“Come here, my gorgeous girlie.” I lifted Saoirse into the air and she wrapped her chubby little arms around my neck and buried her face in my hair. I inhaled the sweet scent of baby powder and honey, at least I could count on one person in the world not to despise me after today. I gave her one last kiss on the forehead before placing her back on the ground. “Mammy’s going to work now, baby girl. Aunty Aoife is going to mind you and you’re going to have a great day. And you’re going to hold on tight when you cross the road, okay? And eat your lunch, and listen to what she says?”
Saoirse repeated my words at random and giggled, which didn’t inspire a huge amount of confidence. Aoife squeezed my arm. “We’ll be grand, love. Same as we are every day.” She stared pointedly at the clock on the kitchen wall. “You’re going to be late.”
“Ah, shi—” I paused mid-flow, aware of Saoirse’s little voice mimicking my every word. “Sugar, I better hurry.” I smacked a kiss on the Aoife’s sunken cheek and then stroked Saoirse’s butter soft skin as I raced down the corridor. I traced a rune in the air and the bolts slid open, unlocking the door so that I could pass freely. I scanned the street as I covered my hair with my scarf and stepped over the threshold to face the day.
The city was quiet in the gray morning light and a fine mist of rain fell like a translucent curtain. I tagged onto the rear of a group of brisk-walking ladies and half-listened to them complain about the weather. The most petite of the four moaned that she wouldn’t be able to wear her naughty nurse’s costume for the bachelorette party at the weekend if the rain didn’t ease up. I smirked into my scarf and prayed for the wet weather to last—one less hungover naughty nurse wandering into The Paper Heart could only be a good thing. My smile died when I realized it didn’t matter if people went for coffee wearing nothing but a G-string, I wouldn’t be there to see it.
My throat constricted as I turned onto Quay Lane and I fumbled for the letter. I’d give it to Nick straight away. He wouldn’t have to worry about finding a replacement, there was a stack of resumes under the counter from people who dropped them into the café. Mostly girls from the university, with tiny waists and perfectly styled hair. And nothing to spend their wages on but beer, clothes, and cosmetics. Nick wouldn’t even remember my name after a day with his hot new server.
“Mind your letter, girl.” I blinked at the old woman setting up her flower stall and she gestured to my fist. “Your letter, hun. It’ll be a ball if you keep squeezing it like that.”
I stared down at my hand in surprise and saw that my fingers were clenched so tightly around the piece of paper it had crumpled around the edges. I relaxed my fingers and smoothed it between my palms. The old lady gave me a canny smile and returned her attention to the buckets of fragrant blossoms. I dropped my chin and hurried past. “Thanks, have a nice day.”
The Paper Heart came into view as I rounded the corner onto Quay Street. The door was still shut and the lights dim, waiting for me to arrive and help Lan to bring the café and gallery alive for the day. A lady in the familiar ‘An Post’ postal service uniform stood beside the mailbox as I approached. She smiled at me and nodded her head. “Do you want me to pop that in for you?” She gestured toward the letter clutched between my fingers. “Job application is it? I worked in a coffee shop like this when I was at school too.”
I cracked my dry lips open to explain the misunderstanding when a swell of cowardice rushed through my gut. It would be so much easier just to let the mailwoman deliver my resignation to Nick and Lan—no questions about why I was leaving, no awkward lies, no empty promises of meeting for drinks. Sure, they’d be stuck for staff for a couple of hours until they could find a last minute replacement, but Nick could leave his painting for one morning to help Lan. My arm shot out and I dropped the letter into her outstretched hand with a mumble of thanks before I turned and raced back the way I had come.
Guilt tasted like bile on my tongue, but I refused to give it power over me. Nothing good could come from me staying at The Paper Heart. It had become too much of a risk. My heart was so heavy with secrets and shame that the walls had become thin and fragile. If Nick were to press on them again like he had when he shared his pain, who knew what truths would spill out? The best thing I could do for everyone was to disappear from Nick, Lan, and Maya’s lives. I ground to a sudden halt and pressed my hands to my lips. Maya. Shit. I couldn’t just vanish without a word—I had to say a proper goodbye.
Blood pounded through my veins as I sprinted back toward the café. I passed the mailwoman outside the pizzeria and she tossed me a puzzled glance. The lights were still out in The Paper Heart. I pressed my hand against my chest, relieved. I’d get to the mail before Nick or Lan did and tell them I was leaving face-to-face. As I reached into the pocket of my leather jacket for my keys, a flicker of blue in the doorway of Murphy’s public-house caught my eye.
Every hair on my body stood to attention—it was too early for the pub to open and too late for the staff to still be on duty. I let my scarf fall over my face and pretended to examine the keys in my hand. The figure in blue eased out of the doorway and his long lean frame came into view in my peripheral vision. He reached for his hood and pulled it further over his head. The whiff of magic hit me like a gunshot and I took off through the streets like a streak of light.
My thighs burned as I weaved through the alleys and laneways but I couldn’t slow down; the sound of his pounding footsteps was growing louder every second. I ducked past the flower merchant in Quay Lane and she gave me a sharp glance. A moment later the crash of tin buckets and a man’s voice cursing filled my ears and I send a silent thank you to the old woman and her stall. The elevator door was just closing when I skidded into the multi-story parking lot. I lurched through the crack in the doors and panted with relief as I watched them close. A pretty, plump woman with a double stroller stared at me as I jabbed at the button for the top floor. She brushed my shoulder with her fingertips. “Are you okay?”
Black shadows swirled at the back of my mind and I took a deep breath, telling myself to calm the fuck down. I forced a smile. “I’m grand, thanks. Late for work.”
She grinned. “The morning after the night before, eh? The joys of being young. Enjoy it, love. The most excitement I get these days is going to the supermarket without these divils.” The woman reached down and tickled the toddler in the stroller on the belly before stroking the cheek of the infant who was sleeping in the second seat. The bell dinged for the third floor and I held my breath as the door slid open but there was nobody waiting. The toddler gave me a little wave of his chubby fingers as his mother pushed the stroller out the elevator and the door shut again, leaving me alone.
I slumped against the mirrored elevator wall and squeezed my eyes shut. My heart pounded as I struggled to gain control. If blue hoodie guy had spotted me entering the parking lot, he’d be racing from floor to floor to find me. Or maybe he’d wait at the exit. The only way out of the parking lot was through the front door, the security alarmed emergency exits, or in a car. Which I didn’t possess. I needed to cloak myself, but I couldn’t do it in the elevator unless I wanted the security camera footage of me vanishing to swamp the internet. Then I’d have the humans and the International Guild of Supernaturals on my ass instead of just blue hoodie guy and whoever he was working for. Like I needed to guess.
I prayed there would be a truck parked on the top floor that I could use to conceal my spell. And a car I could stow away in without being discovered. I gripped the straps of my rucksack as the elevator doors slid open to reveal a virtually deserted top floor. “Fuckity fuck.”
I jammed my foot in the door and scanned the few cars in the lot, honing in on a minivan parked against the wall. A tired-looking woman with a baby cuddled into her chest was making her way toward it. Not ideal, but it would have to do. I forced myself to walk calmly across the parking lot, aiming for a red Volkswagon two rows up from the minivan. When I reached the car, I pretended to drop my keys and crouched
down, praying neither the security cameras nor the tired lady had noticed my presence as I traced a cloaking rune onto my palm and disappeared from sight. My cramping muscles relaxed slightly as I pulled myself into a standing position—if he was a witch or fae, the guy in the blue hoodie would be able to trace the spell, but it was a whole lot harder to chase a target you couldn’t see.
The woman reached her minivan and she pressed her fob to unlock the car. The trunk opened automatically and she tossed her purse inside with one hand and reached to open the rear door with the other. I thanked the universe as she bent over to fasten her infant into its car seat, leaving the trunk open. I slid toward the minivan, using another rune to mute the sound of my movements. I’d almost reached the car when four security vans squealed up the ramp and blocked the exits. The woman slammed the car door in a panic and pressed her back against the window as if she could shield her son from any danger. A tall broad man slid out of the nearest security van with his hands raised. “Apologies for any alarm caused, miss, but we need to clear this level due to a potential electrical malfunction. I have to ask you to get into your vehicle and exit the building immediately for your personal safety.”
The woman stared at him for a moment before blinking and nodding her head. “Yeah, sure.”
Shit, shit, shit. I eyed the open trunk and prepared to lunge for it before the woman closed it and got into her car. Just as I braced myself to leap, another man dressed in a black security company uniform stepped out of one of the vans holding a piece of electronic equipment. “Sir, headquarters have just requested that we test the vehicle to ensure there’s been no electrical damage before the lady drives it.” He turned to the woman in question. “If that’s okay with you, miss?”
The woman spread her fingers wide. “Yes, of course.” She reached for the door of the minivan. “Should I take my son out? Do you need me to pop the hood?”
I clenched my fists. Electrical malfunction my arse. I was certain the bastards had guessed what I was up to and were checking I wasn’t already hidden inside the vehicle. My eyes narrowed as I examined the two men. I backed away from the minivan and the security men on silent feet, scanning the parking lot for alternative escape routes. I didn’t recognize either of the men talking to the woman, but the serpent tattoo on the back of their hands told me that shit was about to get very real. A coiled serpent, mark of Balor and the symbol of his clan—my father had found me.
Chapter Five
I stood perfectly still as I watched the minivan disappear down the exit ramp, taking my hope of escape with it. For half a second, I considered undoing my cloaking spell and pleading with the woman to help me, but I could never put an innocent mother and child at risk like that. I knew my father too well, his people would have been ordered to take me—whatever the cost.
Turning in a slow circle, I watched the rest of the men and women my father had sent to retrieve me emerge. All of them were wearing the same black security guard’s outfits, but all other human pretenses had been set aside and magic of varying colors shimmered at their fingertips. I sucked a deep breath of air in through my teeth as a familiar figure emerged from the closest security van. It had been almost three years since I’d last seen those broad shoulders and flashing eyes, but the memory of Markus Blackthorn’s face was branded on my heart. Old friend, first love, betrayer of trust, father of my child. He was also the most powerful red witch of our generation in my father’s clan. I clenched my back teeth together tightly. Whatever, he was no match for a black witch like me.
“Destiny, we know you’re here.” The man who had been first to approach the woman with the minivan scanned the parking lot as he called out to me. “You know who we are, and you know why we’re here. Your father wants you home, Destiny. No hard feelings, no repercussions—he just wants to know his little girl is safe.”
His little girl? It took every ounce of strength I had not to spit a vicious retort in the man’s direction; I’d never been my father’s little girl. I shifted to the left as three more witches spread out across the lot and began to sweep through the empty space—red witches, their power strongest in relation to the body and the blood, seeking out my physical form.
I tried desperately to think of a way to escape without using my black magic. The leader of the Free Witches had made it crystal clear to Aoife that using black magic on their territory before they had accepted me as one of their own would ensure my petition for membership was denied. One flick of my wrist could draw the life force from every being in this room and leave them dangling over the threshold between life and death. I could step over their limp bodies and walk out of the parking lot without a second glance, but if I did, there would be no chance of a proper life for Saoirse and me. Rock, meet hard place.
The man, who I assumed was leading the mission, strode across the lot and grabbed Markus by the shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Markus dislodged the man’s fingers with a violent jerk of his arm but didn’t utter a word, his eyes searching for my cloaked figure. I found myself mesmerized by his features, so like my little girl’s. He’d changed in the years we’d been apart. The bones of his face seemed sharper than I remembered—high cheekbones and strong jaw jutting out as he visibly clenched and unclenched his teeth. His cocky grin had been replaced by a straight mouth and a hollow stare. He looked hardened. The man hissed in his ear again and Markus tightened his fists.
“Destiny?” I squeezed my eyes shut as if that could prevent me from hearing Markus’ voice. He took a step forward, moving closer to me despite the cloaking spell as if we were attached by the invisible thread of shared life we had created. Feeling the pull of bittersweet nostalgia, I forced myself to remember everything that had turned the taste of my first love sour—Markus’ hunger for attention, his roving eye, his thirst for blood and power and strength. All the things that had stopped me from sending the letter I had written him on the day Saoirse was born.
“Destiny? You need to come home.” Markus took another step forward and I backed away from him, my feet moving silently until my butt was pressed against cold cement and my elbows rested on the ledge of the opening in the wall. I glanced over my shoulder and cursed myself for choosing the top story to hide on—rookie error. The mission leader knocked his fist against Markus’ back to nudge him forward and Markus cut him with a glare, red sparks flying from his fingertips. “Back the fuck off, Murf.”
The man sneered but took a half step back from Markus, while the trio of witches changed direction, pacing steadily closer to where I was standing. When Markus spoke again his voice was stretched thin. “Des, they know where your aunt is.” He took a breath. “They know you where you live.”
The world froze.
I desperately wanted the fear winding its way around my heart to make me strong. To set me alight like a blazing warrior fighting in defense of her loved ones, but instead, I was paralyzed. My feet stuck to the ground as firmly as if they’d been embedded in blocks of ice. One of the three red witches lifted his hands in the air and nodded in my direction—they’d caught my trail. My thoughts moved in jagged bursts, running frantically through my mind— should I surrender myself to my father’s men and barter for my aunt and daughter’s lives? Should I fight and try to reach Aoife and Saoirse before my father could? Should I suck the whole country dry and unleash a terror unlike any the world had ever known? My breath caught in my throat as the witches swept closer, forming a net of flesh and bone to surround me and choke me until I was all but dead.
“Hey, what are you doing? You can’t be here!” One of the witches furthest away from me, a petite blonde, stared at the door that led to the stairwell and waved her hands wildly. I craned my neck to see who she was talking to, ready to run at the earliest opportunity, but I couldn’t see through the wall of witches. She moved to block the figure’s path and raised her voice. “This floor is closed to the public. There’s an electrical fault.”
The figure barged past, swatting her away like she was t
he pesky fly, and my breath escaped in a strangled yelp as Nick’s mane of black hair and huge shoulders came into view, towering above the witches. I stared at his fingers as they sharpened into claws shredding the piece of paper gripped in his hand—my letter of resignation. My stomach lurched as he rounded on the mission leader, identifying him as alpha through a supernatural sense beyond my understanding. The green of his irises widened to swallow the whites of his eyes as he growled in the man’s face. “What have you done to her?”
Before Nick had finished asking his question, the rest of the witches fell into formation around him, moving in a slow circle, hands raised and magic burning. The logical part of my brain said that I should run. This was the chance I’d been waiting for and if I ran, maybe I could beat my father to Aoife on Saoirse. But still, I couldn’t move. I stared in horror as Nick and the witches faced each other. It was a fight Nick couldn’t win, regardless of how strong and powerful a shifter he was. He was vastly outnumbered. The circle of witches reached for each other’s hands to connect their energy and I let out a shriek of terror. In tandem, Nick and the witches twisted in my direction.
“Run,” Nick growled into the air. “Destiny, please run!” Before I had a chance to react, the world around me exploded in a torrent of magical light and energy. I stared as Nick shifted into his tiger form and pounced at the witches. With practiced precision, the witches split into two separate groups. One group focused their attention on containing Nick, while the other returned its focus to me. I slid along the wall with my hands raised as the witches drew closer and closer. Now, we were both trapped.
I called on my black magic and my throat ached as I prepared to say goodbye to what could have been. Once I used my dark powers, there would be no going back. Just as I steadied my breathing and surrendered myself to the blackness, a streak of color trembled at the edge of my field of vision. I turned my head and focused on the figure drawing closer. The guy in the blue hoodie. He mustn’t have got the memo from my father about playing dress-up with the security guard uniforms—boo hoo. My stare hardened as he approached. That asshole deserved to be the first to have his life-force drained from his body.
Wicked Destiny_A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Series Page 4
