Warlocks & Warfare_A Grimmer Legacy novel
Page 1
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Epilogue
Warlocks & Warfare
Grimmer Legacy Series: Book Two
By Eleanor Rousseau
© 2017 by Eleanor Rousseau
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights reserved under copyright above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise) without proper written permission of the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, media, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark owners of the various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication of these trademarks is associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Epilogue
Other titles by Eleanor Rousseau
Note from the author
Chapter One
My history with the old Warlock was complicated. To say we really didn’t get along would be the understatement of the century. I worked for the Grimmers, a family orientated mercenary association dedicated to protecting humans from any and all supernatural threats.
The Warlock was definitely one of those threats and he had a nasty habit of kidnapping me. Not that he was the only one. In fact, I had still been recovering from my last kidnapping when I had fallen straight into the hands of the Warlock. Again.
Physically, I was almost back on top form. Mentally, not so much. Which is why I was sitting on a cot in a glass box with bloody knuckles and a bruised ego, reflecting on the past couple of months.
A lot had happened. I had stolen a powerful weapon that half the supernatural world would have killed for to help kidnap the consort of Morox, Lord of the underworld. Then I had been kidnapped by Morox as a replacement for his previous consort.
That was quite the ordeal.
Luckily, I had escaped with a little help from my family and a couple of rogue supernaturals that I had recently befriended. I hadn’t, however, escaped unscathed. The worst of the physical injuries had been a fractured hip, an injury which had been made worse due to repetitive strain.
It still ached whenever it got too cold.
And in a more unexpected development, I had gotten myself a guy, sort of. We hadn’t actually slept together yet, he had been very considerate of my injuries and my struggle to readjust after returning from the underworld.
And now I was stuck in a goddamn box.
Misha returned and I rose to my feet, arms crossed over my chest. “You can’t keep me here, they will come after you,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
He, however, seemed calm as ever. The bastard seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. “I think we’ve got a little time before they start looking.”
“I’m supposed to meet someone tonight and if I’m not there he’ll come looking,” I growled.
The Warlock pulled out the phone I had borrowed from my brother. “That would be Avon? I see you texted Jason to tell him to ask the boy to wait for you if he gets there before you returned.”
“Put that down, it’s none of your business!” I snapped.
“I think a father should have the right to vet any men who show interest in his daughter.” He smirked, bright blue eyes filled with arrogant self-assurance.
I glared daggers through the glass. Technically he was my father but only on a biological level. In all other respects, he meant nothing to me. Less than nothing, I despised the man. “Why have you locked me in here?” I demanded.
“You took something from me.”
Oh, right. The powerful magic weapon I’d stolen had been in one of his properties. “You didn’t seem to be using it.” I had really hoped it would take longer to catch up with me.
“I wasn’t but I couldn’t help but notice that you did.”
So, not only had he realised I was the one who’d taken it but he’d heard rumours of what had gone down in the Underworld. “I guess I just got lucky.”
“Half of the castle belonging to the Lord of the Underworld was destroyed by the Axitross, did you think I’d fail to learn about it?”
“I never used the Axitross.” Because technically I hadn’t, I had just unlocked it, allowing Avon to use it.
“No, that must have been your boyfriend, right?”
Anger bubbled up inside me. I didn’t want him knowing anything about me or my life, especially my love life. “I can’t get you the Axitross, even I don’t know where it is and it’s too powerful for them to hand over in exchange for me.”
“That is unfortunate but I’m more interested in you.”
Shit, that was way worse. “Me?” It shouldn’t have surprised me, last time he had claimed that he had a desire to observe the girl who had his blood coursing through her veins, but still, I would have thought he was more concerned about the Axitross.
“I underestimated you, in more ways that one.”
“People have a tendency of doing that. It’s usually why they end up dead.” I shot him a pointed look.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Kia, I just want to help you evolve.”
What a load of bullshit. “I might believe that if you hadn’t locked me in a box!” I slapped my palm against the glass.
“To be honest I didn’t expect your reaction to be so aggressive.”
“What, you think being kidnapped gets easier with practice?” I was shouting but he absolutely deserved to be shouted at.
“No, but I didn’t expect you to think that hurting yourself was the correct response.” He glanced down at my knuckles.
“It may surprise you to discover that I am not mentally stable.” I slapped the wall again. “I’m told it’s an inherited trait!”
“Relax, I will provide you with all the comforts you require for the duration of your stay.”
“And how long do you expect
my stay to be?”
“As long as it takes for me to assess and develop your capabilities. With any luck, it won't take long.”
I shook my head, “That’s not going to happen. Avon will come looking the moment he find’s out I’m not where I’m supposed to be.”
“Not if he believe’s you’re blowing him off.” He started dialling.
“Wait, stop, what are you doing?”
He walked closer to the wall and flicked a switch on a small panel.
He pressed a button on the mechanical collar around his neck. “Jay,” he said in my voice.
“Put that phone down!” I ordered, slapping the glass but he didn’t appear to hear me. Had the asshole actually muted me?
“Dante received a threatening letter and is rather alarmed so I think I’ll stay on this a little longer,” he said, still sounding like me.
I couldn’t quite hear what was going on at the other end but there was a breif pause.
“Um, could you ask him to reschedule?”
Another pause.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“I hate you, you son of a bitch!” I yelled.
“Just tell him we’ll talk next time I see him,” he said in a serious tone before adding, “Yes, I’m fine. I just need a little space.” And then he hung up.
He reached over to flip the same switch.
“Why do you hate me?” I demanded.
“I don’t hate you, dear, although taking the Axitross was a rather large inconvenience. I could never hate my own child.”
“I am only related to you by blood, my real father is James Graham,” I growled.
James was my stepfather. He had married my mother before I was born. The result of my birth wasn’t some sordid affair or something that was a shameful secret. In my family, we had a very different view of what might be considered ‘shameful’ behaviour.
“You’re wrong, child, you have all my power, if only you could unleash it.”
“I’m aware that as the child of the most powerful Witch and Warlock in the city I’m supposed to be all powerful but I’m also sure that you’re aware the only magic I possess involves some minor spell weaving and the ability to melt metal into a useless puddle of goo.”
That last one was the reason he had put me in a glass box, instead of some kind of cage. The last time it had been a cage, although it had been made of iron which was immune to all magic, even mine.
Fortunately, the screws holding it together hadn’t been made of iron and I had been able to escape.
“You haven’t fully explored your gifts, this is why you use no more power than the average witch or even a powerful mage. You are capable of so much more. I’d bet you haven’t even unlocked your eidetic memory.”
“I don’t have an eidetic memory, I have a perfectly normal memory.”
“But you don’t. You have memories, memories you can’t explain having. Maybe you have memories of you as a baby, something you couldn’t possibly remember.”
How could he possibly know that? “You’re insane.”
“No, I’m right. An eidetic memory is a gift from my ancestors. It’s one of many gifts and one that is your birthright. Come here,” he ordered.
I walked cautiously towards the area where he stood. I would have rather stayed away but if he thought I was curious about what he had to offer maybe he’d let his guard down. There was a glass box sticking out of the wall where food could be transferred to the prisoner. This sucked.
“I have kept a close eye on you over the years, Kia, every since I learned of your existence yet you slipped through my fingers. You are rather brilliant but you seem rather adamant about proving yourself to be merely adequate.”
That was true in some ways. Throughout school, I had gotten by on average grades, and I often pretended to be weaker and less perceptive than I was, but that was only so I would have the upper hand when people inevitably underestimated me.
I didn’t have any illusions of grandeur, I wasn’t all that powerful. In fact, I was one of the weakest members of my family, at least when it came to magic capabilities.
“I am adequate but I’m secure enough that I’m okay with it,” I informed him.
He opened his side of the box and put his hand inside. “Touch my hand and think about what you were doing this time last month.”
I stared at his hand for a moment before opening my side and reaching inside. What did I have to lose?
My fingers brushed his and suddenly I was back in a hotel room, a really nice, expensive place. Avon was just stepping out of the bathroom, having showered.
“Not her. I doubt she’s even looking for me.” I had said and that was the moment I had looked up at him. His dark hair had still been dripping with water and his shirt clung to his chest which must have still been slightly damp when he had put it on.
I could remember the exact way his muscles had shifted and a small look of pleasure had crossed his face as I had surveyed him. I remembered the exact way his eyes had sparkled with amusement as he had asked, “Still with us, little one?”
I hadn’t noticed it at the time but he had been pleased by the attention I had been paying to him.
I blinked, pulling away from the memory. “We had been getting ready to steal the Axitross,” I murmured, then jerked my hand back suddenly. “How did you do that?” I demanded.
He grinned proudly. “I just unlocked a power you already had. You truly are my child.”
“If you really were a responsible parent you wouldn’t lock me up here!” I slapped the glass again.
“I just had a point to make and I think I’ve made it. If you wish to learn more about your capabilities, and I believe you will, you know where to find me.” He walked over to the panel and flicked another switch. The lock behind me clicked.
“You’re letting me go, just like that?”
He smiled. “I’m being a responsible parent,” he said with amusement.
I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I ran, out the door, up three flights of stairs and then out onto the street. Then I began to head home at a steady jog.
By the time I arrived home I was tired and my hip was aching but I was in good shape so the journey hadn’t taken too long.
I arrived just as an unfamiliar blue car pulled up out front. Avon stepped out and I ran into his arms. “Good evening, love,” he said softly and suddenly I didn’t care that my father was crazy, that he was intent on trying to manipulate me.
I was home.
I pulled back and he sighed heavily as he took both my hands in his and studied my knuckles. “What happened, love?” he asked, raising my hand to softly press kisses to my fingers.
“It was silly, I’m still having a little trouble keeping calm.”
“Do you still want to go out?” he asked, his dark eyes filled with compassion.
I nodded, “I do.”
Luckily Jay hadn’t had time to tell him our plans were supposedly cancelled.
He smiled, “Then allow me to heal this.” He placed his hands over mine and I felt a familiar soothing warmth wash over my skin. Then he pulled me closer, cupping my cheeks to kiss me tenderly.
I melted against him, parting my lips at his gentle encouragement. His taste filled my mouth as his tongue teased mine. My head span and his arm came around my waist, holding me tighter against him.
When he pulled away I gasped for breath. He smiled and brought my hands back to his mouth as he sucked gently at my skin, cleaning the blood from the freshly healed wounds with his tongue.
He didn’t show any particular dislike for the taste of blood which wasn’t altogether unsurprising. He was half demon after all. He took my hand in his and guided me around to the passenger seat.
He held the door open and I slid inside. He climbed into the driver's seat and pulled away. “I remembered this.” He pulled out my phone and offered it to me.
“Thanks. I’ll just give Jay a call to let him know I’m okay.”
&nb
sp; He shot me a smile.
“If this is the Fey again I’m not sending nude pics,” said my brother.
I laughed, “Sorry. Avon must have let Grant get his hand’s on my phone. I’ve got it back now so please don’t send nude pics.”
He laughed too. “You alright, honey? You sounded off earlier.” Jay was rather intuitive, he had no way of knowing for sure that it hadn’t been me but clearly, he had sensed that something was not quite right.
“I’m fine. Job’s over, I’m with Avon now.”
“And the threatening letter?”
“It was nothing. I’ll tell you more when I get back, okay?” I really just wanted to pretend the whole thing had never happened.
“Okay. Have a good night, kid.”
“You too.” I hung up and looked at Avon. “So where are we going?” I asked curiously.
“A place where it’s just us, no nosy Fey’s or concerned family members.” He glanced at me, his brown eyes warm with promise.
I smiled, “Somewhere no one can find us?”
He nodded, “Absolutely. You’ll be all mine.” He lifted my hand and nipped playfully at my skin.
I relaxed back against the seat as I watched the world pass us. “Are we leaving the city?” I asked.
“Yes, but we’re not going too far,” he assured me, rubbing my fingers against the dark stubble on his chin. He placed my hand on his knee as he switched gear. I’d never before been so casually intimate with a guy. I hadn’t had much of a dating life before him and never had I felt so comfortable with someone so soon. It was ironic really, given that he was half demon.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been out of the city, not counting my recent trips to the underworld.”
“Then I am happy to be the one to accompany you.” He shot me a charming smile. Hmm, I guess this was what a Daemon looked like when he was on his best behaviour.
I smiled back, “How was work?”
He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Mundane. You know what I hate most about working?” He glanced my way.
My smile widened, “What?”
“Working with people. People are assholes. The guys in the kitchen are fine, it’s the customers that make me want to commit mass murder,” he said with mock seriousness. At least, I didn’t think he was genuinely serious.