Flight of Magpies (A Charm of Magpies) by KJ Charles

Author:KJ Charles [Charles, KJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic, gay romance, paranormal, fantasy, Victorian, historical, m/m
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2014-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Merrick got them in a cab with haste. Crane didn’t feel any different physically, but the knowledge of the disfiguring mark across his face had him cringing inside.

Stephen would deal with it. Surely.

What the hell had happened?

He wasn’t magical. He held on to that with grim determination. There was power in his blood, that was undeniable, but Stephen was the one with the ability to tap it.

The magpies only flew when he joined with Stephen, when Stephen had Crane’s blood or seed in his own body. That was safe, that was tolerable. If the bloody things were going to move around his skin, over his face, in public and without his knowledge—

Crane wouldn’t have called himself vain, as such, but he was well aware of his good looks and, frankly, enjoyed them. He liked turning heads, liked the way Stephen watched him. The idea that his face would be, not just marred, but made into something out of a carnival sideshow, was sickening.

“Stephen will do something,” he said to himself as much as Merrick.

“Course he will. We’ll get you home, you stay put, I’ll go find him, we’ll sort this out.” Merrick paused. “Where’ll he be?”

“God knows. Leave a message at his rooms. Send to the Council and the Golds’ surgery.”

“Cos, he’s not always that easy to find—”

“I know.” Crane did not want to think about what it would mean if Stephen went off on one of his three- or four-day absences now, especially after that stupid row. “We’ll send messages to his rooms and the surgery and then think about how many appointments I’m going to have to cancel.”

Merrick directed the jarvey round to the servant’s entrance to Crane’s building, lurked while he waited for an opportunity, and whisked him in. They passed a housemaid tripping down the stairs. She threw Crane a quick glance, then her head snapped round in an open-mouthed stare.

“All right, move along,” Merrick growled, hustling past her.

“I’m already tired of this,” Crane said grimly as Merrick unlocked the back door.

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to look at it.”

Merrick sent the notes requesting Stephen’s urgent appearance by messenger boy, to Crane’s gratitude. He didn’t want to be alone in the flat with his disfigured face.

“Can you not do something?” Merrick asked, as they both stood by the fire, too on edge to sit.

“Like what?”

“I dunno, they’re your tattoos. You’re the magic one. Tell it to move.”

“I have no idea how in the hell I’d do any such thing,” said Crane, who had been surreptitiously trying exactly that, to no avail. “And I’ve explained this at least thirty times—”

“Yeah, you got the power but you can’t use it, you said. Except I just saw you knock a hole in a punchbag. And with your right hand, and we both know you’ve a right like a fainting nun, so don’t tell me that was natural.”

Crane glared at him. “Would you like to try my right out now?”

“Not if you’re going shaman on me.” Merrick grimaced. “Are you?”

“No,” said Crane, with more conviction than he felt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.