Water Witch

by R. J. Blain

  “I hear.” I hung up and gave my uncle his phone. “Was he lying?”

  My uncle sighed. “Not in the slightest, pup, so don’t do anything stupid. Marcy will forgive me if I get my dumbass self killed bringing her baby home, but no matter what my stupid sister said, it would kill her to lose either one of you.”

  One day, I hoped a woman looked at me the way Wendy watched the devil. My witchcraft confirmed the wisdom of my eyes. While my mother and father loved each other, the depths of Wendy’s adoration for her mate rivaled any ocean.

  Because he breathed, so did she.

  The devil hid his love better, but he was the same, a mirror of her, although he was a dark, closely guarded one. What caught me by surprise was the devil himself. An echo of his affection for his mate applied to my uncle, different, but still deep. It wasn’t the love of lovers, but after some thought on the matter, I decided I felt a true, deep, and cherished friendship, something so warm I couldn’t imagine why anyone might fear the Inquisition’s enforcer.

  “What are you looking at?” the devil growled.

  For some unfathomable reason, he liked me too. Fortunately, I could hide my curiosity behind a real and serious problem. “How are we supposed to find Dad? All his pack will be able to do is tell us a direction. How is that supposed to help?”

  “Your father is probably in Tucson, Arizona. There’s a three-pack rivalry there, and he would be a one-wolf army as an Alpha there. If he is there, your bitch is likely a scapegoat, or she has aspirations to become a Second’s mate. If you were to undergo a ritual, I expect you’d become a Second under your father rather quickly. Your witchcraft would cause problems, but the Inquisition would consider a hostage situation a tolerable reason for you to accept the ritual. If they’re willing to take an Alpha as part of a turf war, they’re willing to force a water witch to go through the ritual. They won’t care if you’re killed in the process, although you’re too damned stubborn to die from a mere ritual.”

  “I can’t tell if you’re mocking me or complimenting me.”

  “Both,” the devil replied with a smirk. “Anyway, taking an Alpha makes sense if they can get him away from his pack. The fastest way to do that is to threaten his pup—you. To add to the situation, Las Vegas often flies under the radar, so Rob’s usually underestimated. While your father’s no match for me or your uncle, he’s a contender. What’s more important is this: once you learn the tricks of your trade, you’ll be more of a threat to your father’s status as Alpha than most.”

  “Me?” I blurted.

  “You. A strong witch can bring any wolf in line, and I’m willing to bet you’re among one of the strongest water witches alive. It’s the scent. When your scent is strong enough to overwhelm the scent of your father, it’s not something to be taken lightly. But that said, Sanders is always worried you’ll mouth off to the wrong person. I’m sure you will. But when you look at me, you don’t perceive me as a threat.”

  Not a question, but a statement, one so confident as to leave no doubt in my mind he meant every word. “No. I don’t fear you. Sure, you can be scary, but you’ve never done anything actually threatening. People just say you’re scary.”

  “Sanders, tell your nephew how scary I am,” the devil ordered.

  My uncle, who was doing his final check of the room so we could leave, stopped what he was doing and glared at the older wolf. “Why are you bringing me into this, Desmond?”

  “I’ve been victimizing you for decades.”

  Having seen my father interact with his wolves often enough, if I let the two start, we’d never leave the hotel. “Can we go rescue Dad? I need to rub this in his face for a few decades—or at least use him as a shield so I don’t get the spoon. Uncle, don’t listen to the devil. He’s lonely and likes you, that’s all there is to it. Damned needy wolves.”

  Wendy laughed. “He’s got you figured out, Charles.”

  “Thanks, Wendy.”

  “Anytime, dear. Now, the pup’s right. We really should go rescue Rob. Why have we waited for so long to leave?”

  “I was giving Rob a chance to rescue himself. I was also giving the Tucson packs a chance to figure their shit out. I’d rather look scary than be scary, but I’ll be scary if I must.”

  It took us three hours from the hotel to reach Tucson, Arizona, and the devil parked at a police station. I recognized two of the four Fenerec, and none of them were happy to see us. I wondered at Holly and Barry’s sourness, which melded with an alarming amount of fear.

  For a few moments, the fear dominated, but then a deep-seated anger roiled, hammering at me. I considered Jones’s calm acceptance of what he couldn’t change, along with his choice to ignore it.

  I couldn’t ignore the emotions around me, but I could accept them—and I could maybe change them. Of Holly and Barry, I liked Holly the most. If I could change her perception of the situation, maybe all four of them would shift their emotions to something easier for me to tolerate.

  “Hey, Barry’s Babe. It’s been a while.”

  The Fenerec jumped as though I’d shoved Tasers up their asses and let rip. Their attention landed on me. I waved with my splinted hand.

  “So. It’s true. Some idiots really went to Vegas, and they banged up the Chief’s son in the process.” Holly slapped her forehead. “What a mess. I was hoping it wasn’t true. It’s one thing to screw with an Alpha, but leave the puppies out of it.”

  “The puppy’s growing up,” my uncle growled. “Rob’s an ass, but he’s a part of my family. Let’s make this simple. I’m taking Rob and his puppy home. I’m doing it before the sun goes down. Anyone touches either of them, and I’ll enjoy doing the Inquisition’s dirty work for a change. Where is he?”

  The fear returned, and Holly and Barry exchanged worried looks. One of the other Fenerec, a brawny man who likely took out criminals in a tackle for fun, took a step forward. “What’s it to you?”

  Sanders growled, and the other Fenerec halted. “I’m Seattle’s Alpha, and someone thought they could take my sister’s mate. You tell me. We have names and pictures of the Fenerec responsible. All I need from you are addresses we might find them at. Got it?”

  “The rail yard, auxiliary unit two off the main refrigeration warehouse. It’s owned by our Alpha’s cousin, who wants to become the Alpha of a splinter pack. He scored himself a pair of unmated bitches a month ago,” Holly announced.

  The Fenerec who had challenged my uncle whipped his arm out in Holly’s direction, and she flinched.

  For a moment, her fear burst into terror; then she damped it with her anger.

  I growled. “Don’t you touch her, asshat. You’re supposed to be a cop.”

  “Leave pack business to Fener—”

  The human mouth contained a lot of fluid to keep the tongue and other delicate tissues moist, and I could make it bend to my will. It took a single thought to redirect every drop of his saliva to his throat. “Your pack allowed this. If you could handle your pack business, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

  The Fenerec choked on his spit.

  “Don’t kill him yet, Dustin,” the devil chided, patting my shoulder. “Let him breathe.”

  It was a lot harder to release the wolf than it had been to use his body against him. I panted from the effort. “Sorry, sir.”

  “Please forgive young Dustin. It’s his first op as a shotgun, and I’ve given him my blessing to use as much force as he’d like so he can take his father home to his mother. Unless you really want to find out what an angry water witch can do, I suggest you cooperate. I’ll be generous. In two hours, I’ll be at the gate to the warehouse. These troublemakers will bring Rob, unharmed, to me. They will turn themselves in. Should they, I’ll give them the best options available, even if it means a clean, painless death. Otherwise, I’ll need a good clean-up crew.”

  “Witch,” the wolf gasped.

  “Indeed,” the Inquisition’s devil agreed. “I wouldn’t have let him out of the truck if I hadn
’t thought he could take care of himself. So. Do you think they’ll come?”

  “No.” The Fenerec’s immediate reply concerned me. “They’re mad, one and all, but they haven’t bothered anyone until now.”

  Great. The Tucson packs liked to let a problem stew until it blew up in their faces.

  My uncle grunted, and he shook his head. “Even the bitches?”

  “Even? No. Not even. They’re the reason the others went mad. They want that pup, the both of them, and the males want them. The bitches won’t let any of them mate until they get what they want—that pup.”

  My uncle’s brows shot up. “Both females want the same male? And they’re cooperating? How long has this been going on?”

  I’d been around Fenerec long enough to understand what shocked my uncle so much. Once mated, Fenerec didn’t tolerate competition. Males and females alike would kill to safeguard their mate, and there was no sharing.

  Holly and Barry shrugged while the other two grew steadily more uncomfortable, and their agitation burned against my senses. As though somehow sensing their unrest, my uncle stepped forward, keeping between me and the other Fenerec. If he’d been a wolf, his ears would’ve been turned back with his teeth bared.

  He wouldn’t have been growling.

  “Three weeks,” Holly replied after the silence dragged on.

  The devil gave my shoulder a squeeze and nodded at the truck. I backed away without breaking eye contact with the Tucson Fenerec.

  He waited until I reached the door before he said, “Well, tell your Alpha this. I’m retrieving Rob, and I’ve decided I have no more interest in offering a grace period. I’ll be back in a week following Rob’s safe return home. I expect this city to be cleaned up. Form one or two proper packs with a full chain of command. The Alpha, Second, and Third of all packs will meet with me. If mated, their mates will be in attendance. Should I be ignored, I’ll clean this city myself, and I won’t be inclined towards peaceful negotiations. Am I understood?”

  The Fenerec nodded.

  “Last but not least, if I find out any of you mongrels are hitting your bitches, I will personally remove your hands. The den should never smell of fear,” the devil snarled.

  Wendy joined me, took my arm, and linked it with hers, pulling me into the truck behind her. “Don’t worry, Dustin. He has very strong beliefs about what home life should be like, and he’s proud of his daughters, who have learned to only worry when they’ve done something particularly heinous.”

  Charles Desmond had puppies? Somehow, the knowledge made me admire him—and wonder even more about him than I already did. The devil had a soft side, but I couldn’t tell if it was a weakness or the source of his strength.

  Interesting.

  On the way to the warehouse, the devil stopped at a small gun shop several miles away, and he armed me with silver bullets and wolfsbane. To my surprise, Dad would be the target of the drug. The gun might buy me enough time for one of them to save my ass if necessary. If I needed the gun, I doubted my lackluster aim would do me a lick of good. Worse, I might hit the wrong person, which wouldn’t help at all.

  When—if—I made it home, I would reevaluate my stance on my firearm handling. The little martial arts my father had beaten into me wouldn’t help against a Fenerec for long. If anyone expected scrawny me to do better—and face off against wolves—I would need every advantage I could get.

  The devil parked the truck next to the second auxiliary building, got out, and handed me a grenade.

  “You’re mad. That’s the only reason I can think of to explain why you’d hand me this.”

  “It’s loaded with sedatives and wolfsbane. Since the bitches want your puppies, they’re not going to kill you on sight. I won’t promise they won’t try to take a nip and rip your pants off, but I’ll pay for any therapy you might require as a result of today’s operation.”

  Great. The devil sounded confident I’d require therapy by the time the day was done.

  My uncle adjusted the holster around my hips before checking the grenade. “We’ll try to prevent you from getting nipped in the first place. Sensors and rutting bitches tend to be a volatile combination. If you get in the blast radius of this bad boy, you’ll be taking a five-hour nap at a minimum; it’s equivalent to the device they used on your dad’s car, except this cocktail caters to Fenerec. You want a twenty-foot buffer, or you’ll be taking a nap. If you get in serious trouble, pull the pin and drop it at your feet. No one will be able to reach you without getting a full dose of it.”

  “Roger. Pull the pin and toss otherwise?”

  “It has a two-second delay, so yes. Pull and toss. Don’t count. Honestly, if you need to pull the pin, you’ll be taking a nap.”

  “Am I the only person here who thinks this is a terrible plan?”

  “Yes,” the Fenerec replied, even Wendy.

  I bowed my head and wondered how my father could cause me so many problems. “All right. You really want me to go in first?”

  “Go rescue your dad, pup.” My uncle patted my shoulder. “We’ll be right behind you, and Wendy’ll be at your heels. She’ll throw everyone off, and even mad wolves have trouble attacking a submissive like her. Just play it cool. If the shit hits the fan, drop the grenade and hold your breath for as long as you can.”

  “That’s not going to help much, Hot Stuff.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll give you a few seconds to move if you need to before the drugs kick in. If you can last long enough to tell everyone to not move, you win. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about getting you and your dad out of this alive, and drugging everyone in the building will accomplish that.”

  “And what about you?” I asked, careful to keep from snapping at my uncle despite my agitation over the situation.

  It wouldn’t help.

  “We’re older, pup. You could hit me with a transport and just piss me off. Don’t worry. I won’t throw away my life unnecessarily.”

  It worried me he would if needed. I didn’t need magic to recognize the truth. All my witchcraft did was confirm my fears.

  I wasn’t sure how the Inquisition cleared the warehouse grounds several hours before its usual closing time, but when we arrived, we were the only ones near the refrigeration buildings. The quiet unnerved me more than anything else. Wendy, as a wolf, slunk along behind me, her ears twisted back.

  While she wasn’t frightened, I believed the op made her nervous too—and for the first time since meeting him, I actually feared Charles Desmond.

  No, I feared what Charles Desmond would do if anyone hurt his mate. There would be blood, and probably mine for letting anyone hurt his mate in the first place.

  If all Inquisition operations sucked so much, I’d be tempted to find out if witchbane could eradicate my magic so I could return to obscurity or undergo the ritual to become a Fenerec. If I wasn’t a witch anymore, the Inquisition wouldn’t have a reason to shoot me between the eyes with a silver bullet. Or so I hoped.

  When I got home, I’d have a long talk with Dad about my life choices for a change. Then I’d hide in my apartment for at least a month. After I finished hiding, I’d ask Jeremiah to take me to the gun range for a lot of practice.

  Wendy nuzzled my hand, and I sighed, closed the distance to the door, knocked, and shoved my way inside. “Hello? Any dipshit assholes home? Special fucking delivery.”

  Wendy sighed.

  I snorted and arched a brow. “You weren’t actually expecting anything different from me, were you?”

  The devil’s mate, for a submissive, had a rather potent glare.

  “I’ll take that to mean you did. Yeah. Sorry, Wendy. I’m an ass like that. Ask Dad. He’ll agree.”

  “Dusty?” A squeal, unpleasant in its familiarity, came from deeper in the box-cluttered, chilly building. “You’re really here? You really came for that black man?”

  Poor Laurel. My anger, what there was of it, popped as the truth sank in, burying its claws deep within me.

&
nbsp; Her words condemned her, and there was nothing I could do about it. My anger returned, which did a good job of dulling the edge of my growing guilt. “That black man is my father, Laurel. Were you really expecting a different result? You kidnapped him. Of course I’d come for my dad. Hand him over.” I wanted to call her names, to make it clear what I thought about her ploy. She’d view bitch as a compliment, and wasting extra effort on her would only piss me off more. “If you wanted to talk, you could’ve done something sane. Like call. You have my number. The last time you called it, you were telling me how busy you were and cancelling on me. Again. So, just hand my dad over, Laurel.”

  “Don’t be mean, Dusty. I was preparing myself for you.”

  Yep, my former lover had taken a long walk off a short pier. I didn’t want to know the six pack’s fate. Damn it. I needed a beer to put up with this shit. “Wow, Laurel. Didn’t it occur to you that you could just have asked me to date you?”

  The answering silence informed me she’d skipped that part of the planning process.

  “Where’s my dad, Laurel? Stop the stupid games.”

  “Come to me, and I’ll show you.”

  “Come into my web, the spider says to the fly,” I muttered even as I took another step into the building, with Wendy crowding my heels.

  Footsteps deeper within promised I wasn’t alone, and I halted to listen. Most days, my magic annoyed me and drove me to the brink of insanity, but I appreciated it ignored some things, like boxes, walks, and anything other than flowing water—or blood. Or people. Or animals. Or anything living.

  Four Fenerec stalked me, and my witchcraft identified them as male, eager for the hunt. A sickness, a little like cancer but hotter, deeper, and infecting every part of them, smothered my awareness of them beyond the heat slowly consuming them. Deeper within the warehouse, two more living flames waited, one female and so aroused it amazed me she hadn’t jumped the nearest male for relief.