Insidious: (The Marked Mage Chronicles, Book 1) Read online

  Before I could find the will to scream, he covered my mouth with his free hand. “I wouldn’t recommend it,” he warned. It wasn’t a threat. More like a helpful suggestion, given that nobody else could apparently see him. I’d only look all the more stupid, especially after my display upstairs.

  Still wrestling against him, I managed to bite down on one of his fingers.

  He retracted his hand glaringly, but a grin quickly replaced the flicker of pain. “I’m a fan of biting, Princess, but it has its time and place. This isn’t it.”

  “You call me ‘Princess’ again, and I’ll do a lot worse than bite you.”

  “Well, I appreciate the vigor. You’re going to need it, but not against me.”

  “Says the psychopath assaulting me,” I sneered, writhing uselessly about in his hold. For a guy with arms thinner than a rake, he sure had some muscles…somewhere.

  He finally seemed to recognize how truly scared I was, because he loosened his grip. “I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot here.”

  More like he chopped off the entire freaking leg!

  “You don’t need to be afraid of me. If anything, I can help.”

  “I highly doubt that, on both counts. All you’ve proven is that I’m going crazy,” I jeered.

  The teasing nature that seemed to be a staple in his personality dissipated as his features darkened. “Deluding yourself into believing that none of this is happening to you won’t change the fact that it is. And I, more than anyone, can assure you that willful ignorance here is only going to get you killed.”

  My body fell rigid against his frame.

  “How do you think you survived the crash? You heard what happened to Blaine. Is there even a smidgen of you that believes you walked away unharmed by pure providence?”

  He drew in closer, and heat rushed over me. But not in a bad way.

  If that wasn’t a clear indicator that something was really wrong with me… Sure, the guy was attractive, but he was also cra-cra beyond description.

  Curiosity clawed at my insides, begging me to ask him the questions swirling in my head, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Indulging in his lunacy didn’t seem like the smartest move.

  “Ms. Montgomery?”

  My head snapped to the right, seeing Vice Principal Wallace coming towards us from the offices at the end of the hall. The magician peered down at me with that teasing grin of his plastered to his face as he slowly retracted from me, leaving me frozen up against the wall with my arms still raised over my head. I immediately dropped them, imagining just how idiotic I must have looked. By Mr. Wallace’s expression, pretty stupid seemed like a safe assumption.

  The rotund man stopped halfway down the hall and knocked on one of the doors. Dr. Fritz, the school psychologist, stepped out from what I now realized was her office as the two whispered to each other.

  “Uh-oh, looks like somebody’s in trouble.” My stalker winced, but it was more sarcastic than concerned.

  “Ms. Montgomery, if you’d please,” beckoned Vice Principal Wallace.

  Crap.

  I pushed myself off the wall to head toward the office, but Reese cut in front of me, blocking my way. He reached into his back pocket and fetched out a worn leather wallet, removing a business card. Against my will, I couldn’t take my eyes off his mouth as he placed the paper between his lips, using both his hands to tuck the wallet back into place and remove something else from inside his jacket.

  A smug grin tugged at his delicious lips as he grabbed the card again, palming it as he scribbled something down on the blank backside with what I saw was an old-fashioned fountain pen. “I have the distinct feeling you’ll be in touch,” he whispered impishly.

  In your dreams, I wanted to sneer. But Mr. Wallace and Dr. Fritz were still just down the hall, and they continued eying me strangely as I managed to steal a look over the magician’s shoulder. The distraction caught me off guard, and I gasped at the hand that grabbed at the front of my jeans. I looked down, realizing Reese just tucked the business card in the front pocket.

  He winked, and I forced myself forward, trying to head around him.

  Bad idea.

  He was the one in control here, and my little act of defiance seemed to spark deeper amusement in him, because he took a step back and positioned himself in front of me once more. His brows piqued in challenge.

  I took a step to his other side, but he met me once again. Three more attempts, and I now looked like I was trying and failing miserably at doing some spontaneous line dance sidesteps.

  “Will you stop?” I finally growled, trying to move my mouth as little as possible.

  He smiled a ridiculously full, closemouthed smile and glissaded away. “Good luck with the shrink.”

  I hustled down the hall as fast as I could, afraid that he’d change his mind and harass me further. Vice Principal Wallace addressed me, but I darted right into Fritz’s office before he could finish his thought.

  Chapter 7

  Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time

  As you can imagine, talking to yourself draws unwanted attention. Yeah, I’d landed in the seventh circle of Hell. Dr. Fritz continued dropping a bunch of psychobabble about post traumatic stress, and Wallace just kept nodding and staring at me with widened eyes, trying to—I’m guessing—appear thoughtful. In actuality, he kind of just looked deranged. Though, given my present condition, it’s not like I had room to talk. His toes kept tapping and I quickly realized he wanted out of there as much as I did, so I confessed to talking in the library, but somehow convinced them that I’d been on my phone. I even pulled out my ear buds from my book bag, showing them to Dr. Fritz. She noted the microphone built in, and I explained that the conversation had just gotten out of hand.

  Doctor Fritz scrunched up her nose as she glanced between me and the file open on her desk. “Well, if that’s the case, I suppose this is up to you on how to handle this,” she said to Wallace.

  He huffed, stealing another look at his watch. “You know very well about our cell phone policy.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry,” I lamented.

  Before he even said it, I knew what was coming. His impatience was a dead giveaway. “But I suppose I’ll let it slide. Just this once.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I sprang up from my seat and bolted for the door.

  By the time I got out of there, there was only a couple minutes left before the final bell rang. Keeping a watchful eye, I made my way back to my locker. No sight of Reese. It should have given me comfort, but I could still feel the business card burning a hole in my front pocket. Wrestling with the urge to pull it out, I seemed to space for a moment, because I didn’t even realize classes let out until the hall was in hysterics with students barking and laughing about.

  Just as my fingers started to slide into my pocket, Carly appeared at my side, throwing herself in the most theatrical fashion against the gray sheet metal of the locker beside mine. She whimpered, slowly sinking down to the floor.

  I immediately retracted my hand. “What’s with you?”

  She shrugged, as if that constituted for an answer.

  “Cough it up. Why do you look like someone just murdered a basket of puppies?” I asked.

  “Abrams’s making me stay after school.”

  “Why? Did you fail a test or something?”

  “Who knows? Probably.”

  Carly wasn’t dumb by any means, but she unfortunately had a proclivity to focusing her attention on the wrong things. The girl could quote the latest issue of Cosmo from cover to cover, yet didn’t bother studying for most of her classes. Against all odds, she still somehow managed to squeak by with a C-average. Our physics teacher, Mr. Abrams, was a hard-ass though. If his radar picked up on untapped potential, he harped on the student in question until the person finally relented and put in the effort. In the end, it was less of a trouble to study than not. And by Carly’s melodramatic agony, it seemed Abrams had singled her out as his next pet project.
r />   She pulled out her keys and tossed them at me. “You’re gonna have to take my Baby home. With all of the endless yammering, I could be stuck listening to one of Abrams’s lectures till dawn.”

  “But how are you gonna get home?”

  “Daniel can give me a lift,” she confirmed, seeing her boyfriend heading down the hall towards us. A little bit of her natural pep returned as she hopped back up to her feet and ensnared him in a kiss. “Speak of the devil.”

  “Hope you’ve been saying nice things,” he laughed. “What’s up?”

  “I need a ride home,” she pouted.

  Daniel cringed.

  “What?”

  “Shit, I thought I told you. I have a game up in Winnetka. We’re heading out at four.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, handing the keys back to Carly. “I can catch a ride with someone else.”

  Her eyes narrowed at the mention. “Like who?”

  We both knew everyone close to us was already busy. If there was a game, all the guys were out of the picture. And Vanessa and Kelsey had early dismissal, because they both worked at the country club bistro.

  “Don’t think Mark didn’t tell me about your little run-in with Adam.”

  Busted.

  “Danny Boy,” hollered one of the other basketball players at the end of the hall. “Come on. Coach wants to have a meet with us before we leave.”

  “Gotta go. Love you,” he said, giving Carly one last kiss.

  “Kick some ass,” she laughed, smacking him in the butt as he walked away.

  I turned back to my locker, putting all my text and notebooks in their proper order. A weird rippling effect suddenly swept into my vision. I kept blinking, trying to rid of it when vertigo hit in full force. My body immediately wrenched backward. Expecting to hit the floor, I gasped, suddenly finding myself still standing upright.

  “Daniel can give me a lift,” Carly said beside me, once again on the floor.

  “What are you talking about?” I muttered, noting my vision was once again intact. “He’s got a game.”

  She looked up at me quizzically. “He does?”

  “He just told-” My mouth clamped shut, seeing Daniel making his way back down the hall that he just came from.

  “Speak of the devil,” said Carly, climbing up to her feet. Once again, she met him with the same overly affectionate kiss.

  They were having the exact same conversation from a minute ago. I numbly slammed my locker shut, finding Carly’s keys magically clasped in my left palm. What the hell?

  “…I have a game up in Winnetka. We’re heading out at four.”

  Carly looked at me, and I dazedly handed the keys back to her for the second time. “It’s okay. I could use a walk,” I muttered, staggering away. She called out something, but it was lost on me as I disappeared down the hallway. I burst out of the front doors, letting the cold breeze bat me in the face. What just happened?

  Reese’s words ran feverishly through my mind, and I found myself yanking out the business card from my pocket. Dialing the number on the back, I raced down the cement steps to the sidewalk.

  “Y’ello,” answered a silvery voice on the third ring.

  “Where can we meet up?” I blurted, trying to steady my own voice against the anxiety shooting through my veins.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “It’s Kat. Kat Montgomery. Where can we meet?” I clarified.

  A beat of silence.

  “Hello?” I asked, checking my phone to see if maybe he’d hung up.

  “You know where Slippery Pete’s is?” he finally said.

  “What?”

  He sighed. “It’s a restaurant, down by the pier. Think you can find it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Meet me there at 4:30.”

  Good. The pier was on the whole other end of town, but he’d given me enough time that I could make it there easily via public transport.

  Mystic Harbor catered to the tourists that flocked to the city from May through November. The beaches and oceanic properties made the city a hot commodity during the summer, and the autumn colors and rustic scenery made it idyllic for cozy lodging. Because of this, a tourist trolley could be found on nearly every street corner of the downtown. I jogged my way down to Jefferson Boulevard and grabbed the green line that took me to the shopping center right by the pier.

  The trip took a good forty-five minutes, due to the constant stops and scenic detours that the visitors reveled over, but I’d made it there no less. If Google was correct, Slippery Pete’s should have been at the very end of the road past the store fronts. The afternoon crowds flooded the streets and sidewalks, forcing me to push my way through the throng of people. As I maneuvered around a group of seniors, someone knocked shoulders with me, their hand brushing my own.

  “Sorry,” I said, looking behind me. Everyone buzzed in different directions, making it impossible to determine who I’d run into. I walked about a dozen steps or so when a searing pain suddenly pierced the inside of my left arm. I buckled over, gripping the skin, only to see a soft pale light spreading across the back of my hand.

  A couple onlookers took notice to me, their faces contorting in bewilderment. “You okay, hun?” asked an elder woman.

  The light on my hand started growing brighter and brighter, going from the intensity of a glow stick to a tiny strobe light.

  What was happening?

  As more bystanders started paying mind to me, I suddenly darted out into the street, narrowly dodging traffic as I raced to the other side. Running down the alley between two nearby storefronts, I came out into the woods backing the shopping center. The ground sloped, and I galloped downhill till I was out of sight. I bit back a grievous scream, feeling the flesh on my arm sear like someone was holding a torch to it.

  Elaborate swirls and symbols took shape in the light, akin to an expanding, glowing tattoo. And a string of small shimmering tethers curled around my ring finger, wrapping about and knotting into an intricate design. The strange, shining patterns continued to grow upward underneath my sleeve. I pried off my coat and yanked at the material of my long sleeve shirt, hiking up the fabric as far as it could go.

  Was this going to consume my whole body?

  My heart throbbed as I cowered over to a tree trunk, slumping against the rough bark. The pain was too much. Tears stained my cheeks as I toppled over, seeing the world fade out as I hit the dirt.

  ***

  A loud, dull roar blasted through the nightly air, and I shuddered awake to realize it was a foghorn from the nearby lighthouse. I clumsily climbed back up to my feet, aches rifling through my entire body. The light…

  I looked down, seeing the pattern on my hand had at last reached my elbow and thankfully stopped.

  The light had faded, revealing metallic black ink resting in its place. My entire arm was now covered with a massive tattoo! The pain too had subsided, but a faint red glow remained over a small section of the skin. It was a symbol that looked like an upside-down Y. My vision swayed woozily as I knelt down to grab my jacket. Barely managing to make it down to the nearby clearing, I stumbled out onto a bridge to what looked like a reservoir. The only manmade lights I could see were streetlights resting on the other side of the lake. By the sickening wave of nausea rolling over me, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to climb all the way back up the steep hill to the shopping center, so I headed across the bridge.

  Halfway, I froze.

  “I see you.” The words echoed with a lingering hiss, carrying themselves to me in the chilling wind.

  “I see you.”

  Whirling around in every direction, I didn’t see another soul in sight. Whether this was a sick prank or something worse, I wasn’t about to wait around to find out. My feet pounded across the wooden planks of the dock as I took off across the harbor. Making it safely to the other side of the waterfront, I raced toward the upcoming street.

  Warehouses and ramshackle residents came into view, and I could faintly m
ake out the distant city lights radiating from the downtown. My legs were propelling me so rapidly that I feared tripping, given the dampened conditions, but fear only urged me faster.

  “I…see…you.”

  I trampled to a halt as a large dark mass walked onto the road at the end of the block in front of me. Snarling white teeth showed from the black mass of fur, and I staggered back at the sight of blazing yellow eyes. It was a wolf! The beast lowered its head, emitting a low snarl as the hair on its back stiffened along with its straightedge tail. A revolting odor hit me in the face, making me gag at what reeked of rotting eggs.

  Just as I pivoted my foot back a step, the animal barked, springing forward. An ear aching scream erupted from my lungs as I darted down the garbage cluttered alley right beside me, coming to a large chain link fence. If I managed to climb it just enough, I’d be safe. My feet gained traction at the bottom of the barrier as I ran up the fence, gripping my fingers into the steel wire diamond patterned openings. The gate shuddered as the animal ran at it, yapping and snapping up at me. Frantically scaling to the top, I was just about to heave my weight over to the other side when something grabbed a hold of my calves, wrenching me downward. I expected to feel the stabbing of sharp teeth tearing into my skin, but the force felt more like…hands.

  I tried maintaining my clutch on the top bar, but when I was met with another solid yank, my fingers lost grip and I fell backward. Landing in an accumulation of garbage bags, I tried rolling out of the mass, preparing to see the wolf. Instead, a brawny masculine figure looked down at me. The chilling winds rushing off the waterfront coursed through the air, causing the ends of his long, black trench coat to sweep around him. Bare-chested and donning leather riding gloves, the stranger removed the hood shading his face, revealing long blonde locks of bone straight hair.

  “Well, well, well. Look what we have here,” he cooed, standing over me. “A newbie.”

  I brought up my leg, preparing to hit him in the groin, when he ever so swiftly caught a hold of my foot before I could execute my attack. He thrust all his weight down on me, pinning every limb under his own.