Hexes and Hellfire: Kyra Bell: Book One

by Brittany Rose

  I blew out a nervous breath. Don’t get me wrong, I liked horses well enough, but I wasn’t entirely sure about riding them. Then I courageously stepped into a stirrup, pulled and jumped up while swinging my other leg over. It seemed to work, but I felt unsteady as the horse shied a bit to the side.

  It seemed wrong, but my heart was beating harder in that moment, and I was far more nervous than I’d been when facing down two demons and four sadistic supernaturals. I wasn’t sure what that said about me, except that I was far more familiar with the dangers of the latter.

  Vic smirked, “You’re making her nervous, they can smell your fear.”

  Her? Oh.

  I snorted, and baldly lied, “I’m not afraid,” then patted her neck tentatively and called her a good girl.

  Vic snickered, and then mounted his own horse. Mine sedately followed his, as we walked, then moved into a trot toward the back of the open property where the trails started.

  “So, bitten by a rogue?” I was being a little nosy, but I wouldn’t push it.

  Vic grunted, and after a few more seconds I figured he was blowing me off, which was fine. I shared a few of the darkest tidbits of my past, but not nearly all of it.

  Then he said, “I never saw him again, for all I know he’s still out there killing humans and running from the city councils. I dealt, and figured things out. Shifters have an edge that way, my nose helped a lot, especially the first time I ran into another supernatural during a run in the forest. It was a fae that told me the basics, that I would forever be an outsider in supernatural society. He was an arrogant bastard, dismissive of me, but he filled me in, nonetheless.

  “I tried a few groups, but never fit in well until I found this place. Abby and John are among the best of us, and I don’t just mean us outsiders who are kept powerless. The councils may have all the power and prestige in our world, but they’re close to the worst of us. Entitled assholes. Our groups tend to be either the best, or the absolute worst of our kind, depending on their reason for living on the edge of supernatural society.”

  I nodded, “Except half-breeds, who run the full gamut.”

  He grunted, “True, all of you are outsiders, without exception. You’re a better fighter than I expected, kept your head this morning, and made it easy for us to make the kills. I was angry last night, when you endangered John and Abby by stopping my execution, but I’ve changed my mind.”

  I giggled. Sure, now that the danger had passed. Although, the danger never really passes, and who knows what the fallout from us taking down Adele’s group will be? There were always further consequences in life.

  I started to feel a bit more confident, riding a horse didn’t seem all that hard, if a bit uncomfortable. The air was crisp, the sun shining, and the scents of the forest filled my nose. I was even getting used to the smell of horses and stables.

  He smirked at me, “I just hope taking it all over and teaming up with two other groups for it won’t be a mistake. I can deal with the buildup of aggression in other ways, if I need to.”

  I bit my lip, “It might be, especially if there was more between Adele and Serin than envelopes full of bribe money. On the other hand, it might be a mistake to disengage, and take away the entertainment of the rich and selfish.”

  Life was risk though, and Sally was going to go by their place today and look through Adele’s records, as well as figure out how to get the ownership of the warehouse transferred to the three of them. We were also hoping there was a list of contacts, but we could do without those. The customers all knew we were there once a week and on a specific night.

  Once she had that figured out, Stan would contact Serin to make those arrangements.

  I asked, “Other ways?” which was a stupid question.

  The look he gave me then made my knees a little weak. Oh, other ways than fighting to shed aggression. I told my tingling body I wasn’t going to volunteer for that, even while my wild imagination had him pinning me down beneath him while he got out that aggression, one delicious stroke at a time. The chemistry between us seemed a lot more powerful, alone together in the woods.

  Shifters were dogs, shifters were dogs, deep breath, Kyra. Surely he didn’t mean me, he meant any female he could get his hands on.

  You’re not a slut, I told myself. Doubtfully.

  He smirked knowingly as he turned back and looked up the trail.

  “Do you fight demons often?”

  My mind grabbed onto the change in topic like a drowning man at sea in a storm flailing for a life preserver.

  I shook my head, “No, I just need to be prepared for everything, since I fight with potions.”

  “Nephilim?”

  I sighed, “No hellfire potions, that’s as risky as summoning a demon, and the knockouts and paralyzing ones would barely slow one down. Influence could go either way, they’re resistant if they’re wielding their power fully. But there’s only so much I can do. Nephilim are tough and powerful bastards. Run, evasion, hide, and glamour is the best way to deal with them, if I’m alone.”

  That was all true, but I still felt a tinge of guilt for misleading him. I did have a way to take down Nephilim, but only if I embraced the power of my third race and outed myself to everyone in range.

  He snickered, “Bastards? I suppose technically that’s true, they all are, in the literal sense of the word.”

  Figuratively as well, but I held my tongue.

  He said, “Get ready, we’re about to hit an open spot.”

  Wait, what did that mean?

  His horse suddenly jumped forward into a canter, and my heart hammered in my chest and I left my stomach behind as mine followed suite.

  Damned shifters.

  Not that it wasn’t fun, and a little exhilarating, once my stomach caught up that is…

  When we got back to the stables, my legs were a little unsteady as I got my feet back on the ground, but I managed it nimbly enough thanks to my fae grace, and then walked the horse before we went back into the stables. That’s when I found out the lesson wasn’t done yet, and he taught me how to unsaddle, remove the bridle, and brush the horse down before returning her to her stall.

  Vic said, “Not bad for your first time, you’ll be riding like a pro soon.”

  I snorted and managed a thank you despite myself. Not for the compliment, but for him teaching me the lesson. I might come to get used to it, and enjoy riding, in time. I had a few hours to kill before dinner, so I got out of Vic’s hair and headed back to the house before I said or did something stupid. I’d have to be blind not to see his interest, or not acknowledge my own, but until that interest grew past a desire for empty sex because of my looks and body, I wasn’t interested.

  Or so I told myself. Let’s face it, his interest was all because I was hot, curvaceously beautiful, standing in front of him, and currently unattached. I had no doubt if I’d sent him a clear green signal instead of scenting of desire and reluctance, he’d currently be pounding into me against the stable walls in an empty stall.

  Damn, breathe Kyra, I pushed that alluringly distracting thought out of my head and focused on the last day.

  Point being, if he was truly interested in more than that, he’d have asked for a date and would be asking far more questions to get to know me. Shifters weren’t exactly shy about putting themselves out there. A traitorous part of my brain hoped he’d develop that interest, or that he was in truth merely giving me time to settle in here before making a move.

  Not having a shy bone in their bodies, didn’t mean a shifter couldn’t be considerate.

  I sighed, and pushed that out again, and focused on the last day, this time my mind managed to stay there.

  The job wasn’t all that hard, a couple of hours a day brewing for Abby and myself would be a cakewalk, and good brewers earned plenty of cash. The rest of my time would be my own, learning to ride, and there was plenty of time to get to know my group, and read my grimoire, not to mention just existing and spending time in natu
re. Earth witches were connected to the land, and the flora and fauna that lived off of it. The ranch and wilderness around it was the perfect place for that.

  We’d all go out one night a week for the fights, but I wondered what else they got up to the other six nights of the week. I’d find out.

  Point being, I’d have more than enough time to feed all the sides of my life here, even if life threw up obstacles and surprises, which it always did.

  I sensed Abby in her office but headed up the stairs, and I closed the door as I entered my room. I pulled out my grimoire as I got comfortable on the bed, and I started to read. A lot of the magic, the spells, were past my ability, and I already knew the potion recipes in the book backwards and forwards. Still, there was quite a bit of lore left to study and to learn, the grimoire was thick, and quite large in length and width.

  There were a lot of easy spells within my ability, and some of the harder spells I could enchant if I truly wanted, mixing it with my fae magic and spreading out the magical load of the spell to minutes instead of seconds, or hours instead of minutes.

  Time flew as I studied, and before long, it was time for dinner.

  Chapter Ten

  The delicious scents of dinner reached my senses as soon as I opened the door. Spices, steak, baked potato, fresh rolls, and others as I walked down the stairs and toward the kitchen. One of the good things about living on the edges of society with other undesirables, was shifters ate a lot, and they ate good. Thanks to Abby of course.

  Abby was humming, which cut off when I entered the kitchen. A glance at the empty table had me change direction for the cabinets, and I started to set the table. It was the least I could do, and we hadn’t even really talked about chores around the house yet and how they were split out. About the only thing I knew was Abby was the cook.

  The air witch smiled, “Thanks.”

  “No problem. We never talked about house chores?”

  Abby nodded, “Just keep your room and bathroom clean, as well as your alchemy section in the back of the store. You can help with clearing up after meals if you want, but the general cleaning in the house is taken care of.”

  I smirked, “Got a brownie hidden away?”

  Brownies were a type of fae that would clean and organize a house, for the low price of some honey and other simple gifts of food, maybe the occasional glass of wine or some other sweet. They were also extremely rare, so I doubted she really had one, I hadn’t sensed it.

  Abby laughed, “Yes, he calls himself John.”

  I gaped.

  She snickered, “It’s his way to contribute, the three of us have jobs, and he doesn’t feel guarding us and walking around at night is enough on his part to earn his place. He can’t go anywhere either to contribute, or we’d be vulnerable when he was away.”

  I nodded, “Brewing potions a couple of hours a day isn’t hard. I’ll help with the after-meal cleanup. Umm, how about protections, I know earth and air doesn’t play well together, but if we plan it right I can add my wards to the house as well. They won’t be near as strong as yours, but they’ll get stronger over time as I add a little magic every day.”

  Some of that would be spent to maintain the wards, but it would also accumulate over time. Similar to enchanting, but not permanent. If I stopped maintaining them every day they’d slowly fade over days, weeks, or months if the wards were really old.

  I finished setting the table. The meal looked like it’d be done soon, so I slipped into the chair.

  Abby said, “We’ll talk about that in two weeks. Air wards are finicky in basements, so at the very least we’ll ask you to ward down there, but not yet.”

  Right, if they still wanted me at the end of the trial period. I couldn’t imagine them saying I had to leave, after proving how good I was with potions and staying to fight for all our survival, but life had bitch slapped me more than once before. They seemed great, but in truth I hardly knew them either, by that point.

  Abby’s mind must’ve been turning over the same thing, because she opened up to me a little more then. As if she was determined to do her part in things.

  “I’m actually related to one of the council.”

  “Wait, what?” That was almost more shocking than a male vampire that cleaned house, almost, but I managed not to mouth breathe again. I also got the sense Abby was a bit of a mischievous woman and enjoyed extending shock value. Still, she was a powerful and full-blooded air witch, why was she on the outskirts of society?

  She smirked, “I was born on the wrong side of the sheets. A result of my mother’s affair with a well-connected air witch that would never truly accept her into his world. He’s a real piece of work, and he’d rather slit my throat than acknowledge me as his child, but it is what it is.

  “I never met her, but I imagine she and I wouldn’t get along. She’d been desperate enough to try to sleep her way to the top in our world, it’s hard to even imagine. I don’t know the truth around it, but shortly after I was born, she disappeared. She either abandoned me because her plan didn’t work and left town, or maybe my father had her killed for pushing her agenda too hard? I don’t know and trying to find out seems unwise.

  “So, I was adopted by an old air-witch, who I consider to be my true mother, and who owned and ran our ranch. I only found out about my birth mother in my late teens, but at the same time I knew she’d been much too old to have a kid my age for a few years before that. She lived just long enough to see me an adult of twenty-one, died ten years ago and left me the ranch.”

  She shrugged, “I have very little cause to complain, it’s been a good life so far. Most outsiders start out with much less in life.”

  “Then John showed up and made life even better?”

  Abby blushed, score one for me.

  “Yes, it has its challenges of course, not being able to see him during the day. Especially during the longest days of the year, but he’s one of the good ones.”

  I nodded, “My life was pretty good until four years ago, when at sixteen my mother managed to get herself killed and I went on the run. She even kind of deserved it, but she was never evil to me. Quite the opposite.”

  Abby sighed, “That’s where you learned the left-hand path.”

  I sighed, “Family tradition I’m afraid. My grandmother before her, and her mother, and so on. My family grimoire is filled with spells and information on both paths. That said, I wasn’t lying when I said I haven’t used any of that magic for four years, and I’ve never used the selfish stuff, the magic that grows from harm. I have no need to use it again either, and some things I’ll never do.”

  Abby started to load the table with food she pulled out of the oven and off the stove. As if she’d rung a dinner bell Vic walked in smelling freshly showered with damp hair that looked black instead of dark brown, and in a pair of jean shorts and a skin-tight black tee that should be illegal.

  No man should look that good.

  She said, “That’s the only concern I have so far. That path is corrupting, and you’re still young.”

  I nodded, “True. But I haven’t been tempted to in four years, and I don’t seek excuses to use it. Not even for the fight this morning.”

  “You needed the mound that badly?”

  I replied, “My whole life, and the legacy and riches of my family are in it, save the clothes I hung up in my closet upstairs. I wasn’t going to leave it behind to be found and stolen by an already fat and entitled council. It also helps tremendously in my alchemy pursuits, and in a fight feeds me what I need when I need it. I can’t fall back on battle spells in an emergency. I’d also challenge you to find a hint of corruption or evil in its magic.”

  Excuses? We were all heroes of our own story, but I didn’t think so. I also disliked being on the defensive, but I also couldn’t blame her. She was right, most left-hand practitioners slowly sunk into evil, were slowly corrupted and convinced themselves it was all okay, but that wouldn’t be me. I wouldn’t lose myself to it.
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br />   Of course, they all said that, but in my case it was true. I also couldn’t explain why that was, because that would definitely get me thrown out.

  Vic said, “Dinner smells wonderful.”

  “It really does,” I echoed.

  Abby smirked as she sat down, and our conversation waned as we dug in, for at least the first half of the meal. We were all hungry, not just the shifter, and the steak was perfect. The fresh rolls, asparagus spears, and baked potato with sour cream was pretty damned good too. The conversation turned to everyday things about the ranch for the second half of the meal.

  Apparently, sharing time was over.

  We were just winding down when one of those unanticipated consequences from taking out Adele’s sadistic group reared its head. The front door boomed loudly, and a loud voice announced we had a council hunting team outside. I took a deep breath, and I tried not to panic as I looked to Abby for direction. I told myself there was no way for them to know who I truly was.

  After all, I’d been killed on the streets of Manhattan, almost four full years ago. At least, that’s what they believed, self-righteous bastards.

  I got up and followed, when she headed for the front door. I also couldn’t imagine why they were here, they surely didn’t care about us, or Adele. They usually only got involved with policing us outsiders when we harmed their bottom line with black market supplies, or their reputation in the media, with humanity. Since the fight hadn’t been exposed to humans, and we planned on maintaining the supernatural fight club, I couldn’t figure out why they’d bother showing up to investigate what happened.

  When the door opened, I recognized the leader of the hunting team, Serin. There was also a female witch, and six shifters.

  The Nephilim scowled at us, “We’re here to investigate the deaths of Adele and her group. You will cooperate, or we will put you down. Do you understand?”

  Yeah, put us down, great. We were also outnumbered two to one, so a fight was to be avoided. I took a calming breath and allowed that confusion to rise to the top, instead of showing him my anger and contempt.