AWitchsSkill (2 page)

I stood up and lit the incense I’d taken from my bag to give
me an excuse to stall. Quickly, head bowed, I intoned the words to one of my
favorite spells, taking care with my inflection and letting my voice rise and
fall in the correct pattern. This particular incantation was simple but no less
effective than if I’d gone with something more elaborate. The result? I’d be
able to talk to my target…without anyone else knowing we were communicating. Not
true telepathy by any means—with this, we would speak to each other but no one
around us would hear us or notice our mouths moving when we spoke. Very cool
but not perfect. Until I released the spell, nothing the prisoner or I said to
each other would be audible to others. I’d nearly been caught out as a witch
once when I’d forgotten the spell was active and had treated a neighbor to the
odd experience of watching my sister and me communicate without words. I’d
stopped the spell as soon as I’d realized she was there and my sister and I
laughed and tried to pass it off as a special ability shared between really
close family members, but that neighbor had eyed us suspiciously ever since. I
now did my best to avoid her when I returned home to visit my parents.

Slowly, I stepped forward and spoke to the creature but kept
an eye on Ryan and the tall man.

“My name is Cassandra. I won’t hurt you.”

He looked at me in surprise, raising an eyebrow at the
others as he did so.

“They can’t hear us or see us speaking. What’s your name? Why
are you here?”

I started a mumbling nonsense chant for the benefit of my clients,
waving the incense importantly around me, waiting for the vampire to speak. After
a suspicious pause, he did.

“My name is Acayo. I’m here because I was stupid enough to
be captured. Are you sure they can’t hear us?”

“Positive.” I glanced at them nervously despite having total
confidence in my spell, but neither looked anything but bored with my chanting.
“How did you break my ward?”

He smiled at me slightly but his expression had an edge to
it. “Help me and I’ll tell you.”

I brushed that off for the moment. “What do they want from
you?”

“What humans always want. The secret to being vampire.”

I was so surprised I stopped chanting for a moment and
stared at him. I hadn’t realized there were people out there who actually
wanted
to become a vampire. Real vampires didn’t have much in common with the ones
portrayed in literature. They kept themselves very secret. I knew relying on
the popular myths when dealing with them would likely get you killed but I
didn’t know much more than that. And
I
was a member of the magical
community. I wondered who my clients were, that they knew of vampires and could
catch one. Catch one and then hire a witch to control it.

Acayo coughed, and I realized I’d just been staring at him
and my clients were starting to shift restlessly. I dropped the incense and
raised my hands above my head, clapping them together loudly. I intoned a few
Latin phrases and then entered the first circle solemnly. Obviously reassured,
Ryan and the tall one seemed to relax, and Acayo raised an eyebrow at me, the
corner of his mouth lifting.

“Nice performance,” he told me, amusement coloring his tone
even through his tension.

I shrugged back at him, trying to ignore how good he looked
and stay focused on the problem at hand. “Hey, it works. You don’t want to make
them vampires?”

“Hell no, I don’t want to make them vampires. Look at them. They’re
monsters. That’s the last sort of human I’d ever turn. And they are just
underlings. Their masters are way worse. And believe me, you don’t want to see
them if they get what they want. Help me.”

I continued pacing in my circle as I considered his request.
I thought about Ryan’s snakelike eyes and shuddered as I imagined him with a
vampire’s power. No doubt his masters would indeed be worse. I pondered my
options frantically. I could just say it didn’t work. But even though Ryan had said
I’d be paid—whether I succeeded or failed—I was starting to get the impression
that failure wasn’t an option. I didn’t think he’d be pleased with me and I had
a feeling I didn’t want to face an unhappy Ryan. On the other hand, I wasn’t
sure he’d let me leave even if he got what he wanted. To give myself a bit of
time, I clapped again, intoned more Latin, and moved inward another circle.

“How much do they know about you?” I asked him, thinking
quickly.

“Not too much, I don’t think. They got lucky capturing me. Why?”

“So you could work magic then? There’s no reason why you
couldn’t?”

“I could…although I can’t. I wasn’t born with the power to
work spells and it’s not something you get automatically when you become a vamp,”
he replied, snarling the words out at me with one eye cast on his captors. “What
are you thinking?”

I considered my idea before answering. Vampires were
certainly dangerous but they weren’t animals. They had a high sense of honor. Most
supernatural creatures—witches included—lived together under a sort of uneasy
truce. We’d all taken turns being hunted and killed by normal people throughout
history and as a result, we had something in common, a shared identity, so to
speak. If I helped him, I was relatively sure I wouldn’t be in danger.

In addition to my inclination to help a fellow magical
creature, I didn’t approve of kidnappings and beatings and I thought Acayo was
right. These assholes would make lousy vampires.

“Okay…here’s the deal. When I get close to the inner circle
I want you to yell something magic-sounding. I’ll release the circle and create
a smoke bomb to hide your movements. Leap out of the circle and hit me. Not too
hard please—I’d rather not be broken—but hard enough to knock me down and shake
me up. After that, you’re on your own.”

He stared at me, hope dawning in his dark eyes. “You’ll
really help me? Are you sure they won’t hurt you?”

“Hey, I’d like to see them try!” I told him, thinking to
myself that actually, I really, really wouldn’t.

He gave me a look of disbelief and I bristled.

“I’m tougher than you might think. Besides, I don’t see a
lot of other options. You ready?”

He nodded, eyeing me in an evaluating way, and I stepped
into the inner circle to release the wards. I nodded back at him and prepared
myself. Suddenly Acayo yelled out a string of gibberish as mystical as anything
I could have come up with, and I released the smoke spell. The smoke bubbled up
around my feet as he leaped at me. I cried out, genuinely afraid, and he
smacked me upside the head. I fell backward and hit the floor hard. Lying there
on my back, I saw stars and didn’t have to pretend a thing.

After a moment, a little less dazed, I heard a commotion and
yelling through the smoke and a loud thud sounded next to me. I gasped and
scrambled back along the ground, my head swimming as I moved. Eyes wide with
shock, I stared at the tall man. He was very, very dead and his lifeless eyes
stared back at me. I coughed and retched before turning away. As the last of
the smoke wafted out of the building, I heard cursing and looked up. Ryan
stormed back across the room toward me, anger distorting his features.

“What the hell happened?” he yelled at me.

“I don’t know,” I whimpered, playing the pitiful woman for
all I was worth. “You didn’t tell me he was a warlock. You didn’t say he was a
vampire either. I thought I’d be using a truth spell on a guy—on a human. How
could I know he’d break the wards? I don’t even know what he did—”

I broke off pathetically and let tears trail down my face,
lowering my chin and shuddering. He snarled and turned to stalk angrily out of
the warehouse. I drew a deep breath, painfully pulled myself to my feet and
gathered my bag before hobbling to the door. Frowning, I murmured a few words
and then hummed a few bars and every surface in the warehouse was wiped clean
behind me. I glanced back one more time, grimacing at the sight of the tall
man’s body, and then I left.

* * * * *

Back at the small apartment above my shop, I ran a hot bath
and tried to stop shivering. What a horrible day. I lay there in the water and
tried to think positively. What good things had happened today? I thought for a
moment and really the only thing I could come up with was that I had met a
gorgeous man. Granted, he was currently probably fleeing the country, but hey… I’d
met him and he was sexy as anything. At least I could daydream about him in the
future. I’d bet he looked amazing shirtless. Oh… Another good thing—I was still
alive. Definitely a positive. For the moment at least, assuming the clients
weren’t going to come after me for failing them. I shook off that thought and
by relentlessly focusing on how attractive Acayo was, I managed to put myself
in a better mood before getting out of the bath.

I toweled off and slid on my silky pajama bottoms and a silk
camisole. I wandered out of the bathroom, feeling calm, but had a minor heart
attack when I realized there was a figure standing in my darkened living room. I
staggered backward in surprise and barked a few words. A flame sprang up in the
palm of my hand and I was about to hurl it at the intruder when I realized
through the sudden light that it was Acayo.

He’d reared back at the appearance of the flames in my hand
and was regarding me warily. He looked ready to flee at any moment and I
relaxed. I closed my hand firmly and the fire went out.

“Don’t you know not to sneak up on a witch?” I snarled at
him, my pulse racing. “I could have killed you. What are you doing here
anyway?”

He’d changed out of the dirty clothes I’d last seen him in
and looked amazing in a tailored gray shirt and black pants. His expression had
lost the “cornered beast” look. When I didn’t make any other movement he
relaxed further and regarded me.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier. You probably saved
my life.”

“Well, I’m not sure that breaking into my place really makes
for an appropriate way of showing your gratitude but you’re welcome.”

He looked as abashed as a vampire ever could and moved
closer to me.

“I’m sorry. It seemed like the simplest way.”

He stared at me intently and took another step in my
direction. My pulse increased and I was suddenly very aware of the fact that it
had been a
long
time since I’d been alone with a hot man in my
apartment.

“Why did you do it? Why did you save me?”

“I didn’t like them much,” I told him, trying to keep my
voice steady as he came to a stop right in front of me.

“It was dangerous,” he told me, placing his hands on my
waist and looking deeply into my eyes.

I stared back, trapped by his dark gaze, and wasn’t able to
think of a thing to say. He tightened his hands on my waist and before I knew
what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him. He inhaled as if surprised,
tensing for a second before wrapping his solid arms around me and pulling me
roughly against him. He kissed me for so long I grew lightheaded and had to
push against his chest to get him to release me. He did so reluctantly and I
gasped against him.

“Hey, remember I have to breathe,” I managed before he
pulled me in again.

It had been a long time and I surrendered to him
ecstatically. I bit his lip as I pulled back, and he gasped and lifted me off
my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist and scratched his back. He held me
up easily, one hand on my ass while using the other to pull my camisole over my
head.

I cried out as he bent his mouth to my tits, and I laced my
hands in his hair, pulling him against me. He moaned in turn and squeezed me. I
trembled in his grip and unwound my legs to slide down his body until my feet
hit the ground, before running my hand down to the bulge in his pants and
squeezing. He stiffened against me, took my shoulders and tilted me back to
kiss me.

Sliding my hands up his body, I unbuttoned his shirt quickly
and bent my head to his nipple. He moved his hands to my hair and stroked it,
tugging gently on the ends as I sucked. I’d never been with a vampire before
and he was warmer than I’d expected. Would he bite me? Did I want him to? At
the moment I was undecided. I never thought I’d say yes to being bitten, but
the way he was making me feel, I feared I’d say yes to almost anything. He
moved his hands down my back, scratching all the way to my ass. I shivered and
straightened to put my mouth on his again and he hooked his thumbs into my
pants and pulled them down in one swift move. I turned my attention to his neck
and sucked on it gently before tilting my head up to whisper encouragement into
his ear.

He pushed me backward against the wall and looked down at
me, his eyes burning. He put one hand against my shoulder and ran the other up
my thigh. I writhed and gasped, pleading with him to keep going, and he smiled
at me in a sultry way before he moved his hand between my legs, flicking my
clit with a finger.

I felt flushed and hot and couldn’t think about anything but
how he felt. I tried to reach for him but he caught my wrists, tugging them
high above my head. I gasped and rose on my toes and he moved his hand to my
nipple, pinching it hard. Pain shot through me and I gasped. He smiled, forced
my legs apart with his knee and pulled me up against his thigh. I made a sound
almost like a purr, rubbing myself against him.

I moved my head toward him. He let go of my breast and had
his hand around my throat in an instant. Leaning in until his mouth was inches
from mine, he jogged me up and down on his leg. I moaned and he tightened his
hand on my throat.

“You’ll do as I tell you, won’t you, little witch?” He
growled at me, flicking his tongue out to lick my lips and staring deeply into
my eyes.

“Yes,” I moaned softly, growing lightheaded with his hand on
my neck.

“Good.”