Her fingers found the head of his cock and squeezed. “I want this inside me.”
His control shattered. Linc whipped them around, dropped her back to the mattress and covered her body, then sealed his mouth to hers, demanding entrance.
Mine. The word screamed through him. Mate her, bind her forever.
He sank his tongue into her mouth, tasting his witch. Risa.
Just a bare trickle of cool magic teased his tongue. He wanted more. It enraged him that she was holding back. Her magic was his, damn it.
Pain sliced between his shoulder blades. The shock of it pierced his possessive lust fog, and Linc pulled his mouth back, panting. The falcon tattoo flamed to life, scratching at his skin. He didn’t give a shit about that.
But when he looked down at Risa….
Oh Christ, what was he doing? Ugly disgust at himself damn near choked him. She lay there pale and quiet, her eyes fixed blankly at a point over his shoulder.
Withdrawn. Not there. Not fighting, but not there either.
God. Sliding off her, he laid his hand on her face. “Risa, look at me, sugar.” He had to fix this, whatever this was. He had the sick feeling she’d done this too many times to count.
She stared at him vacantly. “Why’d you stop?”
Because he didn’t want to be a fucking animal. He’d spent years becoming a rich, sophisticated man who charmed and pleasured women, not one who jumped them like a beast in heat. But he didn’t dump all that on her. “I—”
A loud shrieking exploded around them.
Risa jerked beneath him, her hip grinding into his cock with the sweetest torment. “What’s happening?”
He jumped off the bed. “Trouble. It’s the house alarm.” Grabbing her hand, he tugged her up. “Come on!”
* * *
Ram strode across the yard of Linc’s house, needing to get away from Risa’s magic.
Envy rolled through him. Inside that house now, Linc would mate with his soul mirror and break his curse. While Ram had gotten stuck with a soul-mirror connection tainted by demon magic that caused an electrical buildup in him. Holding out his hands, he watched the sparks rain down from his fingers.
Fuck.
The sparks were a direct message from the thunderbird inked on his chest that it wanted Ram’s soul mirror, Shayla Banfield.
But Ram didn’t want her. Nope, he loved another woman, wanted her more than his own soul. Or to live, apparently, because this bird would kill him if he didn’t give in, find Shayla and mate with her.
Yeah, it sucked to be him. He needed Shayla to live, but loved Ginny.
His phone vibrated as he reached the end of Linc’s property. Standing in the bright sunlight, he pulled it out and held it in his shadow to check the screen. The fire in his veins shifted from bloodlust to a longing so fierce he lost his breath.
Ginny. Her lovely face stared back at him in a face chat. Ram smiled and said, “Angel, I’ve missed you.”
“Ram, I heard about what’s happening there. I can’t believe it. A demon spawn?”
Her troubled voice made his heart ache. He should be with her, protecting and comforting her. But he’d come to Vegas to talk to Shayla and check on Linc. “There appears to be more than we ever guessed around us.”
“You didn’t see Shayla, did you?”
Ram leaned his back against a fence post, drawing the warm Vegas air into his lungs. Ginny had pushed him to find Shayla and talk to her. “No. She was gone when I got to the motel where we’d agreed to meet. But she most definitely had been there. I smelled her magic, and the bird reacted.” Frustration gnawed at him. “Damn it, she needs to stop playing games and talk to me.”
Silence flowed over the line.
“Ginny?”
“What happens when you do see her, Ram? I mean…what if there’s more between you than you think? The other soul-mirror couples couldn’t stay away from each other. Maybe you need to be with her. She’s your soul mirror.”
“It’s wrong, Ginny. Carla and the other witches could feel the demon magic in the thunderbird, and he’s her familiar. Shayla doesn’t want the bond, and neither do I. I want you, angel. Nothing is going to change that.”
Her silence killed him.
Gripping the phone tighter, he stared into her eyes on the screen and willed her to hear him, believe him. “Ginny, I love you.”
“I know. I’m just…I know.”
But she feared it wasn’t enough. “Trust me, baby. I’m going to talk to her, and Shayla and I will figure out what happened to cause this problem. If we can undo it, there’s a good chance this thunderbird in me will die off.” And he’d be free to have Ginny. Although her angel sire had other plans for his daughter, but one problem at a time.
“What if I talk to her? She’s not letting you too close because she doesn’t want her infertility magic, right?”
Ram looked up at the brutally bright sky. “That’s what her cousin Roxy says. There’s one infertility witch born every generation, again from some kind of demon magic, the same crap that’s in this thunderbird.” He tapped his chest where the bird was inked beneath his shirt. “Infertility witches are hated and avoided by other witches for fear of infertility. I don’t want you anywhere near her.”
Sympathy filled her eyes. “Ram, she’s not a demon witch. She’s a victim of demon magic just like you. Imagine how lonely it is to be her. Maybe she needs a friend.”
Damn it, he didn’t want to think about that. Yeah, Shayla had been dealt a rough hand too. Ram’s friends had his back, but who did Shayla really have? It’d been easier to think of her as the enemy, the woman he didn’t want. But his greatest concern still went to Ginny. “I know you want to help, but you can’t interfere. Your father might punish you.”
She touched the camera in her phone so it looked like she was trying to touch him. “I can endure it, Ram.”
“I can’t!” Ram would never forget what her father had done to her, never forget the sound of her screams. Hatred for the angel sliced deep and violent. He’d do anything to protect Ginny, but how did he safeguard her from an ancient angel?
She dropped her hand, her eyes filling with resignation. “We’re running out of time anyway.”
Ram opened his mouth to reply when he heard a whooshing sound. Jerking his head up, he spotted a shape streaking across the sky, right for Linc’s house. A sizzling sound grew.
A second later came a flash of unholy light as a fiery arrow hit the roof of the patio.
Flames exploded, and a piercing security alarm shrieked a warning.
“What is it? Ram?”
He glanced at the phone. “The spawn. Archer and his hellfire arrows are here.” No time. Ram shoved his phone into his pocket and raced for the house.
~ 6 ~
Linc pulled Risa behind him as he raced toward the stairs. With his free hand, he yanked his cell phone from his pocket and punched in the code to silence the alarms.
The blaring died.
Violent, furious hissing grew louder until it reached the roar of a freight train. Black-edged flames flooded the first floor.
“Fuck! Hellfire!” It raced across his foyer, stopping him at the top of the stairs.
“Has to be Archer.” Risa clutched his hand. “Where is he?”
Linc snapped into survival mode. They had to get out, but first he needed to find his friends. “Sutton! Ram!” Were they still in the house?
Shouts sounded somewhere from the first floor. Shit, that meant at least one of them remained in the house. Fire licked across the floor at the bottom of the stairs. The red-and-black flames paused, then turned to shoot up the stairs.
Damn it. He couldn’t leave his friends trapped in hellfire.
“Look!” Rise screamed.
A huge, winged shape rose from behind the flames to hover just beneath his cathedral ceiling in the entrance. Sutton. Before Linc could drag in a breath of relief, the winged hunter dove down and vanished into the growing inferno.
&nb
sp; Only one thing would make Sutton do that—Ram had to be trapped. Linc nudged Risa toward the hallway. “Go find a way out.” He went down two steps, trying to gauge a way around the red-and-black blaze.
Violent coughing pierced the air. Glancing up, he saw Sutton rise again. His wings beat furiously, the wind he created pushing the flames back. As the man rose higher, Linc caught sight of Ram hanging on to Sutton’s hips and coughing. Once high enough, Sutton flew over the flames climbing up the staircase.
Ram yanked his legs up, using sheer strength to hold on to Sutton and away from the fire. At the top of the risers, Ram dropped and landed on his feet. He coughed once more and shouted, “Go.”
Linc turned, raced up the last steps, grabbed the stunned Risa, and they hauled ass down the hall toward his bedroom. He had a balcony there.
Halfway to his goal, oily smoke billowed around them in thick plumes, making it impossible to breathe.
“Linc,” Ram shouted. “Sutton’s wing’s on fire.”
Linc shoved Risa ahead of him. “My room, straight ahead. Get to the balcony and out.” He pivoted, backtracking through the choking smoke and blazing heat a few steps. Oh shit.
Sutton had dropped to one knee in the middle of the hallway. His eagle wings were slightly spread, flames licking the highest tip of the right one, growing quickly.
Ram ripped his shirt off, trying to smother the flames. Behind the two men, raging hellfire crested the stairs.
“He was using his wings to push the flames back,” Ram said. “I can’t put it out.”
No time, no choice. Linc palmed his knife.
“Flames are too close.” Thick rivers of sweat streaked through the sooty grime on Sutton’s face. “Get out.” It came out a pained croak. His shoulders shook, and he snapped his jaw closed, hissing.
And leave him behind to burn to death? “Fuck that.” Vicious heat and thicker blooms of smoke rolled over them. Linc could barely see. “Hold still.” He grabbed the wing, yanking it lower.
“Shit,” Ram said.
Linc glanced back. A wall of flames barreled toward them from less than four feet away.
Sure death racing right for them with no escape.
* * *
Risa ran. She had to live to save Kendall. Had to. Drawing a breath burned her nose, then seared down her throat and lungs.
What was she doing? She couldn’t leave three men to die. Three men who had saved her.
Skidding to a stop, she pivoted and hurried back. Once close enough, the smell of burnt feathers and flesh sickened her. She blinked tears from her eyes to clear her vision. Fire hissed at the top of Sutton’s wing. Linc held a knife in his hand, but behind them an inferno of hellfire threatened. Too damn close.
Only one way to save them.
Going still, she reached deep. Her chakras shivered, then released so fast she almost fell. That had never happened before.
Harness it! No time to worry about why she had more magic. Quickly, power surged from her pelvis, up her stomach, through her heart. Growing stronger. The magic hit her throat chakra and wavered.
“Risa,” Linc yelled, “run!”
She threw up her hands, grabbing strands of her magic, and laced them in the air. She had to get every stand of magic in the shield. Remembering the burning wing, she yelled back, “Cut the wing. Throw it!” Brutal, yes, but necessary to live.
Bigger. Faster. She wove the power streaming through her into a shield of magic. Sweat from the exertion, from trying to control the vast magic, made her shake.
“What are you doing?” Linc’s shouted demand distracted her.
“Just do it! I’m going to shield us.” Hard to talk, both from the smoke and the extreme amount of magic and energy to control it. “Fire can’t be inside the shield.”
Linc’s knife moved in a blur, slicing through the top of the wing.
“Son of a bitch,” Sutton roared over the flames. “Motherfucker.”
Blood spurted, some of it hitting her face. Odd, she felt a tug of magic in it. Must be from his soul mirror, Carla. Use it, keep going. She pulled the threads of the other witch’s magic into hers. Weaving stronger, faster, bigger.
“Trying to stop the bleeding,” Linc said. “Can’t Carla help here?”
Sutton shook his head, his fingers digging into his thigh. “She’s helping Risa. And Christ, I don’t want her to feel this if she tries to heal me through our bond.” He dragged in a harsh breath.
Sympathy edged into Risa concentration then vanished as the wall of hellfire rose higher and began to arc like a killer wave. She had to act now. Using every fiber of her strength, she magically threw her shield. Pain cramped her stomach, and her muscles quivered from the tremendous energy she used.
Time froze as the shield sailed into the air, the pale blue threads that only she could see spreading. The fire roared down the hallway, only inches from Linc.
Work, please work!
Or they’d all die.
Her shield slammed down, snapping into place over the four of them.
One heartbeat later, the wave of hellfire screamed overhead but didn’t touch them.
Risa swallowed against the bile and kept her focus razor sharp. She had to feed the shield a constant stream of magic to maintain it.
Linc caught her shoulders as she swayed. “Can we move? Will the shield thing move with us? I can’t see it, but I feel it like an invisible bubble around us.”
She nodded, totally fixated on feeding the shield magic. “Hurry,” she managed.
He swept her into his arms and ran. “Stay tight with us,” he told the other two.
Risa barely saw the walls or Linc’s massive bed as they raced through what she guessed was his bedroom. He shifted to one leg, then he kicked open the French doors.
They all rushed onto the balcony.
“Shit, in the sky. That’s the spawn.”
She peered through the smoke to see the creature with leather wings hovering about twenty feet away. He yanked an arrow from the quiver at his back and fitted it to his bow.
It slammed into her shield. Pain exploded in her chakras, and Risa groaned. Her skin pulled tight and stretched as she struggled to keep her magic open, weaving frantically.
“Jump together,” Linc issued the order. He took a step and leaped over the railing of the balcony.
She made out the shapes of Sutton on one side, Ram on the other. They all fell through the air. No choice but to trust Linc to hold her. Risa barely felt them land. Somewhere in her mind, she truly grasped his strength. But her thoughts, all her will, focused on her shield. Sweat streamed down her face, between her breasts, and her shirt stuck to her over-sensitized skin.
But the worst was yet to come, when the soul screams would attack her later, after she dropped her magic.
Don’t think about it. Just concentrate.
Linc pulled her tight to his chest, his body curled over hers as they ran. “Doing okay?”
She managed a nod before another arrow banged into her shield. Risa had to keep reinforcing spots that were thinning, using her hands to reweave the magic. Every place she plugged took a surge of energy.
“You won’t get away, witch!” Archer’s bellow rang so loud, it echoed in the shield.
“Bastard wants her dead,” Linc said. “Flank Risa in case she loses the shield.”
The two men moved in tighter around her as they kept moving.
“Hang on, Risa.” Linc’s voice rolled over her. “Just another minute.”
It felt like hours. Despite her efforts, the shield thinned, getting weaker.
“Here, Ram, open this,” Linc said.
The man bent over and pulled something on the ground. “What?” Risa asked.
“Escape tunnel,” he told her, then said, “Sutton, you’re going to have to fold your wings to get in here.”
“Don’t worry about me, you just hang on to Risa.” Sutton’s voice was tight.
“Few more seconds.” Linc’s face was so close, his
breath fanned over her face. “Once we’re in the tunnel, you can drop the shield.” He turned to the others. “It’s a one-story drop to cement. Jump.”
She heard the thud as each man landed.
“Our turn. I won’t drop you.”
Before she could respond, he stepped off into nothingness. Her stomach bottomed out like she was on a roller-coaster ride, but she held on to her magic by the merest thread.
They landed. Linc shifted her to one arm and reached for something. Metal scraped, and darkness closed in on them with a dull thud. He lowered her to her feet, keeping one arm around her shoulders. “We’re safe. You can drop the shield thing.”
She let it go by lowering her hands. Her magic crashed, leaving her shivering and panting from the exertion.
His arm tightened around her, keeping her steady. “I need to keep touching you.”
She didn’t argue. Not when she could barely stand and was using all her concentration to hold off the soul screams.
A lantern clicked on. Light flooded the damp space.
“What now?” Sutton asked. The hunter crouched down with Ram standing over him, slowly sliding his hands over the cut edges of Sutton’s injured wing, creating little sparks.
Ugh. Ram was using the electrical energy in his hands to cauterize the wound left after Linc had cut away the burning chunk of wing.
Unable to help herself, Risa blurted out, “You were in so much pain, but you were more worried about Carla than yourself.” His comment about not wanting Carla to feel his pain hadn’t quite registered until now.
Sutton eyed her. “Carly’s my everything. Having part of my wing cut off was like having part of her severed from me. It was more than physical. The eagle connects us, is part of our bond. I didn’t want her to feel that moment of loss. Like having something precious and vital amputated.”
What was that like? Such a personal, soul-deep connection? It seemed like too much, too all-consuming. “Does losing part of the wing change anything between you and Carla?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s only a few inches and will heal. But Carly would feel it too deeply. She loves our eagle.”
Caged Magic Page 8