Witch Hunt, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series) (26 page)

We sidestepped, feeling each other out.
He moved right, I moved left. This little dance wouldn’t last long. One of us was going to have to be the aggressor and press forward. I had already decided to play defense. I was going to let the Afrit come to me. He moved left, I shuffled to the right. Tired of waiting for me to make the first move, the Afrit lunged for me. I thrust the Retaliator forward, stabbing it in the stomach. Its blood coagulated before it hit the floor. The Afrit stumbled back as I pulled the sword free for the killing blow. It had underestimated me and I intended to use my advantage fully. I could hear Graive and Oberon start the banishing spell. I didn’t have much time. I needed to kill its physical form before they finished banishing the spirit.

I drew back, preparing to drive the sword through its heart.
Just as I pressed forward, the Afrit rolled its body to the right. The blade sliced through its shoulder, missing its heart. The Afrit swung. I raised my left arm to protect my face, but left my side exposed - just as it had planned. The Afrit drove its claws into my side just beneath my rib cage and dug in. It hooked its fingers around my ribs and picked me up. I felt a crack in the center of my chest, followed by excruciating pain. I kicked wildly, hoping it had something below the belt for me to connect with. It didn’t even faze him. I pressed down on the hilt of my sword, inching the blade closer to its heart. The Afrit slammed me onto the concrete floor as Graive and Oberon neared the end of the spell.

My eyes were watering and my ears were ringing, but I could still sense the comm
otion outside the circle. Aidan was shouting something. What was he saying? Why was he so angry with the coven? Something had gone wrong. The Afrit and I were still in the circle, both of us injured. He hadn’t made a move to escape our magical trap, so what had happened? I couldn’t waste anymore time trying to figure it out. The Afrit was still on top of me with its claws in my chest. It clamped its free hand around my neck and squeezed. I managed a couple of shallow breaths before it could strangle me to death and pulled down on the sword handle again. The blade was within an inch of its heart. Just a little further and it would be dead. I tried to pull myself up with the sword, hoping my weight was enough to move the sword. The Afrit forced me back down before I had a chance to close the distance between the blade and its heart.

I couldn’t hold back the shock as my v
ision came back and the warehouse came into focus. The Afrit just laughed as I struggled to gasp some air with its hand still around tight around my neck. I tried to get out from underneath him and scramble backwards, but the Afrit grabbed my sword, holding me in place.

“What the fuck is happening?” I said, my voice raspy.

“The banishing spell is complete,” The Afrit replied.

Holy shit! I was banished with it!
No one had said that this could happen! I should have listened to Aidan! If Mahalia had even hinted that this was a possibility, then I never would have done this. The Afrit let go of my neck, but made no moves to get off of my chest or take its claws out of my ribs.

“Send me back, you son of a bitch,” I growled, even though I knew that it woul
dn't.

The
Afrit leaned in, its foul breath hot on my face. “It was a banishment, you stupid girl. I can't send you back.”

“Then what good are you?” I screamed.

The realization that you have been banished with a demon gives you quite an adrenaline rush - enough for me to finally drive the sword down through its heart. The Afrit collapsed on my chest. I pushed and rolled, using its weight to flip positions. I was on top. The Afrit didn’t move, but I wasn't taking any chances. I pulled my sword free from its chest and chopped off its head. Satisfied that it was really and truly dead, I gritted my teeth and pulled on its arm. Its fingers were still wrapped around my ribs. Even in death the demon wouldn't let go of me. I took a deep breath and pulled down on its arm again. I didn’t even try to hold back the scream as I pulled its sharp claws out of my side and broke my ribs in the process. I collapsed on the floor.

I couldn't see any signs of the others or the circle.
Even the Afrit's body had disappeared. It looked like I was still in the warehouse, but I was alone. Weeds poked through cracks in the busted concrete floor. The columns crumbled before my eyes. It was in a perpetual state of deterioration. How was I supposed to get back? I wasn't a demon. I couldn't be summoned. I didn’t have a clue as to how to get home.

First things first, I needed to figure out where I was exactly.
I tried to stand and found that it was much easier than I had expected. Maybe I was just getting used to being hurt all the time. I scanned the area, but still didn't see anything or anyone. I walked toward the front door. When nothing jumped out at me, I opened it and walked through. My knees damn near gave out on me when I realized that I wasn't outside at all. I was right back in the warehouse where I had started.

What the hell was going on?
I grabbed my side. It still hurt like a son of a bitch, but I knew that the ribs were already knitting themselves back together. I kept some pressure on my side and forced myself to run the entire length of the warehouse to the door in the back. I ignored the fear of what I'd find on the other side and pushed the door open. The clang of steel against concrete echoed throughout the empty room as the Retaliator hit the floor. I was dead. That little revelation certainly put a damper on my fucking day, but it was the only logical explanation. A person can't be banished. I was dead and trapped in the warehouse where I had died. I was going to haunt the shit out of the coven if I ever figured out how to get out of here. I picked up my sword and my resolve and went back to finding a way out of my purgatory.

I must have walked every inch of the warehouse ten times.
There wasn't any way out - not that I could see any way. I tried to recall any useful details from my own ghostly encounter a few months ago, but couldn't remember any. Maybe I should have listened when my two apparitions tried to tell me about life and death and all the things in between. Perhaps I had forgotten their lecture because there had been a more pressing matter at the time - like a crazy Goddess trying to take over the world. Priorities, right?

“You're not dead,” a voice said from b
ehind me.

I tightened my grip on my sword and slowly turned around.
I stumbled back when I saw who it was.

“
Arawn. What are you doing here?” I gasped.

“Executioner,” he answered.

“Have you come for me?” I asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” he replied.

“That’s a cryptic way of saying yes,” I told him.

“You seem so certain.
Is there something you would like to confess?” he asked.

“Nothing comes to mind.
But here you are,” I said.

“It is intriguing that we should meet again in the between.
How may I ask, did you find your way here?” he asked.

“It's a long story.
I'd much rather talk about how I'm supposed to get home,” I responded.

“I think we have the time,” he prodded.

“I sort of caught a lift with a demon,” I said.

“Interesting.
And where is the demon now?” he asked.

“I killed it and then its body disa
ppeared,” I answered.

He clasped his hands together in what I can only describe as delight, but stopped short of applauding.
“You used the sword?” he asked.

“Yes.
Why?” I asked, suddenly nervous about this line of questioning.

“You are a fascinating creature, Maurin,”
Arawn said.

“Umm, thanks, I guess.
Listen, I hate to be rude, but could you please tell me how to get out of here?” I asked.

“You have taken a liking to the Retali
ator,” he said.

“I wouldn’t use those words - no,” I r
eplied.

“Oh, I would.”
He laughed.

“That's what you find fascinating?
My sword? This is crazy. Will you please just tell me how to get home?” I pleaded.

“Do you not find it fascinating that you can even wield the sword to begin with?
Have you not questioned why you of all people are able to slay demons with the Retaliator?” he asked.

Of course I'd thought about it, like o
nly a million times. The only thing that I could come up with was my connection with Scota. I told him as much, but he wasn't impressed with my feeble attempt at deductive reasoning.

“Must I spell it out for you?
Fine,” he sighed when I didn't say anything. “You are my daughter. That's why Scota was able to latch onto you in the first place. I knew your face from the first moment that I saw you, but the witch interfered. That is something that I will have to discuss with her when I see her next,” Arwann said pensively.

I laughed.
What else could I do when faced with a crazy god? I had wished for different parents all the time when I was a kid, but this was ridiculous. I was pretty clueless about a lot of things, but I did know who my real parents were.

“Your mother hid you from me in the one place that she knew I wouldn't think to look - with a mortal family,” he said.

“As much as that would explain the problems that I had with my family growing up, it's impossible. I am only twenty-five. I'd be like.....I can't even do the math. Old, I'd be frigging ancient,” I said.

“You should know that anything is poss
ible by now. She hid you the same way you came here with the demon and the same way I will take you back,” he explained.

“Are you sure that I'm not dead or in a coma or something?” I asked, but he didn't dignify that inquiry with an answer.

“Okay, so let's say that I'm completely delusional and I actually believe this. My real mother did what - swapped me out with a mortal baby?” I asked, disbelief still heavy in my voice.

“You’re not a changeling, Maurin.
Your mother, like me and you, was able to move through realities. Despite only being a Druid Priestess, once I showed her how she became quite adept. She even used her magic to conjure a time manipulation in the different realities. That is something that I was never able to do. When our reality began to deteriorate, she succumbed to her fears that you would not survive. I tried to convince her that we could keep you safe, but she could see my strength leaving as the mortals changed faiths, so she took you away and used the last of her magic to bring you to Salem. And now Fate has finally brought us together again,” he said, his voice full of emotion.

I didn't know what to say. I had to a
dmit that he was convincing, but there was just no way. He moved to close the distance between us, but I backed away.

“Only my child could execute Morrigan and her sisters.
Only my child could follow a demon and slay it in the between. You hunt the wicked, as do I. Even in your pathetic mortal existence, you used your gifts to seek out and convict the guilty,” he said.

“My mother and father died when I was little.
I was adopted by the most normal of the Norms. They didn't understand me and I sure as hell didn't understand them. I took off the first chance I got. I'm not your daughter,” I said.

“I realize that this must be hard for you to hear - that your life has been a lie - but I assure you that I speak the truth.
You remember only what your mother wanted you to. A family that didn’t exist, a tragedy that never happened. She replaced your memories of us with ones from a mortal life,” he explained.

“Well she could have picked some happier memories because the ones that I have suck,” I said.

This was insane. I knew who I was and it sure as hell wasn't his daughter, but I needed to get back and Arawn was the only way that was going to happen. I was going to have to play along if I wanted to get home.

“So, um, Dad - you said something about showing me how to get back?” I asked.

“Yes, daughter, I will take you back with me, to my home and the place of your birth where you will learn to fulfill your role as an Executioner.”

Oh shit.
That's so not what I meant. So much for tricking him into taking me home. I was just digging myself in deeper. The look on my face must have given me away.

“I am an old god, Maurin, but I still have my wits about me.
I knew that you would not believe me so quickly. I will show you how to get back to Salem. I am a hunter, which means that I am both patient and determined. Given time, you will see that I speak the truth,” he said.

“No one has that kind of time,” I said, since there was no longer any use in pr
etending that I believed him.

“Shall we begin your first lesson then?” After seeing my eagerness to learn how to get home, he finally continued. “There is more happening in the universe than the reality that you are in right now. In fact, when I say that anything is possible, I am not exaggerating. It is not until our mind decides that the reality becomes truly clear,” he said.

“I'm sorry - what? I thought that you were going to show me how to go home - not give me a physics lesson. You'd think that my own dad would know that I flunked physics in high school,” I said sarcastically.