by Holly Evans
"This was not my doing," I said as calmly as I could muster.
Her nostrils flared, her hands moved in a flurry of movement. Lysander put himself in front of me, but Kadrix was quicker. His own bright green fireball collided with her rose pink ball in midair. They burnt quickly and vanished into nothing. The witch roared with rage and anguish.
"You will pay for what you did to my brother!"
"We didn't harm him,” Quin said quietly as he slowly approached her, his hands palm out at his side.
She punched the wall closest to her. Her small pale fist left a rather sizable dent in the plaster. I spun my blades without any thought. She favoured her left side, which was unusual but hardly difficult to overcome. Her weight was too far forward, and her centre of gravity should have been two inches lower. If Kadrix could handle her magic, then I could disarm and, if need be, kill her within thirty seconds. I looked to Kadrix. His chin moved almost imperceptibly down. Lysander slowly stepped aside, giving me a direct route to her. Over the counter, shift my weight right to move around the table, then I was on her. She kept looking between Quin and me. Kadrix moved his fingers over Quin's lower back, Quin smiled and took a half-step towards the witch. It was my moment.
I vaulted over the counter, stepped around the table and was at her side just as Kadrix wrapped some form of magical net around her, stopping her from using more fireballs. She screeched in fury. I kicked the side of her knee; the crunch of the breaking bone was more satisfying than it should have been. She fell to the floor and began sobbing. I stopped myself from going any further. The threat had been neutralised. Stepping back, I surveyed the situation with as much logic and calm as I could muster. Her shoulders heaved as she cried, her leg sat at an awkward outwards angle. She was a witch; she'd live.
"He was my only brother; he didn't have any real power, but he was still my brother."
I looked to Quin, hoping for some guidance on what I was supposed to do with her.
"He died quickly. He will be avenged," Kadrix said coolly.
Her face hardened and she was on her feet in barely the blink of an eye. "Yes. He will."
She shot out the door and took off down the street. I cursed witches as a concept under my breath.
"Now what?" I asked no one in particular.
Lysander jumped the counter and made his way to me. "Do not fear, Evelyn, we will fix this."
I offered him a small smile; he was trying.
Kadrix pursed his lips and sighed. "We need to call someone to help clean this up. The witches will deal with the funeral, but the humans can't see this mess."
Quin said, "Already done. We have," he glanced at his phone, "ten minutes."
I looked around the chaos, feeling lost once more. "Do we have anything positive from this? Something we can use?"
"Sorry, Evelyn," was all Kadrix said.
Lysander stroked my hair with the flat of his hand. I gave him another smile.
"Is there anything incriminating here?" I asked.
"No, we're ok," Quin replied.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to purge the images of Lucien's remains from my memory.
"I'm getting some air then."
The door felt more fragile when I opened it; the witch had done some damage to the hinges. I leant against the wall, the cool stone oddly soothing. It helped clear my mind while I tried to think what we were supposed to do next. The celestials were useless, the witches were pissed off, and no one else had any other leads. I glanced down the road on the off chance of catching a glimpse of the celestial again. Nothing. Luck was not on my side.
We gathered in the open space near Elise's church; the sun shone down and tried to lift our spirits. Kadrix and Quin had said nothing, Elise's lady refused to whisper a word, and the celestials were in hiding. We had two dead innocents on our hands, and not a damn thing else.
The breeze rustled through the trees, but there was something else. A soft whispering. Many footsteps. I tensed; Lysander's lips pulled back in a snarl. Kadrix's hands began moving in quick motions, as did Elise's. I looked to the tall dark-trunked trees on the periphery of the clearing. It took a second for my eyes to pick out the unusual movement. The dark clothing hid them amongst the boughs. A small hoard of witches descended on us. They moved in unnatural ways. Their bodies twisted and bent with the air, their feet carried them quicker than any human should have been able to move. I braced myself, my celestial-feather blades in my hands.
"You killed one of our men!" they cried.
I ground my teeth together. It was better not to argue with them until I had them under my boot.
Their organisation lacked something and gave us a chance. They rushed at us in a large cluster; that allowed Kadrix and Lysander to move around and flank them while the rest of us stood strong and fought with everything we had. My lungs flattened and the air fled from my lips when a curse hit me directly in the chest. A spread of warmth passed over me, removing whatever damage the bitch had done. I ducked under a clumsy blow from a young woman who couldn't have been far out of her teens. They were used to standing at a distance and using their magic; the emotion would be their downfall.
I plunged my blade deep into her stomach. Her bright green eyes went wide; her mouth fell open, revealing perfect white teeth. I kicked her away from me and ducked under her compatriot's swing, only to have another one collide with my ribs. I shifted my weight and slashed at the next black-clad leg that came at my stomach. A scream echoed around me. Rage flooded the witches. Their faces contorted with pure emotion; their movements became more erratic. Limbs flew at me at incredible speed. I blocked flailing arms and stabbed at everything that came within reach. It was too much of a blur to try and be tactical. I had to hack through them as best as I could before they overwhelmed me.
Pain threaded its way down the base of my neck, trying to crawl between my shoulder blades. I pushed it out of my mind and pushed forward, deeper into the fray. There were no conscious thoughts, just instinctual movement. I was aware of the cacophony of noise, the outrage, anguish, and pain, yet I stood distant from it. Watching it from somewhere deep within myself. Black blurred against black, smudged with red, surrounding pale cream skin. My world quickly became heat. No. Fire. Flames erupted over my skin. The need for blood and violence became all that I was outside of the fire. An older woman's face swam into view. Wrinkles circled her soft brown eyes, her mouth was twisted into a grimace of anger and pain. Blood splattered her cheeks and dripped down her chin. Her hand flashed before me, pain burst from my stomach. Then it was over. Her frail body crumpled before me. Blood pooled around her. The warm sticky liquid coated my hand. She was no longer a threat.
None of them were.
A familiar voice cut through the distant state and brought me back to being. Lysander's hand stroked down my cheek, his soft lips pressed against my forehead before his strong arms wrapped around me.
"It's ok, Evelyn. It's ok."
I relaxed into him and quelled the panic that threatened to consume me. I didn't know what had happened, but I hoped it never happened again. I swallowed back the tears and pulled from him enough to look into his face. He stroked my hair and kissed my forehead again.
"We'll control it together, Evelyn. I'll protect you," he whispered.
He couldn't lie. He would make everything better. I trusted in him. It was me that I was worried about.
Elise emerged from the chaos around me; a smile flickered across her lips. "We need to interrogate these witches. They may have information about the old one the celestials seek."
I ran my tongue over my lips and was a little appalled to find that I relished the opportunity to interrogate them. I looked up to Lysander hoping for support.
He nuzzled against my neck. "Do not fear, Evelyn. Focus on the task at hand."
I took a deep breath and did just that. The witches that had been killed lay in black crumpled heaps of fabric, blood, and bone. They were quickly disintegrating and being returned to the cro
ne. Those that survived were being guarded by Quin and Kadrix, who looked rather fearsome. Four women sat on the floor, each wild-eyed and blood-splattered. The oldest one, her wiry grey hair pulled back into a messy bun, tried to stand and run. Kadrix placed a hand firmly on her shoulder and forced her back to the ground, his expression dark. We approached as a cohesive group, Lysander on my right, Elise on my left. The witches tried to move back away from us. They whispered and muttered under their breath; whatever colour had been present left their skin. I put my shoulders back and prepared to get the information we needed. Something good was going to come from the bloodshed and death.
The sharp sound of my slapping the older witch's face echoed around the small room; it seemed to spiral up to the high ceiling and reverberate there for a moment before dissipating. The witch had bitten almost entirely through her bottom lip, her expression a mix of fear and defiance. She went to spit at me, but I raised my hand once more. She slumped down in her seat while fiddling with her restraints.
"I will not answer," she muttered.
"Oh, but you will," I retorted.
"You are nothing compared to her," she hissed.
“’Her’ who?"
"The great witch."
"And what is the name of this great witch?"
She shrank back in her seat and shook her head furiously. "No, no. I will not say."
I leaned forward over her and put my face barely inches from hers. "Tell us."
Her eyes flicked to Kadrix and Lysander who were behind me. She shook her head once more.
"I cannot. Death would be a pleasure if I spoke of her."
"That can be arranged," I said seductively.
She laughed maniacally. "Then I will be grateful."
With that she closed her mouth, lifted her chin, and said nothing. I walked away with a growl. The others had refused to say anything more than the ‘great witch’, too, nor did they appear to know anything of the celestial. They had shut down and refused to speak about anything. Their sheer terror of whatever the witch would do far outweighed any physical pain we could inflict on them. Kadrix had used some alchemical tricks; Quin had refused to be involved. Lysander had begun to use some of his marrok interrogation skills, but he'd dug his heels in and refused to go any further.
We had nothing.
I left the room and exhaled slowly.
"What do we do now?" I asked Elise.
She gave me a small shrug. "My lady is of the opinion this is not the route we seek."
I sighed and looked for my cup of white tea. My throat was parched from the shouting and growling I'd done for the last twenty-four hours to no avail. The lukewarm liquid soothed the pain and eased my mind some.
"Are we supposed to let them back out into the world?"
She pursed her lips, her eyes rolled back in her head. I stepped back; I hadn't witnessed her in a trance with her lady before. Her face was serene, her body relaxed yet upright. She returned to me with a frown.
"Kill them quickly. They will be a message."
The amount of death was beginning to weigh on me, but it was necessary. We were fighting greater forces than lycan packs; it was an unfortunate side-effect of the higher stakes. We were making our mark on the world and standing up to the supernals. They would not walk all over us again.
I passed the word for Lysander, who acknowledged it with a grim expression. The bodies were carried outside minutes later. They hadn't made a noise. Not a single protest or final request.
"I've never seen such fear," Lysander said softly.
"One thing at a time," I said.
Elise squeezed my hand. "We will solve the celestial problem, then confront the witch one."
I gave a small smile. "Any progress on the celestial issue, Quin?"
He looked up from the large leather-bound tomes he'd piled up in front of him on the floor.
"Possibly. I need to do more reading."
Kadrix knelt down next to him and rested his head on Quin's shoulder while reading what Quin was reading. Lysander sat on the floor, his arm resting against my hip. Elise brought over fresh tea and sat opposite me. Her skin held a faint glow from the closeness she had so recently had with her lady.
She breathed deep from her tea and smiled. "This will all be worth it. We may not see how it will play out yet, but we must hold faith."
I held onto the cup, allowing the warmth of the smooth porcelain to ease away the aches from the fight and interrogation. Weariness settled deep in my bones; none of us had really slept while the witches were present. We were focused on our job at hand, working in long shifts, trying to get something worthwhile from the pain and bloodshed. Quin tenderly kissed Kadrix's cheek, bringing a smile to the elf's face; I focused on the happiness between them. The world wasn't entirely dark.
"We must rest. We are no good to anyone in this exhausted state. Finish your tea, then go to bed. All of you," Elise said, looking pointedly at Quin.
Quin gave her a crooked smile before he licked his fingertips and turned the page of the old tome. Elise hadn't explained where it had come from, and I felt it wasn't my place to ask. There was much hidden; I had to trust her. I stroked Lysander's hair and enjoyed the refreshing taste of the gentle white tea. My worries slipped away, and I couldn't help but wonder exactly what my old friend had put in it. The relaxation washed over me and hid any concerns I may have had. There was much to do, to discuss, but first I needed to sleep.
The last thing I remembered was Lysander's arms wrapping around me, the scent of hot metal and petrichor swirling around me in a comforting haze.
I woke up in my bed with Lysander wrapped around me, his arms holding me close to his chest, his legs tangled in mine. His head nuzzled against my neck, his warm breath curled around my throat. I wriggled against him, enjoying his presence. His soft lips brushed my tender skin as he woke and stretched against me.
"Good morning, Evelyn."
I ran my foot up his calf. "Morning, Lysander."
He nuzzled against my neck and whispered, "We should talk."
I scrunched up my face trying to remember what I'd done wrong that time. The memory of the witch fight flashed in my mind. The sensation of being distant. The pleasure of the pain I inflicted. The desire for more blood. It felt like an iron fist around my heart, my chest constricted.
Lysander whispered soothing nothings in my ear as he stroked my wrists. "You're safe."
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of him. I was safe.
"What happened?" I managed to choke out.
He pulled me a little closer to him, wrapping himself more thoroughly around me. Protecting me from the world. From myself.
"You experienced what a hound feels during the thrill of the battle."
"You... you feel that?"
He buried his face in my hair while I eased my breathing, trying to understand.
"I do. I control it, though. I am not that creature anymore, Evelyn."
He pleaded with me to understand. To believe him.
I rubbed my foot against his calf once more and played the memories back frame by frame. I believed him. I had to.
I rolled over to face him. I wrapped one arm around the back of his neck and tucked the other up against his chest.
"What's happening to me, Lysander?"
I couldn't help but run my fingers over the smooth silver collar, the sensation of what it meant crystalising in my mind. He sighed softly, putting his arm over my ribs and wrapping his legs around mine.
"I haven't had this sort of bond before. The bond between demon and slave... is different."
I frowned. "Am I becoming one of you?"
His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. "No, Evelyn. You're not becoming a hound, you're a human. You do appear to be taking on some of my skills and attributes, though. I hope the bond will settle soon. It's solidifying. The bond between hound and master is different in every instance. Ours is particularly strong."
He couldn't help but smile as he said that
. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out what exactly it all meant. The bond between a human and a hellhound was unheard of. He nuzzled against my neck, his lips brushing over the sensitive skin, sending shivers down my spine. I soon found myself arching against him, relishing the tender barely-there contact. His warm breath unfurled against my skin; my own breathing became shallower. I swallowed hard and pulled back. It was too soon. I couldn't do it. I wasn't ready.
Lysander held me firm, a small smile on his lips. "Don't run away, Evelyn. I won't push any further."
I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling uncomfortable at being held there. His hold was gentle; I pressed against it a little to find that he did give to me. I relaxed knowing that I could go if I really wanted.
He tilted his head and whispered, "Please don't run."
The wrinkles formed between his eyebrows, his mouth tugged down in concern. I wriggled closer to him. I wasn't going to run. He had respected my boundaries, that was what mattered. Our breathing soon settled into a steady rhythm, the world outside forgotten. Until Quin called through.
"Come on! We have things to do today!"
I curled my lip and shouted back, "Like what!? I'm not an alchemist. I am not stalking around the city on the off chance of finding the celestial."
A tapping came from the door.
"Come in," I called back.
"Is that really how you feel, Evie?"
A frown marred his face. His hands were restless at his sides. I sighed. He tilted his head and surveyed me, in the embrace with Lysander.
"You're more than that, Evie," he said softly. His frown deepened. "We're close to something. You can help us. Both of you."
I chewed my bottom lip and considered it.
"How?" I eventually said.
His mouth lifted into a hopeful smile. "We have some reading to do, and maybe you can offer some ideas."
"Thanks."
His shoulders loosened and he shut the door behind him when he left. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed working closely with him. How much everything had changed. I kissed Lysander's forehead without thinking before I pulled on some clothes, careful to keep anything too intimate hidden from the hound.
