Chapter 75
Ann hurried inside and then stopped and took a deep, cleansing breath.
“What happened?” Leland started walking toward them.
She heard Wes close the door behind her. “Ann was feeling familiar magic at dinner, so we took the long way getting here in case anyone was following us.”
“Familiar magic?” Teegan looked concerned.
On the longer, delayed drive, Ann had come to two conclusions. The first was all of this was more complicated than she had thought. So many aspects were beyond her understanding—which from a logical point made sense. Magic battles weren’t exactly something you could look up on the internet.
“Are you all right?”
Wes touched her hand and searched her face. The warmth from his touch spread through her. She finally nodded. “As much as I can be.” He was the second realization she’d had on the drive. This magic attraction between them was a lot. She’d always been attracted to him, but having something inside you yearning for him that wasn’t hormones, made it very difficult to remain a mature, logical woman.
“What happened with Norman’s binding?” Wes walked away from her.
Ann blinked. She’d almost forgotten why they’d had to come here. She avoided the questioning look Teegan was giving her, went over to the crates, and set her bag down.
“It didn’t work.” Leland stood there, giving Wes a look that Ann couldn’t interpret.
“What do you…”
“Brother West was lead, and it came back on him.”
Ann’s heartbeat accelerated. What did that mean?
“How?” Wes’ brows furrowed. “If all of the elders…”
“They were.” Mitch got up off the cushions and waved his hands around. “All of the elder brothers—the talent they have, and it failed.”
“Is Brother West all right?”
If Wes looked that concerned, Ann once again questioned herself. What was she doing in something so far out of her knowledge depth?
“They were prepared for someone to try to bind their magic.” Wes put his hands on his hips and looked at the floor. “John was always in the library.” He looked at Leland. “I thought it was to avoid others because no one liked him.”
“Well—” Leland jammed his hands into his pockets. “—we have a lot of area to cover now.” He looked at Teegan. “We’re going to have to find a way to remove any connection he has with Celia and the others.”
Teegan looked at him, and her expression hardened. “You just said the elders failed, and now you think we can…”
“I didn’t say bind his magic. I meant we’ll have to find a way to make certain that any connection he has with the other three can’t be used.”
“You think he’ll interfere?” Kat glanced at him and then shook her head. “It’s just the six of us, that’s the rule, right?”
Ann took off her jacket. “I don’t think the others care for rules, Kat.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No. It’s not.” Ann pointed at the case where she knew the men kept books and journals. “The answers are in there?”
Wes sent her a brief, hopeful look. “If we’re lucky.”
Kat snorted. “And if we’re not?”
“No.” Ann pushed up her sleeves. “We’re not accepting failure. I refuse.” Putting her hands on her hips, she looked around at the others. “So—what first?”
Wes and Leland exchanged a glance. “I think you three ladies need to practice together.” Wes nodded. “We’ll dig into the books. You learn to feel each others magic—” He shrugged. “Boost it, hold it or just recognize it.”
Ann looked over to see Kat giving him a narrow-eyed look. Turning, she saw Teegan’s wasn’t much better. She jerked her head back to look at him. “Are there instructions on how we do any of that?”
Mitch shoved his glasses up. “I’ll help Wes with the books.” He motioned to Leland. “You help the girls.”
Leland nodded and then started rolling up his sleeves.
Ann wasn’t psychic, but knew that this wasn’t going to be a fun time.