Catch Me When I Fall

by Vicki Leigh

  “We can feel you, dumbass,” the witch said and slammed me into the wall before I had a chance to react. I looked at my arms when I fell to the ground. My skin glowed.

  Lian turned the corner, going corporeal, and shot the witch between the eyes. I swore when the loud boom from the gun shook the room. So much for being stealthy. From the kitchen came the other three Magus—the young witch I had seen in the window, and two others, a warlock and another witch.

  Lian tried to shoot them, but the warlock flung her into the wall opposite me before she had the chance to squeeze the trigger. Her head hit the wall, and she fell to the floor, unconscious. I jumped up to fight, but he was too strong. His hand pointed in my direction, and white-hot pain covered me from head to toe, like I’d stepped into a furnace. I fell to my knees.

  Before I had the chance to warn him not to, Lucca threw a blade, revealing his location. The older witch stopped the knife in midair, and with a twist of her hand, the dagger spun around and landed in Lucca’s stomach.

  “No!” Samantha screamed, her resolve to stay invisible breaking. The older witch blasted her with a burst of air. Samantha flew down the hall until I could no longer see her.

  “You people just don’t know when to quit,” the warlock said. “Here we were, enjoying a nice summer night, when five of you stained our floors with magic blood. I thought I made it very clear when I let those Protectors return that our fight was not with your kind. And yet, a few hours later, four more show up. Do you have any idea how insulting that is?”

  “You made it your fight when you used Nightmares to attack humans,” I replied. The pain in my body intensified. I bent forward and gasped. With every ounce of energy I could muster, I placed my finger on my gun’s trigger as he spoke and tipped the gun upward.

  “So, that’s what this is about?” he teased. “You think we’re the ones running the show?” He laughed. “You fools. You have no idea how deep the pool of shit is you’ve stepped into. Not just Nightmares are on his side. And as soon as he gets his hands on the three Magus you’re harboring, you’re going to wish you’d followed him when you had the chance.”

  “We’ll see about that.” I pressed my gun’s trigger. The bullet went straight through the warlock’s head.

  The older witch screamed and held her hands out to attack, but from behind me, another shot rang out and a bullet hole smoked between the witch’s eyes. I snapped my head around. Samantha stared straight ahead, her eyes hard.

  Alone now, the young witch I’d seen in the window ran.

  I nodded Samantha my thanks and pointed at Lian. “Get her and Lucca back to Rome. I’m going after the girl.”

  I jumped up from the floor, the pain in my body gone with the death of the warlock, and sprinted through the house. The front door swung open as I rounded the corner from the kitchen into the front room. The girl ran across the porch and down the steps. She stopped when my team stepped out of the cornfield, corporeal, guns pointed at her head.

  “Please, don’t hurt me!” she screamed when I barreled out the front door. She sobbed. “They kidnapped me and brought me here. I swear I’m not one of them.”

  I crossed the front yard to where she stood, but when I got closer, I stopped cold. Finally, I recognized her face. Adelynn Rudolf, the witch who had been taken from her bed in Seattle.

  Dropping my gun, I walked toward her slowly. “Adelynn, yeah? I saw your picture on the news. I’m a friend. I won’t hurt you. But, I need you to come with me. We have someone who can help you.”

  She nodded and walked toward me, her gloved hands outstretched like she wanted a hug. Then, I remembered what Bartholomew said about her abilities—her touch killed her boyfriend.

  Standing perfectly still, I watched her every movement. If I grabbed her clothes instead of her skin, I could get us both back to Rome. But if I slipped and touched her skin, I was going to die.

  When Adelynn closed in on me, her eyes squinted. “You really should’ve let me go.” She leapt on me, knocking me to the ground. I flipped her over, careful to avoid skin-to-skin contact. With a leg on each side of her and my hands pinned to her upper arms, I evaporated to Rome.

  We landed on the floor in the room designated as her holding cell where Trishna waited.

  “Manus in manu tua alligo!” Trishna yelled. And just in time. Adelynn kneed me between the legs. My arms weakened beneath me, and I sucked in air, the throbbing pain radiating from my groin to my stomach. Adelynn grabbed my face and smashed her lips against mine.

  But nothing happened.

  Adelynn jostled me off her with a scream. I squeezed my eyes closed and winced. Any further movement, I would vomit on the floor.

  “No! You should be dead!” Adelynn turned around to Trishna. “What did you do to me?” She ran at her, poised to attack, but Trishna held up her hands, freezing Adelynn.

  “Sit.” She moved a hand to her left, forcing Adelynn into a chair. “Daniel, can you move? I have to put a gate over the doorway, and you need to be on the other side.”

  Nodding, I turned onto my stomach and pushed myself up with a grunt. I bent over, nauseous, and then walked out the door.

  y the time I reached the grand foyer, the pain in my stomach and groin had mostly subsided, but the shock hit me at how easily Adelynn could’ve taken my life. I should’ve known better than to leave myself open to attack like that. If Trishna had waited one more second to perform her spell, I’d be floating in eternal blackness. Never another thought, another smell, another sound—never another anything.

  Kayla’s voice was the first thing I heard when I stepped into the foyer, and I turned to her just in time to catch her in my arms as she flung herself at me. I held her tight, burying my face in her hair, taking in the strawberry smell of her shampoo and the feel of her body in my arms. After a minute, I pulled away and lifted her face, staring into her beautiful, hazel eyes. The bottoms of them were filled with tears. I kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. The others were watching, but I didn’t care.

  “When Sam came back with Lian and Lucca, I was worried. But then when Seth appeared and told us Adelynn attacked you, I thought that meant she touched you, that you were dead. Daniel, I don’t know what I would do—” Her words turned into cries, and she gripped the back of my shirt.

  It wasn’t surprising that Kayla knew what Adelynn was capable of. I squeezed her tight and kissed the top of her head. “I’m all right. There was a moment where I thought I was in trouble, but Trishna saved my life.”

  Kayla nodded and looked up at me. “Seems she’s good at that.”

  I tried to smile, but I couldn’t. Behind her, a body was covered with a blanket, and Samantha stood with a hand over her mouth. Lian sat on the ground next to the body, her hand on his chest. Her eyes were red, and her black hair fell in wisps around her round face. Lucca had been her understudy, her partner.

  After kissing Kayla’s forehead, I stepped away. “Give me a second.”

  Kayla nodded and squeezed my hand before I walked over to Samantha and Lian. “You both all right?” I asked.

  Lian nodded but didn’t look at me. Samantha shook her head.

  I glanced down at the body of my comrade who had come so far—from an Italian farm boy to one of the Protectors’ best Catchers. Going up against witches was nothing like fighting Nightmares, and we’d been unprepared. Before we even went in the house, I should’ve warned him not to throw his dagger. I’d seen Alex in Bartholomew’s office, and I knew what they were capable of. Yet, I’d neglected it. I was his leader, and I failed him. My fists clenched.

  “Where’s Giovanni?” I asked.

  “He and the others went to search the house. He asked me to send you as soon as you had handled Adelynn,” Samantha replied.

  I nodded. “Thank you both for your hard work today. Tell the others tomorrow’s practice is not mandatory.”

  Leaving the two of them, my chest aching, I returned to Kayla. “I’m sorry. I have to go back to clean up our mess. I
’ll come find you as soon as I get home, okay?”

  She nodded. “Be careful.”

  I touched her cheek then evaporated to the house.

  My team wandered through the rooms, collecting everything they felt could be evidence in finding this warlock. Tonight had been our first real breakthrough. We weren’t leaving anything behind.

  In what appeared to be a study, I sat at their computer. The screen was black, like it hadn’t been used in hours. Yet, when I moved the mouse, the monitor sprung to life. I nearly laughed when I saw it wasn’t password protected. With as many people as there were in the house, I understood. But still… idiots.

  Their home screen was as normal as any other—icons for their web browser, one of those role-playing games, and other things like that. But in their Documents, I noticed something weird. There were no folders. I adjusted the settings until all the hidden folders were forced to show. My pulse raced.

  There was security footage, visitor logs, background checks and more. I tried opening a file and, when it turned out to be encrypted, searched frantically through the desk for some way to save all of this information without pulling out the hard drive. Eventually, I had to resort to returning to my room in Rome to grab my own USB drive.

  When I returned to the coven’s house, Giovanni sat at the desk.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  He jumped out of the chair and spun around to look at me. “Oh, I was just looking to see what was on here.”

  “The files are encrypted.”

  Giovanni’s eyes stayed locked with mine. “Sì, I figured that out right before you walked in. So, get what you can, and let me know what you find.” He ran from the room without another word.

  I stared after him. Was he being dodgy? If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was hiding something. Forcing down the unease in my stomach, I zipped all the files into one massive folder and transferred the documents onto my flash drive. Then I joined the others in the living room. Each Catcher held a box full of books, papers and other trinkets that might be of value to our cause.

  “Where’s Giovanni?” I asked.

  Ivan shrugged. “Who knows. He left us ten minutes ago. Said to come back when we were done.”

  With a frown, I nodded that it was time to go. We evaporated to Rome.

  When I re-appeared in the foyer, Lian was on the bottom step of the staircase. I tucked the flash drive into my pocket and joined her. She wiped her almond eyes.

  “They took his body to be burned. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She sniffed. “It’s not your fault. I should’ve warned him not to throw that dagger.”

  My heart squeezed like someone trying to burst a water balloon. “Don’t blame yourself. I’m your leader. I should’ve been the one to warn everyone about using weapons against them.”

  Lian dropped her face into her hands and spoke into her palms. “I hope Kayla and the other two can figure out what they’re doing. Because if they can’t, we’re all dead.”

  My lungs forgot how to breathe. “Forgive me, Lian,” I said before disappearing.

  In the artillery in the basement, I stared at our weapons. We had guns, knives, swords, maces, spears—a hundred different types of weapons collected over the centuries. And none of them would truly be safe against magic. We got lucky in Kansas with the guns, for with a flick of their hand, a witch could turn even our own guns against us. The only safe way to take down a witch was with another witch.

  Which meant I couldn’t protect Kayla.

  Hot bile rose in my throat. I glared at the weapons as the room blurred. My hands shook in anger, and my jaw clenched. Finally, the rage took over.

  I flipped the tables of guns, sending them crashing to the floor, the sound of metal on concrete deafening. I knocked over the display of spears and swords, and overturned the table of daggers. One of them sliced my arm, but I didn’t care. For two hundred years, I’d protected humans. My record was flawless. And now I couldn’t protect the one person I cared about most in this world. I’d never felt so weak.

  Blood ran down my forearm, dripping off my fingertips into a small puddle on the floor. My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath.

  “Daniel?” Kayla said from behind me.

  I hung my head, not wanting her to see me like this. Hearing her voice was a reminder of how hopeless I felt—how much I didn’t want to lose her. Gripping the edge of one of the remaining tables, I focused on my breathing.

  “Tabbi said I might find you down here. Did you do this?”

  I sighed, picking up one of the tables, and started to put the daggers back. Giovanni would be annoyed if I left the room in shambles. Besides, it gave me something to do other than think about how much I wanted to hide her away to keep her safe.

  Kayla quietly approached and helped pick up the tables and the weapons. She didn’t quite put things back the way they were supposed to go, but I doubted anyone would care. Together, we worked in silence until the room was tidy, then I dug my hands in my pockets and looked straight ahead.

  She gingerly touched my wounded arm. “You should get this looked at.”

  I glanced at the wound. The blood had clotted. “It’s fine. I’ll clean it later.”

  We stood there for a minute or so, until finally Kayla had had enough. “Talk to me.”

  “I don’t have anything to say.” My voice came out colder than intended.

  She dropped her hand, nodded and stepped back. “Well, I’ll be in my room if you change your mind.”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. Turning, I grabbed her wrist before she had a chance to leave. “Wait. I’m sorry. I just… can’t.”

  “Why? Because you’re afraid you’ll look weak?”

  “More or less.”

  She placed a hand on my chest, her eyes glassy. “Daniel, you don’t have to be all macho around me. I already know that you’re strong and courageous. You’ve done nothing but fight for me, protect me, comfort me. But we’re in this together, which means I want to be here for you, too. So don’t put up a wall between us, please.”

  Her words filled me with warmth from head to toe. She had so much faith in me.

  I was still angry, still scared for her future. But pushing her away was not going to make things any easier. She had dug herself into my heart. I wasn’t going to let her go. Not now. Not ever. God help me—she was not going to die while I existed.

  Wanting to be close to her, to feel her, I placed my hands on her lower back and pulled her to me. I kissed her like it was the last chance I’d ever get. She returned my advances with such passion that my heart ricocheted in my chest. Her arms linked around my neck as our mouths opened and closed in insatiable hunger. Her touch, her want for me, was enough to push me over the edge. Holding her tight in my arms, I evaporated us to my room.

  As soon as we landed, Kayla grabbed the bottom of my shirt and, breathing heavily, lifted it over my head. I raised her lips back to mine and slipped my tongue into her mouth. Running her fingertips down my chest to my stomach and around my back, she let them linger just under the top of my trousers. The way she caressed my body sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to touch her, to kiss her body, to feel her every surface. Gently, I pushed her against the wall. Again and again, we’d been interrupted. It was not going to happen this time.

  Holding her hands against the wall so she couldn’t reach out, I nuzzled her neck, nibbling softly until she began to moan. Then I kissed down her chest to where her breasts peeked out the top of her tank top. She whimpered and fought to get her hands out of mine.

  Aching for her, my hands released hers to tear off her shirt. I returned my lips to her mouth and ran my hands down her back, stopping only to pull her sports bra over her head. Her chest naked, she arched her back, and her breasts pressed against me. I shuddered and moved my hands down the back of her gym shorts, giving her bum a squeeze. Then I pulled her hips against mine, and she moaned into
my mouth.

  God, I wasn’t going to make it much longer.

  I carried her to my bed, laying her down on her back, and undid my trousers, sliding them off with my boxers in a single motion. Her cheeks flushed as I joined her on the bed. I fought the insecurity that wormed its way into my stomach. I’d never felt more vulnerable with a woman than I did right now.

  I kissed her stomach, up between her breasts to her neck. Goose pimples rose on her warm skin, and her entire body shook. I smiled at her involuntary reaction and took her breasts in my hands. Her pulse raced in her neck beneath my lips as she dug her fingertips into my back and moaned loudly.

  Pulling off her gym shorts and underwear, I took in the sight of her lying naked on my bed. My heart jumped in my chest. Holy shit. She was so beautiful, so curvy, so perfectly sculpted. I swallowed, my throat dry. Never had I wanted so badly to make someone happy.

  “Do we need, you know?” she asked.

  Protection? I shook my head. “Catchers can’t procreate.”

  She grabbed my face and kissed me hard, and I lost myself in ecstasy.

  knock on my door startled me awake. Kayla hid under the covers. The TV was on in the background.

  “Did I fall asleep?” I asked.

  Kayla nodded. “We were talking and the next thing I knew, you were snoring.”

  Burying my face in my pillow, I tried to apologize, but the words came out muffled. “Smrwy.”

  She squeezed my arm and laughed. “Yeah, you should be.”

  Someone knocked on the door again.

  “You gonna get that?” she asked.

  I rolled off the bed, putting on my trousers, and opened the door just enough to see who was there. Seth.

  “Hey, man. I need to talk to you.”

  “All right?” The last thing I wanted was for him to come in when there was a sexy, naked girl in my bed. I also didn’t want that sexy, naked girl to put any clothes back on. Hopefully this would be quick.