by Jodi Vaughn
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long.” She looked over at Roger and nodded. “The effects of the truth potion should be wearing off very soon. I suspect you two will have a lot to talk about once that happens.” Her cruel eyes sparkled and she turned and hurried up the steps into the house with the rest of her witches.
I turned to Roger. I blinked. And slapped his face.
“What the hell was that for?” He scowled and rubbed his cheek. I felt a little satisfaction in the slow appearing handprint on his face.
“Borderline Personality? Sociopathic tendencies? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“What?” He blinked. “It’s just a diagnosis.”
“You don’t even know me. You don’t have the right to label people you don’t even know!”
“She asked my opinion. And I gave it.” His chin went up defiantly.
I turned my back to him, feeling lonelier than I ever had in my life.
“You are the one that lied to me.” His voice, now angry and low, vibrated between my ears. “You still haven’t told me why you need to get to Missouri.”
I spun around, my anger filling ever corner of every cell of my body. “It’s none of your business.”
“Jesus, Ella. Why can’t you tell me?” His eyes widened as he waited for answers.
“Why do you even care?” I screamed, clutching my fingers into fists at my sides.
“I want you to be honest with me.” His eyes hardened, and it hurt my chest to see him looking at me like that.
I searched for something, anything to help us escape.
“Just be honest with me.”
“We have to find a way to get out of here before they come for us.” I spun around, ready to defend myself if he pressed the issue.
“I don’t remember anyone coming for me. It’s you they want.”
“I’m going to Missouri for a concert. I’ve never been to one before. Are you satisfied?” I glared at him burning him with my urgency and rage. “If you think for one second those witches are going to let you live after being with me, you are dead wrong.” I smirked. “The operative word being dead. Despite how you feel about me, if nothing else, you should have some sense of self-preservation. So stop bitching and use that brain of yours to come up with a plan to get us out.”
He paled slightly at the mention of death. “Fine. He scratched his chin and stared toward the tree line. And frowned.
“Have you thought about getting help from him?” His gaze focused on something in the dark.
I followed his gaze. “Who?” I stared hard into the tree line and spotted a pair of yellow eyes. “The cat?”
“If I’m not mistaken it’s your familiar.” He looked back at me.
“That can’t be. I’ve never had a familiar before.” I cocked my head as the yellow eyes blinked and then stepped into the light of the bonfire.
The cat was black and it had thick, long fur, like a Himalayan. It stepped closer and I saw something dangling from its mouth.
I squinted to get a better look.
It was a tiny brown tail.
“Eww. Is that a mouse?” I already knew the answer as I cringed.
The cat continued to stare and slowly chew on the mouse. The tail swayed as the cat dined on its catch.
“Well, it is a cat. And cats eat mice.”
I turned my glare on him. “Why don’t you shift into a rabbit and see if it’s ready for some dessert?”
I looked back at the cat. The tail disappeared behind the little cat lips like a strand of spaghetti.
I grimaced.
“Well say something to it.” Roger urged.
“Why don’t you say something to it?” I hissed.
“Because it’s not my familiar.” He huffed.
“Fine.” I turned and looked at the feline. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”
The cat narrowed its yellow eyes and stepped closer. “Seriously. That’s how you’re going to talk to me? For a Southern girl you sure have no manners.” Its feminine voice surprised me as she addressed me in a dismissive fashion.
I gasped and stepped back, bumping into Roger.
I looked back at the cat. “Sorry. My name is…”
“Ella. I know.” The cat looked at me. “I know because, like the rabbit said, I’m your familiar.”
I wanted to know how the hell I got a familiar when I never had one before. But there wasn’t time for questions. So I put it down on my list of things to research after my ass was out of this jam.
“I see. Well it’s nice to meet you…” I frowned. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
“My name is Nyx.” She glanced at me and let out a soft burp.
I waved the smell of masticated mouse away from my face. “Nice to meet you Nyx. I don’t suppose you know how to get me out of this containing circle do you?”
“In fact I do.” She gave me another one of her bored looks. She was really starting to piss me of with her nonchalant attitude about all this.
“Well, are you going to tell me?” I crossed my arms.
“What’s the magic words?” She sat and curled her fluffy black tail around her feet.
“Mother fu…” Roger clamped a hand over my mouth before I could finish.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is most definitely not the magic word.” Nyx said.
“Ella,” Roger warned before he removed his hand.
I glared at my familiar. “I thought familiars were supposed to help their witches?”
“Most familiars don’t have witches with Borderline Personality Disorder.”
“I do not have Borderline Personality Disorder.” I hissed through my teeth. I cut my eyes at Roger who had the decency to rub the back of his neck and study the ground.
Nyx blinked. “Still waiting on the magic word.”
I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached. I hated having to depend on anyone in this world. And I damn sure hated to say please. But I had no choice.
“Please.”
“Okay.” Nyx blinked and held out her upturned paw and blew. A shimmery cloud of white drifted up to form the image of an open door.
I blinked and reached out to touch it. This time, instead of being thrown back to the ground, my hand went through the opening outside of the circle.
“You’d better hurry up. You’ve got about twenty seconds before those witches come back outside.” Nyx said.
“How do you know its twenty seconds?” I stepped out of the circle and Roger followed.
“Intuition. It’s one of my gifts. ” Nyx stood, stretched, and started for the tree line.
Roger grabbed my hand and we followed after Nyx.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
We ran for the cover of the trees, staying away from the driveway that led to the house.
The moon was full, giving us much needed light to head back to the main highway.
“What are we going to do when we get back to the car? It still has a flat tire.” I hissed.
“Not anymore.” Nyx said calmly. “I fixed it. For now.”
“For now? What does that mean?” Roger asked.
“It means I managed a spell to put air in the tire. It’s not a permanent fix but will get us out of this godforsaken place before we hear the dueling banjos.”
I snorted. She wasn’t wrong.
I saw the road up ahead but I didn’t stop running. We were almost there. Just a few more feet.
A male scream tore through the darkness. I stopped and looked back over my shoulder at Roger. He was gone.
“Roger,” I whispered loudly and frantically looked around for some movement.
I knew the scream had been his.
I turned and hurried back into the woods. I only had a short distance to go before I found him.
My stomach churned.
He was hanging upside down by his feet, dangling in the air like a bug trapped in a spider’s web.
“Roger,” I looked around for something to cut him down with but I had nothing.
> “Ella,” Lisa, the cute blonde witch, stepped out from behind the tree that held Roger.
“Fuck,” The words slipped out of my mouth. If she were here then so were the rest of the coven.
“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about.” Lisa smiled and ran her across Roger’s chest to his crotch. She squeezed.
“What do you want with us?” I asked and narrowed my eyes.
“You?” She blinked and laughed. “Silly girl, I don’t want you.”
I shook my head. “But Stella said…”
“Ugh. I don’t care about Stella or her agenda.” Lisa wrinkled her nose. “I could care less about handing you over.”
“So what do you want?”
“I want him. My last boyfriend escaped out of his cage and I need a replacement.” Her eyes glinted with lust as she fondled Roger. “I think Roger will do just fine.”
“Ella, what are you doing?” Nyx stepped out and looked from Roger back to me. “The witch has made it clear she doesn’t want you. Leave him behind.
I liked that idea. I liked that idea a whole lot.
I looked at Roger hanging upside down and helpless.
“It’s okay Ella. Go.” He said softly. “Go before they catch you.”
I looked at Nyx who seemed to arch her cat brow at me.
I could leave. Even Roger had given me permission.
But it didn’t sit right with me. And that pissed me off.
“I’m afraid I can’t leave without Roger.” I looked at Lisa and sized her up. I wasn’t sure what kind of power she had or if she had a weapon.
“Then you are stupider than you look.” She glared. “You could have had your freedom, but you are throwing it all away on some rabbit shifter.” She pulled out a knife and snarled. “What kind of looney witch are you?”
“Apparently one that has Borderline Personality Disorder.” I grabbed a fallen limb and rushed her.
I swung and knocked the knife out of her hand. She screamed, grabbed her wrist and doubled over.
“Make her shut up. She’ll lead the others right to us.” Nyx hissed.
I shrugged and whacked her on the side of the head with the limb. She crumbled to the ground.
I spotted the knife and picked it up. I quickly began sawing at the ropes restraining Roger.
One last cut and he fell to the ground in a heap.
I helped him up. “Let’s go.”
“What about her?” He looked at Lisa on the ground. “I should at least make sure she’s breathing.”
Nyx shook her head.
“Why? So she can call for help?” I slugged him in the arm.
“Ella, she’s hurt.”
“Tough titty.” I grabbed his hand. “I don’t care. Remember I’m a borderline personality witch. So I have no feelings. Are you coming or what?”
I didn’t wait to hear his answer, instead I took off for the road with Nyx ahead of me. When I saw the car I reached for the handle and remembered Roger had locked the door.
“Here I have the keys.” Roger said over my shoulder. He unlocked the car and we all climbed in. Nyx jumped in the backseat.
He started the engine and sped down the highway. After we’d put some miles between us and the coven, I looked over at Roger. His hands white-knuckled the steering wheel and his expression was serious.
I turned and looked in the backseat. Nyx had curled into a ball, her tail tucked around his body as she slept. She looked at peace, without a care in the world.
I relaxed in my seat and noted the time. Only nine o’clock.
A lot of shit had gone down and it wasn’t even midnight.
I laid my head back. I was as exhausted as if I hadn’t slept in a week. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were being followed.
I looked in the rearview mirror but saw no lights.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Ella, wake up.”
I slowly roused myself from a deep sleep. I blinked and looked around.
We had stopped and Roger was looking at me from the driver’s seat.
“Where are we?” I sat up and arched my back. I glanced in the backseat. Nyx was grooming herself and didn’t have time to spare me a glance.
“We are at the Missouri state line.” He opened his door and climbed out.
I followed.
The sun was just coming up over the horizon, casting orange and purple rays over the sky.
We were parked at a rest area and there were only a couple of cars and one eighteen wheeler in the parking spots.
I opened the back door and Nyx jumped out. She trotted over to the grass and stopped when her paws hit the dew. She slowly backed up and got on the paved walkway around the rest area.
She continued on ahead of us and stopped.
“That little shit is going to piss right on the walkway.” My mouth dropped open.
“Guess she doesn’t like the wet grass.” Roger smiled.
“Who knew? After all this time I finally have a familiar.” I shook my head. “And I get stuck with her”
“Well familiars are matched to their witches based on similarities in character.” Roger pushed his glasses up.
I slowly turned my head to him. “So that means I have a borderline personality cat.”
“Ella, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.” He looked at the ground.
“Roger, it’s fine.” I didn’t bother me much anymore.
“No Ella, it’s not fine.”
“Look, you can’t really recant that diagnosis since you were under a truth potion.”
“And I was wrong.”
“Roger…”
“Listen to me.” He took me by my arms and forced my gaze to his. “You had a chance back there to save yourself, to get away without getting caught. But you chose to save me. That is the act of a selfless person.”
Some tiny part in my heart warmed at his words. I looked deep into his eyes and found sincerity shining through.
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t say anything. Instead I nodded.
“Are we going to keep yapping or can we go now?” Nyx plopped down between me and Roger and stared up at us.
“I’ve got to go to the bathroom first.” I glared at Nyx and she blinked. “By the way I can’t believe you pissed on the walkway. That was kind of lazy.”
“I hate water.” She looked away.
“It was dew.” I said.
“So, it’s still wet. And I hate getting wet.”
I shook my head and headed toward the bathroom. After I had splashed some water on my face and washed my hands, I walked over to the vending machine.
“Ella?”
I turned at the deep familiar voice behind me.
“Dudley?” Relief flooded my chest and I wrapped him in a hug. I pulled back and looked at him. “I thought you had been in that accident on the interstate.”
He grinned and blushed. “No ma’am. That happened after I passed that area. I did hear about it on the CB though. Sounded pretty bad.”
I blew out a breath.
“Oh look it’s a cat.” Dudley tried to crouch and held out his hand, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Nyx hissed and clawed at him.
“She doesn’t like to be called kitty. Her name is Nyx.”
“She’s yours Ella?” Dudley blinked.
“Apparently yes. We are sort of stuck together.” I eyed the cat who promptly turned her back and showed me her ass.
I looked back at Dudley. “Are you still headed to Springfield?”
“Yes ma’am. Need a ride?” He gave me a broad smile.
“Yeah I do. But I have to say goodbye to someone first.” I walked back over to Roger who was leaning against the hood of the car looking at me with interest.
“Old friend?” He nodded at Dudley.
“New friend.” I slugged him in the arm. “Apparently I’m making a ton of friends these days.”
“Just as long as they’re not friends with benefits.” He
grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “I’m guessing from the way he’s waiting on you you’ll be riding into Missouri with him.”
“Yeah. I kind of started this journey with him. I guess it’s right that I finish it with him as well.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you for everything.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He pulled back and gave me a confused grin.
“Well let’s see, you gave me your blood, ditched a conference to give me a ride, and were prepared to sacrifice yourself to a sex crazed witch to save me.”
“Wait I thought you were the sex crazed witch.” He smirked.
“I am. And don’t you ever forget it.” I arched my brow and stepped out of his embrace.
“Forget? I will never forget you, Ella.” His eyes glazed over as he stared.
“Good.” I gave him a quick kiss on his lips and walked away.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Don’t you dare piss on anything” I glared at Nyx as we climbed into Dudley’s black eighteen wheeler. The familiar scent of bean burrito greeted me.
“Are you talking to me, Ella? Cause I already used the bathroom at the rest area.” Dudley scratched his big belly and gave me a look of concern.
“No Dudley I was talking to Nyx.” I looked at my cat who crawled into the sleeping area of the cab and scowled.
“I had an aunt who used to talk to her cats. She died last year. We didn’t find her until a week later. Her cat had eaten off both big toes.”
“Shit.” I cringed and looked at Nyx. I swore that fucking cat was smiling at me.
“Well she was a diabetic and I guess they ate her toes ‘cause they had missed their meals. You really can’t blame them.” Dudley shrugged and started up the truck. The engine roared to life.
He pulled out of the rest area and onto the highway.
“Where did you want me to drop you off, Ella? You got family you’re going to see”
“No Dudley. I have a concert I’m going to.” My heart lunged at that bit of information.