The only way to truly learn was through experience. And that meant… taking a chance, even if people could get hurt, emotionally. It didn’t mean she had to sleep around or anything stupid like that, self control was still a major part of it. But Ed was pretty hot, and her feelings toward him were changing. Especially since he just saved her life, and the very amorous reaction her body had while being against his. The affect he’d had on her was undeniable.
Silva who didn’t speak much, merely shared her feelings and said, “Yes, I agree.”
The mental picture Silva then shared with Celia didn’t bear describing in polite company and seemed to increase the tingling in her lower torso.
She really wanted to explore that, but now wasn’t the time. Right now she was covered with burnt exploded shifter, her clothes were ripped from her rolling fight on the pavement, and the car was busted.
Plus, the sun was going down and they were still a few miles from the coven. All those things served to cool her ardor and she was able to think straight again. She’d have to take a chance on things later…
She knelt down on the ground and searched the dead guy… keys.
She smiled and winked at Ed as she walked over and unlocked the van. She then went back and threw the body in. The other body was going to be an issue, there wasn’t that much of it left. Mia walked up with a disgusted but determined look on her face and raised her hand at the goopy remains. Mia clenched her jaw and then water started to flow up away from it.
She watched in amazement as the remains turned dry and brittle and a large ball of water collected above the remains.
Mia said with a distasteful grimace, “Burn it Ed.”
Ed turned the rest of corpse two to dust in moments, and Mia dropped the ball of water hovering over it which washed it away. There wasn’t even a bloodstain.
She ran back a few yards down the road and grabbed the spike strip, threw it in the van quick and they all piled in. Mia had pulled his car over to the side of the road, he could get new tires later, not to mention the hood and windshield. At least all evidence of the fight was gone. As Ed pulled the van out she muttered the one word dispersal spell and her glamour faded away.
Not only had she decided to give Ed a chance if the opportunity came up, she also decided she was very tired of the damned assassins… That last fight had been a little more exciting than she preferred.
“Mia…”
Mia glanced over at her.
“Thanks for not say I told you so. I’m sorry.”
Mia shrugged, “I can’t say it was fun, but I held it together at least.”
She smiled back at the young witch. Mia had held it together. But the girl was only seventeen, and not an enforcer, or a crazy shifter. She wished Mia hadn’t been there at all, that she hadn’t had to see or go through that, but she was impressed by her all the same.
Chapter 10
Dusk was giving way to night, the horizon was still a little purple and pink, but they were definitely pushing it time wise because of the assassins’ attack. Hopefully those two working together were the last of the second wave. If things went right, they should be done with the vampire and out of town before a third wave shows up. That was her hope anyway.
She considered the risk for a second after she arrived, it was almost completely dark, but she was too messed up not to shower. So she grabbed her bag and waved at the shocked faces when she came in bloody and disappeared into the bathroom. She felt much better when she was done, and a little hungry. She shook her head, she’d never taken a life casually, only in self defense or in defense of others, but her blasé attitude toward gore still surprised her at times.
She should be horrified and in shock, not thinking about a nice juicy steak. She half smiled at her reflection and shook those thoughts off, it was how she was now. Better that anyway, than feeling guilt and despair over people that clearly needed killing. She brushed out and put up her hair, and then joined the others. Fran and Berny fussed on her a bit, she did have a few bruises on her arms which would be gone by morning, but they didn’t fuss for too long, and there was food waiting for her. She loved those witches.
“So did you get enough circles up?”
Berny nodded, “Yes, the whole coven came over which is over thirty. So we got six circles done before they all had to head back home for dark, so we don’t have to triple up. I’m glad you’re safe, Ed and Mia too.”
She grinned, “If things go well tonight, Ed and I are taking a trip to deal with the source, do you think you, Mia and Fran can hold the store together for a few days?”
Berny, Fran, and Mia agreed right off, but Fran and Berny both gave her a look she interpreted as you better tell us more later… or else.
She fought back a smile and ate some more steak. She wasn’t looking forward to that, they would freak out at the insanity of the mission. Luckily Fran changed the subject for her.
Fran’s voice was frustrated, “I wish the damn thing would attack, waiting on it is worse.”
Ed shrugged, “It probably doesn’t know about the circles, or the demon would attack now. It’s probably waiting for you all to turn in for the night before taking another go at Elaine. We’re all wide awake, on edge, and close the ritual room. It’s just waiting for what it assumes will be a better opportunity.”
Celia seemed to be even hungrier when she finished off the first plate, so she just listened to the nervous chatter around her as she refilled and demolished her plate a couple more times. She both loved and hated the bottomless abyss her stomach had become. Sometimes it was nice, she was able to eat a quart of chocolate ice cream without a trace of guilt, but more often it was a chore to put down eight to ten thousand calories a day.
When midnight started to get close, she decided the demon must be trying to kill her through boredom. It wasn’t much longer when an air elemental showed up again, in the corner of her eye. It started to vibrate and spin in an agitated fashion and all her senses sharpened in reaction. It was here, or an assassin, but she was almost sure it was the former.
Ed was in the room with her, inside a very small circle he’d thrown together. He hated that he wouldn’t be able to help much in the coming fight, but he’d do what he could. She looked at the front door, hoping the demon would come through there, it would end the fight before it started. But no such luck, she heard the window break as the vampire demon jumped through it, and she lunged at it just as fast.
They traded a few blows with none landing at first, but he got her right in the chest with a flat palm strike that shoved her into the air and across the room. She flipped and landed on her feat.
The Demon’s voice was low, scratchy, like a thousand insects grating just right to actually make speech. It was the creepiest thing she’d ever heard.
“Are you okay witch, I could kiss that better for you,” he said with malicious sounding innuendo while staring at her breasts, “Speaking of breasts, where is that delicious morsel Elaine. Did you know that jackass only told me I had to bring her back alive? She’s a hot one, and that leaves so many wonderful things we can…”
The demon stopped talking when she darted forward with as much speed and strength she could muster, and then kicked out. The demon blocked, being just as fast, if not a shade faster. But the kick still hit his forearm, which made a loud crack and smashed into his chest, it was his turn to fly across the room.
She ran to the front door trying to get him to follow her, but he just laughed.
“I can feel your magic witch, if you think you can hide that circle with a rug… your dumber than you are sexy. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give that little morsel Elaine another day if you agree to…”
She didn’t find out what he wanted, though she could guess. The coffee table lifted up off the ground silently and hit the demon hard in the back, launching him across the room toward Celia.
The demon flew over the demon trap, and he grinned leeringly at Celia. Celia however had picked up the cast iron umbr
ella stand by the door, and swung it overhead. The demon saw it coming, but couldn’t adjust his trajectory while in the air. He raised a futile arm up, but it didn’t matter. She hit him with all her strength and his evil ass landed right in the center of the circle.
Before the demon could move, Celia felt a surge of magic that activated the circle, and she let out a deep breath while putting the now bloody umbrella stand back in its spot.
Then with gritted teeth she said, “Get out here Berny, you promised damn it, said you’d be in the circle. What if it didn’t work?”
She knew damn well that coffee table attack wasn’t Ed’s spell, which still needed major work.
Berny came out with a stony face, “I did not promise, you told me I couldn’t help, and I nodded in acknowledgement, not agreement. I’m not a child Celia. Besides, it did work,” she said the last four words smugly.
Truth.
She frowned and shook her head, she was still angry. She knew Berny was old enough to make her own decisions, but she wasn’t an enforcer damn it, it was her job to protect Berny, not the other way around. Damn stubborn witch.
She sighed and looked at the demon. It was going crazy as it continually attacked the circle wall, and screaming its head off, no doubt threats about rape and dismemberment… or something equally demony. Of course, she couldn’t hear a thing, the circle kept both him and his words contained.
“Fine Berny, you just scared me. I know I can’t order you to do anything.”
Ed cleared his throat, “The help was timely Bernadette, but Celia is right. This was ours to do, our job to guard the community. You didn’t have to be here. Have you considered becoming an enforcer, doing more for witches, or was this just about protecting your friend?”
Celia suppressed the desire to kill Ed at his suggestion, which seemed like an overreaction.
Berny laughed, “Umm, I haven’t given it much thought, but this here tonight, because Celia is my friend, and I was the only one that could effectively fight him last night. It just made sense to help, I waited at first. But he wasn’t going for Celia’s bait, so I whacked him when he was being pervy.”
Celia snorted and wrapped her best friend up in a hug.
Berny asked, “So what now, do we get the coven to do a banishment?”
Celia frowned and pointed at the demon trap circle, “How long will that thing last?”
Ed shrugged, “A long time, days… why?”
Celia grinned maliciously, “Why bother waking up the witches, the front of the house faces East right? Let’s just open the door at dawn…”
Berny and Ed looked stunned for a second, and then they both laughed.
Ed said bemused, “That would be rather easier wouldn’t it.
Berny nodded in satisfaction, “More painful too I’d imagine.”
So that’s what they did. They got back to sleep and woke up at dawn. Opened the front door and let the sun take care of the rest. The demon’s vampire body burned to ash in seconds. She shook her head and closed the door. She supposed it was time to go to New York. They didn’t leave right away, they made some plans, and Celia gave a key to the store to Mia so she could lock up at night.
She knew the plan was absolutely crazy, yet when she said goodbye, she didn’t feel as if she’d never see her friends again.
Chapter 11
It was only a twelve hour trip, but they decided to stop somewhere in Pennsylvania, which was about two thirds of the way there, since they didn’t leave until noon. It would be much easier to slip into Albany during the day with all the traffic, rather than pulling in after midnight. They still didn’t have much of a plan besides trying not to be seen, and gathering information on Gerald and his home when they got there.
All Elaine had really known is the whole coven, over twenty six people last she knew, all lived in the coven house. She’d always been under his control, so she had no idea what kind and how many wards and trap spells there were around the place. It would take some time to gather the info and form a plan that had any chance of success.
She was also painfully aware that not only would Ed and she continue in close proximity as they had before, but they were also alone with no one else around. After the last assassination attempt and her decision to live life, and learn about herself through experience instead of simply thinking everything to death while too paralyzed to take a chance, she could hardly get the thoughts of him holding her out of her mind.
He may have lacked shifter strength, but he was defined, and his body of hard muscle had fit very well against her body of soft curves. Silva wasn’t a help at all, if anything the tiger made it all worse, heightened her emotions and the reactions of her body.
She shook her head and pushed it all away, or at least, she tried. This was going to be a long day…
She shifted slightly in her seat for the hundredth time that first hour and laughed.
Ed glanced over at her, “What?”
She shook her head, “I feel like a kid that had too much sugar, too much sitting. Sometimes I think the store will kill me when I have too much energy, but the car is even worse. At least at the store I can walk around and stretch my legs.”
Ed snorted, “Aren’t cats supposed to be lazy and lounge in the sun all day?”
She shook her head, “Real tigers don’t have shifter magic enhancing their bodies, or a witch’s core magic to feed it even more energy.”
Ed frowned, “So you have more energy than other shifters, you think?”
She shrugged, “I believe so. It doesn’t make me stronger or faster, it’s more an endurance thing.”
Ed suggested, “Why don’t you burn some of it off, we could use some wards on this van, plus a subtle glamour so the police don’t take notice of it. After all, we did kill the owner and steal it… technically.”
She smiled and jumped at the chance to get out of the seat.
“That might help, I can charge my personal wards up little higher as well I think,” she had to be careful with that though, the earrings could only hold so much magic before the spells would destabilize and fall apart, releasing the stored magic.
She did the glamour first, so no one would see her walking around and crawling over seats to the corners of the van while it was in motion, it would be ironic if they got pulled over for a seatbelt violation. Not that they couldn’t get out of it with magic, but it was better not to be noticed at all. It was very subtle work, and would affect witches as well.
They hardly wanted to arrive in town in a vehicle that was a beacon of magic, might as well call ahead or drive in with a sign painted on the side that boldly spelled witches. Witches would still feel the magic if they got close enough, but wouldn’t really pay attention to it or take note of it.
The van had two rows of seats in the back, about half of it was open space for storage, so she crawled over the back seat and got started. She duplicated the wards from her store, they would be much safer from fire and air attacks, she also added physical wards. It wouldn’t help if they rammed into a brick wall, or another car, but it might stop a shifter from ripping off the door, or shooting them through the glass with a weapon.
She did Ed’s corner last. She did the best she could not to be intrusive, but she was pretty much leaning over him if not touching. She could scent his attraction to her easily from this close, and the effect she was having on him being so close. She had to concentrate harder to get it done, and then returned to her seat. She felt a little better, doing magic had helped.
Silva settled down quickly, only getting a little upset, wards weren’t something that took too much magic at once, but the tiger was still sensitive.
“I think that will do it, but you should maybe add water and earth protections when we stop.”
She turned her head when Ed cleared his throat nervously, so he wouldn’t see her knowing smile.
“I can do that.”
She looked at her watch. The wards had only taken an hour, which left at least six
more to go before they’d find a motel somewhere in Pennsylvania. Then she adjusted her body in the seat…
Celia asked curiously, “I was kind of forced into this, not that I mind it. I think I like being an enforcer, but…”
She left the question implied.
Ed replied, “You’re curious why I am?”
She said softly, “Yes, but if you don’t want to talk about…”
Ed shrugged and glanced over at her for a moment before looking back at the road.
“My parents were killed in the war twenty years ago, when I was just twelve. My aunt took us in, my sister and I, but I turned pretty angry as I grew into my teen years and I watched the coven fall by ones and twos. No one would let me fight of course, but that didn’t stop me when we were attacked two years later. I was just fourteen when I killed my first shifter. After that, Damon guided my anger into some useful training, and how to fight smart.
“By the time I was sixteen, I was allowed on my first mission. The war was my life for a long time, until I turned twenty four and peace happened. I’m not complaining, just trying to explain. I was glad the war was over, but all I knew how to do was protect my coven and fight. I had other knowledge of course, but those were my habits, and my passion. I just couldn’t imagine not protecting the coven after doing so for ten years, since it was all I had wanted to do for all of my teen and adult life, so I chose to be an enforcer.”
The war, it always seemed to come back to that.
She asked, “Sister?”
He smiled, “Doing good, works for the coven business. Her name is Anna Marie, she followed a more peaceful path than I did.”
On the rare times he smiled, she thought he looked really good, and that he should do it more often. Considering what he’d gone through, she thought it a wonder he was able to deal with shifters at all, much less seem to care for one… her. She bit her lip in thought.
It was a long trip, but they got to know a lot about each other as their chat grew more intimate, and more about their personal lives than they’d ever touched on before. Usually she’d been lucky if she could pry small talk out of him, but then most times the third partner, another shifter had been present, either Paul or over the last week, Josh.
Demon's Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 2 Page 6