He called Mia over from where she was making herself a sandwich and told her about it. "It's supposed to be that a coven of dark witches used the site for horrific rituals to the god Ba'al, and a coven of good witches–Wiccans, I believe, but the details are a little vague–came onto the scene, trapped Ba'al in the amethyst and drove out the dark witches."
"And the bleeding heart?"
Lee's face was grim. "The dark witches would rip out their victim's still-beating hearts, letting them bleed to feed their god. So, I think we know what they're trying to do."
Mia's brows rose.
"They're going to release Ba'al." He leaned back, face grim. "So how do we stop the devil from escaping?"
"He's not the devil," Mia said absently. "He's a god. Assyrian or Babylonian, I think. Conflating polytheistic gods with the demons in monotheistic religions is too simplistic. That's not to say that Ba'al would be a dude I’d want released. But I thought he was more about burning the firstborn child alive and less about ripping out hearts. That sounds a bit more Aztec to me."
As if she couldn’t get any sexier.
Lee had to repress a groan as he felt a tightening in his loins. Hearing Mia say things that he didn't already know made him want to take her back to bed and make a marathon out of it. He focused his eyes on the computer screen, tightening his fingers on the mouse. He needed to put those thoughts from his mind. He had taken advantage of her the previous night. He wasn't going to do it again.
Mia leaned forward, digging her fingers into her thick hair. She stared blankly at the screen for a minute before shaking her head. "So, what does this all mean?"
"I'm not sure. They're sacrificing people to Ba'al, or some sort of ritual to free him. There were a group of students that disappeared in the summer when they tried to navigate the tunnels."
"I remember you telling me."
"It's possible they stumbled on him and awakened him. But why they're choosing the people they're choosing, I don't know." Lee scrolled through the page he was reading, searching for any clue. "I doubt we'll be able to find out the specifics of the ritual. That sort of thing doesn't usually end up on the internet. If we can contact other magical groups…"
There wasn't any answer.
He turned to her, raising a brow. "Mia?"
She wrapped her arms firmly around her middle and looked down at the floor. "I meant what this means… for us. And I don't mean just the whole witch thing. We shared something last night that was amazing and wonderful, but I can see that you regret it this morning. I didn't mean to hurt you when I didn't tell you that I was a virgin. I just… I was tired of that being a label on me. So what if I was a virgin, it's a social construct anyway, girls can have sex and not break their hymen, or ride a bicycle and it does break, or any number of things. I loved last night."
Lee sighed. "I'm… glad." That was the best word for how he felt hearing her say that. "I'm glad that you enjoyed it. But right now is hardly time to worry about what is… or isn't… between us. We'll have time after emotions aren't crazy to discuss it."
She looked bitterly disappointed but nodded. Her eyes blinked rapidly and he winced seeing the tears in them, but she shook her head and pushed on. "So, we've hit as much as we can learn from the internet. From here on it's just speculation, right? How do we fight against that?"
"I'll call some people I know–if they'll take my messages–and try to contact the local covens. But I think we're going to need more information. I can check the lists of students at the campus. Since college kids are being targeted, the girl that kissed you might also be a student."
"There must be hundreds of them."
Lee nodded grimly. "You can look for her while I make my call. And if you find her… then I'll get her so we can have a chat."
Chapter Nine
Mia
Mia twisted her hands as she peered out the window. The sky was bright blue, not a cloud in sight. Nor was there any sign of Lee. He had been gone for hours, and while she knew logically that she couldn’t expect him back until at least midnight, if not later, she couldn't help herself. The bungalow wasn't that big, but it felt huge and empty to her. She never did well with being completely alone. It was worse than being in a huge, overwhelming group.
Lee warned her that any communication with her family could lead the witches to them, so she resisted the urge to call. It was difficult, though. She and Lee didn't know that the witches knew anything about her personal life and so they might not have her family staked out. Or they could, and they were waiting for her to call to threaten them. Or…
She shook her head. Going there was only going to cause her to lose her tenuous grip on her determination not to call.
The back door opened and she screamed but stopped when she saw it was Lee. He had with him the girl who had kissed her at the party. The witch wore a low-cut top and a fierce scowl. Mia quickly closed the blinds as Lee pushed the witch into a chair and tied her into place with a length of rope. Her hands shook, with trepidation as well as anger.
"Is this her?" Lee asked.
Mia nodded.
"Ugh. This place stinks," the witch said, straining against the ropes. "Give me back to magic, you—"
"Right, so you can try to kill me again?" Lee narrowed his eyes.
Mia joined them. The smell of singed hair was strong around Lee, and when he walked he had a slight limp and grimace. Had this witch hurt him? Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms.
"What are you and your coven planning on doing with me?" she demanded.
"You?" The witch eyed her. "After last night, nothing. We got what we needed from you. I'm just disappointed that I wasn't able to do it myself."
Mia's brow furrowed.
The witch smiled, her gaze dipping to her breasts. "I was telling the truth, you know. You're cute. I don't usually go for girls, but—"
Lee interrupted with a snarl that had the witch flinching back from him. "What did you want from her?"
The witch cowered for a moment before she swallowed and sat straighter again. "The first blood of a virgin. We didn't need the blood itself, though, just for her to bleed. So, thank you, Professor, for getting that for us. We were quite pleased when the ritual proceeded, letting us know that the virgin was no more."
Mia's stomach clenched. Her arms dropped and she couldn't stop herself from gasping. Last night, that wonderful moment of passion that had fired her to completion like nothing else had, was exactly what they needed? Her lungs seized up and all she could do was take shallow breaths. She shook her head. No. That wonderful moment between them, it couldn’t have been what was needed to bring Ba'al to the surface.
Her gaze drifted to Lee. Did he subconsciously know? Was that why he was so regretful in the morning?
"Oh, don't look like that, sweetheart." The witch gave her a toothy smile. "The spell that I used on you to make you super horny had worn off by then. I wasn't able to plant a proper spell, you see. You should have come to me. But in the end, I guess your own passions were powerful enough without a spell."
Mia turned away, tears flooding her eyes.
"That's enough," Lee snarled. "What is your next move?"
The girl laughed. "And I would tell you why? Am I supposed to be afraid of a coward not brave enough to reveal his true identity to the girl he slept with?"
Mia glanced up. What was that supposed to mean? She looked at Lee, but his face was hard. A shudder ran down her spine. He wasn't the easy-smiling, geeky professor she had come to know… when he took off his glasses, it was more dramatic than Clark Kent becoming Superman. It was like everything about him changed.
"Mia, I'm going to need you to go downstairs and listen to music. Turn it up as loud as possible."
"Why?" Her voice was pitched. "What are you going to do?"
Lee inhaled deeply then shook his head. "I'd rather not say."
"Coward," the witch purred.
Mia eyed her warily. "Canaanite," she blurted. Both of them turned to h
er with puzzled expressions. She swallowed hard. "Ba'al, he was a Canaanite god. Not Assyrian."
"He is my god," the witch said. "And when he is returned, we will be given such glory."
Lee turned to Mia and grasped her arms. "Go downstairs. I don't want you to see this."
Mia opened her mouth.
"Oh, for goodness sake! He's going to torture me," the witch said. She laughed as horror crossed Mia's face. "He wants to know what my coven is planning, so he's going to torture me for information. At least, he'll try. I think he's too... weak. Too compassionate."
A tremor ran through Lee's hands. Mia squeezed them, her horror turning from the idea of torture to the idea of him having to torture somebody. It was clear he didn't want to. There had to be another way.
"I have extensive knowledge of the medieval era," he snapped, but there was still uncertainty in his voice. "I know exactly what techniques to use against a witch."
She smirked at them. "Oh, so the coward thinks he is brave. Poor little thing. I won't tell you anything. And then when my coven passes the campus through the fires to Ba'al, our god and our magic will return to full strength and reclaim the world."
Mia jumped forward and slapped her across the face. The witch flinched, eyes widening. Then she moved her jaw and bit down hard. Her teeth clicked making a cracking noise.
"What are—" Lee started.
"Goodbye, Professor. You'll help us again… I just know you will."
She laughed, then began to shake. Her head whipped one way than another. Convulsions wracked her body. A pink-tinged foam built between her lips. Mia cried out, her stomach churning, reaching with an innate desire to help. By the time she and Lee got to the witch, though, she slumped over. Glassy eyes stared out, laughter still on her lips, mingled with the foam.
Lee ripped off the ropes and laid the witch down. He started doing chest compressions while Mia checked for a pulse. The smell of almonds rose from the witch's mouth, and she drew back in horror. Lee froze, no doubt smelling the same thing she did.
"Cyanide," he whispered. He looked up at Mia. "She poisoned herself."
"Why?" Mia gasped. "Was she afraid of being… tortured?"
It didn't seem likely. She had been laughing at them, making it clear that she didn't think that Lee had it in him to torture her. And given the way he had reacted to the situation–the tremors, uncertainty–Mia was certain that he would have a hard time going through with it, if he could at all.
"She was already telling us things. Why would she kill herself?"
"Self-sacrifice." Lee stood. "Maybe they needed you to lose your virginity, but it didn't happen the way it was supposed to. She was supposed to do it. She failed, so she killed herself as penance. But she wouldn’t have told us those things if she thought we were going to survive long enough to do anything about it."
Mia shuddered. "But you said we were safe here, didn't you? The magic prevents the witches from finding me."
Lee's brow furrowed a moment, then he jumped to his feet. A hard curse erupted from his mouth. "She's brought them here. Death magic is powerful, she used her death to mark where we were. We need to get out, now!"
Mia's heart jumped to her throat. Adrenaline flooded her system, freezing her for a moment. Lee's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her towards the door.
Before they could get there, utter darkness fell outside. Hooded figures appeared all around them. Red streaks of light wove into the pattern of a cage around them and the witches chanted in unison. The world outside their cage seemed to darken. Mia's throat closed over. Her whole body felt like it was being squeezed, her eyeballs were going to pop, her ribs were being crushed. She couldn't breathe—
A roar.
Flame.
Lee convulsed beside her. His arms spread wide, flame and smoke billowed from his mouth. Mia stared, wide-eyed as his skin seemed to shred off his body, revealing something else… something terrifying. A long, sinewy body, cat-like with paws that ended in deadly-looking talons. A tail that whipped back and forth, sending the witches flying. A serpentine head with slit eyes and teeth as long as her forearm gleaming in red jaws. He threw out wings, growing bigger. He bucked his body and crashed through the roof of the bungalow. Green scales sprouted over his skin.
The witches scattered and regrouped. Their chanting grew quicker, louder, the red cage focusing around Lee now. Mia was too stunned and horrified to move.
The dragon curled around her protectively. Blazing eyes glared down at the witches, then his mouth opened. Fire jetted from his throat. Screams rose in the air.
Chapter Ten
Lee
The witches scattered as his dragon burst through his skin. Mia froze, watching him with huge eyes. He wanted to tell her not to be afraid, but his vocal chords had already changed and a low growl emerged instead.
His changing body pinned one of the witches against the wall; she screamed as she was crushed. The wall wasn't far behind her as it crumpled outward. The rest of the witches fled the house, but by the scent of magic still burning his nostrils, they didn't go far.
The roof collapsed down on him and Mia, but Lee kept his wings lowered, crouching low over her to protect her from the debris. She still hadn't moved, so he wrapped his front leg around her and pulled her into his chest. His fires roared in his belly and burst from his mouth, lighting the crumbling structure around them ablaze. The flames rose hot and thick, burning green-tinged yellow.
"Don't break the spell," one of the witches shouted.
They regrouped just outside the house, their circle not as tight as before, and resumed their chanting. The red cage surrounding the dragon strengthened. Streaks of white and blue began to weave through the red bars. Lee roared. He sent a jet of flame towards the witch who seemed to be the leader. The blue energy concentrated in the cage at that point, rebounding the flame back towards him.
Mia screamed and Lee stopped. He couldn't risk hurting her. His heart pounded. His fires roared. His tail lashed back and forth and he beat his wings. The magical cage closed in tighter. He reared onto his back legs and wrapped both of his front ones around Mia. She felt so small, so breakable against his chest. Her soft body molded against his scales. The dragon crouched on his back legs and threw himself in the air, hoping to break the spell weaving around them. The cage stretched against his bulk but held fast. When he came down, hard, the floor gave way. He fell into the basement. Perfect.
Using the extra room, Lee launched himself upwards, hitting the cage with more force this time. His wings tore at the air. The witches' chanting grew louder. He clawed at the magic with his free limbs, stretching it further.
It snapped suddenly and he hurtled through the empty space. He could feel Mia squirming in his grasp and held her close to his heart. Beating his wings, he lifted into the air and flew as fast as he could from the witches. Their screams of fury followed after them.
His nerves didn't settle until he was in the low-lying gray clouds that covered the earth. It wasn't going to last long, though. The sun would come up and burn away the cover, and then he'd be visible for all to see. Mia was still screaming, which meant she at least had air, and he pushed himself to go faster. There was only one place to go now. Home.
He only hoped that the clan would understand.
***
His mother was outside, repairing the deck on their house, when he landed. His father harvested cattails in their small pond. Lee repressed a sigh as both looked up and began running to greet him. This was not going to go well… but he had to face them sooner or later.
"Lee," his mother shouted. "You should have told us you were—"
She cut off as Lee's father grabbed her. Both pulled up short and stared as he shifted, revealing Mia to them. The human's eyes were wide and she didn't resist as he put an arm around her and guided her towards the house.
"We'll be safe here, Mia," he said under his breath. "The witches won't dare come here."
She gave him a panicked loo
k that made him sigh. Her breathing was growing more rapid, and he was certain that she was going to start freaking out soon. As long as he got her in the house before…
"Is that a human?" his father asked, voice deep and harsh.
"Dad—"
His mother glared at Mia. "Humans are not permitted in clan territory, get rid of her before somebody sees!"
Mia's face blanched, then she screamed. She whirled on Lee, pounding her fists against his chest. The dragon held her tight, trying to talk to her over the noise she was making. There was no way he was going to let anybody hurt her, his clan included. She was having none of it, and even sunk her teeth into his arm. He released her with a yelp and she darted for the trees.
"Humans!" his father muttered. "They're all crazy."
Not helping, Dad!
Lee pounced on Mia, wincing as her scream became an all-out shriek. It grated against his eardrums. He hated that he was scaring her so badly, but what choice did he have? She would get lost, hurt, or worse if she tried to leave on foot. They were high in the mountains, no other civilization for miles around. He picked her up, earning him a few scratches on his arms. Pain blossomed up his jaw as the crown of her head thumped against his chin. Struggling to keep hold of her, he carried her back towards the house.
Both of his parents looked horrified, especially when he rushed to the root cellar and shoved her in.
"Light switch is on the left!" he shouted as he locked the door.
Mia pounded on the door, shouting, sobbing and cursing. Lee's heart clenched. He wanted so badly to tell her it was going to be okay, that she didn't have to be afraid of him. Words wouldn't do any good. Especially since his parents were staring at him with identical horrified expressions.
"Are you abducting women now?" his mother demanded, hands on her narrow hips.
Lee shook his head. "I know what this looks like. It was the only safe place to come."
Her Dragon Professor Page 5
