Blood Magic: Witch’s Bite Series Book Three

by Foxe, Stephanie

I glance over my shoulder and see the van careening toward me. Martinez is hanging out of the passenger window with a gun pressed against his shoulder. I put on another burst of speed and slip behind the back corner of the metal building.

  There are no doors, no way in, and nothing to hide behind. I keep running along the back of the building and skid to a stop behind one of the planes. The van skids around the corner of the building and bumps along the rough ground.

  I hunch down, my arms aching from being held behind my back for so long, and scurry toward another plane. It’s a hideous mustard yellow thing with a lightning bolt that extends from the nose to the tail. I crouch behind the wheel, but it doesn’t hide me completely.

  The van stops at the back of the hangar, a cloud of dirt kicking up around it. Martinez and the other man jump out, guns ready, as they search for me. I lean against the wheel and try not to breathe.

  Their boots crunch against the rocky ground, then scrape almost silently against the concrete floor of the hangar. Martinez heads diagonally away from me, but the other guy with the mountain man beard is walking straight toward me.

  I tense to run again, but a familiar noise makes me hesitate. The whomp-whomp of helicopter blades is unmistakable. I’m not sure if that is someone coming to help me, or if it’s backup for them. Showing up in a helicopter wasn’t part of the plan, but none of this was. I have no idea if the NWR has access to a helicopter, and I’m not sure why they’d use one now when they obviously have an airplane.

  Mountain Man pauses, tilting his head to one side. He must hear it too. He gestures at Martinez who jogs to the other side of the hangar and looks out at the sky.

  “Time to go,” Martinez shouts. Mountain Man sprints toward him, but Martinez stays where he is. I try to scoot around the wheel, but there’s hardly anything between us.

  Martinez lifts his gun, pointing it in my direction. I shove to the left and barely catch myself as I half run, half stumble. Bullets strike the plane I’m running next to. The gunfire echoes painfully against the concrete and metal all around us. I wince, my ears ringing so badly I can’t even hear the helicopter anymore.

  I spot the door that leads into the building attached to the hangar and put on a burst of speed. I crash through the door, little splinters of wood digging into my shoulder as the door disintegrates under the force of my body hitting it. It’s dark in here, and this room is small. There is a short hall with one open door at the end that reveals a bathroom.

  Another shot echoes behind me and I duck and roll to the right. I can’t go far. There isn’t anywhere to hide in here, and there isn’t another exit. This was a bad plan.

  I grit my teeth and pull at the shackles again. I want them off. I need to be able to use my magic. The metal bites into the already sore cuts and I have to bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to stay silent. After a few seconds of absolutely futile struggling, I realize that Martinez hasn’t come in the building yet.

  I press back into the corner and try to listen again, but my ears are still ringing, drowning out everything but my own labored breathing. I struggle back up to my feet and edge toward the door I busted through.

  I peek out and my eyes go wide. Hu is standing between me and Martinez, whose rifle is laying bent and half melted in front of his feet. I’m not sure where Mountain Man is.

  “You’re under arrest. Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head,” Hu shouts.

  Martinez grins and pulls a collapsible baton off his belt. He flings it open with a flick of his wrist and the end sparks with electricity.

  “You’ll have to make me, demon.”

  Hu shifts his feet carefully and fire erupts from his shoulders and chest. It wraps around him like armor and his shirt burns away, the pieces scattering around him. His skin glistens with sweat and the phoenix tattoo on his back glows and shifts under the magic. I’ve seen fire witches use their magic before, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Flames appear above his head, twisting into two horns.

  “If it’s a demon you want, I can accommodate,” Hu says with a smirk.

  A howl goes up and I see Elise, fully shifted, step into the hangar a few yards behind Martinez. Following closely behind her is the last person I expected to see. Reilly’s face is drawn and tired. The sun may be setting soon, but it’s obvious he has been awake for a while.

  Hu charges Martinez, the flames leaping out in front of him like a whip. Martinez dodges and rolls behind a plane. I dart out of the building and run toward Elise and Reilly, staying as far away from Martinez and Hu as I can. My legs are faltering and I’m running almost human slow. I’ve used too much of the vampire magic, and I think the shackles might be hurting me in more ways than the obvious too. I can’t keep this up.

  An explosion rocks the entire hangar and I find myself face down on the concrete. A fireball shoots up to the ceiling of the hangar and a wave of heat rolls over me. My ears are ringing again and the smell of smoke and burning metal fills my nose.

  Elise is running toward the fight, but it takes me a moment to spot Reilly. He is headed my way, but his focus is on the fight as well. He’s only a few yards away now. I struggle to my knees and get one foot on the ground. If I can just get to him, maybe he can get these shackles off of me.

  The other man, the one I had lost track of, steps out from behind a plane about fifteen yards away. His gun is trained on Reilly, but Reilly is focused completely on Martinez who is shouting something at Hu that I can’t quite hear.

  A million things fly through my head in a moment. I know the NWR have silver bullets. I know that not even Reilly could survive a shot to the head at this range. The man steadies his gun, bracing it against his shoulder. I’m going to regret this.

  I shove off the ground, my foot barely able to get traction. My shoulder slams into Reilly’s side as the crack of the rifle reverberates through the hangar. We are both airborne for less than a second before Reilly shifts midair and wraps his arms around me, dragging me around and landing on his feet.

  Reilly drops me and is standing behind the man with the rifle before he has a chance to blink. He wraps his hands and around the man’s neck and twists. There is a sickening crack and the man falls to the ground, limp.

  I roll onto my stomach with a groan. That is going to leave another bruise. Reilly doesn’t run to me like I expected, he runs toward the fight. I crane my neck to watch. Hu unleashes another barrage at Martinez, with Elise snarling behind him. Reilly is holding the same injector we used when we were trying to knock out Ryan.

  Hu pulls the flames back, and in the same breath Reilly darts in. He is still slow with the sun up, almost human slow, and Martinez is fast. He jabs the baton into Reilly’s stomach at the same time Reilly presses the injector against his neck. They drop in unison, Reilly jerking from the jolt of electricity. Martinez is absolutely still.

  24

  I don’t bother trying to get up. Hu pulls a pair of cuffs off his belt and immediately detains Martinez. Elise shifts and helps him search Martinez for any more weapons.

  I feel the sun set, but it doesn’t give me energy like it has been. I’m beyond exhausted. I’m starving and I’m angry and I wish I had the strength to get to Hu or Elise. I can smell the magic in them and I want it, desperately.

  Reilly sits up, dusting off the shoulders of his jacket, then standing. He looks for me and sees that I’m lying exactly where he left me. There are sirens in the distance. It’s about time the rest of them showed up.

  One second Reilly is on the other side of the hangar, the next he is crouched next to me helping me sit up.

  “Does Martinez have a key for these?” He asks.

  “I hope so,” I say shakily. I hadn’t even thought that he might not have the key.

  “Did you find any keys?” Reilly shouts.

  Hu nods and holds up a key ring.

  “Make sure they take the medallion off him too. It’s cursed. It’s what hurt Corinne,” I say.

  In a blink
, Reilly is there and back again, keys in hand. The quick movements are making me dizzy.

  “They have the medallion,” he says as he rolls me onto my stomach and starts trying keys in the lock. “What are these?”

  “Some enchanted bullshit,” I mutter into the concrete. “Couldn’t use most of my magic. It didn’t stop the vampire magic, I guess it’s different somehow.”

  “It’s blocking your magic?” Reilly asks before cursing at the keys.

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “It was more like it gave me a seizure. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. It would have killed me.”

  There is a click and the shackles fall off. I groan as my arms fall forward and relief floods through me. My magic is quivering inside of me, freed as well.

  “Don’t try to walk,” he says, scooping me up.

  I turn my face into his chest and take a deep breath. He smells like magic and blood and fire. I’m so hungry. There is a brief gust of wind on my face and when I lift my head we’re outside.

  There is a line of cop cars following behind the black JHAPI SUVs. They spread out. Two stop in front of the plane, which is still running, while the other heads straight for us coming to an abrupt stop just a few yards away. Stocke leaps out, gun drawn.

  “Is there anyone left?”

  Reilly shakes his head. “No, there were only two of them. Martinez has been captured alive, but the other is dead.”

  Stocke nods and runs past us toward Elise and Hu. Cook an Ivy follow her. Reilly carries me to the SUV and sets me in the passenger seat.

  I pull my knees up to my chest, but my muscles won’t stop trembling. I’m so hungry and I’m so tired.

  “Olivia,” Reilly says, tugging my hands away from my face. “Look at me.”

  I shake my head.

  “You have to feed,” he insists.

  “No,” I groan. “I don’t want to hurt anybody. I don’t want—”

  “You won’t hurt me,” he says shaking me hard once.

  The movement wakes me up a little bit and I blink at him, trying to make sense of what he is saying.

  “You?” I ask.

  He jerks his sleeve up and presses his wrist to my mouth. “I understand what you’re taking, and I’m telling you it’s alright.”

  “Why?” I ask, my question muffled against his arm.

  “You saved my life,” he says, his jaw clenched tightly. “I thought you would let me die given the opportunity.”

  I guess I did do him a huge favor. I’m too hungry to argue with him. I want this. My fangs slide down and I bite into his arm. Every swallow spreads the warmth of his blood through my body. I reach inside of him and pull on his magic as well and the trembling of my muscles slows.

  I should have let him die. I could have run after that, but I hadn’t thought of that when that man was lifting the gun and aiming it at his head. I had a moment of regret while I was rushing toward him, but the thought of actually letting him die makes me sick even now. I guess as much as I say I hate him, I really just hate what he has forced me into. I couldn’t let him die. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.

  I swallow another delicious mouthful and sigh around his arm. Life would be so much easier without a conscience. His hand brushes a strand of hair back behind my ear, his fingers trailing along my cheek. My stomach does a flip at the touch, but I keep my eyes firmly shut and do my best to ignore it.

  After another minute Reilly tugs his wrist away from me. I lean back into the seat to keep from chasing after it, but it’s a struggle. It helped, a lot, but I don’t feel completely satisfied.

  “Staci is here,” Reilly says. “She brought healing supplies. Deal with your wounds, I need to speak with Stocke.”

  I nod absently. Reilly’s warm presence disappears and I let my eyes slip shut. I could sleep for days right now.

  Someone clears their throat next to me. I shake off the sleepiness and sit up straight. Staci has a handful of first aid supplies that she holds up for me to see.

  “Thanks,” I say hoarsely.

  She hands me a cleansing wipe and sets a tub of healing salve on the dash for when I’m ready for it, then crosses her arms. I clean the blood off my fingers and hands, then gently dab at the area around the wound. It hurts an annoying amount.

  “That brew you made for Corinne, to end the curse, how did you do it?” She asks.

  I open the salve and spread it on my left wrist before I answer. Staci seems huffier than normal, like asking pains her. It’s petty, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.

  “I felt the curse that was hurting her. With as long as I’ve been brewing, I’ve developed the ability to find the ingredients needed to enhance something, or stop it. So, I listened to my magic and I simply brewed something that would cut through the darkness of the curse. It needed to be burned away,” I say with a shrug.

  Staci pinches her lips together. “Your intuition can’t always be right. Magic is a tool. What you’re talking about sounds like some kind of religious nonsense.”

  I laugh and start putting the salve on my other wrist.

  “Your coven really did a number on you,” I say with a smile. “I’m not brewing on faith. I understand what different ingredients do, and that took many hours of study. I also experimented a lot as a child. It’s a skill I’ve cultivated because you’re right, magic is a tool.”

  I hop off the stretcher and she steps back. Her shoulders are hunched up and her fingers are curled into her cardigan.

  “I was looking for a recipe you know. I was going to try to help her,” she says quietly.

  I gnaw on the inside of my cheek and look around, hoping someone will come interrupt what is starting to feel uncomfortably like a heart to heart.

  “Um, I sure you would have found something,” I say, taking a step back. “If you ever want to talk brewing theory, or try something new, let me know. I have to go—find Reilly now though.”

  I turn and hurry away. Reilly is standing at the corner of the hangar deep in conversation with Agent Stocke and a man in a crisp suit that I haven’t seen before. There are two men, bodyguards I presume, standing a few paces behind him.

  I don’t want to deal with strangers, especially ones that require bodyguards. I veer off toward the van the team arrived in. Maybe it will be safer to hide in there for a little while. Elise steps into my path, her hands on her hips. She’s wearing a belt buckle that looks like a mouth full of teeth with two glinting fangs extending just past the rest.

  “Hey you,” she says, eyes narrowed.

  “What is up with your belt buckles?” I blurt out.

  She glances down and frowns. “My mom buys them for me.”

  A laugh bursts out of me and I slap my hand over my mouth, but I can’t seem to stop.

  Elise rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too. “They’re awesome, and it would hurt her feelings if I didn’t wear them.”

  “That’s great,” I say wiping tears from my eyes.

  She watches me, the smile slowly sliding from her face.

  “I’m glad you didn’t die today,” she says. “But if you are going to stay with the team I need you to promise me something.”

  All the tension that the laughter momentarily erased comes back with a vengeance. I shove my hands in my pockets.

  “What do you want?” I ask.

  “You follow the rules. You go through Stocke for big decisions. And you don’t lie about anything else, like being able to steal magic. That is important, mind-boggling shit. That’s the kind of thing your team needs to know,” she says, jabbing her finger at me.

  “I didn’t want any of this, and I’m doing the best I can,” I snap, suddenly angry. I’m sick of them all blaming me for Corinne getting hurt. “I didn’t force Corinne to do what she did, hell, I tried to talk her out of it.”

  “I’m mad at her too.” Elise snaps. “ And I don’t care if it is your best. Do better. This is temporary for you, but the rest of us are invested in seeing thi
s through. If you’re going to run away again, just go ahead and do it.”

  I roll my eyes. “Now you sound like Zachary. And believe me, I would run if I could.”

  I brush past her. I want to be anywhere else right now. She catches my arm.

  “What do you mean by that? That you would run if you could?” She demands.

  I jerk my arm away. “Nothing.”

  I shouldn’t have said that. She’s perceptive, more so than the rest of the team.

  “Did you forget I can hear a lie just like your vampire?” She asks.

  I look over her shoulder at the person approaching and plaster a smile on my face.

  “Reilly,” I say. “Have they finally decided where they are taking Martinez?”

  Elise stiffens and turns around slowly, stepping back so that she isn’t standing between us. I don’t know how much he heard, or if him walking up when he did was as coincidence, but the tension is palpable.

  “They have,” Reilly says with a nod and a sideways glance at Elise. “They have the transport ready to take Martinez away now. It’s time to go.”

  “Good, I need a shower and at least twelve hours of sleep,” I say lightly. Elise is too busy glaring at Reilly to react.

  “We’ll see you back at the conference room in a couple of hours,” Reilly says to Elise. “Stocke wants us all there by midnight.”

  I follow Reilly toward one of the SUVs. I can feel Elise’s eyes on my back the entire time.

  25

  It feels like it’s been an eternity since I last sat in this room, but it’s been less than twenty-four hours. I made sure to avoid the squeaky chair this time, but Ivy is stuck in it instead. She’s a lot better at holding still than I am though, so you can hardly tell.

  Zachary drove me here, and the rest of team was apparently delayed in following us. Reilly had disappeared without comment after Martinez had been hauled off. I was surprised he had left me alone, and surprised he hadn’t demanded answers about everything that had happened. I can still taste his blood in my mouth and it’s distracting, to say the least.