“I don’t have to sit here and listen to you insult me. I have a lot of shit left to do today. Good luck deciding who did it.”
He slammed the door and walked over to his car, irritated and not wanting to cool down. They’d almost both been injured badly—he was sure the Cauldwells could have at least done that, even if they weren’t supposed to kill. And now he was about to be discovered, but Dane couldn’t get past needing to assign blame. Sean wanted to figure out who had killed Bethany and hold that person responsible for it, but his own mind was a bit more important to him. He went home, had a drink from Dane’s bottle out of spite, and got to grading his papers.
The week was hellish. Sean was ridiculously busy on account of skipping much of his work over the weekend, and everything was slow and boring. Dane never bothered to text. He began to wonder whether they were over and all he had to look forward to was a visit from the Order, which Sean was growing more certain with each passing day they’d show up the next.
On Wednesday he went to Crypt Coffee and bought a drink and a cookie, but Dane wasn’t around. He skipped Thursday, angry, but dropped by again first thing Friday, before morning class.
“He isn’t in yet,” said the barista when Sean asked after Dane.
“Thanks anyway,” he said, and drove himself to campus. He didn’t have the time to wait around. Right after class, Sean went home to angrily grade papers, wound up. Any day now the Order would be here and he’d lose the past weeks, and he hated not knowing when, or that he could count on Dane. He knew he would have to take action if Dane didn’t—he sent the man a one-word text:
Sex?
Even more irritating than Dane avoiding him was the fact he replied back almost immediately.
I’m not that stupid.
Sean gritted his teeth and had another drink from Dane’s bottle. So Dane was around and well aware of everything, yet actively avoiding him and letting him know it. Fucking asshole. Sean growled, grabbed up his laptop, and went searching for every rating, every comment, every snippet of conversation available on the internet in regards to Cauldron Cosmetics and More or the Cauldwells.
He fully intended to figure out who was responsible and force Dane to talk to him. A few hours later he was instead forced to admit defeat, tired and out of comments to read. Sean took a glass of Dane’s whiskey to his couch and sipped, running everything over from beginning to end.
First came Bethany’s death, then Ned’s tip-off, resulting in confirmation she had magically laced plants. After that he and Dane had to burn her place down because Rules, followed by a trip to see the witches. Apple pips were the murder weapon and there did not appear to be any arrests.
If only they could figure out how the murder weapon worked…
Sean sat upright on the couch and set down the empty glass on his coffee table. He had it. He grabbed his phone.
Figured out how the seeds poisoned her, he sent Dane, who responded promptly.
I’m not fucking you.
Get your ass over here anyway.
Sean wasn’t sure whether he should expect Dane to show or not, but he wasn’t going to drive after having had that much whiskey. He sat on his couch and waited. By the time he heard the knock on the door, he was half expecting someone unfamiliar to be standing outside, the Order finally at his doorstep, but it was Dane who was on his stoop glowering. He pushed inside when Sean opened the door.
“Sure, just come on in.”
“Well?” asked Dane, shoving his hands in his pockets and standing a decent distance away.
“You don’t seem surprised I didn’t greet you naked.”
“Professor, I’m busy. Tell me what the hell you know.”
Sean wanted to hold the information over him, tell him he could only have it after he’d gotten Sean off a couple times, but knew that was unfair. He sighed, returned to the couch, and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure Dane would even show, and now that he was here…Well, he couldn’t not tell Dane.
“Remember the weird ass magic nexus well by Bethany’s house that made us so horny? She was using it to infuse her plants, right?” He paused, but Dane didn’t do anything apart from continue to stare at him. “You said there were multiple such wells around Bleu Falls. I thought you’d care to look into whether any are near the Cauldwells.”
“You’re saying they super-cyanided their apple seeds by putting them in the magic,” said Dane. “Could be.”
A silence fell. Sean stared at him.
“That’s it? I figure out how the witches made the bad seeds and all you say is, ‘could be’?”
“Well, it is pretty fucking obvious.”
“That’s why you already came up with it.”
Dane scowled and looked away.
“I suppose you want in on this, then,” he said.
“Until someone shows up to take my mind, yes,” said Sean. “Is it going to be a problem?”
Dane shook his head and smiled a little.
“What the hell,” he said. “Maybe we’ll have it handled and get a little victory fuck in for good measure before then. Grab your weapons. I’m driving.”
Chapter 24
They dropped by the Lair first, for Sean to check the maps and Dane to run through his weapons selection. He took his gun, of course—he took that everywhere—probably the most effective way to combat witches, but he also took some rope and chains to restrain anyone who needed that sort of thing. As Dane considered other options, Sean made a noise indicating he’d found something.
“What?” asked Dane.
Sean made him walk over to the desk.
“Look, there are actually two on the Cauldwells’ land. Or were six years ago when this map was made. One or both might have shifted since then.”
“Fucking figures. Even if the magic’s not there it should be nearby. So the witches grow apples with supercharged seeds and use them to kill Beth. How’d they get the shit into her smoothie mix?”
“Bethany. I haven’t figured that out yet.”
Sean sighed and Dane clapped him on the back. He wanted to get going.
“Eh, that’s not so important. Can I count on you this time when shit gets real?”
Sean swallowed and glanced at the booze shelf like he wanted a drink.
“This time we’re going to start an actual fight.”
“Well, not exactly. See, whatever complaint they filed, the Order obviously hasn’t gotten around to looking at yet. Why they haven’t fried your fucking mind and all. But with all this friggin’ proof, I’m hoping we can scare whoever’s guilty into a confession to protect the others. Because if I have enough evidence I can report the whole damned family to the Order.”
“They’d lose everything if you did that,” said Sean, nodding. “This does sound like we’re really starting something then. Would they let us live?”
“Fucking bad move to kill a Decrypter, unless you’re going to go on the run,” said Dane. Not that it didn’t happen. It happened a lot, actually. Every Order newsletter had an obit page to murdered or otherwise deceased members. And provoking a confrontation gave the witches a lot more room to get away with using killing strikes. But it was clear the professor would lose any nerve he had if he knew just how dangerous the situation was, so Dane decided to downplay it.
He didn’t want to walk into a witches’ house alone.
“Let’s get this over with,” said Sean, standing. “I still have papers to grade.”
“Glad I never bothered with that college shit.”
“I can tell.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Dane as he locked up the Lair.
“You know what it means.”
They got in Dane’s car again and he shot Sean a glare. Dane should say something cutting, put Sean back in his place, but he looked so miserably anxious Dane couldn’t bring himself to. They’d probably have an argument after the situation was wrapped up anyway. Dane could save it for then, and otherwise take out his aggression on the witches.
“How are we going to do this?” asked Sean. “They’re not going to sit us down in their parlor and have a reasoned discussion. They might attack us the moment we go down their driveway.”
“You need to follow my lead and know when to fall back. Think you can do that?”
“Yeah, probably.” Sean looked out the window and fell silent, and Dane focused on the road. Sean probably needed a good fuck. Hell, Dane needed one. He wondered whether he should keep showing up at the professor’s even after the Order had finished their business with his mind. Not that long ago, Dane had wanted a situation that easy, erase everything and start over—Sean would assume he always left in the middle of the night.
But now Dane wasn’t so sure what he wanted, and he was more uneasy about continuing any kind of relationship with Sean after a mind-wipe. It felt wrong now. Damn, though, interfering with the Order on this issue was really going to screw up things for him…
“Surprised they let us get this far,” said Sean.
Dane parked outside the house. Everything was quiet as they got out, nothing but the sound of the birds in the trees around them and the tinkle of a wind chime from the house. Neither Adonia nor Hazel rushed out to threaten them, and Percival and the elderly man were nowhere to be seen. Dane hauled all his shit out.
“Have a weapon ready,” he said, keeping his gun in hand. “Let’s go check out these magic things first.”
“They’ve probably moved,” said Sean. He turned, orienting himself, then pointed. “They should be this way.”
The path through the trees was wide enough for them to walk side by side, Dane sharply alert, Sean looking wary. Still, he wasn’t panicking and Dane appreciated that. They walked a good ten tense minutes before they came out on a series of cleared areas.
“They must have moved their things with it,” said Sean. The areas closest to them had growth a few years old, saplings and weeds but no tall trees. A little farther on the growth was more minimal, until they came to a clearing filled with plants much like Bethany’s had been, only with more sophisticated contraptions: wheeled flatbed planters filled with everything from herbs to berries.
“There’s the trees,” said Dane. He brushed against Sean as he moved past him and felt a rush. Shit, if they hadn’t been in the middle of something he’d almost consider fucking Sean here. Damned magic. He also was really itching to shoot someone.
“Great. Now let’s get out of here. I’m starting to really feel this magic.”
“Me, too. What I want to do with you…”
“You had your chance and turned me down,” said Sean, frowning at one of the trees. “This can’t be right. These aren’t big enough to give fruit, apples or anything else. They have to have other plants.”
Dane groaned. Of course.
“Where’s the other magic source?”
“Much farther along,” said Sean, then leaned in close. “Think you’ll make it?”
“Shut up and lead,” said Dane, putting a hand on Sean’s ass and giving him a shove. “I’m covering you, you’ll be fine.”
Sean strode forward, giving Dane a good view of his ass. The tingle under Dane’s skin, the stiffness of his hairs, went away as they left the pool of magic, but his desire to own Sean’s ass did not diminish. Dane really should have taken care of himself today. Like that would have helped now. He was stuck enthralled by Sean, and it was exciting if inconvenient.
“I’d guess it used to be here,” said Sean, pointing to another overgrown patch that had been cleared years ago. He turned around in the trees and looked back toward the direction of the house. “How worried should we be that nobody’s come after us yet?”
“They might be out. Even witches have to do a little shopping now and then.”
“Really?” asked Sean, and Dane shrugged. “Well, this magic source is moving in a different direction, judging by the space over there that looks cleared. I’d guess toward the creek.”
“There’s another fucking creek?” asked Dane as he followed Sean along the path. It was thin but well-trodden, like a deer path. The cleared patches here were smaller, either indicating a well not so large as the last, or a magic source the witches were less inclined to use.
“You’ve lived in Bleu Falls how long? We have creeks, falls, lakes, ponds, even more than one river here. This isn’t surprising. It was on the map.”
“I didn’t look at the frickin’ map.” Dane moved to stand beside Sean where he’d stopped short. “Shit. The creek.”
They stood at the edge of the water, the bank several feet above the surface. It was wider than Dane was expecting, a good fifteen feet across at least, and several feet deep.
“Bet it gets pretty swift in the spring,” said Sean, looking around. “Looks like it’s almost four feet in the center now—nice and clear. Gorgeous.”
“So the magic well’s in the water here,” said Dane. “What a waste of time.”
“No,” said Sean, nudging him. He pointed. “I think it’s over that island.”
Dane followed his finger and saw the creek actually split not far off, surrounding a clump of land with two fifteen-foot stretches of water before closing back up again. But that wasn’t all that had caught Sean’s eye, clearly—Dane could see a variety of trees on the little island, and some of them were definitely apple trees. They’d long been harvested, but the smell from the fallen ones still held faintly in the air.
“What do you think?” asked Sean. “Would that concentrate the cyanide in the apples?”
“My bet’s on yes.” Dane put his gun back and walked along the side of the creek, looking for someplace to cross. “And if we got some evidence, that’d make my case more credible. The Order can pull cops’ files and compare the exact makeup of the poison. They do all sorts of science shit—a match will get those witches locked up for life.”
“The Order has prisons?” asked Sean, then, “What are you doing?”
“Of course they have prisons. They’d be tied up in courts for a few years, probably—their Guild will fight for them. Maybe to get them into a witches’ prison. I don’t give a fuck. And I’m looking for the way they crossed.”
Sean laughed.
“You’re a fucking cat, Dane. Don’t want to get your feet wet?”
“Shut up and help me look.”
“Maybe they just float across. What kinds of spells do witches use?”
“Nothing like that, asshole.” Dane glared around, looking for a raft or boat maybe. There’d have to be a way to carry the apples back, he figured.
“Shit, I can feel that magic again,” said Sean as he followed. “It must be dipping into the water a little.”
“You know what’s going to happen when I report all this shit, right? I guarantee you they’re going to tell me to re-map every last one of these shifting fucking wells. I don’t even know how many Bleu Falls has. You know how boring this’ll be? It’ll drive me to drink.”
Sean grew very quiet at that and didn’t respond. Dane shot a glare at him for a moment, but it seemed clear he’d retreated into himself. Well, he thought he wasn’t going to be around for any of this. Just as well with how fucking dull it’d be. Dane didn’t want to think about how long it would take him to track down the new positions on the traveling magic wells. Here there’d been a trail courtesy of the witches. Elsewhere, he’d just have to wander in fucking circles until he ran into the magic.
“You’d think they’d have a boat or something,” he said, annoyed now. “Fucking witches.”
“Maybe there’s a shallow place to cross.” Sean sounded anxious again. “Should we come back for this? Maybe in the middle of the night? If we stick around too long someone might find us.”
“Don’t be so fucking paranoid,” said Dane, only when he looked up, he could see someone approaching beyond Sean’s shoulder.
“Someone might just,” said Percival, frowning, and raised a hand.
Dane went for his gun, but he couldn’t draw it before the spell hit.
> Chapter 25
Sean came to with his face pressed against sticks and dirt, his head a mess. He couldn’t tell whether he had a headache or it was the electric feeling of the magic, which was definitely responsible for his hairs all standing on end, his skin practically vibrating, and the erection he had. His hands bound behind his back, though, were from something else.
He groaned, rolled up but not over, and blinked in the dim light. He couldn’t tell if he’d been laying among the trees for hours or nearly a day. His stomach flopped, although not unpleasantly.
“Dane?”
He tried to move, his clothes stuck to his skin and damp like he’d gotten wet at some point. Sean’s wrists were chafed and his shoulders sore, and when he tried to move he noticed his feet had been bound, too.
“Ahhh fuck,” said Dane from not far off behind him.
“Tell me you didn’t just go off in your—”
“No, pervert,” said Dane. “Thinking about my dick?”
“If it’s as hard as mine…”
“Bet it’s harder. Want me to roll over there and shove it against your ass?”
“No,” said Sean, although his own cock twitched in excitement in his pants. “I want you to tell me what the fuck just happened.”
“We got captured.”
“I figured that,” said Sean, rolling onto his back and feeling the motion from his wrists to his shoulders. “Damn! I mean who caught us.”
He rolled again, up onto his other side, and was facing Dane. He looked worse than Sean felt—his lip was swollen and bloody, his nose had a trail of dried blood underneath it, and his shirt had come up a little, revealing bruising on his side. Sean remembered how he’d felt when the pine trees had nearly crushed the life out of him and figured Dane was more than a little in pain.
“Percival,” said Dane. “That asshole has a fucking good knockout spell. I figure we’ve been out all day. Good to see he left you alone.”
“The hell happened to you?”
“I figure he took a little anger out on me while I was out.” Dane sneered. “Coward. Who can’t kick or punch a man while he’s conscious? I’m guessing he towed us through the water, too. We’re on the island, right in the center of all this magic shit. It’s why we’re about to explode in various senses of the word.”
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