Blood Magic

by Jayne Hawke

  My first response wasn’t a threat assessment, and that was an embarrassment of a sort. Matt was facing six opponents, a fae team doubtless there to pick him up as leverage, and he had them all held stock still in an impressive thanatophobic trance. Obsessed with their own deaths, none of them could take a step. I wasn’t sure if he couldn’t kill them or just chose not to, but either way he had an entire fae snatch and grab team – complete with adorable matching outfits – held in terrified thrall while they contemplated the inevitability of their own deaths.

  Either way, I couldn’t have been prouder of him if he’d won the Nobel Prize in brain breaking. I took no pains to save him, in no rush to interrupt a master at work, but Kerry was more immediately at hand. It was almost sad, like watching someone pushing over snow men, seeing her finish off the first of the team that had been sent against Matt. I took a mental inventory at that thought, realizing that I’d just reached a point where eliminating kidnappers seemed like interfering with beauty, and actually felt okay about the whole thing.

  Unfortunately, two executions into the process, the survival instinct of the capture team kicked in and they sleepily returned to the bodies they had so readily left to fate mere moments ago.

  Fear in the eyes of each aggressor made lie of their professional exterior. Whoever had sent them, whatever their purpose was, all they wanted now was to survive. I’d hoped they would flee, but it wasn’t meant to be. They threw themselves heedlessly at Matt, their fight-or-flight reaction picking the former. I grabbed one before he could get far and opened his throat with a quick flick of my dagger. Kerry took down another two with her claws, both of their heads practically removed as her casual executions turned to fury in an instant as she saw them threaten Matt.

  We both leapt for the last one in unison, but he got to Matt before either of us got to him, and I cursed my stupid, blasé reaction to the threat they posed. There was no good outcome to it, not once the fae reached Matt, and my heart broke as I felt his magic flare up in an uncontrolled, momentary geyser of power. The fae was dead, had to be. Matt was safe, but he wasn’t going to be the same as before, not after what he’d had to do.

  Kerry leaped over to sweep him into her arms, none of the reserve a centuries-old cat might have pretended to on show. I didn’t know what this pack’s story was, but I knew that it let two cats be in love without bringing out claw and fang over the details and that was everything to me right that moment. She and I shared a glance, and we were thinking the same thing. This wasn’t his fault, he shouldn’t have been involved in this, and we were going to kill whoever brought him into it.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Kerry hadn’t allowed anyone near Matt while she checked him over and made sure his injuries weren’t too bad. The pack had come running when they felt Kerry’s fury and distress. Matt glared at us when Kerry finally stepped back to let us see him.

  “I’m fine. I’m just hungry,” he grumbled.

  “You’re the one who tells me it’s not a bad thing for the pack to be worried...” I pointed out.

  He frowned, and Kerry pulled him close.

  “I just want to eat,” he said softly.

  His eyes held a slight glassiness. A rage rose within me. Matt had always been scared of his death magic, and those bastards had given him no choice but to use it. I hoped that this wouldn’t leave a permanent scar on his psyche. He was my gentle baby brother, and I was going to tear apart the bastards that did this to him.

  Rolling my shoulders, I turned to Ethan, who stood at my side. Cade and Dean were pacing around the perimeter of a circle we’d naturally formed around Matt.

  “How do I get this bounty off my head? I’m willing to kill whoever I have to. No one is going to touch Matt again,” I snarled.

  My god magic being difficult had been partly to blame for Matt’s having to use his magic. I made a mental note to dig out the gauntlet I’d taken from the Aphrodite witches. Daggers weren’t going to cut it. I needed something more vicious.

  Ethan placed his hands on my upper arms and looked into my eyes.

  “Take a slow breath,” he said calmly.

  I gritted my teeth and did as he said. The rage subsided a little.

  “You’re pissed off because someone hurt your pack. That’s natural, but do not allow it to push you into making a foolish decision. To remove your bounty, we need to find out who has sent people after you and deal with them,” Ethan said coolly.

  I nodded. That had the potential to be a political disaster. Or a suicide mission.

  “You could speak to Ryn,” Kerry said.

  Her eyes glittered with predatory malice as she held Matt close to her.

  Ethan exhaled slowly through his nose and squeezed my arms a little tighter.

  “You’re assuming Ryn would speak to me,” Ethan said slowly.

  “Try,” Kerry snapped.

  “Ryn is the strongest lord in the fae territories,” Ethan growled back.

  “I am aware of who he is. You have spoken to him before. Pull strings. Make it happen. You know as well as I do this will only get worse. Are you willing to lose her?” Kerry nodded to me. “Or will do what needs to be done?”

  Ethan flashed his sharp hound teeth at her.

  “Do not push me, cat.”

  “You know this is only the beginning. It will end in her death or her capture. This isn’t just some idle game from a small lord. They all want her, and they won’t stop until they have her.”

  “I will see what can be done,” Ethan growled.

  I hated that this was apparently out of my hands. I wanted to tear someone limb from limb for daring touch Matt. The slight glassiness in his eyes haunted me. I should have done better. I should have been better.

  I finally managed to get Matt to myself after dinner.

  “Talk to me,” I said softly.

  “I used my magic. I felt the life within them snap and slip away,” he said in barely more than a whisper.

  I pulled him into a hug and stroked his hair.

  “How do you do it? With your magic?” he asked as he looked into my eyes.

  I hadn’t really thought about it. I had always done what I needed to do for our safety. How many people had I killed without really concerning myself with what that meant? Did that make me a psychopath?

  “I... I don’t know. My priority is keeping you safe. Their deaths are just a means to an end.” I paused. “That sounds so cold and cruel.”

  He gave me a weak smile.

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me you know. We’re not blood, but you have always given me everything you had. I just... I hope that I, that my inability to really fight hasn’t harmed you.”

  “Don’t be daft, I’m fine. Maybe a bit broken and screwed up, but nothing horrendous,” I said with a smile.

  He relaxed a little.

  “Kerry’s going to teach me more about my magic and fighting. I’m going to see if I can use it for good with my alchemy.”

  “I have no doubt that you’ll change the world.”

  He smiled at me.

  “I’m not going to be the pack’s weak link. I will master this and get over my fear. I promise.”

  “You’re anything but weak,” I said firmly.

  “This is a dangerous world. I can’t afford to continue hiding in books and letting you do the bloody work. I need to do this, to become dangerous myself.”

  His words broke my heart. I felt as though those assassins had stripped away something beautiful.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Matt had been up before sunrise sparring with Kerry. He looked invigorated as I stumbled into the kitchen looking around for coffee. He handed me a big cup of coffee, and I slumped down into my seat at the kitchen table. Kerry was looking in the fridge for something or other.

  “Do we have any pastries left?” I asked Matt.

  “Kerry brought a fresh batch over with her,” he said with a grin.

  “You are a godsend,” I said to Kerry.


  I opened the box of pastries that Matt handed to me and noticed that all of the croissant had been nibbled on.

  I looked from the croissant to Kerry and back again. She shrugged.

  “I got hungry.”

  “So you nibbled on all of them...?”

  She just shrugged again and pulled a jar of blueberry jam out of the fridge. I ignored the croissant and helped myself to a couple of danishes.

  The cait sidhe perched on the edge of the kitchen counter and very carefully applied jam to a scone that she had cut in half. Deep furrows had formed between her brows where she concentrated as she slowly slid the jam across the surface of the scone. Lifting it to her eye level, she assessed it before she smiled and took a bite out of it.

  “I don’t like when the jam is uneven,” she explained.

  That process seemed like far too much effort. I liked my breakfast to be easy to stuff into my mouth without any thought required. I wasn’t going to be capable of real thought until after my second cup of coffee.

  “You know it’s blasphemy to eat those scones without clotted cream,” Cade chided as he strolled into the kitchen.

  Kerry wrinkled her nose.

  “Why would I put clotted cream on them?”

  “It’s how they’re supposed to be eaten,” Cade said as he pulled the clotted cream out of the fridge.

  “Says who? They’re my scones,” Kerry said grumpily.

  “Says tradition and people with taste buds,” Cade said as he made a bee line for the scones.

  Kerry glared at him.

  “You are not ruining my scones with that cream,” she said as she scooted the box behind her.

  “You are not claiming the entire box of scones. Hand two over,” Cade said.

  He was wearing a black t-shirt with his pyjamas; I was beginning to wonder if he was allergic to shirts of another colour. Maybe I’d get him a nice blue one for the winter solstice and see if he got a rash.

  Kerry narrowed her eyes.

  “Go and get your own scones,” she said.

  “Cat, stop being an idiot and give me two scones,” Cade said with a sigh.

  Kerry muttered and grumbled before she plopped two scones onto a plate. Cade made sure she could see as he slathered a thick layer of clotted cream onto them before he added uneven dollops of blueberry jam. Kerry’s mouth was puckered into a miserable scowl, which only deepened when Cade took a big bite of the first scone.

  “Now that is how scones are supposed to be eaten,” he said with a victorious grin.

  Ethan had finally finished wrangling with the contract issue he’d been tackling. That left him free to sit down with the rest of us as we tried to figure out what to do about the fae bloodline that was being targeted.

  “I vote we let the witches kill them. They have it coming,” Kerry said.

  “We cannot let the witches exterminate an entire bloodline. A war will break out between the fae and the witches,” Ethan said.

  “I still think they have it coming,” Kerry said with a shrug.

  “I’m not disputing that. What they did to those witches was appalling,” Ethan said diplomatically.

  “Do we know if the witches at least get the usual vampire benefits? Huge bank accounts, frilly shirts, perfect skin?” Dean asked.

  I was very impressed with his even tone and straight face as he said it. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from giggling.

  “Wait, do people just gain huge bank accounts when they get turned?” Cade asked.

  “I think so? I mean they’re all rich. I think they wake up thirsty and then they’re given a big mansion, bank account, and a wardrobe full of frilly shirts,” Dean said seriously before he took a sip of his coffee.

  “That vampire thing is looking up... can they turn cu sith?” Cade asked thoughtfully.

  “You already have a large bank account and can buy multiple mansions if you want,” Ethan said.

  “You can never have too many big bank accounts,” Cade said.

  “He has a point,” I said.

  “As I was saying... We need to decide what to do about the bloodline. They’re targeting mongrels as well as those of pure fae blood. I don’t believe we have any way to warn the mongrels, but we might be able to warn the purebloods. However, that provides its own problems. If word gets out that someone is targeting them, their enemies will send assassins and try to use the witches to cover their tracks. And of course, the higher ranking of the line will try and exterminate or control the witches,” Ethan said.

  “So, we ignore the fae and focus on taking out the witches,” Dean said.

  Ethan took a long drink of his coffee.

  “I believe so, yes. We do, however, need to try and track down every member of that line within this territory,” Ethan said.

  I bit back a groan. That sounded like tedious paperwork.

  THIRTY-SIX

  Tracking down the members of the bloodline was slow going. The fae didn’t put things like that online. There were no nice genealogy websites. That meant trawling through birth announcements and trying to get into the fae social media websites. Kerry was working on the social media while I slowly looked through the social-focused news websites.

  Rolling my shoulders and uncurling on the couch, I decided I needed coffee, and maybe some of that wonderful dark chocolate Ethan liked to keep around. The rest of the pack were settled into their respective seats around the living room. Ethan had settled next to me, Kerry was in the armchair nearest the door, Cade and Dean were on the two-seater directly facing the huge TV. Everyone had just settled into their places as though we’d lived there for years.

  I padded into the kitchen and began looking through the drawer devoted to coffee beans. I’d never seen such a thing until I’d met the pack. There was a huge range and variety there, and every coffee-producing country was represented. I didn’t think I’d tried more than six of them, each rich and incredible.

  A soft tapping coming from the window near the sink big enough to sit in caught my attention. Looking up, I frowned at the window, wondering if a bird was trying to break in. To my chagrin, it wasn’t a bird, but our friendly neighbourhood assassin.

  I crossed my arms and glared at the elf. He have a big sigh that made his shoulders rise and fall before he pointed at the back door. We kept the door firmly locked with numerous magical protections over the locks and doors. I made a shooing motion and returned my attention to the coffee while hoping he didn’t have another dead body with him.

  The tapping resumed. This time from the back door. He stood with his arms crossed and a stubborn expression painted on his face. I wasn’t going to get my coffee until I’d sent him away.

  Ethan came into the kitchen to investigate as I reached the back door. A deep growl formed in Ethan’s throat. He moved protectively behind me. I wished I’d kept the Aphrodite witch gauntlet closer on hand. I was still adjusting to using it at all. My knives and daggers were second nature, but this could turn out to have been a good chance to practice with the unfamiliar weapon.

  Unlocking and opening the door, I glared at Sin.

  “I want to join your pack,” Sin said simply.

  “We’ve been through this. There is absolutely no reason for us to allow you into our pack,” Ethan said flatly.

  Sin tilted his head slightly.

  “That’s what you do. You take in the misfits and vagabonds. The one in plaid was on death row because he killed his lord, the one in black was rejected from all of the other packs for being too soft. And the cat...” He smirked at Kerry. “Well, she ran out on her bonding.”

  A deep growl came from Kerry’s throat. I hadn’t noticed her behind me until she growled. Damn cats and their stealth.

  I looked around at the pack, my pack, and realised I’d never asked about their pasts. The idea of Cade being too soft was absurd, wasn’t it? He’s was certainly the gentlest of the group, but he’d ripped out throats without an apparent second thought. And what was Kerry’s bondi
ng supposed to be?

  “And you think that means I’ll allow you into this pack?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes,” Sin said.

  Dean snorted.

  “We’re a pack of death workers,” Dean said.

  I tried to keep my face neutral, but a frown tugged at my mouth. Was I a death worker?

  Ethan squeezed my hand while focusing on Sin.

  “How exactly is an elf assassin not a death worker?” Sin asked.

  “The answer is still no,” Ethan said as he shut the door.

  “I will still watch over you,” he shouted to me through the door.

  I didn’t know if that was the type of protection I wanted.

  “I want to know everything,” I said as I put some coffee beans from Brazil into the grinder.

  “There’s not much to tell,” Dean said.

  “You were on death row...” I said over my shoulder.

  “And Ethan saved me. End of story.”

  I wasn’t sure how much to push. It clearly wasn’t a pleasant story.

  “Dean killed his lord after he was found to be abusing and trafficking in shifters. As a son of the Morrigan, I have more sway than other cu sith. I saw great potential in him and brought him into my pack. The other packs didn’t see Cade’s strength. He was smaller than others his age, and they saw his quiet demeanour as weakness. I knew better. As for Kerry-” Ethan said.

  “As for me,” Kerry cut him off, “cait sidhe are frequently bound to a fae house or family. We are supposed to take their dead and dying to the other side. Of course, fae don’t die all that often, so we have a lot of free time. I’ve heard that some cait sidhe are given great freedom, and others are revered. I was treated like a dumb beast and servant. I got sick and tired of it and ran. Ethan brought me into the pack, thus taking over my bond. As much as I might poke fun at the hounds, they’re my family, and I’ll never forget what they’ve done for me.”