by T. C. Clark
He’d seen the blonde-haired witch as soon as he arrived and given her expression, she hadn’t expected to see him again.
Focus on me and tell me what you know?
“Stay out of my mind witch, I won’t tell you again,” he said attempting to close his mind.
Whoever she was, she had the strength and in his condition, he couldn’t do much more than bark right now. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his back, testing his muscles.
Listen we both know you can do little more than talk…I know you’re not inherently evil just by the intentions in your mind. Let me see what happened to you.
He recalled Ida and how often she’d entered his mind…he’d assumed all keepers had the ability to do so. He thought about resisting but he was just too tired to do so. He detested the vulnerability of being a vampire. They were the only supernatural in Atlantis who had to feed on blood.
If you want me to help you and eventually feed you, you need to tell me everything you know.
He felt a helpless rage seep through him. He needed to feed, the longer he went without the more dangerous he would become and he’d made a vow to himself centuries ago to never harm an innocent soul…with a sigh, he relieved the events in his mind attempting to recall every detail.
She held onto his mind for as long as she could with her spell. She saw everything before she abruptly severed the connection. Her heart began to pound as she processed all of the things that happened to Nate. A lesser supernatural would have broken under his torture…hell, she wouldn’t have made it.
Taren was in some type of trouble that can be the only explanation for what she’d seen. Even with all of the evidence building up against her, Anise didn’t believe she would willingly deceive them.
When he felt the connection break Nate forced his body to relax. He smelled the room looking for any sign of the witch…but found nothing. That’s when he felt the shift in the walls, movements at the back of the cell.
He was in awe of the power…this underground prison was designed well with magically enhanced cell walls and bars. He’d spent hours trying to pry them apart. The worst part was knowing that it was so far underground.
He could still remember the chills he got as one of the witches guided them down through the darkened tunnels. Being this deep under earth really touched on his claustrophobia. He’d never been one for small spaces.
I will help you get out of here…but you’ve got to keep quiet about the blonde-haired witch.
“Are you betrayer of your coven as well,” Nate questioned, dread filling him. Was she another Mina supporter? So far he’d killed no witches… he didn’t want to become an enemy of Myra, but they were really backing him into a corner.
No, I am not, but I believe there is something going on with the witch in question
“You’ve yet to reveal her name,” Nate said becoming impatient with the witch.
I will continue to conceal it…this is coven business and as she is not the one who tortured you…you should hold no real grudge against her.
“So you think if someone stands by and watches as a person gets tortured for no other reason than protecting their neighborhood that their behavior is okay.”
I believe that there can be extenuating circumstances and to view every action in a black and white manner can be dangerous. She waited for his response but only found silence and she couldn’t search his mind again.
When he continued to be quiet she finally snapped,
Do you want my help or not? I can tackle the issue with the witch without removing you from the cell…the only reason I’m helping you now is that after re-living your memories I know how wrong it is for you to be imprisoned here.
“I accept your help… witch.”
Call me Anise I feel like you’re using the term witch as a slur
“Ah, witch you read me so well.”
When he felt the walls shift he panicked. He was too hungry to meet anyone with a beating pulse. The only reason he was so calm now was the thick magically enhanced wall that stood between them both.
“You can’t come inside the cell!” he yelled backing to the opposite wall, He broke out into a sweat…he couldn’t hurt an innocent and he knew that the spirit of the witch helping him was pure. He’d learned a bit of magic in all of his years of living and he understood the differences in spiritual auras and pressure.
He knew from the brief moments that she was in his mind that she was sincere and he couldn’t risk getting close to her. As the walls continued to shift he sunk his sharpened fangs into his forearm and slammed his head into the wall,
He needed to be unconscious before she walked through the wall. He was not a monster…not anymore. He had to remember that…he could never forget what happened all those years ago.
You underestimate me vampire…trust in me to protect us both.
She walked through the small gap she’d created in the wall. She winced when she caught sight of him broken and bruised, huddling against the wall. She felt the hair rise on her arms as the tension filled the air.
Balloch once told her that a vampire deprived of blood became unrivaled in strength and determination. Their instinct took over and anyone with a beating heart became vulnerable almost immediately,
She could feel his energy changing…his need to attack at the forefront of his mind. He was a big man as big as Balloch but just a little leaner. His body was sleek muscle. He wore only low hanging jeans. His body was covered in bruises and cuts.
She caught sight of his face, a mask of rage. He’d bitten his arm to keep from harming her…she smiled to herself; at least he had some honor. She knew that vampires came in all forms she’d seen the best in Balloch and the worst in the ones she’d killed.
Anise closed the distance between them, needing him to trust in her. She just needed to get close enough to enthrall him. She always carried plants on her to use as weapons once she was close enough to him she would use the Valeriana officinalis thanks to Opal she knew that this plant was one of the few that affected supernaturals. She transformed the plant as she crept closer changing it from a solid life form to a ready-to-use vapor.
He watched the small witch with dread in his heart. She was a beautiful little thing…there had to be away out of this. He couldn’t allow himself to hurt her.
“Please leave,” he said. His body fighting to take control. When the witches moved him they had used an enchantment right now he had nothing to hold him back, he couldn’t understand why the witch would risk getting this close.
Did she think the torture had made him weak? Did she really believe she could stop him without using magic?”
“Bespell me, witch,”
“I said to call me Anise,” she said her voice a soft whisper. As she got closer he caught the rhythm of her heart. He closed his eyes in desperation
“Please don’t make me kill you,” Nate whispered, his self-control disappeared with every step she took.
“Look at me….really look at me. You can trust me. I will take care of you and I will you get us out of here.”
He felt his eyes grow weak and let out a deep breath. The witch was tricking him…she understood. He didn’t fight the pull of the sleep although his body tried. He relaxed into it and collapsed onto the floor.
He felt her soft hands on his face and neck. As his body became heavy and limp. He felt a cool liquid in his mouth. Bliss filled every cell, with every drop his strength returned, and with it, his mind cleared. Nate could feel his emotions, his connection with the world around him.
He wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Here he was on a dirty cell floor holding the one thing that would be his for eternity. After all of the years of loneliness and isolation, he’d finally found her, or rather she’d found him.
Nate remembered the long-lost memories of his childhood with the last of his strength he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, inhaling her scent…whoever she was before this moment didn’t ma
tter. As soon as he woke from this drug-induced sleep, she would belong to him.
Anise waited patiently for the big vampire to sleep…he was strong she’d had to use almost all of her supply to subdue him. She stood and listened to the walls using her connection with them to track Taren’s movements.
She was heading this way fast. She opened the wall and used the roots of the surrounding trees to entomb Nate. She’d seen brief glimpses of his claustrophobia…she knew that he wouldn’t survive the trip to the surface awake, not the path they were going to take.
She waited as the door opened.
“What’s going on Taren?” she asked
Anise’s voice was soft in the darkness of the room and Taren stilled at the sound.
“Where is he?” she asked quietly she couldn’t afford to deal with Anise right now. She needed to end the vampire and then she would have to figure out a story to cover herself.
“He’s a killer and a threat to the coven and I’m merely doing what I’m supposed to do. Nadia trusted the safety of the coven to me and I can’t let her down.”
“Stop lying Taren…I know everything. Tell me why are you doing this?”
“I don’t have time for this Anise,” she turned quickly and threw a small dagger at her. The sharpened blade landed in her shoulder. The attack was so quick that Anise didn’t have time to react. Anise gasped as the pain in her shoulder spread down her spine.
“You poisoned me?”
“I have to have the vampire Anise; please don’t stand in my way.”
“This is the second time in ten minutes someone has warned me about what they could do…all of you really have to stop doing that,” Anise said waving her hand and chanting a quick spell as her words filled the chamber Taren prepared for another attack.
She’d only been able to hit Anise because the attack had been unexpected. She would have to be brutal in this fight, she felt a pang of regret in the center of her chest because of who Anise was to her…but she shook it off. She could only deal with one problem at a time and right now she had to kill that vampire.
She took a step and then fell to the ground as the air grew thinner in the room.
“The thing about underground prisons is that you need to constantly fill them with oxygen…I do that with the trees and the trees listen to me, well you can understand your dilemma. The only drawback to the spell is that affects everyone but me, so apologize to the others for me… I will figure out what is happening with you and I will find a way to help you, no matter what you will always be my sister,” Anise whispered, and then she disappeared through the walls.
Taren laid there quietly as the oxygen returned to the room. She shook her head regretfully. She had to get to Nate before Mina found out Anise had helped him. Once you were on Mina’s radar, death was sure to come and if she had to kill Anise…she would never recover.
Run, little witch run
* * *
Opal and Alex glided over the city of New Orleans taking care to stay behind the cover of the clouds. From the sky, they searched for any sign of Anise. Opal had used a spell that had given her the general vicinity that she was in.
They had to be careful and hide their efforts to search and rescue. Both Opal and Lorelei were banned from interfering. The queens wanted to deal with this themselves. But if they thought she would sit quietly while they hunted her sister then they had severely underestimated her.
Admittedly she had gotten lucky with the kings of Atlantis hunting them, the queens were distracted and that made it easier for her to work. Ever since that showdown at Nado, the truth was out.
It had not taken long for the king of the dragons to show up at their home and demand an introduction to Myra. He knew she was directly related to his mate. He wore his white-blonde hair in the same warrior plaits that Alex often did. His body was massive; he was the biggest man she’d ever seen. His muscles looked to be molded from granite. He stood a bit taller than Alex and had the eyes of a mercenary. There was a coldness in him that frightened her.
When she questioned his demeanor, Alex explained exactly what happened to dragon males as they got older. When the males of his species went too long without a mate, they slowly lost all of their emotion and the older they were the worst it got and the king was the oldest of them all.
Even knowing that didn’t make her any more comfortable with the king, he watched her with permanently golden eyes taking in her every movement. The pure strength of his will would break a lesser witch.
Once he realized she would not get involved he’d relented. She could still feel the pressure of his power. She didn’t know how long Myra could evade him, but if there was one witch alive who could deal with a man like that it was her.
Alex’s golden eyes never left his wife. Her focus was on finding her sister, while he was about protecting her. He waited for her signal and landed just beyond the warehouse buildings. They transformed quickly back into their human forms.
“What do you want to do now?” He asked keeping his voice low.
“My spell is continuous…it will track every person who walks these streets until it finds her. But for now, we need to find a place to stay and figure out what we are going to do if she is in real trouble.”
“Do you believe she betrayed the coven?” He asked wanting to know what she was thinking. His wife was a quiet creature often keeping her thoughts to herself.
“No, but even if by some reason she was forced to…she is my sister, my blood and it is my duty to protect her over everything else. I just hope she hadn’t done anything that can’t be undone.”
“I can get us shelter,” He said absently. He knew a vampire that owed him that lived around here. It wouldn’t take long to locate him and he would have no loyalty to the coven.
“And I can get us weapons,” she said a frown forming between her brows. She was bringing him all sorts of problems now. She knew he would always be loyal to her, but she hated the constant issues with the coven popping up.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I’m dragging you into some nasty business.”
“I will always choose you over anything else, you are my own,” he answered simply, kissing her gently on the lips. The last few months of his life had been the best thus far if she chose to walk into the fire, then he would always be close behind.
“Stop worrying about this, I was made specifically for fighting in wars this isn’t something I’m afraid of or even bothered about. You just stay safe and unharmed and all is well for me.” He said his eyes sincere.
When she smiled back at him, as always he felt his body grow hard and heavy they needed to hurry and find Anise, he wanted his wife back in Atlantis, safe in their bed.
* * *
Somewhere in a small football field in New Orleans…
Nate looked around and grimaced at the pounding pain in his head. It was like the worst hangover had a baby with a migraine and that baby now lived just behind his eyes. He rubbed his temples and sat up.
They were in the center of a football field. It looked like she’d gotten them out and then he saw her on the side of the field her body lying so still that his heart stopped, he couldn’t lose her now. He traced to her and examined her body. He took a deep breath when he realized she was breathing.
Her toffee-colored skin was flushed. His fingers touched her face softly tracing the lines. He finally had his mate… the butcher of the northern realm was finally claimed.
He cursed when he noticed the shiny dagger protruding from her shoulder. He ran his finger over the exposed blade and put it in his mouth uncaring of what was on it she was his mate and her fate would be his.
He tasted traces of Sulfur and Minot root…she had been poisoned but not fatally so…this was only designed to incapacitate. He picked her up gently and grimaced when she groaned in pain…the small blade wasn’t deadly but it probably hurt like hell.
His eyes searched the night, while his ears listened for any life forms around them. The
lore that said vampires couldn’t go into sunlight wasn’t right…but daytime was when they were the most vulnerable…their senses were enhanced specifically for the darkness in the night.
He knew that someone who served Mina would not give up easily…if Anise hadn’t killed the witch and he was pretty sure she hadn’t she would be right behind him. Luckily he had some strength, he would ensure the safety of his mate, and then and only then would he seek revenge.
* * *
Lorelei put the phone down gently her heart in her throat. Anise was in some real trouble and all she could do was sit and wait. Opal had come to her right after she got the news.
She wanted to help but had too many patients to leave the holding. Her power as a healer was world renown and a variety of supernaturals sought her out for help.
Also, there was Dace, a werewolf from Atlantis who claimed she was his mate…it had taken three witches to remove him from the compound. After a supernatural was healed they were automatically cast out, once the payment was received.
He’d fought the spell but ultimately he wasn’t strong enough to fight magic from Sara the keeper of terror and one of the queens of the coven. She could still hear him in the night his howls eerily close. The medical clinic was constantly moved thanks to Agatha magic so tracking it was supposed to be impossible. But the Atlantian just wouldn’t let her go.
She leaned forward stretching her back and her hands…she was getting weaker and weaker. When he’d declared her his mate she’d believed him. From the moment they’d met she had felt a closeness that scientifically didn’t make sense. But she didn’t know how to make him understand that holding an attachment to her would hurt him more in the end.