A Pirate's Wish Read online

  Max sighed. “You will be, Tonya, if you don’t end up dead before you get the chance,” he replied.

  1

  Yachats State Park, Oregon

  Present Day

  * * *

  Tonya walked along the beach with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her thoughts were scattered, and nausea threatened to make her lose her last meal. She had been warned that she might feel this way for a short period after her return due to the residual magic from her last trip.

  She staggered and almost fell on a mound of seaweed-covered sand. She heard a man’s yell and looked up. She lifted an unsteady hand and pushed her long, dark brown hair back from her face when the wind blew it across her eyes. A blast of chilly mist from the incoming fog seeped through her jacket, and she shivered.

  “I’m sorry but the Park closed at sunset. Hey—are you okay?” the ranger asked with concern.

  Tonya looked at him with dazed eyes. She nodded, unable to speak at first. The dizziness was beginning to piss her off. She had never liked roller coasters, and at the moment she felt like she had just gotten off the biggest one in the world.

  “I’m fine. What—what day is it? How long have I been gone?” she asked.

  “I’ll be damned! Aren’t you one of the people that went missing?” the ranger exclaimed in surprise.

  “Did the others come back?” she demanded, her voice stronger now as her stomach began to settle.

  “My name’s Marty. Are you Tonya Maitland?” Marty asked.

  “Yes. Did the others—” she shook her head and started again. “Did Agent Tanaka and Ruth Hallbrook come back?” she repeated, her voice becoming louder in her distress.

  “I haven’t seen anyone else. I think I’d better call the clinic and see if Doc Field is in,” Marty recommended, reaching out in concern when she swayed.

  The name immediately registered—Doctor Kane Field. He would know, or at least his lover, Magna, would know what she was talking about. She carefully nodded her head, afraid of exacerbating the dizziness and nausea that were finally beginning to fade.

  “Yes, I would like to see Dr. Field,” she agreed.

  “Kane, don’t be in such a hurry to leave,” Anne Wright called out.

  Kane grimaced and looked at the clock on the wall. Damn it, he and Gabe were planning to take Magna out to a new movie and were going to make the trip into a mini-vacation. They were supposed to be here any minute to pick him up.

  With a sigh of resignation, he reached for the clean, crisp white coat on the peg next to his office door. He had discarded the one he had worn all day in the laundry basket in the back room, and placed this one on the peg less than thirty seconds ago.

  Hopefully this won’t take long, he thought with another glance at the clock as he dutifully slipped on the white coat.

  “What is it this time—broken bone, sprain, cut, or sore throat?” he called out as he strode down the hallway to the reception desk where Anne was sitting.

  “None of the above. Marty from Yachats State Park just called to say he is bringing in a woman he found on the beach. She appears disoriented and shaken,” she said, looking at the note she had scribbled.

  They both looked up when headlights flashed through the front window. At least he didn’t have to wait long for them to get here.

  Marty slid out of the driver’s side of the white pickup with the Yachats State Park emblem on the door and hurried around to the passenger side. Before he reached the passenger door, however, it opened, and a young woman slid out. She leaned against the truck for a moment, her body language telegraphing that she needed the support, likely due to dizziness, pain, or nausea.

  Kane couldn’t see her face yet, but she was wearing a dark green Ranger’s jacket. She was of average height, her skin was pale, and her hair was long and dark. Marty placed his hand under her elbow, though it looked like she was steadier on her feet now.

  “What do you think? Drugs or alcohol?” Anne dryly inquired.

  “Could be a head trauma, hypothermia, or worse—an assault,” Kane absently murmured.

  Marty opened the clinic door for the woman, and she murmured her thanks as she walked through the doorway. She looked up into Kane’s eyes, and he suddenly felt uneasy. She slowly walked toward him.

  Marty wasn’t far behind. “I found her walking on the beach. Her name is Tonya Maitland,” he said as they reached the counter.

  “Maitland? Isn’t she…?” Anne started to ask before she curiously looked at Tonya.

  “I need to speak with you,” Tonya said, ignoring Marty and Anne.

  “Anne will need you to fill out some paperwork,” Kane started to explain.

  Tonya shook her head. “What do you know about the Sea Witch?” she quietly inquired.

  Kane tensed. He looked at her for a moment, his mind racing with possibilities. Then he nodded and opened a door that led back to his office. He nodded politely to Marty.

  “Marty, I’ll take care of this. Anne, didn’t you have to pick up Bobby from your mom’s early this evening?” Kane asked.

  Anne looked at him with surprise. “Yes, but—” she faltered, looking at Tonya.

  “I’ll take care of things. You don’t want to be late,” he said.

  “Okay—if you’re sure.” Anne didn’t sound like she was sure.

  “I’m sure. Magna and Gabe are here if I need help,” he replied as another set of headlights flashed through the window, and Kane noticed it was Gabe’s truck turning into the parking lot.

  “Oh, good. Okay, I don’t feel so bad leaving you then,” Anne replied.

  Kane and Tonya eyed each other warily as Anne gathered her purse from the drawer next to the desk and stood up. Marty had sauntered over to the door and opened it for Magna and Gabe as they approached.

  The moment Magna walked into the clinic, everything inside Kane lit up. She smiled at him as their eyes met, and his lips quirked involuntarily in response. He tore his gaze away to look at Gabe, feeling more capable of handling this situation already now that his best friend was here.

  Kane smiled reassuringly at Anne when she gave him a questioning look as she bid him and Tonya goodbye. She smiled back and walked toward the exit.

  “Hi, Magna. Hi, Gabe,” Anne greeted them.

  “Hello, Anne. How was your day?” Magna responded in a pleasant voice.

  “Same old, same old. Colds, stitches, coughs, asthma,” Anne remarked.

  “Yeah, it makes you wonder why he went to school so long to do what moms can do without a second thought,” Gabe teased.

  “I’ll remind you of that the next time you need stitches, and I don’t numb the area first,” Kane shot back.

  “Good one, Gabe. Are you still coming by next week?” Marty inquired.

  “Yeah, next Thursday if that works for you. The weather has been pretty good lately. I want to do as many tests as I can before it turns bad again,” Gabe responded.

  “I’ll see you then,” Marty said with a nod to Kane and a brief smile to Magna. “Have a good evening.”

  “We will. The new movie everyone has been talking about is at the theater now. We’re going to drive either to Portland or maybe even Seattle to see it. We haven’t decided yet,” Gabe commented.

  “I hope you plan on going to the late show. You’ll have to let me know how it is. I don’t often go to the movies anymore,” Marty said.

  “I will,” Gabe replied.

  Kane waited until the door closed all the way before he released the deep sigh he had been holding. Tonya was now staring at Magna with a look of awe, curiosity, and a large dose of wariness. He cleared his throat when Gabe looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

  “I think we should all go to my office,” he suggested. “Gabe, can you lock the door and turn out the lights in the waiting room?”

  “Sure,” Gabe responded, looking curiously at Tonya.

  Kane motioned for Tonya to go ahead of him. He reached out and touched Magna’s hand when she walked by him. Sh
e looked at him with a troubled expression.

  “It will be alright,” he murmured.

  Tonya turned and stood to the side. He realized that she wasn’t sure where to go, and he pointed to the door at the end of the corridor.

  “Straight ahead,” he instructed.

  She nodded and walked down the hallway. He followed Magna, resting his hand on her lower back. Tonya warily watched him pull out one of the two chairs in front of his desk for Magna. He motioned to the second chair for her, but she shook her head. He sighed and he walked around to sit in his chair on the other side of the desk. She remained standing with her back against the wall. She felt less vulnerable and more in control this way.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Gabe asked.

  Kane took a deep breath. “Ms. Maitland is one of the missing people that has been in the news. She has a question about the Sea Witch,” he stated in a deceptively calm tone.

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” Gabe muttered, his eyes fixed on Tonya’s pale face.

  Tonya studied the two men with the Sea Witch. Each man was unique in his own way. Gabe was a large, muscular man with short black hair, tan skin, deep brown eyes, and a forbidding expression. Kane was his polar opposite with his lighter build, pale hair, and fair complexion. His bright blue eyes were kind—and concerned.

  While the Sea Witch’s two men were gorgeous, Magna was the one who fascinated Tonya the most. Her long black hair was a little wild, and her slight frame belied the strength in her gaze. Her dark green eyes swirled with color, and if Tonya stared at her from just the right angle, it was as if she were looking through a hazy mirror.

  “I went to your world,” Tonya began, the words unexpectedly difficult. “I don’t know how, but I wasn’t here—on Earth—anymore,” she forced out.

  “You were with Ruth Hallbrook when she made her wish,” Magna stated.

  “A wish—yes,” Tonya repeated softly, absently rubbing her brow.

  “The spell I gave Ruth became corrupted. She misspoke the words she heard. She said she heard a shout and lost her concentration,” Magna explained.

  Tonya nodded. “I was staking out Ruth to find out more information about the disappearances of her brother and the others. I knew she wasn’t telling me the truth. Then, in the bathroom at the pub….” She blushed when she thought of how she had tried to deceive Magna to get information.

  “I remember you. You asked me questions about places I didn’t know about,” Magna calmly replied.

  “Yeah. When you went to leave I saw a reflection of you in the mirror. Your skin—it was different,” Tonya murmured.

  Tonya unconsciously raised a hand to her throat. She ran her fingers along the slender column as she remembered what she had seen that day in the pub. She looked at Magna’s throat, and hissed out a soft breath when the witch’s image shimmered for a brief moment as if a film had been removed from between them.

  “You have—” Tonya started to say.

  Magna nodded and smiled. “Scales. They are not true scales, but they act the same way,” she explained.

  “How—how do—did—you do that?” Tonya asked.

  “I used a glamour spell. It allows me to move among your people without appearing different,” Magna explained.

  “I could have used that a few times over the years,” Tonya replied with a choked laugh.

  “Okay, so who have you told, and what have you told them?” Gabe demanded.

  Tonya’s attention moved from Magna to Gabe. His anger and worry was palpable as he laid his hand on Magna’s shoulder. Magna gently covered his hand with hers. Tonya glanced at Kane. He had been silently watching her throughout the conversation, his expression guarded.

  “No one but you.” She turned to face Gabe. “I need to know what happened to Ruth Hallbrook and Agent Tanaka? Are they okay?” she asked.

  “There was a slight problem, but I can tell you that Ruth is fine. She is very happy on the Isle of the Giants,” she said.

  “Giants—right. That’s good—that she’s happy. I think I actually knew… something… about her being with Giants. Mike said… ugh, there was a lot going on while I was there, and the spell that brought me back is making my brain feel a little scrambled. Honestly though, it’s a lot better than I felt the first couple of weeks in the Seven Kingdoms. Cornelia Fae said it was because the spell that brought me there had become tainted. I felt like I had the flu from hell,” Tonya muttered, rubbing her temple.

  Magna’s expression was sympathetic. “I’m not sure what you may have been told so some of this may be repetitive. If it is, I apologize. As you probably know, my world is in a different dimension. It is made up of the seven Kingdoms, each with a different ruler and each possessing a unique gift from the Goddess who created our world. My mother is from the Isle of Magic. My father is from the Isle of the Sea Serpent. I was born with both the ability to do magic and to live under the sea,” Magna explained.

  Tonya nodded and sat forward. “Which is why they call you the Sea Witch,” she added.

  Magna’s expression grew troubled, and her eyes were filled with a haunted emotion that made Tonya reach out to her. She laid her hand over Magna’s.

  “While true, my name came not from the combination of my birth but from the terrible things I did to the Kingdoms,” Magna softly replied.

  “Honey, you don’t have to tell Tonya anything. In fact, the less she knows the better,” Gabe said, squatting down beside Magna.

  “She already knows enough to hurt us if she wanted to, and I don’t think she does. We might as well answer her questions,” Magna gently responded.

  “She happens to be listening to you, you do know that right?” Tonya pointed out before continuing, “and the answer is no, I don’t want to hurt any of you, and I—I won’t tell. Hell, no one would believe me if I did. I just want—need—to know everything you can tell me.”

  Magna nodded in agreement. “I will show you what happened in the beginning. Take this. When you are ready, turn the shell over. I will be there with you,” Magna said as she reached up and removed the necklace from around her neck.

  Tonya took the shell and held it in the palm of her hand. She frowned as she looked down at the iridescent colors reflected on the ivory-colored surface. She turned the shell over. Her strangled gasp mixed with the lapping of waves and the sound of the wind blowing in the palm trees.

  “Your body is still in Kane’s office, but your mind is locked in my memories,” Magna explained as she walked across the sand and stood next to Tonya. Magna moved her arm in a sweeping motion. “This cove was a special place to my cousin, Orion, our friend, Kapian, and me. We loved coming here.”

  Tonya watched and listened as Magna shared what had happened to her. She itched to write it all down, but she wouldn’t, even though her mind was absorbing every detail. Her heart ached for the young, innocent girl who had been forced to do horrible, unimaginably evil things.

  Tonya lifted a trembling hand to her forehead when the scene around her faded and she found herself back in Kane’s office. Three sets of eyes stared at her, waiting for her to respond. She drew in a deep breath and slowly released it.

  Magna wryly smiled. “Do you have any more questions?”

  “You said—you said that Ruth is alright—that she is happy. How do you know?” she asked.

  “Because some asshole giant put golden collars on the three of us, threatened to kill us, took us back to the Seven Kingdoms, and made Magna use her magic to fix things,” Gabe growled.

  “Gabe,” Kane said with a brief shake of his head.

  Magna chuckled and shot Kane an amused look. “That pretty much sums up what happened,” she replied.

  “Oh. I guess I’m lucky I got back after you did. Mike said I needed to return before anything else happened, but this is good that you weren’t still in the Seven Kingdoms, and… we could have just missed each other! Because all of us were… traveling between worlds,” Tonya murmured.

  “When portals are i
nvolved, time can fluctuate. There can be variations from a few days to a few months, possibly even years, if the spell that is used does not compensate for the differences in a day between our worlds. It is possible that your return happened before Mike and Marina visited the Isle of the Giants to see Ruth,” Magna explained.

  “Wait, so he knows now that she’s fine, but he didn’t when I left him an hour ago because time moves differently—sometimes—depending on the portal?”

  Magna nodded, and Tonya laughed. “All of this is giving me a seriously intense migraine,” she confessed, rubbing her temples.

  “Well, it’s a good thing that you’re in a clinic. I have some medication that should help,” Kane responded as he opened the desk drawer beside him.

  “I can help as well,” Magna said, leaning forward and lifting her hand.

  Tonya hissed when the pain was pulled out of her head. She blinked when Magna sat back. When Gabe chuckled and stood up, she realized her mouth was hanging open.

  “Looks like you need to work on your game, Kane,” Gabe jested.

  “Yeah?! Well, lucky for me, I don’t have to since Magna agreed that she wouldn’t use her magic outside of the house, if possible,” Kane retorted.

  Magna looked at Kane with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. “I hardly think it was necessary to let Tonya suffer until your medications worked since she already knows about me, magic, and the Seven Kingdoms,” she reasoned.

  “She’s got us there, Kane,” Gabe agreed.

  Tonya shook her head, marveling at the fact that the witch who had almost destroyed the Seven Kingdoms with her magic was now being chided for using it to cure a headache.

  Life is so much stranger than fiction, she thought.

  “So, Ruth is on the Isle of the Giants.”

  “Yes, she married the King of the Giants, Koorgan. They are very much in love.”

  “She married—?! Ok. Right, because it’s been longer there than here, or she arrived earlier, or something, and now she’s in love and she’s staying. Ok. What about Agent Tanaka? He was on the beach with us,” she asked.