Witch Bound (Twilight of the Gods) (5 page)

Chapter Four

Raquel was standing outside Lois’s shop, trying to make up her mind on whether to go inside, when Fen turned the corner. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her, and for a second she thought he might turn and run. He actually glanced down the alley before shoving his hands in his pockets and starting toward her again. The thought that someone like her might scare off a hound made her smile.

He smiled back, more a grim twist of his mouth than the full, mischievous grin of the night before. It’d be a lie to say she didn’t enjoy his discomfort a little bit. Maybe
next
time he’d think twice before ratting her out to Christian. Of course, that had been a particularly low moment for her. There was unlikely to be a next time.

Fen quickly closed the distance between them. Funny, he hadn’t really seemed like a hound last night. Not like someone who could take down a demon without even using a weapon. But now she could see it. Every movement spare and clean, he moved like a hound. Fluid. Precise. Deadly. She still thought he was too skinny, but there was muscle beneath the loose clothing. Muscle, taut skin and maybe a few more tattoos like the one she’d caught a glimpse of the other night. Heat warmed her cheeks. She should probably stop thinking about what was beneath his clothes.

And she should stop staring.

She turned back to the shop. Fen came to a stop beside her and followed her gaze. An old wooden sign attached to an iron arm swung with a whining, creaking noise in the wind. In addition to being the clan witch, Lois was also the town florist. She was doing the flowers for the wedding and charging Raquel’s father an arm and a leg for the work.

Fen broke the silence. “She’s a tough old bird.”

Raquel looked at him askance. “She’s a ravening harpy.”

“Yes, that.” Fen grinned, that flash of a smile, gone as quickly as it came. He cleared his throat and in a cautious tone, asked, “So, last night didn’t scare you off?”

“I’m still here. Thanks to you and your warning. I told my mom I knew about the surges and that staved off an explosion from her. Christian soothed her feathers this morning at brunch.”

She could feel the weight of his gaze but kept her attention on the shop. There was no movement inside and the closed sign was up. Lois had said noon. Even if the door hadn’t been spell-locked Raquel would have known the coven was inside. Their gathered magic vibrated like a gentle hum below her feet. She’d bet money they were in the basement.

“Are you and Christian all right then?”

“We haven’t had a chance to talk. My mom ambushed him as soon as he came through the door this morning. I almost felt sorry for him.”

“Almost?”

A blast of wind drove a crumpled piece of newspaper across the sidewalk, plastering it to the side of her leg. She peeled it off and stuffed it into the bin beside the door before turning to look at Fen. “What did you tell him exactly?”

“That he should make an effort to woo you.”

“Woo me?” She smiled. “Is that some kind of euphemism?”

“No. You know what I mean and so did he. I didn’t...I didn’t go and repeat our conversation word for word if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t do that—
wouldn’t
do that—to anyone in the clan.”

“I’m not your clan yet.”

“Sure you are.”

“Christian said the hunt went well last night,” she said. “Brian is okay, right?”

A complicated look crossed Fen’s face. “He’s healed.”

Something about the tone of his voice didn’t sit right with her, but she couldn’t think of a good way to ask him about it. Before she made up her mind about whether to pry, he changed the subject. “Christian said you apprenticed for a while to a clan historian?”

She nodded. “Kathy made sure I had a good education. She wanted to make sure that when I came into my power, I’d know what to do with it. Historian. Healer. Folklore. Metaphysics...”

“You didn’t happen to ever come across a way to break a mate bond, did you?”

Her stomach flipped over. “No. Once triggered, the bond is permanent until the mate dies.” She paused. “Not that I’m recommending that as a way out.”

His gaze slid back to hers, warm hazel eyes framed by spiky black lashes. “Don’t worry. We’re all pretty fond of Julia.”

“Julia? Then you weren’t asking for yourself?”

She felt relieved by that and then vaguely guilty. It was none of her business to have any sort of opinion about who Fen chose to mate with. A faint wash of color touched his cheekbones and he ducked his head. “Not me, no. Unless you want to tell me how to avoid ending up like Brian.”

“Well, that one’s easy. Don’t fall in love.”

“From what I’ve seen, love doesn’t necessarily have to be involved.”

She shook her head. “You’re wrong about that. For hounds, it does matter. Love. Consent. The physical act just provides an anchor for the magic.”

“Guess I’ll just have to stay away from anchors then.” He shrugged and glanced back at the door. “She won’t eat you, you know. Her bark’s worse than her bite, and I’m something of an expert on that particular subject.”

“I don’t mind her bark. At least with Lois, I know where I stand.”

He studied her again and Raquel could almost hear the wheels turning. He thought she was talking about Christian, but she wasn’t. Sadly, she knew exactly where Christian stood. “Everyone’s been nice. It makes it harder to figure out who you’re friends really are.”

“I can help with that.” He tipped his head toward the shop. “Lois is
not
your friend, and she’ll have the coven behind her. It’s nothing personal really, but you are taking over her job and it’s all she’s got going for her since her daughter ran. Christian’s in your corner, of course.”

“Of course,” she echoed because he seemed to expect it.

“Aiden’s fair and Grace has had her own share of trouble adjusting. I suspect she’s sizing you up as an ally. She wasn’t raised clan and hasn’t lived here long herself. At the very least, she’ll be sympathetic.”

Raquel hadn’t heard that Grace was an outsider, though now that Fen mentioned it, some of the interactions she’d witnessed last night made more sense. “Grace was a runner?”

“Her parents were. I can see you two becoming friends. You’ll get along well, I think.”

“Maybe you can set us up on a playdate.”

She regretted the sharpness in her tone when he frowned. She didn’t know where it had come from, but she was ashamed of it. Her nose was running. She fished out a crumpled tissue from her pocket and blew it soundly. Fen looked on, bemused.

Tucking her tissue away, she asked, “What about you?”

“Me? I’ve got your back, Rocky.” He took her by the shoulders and pushed her toward the door. “Now get in there and start swinging.”

She grabbed the knob and disabled the simple spell without thinking about it, surprised at how easily it slid away. It happened sometimes when she wasn’t concentrating. She watched Fen disappear into the diner two doors down, shook her head and went inside.

A sign that said Coven with an arrow beneath it pointed toward the basement stairs. It was something of a presumptuous title. Lois’s witches weren’t really witches, they were men and women with just enough talent and training to work the simple spells—drawing rain from a thunderhead, unlocking a spelled door. Kathy called her small group of people with that kind of low-level talent her friends and students, not her coven.

Raquel couldn’t look down on them though. For all the power she had bottled up in her, she couldn’t accomplish much more than they could. She was a dud—incredible potential, more power than anyone had seen in generations, but she couldn’t tap into it no matter how hard she tried. She knew she had to tell these people the truth, she was just picking her moment. Best to get the lay of the land before she lobbed that particular grenade.

First, she’d find out how bad the problem was. She’d speak to Christian and to Aiden, put the ball in their court. Her mother disagreed. She didn’t want to tell them anything until after the wedding.

About ten people were gathered in the basement, all of them sitting on the floor except for Lois. She sat in a wooden chair with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes closed. They were feeding her power. Raquel could see the connecting links like colored vapor trails winding through the circle. Lois was greedy about it too, taking far more than she could actually use. When her eyes opened, the trails hung in the air for a moment before dissipating.

“You joined us after all. Please, take a seat.” Lois waved toward the opposite side of the circle and two women scooted in either direction to make room.

Raquel shifted, holding her arm at the elbow and looking around the bare basement for somewhere unobtrusive to sit. “I really just came to observe.”

“Nonsense, dear.” Lois gave her a tight smile. “You’re one of us now. Best to start as you mean to go on, my mother used to say.”

“Mine says wait until the deal is done.”

Lois’s eyes hardened. “As you wish. Come now, let’s try again.”

She waggled her fingers and the women who’d made room for Raquel moved back and joined hands, sealing the circle. Raquel upended an empty crate in the corner and sat down, propping her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. The group seemed good. There were some surprisingly powerful people here. The teenage boy to Lois’s left was the strongest of the lot. A little more power from him and the clan might not have had to go trolling for witches.

Some clans, she knew, didn’t like male witches. But it was an old prejudice, and there was no reason why they couldn’t do the job. There was also no reason why they were down here in this musty, old basement. She understood the need to close out potential distractions, but—
geesh
—they could put up drywall and throw down some carpet. The elderly woman looked uncomfortable with her legs crossed like that. She kept trying to straighten her right knee as if it pained her.

If Raquel stayed, if they kept her, she would make sure they at least got comfortable seating.

The circle powered up. Lois gathered all that energy in her greedy hands and hurled it in the direction of the portal. Raquel lifted her head from her hands. She couldn’t—holy shit, she wasn’t going to pour it all into the portal, was she?

Raquel rocketed to her feet, hands waving as she stepped forward. “Stop.”

Lois looked up, exasperated, and the energy snapped back, rebounding into the circle. It arced between the witches’ hands as they dropped the contact. The dark-haired woman to Lois’s right hissed in pain and shook her hands. The teenage boy, who’d gotten walloped, glared at Raquel openly.

“I didn’t think I’d need to tell you not to interrupt the circle,” Lois snapped.

I
didn’t think I’d need to tell you not to destroy the town.
Raquel tried for something more diplomatic. “It’s not prudent to direct so much energy toward the portal.”

“I block it from reaching the fault.” Lois’s brows rose and her mouth slid into a supremely smug little smile. Raquel had the uneasy feeling that she’d walked into a trap. “Your wards are only twenty years old. I helped to place them. Ours were placed over a century ago. If we don’t strengthen them regularly, they will fail. Which is, after all, the reason we need you.”

Ah. It had been a trap so that Lois could chastise her in front of the coven, prove to everyone that she was still the head witch. Raquel managed to not roll her eyes. She wasn’t here to play power games but fine, she could do that too. “The wards you’re refreshing—they’re stonebound?”

“Of course.”

That happened to be a specialty of hers, mostly because runes didn’t require one to have control over one’s own magic. They pulled directly from the ley lines and not from the person. Raquel could work rune magic like nobody’s business, all day, every day and twice on Tuesdays. She stood and brushed her hands on her pants. “You have warding stones here, I assume?”

“What for?”

“You don’t need to keep pouring your own energy into the wards. I’ll set up a secondary ring to power the first, drawing from the ley lines instead of the circle.”

“We’re an agricultural community. Drawing from the ley lines will weaken the land.”

“Not fast enough to do any damage so long as it’s only temporary. It’s winter now. If we remove them by January, it shouldn’t even affect the next harvest. And this way there’s no risk that any of your magic accidently aggravates the fault line. I’ve done this at home, I can have it up and running within a day or two.”

Raquel held her breath, waiting for Lois’s reaction. Would she cut off her nose to spite her face? If she did, there’d be no working with her anyway. Lois hesitated—or maybe she just had to work that hard to unclench her teeth—then gave a sharp nod. “Top of the stairs, turn right. There’s a closet halfway down the hall. They’re in the box at the bottom.”

The teenager scrambled to his feet. “I’ll show her.”

Raquel followed him toward the stairs but paused when Lois called her name. “I’ll want to check your work before we place them.”

Raquel schooled her features into a neutral expression. It wasn’t polite to gloat. “Of course.”

Reaching the top of the stairs, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a minute while the boy went to grab the box. He was smiling when he came back to set the crate on the workbench. “That was awesome. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to her like that before.”

Raquel shook her head. She really didn’t want to fight unless she had to. She was following the advice Kathy had given her—
go in strong and stand your ground
,
or she’ll bulldoze you.

“I didn’t say that to hurt her. I don’t like being bullied and I want to help.” The boy’s expression fell a bit so she said, “You’ve a good bit of power.”

He shrugged. “Not enough to do anything more than feed a circle.”

“That depends on what you do with it. This—” she grabbed the first stone out of the box and set it down on the scarred wood, “—doesn’t require much in the way of personal energy, but it’s incredibly powerful when used properly.”

She pulled the cap off the Sharpie with her teeth. He hopped onto the stool next to her and craned his neck to see what she was doing. “What if we do it wrong?”