Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (9 page)

“They're my egg layers. You might've

seen my free-rangers in the woods. Just

don't look at
that one
too closely.” She

veered her away from the chickens and

to the warehouse. Irene unlocked the

door and swung it open. When the lights

came on, her eyes bugged out at all the

shining, silver weapons hanging along

the

opposite

wall.

There

were

crossbows, swords, daggers, ball and

chains, mace, shields and even a full suit

of armor.

The guys couldn’t contain their

excitement as they took everything in.

They practically drooled over the shiny,

but deadly, toys like a starving man at an

all-you-can-eat buffet.

“I didn't realize we were going

to war.”

Garren tore his eyes away long

enough to notice her standing next to

him. “Oh, we're not buying these, just

having some fun while we're here. The

charmed packs are what we're here for.”

“Hey, look!” Thane rushed over

to a glass display case at the side wall.

Red, yellow, green and blue lights

glowed inside. Curious, she followed

him to see what he was so excited about

and left Garren slobbering over some

enchanted arrows. Behind the glass,

globes the size of baseballs radiated

different colored light. They were

beautiful.

“What are these things?” she

asked no one in particular as she stared,

mesmerized by their brilliance.

“Those,” Irene said, opening up

the case, “Are Element Orbs, kind of

like bombs. You throw one at your target

and one of four things happen.” She took

a red ball out of its stand, cradling it in

her hands. “The red ones are Fire Orbs.

See the flame inside?” She held the item

closer and, sure enough, in the center

was a tiny flame.

“One of these babies will burn

down a large tree or small house. But if

you need a bigger fire, just merge two

together. No more than two though, or

you might not have time to throw it away

before it goes off.” Irene eased the orb

back into its place.

“What do the others do?”

“Well, the blue are Water Orbs.

The yellow are Air Orbs, which create

large gusts of wind. And the green ones

are Earth Orbs. One of these will turn

whatever it hits to stone, so don't drop it

on your foot.” She chuckled and locked

up the case.

Ivy knew of something similar.

“Are these made by the fae?”

Irene smiled brightly. “Yes, they

are. I have a great contact who supplies

these in exchange for other weapons.”

She nodded and backed away.

Faeries were well known for creating

effective weapons like these. No wonder

the Eradicators were after her.

Irene and Thane moved over to

the counter with all the potions to unpack

Thane's case, so she decided to see what

Garren was up to. He had taken one of

the bows off the wall and was shooting

arrows at some targets. Amazingly, he

hit the bull’s eye at least the three times

she watched him.

She couldn't help staring at the

way his biceps flexed as he pulled back

on the string and took aim. He jerked his

head sideways to toss his black hair out

of his eyes as he concentrated on the

center of the red and white target. Her

stomach fluttered as he released his

fingers and the arrow flew through the

air and hit the wooden target with a

thump.

She hated to admit it, but she was

impressed. She studied his technique for

a few more minutes, waiting for a

chance to test out the bow herself.

He turned around to catch her

watching him. “Who knew that you

secretly lusted after my bod? Not

surprising, actually.” He lifted the hem

of his shirt, exposing his six pack abs.

She resisted the urge to roll her

eyes as she held out her hand.
What an

arrogant ass. “
Are you done?”

Garren

glanced

at

her

outstretched hand and then back to her

face. He shrugged and handed over the

bow. “Suit yourself. Don't feel too bad

when you miss the target. It takes years

of practice to reach my level.”

This is going to be fun
. She took

the bow and nocked the arrow, aiming at

the center red circle on the board. The

rest of the room faded away as she

focused on where she wanted the arrow

to be. She let go.

A loud thwump echoed through

the room when the arrow pierced the

center of the bull's eye.

“Beginner's

luck,”

Garren

muttered behind her.

Without a word, she grabbed

another arrow, aimed, and released,

hitting the mark again. It landed

centimeters from the first. She pivoted

on her heel to hand the bow back to

Garren. She had to bite her lip to keep

her amused smile from taking over her

face.

“So, you've done this before,” he

said. “What else can you do?”

She strode over to the display

table of various knives, ranging from

large machetes to small daggers. She

picked up a silver throwing knife, held it

in her palm to gauge the weight, and

before Garren could protest, she spun

around and threw it across the room. It

stuck right between her two arrows in

the middle of the target.

“Show off,” Garren said as he

strode away toward the camping

supplies.

Smiling

in

triumph,

she

wandered to the jewelry corner. Various

crystals and metal pendants dangled

from chains or rope. The necklaces hung

from pegs along the wall, organized by

function. Some were charmed to modify

a person’s appearance. Others could

enhance the senses, such as better vision

or hearing. One, the most expensive

diamond, could give the wearer the

ability to read someone’s mind.

“Is there a particular feature

you’re interested in?” Irene asked as she

approached Ivy.

“I don’t suppose you have one

that will make me invisible.” She

doubted such an object existed, but she

had to ask.

Irene tilted her head to one side

and studied her from head to toe. Then,

she walked over to the display and

plucked a sapphire on a black rope from

the wall.

“It won’t make you invisible in

the physical sense, but it will mask your

magical signature, and anyone else’s

within a 50 foot radius. To those that can

detect magic, you’ll be just another

Bane,” she said with a wink.

Ivy’s eyes grew wide as she

reached out to touch the precious stone.

Eradicators wouldn’t be able to read her

magic. That was better than being

invisible.

“I’ll take it,” she said, reaching

for the money she stashed in her pocket.

With this baby, she didn’t need the town

wards anymore.

“Hold on,” Irene said as she held

the necklace out of her reach. “There are

some details you need to be aware of.

Firstly, the charm only lasts an hour, at

most.”

Her

shoulders

slumped.
An

hour? That isn’t very long
.

“Secondly,” Irene continued,

“Using it too often will drain your magic

and make you sick. It should only be

used in emergency situations.”

So, it wasn’t a permanent

solution to hide from the Eradicators, but

it would give her enough time to escape

if she was trapped. It was better than

nothing. She glanced back to where the

guys were playing with samurai swords.

“Got it. You take cash?”

Irene tied the rope with the

dampening stone around her neck. “To

activate the charm, hold the stone firmly

in your palm and whisper the phrase

‘Non evidens.’ You’ll know when the

charm wears off because the sapphire

will be clear. When it becomes blue

again, you can re-activate it. I don’t

recommend using it more than once a

day.”

She paid for the item and left to

round up the guys. Having some

protection, no matter how small, eased

some of the anxiety swirling in her gut.

Hopefully, their mission would go as

planned and they’d be back in

Salmagundi before they became a blip

on the Eradicator’s radar.

When they left, Thane had a case

of chocolate, three charmed backpacks

and a bunch of those Element Orbs.

Garren was carrying his new bow with a

large supply of arrows in a leather

quiver. Also attached to his belt was a

new dagger.

The car ride back was full of

excitement, at least from the boys.

“Since next week is spring

break, we'll leave this coming weekend.

Before anyone realizes we're gone, we

should be in California already.” Thane

explained.

She peered in the rearview

mirror, watching Thane eagerly packing

his backpack with all the new supplies.

Next to her, Garren was polishing the

new throwing stars he got when she

wasn't looking.

It was dusk by the time she

pulled the car up in front of Thane's

family's shop to drop them off. Thane

patted her shoulder before getting out.

“Ivy, I'm really glad you decided to join

us. We're doing the right thing.”

She gave him a small smile, not

feeling as confident as he was; her gut

twisted with unease about the whole

quest thing. She knew more than anyone

how dangerous the Eradicators were and

hoped they weren't making a huge

mistake leaving the wards, deteriorating

or not.

When she reached the boarding

house, she turned the engine off and

coasted into the dirt parking spot. She

didn't want to be heard returning, just in

case Mr. McGregor was home. The

driver's door managed to stay quiet as

she eased it shut. She exhaled slowly

and crept up the back steps, not

believing she got away with it.

As soon as she opened the back

door, Athena shoved her full backpack at

her. “Go. Now,” the blonde urged

quietly.

“What—”

“Is that her?” Mr. McGregor

shouted in the background. He sounded

pissed.

Athena shoved her again, causing

her to stumble backward on the steps.

“Unless you have a death wish, get the

hell out of here.”

Nodding, she took off running

down the dirt alley behind the boarding

house. She didn't look back. Not

knowing where to go, she ran downtown

where she could possibly blend in with

the night crowd by the bars.

She turned a corner and tripped

over a crack in the sidewalk, face-

planting in the gutter. Her hands and

cheek took the worst of it, scraping

along the pavement. She rolled over and

touched her face, blood glistening on her

fingers.

“Ivy!” Mr. McGregor yelled. He

was getting closer.

She had a decision to make—

keep running or fight back. She glanced

around as the clomping of his boots

echoed off the brick buildings around

her. A couple tin garbage cans in front of

a wooden fence made adequate cover as

she stumbled behind them. The scrapes

on her hands stung against the wooden

plank she picked up to use as a weapon.

Mr. McGregor slowed down to a

walk. “I know yer here somewhere, lass.

I can smell ye.” He sniffed the air as he

passed by.

She held her breath as she

watched him through the crack between

the cans. Splinters bore into her skin as

she gripped the board tighter.

You can do this, Ivy. He's just

another werewolf.

She prepared herself to jump out

swinging, but hesitated when he spoke

again.

“I've finally reached the end of

me tether with ye. Come out now and I'll

only break yer legs.”

All the air must've vanished