Rogue Witch (Daughter of Darkness Book 2)

by Val O. Morris

  “No, but one doesn't have to possess canine senses to know he's trouble.”

  Yeah, Thunder had that one pegged. I got the sense that if I didn't hurry up and show some progress, Malek wouldn't bat an eye about sending someone to hurt me.

  I still had many questions about Thunder and his past, but there was really only one thing on my mind at that moment.

  “What’s a Blue Devil?”

  “Where did you hear that?”

  I shrugged. That was the second time I had been asked where I had heard the term. I was beginning to think it was a bad word. No one seemed to care when I said fuck, but let me ask about the Blue Devil and suspicions rose. “Some demons at the square were blabbing about it.”

  My dog stared at me with brows furrowed just like a person’s. I still wasn't used to having a talking dog.

  He finally replied. “There hasn't been a Blue Devil in many generations.”

  “So, what is it?”

  “A mage more powerful than anything that's ever lived. Legend has it, the Blue Devil is so powerful he can control all the elements of magic.”

  “So? Archmages have that ability. What's so special about the Blue Devil?”

  He looked at me as dead pan serious as a dog could. “They can also cheat death.”

  8

  Stern expressions mixed with disappointment stared at me from all around the conference table. This is what it felt like to walk into a lion’s den. Before each council member laid copies of my recent business transactions showing where citizens of Blackwood had hired me to perform various jobs. Not all of the jobs were to get rid of Hell Holes, but many of them of late ended up being that way.

  Mr. James sat back in his chair. He intertwined his hands in front of him as he listened to what I was saying. He seemed concerned. He was the only one who didn't look at me with distaste.

  “I've done my research.” I said to no one in particular. “Hell Holes have been popping up all over town.” I pointed to one of the transactions. “This one’s my next door neighbor.”

  “Beatrice?” High Wizard Virgil asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. Virgil was close to Mrs. G, but I wondered if it was common knowledge that I was neighbors with her. Blackwood was a small town. There probably wasn’t much everyone didn’t know.

  “You know we don't approve of what you're doing,” a Councilwoman whom I did not know stated. As usual when things involve me and the Council of Mage and Magical Affairs, things quickly turn into that family reunion with your cousins you don't get along with.

  I glanced around the room, unable to hide any smugness when I replied, “I wasn't looking for anyone’s approval.”

  “Perhaps my requests for more detailed paperwork aren't enough.”

  Ever have one of those moments when things suddenly became clear? Like when you're reading a mystery and then BAM! out of nowhere the carefully laid facts suddenly make crystal clear sense? I was having one of those moments.

  “Councilwoman Jax. I can finally put a name with a face.”

  I stared at the brown haired lady to my right. Until now, we had not crossed paths in person, but in the short time since I'd gone rogue, Councilwoman Jax made it her duty to halt me at every turn with bullshit paperwork demands. If I had a Christmas card list, she would most definitely not be on it.

  High Wizard Virgil was seated across from Jax. “Councilwoman Jax here is in charge of all external mage affairs. She makes sure the rules laid forth by the Council are upheld.”

  “I know the Council keeps tabs on me. Hell, that ain't a secret. I just hadn't met the Tab-Keeper in person yet.” I glared at Jax.

  Jax pompously sucked her teeth and said, “Enlighten the rest of the Council. Tell them what you've been up to digging around in residents’ cellars.”

  “I'll be glad to tell you what I'm doing because right now, it looks like I'm the only one doing anything.” Still, no response from the other spineless council members. I slammed my hand down and they all jumped. “These things are popping up all over your damn town, and you couldn’t give a rat’s ass!”

  Their town. I may have been born in Blackwood, but I’d lived away long enough to still feel like an outsider.

  Jax replied, “We will take your account under advisement.”

  I got the feeling she thought reeling me in would somehow benefit her career wise. Maybe, but I wasn’t gonna make it easy for her. “So, you're gonna sit around and chin wag about what to do instead of actually doing it. In the meantime, demons will continue to invade until something is done.”

  “Watch your tone, Ms. Adams,” Councilman Erik said.

  I threw up my arms. “It'll take someone getting hurt before this spineless, waste of time Council does anything!”

  “That's enough!” Jax’s chair fell over she stood up so quickly. She leaned across the table toward me stretching her tall frame. “We tolerate your little extermination business because you don't cause any trouble, and you do the shit jobs no one else will. I would hate to see your game store license get held up in processing because of your attitude and unwillingness to cooperate.”

  “Councilwoman, Jax, we do not make veiled threats at this table,” High Wizard Virgil said.

  My blood was boiling and my head pounded. I pictured my trembling hands around Jax’s neck. I hoped she knew I prodded her on purpose.

  I took a deep breath and dropped my hands from her neck in my mind. As my eyes swept around the table, I stopped on Mr. James—just like his son, coolheaded even in the wake of turmoil. Maybe he didn't speak up in my defense because he was my boyfriend’s father, or maybe it was because he knew I was right in that the Council was a spineless lump of old flesh. I chose to believe the latter.

  I gathered all my paperwork into a pile. “I thought the magical Council would be more interested in protecting its town and witch citizens.” I smirked as several of them moved uncomfortably in their seats. They hated it when I called our kind witches. “If you decide to get your thumbs out of your asses and review these files, copies are on file in witch, excuse me, Mage Affairs.”

  “Still cocky even when you're out of your league,” Jax smirked, pushing her shoulders back to accentuate her height. She was almost as tall as me. Almost.

  I made sure to look down at her as I smirked right back. “Careful now. Another outburst like that and they’ll demote you. You'll be condemned to the shit processing jobs everyone else is too good for.”

  I could feel her rage behind me as I exited the conference room. Considering we didn’t exactly get off on the right track on our first meeting, I had a feeling that wasn’t the last time I’d exchange loving words with Jax.

  I heard Mr. James yell my name as I cranked my bike. I revved the engine and looked at him. Damn, he looked even more frail in the waning daylight. A stark contrast to the dashing man I met only a few months ago. He obviously had something on his mind if he would make the effort to follow me out here in his condition.

  I turned off the engine and slouched back on the seat waiting for him to say whatever he had on his mind.

  “That took a lot of guts. No wonder my son loves you so much.”

  Hit me in the soft spot on the first swing. Well played, Mr. James. I don't think it worked, but I tried not to blush. “I don't think you came out here to pump me full of compliments.”

  “The Council means well, Mackenzie.”

  “The Council has had it in for me ever since my true identity was revealed. And if you came out here to defend them, you're wasting your time.”

  “It's admirable that you want to do the right thing.”

  “I don't need their blessing.”

  “No, but acting alone will only land you in hotter water. However, it only takes one member of the Council to have reasonable doubt.”

  He handed me an invoice with my letterhead on top and his signature on the bottom. “What's this?”

  “Your friend Jeremy helped me out. It's dated three nights ago when you exterm
inated a nest of demon rats from our cellar. A copy has been filed with Mage Affairs.”

  So, Mr. James had a sneaky side. His wife and son would flip the fuck out if they knew.

  “Damn Hell Holes. Way I see it, something needs to be done about them before it’s too late.”

  A warmth washed over me that I hadn't felt in a long time. True acceptance. Mr. James believed in me. I would not let him down.

  “Thank you.”

  Mr. James smiled as he took a few steps back toward the building. He stopped and looked at me. “Just do me one favor. When my son tells you what he's been up to lately…”

  I listened intently at the mention of Spratlin.

  “Go easy on him.”

  My friends all stared back at me. I admit, I was nervous. I don’t know why telling them what I was up to concerned me so much, but it did. Even though they have all been there for me since learning I was a witch, being a Dark Daughter did sometimes feel lonely.

  Once, I secretly followed them to a coven meeting. I watched from the shadows as they all communed together like one big happy family.

  Family.

  I had the experience of family for only a brief moment during my childhood.

  Then it was yanked from me like ripping a bandage off an oozing wound.

  In one quick motion, I lost the man I knew as my father. My half-sister betrayed me. My mother kicked me out.

  And then I discovered how much I could hate.

  I had two living relatives in Blackwood who I no longer considered my family, and my blood boiled at the thought of them.

  And yet it was the one thing I yearned for.

  Although I sometimes wondered if they viewed me differently since going rogue, I had a family with my friends. These friends who I stood before, scared to death to tell them what I was about to do. Not because I thought they’d be mad, or disappointed, but because seeing them all together made me feel even more alone.

  Creep snapped his fingers to jar me out of my pity party. “What’dya call us here for? We havin’ another all nighter?”

  Yes, more than anything I would have preferred to stay at the store and greet customers and play games with my friends until the end of time. But I had a job to do. Another job.

  “Soon,” I forced a smile. “I gathered you all here to tell you something. First, I want you all to know how much you mean to me. And I can’t thank you enough for what all you’ve done to help the store.”

  Creep, in his pizza stained controller shirt, playfully punched my arm. “Of course! That’s what gamer buds are for!”

  Then Ivy asked, “So, what’s the other thing?”

  “What happened in the square has a lot of folks shaken up. I think I know who’s behind it, and I may know how to stop it.”

  “The Hell Holes?” asked Creep. When I nodded, he continued, “Hell yeah! Let's go get ‘em!”

  They all cheered and expressed interest in helping. Putting my friends in danger was not part of the deal. I’d purposely kept them away whenever I was meeting Malek. Asking them to go into battle with him was not in the cards.

  “Unfortunately,” I held up my hands to quiet them. “I have to go alone.”

  While most of them just slouched their shoulders and looked disappointed they wouldn't get in on the adventure, Gaylin, however, looked as if I'd run over her dog. After giving me an eat shit look, she wandered off behind the counter.

  Creep was the first to reply. “You know we’ve got your back. What gives?”

  “I was hired by someone to find a missing object. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the Hell Holes that have been popping up.” I couldn’t tell them everything, but hopefully it was enough.

  “Even more reason we should go, too,” said Jeremy.

  “I’ve been offered a lot of money. Enough to keep the store open for a while.”

  Jeremy stood up a little straighter. I knew he was thinking back to our conversation about paying the bills.

  “You know this store means a lot to me. It means something to others, too. The little girl from game night? I want to do this for her. To make sure gamers like her have a safe place to go.”

  Jeremy nodded relaxed once again. “You know you don't have to worry about things here. Go do your thing,” he said.

  Creep nodded and put his arm around his girlfriend, Ivy, as she said, “We’ll take care of the store.”

  “Thank you.” I couldn't express in words how much their support meant to me. Then I made my way to the counter where Gaylin was mindlessly organizing games.

  “You know, I never really thanked you for what you did for me, infiltrating the dark mage underground compound. If it weren't for you, I may not know that Jasmine… that my mother was alive.”

  Gaylin didn't look up. Instead, she turned her back to me and said, “Now we’re even.”

  I wasn't sure why I was getting looks of death and the cold shoulder. “I'm sorry. I don't follow.”

  She turned around just long enough to say, “You saved my life. I helped you. We're even,” then she put her back to me again.

  She was clearly pissed about something. “You don't owe me any favors for that.”

  “Notoriety and knowing you have a hold over us is thanks enough, huh?”

  Okay, I loved my friends, but if there was one thing I hated more than anything was being blamed for doing or feeling something I didn't. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

  I didn't mean for my voice to be high enough to call attention to us, but the others glanced our way. I shook my head hoping to give the impression that everything was okay.

  I leaned in closer to Gaylin, but my tone wasn't any less direct. “You know good and well that having this ability, this curse, is the last thing I wanted. And I don't think for a second that I'm any better for having it.”

  Gaylin didn't turn around. No I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Nothing. I knew something was up with her at game night. Why wouldn't she talk to me?

  I didn't have time for it. Whatever she was pissed about would still be there when I returned, and if it wasn't, yay for me. I leaned in close once more to be sure she heard me. “Don't do me any more favors. Jeremy can tend to the store while I'm gone.”

  I walked away shaking my head. Inside, I was fuming. I despised being blamed for something that wasn't true.

  As I approached my other friends, Creep asked, “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, she'll be fine. Will one of you do me a favor? I can't get ahold of Spratlin.” Jeremy’s eyebrow perked. I answered his silent question. “He's not answering his phone. I don't know what's going on with him, either. Just tell him I’ll be back soon. And that I love him.”

  “Of course,” Jeremy said as he hugged me. “But are you sure about this?”

  I could tell he didn't understand why I wanted to go alone. I couldn't tell them everything. That I was actually investigating a missing relic for a strange, and very creepy, man.

  I nodded. “I promise to fill you all in later. For now, this is something I need to do myself.”

  9

  After Thunder warned me about another Death Cheater being in town, I pressed him for more information. I needed to know how to find Kellen for our mystery man and collect the other five grand. I don't think Thunder was lying when he told me he didn't know. Fortunately, I didn’t let that stop me. The only clue that Malek gave me was to head north to the mountains.

  Jeremy warned me that once I got into the mountains I would be alone. Apparently, locals didn’t traverse the mountains much, so presumably, I’d have it all to myself—if I could be so lucky. It was already dusk. Should I be wandering into strange mountains alone at night? If I were merely human, no, but I’m a badass Lightning Mage, and I’d make damn good use of that if I had to.

  According to the map I snagged from the library, there would be a trail up ahead on the left that would take me off the main road. I had a feeling that was the road I should take. After a few hundred feet, I saw the
path. I parked my bike off to the side of the path entrance and grabbed my backpack. I glanced one last time at the beautiful orange setting sun and started down the path. I thought back to the pine forest and killing that demon with my blade arm and wished Spratlin was here. I needed to talk to him. I needed to make sure he was okay with what he saw.

  Alone, my mind was already starting to wander.

  If what Thunder said was true, that meant there was another Death Cheater in town. I couldn't imagine Alexa being the Blue Devil. If she had that much power, she would've already used it on me. Pummeled by one magical element after another. It'd be like the equivalent of double tapping in the magical world.

  Was it safe to assume the Blue Devil was Kellen? Or perhaps our mystery man himself?

  The farther I walked into the woods, the darker it got. I imagined that even during the day, the canopy of trees would block most of the natural light. Magic coursed through me, and I brought my hand up in front of my face to light the way. Without thinking about it, a blue ball of electricity left my hand and floated in front of me. I didn’t know I could even do such a trick.

  Whoa.

  I took a step forward and the ball of light continued floating in front of me lighting the way. It was so bright, I would be able to see anything moving within twenty yards. I wondered if I could replicate as many balls of light as I wanted. I decided not to press my luck. Magic was getting easier for me—most of the time I didn’t have to think about conjuring it. It was becoming second nature, like muscle memory. When I felt threatened, or needed something innocent like light, my magic was at the surface ready to go at my will.

  Badass Lightning Mage was right.

  I smirked at the thought.

  “Mackenzie! Wait up!”

  I spun around, and just like that, my magic welled up just under the surface of my palm. I recognized the voice, but it still scared the shit out of me. “Are you crazy? What are you doing here?”

  Spratlin ran up to me and stopped. He bent over heaving deep breaths. “Me? You’re the… crazy one… alone… in the… mountains.”