She followed the grass.
Irene kept walking until it led her to an area that had more trees again, with a small clearing in the middle. Surprise filled her when she saw that the dark patches of grass were bigger in this area, forming a circle in the middle that looked more burnt than anything. An alarm rang in her head, telling her something was wrong, and she needed to get someone. To tell someone.
She knelt instead because she was a witch and had never really depended on anyone other than herself.
Hesitation had her pausing as she eyed the burn marks and looked for a pattern. When she found none, Irene let her magic surge again, letting the energy swirl at her palms. Then she placed one on top of the charred area and closed her eyes, pouring what she could into it and letting it simmer for a bit as if she was cooking stew.
Then she pulled.
Her first thought was that it would be hard, like pulling on a nail with her bare hands. But the magic returned to her easily like a hot knife on butter, sliding back into her system until she could feel it.
Until she could feel all of it.
Her magic transformed, filled to the brim now with a darkness that she hadn’t anticipated. That darkness swirled all over her skin, crawling and crawling into her blood vessels until she slowly felt her breath sharpening, felt her muscles turning numb. It was a darkness that came from the burnt grass, which turned out to be deliberate rather than accidental.
It was a darkness that was starting to creep inside her and consume her magic bit by bit.
Shock had her stilling on the spot. Then instinct kicked in, and her magic resurfaced to block it out. It felt like little strands trying to get everywhere, making her itch as it whispered things in her ear and caressed her like needle spikes. Those spikes slid into the magic, puncturing it repeatedly until it crumbled.
And the darkness consumed her.
She screamed in her head. Irene heard it, a ringing that was her voice, filled with panic and what might have been fear. Her magic scrambled, her energy a cacophony of nerves, as whispers of death and destruction kept pounding at her. Belatedly, she realized it was telling her that was what it wanted, and it was trying to guide her to do exactly that.
To use her magic to bring that death and destruction.
She lashed out, using her magic to try to break the hold. The darkness fought to stay, and the internal battle almost drove her crazy as it felt like she was being repeatedly punched. She kept screaming again, mostly to block out the seductive voice in her head telling her what to do.
Another scream joined her, and she heard her name, just as the strands of darkness slid up and tried to make its way to her brain.
Irene.
Irene.
IRENE!
Irene’s eyes snapped open. A hand clamped over her mouth, while another hand tried to hold her down. She struggled on instinct, trying to kick the weight off her before she realized that it was heavier than she expected and was fully on top of her. Her magic reached out to attack, and she heard a heavy groan before she finally comprehended that the person wasn’t trying to hurt her.
It was Nikolai, and he was trying to keep her wild struggling under control.
The darkness kept swirling inside her, but now that she was alert, she was more aware and able to use her magic fully to fight it. She gathered her energy again, let it surge on her fingers, stilling her body and feeling Nikolai still along with her. Then instead of blasting that energy out, she blasted it right in, where she felt it race after the dark strands and try to pound at them one by one.
Her body shook with the effort. She bit her lip to keep from screaming as those needle strands tried to retaliate and prickle her. Desperately, her eyes locked in on Nikolai’s, whose gaze was steady on hers and whose mouth was moving as he said words that slowly tried to make sense.
Let me absorb some of it. Let me help.
She nodded her head. She gritted her teeth as he pressed his body closer to hers, molding them together. Then he buried his head on her neck, and she slowly felt it—him absorbing her magic, just like he did with her force field.
She let him. She felt him stiffen as he felt the darkness, too, but her magic directed it properly, and he eventually learned how to wield it and fight the darkness off. Unable to focus on him anymore, she concentrated on herself and the darkness left inside her, able to fight it now that it had lessened. She did so bit by bit until all the strands were gone and she was left with nothing but the pureness of her own energy.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she focused back on Nikolai.
Irene managed to catch the last of the darkness leaving his body, with only her energy left in him. Then that left his body, too, transferring back to her in rough, serrated portions that had her body shaking again. His warm breath filled her neck, and her breath hitched when she felt his lips move there, intimate and quiet.
Slowly, he removed his head there and lifted it up inches away from hers. Their eyes locked again, and she tried her best to express her gratefulness. Instead, she found herself drowning in the awareness she found in his.
It was like he was staring into her soul again, opening her secrets up…and she wasn’t ready for it. Her body was. Oh, it really was, tingling and making her want to press even closer against him, even when that was a very bad idea.
But her mind was stronger, and it was what had her clearing her throat and breaking the connection.
“What are you?”
“A bear shifter with a particular set of skills.”
The way he said skills made her brain go somewhere else, and heat filled her stomach. An ache formed, and she cleared her throat again, trying to fight it and her suddenly dry mouth.
“Thank you for helping me,” she said.
“No problem,” he murmured.
Suspended silence hung in the air, one filled with tension.
“You can get off me now,” she stated.
Chocolate brown eyes darkened, and his mouth opened. His body did move, a tiny fraction that singed her with pleasure at the light rub.
Then he was off her, and she was scrambling to stand up on knees that were now weak for a completely different reason.
“What was that?” he finally asked.
Their moment disappeared, and dread returned. She turned to him, trying to find the right words. “I think that’s the enemy we’ve been waiting for.”
Chapter 7
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but Nikolai had never been the type to dwell on matters. So he accepted the answer as it was and led them out of that area and into the main road, where he called some of his officers to secure the place and make it off-limits.
Apparently, Irene had felt the interference in her magic last night—a buzzing sensation that had her investigating outside and finding out that her altered creatures were no longer there. She tracked them down, then did her best to return the magic that would keep them in witch territory.
When he asked if perhaps her magic had failed her, the look she shot him could have frozen hell over.
“My magic has never failed me. Something tampered with it, and I believe that darkness might have been connected to it.”
He believed her, which was why Nikolai found himself leading the way to an area he hadn’t visited in a while. He and the dragon shifter hadn’t been particularly friendly with each other, though things weren’t as bad as when the dragon shifter first came to town as a stranger and Nikolai considered him an enemy. Now, with the dragon’s secret out—that of a dragon’s blood being sustenance for a demon’s life—they sort of reached a truce, one that Nikolai found he could only maintain by keeping his distance.
When he knocked on the door now, it was opened by the dragon shifter’s mate, Hazel—one of the witch doctors in town…aka, Nikolai’s old lover. Hazel eyed him in surprise before her eyes widened at the sight of Irene.
“You helped us in the fight,” she said in greeting.
Irene shrugged, obviousl
y uncomfortable. “I was just defending my territory. They destroyed it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fixed now, so…”
It amazed Nikolai to watch Irene struggle with social interaction, especially when she was so blunt and sarcastic around him. But they had no time, and he turned to Hazel.
“Is Adam here? We believe the enemy might be here.”
“Ah, that.” Hazel sighed. “I felt it, too. Adam?”
Footsteps sounded, and a man appeared behind Hazel. Nikolai nodded his head in acknowledgment to the dragon shifter, who nodded his head back before staring at Irene.
Irene shuffled on her feet before squaring her shoulders, eyes widening in Nikolai’s direction: a silent order for him to just get this conversation done with.
Nikolai raised a brow at her before turning to Hazel again. “May we come in?”
“Sure.”
*****
With a little prompting, Irene talked with Hazel about her experience, and Nikolai left them alone to discuss whatever they needed to do to prevent it from happening again. He heard something about them informing the other witches before he tuned them out and joined Adam on the back porch, where he was sitting on the steps and gazing at the backyard’s garden. Nikolai leaned against the porch columns, folding his arms and gazing at the dark sky instead.
“The darkness tried to get to Hazel, too,” Adam said after a while. “It happened this afternoon.”
Nikolai glanced at the silver-haired man, who was brooding. “What happened?”
“It was…how do I describe it? It was tangible. It swirled all over the perimeter of our house and would have gotten in if Hazel hadn’t just fortified her house protection spell. It was like…”
“Black strands?”
Adam looked up in surprise. “Yes. How did you…?”
“It was in the park. It attacked Irene and tried to consume her magic. I felt it because I was trying to help her get rid of it.”
The dragon shifter didn’t ask how he helped get rid of it, and he didn’t provide an answer. Instead, Adam sighed in frustration. “I don’t like sitting here and just waiting for it, especially when the enemy is already planting seeds all around Orville. I want to fight.”
“We all do,” Nikolai replied calmly. “But we have to approach this carefully because we’re not the only ones involved. And I’m confident whatever Hazel and Irene conjure together will be the best option.”
It was the most conversation they had in a while, and they found themselves chatting some more about the reinforcements they made—Adam with his own protection, and Nikolai with the town borders. The witches had contributed their magic to it so that no outsider could step in undetected, but it looked like their enemy still managed to get in.
And it was only a matter of time before whatever the enemy was would show up in person.
A few minutes later, the women approached them out at the back, and the determination on both their faces told Nikolai there had been a lot shared and decided. Hazel said she’d update the council on the game plan they had tomorrow, and she took Nikolai aside to the kitchen, where she leveled him with serious eyes.
He’d once found those eyes attractive, but now he felt nothing.
“Stay with her for the night,” she advised.
“What do you mean?”
“I knew Irene was powerful, but I didn’t realize how powerful until she let me use a spell to check. Nik, her energy is as large as Adam’s, and the darkness already had a taste. It’s going to come back for her.”
He didn’t like that at all—didn’t like that the darkness was confirmed, didn’t like that Irene was now one of its targets. He nodded his head curtly. “What’s your game plan?”
“Irene will explain everything to you. We’ll make use of her experience. Just take care of her. I’ll take care of Adam.”
“I will,” he said.
Then they were off, with Irene staying quiet the whole time in his car’s passenger seat. She was staring straight ahead, her shoulders tense even while she appeared calm.
“Hazel said you’ll tell me about the game plan. What is it?”
The words, instead of easing her into conversation, made her lips tighten and a frown touch her mouth. The urge to rub it off with his thumb startled him. She kept stubbornly staring straight ahead, ignoring him until she couldn’t anymore.
Then she sighed.
“If you must know…”
“Well, yes, considering I’m sheriff and all.”
She shot him a look, then stared ahead again. “The plan is for all the witches to work together.”
“To…?”
“We’ll wait for the enemy. When it comes, we will divide tasks. Hazel will keep Adam disguised until the very last minute; the other witches will fight any smaller demons that might come again. For now, they’ll search other burn marks in town and seal them up.”
“And you?”
“I’ll amplify my energy and replicate the dragon’s. That way, the enemy will come after me.”
That wasn’t what he expected, and Nikolai reacted spontaneously—by putting his foot on the break. The car jerked to a halt as he navigated it to the side, where he turned to glare at her.
“You’re going to fight the enemy?”
Irene nodded. “I’m the most powerful witch in Orville. It’s my duty. I made my promise to help you, and now I made the same promise to her.”
“Bullshit.”
She blinked at his words, then turned to look at him in shock. “What?”
“I wanted you to help, not to put yourself first in line.”
“This is the most reasonable option.”
“This is suicidal. I won’t allow you to do it.”
Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. Blue-green eyes flashed, and he found himself distracted before he focused in on the problem again. She was speaking now, her words snapping on top of each other.
“You have no say in what I can or cannot do. What is wrong with you? I can handle it.”
“I know you can.”
“Then what is wrong? You propositioned me to do this, Nikolai. Why would you disagree now?”
“Because,” he growled.
An image of earlier flashed in his mind—of Irene shaking and the fear he tasted when they shared power. The memory still licked at his skin, and he knew it was a sight he didn’t want to see again.
He didn’t want her hurting like that again.
The realization set in as he stared at her, taking in the sight of her in his passenger seat. Her body was shaking again, but it was with indignation as she tried to haughtily explain to him why she absolutely needed to help and do this right. Frustration slammed inside him as he watched her frizzy hair vibrate along with her body, as he watched those magical hands move as she tried to indicate her feelings on the matter.
“Why do you want to help so badly?”
“Because,” she yelled. “Because…” Her shoulders slumped. “Because she’s nice to me. No one has ever been that nice to me. And Hazel meant it.”
Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize what she just blurted out, and she scrambled away. But Nikolai was already reaching out, placing his hands on her elbows and pulling her in. His other hand went to the back of her neck, and awareness slid in her gaze, darkening it.
Then he yanked her closer and crashed his mouth to hers.
He’d had plenty of kisses, but nothing like this—and he realized all the rest paled in comparison, as magic swirled around them and heated their body up instantly. Desire boiled in his blood, one he didn’t know was there as he moved his lips against hers and tasted everything: the hint of honey, the bright energy, the sensuality that he hadn’t expected would be under all that hardness. A sound came from her throat, one that sounded like a moan. His body responded, the lust shooting up and making him hard.
Then she was pushing him off.
“Take me home,” she insisted, her voice alm
ost shaking. Almost.
He took a deep breath, still lost in the kiss. But she was staring straight ahead again, her arms crossed now and indicating that the kiss was done, and there was nothing more where that came from.
Nikolai inwardly cursed, desire and frustration pounding in his system.
Then he proceeded to drive.
Chapter 8
She was just about to step into her home when she felt Nikolai’s hand on her wrist, making her pause and her breath catch in her throat at the same time. She turned sideways to him, not really facing him but waiting as he walked closer and stopped a few inches away.
The urge to say plenty of things came, and she realized she couldn’t tamp them down. Irene whirled around.
“It was the magic that made that kiss feel good,” she blurted out. “Nothing else. It was just magic, and I don’t want you to misinterpret anything between us.”
“I’m not misinterpreting anything.”
His words had her blinking, then calming down. A sharp disappointment slid up her chest, but she banked it down and told herself it was for the best. Of course, he wouldn’t misinterpret it. He was Nikolai, after all—the sheriff with the reputation, who probably had too many hot kisses in his lifetime to consider the one they shared anything but ordinary. It didn’t matter what she thought.
It didn’t matter how she felt about it, because it was over and never happening again.
“Good to know,” she muttered after a while. “Thank you for taking me home.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Take care on your way out. Don’t pass by non-safe zones.”
She left it at that and finally stepped inside, closing the door and locking it for good measure. When she got to her living room, Irene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she let it out, letting out the tension and tiredness along with it as she rolled her shoulders.
Yes, she was bait. But that was fine with her because she was better prepared to face it now. She wasn’t kidding when she told Nikolai that Hazel was kind, and so was Adam—and that kindness touched her, as she realized that perhaps not everyone in town was against her.
Bear Guards: A Paranormal Romance Page 25