But that wasn’t what I wanted. Why risk becoming stronger and less in control if it didn’t help me save Noah and Rex? Mr. Jenkins eyed me as he held up the vial. He gave me another opportunity to say no. My gut nagged at me. It asked me if I really wanted this? My gut said no. My gut told me this was a bad idea. I’d always listened to it, and it had always kept me safe. But the voice in my head, the one born of curiosity and desperation, spoke louder. Noah’s beautiful rugged face flashed in my mind. Then I saw him in a cage, his body melting from the fire, and his horrified face screaming in agony. The man who feared nothing at the mercy of demons for an eternity while watching his uncle and cousin burn along beside him.
I took the vial in my hand, stared at it like I would an enemy, and then opened my mouth and swallowed the acrid substance down.
Then I waited for my life to fall apart.
Eighteen
My shoulders bobbed as I let out a loud hiccup. The sound echoed through the car and a puff of black smoke escaped my lips like an ineffective dragon. The hiccups had started seconds after I swallowed that awful tasting potion, and they hadn’t let up since. The smoke that came from my mouth had only just started. Were they side effects? Or was I now destined to forever smoke when I hiccupped?
Rex glanced my way and a horrified expression covered his face. “What the hell was that?”
I’d told him about the spell—sort of. I didn’t completely trust the pack, and I didn’t want them to know anything about my dad’s secret—not that I really knew what it was. It frustrated me that there was much I didn’t know, and the one person who could give me all the answers was gone. I wished he’d been more honest with me. That he’d let me into his world more than he had. That my mother had been supportive of it all. I glanced at Rex. No, I couldn’t trust him, even if I liked him. If he knew my dad hid from other witches, he’d have just as many questions, only he wouldn’t assume my dad did it for a good reason like I did. We had to work together to save him and Noah and that was what mattered. The rest was none of their business.
When I’d left the store, I’d basically told Rex they’d cast a spell to call the hunters. That they’d find me if they were willing to talk. Sure, I’d dressed it up. In a way, it wasn’t a complete lie. I did ask them to do the spell hoping hunters would see me and find me.
“It must be a side effect,” I said. “They said there might be some.” I hiccupped again, and once again smoke puffed out of my mouth. It smelled like rotting trash. I felt bad, knowing Rex’s senses were acute. How must it have smelled to him? “They said they hadn’t done the spell before.” Not in reverse, anyway…
“How do you know they didn’t poison you?”
I frowned at him. “They were friends of my father’s.”
“So you say. How do you know?”
“My mother told me he spent a lot of time at that store before he died.”
“Maybe he was reading books.”
I made a face at him. Then hiccupped again.
He waved a hand in front of his face. “Oh, my God.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s awful.”
We continued to drive on the highway. I struggled with my symptoms. The hiccups became less frequent, but we drove with the windows down anyway. The wind blew my hair over my face. I settled into my thoughts, worrying, wondering. He dropped me off at my house and I trudged inside.
I sat at the table with a cup of coffee, black and strong, and I waited. Mom got home later that night. She met me in the kitchen. It had grown dark, but I hadn’t turned the lights on. The dark helped me think.
“You’re just sitting here in the dark?” she asked me as she flicked the lights on.
“I guess so. Pot’s still warm if you want one.” I held up my cup and took a drink.
“If I have any now, I’ll never get to sleep tonight.” She joined me at the table, slinging her purse and tote bag on the table. She removed her shoes and massaged her feet. Her eyelids looked heavy, her face a touch weathered.
“Did you know Dad asked Mr. Jenkins to do a spell to hide himself from other witches?”
She shook her head, drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “You went back there today.”
I nodded. “Mr. Jenkins did it, and he also did the same spell on me when I was a baby.”
“I told you he never talked to me about that stuff. About anything magical. He only told me enough so that I would know he had another life that he had to keep me from. He said it was for my own good. That I would be safer.” She rolled her eyes, her bitterness apparent. I didn’t blame her. That would have been a foul-tasting pill to swallow from a husband. I saw the irony in how she thought it acceptable for me to hide my own magic from anyone and everyone.
“One of these days I’d like to go see Mr. Jenkins and have a long chat with him. But then, what difference does it make now? Knowing your father’s secrets won’t help me. Or you.”
“That’s not true,” I said.
She stopped and tipped her head to the side.
I debated telling her that Mr. Jenkins removed the spell on me, but knowing how she felt about my magic and about my not using it, telling her I removed a spell that made me invisible to witches who worked for demons didn’t sound smart. I knew she’d freak out, and she probably had a right to. I’d become my dad. I could see know why he didn’t include her in his other life. She loved us, but she didn’t really accept that part of ourselves. I hung my head. So many lies in my life. And I was adding to them.
“Nothing,” I said quietly. “You’re right. His secrets aren’t important anymore.”
The phone on the wall rang. It was an old school red one with a circular dial pad. It was the only one I’d ever seen like that in my life although mom had once told me they’d been common years before.
Mom started to stand.
“No, Mom. I got it. You’ve been on your feet all day.” I stood and reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Is Maisie there?”
I didn’t recognize the voice.
“Speaking.”
“Hi, dear. It’s Kira.”
“Oh. Hi.” Kira was Rex’s wife, and for all intents and purposes Noah’s mom.
“I’m sorry to bother you. Laird wouldn’t…he wouldn’t be happy if he knew I’d called you, but…have you seen Noah?”
“Um, yeah. Yesterday.”
“Not today?”
“No.” My chest tightened as I waited for the worst news. Like the day the police officers showed up at our door. I’d known they had bad news. I just hadn’t known they were there to tell my mother and me that my father had been killed. “Is there something wrong?” I held my breath and steeled myself, gripping the counter for support.
“I think so. I don’t know. Laird asked him to stay away from the pack for a while.”
I opened my mouth in shock and let out a breath. “Why would he do that?”
“Well, we know about the mark now. Being near him puts us all at risk in case we get caught in the crossfire.”
Things made more sense now. Why Noah wouldn’t tell me it was okay to go to the bookstore, why he insisted I ask Laird. Why he’d become somber after his call in the parking lot. He’d told Laird about the mark then.
Fucking cowards. Rex too. I was with him for hours today, and he didn’t say a damn word about it. There was no way he hadn’t known.
“Laird told us that we had to wait until you figured out a way to stop them.”
“So Noah’s just a sitting duck? No help at all?” I hated Laird so much. Here I thought I didn’t have the ability to dislike him more than I already had. I curled my burning fist. It glowed with heat, the edges of my hand hazy.
“I called Noah’s phone a few times today but he wouldn’t pick up. I just want to know if he’s okay.”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t spoken with him, but I’ll look for him.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. Laird wouldn’t be happy if I put you in danger.”
“It’ll be our secret.”
“Will you call me when you find him?”
“I promise.” I hung up the phone stewing. When I hiccupped, a flame shot from my mouth. I clapped my hand over my mouth in horror. My mother sat still as a statue with her eyebrows aimed at the ceiling.
“Indigestion,” I said with a forced smile.
I don’t think she believed me.
Noah had only hung around a few spots when we were teens. And those spots were near his and his pack members’ houses. I wouldn’t find him there. If he’d been told to stay away, he’d have made sure he did. The thought made my blood boil. They were family. The good of the pack should have included the whole pack. Noah needed them now more than ever, and they’d cast him out. This was my brother all over again. Which was why I needed to find him. He needed to know he wasn’t alone. That I would be there for him, no matter what. Without his pack, I knew he’d feel empty. That’s how Seth had felt. I’d never felt Seth would kill himself, but he did. Not that Noah and Seth were similar, by any means.
I checked the lookout, the place on the hill where kids went to park. There was a tower there that overlooked the valley. Noah liked to climb up there and watch the world. I’d gone with him a few times. When he wasn’t there, I tried the beach and the pool halls. He wasn’t there either. Then I went to the pub. Nada. I decided to try a pub just outside of town, in case he wanted to give the pack a good distance between them. My guess had been right.
He sat at the bar, a beer in front of him, his gaze set on the baseball game on the television. I sat beside him, and he spied me from his peripheral. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you.”
“What can I get you?” A bartender slung a towel over one of his broad shoulders and watched me with his hooded blue eyes. He was big and burly and had likely played football when he was younger. He still looked like he could play now though he had a round belly which clearly showed his love of beer.
“Nothing.”
“Can’t stay if you don’t pay.”
“Fine. Tequila.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. Then I thought better of it. With fire coming from my mouth, drinking alcohol wasn’t the best idea.
“Ginger-ale.”
“Coming up.”
“You need to leave,” Noah said.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You can’t stop this, Maisie. You can’t save me. It’s going to happen.”
“And you’re going to be drunk. How will you fight them if you’re three sheets to the wind?”
He chuckled. “It’ll take more than a couple of beer to slow me down.”
He was probably right. Their metabolism wasn’t like a normal human’s. “Did you talk to Rex?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I rolled my eyes.
“My phone died.”
“Well, you better charge it. Kira loves you and she called me upset because she couldn’t reach you and she’s afraid.”
He sighed. “Can I have your phone?”
I pulled it out of my back pocket. He tapped out a text with a precursor that said it was from him. Don’t worry. I’m safe. His index finger hovered over an x. It stayed there for several seconds. Almost touching and then pulling away. Then he finally added an XO.
I nearly teared up at the XO. I knew how hard it was for him to show emotion. But he loved Kira. She’d been good to him. Though she was were, and a bit more aloof and guarded, she’d made sure he’d always felt wanted. In some ways, I think she thought of him as her child. She and Rex had never been able to have one of their own.
I wrapped my arms around him again. Just for a quick moment, and then I sat back down on my stool. He smirked at me and took a drawl from his beer bottle.
“Laird’s an idiot.”
“Easy,” he said, losing his smirk.
“No, he is. And I think I’ve found a way to help you.”
He set down his beer and picked up the bottle cap. He wiggled his fingers as he made it dance over each of them. “Do we get to kill a hunter?”
“Um…no? I don’t know.”
He frowned.
I told him that the witches cast a spell that would make the hunters find me. Hopefully. I didn’t tell him the other stuff yet, though I wanted to. I knew I would. I just needed to find the right moment. Because he was going to be angry, and I worried how much.
He tossed a bill on the counter and stood. Then he gripped my forearm and escorted me outside.
“Let me go,” I snapped and pulled my arm free. “What is wrong with you?”
“That was stupid. Why would you do that? This was over. It ended with me. And now you’re in the mix too.”
“I know what you did. I know about Marco and the deal.” I lowered my voice. “And if you think I was going to let you die and spend forever in hell, then you don’t know me at all.”
He growled at me and raked his hands through his hair before he turned away and paced. With hands propped on his hips he stopped dead in front of me. “It won’t work. Hunters collect and that’s it. You don’t make deals with them, and I’ll be damned if I let you give up your soul too.”
“You’re wrong.”
He stilled.
I sucked in my bottom lip and averted my eyes.
“Wrong about what?”
“I have something the hunters want. Something that might make them reconsider.”
He leaned in.
I muttered a curse.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
I swallowed hard. And then my secret came out quickly. I couldn’t stop talking. He’d told me he’d never lied to me. He’d just omitted a lot. My omission felt like more of a lie, and I didn’t want to lie to him. Not Noah. I felt the weight lift from my shoulders almost immediately and damn, it felt good. Until his face contorted, and I thought he might turn into a wolf and eat me in front of the people walking from their cars to the entrance of the pub.
“Are you an idiot?”
“Hey! Don’t call me that. I’m trying to save you.”
“I didn’t ask for you to save me!”
A tall man in a jean jacket and a ball cap hanging low over his eyes slowed beside me. “Are you all right, miss?”
“I’m just fine.”
“Keep walking,” Noah said, his eyes flaming.
“Make me,” the man taunted him.
Oh, no. Not now. Not with everything going on. The man stepped toward him, and Noah did the same. I forced myself between them, placing my hands on Noah’s chest. He was so angry his eyes almost glowed in the dark. He couldn’t do this here, and he couldn’t touch that man or he’d likely kill him.
“Prick,” the stranger said as he stepped away, spitting on the ground as he headed for the door.
Noah jerked away from me, and I grabbed his arms. It would take more than me to stop him, and I had to think fast. I put my hands on his neck and pulled him toward me, pressing a soft kiss on his lips that he didn’t expect. I felt his muscles tense, and then just as suddenly, he relaxed. Desire stirred inside of me. I felt it first in my pelvis, and then it quickly spread to my core. A calm settled over me like my whole body had just released a decade-long sigh. When I broke away, his eyes were normal again.
“Better?” I said, like he’d said to me when he kissed me before. I breathed hard through quiet pants.
“Yeah.” He let go of a long breath and searched the parking lot. “I got to go.”
“What? Where? I’ll come with you.”
“Maisie, it’s not safe.”
“They’re looking for both of us now. I think we’re safer together than apart. Don’t you think?”
“No. I think you need to take off. Go somewhere they won’t ever find you.”
“You know I won’t do that. And my witch friends said they could find me wherever I go, if they’re looking.”
“Why would you put yourself at risk, like this?” he said, but his tone w
as softer. He knew the answer, and I didn’t have to say it. He wasn’t angry anymore. I think he was resolved. And I didn’t think he wanted to be alone any more than I did.
I hiccupped and with the smoke came a small flame, like one from a lighter.
His eyes opened wide.
“It’s been happening ever since they cast the spell.”
He blew air out through pursed lips while he took a moment to think. “Right. Well, that’s unexpected.”
I shrugged.
“Maybe it’s not safe to leave you alone like this,” he said.
I shook my head. “It’s really not,” I said, grateful my fire breathing had made him see reason.
He let out a strangled laugh. “Come on, Puff.”
“Who?”
“You know, Puff The Magic Dragon?”
I looked at him quizzically.
He rolled his eyes. “Never mind. Just get in the damn car.” He pointed to his sedan.
He drove us to the same place he’d taken me to see Marco a few nights ago. We parked our cars in the small clearing and walked the rest of the way to the cabin. I didn’t think anyone lived there, but apparently, Noah did. Or, he did now. He flicked on the lights when we went inside. I was happy to see all traces of Marco were gone. Not a single speck of blood remained on the long, wooden table. I ran my fingers over the grain.
“Why aren’t you staying at your house?”
“I figured changing it up might make it harder for them to find me.”
I doubted that. I didn’t think he really believed that either, but we knew so little about them. How they found their marks, how they tracked them. If it gave him a sliver of a better chance at staying out of their crosshairs, then I supported that.
“I can’t believe the way the pack is treating you. It reminds me of…” I couldn’t finish that sentence, but I’m sure he knew where I was going with it. I kicked off my shoes and padded across the wood floor of the open room, toward the single sofa that sat by the west wall, in front of a small coffee table. Curtains hung from the windows, but they were tan in color. I was sure they must have been white once. The place sure could use a good dusting. I sat on the sofa and slumped forward, elbows on my knees.
Pack Witch (Captured Souls Book 1) Page 18