all sure she wasn't in jeopardy. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I believed she was.