Magic Resistant (34 page)

Softly, he spoke, “
Panacis
” and Markus
released the same spell. In that moment, he realized they were both
willing to sacrifice a part of themselves in order save her. This
spell consumed part of the caster’s life force as fuel. An
incredibly powerful spell, one able to cure most diseases, ailments
and life-threatening injuries, provided the caster paid the
price.

Which meant seldom used and only on loved
ones or those the mage felt was deserving of such a priceless gift.
Every mage learned the spell, hoping they never had to cast it.
Even mage healers avoided casting it if possible. Use it too often
and it consumed the mage from the inside until an empty husk
remained.

He dropped to the floor, too exhausted to
hold up his body. Markus swayed, having trouble staying upright. He
managed to remain kneeling next to Julia by what Jackson assumed
was sheer stubbornness. If Jackson had the strength, he would’ve
felt a little envious. Even after the spell battle, freezing a room
full of people and casting a potentially deadly healing spell,
Markus was still on his feet, figuratively speaking. At least
someone would protect Julia if needed.

He had no idea who was even be left to bother
them, though. All the threats either real-life statutes or were
helping to clean up the mess caused by the spell battle.

Rustling of clothes caught his attention and
had enough drive left in him to roll his eyes. He tried to move
something else, anything else, but his body refused to cooperate,
spent of all energy. Keeper broke from his trance and slump down on
the bed next to Julia. Not a single movement betrayed his status of
living or dead.

Jackson wasn’t the only one concerned. Markus
leaned over to check for a pulse and gave a sigh of relief when he
found one. He then checked Julia.

“Her pulse is steady and strong. She should
make it.” Markus told him.

Jackson closed his eyes as reaction and shock
set in. His body overloaded and he could no longer control the
shakes. He let himself flow through them and kept his body as limp
as a rag doll.

Thankfully, the floor had plush carpeting so
no danger of hurting himself, unless he bit his tongue. He recalled
reading somewhere about the tongue being severed and swallowed
during seizures. And with that lovely thought, he made sure to keep
it out of harm’s way.

He had no idea how long he stayed on the
floor or even how long the seizures occurred, just that when he
finally stopped shaking, Keeper was awake and alert. Julia,
however, was still unconscious. He dragged his poor abused body
onto the bed.

Her even breathing reassured him as did the
healthy colour of her skin, no longer pallor and ghostly. A deep
sigh escaped him as he passed out next to her, his hand curled into
hers. He took comfort in knowing she was next to him, alive and
recovering.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

JULIA SPENT THE next few days drifting in and
out of consciousness, her body working overtime to repair the
damage. Jackson, Markus and Keeper took turns healing her with
little bursts of energy to speed the process. Lucid for the healing
sessions, she dropped her resistance and absorbed as much as she
could.

After the first day, she was heartily sick of
lying in bed - especially someone else’s bed! - and was ready to go
home. Now that they cleared Jackson of the demon summoning, they
were both free to get on with their lives.

Jackson refused to leave her side the entire
time and they quietly made plans. They decided for him to move in
with her since she owned a house in Bloor West Village, a cute
little two storey home with a small backyard.

They also made plans for him to meet her
family. She hoped for just her parents first. With her family
though, they would all descend upon them once they found out Julia
was home. Her brothers both lived in Toronto while her sister was
the rebel living in a smaller town outside the city. Each one had
ported to her house on more than one occasion and would do so again
the second their parents called.

Better for Jackson to find out now how close
knit her family was and learn to cope.

Just after lunch Julia and Jackson cuddled in
Keeper’s personal overflowing library/living room. Shelves lined
the walls and there was even a ladder that glided on rails. Several
free-standing nooks were situated around the room filled with books
and priceless artifacts. Tucked away on a corner shelf at the top
were several tubes that housed ancient scrolls. Sadly, the scrolls
were too valuable, and prone to falling apart, for her to look at.
She loved being surrounded by so many books, even if some were in
languages she couldn’t read. And the brown leather couch in the
center of the room made for a cozy spot to snuggle.

Keeper and Markus entered the room after
politely knocking on the entranceway. The rooms in Keeper’s home
were open concept, so there wasn’t much privacy. Quietly, they
settled into large leather chairs. Keeper always told her he spent
so much time sitting and reading that he might as well be
comfortable while doing it. He took the chair closest to the couch
while Markus preferred the one near the door.

They both looked subdued. Markus dressed in
his customary black tee-shirt and cargo pants, the Enforcer
uniform. His curly black hair shone like spilled ink in the low
light and his black eyes hooded. He was hiding something. Whatever
it was, she wouldn’t like it.

Keeper dressed more sharply. As he wasn’t an
Enforcer, he had more range in his wardrobe. A pale blue silk
shirt, unbuttoned at the neck and sleeves rolled up, coupled with
dark grey slacks were the closest she’d ever seen to casual on him.
His reddish brown hair had a shot of silver in it, a sign of aging
she hadn’t noticed before. His hazel eyes regarded her steadily, a
hint of pain in them.

A glance at Jackson and he smiled at her,
happiness lighting up his chocolate brown eyes. She reached out to
brush back the dark brown strands of hair falling in his eyes. He
still hadn’t found the time to cut it and she found the messy,
just-out-of-bed look had grown on her.

Her life without these three men was
impossible to imagine. For different reasons, she loved them with a
depth she’d never examined before.

Markus, her mentor and partner. He’d taught
her how to survive, how to live in their dangerous world and
demanded her best at all times.

Keeper, her teacher and co-conspirator. He
kept her alive, hid her from the executioner, taught her how to
overcome her flaw and trained her in an art few knew still
existed.

And Jackson, her lover. Before him, she’d
just existed, skirting through life, hoping to just survive. Now,
she learned life held more for her. A passion and joy that lit up
the darkness, burning away the shadows in her mind.

“Julia, it’s time.” Keeper’s words jolted
her, obliterating her contentment. “You can’t keep it a secret from
him. If you want him to be a part of your life, he needs to know
what you are.”

She turned pleading eyes to Keeper. “But,
what if he can’t accept it? What if...”

A bare whisper to Jackson as she faced him,
“You stop loving me?”

His fingers threaded through hers, lending
her strength.

“Whatever it is, it’s not enough to break my
love for you. Unless you confess to being a mass murderer and eater
of baby souls.” He tried to joke.

“It’s almost as bad.” She muttered, her head
drooping, the weight of her lies a heavy burden.

“Please, honey, tell me. The suspense is
killing me. And after everything we’ve been through, I don’t think
I can take much more.”

“I’m...” The words formed into a jagged lump,
tearing at her throat. Raw and bleeding, exposed and vulnerable.
Could she bare her sins to him? Her soul would wither if he
regarded her with hatred and disgust. The thought of losing his
love clawed at her and she almost cried out in physical pain.
Keeper was right though, she needed to tell him. “I’m magic
resistant.”

Complete silence greeted her words.

A slow inhale as she gathered her courage and
met his eyes. Stunned and disbelieving, he stared, his fingers
tightened around hers, a reflex and nothing more.

A glance at Keeper and Markus showed
understanding and encouragement. They both smiled. Or more
accurately, Markus’s lips twitched, but the warmth in his eyes
helped control her fears.

“How can you be magic resistant? I’ve seen
you cast magic. Magic affects you. You almost died from a death
spell! This makes no sense.” With a gentle hand, he brushed her
hair out of her face and his touch warmed her. The fact he still
wanted to be near her steadied her.

“I’m able to cast but it’s harder to do. I
use more energy than a normal mage and I have to concentrate
harder. It’s also why I have so many spell components. They help me
focus. And being affected, well, if I wasn’t magic resistant, that
death spell would have killed me, no ifs ands or buts, I’d be
dead.”

A sheen coated his eyes, tears she never
thought to see from her strong Enforcer. He gathered her in his
arms, his lips pressed against her temple.

His voice a ragged whisper, “Don’t ever do
that again. I’m not worth your death.”

She disagreed, but decided now wasn’t the
time to argue. Instead, she savoured the feel of his breath against
her skin, stirring her hair. His heart thudded in her ear, the
sound soothing.

He didn’t try to execute her. A shaky breath
left her, thankful he hadn’t tried. Keeper and Markus would’ve
taken exception to it. And while she loved him deeply, he was no
match for her two teachers.

“Do you hate me?” She murmured. Did he accept
her or viewed her as a monster?

“What? Hell no! I love you. Yeah, I’m shocked
by this, extremely shocked. I didn’t think magic resistant mages
existed anymore. But there’s no way I believed all the bullshit
they fed us when we were in school. You’re not evil. You are the
most caring, compassionate, and loving woman I’ve ever met. I can’t
even imagine you causing someone harm just because you feel like
it.” He kissed her slowly and gently, telling her more with that
kiss than words could ever express.

A not so subtle throat clearing reminded them
they weren’t alone. Sheepishly, Julia raised her head and smiled at
the other two important men in her life.

Keeper squared his shoulders, took a deep
breath and said “I’m magic resistant as well. I’m also Julia’s
great-great-great-grandfather.”

The three of them erupted when he dropped
this bombshell on them.

“What the hell? You never told me any of
this!” Markus exploded, not liking this information being kept from
him. He pounded his fist against the arm of his chair.

“You’re both magic resistant? He’s your
grandfather?!” Jackson exclaimed. He dropped his head into his
hands. “I can’t handle any more shocks today. I’ve reached my
quota.”

“My grandfather?! Why did you keep this from
me? All those times I’ve trained with you, trusted you and you
didn’t tell me?” Betrayal and anger crawled through her.

How could he keep this from her? The magic
resistant part didn’t shock her as it did the other two. He’d
already spilled that little tidbit of information to her. A pang of
hurt proved she hadn’t forgive him for hiding it.

But her great-great-great-grandfather? He was
her ancestor? How was that possible?

“Quiet!” Keeper snapped. Their obedience
wasn’t a question in his mind as evident from both his tone and
from the immediate lull that followed his command. “I never told
anyone because it’s extremely dangerous knowledge. If anyone found
out Julia was my great-great-great-granddaughter, she would’ve
become a target. Over the centuries, I’ve made enemies. However,
none can touch me. I’m too protected and too powerful. Julia’s not.
As an Enforcer, she could’ve had an ‘accident’ on the job. I
couldn’t let that happen. As for the magic resistance, we all know
why I kept it under wraps.”

Markus butted in, leaning forward in his
chair, his fingers gripping the arms. “You should have told me! At
least now I understand why you were so protective of Julia. I
thought you wanted a challenge teaching her to overcome her magic
resistance.”

“Wait, you knew? You knew I was magic
resistance?!” Julia all but yelled at Markus. Her fist clenched,
itching to take her anger and the stress of hiding all those years
out on him.

Now she understood why he didn’t look
surprised when she declared her hated status. She hadn’t even
thought about Markus’ reaction. He could’ve killed her with ease if
he hadn't known.

And she would’ve been dead before anyone
stopped him.

“
But remember, always remember, this is
what happens to magic resistant mages. There is no second
chance.

“That’s why you told me to remember.” She
whispered as the memory slithered into her mind. “You knew.”

Markus raised a questioning eyebrow and
Jackson covered her clenched fist with his hand. She rested her
head on his shoulder as she explained. “When I was in my teens, I
had a friend, Irene. Magic resistant like me. I’m not sure how, but
they found out. She wasn’t an Enforcer and avoided taking the
tests. I didn’t realize she was resistant until they beheaded
her.”

Swallowing the hard lump in her throat,
taking comfort from Jackson, she continued, “You found me, Markus,
took me away. And you told me to remember what happens. You were
cautioning me cause you knew.”

She straightened, pulling away from Jackson
as she stared at Markus. Not by a flicker did he betray guilt or
remorse, no care over lying to her.

Hypocrite. Her shoulders slumped a little.
She was a raging hypocrite. Her entire life, she’d done the
same.