A Witch Among Warlocks: The Complete Series Box Set

by Lidiya Foxglove

  “Alec?” Montague asked. “When I talked to him, he said he would go warn Stuart.”

  “What happened to Alec!?” I cried, wanting to get to the point. Alec was not here. That was obvious.

  “He went to talk to Stuart and he hasn’t come back,” Harris said. “And he took your wand.”

  “It’s a long walk,” Montague said.

  “I told him that if anyone noticed him leaving, they’d follow him. I told him his skill at shielding isn’t good enough. But he’s gotten…overconfident this year.” He arched a brow at me.

  “Oh, shut up. So why didn’t you go with him, hot shot?”

  “Stuart can take care of himself.” But Harris betrayed himself with a slight grimace. “We’ve gotten ourselves in enough trouble already. Piers is waiting for an excuse to do something terrible and I’m afraid he has it now.”

  “We should try to find him,” Montague said.

  Harris laughed in a dry, humorless way. “Monty, I saw Piers and his two cronies go out the back gate. It’s too late.”

  “Where is Daisy?” I asked.

  “Her room is locked. She told me to go away. She was crying.”

  “So we’ll break the lock,” Monty said.

  “So that’s what we do now?” Harris asked. “We just break the lock of a girl’s room when she’s crying?”

  “You just ignore a girl when she’s crying?” Montague retorted.

  “Daisy can’t help you. He’s been using her divining skill already. He probably forced her to aid him in finding Stuart. She’s stuck. She’s so important, she can’t escape. Anywhere she goes she’d be at risk of getting kidnapped and used. So she has to stay on his good side.”

  “Poor Daisy…,” I said.

  “I can’t believe you let Alec go alone.” Montague grabbed Harris by his shirt collar, his temper flaring.

  “Where were you?” Harris snapped back. “On a date? I don’t buy it. And why was Catherine Caruthers there waiting for you?” He dug a hand in his hair. “I’m trying to keep us all together and the three of you keep running off and doing stupid shit.”

  “You’re playing it safe, that’s all,” Montague said. “You want to be able to run home if things get too intense.”

  “I’m just trying to make it through college first. I’m being fucking practical. We’re too young to take on the real world.”

  “We’re in the real world already. At least, I am, I guess you can decide if you’re a schoolboy who wants to grow up to be a council member and marry whoever your mama chooses, or a man who takes what he wants,” Montague said.

  “You are definitely going to turn Sinistral within the year with that attitude,” Harris said icily. “Congratulations, Montague, you win when it comes to talking tough, as if it’s that simple. As if it is a good thing for a man to just ‘take’ what he wants. Real power comes from knowing when to play along, not just lashing out.”

  They seemed about two seconds away from just beating each other up, or maybe worse. Montague had greater strength than a normal human, so Harris would be forced to use magic, and he was more talented on that front, but it could get ugly. I brushed a hand over Montague’s arm, trying to calm him down a little, while giving Harris a warning look.

  “Please,” I said. “We have enough to worry about without you two fighting.”

  Irving suddenly ran up to our door. “Hey—guys. I know Alec is one of your friends. Um, Master Nicolescu just hauled him to the church steps.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Alec

  I made it to Stuart’s house to warn him, but the cave opening, with the house that seemed like it had been there for a hundred years, had vanished.

  Faeries, man.

  That was when I heard distant voices.

  Someone had followed me here. I hid behind some bushes, but I knew this wouldn’t matter at all. A spell to find someone who was hiding was amateur hour.

  Now what? I had my wand and Charlotte’s in my hands and I didn’t know where I could hide hers. What would Piers do if he caught me out here? Could he really purify the incubus right out of me?

  My father would be so relieved and proud, if he could, I thought, feeling downright nauseated. He would have a normal son he could take anywhere without fearing that I would succumb to desire. Women wouldn’t look at me like they did now, and I wouldn’t accidentally step into their dreams. But I had Charlotte now, and rather than suppressing my nature, I was able to just go for it with her. I was getting more powerful.

  So, can you fight back?

  I had mostly focused on my artistic magic. I could draw someone and then influence them, or draw a scenario and make it happen. I quickly chanted a cloaking spell, then I surveyed the landscape. I took out a small sketchbook from my pocket, but even with some moonlight filtering through the trees, it was way too dark to sketch out a curse.

  Wards, elemental spells, conjuring? Those weren’t my specialty. I knew Piers and his allies would be better at them than me.

  My other specialty, the one that came to me as easy as breathing, was seduction. That was magic I avoided. It was the Sinistral magic coursing in my veins, the magic I’d been told to hide my whole life. It was manipulative.

  Seducing Piers? I shuddered at that myself. He’d be a tough nut to crack, anyway. A powerful incubus or succubus could seduce anyone, but generally it worked a million times better if your target was willing—and the incubus was willing, too.

  In this case, neither was true. So what I needed was some help. If this was a faery forest, I might luck into some forest nymphs willing to work for me…but I couldn’t get too caught up in my own magic either. I would never cheat on Charlotte, even with a nymph.

  I took a steadying breath before I released some pheromones.

  An incubus could attract prey easily. We smelled delicious. It was subtle on the nose, but it wasn’t subtle to the brain. If I really wanted to attract women, I could loop them in from twenty feet away, and even though the scent was invisible—released like an almost imperceptible sweat—I’d always known how to do it. It was one of the things that got me banned from all parties and gatherings when I was younger.

  I took off my shirt. I barely felt the cold, anyway, and clothing helped suppress my magic.

  I bet Char will be sorry she missed this, I thought, grinning. When I get back I’ll have to show her a replay…

  My cock was getting hard now.

  What I wasn’t getting was any faeries. The voices were getting closer. Piers was about to find me shirtless and horny.

  A small hand suddenly gripped my wrist and yanked me backward.

  It was Stuart’s silkie, Penny. “Shh, come with me!” she said. She pulled me through an invisible wall. I was back inside Stuart’s cave.

  “Is Stu still here?” I asked.

  “No,” she gasped, and then she grabbed the waistband of my pants, tugged me to her, and stuck her tongue in my mouth.

  Before I could even think to react, Orson shoved us apart with his muscular arms. “He’s an incubus,” he hissed at Penny.

  I wiped my mouth. “Sorry—they’re looking for me. I was trying to attract help.”

  “You got help,” she breathed, her mouth hanging open. “I never realized—you were—such a tasty man…”

  “Stuart is not here,” Orson said. “The other day, when he went poking around the campus, he found a tip as to where Ignatius might be held, so he left.”

  “Good. That’s what matters,” I said. “Charlotte was compelled to reveal his hiding place. But I’m being followed…you need to be careful too. And I need to keep her wand safe.”

  Penny and Orson looked at each other.

  “We can go to Wyrd,” Penny said, eyes shining in the shadows. “But I won’t leave you, you beautiful piece of toast.” I guess this was a silkie compliment.

  “What if we’re captured, woman?” Orson said. “They could torture us and get information. I’m not much for being tortured. I’m enjoying
this posting for the food and the naps.”

  “He needs our help too…they could find him here…” Penny looked at me.

  “You only think that because he’s be-spelling you,” Orson said, giving me a judgmental side-eye.

  Now I just felt guilty. “I don’t want to get anyone tortured,” I said. “I’m a nice guy. I can’t really help being seductive. I was hoping to lure in some nymphs to distract Piers, not get you in trouble.”

  “Oh, how nice of you to use nymphs,” Orson said.

  “I’m not some seasoned warlock; I don’t have that many options.”

  We all heard voices, close now. Piers speaking to Pacetti and Stamos, their voices muffled through the rocks of the cave, but drawing closer by the moment. “Right…around…here,” he was saying.

  Orson took my hand stiffly; his hand so calloused and hairy it was almost paw-like. “Fuck it,” he said. “Let’s keep you safe.”

  The cave melted away, replaced by a dewy garden at dusk. We were surrounded by huge flowers, white and pink, some with elegant bells of petals and others fat and round with tiny petals. The sweet smell was thick in the air. But I hardly had time to take this in before several guards in light armor had spears pointed at me.

  “He’s a friend of Lord Stuart’s,” Orson said. “So back off your men, Captain Kierellan.”

  They didn’t back off more than an inch.

  My heart was pounding. I sent out a thought to my familiar, and I couldn’t feel the thread connecting me to her. So this is Wyrd.

  “Please!” Penny said. “He came to warn Lord Stuart!”

  “Stuart,” Captain Kierellan said, wrinkling a full lip under his half-helm. “We do not answer to Stuart, only to Lord Liorgan, and truthfully, we should not serve him at all if we were not commanded to do so by the queen. His allegiances are certainly not with us.”

  I had rarely seen faeries in my life. They lived in Etherium and Sinistral, but they rarely came to Earth. Earth weakened them unless they could become famous and soak up human admiration, so a normal warlock like me rarely encountered the fae. Either they were out of sight, or they were in Hollywood. I’d read that was why celebrities were so weird. A good chunk of them were just faeries and demons anyway.

  I knew we were in faery territory now because everyone around us was gorgeous. The guards all had sexy mouths and lean, muscular bodies, and their armor was not just functional but also beautiful, with silver filigree of trees or animals adorning their breast plates. The captain was the most striking, with a gold half-cloak that matched his long hair and an embroidered surcoat under his armor. I might have grown up in the magical world, but now I had some inkling of how Charlotte must have felt when she came to Merlin. This seemed too magical to be real.

  “We just need to give this man refuge for the night,” Orson said.

  “I will bring him directly to the queen and nowhere else,” the guard said. “This realm is not for human eyes; that is the rule and this hardly warrants an exception. He does not seem to bear any gift for her.”

  “No, but he is the protector of this wand,” Orson said, motioning for me to show off the Wyrd wand.

  The mood of the guards shifted as soon as they saw the wand.

  “This wand belongs to one chosen,” he said.

  “Yes…” the other guards echoed. I couldn’t tell if they were very happy about its existence.

  “But it is not this incubus.”

  “I’m protecting it for her,” I said. Ha. Charlotte really was a Chosen One. Well, I would certainly choose her any day.

  “We are trying to save this realm,” Orson said. “Why do you think Lord Liorgan’s garden is so beautiful? It’s because he engages with the Fixed Plane and is trying to keep Wyrd connected. I’ve heard the queen’s garden isn’t looking too great these days.”

  All the guards went quiet with what seemed like cold fury. I’d always heard faeries weren’t very emotional, so it was hard to tell for sure. The garden slowly chilled as every one of them slowed down, becoming a motionless statue, staring at us.

  If Orson was trying to plead my case, he was doing a lousy job. “Seize the intruder and take him to the queen,” Captain Kierellan said.

  “Oh no,” Penny said. “You shouldn’t stay here, Alec! It isn’t time! The queen will be upset!” She gave me a little shove and now I was back in the cave again, with a glowing wand nearly smacking me in the face.

  “Oh—” Piers was staring right at me. “Alec…” His eyes widened. “So this is the place…”

  I was completely jarred. One minute I was in Wyrd, the next minute I was caught, and I had no idea how to defend myself. Fuck…

  He sighed.

  We both knew there was really no way I could lie my way out of this.

  “You seem like a genuinely worthy person, Lyrman,” Piers said. “If your mother had not been a succubus, you would be on track for some truly great things, I expect. People like you are actually the reason the council has worked so long and hard to develop a method of purification.”

  “I am not interested.”

  “It’s a curse, for you,” Piers said. “Can you tell me otherwise? Truly? You don’t worry that you will never truly fall in love? Montague is your best friend, isn’t he? And isn’t he dating Charlotte? But half the time she’s looking at you. I’m impressed your friendship can stand the strain.”

  “Well…it does,” I said.

  “I know what you’re looking for,” Professor Pacetti said, stepping in. His tone was much less benevolent. “You think you’re doing a good thing, helping the faeries, trying to find a way into the third realm? But all you’re doing is giving Sinistral power, in the end. Betraying your people, succumbing to your mother’s way of living. You’re better than that, aren’t you? Your mother forced herself on your father with magic, had a baby she didn’t want to raise, and handed that baby to your dad. You can’t help your birth, only your life. Is that the kind of man you want to be?”

  It wasn’t.

  They knew this was something I was afraid of—but finding a way to reconcile the two sides of me, felt right. Changing what I was just didn’t.

  “Just because Sinistrals can be genuinely evil…doesn’t make you genuinely good,” I said. “I don’t want to be purified. I don’t want to be forced to be someone I’m not, and that’s what the council does. That’s what you did to Master Blair. To Charlotte’s grandmother. Countless others.”

  Piers frowned, his whole mouth tightening into a stiff curve, like he had just swallowed terrible medicine. “All right, then,” he said. “We have to purify him next.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Charlotte

  “Alec!” I couldn’t help screaming as I ran toward the chapel.

  When I saw Piers and Professor Pacetti standing up there on the steps, I knew we’d lost. Piers was holding my wand in one hand. Professor Stamos whipped his wand out toward me. “Wall of wind!” his ancient voice warbled, and I was slammed back by a fierce gust into Montague’s arms.

  “Don’t hurt Char!” Alec shouted.

  “Please, Miss Byrne,” Piers said. “Your behavior doesn’t befit a student of Merlin College. I have never seen a group of students so very upset that we found a cure for demonic elements. This will save Alec from ever having to go to the Haven, from being tormented by his mother’s curse, and from hurting anyone.”

  Poor Alec had his hands chained behind his back. He was shirtless, every gorgeous plane of his chest and every sinew of his arms straining against the shackles, and I was extra horrified looking at him because I didn’t just want to save him, I wanted to jump his bones. What if Piers drained the sex drive right out of him? It would be a crime against humanity.

  Montague gave Harris a cold look. “So, are we still just playing along?”

  Harris, to his credit, didn’t hesitate. He ran up the steps. Pacetti rushed down to intercept him.

  “Let him speak,” Piers said. “Harris, I know Alec is a friend of
yours since grade school. And I also know that you are aware that your friends are in danger of turning to the darkness. As I’m sure you saw from the purification of Lucas the other day, it is a brief discomfort, but—”

  “I thought you were letting me speak,” Harris said. “Piers, I just have one question. Have you tested this purification spell with someone whose bloodline was half sinistral?”

  “Yes,” Piers said, with a nervous blink.

  “And how did that go?”

  “The subject is recovering nicely.”

  “The subject?”

  “I hope you trust the council,” Piers said. “We have kept Etherium in power for thousands of years so I should think we know what we’re doing.”

  “I thought we were supposed to be on the side of good,” Harris said. “This doesn’t feel like good.”

  “No,” Piers said. “It wouldn’t, from your perspective. You are still young. Younger people embrace a certain level of chaos. By the time you’re older, you will see, these temporary rules and adjustments are what keeps our society strong. I will purify your friend with respect for his dignity, and when the dust settles, and someday he is a great magical artist—that is what interests you, isn’t it, Mr. Lyrman?”

  “Yes…” Alec stood stiffly, avoiding Piers’ eyes.

  “I’m sure your incubus side has done no favors for your focus,” Piers said.

  Alec just looked at me, like it was the last time.

  “You will all be grateful,” Piers said.

  “No!” I didn’t have my wand, but maybe I could still—

  When I tried to move, Professor Stamos’ twitched his hand, threatening me with another spell. The whole school was gathered around to watch, and I couldn’t just start summoning spirits to help me. Plus, a lot of the students seemed gleeful to watch Alec stripped of his sinistral side.

  “Isn’t there something I can do?” I asked Montague, stricken.