by Emma Dean
Wade grumbled from the other bedroom, slamming his fist into the connecting wall to get him to shut it off.
“What?” Corbin grumbled as a greeting, kicking the wall in response to his brother.
“I found a few of the members of the Hellfire Society,” Jessica told him. “Want to come play with me?”
Corbin perked up at that. “Text me the location. I’ll be there within the hour.”
Jessica hung up and Corbin rolled out of bed into his morning pushups.
He was going to get the chance to ask them what the hell they needed a blood witch for.
Why couldn’t any witch use blood magic for their purposes? And why did they even know about blood witches when the entire concept seemed to be wiped from the collective paranormal memory?
But ravens, foxes, and coyotes had protections on their dens and eyries that even a god couldn’t penetrate because the wards were given by gods – the Morrigan, the Fox, the Desert Wolf, it didn’t matter. They were strong enough to protect the ‘lesser’ shifters.
It was why they remembered when no one else did.
But the raccoons were too chaotic to protect really; they did their own thing and not all of them had been inside the wards whenever that spell had rolled through the paranormal world. Corbin had never run across a raccoon personally, but he knew they were out there. Some lived with flocks, and some lived with the foxes.
But there was no way to know how many of them there were since they didn’t group up like most of the shifters.
“Leaving?” Wade asked from the doorway.
Corbin finished his pushups and wiped down the sweat. “I got a lead on a threat to the blood witch.”
“What did Armad tell you?”
That nothing would be the same. “Want to come hunting with me?” Corbin asked instead.
His hunting clothes were soft, soundless, dark as night, and bulletproof. There were wards built into the flexible material. The outfit had cost a small fortune but had been worth every penny.
“I feel like you’re getting paid too much to need help,” Wade scoffed. “But if there’s anything I can do for you here, let me know. Don’t hesitate to use the emergency line if you need it though.”
Corbin had never had to call for backup on a mission, and he never planned to need it. But then again…Mika’s life was at stake. “I will.”
Tying his boots and tucking the laces in, Corbin stood and started pulling out his favorite weapons from under the bed. He waited for Wade to say whatever it was that weighed heavy on his mind as he tucked away the blades and various other tools of his trade.
“Things are going to change, aren’t they?” his brother asked from the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed.
“Yes.”
“For the better?”
Corbin paused at that. “Maybe.”
Then he strapped on his two favorite guns. Corbin rarely ever used them. The silencers were spelled so there was literally zero noise, but it still wasn’t his preferred method.
“Raven society has been stagnant for too long,” Wade finally said. “What we’ve become is a bunch of stuffy, emotionless birds who don’t care about the outside world. I hope she changes that.”
Before Corbin could respond, Wade was gone.
He supposed his brother was right though.
Something had to change before they all went insane.
“Enjoy your beauty sleep?” Jessica asked when Corbin shifted mid-drop.
He brushed the imaginary dust off his shoulder. “I was up all night reading about your cousin. Not all of us need sleep to be beautiful.”
The demon witch rolled her eyes, but laughed. “I got word the Vegas branch of the Hellfire Society was the one trying to open the seal to hell on Morgana’s island. I’ve found a few of them here of all places.”
Corbin kneeled and eyed the city below them. The Hollywood sign was directly behind him and he could see most of the city from this vantage point. “There’s a seal here as well?”
“Right smack in the middle of the City of Angels,” Jessica said. “It’s the biggest one which is why I moved here.”
“Wouldn’t a secret society have a Los Angeles branch?” Corbin asked, tilting his head as he filtered through the city’s sounds.
“They did,” Jessica said with a smirk.
Well then.
“And you think they’re trying to open this one?”
“I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but they’re sniffing around, and I want to ask them a few questions as to why. Figured you did too.” Jessica’s leather duster flapped in the warm wind, warmer than it should have been for spring. But that was Southern California for you.
Corbin hated the desert heat.
“Where are they now?”
“Franklin Canyon Park. I assume they’re looking for the seal.” Jess pointed toward the dark woods off in the distance, just north of Beverly Hills.
Corbin stood and rolled his shoulders back. “Need a ride?”
The witch smirked at him. “This is faster.” She grabbed his hand before he could protest and popped them into that dark space where he couldn’t breathe.
When they slid back into their reality Corbin took a slow, deep breath, making sure he was as silent as possible.
“I really hate when you do that,” he muttered under his breath.
Jessica just shrugged and let go of him.
They both took a moment to listen for any sounds out of the ordinary. Corbin tilted his head as he heard rustling and Jess waited for him to indicate the direction. Corbin jerked his chin and shifted, resisting the urge to caw for the team he’d had for years.
Jess ran underneath him, keeping up without any effort at all despite his speed and the strength behind every wingbeat. His size wasn’t a disadvantage thanks to the power in his wings.
There were three of the Hellfire witches making more noise than a herd of buffalo. Corbin dove in front of Jessica, spinning three times to indicate the number.
It was just like old times and a strange nostalgia filled him.
Emotions were fucking weird.
The two of them split up. Corbin went higher so he could dive from above when they least expected it.
Voices filled the woods and Corbin felt that familiar tingle – the excitement of the hunt that he lived for.
Jess used their code word and he dove for the one farthest from her, shifting so his feet hit the enemy witch’s chest first and his entire weight crushed the asshole to the ground.
A quick slice across his throat and the man was dead before he even realized what had happened. Corbin turned to see Jess had already taken care of another with her hellfire and the third was on his knees before her as that hellfire still burned in her eyes.
They only needed one to talk after all.
“So, seems like you didn’t understand what happened to your brothers and sisters the last time they were in my city,” Jess drawled, fire dripping from her fingertips.
Corbin would never get over the way it never burned unless she wanted it to.
“Please,” the moron begged. “We didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what? That I’ve been hunting you and yours for a while now?” Jess demanded, circling the witch on the ground.
Corbin concentrated and silenced the beating of his heart and the sound of his breathing. Then he eased the weight of his body on this earth. Slipping into the shadow world was like putting on his most comfortable sweats. He prowled around the witch, reading the signs that told him whether or not someone was lying.
“We didn’t know,” the witch persisted. “We were simply following orders – checking each seal in the area. I swear.”
What a low-level piece of shit, cracking with such little pressure.
Jessica tapped her foot impatiently and sighed. “Fine, I believe you. Tell me what the society is planning.”
Corbin didn’t taste a lie either.
“Look, I�
��m just a foot soldier,” the guy practically sobbed. “We were just supposed to find the seal and guard it.”
Corbin suddenly had a bad feeling deep in his gut, an instinct he never ignored. It had saved him more times than he cared to count.
He slid out of the shadow world and pressed his blade to the witch’s neck. “What do you know about the blood witch?”
The silence went on too long.
Finally, the creep smiled. “They’re fetching her now, the only one strong enough to open the door.”
Corbin looked up at Jess whose eyes were flame bright. She gritted her teeth. “I can’t take you there, Corbin. I’m not allowed.”
Panic wasn’t a feeling he was used to. It overrode every bit of common sense he possessed.
“Where are they taking her?” he demanded, pressing the blade harder and drawing blood. The smell of it nearly made him sick, it was somehow twisted and rotten to his senses.
Jessica gripped the man’s arm when he didn’t answer and the smell of burning flesh was music to his ears. Corbin could still hear the sizzle over the screaming.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and Corbin pressed the blade harder with one hand and answered with the other.
“They’ve taken her,” an unfamiliar voice growled over the phone. “Witches teleported Mika off the island.”
Corbin didn’t question the voice. He didn’t demand he explain who he was or how he’d gotten his number. The fear and panic in the male’s voice was enough to convince him the info was genuine.
“Where?” Corbin demanded.
“I don’t know. They took her and the others from the forest. I have no way to go after them.”
Corbin didn’t waste any more time. “I’ll deal with it.” He hung up the phone and slit the witch’s throat. “I need you to do a locator spell and find Mika. They’ve taken her off the island.”
Jessica grimaced. “I don’t have anything to do the spell with. Hold on.” She grabbed Corbin’s hand and they both slipped into that dark nothingness and then back into a brightly lit penthouse.
“Darling, are you bringing me a present?” someone asked.
Corbin glared at Jess’s guardian.
“Tell me you snagged some hair from Mika for special occasions?” Jess demanded. “The Society’s got her.”
The change in Eisheth’s demeanor impressed Corbin. A snap of his finger and the demon had the hair in his hand. Jess took it and waved her hand over the strand, muttering whatever spell she needed to.
Corbin’s entire body thrummed. He needed to get out and do something. He needed to get her back.
He should never have left her alone. If he’d been watching her like he was supposed to, they never would have taken her. She would have been safe, and Corbin wouldn’t be so worried he literally felt sick to his stomach.
If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
Corbin started pacing.
The spell was taking too long.
He needed to get his shit together. Too many emotions were swirling inside, and it was so tempting to just shut it all off. He was feeling too much and Corbin didn’t want anything to do with it.
But turning it all off would make him lose the warmth in his chest he’d had ever since Mika had slowly had him falling for her. He’d turned it off once when he’d stupidly decided she wanted nothing to do with him after watching all the males panting after her, and the emptiness had nearly decimated him.
He ran his hands through his hair and then started braiding it back into a fauxhawk. “Let’s go, Jess. I don’t have the time.”
“Shut it, I’m going as fast as I can,” Jess snapped. “Wherever she is, it’s warded up the ass. I’m going to need to let Lucifer know what’s going on.”
“Just tell me where she is. I’ll get her out before you two destroy the place.”
Pop.
“Someone is summoning me,” Lucifer growled. The prince of hell’s voice vibrated with the sound of his displeasure, somehow reminding Corbin of a pack of hellhounds. “Summoning me. I knew that blood witch was going to be a pain in the ass, just like her creator.”
Jess looked relieved. “Where? She’s been taken. They want her to open the door to the seal.”
Lucifer sighed then, looking more mortal than he had when he’d first arrived.
For a celestial being, Lucifer was oddly down to earth.
“Now prince,” Corbin demanded. “I need to get to her now.”
Lucifer gave Corbin one appraising look and then glanced at Jess.
Jess nodded and grabbed Corbin’s hand. “I’ll take you to the front door. Get her out before Lucifer gets there.”
Then they slid through reality and Corbin bared his teeth at the darkness.
He would get her back, no matter what.
5
The place was chaos.
Ten Hellfire witches surrounded Mika, Lucien, and Ethan while what looked like a portal shimmered on the wall. Ethan’s lightning electrocuted three of them at once and Corbin grinned in appreciation. Not useless after all.
Then the fox snarled and shifted. The black fur was a surprise but not the vicious way Lucien attacked one of the witches, tearing out his throat with a practiced move. The sound of muscle and bone cracking faded when he focused on her.
She slapped her hand on the door and Corbin knew they had moments. He sprinted through the madness, taking out anyone he saw fighting someone he knew.
Then he heard a scream that chilled him to the bone and his heart stopped.
She was grappling with another witch on the floor, skin peeling from her body as it burned from some internal force.
Hellfire.
They were both screaming as Mika gripped the witch tight.
He wasn’t going to wait for her to win. Corbin dodged an attack from one of the crazy witches who’d finally noticed him and drove one of his blades right into his heart.
Then he was there, and his other blade was sliding across the witch’s neck who was trying to kill Mika, and almost succeeding.
Blood sprayed and it smelled burnt. Corbin wrinkled his nose but ignored it. What mattered was her. Mika blinked, blood covering her face, not quite registering his presence.
“Blood looks strange, dove. Did you boil him?” Corbin asked, scooping her up from the floor.
She weighed nothing and every inch of her looked badly burned. Mika screamed despite his gentle touch and Corbin panicked. What was it that book had said?
As carefully as he could he slid his knife across his wrist, trying not to jostle her too much. This better fucking work. Corbin held his wrist over her lips and prayed to the goddess as it dripped into her mouth.
She was too pale, too hurt. Her eyelids fluttered closed and Corbin practically screamed his rage – at the world, at himself.
He never should have left her alone.
For a second he thought it wouldn’t work, but then he watched as the cracks and blisters disappeared before his eyes. Relief flooded him and he tucked away his knife, ignoring the way his hand shook.
Corbin turned and glanced down at Mika who was breathing more easily now. “Let it heal you, your body knows what to do,” he murmured, carrying her toward the handy little portal she’d no doubt created.
Clever little witch.
Lucifer was on his way and they needed to leave before he unleashed his wrath.
He jerked his head at Lucien and Ethan. The two had done surprisingly well considering they weren’t ravens. “You two! Let’s get out of here. Lucifer’s on his way.”
They didn’t waste any time arguing with him either, which Corbin appreciated.
The four of them stepped through the portal into Eisheth’s penthouse and he smiled, wishing he could see the damage the prince of hell would do. But he had to take care of the blood witch…and he was the only one who knew how to do that.
But was he ready to be her blood raven?
Corbin hovered, ignoring the other three
males.
Mika’s skin was nearly perfect again. That was a relief.
He knelt beside her as the demon put something that smelled like aloe and something sharp that smelled like lidocaine onto her skin.
Ethan tried to push Corbin aside to make room. “Get out of the way, bird.”
It took everything he had not to snarl, but Corbin could hear the fear and panic in Ethan’s voice. If this was the life he chose, he had to learn how to share. But…not yet.
“I didn’t see you saving her life as she burned alive,” Corbin snapped.
Corbin tried to remind himself that Ethan had helped save Mika, but still. She would have died if he hadn’t gotten to her in time.
Ethan pushed again and Corbin turned, ready to bite the witch’s head off.
“All of you children, do shut up,” Eisheth demanded. “She’s going to be just fine.”
Yeah, thanks to Corbin.
“Oh, thank the Fates,” Ethan sighed, rubbing his face. Corbin could relate for once. “What was it you did? That was quick thinking.”
Corbin refused to look away from Mika. The slight pink tinge to her skin bothered him. Her suffering was because of him. “Ravens have always served the Morrigan.”
“Well darling, you’ve got quite the following,” Eisheth teased, patting her face gently. “Imagine my surprise when a portal opened up into my living room and people started parading through. You’re lucky I was wearing clothes.”
It must have happened right after Corbin had left. He didn’t know how she’d managed it, and honestly, he didn’t care. Corbin only cared that she was fully capable of handling a dangerous situation, even if he hadn’t been there to help her.
Training her was one of the smartest things he’d ever done.
Jessica stormed into the room, not sparing him a glance. “Or on this plane at all. Don’t worry, I closed the portal.”
Even the demon witch sounded impressed. Corbin felt pride, another emotion he wasn’t used to, but he liked it.
Mika sat up abruptly and Corbin tracked her every movement, looking for any remaining signs of pain. If she needed more blood, he’d give it willingly.