Sorcerer: Witch’s Woes
Power of Air (Book 3)
Author: D. L. Harrison
Copyright 2016. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Afterword:
About the Author
Other books by D. L. Harrison:
Book Description
Chapter 1
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016, 3:40 PM
It was a miserable afternoon. Hot and muggy, with overcast gray skies, and a drizzled rain, which made it less than comfortable to sit and wait on the roof’s edge overlooking the marina. I was a few minutes early, and I was having second thoughts on getting involved without the police again, but I didn’t really see a way around it. I’d been killing some time flipping through the television channels just twenty minutes ago, when a picture of a young girl named Gloria came up on the screen. She’d been kidnapped earlier that day, and there was an Amber alert out on her. Her father was a prominent individual as was reported.
What wasn’t reported, was that Gloria’s father was highly placed in organized crime, and that Gloria had been taken by a rival organization to force his hand regarding criminal enterprises around Chicago. That made things rather difficult, I preferred that it not become known by anyone that I’d had anything to do with the case.
Not just because of the press, I’d rather not be looked into by the mob, humans without power or not, it just seemed like a really bad idea. Then, there was always the FBI, they might investigate a connection if I returned the girl. The worst of the three options was the rival organization looking me up. All to be avoided in my mind.
Of course, Gloria was only eight, and terrified, and none of it was her fault, so I had to do something. There wouldn’t be a happy ending if I didn’t, they would be taking her out on a boat shortly and she wouldn’t be coming back if I let them. Before I saw the vision, I’d always thought cement shoes was just movie crap, but nope.
The building I was standing on was about forty feet tall, which meant the sphere of my power reached the ground and then some. I was also high up, and dressed in dark clothes, so that I would be hard to see, even on the edge of the roof. The rain coming down would ensure that, most people don’t look up, and that number went down even lower when it was raining. There was still a risk in what I was doing of course, but I’d figured out a way to limit my exposure as well.
They came through a couple of minutes later, walking right by the building on the way to their boats. Once they were in my sphere of influence, and not incidentally, no longer covered by the security cameras, I put the two burly men and Gloria to sleep using my power. I could have done that at any distance, it was the second part of my plan that required I be able to feel them through the air.
I remote viewed the girl’s back yard, and found an out of the way place that none of the goons guarding the house could easily see, and then surrounded Gloria with my power and willed her there with my travel spell. Sure, it would be fishy and suspicious when she woke up screaming in the backyard, but the girl wouldn’t know how she’d gotten there, and she’d be safe, and no one would ever know I’d been involved. I surrounded myself with power and ordered the magic to take me home…
I felt a lot better after a shower, and a change of clothes.
It’d only been ten days since the pack ally ritual, and I was still getting used to the pulse of wellbeing in my chest that meant everyone in the pack was fine. It wasn’t as strong as the connection I made with Katie with the air ward, but that was more than fine with me. The ally bond had also given me insights into the power of fire, it was much more than simply throwing around… well fire or heat, much like the power of air wasn’t simply making a breeze.
Outside of the literal control of air, and speed, the power of air was knowledge, cool intellect, the ability to gather information, and one of the darker aspects was it could be used for mind control, and direct manipulation of memories. So far outside of covering up the secret a handful of times, I’d never been tempted to use that aspect of my power, and hoped it stayed that way.
What I’d learned was outside of the literal control of fire and heat, the power of fire was emotion based. The passionate emotions, love, lust, jealousy, loyalty, hate and anger. It could be used to warm the heart, manipulate it, or destroy it. Perhaps I was naïve, but that seemed rather dark to me. It could also be used to master my own emotions, or pull the rage out of a rioting mob, or…
In short, fire was the ability to detect, manipulate, and control passionate emotions in myself and others. It also explained why werewolves could be so volatile, yet utterly loyal, with the power of fire running through them the way it did. I believed it was also why humans were so intimidated by werewolves, they couldn’t control fire like a fire sorcerer could, but their fire nature could inspire the deep fight or flight response in the hind brain.
Air can force someone to do something, but fire can make them want to do it. I believed that was a big part of the pack bond and the sense of belonging, and why they obeyed the alpha so strictly. It wasn’t a bad thing, as long as it wasn’t abused. Luckily, Derik was one of the good alphas that led with a gentle hand, instead of dominating his pack with the power of an alpha, and making them slaves.
The last ten days I’d been practicing more with fire as well as air, the literal kind as well as using it to master my emotions. So far, I still only had a reach of about twenty-five feet with fire, six times less than my reach with air. I wasn’t discouraged, it would take time, the only problem was I didn’t know the time schedule, eventually I would face my family’s enemies and I needed to be ready.
I still had a little time before I needed to go pickup Sierra, she still worked for the pack businesses, and although it was nothing official she’d been spending her nights here. I was very happy I’d figured out how air sorcerers travel, because I was out to the suburbs twice a day, either dropping off or picking up.
Sierra already had clothes, a toothbrush, her own soaps, and makeup here, so I was considering making it official and asking her to move in. A part of me thought it all seemed a little too fast, but on the other hand, wolves mated for life, and her inner wolf had apparently picked me. Outside of that first large fight we’d had, things had been going remarkably well so far, which was new for me. I was both happy, and she kept me on my toes. Okay, happy was an understatement, I was truly and completely smitten with my beautiful werewolf.
In the past, I’d always thought I came off a bit odd to human women, and that was why I’d never had long term relationships, but maybe it was my air and fire they sensed, and didn’t really understand what they were feeling? Humans could perceive the supernatural in a vague way, but they lied to themselves. Not that I’m not odd as well… it was just something that had occurred to me as another explanation.
I grabbed a cup of coffee and tried to relax on the couch. I kept connected to all the heat sources now within the range of my talent, a
s I had been doing with air, in the beginning I kept dropping it, but after ten days it was close to habit and took hardly any concentration to do it. I’d been experimenting with shields, interweaving my fire and air and surrounding myself with it. Not only did that work to protect against other magic, but it would hide the elemental core in my being.
I was a little caught up in the magic, trying to organize my mind with air, while controlling my emotions with fire. I’d also decided to learn all I could about the mob in Chicago, so I could avoid them, and I was regulating my coffee at a perfect temperature to take a drink.
Who says men can’t multitask?
I still hadn’t been able to interface with the core of elemental air, much less control it. I’d come to the conclusion it wasn’t that I was doing it wrong, it was that I simply didn’t have the knowledge to understand that part of me. An elemental was a multi-dimensional being, and I’d only grasped the edges of things in my dream with Ria, I’d have to grow in power and understanding before I’d be able to interact with that part of myself in a meaningful way.
Aitheria sent, “Aren’t you late?”
I could barely feel her there, she was sitting on my shoulder, using my neck to rest her back against. Apparently I was now Ria’s lounge. Besides that, she was right, I was late. Apparently men can multitask, but only if their willing to lose track of time and miss picking up their girlfriend from work. Luckily, I had Ria and it was only a few minutes past four thirty.
“Thanks Ria,” I said sheepishly as I stood, drank down the rest of the coffee, and put the cup down before pulling in some magic, getting a current visual of where she was along with the surrounding area, and then I let the magic take me there…
Chapter 2
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016, 4:36 PM
I had to appear close to a block away. Sierra was at a construction site today, a middle class housing development, and there were just too many people around. I walked over, nodding at the people I passed, and let myself into the double wide trailer that was a temporary office.
Sierra was in the back behind a desk, wearing a pair of calf high boots, jeans and clingy light shirt. I knew she preferred sundresses, but she didn’t wear them to the worksites. Carrie, the pack’s new mystic was here as well, learning the pack business. She was also in jeans, boots and a t-shirt. I wasn’t surprised at all when she’d chosen to join the pack, what had taken me a little by surprise was her and Gerald, one of the pack enforcers, had hooked up almost immediately.
The reason that surprised me was Carrie had been abused by her old alpha, in ways that didn’t bear thinking about or saying aloud, but apparently when a wolf decides on his or her mate, that was enough. She wasn’t past it yet, not really, and still shied away around other men, but she trusted Gerald implicitly despite it and I was happy for her, she deserved it.
Sierra’s face and warm chocolate brown eyes lit up with the smile she suppressed at seeing me, which took the edge off of her mock accusing anger, “You’re late.”
Carrie shook her head but was clearly amused, “Hi Ben, don’t let her abuse you too much.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said wryly to the young mystic, as Sierra made her way around the desk and hugged me.
She always wanted to touch me, it was part of the werewolf psyche, they always liked to be in tactile contact with their mate and pack mates whenever possible. I definitely wasn’t going to complain, she felt really good in my arms, and I stole a quick kiss. I heartily approved of the Sierra touching Ben as much as possible plan.
“Carrie, do you need a lift home?”
She shook her head, “Gerald’s picking me up. I’ll be fine, you don’t have to wait.”
Sierra nodded, so we said goodbye and I gathered the power of air around us, and took us back home. When we arrived a few moments later, she dragged me towards the bedroom, and we showed each other just how much we’d missed each other during the day, and it took quite a while…
By the time we took a shower and got ready to go to Mike and Jenna’s for dinner, it was close to six thirty. I figured we had a few minutes, so maybe it was a good time to talk about it. I led her over to the couch and pulled her onto my lap.
“Sierra, how would you feel about moving in more officially? I mean a key, move your stuff… all that.”
She tilted her head, “Is this a big step for humans then?”
Huh, I never even considered it wouldn’t be on her radar at all.
I nodded slowly, “It is.”
She sighed and her voice was annoyed, “So you’re asking me to move out of my pack house? Staying over and keeping a few things here is one thing but… the pack is home and so are you, which...” she trailed off.
Crap. Why didn’t I think this through better? I knew what we had wasn’t exactly a normal relationship, why did I expect her to ever move away from the pack? The pack lived together. I’m an idiot.
I shook my head, “Now that you put it that way… no, I suppose I didn’t give it a lot of thought, since you’re here all the time anyway. So what does that leave and why didn’t you say anything?”
She raised an eyebrow, “Well, you could be the one to move, the house is huge, the pack would be happy to have you there, and I wouldn’t have to choose between my mate and pack anymore. I suppose I didn’t say anything because I was happy, and didn’t want to rush you. I figured it would occur to you sooner or later. My wolf picked you, but I don’t have a similar hold on you, I guess I was nervous about it, still am.”
Me move? This conversation wasn’t going the way I’d expected at all. I liked my privacy, I tried to think what it would be like living with twelve others, and doing with Sierra, what we do, with eleven others who’d be able to hear and scent every... I shook the highly disturbing thought out of my head. I wasn’t a prude, but I also wasn’t an exhibitionist. I suppose from there end it was normal.
She frowned, “Does that idea bother you?”
I shook my head, “I hadn’t given it any thought until now, for that I’m sorry. I can see that’s the way we need to go, but I’m thinking about all that it would mean.”
She kissed my forehead and got up and said in a hurt voice while walking away, “Let me know when you figure it out.”
Crap. I knew it wouldn’t be as big a deal for me as it was for her, she was supposed to be with both her mate and pack, but me moving there seemed a lot more serious than her moving in with me for some reason. Yes, I was aware of the hypocrisy, but that’s how I felt about it. I’d have no privacy, which meant I’d have to talk to Ria with my mind all the time, I’d gotten into the habit of speaking aloud when alone. Thinking of that made me feel guilty that I hadn’t even told Sierra about Ria yet.
“Ria, can I tell Sierra about you?”
Ria sighed and touched my cheek, “I suppose, it’s a risk, the more people with the knowledge the more chances our enemies will stumble across it. But yes, I trust her, she is yours heart and soul.”
On the plus side of the moving conundrum, I really liked the pack and those hang ups were mine, I was sure I could get over them with time. Although the casual nudity before and after runs still made me uncomfortable, but I could probably get used to that as well. I could also make the commute to my office just as easily as I took her back to the suburbs every day. I’ll miss this place though, and my life would change. That last part was really where my reluctance stemmed from, the rest was just… noise and excuses.
The way Ria defined Sierra’s relationship to me also had me leaning towards going for it, I didn’t want to miss out on things because I was stuck in the past, and didn’t want anything to change.
I supposed the only real questions were could I live without Sierra in my life, and did I love her? The answers were hell no, and hell yes respectively. I got up and went into the kitchen where she was leaning against the counter.
She looked really good in the white sundress with black designs on it. Who was I kidding, she looked good in anyth
ing.
I walked up and wrapped my arms around her, “My apartment lease isn’t up for a few months, but I can pack a bag, and we can stay there tonight if you want. Every night.”
She kissed me and shook her head, “No need to rush, I’ll talk to the pack about it tomorrow so we aren’t just showing up out of the blue, you’ll need to take care of things as well. We’ll just stay here tonight. And thank you.”
I shook my head, “You don’t have to thank me, and you do have a hold on me, I love you.”
I knew what she’d meant of course, human feelings change, but a wolf’s feelings were more… steadfast. Still, I wasn’t a fickle person by any stretch, and I had no intention of letting things fall apart.
She smiled, “We need to get going I think. Do you think Jenna knows yet?”
I shrugged, I wasn’t sure if she’d found out she was pregnant yet, we would find out. I was also unsure about Mike, he’d never gotten back to me and asked for the truth about me after our discussion, so either he’d decided against it based on what I’d said, or he was still thinking about it.
I didn’t even try to pull the information using my power, it might not work since I was so close to them, plus no lives were in danger, and it seemed to me it would be a violation of sorts. It was bad enough I’d healed Jenna without her knowledge or consent, keeping tabs on my friends’ lives seemed creepy to me.
I kissed her and said, “There is one thing I need to tell you about, but it’s important you don’t tell anyone else about it, not even the pack. I trust them, but it’s not that simple.”
Sierra nodded in agreement, and I told her about Aitheria. She looked a little dubious until the little blue bombshell appeared on my shoulder and waved. Aitheria had the power to reveal herself to whoever she wanted, it’s just that it was normally against the rules from what I could tell.
I knew Sierra would have more questions about Aitheria in the future, but for now she looked thoughtful as we got our stuff together and left for Mike’s. We walked of course, I didn’t use air magic travel for everything, only emergencies, and trips to the suburbs. Especially the way Sierra and her pack were feeding me, I’d have to either increase my metabolism, or start working out in addition to the walking if I wanted to stay in shape.
Sorcerer: Witch's Woes: Power of Air (Book 3) Page 1
