Warlocks & Warfare_A Grimmer Legacy novel

by Eleanor Rousseau

  “If the parents find them like this they’ll probably freak out. The best thing we can do is watch them and keep them safe. Wes, why don’t you sneak back into the houses and grab them each a jacket or something so we can at least try to keep them warm,”

  He nodded and ran off back into the woods.

  “I thought he’d never leave.” Avon stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  “Don’t do that, I’m currently mad at you,” I said, turning to face him.

  “Me? What did I do?” He seemed genuinely puzzled.

  “You’ve been antagonising my brother ever since he got here.”

  “I haven’t, he’s just too easily riled. He’s the one who doesn’t think I’m good for you.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him with a wry smile, “Do you think you’re good for me?”

  He gave me a blank look, “That’s beside the point.”

  “Oh really?”

  He stepped closer, eyes darkening hungrily, “Really.” He cupped my face in both hands and kissed me, his mouth quickly dominating mine.

  “There are children present,” I reminded him, sounding breathless as he finally pulled away, kissing my neck.

  “They don’t seem bothered.” He lifted me as if I weighed nothing and pinned me against a tree, rubbing his body firmly against mine.

  My arms came around his neck and I moaned softly, biting my lip as my whole body flushed. Goddess, it felt amazing. “We can’t, Avon, so you really shouldn’t try to get me riled up,” I murmured.

  A small smile curled his lips, “Is that what I’m doing?”

  I gasped as he pressed harder against me and his hand gently squeezed my breast, “That’s definitely what you’re doing.”

  He flicked out his tongue to taste my neck. “Mmm, I like having you riled up.”

  “Stop it.” My words said one thing my tone may have made it sound more like ‘please don’t stop’.

  He grasped my hair and tugged playfully. I shivered against him and gave in to the urge to kiss his chin.

  “Seriously, you’ve got to stop.” This was so clearly not the time.

  “You’re mine, love,” he growled, kissing me with more urgency.

  I was definitely his. “Okay but not now.” I pushed him gently away.

  He nuzzled my neck. “I need you, love,” he breathed.

  Dear Goddess, give me strength. “You need a psychiatrist,” I murmured, stepping away from the tree.

  He squeezed my ass, “I need-”

  “A reality check,” growled Wes, leaping next to us and shoving Avon away from me. Avon took a step back but didn’t move any further, a human probably would have been thrown clear across the pool. “Keep your hands off my sister,” he snarled.

  Oh no. This wasn’t good.

  Avon bared his teeth. “She’s mine.”

  Wes’s eyes started to glow brightly, “She’s ours.”

  “She’s nobody’s!” I snapped. “For crying out loud, two children are bespelled and you two are acting infantile. The pissing contest was only cute for a few minutes.”

  Avon raised an eyebrow, seeming offended, “Cute?”

  I pointed to the kids and looked at Wes, “You, dress the kids, and you!” I turned to Avon.

  He blinked.

  “I like you, but I also like my bro’s. You don’t have to like them, they don’t have to like you but if you kill each other I’ll not be happy.”

  He took my hand and brought it to his mouth where he nipped gently at my skin. “I wouldn’t want that, little one.”

  I stepped closer, “When we’re alone you can be your normal unrestrained self but please behave around my family.”

  “What will I get if I comply?”

  I gave him a look that conveyed ‘anything you want’.

  “Oh,” he murmured, clearly he got the meaning.

  I smiled, “Good boy.”

  He growled playfully.

  “Someone’s coming,” said Wes suddenly, stepping back out of the water. He had put coats on the two kids who continued to play and was now sniffing the air.

  “Human?” I asked, glad that he at least was paying attention to what was important.

  He nodded slowly, “And something else, it’s the other thing, the thing with the weird scent.”

  “Which direction?”

  He raised his face to the wind. “Same way we came.”

  We turned to face that direction and waited. After only a few moments a young girl climbed over the rock, holding the hand of... A ghost? She looked like a normal woman except for the fact she was made up of a fog like substance.

  She didn’t look evil, she looked attentive as she smiled at the girl. They walked to the pool together and the girl joined the other two children while the woman sat on the grass and watched them contently.

  I walked closer and knelt beside her.

  “Kia, don’t,” Wes warned.

  I raised a hand to stop him and then carefully touched the spirit who solidified beneath my touch. She glanced at me, “Hello.” Her voice was both eerie and melodious. Energy traveled from the spirit, saturating my skin.

  “Hi there. You need to let the children go,” I said softly.

  She looked back at the children. “I get lonely, having them makes things better.”

  “Their parents are really worried and they won’t survive long if they keep this up.”

  She blinked, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.”

  “It’s okay, why don’t you just let them go and we can talk.”

  She nodded, “Of course.”

  She glanced at the children and they blinked sleepily, their eyes becoming clear. “Take them home,” I told Wes.

  “Let go,” he growled.

  “I’m fine, I just need a moment.”

  He yanked me back and I gasped as the otherworldly magic was severed from me. The nerve endings on my hand felt raw. He rested the toe of his boot against my shoulder to keep me down.

  “I had it!”

  “Don’t mess with the dead, that’s rule number one,” he growled, glaring down at me.

  “I’m okay, it was only a moment.”

  “A moment’s all it takes, that was reckless,” he chided.

  “Just get the children home,” I growled.

  “You share energy and you could turn Necro,” he said seriously.

  I glared up at him, “I know, better than you do. I also know what I can handle. Take care of the damn kids,” I said in a hushed tone.

  “I’ll make sure she doesn’t touch it,” said Avon, his voice rough.

  Wes glanced at him. “If she does she might as well be dead,” he said seriously.

  “I’m not going to let that happen.”

  I was still watching the ghost, as soon as I had let go she had gone back to watching the kids as if she’d forgotten I existed.

  “Come on, kids, let’s get you home,” said Wes. After some confusion, he was able to convince them to follow him back into town.

  The ghost watched them leave with a slightly distressed frown. After they were gone I moved closer to the ghost. Avon grabbed my arms, holding me in place. “I can’t send her on if I don’t touch her.”

  “I don’t give a damn, love, I care about you and although I don’t like your brother I trust him when it comes to your safety. There has to be another way.” He kissed my neck to soften the impact of his words.

  “Another way will take longer, you wanted this over with.”

  “And I want you safe. Safety is my priority,” he assured me, nipping at my earlobe.

  I glanced at him. “Never thought I’d hear a Daemon say that.”

  “I believe I’ve already made it clear that there are many things that distinguish me from my kin,” he said, a sour tone in his tone.

  I reached back and ran my fingers through his hair, “We should make an altar.”

  “If we need a virgin to sacrifice I can knock your brother out and hold him
down.”

  I laughed. “He is most certainly not a virgin, I know because he and his brother keep score, because they’re animals, literally and figuratively.”

  I felt his smile against my skin. “How do we make the alter?”

  “I need smooth stones, as big and flat as you can find.”

  “Right away, love.” He kissed my cheek before releasing me to gather what was needed. “You move and I will kick your sweet little ass,” he added.

  “That a promise?” I asked.

  He laughed, “Count on it.” He walked back over and dropped an armful of rocks in front of me then he leant down to capture my lips. He nipped playfully at my bottom lip before releasing me.

  He lay down on the grass, putting himself between me and the ghost. I chewed my lip gently as I began to stack up the stones. When they didn’t want to stay put I dug up a little dirty with my fingers and used it to hold them together.

  “Is this an official ceremony or are you just playing?” asked Avon by the time I was halfway through the construction.

  “I’m infusing each rock with earth magic,” I told him. It wasn’t hard because rocks came from the earth so the already held a tiny amount of the energy. It was just a process of drawing magic from our surroundings and storing it inside the stones.

  The process was easy but it was paramount that it was done with respect. I need to infuse it with warm, positive emotions or the result could be unpleasant. I filled it with affection and compassion, all the warm fluffy feelings that humans enjoyed.

  When it was done it was almost a foot tall. They I bent over to the pool and cupped the water in my palms before carefully pouring it onto the makeshift altar. Then I began murmuring Latin words.

  The words themselves didn’t matter all that much, although Latin was traditional, it was more the sound. The vibrations, having come from a witch, already contained magic and it was just the right frequency to activate the magic of mother nature, given there was enough of it.

  “Nice work,” came Wes’ voice as he reappeared. He may have been a cat shifter but he had `enough witch in him to sense the magic in the object. “Now, cast her in before she can do any more harm.”

  I frowned at him. She was really just a sad restless spirit, she hadn’t meant any harm, she probably hadn’t even realised what she was doing. I looked towards the woman and started humming.

  At first, she didn’t respond, she just sat there looking sad and deflated, but when I hit the right note her formed turned completely to mist and began to flow into the structure of rocks as I struggled to hold the note.

  As soon as the mist disappeared I gasped for breath.

  Avon sat up and bent to kiss my cheek, “You were incredible. Are we done now?” he asked, impatiently.

  I rolled my eyes, “Yes, we are.”

  Wes stepped closer and took my hand, “I can drive you home.” He shot Avon a dark look.

  “I have my own ride, Wes, I’ll see you during the week.”

  He frowned deeply, “I don’t trust him to be alone with you.”

  “He’s been alone with me for a couple of days now and I’m fine, Wes,” I said seriously.

  A muscle in his cheek twitched, apparently that wasn’t the right thing to say. “Why him, why not some nice young mage, or even a werewolf? Or even a human, like Anthony?”

  A growl rumbled through Avon’s chest. He didn’t like being reminded that one of my best friends was a handsome, wealthy male.

  I squeezed Wes’ hand, “I’m not asking you to understand, I just want you to accept it.”

  His eyes glanced between mine, searching for something. “I hate that he’s the one to make you happy,” he growled suddenly.

  I smiled, “Doesn’t change the fact.”

  “We are having a family meeting tomorrow evening, bring him,” he instructed before spinning around and walking away with the speed and grace of a cat shifter.

  “It is safe to leave your rock tower?” asked Avon once Wes was out of sight.

  I nodded, “Wes will talk to the authorities, make them aware of the situation and they’ll take the correct precautions.”

  He grinned, “So I can take you back to bed?”

  I tilted my face up to kiss his chin, “I don’t know, can you take me to bed?” I challenged.

  He scooped me up against him, “Not sure we’ll make it that far.” His grin was devilish.

  Chapter Six

  I napped lightly on the way home the next morning. I hadn’t gotten a whole lot of sleep during the night, thanks to a certain Daemon with surprisingly good stamina. He pulled over halfway home and leant over to kiss me.

  “I couldn’t resist any longer. The moment we get back I’ll have to go to work,” he murmured when he broke the kiss.

  I shifted closer, “I’ll have to go explaining this to my family,” I said, screwing up my nose in distaste.

  He smiled, “Come here.”

  I carefully moved across until I straddled his lap. He slid his chair back before grasping my neck to kiss me hungrily, with intent.

  “It’s the middle of the day,” I murmured when he finally broke the kiss to catch a breath, because he clearly wasn’t going to be content to stick to kissing.

  “No one comes this way,” he assured me as his hands explored my body and his mouth peppered my neck with kisses.

  It was only then that I realised he hadn’t just pulled up at the side of the road, we were off on some old dirt road in a wooded area. His hand slipped beneath my shirt and I moaned softly. My body should have been sore and tired but it still reacted to his touch, craved it.

  I kissed him back, surrendering to his desire as his hands slid beneath my clothing.

  “WELL, THAT WAS VERY impractical,” I murmured, brushing my fingers through my disheveled hair.

  He just grinned, “Next time we take a road trip you should wear a skirt.”

  “I never wear skirts.”

  “You did while you were cavorting with Anthony.” His voice was low and dangerous.

  I hadn’t been cavorting with anyone, I had been attending a formal function as Anthony’s bodyguard. “You know what I didn’t do with Anthony? What we just did.”

  He grumbled under his breath but seemed reassured somewhat by my response. “Should I drop you off at home, love?” he asked as we neared the city.

  “At the main office if you don’t mind.”

  “Very well, and what of this family meeting you are supposed to bring me too?”

  I smiled, “Oh, don’t worry, Raiden will make sure you can’t miss it.”

  “Okay, so how much armour and how many defensive weapons will I need to survive the encounter?” he enquired.

  I shook my head, “It wouldn’t help.”

  He smirked, “They’re going to kill me, aren’t they?”

  “My mother is going to adore you but if she offers you condoms they will have holes in.”

  He blinked, raising an eyebrow, “She’s that bad?”

  I nodded. My mother and I had a rather complicated relationship. I wanted to be free to live my own life independently and she wanted me to be responsible for siering the entire next generation of Grimmers.

  Why me? Well, that was where things got really, quite complicated.

  Less than an hour later we pulled up outside the main office. We both stepped outside and he walked around to meet me, “Stay safe, little one.”

  “I will,” I murmured kissing Avon goodbye passionately before walking inside. A human sat at the reception desk, it was Lisa, one of the few humans we hired. “Hey, Lis, where’s Jay?” I asked.

  “Out on assignment, most of them are out at the moment,” she told me.

  “Okay, I’ll be in the library if anyone has need of me.”

  I MET AVON AT THE DOOR in an attempt to run interference. He beamed when he saw me and bent to kiss me deeply. I melted against him, resting my hands against his chest. “Hey, little one,” he murmured as he nuzzled me.
r />   “Hey.” I kissed his cheek then stepped back to greet Raiden who had come up behind him.

  “Hey, cub.” He hugged me briefly.

  Then I was grabbed from behind as someone pulled me over his shoulder. “Tom!” I protested.

  “Dad was worried you would make a run for it as soon as your boyfriend got here,” he informed me as he carried me through the large house.

  I pushed myself up so I could see Avon as he followed closely behind. “Do you require assistance, little one?” he asked with amusement.

  “He won't hurt me, he’s a teddy bear.”

  “Grizzly,” he corrected. He was a skinwalker and half native American. They were like shapeshifters but were supposedly more spiritual beings. Although Tom was the least spiritual person I had ever met.

  “Put me down, you neanderthal!”

  “Sorry, baby sis, I’m just following orders.”

  More than likely his orders were just to keep an eye on me and he had chosen to take creative license and manhandle me.

  “Put the baby down, Tom.” That was one of my aunts, Amber. She liked to call me a baby, the fact I was legally an adult didn’t phase her.

  “Amber,” I said brightly as Tom dropped me to my feet.

  “You’re looking well, dear, why don’t you introduce me to your man.”

  I brushed my fingers through my hair to push it back into place, then I stepped back to Avon who wrapped an arm possessively around my waist. “This is Avon, Avon, my aunt Amber,” I introduced, chewing nervously at my lower lip.

  She smiled, “He’s handsome,” she acknowledged.

  “Really handsome,” agreed Gordo who came up behind Amber, tossing one arm over his sister’s shoulders.

  They were both looking at him with interest. “He’s mine,” I informed them firmly, possessiveness welling up unexpectedly in my chest.

  Gordo grinned, “If you say so, come here, missy.” He scooped me up into a hug.

  When he pulled back he turned to Avon, “We haven’t been formally introduced, I’m Gordo.”

  That’s right, they must have met when Avon and half my family had come to my rescue in the underworld.