A Witch's Fury

by Kim Schubert

  “Enchanting.”

  I wheezed, my foot slipping, a stone digging into my hip before I readjusted.

  “You good?” he asked, breathing harder.

  “Yeah.”

  My hands ached, tiny slices numbed my fingers, and an ache spread across my shoulders.

  Logan passed an anchor with a bolt sticking out.

  “Why aren’t there more of these? This is a shitty climb.”

  “The Oracle doesn’t like metal marring her face, plus I think she likes to see us struggle.”

  “I’m not looking forward to the return trip.”

  I groaned, “Agreed.”

  Pain was making my forearms shake so I tried to use my legs more, which only had my quads equally unstable.

  “Almost there,” I groaned, taking a risky handhold a little too far.

  With a final groan, I slipped my hand over the flat entrance.

  “Come on, big man,” I grunted. After sliding my body over the edge, I turned around on my stomach, offering him a hand. With our hands clasped, I wiggled backwards on the dusty surface, bringing Logan with me.

  He lay there on his stomach next to me, panting, okay actually we both were panting. “No wonder she doesn’t get many visitors.”

  Huffing in agreement, I rolled to my back, flexing my fingers and staring up at the ceiling. I sighed when a face appeared, winked, and quickly disappeared.

  Logan shifted his head, moving closer to me. “I saw a face in the wall,” he whispered uncertainly.

  “Me too, everything we say is now being listened to.”

  The rock around us rumbled in warning, “Best not keep The Oracle waiting.” I rolled to my side before forcing myself to stand.

  “I’d kill for a backrub,” Logan grunted, using his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face.

  I tried not to be distracted by his tan, muscular stomach. I was fairly unsuccessful, slamming my shoulder into the rock outcropping.

  “Easy there, wandering eyes,” he teased.

  Scowling at him, I rubbed my shoulder as we moved deeper into the caves. Exterior daylight was nonexistent as we made our way by the artic glow given off by the rock, its power humming with excitement.

  Down a twisted corridor we moved through the stone passage, more faces appearing and disappearing as we walked cautiously through.

  “Can they harm us?” Logan asked quietly, his broad shoulder almost brushing the pitted rock face.

  “They didn’t last time I was here.”

  “Oh goody,” an excited, high-pitched voice called from up ahead. “A repeat customer.”

  Logan growled, moving closer to my shoulder. I welcomed his warmth in this soul sucking cold as I fought back a shiver. “Here we go.” Pushing my shoulders back, I straightened my spine, bracing myself to confront the insanity I knew was coming.

  “Oh how sweet, you brought a pet, can I keep him?” a woman made of stone inquired, the jagged edges of her form rippling as she sat up from her fainting couch, also made of stone.

  Logan pushed closer to me, pressing his shoulder into my back.

  “We have come to ask a question, Oracle.”

  The stone woman crossed her arms. “Right to business. But I’m lonely,” she pouted in a childlike voice. Standing, she moved toward Logan.

  Moving him behind me, I blocked her path.

  The stone face crumbled into a glower, The Oracle hissing, “Protect the pet, protect the change, protect the future.”

  That made no sense. Ignoring it, I kept my face impassive. She turned her head at impossible angles, watching me closely.

  “FINE!” she screamed, the voices of many blending together, shaking the rock walls.

  “What do you want?” She resumed her leisurely sprawl on the couch, feigning boredom.

  “I need to know where to find a mage named Jerry and what date and time will be best to obtain him from said location.”

  The stone woman narrowed her eyes. “You’ve gotten smarter since last time.”

  I chose to ignore the comment. I didn’t need to piss her off more.

  “I want a memory from him,” she pouted, stone sliding like water as she pointed an arm at Logan.

  “I will give you the memory of his kiss,” I offered softly, remembering Logan’s lips on mine in the seedy strip club.

  She sighed dejectedly. “Only his kiss? You offer nothing more? I want the feeling of his body against mine, of penetration, and of hearing his cries of bliss.”

  “I do not have those memories.”

  “I accept, payment first.”

  She reached forward and pulled me down next to her onto the cold stone. I felt the loss of heat from Logan, shivering as her stone arms surrounded me, freezing me to my core. Locking my eyes on Logan, I felt the memory pulled from my grasp.

  Adrenaline spiked my blood as my body fought her pull, but she was powerful and I no match for her. Biting on my lip, I clenched my eyes closed against the cold pain in my brain while she extracted her price.

  Memories flooded my mind: Logan’s lips against mine, his total abandonment as he worked those twin lush mounds against my own, dragging his tongue across mine before pulling back. I remembered the sear of his warm hands pressing into my back before he lowered one to grab the firm flesh my ass, barely concealed in my stripper attire. My body remembered the feeling of his other hand nesting on the back of my neck, his fingers tangled in my hair.

  The fleeting images vanished. “It’s okay, Olivia,” Logan comforted me. Opening my eyes, I found him kneeling in front of me. I wanted to touch him, wanted him to hold me. I wanted the comfort he offered.

  The memory sucked me in again: his erection pressing against me, my body responding in kind, liquid heat pooling between my legs.

  The stone bitch dropped her head onto my neck and a scream was forced out from my lips.

  She chuckled, “That will do nicely.”

  “Here is your information.” Her voice echoed in my rattled skull, grating against my nerve endings.

  Jerry was bound and gagged, his usually clean white shirt dirty and wrinkled, his eyes wild as he watched someone I couldn’t see. The scene shifted until I was seeing a street corner, Main and Becker. Another flash, and a calendar moved to the forefront: two days’ time.

  With a jolt I was back in control of my body. Logan dragged me away from the stone bitch. I let him, needing his heat desperately.

  “Did you get it?” he asked, holding me closely.

  I nodded.

  “Don’t you want to know about your reign as Alpha? Who you will mate? What your children shall be named?” The cold bitch crooned, “I can answer all.”

  “Are we done?” Logan asked me, staring coldly at The Oracle. I nodded and he helped me down the same twisting hallway.

  “You have to rest before we go down.”

  I shook my head, “Two days, we have to get to Jerry in two days.”

  Logan held me close. “You won’t be going anywhere if you fall.”

  I huffed out a laugh. “Too bad you can’t fly.” I grinned, my teeth chattering.

  Idly he stoked my hair, thinking, drawing the same conclusion I was, probably.

  “If I fall, don’t catch me, just get to Jerry.”

  Logan’s arms tightened around me but I pushed him away. While I longed to stay there in a faux sense of safety, I had a job to do and one rogue mage that needed saving.

  “Let’s go,” I said, pushing myself away. I flexed my sore and shaking hands as I pulled my focus internally, not allowing anything but the task at hand to dominate my thoughts.

  Since when did I think Logan’s arms were safe? Seriously, The Oracle must have done more of a number on me than I realized.

  Sitting down on the cold stone ledge, I pulled in another breath before flopping over to my stomach, trusting my foot to find traction. Beside me, Logan did the same, watching me closely.

  I wanted to ask what memory she took, but I didn’t need the distraction and I didn
’t care, I told myself. Yeah, I didn’t believe that, either.

  My left foot found purchase that felt secure under my boot.

  “Here goes nothing.”

  Keeping my stance narrow I settled my right foot below my left, sliding my torso off the security of the cool stone. My shirt bunched with my movement, the cool breeze slicing through my skin, threatening to set off my shakes even further.

  I gritted my teeth and forced my left foot down again. The pain was bearable, for now.

  Logan moved his bulky form smoothly to my left, his descent quicker than my own. My fingers ached, the small cuts from earlier growing as the sharp stones shredded my flesh.

  The wind buffeted us as we descended. My left hand gripped an easy hold as I went to move my foot farther down. My toe just nudged another, smaller hold. Pebbles dropping from my left hand had me ripping my attention back up, watching my handhold being pulled back into the stone.

  “Motherfucker,” I hissed. “Hurry up, Logan! Our time here has run out!”

  We were only halfway down; a fall from here would still kill me. Possibly not the shifter, but I didn’t want to test that theory.

  Logan sent me a glance as I shifted my left hand, willing speed into my movements.

  “What’s happening?” he asked.

  “My holds are disappearing, are yours?”

  “No.”

  “Fucking Oracle, playing favorites. “

  Another ten feet and I was braiding pain down, no time to rest, no time to recuperate. I could only gasp, grunt, and hurry as my handholds and footholds disappeared.

  Logan had disappeared from my view and I chanced a look down, finding him almost directly beneath me.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded.

  “Saving your ass.”

  “What the fuck did I tell you?”

  “You aren’t the only one who has issues taking orders.”

  I grunted, couldn’t argue that point.

  My right hand slipped and at the same moment, both my footholds dissolved into the stony surface. I was left dangling, all my weight on my left hand.

  My jaw clamped shut on the cry I wanted to let loose as my shoulder took the full weight of my body. The stone in front of my face shifted, smiled, and sucked in my last handhold. I scrambled, but I wasn’t fast enough to combat the gravity that plucked greedily at my heels.

  The rock face slipped quickly past my eyes, my feeble attempts to secure an additional hold ruined by my downward force and The Oracle’s games. Just as suddenly as my fall began, it stopped, an uncomfortable force binding my shoulders back. Logan strained, his forearm tense against the wall, tendons bulging, fingers shifting into claws that sliced though the impenetrable stone like butter to hold us.

  “Drop. Me.”

  “No,” he hissed.

  I reached my hand out to the nearest hold, watching it disappear into the rock with a pop.

  “Let me go, Logan,” I said more softly, looking awkwardly up at him. “One of us has to make it out of here, has to save Jerry and stop the witches.”

  I closed my eyes for a long moment. “Apparently that is you,” I breathed out, the words leaving me empty.

  As I met his raw sienna gaze again, emotions flittered through him, determination at the forefront, loss a close second, and pain. He was strained. Reaching my hands up behind me at a twisted angle, I let my guards down, letting my power and acceptance flow into him, my knowledge that time was never my friend and this was always the inevitable conclusion.

  His eyes widened and his grip tightened. Met with this resistance, I did the next best thing. The shirt moved roughly over my face, catching my chin and nose as it came off.

  “OLIVIA!” Logan’s roar shook the rock around us.

  I could see him reaching down, still clutching the teal shirt, shock etched on his features. I was so focused on him that I saw the exact moment his expression changed to confusion before all the air was pushed from my lungs, the back of my head bouncing against a hard surface.

  “Ow.”

  Blinking back the pain, I didn’t dare move. There was no way I had reached the ground yet. Looking up, I saw Logan moving quickly, both hands turned into formidable claws as he made his own path down, leaving the stone scarred and marred where he passed. For once, I was content just watching the muscles in his back ripple and shift. The man was attractive, I had to give him that. With a jump, he cleared the last few feet, landing with his legs braced on either side of me.

  Bending his knees, he kept his weight off me as he reached out, gently searching my head for any open wounds. He sat back on his heels and pushed out a relieved breath.

  A face appeared next to us in the stone. “He had to learn, learn what the succubus’ heart contained. Learn what his own heart contained and how it would answer,” it cackled, then smiled and disappeared.

  I groaned, reaching up to touch the goose egg forming on my skull.

  “Hey, is that offer to carry me still good?”

  He raised an eyebrow at that. Neither of us wanted to dive into what The Oracle had said. I didn’t have a heart, after all.

  “I don’t remember offering to carry you.” The corner of his lip twitched.

  “Really? I swear I heard that offer.” Groaning, I rolled to my side, still beneath him. “You planning on moving, big boy?”

  Logan smiled in earnest. “Do you want to talk about what The Oracle said, about our hearts?”

  I squinted up at him, finding my vision a little blurry.

  “Nope.”

  With a huff, he pulled me up jerkily.

  “Is it me or is our platform moving?” I asked, hanging my head over the edge, trusting Logan to keep hold of me.

  “We are moving.”

  “Great, the express. I’ll be sure to negotiate that in future trips,” I slurred.

  “What makes you think there will be future trips?”

  Heaving my shoulders up to pull back my head took more effort than I expected. We came to an abrupt stop that had me leaning into Logan’s warm body.

  Shaking my head, I stepped down, only to misjudge the distance and land on my ass, again.

  Logan hauled me up and slung me over his shoulder. If I wasn’t so busy trying to get the ground to stop spinning and my stomach under control I would have protested; as it was, I didn’t mind. That fact right there should explain how far out of my mind I really was.

  “Keys?” he questioned, his large hands roaming over my ass, trying to dig into my back pockets.

  “Find them?” I asked, exhaustion weighing heavily on me.

  “Do not fall asleep.”

  “No guarantees.”

  “What? Hell, you are going to see Gunner.”

  “Gunther? I don’t need my hair and makeup done.”

  “No, Gunner. The guy the vamps kidnapped back on the Puppet Master case? Remember, he stitched you up a few times. He was the one who figured out what all the kids had in common.”

  “Oh, Gunner. I’m fine, I don’t need to see—“

  Darkness stole the rest of that sentence. What felt like days later, I regained consciousness, again slung over Logan’s shoulder as he took the metal ladder down into Gunner’s domain.

  “Ugh,” I grunted, pressing my hands into the small of Logan’s back. I squinted in the bright lights, trying to get my bearings.

  I sure as shit didn’t expect Blake and Angelina to be staring back at me.

  “Fucking hell. I think I’m hallucinating.”

  “Why, what are you seeing?” Gunner asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

  “Heartbreaking, favor-sucking, asshole vampires.”

  Gunner blinked his large eyes at me a few times, digesting that, before Logan turned me around so I was facing the ladder.

  “Blake and Angelina are here, Olie.”

  “Fucking hell, I’m leaving.”

  “The hell you are,” Logan scolded, tightening his grip on my legs.

  “Bring her
in here,” Gunner said, moving through the tables littered with miscellaneous electronic parts and back to a fluorescent metal room that stung my eyes.

  Logan lowered me down softly to sit on the table. Gunner closed the door behind him.

  “I hate them,” I whined to Logan.

  Gently, he stroked the side of my face. “I know.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” My filter had totally left.

  “I’m not, you are hallucinating.” He crossed his arms over his chest, removing the soft touch I was finding comfort in.

  I squinted at him, swaying slightly, but before I could form a suitable comeback the door creaked open, revealing a dark haired soul crusher.

  I couldn’t help the groan.

  “I just have one question,” Blake said softly, his brilliant cobalt eyes latching onto me and threatening to crush the small parts of my dignity I had left.

  “What are you doing here?” I hissed. “Vampires don’t need help to heal.”

  Blake shifted his stance, his eyes becoming guarded. “We needed blood.” He shook his head sadly. “Angelina tried to storm the House holding my niece.”

  “Fucking bitch,” I muttered, shocked, followed by “bullshit.”

  The door swung open farther, revealing the bitch in question. “My doings are none of your concern.”

  “Oh fucking hell,” I yelled unsteadily, slipping from the table. “You know that is of my concern, and you know you didn’t actually expect to get her, especially with your Master in town. A failed attempt at acquiring her would undoubtedly land you in some sort of sordid punishment, which you would probably enjoy. Furthermore, you are only trying to endear yourself to Blake, although why is beyond me since you already mated the soul-sucking asshole. Unless of course, he and Tate are unhappy with your false promises of obtaining their family member.”

  Her eyes narrowed at my tirade. Thankfully, I still had enough undamaged brain cells not to disclose that Angelina had redeemed the favor I owed Blake. Ugh, actually…

  “What did you want to ask me?” I groaned, leaning heavily against the table again.

  “What did you mean by ‘favor-sucking?’”