Free Warlock's Charm by Marly Mathews

to be there for him the
way that Dallas and Adrian would be there for Anya. His mother’s family would
be there for him, yes, but they didn’t share the close familial bond that Anya
had with her two cousins.
    They spent a few more minutes in quiet reflection, her mind
filled with images from her childhood.
    The maritime village they’d settled in had been near a spaceship
port and though their village was as sleepy as you could get with technology
not a hop, skip and a jump away, it had kept her father sane, as he’d worked in
the big city fixing up spaceships and keeping in touch with some of his old
cronies.
    They brought him news from worlds away and many a night
before bed, he’d sit and tell them about his mates’ many run-ins with alien
species and alien laws.
    During the day while he was at work, her mother would teach
her normal studies like history, languages and maths in the morning and during
the afternoon, she’d devote it entirely to developing her magical craft.
    She had taught Adrian and Dallas a good deal about the craft
as well. Without her mother they never would have been able to pursue their
magical education as her uncle was unwilling to allow Dallas to leave their
home province.
    He was scared to death that slavers would come after Dallas
and get her. After her aunt had passed away, her uncle hadn’t been able to run
the family business alone and her father had taken a more active role in
running it.
    “What are you thinking about now?” she whispered.
    The scent of lavender drifted through the air from the open
window. When the colonists had first arrived they had brought as much as they
could from Earth to make Vanguard as Earth-like as possible.
    Lavender was an integral part of the magical community as it
was used for many things ranging from perfumes and soaps to potions and healing
salves. Many witches still practiced the old nightly ritual of blessing a bunch
of lavender and placing it under their pillow to keep night demons away from
their dreams.
    The house was lovingly surrounded by lavender, hollyhocks,
foxglove and hydrangea.
    She had grown up with the scent of lavender in the forefront
of her mind as it had been her aunt’s favorite flower.
    “I’m thinking about my grandfather.” Damien’s soft voice
brought her out of her dreamy reverie. “I don’t think he had a happy day in his
life, that’s probably why he turned out so bloody rotten. On the day that he
did this to me,” he gestured to his scar, “he thought he’d introduce me to the
finer points of magical combat. He’d been equipped with his wand while I was
unarmed. He told me that every warlock had to learn how to fight with his bare
hands just in case the enemy had taken away their magical trinkets like wands,
staffs and swords. He wanted me to defend myself against him while he used a
conducting weapon to enhance his magic.”
    “I guess that’s what the black tourmaline amulet is,” she
muttered, sighing.
    Ever since she’d touched that stone she hadn’t wanted any
part of it. Now she often wondered where he’d stashed it after she’d gone and
left it with him on their wedding night.
    “Yes, I suppose. I was just a kid, I was no match for a
fully grown warlock armed with a wand,” he muttered. He continued stroking a
path between her shoulders and down to her ass. “When my grandfather hit me
with the curse that gave me this scar, I thought I was dying. I was riddled
with the most indescribable kind of pain.” He sighed and continued, “My father
must have heard the explosion or my mother did for I heard them screaming my name
and then saw them rushing toward me.
    “Never again did I see such a murderous glint fill my
father’s eyes. He had bright-green eyes like the color of grass during a rainy
season and they were imbued with his anger and his power. He looked like an
avenging angel. Had I ever doubted my parents’ love, I never did after that
fateful day.”
    “I take it he didn’t kill