Hunter Hunted

by Arthur, Keri

Which won’t help us, given we’ll be inside said circle, Belle commented.

  Nothing will help us if that glow is some sort of trap and our attempts to contain it either trigger it or go ass up. But we have to try.

  Yes.

  She tugged the silk bag containing my spell stones out of the pack then walked away. As she began placing her stones, I returned my gaze to Aiden. “Once we’ve contained the heretic’s magic, we’ll create a doorway in our protection circle so you can get through. You’ll only have a finite time to get into that building and get the men out, though, so don’t stuff around.”

  His expression was grim. “Then let’s just hope no one has any serious injuries.”

  “Even if they have, you’ll have to move them. Neither Belle nor I will have the strength to contain the heretic’s spell for long.”

  He nodded. “How will we know when it’s safe to enter?”

  “The doorway will be visible. Until you see it, tell everyone to keep well away from the building and our spell stones, no matter what happens.”

  He frowned. “What if something goes wrong?”

  “If something goes wrong, none of you are going to be able to help us. Only another witch will be able to deconstruct our protection circle and get in to help.”

  “Not good news given you’re the only witches currently left on the reservation,” he growled.

  “And for that, you can thank your damn council.” I rose on my toes and dropped a kiss on his lips. “We’ll be okay. We have a hot date with a shower, remember?”

  A smile tugged his lips but didn’t erase the concern from his eyes. “Be careful in there.”

  I didn’t say anything. There was little point given we’d be as careful as we could. But we were about to play with forces we didn’t entirely understand and more than likely couldn’t control.

  I went in the opposite direction to Belle and carefully placed my stones in spots where they’d be easy enough to find again—although that shouldn’t be a problem given the white quartz glinted softly in the dusky light of the oncoming evening. I passed Belle out the front of the building, and started placing my stones about a foot away from hers, the first one on the outside, the next on the inside, and so on. Once we’d both finished, we stepped into the circle and warily approached the building. The purple barrier flared brighter at our approach and flickers of bright light stabbed toward us. We immediately stopped. The flickers didn’t abate, but they didn’t stab any closer, either.

  “I’m not liking the look of that,” Belle muttered.

  “No.”

  I sat cross-legged on the ground and took a deep breath to center my energy. She sat opposite, inched forward until our knees touched, and then dug into the pack and handed me a fistful of charms. “Just in case.”

  I didn’t comment. I just put them on. Whether they’d help or not was anyone’s guess, but I still felt safer with them.

  Once she was similarly protected, she breathed deeply to center her own energy. Then, as one, we psychically opened ourselves up to one another. Our energy and auras pulsed and merged at the point we were touching and once again she sucked in a breath.

  “That distant thunder is a whole lot closer right now,” she said. “And it’s not just around us or on your skin. It feels like a part of you—a part of your DNA.”

  “That’s a conundrum we can worry about later. Right now, we need it to contain whatever the spell over that building is.” I took another deep breath to still the gathering nerves and then added, “Right, let’s do this.”

  I began raising my protection circle, weaving multilayered threads across each of the stones, making them as strong as I possibly could and ensuring there were no entry exceptions in this initial spell, not even for Belle and me. We had no idea what the heretic’s spell actually was, so until we’d either contained or destroyed it, we had to make sure it couldn’t in any way use us. If it wanted the circle destroyed, it would have to take over both of us, and I doubted the heretic had catered for that possibility, as it was highly likely he didn’t even know about us.

  Belle’s magic rose around me, a familiar touch of energy almost as strong as my own. Both her magic and the uninvited but ever-present wild magic wove in and out of mine, until we’d formed a circle that was more a tapestry, and the strongest thing we’d ever created.

  Hopefully it would be enough.

  I held my hands out. Belle gripped them tightly and, as one, we began the containment incantation. I didn’t look at Belle or the building—I could see them both in my mind, as vivid and as clear as the stirring wild magic. It wove in and out of the spell we were now weaving around the building—and around the darker magic—bolstering the weight of our words, strengthening the threads of our magic.

  The dark magic reacted. Violently.

  It began to churn and twist and shake. Pieces of the building were thrust into the air, deadly missiles that never made it past the tapestry of our protective circle. We continued to spell and the tremors got worse. Lightning struck at us, vicious forks of energy that came close but never hit. The purple haze pulsated and the wind surged, tearing at hair and clothes, until it felt like we were sitting on the edge of a cyclone. But our words rose above the noise and our spell began to draw its net around the haze.

  Sweat trickled down my spine and my grip on Belle’s fingers started to slip. Her fingers clenched mine tighter, her nails digging into my skin as she fought to hang on. I drew the wild magic inside, using its strength and power to bolster my own. Heard her gasp. Felt her tremor. It wasn’t in pain, though, and right now, that was all that mattered.

  Our magic surged—silver against purple—flowing up from the ground to fully encapsulate the heretic’s spell. His magic pulsed and writhed and fought, but it couldn’t escape.

  But our task was not over yet and every movement of the heretic’s magic took its toll on our strength.

  Belle, we need to create the gateway so Aiden and the paramedics can get in.

  Okay. It was little more than a whisper.

  We needed this done, and quickly.

  My focus went to the cluster of men standing behind our circle, and I began whispering the incantation that would open a gateway in our magic. After a few seconds, a silver line rose up from the ground and swept around in an arch, creating a safe space through which to walk.

  “Go,” I croaked.

  Aiden, Byron, and three paramedics immediately entered the safe space. They raced toward the back door, kicked it in, and then disappeared inside. I returned my attention to the building; the heretic magic was becoming increasingly violent. I wasn’t sure how much longer we could hold on to it.

  “Hurry,” I whispered, hoping the keen ears of the wolves would hear it.

  The gentler magic protecting that one pocket of the building started to ripple, and a massive crack appeared in the brickwork, spreading like a canker sideways from the broken edge of the top floor to the one remaining solid corner of the building.

  Two men reappeared, carrying a third between them. I didn’t recognize him, meaning it had to be the HIC witch.

  More cracks joined the first and dust was now drifting like dark snow through the door. The building was collapsing from the inside out.

  Byron and another paramedic appeared, this time with Eli between them. He was battered and bloody, but he was conscious and walking.

  Which left Aiden still inside. As the plumes of dust got stronger and the entire building shook, I yelled, “Aiden, get out.”

  He didn’t. Not immediately. But as the building began to collapse, he leapt out of a cloud of dust and debris and ran for our gate.

  Alone.

  Denial screamed up my throat but I clamped down hard on it. Once he was through, we shut the gate and made the protection circle complete again. But before we could do anything else, the house collapsed and the heretic’s magic exploded. The force of it blew a hole through our containment net and hit us both like a ton of bricks. It tore our hand
s apart and sent us rolling, end on end, until we stopped by the barrier of our still intact protective circle.

  For several seconds, I couldn’t move. Pain swept through every inch of me, and my head was pounding like a bitch.

  The buzz of Belle’s energy through my brain told me she was okay—aching like me, but okay—and the wild magic was once again stirring around me rather than through.

  “Liz!” Aiden, his voice edged with fear.

  “I’m okay.” I rolled onto my stomach. The building in front of me was little more than a mound of bricks and wood, and the purple glow had disappeared. The only thing staining the sky now was dust.

  But we hadn’t been able to save everyone. Ashworth was still in there. I closed my eyes briefly against the sadness and wished his soul peace and a speedy journey on to his new life.

  “Fuck,” Belle muttered. “I have never felt so shitty in my entire life.”

  Despite the sadness, amusement rose. “Yeah, you have—that time we were on the Gold Coast and you got into a drinking contest with Mr. Beefcake.”

  She laughed, then winced and raised her hands to her head. “It appears I have the hangover without the satisfaction of alcohol.”

  “And it’ll get worse because we still have to take the circle down.”

  She groaned, but pushed upright and sat back on her heels. I didn’t bother moving—I just stayed on the ground, on my stomach. As her magic rose around me, I silently followed her around the circle, unthreading my magic from hers and then letting it dissipate, until the circle was completely gone and the stones were just stones again.

  “Okay,” I said, “all magic has now gone. The area’s safe.”

  A heartbeat later, feet appeared in my vision, then knees, as Aiden squatted in front of me.

  “You okay?”

  I looked up at him. “I’m feeling weaker than a newborn, I’m in need of chocolate and coffee, but yeah, I’m okay.”

  He glanced at Belle. “And you?”

  “What she said.” She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I gather you couldn’t find Ashworth inside?”

  “His scent was vague and hard to track. He wasn’t in the protected area, but whether he was in another part of the building I couldn’t say. That purple stuff attacked me the minute I stepped out of the protected zone.” He hesitated. “There were a couple of other bodies in there though. From the brief glimpse I got, it looked like their throats had been cut.”

  Meaning I’d been right—the heretic witch had fueled his spell with the blood of others. And it also meant that Ashworth hadn’t been a third fuel source; he’d probably lost his life when the building first fell. I hoped it was quick. Hoped he hadn’t suffered. “What about Eli and the HIC witch? How are they?”

  “The HIC witch was out cold. Eli is now floating in and out of consciousness.”

  “The net that protected them both must have been his, because that sort of magic generally needs consciousness to hold steady.”

  “Given the utter destruction, it’s a goddamn wonder anyone was alive.”

  “Which is odd,” I said. “The heretic witch was obviously stronger than all three, so why did he leave two of them alive—one of them being the man who was sent here to kill him? It makes no sense.”

  “Unless,” Belle said, “that purple haze was intended to finish what he’d started. It did attack anyone who got too close to the building, and Eli’s strength would have given out sooner rather than later.”

  “I guess.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “In other words, you don’t agree.”

  I waved a hand. “Something just feels off. Why wouldn’t he just kill them when he had the chance? Why leave it to fate to decide?”

  “Maybe the HIC witch will be able to answer that question once he comes to,” Aiden said. “Are you two ready to go home?”

  A somewhat wry smile twisted my lips. “So much for it being someone else’s turn to do the late shift tonight.”

  His phone beeped before he could reply. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and then grunted. “Eli is refusing to go anywhere until he talks to you.”

  I frowned and pushed onto hands and knees. My head swam with dizziness but overall, I felt better than I had in the past when the wild magic had swept through me.

  Maybe you’re acclimatizing, Belle said.

  I’m not sure it’s something you can acclimatize to.

  Aiden jumped upright, grabbed my elbow to steady me as I rose, and then offered Belle his hand and hauled her upright easily.

  She hissed softly and a sliver of her pain ran through the connection between us. She’d pushed herself—pushed her magic—well past what either of us had thought she was capable of, and she was now paying for it.

  “Looks like I’ll be making you a potion tonight rather than the other way around,” I said.

  She groaned again. “You don’t have to say that with such glee. Really, you don’t.”

  Belle—with Byron close by her side to make sure she was okay—went one way to collect our spell stones, while I went the other. I handed her my pile at the front of the destroyed building and then, with Aiden at my side, made my way to the remaining ambulance. Its rear door was open, and Eli was sitting up on the bed inside. His head had been bandaged, as had his left leg, and he was as pale as a ghost, but he certainly didn’t look as if he was about to fade into unconsciousness. In fact, he looked rather frantic.

  One of the paramedics stepped forward, grabbed my hand, and helped me up into the ambulance.

  I touched Eli’s good leg lightly and said, “I’m so sorry—”

  “No, you don’t understand,” he cut in. “He’s not dead.”

  “But the building—”

  “He wasn’t in the building,” he cut in again. “He was taken. He’s alive, but in the hands of the heretic witch.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Because of the wellspring, I realized. Because Ashworth’s magic now protected it.

  But why? Belle asked. Surely a heretic with decades of dealing with the darker forces of this world could have easily gotten past Ashworth’s spells?

  I would have thought so. After all, while Ashworth was a far more powerful witch than me, he was here rather than in Canberra for a reason. The high council very rarely let those of exceptional abilities or power leave the confines of that place.

  Eli reached forward and grabbed my hand. His grip was tight, as desperate as his expression. “He’s still alive, Lizzie. I can feel it. We have to help him.”

  “Hang on, there,” the paramedic said. “You’ve more than likely got a concussion. You need to go to the hosp—”

  Eli flicked his fingers and the paramedic’s words stopped. Just like that—there’d been no surge of power, no telltale sign of magic, and yet magic had just been applied. The paramedic’s eyes went wide and his nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath.

  “My partner is out there in the hands of a madman. I will go after them, and you will do nothing to stop me. Got that?”

  The paramedic raised his hands and nodded frantically. Eli made another motion and the paramedic sucked in air. “Fucking witches,” he muttered, and sat back on the nearby chair.

  I swallowed my uneasiness and said, “Eli, if the three of you couldn’t defeat the heretic witch, what hope have you and I got?”

  “Probably very little,” he said. “But we do have one advantage he doesn’t know about.”

  I briefly closed my eyes as the uneasiness got stronger. “Using the slivers of wild magic that randomly float around this area is very different to calling the stuff that surrounds the wellspring. I’m not sure—”

  “If he’s heading toward the wellspring, he’s not going to get far,” Aiden said. “We’ve set up patrols—”

  “Which will mean jack shit to a witch capable of hiding both scent and sight,” Eli cut in. “Your people will never know he’s there until it’s too fucking late.”

  �
��None of which,” I said, “negates the fact that the two of us will never be enough—”

  “If he gains control of that wellspring, you can kiss this entire region goodbye. He will be undefeatable—even the most powerful witches in Canberra might not be enough.”

  “No single witch, no matter how strong, has ever been undefeatable,” I said. “Especially when the high council has gotten involved.”

  “That’s because no single witch—light or dark—has ever gotten full control over a very large wellspring,” he bit back. “But thanks to the fact the fucking idiots in this reservation allowed a major spring to go unprotected for over a year and gain at least some sentience, that’s the situation we now face.”

  “There was reason enough for their actions,” Aiden growled. “Don’t start playing the blame game, because if the council’s fucking witch—”

  “Don’t,” I said, touching his arm in warning. The last thing we needed was anyone knowing there was a second wellspring here. Gabe and Katie might be all the protection it would ever need, but who was going to protect them from the high council if they ever found out what had been done there?

  Aiden’s gaze shot to mine. After a minute, he nodded and then said, “I no more want Ashworth to die or the heretic to get hold of the wellspring than you, but the fact of the matter is, unless we attack on multiple fronts, you two aren’t going to be enough to defeat him.”

  “But the wild magic—”

  “Can’t be relied on, Eli,” I said. “I used it tonight to save your ass, and my reserves are damn low. It’s doubtful I’ll have the strength to even control it.”

  It’s doubtful any of us will have the strength to do any sort of magical damage, Belle commented. And he has to be aware of that.

  I’m sure he is, but you can’t blame him for needing to try, Belle. You’d do exactly the same for the man you loved. Or, in fact, me. And we both knew I’d do the same thing for her.

  Good point.

  Eli hesitated, his gaze sweeping from me to Aiden and back again. Then he blew out a breath and said, “How good are you with a rifle, Ranger?”