Magic in Her Hands Read online

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Chapter One - Chapter 1

  Chapter Two - Chapter 2

  Chapter Three - Chapter 3

  Chapter Four - Chapter 4

  Chapter Five - Chapter 5

  Chapter Six - Chapter 6

  Chapter Seven - Chapter 7

  Chapter Eight - Chapter 8

  Chapter Nine - Chapter 9

  Chapter Ten - Chapter 10

  Chapter Eleven - Chapter 11

  Chapter Twelve - Chapter 12

  Chapter Thirteen - Chapter 13

  Chapter Fourteen - Chapter 14

  Chapter Fifteen - Chapter 15

  Chapter Sixteen - Chapter 16

  Chapter Seventeen - Chapter 17

  Thank you so much to my mom, dad, and sister for being my biggest fans. So much love and thanks to my husband, Javier I Elias Jr, for always listening to me talk about my novel and for encouraging me to do more. Thank you to Lacie Lawley for supporting my Patreon!

  Also thank you to Kristina D. D! She drew this awesome cover. Check out more of her work at rinasart.tumblr.com and angelleila.deviantart.com !

  CHAPTER ONE

  Chapter 1

  In dreams, she called. Beyond the veil, reaching out, reaching for someone who would listen, she called. Over the years, several heeded her call. She would bestow power upon those who listened, aiming them towards those who would give her what she needed.

  Her Queen faltered again, fading. And again, she would be locked in this prison, waiting. Waiting for another Queen to be contracted. Waiting for the game to begin again.

  When it did, she would offer the contract with her most powerful Queen. This time, she would choose another set of pawns. And she would take what she needed, the power she needed.

  And when the next Queen contracted, she called.

  ------

  Why did she ever eat burgers? It never ended well.

  Caren felt like doubling over as she drove down I-35, mind intent on home. She should have never gone out so late on a Sunday. But Priscilla had been insistent they all go eat some burgers, celebrating Priscilla's promotion. But while she was her best friend, some of Priscilla's friends… well, Laura in particular she didn't like. Something about what she would say after Priscilla would be in the bathroom made her think the bitch was trying to break them apart.

  Not going to happen, Caren thought. She had known Priscilla for years, ever since Priscilla moved to the States in high school. The two of them had been in JROTC together, for crying out loud! Neither of them had done anything military after that, their years in high school JROTC being enough for them. But that bond had kept them together, even when Caren left the state to go to college in Mississippi. The bitch wouldn't break them apart.

  Why would Laura even want to? The though occurred to her as another cramp hit. Priscilla was single, so Laura wouldn't be stealing a boyfriend from her. Laura didn't work with Priscilla. She was someone she had met at UTSA. Hell, Laura barely paid Priscilla any mind when they all did get together. She just kept saying things like 'Oh, I wonder how she got that. She doesn't even have a degree' or 'She's so pretty. Of course she got that position.' Were pretty people not allowed to get promotions? Geez. How did they all meet, anyway? Did Priscilla go the the shoe store she ran and pitch a fit or something? No, that wasn't Priscilla. She would have smiled and offered to take her out for drinks if something wasn't right, to apologize for making such a scene. And not even mean for it to be a date. If she even dated.

  Caren grit her teeth, turning off the highway and starting back towards home. She was certain Priscilla was about to kick Laura's ass to the curb. Finally. Caren didn't understand why Priscilla even became friends with her. If Laura was that much of a backstabbing bitch, why? Why become friends with someone who would betray you? It wasn't like Laura was such a good friend otherwise.

  Something flickered out of the corner of her eye, making her tense. Deer. It had to be deer. What else could it be, this far outside the Loop? She had seen them along the road before, and she had almost run over one at some point. It was terrifying each time she saw one. The flicker disappeared, and Caren relaxed a little. The deer learned not to come closer and get hit. And then another cramp hit her hard and she felt the car swerve a little, almost hearing something in her ear, a whisper but not quite.

  The whoop of a siren sounded behind her and Caren groaned. Of course there would be the police. She pulled over into a gas station and put the car into park, rubbing her stomach and hoping it would be over soon. The next light would turn into her neighborhood. And then she would be able to take care of these cramps.

  A part of her wondered about the cramps. She had a burger, yes… but this was excessive. And she had been careful not to ask for cheese. There hadn't been a single slice of cheese on her burger. So she shouldn't be having cramps this bad. A thought occurred to her that she shouldn't even be having cramps if that was the case. Why was she?

  The police car idled behind her for a while, and Caren nearly hit her head against the headrest in annoyance. She needed to get home, sooner rather than later. She just… really needed to get home.

  Something flickered out of the corner of her eye again, almost insistent, but she ignored it. Damn deer.

  Finally, a police officer exited the cruiser and started towards her car. She sighed, keeping her hands on the wheel. Okay. Time to do this. She could explain it all. Caren winced as another, stronger cramp hit her. And hopefully the cop would see that she was telling the truth and just let her go. She rolled down her window as the cop approached, sighing. "Can I help-"

  The words ended in a scream. Instead of a face, the cop had a blank slate, facial features completely smoothed over. Slowly, slits opened where the eyes would be and opened, showing a field of stars instead of eyes-

  Caren instantly threw the car into drive and stomped on the gas, hitting the road as soon as she could. The police car sounded its siren behind her as she drove, but- but- that was a monster. That wasn't a cop. She felt her entire body quake at that thought, swallowing down a continuous scream as she tore down the road. She was going too fast, but as long as it got her away, got her close to home where she could lock the doors-

  Someone stood in the middle of the road. Someone small, long curly dark hair- Laura? What was Laura doing here? She was holding her hand out, palm up-

  A monstrous figure loomed up behind her. Dressed in a green dress, it looked vaguely like an old woman if not for the unnatural length of the arms, the single too obvious nostril, and bone white skin. What made her scream, bizarrely enough, was the white cloth in her hands, soaking wet. Caren slammed on her breaks as Laura smiled, not moving. The car swerved, trying to avoid Laura, and crashed into the nearest lamppost, slamming Caren's face into the steering wheel, causing her to black out for a moment.

  When she blinked the darkness out of her eyes, the monster cop and Laura were advancing on her. Caren fumbled for the gear shift, her breathing almost too fast. She had to- she had to-

  The old woman landed on the hood of her car, grinning.

  Caren screamed.

  ------

  Caren had ran. She hadn't stood and fought like Laura had thought she would, considering what she had seen about to happen. Laura curled her lips as she watched Caren's windshield shatter and Nighe pull Caren through it, not even wincing at the crack of her neck once Nighe got ahold of her.

  It was almost sad, she thought. She had been certain that out of all of Priscilla's friends, Caren would stand and fight, even if she thought it would be useless. With everything that almost happened, it would have been fun. But no, she had been wrong. And now Nighe was tossing her lifeless body to the Faceless.

  Here, Laur
a did wince. Watching the Faceless open bits of itself was always unsettling. But she watched as it grow a maw of sharp teeth, ripping into Caren's body. Laura crossed her arms, looking away long enough to see the road was still clear of any newcomers, any potential witnesses. A good thing she lived in a less developed area of town, Laura thought, turning back to watch the Faceless eat, surprisingly dainty for all its monstrous looks.

  Nighe came closer, head cocked. Laura held out an arm and Nighe stroked one skeletal hand across the skin, then slowly melded back into her body. The charge of pulling her back in made Laura shiver for a moment, feeling the power dance across her skin and inside her bones. Snapping of bones also made her shiver at the Faceless started eating the bones.

  If Caren had just done what she wanted and left Priscilla alone, none of this would have been necessary, she thought, trying to feel sad and just feeling slightly empty. There was a reason she needed Priscilla alone, and none of the rest of her friends would listen to her. Caren was the worst, having been friends with Priscilla for so long. But she wouldn't be holding Priscilla back any longer. That woman could get Priscilla where she wanted her.

  And then kill her.

  Laura cleared her throat. "Finish up and clean your mess."

  The Faceless nodded, and the police car shimmered out of existence. Laura knew the Faceless would eat all of Caren's body and dispose of the rest. It was good at that.

  But for Priscilla…

  If only her friends would listen to Laura when it came to breaking them away from her. She needed Priscilla, alone, isolated. It would happen. Eventually. Laura was patient. She could wait and strike at just the right time. It wouldn't be that difficult, either. Miranda was about to break ties, so just a little nudge there. And Isela…

  She had plans for Isela. Bitch should have never insulted her favorite dress.

  Laura turned to leave, walking to the side of the road and sliding into her car. Caren would go missing… and no one would find her. Maybe she should have someone pretend to be Caren on Facebook and make it seem like she had run away? No, they would be looking for her. She needed to have someone make a huge bank withdrawal, make it seem like Caren was going cardless in an attempt not to be found. That would be harder. But it could be done. There had to be a way to do make Caren disappear. That woman had to have ways, after all.

  And then she could have Priscilla, and everything she was, to herself.

  ------

  The keys dropped from Priscilla's hand.

  Caren. Priscilla fumbled for her phone, unlocking it and quickly calling her. Somehow, she just knew something was- no. No, everything had to be okay. Everything. There couldn't be anything wrong. Not here. She had left Japan so get away from all of that. Nothing could be wrong here.

  Caren didn't pick up. But she was probably still driving home and didn't have her headset on. She hadn't seen Caren slide the earpiece on when she left. That was all.

  But… Priscilla shivered. She could feel something in the air that told her something had almost happened… and was ripped away from Caren. She just needed her to tell her… "Hey girl," she said to the voicemail. "Just checking in on you. You weren't doing great when you left. Let me know how you're doing when you get home, okay?"

  But she knew she wasn't going to get an answer.

  Priscilla swallowed another shiver, bending to pick up her keys as she stashed her phone away. She unlocked the door and entered her home, taking a deep breath. "Hey Masaru," she called out, letting the door close behind her. "I'm home."

  CHAPTER TWO

  Chapter 2

  A body should never feel run over several times then buried when waking up. And yet, when Isela opened her eyes, alarm still ringing, that was exactly how she felt. What did she do last night? She sat up slowly, rubbing her head. It wasn't that she had anything to drink, right? She had to drive after Priscilla's dinner. So what had she done?

  Hm.

  Isela got out of bed, hobbling her way to the bathroom. What had she- oh. When did she actually fall asleep last night? She groaned, rubbing her head again. Of course she felt terrible. She hadn't slept at all. For the fifth night in a row.

  Today was going to suck. She had reports to run that required all her attention, and she needed to sleep instead. But like yesterday, she was going to get up and go to work. Mondays may suck, but she was going to go own it. Isela nodded to herself, turning on the shower and turning to get ready, pulling off her clothes and brushing the major tangles out of her hair.

  "I'm going to do this," she muttered to herself as the cool water, still not completely heated up, hit her skin. "I need to get this done."

  Once she finished washing up and dried her body and thick black hair, making sure the curls were controlled, Isela went to her closet, pulling out her usual work clothes. Nothing different here. She always wanted to wear a different top with these skirts, or even slacks, but… well, clothes were expensive. And given her weight, well… It wasn't going to happen with her pay rate anytime soon.

  Some people did their makeup before getting dressed, but Isela had ruined too many blouses by making herself up first and getting makeup on the collars. Instead, she waited until she buttoned up her blouse, then went to her mirror, quickly slapping some makeup on her face. Nothing fancy. That came when she had time. Right now, quick and dirty.

  "Oh crap," she muttered as she pulled her watch on. "It's that late already?" No time for coffee then. She'd have to have the coffee at work. Isela made a face at the thought, snagging her stuff and leaving, locking the door behind her as almost an afterthought. She opened her car door and got in, pulling out quickly and heading to work.

  And instantly got in traffic on the highway.

  Didn't they widen the lanes of 410 to fix this?

  Isela sighed, sitting back in her seat. Traffic sucked. A lot. She should have left the house a lot earlier than she did. Only good thing was San Antonio was easy to predict, and she knew where it would lighten up and how fast it should take her to get to work. Which was too late to get coffee until she was done with at least one report and she could take a moment to breathe.

  Damn it.

  Well, it was Monday. She only had one outstanding report. And the majority of her reports didn't come in until Wednesday at the earliest. She could get the one out of the way before 10:00am, then work on the other two she usually had by Monday. It shouldn't be too bad. She could even get Caren's help!

  Isela nodded. That she could do. Definitely.

  Until then, the guy in the black Charger beside her had to turn down his music. She could hear the bass in her bones and it just made her feel worse.

  ------

  "Ms. Salinas?"

  Isela looked up from her computer, blinking. It always startled her to be taken out of her work like that. "Yes?"

  The intern looked uneasy in the door to her office. "Do you know where Ms. Edwards is? Her office is dark."

  Ah crap, did Caren not come in? She knew Caren wasn't feeling well after dinner, but she had hoped she would have come in. Isela kept her face neutral. "I'm not aware of where she is," she said, keeping her words stiff. "She may have called out today."

  "Mr. Simmons doesn't know where she is, either."

  Boss Man didn't know? That was disturbing. "I'm sorry, I don't know where she might be."

  The intern left, and Isela lunged for her desk phone. Quickly, she dialed Caren's number, hearing it ring and ring. "Answer…" she muttered. "So I can tell you to get your ass in here…"

  But it went to voicemail. Isela hung up, taking a deep breath. Okay. So, Caren wasn't coming in today. What worried her about that was in the two years Caren had been there, she never was a no call, no show. She took her job very seriously. This… this was unlike her.

  Was she okay? Did she get hurt? Isela drummed her fingers against her desk. She lived in the opposite direction as Caren, but maybe she could go over there after work, make sure Caren was still alive. Maybe she had just slept in too
late and felt embarrassed calling out. Hopefully.

  "Yo, Marisela." Isela looked up, seeing Patrick standing there, holding up a folder. "Can you look this over?" he asked, his blue eyes intense under the mop of barely controlled blonde hair. "Lawrence wants me to file it and I'm not sure it's right."