“Did you get anything more from the folder in the lab?”
She nodded. “Yes. It looks like they were extracting something called protsahaan, which loosely translated, means persuasion.”
“Huh?”
“Apsara’s have certain persuasive qualities. They can make men do what they want, feel what they want them too, that kind of thing.”
“So these creatures were extracting the apsara’s ability?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“What about the memory loss?”
“The equipment is being examined. I’ll have more info at our next debriefing.” She stood and put the chair back against the wall. “Both Banner and Vritra wanted to speak to you. Do you want me to tell them you’re feeling unwell?”
I didn’t believe for one minute Banner was responsible for the attacks. Vritra was another case entirely. I didn’t know him well enough. It could all be a huge coincidence, but then it may not.
“No. I’ll speak to them both. We can’t risk tipping them off that we’ve made any kind of connection.”
“Good call.” Her gaze became speculative.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I’ll be outside if you need me.”
She left me to my thoughts, but I wasn’t alone for long. The door opened thirty seconds later and the room was filled with the scent of cinnamon.
Vritra hovered by the door. “You didn’t know, did you?”
He didn’t need to spell it out. I shook my head.
He inclined his. “You need to come with me. I can keep you safe.”
It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. A completely out of the blue unreasonable demand. He didn’t know me. Until a few days ago I hadn’t even been on his radar. Wait a second, the first time we’d met he’d known my name.
I locked gazes with him. “What do you know about me?”
“Well, now I know you are asura. I can feel it, although it was hidden before.” His eyes narrowed. “Who hid you?” He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. The demand was implicit in his hard even tone.
I swallowed. He made me nervous, but damned if he was going to know that. “I don’t know. Now you answer me. How did you know my name the first time we met?”
Vritra snorted. “Carmella Hunter, the silver-blonde sidekick to Malina Hayes, our most recent savior. Shaitan Enterprises has files on all the players. Although from what I’ve read you weren’t much of an active one.” His ember eyes narrowed. “It looks like that may be changing, so you will come with me. You belong with your people.”
His people? As in the asura? “Whoa, wait a minute. I’m also a witch. The covens are my people too.”
He made a dismissive noise. “Mortals playing with magick they don’t understand. You are more than that Miss Hunter. More than they will ever be.”
The derisive drawl to his tone had my hackles rising. “And I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
He stared at me levelly. “There is a power-play between the covens, and now your true nature has been revealed, you are in danger of becoming a pawn in this game. Come with me, and cut ties with your witch heritage.”
Was he serious? He was asking me to lop off a part of who I was. The part I’d yearned for all my life.
“If I’m going to give up anything it’s the asura part.” I lifted my chin. “I’m proud of my witch heritage, and I intend to keep it, thank you very much.”
“So you don’t care to discover who sired you?”
Why was he looking at me like that? Shit … no it couldn’t be, could it?
He let out a short bark of laughter. “No, Miss Hunter. My intentions toward you are far from paternal.”
The pulse in my throat jumped.
He leaned in, and his energy pressed against mine, testing and probing. I held my breath, afraid to move or show any weakness as his predatory gaze swept over my face. The pressure increased and tendrils of power seeped into my personal space, sending a shiver over my skin.
“You’ll make the wise choice.” He said lethal soft. “Asura are drawn to one another for a reason Carmella. We are meant to be together. Together we are a powerful unit. We are a force to be reckoned with. We are a shield.”
He stepped back and I could breathe again.
“The doors to Shaitan Enterprises are open to you night and day.” He walked to the exit. “We’ll be waiting for you to come home.”
The door closed behind him and I sagged against the bed. Wait … he hadn’t actually told me who my father was.
Banner stepped into the room, his expression tight. “Are you all right? What did he say? I told him you wouldn’t want to see him. The man is an arrogant monster.”
I shook my head. “Just … please, just take me home.”
25
I ’d slept fitfully at Banner’s mansion and woken with the desire to just go home. Banner hadn’t been too happy about it, but it wasn’t like he could chain me up in his house. Okay, maybe he could, but he wouldn’t. I’d expected to find the place trashed, but someone had been kind enough to tidy up. It even smelled nice. I’d have to thank Melody when I saw her at the debriefing. This was above and beyond.
The sofa-bed had been folded into sofa position and I plonked my butt down.
Banner strode in behind me. The conflict was there on his face, the urge to wrinkle his nose at my humble abode. It was almost comical.
“Cozy, isn’t it?” he said. “Nice open-plan set up.” He sighed abandoning his polite assessment. “Please come and stay with me for a couple more days. Hannah can make delicious food. We can drink lemonade on the veranda while watching the sunset …” He gave me his most winning smile.
My lips twitched. “As tempting as that sounds, I need to get back to normality. I have a job, a soup kitchen to run, and a debriefing with Melody in two days’ time. I just need to get my feet back under the table.”
Banner sighed. “Nothing’s going to be normal, Carmella. You’re a witch-blood asura. A unique combination. The Mayfair Coven is going to want to claim you. They’ll woo you, hard. And Vritra … if he wanted you before, he’ll be like a bloodhound now he knows you’re one of them, with a side bonus of skein access.”
My tummy fluttered at the mention of Vritra. The man both fascinated and repelled me. But I couldn’t deny that the thought of being accepted in the witch community gave me a tiny thrill. It was all I’d ever wanted … to be like mother, to be one of them.
Banner must have read my thoughts on my face because he perched his butt on the sofa beside me. “Just don’t rush into any decision. You don’t need to be affiliated to anyone. You can be an independent witch.”
“Why aren’t you independent?”
He snorted. “Trust me, if I had half your potential I would be. You manipulated the skein at Elder Witch level … maybe even High Witch level, no spell required. And you’ve only just found your connection to magick.”
“So it’s a power thing? You don’t think you’re powerful enough?”
He tucked in his chin. “It’s more than that. Some of us need others to define us. The weaker make us stronger, and so we surround ourselves with those people. The ugly make us feel beautiful and so we ensure that we are seen with them. It’s the same in the covens. One witch’s power has value only when measured against the power of another witch. And so we arrange ourselves in a hierarchy and tell ourselves it’s to promote order, when really all we’re doing is promoting our own self-worth.” He glanced across at me. “You don’t need to be like us. You can be free from it all. Just … be yourself.”
I lay back against the sofa and tipped my head up to look at the ceiling. “I need to know who did this to me.”
“Who bound your power?”
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to call mum but she hasn’t picked up. My Aunt Constance is on holiday for another week. I just … I need answers. She must know something.”
Banner reached for my hand, ta
king it between both his. “Have you considered the possibility that your mother may have done this to you?”
I pulled my hand from his grasp. “No. She was devastated when I didn’t exhibit any power. It’s what drove a wedge between us. If anything I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic to find out I’m not a dud after all.”
“But you’re asura, which means your father was a demi-god. She must have known that?”
“Maybe. Who knows? It’s not like the asura are renowned for honesty, or for being monogamous. She married my dad when she was pregnant with me, that much is clear from the dates. Maybe this god knocked her up and left her? I don’t know.”
“It’s forbidden for a witch to procreate with anyone but another witch or a human. If she did know she’d have hidden it. Marrying a human and claiming you were a witch-blood would have been the ideal cover.”
I shook my head. “No. She loved my dad. I know it. I saw it in the way they looked at each other. There’s something we’re missing. I need to speak to her.”
And there was no time like the present. Swinging my legs off the couch, I stood and stretched.
Banner looked up at me, questions in his eyes.
I gave him my most winning smile. “Fancy driving me to see my mum?”
He pretended to adjust his non-existent tie. “Well, Miss Hunter, is it meet the parents already? I must be doing something right.”
“Ha, ha. Come on, and if you’re really good I’ll buy you dinner on the way back.”
“Fine, it’s not like I’m an elder witch with tons of important paperwork to do …”
Oh, shit, I was being presumptuous. “Sorry. If you have to go and work then—”
He raised both brows. “And miss the thrilling conclusion to this story? No thank you.”
“Thank you … I …” He was being so good to me even though our part in this case was over, even though he was getting nothing from it. “I really appreciate you being there for me.”
His expression sobered. “I’ve never had a female friend before. Well, not one who hasn’t wanted to sleep with me or use me for my status. This is refreshing. Thank you.”
He had a mushy tender look on his face, totally at odds with his bad boy, playboy persona, and a fist tightened around my heart. See, why couldn’t I fall in love with a guy like him?
He cleared his throat. “I’ll meet you in the car.”
The door closed softly behind him just as my phone buzzed.
Drake’s name flashed up on the screen. We parted on shitty terms last time we’d spoken. Guilt gnawed at my belly. He couldn’t help who he loved, just like I couldn’t help having loved him. But I was over him. We were over. Paimon had helped me with that.
My lips curled in a smile, and I answered. “Hey Drake, how are you?”
“I’m fine. But you …” He blew out a breath. “I heard what happened to you.”
“Well, news travels fast.”
“You appeared on the skein, Carmella, and then my contact at the IEPEU told me about a witch-blood who was torn to shreds and then healed herself.”
So I was famous now. “I’m fine. I’m okay.”
“I’m glad. I just wish you could have come to me for help. We used to be friends.”
“No Drake, we weren’t friends. We were lovers. And that’s over now. But maybe we can learn to be friends? Starting now?”
He exhaled. “I’d really like that.”
A weight lifted off my chest. “So, how’s life? How’s Pen?”
“Good, all good. Look. You’ll probably be getting an invite to the Mayfair mansion any day now. They know about you. About what you are. Things might get confusing. Just know I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”
There is a power-play between the covens, and now your true nature has been revealed, you are in danger of becoming a pawn in this game. Vritra’s words came back to haunt me. So, maybe he was right, but this was my world now, and I needed to learn to navigate it.
“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll speak to you soon.”
It was time to find out what my mother knew. Answers were well overdue.
26
M um didn’t answer the door. She hadn’t answered my calls, so there was no surprise there. She was probably out.
“Should we come back later?” Banner asked.
I’d come this far, and she had to come home sometime soon. “No, we can wait out back. The summerhouse will be unlocked.”
Banner followed me around the side of the house into the back garden. This had been my favorite place to lounge as a child. Huge patio doors would fold out onto wrap-around decking overlooking the lush lawn, and I’d lie on the decking with a book and a cold drink and laze away the summer days.
I made a beeline for the summerhouse, a long building at the bottom of the garden.
“Um … Carmella?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you should see this.” Banner waved me over to the patio doors.
Strange, the blinds were open. Mum always drew them when heading out. Wait, they weren’t just open, they were gone. In fact everything was gone. Every stick of furniture. Gone.
“No, it can’t be.” She couldn’t have. My eyes burned and I blinked back the hot tears. “We should go. I’m starving.”
“Carmella. It’s okay to be upset.”
No it wasn’t. I wouldn’t allow it to be. She was gone. She’d moved and not even bothered to let me know. That told me all I needed to know. She’d just severed the final tie binding us.
Leaving Banner behind, I strode back around to the front of the house and stood by the car. I needed to be gone, back to my flat, away from his sympathetic gaze. I needed to be alone before the tears came.
_____
Going home and crying was not an option. Why waste tears over someone who cared so little for me? Instead I asked Banner to drop me at the soup kitchen. We weren’t due to open for another hour, but Victor would be there getting set up.
Sure enough, the doors were unlocked and I found Victor in the kitchen poring over a sheaf of papers.
“What you got there?”
He handed them to me. “Is this … a lease?”
He nodded. “Two years lease, fully paid, for the floor above.”
“How did you pull that off?”
“I didn’t. It was on the mat when I unlocked today.”
Another anonymous benefactor? The signature was by Patala Law, which didn’t tell me anything about who’d actually sent us this gift. The law firm was pretty popular in the city.
“What do you want to do?” Victor asked.
“What can we do? It’s been paid for, so we use it.” If someone wanted to help us out so be it. “We need to see if we can round up some second-hand beds, maybe get some local depots to donate bedding, that kind of thing.”
Victor nodded. “I’ll get the boys on it.”
“Thanks,” I smiled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Honestly this place just wouldn’t run the same with you gone.”
His eyes crinkled in a smile. “I have no intention of going anywhere. This place does good work. People need it. I’m in it for the long haul.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what he did in his spare time. Where he lived and what his hobbies were. But that wasn’t the kind of relationship we had. We had the kitchen, and any questions outside of kitchen business would remain unanswered. Victor had entered my life like a blessing, and I’d learned early on that he didn’t like to talk about himself.
“I was wondering …” he swallowed. “With the new accommodations, there should be someone here at night to keep an eye on the residences. Someone to make sure we allocate the beds fairly and keep the place clean.”
“Shit. Of course. We’ll need to find someone.” My heart sank. “No one’s going to volunteer to do it. We’ll have to pay someone.” I’d have to move in, which meant I wouldn’t be able to open the bakery. But Urvashi was cool, she’d move my shifts around. We
’d work it out.
“I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me taking on the role?” Victor asked.
What? “Seriously?” What was I saying? Victor was always serious. “I mean, that would be awesome. Thank you!” On impulse I reached out to hug him.
He stepped back, ducking his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I best get set up.” He walked over to the fridge, stocked with left-overs from the night before. “We’ll put this stuff out first. Honey will be along with fresh stuff later.”
It was his cue for us to move on and forget the awkward.
“I’ll get the plates and stuff set up.” Leaving him to his pondering, I headed into the main room and the counter. He’d already brought the crate of plates out, all washed. We’d started off using disposables, but found them to be too flimsy for the kind of food we served, plus the Styrofoam ones ended up costing too much over time, so we’d managed to wrangle a donation from a local supermarket. Thank goodness for the huge dishwasher.
Setting them on the counter with a clatter, I set to work piling them up at the end of the tables.
“Hello, not so human.”
That snarky tone. “Mira?”
She stood on the other side of the counter in her Gemma form.
“What are you doing here?” I looked past her, to the door.
“He’s not here.”
Of course he wasn’t. “What do you want?”
“To give you this.” She placed a golden cuff on the table.
“Are you serious?” But … to be connected to him again …
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get all worked up. It’s not what you think. It’s not a binding, it’s a summoning cuff. Not that my lord would be compelled to come to you or anything, just that he would be aware you were calling to him.”
The cuff winked and gleamed enticingly. “So I put this on, and if I need Paimon I can … call him?”
“Yes.” She huffed. “Not that I approve. Our deal is over. You played your part. We have four of our djinn back and the information we need to hunt the culprits. But my lord feels he owes you the courtesy of his protection.”
Binding Magick: an Urban Fantasy Novel (The Witch Blood Chronicles Book 1) Page 16