Witch's Bounty (7 page)

“I didn’t release the Sidhe,” Mathilde pointed out. Getting back to her feet, she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I wasn’t aware I was your prisoner.” Duncan kept his voice mild, but his hands curled into fists.

Colleen felt her jaw clench in frustration. Hell no, Duncan wasn’t the witches’ prisoner, or even a detainee. She wanted to slap Mathilde. Anything to wipe the smirk off her face. Her questions were an indulgence; she had to know as much. They had more important fish to fry. Besides, she, Roz, and Jenna weren’t part of the Witches’ Northwest Coven, so technically, they didn’t owe any particular allegiance to Mathilde, or her witches.

Forcing a direct confrontation would be a mistake, though, no matter how badly Colleen wanted to tell Mathilde off. Instead, she half bowed to the other witch. “Please consider releasing him. I’m certain Duncan will make time for further questions, as your
guest
, once the immediate danger has been defused.”

Mathilde smiled dangerously with lots of teeth and zero warmth. “I will hold you to that, Sidhe.” She jabbed a finger toward Duncan.

Colleen held her breath, afraid Duncan would argue that her offer of a further brain-picking session didn’t bind him to anything. All he did was nod noncommittally and say, “Ready whenever you are, Colleen.”

Bubba trotted toward the door. Duncan sauntered after him; Colleen followed them out. Out in the hallway, he half-turned. “Which way are we going?”

“One floor down.” She shepherded them back through the iron door to the stairwell, noting how Duncan cringed away from it.

“Pretty intense group,” Duncan said. “Reminds me of Sidhe gatherings.”

She swallowed a snort of laughter. “Magic wielders never were known for having a sense of humor.”

“Some of us do,” Bubba piped up as he trotted between them. “We’ll have to get the demon out of the metal room without Duncan,” he went on. “Iron makes him sick too.”

“Why doesn’t it bother you?” Duncan asked the changeling.

“It did. The thing with being a changeling, is part of our makeup is, well, changeable. Colleen infused enough witchiness into me, I lost my sensitivity to iron.”

“He wouldn’t have been much good as a demon-hunting sidekick if he got sick every time we got near metal,” she said and pushed open the door to the next floor down’s hallway. “Say,” she shot an appraising glance his way, “maybe that was the real reason your kin wanted out from under Irichna hunting so much.”

Duncan sucked in a breath. “Tell me what to do so I’ll be a help, not a hindrance.”

Part of her was pleased he recognized the wisdom of asking for help in a situation he’d never faced before. Her estimation of the Sidhe edged up several notches. Most men, regardless of species, would rather die than ask for assistance.

He chuckled, obviously having read her thoughts. She blushed. “Sorry,” she murmured. “That was a bit sexist.”

“Maybe, but truer words, er thoughts, were never spoken. I just figure you’ll have your hands full and I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Thanks. Bubba and I have done this enough, we’ll have things under control, but it won’t feel that way. That shape shifting element you recalled earlier?” He nodded and she went on. “Expect me to change form, probably several times. The Irichna can morph into an infinite variety of things. If I couldn’t match them, form for form, I’d be dead meat.”

“Me too.” Bubba sounded excited. “I can be lots of things besides a stupid cat.”

Colleen kept them at the end of the hallway, as far from the iron-shielded room as she could, for Duncan’s sake. There wasn’t much more he had to know, but there were a couple of things. “Ward yourself. And then ward yourself again. Be ready for anything. The Irichna will recognize you for what you are, and will see you as the weak link in the chain. It will turn itself inside out trying to seduce you. If that doesn’t work, it will tug hard on whatever sets you off. Ignore it. No matter what.”

She thumped her index finger into his chest. “If you let any part of the demon inside your mind for any length of time, you’ll never be quite sane again, not even after it’s buried in the bottom of Hell.”

Colleen watched Duncan’s face, gratified when fear flickered in the back of his clear, green eyes. She jabbed him again with her finger. “It’s good for you to be afraid. Never, never underestimate an Irichna. The demon will know your weaknesses, and how to exploit them, better than you do.”

“But you’re immune?”

“Of course not. I just have more practice than you. And I can shape shift. My animal forms aren’t as susceptible to demon flattery—or insults. Bubba and I will herd the demon. This will go a lot faster if you could teleport us to the gates of Hell.”

“I can do that.”

“Once we pass the first gatekeeper, you can follow us down, but stay out of the way. Demons get frantic the closer they get to their doom. They know there’s no exit from where we’re taking them.”

“Got it. I’m to ward myself and provide transport.”

“What else?” She fought an irrational impulse to draw him close to her. He was so beautiful, and so vulnerable. He’d never be the same after today, but she didn’t have the heart—or the words—to tell him. Besides, he’d never believe her.

“I’m supposed to ignore the demon. How hard could that be?”

“You’ll be surprised.” She began stripping off her clothes. The changeling did too.

“What are you doing?” His gaze roamed over her appreciatively. Lust darkened his eyes to emerald.

“Stop leering at me. I’m not doing this because I want sex. I’ll be shape shifting. I don’t want to rip my things to shreds. This way, I’ll have something to put on once we’re done—and so will Bubba.” She held out her hands for the changeling’s clothes, stuffed everything into her small rucksack, slipped it around her neck, and pushed it so it hung down her back. “Come on sweetie.” She clucked to Bubba and headed down the hall. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

•●•

Duncan watched her walk away. He wound wards about himself and tried to move past the tightness in his gut and throat. He should be protecting Colleen, not the other way around. The longer he spent with her, the more he admired her courage, and wanted to stake his claim as her mate. The other Sidhe would pitch a fit; they didn’t mate outside the blood, but he didn’t care. He’d never found a woman he felt anything for except momentary sexual release. Colleen was bright, funny, brave, and knew how to use her mind. She’d done a hell of a job maximizing what he’d always considered inferior magic too.

Maybe it’s not as inferior as I thought.

A door clanged shut. Iron filings wafted down the hall. Despite his antipathy for iron, he hoped the demon was still manacled. Duncan’s eyes widened. Walking—no make that sashaying—next to Colleen, was an unbelievably beautiful woman. Blonde curls framed a perfect face. Soft blue eyes were bordered by thick, dark lashes. A gossamer gown billowed about her, giving him a clear view of high, taut breasts tipped by rosy nipples, and a lithe form. Blonde curls nestled in the vee between her legs. “Sidhe.” She reached for him. “One of the beautiful ones. Come to me, sweetling. It’s been long since I’ve had a man. I can fulfill your every desire.” Her mouth curved into a lascivious smile. “And perhaps a few you didn’t even know you had.”

Duncan’s libido was still raw from the Colleen’s nudity. His cock sprang to life. As hard as it ever got, it strained against the front of his trousers. His fingers itched to cup the blonde’s breasts and slip into the moistness he knew hid between those luscious thighs. Heart beating triple time, he stood rooted in place, his mind an absolute blank. Everything fled but the need to fuck the woman cooing to him.

“Duncan!” Colleen’s voice cut like a knife. Why couldn’t she sound more like the lissome blonde? “The traveling spell?”

His mind was fuzzy. He tried to ask Colleen what traveling spell, but his tongue felt thick and stupid. Despite the blonde still being twenty feet from him, she had some way to caress his cock. He felt her gripping him, stroking him. He’d never been so hot. All he could think about was release…

 “Oh for Christ’s sake!” Colleen growled and flicked her fingers at him. His cock jerked in his pants; semen pulsed out in burning gouts. It happened so fast, he could scarcely believe it. He hadn’t lost control of his penis since he was a very young man. His head cleared immediately. Chagrin followed as soon as he could think straight.

Colleen rolled her eyes. “Men! You are so fucking weak. Tighten your ward. If you think the Irichna actually looks like a blonde bombshell, think again. It scented you from the other end of the hall, hid its own stench, and arranged its appearance accordingly. Hell, even I don’t know what these things really look like.”

Shame swamped him. He amped up his wards until he just barely had enough power to teleport them. Maybe his wet crotch would remind him to pull himself together. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, and readied a traveling spell.

“Hurry.” Bubba nipped at the blonde’s feet. “It’s about the change again.”

Duncan tossed a spell around them and herded the group through a rough portal. Once they were inside the small space, things disintegrated rapidly. The Irichna grew. Scales formed. Its beautiful face turned reptilian, along with the rest of its body. Duncan understood its bite was deadly poison without being told.

Colleen shifted right along with it. In moments, two dinosaur-like creatures hissed and spat at one another. Bubba puffed into some variant of a scaled creature Duncan had never seen. It had a snake’s body and four arms with pincers. Bubba curved himself around the Irichna and cut through its scaled hide with his pincers. The demon screamed as black blood jetted out, drenching all of them.

Duncan poured more power into his teleport spell. The sooner they got this thing delivered to Hell, the better. He thought about how easy it had been to divert him from their goal and felt ill. Colleen was right. Men could be slaves to their cocks. He shook off his malaise. No excuses. Despite everything she’d told him, he hadn’t been ready for the reality of evil incarnate. In fact, he still wasn’t.

The black edges of their traveling portal grayed out. He sent a prayer to Danu they’d come out at the right place, that the Irichna hadn’t somehow subverted his spell, along with his manhood. He’d only been to the entrance to Hell once, but he never forgot it. The river Styx ran black with blood after a battle where the Sidhe had mowed through wargs and trolls; the cries of the dead still haunted him.

He checked his coordinates as the gray lightened and breathed a small sigh. Not relief, not yet. That would come once they were shut of the demon. But at least the next things they should see were the huge wooden gateposts that marked the border between the land of the living and the land of the dead.

“Good job.”
Colleen spoke into his head. He was fairly certain her reptilian mouth was incapable of speech. Her tail lashed from side to side and she gripped the Irichna with both forelegs. The demon buried its fangs in Colleen’s shoulder. Blood flowed, staining her scales red.

“Nooooo,” Duncan shrieked and sent a killing blow right at the demon. It bellowed in pain, but didn’t let go. Duncan struck again. All he could think about was stopping the demon from pumping more poison into Colleen. Bubba slithered up to where the demon’s mouth held Colleen’s shoulder and attacked it with his pincers. It let go with a grunt and tried to swipe Bubba off, but the changeling managed to stay out of the demon’s grasp with a string of creative maneuvers.

Colleen straightened. She clapped a taloned foreleg over her wound and it began to close before his eyes. Duncan started breathing again. She could heal herself in beast form, apparently even from poisoned bites. Thank the gods. He sent jolts of power zinging toward the Irichna to keep it occupied while Colleen got her bleeding under control.

She focused her odd, reptilian eyes on him.
“Its bite would kill you. Stay away from it. I’m good. I can take over again.”

With everything that was going on, she was still trying to take care of him. Duncan wanted to hug her, scales and all.
“Thanks.”

She was obviously still in his mind.
“Wait until I’m human again.”

The gates of Hell opened inward, creaking and groaning. A robed and cowled figure, with a dead haze where eyes should have been, motioned them through. Colleen and Bubba tag-teamed the demon, herding him. The gatekeeper helped and Duncan funneled magic at the demon’s hindquarters. It seemed to do the trick. The abomination stumbled through with Duncan on its heels.

He remembered what Colleen said about things escalating between here and the bottom and gritted his teeth. He didn’t see how they could get much worse, but she’d been right about the demon being worse than his worst imaginings, so likely she was right about this too.

The gates screeched shut behind them. What would happen if the demon got loose in Hell? “I bloody, fucking well don’t want to find out,” he muttered and adapted his vision to the ever-present dimness of the underworld.

The demon morphed back to the blonde again. This time he was ready for it and shuttered himself against its honeyed tones. Colleen regained her human form, except for her eyes, which blazed with a fey light. Bubba stayed a snake. He moved like lightning, able to defeat the demon’s efforts to drag him from its body.

Their trip through the circles of Hell lasted forever, and was over in moments. Time shifted crazily. The demon shrieked and clawed and tore at whatever it could lay hands on. The dead cawed protests in return. Shades coated the demon, but it tore its way through all of them, as it shifted from bear to wolf to cougar to a sleek, black jaguar. Colleen shifted right along with it, doing her best to shield the dead from further harm.

The big cat was beautiful, as beautiful as the blonde had been in its own way. Duncan recognized how dangerous his thoughts were and what a slippery slope they led to. “It’s not a cat. Not beautiful.” He repeated the words through clenched teeth.

He was still saying them when the creak of another gate grated loud in his ears. Colleen, Bubba, and the gatekeeper, another robed and hooded figure, forced the demon to his doom.