“Exactly.” They exited the hallway into the reception area.
Darcy, Ginny and Hilary all converged on them, wanting to see Kendall.
The baby was shy for about four seconds, until Hilary dangled some keys in front of her. Kendall dropped Carla’s cuff. Ginny caught it without really looking. Kendall happily went to Hilary to get the keys.
“Traitor.” Carla laughed, slipping the beautiful cuff back on her arm.
Risa touched the ring around her thumb, but her thoughts went back to Archer. “How do we get rid of the spawn if we can’t kill him?”
Darcy answered, “We have to find and then banish him. That will keep him from returning, at least in his current demon form. But we’ll need to hold him to do the banishing spell. Think your shield could do that?”
Could she? “It’ll be hard. Just holding his arrows was a battle.” Everyone turned to look at her. “But I’ll try.”
“You won’t have to hold him for long,” Carla assured her. “We believe Ram’s electrical charge shorted out Archer’s hellfire. If Ram can do that again, maybe by discharging his electrical energy into his knife and throwing it into Archer, then you cast your shield, at that point Darcy and I could banish him.”
“Oh.” The possibilities opened in her mind. “Can Ram get close enough?”
“Even if he can’t, Axel or Sutton probably can,” Darcy said.
Ginny frowned. “But can they touch the knife if Ram discharges into it? Will their touch drain it? Or the burning slow them?”
Risa considered that. “I bet I could shield the base of the knife. Does anyone have a knife? Let me see what I can do.”
* * *
Linc flew maneuvers again and again, landing and taking off while Baron and a few of his hunters training with them threw knives for Linc to dodge. Eli added his whip to the fun when Linc got close enough to the ground.
Axel attacked from the air.
Linc was getting damned good at flying maneuvers, which could save him from Archer’s arrows. But it did nothing to soften his inner turmoil. How could he trust Risa now?
The lash caught his thigh. Fuck, that stung. He shot up, wings pumping, then dodged a knife coming at his face, while Axel arrowed toward him from his left. Linc banked out of the pathway, barely avoided another knife and decided to land.
Drenched in sweat, bleeding from his mistakes, he touched down when he heard the whistle of the whip.
He spun, caught Eli’s lash, jerked the hunter forward and rammed his fist into the man’s jaw.
Eli absorbed the punch and whirled into a roundhouse kick.
Linc jumped back, grabbed Eli’s foot, dumped him on his ass and dropped all his weight, intending to drive his elbow into the hunter’s ribs.
Eli rolled.
Linc halted, pushed up to a crouch and eyed Eli. “Any reason you’re riding my ass, Stone?”
The other hunter circled him. “Ginny could have been killed. If that arrow had hit her, she’d be taken. Gone.”
Taken where? But knowing better than to ask, he said, “Archer could have killed all of us.”
“Death won’t treat all of us the same, Dillinger. What awaits Ginny…”
“Don’t,” Ram snarled.
Eli lifted his hand.
The whip rose off the ground where he’d dropped it, flinging though the air and hitting his palm.
What the fuck? Linc blinked. Had he really just seen that? He’d fought by Eli’s side over and over, and not once had Eli’s whip flown to his hand like magic. “Witch hunters can’t do that.” Eli was a hunter. He had the tat. Wing Slayer had filled it in. What was going on?
“Well I can. This whip?” Eli held it up. “It’s one of those unwanted gifts that you can’t return. I can’t lose it or destroy it. I’ve tried, but it always comes back. At first I refused to use it, but it started attaching itself to me.”
“What are you?” Baron asked. All twenty men training on the grounds had quit training to watch.
“I was born a witch hunter, but I was hijacked.” Eli turned to Linc. “Now you’re harboring Archer’s baby. He’s coming back for that kid. And he’ll kill us all to get her. But Ginny and I won’t die.” He stalked off.
“What will happen to you?” Baron called.
Eli stopped, his shoulders bunching, the whip latched to his side, twitching. “Another unwanted gift.” Then he was gone.
“What the fuck?” He turned to Ram.
Sparks flew from his hands. “I don’t know, but my guess is that his fate is tied to Ginny’s.”
He remembered what Eli had told him. Ginny’s father destroyed my connection with my soul mirror. For that alone, I’d kill him if I could. Savi’s alone out there. I was her lifeline and… Fuck.
“But he has his tat. Wing Slayer accepted him.”
Axel stared after Eli. “Apparently, some powerful being poached. It should be impossible, but the curse weakened our god’s bond with us for decades.”
“So who’s this mystery being?” Linc couldn’t figure it out. “Ginny’s father isn’t Asmodeus, right?” Was she another hybrid? It would explain her secrecy.
“No.” Ram’s tone was sharp and icy. “Let’s focus on the problem at hand. Like the fact that we have a pissed-off demon spawn coming to get his kid.”
“Over my dead body.” Linc meant it. Especially after seeing Risa with Kendall this morning. The baby deserved a chance to grow up loved and safe. After seeing Eli’s reaction, he began to get an idea of how afraid Risa had been that Linc would reject the kid based on her demon blood.
The others wandered off to resume training. Linc went to snag a bottle of water.
Axel grabbed another one.
“I mean it, A. I will protect Risa and the baby.” No matter what happened between him and Risa, they had his protection.
“I remember when all witches hated us. Feared us,” Axel said. “We were cursed with the drive to kill them and harvest the power in their blood. Most of them believed that we had all become evil.”
He lowered the water bottle, looking at his leader.
“Kendall will have to choose for herself, just like we all do,” Axel twisted off the lid and drank some water. “But she’ll have a better chance if she’s with you and Risa.”
“You were pretty pissed at Risa last night. Told me to keep her away from Darcy.”
Axel shrugged. “It’s possible I’m a tad protective of my mate and overreacted.”
If by tad protective Axel meant insanely possessive, then yeah, he’d agree. Linc opened his mouth to answer when a wave of magic lit up his insides, sucking out his breath and making his wings twitch.
Axel laughed. “The witches are together, doing magic. No doubt planning how to take down the spawn.”
His blood heated in reaction to the feel of her magic, and damn, he did not need a boner right now. Trying to distract himself, he asked, “Did you ever have doubts about Darcy?”
All the humor left the other man’s face. “My doubts almost got her killed. I know you’re pissed, but I saw your witch in action last night. She’s fierce, courageous and willing to sacrifice her own happiness for the child of a friend. That’s some deep loyalty. You might want to ask yourself, have you been completely honest with her?”
Linc started to answer, when he thought of something he hadn’t told Risa. Shit, Axel had a—
Phones started going off. Linc yanked out his to see an alert from missing witches.
His stomach burned in fury. He had to stop Archer and the rogues. Before that fucking demon destroyed Vegas.
Or even worse—killed Risa and snatched Kendall. Rage clanged in his head, and his chest constricted. He wouldn’t let that happen and took off at a run.
~ 23 ~
Hot water pounded on Linc, draining off the blood and growing worry. They’d only managed to rescue a few witches and found more dead and dumped.
It was barely ten p.m., but he was going to grab an hour or two of sleep. They we
re rotating watches, searching for the spawn and rogues, and rescuing any witches they could find.
After turning off the shower, he toweled dry, yanked on some shorts and headed down the hall. Quietly he opened the door and slipped in. Crossing to the crib, he looked inside, able to see perfectly well in the dark. Baby Kendall lay on her back, arms and legs flung out, face relaxed and mouth open. His chest twinged at the sight of her safe and content. He could smell a gentle layer of Risa’s magic around her.
“Linc?”
He turned toward the bed. Risa rose on an arm, blinking away sleep. He regretted waking her. She, Carla and Ginny had worked for hours, healing the witches he and the others had rescued. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I want to sleep with you.” Yet he didn’t walk to her, suddenly unsure of his welcome.
Her magic flared out, and the twin bed stretched into a double. “It’s the best I can do in this tight space.” Pulling back the covers, she said, “Come sleep.”
His mouth dried. Long and lean, wearing only a tank and panties, her hair falling around her shoulders, she took his breath away. The sight of her created a need so deep it truly scared him. Going to her, he set his phone on the night table, got in and pulled her against him. Her scent chased out the smell of pain and death, easing his muscles.
As Risa stroked his back, her magic rolled over him, gently probing, then tingling when it found injuries. “You’re healing me.”
She tilted her head up, eyes so vulnerable. “I want to.”
Desire rode in on her magic, swirling through him and thickening his cock. Wrapping his hand around her hair in some primal need to capture her, he told her the truth. “I missed you.”
“Really?”
He was very aware of the baby in the crib, could hear her soft breaths, so he didn’t kiss Risa, or the sweet desire simmering between them would ignite. It was enough to hold and touch her right now. “Yes.”
She sighed. “I know it’s going to take time for you to forgive me and trust me, but I’ll be here if you want to.”
He opened his mouth.
“Wait. Please. I can only say this once.”
“Okay.”
“If you don’t want me…” she pressed her hand to his chest, “…I’ll go away. Me and Kendall. I mean once this is over, because we have no chance on our own right now, and I’m not risking her life out of pride or a broken heart. That baby—she’s good, Linc. I don’t care what her bloodline is, she’s a sweet, funny girl. And I’m going to give her the chance to make her own choice in life. Just like you chose. They tried to brand you as feral. And you refused to be that. So…” She closed her eyes. “Sorry, I got off track. I won’t try to hold on to you if you walk away.” Her fingers tightened against his chest, anxiety bleeding off her.
“I’m not walking away, and neither are you. No woman who fights this hard for her friend’s child walks away.” He loved her more for that, but he’d just had to get past his initial hurt.
“But I lied.”
He nodded. “So did I. There’s something I haven’t told you. At first, I didn’t think you needed to know, that it’d only complicate things between us. But then…I didn’t want to tell you and have you resent me for it.”
“What?”
“Your father.” Linc hated the wash of fear and uncertainty backing up his throat. One thing he knew for sure, no matter how much you hated your parent, you also still loved them. “I killed him.”
She didn’t move.
“Risa?” He stroked her hair. “I didn’t know you then. I saw his picture in the media after his arrest and recognized him as the one man I’d never found. I waited, then once I decided he’d been in prison long enough to know what being in a cage is like, I got in.”
“How?”
Dread tightened his stomach. “Did I get in? Or kill him?”
“Get in.”
“Invisibility. But I’d studied the security too. Anyway, I cornered him in a spot with no camera angle, and killed him. In cold blood.” Linc made himself tell her without softening it. Would she consider him an assassin like her father?
She nodded and laid her head on his arm. “I suspected it was you. After you told me about what happened to you, my father’s part in it, and that you’d killed them all.”
“Why didn’t you ask me?”
She shrugged, looking lost for a moment. “I didn’t really want to know.” Raising her gaze, she added, “I hated him. So much. But I never had the courage to kill him, not even after…” She closed her eyes.
Oh hell. “Another secret?”
“Not like Kendall.” She rubbed her thumb back and forth on his chest. “I’ve never told anyone though.”
It was late. They were both tired. “Do you want to tell me?” He could feel it bunching up inside her, worse than physical pain.
“One of the souls trapped in my magic…”
Linc stayed quiet and didn’t rush her. Talking like this in the hush of the night, lying together with her legs tucked between his, Kendall nearby, safely sleeping—they were in their own special world. They could tell each other anything here.
Risa swallowed and said, “…is my daughter, Nola. She was never born. I was only four months pregnant with her when she died.”
Given that her father used her to lure his victims, he ventured a guess. “Your father found out and did something?” He kept his voice level even as his anger brewed.
She nodded. “I was seventeen. He figured out I was pregnant and put an abortion potion in my tea. I didn’t know until I woke in the middle of the night in pain. I tried to save her by shielding her.”
She’d been so young and alone. No mother, no one who loved her to help her. Linc hated that he hadn’t been there to protect her. “Who was the father of your baby?”
“One of the men my father forced me to be with then killed. I guess I was thinking maybe if I got pregnant, my father would have to stop using me. It was stupid, I know that now.” She closed her eyes. “The baby wasn’t full term or anything, but I still loved her. And I failed her.”
God, he hated her father and was damn glad he’d killed the man. For the things he’d forced his daughter to do, and for hurting her, he’d deserved to die. Linc settled his forehead against Risa’s. “Your loss made you more determined not to fail Kendall.” Oh, he understood that.
“Not just Kendall, but Blythe. I want her to know I’ll love Kendall, but I’ll tell her about her mother too. Blythe was a great mom. Her last thoughts and words were for her baby. I’m going to honor that.”
That hit him square in his heart. He’d been pissed and betrayed at her for lying to him, when all along she’d been keeping her vow to a dying woman. But now that he held Risa, fierce possessiveness and the desire to be the man she deserved solidified in his bones. But deep in his chest, a cold foreboding pricked his contentment.
He couldn’t lose her. She trusted him fully, enough to tell him about Nola, even after he’d admitted to killing her father. She was his everything.
Yet the dread sat there like a ticking time bomb. Archer was coming.
* * *
Mama. I can’t see you. You said you’d never leave me. Why can’t I see you?
“Risa, wake up.”
Jerking out of the dream, she opened her eyes.
“You’re crying, love.” Braced on his elbow, Linc brushed his thumb over her cheek.
She drew in a ragged breath. “Just a dream.” But the sadness, the feeling that she’d betrayed Nola, left her aching. More tears welled in her eyes. “Damn it,” she whispered, trying to turn her face away.
“Don’t.” His voice roughened. “Whatever this is, don’t hide from me. Don’t pull back out of my reach. It feels like cage bars between us and makes me feel fucking helpless. I can see you hurting but can’t reach you.”
Her chest hollowed. “Like when my mind shattered.”
“Precisely. You’d surface then slip
away and I couldn’t catch you.”
Like he had when he’d caught her and Kendall before they fell into the acid fog. He’d leapt off that roof without any hesitation, determined to save her and the baby.
He’d even sprouted wings.
All he asked now was that she turn to him, not away. “I dreamed about Nola. She was calling for me, asking why she couldn’t see me.”
“The baby you lost? You knew she was a girl or just chose to think of her as one?”
“I shielded her in my womb, and I could feel the seed of her magic there.” She hesitated, but he’d been so honest with her, telling her he needed her to share with him, not hide. “After she died, I used to see her, talk to her. At first, she was just a little starburst, but I knew it was her. Then she started taking shape and we talked.” God it sounded insane. “I know it was crazy. I was only four months along in the pregnancy when she died. But once I turned in my dad to the cops and went into hiding, she was all I had.”
“Did you see her in your dream now?”
“No. I haven’t seen her since my mind shattered. It’s like I lost her again. After I promised her I’d never send her away.” It was all spilling out of her, the way Nola had developed eyelashes and eyebrows and acquired the ability to talk. Risa ran out of words.
Linc slid his arm beneath her, rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him. His erection pressed against her thighs.
Ignore it. I’m always aroused around you, but our girl is sleeping just a few feet away.
His words feathered in her mind, creating a flood of internal warmth. Desire, yes, but there was more. This was what love felt like. Our girl?
I’m claiming her, love. She belongs to you, and you belong to me. See how it works? He moved his hand beneath her shirt and spread it over her back.
Who do you belong to?
You. And in time when Kendall accepts me, her as well. You’re my girls.
She laid her head on him, listening to his heartbeat.
After a few minutes, he asked, “Do you think you saw and talked to Nola’s soul?”
“I wanted to believe it and yet knew it was unlikely intellectually. I never saw any of the other souls when they were quiet.”
Caged Magic Page 30
