Page 1 of Sea of Love

Chapter 1

IN A SPELL chamber at the headquarters of the Magus Corps, brilliant green light radiated from Summer Lautner. As it did time stopped. The counter on the bomb in her hands likewise halted at two seconds. The stink of the plastic explosives filled her nostrils as if she had been snorting old motor oil. Not a surprising odor for such an engine of death.

A bead of sweat trickled down her face as Summer stared at the device. She could think, but she couldn’t seem to move. The time-freeze enchantment came from the Emerald Tablet, the most ancient and powerful Wiccan grimoire. As its guardian she shared her soul with it, and could use its power. But in times of great danger it often acted of its own accord.

Not long ago Summer had resented that. Now she wanted to sob with gratitude.

But this wasn’t the time to fall apart. She had no idea who had planted the explosives, but she knew why. Someone wanted to stop her and her team before they could begin their journey back in time. If they died, then Wickerman, the murderous rogue warlock would succeed. He would recover four powerful Fae crystal treasures before they were lost to horrible cataclysms. In her dreams she had foreseen how he would use them to bring on the Apocalypse, and destroy the world.

But why couldn’t she move? The time-stopping intervention by the Tablet normally had no effect on her. Though she could move her eyes and was definitely breathing, her hands refused to move. Instead cold terror knotted in her chest and slowly sank into her stomach. But it wasn’t fear for herself. If she died, others would take her place to try and stop Wickerman. There were always enough good souls to stand against evil. But if her life ended in this room, Troy Atwater and Michael Charbon would die with her. As her sentinel mates they would not survive her death––and she would do anything to protect the two men she loved.

A low, deep voice said, “Beauty, I am here.”

Summer shifted her eyes up and looked up into Michael’s brilliant, jade-green eyes. He had dressed as a gladiator for their journey to ancient Pompeii, which perfectly suited his huge, brutally muscular frame.

“You aren’t frozen,” she said and found her mouth could move as well.

“So it seems.”

The big man crouched down beside her and inspected the satchel she was holding. He took in a sharp breath when he saw inside, but kept his voice low and pleasant.

“Be very still now,” he said.

“Not a problem,” she said, the words rasping in her tight throat. She swallowed hard. “Do you know anything about explosives?”

“Enough to know you should not move.” He turned his head. “Pagan?”

“We’ve got this, love,” Troy said, as he knelt down on her other side.

He’d cropped his long black hair in Roman style, and wore the garb of a trader. But his heavenly blue eyes remained as steady and loving as ever.

“Paladin and I will handle the bomb. All you have to do is keep time from restarting. Focus on that.”

Summer immersed herself in the Tablet’s power, adding her will to the entity’s efforts. Her gaze shifted to the other members of their team, who stood suspended in time.

Lemuel Bowers and Cyrus Shelton, the two Templars they had agreed to take with them, stood staring at the bomb. Bowers’s face looked oddly lifeless, while Shelton’s stern features appeared confused. Between them Elettra GemSage, the last surviving member of the renegade Fae clan responsible for creating the crystals, had turned to look at Shelton. Pretending to be a Wiccan and disguised as an ordinary brunette, the Fae woman had an expression of such longing that Summer felt her heart clench. After being buried alive in a diamond crypt for ten thousand years, Elettra had only been freed for a few days. She had already sacrificed everything to protect the world from her clan’s deadly crystals. She didn’t deserve to die like this.

“Captain Banning said there is an anti-violence ward protecting Magus Corps Headquarters,” Michael said to Troy. “Will it prevent the device from exploding?”

“The enchantment renders all weapons useless, so theoretically it should,” the dark warlock said. “Unless the spell chamber was made exempt. Sometimes protective wards interfere with spell casting.” He turned his head, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the chamber. “With all the power in the room, I can’t tell. We have to defuse it.”

“The timer is wired to the detonator,” Michael said. He pointed at a bundle of gray wires leading from the digital display to a small metal box with two lights. “If we cut all the wires, it cannot send the signal to set off the bomb.”

“Unless one of the wires triggers the bomb if it’s cut,” Troy said. “The same thing might happen if we try to remove the battery from the timer. If we could just freeze the timer and detonator instead of–”

He abruptly stopped and rubbed his hand over his perspiring face.

“Beauty, can you transport the bomb from here to the sea?” Michael asked.

“I don’t have the time to do it,” Summer said. “Even with the Tablet’s help, I’d need at least a few seconds to cast the spell.” She saw Troy’s eyes glow with the blue light of his elemental power. “What are you doing?”

“It’s my turn to freeze time,” the dark warlock said. He clamped his hand over the digital counter, which turned frosty white. “My sweat isn’t enough. I need water, as much as you can find.”

Michael got up and went to check the tall urns flanking the door. He seized one and wrenched out the flowers before carrying it back.

But as Summer watched, a new sensation stirred inside. The energy of the Tablet was slipping.

“I can’t hold time any longer,” she said quickly.