She had begged for her life before he had stripped her of her power. His knife had found that tender spot below her breast and he had buried the blade to the hilt, one slow inch at a time. He had kept her power firmly locked within him as he extinguished the light from her warm brown eyes.
He had wanted her body in the haze of raping the power from her. His cock was still stiff thinking about it, but he had known he couldn’t risk spoiling her. She had what was left of the coven’s power within her and he couldn’t risk tainting it, no matter how much his body demanded it of him. He wished now that he hadn’t saved her for last. He could have at least played with her a little bit then.
Only a handful more, he thought, then he would have enough power and strength so he could continue with his plan. Of course now that so many had already been killed and drained, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find more of them, but he didn’t let that slow him down. The world would be a better place without their naiveté. Magic was a powerful gift they could never master or comprehend like he could.
This is what Fate had showed him. This was his destiny. He would take his place as leader when the time was right. He would have enough power to truly be a force to be reckoned with. He would be the one to bring the world to its knees.
He debated where to look next as he walked back to the manor house from the crypt. It was nearly impossible to wipe out the witches without bringing attention to himself, but so far he had been successful. The most powerful covens of Louisiana and Virginia were gone. Unfortunately, he couldn’t touch the most powerful coven in Massachusetts without the notice of the Netherworld council, but one day that would change. For now he needed somewhere else to search.
He was running out of places to look as the majority of the witches had gone underground after the disappearance of so many of their sisters and brothers. They knew. They knew he was coming for them. He may be able to deny it to the rest of the Netherworld, but the witches always knew when another light was extinguished.
He would call upon the Warriors of Locke in the morning and they could resume their endless searching. Until then he would crawl into his bed with the little solitary witch whom his warriors had delivered to him earlier that afternoon. He would use her to help ease the ache created by the now slaughtered witch’s luscious curves and red, pouting lips.
When the trees rustled in a nonexistent breeze and that familiar sense of warmth slithered up the back of his neck, a slow smile unfurled beneath his hawk-like nose. This was turning into a good night indeed.
The ripples in the atmosphere from the magic that was currently being created filled him with excitement as he walked through the brown blades of grass. Any magic that was created called out to him like a beacon in the cold night. And this particular beacon burned brighter than any he’d seen in a long, long time.
The distance between himself and the Ultimate Power was growing shorter by the second, but it could wait for one more night. Tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow the warriors would go hunting.
1
Heidi Corrigan needed to get out of her mother’s house for at least a couple of days. Since she was unemployed at the moment, her only option was to find someone who’d be willing to take her on an all-expense paid vacation.
That’s why she was in the middle of the damn woods on the top of a blasted mountain.
Whatever happened to pristine beaches, white sand and men with Latin accents serving her pricey alcoholic drinks? It didn’t even matter that she hated the sand, the relaxing atmosphere would more than make up for it. But vacations like that weren’t free and certainly not what Maggie enjoyed. And since Maggie was paying, she was now in the middle of bear-ridden woods. No Facebook. No email. No working cell phone.
She should have stayed home.
Maggie pushed open the car door and swung her foot out. It dangled above the gravel of the parking lot in front of the mom and pop convenience store. “I’m going to go in and grab a couple of things. You want anything?”
“A bag of beef jerky if they have any.”
Maggie climbed out of her Honda CRV and left Heidi sitting in the passenger seat, picking at her fingernails. They hadn’t been outside of civilization for more than a few hours. Was it possible to fall into technology withdrawal that quickly?
It’s a free vacation. You’re with one of your best friends. You’re away from Mom, Randy and Grandpa. It’s going to be an amazingly fun and adventurous week.
She glanced down at her phone. No service.
It’s going to be an amazingly fun and adventurous week, she reminded herself for the umpteenth time.
When Maggie had offered her the opportunity to go, she had jumped on it. Not that she wanted to necessarily go trotting through the trees and mud, but she would be able to get away, which was what she truly needed. She had thought about backing out a couple of times before it came time to leave, but her mother hadn’t let her. She had reaffirmed Heidi’s beliefs that the vacation was what she needed. To get away and clear her head.
She unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to go in search of Maggie, who was taking an extraordinarily long time, when the bell clanged and the door to the store opened. Maggie tucked a strand of her short black hair behind her ear and shifted the brown paper bag in her arm as she walked back to the SUV. Heidi reached across the seat and pushed open the driver’s side door for her.
“Everything okay in there?” she asked when she saw the small frown on Maggie’s face.
“Fine. Why do you ask?”
“Just took you awhile, that’s all.”
Maggie looked out the windshield instead of at Heidi. “It took a minute for me to find the beef jerky.”
Liar. But she didn’t say it. Instead she let the subject drop and took the bag off Maggie’s lap. Digging though the meager food supplies, she found the beef jerky sitting at the bottom.
“Yes! Teriyaki!”
The cabin was a shack. Heidi didn’t know how it was still standing but somehow through years of wind, heavy snows and below freezing temperatures, it remained.
Two tiny windows were the only things that let light inside of the single bedroom cabin. The logs did little to insulate the place and the only sources of heat were the two small wood stoves—one in the main living space and one in the bedroom. There was no cooking stove except for the camping variety and no fridge. No shower.
This wasn’t a vacation. This was a nightmare.
Maggie unpacked the meager supplies she had purchased and began placing them on the bare planks that made up the only shelving in the room. Tuna, canned vegetables, soup. All things that were simple, easy to prepare and anything but delicious.
“Do you want the bedroom?” Maggie asked her as she neatly folded the now empty paper bag as Heidi stoked the small fire she had been able to make in the wood stove without burning herself. A small miracle on her part.
“I’ll sleep out here on the couch. You take the bed.” The threadbare 1970s banana yellow sofa had seen better days, but Heidi didn’t complain about that. She was still stuck on there not being a shower. She should have packed some baby wipes and stronger deodorant.
Heidi held her palms out to the flame and allowed the heat to soak into her skin. The chill inside the cabin was almost worse than the cold drizzle outside. Perhaps after a little while the fire would be able to heat up the place to a point where she could take off her jacket, but until then she stayed bundled in the down.
“What’s on the itinerary?” Heidi asked after Maggie put some water on to boil.
“We can just hang around here this evening if you want. Unless you want to go somewhere.”
There was nothing around except for a rinky-dink little town and endless miles of unpopulated woods. Where were they supposed to go? The mall? The place didn’t even have a movie theater.
“I’m up for whatever,” Heidi said, praying desperately that Maggie had something up her sleeve. Like a TV and some electricity hiding somewhere. She couldn’
t even read a book on her e-reader since she had forgotten to charge the thing before they left home. She’d get a chapter in if she was lucky before it died on her.
Maggie pulled two mugs off the narrow shelf on the wall and stood next to the wood stove while she waited for the water to boil. “I think the rain stopped. Want to go for a short hike?”
No. “Sure.”
“Do you really?”
Hell no. “Absolutely!” She forced an awkward smile. Heidi was determined not to ruin her friend’s vacation if it killed her. Maggie loved the town and the little cabin. She was in her element. Unfortunately, Heidi was not.
The wide smile that lit up Maggie’s face made the lie worth it. Hopefully it would make the trek though the sodden woods worth it as well, although Heidi had her doubts.
The steaming mug of herbal tea helped to warm her insides, but Heidi dreaded going out into the chilly afternoon air again. The sun couldn’t even be bothered to peak through the dense clouds when they left the slowly warming cabin. After pulling on the loaned pair of hiking boots and making do with the jeans she was already wearing, she tucked her hands in the pockets of her thick down coat and gripped her useless cell phone. Her face downcast, she trudged through the trees after Maggie.
“I feel like I should be carrying something,” Heidi told her. Maggie was weighted down with a backpack that contained some munchies and a couple bottles of water. She also carried the shotgun she had insisted they bring with them. Since Heidi had no desire to be a bear’s dinner, she didn’t argue with her, even though the powerful weapon made her nervous. With her luck she’d accidently shoot herself if she had to carry it for any reason.
“I got it.” Maggie didn’t spare her a glance. She hated to think Maggie thought she was useless when it came to pulling her own weight, even though she had no desire to be lugging around a pack on top of trying to keep up with Maggie’s long strides. It was one of the curses of having stubby legs.
After an hour of trying to maintain her quick pace, Heidi was winded and pouring sweat. She had opened her coat to allow the cold air to evaporate some of the moisture that clung to her skin and was tempted to take the thing off completely, only she didn’t want to carry it and she couldn’t just leave it behind. As soon as she cooled, she would be freezing and then she’d probably die of hypothermia. Out in the woods. With no cell reception and no one to call for help.
“You okay?” Maggie asked her, coming to a stop at the top of a ravine.
“Flippin’ fantastic.”
Maggie frowned when she looked at her, concern etched on her features. “You might want to sit down for a couple of minutes and catch your breath.”
“No, I’m good,” she wheezed. After having agreed to come all the way out here, she wasn’t going to slow Maggie down now. Besides, if she sat down now, it would be that much longer to get back to the shack. Not to mention, she might not be able to get back up again.
“Are you sure? You’re all red, and you look like you might pass out.”
A strand of her hair blew into her mouth and she spat it out. “I feel like I might pass out.”
“Sit down.”
“Yeah…that might be a good idea.” She didn’t bother looking for somewhere dry to sit. Heidi plopped straight down on the cold ground and pushed her hair out of her face.
A water bottle was thrust at her. “Drink.”
Gulping down the cold water helped more than she thought it would. It stung her growling stomach as it went down, but after a few minutes the world wasn’t spinning quite so much anymore. The wind picked up again and she zipped up her coat. Now she would freeze. She hated the woods. How could Maggie love something so wild and dangerous?
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up. No service.
“It’s not going to work out here. You’d need a satellite phone,” Maggie said with a frown.
“I need a satellite phone.”
“No, you don’t.” Maggie crouched down in front of her. “You can stand to be away from technology for a couple of days.”
“Tell that to my Twitter followers.”
“I’m sure all ten of them will understand. They can do without you re-tweeting grumpy cat pictures for a few days, I’m sure.” Maggie tucked Heidi’s hair behind her ear when it caught on the wind again, blinding her.
“Funny.”
Maggie’s sympathetic smile had her wanting to kick herself. She was ruining her friend’s vacation with her moans and groans. Get it together, Heidi.
A few days of pretending to be Bear Grylls and she could go home. It couldn’t be that difficult and if it meant that Maggie had fun, then so be it. She had forgotten why she had agreed to come out here in the first place. Time. Space. Both of which she needed and this place had in abundance.
But no shower.
Determined not to be a party pooper and feeling marginally better, Heidi climbed to her feet and walked over to the edge of the ravine, peering over to the canopy of trees below.
“It’s beautiful out here,” she commented, looking over the long drop. Maple and pine trees for as far as she could see. Buds were struggling to bloom and in another week or two, spring would make the place come alive. She could only imagine it in autumn when the leaves changed. It would be glorious.
Not that she would want to venture out then either. She could see the color change just fine from the comfort of her recliner on Google Images. Or Maggie could just snap a picture for her. That would work too.
“Isn’t it beautiful? My dad brought me out here a few times over the years, mostly when I was little. He called it ‘No-Man’s-Land’.”
“Ever hike down there?” She nodded off into the distance.
“No, we never went further than right here. We’d always hike toward the east or the south on our longer treks, but never north.”
“Why?”
Maggie shrugged. “I guess it’s just an area he knows better. I wouldn’t want to get lost down there. There’s over a hundred miles of forest and nothing from here to Canada. You could walk forever and never find your way back to civilization.”
“I’d hardly call New Freedom ‘civilization’.” The only thing the place boasted that resembled civilization to Heidi was the small diner that sat across from the General Store.
Maggie’s elbow landed lightly in her side. “Smile, sugar plum. Just because there’s no internet café doesn’t mean New Freedom doesn’t have anything to offer.”
“There’s no theater, no library, and only one restaurant. I’d hardly call this place civilized.”
“These people like to live off the land.”
“I’d rather go to Walmart.”
“That’s your prerogative.”
Heidi sighed. Maybe she wasn’t thoroughly enjoying this vacation, but she could appreciate the fact that Maggie loved it out here. There was something about the woods that seemed to be calling her friend’s name, even if it wasn’t calling hers, and she could respect that. One day she would have to learn to hold her tongue and just be supportive.
A few minutes of silence followed as the two women looked out over the trees in the pink hues of the setting sun. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for Heidi, so she remained quiet and tried to enjoy it. Before long she found herself relaxing in the chilly evening breeze, letting the sights and sounds of the forest calm her.
“Ready to head back? It’ll be dark within the hour and I don’t want us to be too far away from the cabin when there’s no light left.”
Heidi didn’t want to get lost in the woods in the dark, so she nodded her head. “I’m ready.”
Maggie took a few steps back toward the tree line when a familiar and dreaded sound hit Heidi’s ears. An evil, horrid buzzing that made her heart stop in pure, unrestrained fear.
She jerked her head toward the noise but didn’t see anything at first. It wasn’t until the honey bee landed on the tip of her nose that she saw it.
Creature of Satan.
A blood-curdling scream escaped her lips and she slapped at the insect, missing it. It lifted off her nose and buzzed around her head. Heidi waved her arms and stepped away from the stupid bee.
The thing was pursuing her. One step and the bee followed. Then another step and the bee began diving at her, trying to murder her with its stinger. The buzzing was loud, no doubt calling all of its bee friends to join in a large swarm, or two.
Maggie sounded far away when she screamed her name but Heidi had no choice except to ignore her. She had a bigger problem to deal with at the moment. Heidi stepped away from the bee again, but this time there was no ground under her feet. There was only air.
The damn bee had killed her after all.
Pine needles stung her arms as she fell through the evergreen canopy. Branches slipped through her fingers faster than she could grab hold of them. The sky was gone and darkness clouded her vision. It was over. Her pathetic life was over. And all because of a single demonic bee.
Damn it.
Was she dead? No. Although at that moment, she was sorry she wasn’t.
Her body was shaking and she had no idea why. With each jostling motion, pain radiated within her. Weak, she lifted her dangling head. Small drops of water slid over her face. She moaned and curled her fingers. When she tried to pick up one hand, the other jerked up with it. Her hands were tied together at her wrists.
“The witch is awake,” a gruff male voice said. Her eyes shot open, her foggy mind clearing instantly at the sound.
The outline of a man’s face was all she could see in the darkness. He was carrying her, his arms beneath her knees and back held her firmly against him. His naked chest had dark rough hair sprouting from it that scraped against the material of her jacket.
“Blindfold her,” another man barked, “before we reach the portal.”
Up In Flames (Netherworld Series Book 2) Page 2