Destiny Bewitched (8 page)

She scowled up at him.
“My principles demand I eat. Therefore I work.”

There was the feisty
witch he’d grown to like.

“I’m sorry, demon boy,
but you’re stuck with the worst kind of witch. One with everything
to lose.”

And she would lose it
all in less than two days time. Geo was marching her toward it like
an executioner escorting a prisoner on death row.

Why was Geo so curious
about what she did Topside? He’d better not be thinking about
changing their bargain. Though, technically, she wouldn’t exactly
be holding up her side in the end anyway. She pushed that
unpleasant thought away for later. One thing at a time. First they
had to make it the Games gate – another day away.

They cut a trail
straight through two ominous mountains just as daylight began to
fade. The red sky turned to a deep plum and she had to admit there
was something kind of pretty about it – in a dark, twisted sort of
way. Craggy black cliffs towered over them on both sides. The trees
disappeared with the forest behind them and the green-yellow grass
underfoot looked stark next to all the black.

Finally, they came to a
clearing, almost perfectly round, surrounded by tall cliffs on all
sides. In the middle of the clearing sat a quaint little wooden
cabin. The trail continued into the mountains on the other side of
the cabin. She wouldn’t ask but…

Oh please let him say
we can stay here!

He stopped and sniffed
the air then turned to her. “Seems empty, but stay here just in
case. I’ll check if it’s safe. If it is, we’ll remain here for the
night.”

She nodded eagerly.

With a steely
swoosh
, he
unsheathed his sword and strode confidently toward the cabin. A
tendril of lust swept through her.
My God, the man makes a sword look
good.

And with that lust came
memories of the spontaneous kiss she’d planted on him last night.
She still didn’t know what she’d been thinking, but she didn’t
regret it. She could almost feel his full lips on hers, so rough
and masculine. And she’d bet he was the type she liked in bed. A
little demanding, a little dangerous. Someone who’d take charge but
make sure she was taken care of.
Mmm…

She was still fighting
her libido when a loud bang sounded from inside the cabin,
startling her. Every muscle tensed for a fight. In one smooth
motion, she had her sword free and peered into the dim light. It
was silent. Was that good or bad? Where was Geo?

Suddenly, a creature
burst out of the cabin roof, sending pieces of wood sliding to the
ground. It shrieked then landed on its feet not far from her.
Covered in red sagging skin and the size of a small child, it
crouched down on all fours and growled at the cabin.

What the fuck?

She swallowed a lump of
fear. The creature swiveled around and looked at her. Its forehead
was distorted, giving it a sinister appearance. Large brown horns
rose up over its head like a goat. Then it smiled. If she could
call it smiling. Its lips curled away from its teeth, which lined
up in sharp rows like a shark. It almost looked happy to see
her.

Yeah, that’s right.
Underestimate me. It’ll be the last mistake you ever make.

She widened her stance
and held her sword at the ready. The creature leapt for her. Just
as her sword made contact with its neck, Geo ran out of the
cabin.

“Samantha!”

The body plopped onto
the ground in a lifeless lump and the head rolled off somewhere in
the dark. Geo ran to her.

She slipped her sword
into the sheath on her back. “Now,
that’s
a demon.”

A smile tugged at her
lips when she watched Geo’s expression turn to awe. She could get
used to that.

The illustrations of
demons in her books were accurate after all. But if demons were
small, wrinkled men with mandibles like Gremlins, then what,
exactly, was Geo? “I think it’s about time for you to tell me who
you really are,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Geo ran a hand over his
horns as he stared at the demon’s body. He blew out a breath then
nodded. “Alright. I’ll tell you everything in the cabin. But I want
to cover our tracks first.”

He turned around to
head for the trees and that’s when she saw his hair matted with
blood in the back.

“Are you okay?” She
reached out to touch his arm then caught herself and pulled
back.

He turned to face her.
“Little fucker caught me off guard is all. I’m fine. Good thing you
know how to use that.” He nodded to her sword with a smirk. “I may
not have reached you in time.”

The one good thing her
older brothers did for her was to teach her how to fight – though
their lessons were often cruel. “Right. And a dead witch is a
useless witch.”

She’d meant it as a
joke but his face fell. His lips turned down in a frown and his
brow furrowed. “Right,” he mumbled then turned away. “Go inside.
I’ll be there in a minute.”

Did she say something
wrong? She shrugged inwardly.
Strange not-demon dude
. “I’ll help. I can
do a protection circle.”

He quirked a brow. “Can
you manage it without becoming…unpredictable?”

“It’s mostly when the
spell involves controlling nature. But this, I can do.” She got
down on one knee and dug in her satchel for the supplies.

Geo loomed over her.
“So your difficulties are related to the power Gaia gives you?”

Did he sound
suspicious? “Uh. Yeah.” She kept her gaze down and pulled out what
she needed from her bag. “But it’s my fault. I didn’t study hard
enough.” Jumping up from the ground she quickly changed topics.
“Anyway, let’s do this. I’m hungry and exhausted.”

His eyes narrowed and
she tried to act natural. She’d never been a good liar.

Witches derived most of
their power through the worship of Gaia – or Mother Earth. Through
her they could manipulate elements of nature – water, plants,
weather, even the dirt beneath her feet. A powerful witch who drew
the favor of Gaia could move the very mountains around them. But
Samantha’s family, the Blackthorns, were the black sheep of
witchcraft. They’d lost Gaia’s blessing a long time ago.

Geo went back the way
they’d come and covered their footsteps and scent. Samantha went to
work on a protection spell. Sprinkling salt and burning dried sage,
she walked a circle around the cabin. As she chanted her spell,
magic flowed through her like a fountain of warmth. A spell over
something this large required more than chalk and a few words. That
was a quick defense in a pinch, and not particularly strong. This
was more serious.

The last thing she did
was link the circle to the red jasper gemstone that hung around her
neck. That way she would feel if anyone pushed through it.

Geo stepped into the
clearing. “I walked around in circles for ten minutes before I
realized your spell was keeping me away.” He was wearing that sexy
smirk. “Nice job.”

She chuckled. “Sorry.
Give me your hand and I’ll bring you through it.”

His big hand swallowed
hers and they walked inside. The cabin contained only one room,
empty except for a hearth and a pallet in the corner she wasn’t
going anywhere near.

They both looked up at
the jagged hole in the ceiling.

“Sorry about that,” Geo
said, giving her hand a squeeze.

Her gaze jumped to
their hands intertwined. They hadn’t let go yet. And it disturbed
her that she didn’t really want to. “It’s alright. It’s like a
skylight. People pay big money to install those.”

He gazed at her with a
funny expression. “Again you amaze me.”

A blush crept up her
neck. Her voice came out a whisper. “Well, I’m just happy to have
somewhere to rest.”

He stared at her for a
long uncomfortable moment before clearing his throat. “I’ll light a
fire before it gets too dark.”

Geo had a fire going
and some small animal cooking over it in no time. Sam sat on the
blanket and watched the poor creature roast. She didn’t dare ask
what it was because it smelled so freakin’ good she doubted she
could resist it anyway. Sometimes ignorance was necessary to
survive.

While they settled in
and had nothing to do but wait for the meal, she looked at Geo and
said, “Spill it, Mr. Enigmatic. What are you and why are you
here?”

From across the fire
she heard his male chuckle. The light cast a glowing aura over his
face – tanned but smooth. His horns were barely visible in the
shadow of darkness. The black t-shirt stretched across his broad
shoulders but the sleeves were short enough to leave his biceps
open to her gaze. She’d always been a bicep girl. Her tongue darted
out to wet her lips. How could she be thinking about wanting to
taste his smooth skin after all they’d been through?

She shook her head to
break the spell.

“You’re a bossy little
thing,” he said with laughter in his voice.

“Me bossy? Ha! That’s
funny coming from you.”

“Down here there’s a
name for a creature that taunts a bigger one.”

“What’s that?”

“Dead.”

She rolled her eyes.
“Ha, ha. The demon made a funny.”

His brows shot up. “Not
a demon.” He stoked the fire then gazed into it thoughtfully. “I
come from the god realm. I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit
then sentenced here for punishment almost two hundred years
ago.”

From the god realm?
Fucking hell. If Geo was some sort of fallen god, she was going to
eat her sword. “What was the crime?”

“Treason.”

She was traveling with
a condemned traitor? This was getting better and better. “That’s a
pretty big crime.”

“Yes, but if Ares had
truly believed it, I’d be sunbathing in Hades right now.” His mouth
turned up in a lopsided grin. “Not having dinner with a sexy
redhead.”

Her cheeks flushed but
she ignored it. “Stop trying to distract me. Who framed you?”

“My half-brother.”

She laughed
humorlessly. “Your family has the same idea of loyalty as
mine.”

He gave her a puzzled
look.

Not going there
tonight. Distract. “Um. So why did he do that?”

He hesitated. “Because
he felt threatened by me. He’s the legitimate heir to Ares’
throne.” His gaze, stark and grave, met hers from across the fire.
“And I’m his bastard son.”

Aside from the
crackling fire, the cabin was quiet for several long moments.
Samantha was reeling. If what Geo said was true, that would make
him a….demigod.

Talk about a mind
fuck.

For two days she’d
teased him about being a demon when she’d actually been in the
presence of the son of a god. And not just any god. Ares, god of
war.

According to her
mythology studies, Athena was the goddess of war – the cunning and
organized part. Ares was the destruction. It didn’t seem fitting
for Geo at all.

“My mother was human,”
he explained. “Ares watched her as she sacrificed herself to save
her human family during a rock slide. He brought her to the god
realm to be his concubine. She was a gentle, selfless soul and a
favorite of my father’s. Probably because he saw everything he
wasn’t in her.” His face lit up when he talked about her.

“But why did he make
you a demon?” She stared at his horns, which looked painfully
obvious now.

He shrugged. “The gods
aren’t in the habit of explaining their actions.”

Isn’t that the
truth?

“I can only guess it’s
because I’m valuable to him. I’m a good strategist and I make
quality weapons.” His voice filled with pride at that part. “But I
have no interest in taking over Ares’ reign.”

“You make weapons?”

He smiled. “Hand me
your sword.”

She hesitated a moment
then gave it to him. If he wanted to steal her sword, he could’ve
long before now.

With eyes narrowed in
concentration, he held it flat on his palm, bobbing it up and down.
“Balance is good. Weight is appropriate for someone your size.” He
slashed it through the air a couple times. “It’s a bit heavy on the
front end though.”

She scowled, feeling
like he’d just insulted her. It may have only been a sword, but it
was hers through and through – almost an extension of her. And
she’d stolen it fair and square. Growing up, she watched her
brothers practice fighting each other. First with sticks then
wooden swords, and then when they were old enough to make money –
or steal it from their dad – they each bought their own. She envied
them and finally asked the youngest, Andrew, to teach her. They
laughed at first but Darren, the oldest, thought it might do her
some good. He said if she could find a way to get her own sword,
they’d teach her.

Her sophomore high
school class had one rich girl, Priscilla, who bragged about her
father’s weapons collection. Samantha rigged it so the next pairs
assignment in science class put her and Priscilla together. While
studying in her massive mansion, Sam wandered the house under the
guise of using the bathroom. She filched the sword, tossed it out
the bathroom window then faked being sick and grabbed it out of the
bushes on her way home. No one in town had ever solved the crime of
the missing gladius sword. Of course, the spell she’d used to steer
the investigation away had been helpful.

After she’d swiped the
sword, she researched its history. It was said to have been used by
Emperor Commodus – a famous roman gladiator who’d fought a thousand
matches using the name Secutor. And that’s what she’d named the
sword.

But it had been hers
the moment it was made – she’d never been so sure of anything in
all her life. Every time she grasped the ivory handle, it felt like
shaking hands with an old friend.

Geo handed it back to
her. “It’s one of my abilities as a demigod. If I had my true
powers, or even my shop, I could fix it easily.”