by T J Nichols
He cursed the Coven for sending Jude and threatening to strip his magic if he failed. Mack’s stomach grumbled as though he hadn’t eaten all day. The tent and the food were on the outside of the circle, so he’d have to tough it out. And so would the aufhocker.
They were both tiring; it was just a question of which one of them gave up first. Mack glanced at Jude. There was no point in giving the aufhocker more of a rest while he dripped blood on the dirt.
Before he could reconsider, he charged the beast.
The creature grew to match his size, but Mack barreled it into the blue wall of the circle. Static burned along Mack’s skin, and the creature snarled, kicking him away. The claws scratched Mack’s belly.
There was no reprieve this time. The aufhocker seemed to know it wasn’t getting free. Whenever Mack got a grip with his teeth or a dug his claws in, the creature changed size. It kept trying to reach Jude, knowing he was the weak point.
Mack’s body ached from the fight, and his skin burned from the many cuts. His breath came in hard pants, and all he wanted to do was eat and shift and rest. In that order. He needed energy to shift and heal.
Every so often a rock hit the aufhocker, perfectly aimed and timed to stop it from getting a bite on Mack. Jude was doing what he could. Right now, Mack would be willing to get electrocuted to stop the creature. He struggled to get a bite, and the thick hide that protected the creature’s shoulders and neck tasted rank.
When they drew apart, they were both breathing hard. The many scratches and punctures from its teeth burned, and blood matted Mack’s fur. The aufhocker had stopped shifting to heal. It paced, more wary now as it dripped blood that smelled of metal and sulfur, not like animal blood. But then it wasn’t a true animal. It was something else. Maybe it had come from Hell.
He didn’t know how long he’d been fighting for when he noticed the aufhocker no longer matched his size and harried beneath his throat instead of trying to get on his back. He reared up in annoyance and swept it aside with a paw. It hit the wall of the circle but didn’t stay down.
Something rippled over him, and the circle came down.
Lightning tore through the night, catching the aufhocker in the belly. It whimpered, the first sound Mack had heard it make all night. He shivered at the animal sound of pain.
Jude threw another bolt, and this time the creature didn’t move.
Mack lowered his head. The relief that it was over didn’t rush through him the way it should. They’d survived, but all he felt was exhaustion and sadness that the aufhocker had died. Wild animals were always trouble when they got too close to humans. This was no different.
Many people would hunt and kill him if they knew what he was, even though he didn’t kill cows or stalk people.
Jude put a hand on his shoulder. His fingers caught in the blood-sticky fur, but he didn’t pull away. “What do you need?”
Food. Rest. A way to forget.
It took a moment for him to gather the energy he needed to shift back to human. The pain as the injuries healed with the shift had him gritting his teeth and sucking in short, sharp breaths. Where his skin had been torn open, it burned. When he was human again, he was smeared in blood but no longer bleeding. He remained kneeling, letting the dizziness pass. He was lucky he hadn’t passed out while shifting.
Jude swore. “Do you have a first-aid kit?”
“I’m fine.” The wounds might have healed, but the scars would remain for longer. He rubbed at the blood to prove they weren’t open wounds.
Jude’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you could heal like that. The way the aufhocker did.”
As much as he didn’t like to share shifter secrets, it was clear Jude had worked it out. “It’s a kind a shifter and followed shifter behavior. Conserve strength by being in the natural form. Shift to heal.” Being a bear took strength. It was why, when he went to sleep as a bear, he woke up human. The body was just conserving energy. “If a shifter doesn’t eat to replace the energy they’ve burned, they won’t be able to shift and heal. The shifting made it hard to kill.” Aside from that ability, the aufhocker was just another ugly hellhound. “It’s also why all suspected shifters were tortured in the middle ages. It was the only way to prove what they were and kill them.”
“It wanted to kill us.”
“I know.” But was hard to remember that the aufhocker would’ve killed them without a second thought now it was dead. He’d hunted, but only for food. He’d never had to fight for his life or the life of someone else.
Jude helped him up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Mack’s muscles protested the movement, and he winced. “As good as I’m going to be.”
Jude embraced him and squeezed a little too hard. Mack leaned against him, unwilling to move when for the moment all he wanted was to be held and told it was going to be all right.
A faint sound drew his attention. A heartbeat so soft he’d almost missed it. The aufhocker wasn’t dead. He walked over to the fallen aufhocker, Jude at his heels. Lying on the ground, it wasn’t terrifying. The animal was small and ugly, almost pitiful. And it was alive. It’s flank barely moved with each breath, and its heart beat faintly as it died.
“It’s…” Jude couldn’t even finish saying what they had both realized. “How is that possible?”
Mack shook his head. He didn’t know, but he couldn’t leave it to die in pain. He looked at his hands, not willing, and not able to do another full shift.
He could do this. He had to.
His hands grew the claws of the bear, and he kneeled, finishing the aufhocker off.
Then he threw up.
Jude drove with shaky hands. He was tired. Holding the circle was draining, but not as draining as what Mack had done. Mack was pale and exhausted, and even though he’d cleaned off most of the blood with the hand wipes, there’d been too much. And he was still freaked out about what might have happened if Mack had died. The threat of death if his familiar died was no longer a vague what-if. It could actually happen.
He needed to do a better job of protecting Mack, and his own life. He needed to trap an aufhocker without trapping them in the same circle. He needed to learn magic that he’d never thought of doing before. And he didn’t have long to do it.
Jude had packed up the camp, messily, while Mack had eaten the rest of the food they’d brought with them. Then they’d made their way back to the car with very few words. Neither of them had wanted to stay just in case the other one had turned up. They were in no state to fight, and while hiding in a circle was the emergency plan, it wasn’t something Jude wanted to do either.
The aufhocker was an animal, doing what it did, hunting the two people who’d disturbed their home. Killing cows was the aufhocker making breakfast the way cats killed birds and dogs went through bins.
There had to be a better way of dealing with an aufhocker than killing it or surrendering the town. Jude pulled into the drive-through of first takeaway joint they passed and ordered one of everything off the breakfast menu plus two coffees, one black and one with sugar and creamer. If the teen at the service window was surprised, she was smart enough not to show it when she handed over three paper bags worth of food.
Mack ate two of the breakfast burgers and drank the cup of coffee before he spoke. “I don’t think we should do that again.”
“I agree.” Jude took another bite of his first bacon and egg wrap.
Mack nodded and stared out the window, his hands perfectly human after the partial shift. If he hadn’t realized the aufhocker was still alive, would it have survived to hunt them down again? How it had survived direct hits with as much charge as Jude could pull, he didn’t know.
They reached the outskirts of Mercy as dawn was breaking. The tension Jude had been holding on to eased. Hellhounds hunted at night. He’d been checking the mirrors, half expecting the other one to be chasing them down the road. They were safe for the day.
Come dusk, they were in a kind of trouble t
hat he had no idea how to deal with.
Mack wound down his window. “Slow down. There are cop cars and police tape out the front of the bar.”
Jude had planned to drive straight by. He needed to rest. While he didn’t need to eat the way Mack did, he still needed to sleep like a normal human being. An exhausted witch was pretty much useless. He’d been next to useless last night, not wanting to kill Mack as well as the creature. However, he slowed the truck.
There was blood on the ground and one large dog-like footprint.
While they’d been fighting one, the other had been hunting in town.
Mack sniffed. “It was here, and that’s human blood.”
While there was very little traffic on the road this early, one lane was closed, so they had to wait to be allowed to pass. Mack waved to one of the cops, and Jude inched the truck closer.
Jude glanced at what they were wearing and the takeout wrappers in the car. Did they look like they’d been up to no good last night, or was the cop going to assume they’d been out? Out together?
The cops nodded to Mack and glanced at Jude. If he thought anything was amiss, it didn’t show on his face.
Mack forced a grim smile. “What happened here?”
“Can’t say. But it’s a murder investigation.” The cop’s gaze drifted over to Jude again. “What have you been up to?”
Jude felt the accusation in those simple words. The cop knew something wasn’t right even if he couldn’t work out what. Jude was used to those looks. Humans could sense magic in the air and grew wary.
“Just grabbed some early breakfast. Showing my buddy from the city around the place.” Mack put a hand on Jude’s leg and gave him a very fixed grin.
“Been here long?” the cop asked Jude.
“A few days.” Just in time for a cow kill and murder. But the cow killings had been happening for weeks before he’d arrived.
“Watch yourselves if you go camping. There’s some rogue animal out there at the moment.” The cop glanced at the taped-off scene.
Even he knew it wasn’t out there anymore. The aufhocker had come to town to hunt.
“Looks like you can drive on.” The cop stepped back, and Jude drove forward as another cop waved him through. His gaze slid to the footpath and the one bloodied footprint.
It had all been for nothing.
“We should’ve been here, protecting them,” Jude said. “Not trying to lure them out of town.”
“We killed one.” But Mack didn’t sound happy about that either.
“And while we were miles away, the other one made merry.”
Mack’s scowl deepened. He had three new scars on his neck where the aufhocker had nearly gotten him. “That’s not normal animal behavior. It came to the bar where we met. They’re smarter than we think.”
“When this one realizes its mate isn’t coming home, there will be hell to pay.”
They drove the rest of the way to Mack’s place in silence.
Jude parked in the driveway. “We can’t do this on our own. I need to call the Coven.”
Mack rested his head back and closed his eyes. “We can do it. We need a better plan.”
“No, we need help.” Jude knew the cost of that help, but he was willing to pay so no one else died.
“Didn’t you say that if you fail you lose your magic? Doesn’t calling for help count as failure to them?”
He nodded. “Better than losing my life or killing you.” He’d rather be human. The pain of losing his magic would be nothing compared to the pain of losing Mack.
Chapter Twelve
Mack turned the water up as hot as he could tolerate. He needed to scrub the night’s misadventure from his skin. Jude helped peel his shirt off, but there was no hunger or desire in his touch, and Mack didn’t have the energy to send him away. He needed to sleep and eat, again. He’d need his strength as there was still one out there, and now it had killed someone.
But he had also killed.
He didn’t mind catching and eating fish or the occasional rabbit, but last night had been something else entirely. He got under the water even though no amount of scrubbing would remove the stain embedded on his soul.
Jude slid in behind him and kissed between his shoulder blades. “It will be fine.”
Mack hung his head, so the water drummed on the back of his neck. How would it ever be right? “If you call the Coven, you lose.”
“If I don’t, we could both die. Others will die.”
Jude was right, and it wasn’t Mack’s problem. It was Jude who’d been sent here to sort out the creature. And Jude would’ve been killed last night without Mack’s help. No matter what Jude had done in the past, he didn’t deserve to die trying to stop these creatures. “We know more about aufhockers now. We can find a way to stop it from killing again.”
“We only have until dusk. Will the other one come after us or go into town to hunt? We don’t know. No one is safe. I was sent to fix it or fail. I never expected to fix it or to have any chance.”
Mack turned. “Neither of us expected this. I didn’t ask for this, but the Coven is wrong if they say you’ve failed.”
Maybe they could negotiate with the Coven.
If Jude lost his magic, there’d be no bond, and his life could go back to how it had been. Where no one knew what he was, and he could never share. It was that truth that had been missing from every part of his life. Without magic or the bond, would Jude even want to be here with him?
Probably not. His home was in the city.
Mack brushed Jude’s hair aside. There was no smile his green eyes now. No come on or tease. Jude’s worry radiated off him in waves. As unnerving as it was to be able to sense someone so deeply, he liked it. “Let me get some sleep. Then we’ll plan.”
Jude nodded and put his arms around Mack’s neck. “I couldn’t have asked for a better familiar. I don’t think the Fates messed up or were having a laugh.”
Mack almost smiled. “As witches go, you’re okay. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Their lips met. Jude traced his fingers over the new scars. “You were so lucky.”
“I know.”
There’d been a few moments when he’d thought the aufhocker had him and it was going to be all over, but then he’d found an extra burst of energy. He rested his forehead against Jude’s, unwilling to move and break the embrace but not having the energy to do any more than stand there. They lingered in the shower until the water cooled before going to bed for much-needed sleep.
Jude getting out of bed woke Mack. He listened to Jude pad down the stairs and pause when he stepped on the creaky spot. The pause roused Mack further and put him on alert. Was Jude trying to be sneaky? What was he up to? After a moment Jude continued walking. Then there was silence.
Jude wasn’t leaving the house. He just hadn’t wanted to wake Mack up. Reassured, Mack turned over with a wince caused by sore muscles and started to drift back to sleep. Jude’s voice dragged him fully awake. He couldn’t make out the words, but he felt Jude’s pain and the knot of anxiety that made it hard to breathe.
Mack got out of bed and ran down the stairs. His body ached from fighting with the aufhocker, but he didn’t care. Jude had called the Coven.
Jude turned at the sound of footsteps. He thought he’d been quiet enough not to wake Mack. Mack didn’t want him to call the Coven, but there was no other option.
Mack looked as though someone had punched him in the gut and stolen his truck. “What have you done?”
In Jude’s ear, Landstrom confirmed that the three Coven members would arrive in the morning.
“That will be too late. We need help tonight,” Jude said. He hadn’t called to confess his failure, just to get backup. No witch could deal with an aufhocker on their own. Even Landstrom should realize that.
“That keen to lose your magic?” Landstrom said. The smirk was clear in voice. He didn’t care about the aufhocker problem, only the electro-mage problem.
Jude wasn’t that keen to lose his magic, but if that was what it took to prevent more deaths, that was what he’d do.
Mack snatched the phone off him. “No, he isn’t keen to lose his magic. We need help to stop the second aufhocker. Did he tell you we’ve already taken down one? It’s a breeding pair, and we don’t even know how many cubs they have.”
Jude shook his head. He hadn’t told the Coven about Mack.
Jude couldn’t hear what Landstrom said, but Mack’s expression went from horror to a ferocious scowl that made Jude want to hide. “I’m his familiar, and this was a setup from the start.”
Mack didn’t listen to whatever Landstrom said next. He hung up but didn’t return Jude’s phone. “I thought we’d agreed not to call those assholes?”
“I called for help. We can’t do this on our own. This was meant to be my mission, my problem. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“It’s my town. I would never stand by and let something kill people.”
“What had you done before I arrived?”
“I was paying attention, but I wasn’t worried as they were staying out of town.”
“Well, now it’s coming into town, and people are a lot easier to kill than cows. I think we’ve solved why North is a ghost town.”
“But not why they’ve woken or why the Coven is keen to make you human. What did you do to piss them off?”
Jude glanced away. Mack’s happy family photos were on every wall of the living room. How could Mack understand what it was like to not know about magic until things went wrong? “The first time my magic bubbled up I was getting an MRI and I shorted a hospital. I knew nothing about witches or magic or shifters.”
“How could you not know?”
“Because my mother ditched me at a fire station when I was a week old. I don’t know who my parents are. I grew up in foster care. Some were great, others not so much. My last family were good, and they did their best, but I knew early on they wouldn’t like that I was interested in guys. That didn’t stop me from getting a few sneaky dates in. I don’t speak to them now because I won’t renounce my life of sin. If they knew the whole truth about what I am, they’d be horrified. They’d probably think I was possessed.”