Wytchcraft: A Matilda Kavanagh Novel (17 page)

“You have to get the bullet out then.”

“Right,” I sighed. “Can you…” I waved at Malachi, arching a brow at Jameson.

“Control him once he’s awake?” Jameson finished for me. I nodded. “Wouldn’t be much of an Alpha if I couldn’t, now would I?” Jameson gave me a conspiratorial smile and a wink; it went a long way toward calming my nerves.

“Great,” I said, “then let’s get started.” I went back into the kitchen and ladled out a dose of the potion in a plastic cup. If he somehow managed to knock it out of my hands, I didn’t want to have to clean up shattered glass. I gathered up the other supplies I needed to remove the bullet too: a pair of hemostats from my emergency kit, a long pair of tweezers, a metal dish, and a needle and thread.

“You won’t need to stitch him up,” the bodyguard Were said when he saw my supplies.

“But he hasn’t stopped bleeding,” I said, noting with some disappointment the growing red stain on my couch cushion. That wasn’t going to be fun to clean up later.

“Yes, but once the bullet comes out, he’ll heal,” Jameson said.

“It’s just the silver keeping the wound open,” the other Were said.

“Must be a nice perk,” I said, setting everything down on the coffee table before I knelt in front of Malachi. I swabbed away some of the blood and used the hemostats to spread the wound. Then I was digging for the bullet with the tweezers, trying not to lose whatever was left in my stomach. When I finally had a grip on the damn thing, it came out easier than I expected it to. I plopped it in the dish with a
tink
of satisfaction. The wound was already starting to seal itself by the time I turned to look at it again.

“Time to get back, Ms. Kavanagh,” the bodyguard said. His hands were on my shoulders, urging me to my feet and pulling me backward.

Jameson was already next to Malachi’s head, watching and waiting for the first signs of him regaining consciousness.

“Mattie is fine,” I said over my shoulder, trying to distract myself from the nerves raging through me like an angry bull.

“Kyle,” he said, smiling at me. It was a bright white smile that made the skin at his brown eyes crinkle, and I noticed the hint of green just around his black pupils. He was a good smiler. It wasn’t a noise that caught my attention, or any kind of movement; it was the sudden building of power snapping along my skin that brought my attention back to the two men at my couch.

Malachi was awake. His eyes flashed open, bright and yellow and glowing. Even as far away as I was, I could see the huge, black, elongated pupils as he looked for his enemy – for me. I was choking on my heart and I couldn’t hear what Jameson was saying over the thundering in my ears. In another moment, I realized Jameson wasn’t speaking, he was singing, soft and low, his magic rippling out of him like water lapping at the shore.

I felt the raging anger of Malachi, his wolf trying to rise, but Jameson drank in the power, the anger, and washed him in cool, calming waters. Malachi’s eyes were dimming by the moment.

Kyle leaned over me, placing his face close to mine. He smelled of peppermint. He whispered, “You’re up, be careful, move slow.” Pressing my lips together, I nodded, forcing myself to breathe as I took that first step forward, pulling my feet out of the blocks of cement holding me down. My hand was shaking as I reached out for the cup with the antidote and I had to hold it with both hands to keep from spilling it. Kyle came around the back of the couch to the other side, behind Malachi’s head. He reached out and slipped his hands under Malachi’s shoulders and lifted him so he was sitting up. I glanced at Kyle and he nodded; it was now or never.

I bent close to Malachi, lifting the cup to his lips. His eyes locked on mine and I saw a mix of confusion and anger, but behind that was something much more upsetting: Malachi was a little bit afraid. Staring into his usually gray eyes, I hated myself a little bit.

I pressed the edge of the cup to his lips and tipped it. A drop rolled over the edge when he didn’t open his mouth right away, but with the urging of his Alpha, Malachi opened his mouth and let me pour the liquid. When he’d swallowed it all, I moved back as quickly as I dared, placing my body behind Jameson’s so Malachi couldn’t keep staring at me. My whole body shook as we waited.

Kyle eased Malachi back on the couch and took a step back. Jameson kept singing in that soft, rumbling voice in a language I didn’t know, but I could feel the power of his voice, soothing all of us, not just Malachi. Almost ten minutes passed before Jameson’s voice faded to silence. I leaned around him to look at Malachi. He was sitting up, holding his head in his hands, his elbows braced on his thighs.

“Malachi,” Jameson said, his rumbling voice adding a new sound to the syllables.

“I am well, Alpha,” he said, his voice rough from all the earlier growling and roaring. “Thank you.”

“J-Jameson,” I stammered and then cleared my throat. “A word?” The Alpha looked down at me for a moment before nodding. I led us into the kitchen, all the way to the back wall to give us some privacy, even if I knew the two Weres in the living room could still here us at this range.

“I am not going to seek the pixie girl’s head over this,” Jameson said, surprising me enough to make me forget what I was about to say.

“How did you know I was going to ask you about her?”

“We, as a people, are not known for forgiving and forgetting,” he said, squinting down at me. I nodded, glancing down the kitchen as if I could see into the living room. Jameson sighed then, closing his eyes before leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. The cost of the calming magic, controlling Malachi’s wolf was showing on his face. The lines around his steely blue eyes were a little deeper and the corners of his mouth were pulled down.

“Are you all right?” I asked. “Can I give you something? A pick-me-up?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly but not opening his eyes. “I am fine, just a little tired. I told that pup to leave the pixie girl alone, but it seems that just spurred him on.”

“You knew he was dating outside of the pack?”

“A lot of the young ones do,” he said, pushing his shoulders away from the wall and finally looking at me again. “It’s a type of rebellion, but what they don’t understand is that it isn’t forbidden to date outside of the pack because we don’t like to mix with other species. It’s a rule because often we cannot love them in a way they understand.”

“I’ve heard,” I said, glancing away. I knew a couple of girls in school who had dated Weres only to have their hearts broken. Weres, especially young ones, were often fickle, even when they mated with their own kind. It was something about the Wolf; it wanted to run free and wild. Tethers were meant to be snapped. And eventually they always ran and you never saw it coming. Joey hadn’t stood a chance.

“Is the pixie girl all right?” he asked. I glanced up at him. I was pretty sure he knew Joey’s name, but for whatever reason, he was making it a point not to use it. Maybe it helped not to make it personal.

“She’s heartsick, but I think she’s learned her lesson,” I said. “Listen, Jameson, I’m sorry; I brewed the potion. You know, it’s how I pay the bills. I was careless and didn’t tell her the dangers of mixing it with something like whiskey. Anyway,” I said, shaking my head to clear the rambling thoughts that were spilling out of me. “I hope you don’t hold any ill-will toward me. Maybe we can work something out to make things right.”

“We all must eat and we cannot all hunt for our dinners in the night,” Jameson said with a small smile. “But perhaps, one day, I’ll need your help.”

“Of course,” I said, “I’m just a phone call away.” Maybe it was guilt for brewing the potion, or maybe it was Jameson’s calming magic, but I didn’t feel strange promising something like that to him. Something told me Jameson wasn’t the kind of man to take advantage of someone.

“I think it’s time I get that pup home,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Thank you for breaking the spell.” I nodded, not sure I deserved his thanks.

“Jameson,” I said, stopping him at the end of the kitchen. “You’re sure he,” I nodded vaguely in Malachi’s direction, “won’t come looking to even the score with me or the pixie girl?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Jameson said, and that was reassurance enough for me.

“Please,” I said, grabbing a revitalization draught from the counter, “take this.” I pressed the vial into Jameson’s hand. He stared down at it for a moment, as if debating arguing with me, but after a moment, he nodded with a small smile. He turned to lead the way out of the kitchen and I followed, grabbing a pain amulet on the way.

Kyle helped Malachi to his feet, keeping a hand on his back as they sidestepped out from between the couch and coffee table, joining Jameson at the door.

“Thank you for your help,” Malachi said, dipping his head.

“Don’t thank me,” I said, picking up a hand to wave his thanks away. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

“Ms. Kavanagh,” Kyle said, leaning toward me, “if you have an opening tomorrow night, I’d like to stop by?”

“Oh sure,” I said, holding the door open for them. “Seven is good if you can come early. And please, call me Mattie,” I reminded him.

“That works. Thank you.”

“Here,” I said handing him the pain amulet, “give this to Malachi. He’ll probably need it.” Kyle winked and turned to follow his pack members.

I closed the door behind them, turning and resting my back against the door. Artemis came out of the bedroom, his tail swishing in the air as he lifted his nose to sniff. He jumped on the side table by the door and stared at me.

“Yes,” I said, reaching out to scratch the top of his head. “The dogs are gone, but one will be back tomorrow, so you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

“Mmmrrrr,” Artemis growled low in his throat and jumped down, sauntering into the bedroom, flicking his tail as he disappeared into the dark room.

“Whatever, grumpy,” I said, rubbing my face. I wanted to go to bed too, but I had to call Ronnie first and let her know the coast was clear.

“So Joey’s safe? You’re sure?” Ronnie asked. Her voice was low and muffled, like the phone was too close to her mouth.

“Yeah, he promised,” I said, slumping to sit on my couch. I reached behind me and pulled my grandmother’s afghan from the back of the couch and draped it over my legs.

“Is that enough to be sure?”

“Promises from Weres are like getting promises from the Fae,” I said around a body stretching yawn. “If someone in their world breaks a promise, it’s like a death sentence.”

“Sounds good enough to me,” Ronnie said, catching my yawn. “Well, she’s passed out in my guestroom, so I’ll just let her spend the day here and we can get her cleaned up and home tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Ronnie.”

“Sure, just be sure to get some sleep yourself.”

“Roane’s seeking spell is finally done,” I said, glancing toward the kitchen. “I really ought to—”

“No,” Ronnie said, cutting me off. “Do it tomorrow. There have been no news stories, no ransom demands, nothing; it can wait until you get some sleep.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed, feeling the fingers of sleep pulling at me as I slid down, lying on the couch, staring up at my ceiling.

“Come by when you wake up and get a few of these pain amulets.”

“Yeah, sure. Listen, thanks for not, you know, saying ‘told you so’ about the whole love potion thing.”

“No problem,” she said, going quiet. I knew she wanted to ask me if I was going to keep brewing them and to be honest, at that moment, I didn’t have an answer. After tonight, I was inclined to swear off of them forever, but in the light of a new night and when my coffers are bare again, I might not be so inclined. When times are tough, you’ll do just about anything to feed yourself. And unfortunately, love potions were my best seller. If I cut them out, I’d be screwed come rent time.

I said good night and ended the call before Ronnie could push the issue. Propping myself up on my elbows, I looked over the back of the couch into the kitchen. The teacup with Roane’s ring was still sitting on the window sill, just waiting for me. A pang of guilt went through me when I fell back, curling into the couch as another yawn stretched my face. Ronnie was right; I needed rest if I was going to be up to hunting through town for Roane. I mean, if I got up and went looking for him now and found him, would I be in any shape to rescue him if he needed rescuing? No, not even a little bit.

Artemis jumped onto the back on the couch, startling me, but he was on my hip, purring loudly, before I could muster up the energy to snap at him. He curled up into the bend of my knees and hips, his warm energy working as a soothing balm after such a stressful and painful night. I fell asleep with the sound of his purring filling my senses.

Chapter 10

I hadn’t even checked the time before I fell asleep. When I woke, the sun was still up, so I knew I’d gone to sleep much earlier than usual. I guess rescuing a pixie from a rabid Werewolf would throw your body’s clock out of whack.

“Prrrow,” Artemis demanded, sitting on my bladder.

“You aren’t supposed to eat for another few hours, don’t you boss me,” I said, picking him up as I stood up. My shoulders sagged and my back protested. Served me right for sleeping on my couch.

“Mrrrow,” he said with a little more effort.

“Quit the ‘tude, dude,” I said, tossing him to the floor. He twined around my ankles, trying to trip me on my way to the bathroom, but it didn’t work. The pressure in my bladder was going to win over the rumbling in his stomach and he could just grouse about it all he wanted. Once in the bathroom, I couldn’t resist the call of the shower and the idea of hot water working on my aching muscles.

By the time I was in my robe, the tips of my hair dripping into the collar, and back in the kitchen, Artemis was on the counter by the fridge, trying to paw the door open.

“Jeezo, fine,” I said, tossing my towel on a kitchen chair. I poured Artie his precious cream and a bowl full of dry food. Twitching the curtain open, I looked out the window over the sink. The sun wasn’t even setting yet it was so early. It was strange to see the city lit by sunlight. It wasn’t that I never went out during the day, but it was rare, very rare. I pushed the power button on the coffee and saw the clock said it was three-twenty-eight in the afternoon. Hours of daylight left and hours before Kyle would be by.