Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel

by Stacey Kennedy

  Interesting, but more questions loomed…“What will you be after that, then?”

  Willow shrugged her fluffy shoulders. Who knows—I was born, and then given the assignment to come here. That’s all I know.

  “Who assigned you to me?”

  Willow raised her paw. Can we skip the thousand questions? Can’t you just accept I’m here to help you and leave it at that?

  Nexi snorted a laugh, unable to stop herself. Having a cat raise a paw in impatience topped any ridiculous thing she’d seen so far. Sure, she’d read fairy tales of how witches and cats held a special bond, but she never thought it was true, though she also realized she shouldn’t have expected otherwise.

  When was anything regarding magic and supernaturals ever what it seemed to be?

  Chapter 8

  Ten minutes later, and with Willow grumbling at being left home again, Nexi exited the castle, a warm breeze brushing over her skin. Her legs felt a little shaky as she ventured out to the Otherworld’s garden, both from Kyden’s lovemaking and because she was still reeling from the experience with Willow.

  She strode along the grounds and inhaled, noticing how different the air smelled from what she had experienced growing up in Carson City, almost fresher with the nature around her. She even noted how the colors of the flowers were more vibrant. Everything in the Otherworld was simply richer and healthier.

  Her attention went up to the sky, and she saw the clusters of stars that were far brighter in the Otherworld, looking more like the Milky Way than did the stars on Earth—a range of white, blue, and pink colors sweeping across the sky. She slid her glance to the Underworld, and a cold shiver slid right down to her toes. Knowing demons lived there was a displeasing realization.

  Content not to ever have to go there, she looked over her shoulder, comforted to see the Otherworld’s castle behind her. At first being in the Otherworld had frightened her, since the castle reminded her of those castles in spooky movies. Ivy covered the stone walls, stretching high to the slate roof, while four large gargoyles sat guarding the edges. Safety lay in this land—and she knew whenever she stayed here nothing could get to her, no matter that an evil planet was so close by.

  When she reached the cobblestone pathway leading into the Otherworld’s garden, she could continue straight ahead or go to the right toward the village. Her visits to town were to gather groceries, and that was about it. Though she reminded herself she needed to go there tonight to get food for Willow. Since the cat could talk, she’d surely bitch about being fed milk and leftovers.

  The great part about working for the Council’s Guard was that it came with a free apartment and an Earthworld credit card. She never asked how much money the Council put on the card, or if they used real money on it or if it was magically created, but it didn’t matter. Not having to worry about money anymore made life a little easier. Besides, she decided putting her life on the line working for the Council should come with a limitless credit card.

  She entered the garden, inhaling the rich scents from the thriving flowers and lush bushes. Quickly, she made her way toward the end of the pathway, passing the small pond filled with brightly colored fish. And when she reached the gate covered in ivy leading to the Witches’ Meadow, an odd buzz carried over her body—hot yet enjoyable. She stopped dead, noticing a man approaching from the other side of the pathway.

  Cocking her head, she regarded him as he approached, noticing his energy was…different. The closer he got, she realized he possessed the same energy as witches did, only it was stronger—thicker, richer. Whatever he was, she had never met his kind before.

  The man moved with power, radiating confidence. His gray eyes held warmth that seemed all wrong, considering she noted something dark in their depths. His short black hair was gelled back off his face, leaving his smooth, defined features exposed. Dressed in an all-black tailored suit filled out by his muscular frame, he exuded danger. Though all the same Nexi couldn’t help but think that danger looked entirely sexy on this man.

  Once he reached her, he stood nearly a good three heads taller than she did, completely dwarfing her. The scent of rosewood and fire overwhelmed her senses, making her body buzz. His shadowy eyes held a knowing twinkle, one that clenched her stomach in an unexpected sense of pleasure. He bowed formally and then offered his hand. “At last we meet, Nexi.”

  Against her better judgment, she placed her hand in his. “Hello.” An odd burn spiraled through her veins, jerking her hand away and forcing her to close her fist. “You’re a witch.”

  “Well, not exactly.” He grinned, giving her a long look. “Warlock would be the correct term.”

  The sparkle in his eyes displeased her, almost as much as the way he looked at her as if she were a female he had an interest in. “Warlock, then. It’s nice to meet you, but I need to go.”

  She took a step forward, but he grasped her wrist, stopping her. Unexpected butterflies slid into her belly, warming her in places that should not warm in his presence. She gritted her teeth, glaring back to him. “Remove that hand or I will remove it for you.”

  His low, seductive chuckle tickled across her. He also obliged her, yet not before he slid his fingers gingerly along the inside of her wrist. “I simply wanted to meet you. I do hope to see you again soon.” His eyes went dark and focused on Nexi’s face, making her feel entirely exposed.

  Her lips parted to respond, but a soft breath escaped.

  “Until then.” He winked and strode away, leaving Nexi watching after him.

  What in the hell was that?

  Cursing the butterflies in her stomach, she despised that any man could have that effect on her. Kyden and she were madly in love. That reaction was beyond inappropriate, and she knew if Kyden had been there, that warlock would have been knocked out cold for touching her. And she would have had to answer for the fact that she’d responded to him.

  Once the warlock faded into the shadows of the night, she shook out her arms, controlling the nonsense going on inside her. After a long, deep exhale, she entered the Witches’ Meadow. She was immediately filled with warmth at the beauty of this place—a large field filled with every type of tree found in the Earthworld and some that only existed in the Otherworld.

  She headed down the small hill, spotting Haven sitting under the willow tree, alone. The light from the Underworld, where the demons resided, illuminated her as it shone brightly, also lighting their Otherworld in an orange hue, making it an extraordinary night. What wasn’t beautiful was the pulsating sadness rushing through the soul-sister bond, making Nexi quicken her steps.

  As Nexi reached her, Haven lifted her head and whispered, “Hi.”

  “Hi, you.” Nexi dropped down next to her, reaching out to stroke a long, flowing leaf of her beloved tree. This place was her favorite spot to sit and think—where no worries engulfed her. It had also been the favorite place of her birth mother to sit with Nexi as a child in the first few months of her life, and before Tillie was murdered, which Nexi now realized was likely why she’d been so connected to the tree.

  It crossed her mind to wonder why Haven picked her tree to visit, since typically this had been Nexi’s space to get away, but she also thought maybe that’s exactly why Haven had come. Maybe Haven was beginning to understand why Nexi loved it so much—real peace could be found here.

  Nexi studied her soul-sister’s puffy eyes, sensing the thick despair in Haven. This time she welcomed the grief. At least it was better—and easier to understand—than all that sensual heat the warlock had stirred. “You okay?”

  “Not really.” Haven’s chin quivered as her hands slid over the grass beneath her. “We went to Finn’s parents’ house a little bit ago. They live in the village; not sure if you knew that.” Nexi shook her head, and Haven added with a thick voice, “It was so sad. Finn’s mother…” Tears welled in her eyes.

  Hurting for Haven, Nexi reached for Haven’s hands, feeling the weight of Haven’s grief in her chest as if it were her own
. “I’m so sorry.”

  A tear slid down Haven’s cheek, and she swallowed deeply before replying. “You know, it’s weird, right? Not too long ago, I was comforting you like this. Now here I am.” She hesitated, sniffing. “It’s just Finn. I’m worried about him. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s so sad and angry. He won’t talk to me about anything.”

  Nexi understood that, and then some. “It takes time to sort through grief, and everyone deals with death differently. He’ll come around.” She brushed her fingers over Haven’s hands, trying to find words but feeling at a loss. “Finn showed up at our place a few minutes ago and told me you were here, so I’m sure he’ll open up to Kyden.”

  “You’re right, he probably will.” Haven pulled her hands back and wiped her tears away. “He thinks I’m so fragile and keeps shutting me out. But I hate this. I want to be there for him.”

  The sad part was that Haven was fragile. Nexi agreed with why Finn wasn’t sharing his feelings with her. He wanted to protect Haven and make it better for her, not make it worse. “Just love him,” she replied softly. “A lot of love heals broken hearts.”

  Haven gave a small, sad smile. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

  Nexi stroked another leaf, appreciating how much love helped—without Kyden, Haven, and Zia, Nexi wasn’t sure what she would have turned into. Probably a witch out to kill everyone and filled with anger and hatred, but they all brought her back from the darkness. And her heart bled for Haven, because she did understand what it meant to feel loss this deep—it cut with a sharp sting that never truly went away.

  Not ever.

  Perhaps it became more manageable, but it was always there.

  Nexi dropped the leaf and turned to Haven, offering the one thing she could think would help. “He’ll be okay. I know that’s hard to believe, but he will be.” Nexi scooted forward, sitting in front of Haven and taking up his hands again. While Nexi sympathized with Haven’s grief, she sensed, through the bond, something dark inside him, something that could break his cheerful spirit. “But you, will you be all right?”

  Haven shut her eyes. “My heart…it’s broken. I feel—”

  “Don’t even say it.” Nexi squeezed Haven’s hands tight. The rush of emotions stormed across her so intensely that she immediately understood what Haven was experiencing. Guilt. “You can’t take on that kind of blame. Even if you had been there to help Trefan, you wouldn’t have been able to stop it.”

  “Deep down, I know that.” Haven sniffed. “But it doesn’t stop me from feeling like I should have stayed with him.”

  Nexi sighed, surmising she probably would feel the same way. But Haven couldn’t carry this guilt. It would destroy her. “Am I responsible for the death of my adoptive parents, or for Drake’s death?”

  “Of course not.” Tears flooded Haven’s face. “Lazarus did that.”

  He had, but that didn’t change the fact that her family was never coming back. Nothing would ever change the fact that they were all gone. Maybe that explained why she felt so protective over Haven and Kyden—she couldn’t lose anyone else. “Then it’s not your fault, either. The crimes fall to the vampires who committed them. They hold the responsibility for Trefan’s death, not you.”

  Haven stared at Nexi long and hard. Then she gave a slow shake of her head. “I know you’re right, but I…”

  “Can’t help what you feel,” Nexi offered.

  Haven nodded, inhaling a shaky breath. She leaned forward in an obvious invitation, and Nexi wrapped her arms around her, squeezing as tight as she could. Determined to ease Haven’s mind, Nexi put as much love as she possibly could into the bond, hoping that Haven experienced that emotion and nothing more.

  Many minutes passed, but Nexi let go only when Haven leaned away and asked, “Tell me what came of meeting with Thalia. Any leads?”

  Nexi welcomed the change of subject. Sometimes not dealing with one thing meant you had to talk about something else. “Thalia identified the vampires through Zia’s memories and is arranging the summit to gather her vamps for questioning tomorrow night at midnight.”

  “That’s a start, I guess.” Haven sighed dejectedly, tucking her curls behind her ears. “Sucks that it will take so long for Thalia to gather her vampires. Sometimes I wish everything was magical and could happen in the blink of an eye.”

  “Me, too.” But portals were Otherworldly magic not gifted to those in the Earthworld, except for Valor. Nexi wished it could all be quick and then she could hunt these killers and avenge Trefan. If Nexi knew one thing, it was that an eye for an eye sometimes kick-started the healing process. Maybe it wasn’t the best way, but in her new violent life, it made sense and had worked for her.

  The warm breeze sped through the meadow, fluttering the leaves around Nexi, almost as if her tree was reminding her to stay in the present, not live in the past. Sometimes she wondered when she was at this tree if Tillie sent messages to her from beyond the grave, but Nexi hadn’t seen a ghost before, so she figured it might just be her imagination.

  She looked back to Haven. “Even if it takes a bit to gather the vampires, I’m sure we’ll get something from the meeting.” She twirled another leaf in her fingers, pleased to have this time at her tree. Sometimes it seemed like she didn’t have enough of these quiet moments with Haven: being a normal twenty-five-year-old and simply enjoying a close friend. “Or I should say that Thalia seemed pretty confident.”

  “It’s strange, you know.” Haven’s brow furrowed over eyes, which were as sweet as they were soft. “What type of revenge are they searching for?”

  “Got me.” Nexi pondered that, but it simply made no sense. “Does that type of thing happen often in the Otherworld? Do vampires team up, and such?”

  Haven shrugged. “Not typically, unless they’re protecting a friend or something.”

  Tension rode Nexi’s shoulders, a cold sense of unease spiraling into her. “So it’s odd?”

  “Very.” Haven studied Nexi with a curious look, clearly reading into their bond. “Why does that worry you?”

  “From my experiences so far, whenever things seem unusual that means bad shit happens.”

  Haven’s eyes softened in understanding. “Lazarus is dead.” Nexi felt her friend’s love erasing the tension. “Remember that trouble is behind you.”

  Nexi tried to, but it didn’t help. A soul-crippling worry engulfed her, as if she should be worried about this, which made no sense. Trefan’s death had nothing to do with her, but trouble seemed to follow her with every step. She rubbed the back of her neck and scanned the grounds in the Witches’ Meadow, not seeing anyone, but unable to shake the feeling that they were being watched.

  She shut her eyes, pulling all her emotions back in and trying to give herself a break. With all that happened, she supposed experiencing a sense of panic was to be expected. Drawing in a long, deep breath, she settled the race of her heart and turned to Haven as she asked, “What did you think of Thalia?”

  Haven snorted a laugh. “She wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought I’d meet Dracula, not a sweet, all-but-sparkling vampire.”

  Haven’s smile was small, but she appeared more like herself. “Thalia’s not typical, that’s for sure.” Glancing up, Haven looked at the Underworld above them before turning to Nexi. “Most of the Mistresses are hard as nails. Thalia is far from that, but it probably has something to do with her going through the change so young.”

  Good point. “How old was she?”

  “She was turned just after her seventeenth birthday, but she’s old—like, born-in-the-fifteenth-century old.”

  “Yeah, Kyden mentioned that,” Nexi replied.

  “In those days, though, she was already married,” Haven continued. “From what Finn told me, she had a lover who was a vampire and it was he who turned her. After that, she killed her husband, and from there, it’s history.”

  Nexi blinked. “She killed her husband?”

  “You think Kyden is possessive. Imagine
what men were like in those times. ‘Woman, you are my slave, serve me.’ I guess she was sold to the man for land or something.”

  “That’s awful.” Great. Now Nexi felt like shit for disliking Thalia at all. The vampire had gone through hell and back. Not that Nexi would ever admit this or say it aloud, but she didn’t hate the fact that Kyden had shown Thalia kindness, something she didn’t want to think much about, of course.

  Haven leaned back on her arms. “Won’t it be so bizarre when we have that much time behind us? Hard to imagine being that old, right?”

  While Nexi would never insult the older generation in the Otherworld, she was damn glad her soul-sister and Kyden were close to her age. The whole immortality bit did freak her out. “Bizarre doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

  She tried not to think about being an immortal too often, figuring she couldn’t control it anyway, so why fret? Besides, it was kind of awesome all the same. No wrinkles. No weight gain. In those terms, immortality wasn’t such a hard thing to accept.

  Silence fell between them and Nexi exhaled, pleased to find no other emotions running through the bond, suggesting to Nexi that Haven had settled. For all that Haven had done for her, having been a good friend when Nexi needed it so badly and pulling Nexi back from a very dark place, she wanted to reciprocate.

  While typically she’d never mention trivial things at a time like this, considering all that was happening in the Otherworld, she also realized how talking about normal things eased Haven. Perhaps she needed a dose of normal after the day she’d had. “Speaking of Thalia, did you know that Kyden’s been with her?”

  Haven nodded. “A while back, they…um…spent some time together. But it was at least a year ago. He didn’t care about her or anything.”

  Nexi twirled the leaf by her face. “Oh, I know, I’m…”

  “Being a jealous girlfriend.”

  “Something like that.” Nexi laughed softly, enjoying the light breeze bringing forth rich scents of nature. “I don’t know if it’s just that he’s more experienced than me or what it is that bugs me about it.”