Mina stepped free from the forest and lifted her visor again, feeling the rush of clean air. There was a wash of healing magic that wafted toward her, like it was reaching out to soothe her aching muscles. She took a deep breath in, letting the refreshing air fill her lungs. The Dark Forest was a magically oppressive place if only because of the intensity of all the rampant power. It housed some of the most dangerous creatures and vegetation, feeding off of the residual magic that wafted from the witch hospital. As dangerous as it was, Mina also knew that there were herbs and foliage growing in the depths of the Dark Forest that could reverse the most powerful of curses and undo a poisoning with only a few doses. Not only that, there were natural magics at play in those plants and bred in the animals. Most pure witches wouldn’t dare venture into the darkness, just as they wouldn’t meddle with the dark arts, but Mina had been exploring these kinds of forests her whole life and knew that the treasures inside were worth the risk.
She started trudging forward again, her bulky uniform making each step slow and clumsy. She wouldn’t normally wear the gear—she hadn’t in all her time exploring dark forests all over the world—but Mother Stone insisted that she set a good example and take the risks seriously. She didn’t want any witch venturing into the forest without protection. Mina didn’t like it but she accepted the inconvenience, understanding that rules and regulations came with a place like White Willow. Her days of living off the grid, wild and free were over. She was just glad none of the Pagans she knew would ever see her dressed up like she was. They would mock her endlessly.
White Willow loomed ahead of her, just on the other side of the expansive lawn. It was twilight, a magical time all on its own. Telly seemed to calm as well, feeling the pulse of soothing magic just as surely as Mina did.
The mansion was alight and alive. The hospital was open twenty-four hours and there was movement in every window it seemed. She’d been on the road for so long it felt kinda strange to have a bed that didn’t need rolling up at the end of the night, not to mention running water and a working toilet. Not only was it an honor to be working at the hospital but coming to White Willow promised other things as well. Life on the road was hard and unpredictable, and she was ready for a more stable life, to set down roots and maybe meet someone who shared her passion.
Mina sighed. Even though she’d only been on site for a few weeks, she did love it at White Willow. It settled her soul in a way that she couldn’t explain. Her dad had told her it would, and he would know—he was a Healer, having trained at the witch hospital when he was younger. All the stories he used to tell when she was growing up about the majestic towers and pulsing magic were true. There was so much vitality, so much power that it was intoxicating at times.
She watched the windows for a moment before moving off in the direction of the east wing where the walk out to her clinic lay.
“Hey, Mina, you get him?” Healer Croft McKinnon was waiting for her with a cup of tea and a helping hand. He took her snare pole from where she’d slung it on her back.
She lifted the monkey from the crook of her arm. “Yep.”
“Peanut butter cups worked, huh?” Croft said with a chuckle.
“Of course.” She nodded as he took the monkey. “He almost got it from me, too.”
“Risky trick but it’s a handy one,” Croft said as he moved toward the other side of the room. “I’ll get him released from the net after I check him over for injuries.”
“He seems fine but I have no idea what’s he’s been eating out there. Might be wise to put him in quarantine for at least a day.” She started unlatching her gear—took her helmet off, removed her gloves and vest, slowly unloaded the weight of it all from her body.
Exhaustion washed through her with each piece she took off, her body feeling light and heavy at the same time. She slumped onto the stool at the harvest table and cradled the cup of tea Croft had left for her between her palms. “I need to sleep for a day.”
Croft chuckled again. “Don’t count on that happening,” he said before disappearing into the back room with Telly.
She took a sip—mmmm, peppermint—and sighed. “Yeah, no shit right?”
Someone cleared their throat.
Mina craned her neck to see who had wandered into the Dungeon by accident, ready to redirect them as needed. It was only her and Croft working in the Familiar Clinic right now—the amount of ferals coming in was minimal. Any visitors they got were usually lost.
But when she turned she caught sight of a blue cloak and immediately stood and bowed. A Sin Eater. “Blessed Be.”
She had a great amount of respect for the Sin Eaters, having witnessed the miracles they performed, often on deathly ill familiars as well. Their capacity for compassion was unmatched.
The Sin Eater bowed briefly, then raised her arms, the blue cloak she wore billowing to reveal that she was carrying a small dog.
“Where did he come from?” Mina moved to take the trembling creature, who was hesitant to leave the comforting embrace of the Sin Eater.
“He’s a Savior,” the Sin Eater said, her voice grim but soft.
Mina’s eyes grew wide. “For real?” She brought the dog over to her examination table and set him down. “I didn’t think there were any left after the last sweep.” Breeders faced very harsh punishments since the new laws were enacted. Laws that made it illegal to breed familiars.
“Indeed, there are many operations still working under the radar. This animal, though, was in the care of a human witch.”
Care was a subjective word. The poor thing had boils and oozing ulcers all over his body. Mina would have to shave the fur so she could get a better look. As a Savior, this particular familiar was bred to carry the most potent magic that an unnatural union could produce. It was blasphemy to experiment in such a way but there were rumors that the practice was growing in popularity. It meant that this dog was created for the sole purpose of existing only to serve the needs of a human witch. Genetically manipulated, a Savior was often guaranteed to have three times the magical abilities of a natural born familiar and three times the unpredictability.
“He is in a lot of pain.” The Sin Eater came up next to her, darting out one scarred hand to brush against the dog’s back, immediately easing its suffering.
“Cursed?”
“Yes.”
The little dog slumped on its side, all trembling stopped.
“Can you help?” Mina knew there were limitations to how much a Sin Eater could do for a familiar. Oftentimes their magic was too close to one another for there to be any positive effect.
“With time.” The Sin Eater sighed. “But I’m afraid the curse is severe.”
“And the human?” The dog would have been attached to its human master from birth, whomever had paid the highest price for it. The blood union was initiated in utero, giving the familiar no choice but accept their owner as master.
“Is a patient upstairs.”
The Sin Eater laid her hand on Mina’s wrist, sending a jolt of energy up her arm, instantly soothing the blast of anger she felt.
“She will be investigated,” the Sin Eater said. “There will be more Saviors coming. The witch has given the name and location of her supplier, the Breeders responsible for the existence of this poor beast.”
The Sin Eater’s voice was soft, like a tiny spider tiptoeing through Mina’s ears.
Mina turned to look into the darkness of the cloak, her heart filling with a mixture of sadness and loss. “More are coming?”
The Sin Eater nodded. “Mother Stone will send a rescue team out to retrieve them. I fear that the situation is dire. Breeders are not known to care for their charges beyond the bare minimum.”
Those poor animals. Mina’s heart clenched tight. Her eyes teared up. She would never understand how anyone, let alone a witch, could inflict harm on an innocent creature, especially something as precious as a familiar. She’d seen it over and over again though so she knew it was happening.
/> The Sin Eater lifted her hand to Mina’s cheek. Despite the bubbled flesh that marred the back of her hands, her fingers were soft, gentle. “You will save them. That is your destiny.” She sounded so certain.
“What’s your name?” Mina whispered.
The Sin Eater’s touch was electric, sending pulses through Mina that made her stomach quiver with giddiness.
“My name is Angel and I am here to serve you, Mina Knox.”
Mina gasped, the honor of such a thing making her hands tremble. “You know I’m not…I mean…what I am, right?”
Half-breed. Not pure. Her father had fallen in love with a Pagan, and much to the horror of his family and friends, he’d followed his heart and had suffered the consequences of that for the rest of his life.
“You are Mina Knox, the Healer of familiars.” Angel rubbed her fingers over Mina’s palm, tracing the lines on her hand. “We were meant to meet at this time.”
If she needed a Sin Eater, that meant she was headed for trouble. “What have you foreseen?”
“Only that you will need me,” Angel whispered. “Fear not, Mina Knox, you will be protected.”
Mina lifted her hand to tug back the cloak from Angel’s head. As it started to slip back Mina could see the outline of Angel’s face. She gasped again.
And her gasp was echoed from across the room.
“Don’t show her face! Are you crazy? What kind of freak show is this place?”
4
Mina jerked her head to the side, narrowing her eyes on the source of such a statement. “Who are you?”
The man standing there was tall, fit, and scowling as if she was the intruder not him.
“That is Healer Bas Frank and he is your new intern,” Angel said, her voice soft as she readjusted her cloak, keeping her face from being revealed “He has a way with animals.”
And a way with words, apparently. Mina clasped the Sin Eater’s hand and kissed her scars tenderly, trying to dispel the nastiness of Bas’s intrusion. “Blessed Be.” Then she scowled at Healer Frank. “He’s your charge?”
“Yes,” Angel said. “I’m responsible for him. I’ve learned that his bark is worse than his bite.”
“Hello? I’m standing right here.” Bas had his arms folded, looking all around, his face giving away just what he thought of the Dungeon. “I think I would have preferred the Scrub,” he mumbled.
Mina gasped. The Scrub. Prison for bad witches. It was a place that made all witch-kind shudder. She’d heard the stories, told as warnings to young witches. There was a time that her father and mother both faced imprisonment there for their interracial love affair. Thankfully, reason had prevailed and they had been allowed to live free, outcast from the pure witch world, but at least not living as outlaws. All the same, Mina’s father had told her about the time he’d spent there while he was training to be a Healer and she would never wish that on any one.
She screwed up her face in response to Healer Frank. “Why is he here?” Mina turned to Angel. “What did I do to earn this lovely gift?”
But Angel shook her head. “As I said, he has a way with animals and may be better suited to working with you.”
“I’m an excellent Healer,” Bas growled. “This is a waste of my time.”
“Watch your tone, Healer,” Croft said as he came out from the back room, holding a cloth to his arm. “Mina, I’ve been called to the field.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Now was not the time for her to be a man short.
“Mother Stone has requested I go with the team to rescue some feral familiars.”
“Not ferals, Saviors,” Angel said.
Croft looked at her with astonishment. “Is that… Are you…?”
“A Sin Eater, Angel,” Mina confirmed. “She’s here to help.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I wasn’t cool about leaving you alone.” He shot a look over at Bas. “With him.”
“Hey!” Bas said. “I’m not dangerous.”
“Not what I just heard,” Croft said with a hard look. “Mother used the words reckless and insolent.”
Bas smirked but didn’t argue, shrugging it off like he couldn’t care less.
What an ass.
“What else did she say?” Mina pulled Croft to the side, moving with him past the back wall where she had boxes of supplies still yet to be opened and shelved away. There wasn’t enough time in the day to do that, even with Croft around; what would she do with a dickwad like Bas pestering her?
She put her hand over his and lifted the cloth he had there. “Telly got you? You’ll need a shot so you don’t get infected.” She tsked as she tossed the cloth aside and grabbed some gauze and witch hazel wipes. “Why is he here?” She nodded over her shoulder.
Croft hissed as Mina cleaned his wound. It wasn’t deep but any injury from a feral familiar needed to be watched. Magic infection was a common result if left untreated.
“Mother Stone didn’t say why, you know how she is.” He shrugged. “She just said that the focus of his training has changed and that if he fails to perform sufficiently here, he will likely be removed from the program.” He winced as Mina dabbed his wound with the witch hazel.
“Ugh, no pressure or anything. I don’t want to take responsibility for that.” Mina glanced toward the two newcomers. “Angel says he has a way with animals.”
“Yeah, well, from the rumors I’ve heard, he’s making a name for himself attitude-wise and not in a good way.” Croft sighed.“Apparently, he’s pretty skilled though.”
“And has the ego to go along with it.” Mina snickered.
“No shit, eh?” Croft squeezed her hand after she secured a large gauze bandage. “Anyway, by the sound of it, the animals we’re going to retrieve may be magically volatile. We’ll need to quarantine them separately when we get them back. I’ll send the numbers once I have a better idea but I think you should prepare for at least a dozen.”
“So many.” She shook her head again. “I can get the sanctuary space finished, put this guy, Bas, to some hard labor and then transfer Telly and the others, get them acclimated to their new home before the Saviors come.”
“It’s going to be a lot of work.” Croft winced. “You know I’d much rather stay here and help you.”
“Don’t be silly. Mother Stone knows what’s best. She sent me a powerhouse of magic ability, didn’t she?” Mina rolled her eyes. “I can handle this guy. Don’t worry about me. When do you leave?” She pulled a pre-filled syringe from her small medical fridge.
Croft held his arm out and she injected him quickly.
“Now, ten minutes ago.” He chuckled as he patted his arm. “Thanks. I’m ready to conquer the world. I heard Mahdyia Surja will be on this mission.”
“Ah, now I know why you’re so eager,” she teased. Croft had had a crush on the girl from the moment he first saw her, which, from what Mina had learned, was quite some time ago, well before Mahdyia had started as an intern at White Willow. “Maybe you’ll work up the nerve to tell her how you feel.”
Croft winked again and gave a dismissive laugh. “She’s too young for me.”
“Age is no barrier, not with consenting adults. She’s a beautiful girl.” Mina had only seen her from a distance in real life but her profile on the hospital website showed her to be a dark haired beauty. “Don’t mess it up!”
Croft mumbled something and waved over his shoulder as he walked out of the Dungeon and toward the stairs on the other side of the room.
Mina shook her head and turned back to her supply cupboard. She started gathering the ingredients she’d need to mix a poultice for the dog Angel had brought down.
“You’re not planning on using human potions for this, are you?” Bas had moved to the examination table, looking ready to snatch the dog from Angel.
Mina was about to snap at him to stop, until she saw how the little dog’s tail started to wag, its eyes alight as Bas reached out for him. Angel obliged, passing the dog over so Bas could cra
dle him in his arms.
“Shhhh, now, little one, you’re safe. That nasty human won’t harm you again,” Bas cooed.
Mina’s mouth dropped. She was not expecting such tenderness from Mr. Bad Attitude. He seemed too caught up in himself.
“All he needs is some Healer magic,” Bas said, not bothering to look up at her. “I’ll get him fixed up and outta here in no time.”
Mina thought about arguing with him but instead continued to pull down the ingredients she’d need. Angel came to help her, taking up a spot with the mortar and pestle.
“He’s stubborn but strong,” Angel’s voice was so quiet it was almost imperceptible. “There’s goodness in him as well.”
“Really, ’cause he seems like an ass.” A cocky, arrogant ass.
“Yes, that too,” Angel said, her cloak shifted with her quiet laughter. She pounded down some of the burdock root, smashing it into a pulpy webbing that would soak up the healing mixture Mina was concocting. “He protected the dog when the owner was demanding him back. He took a direct hit from a curse when he could have just let it go.”
Mina’s eyes went wide. She glanced over her shoulder at Bas. He looked like trouble. His hair was light, honey blond and short with enough on the top to run your fingers through. He had a disarming dimple and his eyes were that penetrating kind of dark, the actual color a mystery until you got really, really close. His nose looked like it had seen the bad side of a fist a time or two, not surprisingly, and he had a scar over his eyebrow as well. For a pure witch, any scar that stuck had to be magically induced. Mina had to wonder what kind of shit he’d gotten into that would give him a mark like that.
He was tall, six-three, probably, and muscle bound. She imagined he was one of those obsessive exercising sort of guys. She rolled her eyes and snorted to herself. He likely got up super early to get in an hour of running and then another hour of weights. Yeah, she knew the type. While their bodies were typically glorious, their attitudes usually were beyond help. A prejudice that was proving true for Bas as far as Mina was concerned.
Feral Heart: A Witch Hospital Romance (The Witches of White Willow Book 2) Page 3
