by Zoe Forward
Nope. No kissing with her. There’s no sort of connection crap. Focus on the scrying glass and why she wants it.
She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I’d appreciate you returning my glass to me.”
“Yours, huh? Do you know what this piece is?”
“Of course, I know it’s a scrying glass.”
“Do you know how it works? What it requires to work it?”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Not really. Do you? I’d appreciate a few hints.”
He swiped a hand across his face, relieved she didn’t entirely know what she’d acquired. That didn’t erase her intent to use it, though.
“This is the Delmindes scrying glass. It’s dangerous.” For decades, he’d searched for this piece to confiscate it, to put it into his vault of objects best never used again, but which couldn’t be destroyed. “It requires death to scry the secret that’s being sought.”
“Death? What kind of death? Like sacrificing a chicken or something?”
“It’s black magic.”
“Okay, I’ll kill a chicken or a duck.”
Surprised, he laughed. “A duck?”
She remained serious. The woman planned to try to power a dark magical item with a duck’s death.
“I don’t want to kill a duck, but there are plenty of dumb ducks no one will miss. There’s one at the house who keeps chewing the landscape lights. She’s bound for electrocution since all the lights are hard wired.”
He laughed harder. All concern she was one of the black-magic practitioners pilgrimaging to South Carolina vanished. Those who’d traveled here weren’t the Mickey Mouse black-magic practitioners. They were the top-tier bad dogs He didn’t know why they were swarming here, but guessed it had to do with Shannon.
“Darlin’, the tricky part about black magic is what happens to the person dabbling with it. It comes with a price, such as a piece of the caster’s soul or a human death. Human death is required to work this piece.”
Her face blanched. “I didn’t know that.”
“Figured you didn’t.” He wondered what she needed to know desperately enough to make a deal with Harnish. He pocketed the glass.
“It’s still mine.”
“Not anymore. You should be worried that a top-end witchcraft supplier prioritized kidnapping you over selling you a priceless scrying glass. This glass on the real market would cost far more than money. He lured you on purpose.” Harnish had always seemed like a harmless, yet smart, businessman. Not a trafficker in people. Something much larger was afoot.
“I think he was threatened into doing it. Just a hunch based on his reaction to whatever message he got on his cell phone at the bar.”
“Why were you purchasing this glass from him?”
She folded her arms across her chest and remained silent.
He’d get the truth out of her eventually. “You’ll have to do something else to find whatever it is you’re after.”
“Your job involves finding a lot of magical things. Perhaps, I should hire you to find what I need.”
Not what he’d intended.
“No.” His denial was complicated. Years ago, he placed Shannon in the no-touching category. He feared the arrival of the day when what she was collided with what he must do. If she killed people to power magic, he’d be forced to destroy her. He wasn’t sure he could.
One glance her way and... nope. He wouldn’t do it. He’d never failed his duty as the Enforcer, but for Shannon, he’d neglect responsibility on purpose because he liked her. Oh, you more than like her. You want her.
Sex, relationships, and magic were an unhealthy mix. The witch hunter could not date the witch.
His answer was a firm “no.” Had to be. Shit, you’re wavering. If they worked together, he’d break his no-touch rule in a millisecond when she gave him an opening. Their one kiss still haunted him as one of the few bright moments of his life.
“I’ll pay you for your time.” Her instant buoyancy killed him. Ah, Christ, her eyes were filled with hope.
“It’s not about money.”
“What’s it about?”
“I don’t do small-time work.” You’re a shitty liar.
“Guarantee this isn’t small-time,” she muttered so low he almost missed it.
He pulled the passenger door wide. “Please, let me take you home.”
She worked her lower jaw while squinting at him until she finally nodded.
Once they were both buckled in, he cranked the SUV. It turned over several times before grumbling to life with lackluster enthusiasm.
He tried to appear totally relaxed and in control as he pulled onto the road, but he couldn’t ignore the roar of stress that’d taken up residence in his head.
In his peripheral vision, she sat with her spine stiff and shoulders up near her ears. Even so, she was just as beautiful as she’d been in high school with her golden hair and sloped nose dotted with freckles. Now she was tougher. Death had touched her, hurt her, and left her to deal with its disagreeable aftermath.
With arms crossed, gazing out the windshield, she said, “There’s got to be a way to make the glass work other than killing someone.”
“The last person to use this particular scrying glass killed three people to power it and then got possessed by a nasty demon. It wasn’t pretty.” He glanced over, but Shannon didn’t look dissuaded.
“Are you going to take me home or somewhere deserted and kill me?” No hint of fear tinged her tone. The woman could handle herself.
He liked that.
This was bad. Dear God, this was bad.
His sex life had been on hold for months. A year ago, he’d been a one-night-stand aficionado, but the empty encounters bored him. The last thing he needed was for his sex drive to wake up, especially for a woman as off-limits as Shannon.
“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve let Harnish keep you. For the second or third time, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m driving you home, back to your people who might be able to keep you safe.”
“What exactly do you do in this job of yours, Merck?” She rolled Merck on her tongue as if familiarizing herself with use of his last name. He liked her saying it.
He shrugged.
“Who do you work for?” she pressed.
“I work alone.”
“You work alone with an assistant.”
“There’s always paperwork and minutia.”
“Do you only go after witches?”
“No.” He wished she’d desist and wished he could stop answering. What was it about her that turned him into a chatterbox about secrets he hadn’t revealed to anyone except Danny?
“Do you chase down all people who use magic or only the bad apples?”
“I hunt the ones who’ve gone astray, such as those who use this type of scrying glass.” He gazed at her, half hoping he’d intimidate her into stopping the questions and half hoping she’d confess whether or not she’d killed to power magic in the past. He needed her in the clear, good-magic category where she belonged. He got visions when someone had performed a death ritual, indicating where and who’d died. He’d never gotten that kind of revelation about her, but Shannon jumbled his mind to the point he might not get normal visions.
“You think I’m a bad apple?” she asked.
“Are you?”
“As if I’d confess.” She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I’m a witch?”
“I’ve always known about you, just like you suspected I had…abilities.”
“Aaha! You finally admit it.”
“I’m not admitting anything in particular.”
“How would you know about me? It’s not like I wear a pointy hat and do naked rituals on Samhain or anything. This is a serious issue if everyone can tell. We’re not supposed to… No one is supposed to know about us.”
“I’d like to see you dance around a caldron naked.”
“I’ll bet you would.” She whacked his shoulder. “Stop being a jerk.”
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He grinned and focused on the lines of the highway, not speeding like he normally would down this stretch. He was enjoying himself and regretted how soon this would be over.
“You’re not a traditional witch in the sense of covens and rituals in the woods. You ladies were labeled witches centuries ago by those who didn’t understand the powers that come from being a Pleiades goddess descendant.” He paused to glance at her shocked face. Eons of past life memory as the Enforcer meant he might know more about her descendants than she.
“Who told you that?”
“I know a lot about magic, darlin’. I know who likes black magic and who does only good magic.” That was a truth stretch. He only knew when someone killed, thanks to the visions. When close to a person who used magic, he could usually detect what kind they’d practiced most recently. From her, though, he couldn’t tell anything, probably because his balls were in a wad.
“I think you like the hint of badness that comes from being a called a witch.” He waited, hoping she’d fill him in on how much badness was black magic and how much was sexy wickedness. The latter he could handle and would be a willing participant. Her using evil magic, maybe not a death ritual yet, but still, the darker side of magic, he didn’t want to hear.
“So, you’re the Santa Claus of the magic world with a naughty-and-nice list?”
“This Santa kills those on the naughty list and doesn’t bring gifts to those who behave. Which list do you think you’re on?”
She glared, but didn’t answer. “You kill people like necromancers? They always use death energy for power.”
He wanted to hit his head on the steering wheel. Would she just answer the question? “Sometimes. They don’t always need a death ritual, though.”
“I guess it makes sense there’d be someone out there designated to keep this in check. I haven’t run across very many truly evil magical people. Sounds like a dangerous job. How do you find them?”
He shrugged.
“Why am I not on your kill list if you think I’m a bad witch?”
His heart hammered his ribs to the point of pain. Best to just throw it out there. “Do you and the other six Pleiades witches do evil things that put people at risk or kill people?”
She frowned and shook her head. “We try not to get noticed. Hurting people would definitely get us noticed. However, one of us is an ex-MI6 agent who still goes after the lowest of the low in society. Guess that counts.”
She hadn’t said she wouldn’t do it at some point in the future, but at least she hadn’t misused magic yet. His shoulder muscles loosened. “I’m sure you could be a wicked witch…”
Her cheeks flushed and she muttered, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Yeah, he would.
“Why do you hunt these people? It sounds like a thankless job, not to mention life-threatening.”
Time to get off this topic.
She gazed at him in silence for a few moments. “You don’t do this by choice, do you? Like me, you’re stuck with some sort of legacy crap.”
“Some things we can control and some we cannot.”
“I understand an unwanted legacy.”
He wouldn’t discuss his life of facing off with all manner of evil as the Enforcer, a hell destined to end in a few days when his gods-decreed judgment day arrived. A part of him saw it as a positive to end the endless chase and annihilations. The other half of him wasn’t ready to die. He glanced over at Shannon.
She stared out the windshield, her delicate shoulders stiff.
He appreciated her sexy, skimpy dark top and tight jeans. Her eyeliner had run a bit, but it didn’t detract. It added a smoky sexiness to the overall package. He had no idea what she’d been up to since high school and hadn’t asked those in the area who might know because then he might’ve tracked her down.
No jumping on the Shannon train. Not then. Not now.
His body didn’t give a shit about logic. It wanted on the Shannon train in the first class cabin where there’d be a bed and an overnight trip.
The timing sucked. He resented his life being cut short. Yet another reason to keep his hands to himself around her.
He brushed a stray mosquito off her arm as he braked at a light.
She inhaled sharply.
“Mosquito. Didn’t want it to bite.” He didn’t trust himself to meet her gaze. Why the hell was he explaining himself?
“Thanks.” Her voice dropped low, super sexy. “What are you?”
I’m in dangerous waters is what I am.
His gaze darted her way despite his brain yelling, “don’t do it.” He glanced down her long, lean limbs. Those were some serious, deadly curves. He’d always been an ass-and-tits man. Holy hell, this woman delivered on that fantasy. He wanted to kiss her so hard she’d melt, like she’d done on the night in the woods long ago.
She meant his abilities and job, of course. His clouded brain detected the subtle transfer of energy. Magic. “Did you try to use some sort of coercive crap on me?”
“If I did, it didn’t work.” Her seductive smile disappeared.
Good. At least he wouldn’t worry she could sway his mind by use of magic.
“Why’re you down here in South Carolina, Shannon?”
Her gaze met his, but she didn’t answer. There were depths and shadows in her eyes that made him wonder what she left unsaid.
Her here now, mere days before his Greek gods’ judgment day, was suspicious. The gods could meddle all they wanted in his life, but he refused to play their games. Maybe her presence was a test. Throw the most tempting yet off-limits woman he’d ever met back into his life and see how he handled it. Admittedly, it was good play on their part if they wanted him to screw up again. His only clue to avoid a death sentence was he needed to be found “pure of heart,” whatever that meant.
She moistened her lips. The movement might not have been intentional, but his gaze locked onto the moisture now there. Not feeling so pure of heart right now.
Yep. The longer he was close to this woman, the more convinced he became they’d end up in far more than a lip-lock. And he didn’t care about the gods’ opinion of it.
His cell phone vibrated inside his pants pocket. He shifted in his seat to retrieve it and answered, “Yes?”
“Hey, it’s Danny. I think I found your master warlock.”
“Where?”
“An abandoned property north of town on the edge of a cemetery. I’ll text you the address.”
“I’m still on the way home with Shannon.”
“There’s a problem, which makes this a can’t-wait situation. Sleeping Beauty can stay in the car.”
“What kind of problem?”
“I think he took Chad’s little girl.”
Merck’s visual field blurred. “What? His daughter is missing? You’re just telling me this now?”
“I found out a few minutes ago when Chad stormed in here. His daughter went missing from school earlier today. No one even knows how it’s possible, but they didn’t notice she was gone until lunch. Chad went to the school and the bespelled Hexenspiegel you gave him went nuts vibrating when it picked up bad-juju magic. Based on the information you gave me to find the master of the bastard who tried to take Shannon, I looked for somewhere abandoned and found it.”
“Keep Chad there. I’ll find his daughter and bring her back to the office. Text me the address.” He clicked off the phone. A text appeared seconds later. The address was in a familiar area just north of here.
“Damn it. We’re going on a detour.” He couldn’t take Shannon with him, but if Danny was right then there wasn’t time to run her home.
“Everything okay? Chad’s daughter is missing?” Her eyes filled with worry. He’d forgotten this about her. Shannon could go from spitting fire to hugging in a split second, always concerned for the welfare of those around her. Big heart, big emotions. It was why people gravitated toward her. How could he have believed her an evil magic dabbler?
�
�I’m going to make it as okay as it can get.”
“Can I help?”
He didn’t reply since his answer was no.
Minutes later he pulled into a rundown convenience store whose only indication of its open status was a flashing neon lottery sign. A nineties black Ford Taurus with a dented bumper was parked on one side. The old gas pumps were almost rusted out and obviously nonfunctional. “I need you to wait here until I’m done.”
“What? Here?” She rotated to look out the window. “I want to go with you. I can help.”
He got out of the car and rounded to her side, opening her door. “Go on inside. Matt’s a bit grumpy, but he’s a good guy with a big gun. Just tell him I dropped you off for a few minutes. He can keep you safe until I get back. Where I’m going will be way beyond anything you’ve ever dealt with. Trust me on that.”
“Here’s safer? This is the bumfuck middle of nowhere.”
He scanned up the road. “I’m sorry I can’t get you home right now. Maybe you should call one of your people to pick you up.”
“This sounds risky for you too. I can call for help.” Her forehead creased.
“This is what I do, darlin’.”
“What is it you’re going to do exactly? At least tell me what you’re about to deal with since you’re dumping me here.”
“A warlock.”
“What’re they like?”
I don’t want you to know. “The best plan is for you to get a ride home and text me when you get there. I don’t know how long I’ll be.” Or if I’ll be coming back. As he shifted to give her space to get out of the car, she caught his hand in hers, holding it there.
“Jason…Merck, be careful,” she whispered, her gaze darting up the paved two-lane in the direction of the dirt road and abandoned house. “This feels really dangerous.”
Her soft touch trapped him, like a caught wild animal. He shouldn’t imagine kissing her, not right now. Shouldn’t even go there. Something about her concern melted every ounce of his resistance to her. He wanted. Christ, he wanted. He hadn’t felt this kind of all-consuming desire since the last time he ignored his rules to kiss her.
Her eyes widened and she withdrew her touch. “I’m sure you’ll be careful.”
