Witch Hunter Olivia (8 page)

Third time’s a charm
, I muse, sitting in my car outside of the Dark Ink parlor and listening to Scarlet’s engine purr.

This is the third time I’ve been here today, and I’m still on the fence about the masking spell my mom was so insistent on me having done. To be honest, that’s not the only reason I’m still in my car and haven’t gotten out yet. The last interaction I had with Heath was confusing at best, and I don’t know if I’m ready to face him again so soon. Why is life like this? It seems the things you want to avoid most, life keeps thrusting them back into your face.

Just as I’m about to step out of the car, my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s Tara calling. She’s probably back at the dorm room wondering why I’m not there.

“Hey, Tara, what’s up?” I ask, after answering the phone.

“Where the heck are you?”

“I had to run an errand,” I reply, feeling a little bad that I’m not being upfront with her.

“Oh? So does this errand happen to have arms sleeved in tattoos and washboard abs?”

Her laughter through the phone almost causes me to snicker too. For a moment, I almost forget I’m supposed to be worried and upset about what’s happening. Talking to Tara does this to me. It’s one of the many reasons she’s my best friend. No matter how crazy life seems to get, she’s always Tara.

“No,” I lie. “I shouldn’t be long though.”

“Uh-huh.” She sounds unconvinced. “Well, hurry your butt back here because we need to discuss plan Infiltrate Alpha Nu Gamma. Oh, and don’t forget you have that Gateways class today. You told me to remind you, and you really can’t miss it again.”

“Oh, yeah, that damn class. Thanks,” I reply, and then hang up after she says her hurried goodbye.

“Back so soon, Liv?” I’m startled by the male voice coming through my cracked-open driver’s side window. I must’ve been so focused on the conversation I was having with Tara that I didn’t even notice Heath was standing right outside my car door, peering in.

“Thanks a lot for that,” I say, trying to calm my nerves.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” His soft laugh makes me smile inwardly. I hear the door click as Heath pulls it open and waits for me to get out. When I hesitate, he extends his hand out for mine and I humor him by taking hold of it in order to allow him to help me from the vehicle. “Just couldn’t stay away from this place, huh?”

“As much as it pains me to say this, I think I need your help. Can we talk somewhere private?” I ask, and can tell he wants to send me a smug grin and say, “I told you so.”

“Yeah, I think I can arrange that,” he replies, closing Scarlet’s door before heading back toward the parlor. “You comin’?”

I nod before following him inside. The parlor’s probably the busiest I’ve ever seen it. Almost every tattoo chair has someone sitting in it with an artist attending to them. Heath whistles loudly, getting everyone’s attention. The humming melody of the tattoo guns comes to an abrupt stop.

“Dark Ink is closing up shop for the day, people. If you’re in the middle of a tattoo, your artist will finish tomorrow,” Heath announces. There’s some vocal resistance, but he continues, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but there’s an emergency I need to take care of. You’ll each receive a fifty-percent discount on your tattoo for your cooperation. Thanks.” The moment he mentions the discount, everyone pretty much shuts up and starts heading out after being cleaned.

“You really don’t have to do this for me,” I mention.

“I know, but I want to,” he replies.

It only takes a few minutes for the place to empty out, leaving us as the last two there. I’m floored by the fact that Heath closed his shop when business was booming and took a hit monetarily for me. I wonder what his dad will think of this little stunt of his.

Heath closes all the blinds at the front of the shop and returns back to where I’m standing. “Private enough for you?” he asks.

“Yeah, but we could’ve talked in my car or something. You didn’t have to make everyone leave.”

“Yeah, I kind of did.”

“Thank you,” I say, which causes a grin to form on his lips.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

I try to compile everything I want to say, but I don’t even know where to begin. So much has happened in the past few hours that my head’s still spinning from it all. Who could be doing all of this?

I take a deep breath before I begin explaining why I’m here. “Remember the Elder I told you about that Jack mentioned?” Heath nods, folding his arms in front of his chest while relaxing into one of the tattoo chairs. I guess he senses this might take a while, so he might as well get comfortable. “Well, when I went to the Alpha Nu Gamma house today, the housemother told me Tobias Young had a tie to Angelica through her mom. So that means two people who have no connection to each other gave me the same name.” I pause, making sure I’m going through all the details right since this is the first time I’ve talked about this. “When I got back to my dorm room after dropping you off, my mom was waiting for me there and told me Tobias was found dead this morning.”

His face registers surprise. “Holy shit. This kind of blew up quick, huh?” he comments, and though he’s right, it isn’t helping my mental well-being.

“Yeah, you could say that. But there’s more. A note was found on Tobias’s desk that said he was killed to avenge what happened to Tara and her family.”

Heath sits up and focuses on me. “What? Did he have something to do with that?”

“Apparently he ordered the hit on Tara’s father. And now I guess the Guild thinks I had something to do with his death because of why I left.”

“Why would they think that? Do they really believe you’d kill an Elder?”

I can’t believe I’m about to say this. “I was the one who told the Guild about Tara’s dad.” Saying it out loud is relieving, but at the same time, it feels like a dagger to the heart. All I’m met with is Heath’s shocked face, and to say it’s not making me feel good is putting it lightly. “I thought I was helping Tara by reporting him for misuse of magic. I found evidence he was dealing with dark witches, and I thought he was putting Tara in danger. I couldn’t just sit idly by while that happened. I had no idea my words would cause my entire world to fall apart like it did, nor did I know a hit would be ordered on Tara’s father. I thought they’d arrest him or something, but that so was not the case. It was all my fault, and now I’ve become an easy target to blame Tobias’s death on.”

Heath doesn’t say a word; he just combs his hand through his hair and rubs the back of his neck while gazing at me with uncertainty. He begins to say something, but then stops himself, clearly trying to absorb everything I dumped on him.

“I think … no, I
know
I need your help. I’ve got no one else to turn to,” I say.

Tears pool in my eyes. It’s been a while since the last time I had a good cry. Four months to be exact. Growing up, my dad saw it as a sign of weakness, and always taught me to work through the emotions and never show them to others. I guess that explains one of my nicknames back at the Hunters Academy: Ice Princess.

Heath rises from the chair and moves over to me. He pulls me in for a firm hug and I fully embrace it. I feel like my guard is completely down at this moment, and deep down, I’m glad it’s Heath who’s here to see me like this. The warmth coursing through my body from being this close to him makes me feel safe and secure.

“I’m here for you, Liv. We’ll get through this, okay?” he whispers close to my ear, and doesn’t let go of me.

“My mom wants me to get the masking spell redone until this all blows over, but I can’t do that. She says the Guild is after me to bring me in, but I need to focus on finding who’s behind all this. And if I’m disguised, then they won’t recognize me, and I want to be able to draw them out of hiding,” I explain into his shoulder.

Heath leans back in order to look at me. “Maybe you should consider getting your tattoo finished,” he says softly, never losing eye contact.

“I intend on doing that later, but first I need a huge favor.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Be my plus-one to the Alpha Nu Gamma party tomorrow night.” He doesn’t answer me; he just sends me a perplexed look. “If this person is going to make another pass at Angelica, that’s where they’re probably going to do it. I need to go to that party before I get the masking spell, but I promise I will right after.”

He sighs. “This is completely against my better judgment, but I’ll do it.”

“Thank you.”

He chuckles to himself. “You know this means you owe me again, right? I’m keeping a running tab, just so you’re aware.”

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket and pull it out to see my alarm going off. It’s for the one class I have today, and I’ve missed it for the past two weeks. Gateways is easily my least favorite class this semester. It’s a waste of time because all we do is map out our freshman year and write in our “goal journal” about what we hope to accomplish in college. We also take tours of the different departments on campus to help us decide on a major if we haven’t already. So, to say I haven’t been driven to go would be a huge understatement.

I groan. “I’ve got class in thirty minutes.”

“You’re not going, are you? Shouldn’t we be discussing what we’re going to do tomorrow night?”

“I’ve missed this class too many times already, and I need it to graduate. It’s so lame, but unfortunately, it’s also a requirement,” I say dryly.

“Do you want me to tag alon—”

Heath’s interrupted by the sound of the chime on the parlor’s front door as it swings open. My back is to the entrance, but judging by how big his eyes are, what just walked in isn’t a good thing. Before I can turn my head and look, I hear a familiar voice.

“Olivia Adams, you’re wanted for questioning in regards to the murder of Elder Tobias Young.”

I spin around and see exactly the person I suspected they’d send after me. My brother, Malcolm.

It looks like my Gateways class is shot again this week.

“You know damn well I didn’t do it, Malcolm,” I say. “You don’t have to take me in.”

“Yeah, I kind of do. You may have turned your back on all of this, but I haven’t. The Guild wants you, and what the Guild wants, I retrieve. It’s that simple.”

“You’ll have to go through me first,” Heath pipes up, causing my brother to puff out his chest and get into a defensive stance.

I put my hand on Heath’s shoulder, causing him to glance over at me. “I got this.” He sends me a concerned look, but concedes with a nod.

“If you won’t listen to reason, then I guess I’m going to have to beat some sense into you, big bro,” I comment, moving away from Heath toward the middle of the parlor floor.

My brother relaxes his stance and moves closer too, but doesn’t completely lower his guard. “Just like old times, huh?”

“Yep, I guess so.” I stare down my brother as he measures me up. “We’re really about to do this, huh?”

“We don’t have to. You can just let me take you in,” he replies, widening his stance before throwing up his hands out in front of his face like a boxer.

I shake my head and mirror his stance. “Not gonna happen. I need to find out who did this, and I can’t do that in custody.”

“One way or another, Olivia, you’re coming with me.”

“We’ll see about that,” I sneer.

Malcolm’s the first one to throw a punch, and I slap it away just before dodging his follow-up right hook. I back away slightly, putting some distance between us in order to calculate my counterattack. I test him and go in for a fake low kick to his leg, and when he reacts, I try to catch him off-guard with a left crossover. He blocks my attack and rams his shoulder into my chest, sending me shuffling back.

He takes a calculated right swing in my direction, and I dip out of the way unscathed, ducking behind him. Malcolm immediately fires off a high kick back after his punch fails to make contact. I block it with both hands and attempt to sweep his other leg, but he leaps over it with ease. He follows up with a high punch right at my face. Sliding to the side, I maneuver out of the way and spin in close to him to drive my elbow into his stomach. He blocks it before giving me a forceful shove away from him. We’ve been evenly matched combat-wise for the last year or so, and just like during our most recent sparring sessions, I’m finding it hard to break his defenses, and vice versa.

We both shake off our frustration and join back in the middle of the parlor, facing one another again. I keep signaling for him to make the first move, but every time, he denies the request. We’re at a standstill. I remember back to a particular sparring match we had a few months before I left the Guild. He was so proud of how far I’d come in my training, and with graduation from the Hunters Academy looming near, he decided to help me prepare for my final exam. Standing here facing off against him makes me miss that time together. Now look at us. We’re practically enemies.

“I can wait here all day, Olivia,” he says with a sneer. “I’ve got the patience of a saint, sister. You’re well aware of that.”

“Well, then I’m glad I got my lack of patience from Dad,” I respond while twisting my body into a spinning back fist punch, but stop suddenly when he puts his hands up to block it. I transition into a sweep kick, which he jumps over before sending a knee toward my face. I block with my forearms and shimmy over to the side. I throw a quick jab into his stomach, but he doesn’t react. It feels like I hit a brick wall.

He releases a small laugh under his breath. “All right, enough playing around,” he says before rearing back his arm to throw a punch.

I launch back into a reverse handspring and feel my feet connect with him before I land upright again. I have no idea where that move came from. Desperation, most likely. Malcolm’s standing there shaking his head and trying to catch his bearings after my successful attack.

“Where in the hell did you learn that move?” he asks, checking his lip for any sign of blood.

“I’ve always been one to think quickly on my feet. I had a great teacher, remember?” I see the slightest hint of a smile try to shine through on his face.

He laughs. “Yeah, I’m good, but I never taught you anything like that.”

“Have you had enough of this nonsense?”

“Not even close,” he replies, mimicking my defensive stance.

“Do you seriously not believe me when I say I had nothing to do with Tobias’s death?”

“Like I said, it doesn’t matter what I think, Olivia. This is what the Guild wants me to do,” he growls.

“I don’t want to fight you, Malcolm. I could use your help.” What I’m saying doesn’t seem to be fazing him. He still looks bound and determined to bring me in. “Seriously, can you put aside all this Guild bullshit and hear me out for once in your life as my brother?”

“What the hell do you mean by that? I did nothing but listen to you for years. We were in this life together, and you left me for your own damn selfish reasons.”

I can hear the hurt in his tone. “Is that what you think happened?” I ask, lowering my guard and bringing my hands to rest at my sides, showing no hostility. He’s sounding like he never heard the real reason I left.

“You left so quickly. I had to hear why you did from our friends and the Elders. Mom wouldn’t say anything, and Dad refused to even acknowledge the issue. What else was I supposed to think?”

“Malcolm, the Guild had Tara and her family killed. Did you know that?” I ask. “My best friend, who was innocent, was a victim of your precious Guild.”

“She must’ve done something to deserve it,” he comments, still not relaxing his guard.

“Come on, Malcolm. You knew Tara. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. It was all her dad’s doing. He was the one the Guild was after. But they went too far,” I explain, trying to plead with him to understand.

“Is that why you left?”

“That was the only reason. I couldn’t be a part of an organization that could do something like that. I refused. I couldn’t fight for them knowing what they had done to innocent people. They killed Tara’s sister and mom, Malcolm. What did they ever do to deserve that?”

He finally relaxes his stance and drops his guard. “Are you sure you haven’t lost your mind? Because you still sound as crazy as you did last night.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty positive that my mind’s perfectly fine. Besides, why would I lie to you? What would I gain from lying to you about something like this?” I reply, feeling irked by his stubbornness.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me before, sis? We used to talk about everything, and I felt so betrayed by your actions. Topher tried to convince me that you had to have had a good reason, but I didn’t listen.”

“Well, this is the truth, whether or not you believe me,” I state, moving closer to him. “I’m sorry for leaving like I did, but I had to. Please understand that.”

He releases a heavy sigh and moves closer to me. “I honestly had no idea about Tara. I know how much she meant to you, so I guess I can’t blame you for what you did,” he mentions, which causes me to breathe an internal sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Malcolm. I needed to hear that from you.”

“The Guild’s still after you, Livie. And you know they won’t stop until they capture you.”

“Or until we find out who was responsible for all this,” I reply.

“We?” he asks with an eyebrow turned up.

“Yeah. Heath and I could use your help with this.”

“I’d risk banishment if I were to even think of helping you. If any of them caught a single word about this, we’d be locked up in the same cell,” he explains. “Not to mention your little friend here would be dealt a harsher punishment.”

“First of all, his name is Heath. And second, look … I don’t care if you believe me about what I saw, but someone who looked exactly like you and had all your mannerisms crashed the party I was at last night. So, either it was you and you don’t remember for some reason, or this was the work of someone else.”

He seems to be in deep thought over the information I presented. “I can’t, sis. I’m sorry. I’ll give you a pass for Tara’s sake, but if the Guild sends me after you again, we’re going to have to do this all over. As much as I don’t want to, I will.”

Talk about a damn kick to the heart. My own brother is choosing the Guild over me, and it hurts like a bitch. There was a hint of hesitation on his part, a glimmer of hope that he’d change his mind, but I guess water is thicker than blood. This is blind obedience at its finest right here.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I manage to say, “but I guess the Guild’s code wins out almost every time, right?”

He nods. “A word of advice?”

“Yeah, shoot,” I answer.

“If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, turn yourself in. It will make it easier on everyone.”

I laugh to myself. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I state with a touch of sarcasm.

“See you soon, sis,” he calls out over his shoulder as he makes his way to the entrance of the parlor. He lazily throws his hand up to wave goodbye before shoving open the door to leave.

“And then there were two,” Heath comments behind me. “Your brother’s a real piece of work.”

“Yep, but he’s just doing his job.”

“So, do you by any chance have a plan for tomorrow night?”

“Of course I do,” I reply quickly. He sends me an interrogative look, like he isn’t so sure.

“Okay, so maybe I don’t have a
plan
per se, but I do have a general idea.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hey, it’s better than nothing,” I respond.

“I foresee quite a long night ahead of us … and not the fun kind,” he laughs.