The Bewitched Box Set

by W. J. May

  “Get out!” I screamed with the fullness of my power, the room shaking around us at the rage that I let blow through me. I didn’t feel anger, but fear. It would fuel my protection mechanism, forcing him to move back and leave me be. I didn’t need this complication in my life on top of all of the other ones I already had.

  “Fine.” Chest heaving, he stared long and hard at me before turning and walking out of the cave. I watched him leave. Part of me was in relief, but deep down another part of me was disappointed as well. I wanted him, but didn’t know just how much until he touched me. I had never felt so strongly toward a man before. I wanted to blame it on his blood. It had to be because of that. I sat down on the bed, buried my head in my hands, and for the first time since my humanity lived inside of me, I wanted to feel the burn of tears. What was happening to me?

  * * *

  Chapter 8

  “Tori.” Someone shook my shoulder. “Wake up.”

  My eyes popped open, instantly adjusting to the darkness inside the cave. It was night.

  “Tori?”

  “Did you get to Malcolm?” I sat up. No greeting for Eddie, just the usual bark of commands.

  “He and Hamish are safe.”

  “We need to head back to the coven then.” I stood up, leery I might still be dizzy. Thankfully, I’d slept off the high from Evan’s blood. Where was the shifter, anyway? I glanced behind me and around the empty cave, already knowing he wasn’t there.

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Eddie stared at the ground.

  Something wasn’t right. Why was he in human form? “Piper went to the council. They’ve declared you a traitor. Vlad has a bounty on your head.”

  “What the hell?” Piper was trouble, but to convince the council I’d gone against my father?

  Eddie seemed to read the questions inside my head. “She swore you killed Jason to save your lover. She made the council believe you’re with Evan Alexander, the brother of the werewolf you were sent to kill.”

  “That’s bull—”

  Eddie cut me off. “Malcolm’s trying to clear your name, but if he is not careful, they will exile him as well.” He handed me my jacket and my bag from the truck. “We need to leave now.”

  “Why? I’m already exiled. It can’t get worse.”

  Eddie said nothing as I got dressed.

  My eyes widened as I realized why he was quiet. “They’ve sent hunters after me, haven’t they?”

  “Everyone on the council deemed you a traitor.”

  How could I have let this happen?

  “We need to run. Hide.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not hiding.”

  “I know the way the council works. They use people. They use hunters and have them do the dirty work. They want to rid the world of all supernatural, but themselves.”

  I couldn’t argue. I had spent my entire life living by that code. Every supernatural being was the enemy, except vampires. And now I was the enemy. “Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?” I joked.

  Eddie shook his head. “They never needed that line before.”

  He was right and I knew it. “How much time do we have?”

  “Not much. Evan and Trent are loading the truck. They’re waiting for us.”

  “Let’s go—” My voice was cut off by a piercing growl outside the cave. It was followed instantly by the sound of clashing bodies. Big, strong bodies.

  Eddie instantly shifted and raced out of the cave, with me close behind him. I grabbed my guns and knife that were lying on a large rock as I passed. How had I not noticed them earlier?

  The scene before me was nothing new, but the vamps standing a few feet in front of us were on the wrong side of the line. Never had I been forced to stand against my own. That I was willing to defend the beasts who fought beside me was a watershed moment. Not really. I knew how to kill them and a few of them deserved to be returned to dust.

  To my left the battle had already begun, two male vamps engaged in violence with Trent and Evan, the wolves seeming to have the upper hand.

  “Do whatever it takes. We’re going to coat this place in ancient blood. No prisoners. No mercy.” I threw my words at Eddie as he rushed toward a male and female vamp, Lawrence and Marcy. I had very few friends, but Marcy was once one of them. Sadness washed over me at the reality that my father would leave them with no choice but to destroy me.

  This was the same bastard who sent me to kill my sister, unknowingly. Where was Blair? Had she made it safely to Wayne? Did I really care?

  Oddly enough I did.

  “The queen is mine.” Piper’s voice called me from my thoughts as I stopped dead in my tracks. She and Jason had been looked down upon by the counsel since I began serving as one of their many assassins, an esteemed hunter of the cursed.

  “I find it only fitting I tear your throat out, seeing that you’ve spewed lies from it.” I laughed nefariously and cocked my hip, my hand itching to pull the trigger on my weapon. The ultraviolet bullets would light her up faster than anything else I could use against her. I would have to act quickly. If anyone were a formidable opponent for me, it was Piper.

  “Oh, I don’t think they were lies. Perhaps a foretelling of things to come.” The red-haired vamp glanced to her right and left as the sound of fighting beckoned me to do the same. The only problem was that I didn’t have two large male vamps at my back to protect me. My protection was busy fighting off the hordes of vampires the counsel felt necessary to bring. I should be proud they believed I had this much strength and power.

  A howl broke out beside me. I wanted to know Eddie was okay, but I didn’t dare take my attention off of Piper. How long had she pined for my father’s attention? Her vengeance ran much deeper than the loss of Jason, though that alone would have caused her to seek revenge. She wanted me dead. It was just a matter of opportunity to do so within the confines of keeping herself justified before the counsel. What a victory she would revel in if today ended up being my last fight.

  But it wouldn’t be. No way would I go down. I was Vlad Montour’s daughter. My bastard father had taken so much from me, but one thing I knew, without a doubt, was that he gifted to me my ability to block everything but that which was necessary to survive. I would use anything and everything to be the one walking out of there... even my precious pet.

  “I’m almost impressed.” I smiled, flashing my fangs and letting my eyes move to Brandon and Paul as they stood just behind Piper. Their leathers made them look fierce, but they were younglings compared to me. I looked forward to the warm-up round that was sure to come.

  “Impressed by what, you whore?”

  “Such terse words for someone in mourning. Guess Jason wasn’t really your only lover?” I made motion toward the behemoths behind her.

  “You’re going to die for taking him from me! When you do, I’m going to collect your ashes and put them on a shelf in my bedroom. I want to have the ability every day for the rest of my long existence to run my finger through you.” She laughed, but the sound was cut short as Eddie plowed into Paul, Piper jumping back and pointing to Brandon. “Get her.”

  He didn’t wait a second longer before rushing me, his large body almost crashing into mine as I parried to my left. A quick jump had me in the tree above, the large handsome vamp following as I bid him do.

  “You don’t have to do this.” I was prepped with my bow in play, my arrow positioned to cause him some major damage.

  “Scared, little girl?” He smiled, his fangs long and far too sharp. He hadn’t had the pleasure of grinding them against someone’s bone, but I had. He was playing far above his league.

  “Never.” I turned and made it seem as if I were going to drop to the ground. He followed suit, hitting the ground gracefully. I had already released the arrow, the tip of it piercing him and sinking into his left eye socket as he screamed in pain. Frantically he began working to get it out.

  I stepped off the limb and dropped, my eyes scanning the scene
before me as time slowed for a moment. Piper was nowhere to be found, which was far more concerning than the fact that Evan and Trent were still battling the same two vamps who had started the fight before I arrived on the scene. The vamps that Eddie had originally taken charge at were gone, most likely dead. I knew my pet was vicious. I just hoped like hell that he didn’t turn on me as Evan had hinted at earlier.

  I touched the ground close to Brandon around the same time he pulled the arrow from his eye, the aroma of the rich blood pouring down his face left me overwhelmed with the desire to drain him dry. It was forbidden to drink from another vamp, but I had already laid waste to so many traditions, why not add another to the list of offenses?

  He began to speak, his words menacing as I shifted, turning my body and lifting my leg in a violent roundhouse kick that propelled the large vamp back several feet. He landed on his back and righted himself with efficiency, rushing me as I lifted my gun and unloaded two bullets. He moved in time to let the first one pass safely by him, but the twist of my wrist before letting the second go was a trick I was taught that served me well that day. “Sorry, what were you saying?” I mocked.

  He screamed as the bullet made impact with his shoulder, the explosion of light burning him from the inside out. It only took seconds as I watched him turn from flesh and blood into ashes that the wind picked up and scattered about. I lifted my gun and aimed it at Paul. The bullet making instant contact with the center of his back as he pressed a chokehold on Eddie. I walked past the burning vamp and glanced at my pet. “That’s twice I’ve saved your life. Make sure you’re keeping record.”

  Eddie growled softly, his emotions fully on display for me as we moved toward Trent and Evan. I stopped short, letting my pet join the fight on behalf of Trent, but Evan didn’t seem to need help. The fight had lasted so long because the young werewolf was toying with the vamp. It was something I hadn’t seen before. Wolves had some control over their beast form, but for the most part they were violent, vicious creatures. Eddie’s skills and ability to maintain hold over himself in both forms was unheard of. It was quite apparent that Evan had been gifted in the same way.

  I turned, knowing that the three of them could finish off the two remaining male vamps that my father had sent to accompany Piper. There would be more after this night, of that I had no doubt, but hopefully all that remained, for tonight, was for me to put down this wayward witch.

  “I know you’re still here,” I called out to the night air, my body tense and ready. “No way you’ll let Jason’s death go unavenged. Unless you really are the heartless scared vamp I always took you for.” I walked through the forest that surrounded us; the female was smart to lure me away from the large wolves that were fighting on my side. I let my senses reach out, hoping to hear the other woman make the slightest movement. The bitch was holding her breath... smart girl.

  I breathed in deeply through my nose, the scent of her slamming into me like I had never experienced before. I turned and walked quickly toward the trail she had taken, the echo of water splashing down the side of a ravine calling me closer. Why was my sense of smell enhanced? I breathed in again and could bifurcate various aromas as they blew past me, the ability causing panic to rise in my stomach. It had been a long time since I had to learn something new, or unlock a new ability within myself. Why now? Why this?

  “How does it feel?” Her voice came from my left. Exactly where I had pinpointed her to be.

  “It feels good,” I mocked. “The freedom of knowing I have the backing and the strength to take down seven hunters, most of whom were elders.” It meant I had a thriving chance of surviving the death sentence that belonged to her, not me, due to the lies she had told.

  She ignored me as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “How does it feel to know that your own flesh and blood sent a termination hit on you? All these years of keeping you alive and breeding into you the strength of the coven, to end it all like this. The great and powerful daughter of darkness herself, taken down by a renegade hunter.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. Her confidence was contagious, not that I needed help of my own. A howl lifted into the air and I froze in place. It was the sound of pain and it belonged to one of my new companions. I had yet to determine if they would remain alive after this night, but the old rules of tradition stated that until I repaid the saving of my own life, I would have to protect at least Evan. Trent would be a different story, or I hoped so. It seemed as though I was finally starting to soften in my old age, which was never good.

  I pushed the thought aside and focused on the task at hand. “Stop talking and let’s get this over with,” I said as I beckoned her toward me. “Your voice grates on my nerves, much like it did to poor Jason.” I turned toward the thickest portion of trees as she moved toward me, walking languidly as if I were nothing more than a waste of her time. “We all knew how Jason truly felt. Sad that you didn’t.”

  “You bitch!” she screamed and rushed forward, her body slamming into mine before I could spin away. I hadn’t moved fast enough on purpose, part of me wanted the physical contact, to take my aggression out on her and bleed out the desire I still felt pulsing through me for the wolf fighting at my back.

  I hit the ground hard, both of us rolling as she pressed her hands tightly around my throat. I pressed my foot to the ground and shifted my hip as we stopped rolling, the force of my movements propelling my arm up as the base of my hand connected with her chin. Her head snapped back as a loud crack filled the night around us. I took advantage of the moment, lifting up and shoving my shoulder into her stomach as I stood and hoisted her onto my shoulder.

  Piper clawed at my back as I raced toward a large tree just in front of me, my feet sliding to a stop as I pushed with all of my strength and hoisted her toward the lowest branch protruding toward us. She screamed as the branch entered her back and pressed through her sternum, blood pouring from her and coating the ground in crimson.

  “Aghhh... I hate you. We all hate you. You’re nothing but a waste of power.” She spat at me, clawing and kicking at the air in front of her. She began to laugh as I approached, the branch only a momentary suffering.

  Pretty soon she would join her beloved in hell. Not soon enough.

  “Something funny?” I asked, looking over my shoulder and turning back to her as a smirk lifted up the side of my mouth.

  “You think you know so much, Victoria. You know nothing.” She laughed again before coughing loudly, blood dripping down her mouth. I was overwhelmed again by the strength of the aroma that washed over me, the realization that something inside me was shifting. It almost caused me to stumble back.

  “Tell Jason—and the devil—I said hello when you get back to where you’re from.” I pulled out my mother’s blade, wanting to make Piper’s death intimate and close. Cutting her head from her shoulders would take a few minutes, but I had time. There was a message that needed to be sent and I was going to be sure it was hand-delivered. I was the only full-blooded vampire child of Vlad, which I knew of, and the council would have a fight on their hands if they sent anyone else after me.

  “Did you meet Blair?” She laughed again.

  I stopped cold in my tracks. “What did you say?”

  “Oh you heard me.” She sputtered and spat blood out. The blood flow had already begun to slow as her body began to heal around the branch. “The little witch you were sent to kill. Does Malcolm know you didn’t kill her because you realized who she was?” She laughed again as she reached for the end of the branch, pulling against it as her body moved forward. She screamed in pain.

  This was my moment. I could end it right now. Or I could find out what she knew. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I slid the knife back into the thigh strap and pulled out my gun. I needed to check on my companions and didn’t have time for her lies.

  I hesitated. Something was wrong. The forest had suddenly grown too quiet.

  “Of course you do. Vlad knows as well. We all do. You’
re a failure now and they’ll never stop hunting you. All because you needed someone to cling to. As if the dogs weren’t enough?” She laughed again and dropped her hands to her knees. Weak from the loss of blood. She was trying to recoup before she set to try and attack me again.

  I pointed the ultraviolet gun at her and pulled the trigger as she looked up at me, the smile on her lovely face forever to haunt me.

  She knew something I didn’t. They all did.

  * * *

  Chapter 9

  “Who’s injured?” I said, calm as the wind before the storm blew over. Evan stood beside a blood-covered and fur-matted wolf. The two of them surrounding another body. I realized quickly that it was Trent who was on the ground.

  Eddie shifted back to human and walked over naked and covered in blood. He had cuts and bruises already showing up on his body. He stopped in front of me, oblivious to his nakedness. His eyes roamed over me. “Did you take care of Piper?”

  “Yes.” I shoved my ultraviolet gun in the holster. There were only two bullets left. I had more ammo in the truck, but not much. I was the only vampire who carried this gun. Hopefully the wolves had more. “I put a bullet between her eyes. What happened to Trent?”

  “He took a pretty hard hit to the chest, but he’ll survive. Broke more of his ribs. I’m going to help Evan get him inside. You sense any additional danger?” Eddie reached out and touched the side of my arm, his familiarity with me almost too much after the rawness I had experienced several times that night already.

  I pulled my arm out of his reach, but tried not to make it obvious. “They’re all gone. We should have kept one injured and barely alive so he could return to warn the council.”

  “You mean return to your father.” Eddie knew me too well.

  “I’ll only be able to run for so long.” I moved to my right, trying to get a quick read on Evan’s state of mind.

  “You think they’ll send more?” Evan asked from where he stood. He seemed fine.