Shifter Magick (5 page)

Plus,
Kera tested it. She was able to pick up things grown men couldn’t move with leverage.
She could hear conversations in the neighbor’s homes.

“Here we are.” Maddox said from beside her.

Kera looked up and realized she had been staring off into space. “Sorry.” She
murmured
as she reached for the door.

“Wait.” Maddox said. “Let me get that.” He got out quickly and rushed around the front of the car
to open the door for her. Then he held his hand out for her.

Kera hesitated. Would she feel the heat again? The strange sensation that burrowed into her bones and traveled through her veins to warm her from within? With courage, she reached out and accepted his help. With a gasp the heat spread through her as he helped her out of the car. “Do you feel that?”

Maddox let go of her hand and gave her a curious look.

Jolted back to reality, Kera shook her head. “Never mind.” It was probably only in her head. She was the weird one not him. He walked beside her up to the coffee house and then got the door for her. Kera was still reeling inside from the feel of his hand. She glanced around the shop just as everyone looked up from their tables to see who had entered.

The stools and sofas littered through the small shop were full of college students. She didn’t know any of them but could picture Julie Hartley coming here on a nightly basis.

“Hi Maddox.” A girl called out from behind the counter. “The usual?”

Maddox nodded his head as he walked up to the counter.

She turned to her friend at the coffee machine and started telling her exactly how to make a mocha the way Maddox liked it. The other girl was practically taking notes.

At least Kera wasn’t the only one who acted like an idiot in front of him. Maybe he didn’t know what normal was and thought she was in the in crowd. She pulled out her wallet from her bag and dropped it back inside when he placed a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, Maddox shook his head.

“What would you like?” He asked her on a laugh. “You didn’t ask me, I asked you to come for coffee. That means I pay.”

“Coffee.” Kera said.

The girl behind the counter laughed at her. Kera shot her a look
. “What kind of coffee?” T
he girl asked her.

Maddox moved his hand to grab his mocha.

“Just coffee.” Kera said.

The girl made a face as she began to total the bill. “Cream and sugar?”

“No, black.” Kera practically growled.

Maddox chuckled and Kera grabbed her cup in silence. She found a table in the back of the room and Maddox beat her to the chair so he could pull it out for her.

“You don’t have to do that you know.” She grumbled. This wasn’t turning out like she pictured it. She hadn’t expected everyone to drool over Maddox everywhere he went. Coffee should have been safe but it wasn’t. Everyone was staring at her because she was with him.

“Sure I do.” Maddox argued.

“No.” Kera responded in kind. “You don’t. I’m not that type of girl.”

“Really?” He took the seat across from her. “What type of girl are you?”

Kera looked around again and caught a few people outright staring at them. “One that doesn’t go out with the town celebrity.” She mumbled.

“I don’t know about that.” Maddox said his voice harder now. “People have nothing better to do than make assumptions about people they don’t know.”

“They make assumptions about you?” She asked curiously.

Maddox looked at her and caught her attention with how serious he looked. “You do.”

Kera frowned at his words. Of course he was right. She’d done it to him twice now. First she assumed he was working with Nick and Andrew to get her to a party and now she was assuming he was
mister popular. She took a sip of her coffee to buy herself some time to think of something useful to say. Sorry just didn’t seem to cut it this time. “Ouch.” She hissed. “Hot.”

Maddox smiled. “Do you like music Kera?”

Kera smiled back now that he was in a better mood. He must do that for her benefit. He changed the subject when he could embarrass her further. It was another way he was being a gentlemen. “I love music.” She told him. “I would be lost without my CD collection.”

“CD’s?” He asked. “Not
an
IPod?”

Kera shook her head and tried to see what he was getting out of his pocket. He shook his IPod and let the head phone unravel on the top of the table.

“What do you like?” He began scrolling through the songs as he waited for her to answer.

Kera heard something start playing from the little buds and couldn’t help herself. She picked it up and placed it in her ear. It was amazing. The acoustic guitar sang to her. The music was like nothing she had heard. It was like if a guitar had a soul and wanted to tell you how much it hurt. The crisp notes were plucked with a skill she hadn’t heard before. Musical instruments had a certain level of excess noise. The plucking of a pick or a slid of skin on a string, this was clear. She couldn’t hear anything but the beating of a heart, breathing of the
musician and perfection of the music.

Kera smiled and closed her eyes.

“Are you
okay
?” Maddox’s voice seemed loud.

She opened her eyes, not realizing that she had closed them, and nodded. “That was great. Who was that?”

Maddox cocked his head to the side in confusion. He looked from her to the table and traced the earphone cord to her ear. “You heard that?” He asked softly.

Kera nodded. “Just barely.” She lied. “Bits here and there really, could you turn it up?”

“Sure.” Maddox hit a key on the IPod and the next song came on blasting.

Kera endured it for about two seconds before she pulled the speaker out from her ear. She smiled past the new found pain throbbing in her head. “I don’t think I’m used to the earphones.” She rubbed her ear with a forced smile still painted on her face.

“Never used them before?” Maddox was watching her like a hawk now. He was getting too curious about her.

“I need to get back.” Kera blurted out. “It’s getting late.”

“You’re right.” Maddox said reluctantly. He didn’t look ready to go at all but he didn’t push it. Instead he opened the door for her and mu
mbled a quiet, “I can’t help it,
” when she protested.

Kera felt horrible. Like she hurt his feelings.

“Ready?” Maddox asked before he pulled out of the parking lot.

Kera nodded.

One moment she
was sitting beside Maddox trying to figure out what she could have done differently, the next
,
light exploded around her. Kera gasped at the pain to her eyes and felt a moment of panic before she was able to blink open her eyes.

“What…” Kera saw the sun burning high in the sky. She looked over and saw Maddox sitting beside her, still in the driver’s seat but he had changed and cut his hair. Did he stop somewhere? Drug
her? Kera looked down and noticed she was in the same clothes. She balled her fists and sat forward in her seat. “You don’t know who your messing with.” She growled.

Maddox didn’t flinch. He stared out the windshield engrossed in his driving
. His eyes burned with anger.

Kera looked out the window and noticed they were driving up the mountain on a rocky road surrounded by trees? “Y
ou can just drop me off here.” S
he told him deadpan.

He ignored her. He was breathing heavily and the veins in his arms were throbbing along with his heart rate. He was speeding. So much for being a cautious driver. Kera forced the creeping thoughts away from her and focused on where they were going. If he was going to allow her to be awake, she might as well make the best of it.

The tires kicked up rocks as he rounded a sharp corner, Kera hated to admit he had wonderful control of the car. She saw a figure move into the road a further down and the shock of the situation caused her to scream. “Watch out.” She warned him.

Andrew turned to watch them approach.

“Move!” Kera screamed at him.

The car swerved and Maddox cursed. The sound of the impact reached her before the force of the sudden stop. She saw the shiny black paint on the passenger side of the hood buckle in on itself. It flaked and splinted with the wood of the tree trunk. The debris was fluttering in slow motion as Kera screamed.

Her seatbelt kept her face from hitting the dash but Maddox wasn’t as lucky. He gripped the wheel so hard it bent but his body launched forward and he hit his head on the frame of the car. The
windshield spider
webbed
out from the
impact
. The car rocked
backwards
and hit uneven road. Kera grabbed her seat with one hand and the dash with the other as the car began to roll down the mountain.
She clinched her jaw and held back the scream of fury and fear that was stuck in her throat.

The car hit something large after three full turns and rocked back and forth until the dust began to settle. They were sitting back on the tires but Kera couldn’t open her eyes. She breathed in jagged gasps of air that coated her mouth with dust and debris. She coughed and cut off a sob.

The car shook again and Kera screamed.

“Maddox?” A voice called from beside her.

Kera looked over
and saw Nick toss
the driver side door a few feet away. It must have fallen off the car. Kera thought. “Help me.” Kera rasped out. “Please.”

“How did this happen?” Nick asked in shock.

She looked down at Mad
dox and noticed the blood. “Oh G
od.” She sobbed. He was cut and broken. His heart beat slowly and Kera realized he was in really bad shape. She couldn’t even be mad that he had kidnapped her.

She felt sorry for him. He coughed and tried to move his head.

Nick reached in and pulled him out of the wreckage with ease.

Her tears started when she noticed Nick’s eyes were leaking the same dreaded thing. Kera felt her chest heave and she climbed out of the car after them. “Call an ambulance.” She told Nick. “He’s not going to make it.
”

Nick took off his shirt and began ripping the material in strips.

“What are you doing? Get some help!” She screamed.

Kera ran back to the car and gasped at the damage. She looked inside but her bag wasn’t in the
re. When she ran back to Nick, h
e was wrapping Maddox’s wounds in strips of his shirt and telling him he would be
okay
.

Kera felt her heart sink. “Nick?” she whispered. “Nick can you hear me?”

Was she dead?

“Maddox, you can beat this.” Nick encouraged Maddox.

Kera watched in stunned silence. Then the panic settled inside of her. She ran forward and knelt down beside Nick. Reaching out she touched Maddox. Kera gasped for breath as darkness consumed her.

“Kera.” Maddox called out her name.

She breathed and counted. In out, in out. Kera controlled her heart rate and blinked her eyes open.

Maddox’s grip on her hand tightened. “Are you
okay
?” he whispered to her.

Kera reached out her free hand and rested it against his cheek. The warmth seeped into her where she touched him. The panic recede
d and reality began to set in. S
he took another breath and looked around.

He was pulled over on the side of the road. Cars passed by with their headlights on to help them navigate the night. His hazards clicked in tempo with the little flashes of light they emitted.

“Kera?” Maddox prompted her with an edge of strain in his voice.

She looked back to see her hand still plastered to his beautiful face. Kera pulled it away and took her other hand from his grasp. “Fine.” She rasped out. Her throat felt raw
. What happened?

Maddox got up and shut the door. He rounded the car so quickly she didn’t see him. The door shut and he pulled out into traffic. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” He announced
as he drove
.

“No.” Kera shook her head. “I’m fine.”

He wasn’t convinced, not in the least. “You had a seizure or something.” He told her. “You were unresponsive and your heart was going a million miles an hour. You could have died.”

Kera groaned. “I don’t know how to say this Maddox, but if you take me to the hospital I’m not going in. You can’t make me and it will just embarrass us both.” She put her hand on the handle to the door. “I will jump out of your car right now.”

Maddox opened his mouth and shut it like he couldn’t figure out what to say. “You could have died.” He told her in all seriousness.

“No I couldn’t have.” She argued. “I do that sometimes. It’s why I keep to myself. Don’t make a big deal about this
okay
?” she pleaded and was proud when his face softened.