WB

by test

  Okay, one guard against one witch. Granted, I wasn't real good at this witchcraft stuff, but I was damned if I was going to give up now. With a mental shake of my head I stood up, opened the door and stepped away from the house. Here goes it, I had the one shot at this, so I had to make it a good one.

  The guard took one look at me and reached for the radio on his shoulder, but with a wince of pain I reached for the river of power and directed the energy at him with my hand held up and my index finger pointing at his body. For a moment nothing happened.

  My heart sank and I resigned myself to making a run at him. Maybe I would get lucky.

  I would aim for his middle and hit him as hard and fast as possible and once he fell to the ground I would hop into the car and drive off.

  But, just as I was readying myself to tackle him, his head tilted back and a spout of flame burst from his mouth. A horrible scream tore from him as the flames worked over his face, melting his hair to his head and causing him to fall to the ground twitching. Horrible, oily smoke rose in the air and the smell made me gag and wretch.

  I didn't mean to do that I thought in horror! I just wanted him to stop and let me pass. I ran to the car, pulled the door open and slid inside. The seat was sticky and smelled of beef jerky and stale cigarettes but to me the aroma was delicious. It was the smell of freedom and I jammed the keys at the ignition and after three fruitless tries I snarled in rage. This was the wrong car!

  I hopped out and ran to the next car, a red sedan with tinted windows. The door was locked and I impatiently tried to fit the key to the lock, but it was no good. This wasn't the right car either. I looked around, there were two more cars, I heard a door slam in the house. A blue truck or a brown sedan. Car or truck? Car or truck? I ran for the truck with my keys in hand.

  It was one of those monster truck deals; with giant tires, flood lights and mud flaps with naked women on them.

  Before I could pull the door open, my feet slid out from under me and my body floated inches above the ground. It felt like I was on a giant treadmill moving backward. I tried to grab WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 125

  at the truck as I went sliding past, but my fingers caught air as I moved faster and faster back to the house. I heard footsteps approaching, but wasn't able to look and see who it was. Although I had a pretty good idea who was responsible for thwarting my escape.

  The backward motion stopped and I settled with a thump to the ground. A pair of white clad legs came into view and my shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “You disappoint me. I don't like to see a woman act so disobedient, to so blatantly disregard my orders. What did you hope to accomplish with this stunt? Are you so desperate to get my attention?”

  Hugo's face was set in angry lines and he was all but tapping his toe waiting for my response. His attention! Stunt? I would hardly call an escape attempt from a kidnapper bent on turning me into a brainwashed baby machine a 'stunt.'

  With a resigned expression Hugo waved his guard over, “This time, make sure she can't get away, alright? Is that too much to ask Charlie or do I have to do it myself, hm?”

  This last was a lament that didn't hold much heat and only a small tightening of the skin around the guard's mouth showed that Hugo's words had hit their target.

  Charlie grabbed my wrists roughly and pulled me up from the ground. I pulled my right hand away and landed a quick blow to his chin and watched in disbelief as his arm lifted, his hand clenched into a fist which he aimed at my face. I tried to move away, but he was holding tight to my arm and all I did was wrench my shoulder attempting to avoid his fist. I felt a whisper of heat as his arm got closer and I squeezed my eyes shut not wanting to see the punch as it connected.

  Instead of feeling a blast of pain, I heard a small whimper and I opened one eye to see what he was doing. His eyes were wide and dilated with fear and as I watched a small trickle of blood dripped from his nose. His eye's watered up and rivulets of bloody tears streamed down his face.

  His body trembled slightly and he whispered something to me, so low that I couldn't hear what it was, but from the way his eyes were locked onto mine in a pleading way it wasn't hard to guess that he was begging for my help. But I didn't know what was happening and there was so much blood, the air was thick with the coppery scent and I was frozen with fear.

  I heard a gentle whooshing sound and then the air was alight with sparks and fire. The guard dropped my arm and fell over with a dull thump, his body a heap on the cold, hard ground.

  As I watched a pool of blackish red blood spread out under the side of his head and I moved back a step to stop it from reaching my bare feet.

  Hugo was busy shouting orders and I saw ten guards pour from the house and take up positions next to us.

  I turned toward the road and saw Gage's solid form step into view. He carried a sword and his expression was deadly as he stalked forward. Two wolf men rushed at him but with a few swipes of his sword he tossed them aside. I felt my heart leap with joy, he was alive! Hugo lied to me! My hands trembled and my heart soared with hope.

  I saw movement to his side and Laurent, Jerome and Morgan walked into the light from the street. Two more figures followed behind them, one was Taryn's father, his massive body was tense as he took in the house and Hugo's men and the other was a thin, short man, who looked a little like Jerome, but younger. A slim woman with shoulder length blond hair ran up with an older man who carried a sword that was similar to Gage's.

  Laurent took a running step forward, pushed off from the ground and launched himself WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 126

  into the air, his long black coat flapped around his legs and his hands were pointed at the ground.

  I took a moment to marvel at the coolness of flying. If I survived this night, I just had to put that on the top of my to do list.

  Meanwhile, more men poured from the house, I took a quick count and felt my heart pound in dread. The count was twenty-one to eight or twenty-one to nine if I was counted. A hearty chuckle interrupted my pessimistic thoughts.

  “You surprise me Gage. How did you know to come here?”

  Gage's face was cold and deadly as he walked forward.

  “Wouldn't you like to know Hugo. Care to make a wager on which of your slaves

  betrayed you?”

  Hugo's face turned red with anger and I saw him reach for his pocket.

  “He has a gun!” I shouted.

  The rest was a blur as I dropped to the ground. Hugo's arm came up with the gun and I had a moment to wonder why he didn't use magic.

  I heard the roar as the bullet left the gun and my panicked eyes sought Gage. A silver mist formed in front of him and I heard the loud impact as the bullet hit the shield Gage had created. Yells and growls filled the air as Hugo's men eagerly raced out to battle.

  White arrows shot through the air and I quickly ducked behind one of the parked sedans.

  It would be so typical for me to get shot and killed during a rescue attempt. The car I was hiding behind shook as something or someone landed on the hood. I looked up and saw that Laurent had landed on the hood and was busy firing arrows at the advancing wolf headed men. He spared me a small glance and I was disconcerted to see a gleeful smile on his blood spattered face as he gave me a cheerful nod.

  Jerome was fighting back to back with Morgan. They were surrounded by a ring of Hugo's men. I saw Morgan's strong arms rising and falling as she hacked at her attackers with a thick curved blade and hurled abuses at them in ringing tones, taunting them for their half-human bodies. The wolf men howled and drooled trying to get closer but each time her blade whipped out and caught at their grasping arms before they could do any damage.

  I peeked around the edge of the car looking for Gage. I saw a flash of white at the edge of the tree line and saw a shower of sparks rising as Gage and Hugo fought each other. I wasn't a good judge of sword fights, but it seemed to me that Gage was winning.

  Behind him were five motionless bodies
and I knew he must be tired from fighting his way through all those guards to get to Hugo but he wasn't showing any signs of it. His sword met Hugo's with solid strokes and the older man was sidestepping and backing away.

  There was something strange about the way Hugo only presented his right side to Gage, but I was too inexperienced to recognize the wrongness of it. With a howl of rage that transformed his grandfatherly mien to that of a crazed psychopath, he pulled a small dagger from his side pocket and threw it at Gage's face. The dagger missed his head and hit his shoulder with a meaty sound.

  The dagger didn't slow Gage down and he fought on faster and harder now, seeming to have decided to end it as soon as possible. For a moment Gage was fighting a battle on two fronts as three of Hugo's men came at him from behind. He thrust out his hand and fire flared out hitting two of the men. The third skittered away with an anxious grimace.

  When he got into my line of sight I called on my own power, a terrible pain started at the base of my spine spreading up to my neck where it coiled into a cramping knot, but I ignored it WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 127

  and was able to pull enough power into me to form it into a strike.

  My hand shook as I pointed it at the guard who was making his way toward Gage with a gun pointed at his back. With a whoosh of glee the power spread out and arrowed into the guard, tossing him aside like he had been hit by an invisible truck. I watched as he hit a tree trunk with a sharp crack and then fell to the ground, unmoving.

  As soon as the power faded from me, my knees went limp and a spike of pain made my eyes cross in agony. I bent over retching, my palms braced against the hard ground as shudders racked me and I spewed sour bile onto the ground. My eyes burned and for a while I was blind, even the tire in front of me was a dark blur.

  The spasms in my belly passed and I leaned weakly against the side of the car, breathing slowly through my mouth, keeping my eyes open because every time I shut them the world spun around me like a whirling dervish.

  My nose was running and I reached up to wipe it and my hand came away blood

  smeared. Well, now I knew my limit when it came to magic. I was a sitting duck if anyone with a gun, a sword or even a firm pillow decided to attack me. But I was too tired to move, even thinking about moving was exhausting.

  The sounds had faded. No more screaming. No swords singing or arrows hitting flesh.

  All was silent but for the sound of the pounding surf and the distant noise of a car making its way slowly around the hillside.

  I was afraid to look, but I had to know. Just as I was slowly creeping around the end of the car, I heard a step behind me. I whirled and gasped in surprise as Gage dropped to his knees in front of me. His shoulder was bloody and his face was tight with some emotion I had trouble figuring out, a strange combination of fear and longing.

  “Are you okay?” He said huskily.

  I nodded, too overcome for the moment to speak.

  “I'm sorry I was late,” his hand reached out but he dropped it before touching me.

  “You got here in time,” I said with a sob of relief.

  He had such a terrible look on his face, I looked away a moment.

  With gentle hands he lifted me up, his hands lingered on my arms before he set me firmly back from him. His hands ran over my body, it took me a moment to figure out that he was checking for injuries. I wanted to rush into his arms, but the frozen look on his face stopped me.

  He had to make sure I was okay first, I could understand that.

  Finally he was done and he gently folded me into his arms. I felt a small tremor and realized with a gasp of surprise that I was shaking. I was tired and the adrenaline of a few moments ago had drained away leaving me weak and unsteady. He held me tighter and the shaking stopped and I heard him whispering to me.

  “I love you, Anna. I can't live without you. I thought I lost you and I couldn't bear it ….

  ” he gave a dry gasping sound as he said this last.

  My heart jumped with joy and I felt a bubble of happiness in my chest. Within seconds I was sobbing and holding onto him for dear life. His hands rubbed my back in rhythmic circles and he whispered nonsense words while I cried.

  I pushed away from him a moment, “I love you too. I was so afraid, Hugo said you and Laurent were dead. I thought-”

  “No, no, don't talk about it anymore. He's dead and so are most of his coven. They can't hurt you anymore.”

  WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 128

  WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 129

  Chapter Sixteen

  Two hours later I was sipping brandy, curled up on the couch with Gage. My mother was across from me. She had a large bruise on her forehead, but otherwise seemed okay. Tired and sad, but fine.

  Hugo's men caught her as she was trying to sneak downstairs. They used the cord from the blinds in her room to tie her up, but not before she used a sleeping spell on two of them which allowed Taryn to jump out the bedroom window.

  There had been an awful moment when I told her about Celia's last moments, how she helped me escape. Helene's face was cold and still but I could tell it hurt her to hear about her sister. Someone had moved Celia's body, I wasn't sure where it was and wasn't too worried about it either. I was glad that Helene didn't see it though. At least I could spare her that.

  Taryn had shifted to her werewolf form and led three of Hugo's men into the forest losing them in the dense underbrush. She said it was because they were too slow to keep up, but her cousins and father took partial credit for her escape saying it was all a manner of good breeding and they took to giving her and each other hearty back slaps and howling with approval. The howling was setting my teeth on edge but I didn't have the heart to ask them to stop.

  She had a relaxed look of satisfaction on her face. I was afraid to ask if she had attacked any of Hugo's men. She returned with a blood stained face and eyes that didn't change back to human for a couple of hours. Frankly it was a little frightening, but since no one else seemed to notice I gave her a quick hug and a welcoming smile.

  Two of Gage's guards had been badly injured. My new favorite, Rosco, was in stable condition but it was doubtful that he would ever regain use of his left arm after it had been savagely bitten by one of Hugo's wolf men.

  The night wasn't without it's tragedies. Hugo, plus eleven of his werewolves and four of his warlocks were dead. Aunt Celia bled to death and Laurent broke his thumb trying to defend Jerome and Morgan. Jerome was dead along with his younger brother Martin, a warlock I briefly met at the Council meeting in Seattle. Martin died racing across the clearing trying to reach his brother. Morgan said he was only twenty-one.

  Hugo did plan an ambush for the Council members in Idaho. But he hadn't counted on the number of witches and warlocks that turned up for the fight or the involvement of several of the Idaho and Montana wolf packs. He also didn't know that one of his own people had turned over a blueprint of the facility to Morgan just days before the attack.

  When the covens and wolf packs attacked, Hugo's men defended the compound, at first.

  But within a couple of hours, when it became obvious that they were outnumbered and surrounded, they surrendered.

  The breeding houses were a nightmare I was told. I saw Laurent and Gage shake their heads, too overcome with anger and disgust to tell me what they had seen and I looked to Morgan to find out what would happen to the women they rescued.

  “The children will be placed with families in the covens, mine and Jerome's. Some of them have families, we will try to find them. But the women, they have suffered, many for WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 130

  years, I don't know what to do with them. A home and counseling, I guess. Many of them were locked into underground cells, tortured and raped for years ….” Her voice trailed off. Her eyes were glossy with tears and her throat worked trying to suppress a sob.

  “We will take care of them now and I will try to find their children for them, it's the least
I can do,” her voice was hard and resolute.

  Without another word she stood up and left the room. I didn't think Morgan would ever be my best friend but I liked and respected her. She was a strong woman.

  I felt Gage's hand on my arm and I turned to him with a smile. My future was here with him. We would help Morgan with the rescued women and children. I would get to know my family and Gage would be there to guide me in using my powers.

  All in all, things turned out different than I expected but better than I dared to hope.

  WARLOCK’S BRIDE JENNIFER RINEHART 131

  Epilogue

  One year later ….

  “Can you help me with these?”

  Just as I had threaded the filmy white drapes onto one end of the valance, the other side would fall off. The problem was that the curtain rod was almost seven feet long, I had a hard time holding it steady while trying to slide the curtains on the ends. Gage gathered up the other end and slipped it on for me before reaching up with one hand to slide the pole onto the holder. I stepped down from my footstool and stood back a moment admiring the way the sunlight filtered through them, they were perfect.

  I finished painting the room a warm candlelight yellow two days ago. The white curtains were a nice contrast for the soft paint. I had had to put five coats on the walls to cover up the orange paint, but it was worth the time and effort.

  “I don't know why you covered the orange,” Gage said roughly.

  I had been distracted lately. Studying paint chips and fabric samples in my quest to redecorate this room and he had become grumpy and impatient with my new obsession.

  “Because I hate the color orange, that's why,” I said, holding a swatch of fabric up to the button back chair in the corner of the room. Velvet was nice, but I wasn't sure how sturdy it was.