Belladonna nightshade was dangerous to use. Ingesting the leaves could be fatal, hell touching the leaves might cause harm. She’d need to avoid it to be on the safe side. But the plant had medicinal value too. The witch wanted her to ingest three berries. What would that do to her? What would she see? The berries were said to cause hallucinations.
Clover looked around for a big leaf, something large enough to use as a glove and a kind of holder for the nightshade. She finally found a big sunflower leaf. She tore it from the stem and then proceeded to break the stalk of the belladonna, carefully folding the big leaf around the berries so they didn’t get lost or break open during the travel. When she got home, she’d transfer it to the bag she had waiting and then stick it in a crack of the floor under her bed.
Satisfied she had secured the correct nightshade; Clover pulled out the witch’s magic and materialized back to the goblin’s home. All she had to do was think of where she wanted to be and the magic did the rest. Fae magic had a lot of power. She’d seen it create creatures from sand, heal battle wounds, and even reunite lost souls. Clover ached to have even a little pinch of that power, enough to make the last two years into nothing, maybe spell her captor into a toad. Clover wobbled on her feet as they found the floor. Just as her room came into sight, the door shot open and Malik stormed in.
Chapter Nine
She’d done it again. How would he find out anything about the elf if she kept vanishing? He barely had anytime to ask her questions. His cock throbbed in his jeans as he recalled her last visit. His poor prick. His balls ached and the image of burying himself inside her crashed into his thoughts. He shook his head. He had to think of something else. “Who the hell is the sage witch?” he asked but he hadn’t really meant the question for anyone. He threw the rag down below the bar and emptied out a couple drinks right in front of him. They clinked loud as he shoved them into the sink.
“Dude, she’s in Hemlock Grove. A crazy old bat named Idis.” Reed turned to the elf sitting across from him on the barstool. His eyes half closed, his cheeks all pink from drinking. His smile widened and he gave a hiccup then belched in Reed’s face. Why did he want to be a bartender again? Oh right—because he liked owning his own place and working at it so he knew he wasn’t being jipped.
Reed waved the stink from in front of him. “Hemlock Grove. You mean on the outskirts by the river?”
“That’ll be the one.” He giggled. “I once saw her in town. When she looked at me with her old ass wrinkly face, I thought she would eat me alive. Totally creepy. You don’t think she like, wanted me, do you?”
Was this guy even old enough to be here? “Where’s your ID?”
“Dude, here.” The elf scrambled in his wallet and his ID fell out onto the bar.
Reed picked up the ID card, checked the date and handed it back to the elf. He chalked the elf up as ignorant and let it be.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Hey, did ya know the hot chick hid something back there?”
“She what?” Reed cocked his eyebrow. Was this guy serious? He had to be on more than the drink. How could she have hidden anything behind the bar when he stood in front of her? Reed took up most of the room. He would have noticed her trying something.
A drunken laugh burst from the elf’s face. “Ya, behind the Jack.” He fell off backwards from chair and silenced.
“Hey Leaf, he’s had enough.” Reed pointed down to the passed out elf. He didn’t bother to watch Leaf do what he needed to do. The man was more reliable than the sun. Curious if the elf was right, Reed moved the Jack bottle that sat behind him. Sure enough, a clear bag with some kind of herb rested against the back wall. Was she attempting to hex him or something? It made sense why she came over the counter. Had she lied about the witch and the curse? Reed pocketed the herbs and called out, “Bar’s closed.” He stopped the fun a few minutes early, but the drunks wouldn’t really tell the difference. He hoped.
After he locked the doors, he considered his choices. Clover said she was cursed. He could go home and wonder, try to corner her about more when she came back... but then if she didn’t come back would he be able to live with the choice he had done nothing to help her if she really was cursed? Reed headed out to Hemlock Grove. If the witch didn’t know of her, then she had lied. If the witch knew something, then Reed might reconsider his opinion of the elfess. Clover. A beautiful name and it matched her, though he was quite sure the four-leaf kind wasn’t her. If she were cursed, luck had forsaken her. By a goblin, who does that? Goblins don’t do elves. What did he keep her for?
Reed used his magic to blink past his home, and into the eastern side of the forest. Normally he wouldn’t have minded the long trek, but if the elfess had an issue she needed help with, he needed to know sooner rather than later.
All she did was come in, flirt, and then poof, gone. What could she possibly do in that short amount of time? Perhaps the goblin wanted her to hex his bar. Reed didn’t remember ever pissing off a goblin; actually he’d never even met one. He knew they were green, short, and nasty. They had a lot of powerful magic but it took them hundreds of years to learn it properly and utilize the gift. They stuck to themselves and didn’t live within town.
Actually, Reed wasn’t quite sure where goblins lived. There were so few even talked about that it no longer stood as common knowledge. They were known for their skin mostly then their magic. Since it took goblins so long to hone their skills, no one dwelled on it. They had been a large race once, but in these modern times, goblins were few and far between. Small pox, a human disease, wiped many of them out. Goblin’s tended to adore humans or rather what a human could do for them. Humans were easily manipulated.
He blinked a few more times before coming to the edge of the forest. He could hear the trickle of the stream elves had stopped crossing a long time ago. Not a big body of water; more like a medium sized one. He’d fished in it once as a kid, but for the most part elves didn’t venture out this far from the town. It was safer amongst their people. The forest held many things that could cause harm or general problems, like pixies or witches. Reed was sure there were even some strange animals out here that prayed on elves and the fae. The hair on the back of his neck alerted him to someone being near, watching.
“Who’s there?” Reed called out.
A male stepped from behind the trees. He was the blond from several weeks ago. This time his buddies weren’t with him and he had this deranged look in his eyes. “You are a hard man to track when you use your blink. But I caught you.” He chuckled. His hair laid askew and his jeans dirty.
“Look I don’t want, nor need any trouble. We are done.” Reed walked ahead of him. The blond elf blinked in front of him, and Reed stopped just before he ran into the elf. What was this guy’s problem? All this trouble over an elfess?
“No man, you owe me a girl, and you fucked up my friends. We are not through.” The blond stepped forward and jabbed at Reed. He blocked the blow with his arm and the knife landed a devastating blow. He instantly knew it had been poisoned. It stung going in and then a sharp pain exploded as the knife turned and the blond yanked it out with a satisfied smile. He’d raised it to come in for another attack and Reed slammed down to his knees so the elf missed. Pain shot through his legs and he stood back up. Warm blood gushed down his arm and he felt a little sick to his stomach.
“Run away bartender. You’re going to die either way. I’ve poisoned you.” The laughter echoed in the back of Reed’s mind as he blinked himself around things, zig-zagging in and out of trees and bushes, trying to find safety and not let the blond catch up to him. His sight darkened around the edges of his vision. He held his arm to try and stifle the bleeding, but feared it was little use. His legs wobbled each time he stopped abruptly from the blink. His mouth went dry as the forest trees blurred together. He needed to find cover before he passed out.
His stomach twisted, clenching and unclenching. Reed bit down on his cheek to keep himself aware of his bod
y and surroundings. He saw a leaf hut in the distance. It wobbled in his sight, but if he could just get to it, someone would see him, and the blond couldn’t finish what he started. At least, if it were real. God he hoped someone really lived there. He needed help in the worst way. He pushed his mind to blink and felt his magic weaken as he watched the cabin come closer. His body slumped, heavier and heavier, drained of all its energy. He reached out his hand for the porch. Darkness took over.
Chapter Ten
Malik’s face contorted into a fierce scowl. His human form raged over to Clover grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up to her tiptoes. “You have betrayed me. Where did you go? Who did you see?” As a human, he had short brown hair and black eyes, still a bit beady. His skin looked tan and he stood tall, nearly six feet. The potion he made earlier must have been so strong because she could actually see his human form.
Nothing she could say would get her out of this one. She winced as she felt strands of her hair snap and her hands instinctively reached for her head. The berries still wrapped in the leaf in her fist. The only thing she could do was tell the truth. “I went out to find an herb.” Which she did. She just didn’t have to tell him all of the truth.
“What the hell for? Do I not have enough in my lab?” He shook her a little, his face going red with anger and spittle flew from his mouth. She wanted to wipe it from her flesh. It smelled of shit.
“It’s belladonna. I brought back belladonna.” Clover opened her hand and the goblin grabbed the sunflower leaf from her. He abruptly let go of her hair and opened the package.
“What would you need belladonna for, Morsel? You wish to poison me?” His voice came out calm, low, threatening. His piercing gaze found hers and she shrunk back wiping his spit from her face. His firm grip in her hair kept her mostly still.
“No...no. I had no intention of poisoning you, Malik. It’s used in medicine and I was just learning about it. I noticed we didn’t have any and, so I went in search of it.” Well she hoped to everything holy that he really didn’t already have any. Thank God, nightshade grew in both realms or she’d be screwed for sure. Though she questioned why it never occurred to her to poison him with it.
Malik’s eyebrows shot up. “I see. Why didn’t you just ask? I could have gotten you some without you having to do it yourself. I wouldn’t be thrilled if anything happened to my little pet.” He kept a hold of the nightshade. He let loose her hair and smoothed down the tangled strands.
“I didn’t know how you’d react, in truth. I’m sorry I left, but I didn’t lie to you or hide it from you.”
“You waited until I left to leave.”
“A simple mistake.” She rubbed her hand up her arm. Please accept my excuse.
“Next time, request it, and I will get it for you.” He turned to walk away with the belladonna and his human potion wore off. He shrunk down to his normal size and back to green skin without missing a step.
As soon as she lost sight of him, Clover sunk to the floor. Her knees gave out and her entire body shook. At least there would be a next time. He came to close to her plans. Now she was double screwed. He may not wish to beat her or add more time to her sentence, but he had her herb and she still needed a piece of him. She figured he’d put the nightshade in his lab. He was more curious then she had ever anticipated from a goblin, so he’d probably want to explore the uses of belladonna. Hopefully, she’d get to it before he ate the damn berries. She contemplated momentarily if she did let him eat the berries, she might be free if it killed him. But he’s a goblin and could ingest any number of things potentially fatal to human and fae alike and still keep on kicking. They had stomachs like a human garbage disposal. Shove anything down and it was gone.
Her tummy growled as her body returned to normal. She rubbed the back of her head where he had held her and some of her hair came down with her hand. He had a strong grip; she didn’t care to ever feel it again. She stood on wobbly legs and headed to the kitchen. She leaned around the hall to see Malik working away in his lab, the nightshade right on top of his desk beside him. She concentrated on the back of his head, what part would she take? What part could she get away with taking? She could try to rip out some of his tiny hairs. But she doubted she’d get enough, or what she needed anyway. She would have to get creative. A finger perhaps? She eyed the knife drawer below the counter. Though the moment she took up anything against him, she had a good chance of losing, so she needed to get it right a piece of him and the berries, then be gone as fast as possible.
Clover pulled out the dinner he’d left for her, chicken. She tore it into strips to make a cold sandwich. After Mayo, tomatoes, lettuce and bacon, her task was complete and her stomach rumbled with a passion. She bit into the sandwich and everything fell away for a moment as she lost herself in delicious sustenance. She regretted not eating earlier. She leaned into the counter and devoured her food. Once done, she licked her fingers clean, gulped down some water, and wiped her mouth with a napkin. When she looked up, Malik was staring at her.
“Did you enjoy?” A wicked grin sprang up on his face.
Crap. “There was something in the chicken wasn’t there?” Two of him grew out, double vision and they warped into each other, folding over one another and causing her newly ate food to churn and threaten to rise. She put a hand up to her mouth and tried to steady herself on the counter. She felt like she was falling, but her firm grip let her know she still stood. Probably swaying, but standing nonetheless.
“Of course. You ran off, Pet, as I suspect you’ve done before. We can’t have that happening. I’ll have to teach you a lesson and then send you back out on a much tighter leash. Sit, before you fall and break that pretty elfin head.” His voice droned on as if it had been stretched out.
What had he given her? Some kind of crazy concoction, she was sure. “You dirty bastard.” Her words sounded slurred to her ears. How had he known she’d left before? It didn’t matter, whatever he had put in the chicken was in her system and there was no turning back from it.
“Now, now. No need for the name calling. You defied me, remember.” Somehow he had removed the distance between them. She could feel him beside her, his erection rubbing up against her leg. Her body hurled, causing undissolved pieces to rise. She swallowed over and over, trying desperately to keep it down as her world spun.
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She concentrated on her breathing, in and then out. It helped a little. Until he touched her again. His skin scratching the sensitive flesh of her legs and back as he raised her shirt. There was no damn way she would let this happen. But her knees gave out on her, and she suddenly found herself head to head with the little green man.
Chapter Eleven
When Reed opened his eyes, everything came out blurry. He could see a shadow moving around him. Some light in the distance. A warm blanket engulfed his body. The smell of sage. Had he found the sage witch? What happened? He tried to recall. He remembered the blond and slowly it all trickled back to him. He had been stabbed and poisoned. The leaflet.
“You have little strength, elf,” an old woman’s voice said. He heard feet shuffling along the floor.
“I was poisoned.” And he would find a way to return the favor.
“Indeed. Good thing you weren’t pixed too.” He heard a hint of amusement in her words.
“Are you the sage witch?” He blinked several times trying to refocus his vision. It slowly cleared. The older woman bent over a fire pit in the middle of the hut. She stirred a pot hanging above the flames.
“It seems people are always seeking me these days. What could you want from someone such as I, elf?” She poured some of the pots contents into a wood bowl and brought it over to him. Up close, her hair seemed wild, white, and had a mind of its own. Her intelligent brown eyes seemed to search everywhere, always bouncing from one object to the next. She dipped a spoon and brought it to his mouth. “Drink.”
Reed sipped the hot liquid in. It burned his tongue a
nd had a gross sagey after taste with a hint of garlic and something else he couldn’t place. It left his mouth dry. “One of those who sought you didn’t happen to be named Clover, did she?”
“Yes.”
“What did she need you for?” He tried to sit up but his body lagged, so elfing heavy. He suppressed a frustrated groan. His weak state irritated him. He shoved the smothering blanket off him.
“A curse. Poor thing. Malik is the oldest and strongest goblin. He’s been around much longer than I have and is a legend where he comes from for mastering so much of his magic. He lives in the human realm, and I know how to break the curse. However, I fear he’ll never let her go. I couldn’t very well tell the poor soul that. She’d lose hope.”
“So, it’s true.” Reed reached into his jean pocket and pulled out the bag of herbs. “These are hers. She left them, well hid them, at my bar.”
“Ah smart little elf.” Idis grinned. She took the bag from him and set it aside on a table.
“I need to help her.” He tried to sit up again, he inched a little further, but his body protested with aching muscles.
“The toxins aren’t yet out of your system. It may take a while. Each body is different. Some take days to recover, others, hours.”
Reed reached over to the knife wound. He found a cloth bandage. “Thank you for your help.”
“The wound will heal. Drink and rest.” She all but shoved the bowl of soup at him.
He took it begrudgingly and drank it down as fast as he could. His stomach turned but he ignored it. “What happens if you can’t break the curse?” All this thinking made his head hurt. A headache loomed along the outskirts of his mind. But he needed to know. For some forsaken reason, he had to help the elfess. The more information he had the better.
Tempting Clover (The Trouble With Elves Book 2) Page 4
