Hunted Witch Agency Box Set Books 4-5 (Hunted Witch Agency Set Book 2)

by Rachel Medhurst

  “There she is, the famous Essex witch. I’m sorry to hear about your unfortunate mishap. I can’t even begin to understand how it feels to lose a part of yourself.” The criminal watched me, his face clear of expression.

  And, yet, I knew he was being genuine. Why did he have such an interest in me? And, why the hell did his words warm me slightly? Because of the darkness in him. The darkness I had lost with the warlock link.

  “You might as well give up now, Cameron,” Gerard called. “We have you surrounded.”

  The witch glared at my boyfriend, his cheeks turning pink. “Ah, the light witch. The one who torments himself because of past mistakes. It’s good to see that you’ve healed a lot of your broody bullshit. And, the famous agent pair,” he said, looking at Justina and Kurt. “So revered in your field. Congratulations, by the way.”

  A shiver ran over me. He had done his research, and considering we were top agents, he’d uncovered much more than he should’ve done. Maybe the government had let him know more than they’d realised. How had they believed the cold hearted murderer?

  “Why did you kill all those people?” I blurted.

  As I caught his attention, Cameron lowered the knife to his side. He was ready to talk, or was he keeping us distracted?

  The hairs on my arm stood up as I linked into the ley line. Allowing myself to relax into the magic, I almost gasped at the difference. Now that my warlock link was gone, my pure magic was expansive. I could push the energy out of me, almost scanning for… something. I wasn’t sure what.

  “Because my sister is in love with a warlock. I had to stop them. As much as I admire you, I don’t want my sister arrested because of her foolishness. Being in love with another paranormal species is illegal.”

  He had a point. A big one. However, he hadn’t answered my question. “I’m sorry,” I said, stepping in front of the others. “How does that justify killing tons of humans and witches?”

  His mouth opened, showing his gritted teeth. It was obviously a touchy subject for him, which was strange. He had seemed completely emotionally distant. What was driving him to act this way?

  “If Mackenzie’s locked away, they’ll both be safe. I had to do something drastic to make sure he’ll never be freed.”

  Wait. Cameron had excused his behaviour as a protection mechanism for both Mackenzie and Candy?

  The others shuffled on their feet. They were getting agitated. The longer we kept him talking, the harder it would be to get the job done. We had to take him in, one way or another. However, the threat against the witch who we’d sworn to protect stopped us from just shooting him.

  “I understand,” I said, keeping my gaze locked on his. “You love your sister.”

  Nodding, he shifted to the right slightly, his gaze going just above my head. He was waiting for someone. Pushing my energy further out, I coughed when the magical imprints of several other witches, all in a circle around us, alerted me to their presence.

  Turning my head to the side, but keeping my eye on Cameron, I quietly spoke to my team. “We’ve got company.”

  “I’m sorry.” Cameron glanced at the witch. “I knew that this was a set up. My contacts told me that every witch had been caught. When you tried to trick me into believing that Lucas here got away, I knew what was happening. I came because I need to end this chase and get back to my life.”

  The click of my colleagues guns made me glance over my shoulder. The others frowned as each magazine dropped out of the handles of their gun, thumping on the ground below. Shit, they’d just been disarmed.

  Several witches, both male and female, approached us, their hands held out. They were casting a barrier spell, their bodies the boundary.

  “It’s okay,” Cameron said, pointing directly at me. “I just want to deal with you.”

  My friends spun as several witches appeared out of nowhere and came at them. I stepped back as Gerard engaged with one of them, whacking his gun over the enemy’s head.

  The witch’s head snapped back, but he kept coming, throwing his fists into Gerard’s side.

  About to go to his defence, I stopped when Justina grunted. Shit, no. She should not be fighting. If she was hit in the stomach, she could lose the-

  “Leave that one alone!” Cameron ordered as a witch ploughed his fist into my boss’s face. “She’s pregnant.”

  Instantly backing off, the witch howled when Justina cast a freezing spell. His hands turned to blocks of ice, forcing him to drop to the ground.

  “What do you want?” I snarled as I faced Cameron.

  He still held the witch. The man was squirming, his little beady eyes begging me to help him. As if I cared what happened to a man who had no regard for those he had harmed. Not just the people he had killed, but the families they’d left behind.

  “I told you, I need to be free of you so I can go back to my life. You need to arrest Mackenzie. Lock him up for life, and then, I’ll let your friends go.”

  My insides quivered in rage as my skin heated. The group of witches had captured the other agents and were marching them towards our enemy. Gerard shook his head when I went to move towards them. It was a warning. He wanted me to engage Cameron. For some reason, he had some kind of fascination with me. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.

  “Okay,” I said, tucking my dagger away and holding up my hands in surrender. “I don’t have the power to do what you say, only Justina does.”

  “You have all the power.” He released the witch, shoving him to one of his cronies.

  They had grown in number, roughly fifteen of them now surrounded us. Some casting the barrier spell, others now holding my friends.

  “I’m nowhere near as powerful as I was. You need to let them go so they can do what you ask.” My hands were shaking slightly. My first foray into the field without my warlock magic was intimidating. Especially now I was face to face with a powerful mob coven leader who had it in his head that I could make decisions. I’d never been good when I had to make a choice. Did he not know that? It had taken me almost ten thousand years to decide whether I wanted to be leader of the warlocks. And, I’d never got round to deciding whether I was going to be a witch or a warlock. That was taken out of my hands. Huh. Maybe that meant it was time to take my life back, and make the bloody decisions.

  “No!” I almost shouted as he went to speak. “I will not bow down to you. I’m sick and tired of running away, of trying to be diplomatic. Sorry,” I said to Justina who just shrugged. “I will not be pushed around anymore. I am fucking powerful.”

  A big smirk spread across Cameron’s face. “See, I told you I could open you up. Can’t you see how amazing we’d be together? You, with all that ley line magic. Me, teaching you how to use it. Between us, we’d be able to take over the world. If we wanted to.”

  Flames licked my stomach as he leered at me. Er, what was happening? Was the man coming on to me? If he was, it was extremely creepy.

  Gerard thrust his elbow back into his captor’s gut, bringing the man to the ground. Whipping my dagger out when Cameron was distracted, I crouched down and held the tip to the earth, right where the ley line rested underneath. I hadn’t noticed how strong it vibrated beneath my feet when we’d first arrived.

  Using my dagger now, I could access the magic directly, without bringing it through me. My body had weakened the link, but now I could finally wield the dagger properly.

  “STOP!” I cried, drawing everyone’s attention to me.

  Several witches had pounced on Gerard, forcing him to comply. He stopped struggling when he heard me, his gaze connecting with mine. A small smile came to his lips. I winked quickly as Cameron looked at me.

  Holding his hand out when the other witches’ feet went to step forward, he swallowed hard. His eyes widened as he watched the flicker of pure white flames travel from the ground, over and up my dagger. Instead of sinking into the metal, it carried on up my arm. The sensation was tickly as it engulfed my body, setting me alight with magic I
had never been able to access.

  “Shit,” I muttered, looking at Kurt. “You’ll have to perform that spell on me after all this has ended. This kind of power is addictive.”

  Cameron slowly came forward. Stretching up into a normal stand, I held the dagger in front of me. Would he fight me? He would be a fool to think that his tainted magic would be a match for mine.

  “I need you in my life.” His legs were moving, his arms outstretched.

  A crazed look entered his eyes as I ran backwards, trying to keep him at bay. He had been right about me not knowing how to use the ley line magic properly. I was worried that by using it now, I would hurt my friends.

  Somehow, I managed to stay on my feet until my back bashed into the wall of protection. A hiss pushed through my clenched teeth when the heat from the spell seared the back of my bare arms.

  “I’m still trying to be diplomatic,” I said as I side-tracked, dodging a witch who held the spell.

  Launching himself, Cameron came for me. Ducking, I spun away, swiping my dagger through the arm of his jacket. He howled as the tip of the blade sliced his skin.

  The other agents had engaged in fighting again. There was no way I could expect them to not join in. And, yet, what if the magic overtook again? I had to hold back if I wanted them to survive. After seeing what I was capable of at the factory, I was on edge, unable to release my full power.

  “I will have your magic,” Cameron screamed as he held his arm.

  Opening his mouth wide, he recited an ancient spell. One that I recognised straight away. It was the one my mother had used to transfer the warlock link from me to the tree. He was trying to steal my link to the ley line.

  “Devon!” Gerard shouted. “No more diplomacy!”

  Ducking out of the way when another witch threw a knife at me, I tried to conjure a ball of magic. My heart sank when the impure magic didn’t come. Shit, I had to focus all my energy on my witch magic.

  “Incendia!” Lighting the witch on fire was the quickest way to get him off my back.

  Cameron’s whole body started to shake as other witches came for me. They were going to hold me still so he could do the spell. No, I wouldn’t let him. Anyway, how could he…?

  Bringing his hand away from where I’d cut him, Cameron grinned. A tiny spark of bright white magic had obviously been left behind by the dagger. He was using that as a focal point.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on Gerard, Justina and Kurt. Their fighting grunts made me shake, my body wanting to protect them. Hopefully, they would forgive me for what I was about to do.

  Whispering a transportation spell, I sent the three of them back to the agency building. My eyes snapped open as soon as the startled cry of those fighting them reached me. A hand was coming towards me. Spinning, I swiped my dagger down, cutting the woman’s wrist clean through.

  My lover and bosses were nowhere to be seen. Good, they would at least be protected, even if they hated me for the rest of my life.

  An arm came around me from behind, grabbing the wrist that held my dagger. Dropping it, I laughed when I caught the handle in my free hand. Spinning the blade, I shoved it backwards, straight into his groin. I was released as a sharp intake of breath resounded in my ear before the scream followed. Served him fucking right.

  “Stop fighting me!” Cameron squeezed through his teeth.

  His whole body shook as he stayed where he stood, rooted to the ground beneath him. Mother earth was a bitch to manipulate, especially when the witch trying to command her didn’t have Essex blood in his veins.

  “You need to stop fighting me. I told you, I’m done with being diplomatic. Call your witches off, and you can live the rest of your days in prison.” My chest rose and fell rapidly, the fight taking all of my energy.

  For some reason, I wanted him to give up. I didn’t want to kill all of the witches who were in the vicinity. I was done with harming others because of my job. Although, they hadn’t given a flying fucktard when they had poisoned the drugs. Maybe I was being too nice.

  Something hit me in the shoulder, jerking my dagger arm forward. Pain forced the air out of my lungs, making me turn to see what it was. Shit, a huge brick was laying on the floor behind me. Seriously? Why were they throwing stones?

  Flicking my wrist, I chanted a quick entrapment spell. Vines came up from the ground, instantly catching the witch who had dislocated my shoulder.

  The pain made me blink as I suddenly felt a tugging on the earth beneath my feet. My magic slowly started to recede. No. I wouldn’t let that bastard take what was mine. I had already been violated in that way, it wasn’t going to happen again.

  My boots were smashing on the ground before I could think. Cameron was only a few yards from me. Why wasn’t he moving?

  Glancing at his feet, I clocked the small glow on the grass. What the fuck?

  “Bitch!” A witch screamed as I passed.

  She reached out, scraping her nails down my elbow in an attempt to capture me. Cringing, I kept going, my eyes tracing the position of the witches who held us in the circle. They were holding candles, the flames flickering madly as they joined in Cameron’s spell. I hadn’t even noticed that they had formed a pentagram.

  Cameron grinned as I came closer, my dagger extended, even though my arm was extremely weak. Holding his hands in the air, he opened himself up for attack. And yet, I knew better. He would have a barrier spell around him.

  Weapons flew at me from all angles, but I ducked and dived. As soon as I reached the leader, I came to a halt. He winked at me, his smug grin making my skin heat so hot, it was as if my warlock magic was back.

  “I’m sorry to do this to you.” The weapons stopped coming as he waved the others away.

  The pull was still strong, my witch magic being disconnected from my DNA. I swallowed hard as I stared into his eyes. They were dark, the irises blurring with the black of his pupils.

  “I finally know who I am,” I whispered. “Devon Jinx, witch, no longer warlock, whatever.”

  Raising my dagger hand, I took a deep breath. Cameron just smirked, knowing full well I couldn’t penetrate his wall. A shorter witch ran at me, diving for my legs. Crouching, I winked at Cameron as I jumped as high as I could, using the witch’s back as leverage. He skidded away, his face scraping the earth.

  A war cry escaped me as I fell.

  Grasping my dagger in both hands, I faced it downwards and plunged it into the earth as I landed in a crouch, just in front of Cameron’s feet.

  The ground vibrated as the blade cut the cord that Cameron had been trying to create. My hair was in my eyes as a flash of brilliant light zipped up the blade, through me and flew out in all directions, knocking down every single witch inside the circle. Looking up from where I knelt on the ground, I smirked at Cameron as he grasped his chest. Falling to his knees directly in front of me, he gasped for breath. His gaze was glued to mine, his eyes unblinking as his life no doubt flashed before his eyes.

  “Don’t fuck with an Essex witch. Especially one who now knows how to use the ley line.” A tiny pang of regret filtered through me as he collapsed to the side, his chest going still and his hands going limp.

  I wasn’t sad because I’d just killed all of the witches around me. I was sad because I’d felt the magic of the ley line, but I had to let it go. Not because of Gerard, but because of how I felt for him. Others might believe that magic and materialistic things made them happy, but I knew that connection far outweighed any of it. And, I would do anything to be with those I loved.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Mum,” I said as I gripped her hands. “There’s something I need to tell you.” The time had come.

  The team had managed to get back to the park not long after I’d broken the spell that Cameron had been casting. I’d been on one knee, staring at my dagger where it was wedged into the ground. Gerard had pulled me into a stand, hugging me so tightly, I could hardly breathe.

  “What is it?” my mother asked, concern sp
reading across features that were so like mine.

  It had been a week since I’d taken Kurt’s dead or alive order for Cameron seriously. I hadn’t even been aware that blasting the ley line would cause it to thrust through me before going back into the earth. It just so happened that the magic was powerful enough to kill any living creature in the vicinity. My stomach dropped at the memory of bodies that had laid around me. Killing people, even those who were criminals, made me want to vomit. It was fortunate that there hadn’t been any innocent people around that day. Guilt was already a bugger to bear, but loss of innocent life would’ve marked my soul.

  As I brought myself back to the present, I swallowed hard and looked up at my mother. Fiddling with the hem of my black summer dress… Yes, I sometimes wore dresses… I patted the bench in the tiny courtyard at the back of the agency building, indicating that my mother should join me. I had never taken advantage of the pretty little area, but my mother often sat outside reading. That’s where I had found her only moments before.

  “I’m disconnecting from the ley line,” I started, not pausing to give my mum time to reply. “The ancestors told Mary that I had to marry an Essex witch if I wanted to keep my link. Obviously, Gerard’s not an Essex witch, so I’ve made the decision to give up my heritage. I’ve spoken to Becky, my seer friend, and she’s seen it done before.”

  My hands were slick with sweat as my mother dropped them. Sighing to herself, she stared at the hard stone paving slabs under our feet. The thump of my heartbeat was faster than usual. I was scared. My mother had been gloriously happy when she’d realised that I could still connect to the ley line, even though I had warlock blood. To give it up hadn’t been something I’d taken lightly.

  “I’m not surprised. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me.” Her eyes were clouded when she glanced at me. “Your father guessed it a long time ago.”