Born Magic (Chronicles of the Marked Book 1) Read online

  Born Magic

  Chronicles of the Marked Book One

  S Lawrence

  Copyright © 2020 by S. Lawrence.

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information contact :

  [email protected]

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  Cover design by Sanja’s Covers

  ISBN: 978-1-7323570-9-9

  First Edition: 2020

  Created with Vellum

  To those who still see magic in the everyday

  Contents

  Preface

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by S Lawrence

  Preface

  If you’ve enjoyed my other books, you’ll find some familiar friends in here. If you haven’t yet read my Guardians series, you may wish to begin there, although it isn’t necessary to follow this book.

  Prologue

  Remy Sinclair fled his home, the city he loved, on the day the gods fought for his world.

  He, along with his sisters and some young cousins, packed up their caravans and fled. They were the only ones to survive the city; the rest that resided there died that night, washed away or burnt by lightning. He took his family to safety after having a vision of the future and brought them to the mountains before the water rose. They built a home after the floods turned the mountains into the coast.

  His blood was that of the Basque, the travelers. Long ago, they were studied: their blood and DNA. It was unlike any other on the planet, human but different. More. Remy was more. A seer, he painted beautiful pictures of a terrifying future. Deep in a cave, the paintings are waiting to be seen, hidden until she can reach them.

  He painted them in the book I was able to get for him and wrapped them up, hiding them away just as he did all those years ago for Cora. Cora, the one chosen to stop the storm.

  I watched as beside the paintings in the box, he also placed a journal. A chronicle of what happened after the storm. It waits for the one to be born, as do I...

  Chapter 1

  REYNA

  Standing at the cliff’s edge, I listen to the crashing below, my eyes searching the horizon for something. Every day, I find myself here. It scares me, but I can’t seem to stop.

  “REYNA!” I spin, teetering for a second, and her eyes widen. Catching myself, I find my balance and step toward her. Her hand is at her throat. “I’ve told you a thousand times to stay away from here,” she scolds.

  “I’m sorry, Momma. I don’t mean to; I just end up here.” Her brows draw down as she studies me.

  “Well, come along. People are starting to come in, and your father needs our help.” She turns and strides away, glancing back to make sure I’m following.

  Our house isn’t far, and I stop there to freshen up, running my comb through my long wavy hair before twisting it up and pinning it at the base of my neck. Tendrils escape around my face. I look at myself before shrugging. It takes less than five minutes, and then I’m stepping to the door. The pub is right down the way. The walk there is over before I know it, and I rub my hand over the carved fleur-de-lis on the door of the Trinity before pushing through it. I take in the customers already here, smiling at them as I pass by. Ducking under the end of the bar, I join my dad behind it. I rise up and kiss my father on his cheek while tying my apron around my waist.

  “Up on the cliffs again?” He raises an eyebrow at me, and I nod once.

  “Sorry.” He bumps me with his shoulder, drawing my eyes.

  “We just worry. Especially if you don’t want to be going there.” I turn and lean back on the bar, glancing around before lowering my voice.

  “Something is… Well, it’s like something is calling me there,” I whisper, worried someone will overhear me. Everyone is suspicious of people that like the sea. He nods, mouthing ‘later’ before turning and greeting a new customer that is approaching the bar. Later turns into ‘not tonight’ as customers keep coming in.

  It’s closer to morning when he finally shoos me out, telling me he will clean up. I should go straight to our house and straight to bed but instead, I head down to the shore. I pick my way along the rocks, staying well out of the water. I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never even touched the salty water. Sitting on a large rock with a smooth top, I watch the waves, tasting the salt on my tongue. The moon glows, large and full, as it lights up the night. A dolphin jumps near the shore, and I smile watching it, but my smile fades as I see it swim closer still.

  I’ve heard stories of them beaching themselves, and my heart pounds harder each inch closer to the sand and rocks it moves. They are beautiful, intelligent creatures. Standing, I debate what to do. My fear of the water paralyzes me, but my heart wins out, and I take a tentative step toward the foam-covered sand in between the rocks. Hopping from rock to rock, making my way around the little cove, I am almost to it when it leaps from the water, splashing back down before popping its head out.

  I swear it looks right at me before it sinks below the surface and disappears. What the hell? Shaking my head, I turn to leave when the moonlight glints off something. I pause, trying to make out what it is in the water’s edge and gasping when my eyes finally focus on it. A man. I look around, wringing my hands together. I should leave. It’s none of my business. A wave rocks him and his hair falls from his face. Yes, I should leave. The clearer view makes him look no less dangerous.

  I chew on the skin of my thumb. I could just check to see if he’s alive. I take one step. What if he is? Then what, leave him here? The others will kill him, for no one but a pirate would be in the sea. I turn away but stop after just a few steps. I close my eyes, sighing at my own stupidity as I turn back. Picking my way to his side quickly, I don’t give myself time to chicken out. I reach for him as I squat, my hand hovering over his skin, and I let my gaze drift over him. I see no blood except right beside his ear, and below it, the vein in his neck thumps with his steady pulse.

  I don’t know if I should feel relieved or terrified. I’m still debating when a strong hand closes around my arm, which is still hovering above him. The crashing waves swallow my scream as I try to get away from him.

  “Where am
I?” His deep, hoarse voice causes me to stop fighting for a moment. It is filled with confusion. I glance at his face and meet onyx eyes fringed with long lashes. Lashes that I would kill for. The stars are reflected in his eyes, reminding me of the night sky. I look up involuntarily before bending my face near him.

  “Please let me go. You don’t have to kill me. I won’t tell anyone you’re here.” I hate that my voice is so wobbly.

  “Why would I kill...?” His voice fades away as his head falls to the side, his hand dropping away.

  Why wouldn’t he kill me is a better question. I should go. He’s alive, and surely someone will come for him. Standing, I peer out at the sea but I can’t make out any ship. Looking back down at him, I see a pool of blood forming under his head. Shit. I’m going to regret this. Glancing around, I don’t see anyone so I move around until I can grab him under the arms and I pull. Christ, he weighs a ton. No way I can get up the steep incline. At least I have pulled him two feet out of the water, and the tide is out, so he should be safe for a while.

  Letting go of his arms and straightening, I look around. I could go get Moonlight, but Dad would probably hear me taking her from the stable. She is the noisiest horse I’ve ever seen, moaning with each step like she’s on her last leg, and she’s done it almost from the moment she was born. I’m still trying to decide what to do when I hear a bark somewhere to my right. There, down the shore, midway from the water and the cliff, is Liam. He is looking at me and then back at something along the cliff wall.

  “Liam,” I whisper yell at the beast. Jerking my hand, I try to get him to come to me, but instead, he plops his big butt down on the rocks, his tongue hanging out. Looking around, checking for anyone approaching and seeing no one, I scrabble over the slippery rocks to my dog. “What are you doing down here?” I ask as I reach his side, and he barks again, looking back at the cliff wall. There, hidden between two massive stones, is an opening to a cave I’ve never seen.

  “What in the hell?” I whisper, my hand reaching for Liam, fingers tunneling through his wiry fur. Standing, he moves closer, body firmly against my hip. Dad says he’s some kind of Wolfhound mix. All I know is since the day I found him, trapped in a hole someone dug in the woods, and rescued him, he has been my friend and protector. He leaps, and I grab at him but miss as he barrels forward. “Liam, no.” He doesn’t listen; instead he slides through the stones and disappears into the darkness. “Damn it.”

  I look back at the man, who’s still unmoving, eyes closed. Chewing at my bottom lip, I debate what to do. A sharp bark makes the decision for me. Throwing caution to the wind, I climb up and squeeze into the opening. After I shuffle sideways for a few steps, I break through the tight entrance into a large open cave. Crystals twinkle in the walls from the little light that is leaking in through the crack in the cliff wall.

  Liam is sitting in the middle, tongue hanging out, just waiting for me. “What are you doing? You could’ve gotten hurt,” I murmur as I sink to my knees in front of him.

  His warm tongue glides over my cheek before he stands and bounds away. I watch him run in a criss-cross pattern around the cave, sniffing every crack and crevice. Eventually, I look away from him, sure that he’s not going to be hurt.

  I let my eyes drift over the cavern. It’s dry; I can tell from the smell. No wind blows in through the opening. If I can get him here, this would be a perfect place to hide the man. The Pirate. I’m insane. My entire life I’ve been warned, told stories of their killing and raping. No one deals with the pirates. Why would they even be here? How did he get here? I should leave him where he lays, let the tide wash him away. Let his home take him back. The waves will come and drag him to the bottom. Good riddance, one less pirate to try to hurt us.

  They take and take, whatever they want, whenever they want. People or things, it makes no difference. Why am I helping him? The thought plays over and over as I drag him over the rocks. It takes me forever to get him below the opening. There’s no way I’m getting him up there alone. A growl draws my gaze to the very place I’m cursing. Liam is standing there watching me.

  “Well, come help me.” He jumps down and walks over to my side. “You’re going to have to help me drag him.” I unbuckle the belt I have around my waist holding my apron to my skirt. I tuck the apron into my waistband.

  Looping the belt through Liam’s collar and then around the man’s wrist I buckle it as best as I can. I grab the other wrist and start to pull.

  “Liam, heel,” I say as I pull, and the huge hound pulls forward.

  The man begins to slide over the rocks and up the slope. The sun is rising when we finally slip through the opening. Sweat is running down my face and back as I lean against the wall and look down at him. He is unchanged -- still breathing, still bleeding, and still unconscious.

  I tear my apron into strips, watching him while I do. Kneeling and then moving to sit beside him, I start to bandage his head, lifting it off the ground and wrapping the strips over the gash I feel with my fingertips. It’s long and jagged. Maybe he hit it on rocks, or someone cracked him in the head with something hard.

  I ignore Liam’s look of judgement. “It’s not my fault. If we told them or brought him home, you know what they would do to him. I mean look at him. Pirate,” I whisper the last word at him.

  The word causes a tremor to skitter through my body. I have been warned of their danger for as long as I can remember, told about what they do to the people they capture and the towns they raid. Liam whines, and I look back up at him to find he’s moved closer and is watching the man closely.

  “Why am I doing this? I should have left him for the sea.” I don’t understand my actions or why my fingers keep straying to him. One thought keeps playing through my mind.

  They come on the tides, and death comes with them.

  * * *

  NESTOR

  I knew she was the one that would find the cave. So long ago, the day she was born, I looked into her heart and I knew. I have watched her since, although not every day. The others say too much.

  They will be glad for it now. I stay in the shadows just beyond her world, watching as she argues with herself. The dog looks directly at me, and I nod. He has done well, guarding her, keeping her safe, just as I knew he would. Just as he had been bred to do. It had been worth the potential danger to bring him to her. To place him where she would find him.

  She brushes the hair from the man’s face. I know that face; shifting closer, I look more closely. Where have I seen him before?

  Pirate. She whispers the word, and I straighten, suddenly unsure. This world that we left after the war is much changed. Pirates rule the seas, and the seas cover most of the planet. In the beginning, only the strong survived, and those that came after were even stronger.

  Of those, there were, of course, the ones that were brutal and cruel. There is no species on any world that doesn’t have beings that wish to rule those they feel are beneath them.

  There are always wars. Always killing. Always suffering.

  I have done what I could. The humans that became more before the war -- Aislin, Emma, Michael, Sean, and Cora -- withdrew for a long time. They had lost everything but their mates -- families and friends gone, murdered by those we fought. They couldn’t face a world they couldn’t save.

  Time is different in the other realms now that they are no longer tethered to the earth. My own power connects me to all places, so I watched as the world changed year after year here while the others came to grip with their lost lives and their new roles.

  I could have told them, but what good would it have done? More guilt for things they couldn’t change, and so my love and I did what we could, helped who we could. We nudged people and things a little here and there, having hope that the day would come.

  Smiling at the woman, I know it has finally arrived. I must tell him, show him. Pulling the old phone from my pocket, I snap a picture.

  He thought I was crazy to keep it and periodically charge
it, since it hasn’t worked since that day, but now he will be thankful.

  Chapter 2

  REYNA

  I glance toward the cliff again as I shake the sheet out before raising it to the rope strung across our side yard. Flipping one end over the line, I reach down with my hand and pull out the carved wooden clip. It’s smoothed from years of use, and my fingers play over it as I slip it over the fabric.

  It’s funny how some of the things from the past were lost completely and others remembered and passed down. I’ve heard stories of lights powered by wires; I’ve even found the remnants of those things, long forgotten in vehicles from the time. Those vehicles are also forgotten and wasting away, buried beneath vines and grass, some even with trees growing through them. They often held hidden treasures, glimpses into a past no one truly wanted to talk about.

  All my life, I’ve heard whispers about the day the gods tried to destroy the world, how a few fought to save it and then they disappeared, leaving those that survived to suffer.