Chapter 1

Jordan was gone.

I stood there watching the tail lights of the car she was in fade away into the night. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Light grew around me and then someone honked.

I jumped to the side of the road.

A car passed by. The driver staring at me like I had grown a second head.

It was Halloween night. I had chosen a costume like that of Gandalf the Gray, but I had since left off the fake nose and beard. It made it easier to eat and drink at the party being held at my apartment. It also made kissing easier for me and less ticklish for my girls.

My girls. Jordan was one of my girls. I looked down the road again. She was with Francine James, a kidnapping victim who had disappeared back in August. No one had seen her until tonight. There was another woman with them too, but I didn’t recognize her.

The more I thought about it the more I had to ask the obvious question: had they been sent to take Jordan from me specifically? After exchanging memories with Valory earlier, I wouldn’t doubt it, but how would she know which women were my Fonti? For that matter, how could she force these girls to take another woman? And with those questions, there was another: How did they know where to find any of my Fonti?

All of those questions had one common answer: Magic. Magic was what forged the bonds between me and so many women. Magic allowed us to all get along when any other group would have long since fallen apart. Magic had everything to do with what was happening.

So, why couldn’t Magic help solve it?

Sending her victims to kidnap one of my girls was the worst thing Valory could do. I had a Magical bond with Jordan. Maybe that bond was the answer.

An idea formed. My panic faded. I had to change clothes and get my car. I needed to go see someone about a spell.

I crossed Cooper, being careful not to get hit. If I ended up in the hospital, who would find Jordan? The police had been looking for all of the missing women for months. They finally called in the feds a couple of weeks ago. They weren’t having any luck either. More than that, they had no idea who was taking all of these women or why. Last weekend, the feds interviewed me over Francine’s disappearance. I had a solid alibi for when she went missing, and offered up two faces to help with the night they questioned me about. It turned out that those two faces belonged to two of the missing women they were looking for. I knew what I saw was the truth, but the feds, like any good investigators, were skeptical until they had proof. What it did do was prove – if they believed me – that the missing women were alive. And tonight, I had more proof regarding the pattern of the kidnappings.

I made it to my apartment. The party inside was rocking on while I fought off the surge of emotions that said I had failed to protect Jordan. I walked in and stood by the open door watching everyone talk, laugh, drink and eat.

I had never thrown a party before. Really, this wasn’t even my party. Everyone decided to hold it here because I was the one person they all wanted to be around the most. And while I stood there, watching quietly, their voices died down, their eyes turned my way, and the emotions they were enjoying faded from their faces. They knew, by looking at me, that something was wrong.

I didn’t see any point in beating around the bush. When I was sure everyone was looking my way, I said, “Jordan has been taken.”

Several women gasped, but no one said anything.

I looked at Linda Morgan, an attorney and the latest woman I had forged a bond with. She was dressed as a burlesque dancer, complete with long feather stole. “I saw your sister.”

Her eyes widened. “What? Where?”

I moved toward my bedroom as I talked. “She and another woman, presumably another kidnapping victim, took Jordan.”

“Are you sure it was Jordan?” someone asked.

I turned to the voice. I knew it as well as any other. Danielle looked torn between anger and fear. She was the only redhead in the group and for Halloween, she had chosen to dress as a boxer – of sorts. “I saw her face, Red. It was Jordan, no doubt.”

Linda stepped closer to me. She reached out to touch me, but then pulled her hand back. Physical contact would cause an emotional reaction driven by the Magical bond between us. Part of the reaction was lust, but there was also bliss, and neither was welcome at the moment. “You saw Francine? Did she say anything?”

I shook my head. “No. I spotted the three of them as they left Sonic. I followed them across Cooper and to a car. Francine was driving and she almost ran me over in order to get away.”

Linda’s brow furrowed. “Why would she do that?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Whatever this thing is that makes them go out and take more women has got to be Magically based. I don’t know if it’s the caster of the Lockdown doing it directly or something else.”

“You can find them, though, can’t you?” Danielle asked. “Jordan has a bond with you. Can you trace that?”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” I said and then turned to go into the bedroom.

Linda followed me in. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about this Magic stuff, but shouldn’t we call the police or the feds about this? Jordan was just kidnapped for crying out loud.”

I nodded and pulled off the robes. “I want you to call them.”

“Fine, but they’re going to want to talk to you,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. The feds already think I had a hand in Francine’s disappearance. It’s not going to look good that someone else, one of the people that helped with my alibi regarding that, has gone missing.”

I could see the thought processes taking root. She was a defense attorney and she quickly came back with, “You’re right, but was there anyone else around who saw what happened?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Maybe the Sonic has security videos that caught bits but I doubt it got more than that.

“You said you crossed Cooper. Where did they go for this car?”

“Directly across the street,” I said and pulled on jeans. “The car was sitting in the parking lot.”

“What’s across the street?”

I shrugged and pulled on a shirt. “A wallpaper and interiors store.”

Linda thought some more, asking questions that I had been asking myself. “But why would they come down here to find someone when they could go to any club or bar to find someone?”

I looked at her while I pulled on my shoes. “I have a theory but you’re not going to like it.”

She looked at me. “Why won’t I like it?”

“Because you can’t tell the police or Feds,” I said. “It has to do with the Lockdown.”

She frowned. “You said the kidnappings and this Lockdown are connected. Are you trying to say the person who cast the Lockdown targeted Jordan?”

“I think it’s possible,” I said. “I know who the caster is, and she’s not happy that I’ve been trying to figure out how to end the Lockdown.”

Linda walked around in bold fashion to stand directly in front of me. The peek-a-boo lace of her outfit was very distracting. “You know who the caster is? Who?”

I shook my head. “It’s better that you don’t know. Just know that she could have targeted Jordan. Honestly, she could have targeted any of you, and maybe still is.”

“You mean she took Jordan to force you to give up solving the Lockdown?”

“It’s possible, but until I find Jordan, and probably all the other missing women, I won’t know for sure.” I stood up.

“How are you going to find them if the police and feds haven’t been able to?”

“Danielle said it: the bond.”

“You can do that?”

I shook my head. “Not yet, but I know who to talk to about it.”

“Who?”

“Sheriff Dalton,” I said.

“She just went to the hospital. Not only is she going to be doped up on painkillers, but the hospital isn’t likely to let you in to see her this late.”

“I don’t have any choice,” I said. “She was able to trace the bond between me and Emma. I’m sure she knows how to track her Fonti too.”

“If all Magi have Fonti, wouldn’t others know that too?”

“I don’t have time to chase down and ask every Magi I know – which is a short list at the moment. I know exactly where Dalton is and that she can trace the bond.”

“Then how do you plan to get in to see her?”

I shrugged. “I’ll have to use Magic.”

“To what? Make the nursing staff compliant?”

“Actually, I was thinking of making myself not-noticable.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Is that even possible?”

“I changed my appearance when Syndicate members were following me earlier today, I don’t see why I couldn’t do this.”

“Wait, you never said anything about the Syndicate following you,” she said. “I thought that was over with when Neil was arrested.”

“Neil’s threat is over, but the Syndicate is still out there.”

She shook her head. “No. You’re not going anywhere then.”

I shook my head too. “I don’t have time to argue with you about this. I have to talk to Dalton so I can find Jordan.”

“And if they find out that you’re running around the city in the middle of the night, they’re going to come after you.”

“And they’re going to find out that unlike all the other Magi in the city, I have full access to my power.”

She grabbed my arm. “Seth, have you ever been in a gun fight before?”

“I’ve had guns pointed at me,” I said. “I’ve also been shot.”

“While wearing a vest,” she said. “Might I suggest you use the same protection?”

I couldn’t argue with that and I nodded. “I can do that.”

“I would also feel better if you took someone with you,” she said, her face softening.

“Who? Anyone I take would be in the same danger as me. More so since no one else can use Magic.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t thinking of a Magus, but one of us.”

I waved my hand at that. “No. Jordan’s missing and I’m not putting any of the rest of you in harm’s way.”

Linda growled. “Dammit Seth. Putting yourself in harm’s way isn’t any better. I was told you talked with Leanne and she made you understand how we feel about that.”

I nodded. “I understand how you feel, but the Syndicate is trying to KILL me and my kind. From my understanding, most of them are highly trained for combat. Even if one of you were to act as a distraction so I could get away, that doesn’t mean they won’t try to take you somewhere to help you ‘accept the reality of your delusions’.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Syndicate believes you’re a victim. They wouldn’t hurt you, but they’re not going to leave you alone to find me again after I get away. Think about it. If you knew someone was in an abusive relationship and they keep going back to their abuser over and over, wouldn’t you do something about it?”

“Legally, that would be kidnapping.”

“So is murder,” I said. “But that doesn’t stop them.”

“Didn’t Leanne act as a distraction earlier today for you? Did they snatch her up after you left?”

“No,” I said, “but then there was only one guy following me. If there’s a group and they’re out to kill me, that’s a different story.”

“If they’re trying to kill you but not us, would they be more careful if one of us is with you?”

I frowned. “What are you suggesting?”

“Take someone with you, Seth. If it reduces the chances that the Syndicate starts shooting on sight, then all the better.”

“So you’re now human shields?”