by Fran Tullo
The woman smiled and motioned to the chair behind Lexi. “Please… a beautiful woman should never be on her knees…” Her smile turned into a wicked smirk and her voice rolled over Lexi like dark chocolate and passionate kisses. “Unless, of course, she wants to be there.”
It took Lexi a minute to work through the promise in her voice to the actual words, then she found herself sitting without thought on the velvet chair, sighing a little as it enfolded her sore body.
“Good girl. You’re very obedient if it gets you what you want. I approve.” The woman leaned back a little, letting her legs part to give Lexi more of a view of her flawless form. “Now… what you want are answers. I have some, but not all of them. Some, you need to look for yourself.” She winked playfully. “Because it’s no fun if someone else does all the work, is it, pretty?”
“Ok… answers. Let’s uh, let’s start with those, right?” Lexi shook her head, trying to clear the sexual tension that clouded her thoughts. This was strange, other, and she should be scared or worried. All she really felt was turned on… and familiar.
“Yes, answers. Most of which are inside you, but you must unlock them. I’m but one key to your…” Caramel eyes flicked over Lexi’s form before coming back up to her face. “Destiny.” She chuckled softly, waving a hand. “We haven’t much time, I’m afraid. Your beautiful men are on their way back, and you know how shifters are after a fight… I can tell you that I resided in the shifter you just killed. It was a mercy, if I’m honest… She wasn’t always such a… creature. We were beautiful, and powerful. We hunted, as you hunt.”
Lexi blinked, finally getting her brain to connect to her mouth. “You… were a Red?”
“Yes, pretty, I believe that is what we are called now. Reds… a very sexy title for work that isn’t nearly as sexy as people think.” The woman looked at her nails before looking up again. “The coven stole our power, stole our will, and used it for their own. She fought, we fought, but against magic… we were unfortunately unmatched. On our body… find the silver circlet.” Her lips twisted in a disdainful moue and looked away. “A collar around our beautiful neck like we were nothing more than a beast for their use. The coven knew what we were, and they punished her for it, until she went mad.” A tear tracked down her cheek as she continued. “When her mind was all but gone, they forced another captive to bite her, then killed him, so she had to go through her changes completely alone. That is the creature you fought. A beautiful, generous woman tortured to insanity and brutality.”
Lexi snarled at the thought, clenching her hands into tight fists. “How many are there?” A job… that she could handle.
“It is a coven of seven. One rules over the others, and is the one to watch for. She will not be who you think she is.”
Lexi nodded and stood. “Then I kill them all. Better to make sure than leave this happening again a possibility. What happens to you now?”
The woman smiled and stood as well, cupping Lexi’s cheek gently before lightly dragging her nails down her face. “I believe I and my sister will be very happy right here, pretty. We will do our best to guide you and keep you safe, but we are not safe without our other selves. Find them, and you will be stronger than you can ever imagine. Fail to find them, and the fate of my sweet host will seem like a pleasant dream.”
“Here? That… that sounds like a threat…” Lexi tried to step back, but the hand on her face kept her still, like she didn’t have control of her own body.
“A threat? No, my good girl, just the way things are. We will do our best… but the gods are not to be trifled with. Now go. We will speak again when the time is right.”
The world faded to black again. When her vision returned, she was on her knees in the snow. The memory of what she had just seen played again and she shoved herself forward, rifling through the mess and snow where the creature’s body dropped. Her fingers closed on the silver circlet as the boys made their way over, human and naked. Braydon was still hacking, rubbing his mouth in disgust.
“That thing tasted nasty… never fucking again. What the hell is wrong with it?!” Braydon snarled at the corpse and started to kick at it, but Lexi stopped his foot before he could connect. When he looked at her quizzically, she frowned.
“That… that thing used to be a Red. We’re not fighting a single witch, we’re fighting a coven that, along with sacrificing innocent shifters, also tortured and forced a Bite on a human… or at least as close to human as a Red can be.” She growled, stalking away from the corpse before turning back. “I want to bury her, but we’re short on time. We need to move her out of the way for now so we can deal with this and then find her later. She deserves a proper funeral.”
Braydon looked back the corpse, then to Lexi. “They… did that to it… her?”
Jace frowned slightly. “But… how do you know?”
Lexi stared out into the snowy forest. “I don’t… I’m not sure I can explain it. Let’s just say she told me and leave it at that.” She turned back to look at them. “And before you ask, yes, I think it was reliable, and no, I’m not crazy. Let’s get moving.” She grabbed her axes, hooking one onto her back and pulling out a cloth for the one that had been stuck in the Red. As she started walking, she cleaned her ax, using the motions to settle her frazzled nerves.
They traveled for over a mile before Jace put a hand on her shoulder. “The opening to the mine is that way, Lexi.”
She shook her head and pointed forward. “No… they’re this way.” She blinked a little, putting the ax on her back and glancing back at them. “Yeah, okay, that sounded weird even to me. But there’s another opening this way, and they’re in the caves there. I can’t explain because I don’t know how I know. If you were anyone else, I’d make it sound all cool and mysterious… ‘trust me, I’m a Red’ bullshit. But… I have no idea how I know, just that I do, and I’m going with it.”
Jace chuckled a little, putting an arm around her waist in a quick hug before moving away. “Fair enough, sweetheart. We’re following your lead. You’re the Red, after all.”
She pushed him away from her with a grin and shook her head. The banter eased the fluttering along the edge of her nerves and she straightened her back, looking around. It was here somewhere… “There.” She pointed at a crevice in the mountain that was almost completely hidden if you weren’t actively looking for a secret base of operations. “They’re in there. There’s seven of them. The amulets will keep you from dying, but not from getting hurt, so don’t be stupid in there. Taking them out as quickly as possible is best for everyone involved, especially the captives.” She kept her voice low, knowing that sound carried inside caves and caverns.
Once the boys nodded, she took her axes off her back and stepped through the wall, hoping they were prepared for anything the coven could throw at them.
Chapter 19
Lexi
The walls of the cave were slightly damp, like they had recently been iced over and then thawed. The air was dank and so warm compared to the outside that it felt sticky. Jace and Braydon wrinkled their noses, covering them with their hands. Lexi gave them an odd look, but shook her head and continued on, not wanting to make any noise. As they moved further down the stone corridor, she understood why they were covering their faces. The smell coming from the caverns was rank with moisture, decay, and unwashed bodies. She could hear moaning echoing off the wet stone, and over that, the sound of voices arguing.
Arguing was good… it meant they weren’t paying attention, and may not be a cohesive group. She grinned wickedly, walking on silent feet to the mouth of the cave. There was a small glyph on the wall and she held a hand up, stopping the shifters that were following her from continuing. A simple spell, that would alert the entire coven someone was there. Annoying, but not difficult to get around, if you knew the counter to it. She whispered softly and the glyph went dark. She watched the coven for a minute, but the little bit of failed magic was too faint to break their argument.
&nb
sp; Four of the coven members were in a circle around a fifth, and it looked like there was a power struggle going on. The woman in the middle was probably in her late forties to early fifties. Salt and pepper hair curled down past her shoulders, brushing along a green and purple sweater. Black dress pants and dress shoes, of all things, completed the inappropriate ensemble, but gave Lexi a cold shiver down her back. Anyone dressed like that, and still able to stay out of sight, was going to be extremely powerful. Not something to be trifled with.
The other members of the coven she could see were in similar states of dress, looking more like they belonged to one of the book clubs from her Grandmother’s library rather than a cave in the northern stretches of Alaska. They were arguing over what to do with the captives. It seemed most of the coven were starting to get cold feet. Lexi was more than happy to help warm them back up again. She glanced over at Jace with a finger over her lips, then reached out and touched his ears. When he tilted her head, she mimed the ears on her head, waiting until understanding dawned on his face. Stepping back into the corridor, he stripped his clothes off and shifted silently before padding back to her. She smiled a little and ran her fingers through the fur on his head before looking back to the arguing coven.
Crouching down, she muttered in his ear, “Get around them, head to the captives in the back.” She held up a key with a little grin. “Magic… it’ll open any lock. Start getting them out of the line of fire.” She glanced at the arguing witches again before frowning. “There’s two missing… they might be with the captives. Watch your back.” Standing, she watched as Jace pressed against the gray and white rock of the cavern, slinking around slowly. Then she turned to Braydon. “I don’t want them seeing what you are… they’ll make you a priority and I want them focused on me.” Braydon nodded, pulling her closer and giving her a quick kiss. When he released her, she was two knives lighter.
“I’ve got this. Go get their attention, love.” He flipped the knives around, holding the blades against his wrists with a grin and nod.
Grabbing her crossbow again, Lexi took aim, closing her eyes for a second to get a feel for the room. The coven leader was too protected… a projectile would never get through. She could feel the magic around her. But one of the lesser witches… She took a deep breath, holding it before lining up her shot and firing.
Screams and shouts echoed through the cavern as a bolt erupted through the witch closest to the cavern entrance. Lexi walked in, tapping the crossbow against her shoulder with a smirk. “Now… this looks to me like trouble. It smells like hot ass, but it definitely looks like trouble. You all wouldn’t be looking for trouble, would you?”
“You have no rights here, Red… and I’ll be happy to take your life in payment.” The coven leader held out her hand, staying on Lexi as she walked around the cave. The spell, fire from the looks of it, sparked off her fingers, but fizzled out as it reached Lexi.
“Hmmm… ya know, I’ve heard that’s a common problem among witches your age… performance issues.” Lexi cursed internally, knowing her amulet would be useless now until it was recharged. That didn’t stop her from talking, though… anything to keep their attention on her and not on the snow leopard shifter that was sneaking in behind them with two bare blades in his hands. “Maybe you could try again… unless you’ve already spent your load?”
“Kill that bitch! I want her head!” The coven leader’s shriek was a rallying cry, much to Lexi’s annoyance. She had been hoping the contentious relationship would keep them fractured, but it seemed she’d have to kill a few more before that happened. That wasn’t exactly gonna be a hardship. As the leader screamed and the coven started moving, she loaded another bolt in her crossbow and put it through the chest of the only male in the coven. As the rest of them converged, she dropped the bow and grabbed her axes, grinning wildly.
“Come and get it! I owe you for taking out one of my own anyway.” The axes spun in a circle in front of her, practice and adrenaline keeping her movements fluid as she ran forward to meet them.
A guttural cry from the back heralded Braydon joining the fray, slashing the coven leader across the back. As she turned to deal with the snow leopard, Lexi whipped her axes out to either side, catching one witch across the face and taking half of it off. Her other ax slashed through the coven leader’s clothes, but didn’t score the fatal hit she was hoping for. She turned in place for another hit, but was slammed backwards by what felt like a mini cyclone. Her back hit the wall and the breath whooshed out of her, leaving her open for a split second. It was just enough time for the witch to throw a lightning bolt at her, making her cry out in pain. She thanked Bri silently for the added protections; that bolt was definitely meant to be fatal.
Braydon was faring a little better against the coven leader. She couldn’t get away long enough to cast anything more than protection spells, so they were at a stalemate, but at least he wasn’t being overpowered by the magic Lexi could still feel coming from her. They needed to end this, and soon. As she started to move, it felt like something washed over her. Her body dipped and glided, dodging another spell with the prowess of a gymnast. She wasn’t sure what happened, but it gave her an opening to whip an ax at the witch, panting softly as it lodged into her forehead.
It was like something had control of her. Her limbs felt loose, more flexible as she moved.
Braydon cried out and Lexi heard his body hit the ground before she had a chance to retrieve her ax. Fury coursed through her, blocking out the strange pain she could feel in the background as she glanced at his still form across the cavern. With a snarl of rage, she spun her axes and slammed the hilts together. The coven leader looked up at the sudden sparks, just barely getting a barrier in place before the lightning crackled and whipped from the axes toward her.
Lexi was directly behind it, bringing the joined axes up in a baseball swing just as the witch’s shield shattered from Lexi’s magic. One arm went flying as she tried and failed to dodge. Spinning on the ball of her foot, Lexi dragged the axes back down, successfully cleaving the top of the witch’s head from the rest of it. The Red didn’t bother waiting to see her body fall, running back to Braydon and sliding to his side on her knees.
Chapter 20
Lexi
“Braydon… Bray, c’mon… wake up. C’mon, baby, don’t fucking do this to me.” She smacked his face a couple times before screaming for Jace. Tilting his head back, she leaned down to start CPR, but he coughed into her face and groaned deeply. “Fucking hell… don’t do that to me!” She punched his chest and he groaned again, curling up to protect his ribs.
“Shit, Lex… that fucking hurts.” He swatted the air in an attempt to wave her away as Jace came running from another hallway in the back of the cave, bare naked and terrified.
Lexi let out a soft sob, falling back onto her butt as Braydon slowly pulled himself up. Jace dropped to his knees next to the snow leopard, helping him up as Lexi stared. Braydon groaned softly, curling around his chest. “Fuck… that hurt… that witch packed a punch.”
Lexi sighed and wiped her face, nodding. “Yeah… now imagine if you hadn’t been wearing the protective amulet. You’d be dead, Bray.” She shook her head, pushing herself up as she forced her emotions back down. She could freak out later. “Did you find the captives?”
Jace nodded, still staring at Braydon, running his hands along his back and shoulders. “Yeah… when you screamed, I left them the key and came running, but there’s a lot of them and they’re not in good shape. We’re gonna have to get the chopper or they won’t make it back.”
Lexi sighed, running her hands through her hair before turning back to them. “All right… Braydon shouldn’t really be moving for a bit either. Let’s get them out here, assess the damages and then go from there. You have the sat phone?”
“I mean, not on me… it’s at the snowmobile. You want me to go get it?” When Lexi nodded, Jace headed into the back again. The cave walls echoed with his conversation with the cap
tives. A few minutes later, seven bloody, bruised and starving captives shuffled out ahead of Jace, holding each other up as they blinked in the fire-lit open cavern.
Lexi cursed softly at the state of them. Jace hadn’t been exaggerating. There was no way they’d be up to the trip back on foot, and the helicopter could only hold five or six of them at a time. This was going to take most of the rest of the night. “Okay… Here’s what we’re going to do, folks. Jace… go get the snowmobile with the sat phone. Call in for the chopper before you come back. You’ll beat them here anyway, and we need to get everyone moving as quickly as possible.” She paused, looking at the captives and trying to visually assess their wounds. None of them looked great, but there were a couple that were completely unable to stand on their own. “Let them know we need a doc to travel out here with the chopper, and the rest of the clinic needs to be on standby.”
Jace nodded, and she turned her attention back to the captives. “You guys… I need a triage. Who’s been here longest, hurt worst, that sort of thing. We’re all getting back to the compound tonight, but I want the ones who are desperately in need of medical attention to get it the fastest.” She looked at Braydon, frowning at the way he was hunched over. “That includes you, kitty cat. Who knows what that spell fucked up in there. You’re on the first flight.”