Wild Magic — Ann Macela

Irenee Sabel is a witch -- a good witch, a sophisticated beauty, a member of Chicago's old money elite, and a Defender of an ancient code of ethics that prohibits the indiscriminate use of power attached to magical possessions. As a Sword, Irenee is responsible for confiscating and destroying hidden relics of the sorcery realm still employed by practitioners of the craft for self-centered reasons. Her present target: an aging warlock.

While attending a gala party at Alton Finster's Gold Coast mansion, she burglarizes his safe in search of an item of mystical mayhem. Irenee doesn't anticipate Jim Tylan interrupting her break-in. From the moment they meet, she knows this is no ordinary man.

With an undisclosed search warrant from the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, Tylan enters Finster's office to obtain covert financial records. There he finds a glowing handbag and an overpowering attraction to the benevolent sorceress holding the luminescent purse.

This mysterious encounter launches an escapade to expose pieces of the legendary Cataclysm Stone, an evil object of interest for the Defenders since the fifteenth century. In the heat of the chase, Irenee discovers that her real object of interest isn't the famed stone, but the undercover agent destined to be her lover . . . her soul mate.