by Kim Schubert
The shifter worked his way into the room, perching on a discarded wooden box.
“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, Alpha. You have left me no choice but to follow through with my father’s plans.”
Logan growled, stretching the chains with a hopeful creak.
The lanky wolf smiled smugly. “Don’t bother.”
“You are unhinged just like Eli was,” Logan warned. “Release us, and I won’t kill you brutally.”
He shrugged, peering into the darkness behind us. I turned, searching but not finding anything, before turning back warily.
“You have ruined the packs,” he began in a trance. “You must be stopped. Under the full moon’s glow the witches shall reach the Fae and set this right.”
My blood ran cold. He was insane and well connected, fucking perfect.
“Oh, and the metal is spelled. I don’t recommend pulling on it anymore.” With that he took his leave.
Logan pulled on the chains again, brutally. The muscles in his arms threatened to snap the seams of his shirt.
“Don’t shift,” I warned him.
He grunted before trying to shift. The effect was immediate, his breath sucked in between clenched teeth, his face paling. “Olivia,” he whispered, his normally enchanting eyes glowing sick bronze laced with fear.
“What’s happening?” I asked, kneeling before him, placing a hand against his own.
Power flung me back, only the chains keeping me from flying farther. “Ouch,” I groaned, holding my head. Bouncing against concrete was certain to leave a lasting mark.
Logan ripped at the chains, logic and mental clarity gone. Groaning, I pushed the pain down deep, crawling back to his side.
Being prepared for the blast this time didn’t make it any better. Keeping my body as low to the ground as possible, I touched his hand again. Power blasted into me, shocking my senses and leaving me a writhing ball of pain, but still I held on. Once I had the pain braided down to allow brain functions, I felt what the witches had done.
Anger, rage, and lust blasted through the chains into Logan, pushing his lion half precariously close to turning beast.
“No,” I commanded him, grasping his forearms and trying to stop him from pulling insanely against the chains. It was useless; Logan was a powerful shifter. The man could have stayed calm and contained, but the lion would never stop fighting.
Interesting to note the similarities to Nari’s operations. Dammit, had I missed something? Or rather, someone?
My muddled brain made fast deductions that I wasn’t willing to look at closely. I moved my hands to wrap around Logan’s rough knuckles.
“Hold on,” I whispered. Closing my eyes, I began pulling.
“Shhh,” I tried calming him, unable to hear my own voice above the roaring in my ears.
The emotions were easy to lock away, to trap and seal into metal balls in my head. The problem, aside from my burning hands, was that the draw wasn’t stopping. Pushing my awareness outside of myself, I focused on the cuffs.
While I had told Darren I wasn’t magically inclined, even I knew I had somehow been able to pull magic in from Stephen, the Puppet Master who forced me to interact with the overgrown kitten on a permanent basis.
“I’ve got it, Logan, just stay with me.” He probably scented the lie, but I was desperate to keep him sane.
Purple tendrils wrapped around his wrists, sliding up his arms, pulsing with raw power. Moving my hands, I touched the restraints. It burned, flaying my nerves. My hands were sizzling, the scent of burning flesh causing Logan to buck even more wildly.
Tears leaked down my cheeks as again I pulled, drawing the magic into me. An echo, vision or memory had me seeing the purple eyes of the witch in the cave where I rescued Blake, and since I didn’t believe in coincidences, I’d be paying her a visit, you know, right after I regained feeling in my hands.
Blowing out a breath, I cracked a blurry eye at Logan. His raw sienna eyes were wide, staring down at me. My body swayed down, my muscles unable to keep me upright. I thumped again onto the hard concrete with a groan. At least it wasn’t a long fall this time.
“What did you do, Olivia?” he asked, confused.
“What I do best.” I gave an attempt at pushing up, but my hands had curled into themselves. “Suck.”
Crap, I walked right into that one.
Logan cleared his throat, his calm detachment forced back into place.
“Are the cuffs still spelled?”
“Nope,” I groaned, the concrete suddenly very comfortable.
…
I woke up with a lion standing over me. I refused to be embarrassed about the gasp and squeak that left my mouth.
Caramel eyes drifted down to me, humor twinkling in them as he licked my hands with a rough tongue. “Ow,” I groaned, shifting onto all fours under him. The choice to lean against his furry arm wasn’t from lack of strength.
The weight of the chains was gone, replaced by the throbbing in my hands. Repositioning myself so I could look at Logan without getting cramps in my neck I asked, “So, for your first time being captured with a succubus, is the experience everything you expected?”
He lowered his nose, huffing into my face.
“Alright, I’m getting up.” Grabbing a fistful of fur, I clamped down on a whimper and hauled my body off the floor.
“Fucking witches,” I hissed.
…
I went first on the stairs, mainly so that if lion-sized Logan broke them I wouldn’t be stuck. Secondly, because I needed to do some damage. The rage I had absorbed demanded an outlet and I was only too happy to accommodate.
We had found a healing salve in a container of miscellaneous ointments, and while my hands weren’t back to normal, I could unfurl and use them. Okay, so the witches may have a few, and I stress a few, uses.
I pushed the door open a crack with my shoulder, crouching down to peer on either side before moving it farther. The door swung easily and granted, if I hadn’t had my head pounded against a hard surface twice in the last 24 hours, I might have questioned that.
But I didn’t, which was exactly why I got grabbed by some wolf flunky.
“Logan, RUN!” I screamed. The four hundred pound lion bounded up the steps, only to have the steel door slammed and locked in his face. Fuckers were prepared, I had to give them that.
I bucked, thrashed and was just generally difficult in the flunky’s grasp.
Eli’s son yelled for more men to hold me.
It took three. If my hands weren’t injured, it would have taken more. Eventually, I was forced to kneel, bleeding from a busted lip and broken nose, as Destiny moved toward me.
“Difficult,” she advised me.
“Bitch.” Not my best comeback, I’ll admit.
“Remove her,“ the witch commanded the shifters.
“Taking orders from witches now.”
The asshole with a chokehold on me pulled my hair back, exposing my neck, his nose drawing down to inhale deeply before he whispered in my ear, “You survive this, and you are mine.”
“She won’t,” Destiny said, moving around the small, dusty kitchen, gathering her supplies.
“I will say I am impressed by your father’s knowledge of the girl. I never dreamed a worthless succubus would have the ability to absorb so much power.”
Eli’s son nodded absently, his eyes watching me closely.
“Had we more time I would have loved to discover the origins of her power and what else she can do.”
I turned to the side and bit down forcefully on the thick arm around my neck, drawing blood. He didn’t let go, but he did make me go to sleep. My last thought was that Logan should really stop pounding into the door.
…
I was bound, again. On my back this time, with rope securing each of my appendages, held taut by thick stakes.
Fucking hell.
The night sky glittering above me was the only thing I could see as chanting reached my ears.
“She rises,” a musical voice muttered before its owner moved into my vision. “You possess a position of great honor among our kind. You will be the bridge to reach our families.” Pale hair peeked out from her black hooded robe, touching my face gently.
“You are a fool,” I hissed.
“Karma, come away from the sacrifice,” Destiny called out. I twisted, trying to see her, but my limited vision wouldn’t allow it.
Karma looked confused by my words. Tilting her oval face at me, she reached down, pressed a finger to my forehead, and pushed. Magic exploded behind my eyes, white in color, pure in intensity. My natural guards grabbed it before braiding it and shoving it down deep.
When my vision cleared, Karma smiled. “You are the perfect sacrifice.”
I groaned, closing my eyes. This was not good. These assholes knew more about my magic than I did and unless Logan got out of his cage, I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Great, more time with the witchy bitches.
Their chanting lulled me; calm stole upon my limbs and I relaxed, watching the sky with resignation clawing at my heart. I always knew the life I had chosen as an Executioner wouldn’t be a long one and if this was how it ended, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
Eventually, Grams would send out a party to look for me or Darren would hunt down his brother. They might be too late to save me, but I had confidence they would stop the witches and free a pissed off Logan.
Destiny moved above me with an impressively wicked hunting knife.
“Begin,” she whispered. From my side, the witches formed a line, repeating the same thing Karma had done, touching my forehead and shoving. Some shoved quite a bit, others nothing more than a spark. I closed my eyes, seeing the colors bloom and absorb into the pit filling up in front of me. The color darkened slowly into an oily darkness, coating my insides until it demanded a release.
I really wished the new skill of killing someone by pushing my emotions—okay, possibly magic—into them was something I could summon on demand.
My back arched of its own accord and I pulled on the ropes again. They moved ever so slightly, digging into my wrists and ankles. I wrapped my hands around them.
Destiny crouched in front of me, the blade above my heart. “If only someone had bothered to train you. You would be the greatest magician the world would ever know,” she whispered.
Someone had taught this bitch how to cut, for she sliced vertical cuts up my arm, deep enough to burn but not life threatening. Using the same blade, she sliced off my leathers at the upper thigh, cutting close to my femoral artery, allowing my blood to flow freely. This was an impressive torture technique. I’d have to remember it, pending survival of the blood loss.
The chanting began anew, calling to the magic inside of me, summoning it to thread out above my head. I blinked as their voices formed the magic into a spinning circle. My warm blood spilled over my wounds, soaking into the ground.
“It’s working,” Destiny breathed, the knife lowering to her side, wonder in her eyes.
“ITS WORKING!” she screamed, the wind whipping around her. I wanted to struggle, but the heavy tide of magic had me feeling as if a giant was kneeling on my chest, pinning me to the spot.
The circle turned into a sphere, cracks of white piercing the darkness. The witches continued their chants, having to scream to be heard above the howling cyclone that was forming.
A face appeared for only a flash and my body stilled. If that was whom they called, I wanted to die and I wanted to die now.
The sphere moved next to my body and a booted foot stomped onto the ground. Seven feet tall, with a black cape and blood red breastplate, he looked every bit the gladiator coming to the rescue, but I knew better. He was a barbarian.
“Four,” he oozed, his voice grating on my nerves. “It’s been some time, pet.”
I pulled against the bonds, feeling the rough rope slice into my wrists, warm blood flowing faster from my wounds. His steps moved away from me, and though I hadn’t seen his face, I remembered it well. A decayed skull sat upon his shoulders, black orbs for eyes and sharp, sharp teeth.
My head thumped against the ground and I let the tears fall from my eyes, unashamed. The witches had unleashed into this world the monster I feared the most. We were all dead.
A soft touch had my eyes snapping open. “There, there, Four, all is not lost.”
“Bob,” I whispered to the short, twig-like man as he moved away from me.
“Now, Luharposn, take your pick. The Queen has only allowed us a short time here.”
“Pity.” The gravelly voice had me pulling against my bonds again, sending a fresh wave of pain through my body.
“No, we called for Bob.” Destiny’s voice sounded panicked.
She knew the name. She had seen my memories.
“Bob is a peacekeeper. You cannot call him, nor can you choose whom you call, you pathetic half-breed.”
So she was right about being part Fae. I wished that mattered.
Bob tapped his foot impatiently, crunching the dead leaves under foot.
“I want Four and—“ I squeezed my eyes closed, refusing to let the whimper of fear leave my mouth. The others would be safe: Grams, Tommy, Mindy, Harrison, Kass and Hannah, they would be okay. Bob would make Luharposn leave. Even if he took me, even if he delivered a fate worse than death, I would keep my loved ones safe. I blew out a breath, my struggles ceasing.
“If you take Four, you cannot have anyone else,” Bob negotiated.
“I dislike your rules, Peace Keeper.”
“I’m aware, Luharposn, but these are the Queen’s rules. If you take Four, that is all you can take; if you take the others instead, you may have them all.”
“Fine,” Luharposn ground out.
In a blink the clearing was deserted, the inky blob disappearing into the night sky. I sagged against the bonds, relief flooding through me as the tears dried up.
A roar penetrated the brief silence, followed by an eerie howl.
“Please be help,” I groaned, lifting my head to search the area I thought the noise had come from.
Logan’s angry form sprang into the clearing, moving slowly when he saw only me pinned down.
“A little help!” I called out, trying to mask my shaky, strained voice.
Not sparing a look at me, he sliced the ropes holding my legs before moving to my head. Pulling my body parts in close to my core, I sat up too fast, blinking away black spots.
Leaning my head on my knees, I blew out a breath, savoring the fact that I could do so after how close I had come to a fate worse than death.
Logan shifted forms, kneeling down next to me. “Olie.”
“He was here,” I whispered, my body shaking against my iron will.
“Who was?” Logan asked, searching the area.
“He’s gone,” the words a brush against my lips; I was losing the battle against unconsciousness. “He took them all, new play things. I was an old play thing.”
He crushed me to his naked chest and I’ve never been so happy for my cheek to be shoved into a sweaty shifter chest.
…
I awoke slowly, groggily, to Logan’s hands running over my open wounds.
“They aren’t deep,” I slurred, trying to sit up. “It’s more exhaustion.”
I groaned, putting my head between my knees. “How far are we from the house?”
“Not far, can you walk?”
I nodded, pushing off the soft ground made damp by my blood.
“I’m going to shift, I’ll be able to detect threats faster.”
I nodded, pulling myself back to my own two feet while Logan made the transition. The large lion butted up against me, helping to support my weight.
I’m pretty sure Logan’s take on distance was wrong, because we walked until my wounds soaked through all my clothing. When the tall porch steps finally came into view, I was close to passing out from both exhaustion and blood loss. Up the four ste
ps I pulled myself, using the faded blue wooden handrail, collapsing on the final step.
Logan shifted again and walked by me, hopefully to check out the house. My eyes drooped closed and while I knew I shouldn’t give in to the temptation to sleep, I’m fairly sure I did, awakening once Logan picked me up.
“Humogh.”
“That’s not English. I found keys, we are leaving.”
Sounded good to me.
…
Soft bedding under me was a contrast to the multiple pricks of pain in my body.
“Oww,” I moaned.
“Don’t move!” shouted two voices.
Cracking an eye open, I looked down to Logan stitching up my leg and Mark tackling my arm.
“Where’s Jerry?”
“Sleeping.”
I grunted, “Is he okay?”
“He will be,” Mark answered. “We need to stop your bleeding.”
I nodded, resting my head down again.
“What a fucking night,” I whispered.
“It’s not over,” Logan warned.
“More Fae?” I couldn’t handle that.
“No, Angelina called while we were hostage. It appears the package is being moved.”
“Fucking hell.”
“I figure we had best go after her before that happens.”
“There is no we.”
“You need to learn how to accept help,” a weak voice out of my line of sight stated.
“Jerry, you just work on getting better, asshole. I plan on beating the crap out of you. Those fucking insane witches contacted the Fae.”
“I can actually only claim partial fault in that,” Jerry strained, ending in a cough. “I had the knowledge, you had the power.”
I sighed, wanting to deny it, but knowing better. “About that. Destiny, while slicing and dicing, said something to me.” I paused, working up the nerve and giving myself a breather as Logan started on another slice. “She said if I was properly trained I’d be a magician.”
Jerry cleared his throat. “Don’t even think of getting up,” Mark warned, his hands not stilling at his task.
“I’m not surprised, Olie,” Jerry grunted. “The entire coven poured their magic into you in order to contact the Fae and you didn’t die. That, to my knowledge, has never happened before.”