Pure Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  “I will try my best.”

  “Like I said, we’ll be right behind you. Play the sorceress’s game as long as you can.”

  He gave me a two-finger salute as he pushed off from the trees. Without glancing back, he turned on the motor, maneuvered the boat around, and took off.

  Once he was out of sight, I made my way to Rourke, who pulled me into his arms immediately and murmured, “You did the right thing. Nothing could’ve kept him here.”

  “Then why does it feel like I just sacrificed him to the bokor?”

  “He may prove just what we need to upset the apple cart over there. Your dad is getting making plans to move as we speak. We’ll be right behind him.”

  We found the wolves deep in conversation. Someone had managed to pick up the fetish from the walkway, and it sat in the middle of the table. It was ugly and crudely made. I shuddered.

  My father said, “So it turns out the goddamn sorceress can render us all unconscious. I hadn’t guessed that she was capable of that much power. That was my mistake. None of us have any recollection of the nights when she took the wolves, not even a trace.”

  “I was knocked out too, but she woke me up,” I said as I pulled out a chair and sat. “She wanted me to know—she wants me in her lands. I just wish I knew why she chose Naomi and not another wolf. It doesn’t make sense. She wants wolves to control and humans to change into Made wolves, but why would she want a vampire? I don’t think she can turn Naomi into a wolf.”

  “If this fetish is any indication”—Rourke gestured to Naomi’s likeness—“I think she’s telling us she plans to take Naomi’s power and transfer it into one of those for herself.” Rourke stood behind me, hands resting on my shoulders. “Naomi is now an incredibly powerful vampire, thanks to your blood. The priestess or the bokor wants that power.”

  It made me sick to think about it. I addressed my father. “I let Danny go after her.”

  My father crossed his arms. “That’s a tactical disadvantage and Daniel Walker knows better than to do something like that.”

  “I did it because she’s his mate.”

  I glanced over at Tyler as I said it. He ran a hand through his hair, so like our father, but he didn’t look at all surprised. “I knew she was his mate, but Danny wouldn’t talk about it. For a while I was pissed off for him. A vamp for a mate is a shitty draw if you ask me. But once I got to know Naomi, I realized they are actually great together. And damn if she isn’t as fierce and loyal as a wolf. It makes sense in a strange way. His guts must be in his throat. Even if you had made him stay, he would’ve found a way to slip out. That’s Danny.”

  “Daniel will have a hard road ahead of him with a vampire for a mate,” my father said. “I don’t know her well, but they have my blessing.” That was all he had to say on the matter. Then he turned to me. “James and Marcy are on their way.”

  “I want to leave shortly after they arrive,” I said. “Backing Danny up is our number one priority.”

  “We go as soon as they get here, but if Marcy can brew the spells you were talking about, it would be in our benefit to let her do that.” My father leaned forward. “Now that we know the bokor is strong, there’s a good chance she can separate us if we poise an attack, and I don’t know how to prevent that from happening. If Marcy has a good idea, we’ll have to listen to her.”

  Rourke addressed my father. “I have no idea how to kill a bokor, do you?”

  “I might know a thing or two.” Nick’s voice carried ahead of him. I’d heard two boats come up to the landing, but I’d assumed it was some of my dad’s wolves escorting James and Marcy.

  “Nick!” I yelled, jumping up to give him a hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”

  “Jess,” he said, gripping me tightly, before letting go. His brown curls were tousled around his head and his amber eyes bright. It appeared like my father had raised the alarms and called in his wolves. “I think it’s safe to say I’m the one who’s happy to see you. When I heard you were here, I was ecstatic. A round-trip ticket to the Underworld is quite impressive.”

  I laughed. “Not as impressive as you might think. I’ll fill you in later. But first, what do you know about bokors and priestesses?”

  “I’ve been doing some digging. We have a crappy satellite feed, which gives me spotty Internet, but it’s been enough to gather some information that may help. It seems they are fallible, which is good news.”

  “I have some good news too,” Marcy chirped as she strode up behind Nick, James right behind her, his hand at her waist. “Lookit what I managed to brew up last night.” She shook a bag. “Goodies for defeating a bokor.”

  “Are they dark spells?” I asked, peering into the bag.

  “No,” she replied with a wink, “but they will be soon.”

  10

  “Stop wiggling,” Marcy commanded. “All I need is a few more drops. Quit being such a baby.”

  I was perched at an awkward angle over a small fire she had kindled, my hand wrapped around her body so I didn’t have to witness the cutting. “I’m hardly being a baby. This is the fifth time you’ve sliced me open with a hunting knife, the kind used for skinning large prey. It’s not exactly like a needle prick,” I grumbled.

  “If you’d stop healing the moment I poked you, we’d be golden. We need your blood. It’s the only thing that will cement these spells and make them strong enough to go up against the bokor’s magic.” She readjusted her grip on my wrist, tugging it over the pot. “And I just need a few more drops. Hold still.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Hurry up.” My wrist throbbed. Marcy had brewed the initial spells at her camp but had to get them bubbling again to add my blood.

  We were losing time.

  She poked me again and I flinched. “No go. Nada. Healed up already. What are you anyway? Hercules? Who heals so fast a single drop of blood can’t drip out? I’ll have to make the gash longer and pray for just one little red bead.”

  I closed my eyes as she slashed again. Even though I healed the wound almost instantaneously, it still burned like crazy. “Healing this fast is new for me,” I commented through a clenched jaw as she sawed on me one more time. “I had no idea, because I haven’t had the pleasure of encountering a hunting knife since I’ve been back from the Underworld.”

  Rourke watched with his arms crossed. “I’m losing my patience, witch. One more time and you’re done.”

  “It can’t hurt that bad. I’m not severing your arm,” Marcy said as she sliced and squeezed. “There, I got one. Just need one more. Calm your cat down. Lie and tell him it doesn’t hurt.”

  The pain wasn’t actually that bad. “I think my human side is making it worse, if that makes any sense. I’m anticipating how badly it should hurt. There’s a burn, but then it eases up fairly quick—ow!” Marcy slashed deep and a single drop of blood plunked down into the pot, and the entire brew sizzled like water sprinkled on hot oil.

  “Done.” Marcy chanted something under her breath. “Your blood is behaving like nothing I’ve ever seen before. My pot is popping with action. I’m considering that a win. There’s an old witch’s proverb: The stronger the blood, the more potent the spell.” The pot continued to sizzle as Marcy leaned over it. “I’ve just never seen blood this concentrated.” She released my arm and I brought it back to my side.

  “That doesn’t sound like a proverb.”

  “Fine, you got me. I just made it up. But look at it go.”

  I peered over the bubbling pot. She was right. It looked like it was full of Pop Rocks.

  “What spell are you brewing now?” my brother asked from his spot on the other side of the fire, leaning over to investigate. “It smells like moth balls crossed with grapefruit. Stale citrus.”

  “It’s a protection spell,” Marcy answered proudly. “If Jessica explodes this, a five-foot wall of protection will erupt around her like a shield.”

  “How long will it last once I use it?” That sounded like something I needed.

>   “You’ll be lucky if it lasts three minutes.” She chuckled. “If this bokor is extremely powerful, she may be able to bash through it in less than three, but for an average opponent, this spell, mixed dark with your blood, would give you upward of ten minutes. Too bad you’re not fighting a regular sorceress. But it’s better than nothing.”

  “What other spells do you have?” Nick asked curiously. He stood near Tyler. Marcy had quite an audience. “And how did you make them with such limited resources?”

  I had to admit, I was impressed too.

  “All of these spells”—she gestured at the array of pots around her—“are made with simple organic material. Witches’ magic is made of the earth, and these are what we call base spells. You can substitute things on hand for these kinds of spells. It’s only when you start getting technical do you need ‘a single Balm of Gilead bud picked under the new moon’ or the like. Those kinds of spells are hardwired to do something exact. These”—she waved her arm in an arc—“are broad. Last night I had the wolves at our camp hunt for a few things, and then James took me out on the boat. The Everglades is certainly not like shopping at the local alchemy store, but I made it happen.”

  “According to that sizzle, you certainly did,” I commented. “Are you almost done? We need to get a move on.”

  “Yep,” she said. “These last two are almost done. With any luck, they’ll all work and you can give her some whoop-ass in a bag. Sorry, I didn’t bring any fancy vials, so plastic baggies will have to do. Once these cool, I’ll dump them in and we can go.”

  Ray arrived five feet from us in a rush of air, his feet landing cleanly and without impact on the walkway. “I located Danny’s boat. It’s parked in the same spot you guys were in yesterday, but he’s nowhere to be found. We need to leave right now.” Ray’s voice was hard. Even though he likely wouldn’t admit it, he loved Danny and Naomi as much as the rest of us.

  “The bokor let him in just like that?” I asked.

  “That’s my guess. I didn’t see any of those snakes you talked about before, and this time the black magic around the area didn’t fuck with me as much. Maybe because I was just there. But I flew over the top to check it out and remember more details. The trees all look dead from above, gnarled and black. The memory is fading quickly, but that place is rotten from the inside out.”

  “We’re almost done here,” I said. “Marcy just has to put the spells in bags.”

  My father stood from his place at the table where he’d watched Marcy work. “When we go, we take all the airboats. The channel where you crossed over into her land has two entrances. There’s another channel farther west. We’ll split up and meet where Daniel parked his boat.”

  It was the only viable option we had. The bokor would be expecting us, and she wasn’t about to let an angry army of werewolves invade her land. We all knew it but had no choice but to move forward and hope we could breach her wards.

  I stood and Rourke laid a hand on my back and leaned around to my ear, rubbing his stubble along my neck. “She’s not going to play nice. If we get separated, remember the power inside you. Call on it individually if you need to. Each supernatural has a different strength.”

  Marcy poured the spells into the bags, tying the ends with a makeshift closure made of wire, so they looked like little water balloons. “He’s right,” she said. “If you can find a way to concentrate anything Selene gave you and push it into the words attached to these spells”—she shook the bags—“like uttering a power word, the spell will become even stronger. Each of these spells has a keyword attached. I’ll give them to you on the boat.”

  I nodded. I’d managed to separate the demon essence inside me in the Underworld and use it to my advantage. Since receiving the power of five, it’d been stored away in my body and I hadn’t focused on it. I’d left it to my wolf. Can we easily pull magic individually when needed? I asked my wolf. She snapped her jaw, showing us taking what we wanted. How do I pull just one kind? Magic erupted inside my mind, a kaleidoscope of colors—my wolf’s way of showing me that each magic had a different signature. Mine was gold. Eudoxia’s was white—and now pale orange, which must be her fae magic. Demon essence was black. Selene’s was pink. Rourke’s was slate green. It was the first time I realized I had my mate’s magic signature inside me.

  “I have a piece of your magic,” I said to Rourke, a little surprised to find it there, even though I knew it was there.

  He chuckled as he began to lead me toward the waiting boats. “That you do.”

  “Do you think I can turn into a cat now?” I joked. “Because that would be awesome.”

  “No.” He grinned. “That’s hardwired into my DNA. But I do think you’ll be able to run faster now, especially in your animal form. Did you feel different when we ran after the crash?”

  “I wasn’t paying attention,” I admitted. “I was too worried about dodging hungry alligators and getting out of there with both my legs intact. But I kept up with you, no problem, so I’d say that’s a yes.”

  Four airboats pulled alongside Danny’s boat, two from one end and two from another. There were nineteen of us total. The short trip over had been uneventful, even though once we crossed into her territory, the air was denser than it had been before, heavy with intent.

  She knew we were coming and she was preparing herself.

  Ray dropped out of the sky onto the cypress roots next to our boat. “Storm clouds are gathering directly above us. I can’t believe this bokor can mess with the weather, but something is definitely brewing up there.” He pointed to the sky and my eyes tracked upward. Sure enough, big, dark clouds were pulling together, forming a huge front right above our heads.

  “She’s going to do everything she can to protect her realm from attack,” I said. “I’m not surprised. She only has two choices. She either has to bide her time or launch a preemptive attack. We have to prepare ourselves for her to pick the latter.”

  My father sat in the boat directly across from me. “We all go in at once and scour the area. Naomi’s and Daniel’s scent are all over this area. I know we can find them, but we’ll have to be tenacious about it.”

  Behind me, in our boat, James was quietly arguing with Marcy to stay put, but she was loudly having none of it. “You can’t be serious,” she addressed her mate. “There’s no part of me that’s going to sit on the sidelines and watch the people I love get hurt while I can help.” She stood, and James raised his head up to the sky in defeat, reluctantly standing to help her out of the boat. Once she was out, I followed. She handed me the baggies and a pouch with a long strip of fabric to tie around my waist. “Here you go,” she said. “They’re all ready to use. They’re as airtight as I could make them. The important thing to remember is to split the bag open while uttering the words. You can either toss it to the ground or explode it in your fist.” The words she’d given me were in Latin and corresponded to the colors of the spells. “I made a little pouch for them out of an old shirt, and once you wrap the ties around you, I spelled them to stay put. Again, not ideal, but it should work.”

  I did as she asked, taking the strip of fabric and tying it around my hips. Once I cinched it tight, I felt the spell activate. I tried to move the pouch, but it wouldn’t budge. “How do I pick the right one, at the right time?”

  “There’s no need to pick,” Marcy said. “They are all defensive. Just make sure you pair the color with the right word.”

  All the wolves disembarked from the airboats around me and someone shouted, “Alligators!”

  I craned my neck around and saw an army of alligators heading toward us from both directions. “Into the trees,” my father ordered. “They can’t climb trees.”

  We all began to jump onto the root banks, and then from tree to tree. Some of the younger wolves scampered higher into the branches, trying to scout our situation better. Rourke took the lead and I followed. Within a minute or two we arrived at roughly the same place we’d crossed over into the prieste
ss’s boundary before.

  This time nothing happened.

  “Spread out,” my father called from his position down from us. “And stay vigilant.”

  I could scent both Danny and Naomi, just as my father had said. Their smells were all over this place and it was incredibly frustrating. James and Marcy were behind us, with Tyler bringing up the rear. Ray had taken to the sky again, but he was hovering close. We were all on the lookout for a potential threat.

  Behind us, the alligators were thrashing in the water.

  “There must be a hundred of them down there,” Ray called from the air. “It’s totally nuts. All their eyes are beady red.”

  I took another careful step over some roots and felt something whisper past my neck. We’ve been waiting, the breathy voice said, almost too soft to detect. I stopped in my tracks. “Did anyone hear that?” I called.

  Rourke froze ahead of me, sensing my unease, and glanced back. “I didn’t hear anything. Was it the same voice you heard before?”

  I nodded. Marcy was right behind me. I turned back to her. “Did you hear it?”

  “No, but I believe you,” she answered gravely. “The hairs on my arm are yelling at me.” She lifted her arm, and sure enough, goose bumps had erupted. “We’re definitely inside her zone. I’ve sent out magical feelers and tried to push a few spells through her ward, but nothing is working.”

  Something brushed by my ear again.

  I’d had some interactions with ghosts once before in New Orleans, but this was decidedly different. The ghosts there had felt like gusts of cool air brushing against my skin. This was a hot wind, dragging long tendrils in its wake, slashing at me as it passed by.

  It was full of evil.

  The temperature around us suddenly dropped exponentially.