Jackson

by Hazel Hunter

  He had briefly considered abducting and torturing Audrey Mather, the girl Hannah had taken in after her mother’s murder, for what she might know. He had never observed any particular affection between the two, however, and Hannah seemed to treat the girl like another servant. He also could not risk her being missed by Hannah, who might withhold the potion as retaliation.

  The SUV stopped across the street from a blackened ruin of a house surrounded by yellow police tape. “Are you sure that’s the right address, sir?”

  “Wait here.” Marquette got out, holding the door frame for a moment as a new and unpleasant pain shot up through his left leg, and then walked across the street to duck under the tape and inspect the site.

  The fire had rendered the dwelling uninhabitable, but according to the news report the two adults and three children living inside had been rescued virtually unharmed. Marquette moved closer and removed the glove from his one functioning hand, extending it as he opened his mind to search for any trace of the unnatural.

  While the heat of the fire had eaten through or charred every surface of the house’s interior, he felt a tiny tick of magic, and followed it to what had been a small room in the back corner.

  Like the rest of the dwelling the room had been reduced to ash and burnt rubble, but he still felt the spell trace, which buzzed like a mosquito in his head. He moved his hand back and forth, sweeping it over every inch around him until the energy jabbed his palm like a stinger.

  Marquette knelt in the soaked ash and began pulling aside broken wood slats and the scorched springs that were all the remained of a crib. Beneath it lay a shriveled bundle of half-melted fur the size of a walnut, and when he touched it the remnants of what enchanted it glowed a sickly yellow and crawled eagerly onto his fingers. He felt his skin wither and crack and quickly dropped the bundle before he stood and backed away from it. The glow flared and then faded away, and the bundle quickly disintegrated into ash.

  After he returned to the SUV Marquette directed the human to drive him to the sanctuary provided for him and his men by the sworn faithful. On the outskirts of the city, the compound was protected by armed guards stationed outside its walls. Two of his own men flanked the gate, and only after thoroughly inspecting the SUV did they permit the driver to enter.

  Marquette went directly from the car to his study, where his steward was using a computer to review the latest surveillance videos of Hannah Gardener’s estate.

  “My lord.” The human shot to his feet and bowed. “We have received several calls from the Temple Master in Los Angeles. He wishes to speak to you at once.”

  “It can wait.” Marquette went to the computer. “Who left the witch’s estate last night before sundown?”

  His steward frowned. “No one but the girl. She was wearing her uniform, so I assumed she was leaving for work.”

  “Show it to me.” Marquette reined in his temper as the human fumbled with the keyboard, and then watched as the screen showed Audrey Mather’s car driving out through the gates. Through the windshield he could see that she was wearing her uniform, and then frowned and took out the human’s phone and pulled up the news article about the arson again, which featured several photos taken at the scene.

  One of them showed Audrey Mather standing beside an ambulance and watching the house burn.

  CHAPTER TEN

  JACKSON HEARD THE door to the basement open, and footsteps on the stairs, but kept his head down and his body limp as his abductor approached. The chains suspending him from the ceiling were enchanted, but only with a mid-level containment spell, which didn’t completely inhibit his power. To compel the bastard to release him, he would need him to come close.

  A wave of icy water crashed into him, catching him off-guard and making him sputter and jerk.

  “Good afternoon, Captain Daniels.” An overhead light switched on to reveal a short, wrinkled old woman holding a pail in one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other. “I hope you enjoyed your nap.”

  Jackson planted his feet and straightened before he regarded the crone. She could have found out his name from his wallet, but his rank was only known to the Magus Corps and leaders among the coven––which made her a High Priestess or another operative.

  “Release me,” he said.

  “You’re wondering how I know your name. I was given the usual courtesy notification when you were sent into my territory.” The old woman set down the bucket but held onto the extinguisher. “I was not informed, however, that you came to hunt Audrey Mather.”

  “Release me,” Jackson repeated softly, and let a small flare of his power show in his eyes.

  Her eyes narrowed, and her aura flared brightly, indicating she could easily match his ability.

  “I am Mariah, High Priestess of the Seattle coven. The girl you are investigating is not responsible for the humans being murdered in the south end. She only discovered she was Wiccan today. Someone is–”

  “Release me,” Jackson bellowed, yanking on the chains as he lunged forward.

  Mariah took a step back and lifted the hose of the fire extinguisher. “I will, Captain. As soon as you promise to leave Seattle at once.”

  The air around Jackson began to snap and spark. “I am an officer of the Corps, Priestess. We do not take orders from witches.”

  “You are meddling in matters that you don’t understand,” Mariah snapped, and then sighed. “Captain, I understand your anger. I know you were sent here to stop this madness. But Audrey Mather is not her mother. I swear to you, she has never killed or harmed anyone.”

  So the old crone was trying to protect Audrey. “If she is innocent, she has nothing to fear from me.”

  “What you and the Magus Corps do not see is what Audrey may become. The girl has the potential to become a powerful force for good.” Her mouth flattened. “I will not risk losing that.”

  His instincts told him that Mariah spoke the truth, but only part of it.

  “Is that why you tried to split my skull in half? To protect the girl from me? You’re a fool.”

  “I acted in haste,” the old woman admitted, her brow furrowing. “You know how Hannah suffered at the hands of Audrey’s mother, and she has not…adjusted well to her condition. I wish to bring Audrey into the circle, so that we might enlist her aid in trying to restore Hannah to her True Self.”

  “And you thought I’d get in the way,” Jackson guessed.

  “I hadn’t considered you as a complication,” Mariah said. “When I came upon you in the guesthouse there was no time to explain anything.” She paused before she added, “I did not wish to hurt Audrey by exposing your real reason for seducing her. It will drive her away from us, and she will end a rogue, or worse.”

  Now he knew she was hiding something from him. Calling her a liar wouldn’t get him released from the chains, however.

  “Then let me help you. Free me, and I will take Audrey to the Corps safe house I’m using. She’ll be completely protected there until I find the real killer.” When she didn’t reply, he added, “I give you my word as a Magus Corps officer.”

  Mariah gave him a suspicious look. “You would do that for me?”

  “No.” His mouth hitched. “I will do it for her.”

  Slowly the old woman set down the fire extinguisher, and then made a sweeping motion with her hand. The manacles around his wrists opened and fell away.

  He moved toward her until he loomed over her. “You know it is within my rights to punish you for this.”

  She gave him a tired look. “Do what you must. I will not resist.”

  Jackson knew he could cast an interrogation spell to force her to reveal whatever she had not told him, but that could wait until after he moved Audrey to the safe house.

  “Where is Audrey now?”

  “She left with Hannah a few minutes ago to return to the estate. Captain,” she said when Jackson headed for the stairs, and held out his mobile and the keys to his truck. “Your vehicle is parked in the back of the sho
p. You also should know that Audrey called your phone while you were unconscious. I answered it after bespelling my voice and made her believe that I was your girlfriend.”

  He swiped the phone from her. “Why the hell would you do that?”

  “For the same reason I bashed you in the head,” the old woman admitted. “To protect her from you.”

  Jackson sprinted up the stairs and found himself inside a small herbal shop, and raced out the back door to the alley to get in his truck. As he drove out to the main road he dialed the number for the guest house, which rang through to the voice mail box. He then dialed her mobile, and when she picked up he said, “Audrey, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “That’s funny,” she said in a remote tone. “I chatted with Becky just this morning.”

  “It was a tasteless joke by someone hoping to keep us apart,” he assured her. “That’s all.”

  “Look, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now,” she said. “Why don’t we talk about this later?”

  Arguing with her might only aggravate the situation, so he said, “I need to see you for a few minutes. Are you at home?”

  She sighed. “Yes, but I’m leaving to go with Aunt Hannah to Portland.”

  He was only a few miles from the estate. “I’ll be there in five minutes. Wait for me.”

  “Jackson, I’ll be back tomorrow–”

  “Please, Audrey.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “It won’t take long, but it’s important.”

  After another long silence she finally said, “I’ll tell Aunt Hannah I have to buy some stuff for the trip. Pick me up at the corner with the big pine tree.”

  Jackson drove past the estate and stopped at the corner, but first saw no sign of Audrey. Then she emerged from behind the tree with her barn owl on her arm, and had to shoo him away before she climbed into the truck.

  “What’s wrong with your famil– pet?” he asked.

  “You can say familiar. Mariah told me you were one of them.” Audrey stared ahead with a stony expression. “And Aunt Hannah explained the whole animal bonding deal.”

  He took a left turn and headed for the safe house. “What did Mariah say I was?”

  She waved her hand. “A witch, or Wiccan, or whatever.” She eyed him. “Are you saying you’re not?”

  It was almost a relief to tell her. “I am a warlock, and a captain in the Magus Corps.”

  She blinked. “Is that a witch soldier, or a witch cop?”

  “Females are witches, males are warlocks––and no, I am not a soldier or a police officer. I am an investigator. I was sent to Seattle to determine who is killing and burning humans in the south end.” Jackson suspected she was already suffering from information overload, so he said, “I also have a familiar like your Plato. She’s a red hawk named Dallas.”

  “That’s nice.” She returned to staring through the windshield. “So why are you investigating me, Captain Warlock? Is it because I won’t dance naked with you in the moonlight, or something else?”

  He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Trust me, Audrey, if I dance naked with you, it will be in a bed.”

  “That reminds me,” she said, “should you really be screwing kinda-sorta witches like me? Because you know what that does, right? I mean, after the unimaginable bliss and ecstasy and all that crap.”

  Jackson wanted to pull over and drag her under him and fuck her until the only thing she could say was his name. “I protected you last night.”

  She nodded. “Good policy. Use condoms, keep them human. Makes half-baked witches so much easier to dump.”

  “I am not dumping you.” He tightened his jaw, and then tried again. “What more did Hannah say?”

  “Oh, apparently my mother was like this, and I have absolutely no choice but to become some herb-slinging naked-dancing moon worshipper like Mom.” She uttered a sour chuckle. “Did I mention that I’m actually a direct descendent of the moon goddess, what’s-her-name?”

  Beneath her sarcasm Jackson heard a note of despair, and his anger evaporated. “She has many names and aspects, but I was taught to call her The Lady Diana.”

  “That’s her.” She propped her arm against the door and rested her hand on her head. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I’m a paramedic, for God’s sake.” She squinted at him. “Wait, do we even have a God?”

  “We have two,” he said gently. “The Lord and Lady.”

  “Gender equality, huh? Cool.” As he slowed down she eyed the front of the safe house. “What’s this?”

  “My place.” He parked at the curb and switched off the engine. “I want you to come inside with me.”

  “And I want to move to Key West.” She didn’t move but closed her eyes. “Take me home, Jackson. My godmother is waiting and honestly, I’ve had enough of Witch 101.”

  He quickly cast a brief containment spell over her that silenced her and pinned her against the seat long enough for him to get out and go around to the passenger side. When he opened the door to lift her out Audrey’s eyes shifted to his face.

  “It’s all right, my heart. I’m going to carry you inside, and then I’ll release you.”

  Jackson moved her quickly into the house, and once he had secured and warded the door he took Audrey into the bedroom he occupied. Placing her carefully on the bed, he lifted the spell.

  She didn’t move for a full minute but simply stared at him, her face almost completely white with shock and anguish.

  “What are you going to do to me?”

  “Nothing.” He took a step toward her, and stopped when she recoiled. “Audrey, I will never harm you.”

  “You already have.”

  She crawled backward on the bed, rolling off the opposite side as she measured the distance to the door.

  “I’ve warded the house.” When she gave him a blank look, he added, “It’s a spell that prevents anyone except the caster from entering or leaving.”

  She hugged her waist with her arms. “Is that why you carried me inside?”

  “I had to, or you would have been burned and repelled by the wards.” He didn’t like the frantic look in her eyes, or the amount of power he felt roiling inside her. “Audrey, calm down.”

  “You carried me inside the guesthouse last night, too.” She backed into a corner. “You warded my house?”

  “I thought you had. I thought you were…it doesn’t matter.” He came around the bed and reached out his hand. “Come here. Please. I can help you regain control.”

  “No.” Her green irises began to turn a silvery white and her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Long, thick streaks of dazzling white sprouted from her scalp and raced through her hair as the thick tresses billowed softly around her head. Crackles of the silvery blue light of her power filled the air between them. When she spoke again, a thousand invisible bells rang out with her words. “Stay away from me.”

  Jackson had never seen an untutored witch undergo such a transformation, but felt an answering heat race through him. Just as Audrey was a descendent of The Lady, his own ancient lineage came from The Lord. The goddess manifesting in her was calling to the god to come through him, and he couldn’t resist it anymore than she could. Dimly he recalled the only way to prevent them from being made vessels of the Wiccan deities, and as his own skin illuminated with a burnished amber glow he strode to her and jerked her into his arms.

  Her mouth under his felt as cool as a night breeze, and when he parted her lips with his tongue he tasted the electric wine of her power spilling into him. He poured his own into her as he dragged her to the bed and fell on top of her, pinning her writhing body to the mattress with his heavy body. As they kissed the light of their powers blazed around them ever brighter and hotter.

  Jackson wrenched his mouth from hers to look into her eyes, which had filled with moonlight, and saw in them the solid golden flame of his own. “My lady,” he said, filling the air with the rumble of the deepest of brass horns. He dragged in a deep breath and tried again
. “Audrey.”

  “I’m still here,” she said, her voice trembling. “But it’s so strong, Jackson. Whatever it is, it’s trying to take over me.”

  “We must appease them before they do.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “We have to merge our powers and our bodies.”

  “How do we…oh.” She glanced down between them. “Right.”

  “I will be quick,” he promised as he took a condom from his pocket and opened it.

  Once he had the protection ready he jerked down her trousers and panties, and unfastened his own so he could pull out his shaft, which was so swollen and hard it felt as if it might burst.

  Audrey kicked her legs free and spread them wide, exposing the plump, slick folds of her sex to him. “Hurry.”

  There was no time to prepare her, but as he brought his cockhead to her he felt her honey flow against the straining bulb to ease his path. He wanted to fuck her bare, and impale her beautiful pussy with every inch of his rod until he spilled inside her, but then her power would manifest along with her immortality, and make matters much worse.

  Jackson forced himself to go slowly as he parted her folds to press between them, and then forged inside until she engulfed his tip.

  Audrey’s body bowed as she gasped, and Jackson couldn’t help tearing open her blouse to expose her heaving breasts. He wanted to suck them, but it was all he could do to control his penetration of her.

  She unfastened her bra and he cupped her mounds like two ripe offerings.

  “Do it,” she gasped.

  With a wrenching groan he lowered his mouth to one reddened peak, which was so hard it felt like stone against his tongue. At the same time he began thrusting deeper into her clenching opening, working more and more of his shaft into the deliciously wet vise of her pussy until she whimpered.

  “Please, Jack,” she whispered. “More, give me more.”