Witch Hunter

by Shannon Curtis

  At least, not until after he’d left.

  He turned and walked toward his bike, slipping his leather jacket on as he went. He got to his bike, then paused, his hand resting on the handlebar. Then he abruptly turned and stalked over to her. She straightened, frowning, and her eyes widened when his arms slid around her waist, pulling her in for a hot kiss.

  Frustration. Anger. Lust. Sorrow. All bombarded her at his touch, his tongue tangling with hers. It was quick, but it was a whirlwind of emotion and passion that left her breathless when he lifted his head. He tilted his forehead against hers.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He stepped away, and this time he didn’t look back when he reached his bike. He slid his helmet on over his head, straddled his bike, and within too few seconds he was riding out of her driveway.

  Sully stood where she was, shoulders sagging, by the trunk of her station wagon. She listened as the sound of his bike slowly diminished, to be taken over by seagulls, crashing waves and the sound of cicadas looking for their mates.

  Tears blurred her vision. She had done so well. She’d avoided guys—especially the strong, dominant kind of guy. She’d managed to secure her heart, her safety, her sanity... She straightened her shoulders. No. She wasn’t going to fall apart again. She wasn’t going to surrender her peace of mind, her independence, her identity, to a man. Never again.

  She turned back to the house. She hadn’t been lying to Dave. She did have things to do, and a delivery to make. He was going to pursue this witch on his own. He’d made that clear.

  Well, she hadn’t said anything about stopping her own search for this bastard. This guy was hurting her friends, and she had every intention of stopping him—with or without Dave’s help.

  * * *

  Dave smiled at the librarian who brought forth another old book from the archives and placed it with the others on the table at which he sat. “This is the last one, and contains the first census records since Reformation,” she told him in a hushed tone. He glanced about. It must be a reflex for the woman, as he was the only person in the records section of the library.

  “Thanks.” He summoned forth a slight wisp of power. She was human, and there were no nulls in the library that he could sense. “If there is anything else you can think of that will show me the family trees of the nulls, let me know.”

  She smiled at him sweetly as she nodded. “If I think of anything else on null families in the area, I’ll let you know.” He watched as she walked away, her low heels making a slight clack-clack as she lowered her reading glasses. She tucked a strand of gray hair behind her ear as she crossed to the catalogs.

  Dave opened the large-paged book. The pages were divided in columns, with neat, meticulous script detailing the names, ages and connections of the residents of Serenity Cove since the town was recognized as part of Reformation society.

  He placed one hand on the pieces of paper the librarian had given him to make notes on, and another on the book. There were lots of pages, and more volumes to sift through. It would take him hours, if not days, to sift through all of this on his own.

  A little voice whispered that he didn’t have to do it on his own, that Sully wanted to help, and that she could get the nulls to reveal the names he was looking for.

  He lifted his chin. Well, that would dangerous. For everyone. He’d never had to rely on anyone else to do his job. Witch Hunters worked alone. He’d never had a partner work a hit with him before. Nor had that partner wanted to bring in a whole damn community to help, either.

  No. He was on his own. It was better this way. Less...danger. To Sully, anyway.

  He closed his eyes, summoning his powers. He murmured a reveal and transfer spell, and could feel the pages warm beneath his hand. He raised his hands from the surface, slowly opening his eyes.

  Names on the page started to glow, and he watched as the glow drifted out of the book and onto the piece of paper. Names, dates and connections—they all imprinted on the paper, giving him a list of the purebloods in the area since the town’s formation. The pages started to flip, faster and faster, as the names were pulled forth. More books opened, more glowing references. He sat back and waited until the last name landed on the paper, and then he murmured a genealogy spell. He watched as the names reconfigured on the page. Some names faded—individuals who had already passed away.

  It took a while, and it was probably early afternoon by the time he had a list of purebloods currently residing in the Serenity Cove area.

  He rose from the desk, then waved a hand at the books at the table, sending them back to their homes among the shelves, to save the little old lady at the desk some work. He walked up to thank her, but kept his mouth shut when he heard her snore. He walked out to his bike, opened up his pannier and removed his map of the area. He spread it out on the seat of his bike, then bent down and scooped up some dirt from the ground. Holding his clenched fist over the map, he glanced at the first name on the list, murmured a quick location spell, and let the dirt fall out of his hand in a measured funnel. Within seconds he had the address, and within a minute he was riding out of the Serenity Cove library parking lot.

  Chapter 16

  “Again,” Sully instructed, then brought the wooden blade down toward Jenny’s chest in a low-handed grip. Jenny blocked with her arm, pushed Sully’s arm outward and stepped in close. Jenny hesitated, then frowned.

  “I can’t remember the next step,” she admitted.

  Sully reached for Jenny’s other arm. “Your hand. Bring it up and into my armpit—” she stopped talking when her friend followed through with the movements, and was able to bring the practice knife in under her outstretched arm, just beneath the armpit. “Good.”

  She glanced down at the row of ten or so adults who’d accompanied Jenny over, and were now lined up in her front yard. Kids, including Noah and his sister, were sitting up on the steps of the front veranda watching, or else had taken their cue from the adults and were play wrestling. “Okay, let’s do it again.”

  “So this is supposed to help us, huh?” Jenny said, as she faced off and started to go through the steps. From what Sully had seen, when she’d piggybacked on Dave’s vision of Amanda Sinclair’s murder, and from what she’d seen when she and Dave had interrupted Jenny’s attack, the killer got his victim on their back on the ground, then delivered the death blow. She was giving the group of purebloods that Jenny had managed to convince to come over for defensive training some choreographed moves to fend off a similar attack that would get them into that kill position.

  “Yep.” She’d shown them a couple of moves, and was getting them to practice, over and over again. She could hear the clang of metal against metal out in the backyard. Jacob was showing some of the men how to use some of their fishing gear in defensive movements. Jenny was still wary around her brother, and so Sully and Jacob had decided it was best if he was out of sight, out of mind for this.

  Jenny looked up at the sound of the mock fighting coming from around the back. “I wish I could remember,” she said quietly as Sully slowly made her go through the defensive motions again.

  Sully nodded. “We’ll figure it out. But you do know that Jacob would never hurt you, right?”

  Jenny hesitated, then nodded. “I know. On a rational level, I know. But there’s something up here,” she said, tapping her temple, “some glitch, and I keep—I keep having these flashes.”

  Sully narrowed her eyes. “What kind of flashes?”

  Jenny performed the block, and a smooth shift to bring the knife up to mock stab her under the arm. Sully smiled and stepped back, assuming the attack position again.

  “His face, but—not his eyes. It’s...it’s so weird.” Jenny’s lips tightened as she met Sully’s gaze. “I’m a null. This crap has never happened to me before. It’s not supposed to happen.” She shook her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s...magic.”
Jenny shuddered. “But then, never having experienced it, I wouldn’t know. It’s just wrong as all crap.”

  Sully blinked, then averted her gaze. “We’ll figure it out, Jen.” After how close her friend had come be being viciously murdered, Sully was even more determined to track down this damn killer witch.

  “How the hell do you know this stuff?” Jenny panted as Sully repeated the attack, gradually getting faster and faster.

  “I learned it a few years ago,” Sully said, then held up a hand. “Okay, let’s try something else.”

  She lay on the ground as the adults gathered to watch. “If you find yourself in this position, and your attacker is kneeling over you, this is what you do.”

  She gestured to one of the men, Sam Drummond, who tentatively straddled her. She handed him the wooden practice knife. “If he’s bringing the knife down at you, he’s got the advantage,” she told the group. “Grab the wrist with the knife—you want to control that. Use your other hand to strike, preferably punch the throat,” she said, showing them slowly a strike to the throat. “Wrap your hand around his neck, and bring him in close—”

  “Close?” Jenny exclaimed. “Don’t we want to get away?”

  “Yeah, but he’s got a knife, and close quarters are good. If you try to push him away, that’s giving him more room to attack,” Sully said, and showed them by gently pushing Sam back to arm’s length. “See, here he can stab, strike, etc.” She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. “Here, he can’t, he’s too close.” She pushed him back so that he straddled her once more.

  “So, he’s got a knife, and is bringing it down to you. Grab the wrist with the knife,” she told them, wrapping her fingers around the thick wrist. “At the same time, strike at his throat.” She demonstrated slowly and gently. “Then pull him forward, wrap your opposite arm over the back of his shoulder, like this, then under his wrist so that you can grab your wrist in a lock.” She did the move slowly. “Then, turn his wrist up.”

  Sam grunted, and tapped the ground as he released his grip on the practice knife. The kids on the veranda cheered, and the adults made noises of surprise and appreciation.

  “Then you can control the wrist like this,” Sully said, levering Sam’s wrist up, and she heard him hiss softly, and his tapping on the ground became fiercer. “You can wrench the shoulder, snap the wrist, move him off you,” she said, demonstrating by using the vise-hold to direct Sam’s gentle momentum off her body. “You can do various strikes, and run—or pick up that knife and finish him.”

  The gathered adults gasped, and Sully looked up at their shocked faces. Two of the women shared a look, horrified at the suggestion. Sully rose to her feet. “Guys, this person has killed three of your neighbors. Friends. In some cases, family,” she said, eyeing Ronald Sinclair. “If he’s coming for you, he wants you dead. Take him out before he takes you out.”

  Jenny gaped at her, then exhaled. “Well, uh, thanks, Sully.” She brightened as she looked around at the others. “Hey, who’s hungry?”

  The adults nodded, and the kids on the veranda cheered. Sully glanced back at them. Oops. She’d forgotten the kids were there. Not really a conversation you wanted to have in front of the littlies...

  She forced a smile on her face. “I have some salad fixings. We could have a cookout. We just need some meat.”

  The children squealed, then jumped up and down. Which led to a little bit of pushing, and then quickly deteriorated into a game of tag around the house.

  “I’ve got some meat back home,” Ronald said.

  Sam rolled to his feet. “So do I.”

  “I’ve got some bread rolls,” one of the women offered.

  “I’ve got more salad—you’ll need some more,” Mrs. Forsyth suggested. “We could pop home and be back within the hour.”

  Sully smiled. “Uh, great. That would be great.” She blinked, looking at the group as they discussed what to get for the spontaneous potluck meal. It seemed so...big and hearty and wonderful, to have all these people get ready for a large, communal meal. At her place. Like...family.

  “Okay, I’ll stay here with Sully,” Jenny stated as Jacob led more of the adults around to the front. They were all sweaty from their exertions, and most of the men were shirtless, Jacob included.

  “I’ll help with the kids,” sixteen-year-old Rhonda Maxwell offered, winking at her younger cousin, Noah.

  “Me, too,” Susanne Maxwell, Noah’s mother, stated, and Noah pouted, then ran off with his sister, with Rhonda jogging close behind.

  “Hey, did we hear something about a barbecue?” Jacob grinned as he rested his foot on the bottom step of the veranda and braced his hand against the railing. Sully watched as Jenny forced a smile to her face, but her knuckles were white as she hugged herself. Jacob’s smile faltered when he saw his sister’s awkwardness.

  “You can come help me pack the car,” his mother told him, patting him on the shoulder as she walked toward the street. Some of the purebloods had carpooled, but there were still too many vehicles to fit in Sully’s drive. The overflow were parked on the grassy verges on the road beyond.

  “I’ll start cleaning the grill,” Jack Forsyth stated, turning toward the barbecue pit Sully had built shortly after arriving in Serenity Cove. It included a basic grill and metal plate set on a low ring of cinder blocks, and was set in a sheltered corner of her yard that still allowed for a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree view of the ocean.

  “I’ll take the kids down to the beach,” Rhonda sang out as the children ran out of the yard in the direction of the path and stairs that led to the beach below.

  The group split up, and Sully led Jenny and Susanne through to her kitchen.

  “Do you mind, Sully?” Jenny asked. “I mean, we’ve all just invited—”

  “I love it,” Sully interrupted, beaming. “This is great. I miss having family gatherings...”

  “Where’s your family now?” Susanne asked as she started opening Sully’s cabinets. She made a triumphant sound when she located the wooden chopping boards.

  Sully smiled, but it took a little effort. “We’re all kind of spread out.” She crossed to the fridge and started to pull out lettuce and tomatoes and anything else she could use to feed the hoard that was about to descend.

  “So, what happened to your family?” Jenny inquired, her brow dipping in curiosity as she reached for a knife in the knife block. “I don’t think you’ve ever told me.”

  Sully shrugged. “Nothing happened to them. I just...left.”

  “Why?” Susanne asked as she started to pull off leaves from the head of lettuce. “Wow, that sounded nosy, didn’t it?” the woman said, chuckling.

  “It’s fine,” Sully said. “I needed to move away, find my own feet. They’re still around, but I don’t generally see them unless there’s a special event.” She’d missed so many birthdays, so many weddings and baby blessings, coven gatherings... She forced a smile on her face. She hadn’t let herself think about that, but now, with these people who were being so lovely and warm, so inclusive, she found herself thinking about her family, her coven. Thinking about them...missing them.

  But she couldn’t go back—she couldn’t risk it, for their sake. Something clanged outside, and Jenny smiled. “Sounds like Dad’s decided to give your grill a good going-over.” She leaned forward. “So tell me, what happened with Dave?”

  “Is this the boyfriend Noah was telling me about?” Susanne inquired, and Sully could feel her cheeks heat.

  “Uh, he left me this morning.” Sully focused on washing the tomatoes.

  Jenny slapped the knife down on the board. “What did that son of a bitch do? Where is he? How badly do we need to hurt him? Bruise him up, or make it impossible for him to father children ever again?”

  “No, no, it’s—it’s not his fault,” Sully said hurriedly, although she was touched by Je
nny’s fierce loyalty. “He—he really wants to find the person behind all this,” she said, waving her hand around carelessly. “So, he’s off—”

  “He’s dicking around, isn’t he?” Jenny muttered, then glanced at Susanne. “He’s a private dick.”

  “Investigator,” Sully corrected, then sighed. She could see his point about working without interference, but she still felt like she was not being completely honest with her friends, and hated it.

  “Oh, no,” Jenny said as she reached for one of the washed tomatoes.

  “What?” Sully glanced at the tomato. Was there something wrong with it?

  “You have that look,” Susanne said, running the lettuce leaves under the tap.

  “What look?” Sully frowned, looking between the two women.

  “That look that says you’ve totally fallen all over again for the guy you dated in high school,” Jenny said. She brought the knife down sharply on the cucumber, chopping off the end.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well, you’ve done something,” Jenny said. Sully’s cheeks heated, and she turned away to open a cupboard door, ostensibly to find a bowl. Yeah, and that something had been wicked fun.

  “Oh, my God, you did,” Jenny exclaimed, and Susanne gasped.

  “Whatever it was, from the look of that blush it had to have been good,” Susanne said, grinning. “Or very, very bad.”

  “Guys,” Sully pleaded.

  “Oh, my God, you did, too!” Jenny squealed.

  “Shush,” Sully said, looking out the window. She couldn’t see Jack Forsyth, but she certainly didn’t want Jenny’s father to hear the details of her sex life. “It’s...over.” She pulled the bowl out of the cupboard and placed it on the kitchen counter.

  Susanne frowned. “Why, was it bad?”

  “No! No, it wasn’t bad.”

  “So it was good, then?” Jenny said, resting the base of her palms on the wooden chopping board.

  Sully covered her face. “This is so embarrassing.”