As Jasper floated back to awareness, he immediately became aware of two things. The first was that his throat burned like he’d been gargling hellfire, and the second was that he was tied to a chair, that realization coming to him when he tried to grab for his throat and his hands didn’t move.

Gasping as he tried to breathe through charred and bleeding lungs—at least that’s what they felt like—Jasper squinted down at the ropes around his arms and chest, wondering how he’d gotten here. Wherever here was. Blinking at the fog blurring his vision, he looked blearily around and saw that he was in a small wooden room with no windows. As his vision cleared further, the wall to the left of him came into focus, drawing another gasp from him.

Hundreds of photos, layered one over another, filled the entire space. There were photos of Lucas. Photos of Jasper. Photos of them together. And in every picture that Jasper was in, his face had been marked out. In some, it had been crossed out in red, in others, it had been gouged out. And in a few, his image had been burned away, leaving only part of a shoe or the sleeve of his shirt to identify it was him standing next to Lucas.

And rage and hatred poured off of every one of them.

In contrast, the photos of Lucas were carefully mounted, some framed, others arranged in collages with little notes handwritten on them in silver. There were pictures of Lucas at the gym, at work, and out for dinner. There were also more candid shots, ones of him relaxing on the couch, or reading a book on his back deck. Pictures of him cooking in his kitchen, wearing the gag bodybuilder apron Jasper had given him for one of his birthday gifts. And then there were private ones. Photos of Lucas sleeping, of him lounging in bed, eyes half closed, love bites marking his naked body.

But even with as carefully laid out as the photos of Lucas were, Jasper could feel a dark craving, a tainted lust, emanating from them.

Whoever had taken the photos had an unhealthy fixation on Lucas. And they wanted Jasper to die.

Hearing a noise, he glanced over to the corner of the room and saw Elwood leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. And Jasper’s shard hanging around his neck.

Memory came flooding back. Elwood, the lying bastard, showing up at his house with his black spell bag of death and almost killing Jasper.

Lunging against the ropes, growling when they thwarted his attempt to get to Elwood, all Jasper could do was glare at him, his voice hoarse as he yelled, “Give me back my shard.”

“It’s my shard now,” Elwood said as he pushed off the wall and crossed over to him. “You don’t deserve it. You or your family. None of you are worthy to control its power.”

“We don’t control it, jerkwad,” Jasper said, tugging against the ropes. “We protect it from assholes like you who only want to abuse it.”

“Abuse what? It’s a rock with power. Just like your crystals.” He turned his head and smirked, drawing Jasper’s attention to the small pile of fragments on the floor. “Well, they used to be. Now they’re just dust.”

Jasper couldn’t stop the sharp cry that escaped when he saw what was left of his crystals. “You asshole. You didn’t have to kill them?”

Elwood squinted at Jasper like he was the crazy one. “They’re not fucking alive, idiot.”

Maybe not to Elwood, but to Jasper, they’d been very much alive. He took a moment to mourn the loss of the crystals and stones that had been his constant companions and protectors for years.

“Poor Jasper. Do you miss your useless little crystals?”

Jasper scowled at him. “When did you turn into such an asshole?”

Elwood gave him a cold smile. “I’ve always been an asshole. You were just too stupid to see it.”

Jasper couldn’t deny it. He had been. But not Spencer. His friend had seen the truth about what kind of person Elwood was and had tried to warn him. But Jasper hadn’t listened. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. “I feel sorry for Forrest and Birch,” Jasper said, thinking about Elwood’s younger brothers. “You must have made their lives hell.”

Elwood sneered. “They deserved it. They’re weak. Useless. Just like you and your stupid family.” His gaze strayed toward the wall. “Even Lucas proved weak in the end.”

“So you turned on him,” Jasper said. He stared at the photos of Lucas, then murmured, “It must have broken your heart.”

Elwood’s eyes snapped back to him. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s obvious you love Lucas.” Well…more like, was completely obsessed to the point of insanity, but potato, potahto.

“Lucas was mine,” Elwood snarled, his whole body vibrating as he stared down at Jasper. “And you fucking took him from me.”

Jasper blinked, the switch from calm madman to raving lunatic catching him off guard. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you fucking did,” Elwood said, leaning down, spittle flying from his mouth and hitting Jasper in the face.

Leaning as far away from him as the ropes would allow, Jasper said, “Well, if I did take him, which I didn’t, I gave him back. He’s your boyfriend now, so I don’t know why you’re so pissed?” When Elwood didn’t answer, Jasper looked up at him, catching the blank look on his face before he looked away. “Oh, my god. You lied to me. You and Lucas aren’t boyfriends.”

Stepping back and crossing his arms—which looked defensive even with the scowl on his face—Elwood shook his head, the rage that had been there seconds before suddenly gone. “No.”

“Why not? Did he say no when you asked him out?” When Elwood looked at him in confusion, Jasper snorted. “Seriously? You never even asked Lucas out? Or told him how you felt? You just went right to stalking?”

“Shut up.” But it had no bite, Elwood’s whole posture defensive now.

Jasper pointed his chin to the wall. “Dude. This is way over the top. So not how to catch your man.”

“I said to shut the fuck up.” That one had a bit more fire in it.

Not that it stopped Jasper. “Seriously. Shit like this only looks cool in movies. In real life, a creepy little stalking cave like this just makes you look pathetic.” And freaking nuts.

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll fucking kill you.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried already.”

Elwood just stared at him.

Jasper looked back, then realization hit. “Oh. The black smoke bomb. That was meant to kill me?”

“Yes, damn you,” Elwood hissed, the insane anger back in his eyes. “You just won’t fucking die.” He shoved his hand in his pocket, then pulled it out and blew across his palm.

A cloud of black dust settled around Jasper.

At the first acrid bite, Jasper tucked his face into his shoulder and drew in a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he held it. Every few seconds, he’d peek through slitted eyelids to check on the cloud of magic surrounding him. By the time it had cleared enough he thought it might be safe to breathe, Jasper felt lightheaded. But he kept holding his breath.

Eventually, his oxygen-deprived lungs left him no choice. Jasper gasped, taking in a deep breath of air, then started coughing as he inhaled some of the dark magic that was still swirling around him. But that was the only weakness he showed. There was no way he was going to let Elwood know his skin felt like it was on fire.

“That should have killed you,” Elwood said, staring at him in confusion. “Why aren’t you dead?”

Jasper spat a mouthful of black-tinted saliva on the floor, his voice raspy as he said, “The shard protects its own.”

Rage swept over Elwood’s face again. The constant back and forth of crazy was making Jasper dizzy. “I have the fucking shard. It’s mine. I control it. I control its magic.”

“No, you don’t,” Jasper gasped, then sucked in a breath of cleaner air, wheezing out, “You might think you do, but the shard can’t be controlled.”

“It’s a fucking rock. A tool. It’ll do whatever I want it to.”

“No, it won’t. Its magic only works for my family.”

Elwood froze. Then a dark light came into his eyes. “Then I’ll just get rid of your family. The shard’s power will have no choice but to transfer to me when you’re all dead.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black bag.

Jasper stared at it, a nugget of worry forming in his stomach. The bag looked similar to the one Elwood had thrown at Jasper earlier, but it felt heavier, more oppressive, the dark magic radiating from it making Jasper’s bones hurt. “You know that can’t kill me. All your spell bag is going to do is choke me until I pass out again.”

But even as he said it, he wasn’t so sure. The dark magic coming from this bag felt like it might be a match for the protective power of the shard. Especially since Jasper wasn’t wearing it.

It turned out he was right to be worried.

“The other one was just a small death spell. But this,” Elwood said as he hefted the black bag. “This is not. It has enough death magic in it to wipe out an entire city block.”

Jasper stared at him in horror. “Are you fucking insane? Why would you be carrying that kind of magic around in your pocket? What if you set it off by accident?”

Elwood tossed the bag up in the air, laughing when Jasper’s lunge at him was stopped short by the ropes. “Are you worried about me? Don’t be. I’m immune to the magic. But everyone around me…” Elwood held up his other hand, making a fist, then quickly splaying his fingers. “Poof. All gone.”

His cavalier attitude toward killing hundreds of innocent people told Jasper Elwood was probably too far gone to be saved. But he would try. After he got that spell bag away from him. “You’re not going to use it on anyone,” Jasper said, twisting his arms as he pulled against the ropes, trying again to get free.

“You can’t stop me.”

That’s what he thought. Giving up on the ropes when he couldn’t find any slack, Jasper instead focused on the shard, calling it to him. The shard floated away from Elwood’s chest, tugging on the chain, then settled back into place. Frowning, Jasper called it again, putting more force behind his request. The shard flopped from side to side like a landed fish, but the stubborn stone still refused to come to him.

“Stop that.” Elwood grabbed hold of the shard, then he shouted when it shot out little lightning bolts of energy. “What the fuck?” Elwood blew on his hand, staring at the black marks on his palm.

“Serves you right, asshole,” Jasper said, then he focused on the stone, asking why it was resisting him. All he got back was that She was coming.

Ah. Jasper sat back in his chair to wait for his mother’s arrival.

“How did you do that?”

Jasper squinted up at Elwood. “How did I do what?”

“The shard. It attacked me. How did you make it do that?”

Jasper shook his head. “Wasn’t me.”

“Tell me what you fucking did right fucking now,” Elwood screamed, spittle flying everywhere.

Jasper frowned up at him, getting a little worried by how unhinged he was, especially since he was still holding the super-kill-everyone-death-spell. “Elwood. I think you should stop using dark magic. It’s starting to take over your mind.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my fucking mind.”

“Except for the part where you want to kill everyone,” Jasper said, his eyes shifting to the bag when Elwood’s fingers tightened around it. “I think the magic is already controlling you.”

“Nothing is controlling me.”

“Except for the dark magic.”

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll kill you,” Elwood spat.

“You already tried and couldn’t,” Jasper shot back without thinking, which was a huge mistake since it enraged Elwood even more.

He grabbed Jasper by the hair and yanked his head back, holding the spell bag in front of his face. “This will kill you. And if it doesn’t, I’ll keep trying until I find something that does.” Then he pressed the black bag against Jasper’s cheek.

His stomach lurched, bile rising at the touch of black magic against his skin. Jasper tried to yank free, but Elwood jerked his head back, keeping the bag pressed to his face. Looking up at him, he could read his death in Elwood’s eyes. And while Jasper was fairly confident the shard would be able to keep him alive—mostly—when it came to black magic, there were no guarantees.

“Are you ready to die?” Elwood asked, his eyes scary crazy.

“No,” Jasper said, before sucking in a mouthful of air and holding it, really not looking forward to being suffocated by that black smoke again.

“Too bad.” Elwood laughed, then he leaned closer, whispering in Jasper’s ear. “Something for you to think about when you’re choking to death on my magic. Once you’re dead and out of my way, I’m going to kill your family. Then I’m going to go after your cop.” He pulled back enough to look Jasper in the eyes. Then he smiled. “Oh, I forgot. I already did.”

Rage washed over Jasper the moment Elwood threatened Gabe. Snapping his head forward, he butted Elwood in the face, his stomach lurching again at the crunching pop of Elwood’s nose breaking.

Elwood screamed and fell to the ground, covering his face with his hand, which didn’t do much to stop the blood pouring from it. “You broke my fucking nose.”

Then he screamed again when Jasper kicked out, catching him under the chin with his foot and snapping his head back.

“You’re lucky that’s all I fucking did.” Jasper lunged against the ropes, a feral need to tear Elwood apart taking him over. But as much as he struggled against the ropes, he couldn’t get free. All he managed to do was tip his chair sideways, sending it crashing to the ground. Which fucking hurt. Undaunted, he started inching his way toward Elwood, determined to get his hands on him and end his threat once and for all.

When Elwood realized what he was doing, he scrambled back out of reach, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Fucking coward. Knowing he’d never reach him as long as he was tied to the chair, Jasper sent a plea to the shard to help him get free of the ropes, but the stone just hummed and told him to be patient.

Which did not help one little bit.

Jasper glared at it. “If you don’t start working with me, I’m going to paint blue and pink stripes over you and dunk you in a bowl of glitter the minute I get home.”

A sense of amusement filled his mind, but the shard still refused to help.

Jasper growled. “If Gabe gets hurt because of you, not even my mother will be able to stop me from turning you into an eyesore of glitter and paint.”

More amusement.

“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Elwood asked, glaring at Jasper over the hand cupping his nose.

“None of your fucking business,” Jasper said, shifting back and forth, twisting his body, looking for some slack in the ropes, which did seem a bit looser now that he was on the ground, but not enough for him to slide free.

Elwood staggered to his feet, wobbling slightly, one hand covering his face, the other holding the black spell bag, which thankfully hadn’t broken open in their scuffle. Then Elwood raised it over his head, his voice nasally as he shouted, “Get ready to die, fucker.”

Bang!

The door slammed against the wall as Gabe and Emerson rushed into the room with their weapons drawn. Jasper’s heart jumped in his chest when he saw Gabe was okay. Then he frowned when he got a good look at his face. What was with the eyebrow?

Before he could ask, his father came through the door, smiling at Jasper as he walked over to him at a leisurely pace.

“Hey, Dad,” Jasper said, grinning up at him.

“Hi, Son. It’s good to see you’re in one piece.” Then he bent down, his deceptively strong, lanky body easily righting Jasper’s chair. “Now you just wait here while your mother and your detective put a stop to this nonsense.” Then patting Jasper’s shoulder, he wandered over to the stalking wall.

“Uh, Dad. My hands.” But he was too late. His father was already engrossed in studying the photos. When Jasper called to him again, his father raised his finger in an I’ll be with you in a minute gesture, then pulled a little notepad and pencil from his pocket.

Jasper snorted, knowing it would be impossible to get his father’s attention until he was done.

Then Jasper’s mother walked in, looking cool and composed in her chignon, lace blouse, navy pencil skirt, and heels, the force of her presence drawing everyone’s attention. Scanning the room, she nodded at Jasper, who couldn’t stop smiling at seeing her there, then she leveled a withering glare on Elwood, who was looking at everyone in shock as if he had no idea where they’d come from. Which, to be fair, he didn’t. When his eyes connected with Jasper’s mother’s, he flinched and took a step back. Holding his gaze until he stepped back again, Jasper’s mother then turned to the photo covered wall, making tsking sounds as she studied it. “What a nasty little obsession you have with Jasper’s ex-boyfriend.”

Gabe glanced over his shoulder at the wall, his eyes going wide when he saw the pictures, then he turned back to Elwood and cocked his gun. “You sick little fuck. How long have you been stalking him?”

“Now, now, partner,” Emerson said. “You know you’re not allowed to call criminals names, no matter how creepy and stupid they are. The Captain said we’re supposed to treat them with respect.”

“Well, the Captain’s not here, is he?”

“Doesn’t change what’s right.”

“Fine,” Gabe said, glaring at Elwood. “How about I just put a bullet between his eyes then? Respectfully, of course.”

“Only if it’s in self-defense or to protect a civilian,” Emerson said, then looked over his gun at Elwood. “Are you planning to throw that spell at us or are you going to keep holding it?”

Elwood looked between him and Gabe in confusion. “What?”

Emerson shrugged, then scratched his nose with his gun before pointing it at Elwood again. “I just need to know your intentions so I can let my partner know whether he’s clear to shoot you or not.”

Elwood’s eyes flicked to the black spell bag then back to Emerson. “You shoot me and you’ll die.”

“More like I’ll shoot you and you’ll die,” Gabe said, raising his gun slightly.

“Mom!” Jasper shouted when he saw Elwood’s hand twitch. “Protect Emerson.”

“Emerson?” Gabe lowered his weapon and turned to glare at Jasper. “I’m your fucking boyfriend. What about protecting me?”

Jasper grinned at him. “You called me your boyfriend.”

“Could you stay focused, please?”

“You called me your boyfriend,” Jasper repeated, his face hurting from how wide he was smiling.

Gabe rolled his eyes. “Stop looking at me like that and answer the damned question. Why are you so worried about protecting Emerson and not me?”

“Because the shard looks after its own, Detective,” Jasper’s mom answered for him, which was good because Jasper couldn’t stop grinning at Gabe, who’d publicly called him his boyfriend for the first time. “As you belong to my son, its protection will extend to you. But it has yet to be introduced to Detective Trewitt, so he’s still vulnerable to attack.”

“Gotcha.” Gabe winked at Jasper, making his heart skip a beat, then turned back to Elwood and raised his gun again.

Elwood looked from Gabe to Emerson, who had their guns trained on him, to Jasper who was tied to the chair and grinning like a fool, so happy with Gabe he could barely control himself. Then Elwood glanced over to Jasper’s father, who was looking over the stalking wall, writing notes on his little pad of paper and muttering, “This is most unhealthy, young Master Elwood. Most unhealthy indeed.”

Elwood looked back at Jasper, who shrugged. “He’s right.”

Then Elwood’s eyes went to Jasper’s mother, who gave him a cool look before turning her back on him dismissively, which made him shrink in on himself. Then his anger came back. And his eyes started to glow.

Uh, oh. Jasper flicked his eyes at Elwood, then back at his mother as she walked over to him. She nodded but looked unconcerned, so Jasper let it go, grinning up at her—he honestly couldn’t keep the damn thing off his face—when she stopped next to him. “Hey, Mom. What took you guys so long?”

His mother’s eyes sparkled. “Your detective and I needed to have a talk.”

“And? Did you get everything worked out?” Jasper asked, having a good idea of what they’d talked about.

“We did. I’m looking forward to introducing him to Clarissa.”

Jasper snorted. His stubborn grandmother and Gabe were an explosion waiting to happen. Motioning her closer, he whispered, “Do you know what happened to his eyebrow?”

His mother’s lips twitched. “I don’t. It didn’t seem the time to enquire.”

Jasper nodded. “I’ll ask him about it later.”

“Do try to make sure I’m around, dear. I’d love to hear the story.”

Jasper let out a laugh.

“Excuse me,” Elwood shouted. “I’m the one with the fucking spell bag who’s going to kill

you. You should be paying attention to me.”

“Sorry, Elwood. Mom and I had some things to catch up on.”

“This isn’t a fucking family gathering.”

Jasper looked around the room, then shrugged. “It kind of is.”

Gabe and Emerson snorted.

Elwood’s eyes bugged out of his head. Holding the bag higher, he looked around the room. “What the fuck is wrong with you people? I’m about to kill you. You should be afraid of me.”

Gabe squinted at him, then turned to Jasper. “Is he for real?”

Jasper looked at the five-foot-two, glasses wearing, enraged black magic witch, whose blood was still streaming from his nose and dripping off his chin onto his silk bow tie, and nodded. “Yep. He thinks he’s in control of everything here.”

“I am in fucking control,” Elwood shouted, stomping his foot, proving he really wasn’t. “And it’s about time you fucking people realized it.”

“Elwood, you poor deluded boy,” Mariella said, shaking her head. “You’re in control of nothing here. Least of all yourself.”

“I’m in control of more than you think, you old witch. Including this.” Elwood lifted the chain to show her the shard.

“Again, you are incorrect. The shard answers only to my line.” She snapped her fingers. The shard darted toward her, pulling free of Elwood’s fingers and snapping the chain as it flew across the room to land in her hand.

“Hey. That’s mine. Give it back.”

Ignoring him, Mariella held onto the shard and made an intricate gesture with her hand. A second later, a wall of power went up around Elwood. Only then did she look at him. “Put the spell bag down, Elwood, before you get hurt.”

Elwood pushed against the boundary, hissing when it crackled at his touch. He glared at Jasper like it was his fault.

“The spell bag, Elwood. Set it down. Now.”

Instead, he shoved the black bag in his pocket, and cried, “You’ll never take me.”

Gabe muttered from the corner of his mouth, “Is he always this dramatic?”

“He didn’t used to be,” Jasper said, “but he’s changed. I’m not really sure what Elwood is like anymore. Except crazy.”

“I’ll fucking show you how crazy I am, Jasper Belmont. The next time you see me will be your last.” Then proving he was going to be dramatic to the end, Elwood pulled a black crystal from his pocket and smashed it onto the ground. As it exploded, a cloud of black shot from it, surrounding him. When it cleared, Elwood was gone.

“Well, that was fairly anticlimactic,” Jasper’s father said as he put the notepad and pencil back in his shirt pocket. “I’d expected a bit more of a magical duel than that.”

Jasper turned to his father. “You sound disappointed.”

“I am rather. Seeing your mother in action is hot. And a magical battle gets her riled up like nothing else, which makes the sex a bit dangerous. But damned good.” He leered at his wife.

“Oh, my god. You can’t say stuff like that where I can hear you,” Jasper said, wishing his hands were free so he could cover his ears.

A few seconds later, they were. Gabe knelt in front of him and pulled a knife from his boot—speaking of hot—and slashed through the ropes, setting Jasper free. “Your parents are kind of nuts, aren’t they?” he asked, sliding the knife back into his boot before taking hold of Jasper’s arms and chafing his wrists.

“A bit.”

“And uncomfortably open about sex.”

Jasper snorted. “You have no idea. Remind me to tell you about Dad’s orgasm face exercises.”

Gabe looked at him suspiciously. “Do I really want to know?”

“Nope,” Jasper said, shaking his head. “But if I have to know about them, so do you. We’re a team now.”

“Maybe there’s still time to get out of this.”

“Oh, no Mr. Hot Detective. There’s no take-backsies. You’re stuck with me forever,” Jasper said, grinning when Gabe helped him out of the chair.

“Which won’t be long if you keep doing this to me,” Gabe muttered.

“Doing what?”

“Getting yourself into trouble.”

“It’s not like I asked to be kidnapped.”

“I know. But this kind of shit keeps happening. I’m going to be gray before I’m thirty-five.”

Jasper tilted his head to the side, trying to imagine Gabe as a silver fox. The image slipped easily into his mind and made him sigh.

“Are you listening to me?”

Jasper nodded.

“What did I just say?

Jasper opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Gabe snorted, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me,” Jasper said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

Gabe sighed. “I think I already do.”

Jasper couldn’t catch his breath. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I love you too,” Jasper said, throwing himself at Gabe, laughing when they tumbled to the ground.

“Do you love me enough to stop getting yourself into these situations?” Gabe asked, looking up at him like he was precious, a look Jasper could get used to.

Leaning down, he pressed his forehead to Gabe’s. “I can try. But even if something happens, the shard—”

“You and your mother put too much faith in that damned shard. If tonight proved anything, it’s that you can’t depend on it.”

Jasper frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but the shard let you down.”

“No, it didn’t.”

“Yes, it did. Otherwise, Elwood wouldn’t have been able to take you.”

“Oh. That’s because I wasn’t wearing the shard when Elwood threw the spell bag at me,” Jasper said, sitting back on Gabe’s lap.

Instant scowl. “Why the fuck not?”

Jasper shrugged. “The chain got caught on something when I was getting the donuts out of the trunk and snapped.”

“Excuse me?”

Jasper squinted at him. “What?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gabe yelled, sitting up and grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Why are you yelling?” Jasper asked, not understanding why Gabe was so mad.

“You drove off a goddamned cliff—”

“I was pushed off a cliff.”

“You were pushed off a goddamned cliff and somehow managed to wedge your car between the only two rocks for miles in either direction because the shard kept you safe, but the chain snapped getting a fucking box of donuts out of the car?”

“Uhm…yes.”

“What the fuck? Why would it do that?”

Jasper shrugged. “The shard must have had a reason for letting Elwood take me.”

“The shard had a reason?”

Jasper nodded, the fierceness in Gabe’s eyes sending a shiver down his spine. And not from fear. “I think there was something we needed to know.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure. But there was something important we needed to see tonight.” Jasper could actually see when Gabe switched over to cop mode.

“Tell me everything that happened when Elwood took you.”

Jasper nodded and recited the events exactly as he remembered them, though he did gloss over what it had felt like to be suffocated by the black magic smoke, thinking Gabe didn’t need to hear that. His mother gave him a long look when he described the spell bomb going off at his feet, obviously hearing everything he wasn’t saying. The most troublesome part, at least for him, was telling them about how Elwood kept going from calm to crazy mad, showing how far he’d slipped into madness since the last time Jasper had spoken to him.

But that was the problem with dark magic. It had a way of taking over and consuming the witch. And the further down the path into the dark arts a witch went, the faster the magic took over. Which is why it took a coven to control the darkest and most powerful levels of black magic. At least, in the beginning. Because regardless of the strength of the coven, the dark magic always ended up controlling it.

“Oh, fuck,” Jasper said, realizing what the shard had wanted them to know. He looked up at his mother. “Elwood shouldn’t have been able to escape your containment field.”

His mother pursed her lips, then slowly shook her head. “I wouldn’t have thought so, but I’ve never tried to contain black magic before.”

“What if he wasn’t using black magic? What if he used Black magic to power his translocation spell?”

“You think—” Her eyes were wide as she looked over to the corner where Elwood had been.

“What are you guys talking about?” Gabe asked, frowning as his gaze flipped back and forth between them. “We know Elwood was using black magic. We found the remains of the spell at Jasper’s house.”

Jasper shook his head. “That’s not the kind of black magic I’m talking about.”

“There’s more than one kind?”

“Yes. There’s black magic, and then there’s Black magic.”

Gabe squinted at him. “They sound the same.”

“They’re not. One’s black, the other’s Black.”

“Still sounds the same.”

“Detective, if I may?” When Gabe nodded, she said, “The spell bag we found at Jasper’s house was low level black magic. Something anyone could have put together if they had the necessary components and a lack of conscience.”

“Okay. So then what’s this other black magic?” he asked, looking from her to Jasper.

“The most powerful and darkest magic there is,” Jasper said, grabbing onto Gabe’s hand, needing the connection. “Regular black magic wouldn’t have been enough to escape from Mother’s containment shield. At least, I don’t think it would have. Even with my crystals, I’m not sure if I could have broken out of it. And I doubt Mother could have either.”

“I might have,” she said, “given enough time.”

“But Elwood did it easily,” Gabe said, realization dawning in his eyes.

Jasper nodded. “That’s why I think he was using Black magic. But Black magic takes the strength of an entire coven to control. Which means—”

Gabe caught on quickly. “Elwood isn’t the only one using this Black magic.”

“No.”

“How many witches are in a coven?”

“From the amount of power Elwood used, I would think at least thirteen,” Jasper’s mother said, a frown wrinkling her forehead. “But there could have been as many as twenty-one.” She looked at the corner again. “Unless—”

“What is it, Mom?”

“If they’re harnessing the power of thirty-nine…no. They wouldn’t be that foolish.” But worry clouded her eyes as she turned to look at Jasper.

“What’s so significant about thirty-nine?” Emerson asked.

Glancing over at him, she said, “Thirty-nine is the maximum number of witches who can work together at one time. But doing so comes with great risk. If even one of them falters, the magic consumes them all. That’s why none have been foolhardy enough to attempt it for at least two hundred years.”

Emerson let out a low whistle. “What kind of magical power could thirty-nine witches yield?”

“You don’t want to know, Detective.”

“And regardless of their numbers, no coven will be able to control the Black magic for long,” Jasper said, his fingers tightening on Gabe’s hand. “You saw the madness in Elwood’s eyes. That wasn’t there a couple of days ago. Which means the magic is already taking control of him. It’ll soon be controlling the others.”

“If it hasn’t taken over the coven already,” Gabe said.

“Yes,” Jasper whispered.

“Fuck. Our whole city is in danger.”

But it was so much worse than that. If Black magic was controlling the coven, their city would only be the first to fall. Next would be their country. Then, if not stopped, it would take over the entire world.

Epilogue

She lifted the receiver, dread filling her when she heard the cold, sibilant tones of Azmn, the one being none of them ever wanted to draw the attention of. She had no idea if they were male or female. Or even human. And she knew better than to ask.

“You said you could control the boy.”

“Forgive me. I didn’t realize the extent of his fixation. Or his anger.”

“His life is forfeit.”

“No, please. You must give him another chance.”

“There are no second chances.”

“Please, I’m begging you. He didn’t understand. There is still much he can contribute. I’ll make sure he doesn’t fail you again.”

The silence went on for long enough that she feared her pleas to save her firstborn had been in vain. Then her prayers were answered. But by the end, she wished they hadn’t been.

“He will be spared. This time.”

“Thank you.”

“Another failure will not be tolerated.”

“I understand.”

“You do not. If he fails us again, his life will be forfeit. Along with the entirety of his line.”

“What? No. You can’t—”

“It is done.”

The finality in those words resounded in her head like an echoing clang of doom long after the call ended. She let the phone fall, knowing there was no saving any of them. Not anymore.

Fin

 To be continued in Dragon Magic, coming soon…