Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel

by Stacey Kennedy

  Alazar darted down a few more streets before he finally stopped. He pointed to a building on his right. “The vamp’s scent is strong in there. I suspect he’s inside.”

  Nexi looked at the Starbucks that had been long closed for the night. “He’s inside the coffee shop?”

  “I believe so.” Alazar angled his head back and took a deep sniff of the dry air. “But I suspect that”—he looked to the sidewalk—“he’s in a basement. His scent is beneath us.”

  Kyden groaned.

  Nexi understood completely—if they entered the building, the alarms would sound. Mortal cops getting into the mix of a vampire in the throes of bloodlust was bad news.

  “He must’ve gotten in somehow without setting off the security system,” Kyden said, voice tight, indicating that his annoyance at Nexi remained. “Let’s find out where and go in the same way.”

  “Awesome plan,” Nexi said, disregarding Kyden’s gruffness. She wouldn’t tiptoe around this problem anymore.

  Kyden’s long-suffering sigh slid through the dark night.

  Alazar’s mouth twitched, clearly hiding his smile. “Call me if you need anything.” He retreated down the street in the opposite direction.

  Nexi turned to Kyden and grinned, eyeing her sexy beast of a man, spotting the flares of irritation in his bedroom eyes. She knew he wasn’t angry with her but was fearful of losing her. Her heart warmed, of course it did, but even if their love was strong and solid, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t do her job.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure how I can manage to both love and hate your willfulness, but that seems to be the case.” Kyden’s mouth flattened. “Let’s go.”

  She blew him a kiss for that one.

  Leading the way, he headed around the coffee shop and Nexi stayed right at his side. She couldn’t see any doors ajar. Nothing stood out to her as an entrance point. Moving farther toward the back of the building, Kyden approached the alleyway, and the stench of death hit tenfold.

  He grunted. “It appears we’ll have more victims.”

  “Unless there is a morgue nearby, I’m guessing you’re right.” She breathed shallowly to avoid the pungent aroma, scanning the back alleyway with the large garbage cans. A small parking lot was to her left, but the area was too dark to spot any threats. Not being able to see their killer left them in a precarious position and at a great disadvantage. Unease traveled through her, but she shoved the insecurity away.

  Kyden cautiously stepped deeper into the alleyway before he squatted, dragging his finger across the ground. That’s when she noticed black liquid shining along the pavement. When he raised his finger, blood dripped off the tip, and he shook his head. “This vamp is reckless, messy.”

  She didn’t argue with that, focusing on the trail of blood. Only a few steps forward, she discovered a small broken window located at the back of the coffee shop. Now it was her turn to grunt. “I’ll never begin to understand why vampires don’t just use the damn door like regular people.”

  Kyden nodded in agreement. “In we go?”

  “After you, my gallant hero.” She waved her hand for him to precede her.

  He rolled his eyes at her dramatics before he knelt in front of the window, brushing away the remaining blood-covered glass shards. Then he angled his shoulders, placing one in first, and then eased the other through the small space before dropping down onto the basement floor.

  “Come on,” he said, calling her forward.

  Helping Nexi through the window, he gently pulled her down onto the concrete floor and her nipples puckered as she slid down his chest. He groaned. “Another reason for you not to join me on assignments. It’s…distracting.”

  “Hey!” she blasted back, understanding the heat blazing in his features. His touch always ignited a similar burn. “It’s not my fault. Blame whatever idiot decided that female guardians should be half naked.”

  “Now, that”—Kyden pressed her tight against him, revealing his tempting erection—“is not something I’ll ever complain about.”

  Just as she allowed his heat to consume her, a low growl spun her around, and a loud splatter hit the wall in nearly the same second. A dull bulb glowed, giving off a little light at the back of the basement. The wretched metallic scent of blood and death became overwhelming.

  Then she saw something that at one time in her life would have horrified her.

  Near the boxes of coffee supplies the vampire sat, hidden within the shadows. The light in the room silhouetted him, and Nexi didn’t wait—she approached, with Kyden one step ahead of her. When her vision adjusted to the darkness, her fists clenched and heady adrenaline spiked her heart rate.

  Three humans, all dead, with their skin covered with endless fang marks and blood strewn everywhere. So captivated in his kills, and overwhelmed by bloodlust, the vamp hadn’t even noticed their arrival.

  Not good.

  The gravity of the truth washed over her, and she wondered if maybe that’s why Kyden was in such a mood earlier. The vampire was young—eighteen years old at most—and killing anyone so young wasn’t something guardians liked to do, but in these situations there were no other options.

  Though it may be cruel, there was nothing they could do to help him. Once bloodlust took a vampire to the point that he no longer had his humanity, his mind would be consumed by one need—to feed—and there was no coming back from that. The vampire would never get enough blood to sate him.

  Her thoughts were only confirmed when the vamp continued to bite the woman repeatedly, not caring that she was already dead. He was searching for a vein while squeezing her body to pump the blood into his mouth, struggling to find a big enough vein that would give him his fix.

  Kyden’s shoulders stiffened. “Release her.”

  Dark eyes cut to them, and the vamp dropped the woman to the ground, her body a heavy weight, slamming her head against the floor. He leaned forward, bringing his face out of the shadows, snarling, with blood dripping off his fangs.

  In hope of possibly saving this kid, Nexi thought it wise to add, “Stay right where you are. Think. Calm down. We’re here to help you.”

  The second her mouth closed, a rush of wind tore past her. Then Kyden was on his back with the vampire on top of him, fangs snapping about wildly. Vamps had one advantage over guardians—speed. Which meant guardians often had to use the element of surprise to catch and kill them, though newly made vampires were just a bit faster and stronger. Kyden gripped the vamp’s face as the kid attempted to make a chew toy out of him.

  A fury like no other overtook Nexi. Sometimes things were complicated. Other things were very simple. Touch the love of her life, and die.

  She lunged forward, wrapping her fingers into the vamp’s hair and yanking him off Kyden. Fighting against the strength of the vampire, she straddled him and pushed her hands against his chest, groaning against the sheer strength he possessed.

  The vampire bounced up, shoving her off him just as Kyden appeared. Plowing into the vamp, he got him on the ground and pushed a knee to the vampire’s chest. Bucking wildly and with fangs snapping violently, the kid glared with eyes so dark that Nexi swore he was the Devil. Nothing human lived in this vampire anymore. He growled feral and vicious, throwing Kyden off him with a speed that sent her lover airborne.

  Lost in a frenzy to kill or be killed, the vampire snarled, standing in the corner of the room near the cleaning supplies. Confidence and purpose had Nexi charging forward, tackling the vamp to the ground by the waist. No more pissing around—she yelled, “This isn’t working.” They couldn’t reason with this vampire. “Kill him, will you?”

  A blink of an eye later, Kyden roared, “Off.”

  She lurched backward, falling ass-first to the ground, landing with a crash. A human might flinch in pain, but the guardian magic didn’t only make Nexi stronger, it also gave her a higher level of pain tolerance. As quickly as she’d hit the floor she was back on her feet, much more graceful tha
n she would have been before Kyden’s intensive guardian training when she first returned to the Otherworld.

  With a swoosh, Kyden’s sword hit the base of the vampire’s neck. Then the kid’s head hit the floor, along with a loud splatter of blood from a well-fed vampire.

  Perhaps the old her would’ve been horrified to witness such a ghastly death, but there were two ways to kill a vampire: cut off his head or burn him to ash. The shock value was lessened, since she knew his death had saved more innocent lives. Yet as she looked at the deceased humans around him, it didn’t seem enough of a reward. Too many lives had already been lost. “That was certainly unusual,” she said to Kyden, breathless. “I’ve never seen a vampire so lost in bloodlust before.”

  Bent at his knees and catching his breath, Kyden arched a curious brow at her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Or I should say, ‘So that’s what a vampire lost in bloodlust looks like’?” True enough, she hadn’t been on that many cases yet, either. Her fight so far had been with Lazarus and all those who supported him. Even if Nexi had killed more supernaturals than she could count on two hands, none had been newly made and in the throes of bloodlust.

  “Yes, that’s what bloodlust looks like.” Kyden straightened, the beads of sweat dripping along his chest glistening against the light. “And it’s about the worst I’ve ever seen bloodlust consume a vamp. I can’t imagine who would leave him in this state. It’s strange.”

  “Tragic is what it is,” she retorted.

  She also couldn’t push away the fact that tonight’s assignment had led them back to Salt Lake City. The last time Salt Lake City had trouble, Lazarus was involved. Cold worry etched her bones, and she wondered if there was a possible connection.

  Reaching for her sword, she moved toward the victims and then placed the sword’s tip gently into their stomachs to change their wounds. She always felt like a bag of shit for doing it. Even though she understood it protected supernaturals and their existence, it was a terrible thing that the victims’ loved ones never knew what really happened to them—and in the mortal world the killers were never caught. At least the guardians obtained their justice; she’d have to find comfort in that.

  Once the fang marks became gunshots, she turned to Kyden, seeing that the vampire was now gone, as was all his blood. While the magic in their swords altered wounds on humans, if the blade was used on a supernatural, the magic made the body vanish, remnants of blood included. The Otherworld didn’t bury their dead killed by enemies, nor did they celebrate their life. They got revenge for a life taken.

  Pulled by the fierceness between them, she approached. The light in the room showed off one side of his face, but that visible eye held a piercing soul that stole the air from her lungs. “Will the Council go after the vampire who turned him?” she asked.

  Kyden stepped out of the shadows and both eyes blazed at her, igniting heat in her loins and wonderment over the conversation ahead. “It would be impossible to track him or her down.” Without looking away, he backed up to the window they’d entered through, waving her before him.

  In no time, she was outside with Kyden next to her. The night air brushed her skin and the silence drifted around them. She couldn’t resist moving closer to him, his heat simply calling to her. He might be angry, but he happened to look off-the-charts hot that way.

  He dipped his head, his warm minty breath brushing across her face. “Now, then, dare to tell me why you came tonight when I never ordered it?”

  As the Elite Guardian, Kyden did have authority over her. In those terms, she never should have showed up at the scene. But she knew if she didn’t push this matter, he’d always keep her out, coming up with one excuse or another.

  She smiled sensually. “What can I say? Watching you fight is the best kind of foreplay.”

  “Ah, so that’s why you did this?” One brow arched. “Need some excitement, do you?”

  “Of course.” She grinned, blinking innocently at him and wiggling against the growing hardness resting against her belly. “I thought it might make for a fun night.”

  The arousal in his eyes was replacing the hard edge. “I’ll hold you to that, you know.” A deep flush crept over his cheeks, hinting at sexual promise. “If your plan was to start something tonight, I expect it to be finished later.”

  She stood on her tiptoes, dropping a quick kiss on his lips. “Whatcha waiting for? Let’s finish it now.”

  That’s all she got out before his lips crushed against hers, stealing the world from around her. When Kyden touched her, time stopped. His kisses possessed her soul and she experienced the burn of each one right down to her toes. It wasn’t just a joining of lips, but a joining of passion that she’d never believe existed if she hadn’t experienced it herself. Apart, they were Nexi and Kyden. Together, they were something different, something stronger, something that created a fire that could never be extinguished.

  By the time he broke away, they were both breathing heavily.

  “That, Álainn”—the nickname, meaning beautiful in Gaelic, a language passed along from the older generation in the Otherworld, fueled the need swelling inside her, especially because he had a way of purring the word—“would be in your immediate future, if I wasn’t someone who actually followed protocol. Tonight needs to be reported to the Council.”

  “See, and that’s why your Goody Two-shoes way”—she stepped back, forcing some cooler air between them—“sucks.”

  Kyden’s devilish grin—a smile that belonged to a man so arrogant from knowing his worth—slowly spread across his face. “Yet I’m not the one who is often in trouble with the Council, am I, darlin’?”

  She accepted the jab—she was a bit of a rule breaker and didn’t possess a filter when it came to her mouth. “I would follow the rules if they made sense. And, might I add, weren’t made up from some caveman beating his chest to protect what he calls mine.”

  He dropped his chin, brought his eyes level to hers, and a tightness appeared in his features, igniting a fierce heat in her belly. “You do realize that any other guardian would be punished for showing up like you did tonight.” His voice was far too husky to be taken seriously.

  She rubbed herself against his hard length pressing so deliciously against her in a tempting offer. “Oh, I’m not worried. I can give the one who dishes out the punishments sexy times. Doesn’t that exclude me from such punishments?”

  “No, Álainn.” Intensity crossed Kyden’s expression, causing Nexi to wonder how she could get him to break the rules just for tonight, as he added, “It means my punishments can be more creative.”

  Chapter 2

  “Thank all that is holy,” Haven exclaimed the second she opened her front door. “You’re back.”

  Standing outside the modern-designed apartment, Nexi raised her brows at Haven’s unruly hair and her bloodshot eyes. Red-hot irritation rushed through their bond, sending Nexi spiraling into a dizzy spell. Not once had Nexi ever seen Haven so flustered—she’d always been a ball of sunshine.

  Haven had been the first supernatural Nexi met in the Otherworld. She knew why the Council had set that up—their soul-bond had instantly brought comfort to Nexi, while Haven explained where Nexi was, that her adoptive mortal parents were dead, and that Nexi was actually a supernatural living in a mortal’s world.

  Now she couldn’t quite imagine her life without Haven. Their relationship wasn’t sisterly, it was similar to that of what twins experienced—but possibly even closer than that. A connection of hearts and souls.

  The second supernatural to visit Nexi on her first night in the Otherworld had been Drake, the guardian who gave her life, and who had been a complete stranger to her. Nexi wished she had spent more time getting to know him than the few months she had with him before he died during the fight with Lazarus. Yet life was what it was, and there was no sense hoping for a different outcome. Besides, she believed Drake felt that he finally helped avenge his wife, the mother that Nexi had never met.
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br />   She ignored the pang in her heart, refusing to return to that dark place of sadness that was still so fresh, turning her attention back to her friend. “What in the world happened to you?”

  “Your damn cat hasn’t shut up,” a low, angry voice bit off.

  Haven opened the door farther, showing off her boyfriend and fellow guardian, Finn, sitting on the couch. The deep frown on his slender face was so unlike him that Nexi’s brows rose higher. In all the time she’d known him, he had never lost his cool—Finn was always the calm, collected one. Now his crystal-blue eyes reflected grave annoyance, and his jaw muscles were twitching.

  Nexi slid her glance to the kitten sitting on the armrest of the couch, staring and swatting at Finn. While she appreciated that apparently the kitty had been bothering him, and perhaps was driving him mad, she was also silent. “When did the meowing stop?”

  “The moment you knocked on the door.” He looked to the kitten with a vicious glare. “She’s here. Get out.”

  The kitten glanced to the doorway and Nexi swore the kitty smiled before jumping off the couch and trotting over. “Come on, how can you hate her?” Nexi said, grinning at the kitty. “She’s so stinkin’ cute.”

  “Easily,” Haven snipped, reaching for the kitten. “You weren’t here for the past hour, listening to her cry and whine for you.” Those trickles of annoyance increased through their bond as she shoved the kitten into Nexi’s arms. “Have fun with that one.”

  Haven began to shut the door, and Nexi called, “Wait. You need to tell me about her—”

  The door slammed shut.

  Sighing, Nexi looked down at the kitten and frowned. “You sure know how to make friends. Guess you’re stuck with me, even if I have no idea what you are.”

  The kitten purred, rubbing her face into Nexi’s neck. She laughed, turning away from Haven and Finn’s apartment and strode along the hallway in the Witches’ House, located in the west side of the Otherworld’s castle. Each species had its special place in the medieval castle, or at least that’s what it resembled.