Barely Bewitched (25 page)

Chapter 43

Bryn and I went out the back door that led to the courtyard with the pool. I glanced at the fountain. “I wish Mercutio was here. He helps boost my power, too.”

“Where is he?”

“Don’t know. But whatever he’s doing, I’m sure it’s important or he’d be here. Him I can always count on.”

Bryn didn’t argue with me, but his silence was icy.

I stopped as soon as I hit the grass, but Bryn kept walking. He studied the sky and stopped about thirty feet from me.

“Here’s better.” His voice was calm and smooth again, which made it easier to approach him, but I took a step back when he pulled his shirt off.

“Skin to skin works best. You know that,” he said, glancing at the horizon.

I did know that, but I wished I didn’t. “It’s freezing out here,” I complained.

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem for very long.”

I took my boots and socks off first, then curled my toes into the grass until I felt the cold dirt. My fingers shook as I pulled my T-shirt over my head. Goose bumps rippled over my skin.

“This is as far as I strip,” I said, glancing down at my purple lace bra.

He hooked his fingertips in the waist of my jeans and pulled me to him. The power sizzled to life. I put my hands on his chest, trying to keep some distance between us. He let go of me so fast that I had to take a step back to stop myself from falling.

“What?”

“She’s still in the way,” he said.

I looked around. “She’s not here.”

“I don’t mean that she’s in the way physically. I meant she’s making you resist me.”

“It’s not Edie’s fault. It’s yours! You did something terrible, and that’s why I don’t want to get too close to you. You make me mad and . . . you scare me.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.

“In my heart, I don’t believe you’d hurt me directly, no matter what anyone says. But you can do things, spells that are so beyond what I can comprehend. And people like you get where you are by being ruthless. Edie was in your way. So you did a spell to get her out of it. That makes me scared. If I could do things to you that you couldn’t control, wouldn’t that scare you?”

“You do things to me that I can’t control, Tamara. The difference is that when you’re ruthless, I never ask for an apology.”

My eyebrows shot up. “I’m not ruthless.”

“Are you here for my company? Or are you here to use me?”

I stamped my foot. “That is not fair! I saved your life.”

“You would have done that for anyone,” he countered.

“Stop twisting things around. You’re such a—such a lawyer!”

He smiled. “Is that the worst you can do?”

“Admit you were wrong to block Edie!” I snapped.

His smile faded and he nodded. “Yeah, it was a mistake. An ironic one.” He paused and tapped his thumb against his thigh, as if he were picking out his next words carefully. “Your safety and your happiness are important to me. That’s why I take risks for you. Risks I wouldn’t take for anyone else. So the fact that I hurt you wasn’t just unintentional, it was the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.” He shook his head, adding softly, “You throw my world off its axis.”

My breath escaped in a rush as I stared at him. His eyes were like open windows into his soul, and I could feel the truth reflected there. Right then, if he’d reached for me, I would’ve been his for the taking. He was that irresistible.

I licked my lips. “Um, okay,” I said, fidgeting. “I—yep, you’re forgiven.” I shoved my hands through my hair. “Ready to get back to saving Duvall?”

The corner of his mouth curved into a smirk, and he nodded. “I think we’ve established that when you want something from me, all you have to do is ask.”

I walked close to him and dug my toes into the dirt. “What next?”

He leaned his mouth close to mine. “You know.”

The minute I kissed him, he slid a hand behind my head and one around my back. We bruised each other’s lips with the force of the kiss. Parts of me thought that wasn’t good, but other parts thought that was better than perfect. My feet were rooted in the earth as he crushed me to him.

The wind blew and the earth rocked, and everywhere we touched, power burned like a white-hot flame. The darkness broke apart, and bright light blazed through my closed lids.

Every thought dissolved into sensation. His skin, warm and smooth. His muscles, hard and tight. His breath, ragged and lost to me every time I inhaled. I let it curl down into my lungs like the smoke of a sandalwood candle. My tongue touched his, caressed it, and tried to swallow the power. We fought for it, my nails digging into his back, my hips pressing against him like I’d walk right through his body and soul.

I leaned back, not knowing why, until the arch was so deep that we lost our balance and slammed to the ground. I felt the power of the world slice through me to touch the heavens.

I could have a piece of that raw power if I wanted it badly enough, and I surely did. Bryn’s body slid along mine, making me ache to the core. That place inside me without a name knew he was mine and wanted the proof of it. I slid a hand between us and fiddled with his clothes. He seemed to be of the mind that we could make love with our clothes on because he didn’t help me. It turned out I didn’t need his help.

We clung to each other, and I swallowed the words he said against my mouth. I opened my eyes and the stars pulsed overhead, their light like needles tattooing his back and my hands.

He drew the power to him, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to feel good, to tip over into that body-clenching, skin-tingling place. And then I did, tumbling into an ecstasy more intense than any I’d ever known.

He followed me over, and it was glorious . . . until he gave me more than what his body had to offer.

The power screamed through me like it would tear my skin off to get out. I shrieked and tried to grab him as he slipped away.

“Take it back,” I wailed.

I barely felt his fingers on my face. I couldn’t see him through the white light that blazed in front of my eyes. It was like staring at an overexposed picture.

“Concentrate, Tamara.” His voice was a distant echo in my head.

I thrashed, begging him to get it out of me.

“See the doors. See them in your mind? Burn them closed.”

I felt one of his hands squeezing my arm. It was painfully reassuring. “See them for me.” He kept talking. He whispered against my skin, spell after spell, until the words closed around me like a fist. I saw an army of monsters pouring into the world. I drew Bryn’s spells to me and cast them out. I saw the beasts scatter, and the golden doors slam shut. The heat made the doors warp, melting along the edges. They were too soft, too malleable. The monsters would push through them, like gilded warriors.

I wanted to cool the doors, and Bryn’s new spell chilled my skin. I made the wind mine. It whipped icy water. Some hands and faces froze into the doors as they hardened.

There was still power left. I tried to concentrate, but couldn’t remember what else needed to be done.

“Want to fix the rest,” I mumbled. It was hard to untangle my thoughts.

He spoke in my ear, in my head. I saw the flowers and trees. I saw the dust floating on the air. I saw the edges of Duvall as I flew over it. I was a tempest. I twirled like a ballerina in an endless pirouette, and at the last moment before I lost my balance, I flung my arms out and cast the power.

When I was human again, I turned my face away from rain that pounded down on me. I wiped my eyes and opened them. Bryn was lying next to me, one side of his face under mine. He’d been saying the spells against my neck, near my earlobe.

“We closed the doors,” I said breathlessly. “Yay us.” I paused. “I didn’t expect it to hurt like that.” I put my hand out to block the rain from hitting our heads. “You alive?”

“Hard to tell,” he mumbled.

“I’m surprised you gave me the power.”

“Didn’t have a choice. It was too soon for me to draw that much in. I couldn’t have contained it and cast at the same time.”

“It was too soon after waking up from being half dead and poisoned?” I asked. He didn’t answer. “Bryn?”

“Hmm?”

“Some of the fae came through. Somebody’s gonna have to deal with that.”

“Somebody besides us.” His breathing grew even as he fell asleep.

I sat up and righted my clothes, then his. When all our bits were safely tucked away, I kissed his temple and stood.

Blood ran down from the reopened wound in my side as I strode to the house. It hurt, but I did my best to ignore it. Soon I would get to rest, too. But not yet.
Not yet.

“Steve!” I called.

Steve appeared a moment later.

“Go collect your boss. He’s sleeping on the back lawn.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, his lips curving into a smirk.

I gave him a stern look. “You know, it’d be a real good thing if you didn’t start with me right now.” I cleared my throat and tried to look dignified. “Now, where the heck’s my gun with the iron bullets?”

Chapter 44

As I reached Magnolia Park, Rollie woke up and did a full-body stretch in the backseat of the limo.

“How was your beauty sleep?” I asked.

He moved so that he could better check himself out in the rearview. “Apparently very well, since, as usual, I look fabulous.”

I parked and grimaced at the pandemonium. More fae had gotten through than I’d thought.

“There are a bunch of bad faeries loose. Want to help me deal with them?”

“It’ll put my nails at risk, but that’s why God invented acrylic. Let’s go,” he said. He bent and gave Johnny a peck on the cheek. “You stay here.”

Johnny protested, but I agreed with Rollie and asked him to stay behind. Johnny’s hell with a blow-dryer and brush, but he’s no Calamity John.

I tucked the gun in the front of my jeans and shouldered my duffel, which contained another bow that I’d gotten from Bryn’s. While loading up on ammunition, I’d asked Steve how big Bryn’s arsenal was. Steve had smiled and said, “Unless the U.S. Army invades, big enough.” I hoped I’d borrowed all I would need.

When I flung the car door open, I had to sidestep Rollie. He was leaning against the limo, surveying the field of faeries gone feral.

“How many?” I asked.

“You expect me to count them, too?” he said, waving a dis missive hand. “They’re running around too much. It’ll be easier to count them when they’ve stopped moving. What have you got for me in iron that’s stylish?”

“You want a gun or a long bow?”

“Neither. Don’t you have any pretty daggers? Or a short spear?”

“I wasn’t planning to get that close. How about these arrows?” I asked, giving him a handful.

He admired the tiny magical symbols engraved on them.

“Very elegant. I’ll take them,” he said. With that, he pulled his lips back, exposing his sharp white fangs, and then he sauntered right into the middle of things.

Being quite a bit less indestructible, I kept my head low and took cover. The police and a number of concerned—or at least annoyed—citizens were shooting, but the faeries weren’t falling.

There were some people on the ground, but not as many as I expected. Some women and children were cowering under picnic tables. The monstrous human-sized faeries danced around, jeering at the people and making scary, malicious faces. That’s right. Before they slaughtered people, they were taunting them.

On behalf of Duvall, I was officially madder than a hornet. It already wasn’t a fair fight. I counted nineteen practically immortal faeries, fully armed. I spotted Zach on the far side of the bonfire. He was bleeding from his leg and reloading.

I crawled across the grass, keeping out of sight by staying below the level of the disposable coolers. Rollie provided a nice distraction. Five big fae had surrounded him and were poking at him with their spears. Two of them pulled off the tips so the wood underneath was exposed. Stake size: extra large.

If lightning moves faster than faeries and vampires, I’d be real surprised because the action was a blur. I pushed up onto my knees, took aim, and squeezed off two shots.
Pop. Pop
. I dropped back onto my belly and peered around a cooler, resting my chin on an empty can of Miller beer.

I’d hit the two faeries who were by the farthest picnic table, and they were down. I crawled commando-style to Zach.

“What are you doing here?” Zach whispered fiercely.

Saving your cute butt.
“This gun’s got bullets that will kill them,” I said, handing it to him. I looked at the gash in his thigh. It wasn’t bleeding much because the flesh around the wound was burned.

“The thing had his spear in the fire before he stuck me with it,” Zach explained.

“Well, here’s your chance to get even. That gun’s not on fire, but the bullets will burn plenty when they go in.”

I arranged my arrows so I could reload the bow quickly. Rollie was doing well in the center. Two faeries were down with arrows sticking out of their chests, but Rollie also had a spear in his belly. Too low to kill him, but it had to smart.

I raised up and shot a charcoal-skinned faery with spiked black teeth, who was dancing near us. I dropped down and reloaded. When I rose again, there was a feral face with oily eyes right in front of me.

I gasped and stumbled back. He was on me in an instant. I’d like to say killing him was planned, but the arrow just slid into him when my elbow hit the ground and jarred my arm. He rolled off of me, bleeding shimmering green blood that disappeared when it hit the earth.

I reloaded, sweating and breathless. They moved very fast, but I could still sense the hum of Bryn’s power under my skin. It made me feel fast enough to fight them.

Zach was on one knee next to me when I rose up. I sent my arrow flying, reloaded, and sent another into the air as Zach squeezed off two shots.

The faeries spotted us, their long haggard faces glowering.

Uh-oh.
A rush of fear coursed through me.

I sent three more arrows up in quick succession, then grabbed the gun from Zach. I squeezed off rounds, then yanked the bullets from my pockets and reloaded.

They were on us, so I jumped up and ran, drawing them away from Zach. I shot over my shoulder. As you might imagine, that was less accurate, but I still managed to hit about half of the things I aimed at.

When there were only two left, I just turned and shot them point-blank as they rushed me.

Rollie yanked the spear from his belly with a grimace. “That blood’s going to ruin my pants,” he said.

He looked down at the five dead fae at his feet, before glancing around the area at the ones I’d shot. “Well, look who’s the little showboat,” he said, clapping for me by tapping his palm with the fingers of his other hand.

I drew my brows together. “Yeah, I used some magic I conjured earlier actually, and I couldn’t have done it without your help either.”

He laughed. “Haven’t I taught you anything? If you’re a fabulous little killing machine, you don’t apologize or explain. You just say, ‘Rollie, what color cape would look good on a redheaded superwitch?’ ”

I turned and saw Zach, kneeling not far from us. He stared at me like I’d just won the Olympic gold medal in a sport I’d never told him I played.

“Hey, honey,” I said, walking to him. “How’s your leg?”

“Not too bad,” he said and stood with a grimace.

“You want me to bandage it up? We can go—”

“No,” he said. “Is this it? Or are there more . . . creatures loose?”

“I think we got ’em all,” I said, not counting Rollie since he was on our side.

Zach nodded. “I need to ride over to the station to check on things. We’ve got a lot of guys wounded.” He looked me up and down.

“I’m wounded, too,” I said quickly and raised my shirt to show him my injury, remembering too late that he’d already seen it.

He looked at me. “I thought it was deeper than that.”

I glanced down, startled to find it was almost healed. Just like my shoulder, where the flesh had closed and the bruising had faded much quicker than expected.

“It’s a lot better. That Neosporin is a miracle drug.”

“Uh-huh,” he said skeptically. “Why don’t you go to Georgia’s to rest? I’ll see you later.”

“I could help you,” I offered.

“Nah, you’ve done enough,” he said.

Chewing on my lip, I squeezed my fists tight to keep from reaching for him when he turned away. I watched him limp toward his truck.

“He didn’t even ask me for a kiss,” I murmured, realizing sadly that Zach and I were not okay. He might have accepted the fact that there were monsters in the world, but he hadn’t come to terms with it or with my needing to fight them.

Rollie slung an arm around my shoulder. “Oh, doll face, it’s better this way. You can’t have all the men in town, and frankly, I think Bryn Lyons is the kind of guy you’ll need both hands to handle. But I suppose you know that, since I smell his magic all over you.”

I stood rooted to the spot, watching Zach drive off. “Bryn’s great.”
When he’s not casting spells to block my family members from seeing me.
“But Zach and I, we’ve loved each other our whole lives.”

“Oh, please. Your whole life? You’ve been alive for about five minutes. Besides, he might just need a few days to get used to the new you.” Rollie gave me an encouraging nudge, and I walked back to the limo with him. Instead of getting in though, Rollie held the door open for Johnny to get out.

“Johnny and I are going to take a stroll,” he said. “You go home and get pretty, and we’ll meet up later to have a nice glass of champagne to celebrate your killing spree.”