“No need to be so hostile Arabella, I assure you, we mean you no harm,” I walked to the window and looked out over the grounds of the compound. "Patience is a virtue, something your kind should be skilled at.”
“My kind and what pray tell is my kind exactly?” she asked and I could sense the ire in her tone.
“You are human, no?”
“Just because I have red blood running through my veins does not put me in the same league as them,” she grated, “they did as much harm to us witches as they did to The Mother.”
The Mother, I dropped my head in an attempt to hide my amusement. These witches and their citations for things otherwise normally known as, the moon, the sun, the earth and whatever else they seem to personify was rather entertaining.
“Indeed they did, which brings me to my next question. How do you feel about Lucifer’s Hordes?”
Her violet eyes flashed a shade of midnight, “What of them?” she asked narrowing her eyes but I could see her fingers working in her palms. She was up to her tricks, trying to read my mind. I suppose the ward placed on this compound by Maura had its benefits after all.
I pushed way from the window and moved closer to the woman and even though the rancid smell from the purged world grew stronger as I move closer to her, there was a distinct and sweeter smell that resonated from her. I hunted through the recesses of my mind, trying to recall which flower she smelled like. It wasn’t a rose, nor was it a gardenia, but whatever it was; it invoked temptation, which I needed to avoid.
I stopped a few feet away from her and although her magic was rendered useless in this place, the power of her femininity drew me in like a magnet finding its true north.
“By your reaction to the mention of their name, I am going to assume there is no love lost for their kind,” I stated, crossing my arms.
“Maybe, but what does this have to do with me?”
“Everything,” I said matter-of-factly.
The doors swung open just as I was about to explain the situation to her, and one of my guards stalked in.
“Major Bernhard, I apologize for interrupting, but we have a situation,” he said, standing at attention.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said and he instantly marched out. There was another breach of our compound perimeter. An impending disaster was looming and if we did not act fast, we would face the same fate as the clans up north, I realized. I turned my attention back to the witch and inclined my head.
“Unfortunately duty calls, but we will talk again, in the meantime I have asked one of the servants to take you to your room…”
“Oh no, no you don’t. I refuse to go back to that cold cell,” she chirped in.
“Not the cell, we have a room for you. You’ll find it much more comfortable, now if you’ll excuse me, I really need to attend to an urgent matter.”
Chapter 3
Arabella
I still had no idea why I was here, and the tingling in my fingers was slowly starting to rub me up the wrong way. I could feel the magic swirling around within me like a tornado, but just as I think I can conjure up a spell, the vortex of energy dissipates. The only reasonable explanation for this was that another witch must have cast some sort of binding spell, something that blocks magic, but why?
As I followed the small servant through the long hallways and smaller passages, I couldn’t help but appreciate the collection of historical artefacts that lined the walls. From Persian rugs and ancient weapons, to photographs of the once proud cities that filled the land with their high rise corporate buildings. There were framed cartographic and ancient documents of lost civilizations, and among these were papyrus scrolls encased in glass cases. Arcane invaluable pieces, I wish I could get my hands on, but my guide was marching ahead determinedly.
“Can you tell me more about this place?” I dared to ask, but she remained silent.
We passed a large wooden door, which drew my attention immediately, unlike all the other steel doors, this one had an air of historical brilliance to it, above it was inscribed The Alexandria Room. Just then the heavy door opened and a tall lanky female exited the room carrying a set of ancient looking books. I managed to glance past her and was surprised to see hundreds of books lining the walls.
“Is this a library?” I asked the woman, but even this one remained silent. How bloody rude. I could only draw two conclusions here, everyone in this facility was either bound to a vow of silence, or, they chose not to speak to me.
As tempted as I was to just turn left and enter the library, I couldn’t, the girl leading me was standing at the junction up ahead and she looked annoyed as hell. Shaking my head, I quickened my pace to catch up to her and then silently followed until we reached my so called room where she left me unattended. Thank the gods! Another minute in her silent presence would have killed me. My relief was soon whitewashed when I noticed the CCTV camera outside my door in the hallway. If only I had my magic, I would so easily disable it. Then again a can of spray paint would work just as well. But neither magic nor spray paint were at my disposal at the moment.
Once in the confines of my room, I felt more at ease. The room was small but cosy, a single bed and a low table stood near the window and in the corner of the room was a tub. A tub, I can’t remember when last I had a bath, definitely the first thing on my list of things to do. Even above escape.
There was also a wardrobe, which stood open, and I was quite surprised to see a few items of clothing hanging in it. Not exactly my style, but at this point beggars can’t be choosers. Black or red, red, no black, black it is. Red signified sexy and dangerous, black signified serious and ominous, which was the preferred look I was going for. I pulled out the long black dress and rubbed my cheek against its velvety surface. It smelled strangely familiar, I bunched it up and inhaled deeply, but instead my own stench wrapped around me like a cloud. Suddenly I felt embarrassed, all this time I’ve been showing complete disregard for my captors while I smelled like a pig, no wonder they wouldn’t talk to me, they couldn’t stand the smell of me!
Good thing there was a bath. I reached for the tap, and I nearly squealed as water started to flow freely. I was surprised, considering the earth was barren and the water supply in most areas of the world was non-existent, or had turned to sulphide. I simply could not wait to wash the grime and stench from my body and hair.
I adjusted the taps until the water was warm. I hurried and tore off the clothes I was wearing and tossed them in the wicker basket standing next to the tub, then stepped into the warm water and sunk down until my entire body was submerged. Every muscle in my body unwound like a coil that was strung too tight.
“Thank you Hecate,” the gods were clearly pleased with me, why else would I be granted these luxuries. On the other hand, I was still no better than a prisoner in this…whatever this place was.
I must have fallen asleep; it was so comfortable, because when I woke up with a start, the water was already turning cold. I quickly lathered my hair with the cake of soap that was provided and then washed and rinsed the rest of my body. Finally, I felt normal and better able to figure out what the heck was going on here.
Reluctantly I got out of the tub and dried myself, then took the long dress I picked earlier and pulled it over my head. The fabric felt like silk as it glided down my clean skin. The front was embellished with Hecate’s circle, which I found rather interesting. My captors were clearly prepared and ready to make me feel at home, but I was still not sure what my purpose was. If I had no ability to perform magic, what use was I to them?
A slight knock on the door drew my attention, and with my hair still damp I went to open it. Seeing the Major standing in the doorway came as no surprise strangely enough. I half expected him to eventually find me or summon me to his domain. Only this time, he was dressed more casually, and this new side of him caused my insides to quiver. He was in fact very handsome. When I met him earlier I felt intimidated by his presence, but now, not so much. And like an idi
ot I stood staring at him. The silence between us stretched far beyond what was necessary before he spoke.
“I hope I’m not intruding?”
“Erm… no, not really,” I felt my cheeks heat and I quickly lowered my eyes and fidgeted with the hem on one of my sleeves. What the hell was wrong with me? I was acting like a giddy teenager; with a serious hormone imbalance. Okay fine, as if being one of the only witches out there in the wasteland once abundant with human life and pleasures wasn’t bad enough, I was a lonely too. In fact, I can’t remember when last I found myself in the company of a man. It’s not every day that you got to stand in front of someone whose features would put even Lord Ares to shame.
Chapter 4
Edmund
She really cleans up nicely, almost too nicely. I had trouble keeping my eyes on her face. Her damp hair clung to the sides of her face, and loose tendrils hung heavily down over her shoulders. She suddenly became a very disruptive distraction. I openly admired her, she had curves in all the right places and full breasts that would fit perfectly in my palms, and mouth for that matter. Even under the black velvet I could see her nipples poke at the fabric. The dress was long enough to cover her feet, and for a moment I really wanted to see her legs, run my hands over her calves and up her thighs. Forcing my attention back to her face, I was relieved to find her toying with her sleeve.
“Would you like something to eat or drink?”
She raised her eyes and tilted her head slightly and I could see she was chewing the inside of her cheek, “You haven’t eaten a proper meal for some time and you need your strength.”
The rumble from her tummy confirmed it and with a click of my fingers one of the servants appeared beside me, carrying a tray with food and fresh water.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You are,” without waiting for her to invite me in, I stepped closer and then only she stepped aside and let me into the room and the smell of lavender hung heavily in the air.
“I told you I’m not hungry,” she was quite the determined one.
“Well I am hungry so if you don’t mind, I’ll just help myself,” I lifted the lid off the plate and picked at a ripe cherry tomato, popping it into my mouth. “You know very well that out there, there is no such luxury as growing fresh fruit and vegetables. As far as I am led to believe, the food sources are almost completely depleted, and so is the water,” I lifted the glass of water and held it out to her. She hesitated at first and then took the glass, but before she took a sip, she sniffed at it.
“A dash of lemon, try it,” watching her take her first sip of water was quite something.
At first it was just a small sip, then a bigger one, until she tilted the full glass and downed the contents eagerly. When she finally pulled the glass away from her lips she looked apologetic, and for a brief moment a smile tugged at her lips, before her old mask of distrust came down again.
“Thank you, but why is it that you have fresh water? Surely if anyone finds out they will all head here and before you know it, these walls would be torn down and destroyed.”
Clever witch, at this rate I will not need to explain anything to her.
“That is true, but the compound is heavily guarded and not easy to find,” I reached for one of the peaches and handed it to her, this time she accepted it without question. What a colossal mistake that was, as she bit into it, its juices ran down over her chin and droplets fell on her chest and ran down between her breasts. What was it with this woman? The most insignificant things about her are also the most magnetic. Everything she did drew my attention.
She must have noticed me staring and she quickly stopped chewing. From where I stood I could hear her heart pounding loudly in her chest. Her reaction towards me was the same, which I found strange since she was a witch. Yet against my better judgement, and the laws of our kind, I reached for the half-eaten peach and placed it back on the plate then pulled her against me.
“What power do you hold over me?” her violet eyes and raven black hair captivated me and the full blush that now shaded her cheeks replaced her pale complexion.
“I-I don’t know what you mean? You know my magic is useless in this place,” she was right, it was, so if she wasn’t using magic then what was it?
I had no clue, but right now I didn’t care. I lowered my lips to hers.
“Major…” she whispered, and I felt the need to correct her, here and now, I was a man without status. I was no Major and I was no Prince. We were two separate forces of nature about to collide and there was no stopping that fact.
“Edmund,” my lips brushed the corner of her mouth, “call me Edmund.”
Whether she wanted to say my name or not, it was too late, I already tasted her lips; it was sweet with a hint of lemon and peach. Like some aphrodisiac yet to be discovered, I lost nearly all control.
Her lips parted willingly and I explored the confines of her mouth with my tongue, and she met me all the same. Raising my leg between hers, I backed her up against the nearest wall. Her breathing was getting heavier and her body responded to my touch as I ran my hands down over her sides. I wanted to pull this dress off and admire her body more than anything, but I had to hold back. The last thing I wanted was to scare her. As it was, my inner beast was starting to surface, and I had no idea how long I would be able to control him.
The space between our bodies was still, like chasm we needed to cross over, it felt like my soul wanted to merge with hers. What was going on? Why was I feeling this strong attraction towards a woman I should have no feelings or desires for? The questions were endless, but my beast was determined.
I dragged my lips away from hers and she tilted her head to the side, her hands were resting just over my heart, and if I didn’t know better I would have thought to be bewitched.
“Edmund, what’s happening…?” I heard her whisper breathlessly, but even that did not quite register. All I wanted was this. Sliding my lips along her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat and I felt her pulse quicken. The rush of her blood and the beating of her heart drowned out any other sounds. I tried to fight it, but the urge to taste her was slowly overpowering my common sense. And before I could stop myself, my canines extended and sliced into her skin. It was a mere scratch, but the moment I did that, she shoved at my chest and pushed me away from her.
“No! What are you doing?” she whispered huskily as she covered the slight scar on her neck.
But the taste of her blood was already on my tongue, and realization swept over me like an avalanche. She was more than just a witch, she was my mate.
“You’re blood…” without giving her a chance to escape I spun her around and pressed her up against the wall and roughly pulled her dress up.
“What the hell! Get away from me!” she shouted and struggled against my grip, but I had to see it for myself. And as I dragged the dress up and over her ass, my suspicions were confirmed, the royal birthmark was imprinted like a tattoo on her lower back.
Without a word I stormed out of her room, I had to consult with the elders and get their take on this, if she was even partly bear, it would mean that I finally found my mate. And that would mean I would take my rightful place on the thrown as the ruler of my kind.
Chapter 5
Arabella
A week has gone by with no word from Edmond. The scar on my neck was still raw. I tilted my head as I looked in the mirror and gently trailed my finger over the small cut. It wasn’t painful at all, but it wasn’t going away either. Whatever possessed him to do such a thing?
I walked over to the bed and knelt down pulling out the box he sent me shortly after our incident. It contained all the tools I needed to lift this binding spell, I still had no idea why it was cast in the first place, and what my purpose would be once I’ve completed this. The question that begged to be asked was, would I be cast out into the wilderness again, left to fend for myself like I did before? A few days ago all I wanted was to leave this place, regardless of the lux
uries and easy access to food, or the magnificent library I visited every day since. But the longer I pondered over what happened between Edmund and I, the more determined I was to stay and figure out what was going on. I had the right to know. Plus, my attraction to him was making me second guess myself.
Still on my knees I glanced towards the window at the waning moon. I could delay the inevitable and wait for the moon phase to pass, but eventually I was going to have to do it anyway. Might as well get it over and done with.
I started to lay out all the items I needed to do the spell, and cast my circle. It was a ritual as second nature as breathing. Once done, I positioned my candles at each of the four corners representing the elements, fire, air, earth and water. It was no surprise that all the ingredients for the spell were neatly set in a small wooden box.
With my eyes closed I centred my spirit and focused as I started my cleansing chant, it was a simple meditative practice to chase away all conflict and dark spirits that may try and break my concentration. Finally, I started to feel the weightlessness as gravity released its hold on me and the floor below started to feel like a soft cloud. With the candles in place, I lit each one and then sprinkled the myrrh, patchouli and sandalwood incense in the fire bowl. I pricked my finger and squeezed a few drops of blood into the burning incense.
“Sileneous Imurinio, expegris,” I chanted.
“Sileneous Imurinio, expegris.” the candle’s flames started to grow taller and stronger, and as I continued the chant, I felt a surge of power stream from the crown of my head to the base of my spine. My palms were on fire and as I swirled my hands over the incense smoke that rose from the fire bowl, I chanted louder. Whoever cast the binding spell on this place was no rookie. I could feel my energy drain by the second. The sensation of strands that wrapped around me became stronger and I fought harder.
Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance Page 56