Which Witch is Which? (The Witches of Port Townsend)

by Kerrigan Byrne

  “Don't joke. Not now,” she said. “Do you know who I am?”

  An inhuman growl escaped him as he caught on. The sound caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise.

  “Don't tell me,” he said.

  Okay, she wouldn't.

  “Tierra de Moray,” he rasped out through clenched teeth.

  Oh good goddess, her name sounded terrifying coming from lips that were swollen from kissing her.

  “Does Death have a name?” she asked.

  “Bane. Killian Bane.” His lips twisted into a dangerous smile that didn't hold any humor.

  “How…appropriate.”

  “My mother thought so.”

  He had a mother? Death had a mother? That thought went around and around in her head making her dizzy.

  “What happens now?” she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

  “What should have happened before.”

  She swallowed to try and relieve the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. Turns out she was afraid of Death, er dying. What the hell? Weren't they one and the same? “I don't want to die.”

  “One of you has to. Pick and it will be done.”

  Pick? She couldn't pick. “They are my sisters.” Her family.

  “Pick, gazelle,” he growled.

  “My name is Tierra de Moray and if you touch my sisters I will put you in the ground.”

  “Do you realize who you are talking to?” He reached for her, and she reacted without thinking, her hands rising up and deflecting him with a simple reflection spell.

  He laughed at her attempts. “I've been around for millennia, my gazelle. You think that will keep me from you now that I've tasted you?”

  Holy shit.

  Her heart pounded in her chest and she quickly backed away from him as he stalked toward her. Commanding the willows, roots, and vines from the forest, she beseeched them to come to her aid. They locked around his wrists and ankles holding him in place. He smiled that wicked smile like he knew all her secrets, and she was worried he might.

  Just as quickly as the branches and roots had ensnared him, they withered, died, and turned to dust. Breath escaped her body in grief for the plants he'd so easily, thoughtlessly destroyed. Anger and fear merged within her, and the earth trembled under him in response.

  His dark-winged brows rose in surprise.

  Well if that surprised him, he was going to be freaking amazed by this.

  She split open the earth under him and he fell into the crevice she'd created. Swiftly, she buried him and sealed Death in the ground.

  Chapter Five

  Oh shit, she was in trouble.

  The world around Tierra went still, not even the breeze stirred. She needed to get out of here.

  Who knew if the ground would hold him?

  Of course it wouldn't hold him! He was Death. He probably looked at a fresh grave as the ideal vacationing spot.

  Ha. I've put Death in a grave.

  Grabbing her clothes, she rushed and dressed, tearing the delicate fabric of her skirt. Now, she tore her clothes?

  She'd been so careful all her life and the one time she’d given in and done something wild and impulsive all hell broke loose.

  A hysterical bubble rose in her throat and she felt as though she'd suffocate. That is if she didn't hyperventilate first. She couldn't lose it now. She had to get to her sisters. Had to warn them.

  Here, she'd so thoughtlessly believed she could have an afternoon free, and she’d just made everything a lot worse.

  Stuffing her torn panties in her purse, her fingers connected with the box of condoms. Condoms she hadn't used.

  She froze. How could she have not used them?

  Think. We're talking Death here, the Grim Reaper, The Destroyer, the Ancient Greek Thanatos—oh good grief—it didn't matter what he was called.

  Killian Bane. His name was Killian.

  Be rational, Tierra.

  He was Death so there was no way anything lived around him for long. That probably covered what she needed to be worried about better than a condom. Unless having sex with him had brought death to her doorstep.

  Could losing her virginity have killed her?

  Life so wasn't fair.

  One last look at the mound of fresh dirt, and she fled on bare feet over the meadow and through the forest toward home, saying a quick blessing and asking for help in guiding her safely and keeping the ground undisturbed for as long as possible.

  ****

  Tierra tore up the porch and the door swung open. Moira took in her wild hair and torn shirt with wide aquamarine eyes.

  “Where the hell have you been? And what have you done to yourself? Do you have any idea how worried we've been? You could have called, or picked up our call?”

  “Gather everyone. Even Aunt Justine. We might need the coven.”

  “That ain't goin' to happen until you explain yourself, missy.”

  Who was mothering who now?

  “Justine isn't here,” Aerin said moving to stand beside Moira. Claire stood right behind them in the entryway. “She went to meet with Gwen and said she'd be back later tonight. She wanted to consult with the coven on how to better protect the house against the Horsemen.”

  “Yeah, about that. We need to talk.” Tierra turned, shut the door and locked the deadbolt, adding a ward, and briefly wondered if they should paint lamb's blood above the windows and doors.

  “Is that a hickie on your neck?” Claire asked. “Have you—”

  “—had sex?” Aerin finished.

  Tierra's hand flew and covered her neck where Killian had nibbled and bit. He'd marked her. Did that mean something? Her knees trembled and her vision swam.

  “You did not!” Moira exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. “After all the preaching you did this mornin'?”

  “I didn't preach.” She never preached. Lectured too much maybe.

  “You'd better sit down and tell us what happened.” Claire took her arm and directed her to the sofa in the front parlor and sat beside her.

  “I slept with Death,” she blurted out.

  Even though it wasn't late enough for crickets, she swore she could hear them.

  “Come again?” Aerin slowly perched on the edge of a blue paisley-printed Queen Anne chair. She reached for her phone that like it was an umbilical cord to her empire, and shut it off. “Are you being literal?”

  She nodded, the action jerky. “Please don't make me say it again.”

  “Did he force you?” Claire asked. “Your skirt is ripped and what happened to your shoes?”

  “I'll kill that lowdown, dirty sumbitch!” Moira exclaimed standing in front of the fireplace her legs spread, ready to go to war. “No one touches my sister.”

  It was too much. Tierra burst into tears, dropping her face into her hands, hiding behind her tangled mane. She'd probably never get a brush through it and would have to cut it off. She didn't want to cut her hair. Like that was the least of her worries.

  “There, there, sugar. It ain't that bad, really. I'm sure there are worse...men you could have rolled over for.” Moira patted her shoulder.

  “I can't think of any,” Aerin snarked, then winced at the dirty looks Moira and Claire shot her.

  “Let me get you a drink,” Claire offered.

  “No. No more drinks.” One Cardinal Sin was more than enough. Tierra lifted her head, wiped at her tears, and tried to get herself under control.

  “Tea, I can make you some tea,” Moira suggested, her expression worried. “No angel blossoms, I swear.”

  Tierra could feel Moira's overwhelming need to help fix her and attempted to reassure her, but the tears flowed faster with the concern and love her sisters directed her way. They'd fought a lot since they'd been reunited, adjusting to their new reality, but they cared for her. Tierra turned into a puddle as sobs escaped her and her shoulders shook.

  “Well, shit, that didn't work,” Moira said. “One of you two do something. Make her stop all
that weepin'.” Her voice hitched like she was going to join Tierra at any moment if she didn't end her blubbering.

  “What happened?” Aerin asked, finding and handing Tierra a box of tissues. “Start from the beginning and tell us everything.”

  Tierra did through her tears. She told them everything. Well, almost everything. There were some things she wouldn't be able to share even with her sisters. They were too personal.

  Silence descended like a heavy blanket when she finished.

  Moira was the first to speak. “I'll give you this, when you go for somethin', you do it with gusto.”

  “I know this is morbid and all—sorry, that was a slip—but how was your first time?” Claire asked. “Are you…physically okay?”

  Remembered pleasure flashed in her mind and regret that she'd never feel like that again settled in like a stone in her stomach. “I'm fine.” She would be. A long soak in the tub was definitely in order. She'd be sore from her activities tomorrow as she was feeling them now.

  “Forget that, how was he? Did you have la petite mort?” Aerin asked, and then snickered. “Sorry, totally out of line, but really this shit doesn't happen every day.”

  Tierra snorted and grabbed at the steadying bits of humor Aerin offered. Tears were getting her nowhere. “I died over and over again in his arms,” she admitted.

  They all dissolved into a fit of giggles.

  “You had an orgasm your first time?” Moira exclaimed. “I sure as hell didn't. But I guess it wasn't like anyone was fixin' to get their rocks off with Skunk Hurley—”

  “Wait,” Tierra interrupted. “You lost your virginity to a guy named Skunk?”

  “Please tell me this wasn’t because of a hygiene issue,” Aerin said.

  “Hell, no. They called him Skunk on account of his tail, but I didn’t know that 'til he got up to get a beer.”

  “You slept with a guy with a tail?” Claire asked. “Is that like a bayou thing?”

  “More like a his-ancestors-slept-with-one-too-many-cousins kind of thing,” Aerin joked.

  “No, it ain't a bayou thing.” Moira ignored Aerin, addressing Claire. “What about you, Miss fire-in-your-pants? Did you give it away or make him work for it?”

  “I waited. I know, big surprise with all my talk this morning. Tierra, I really hope what I said didn't push you to do something you weren't ready for.”

  “Honestly, you might have lit a fire under me, so to speak, mainly because with everything happening around here—” she indicated the house in disrepair “—I didn't want to die a virgin, and then you went and mentioned the sexual power thing and I got curious. Kind of a problem for me, in case you haven't figured out that about me yet. And then I saw him in Sirens. He was so daring, dangerous, and bold.” He'd awakened her sexuality. “Believe me,” she continued. “I was ready for him, just not ready for, you know…him.” She had to take a moment.

  “I thought Death would be…less sexy somehow,” Claire said.

  “The rest of the Horsemen are smoking hot, why wouldn't he be?” Aerin pointed out.

  They all nodded in agreement.

  Tierra changed the subject. “Tell us, Claire, who was your first and how was it?” She'd never shared like this before. Never had close friends. She had Sunny, and Sunny would give her the moon if she asked her to, but there was also the employer/employee relationship she had to consider. Though that didn't seem to bother Sunny in the slightest.

  “Like I said,” Claire started. “I waited, held out for love. But he couldn't handle my fire and my love ended up destroying him. Like literally destroying him. I didn’t realize what I’d done to him until it was too late. I thought he was sick, but he started wanting sex all the time, even though he was wasting away. I couldn’t do it, and then he died. His death certificate said he died from pancreatic cancer, but I know it was me. I burned him up from the inside.”

  Tierra laid her hand over Claire's.

  “Well,” Aerin said. “Given the choice, I would have slept with the tail.”

  “Hey, it could have been worse.” Moira knelt down and sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table. “Skunk's cousin had three balls.”

  “I guess if you sleep with enough cousins you're bound to find your share of tail and testicles.” Aerin laughed.

  “How'd you lose yours?” Claire asked. “We've all shared. It's your turn.”

  “I auctioned it off to the highest bidder. What? Don't look at me like that.”

  “You were a prostitute?” Moira asked.

  “More like a venture capitalist. You can't call me a prostitute if I only sold it once.”

  “You sold your ass for money. So technically…” Moira left the sentence hanging.

  “Oh, come on, it's a valued commodity,” Aerin said. “Why not sell it instead of giving it away?”

  “How was it?” Tierra couldn't help asking, finding the conversation fascinating and more eye-opening into the life her sisters had led.

  “Eh, okay.” Aerin shrugged. “We were both nineteen. He was a geek, adorable actually with his horn-rimmed glasses and pocket protector. Still a turn on for me. Yes, he was the walking stereotype. It was MIT. Now he's a smarter, sexier geek with a wife and three kids. We still exchange Christmas cards and he went on to immortalize me in firmware.”

  “Don't tell me you’re the Aer-in-port?” Claire asked.

  “Cool right? Insert slot A into port B and you get O. You know, I miss him every now and then. I was his first, too, so there was a lot of fumbling though we'd both read up on the subject. He was sweet and extremely willing to please. I probably would have stayed with him longer except for the Dr. Who thing. You can only pillow talk that shit for so long.”

  “So what's the going rate for virginity?” Claire asked. “I feel like I missed the boat.”

  “I made enough to start my company.” Aerin smiled. “You could say it was mutually satisfying for both parties.”

  “All I got was a chicken,” Moira muttered. “She did supply us with eggs every mornin' until we fried her up for dinner one night. Them was some good eats.”

  “Tierra, I think you can take something from our experiences,” Aerin said. “There is no perfect first time. So you slept with Death. Given the chance I would have fucked the brains out of Pestilence.”

  “I thought I'd shared something special with Dru.” Claire tightened her lips and suddenly flames flared in the fireplace. “It really pisses me off that it was all a carefully created illusion.”

  “Came close with Nick,” Moira said. “And I have to tell you, it was the most satisfying almost-sex I've ever had. I'd like to play with him some more.” Her look narrowed to calculating.

  Claire shook her head. “We need to get back on track. There's a point we've missed in all of this. Tierra just had sex with Death and that means that all Four Horsemen of the Apocalypseare here in Port Townsend.” Claire turned to Tierra. “Where did you leave him?”

  “Buried six feet under.”

  “What?” Claire leaned closer. “What did you do?”

  “I don't know how I did it.” Tierra swallowed the lump that had returned. “I've been able to shake things up before, but when he demanded I pick which one of you to—”

  “That motherfucker,” Aerin spat.

  “—and I just needed him gone, and then he was.”

  “That'll fix his little red wagon,” Moira said.

  Aerin nodded her approval. “Well, done, Tierra.”

  “Let's hope that keeps him for a while.” Claire stood. “I suggest we get the book and figure out a way to fortify our defenses. They'll be coming for us and now they are four strong.”

  “And so are we,” Aerin said with a glint in her eye.

  Chapter Six

  Bane entered the house located deep in the woods.

  “You're late.” Dru met him at the door and showed him the way to where the other Horsemen were holed up.

  “Something came up,” Bane growled. He wasn't surpris
ed to enter a fully functioning headquarters/library. Dru had his way about setting up a base, and there was Julian to consider as he always traveled with trunks of books, while Nick needed all his computers and such.

  “What have you been doing? Rolling around in the dirt?” Nick brushed Killian's shoulder and bits of soil fell to the Persian rug.

  Something like that.

  He had to give it to Tierra de Moray. The woman knew how to make a lasting impression. In all his years, he'd never had to dig himself out of the ground before.

  “And what's up with meeting here instead of Sirens?” Nick continued. “The service here sucks.”

  “Get your own fucking drink then,” Dru said. He handed the glass of scotch meant for Nick to Bane.

  He took it and tossed it back, relishing the burn, but not the woodsy aftertaste. He needed something…else…to bury his day.

  Bad choice of words.

  He headed to the fully stocked bar near the wide windows that looked out over the evergreen forest that were the color of Tierra's eyes. Shit. He reached under the cabinet for the bottle of Patrón. Sharp and bitter. That's what he wanted. Hopefully, the tequila would burn the sweet, earthy, floral taste that Tierra had left in his mouth. Taking the bottle with him, along with a tumbler, he dropped into a seat not giving a shit that he was filthy and probably ruining the fabric.

  “Let's hurry this along.” He needed a shower and then he would to track Tierra de Moray down. He didn't know what he'd do when he got a hold of her, but it would be epic.

  She'd buried him.

  Him.

  “What happened?” Julian murmured, from where he sat in the large corner chair. He saw more than the others, which was his way. He studied, analyzed, dissected, while Nick and Dru were all about formatting a plan and seeing it through to the bloody end.

  The first shot of tequila burned a hole in his gut. “I slept with Tierra de Moray,” he ground out through clenched teeth. And he would again if given the opportunity. Somehow, someway, he had to devise a plan for that to happen.