Shadow Magic

Book two in Moondancer Drake's Heartbeat of the Earth series

Meg’s chest swelled with excitement as she clutched her precious cargo. She’d have to wait until tomorrow to try it all out, but what a day that’d be. Her body tingled in anticipation as she hurried towards the van.

“Look out!”

Sharp pain thudded across her chest and Meg was knocked backwards. She fell hard against the sidewalk, still clutching the camera bag in her arms. “What the he--”

Her words were cut short as Meg looked up to see a black semi truck barrel past the spot in the road where she’d just been standing. Fear froze beneath the place in her chest where pain was now fading. Meg heard a familiar voice mutter something unintelligible, and then there was Roger, kneeling next to her.

“Are you hurt?” His eyes darted over her, searching for injury. “Leave it to one of those guys to run a light like that. And with no officers around, too. Figures.”

A discordant ringing cut through the air and soon Sanya was crouched on Meg’s other side. “What happened?”

“I…I wasn’t paying attention. It was an accident.” Meg tried to stand but both Roger and Sanya grabbed a shoulder and forced her back down.

Roger’s gaze meet Sanya’s over Meg's head. “It was one of the drivers from the factory on Redcap. I saw him run the light as I was coming out of the music store. I’m just glad I got here in time.”

“You and me both.” Sanya squeezed Meg’s shoulder, her voice quivering. “Everything all in one piece?”

Meg frantically unlatched the camera bag and then sighed in relief as she saw the contents had been spared. “Yep. Nothing broken.”

Sanya laughed and rolled her eyes. “I meant you, not the camera.”

“Sorry if I hit you too hard. I guess I panicked.” Roger grinned sheepishly as he and Sanya helped Meg to her feet. “Been three near misses in the past five years with those guys and two casualties that the Tribunal is certain can be attributed to them, but they can’t prove anything. Not yet, anyway.”

Meg pulled her arms away from Roger’s grasp and looked down the road in the direction the truck had gone. She owed him her life, again, and she wasn’t sure she liked that. It was his skill that saved her a few weeks ago, and now here he was. Just the idea of owing the man a debt rubbed her the wrong way. “What factory, and how long have these accidents been happening?”

Sanya looked in the direction the truck had come. “It’s called Delilah’s Gifts Inc. They supply cosmetics and hair products throughout the Conclave controlled providences to some of the fancier salons. I wouldn’t call their products earth friendly, but they pass the minimum Conclave standards so not much we can do.”

Roger’s voice took on an angry growl that surprised Meg. “The corporation is controlled by three of the most influential families in Green Grove. The Martins, the Holetzs, and the Donaldsons.”

“The Donaldsons?” Meg hands drew into fists. The two Donaldson boys were the reason she had needed Roger’s skill in the first place. One of them had shot her and Jewel just a few weeks ago, and far as she’d heard, the Tribunal had yet to pick the two of them up on charges. “I thought you all said the Donaldsons were Sect.”

“They are.” Roger took a deep breath and the anger in his tone faded. “We’re pretty sure all three of these families are deep into Sect business, but they own so much stock and power in this town, proving it would be damn difficult. The Sect are most dangerous because they are hard to pin down, but they will always be a threat, even if many of the Conclave have stopped taking them seriously.”

Sanya nodded in agreement. “That’s the trouble. Except for rumors, no one is ever able to prove the Sect are responsible for some of the strange accidents that happen in the Conclave cities, or even places outside our control. There are even many people in the Conclave that don’t believe the Sect even exists anymore.”

Meg brushed herself off. She didn’t know what to think. Could all of this be true, or were people reading too much into careless behaviors or freak accidents? If these people had really been fighting the Sect all this time, that could certainly account for suspicion and jumpiness. If she’d been watching where she was going rather than daydreaming, all this would never have happened.

“Listen, I’ve got to go.” Meg forced a smile to show them she was just fine. The concern on their faces didn’t seem lessened by the gesture. “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you two later.”

Meg turned her back on the two in hopes of forestalling anymore conversation on secret plots or hidden agendas. This time she was careful to check for traffic before she crossed to her van. Sure, the Donaldsons were horrible people if those brothers were any example of the family genes, but a magical conspiracy? That idea was too frightening to even think of. Either way all she wanted to do was get home and back to her family.