Good for you, I wanted to shout. I only wished this was a trick. I didn’t know what was happening, why I felt like I was dying, and then I remembered … Ena’s goddamned throwing knife. I’d been poisoned, and knowing that bitch, whatever had coated the blade was probably nasty.
Shit, I was dying.
I opened my eyes, but my vision was fuzzy, gray. I rolled onto my side, but the new position offered no relief. I curled into a ball as sweat poured off me and fear raked icy claws down my spine.
I really didn’t think this was how I’d go.
I couldn’t breathe.
Then everything started narrowing, dimming.
I vaguely heard the door opening and Ren’s footsteps as he strolled toward me. Bastard. He crouched down and peered at my face. “You are not well.”
No shit, I sent to his itty bitty man brain. Ena poisoned me.
His eyes widened, guilt flecking that beautiful gold. I will get you help, Meckenzie.
Gee, thanks.
Then I passed out.
“I’M REALLY GETTING tired of fainting,” I said. I sounded like I’d swallowed shards of glass followed by a fireball chaser, and my head felt stuffed with cotton, and Good freaking God, there was a voluptuous red-head smiling warmly at me, which was freaking me out. “Who the hell are you?”
“You’re just as charming as they said,” she replied. “I’m the witch who saved your life. Lenette.”
“Oh.” I felt a lot less cranky toward her. “Thanks. Where’s tall, blond, and clueless?”
Lenette laughed. “If you’re talking about the guilt-wracked Ren, I sent him in search of a very rare herb I didn’t actually need. He was driving me crazy with all his pacing and questions.”
“Really?” I perked up. “Worried, was he?”
“Massively.”
“Good.” I slowly sat up, and took the glass of water that Lenette offered. I really hated ended up comatose in strange beds. I drained the glass and put it on the nightstand next to the comfy four-poster bed. “Where am I exactly?”
“The Three Sisters Bed and Breakfast Inn. Ren brought you here a few hours ago. It was touch and go there for a while. But I managed to detox the poison and heal with you some magic and herbal remedies.”
“Thank you,” I said. “A lot. Being alive is better than alternative.”
“Well, there’re alternatives … and alternatives,” she said. “I hear you’re looking for Brigid.”
“You know where she is?”
Lenette shook her head. “She pops into town every now and again, but I haven’t seen her around lately. Why do you need her?”
I cut off the urge to say, “Nosy much?” because after all, the woman saved my life. I swallowed the sarcasm, and said, “I need her help to get an evil witch off my tail.”
“Ah, yes. Ena.” Lenette’s expression soured. “She’s been causing problems all over town.”
“Totally my fault. I wasn’t trying to get anyone hurt. I thought if I could get to Brigid, she could get back my Mom’s soul from Ena, and it’d all be square.”
“Sometimes, the sacrifice is greater than the reward,” said Lenette. Her green eyes were edge with sorrow, and I had the oddest feeling that sadness was for me.
“Hoo-kay then,” I said. I was a little shaken by Lenette’s you’re-so-doomed-Meckenzie vibe. “I’m starving. You got anything decadent and without nutritional value around here?”
Lenette smiled. “Absolutely.”
I shoved the covers back, and got out of bed. I had a woozy moment then the world righted, and I took a couple tentative steps.
“Are you all right?” asked Lenette.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve felt worse, believe me.”
“You’ve dealt with being poisoned before?”
“No, but I’ve done my share of tequila.”
Lenette laughed. Then she held out her arm, and even though it made me a sissy la-la, I took it. We hadn’t even crossed the room when Ren appeared in the doorway, his expression zipping from worried to furious.
“What are you doing?” He strode inside, shoved a paper bag at Lenette, and then scooped me into his arms. “You are not well. You cannot leave the bed until you are fully rested.”
“Um, you’re not the boss of me,” I said. “Lenette promised me fat-laden treats.”
The witch in question, however, abandoned me to the lycan-vampire, shutting the door behind her. The last thing I saw was a knowing grin on her pretty, traitorous face.
“Put me down,” I said, even though I really didn’t want him to. I liked the feel of his arms around me, how warm and safe he felt. We were not ever going to be anything to each other, and that made me incredibly sad. I’d never been the relationship-type, certainly not the get-married-have-kids-live-normal-lives type. I found it disconcerting that I could imagine being with Ren as … well, my forever guy.
“You will do as I say,” he said. His eyes flashed red and he bared his fangs at me.
“Oh, bite me.”
“Do not tempt me,” he snarled.
I really wanted to poke at him, just to see how far I could push before he unleashed that tightly reigned beast of his. What can I say? I don’t like to play it safe. Still. I was feeling tired, and vulnerable, and for once, just once, I wanted to fall into the care of someone else. Even if that someone was a cranky loup de sang.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll rest.”
Ren peered at me a moment longer, as though he couldn’t process that I wasn’t going to fight with him. Then he relaxed a smidge.
“I’m sorry I thought you were faking,” he said, his gaze filled with regret.
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “That’s totally a tactic I would’ve used. Forgiven.”
He allowed one corner of his mouth to curl up. “You are fascinating,” he murmured.
“I know.”
He lay me down gently, but before he could move his arms, I grabbed him and hauled him forward. Surprise was on my side, and he fell on top of me with a startled umph.
“What are you doing?” he asked. He made no move to leave. Instead he adjusted himself so that he wasn’t squishing me so much. “What do you want?”
“You,” I said, cupping his face.
I could see all the doubts he had about me, about what was unfolding between us. I didn’t want to see that distrust, and know that I deserved it and worse.
“Kiss me,” I said softly. “Just take a chance, Ren. And kiss me.”
Desire flared in that golden gaze, burning away all those other pesky emotions. He looked at me, just looked, and that sensual appraisal started a trembling in my belly. He leaned down, a teeny tiny bit, and parted his lips. My heartbeat tripled, and the air in my lungs evaporated.
Then that bitch Ena blew up the damned room.
Ren covered me and protected me from the debris of the mangled wall. Dust thickened the air, and the sounds of falling boards and bricks echoed in the silence.
“Are you o—” Ren was yanked off me, and thrown against the door, which was amazingly intact. He jumped to his feet, growling, and made a leap for the nearest cowl-covered witch. A rope of black electric magic pushed against his middle like a giant fist, and pinned him against the door. His gaze sought mine, and he yelled, “Meckenzie!” Then his voice was cut off. I watched his neck muscles strain as he fought against the magic. My heart dove to my toes, and panic did the cha-cha up my spine.
I rolled up onto my elbows, but before I could even think about getting off the bed and trying to kick some butt, Ena’s face appeared above mine. I shrank down.
Her eyes narrowed with rage. “You’re a pain in the ass, Meckenzie.”
She punched me, hard, and I felt blinding pain, and then boom, I was out. Again.
Damn it.
“DID YOU FORGET our bargain?”
“I fulfilled my end,” I wheezed. I ended my comment with a coughing fit. Inhaling blown-up wall bits was not good for the ol’ vocal chords. I was still feeling
groggy, but I was aware enough to know I was laying on my back—in my bra and underwear, thank you—chained to some kind of really uncomfortable rock. “What did you do to Ren?”
“He is not your concern.”
“The hell he’s not.”
“I want my dragon’s egg!” she screamed.
Dragon’s egg? I had no idea if the big-assed jewel I’d taken was just called “dragon’s egg” or if it was literally the egg of a dragon. I had never thought about how dragons procreated before. “I sold it to the buyer,” I said. “You’re not getting it back.”
“It’s here,” she insisted. “And you must get it for me.”
“Um … no.” Well, at least I knew Ena’s motivation for wanting to get into Broken Heart. How had she tracked down the buyer? Oh, why was I surprised? She was scarily powerful. Whatever that dragon’s egg meant to her—and no doubt it was necessary for some evil plot she’d hatched (hah … egg … hatched … what? I get silly when under pressure, aw right?)
“Your mother’s soul hangs in the balance, Meckenzie.” She grabbed me by the throat and jerked me upright. Her fingers squeezed hard, her sharp nails digging into my flesh. “If you fail me again, I will send dear, darling mommy into the world-between-worlds. She will never be free.”
Chills darted down my back, and lodged like arrows in my guts. I was sick of Ena and her threats, and I was worried about more than my own ass this time. “Tell me where Ren is, and I’ll get your goddamned egg.”
Ena paused in her frenetic pacing, her dark gaze on my face. Her lips curled into a sneer. “Bring me the abomination.”
Given my current position, which was securely pinned to a pokey, scratchy, stupid rock, I couldn’t move my head too well. I needn’t have worried. Ren was shoved next to Ena. His face was bloodied, and he was so constricted with magic, it looked like he was wearing a black Snuggie. Not even his considerable powers could break the dark sorcery of Ena and her hag crew. What chance did I have? And PS: No idea where the freaking egg was.
“You have two hours to bring me the dragon’s egg,” said Ena. “Or you will forfeit your mother’s soul—and Ren Marchand’s life.”
Double whammy. I tried to hide my fear. Mom’s soul being on the line, that I was used to, but being responsible for the life of a dude I hadn’t even kissed yet? Holy crap. I swallowed the knot clogging my throat, and affected a bored tone. “I take it you know its location?”
“The dragon elders hid it here,” said Ena. “I’ve narrowed down the quadrant. You’ll have to pinpoint its exact location and take it.”
“If that’s all info you can give me, I’ll need more than two hours.” Soooo, dragon elders had hired me to steal the egg from Ena? What up with that? And anyway, the hell if I was gonna steal it back for the Ena the Evil Haginator. All I needed her to do was to unchain me. If I could get free, and claw her eyes out, then maybe the magic around Ren would weaken enough for him to escape. Maybe. The other witches didn’t seem to be as magically strong as Ena; it was possible they needed her to funnel their own magic.
It was a helluva risk.
I wanted nothing more than to free Mom’s soul. She deserved peace. But she would not be happy if she knew that I had sacrificed a living creature to free her. The dead are no longer concerned with earthly matters. Life is for the living, Meckenzie, so live well.
“Two. Hours. If you cannot do it in that amount of time, it matters not. Your mother’s soul and Ren’s life will be forfeit. And so will yours.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “I get it already. Get me out of this ugly jewelry so I can go get your precious.” So, Ena was on some kind of time frame, something to do with that egg, and I could imagine that whatever she had planned, it fell under the label, “Sucktastic Situation.”
Ena snapped her fingers and the chains fell away. I rolled up to a sitting position and rubbed the back of my neck.
“You’re wasting time,” spat Ena.
“You’re right,” I said. I shot out my legs and kicked her hard in the stomach. She flew backward, screeching. The other witches were so stunned by seeing their leader fall down; they just stood around and stared at her.
I knew I only had seconds. So, I jumped off the stone, ran, and leapt on top of Ena. My knees pressed against her chest—wow, she had no boobs. Maybe giving her an A-cup was somehow karma’s way of compensating for her tiny, blackened heart. Her cowl fell back, revealing her pale face and wheat blonde hair. It was so not fair she didn’t even have any warts or scars. But no, she was all beautiful and shit. Well, until she went all crazy with the snarling and spitting and eye-narrowing—then she was one ugly bitch.
I punched her in the face. Her head snapped back, and she yowled. So, I did it again. I couldn’t check to see if Ren had gotten free. I knew my window of getting the best of Ena was closing fast. Especially as the others had unglued their feet from the cave’s floor and rushed in toward us.
I grabbed her hair and tried to bang her skull against the ground.
“Enough!” cried Ena.
I was airborne before I’d realized quite what had happened. Ena was screaming in outraged pain … um, probably because I two handfuls of blonde hair that I’d ripped out as I was tossed off her. I landed hard on my side, and groaned as pain jolted up my spine and down my legs. Ouchfuckingouch!
I scrambled to my feet. Okay, I really listed to my feet and wobbled around to face several very pissed-off witches.
And found that my plan had worked. Ren was free. And he was kicking some major ass. He was a blaze of sound and motion and fury. Several of the lesser hags-in-waiting were crumbled on the ground, and now there were only three. Unfortunately, one of ‘em was Ena, and she was a tad upset. Yeah, possibly because she might need some Rogaine now that she was thinned out on both sides of her head.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to mess up Ren’s fighting mojo, which was scary-awesome, but I was worried about him. Ena could cook up some nasty shit, and I didn’t want him to suffer any consequences that should be mine.
I started toward them with no real plan about how help, but I had determination out the wazoo. I’d gotten within a few feet of the three-on-one melee, when I saw Ena reach for something under her robe.
She drew out a long, thin curved blade. I stopped moving and gaped. Where the hell had she hidden that thing? It gleamed in the light of the flame torches on the cave walls—and wow, did I mention what a bad-guy-hideout cliché we’d ended up in? A torch lit cave? Really?
Ena had no imagination.
Except when it came to pain and torture.
I noticed that Ren edged further back, his gaze on the sword.
“That’s right,” she practically cooed. “Pure silver. I will take your head, blood wolf.” She swung it, but Ren easily dodged the blade and went low, trying to sweep out her legs. She leapt backward and her cronies moved forward, magic expelling from their upraised palms.
Ropes of black glittering magic spewed forth and went at Ren like snakes. He pulled back, attempting to move out of reach of the magic while also staying out of the range of Ena’s sword.
Then the magic grabbed hold of him; tendrils wrapped around his wrists and dragged him forward. Then more of ‘em grabbed his ankles and his legs. He was forced to his knees—and then his head was stretched back, giving Ena a primo spot to embed her sword.
The. Hell.
I ran at her, screaming like a crazy warrior woman. I had no weapons, no plan, and no fucking sense. But I wouldn’t let her hurt Ren. The sword swooped down, but I plowed into Ena like a linebacker taking down the other team’s quarterback. She managed to keep hold of the sword, but not her feet.
We landed in a heap, fighting for the blade, but Ena was in full-on fury mode. I was having a difficult time warding off her blows.
The other witches couldn’t do much given all their attention was focused on keeping Ren trapped. I could hear him growling, and the witches muttering, and then Ena was bucking me off, and risi
ng to her feet.
Literally. She floated in the air, and zoomed toward the Ren, blade raised.
I have never moved so fast in my life. One of the reasons I’m a good thief is that I’m flexible, and I do a lot of gymnastics. I put on the moves, and ended up standing in front of Ren seconds before the blade swooshed toward that beautiful neck of his.
Ena couldn’t stop the trajectory, but given the look of hatred in her gaze, I don’t think she was that sorry when the sword slashed across my ribcage. She twisted the sword and brought it up over my stomach.
It felt like I’d been set on fire. Pain exploded through me.
“Crap,” I muttered. I crumpled to the floor, unable to breathe. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears; it was slowing, a lullaby good-bye.
I heard the most unearthly howl. I couldn’t feel my body anymore, so I didn’t know how to turn my head to view what was happening. Besides, everything was getting gray, and going really fuzzy around the edges. But I heard screams, growls, thumping, and odd crunching noises.
Then there was nothing except the harsh, shuddering breaths of Ren. He knelt next to me, his expression ravaged; he was also naked and spattered with blood.
“Meckenzie,” he whispered.
I couldn’t get words to form, but I wanted to say that I’d wished we had that kiss, and that I could see him again—with more naked, of course—and that—
The world went dark.
“YOU WERE SO brave, honey.”
I looked up, unaware of how I’d gotten under this massive tree. I was sitting next to my mother.
“Mom!” I wrapped my arms around her neck and squeezed the life outta her. Then I remembered she was dead, and if I was seeing her—oh, shit. “I’m dead?”
“Your corporeal form, yes.”
“But you’re free from the shadows and can, um … move on?”
“Ena’s dead, and with her any curses she cast. So, yes. I’m free.”
I figured this was the part where she told me she was going off to heaven and me to a much warmer place, but she merely drew me in for another hug. “You will have such a good life,” she said into my hair. “You will have love, and family, and oh so many wonderful adventures.”
Broken Heart: Visitor's Pass (Paranormal Boxed Set) (Broken Heart Paranormal Series Book 0) Page 3
