by Zoe Warner
“I didn’t have a choice,” I said.
“Now you want an out,” she said shaking her head.
“I just want to kill this Demon and get on with my life,” I answered honestly.
She sighed and slid her foot into the circle. I felt the power fade and cocked my head.
“Why would you let me go? You know what I’ve done,” I said.
“I might be able to help you and then you can help me,” she said. “I need to get away from New Orleans and I trust Zane.”
I bit my lip. I’d already promised the Priestess I would bring her back and now I had to change that. I didn’t know what else to do.
I sighed. “Okay.” I just hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
I followed Blake down a short hallway to a small room to the left. Zane was standing there looking through the window. He turned to me and smiled.
I hugged him and breathed him in. He was always the one she looked to when she needed a minute to process. He’d helped her so many times in so many ways.
“We have to help her,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“She said the Priestess is closer to the Demons than we realized. She can’t go there.”
“What about learning how to stop the Demon?” Zane said shaking his head.
“I’ll just have to figure it out,” I said. “I can’t let someone else get hurt for me.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Take her home with us.”
Zane swallowed hard and glanced to Blake.
“We have to,” I said. “If we get Caleb to agree to help us, then we can stop the Demon.”
“How do you know?”
“I just have faith in it. I have faith in myself.” It was odd to say it and even odder to hear it, but it rang true in my bones. There was no one that could help me except me. There was nothing anyone else could do. I had to face this Demon, but I couldn’t do it by trading another person for myself. I had to do what was right.
“Okay, we’ll take her back with us. I just hope you know what you’re doing.” Zane put his hand in mine and pulled me to him. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You are the most important thing in my life and I’d let everyone else fall away for you.”
“I know, but that’s a sacrifice we should be fighting against,” I said. “I love you. Let’s go home.”
Thirty-Eight
Zarrick was sitting at the iron table when we got there. He was reading the paper and looked so strong and normal. I almost didn’t want to bother him.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said when he saw us standing at the door. “I’m glad you’re back. Caleb said he’d work with us.”
I smiled and let him scoop me up in his strong arms. He kissed me hard as he held me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let his fire into my soul. It was wild and strong just like him. I loved it.
He looked passed me as he sat me down. “Who is this?”
“This is Blake. She needs our help,” I said.
“Another witch that needs help?” He sighed. “We have our own issues to deal with.”
“Yes, but with Caleb agreeing to help us, we’re that much closer,” I said. I glanced around us for Caleb, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Caleb?”
“He’s still in the basement. I didn’t trust him to be out without the rest of you guys here.” Zarrick shrugged and sat down.
“I’ll talk to him. We have a few things in common,” I said. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to him to convince him to help us, but I had to try. Everything was riding on his help. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it even with his help. I felt a connection to this Demon I couldn’t explain and with every step closer to defeating him, I felt that connection even more, but I still had to try.
I opened the basement door and made my way down. Standing in the center of a circle was Caleb. His head was down and he was waiting for something. Maybe it was me or maybe it was the Demon that I didn’t want to feel anymore inside me.
“I hear you’re ready to join us,” I said. He looked up and shook his head.
“It’s not like I have a choice,” he said. “What happens I don’t do it?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
“I do,” he said. “Zarrick will kill me.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”
“You know Zarrick as well as I do. He’ll kill me.”
I stood in front of him and looked at him. For the first time, I really saw him. He was full of pain and sadness. The man I'd met who was confident and full of himself was different. Grief does that, I figured.
“I won’t let him,” I said. “It’s not fair that you don’t think you have a choice in this. I don’t want that.” I bit my lip and slid my foot into the circle. “I want you to decide. No killing. Not forcing. Just a choice.”
“You’re willing to give the world to the Demon over me?” Caleb watched me and I shrugged.
“The world shouldn’t be about one person, but it is. I refuse to carry that weight on my own.”
“So, you’re going to make me do it?” He laughed. “Perfect. The damaged guy gets to decide if the world should burn or not.” He shook his head. “What if I say no?”
“Then I’ll stand in front of the Demon and hope I can stop him.”
“Alone?”
“I’m never alone,” I said. “I have Zander, Zarrick, and Zane."
He sighed. “You’re asking me to give up everything,” he said.
“No, I’m asking you to start again. To have a life that makes you happy and where you’re loved.” I ran my hand over his cheek. He reached for it and held it there.
“I don’t know what way is right,” he said.
“No one does,” I said honestly. “Maybe that’s what makes you strong. That you have seen the darkness and still stand.”
“So, have you,” he said. He sighed and looked away. “I’ll help you kill the Demon, but you have to let me go after. I’ll disconnect from the coven and live my own life.”
I pulled my hand away. It was like a slap in the face I couldn’t explain. “I will.”
Thirty-Nine
I walked up the stairs with Caleb behind me. I knew the others weren’t going to be too happy about it, but it wasn’t their choice. This was mine. This was the only way to beat the Demon and free not just me, but everyone else.
I didn’t see the Blake until I almost ran into her.
She glanced at me and then at Caleb and back to me. She raised an eyebrow. “You really want to add this to the mix?” She shook her head. “You have no idea what this guy does to this coven.”
“It doesn’t matter. There is a bigger picture we have to deal with,” I answered. She watched me for a moment before walking away muttering to herself.
I grabbed Caleb’s hand and drug him to the entryway and looked around for the other guys. They weren’t there so I walked up the stairs towards the balcony. When I opened the doors, I could see them gathered there. Zarrick looked up and made a face. Zander was sitting at the table with a book in front of him. He smiled when he saw me, but it faded with he saw Caleb behind me.
“I was hoping to find a way to help us defeat the Demon without including Caleb,” Zander said.
I raised an eyebrow and Zane laughed. He was standing at the balcony and didn’t turn to me.
“We can’t get around it,” Zane said, shaking his head. “We have to be a full coven. Even the Demon said that.”
“I don’t want to be tied to you forever, but I’m willing to do this,” Caleb said. He stepped beside me and glanced at Zarrick. “I don’t have to like it.”
“What made you change your mind all the sudden?” Zarrick crossed his arms as he spoke.
“Cat,” he said simply.
“She’s very convincing,” Zander said.
Zane laughed and finally turned around. "There's a full moon tomorrow. We
can do the binding then."
“Then we can figure out how to go after this Demon,” Zander said. “Hopefully, we can get the upper hand this time.”
“This Demon is not anything like the others,” Caleb glanced at me before looking back to the others. “I saw into who he is. He’s old and he knows he can burn this whole world. All he needs is the one thing that can destroy him.”
“Cat,” Zane said. “We already knew that.”
“Did you know that this whole coven thing has very little to do with us? She uses our power. She conducts it through herself,” Caleb said.
“I suspected it,” Zander said. “I’ve been reading all the books I can get, including some old ones the council had. There isn’t much in it, but there were some passages about covens with one that channeled all the powers of the others in it.”
“You made the right choice when you stayed here instead of joining my coven for that reason,” Caleb said. “With what happened, you’d be dead or already in his hands.”
“You helped him capture her and now you’re worried about what hands she’s in?” Zarrick said shaking his head.
“I made a mistake,” he said.
“You made a choice and now you’re trying to get out of it and save your ass,” Zarrick walked passed me and glanced at Caleb. “I’m not staying anywhere near you. I’ll be there for the binding and that’s it. You’re nothing to me.” Zarrick walked away and I glanced at Caleb.
He didn’t look like it had hurt him as much as I thought it would. He seemed to almost expect it, but they had a long past that I only knew so much about.
“The binding won’t hurt like an unbinding, but it will give us a chance to get you in the coven and see what the extent of Cat’s powers will be with you as well as the rest.” Zander closed the book he was reading and glanced to the Oleander plant in the corner. It was withered and brown.
I glanced at Zander who met my gaze but didn't say anything. He knew there was something else going on. I could see it all over his face.
“Can we have a minute,” Zander said.
Caleb nodded and Zane just stared at Caleb before walking passed him and off the balcony. Caleb just squeezed my hand before turning away and going down the hallway. I knew I should hate him and want to pull away, but I didn’t. I only wanted to take him and help him see how good we could be if we worked together.
“What happened when you with the Demon?” Zander got straight to the point.
I bit my lip and took a breath. There was a lot, but I didn’t know if I should tell him about it and how it happened. I pulled out a chair and sat at the table beside him and sighed.
“He almost unbound the coven,” I said. “He made me an offer to share energy with him to survive the spell.”
“You bound yourself to him,” Zander said. He looked away. “How could you do that?”
“I didn’t realize I did until after,” I said glancing at the dead plant in the corner. “I have darkness inside of me. Even Blake saw it.”
“I don’t understand how it happened when you are still bound to us,” he said. “I wish you would have told me at least.”
“I didn’t want you to see me differently,” I answered. “That’s why I thought the priestess would help, but that wasn’t what I wanted either.”
“I hope we didn’t make an enemy out of her. That’s all we need,” Zander said. He leaned forward and put his hand on mine. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I don’t know if we can,” I said.
He put his hand on my cheek and let his thumb slide over my lips. “We all love you. We can get through this.”
“After we get rid of this Demon, I want to just relax for a while,” I said, grabbing his wrist. “I don’t want to do this all the time. I just want to live with my men and have the life I’ve always wanted.”
“If that’s what you want, you will have it,” Zander said. “Let’s wait to tell the others until we get this Demon issue handled. They don’t need to know about this darkness. We will figure it out together.”
Forty
Zane
HE WALKED PASSED CALEB but watched him closely. There was something about him he didn't like. It was easy to say he would help when he had to, but what would happen when they really needed him? Zane had a sinking feeling; he wouldn’t be there.
“Zane, can we talk?” Blake was standing in the doorway of his room. She was still as beautiful as ever, but she was different.
“What do you need?” Zane said as she moved so he could go into his room. She shut the door and stood in the doorway.
“I am in trouble,” she said.
“Yeah, I know. The Priestess wants you in her coven.” Zane watched her as she paced back and forth.
"That's not all of it," she said. She bit her lip and met Zane's gaze.
“What is it?” Zane felt the tension and how unsure she was to tell him this. It made him that much more alarmed.
“It’s not just the Priestess that is after me. The Hunters are too,” she said. “They are going to have an all-out war over me. I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s a lot,” Zane said. “What do you need from me?”
“I just need a place to go till I can figure this all out.” She sat next to him on the bed and sighed. “I thought I knew what I was doing.”
“You learned a lot from the Priestess. That should throw the Hunters off, but you need protection.” Zane put his hand on hers. “You need more than just you.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Owen is in with a coven that’s in Washington. They are pretty off the grid,” Zane said.
“Great,” She said. “More Witches. Just what I need.”
Zane let a laugh slip from his lips. “They are good guys and Owen is one of them.”
Blake stood and shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“I know things are weird when it comes to Owen, you and I, but this isn’t about that,” Zane said. “We’ve been over for a long time and he will just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“How can you be so cool about this?” Blake said.
“I have everything I need here.” Zane smiled. “Cat is everything I want. I didn’t expect it to be the way it is, but it’s the way the universe wants it.”
“You really trust this, huh?”
“I do and you should too,” he said.
“I don’t know if I want to be a witch. I might just want to be a regular person,” Blake said.
“You still have to get the Hunters and the Priestess off your ass.” He stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “Go to Washington. Take care of the Priestess and the hunters and then look at what you can do to be normal.”
“You always seem to know what to do,” she said. “I’m sorry I was so bad to you before,” Blake said. “I’ve changed.”
“I know.” Zane smiled. “I hope you plan to tell Owen the same thing.”
“God, just what I want to do,” Blake said.
Zane smiled. He hoped she could be safe, but he had other things to think about and another woman to save. The only woman he wanted in his life.
Forty-One
I closed my eyes and called the air to me. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Even after coming clean with Zander I wasn’t sure about the rest of it.
I reached out with my mind and searched for the Demon. For the first time, I was looking for him and it scared me. He was always the one that crawled into my head when I was least expecting it.
I followed my thoughts until I could feel the fire and darkness of the Demon. He was right there, crawling in my skin and under my flesh. I was close, but he was locking me out.
I pushed a little harder and felt his blocks cracking. I couldn't see him, but through the cracks, I could feel why he hadn't come looking for me all this time. He was weak. The all-powerful Demon was hiding until he could gain his strength back.
I knew one thing. This was the perfect time to attack and kill the
Demon once and for all. Now, I just had to get Caleb on my side and convince three very unsure men I was strong enough.
I made my way into the kitchen and Zarrick was sitting there at the table. His face was twisted with worry and I ran my hand over his back. He glanced up at me and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me to him.
“I missed you a lot,” he said. “I was stuck with Caleb the whole time.”
“I know you don’t like him, but we need him.” I rested my chin on his head and ran my hands through his hair.
“I know. I just can’t get the fact he helped that Demon get you and now we are supposed to trust him,” Zarrick said.
“I know it’s not easy, but this is the way it needs to be. I don’t know why, but it is.” I kissed the top of his head and he pulled me into his lap.
“We don’t have to think about that right now,” he said.
“I have other things on my mind.” He kissed me and I closed my eyes. Everything seemed to just go away when I was with him.
He ran his hand down my arm and I pulled at his shirt.
Zarrick kissed down my neck and I reared my head back. He pulled my shirt over my head and kissed down my neck to the top of my breasts. He slid my bra off my body and lifted me onto the table, his hand sliding over my ass.
I pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor.
He leaned over me and kissed my breast, before taking my hard nipple into his mouth. I moaned with need as his tongue flicked over my nipple.
He kissed my stomach and worked his way down, biting at the top of my pants to unbutton them. Once he had them loose, he pulled them off and pulled my body to the edge of the table.
He kissed me before he slid into my already dripping pussy. I gasped and grabbed at the table. He bit at my neck as he pushed into me.
I closed my eyes and moaned. It was better than I’d felt in a long time. I rocked my hips into him as he pounded into me. This wasn’t a sweet night of sex, it was a hard need he had for me. I couldn’t think with the sensations he was sparking in me.
