Warlock Unbound: Heart's Desire, Book 4 (6 page)

Chapter Seven

“This is it.” Zach pulled down a private, sand-covered road that led to a home right on the beach. “Lady’s breath. This place is fucking huge.”

It was. The two-story Cape Cod-style home took up a great deal of the beachfront, with a wraparound porch. From the windows, Daniel bet it had at least four to five bedrooms.

Arthur had been disowned at the same time Gen had, so how did he have access to the Godwin wealth or properties? Did he have his own money stashed away somewhere, or was he using this home without permission from the head of the Godwins, his Aunt Vivian?

Having met the bitch, Daniel doubted Arthur had permission to take a piss, let alone live in luxury on the Godwin dime. He must have taken the property without permission.

Zach shook his head in disbelief. “How come we don’t have an oceanside palace?”

“Talk to Gareth. He’ll order Mac to build something.” Daniel studied the pouch every wizard carried when they knew they were headed into battle. Inside were charms, feathers, runes, stones and oils, all with enchantments on them. All he had to do was hold the correct charm, recite the spell and BAM! Instant charred warlock.

While a wizard expended less energy in battle than a witch did, he was also limited by the spells in his pouch. If he ran out, he was done. He’d be forced into hand-to-hand—or paw and fang—combat. A witch like Zach, on the other hand, could go until he ran out of energy, but a normal witch’s spells lacked the oomph a well-prepared wizard’s had. According to Gen, a warlock was only bound in power by their source, be that a demon, a god, an elemental or, rarest of all, another magic user. The trust necessary for
that
bond to occur had to be incredible. Daniel couldn’t see himself giving that to anyone, not even one of his brothers.

As they pulled around to the front of the home, Zach cursed. “What the fuck?”

Daniel looked up to find that Arthur was apparently having a party. Numerous cars littered the driveway, the sounds of music and laughter almost drowning out the sound of the ocean. “Shit. So much for a quick take-down.”

Zach parked for a quick getaway, right at the edge of the driveway. He got out of the car, his hands loose at his sides, his blue eyes blazing. “Let’s hope he doesn’t have any mundanes with him.”

“And if he’s got magics? What then?” Daniel took out one of his runes, palming it before jamming his hands into his jeans pockets.

“Then we find out whose side they’re on.” Zach put on a pair of sunglasses.

Gen stepped out of the car, her pristine suit out of place among the bikini-clad partiers. She looked like an accountant, come to check with her client at an inopportune moment. “They look so young.”

“But not too young to choose a side.” Daniel was watching the partiers, trying to see what Gen had. “Either way we confront Arthur while he’s not expecting us.” He turned to Zach, who was already glowing faintly, his light barely visible in the sunlight unless you knew what you were looking for. “All right, glow bug. Let’s get this done.”

Zach nodded once before leading the way past the cars and toward the back of the elaborate beach house, complete with cedar shake siding, a white picket fence and a boat dock.

“This place must have cost the Godwins a bundle.” Zach was glancing around, his shoulders stiffening with each partygoer they passed. He nodded and smiled, but the guests merely stared, whispering amongst themselves.

“It did. This is one of Aunt Vivian’s favorite spots to vacation.” Gen smiled sweetly. “She’s going to shit purple kittens when she finds out that Arthur was here.”

Daniel tried to pretend like he didn’t have a giant bull’s-eye on his back, but all the staring and whispering was beginning to make him a little tense. “I thought Vivian disowned all of you.”

Gen’s smile cooled. “She did.”

Zach was grinning so wide Daniel could practically see his back molars. “There we go. One blond asshole at three o’clock.”

Daniel strode next to his brother, watching Arthur Godwin play king to his loyal minions. Gen brought up the rear. The warlock acted as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He held court with a drink in one hand, waving his free hand as he told a story Daniel couldn’t even hear over the music. “Just another boring day in the wizard court.”

Zach picked up a bowl of chips and began munching. “Mm. Homemade.”

Daniel shot his brother a disbelieving look. “You do realize the groupies are bunching up behind us, right?”

“And?” Zach shrugged.

“I’m just pointing it out, bro.” Daniel stood just behind Zach as the Own walked up to Arthur.

Gen stood next to Zach, her skin beginning to glow a faint green. “Hello, Arthur.”

Zach lifted his hand, the glow visible even under the late afternoon sun. “Arthur Godwin, as Hecate’s Own I find you guilty of the kidnapping and torture of Johra Yashodar and Kerry Andrews. Anything to say before I toast you?”

Arthur’s brows rose, his expression arrogant as he lay his glass down on the bar he’d been standing next to. “Kill them.”

All hell broke loose as the groupies encircled Daniel, Gen and Zach, chanting in unison in a guttural language.

“Fuck. Warlocks, all of them.” Zach put his back to Daniel’s.

“Do you think they practiced for this?” Gen began waving her arms. Three of the warlocks immediately dropped, knocked out by Gen’s spell.

“I can see Arthur waving his baton. ‘No, not like that! You, pool boy, you’re off-synch. Try harder.’” Zach’s glowing hands stretched out. “Begone, assholes.”

A wave of light shattered the circle, sending half of the groupies flying over lawn chairs and tables.

Daniel pulled the rune out of his pocket. “Good one. My turn.” He held up the rune stone, the one marked with Hecate’s wheel, and spoke his own chant:

“Hecate dark, lady of night,

Protect us now in this fight.

Circle of dark, circle of light,

Let all that is evil now take flight.”

Two circles, one bright purple, the other dark with purple stars, surrounded Zach, Gen and Daniel. Whatever the warlocks intended would bounce off of Daniel’s protections, or so he hoped.

There were an awful lot of them, and the ones Zach had thrown were getting back on their feet.

“They don’t know when to quit, do they?” Zach’s white glow intensified, his Goddess granting him the power to defeat Arthur’s minions. He began pointing at the minions and chanting. As he did so, the one he pointed at would go flying through the air.

“Eeny, meany, miny, moe,

Catch a warlock by the toe.

Each one caught I’m gonna throw.

Eeny, meany, miny, moe.”

Daniel shook his head. Only Zach would use a nursery rhyme to stop warlocks. He reached into his pouch and pulled out his next spell, the yellow stone tingling in his palm.

Gen sent another warlock to sleep. “Don’t kill them.”

Daniel growled. “Wasn’t planning on it.” He wasn’t into killing kids, even warlock ones.

“Don’t worry so much.” Zach pointed, sending yet another warlock for a spin through the air. “We’ll play whack-a-warlock and then go after Arthur.”

Daniel put the tingling stone away. Gen and Zach were right. That spell had the potential to kill, and that wasn’t what Daniel wanted.
An it harm none, do what thou wilt
was the creed the good magics lived by. Defending himself was allowed, but these kids hadn’t even managed to lay a static shock on him, let alone a deadly, demon-driven spell. Let Zach and Gen educate them on the error of their ways. Maybe a few could be turned, saved from the demon they’d made pacts with. Daniel just wanted Arthur. He’d save his lightning bolt spell for the true evil warlock.

He pulled out a small rope with nine knots in it, intent on binding the warlocks until Zach could figure out what to do with them. Hell, not one of them looked over sixteen years old. He fingered each knot as he spoke, picturing the circling warlocks as he did so.

“Knot of one my spell begun.

Knot of two my words are true.

Knot of three it comes to be.

Knot of four their power is no more.

Knot of five this spell is alive.

Knot of six my will to fix.

Knot of seven, power is riven.

Knot of eight I seal their fate.

Knot of nine completes my rhyme.”

“No!” One of the warlocks collapsed immediately, Daniel’s spell locking away his powers. The others soon joined him, voices crying out as their magic abruptly stopped working.

“Nice.” Zach smacked Daniel’s shoulder hard enough to stagger him. “I might have to steal that one.”

“On one condition.” Daniel held up the rope. It had started out white but now glowed a sickly green color. “Care to help with this?”

Zach grimaced. “Luckily I brought extra silk bags.” He pulled one out of his own little magic pouch, opening it so Daniel could slide the rope into it. He tied it off, then turned to the would-be warlocks with a snarl. “Sit. Stay.”

With each word his glow pulsed until only his eyes could be seen, the pale blue fierce and cold.

“Yessir.” The teens sat, staring at Zach with something akin to awe.

“Aw, you’re a daddy,” Daniel whispered as they headed toward Arthur’s house.

Gen giggled, the sound high and sweet.

“Fuck you very much, asshole.” Zach kicked open Arthur’s front door. “Pain-a-gram!”

Daniel chuckled as he followed Zach’s glowing form into the house. He already had the yellow stone back in his hand, ready to fry Arthur the moment he saw him.

“Here, creepy, creepy, creepy.” Zach whistled for the warlock like calling a dog to heel.

Daniel, ignoring his brother, began sniffing around. He’d tried to hide his enhanced senses in the past, but no longer. Zach knew, and hadn’t blown a gasket. “He’s not here.”

“Excuse me?” Zach was staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “How can he not be here?”

“Fuck if I know, but while his scent is all over this place, it’s not fresh. It’s fading.” Daniel followed the trail of Arthur’s scent until it led to the boat dock. The dock was missing something vitally important. There was no boat. “Fuck.”

“Shit. Now I have to explain to Gareth that I let the fucker get away.” Zach dimmed his light.

“Of
course
he escaped and let children sacrifice themselves for him. I should have known better.” Gen sighed. “What now?”

“Now we go deal with the minions, I guess.” If they hadn’t scattered. Daniel was pretty sure the terror of Zach’s wrath would keep some of them in place, but not all. And pack mentality would have a lot of the ones on the fence racing after their fleeing comrades. “Let’s go check on them.”

Zach and Daniel made their way back to where they’d left the minions. Surprisingly, most of them were still there, just waiting for Daniel and Zach to reappear.

“Huh. Looks like I was wrong. I really thought they’d book it.” Daniel glanced around, counting heads. “That’s ten of them.”

“So only two left.” Zach shook his head. “He was building a fucking coven.”

“That’s…not good.” While a coven could be anything from three members to a hundred or more, tradition stated that the ideal number was thirteen. “He put himself in the position of High Priest.”

“Yeah. And led the young ones astray.” Zach reached out to one of the teens. “What’s your name?”

The boy shook slightly. “Tony Romero, sir.”

“When did you make the pact?”

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and glowered, more than content to play bodyguard and bad guy to Zach’s good guy. He allowed his wolf to show in his gaze, his amber eyes turning yellow and his teeth elongating until they were fangs.

Gen stood back, glowing green, obviously ready to take over if Zach needed her to.

The boy gulped. “Tw-two days ago, sir.”

Zach glanced around at the other teens. “The same for all of you?”

They nodded, ten little bobble-heads all in a row. Arthur had a lot to answer for. Some of these kids weren’t old enough for their driver’s licenses. “What do we do with them? Enroll them in warlock daycare?”

Zach choked. “Not exactly.” He turned to the kids. “Your powers are currently on time-out, kids. I think you need to decide whether or not you want me to be hunting you down one by one—” the glow he’d dimmed suddenly became so bright Daniel had to look away, “—or change directions.”

One of the kids, a girl, spoke up, her voice barely audible. “How? I mean, we made the pact, right? You can’t break that, can you?”

“I think you can.” Zach held out his hand. “You want to?”

She looked around at the others before meekly nodding. “Yeah.”

“All right.” Zach turned to Daniel, dimming himself. “Call Gareth. We’re going to be late for dinner.”

Daniel stepped away, keeping an eye on Zach as, one by one, the Own severed the tie between the kids and their demon. That should put a serious cramp in Arthur’s style.

But Daniel wondered where the hell Arthur had gotten himself off to. The warlock had been better prepared than they were. If Arthur really was planning on building a coven, this couldn’t be his only group of mini-me’s. Daniel had the feeling that they weren’t done with their babysitting duties. Not by a long shot.

Chapter Eight

“Are you sure it’s safe for you two to be in here with me?” Chris and Lana were off doing God knew what, leaving her with Jo and Gareth. Kerry didn’t want to be alone, but neither did she want to hurt Jo or Gareth any more than she had. She was sitting as still as possible, terrified that any move would set off the hex. If she just held still, maybe nothing would happen.

A girl could hope, right?

“Yeah, we’re good.” Jo rubbed her belly with a reassuring smile.

“Pfft. We take our lives into our own hands, but it’s worth it. I don’t want Daniel trying to hand me my ass.” Gareth puffed out his chest. “I’d have to teach the pup why I’m the king.”

Uh-huh. “Fine. Then can I ask a few questions that have been bugging me for, like, years and years?” Kerry watched as Jo poured over some books. Some of them looked like they’d just come from a bookstore, while others appeared ancient, with crackling leather and weathered pages.

“Sure.” Jo flipped a page, intently studying it before shaking her head and placing it down, immediately picking up a new one.

“What’s the difference between warlocks, witches and wizards?”

Jo’s head snapped up. Jo had been one of the best teachers in the witch court. Teaching Kerry this should be right up her alley. “No one has explained this to you before?” She glanced over at Gareth, who was holding an ice pack over his black eye.

“Oops.” He strode into the room and dropped to the couch next to Jo, giving Kerry a confused look. “None of us thought to. As far as we knew, you understood all of this already. Didn’t you talk to Annabelle when you were young?”

“Yes, but all she knew about was witches.”

“I want to know more, especially if I’m supposed to mate Daniel.” She’d gotten some of this from Annabelle back when she was sixteen and first discovered her BFF, Lana, was a witch. But Annabelle hadn’t told her anything about wizards and warlocks, or how they did their magic. It was just as fascinating now as it had been when she was sixteen and saw Lana doing her thing for the first time.

“All righty then.” Jo placed the book down on the table and sat up straighter. “It’s simple, really. A wizard and a witch both draw their power from within themselves, but each utilize it in a different way.”

“How so?” She’d witnessed Annabelle’s magic and some of the Becketts’ magic, but it looked pretty similar to her. “I mean, Annabelle explained that witches use their emotions to power their magic, and that negative emotions can cause a negative reaction. Other than that, she didn’t tell me where the power comes from.”

Jo nodded. “That’s correct. A witch’s power does come from her emotions, but it’s important to control those emotions.”

“And wizards are all cool and collected?” Kerry doubted that. All the Becketts were capable of temper tantrums. Chris was the only one she hadn’t seen lose his ever-loving mind.

“Nah.” Gareth winked. “We can be total bastards, but it doesn’t affect us the way it does a witch.”

Jo picked up where Gareth left off. “A wizard casts spells that take time, parsing out their power in doses so that they don’t exhaust themselves. Thus, their magic is strong without the wizard collapsing in battle, but they’re limited to those precast spells. Those spells are then cast on objects, like amulets, runes or charms.”

“We use charms and amulets to hold those spells when we need them to be mobile,” Gareth corrected, “but usually the spell remains in the workroom. We stock our workrooms with everything we might need to cast a spell. It’s where we do all of our work, whereas a witch can cast spells outside the workroom without any problem whatsoever.”

Kerry thought about the spell that had called her here. “Which is why the Beckett mate spell is cast in and remains in the workroom?”

“Exactly.” Gareth’s eyes gleamed with approval.

“So, what about witches?” Kerry leaned forward, fascinated.

Jo folded her hands on her lap. “A witch is guided solely by instinct. She can cast a spell spontaneously, without the need of ritual, which gives her a greater versatility than a wizard at the cost of exhaustion of her power. This leads to witches collapsing if they use too much power to overcome something.”

Gareth nodded. “I’ve seen it in Lana. She collapsed when she held back Cole’s storm, and Zach collapsed after defeating Davis Godwin and saving Chris from Cole’s curse. It takes a
lot
of power to do those spells, so the stronger the witch, the stronger the spell.” He put the ice pack back on his eye at Jo’s quiet urging. “There can seem to be more power in a witch than in a wizard, but that’s mostly because they tend to throw everything they have at you all at once, whereas a wizard is always holding something back. You won’t see a wizard fall to exhaustion unless it’s a truly lengthy battle. Completing a spell doesn’t take much energy, but it
does
take some.”

“Is that why Annabelle’s spell couldn’t kick the hex off of me?”

Jo and Gareth exchanged another glance. “No, I don’t think so,” Gareth answered slowly. “I think it had more to do with how powerful the hex is than the amount of power Annabelle has. While she’s strong, she’s not Own strong, and that’s what this hex needs in order to be removed.”

“So I get to drink from the fire hose instead of the water fountain. Great.” Kerry leaned back in her chair, more questions bubbling in her mind now that she had two magics willing to talk to her about it. “Right. I think I get it, but what about warlocks?” Kerry shivered. “No offense, but the few I’ve met have been nuts. No offense to Gen, by the way. She’s awesome.”

“Yes, she is.” Gareth leaned forward, placing his hand on Kerry’s. “I promise we’ll stop Arthur before he gets to you again.”

“You think it was Arthur who put the sleeper hex on me?” It made a certain amount of sense. Davis was dead, and Hugh had been too busy trying to get the wizard king’s power to cast a sleeper hex. “How long would it take to cast something like this?”

“A while, and it would take significant amounts of power.” Gareth shook his head. “Gen’s told me a lot about warlocks. They do rituals like a wizard, but can spontaneously cast like a witch. The only difference is their power comes from the outside rather than inside.”

Jo nodded. “Yeah.”

“Damn.” Kerry ran her free hand through her hair. “All right. Educate me, Professor Yashodar. Give me Warlocks 101.”

Jo grinned. “You’ll be getting a test on this later.”

“I’m an ace student.” Kerry winked. “Lay it on me, sistah.”

“A warlock’s magic comes from without, not from within as it does with witches and wizards. They’re attuned to forces outside themselves, and draw their power from them. Most warlocks wind up being seduced by demons at an early age, around puberty, with little recourse but to accept the demon’s proposal.” Jo frowned. “Before I met Gen, I assumed that was how most warlocks got their power.”

“Damn.” Kerry was fascinated. “They like them young, don’t they?”

“And easily malleable. The young ones don’t fight all that hard, not when the demon whispers to them that they’ll have everything they desire. All you have to do is pay the demon back, usually with your soul or the souls of your victims.”

“Which is what the Godwin boys are doing.”

“Not exactly. Davis Godwin was powering up, trying to bring his demon here to earth. If that happened, the demon would have used him to try and take over the magical world. Once that was accomplished, it would create an army of magics, forcing us to go to war with the mundanes. The end of that would be—”

“Hell on earth,” Gareth interrupted.

“Yeah. That would suck. I kinda like the earth the way it is. It’s where I keep all my stuff.”

Jo giggled. “Me too.”

“But you said there were other ways for warlocks to get power. How?” Kerry had to know. The desire for knowledge was burning brightly inside her.

“The elementals are another way a warlock can gain power without having to succumb to the dark, but you always run the risk that the elementals will burn you out before you can learn to control their magic. They are powerful, but untamable. Only an iron will can withstand the force of their magic. There are also the gods. Binding yourself to one causes you to become an Own.”

“Is it really that easy?” Somehow Kerry doubted it.

Jo shook her head. “Not at all. An Own is born if the Goddess accepts the plea of one born to be hers. And make no mistake, they are
born
, not made. Zach and Gen were always meant to pledge themselves to the Goddess. It’s as natural as breathing for them.”

“And the God?” Kerry knew that the Becketts called on both in their rituals. Was there such a thing as an Own of the God?

Jo shrugged. “There are those who follow the God and channel from him rather than the Goddess. Like Hecate’s Own, they’re born to it rather than made. From what I’ve heard they’re unique, each one of them, and quite possibly insane, but they get the job done the same as Hecate’s Own do.”

“So, that’s it, right? No other ways to make a baby warlock?”

Jo and Gareth exchanged a quick, intense glance. It was Gareth who answered. “There is one other way, but it’s so rarely done that I’ve never met someone who’s done it.”

“Oh?”

“A warlock could choose to bond with another magic user in a sort of symbiotic relationship. The combination can be strong, because the witch or wizard
must
be a willing participant, but as I said, they’re so rare I think of them as fairytales.”

Why would someone ever allow someone else to use their powers? “What does the witch or wizard get out of it if they do choose to bond, and what does the warlock get?”

“The warlock gets power, that much is obvious.” Gareth spoke softly, his expression thoughtful as he looked once more at Jo. “What
does
the witch or wizard get?”

Jo shrugged. “How the hell do I know? I teach this stuff, but I’ve never met a warlock bound to another person before. Maybe they get an unshakeable bond? A companion for life? A soul mate?”

Soul mate? “Like a husband and wife team who happen to be magical?”

Jo seemed to like that. “Or best friends, so in tune with one another that they complete each other’s sentences.”

“Or brothers.” Gareth nodded. “I would bond with one of them if necessary. I trust all three with my life and my power.”

That might be true, but there was more to it than that. There had to be. Otherwise warlocks would bond with other magics all the time. “But what are the consequences?” She glanced between Gareth and Jo, seeing their immediate winces. “Not just of a bond like that, but all magic use?”

“Well, for one, most wizards and witches don’t get along well. We don’t understand one another’s methods of magical working, and are often frustrated with one another because we don’t understand what the fuck is going on.” Gareth put the ice pack back in his lap. “I hope to change that, at least to some degree.”

Jo nodded. “And all warlocks are viewed with suspicion because the dark warlocks are so much more prevalent than the light ones. It’s easier just to assume that a warlock is a bad guy than talk to one and find out whether or not they’re light, dark or in between.”

“And then there’s karma.” Jo’s eyes widened in fear. “You
really
need to learn about that.”

Kerry knew this one. Annabelle had been
very
adamant that she learn it. “That’s the
an it harm none
part, right?”

“Exactly.” Gareth grinned, and for a moment Kerry saw Daniel in the oldest Beckett brother, making her long for Daniel’s presence. “You do something to someone without provocation and you’ll get your ass handed to you in a spike-lined basket.”

Jo laughed, the sound low and musical. “Indeed. And no one wants spiked goodies unless they’re at a frat party.”

“Jo!” Kerry giggled.

“What?”

Like Jo’s innocent look fooled any of them.

Jo stood. “I think I have an idea of how to hold the hex once we remove it, but I need to check your workroom, G-man.” Jo strode for the door. “You stay with Kerry so Daniel knows we were protecting her, all right?”

“Gotcha.” Gareth’s gaze as he watched Jo leave was full of amusement. “So. Gin Rummy?”

Kerry laughed. “Sure.”
And let’s hope I don’t accidentally decapitate myself with the cards.