by Zoe Forward
“Brian Randolph. It’s been a while, sir.” Merck’s jaw clenched. His entire body was ramrod stiff against her. The arm around her tightened. She’d bruise where his fingers curled into her waist, but he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. Merck’s aura swirled with dark colors. Protective. Possessive. Dangerous.
Her turn to protect him. “Back off and leave him alone.”
The six druids halted several feet away from them.
She demanded of her father, “What exactly did you say to him years ago? When did this discussion happen?”
“Get away from him.” Her father took another step toward them. She knew his tactics well. He planned a stealth approach and grab.
She turned to Merck. “What did he say to you and when?”
“That night when I helped you back across the creek, I followed you. Thought I’d ask you out.”
Shock exploded inside her chest. It hurt so much she could barely move air. A decade ago she’d been a naïve girl believing she’d found Prince Charming after one kiss. Dead wrong assumption. Merck’s kiss had been no more than a tease, as if he’d been testing how much power he could wield over her with his magic sexual mojo before dumping her like a hot potato. He’d escorted her across the creek and never sought her out again.
Now to find out it might not be true? He’d come after her? He’d considered making them into something real? Their kiss hadn’t been fleeting to him—a forgettable, one-off kiss with a desperate girl.
Barely able to speak, she rasped out to Merck, “What did Dad say to you?”
“He told me you never wanted to see me again. That your whole family didn’t want to see me and to stay on my side of the creek.” Her father was notorious for blowing his top over boys who got near her. He’d probably gone off the deep end with a whole lot of expletives.
“I never said that.” She’d been confused and scared when a guy a year out of high school with far more life experience turned her world upside down. Who knows what she would’ve said to him, but it wouldn’t have been an outright no. From an experienced perspective, she saw her father’s point of view. Merck could’ve probably written the advanced sex playbook back then. That didn’t give her father the right to make decisions for her.
“It’s in the past.” Merck didn’t release her, no hint of forgiveness in his tone or scowl.
Her father reached in as if to yank her away. “Get away from him. He’s sucked you into his bullshit. You don’t even know what he is.”
She flinched away from her father’s grasp. “I know a hell of a lot more about him than you do, apparently.”
Her father straightened with the glower of a warrior mentally browsing weapons to determine which might best smother the enemy. “He hunts witches like you. And kills them.”
“Only bad witches. He hunts the ones who practice dark magic.”
Her father rolled his eyes. “The guy is slick as shit and a criminal. Don’t believe him.”
She glanced at Merck. A flash passed through his gaze. Hurt? Deception? She’d always relied on her father and the Sentry druids. Their whole existence was built around a life vow to protect her. They’d die for her. Her gut trusted both them and Merck. There’d been too many opportunities for Merck to kill her or harm her. He’d saved her, laughed with her, and kissed her. Nothing hurtful.
Her father was being overprotective around a guy he didn’t like for some reason. It wasn’t rational.
Her father signaled. One druid went left and the other right. Her father and Eli headed down the center. Instinct took over. She stepped in front of Merck. “Everyone back off.”
Her father jumped forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her away from Merck. He tucked her close to him. “Leave,” he ordered Merck. “Or I’ll kill you this time.”
“No.” Power poured from Merck. His aura swirled all kinds of vicious. “The last time you spoke for her, I let you intimidate me because I wasn’t thinking clearly. This time, you’re not her best bet. Shannon and I are caught in the middle of something. I’m not sure what yet. I know all about her being a Pleiades descendant. I probably know a lot more about the Greek gods than any of you. You can’t save her from this by keeping her holed up in a room.”
“I will keep her away from people who might kill her. Like you.”
“Brian…” Merck blew out a long sigh. “Think beyond your need to be the helicopter parent. She’s in deep shit.”
“Exactly. You’re no good to her right now, witch hunter.”
Merck cast his eyes heavenward. “The night before last a warlock’s minion drugged Shannon after she, in her desperation brought on by your confinement, tried to purchase an ancient scrying glass. If the warlock hadn’t killed her, then the scrying glass would’ve. I took care of the evil shit, confiscated the glass, and let her sleep off the drug in my office. When I confronted the master warlock, he was willing to risk death in order to get what everyone thinks she has. These guys don’t risk their lives over something that doesn’t promise supreme power. This tells me your muscle and diminutive powers are nothing against the creatures coming after her. Fighting black-magic users is what I do. Shannon’s a big girl. Let her decide who she trusts to help her.”
Brian scowled. “My daughter does not get involved with criminals.”
“You’ve got to let it go. I was a teenager on Halloween. I could’ve used spray paint or something worse on your car, but I didn’t.”
“You and your gang vandalized my car…a dozen cars. I’m sure it was the tip of the iceberg for what you’ve done over the years.”
“It was me and Chad. No gang.”
She wiggled away from her father and waved her hand. “Enough. I have news.” She forced a bright smile.
“What kind of news?” Her father asked.
“Merck has agreed to help me. As he just said, he knows a lot more about black magic and magical items in general than any of us. Quite a resource.” She feared her father would interpret this as a declaration of independence and shift in loyalty, although she hoped not. She moved next to Merck again, nervous about her father’s impending explosion.
Her father’s face tightened. “That’s not happening.”
Eli’s said, “I don’t even know what he is. This is insane.”
Her father pointed at Merck. “He’s sucked you into his bullshit, maybe hexed you or something. Snap out of it.”
Shannon faced Merck. “Between fighting Ericthonians, almost dying, and breakfast, did you hex me?”
Merck pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t do this kind of fucking drama. It’s been a long morning. Way too long. Shannon and I have somewhere to be.”
Eli pierced her with a glare. “You’re not going anywhere with him. I don’t trust him.”
She snorted out a frustrated breath, rolled out of Merck’s tight grasp on her waist, and advanced on Eli. Wind picked up in the trees, and she detected a power flare around her.
Eli stepped backward, glancing around.
She said, “How can you not trust me and my choice? Seriously, Eli? We’ve known each other since we were old enough to talk. Sure, we fight. But I’ve covered for you so many times over the years, especially to your father when you were in high school. Remember when you guys were visiting back then and you wanted to sneak out every night to see Melissa Calvin in town for a…”
Eli held up a finger, warning her not to finish that.
“Melissa, huh?” Merck chuckled. “She still lives off Southside.”
“Enough.” Eli’s cheeks flushed. “We don’t know this guy, Shannon. This is me telling you I’m worried.”
Her father chimed in. “How do you know you and Eli aren’t destined? Why’re you running all over with this guy when Eli may be it for you?”
“Did I ever say Merck and I were destined? No. This isn’t about finding my soul mate right now. It’s about all of us surviving.” Her father’s stubborn look said he wasn’t giving this up. “Eli and I? We’re not.�
�
Eli’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.
Shannon purposely licked her lower lip and gazed up at Eli, giving him her best sultry half-mast eyelid gaze. Eli’s gaze didn’t deviate from hers, not even to watch her tongue. He stared at her like an annoyed older brother, a look she knew well, having had two of them.
“Eli, do you lose your mind every time I’m nearby, with need to…you know.” Her eyes darted to her father. The graphic word she needed to use got tangled in her throat when she caught her father’s pinched look. She focused on Eli again. “Or is there only a need to protect me, like a big brother?” She poked Eli’s chest with a solitary finger, feeling none of the heat that drove her nuts around Merck. One finger into Merck’s chest like this and he’d have her pressed against the side of the car, taking her challenge and one-upping it, no doubt. She’d be fully into it, hoping Merck would finish it this time.
But Eli? No. She glanced at her father. “You want me to kiss Eli and prove this isn’t ever going to work with him?”
She’d puke if she had to kiss him. When a druid wasn’t destined for a Pleiades, there was some sort of cosmic deter spell that made anything with the man disgusting.
Eli leaned away. She could tell by Eli’s wary gaze it was a no-way.
“Don’t do it.” Merck’s words froze her.
He’d moved directly behind her. The godlike power he kept under wraps poured off him. His aura swirled with threat.
“We’re leaving. Don’t follow us,” Merck said, striding toward his parked car with one hand on her back, gently pushing. He helped her into the passenger side and closed the door.
Eli yanked open the passenger door seconds after it’d shut. “Get out of the bloody car. Don’t make me force you.”
Merck climbed into the driver’s seat and cranked the SUV.
“I need to go with Merck right now.”
Eli shot her a wounded gaze.
She leaned out of the seat to touch Eli’s cheek and said softly enough her father couldn’t hear, but Merck could, “I meant what I said before. I love you like a brother. Would I kill for you, if I had to? Yes. Would I do what I needed to protect you? Yes. I understand where this attitude is coming from, but you need to trust me. I’m going right now to do something about my problem. I’ll come back. I promise.”
“Everything’s trying to kill you. You’re running all over with this guy who we know nothing about who hunts witches. Be reasonable.”
“Get out of the car, Shannon,” her father thundered.
“Shut the door. Now.” Merck levied a feral gaze on both men. Her father’s eyes widened. Eli backed up a step. Nothing that she’d ever seen scared Eli or her father until now.
“What the hell are you?” To Shannon Eli asked, “Do you really trust him?”
Doubt plagued her. She couldn’t control Merck like she could other guys. That meant she had to trust in him. Did she? You have to trust someone right now. “He’s faced off with some dangerous creatures attacking me and… Yes, I trust him. I’ll be back in a few hours. We can discuss whatever plan you guys came up with then.”
Eli closed her door.
“Sorry about all that,” she said as he pulled away.
“You can avoid, but you can’t run away from your father. That’s something you’ll have to deal with.”
“I know. First I’ll let him cool off. Where does this witch live?”
“West of Savannah. She’s a voodoo mambo, not a witch.”
Chapter Ten
“Voodoo? I thought that was only in New Orleans and mostly urban legend designed to draw tourists. The dolls, the blood sacrifices and all that stuff. There’s someone around here?”
Merck hoped this consultation didn’t go south, getting one of them hexed or possessed. He wouldn’t let it happen. He could handle a voodoo mambo.
“It always seemed so dark in the movies. What should I expect?”
“I can’t be sure with Lola. Sometimes it’s spirit conjuring. Sometimes spell casting or reading various signs. Depends on her mood and how much she wants to show off.”
“She’s reliable?”
“She’s given me good information in the past, but I don’t trust anyone who uses any sort of death to power spells, even if Lola only uses animals.”
Shannon crossed her arms and hugged herself, staring out the side window.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know you won’t,” she whispered.
The trust in her voice kicked him in the gut. He’d get her through this. Smarter would be not to take her at all, but she wouldn’t go for being dumped somewhere close by, but safe, twice.
Merck hummed along with the country tune on the radio to fill the awkward silence that settled between them. Last week his life had been under control. He’d been captain of a sinking ship scheduled to wreck soon. He convinced himself he was fine to go down with the ship. He even had a night-before-death plan, which involved a lot of alcohol with Chad and Danny. Now, he’d lost the captainship. He’d become a passenger clinging to the rails in a hurricane.
His mind kept going back to the rune symbol of love and harmony. It might mean Shannon. Maybe Bythos really did mean his best life-saving scenario involved tying the knot. He hadn’t said a clear no to matrimony. He’d only indicated Merck needed to protect Shannon.
Sweat trickled down his back. The thought of the commitment, to honor and protect, one woman scared the hell out of him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t commit if he survived beyond this week. He feared he couldn’t ensure her safety from the evils he was eternity-bound to chase. He couldn’t opt out of being the Enforcer. Should he marry, word would get out in underground black-magic circles that he now had a vulnerability. Her. If there were kids the threat was ten times worse. He couldn’t risk the possibility of his little one in the hands of a warlock, or worse, a necromancer. He’d seen what they could do. Eons ago when he’d vowed his soul in order to save his wife and son, he remembered the torture done to them by a warlock. He might’ve freed them with his eternity bargain, but they’d never been the same and ultimately took their own lives.
Then there was Brian Randolph’s bomb. He’d lied to Shannon all those years ago. She didn’t know about the first, and only, time in this lifetime that he’d attempted to be a stand-up guy. One kiss and he’d lost his mind and forgotten about consequences. Getting shut down had been for the best. Even if he had the chance at a do-over of that night, he’d allow himself to be intimidated by Brian again out of fear he couldn’t keep her safe long term.
Was she really any safer with him right now than with the druids? Probably not, but at least he knew the full scope of capabilities for each nasty magical she might encounter. He never should’ve offered to take her to Lola, but something about her made him unable to say no and move on. That and Brian had pushed more than a handful of his hot buttons.
Enough. He would ensure her safety. That was his job. Protect humans. Remain level-headed, vigilant and prepared. I’m the Enforcer.
“We’re not far now,” he said to break the silence. The car bounced along the rough two-lane for another mile before he turned onto an unmarked dirt road. He sped over the washboard surface to the next unmarked turn onto a sandy road.
“Do you still have the protective crystal I gave you yesterday?”
She removed it from beneath her shirt where it hung around her neck.
“Keep it on. It’ll ward off spells. Lola should behave, but you never know.”
Lola’s one bedroom house had been built on the edge of a pond. She’d added a screened in back porch since the last time he visited several years ago. Even though it looked better kept than most of the houses in this area—clean with a fresh coat of paint and a mowed lawn—it wasn’t a welcoming place to him. Too many spirits had been called upon here. Too many spells had been cast and animals killed to power magic than he cared to imagine.
“Be alert.” He scooted around to open her d
oor, barely making it before she hopped out.
She glanced up, her eyes wide with unease.
He squeezed her hand and held on. “I got this. You’re going to be okay.”
“I’m glad you’re helping me.” She gazed at a stork strolling through the cattails. “This is quaint.”
“Don’t let it fool you. This isn’t the type of voodoo practiced in Haiti where they do it as a way of life to achieve cosmic harmony or something like that. Here, it’s become twisted with a focus on want and need rather than mastery of the divine.” He lowered his voice as they walked up the path to the front porch, “Don’t look directly into her eyes.”
“What?”
He shot her a quelling look as the porch door opened.
“Jason Merck. Had a feelin’ you’d be by today. And ye brought a special friend to visit.” The petite Haitian’s lips widened to reveal white teeth with a gold crown on a lower canine tooth. The smile stretched the maze of wrinkles on her dark skin. Although ageless, he guessed Lola to be in her seventies. The hem of her sky blue dress flapped in the breeze. “Come on in and we’ll get you and your lady friend sorted.”
As they passed close to her through the door, the smell of rum and cigars assaulted his nose. She’d been conjuring spirits today who’d probably foretold of their arrival. One step inside and his stomach lurched at the fetid odor of barn animals, putrefying blood, and incense. He stared at Lola’s eyes, violating his own rule. Yet, he pulled away before he became entranced by her cloudy, pale blue irises. The eyes were disconcerting next to her dark skin and Haitian heritage.
“You been communing with Papa Ghede today?” Merck infused calm into his voice.
Lola cackled. “You’s a smart one. Papa Ghede does love his rum. He be telling me abouts you and the lady, he did.”
Great. Just what he needed was the voodoo spirit of death to be talking about him. “Guess he’s looking forward to a meet-and-greet soon. He say anything useful to you?”
She laughed her shrill noise again. “He’s a fickle one, that Papa Ghede. I take everything he say to be only half true.”
