Hooked On A Witch (Keepers of the Veil)

by Zoe Forward

  “Will it change you?”

  “No.” He waved behind her, toward the creek. “Get out of here. I don’t mean run for the house. I mean go wherever you can go that’s not here. Disappear.”

  “It’s not safe for me to take you with me.”

  “I didn’t ask you to take me.” He crumpled to the ground, gripping his side where she’d seen him get slashed.

  She couldn’t take anyone to the other dimension who wasn’t her soul mate or a child. Explicit details of the consequences remained unclear, but her mom had implied serious badness.

  She chewed on her lip. Screw risks. Her only lead to understand what was going on and potentially save everyone she cared about would not die today. “Why did you help me today and yesterday?”

  “Seemed like the right thing to do.”

  “Just being a gentleman? Right.” She leaned over him, gripped each of his biceps, and stared into his eyes.

  “If you’re taking me with you, then head for water. I need the ocean.”

  The world dimmed and swirled. Wait. She wasn’t ready to change dimensions yet. She hadn’t visualized their destination. She was so new to this. Pain clobbered her skull.

  Badness.

  She whispered, “This might kill us.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shannon felt as if she’d been compressed into a jewelry box and squeezed out a toothpaste tube. Just when she thought her head would explode from internal pressure, everything ended with her plastered, nose-down, against Merck’s chest. She rotated her head outward to work her jaw, desperate for her ears to pop.

  He moaned in complaint. She rolled to get off him. When her back hit the ground pain lacerated the inside of her skull. Any movement was excruciating. She swallowed over and over to suppress the vomit pushing to break free.

  Freezing wetness saturated her clothes. Sandals and shorts weren’t appropriate attire for wherever they’d ended up. A test squint to see her surroundings failed. She wanted to bypass the temporary blindness—a side effect of dimensional travel.

  Finally, her vision changed from cloudy to details. The trees were unfamiliar, devoid of leaves and covered in snow.

  Snow? Where are we?

  Her breath fogged as it came in oh-shit pants. The cottage a few hundred yards away wasn’t familiar. There wasn’t a body of water in sight. On the upside, there weren’t snake men here. But… Crap.

  “Need water. The ocean,” Merck wheezed.

  “I don’t know where we are. I messed up. I don’t think there’s an ocean around here.”

  She scooted close to him, her mind whirling with agony at the subtle movement. After a few deep breaths to block out pain, she closed her eyes to concentrate for another dimension hop. Come on, come on, take us somewhere near an ocean.

  “Nothing happened when I tried to get us out of here.”

  “S’okay,” he slurred. A soft noise came from him when he tried to push up onto his elbows. He crumpled and blinked upward into the skeletal, snow-laden tree canopy. Finally, he rolled his head to the side to meet her gaze. No blame or disappointment met her in his brilliant blue eyes. He stared as if hazed out. She glanced down his side to where he’d been hit. His dark shirt looked darker and wet. Redness tinged the snow beneath him.

  “I’m sorry we’re wherever we are. I’m new to this kind of travel.” She reached for his hand, finding it cool. He weakly clasped back. “Will the ocean help you get better?”

  “Yes.” His eyelids drifted closed.

  She squeezed his hand. “Please, hang in there. I’m going to make this work.” After a quick prayer to her Pleiades goddess ancestor for help, she envisioned the Hawaiian beach where she wanted to land. Image firmly in her mind, she took several deep breaths. The compression started again. Yippee, and… Holy crap. This time the travel hurt ten times worse than before.

  Shannon came to awareness, but kept her eyes closed against the bright light all around her. The sun burned through her eyelids as it blazed overhead. How long had she been passed out?

  Her hands fisted into hot dirt. Not dirt, but sand. Waves crashed nearby. She hoped for an ocean, although her mind tormented her with the vision of being at a water park lying next to the wave simulator.

  It was hot, but not unpleasantly so, which was a stark contrast to their last destination. The air wasn’t thick with the humidity of South Carolina.

  She didn’t hear anything from Merck. Not even breathing. Did he make the jump with her? Oh no, she might’ve left him in those frozen woods. She’d never find him again to get him help before he died. She squinted against the blinding sun and rolled her head. He lay a few feet away, unmoving.

  Maybe he wasn’t just passed out, but dead. Blood stained the white sand beneath him, suggesting they’d both been unconscious for longer than a few minutes.

  No. No. No. He’s not dead. Can’t be dead.

  A roll to crawl to him sent her mind whirling. Too weak.

  “Merck?” She’d aimed for a shout, but it came out a hoarse whisper.

  His chest moved once. Not dead.

  Water. He needed water. She gazed at the ocean on the opposite side of him. So very far away. With a hand wave, she drew a pitiful cupful of water toward him through the air and dropped it on his face.

  On the wow side, even though drained she’d gotten her ability to manipulate water to work. But overall, it’d been a pretty lame performance.

  Merck gasped and rolled his head toward her. His startled gaze met hers.

  “Ocean.” She pointed toward the lazy waves of the Hawaiian shoreline. At least she hoped it was the shoreline in front of one of the houses her mother owned in this odd otherworld.

  He stared at the ocean, then dragged himself to the edge of the water and flopped in the wet sand.

  Now what?

  She tried to crawl to him, but her shoulder and back screamed in protest. Darkness closed in on her brain. You will NOT pass out.

  Although the tide looked to be going out, water crept toward his fingers, as if pulled by an imaginary force. It swirled up his arm. A huge wave reached high above him and swept him into the depths of the ocean.

  Then everything was peaceful again with the ebb and flow of small waves.

  The water had reached out for him and swallowed him. Now that was impressive water manipulation. He must be a water-god ancestor.

  Questions swirled in her brain. Her mess revolved around Poseidon, the king of all water gods, which was too coincidental with Merck having water powers.

  She stared at the ocean so long her vision blurred, worried about Merck.

  Her eyes flickered closed as she fought dizziness. Even though next week Poseidon might execute her, it no longer mattered because right now she was about to check out. She hoped her death here would end the Trident quest and keep her Pleiades witch sisters safe.

  Splashing jolted her awake. She gazed toward the ocean, wondering if her last view would be of him. Not a bad last view. He walked thigh-high in the water, and he’d lost his shirt. There was no residual damage to his skin. No blood. No bruising. All had been healed.

  He had the body of a top-class athlete. To say he was movie-star stunning didn’t cut it. Neither did drop-dead gorgeous. He was heart-thudding, ahh-maz-zing, and then some with those sexy tattoos that streaked from his shoulders to his hands. More tattoos spanned his chest and abs. His short, sandy-blond hair wasn’t wet when it should be dripping.

  His eyes, now so light a blue they looked almost shimmery, seemed to swirl. She forgot to breathe, but not because he was beauty incarnate. Power oozed from him like a second skin in a way she’d never seen before. It made him intimidating and scary as hell. If descended from a god, then his godly parentage wasn’t quite as far removed from the tree as hers.

  He knelt next to her. “This is not the world to which I was born.”

  “Dimension,” she whispered. “Not world.”

  “What is this place?”

  Her mouth worked to an
swer, but nothing came out. She squeezed his hand, although her grip was weak, hoping he’d understand she regretted stranding him in a foreign dimension.

  “Hold on.” He lifted and held her tight to his body.

  Power swirled around him in various aura colors, beautiful whirls. She’d never seen such energy. The converging colors of his aura stimulated a giddy, punch-drunk high.

  She pressed her face tight against him, seeking heat against the chills wracking her body. Water licked at her skin as he waded deep into the water.

  She ran her finger along his bare chest, unable to resist touching.

  He halted, now chest-high in the water.

  “You lost your shirt,” she mumbled. Oh, my God. You’re dying and losing your mind. She giggled.

  “I did.” His body seemed to tremble when she traced the contours between his nipples.

  “Why do we have this connection?” She needed answers before she died.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You sense it, too? This whatever it is?”

  “I’d have to be dead not to,” he muttered.

  Then she was wet. She bowed away from the stinging salt water. “Hurts.”

  He didn’t acknowledge he’d heard as he continued into deeper water, now cradling her head above the water.

  “I think I’m dying,” she announced.

  “Not today, darlin’. Take a deep breath. We’re going under. Now.”

  “No—” Her denial was lost by sudden emersion.

  He pulled her far under. The water turned cold and dark. Had to be very deep. Now she’d die. Drowning hadn’t been a way she’d conceived of ending.

  Need air. Need air. Don’t breathe.

  The stinging of the areas where she’d been hit by knives worsened until reaching a critical peak of holy hell that hurts. She thrashed. Must get free and out of the water. Make the pain stop. Oxygen...need oxygen.

  More flailing, this time with kicks and hits didn’t break her free of his hold.

  Suddenly, he broke the surface and held her head above water.

  “Breathe,” he ordered as he swam with her in his arms.

  After a few gulped breaths, she realized the water didn’t sting her skin anymore. She also didn’t hurt.

  “After this we’re almost even on life saving.” He didn’t look happy about it. He stood, now at a depth that had the water hitting him mid-chest.

  “You tried to drown me.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Can we get out of the water, please?”

  “Not yet.” He held her to him with one hand and reached out his other hand. Dolphins broke the surface around them. She’d only seen ones in captivity this close. One nosed his hand. A smile transformed his lips, which gentled his entire façade as he touched the animal. He whispered foreign words to the dolphin. His aura swirled with those stunning colors again, but nothing dangerous or menacing. She recognized love, caring, and something authoritative in his aura.

  The dolphin bobbed and made noises. Another dolphin touched his hand with its head. Several other dolphins touched him as well.

  She’d never witnessed anything so poignant. So beautiful. The dolphins dove under and disappeared.

  “That was incredible. Did they speak to you?”

  “Dolphins are the correspondents of the ocean. They inform the water gods of happenings and problems. They also communicate to other creatures of the primary water god’s intent. Here there’s no primary water god to provide stability for their world. They were relieved to speak with me of their troubles, even though I’m not their god.”

  “Doesn’t the lack of an imposing god make them free to live as they wish? Why would they want to be enslaved by a water god?”

  His eyes softened. “So naïve for one descended long ago from gods. Enslaved? No.” He gazed toward the horizon. “Poseidon may not be a benevolent god, but he’s necessary. Sea creatures, like all animals and even people, need his existence, or at least firm standing belief of his existence. People may no longer worship the Greek gods, but most have faith in something larger. Poseidon gives water creatures comfort of certainty and of control. If there’s no certainty in belief of the entity who oversees the world around them, then there’s but existence without meaning. The sea animals are here in this dimension, but they have no certainty, which leads to chaos.”

  “Deep thoughts by Merck.” She smiled. “They picked up on your water abilities?”

  He nodded.

  “Could you be their god?”

  “That’s not my fate.”

  “What’s your fate? What exactly are you?”

  He continued to stare across the ocean. “I don’t know. I thought I knew, but things changed. Can you take us back to the regular world now?”

  She closed her eyes to concentrate, envisioning her house in South Carolina. Nothing happened. Not even a sputter of magical energy. Apparently, his healing didn’t extend to magic rejuvenation. “Not yet. I think I need some time to rest. Sorry.”

  He looked so alone, so far away as he gazed out at the ocean.

  “I’ll try to get us back,” she reassured him.

  “I know.”

  “Can we at least get out of the water now?”

  His expression hardened. “Tell me why you’re being attacked by Ericthonians. Why a warlock tried to kidnap you. And what you’re doing in South Carolina.”

  “I’m wet. I’m not a huge fan of being wet when not in a bathing suit.” She plucked at the top now plastered tight to her skin and cast a glance at the beach. Thank God it was the right beach. “Let’s go inside the house, shower, and change.”

  “No.” His jaw tightened. “I need some answers for what the hell is going on.”

  “I’m not discussing anything out here when you can drown me at whim.”

  “I’m not going to drown you.”

  “You almost did once already.”

  “I didn’t. I saved your life. I deserve a bit of gratitude.”

  “You did make everything better somehow. For that, thanks. But you pulled me underwater. In my book, that’s a clear almost-drowning.”

  “I didn’t try to drown you.”

  She pushed at him to get free without effect. “A little warning before dunking me would’ve been nice.”

  “I told you to hold your breath.” He released an agitated snort. “You’d been hit by poison knives. There was no other way.”

  “I didn’t know you had some sort of magical water healing ability. That would’ve been useful information before being dunked.” She wriggled against his grip. “Let. Me. Go. Don’t make me hurt you.”

  His eyebrows rose in a clear Give it your best shot. Eagerness sparkled in his eyes.

  Ugh. Typical alpha-male bullshit. He enjoyed this game. His grin pushed her with the insane need to win. She couldn’t overpower him. Tactic-change time.

  She gripped his head and kissed him, making sure to graze his lower lip with her teeth. As expected, his mouth parted. She pressed her tongue inside.

  Wowzers, he tasted amazing. His oh-yeah groan signaled he thought it pretty darn good too.

  The kiss shifted. His large hand cupped the back of her head. What had been all her became more him. She opened for the bold thrusts of his tongue. She couldn’t get close enough to him. His hand cupped her ass, rotating her body and pressing her tight to his ready-to-rumble down south. Guys taking charge wasn’t usually her thing. She liked control, but with Merck she melted beneath his touch and felt wild to the point of almost woozy.

  Her legs automatically wrapped around his hips. A violent shudder wracked through her. God, she wanted this man.

  Uh-oh. Don’t let your plan backfire.

  But good Lord, this man could kiss. Her brain shut down all argument against stopping. Sensation sucked her into a desperate desire to get naked. She wanted to see him completely, without clothes, and have her hands on him. On his tattoos, his skin, his muscles, and everywhere else.

  N
o. Not naked. Definitely not naked.

  She needed to get away. The second his other hand started roaming, she’d make her move. His hand caressed from her ass up her back. His touch was far gentler than expected, yet provocative and addictive.

  His mouth dominated again. Her resolve to escape wavered. This was so, so good.

  She couldn’t follow through with him, not when she didn’t know what exactly he was after the revelation of his water powers. He may be after Poseidon’s Trident, and maybe that was why he was hanging around her, except it didn’t ring true. He seemed genuinely as surprised by the snake creatures as she was, and saved her life.

  She pulled her mouth off his and shot him a glance she wished was a lot less oh shit and a bit more gotcha. With a strong push off, she broke free of his hold and swam for the shore.

  As she stomped up the beach with him close behind, her mind whirled with confusion. What had she done? She hadn’t experienced an oops, shouldn’t have done that moment with a guy since, well, maybe the last time she’d kissed him next to his car.

  Be a big girl. You played with a fire you could normally control and got burned. Or, more correctly, she got betrayed by her own body. It’d been too long since she’d been with a guy. Yeah, she tried to convince herself that was the problem, but the effort failed. With guys, she could always detach and remain in control. With him, he retained control, now and in the past. Maybe it was whatever god powers he’d inherited that made him irresistible to her. She wished she wasn’t so attracted to everything about him.

  Maybe he was destined to be her soul mate.

  Impossible. She’d already been over this and dismissed it.

  Great. Now she’d have to convince him to help her locate the Trident, perhaps by using one of the magical items he had at his office, and avoid the urge to do that again. She hoped he wouldn’t try to use sex as a bargaining chip. He didn’t seem like that kind of guy, but she didn’t know much about who he’d become. He might be a player, but he didn’t come off as a user. The fiendish girly-girl side of her danced around while screaming, “You won’t forget kissing him.” If he put sex on the table she might not be able to say no, at least not easily.