White Witch (Haven Book 1)

by Lil Hamilton

  Chera was probably a little stoned this time of day. Perhaps even with more than one substance as well. I usually didn’t hire addicts, but the girl was a strong psychic, with a line of fae blood in her that made every female of her line for generations having the gift. Being human she didn’t have the brain structure to layer her mind with shields and thus she picked up a whole lot of crap that was unpleasant. She used uppers to target her abilities and downers to dull them. She was also walking vampire bait, because when they turned any mortal it was because they wanted to incorporate those with defined abilities to use. Or rich people. They did have a taste for rich people.

  Under my protection Vincent made sure she was not Turned. The girl was only eighteen and needed some living before she was harnessed under the rein of a born vampire. Plus Vivica had made a claim on Chera, for when Viv had enough strength to have someone linked to her, able to protect that person, she would turn Chera. Chera seemed to think it was inevitable and I tried to stay out of whatever agreement they had and any vampire politics really. Not my life, not my choice.

  -What u up to?-

  I laughed. -Well u were right about the guests. U didn’t mention demons tho. Think that would have been on the big cosmic radar.-

  At my laugh Lan came to stand over my shoulder, but I wasn’t worried it would crash the computer. My desk area was shielded well. This would give me about an hour with him in the vicinity. He was also buffering his demon essence, which was fortunate since, if he didn’t, not only could he fry the computer, but likely short the electricity and maybe peel the paint off the walls. I actually had a secondary shielding around just my computer anyway. When the Inter realm witches came by there was always some spell discharge and such that went smack right to the computer.

  -Tarot cards are not so great for targeting.-

  -Better than the runes u tried. All too vague. All challenging problems, change and obstacles. As if life is ever without those.-

  -I’m not done trying out different rune methods.-

  -As ever, I’m your willing guinea pig.-

  “Guinea pig?” Lan echoed.

  “A small rodent with a fat ass and no tail,” I supplied.

  -Is yur demon there now. I’m totally getting a vibe.-

  -He isn’t my demon, he’s my unexpected guest.-

  -How did daddy dearest get u to agree to that?-

  -He threatened to kidnap me again.-

  -Rude, man, so rude.-

  -Yep, but hard to say no when I’m quite aware he is capable of it. 1 demon I may be able to deter, but 4, and brothers, not very likely, as in I’d be bound and gagged and in the Hells before I could say Beelzebub.-

  There was a pause. We both typed very quickly. Lan muttered ‘Beelzebub’ and chuckled.

  -He wants to protect u from the fae. From being a slave to their queen. He fears for u more than he fears for his wife. As he knows she has control over u, and leverage with your mother. He wants to make sure he has equal protection on u, so u r free from the fae queen’s service.-

  I knew she was likely right. Damn psychics. She knew more about the complications of my relations with the other worlds than I would openly admit. She just picked it up and I helped her with learning more skills. Still the girl, essentially a human child, acted more aged than she should. Her gifts made it so. Well, hell, no one said being gifted was a gift. Just ask any super intellectual; all socially awkward with their big ol’ brains.

  -It’s the way he thinks it should be done that is rather weird. He thinks I should try and find a mate, sent a sample choice.-

  I smiled when Lan gave me a manufactured offended look.

  -No way! He is trying to pimp u out? That’s so wrong on so many levels.-

  -Aside from this little perk, they’re on a mission. One of my cousins, Eadon, likely around the same age as me, so very young, has mated up with a witch.-

  -No way.-

  -So way. Half fae too. Now missing.- I gave her all the details that we knew. Including the fact this was the fifth minor to be missing. I could trust my team with the information. Or I should say I could trust the mighty powerful oaths I had them agree to when I hired them.

  -I’d like u to go to the local witch covens and ask around. They will talk to u. We need to find out if they know her, where she lives and works. Hopefully u will get a vibe for this woman and some impressions of what is going on with her. I’m trying to track down her name in the registry. We need to identify her, her home, her usual haunts, before we can find out what happened. Her mate assures us she is alive, but he believes she is in danger. Dill is talking to Simone and our fae contacts to see if this is all connected. It may not be, but even if this witch is missing for an altogether different reason I need Dill to get a lead on the missing fae.-

  I needed to work on my chat shorthand, but it was seriously like another language. Chera usually took pity on me, since sometimes I had no idea what she was trying to say if she did not use words. The shorthand I knew was from way back in the day and tended to be words without vowels not sentences shortened into a few letters. I was pretty much limited to LOL, LMAO, FFS and WTF.

  -Could be many things. Even the fae may be involved.-

  -That is the last possibility I wanted a psychic to say, so please don’t scare me so. She isn’t Seelie fae, so I doubt they would even care. But just in case let’s keep her blood on the down low. Besides I would know if a major player was targeting minor fae. Any of the Seelie makes a move and I knew about it. Still, it could be an Unseelie conflict I’m not aware of.-

  -Will do. I’ll check out the Crone Club first, they seem to interact with the other two a great deal. It’ll take me a bit, but will call u or your cell right away.-

  -Thx girlie.-

  -L8R.-

  With the skimpy information sending Chera to scope out the area was my best choice. At least she could pick up a lead. I then rang up Viv and left a message on her voice mail for her to give me a call when she woke up.

  And finally Dill.

  ‘What?’

  “Seriously, that is how you answer your phone as well?”

  ‘Call display, lovely.’

  “So just me. I’m so flattered. I was thinking of giving you a pay decrease for not knowing about the delegation and for insolence.”

  ‘You woke me up. And it would be hard to cut my pay when you pay me next to nothing. Besides I do the accounting and have been siphoning money out of the company for years. I’ll retire in two years, I expect.’

  “Not unless you are siphoning off more than our company makes in a year, in which case, I’m liking the way you cook the books, kitten.”

  ‘I was on the boring night shift and I hate being woken up. Which makes me wonder why you are up?’

  I really needed to hire some detectives to do our watch missions. Because watching the fae-vampire kids and their mother was a constant assignment. I had to make sure they did not break the Accords and thus they were more important than the jobs we did on the side.

  “That demon delegate I mentioned came to see me and even left one in my care.”

  ‘So what? Official business? Cause I’m not going into Hells for you. And I’m not going to do babysitting on the Summer house.’

  “You tempt me, cat man, it is so tempting.” I briefed him on the mission. “Chera is on the witches, I’m scanning through registries. Vivica will be on vamp duty, seeing if there are indeed more rogues and if they have heard of this Lily. It could be she is also vamp bait, which really wouldn’t go over with the mate. You and I, once we get up, will be on club duty. Hit the occult clubs where the old races mingle it up. Might be able to get someone who knows her. Slim shot really, but she is a witch and witches do work, so someone might know her. Right now, most importantly we need Intel on her before we can speculate on where she is. Besides it works for us, since we will be asking around about the other missing fae.”

  ‘Assuming she plays it grey. If she’s on the whiter end of the spectrum
then likely there will be little chit chat on her. The description is not exactly ideal. And witches don’t care about the fae. You take the witches and I’ll chat up the fae.’

  “Good enough for a start. Unless you want me to get my distraught cousin to paint you a picture. That is why I’m going with you, puss in boots.”

  ‘Bullocks.’

  “Your enthusiasm, as always, overwhelms me. If vamps have her, you’ll be able to kill something before the case is over.” Sometimes I insisted Dillian work the more tiresome cases with me just to see how far I could push him. The fact was he was more loyal to me than I deserved. I had no idea how I inspired it. Certainly I had never been able to intentionally reproduce the phenomena. And I could use more cohorts, more partners in crime, more muscle.

  ‘I’ll believe it when I see it. It has been so slow and the best these demons can come up with is a stray witch?’

  “You need to get into the spirit of the hunt, rather than the potential of the kill.”

  ‘For you, anything, boss.’

  “Sure. See you at, make it ten tonight. And dress for the club scene.”

  ‘Don’t you think I’m a bit old for that?’

  “If you are, so am I, but it doesn’t work on those with life spans in the centuries or cursed shape shifters.”

  ‘I don’t think I have anything clubish.’

  “Something tight fitting and revealing… you’re a shifter, they like to show skin when there looking for love, or love for the night.”

  ‘Well, then I’ll just go naked.’

  “If you want to. I‘m not about to discourage it, kitten.”

  He chuckled; a deep rumbling noise as close to a purr a man could get. He was a damn sexy man, but also the broody, loner type. I knew him too well to actually be attracted to him, but I knew handsome when I saw it. ‘Right, see you at ten.’

  I gave my search two more hours, drank way too much tea and came up with no one with that description on the registry or known to be in the area. It was not surprising with Unseelie court half breeds and she could have just relocated. They were pretty much under the radar. There would be no tracking or papers needed for them. Mostly the human parent would put the child on the registry just so the child could claim some fae blood, which looked good on a resume or helped get them into university. Still, there were several others in town who claimed witch breeding and maybe some of them knew her. Half breed fae tended to know each other and stay together. I wrote down their names and addresses just in case we would have to talk with them. It sounded a little dull; like a fine job to delegate to Dill.

  I told Lan to amuse himself with the TV or reading, but not to mess around with anything, because I needed some sleep before tonight. Lan would soon find out that this sort of mission was not at all like tracking a rogue down. He would find I was in charge and we didn’t need any of the demons making noise around town. If I could, I would demand he stayed in my house, but I expect he would be shadowing me.

  ***

  Chapter 6

  Sinning is fun cause it’s so damn tempting.

  I had no idea how the demon managed to get into my bed as I was an incredibly light sleeper. I did wake up with his warm body pressed up against mine and his arm around my waist. His essence spread throughout the room, both being a way to protect him while he slept and a way to rejuvenate his energy. It was extremely enjoyable to feel his presence around me and I was thinking it had been way too long since I had a man in my bed. I was very aware he was naked as well, which immediately conjured up some provocative images. Then it conjured up some possibilities and an internal debate. Giving into temptation was easily done. The situation, however, was rather hard to ignore. The fact my father had this man on a list of potential mates just made Lan less attractive. Lan was looking for a mating bond rather than a nice causal fling made everything far more complicated than I liked.

  I couldn’t even be angry because I knew Lan was doing what he must to see if we had a mating bond and I was doing everything to prevent him. Yet I had agreed to try, which meant he could do things he would normally do with a potential lover, even such casual things as sleeping beside them, in an effort to increase physical contact. They were big on the causal physical contact thing. They didn’t associate sleeping together as sexual and often it was platonic. Physical contact being a way they gave comfort and demonstrated affection. It was hardly platonic to me. I wasn’t even affectionate in the lightest sense of the word.

  Instead, I tried to roll away, but the hand around me tightened and pressed me closer to him. I felt his arousal pressed up against me. Something about having that effect on a man gave a gal a good shiver of pleasure and heightened awareness. Didn’t mean I had to act on it. Being a woman was often about resisting temptations. In theory.

  “I’d hoped you would relax your shields as you slept. It would have made it easier on you. Unless you willingly lower them I have only one more suggestion,” he purred into my ear. His demon accent was more pronounced. It sounded close to a Russian accent and I loved it. Seelie fae spoke with a lilting accent and his sounded so much more deep and appealing. Raw and rough. Resist, damn it. I was falling for his demon machismo.

  His hand skimmed up my stomach and over my breasts, focusing on one nipple with a dancing touch. My breath caught as he swirled his thumb. I let myself enjoy the moment. The arousal and possibility of satisfaction. In that moment it was hard to find a reason not to respond to the desire kindling in me. Except I spent the greater part of my life trying not to be demon-like or fae-ish, which meant not having random sexual encounters for the various reasons the Elder races did. I wasn’t sure that act of rebellion worked out so well for me. Okay, I was pretty damn sure all it got me was loads of sexual frustration and a rather large craving for chocolate.

  I turned onto my back to put a stop to the temptation. He growled with pleasure at the shift, his mouth covering my breast. His hand kneaded the other. Within seconds I was aroused and wanting so much more, arching into his touch.

  I slid out of the bed before my desire overcame my reason. It was not like this was all about just him. It was about the Demon Lord trying to mess with the status quo using me. I stood, trying to be outraged, in only a pair of underwear. The blankets covered him to the lower part of his waist. The rest of him was just smooth, golden muscles. His eyes were hooded with desire, no remorse and a sort of casual acceptance of my declining. “You’re very persistent, but I could easily be quite angry over you crawling into my bed hoping I would drop my shield when I did.”

  He slid out of the bed. “The folding bed in a couch was very uncomfortable and it smells like cat.”

  It smelled like Dillian, because I had let him crash at my house a few times. I needed to do some magical Febreze or something. “Even so.”

  “I don’t see why you’re irritated. I was careful not to wake you. I was just sleeping at your side.”

  I glared at him, thinking maybe his intent had been innocent but realizing this unmated male would take any advantage in view. I wasn’t entirely sure it was real attraction on his side, or the quest for a mate or my father’s request. God knows demons would do anything for my father. I would actually be more tempted if it was just pure desire for desire’s sake.

  “All right, let’s settle this now.”

  “Settle?” he asked, moving around the bed and I was reminded he was a Demon Hunter, a ruthless assassin of his own kind. It explained his persistence on achieving his goal. As though I was a task on a checklist and once I proved I wasn’t his mate, he could move on to his mission. His relaxed and easy going façade worked for him, but I bet he snapped to killer mode as easily as I did. Seeing him in all his utterly naked glory took the words right out of my mouth for a moment. I think he would be what Chera called ripped. Each muscle so defined and cut. Hell, if he held a pose I would chisel out a marble statue and immortalize his perfection for all to gaze upon.

  It was hard to appear confident standing in my un
derwear, with the rest of me exposed to his heated gaze. I wasn’t raised in a modest culture, but then I didn’t ever remember anyone looking at me like that. Like he wanted to devour me inch by inch. There was raw desire but also the sense of restraint. It really made me want to push him until he released all that contained passion on me. Hot damn, I bet that would be fun. “I’ll do it right now. Release my shields, that is.” He knew damn well what I was thinking, because my tone gave away all my repressed desire. It might just be inevitable that we would both explode into each other soon. Not today though. Today I was being rational. I was making a point. Somehow that point didn’t seem nearly as satisfactory as jumping him would no doubt be.

  He stopped in front of me. “Completely?” he asked, more demanding.

  I nodded, not knowing if I was capable of releasing of my control, but willing to try. Willing to try, simply to prove my point and put an end to his quest.

  He stepped back a bit, his features relaxed and he nodded. “Then do it, my essence fills this room, merge with it.”

  First, I expanded my outer life aura into the room, as though I were preparing for a fae duel. It would not affect Lan like it would a mortal. Then, I let the second layer free reluctantly, as this was the feelers of my aura, just as a demon aura. Immediately our energies swirled together, in a sort of testing of strength and a feel for each other’s power. Lan inhaled deeply, his eyes narrowing. With demon speed he was in front of me. Who knows what sort of information he got from the demon aura touching. I was getting quite a bit, but I couldn’t quite decipher it all. They communicated a great deal on a nonverbal level but it wasn’t a language I could really understand.

  Unfortunately, when I unfurled that unpredictable demon aura and felt it merge with his it aroused my demon nature. I felt my fingernails shift into claws and my canines push further out of my gums. Even though I wasn’t in full black outrage I was losing control. My breathing turned into short pants and the instinct to protect myself and go on the offensive was overwhelming any sexual tension. High Demons were morphing demons, which is why they were often depicted with claws and horns… they could change their shape to a certain degree. The more control I lost the more I would shift into a more aggressive form.