Beholden

by Kris T. Bethke

  By the time I finished, my voice had risen to a shout. Wes just sat there, letting me get it all out, before he took my hand. His thumb made gentle passes over my knuckles. I looked at him imploringly, wanting him to say the words that would make this better. I didn’t want him to say it was fine, that it would all be okay, that we’d figure it out. I wanted him to have an answer.

  “Tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the office. You’ll stay close beside me. I’ll bring this to AD Stephens myself to get reassigned to focus my entire attention on this problem.”

  I snorted a mirthless laugh. “He’ll never agree. He said everyone’s focus had to be on figuring out why the magic in the world was increasing.”

  “He won’t have a choice. I’ll go over his head to the director if I have to.”

  “Wes.” I released a breath, and logic prevailed. “I appreciate that. I do. And I’m scared and want this fixed more than you can possibly imagine. But I don’t want you to jeopardize your job over it.”

  Wes squinted at me for a moment, like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. Then he scooted his chair closer until our knees bumped. “No one is jeopardizing anything. You know who my mother is. Normally, I don’t like to use that kind of pull, but I don’t have any qualms about it in this case. Max is already talking to people, trying to figure out if there’s anyone who knows anything.”

  I groaned. Max was involved, too? I was going to cost both of these good agents their jobs. A part of me was grateful, but common sense had me shaking my head. Wes didn’t like that. He grabbed my face, and forced up my chin until I had no choice but to look him in the eye.

  “You don’t get to say ‘no,’” Wes said, his tone unyielding. “I know you think it’s too fast, but I don’t care. I love you. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to help you.”

  I jerked out of his hold, my eyes wide. I couldn’t breathe. Gods, did he really just say that? We’d known each other only a short time. And yes, I could see myself falling in love with him. Someday. Eventually. But not after only a couple of weeks. How could he possibly love me so fast?

  “Relax.” His eyes went soft. “I don’t expect you to feel it or say it back for quite a while. And that’s fine. I’m just telling you how I feel.”

  “I…um…I…” I couldn’t make my voice work. I didn’t know what to say.

  “You going to run from me, Julian?”

  I didn’t want to. I liked being with him—I liked him—but I felt we should have some space. Once I wasn’t in his pocket all the time, he would realize I wasn’t the one he wanted. That it wasn’t love, just infatuation. If I could take a few steps away, he would see—

  “I can practically see the gears turning in your mind. Whatever you’re thinking, stop. Take my words as truth, and catch up when you’re ready.”

  I sat there staring at him. If I were completely honest with myself, I wanted what he was offering. All of it. His help, his support, and his love. Except a part of my brain still screamed this was too fast.

  “Come on,” Wes said, standing and holding out his hand. “Let me hold you for a while. And then we’ll get into bed, and you can roll over and fluff your pillow, and hold my hand as you sleep. Things will look different in the morning.”

  Still, I sat there. Wes proved patient, just holding out that extended hand, until I finally took a deep breath, lifted a shaky hand, and grasped it.

  Chapter 12

  I slept hard. After the rollercoaster of emotions the day before, I didn’t want to wake up. Only Wes nuzzling his nose along my jaw, and the rich aroma of coffee, finally made me open my eyes. I blinked blearily, then squinted at the sun streaming in through the windows. It took a great deal of effort to sit up. I gratefully took the cup Wes handed me.

  After I drank half of the bitter brew, I muttered, “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

  Wes chuckled and crossed to the closet. He pawed through the hangers until he found a shirt he liked, then I nearly whimpered at the loss of his shoulders as he shrugged it on.

  “You had a hard day yesterday.”

  An understatement if I ever heard it. Learning a big secret about Wes, meeting his mother, finding out I had a hex on me, then hearing Wes’s declaration of love was enough to make me want to run screaming for the hills. Instead, I took another large swallow of coffee.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  Wes turned to me with a bright grin stretching his mouth. Apparently, I had pleased him with the question. He’d been right about one thing at least. Everything did look different to me today. Maybe I wasn’t quite ready to trust in Wes’s love, but I did trust the man himself. I would deal with the more tender feelings between us once I didn’t have to worry about the threat of death anymore.

  “Max called about a half an hour ago. He’s got a line on someone who can do a Reverse Find. We’re hoping that can give us a clearer indication about who hexed you.”

  I frowned and hugged my mug to my chest. “That’s dark magic.”

  “Not exactly,” Wes hedged. He opened the top drawer of his dresser and retrieved a pair of socks, then sat on the edge of the bed to tug them on. “It’s more gray. And Morgan has already approved its use.”

  I couldn’t contain my shock. “You went to the director?”

  “She got wind of what’s going on herself. You’d be surprised at what that woman knows. She wants this fixed and fast. You’re the top scryer for a reason, babe. She wants you back in top form.”

  I had no idea she even knew who I was. I was a bit flattered, then wholly terrified. I never would’ve thought my life would’ve taken a turn like this. Three weeks ago, I was a bookworm, toiling away in my basement office. Now, I had a hex, the attention of the director, and a boyfriend. Maybe especially that last one.

  “This is all your fault,” I accused. I didn’t actually believe that, but for the moment it was nice to have someone to blame.

  Wes actually froze before turning to me with a confused frown. “What?”

  “Until you came into my life, I was ignored. I did my job, went home, ate, and slept. I was happier for it, too.”

  Apparently, Wes knew my grumbling wasn’t serious and found it amusing, because his lips quirked into a smile. “No, you weren’t. You’re much happier now that I’m in your life.”

  I pointedly did not agree with him out loud.

  At a soft chime, Wes dug into his pocket for his cell phone. He poked at the screen for a minute. “Ah, crap.”

  Alarm spiked in my blood. “What?”

  Wes made a dismissive gesture. “Our contact is being a bit, shall we say, recalcitrant about coming into the office. I’m going to have to persuade him.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I want you to get dressed and go to HQ. Go straight to my office. ‘Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.’”

  I bristled at the command. I wasn’t a child. “Yes, Father.”

  Wes burst out laughing. I scowled. When he got himself under control, he stole another kiss. “Not my kink. But we can roleplay later, if that’s your thing. Get up, all right?”

  I nodded because I knew he had my best interest at heart. But if we were going to keep doing this thing, Wes and I needed to talk about what “equal” meant.

  * * * *

  Cora was manning the front desk again. I slowed as I approached, hoping I’d be able to slip past her. No such luck. Her dark eyes zeroed in on me and she stood as I neared. I didn’t say a word, didn’t even look at her. I just walked past her desk and made for Wes’s office. But she grabbed my arm. Her skin felt cold even through the sleeve of my shirt.

  “How are you still alive?” she hissed, enraged. I tried to yank my arm out of her hold, but her fingernails dug in like talons. If I pulled any harder, I’d lose skin.

  “What the hell? Let go!” My shout caused several people to look up at the commotion. But I didn’t dare take my eyes off the woman in front me. Her fingers dug in further.

 
“You should be dead,” she proclaimed, her attention never wavering from my face. “There’s no way you could still be functioning. So you should do the world a favor and hasten the process along.”

  Where the fuck did she get off talking to me like that? I didn’t even know her as anything more than a casual gym acquaintance. The vehemence in her tone shocked me, but her words cut deep. There was no excuse for that.

  “Let go,” I repeated, trying to channel the dominance that Wes had. “Or I will make you.”

  Confusion crossed her face for a split second before her anger returned. Her nails burrowed in more, and I felt a warm trickle. She had drawn blood. “You should be dead. Do you hear me? You. Should. Be. Dead.”

  “No. I. Shouldn’t.” I grabbed her pinky finger and yanked backward, quick and hard. I felt the joint pop, and she screamed, finally letting go to cradle her hand against her chest.

  “Why isn’t it working?” she wailed. Her eyes held poison, aimed right at me. I was suddenly hurled against the wall, my body pinned by an unseen force. I struggled, but to no avail. Whatever spell she used was strong.

  We’d finally drawn enough attention that people sprang into action. Agents poured out of their offices. Cora looked around wildly, then made to sprint for the door. Someone blocked her exit, and she spun again, searching for an escape. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Cyril Merrithew and several other officers running in. Within seconds they had her tackled and cuffed—enchanted cuffs so she couldn’t do magic. I’d heard that if a practitioner tried to cast a spell while wearing them, they got a nasty shock for their trouble. While I was glad she’d been apprehended, I still couldn’t move. I didn’t know if the spell would wear off or had to be undone. At any rate, I was stuck. And starting to panic.

  Too much happened for me to properly track, and all the shouting started getting to me. I tried not to struggle, because I knew it wouldn’t do any good, but I couldn’t remain still. I wanted out of the trap.

  Cyril suddenly filled my field of vision. “What the hell, Julian?”

  I sort of grunted, about all I could do.

  “Hang on a minute and we’ll get you down,” he said, trying to be calm.

  I had trouble breathing, but I couldn’t tell if the constriction in my chest was because of the spell or the panic.

  It took longer than a minute. Gods, it took longer than ten. But eventually, one of the agents studied the spellwork for a few seconds, whispered some words, and I sagged to the floor. I stayed on my hands and knees, sucking in huge breaths, trying to calm down. I wanted Wes.

  I hadn’t even realized I’d said that out loud until Cyr said soothingly in my ear, “He’s on his way, Jules. I promise. But he’s still a half hour out. Hang on for thirty minutes, okay?”

  I nodded, because what else could I do?

  * * * *

  “Go though it for me again.”

  I was glad Cyril had been given the task of interviewing me. He was making it as easy as possible. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and I just wanted to sleep for a week.

  “Which part?” I asked wearily. I scrubbed my hands over my face and tried to sit up a little straighter. I knew that if Cyr was asking, it had to be important, but had trouble keeping myself focused.

  I hadn’t seen Wes for more than a couple of minutes—long enough to get a tight hug and a kiss and for him to make sure I was okay—before agents herded me into the interrogation room on the third floor. I could tell by Cyr’s relaxed pose, the way the door stayed open, and by the way people wandered in and out, that I wasn’t in trouble. And even though I knew it was necessary, it bordered on tedious. I wanted to be done.

  “All of it,” Cyr answered. “From the beginning.”

  I tried not to sigh. “When does it start?”

  Cyr actually offered me a smile. “How do you know Cora Trulane?”

  “I don’t. I didn’t even know her first name until the other day, let alone her last. I’ve seen her at the company gym a lot. But I’ve never interacted with her until she was assigned to work the front desk for Investigations.” I’d told him this already. Was he checking to make sure my story didn’t change?

  Cyril nodded, like that was what he’d expected to hear. “Yeah, about that. Turns out, she wasn’t actually assigned there. She enchanted Vanessa Southard to think she had to stay home for a family emergency.”

  I managed to sit up straight and give Cyr my whole attention. “Why?”

  “Apparently, she was hoping for information. It’s why she snuck into the meeting AD Stephens called last week. She’s one of the higher-placed operatives, and she was hoping to bring information back to her superiors.”

  It was like he was speaking a different language. Even though I was grateful to be done with the question portion of our talk, I wasn’t sure if he should be telling me all this. But then I decided I didn’t care. I wanted to know. “Operative?”

  “For the Order of the Red Hand.”

  I couldn’t contain my shock. Until that moment, I had thought the Order was a myth. The kind of boogie-monster parents told their young practitioners so they didn’t stray too far into the dark side of magic. Apparently, I’d been wrong.

  “She’s a part of the Order?”

  Cyr nodded. He glanced at the open door, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Cora Trulane is a lieutenant with the Order. She’s not being cooperative, but we saw the tattoo on the back of her neck. The only thing she’s offered in her defense is that she didn’t hex you, but was only ordered to keep watch over you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And you believe her?”

  “Yeah, actually, we do. She can fool a truthsayer only for so long. After they got that out of her, she shut up completely. She’s not naming names so…” Cyril shrugged.

  I didn’t know whether to be disappointed in the news or not. On the one hand, it would’ve been good if the practitioner who’d cast the spell was in custody. Then at least they could be made to remove the hex. On the other, I was sort of relieved it wasn’t someone I’d crossed paths with so frequently, which I knew wasn’t logical, but I couldn’t help that.

  “Why me, Cyr?” I asked. That’s the one thing I really wanted to know.

  “You’re the best, Julian.” His tone matched mine. “The best we can figure, knowing the Order is behind it, is that if you were out of the picture, it’d be easier for them to carry out their plans. You’ve foiled more than one plot by what you can find.”

  I nodded, sagging in my chair, and hugging my middle. I at least took heart in the fact that it wasn’t a personal attack. The Order would’ve gone after anyone in my position. And if they’d been successful, and I had died, then whoever took my place would’ve had a target painted on them as well. The thought made me shiver.

  “Are we done?” I whispered.

  Cyril’s soft smile was full of sympathy. “Almost. We need to go through it one more time, and then you can go. Tell me what happened the other day.”

  I internally steeled myself and relayed the first meeting with Cora all over again. The way she’d seemingly been angry at seeing me there, then the way I couldn’t remember anything after she’d grabbed my arm until Wes had come up to us. Suddenly, it all made sense. “Ah, crap. She was using mind control, right?”

  “Yeah.” Cyr sounded apologetic. “It certainly seems so. Not sure why it didn’t work today, but we’re all grateful.”

  I looked at the ring on my finger. I knew why it hadn’t worked. Did I need to tell Cyril? Did it matter? If I told him about the ring, did that mean I’d have to admit where I’d gotten it? Did he know Lavinia was Wes’s mom? I felt like that would be sharing secrets I wasn’t meant to tell if Cyril didn’t already know.

  “Tell me about today,” Cyr said, interrupting my thoughts.

  Right. I had to go through this one more time, then I could leave. That thought was enough to have me taking a deep breath, steadying my rioting emotions, and relaying the story one last t
ime. Because I knew as soon as I was done, I would get to see Wes.

  Eventually, Cyril was satisfied and told me we were done, saying Agents Caldwell and Dreswick were waiting for me at the end of the hall.

  I was so relieved to see them. It was like sunshine breaking through the clouds. Okay, that was mostly seeing Wes, but I was happy Max was there, too. My pace picked up, my shoes slapping against the marble floor, until I reached them. When Wes held open his arms, I fell into them gratefully. He kissed the top of my head as I buried my face in his neck.

  “Can we go home?” I practically whined.

  “Not yet,” Max answered. “You want to get that hex off you, right?”

  I lifted my head and peered into Wes’s eyes. “You got him to come in?”

  “Of course,” Wes said like it was obvious.

  Nervousness fluttered in my gut. “And he can really do this? He can find out who hexed me? And the director has agreed?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes,” Max responded jovially. He slapped a hand on my shoulder, then squeezed. “Come on, Jules. Let’s get you fixed so we have one less thing to worry about.

  Chapter 13

  The man sitting on the couch in the small, dark room—the overhead light fixture had only one working bulb—huddled as though protecting himself. I’d never been to this part of the building, and I had no idea this place even existed. But Wes seemed to think it the best place for spellwork to be done uninterrupted.

  “You can’t keep me here!” the man yelled as soon as we walked in, his voice high and scratchy. I wondered if he’d been screaming. “This is unlawful imprisonment!”

  “Can it, Jester,” Max said with amusement. “You’re not in any trouble, and you’ll be compensated for your time. Let’s just do the thing so we can get you out of here, all right?”

  Jester’s small eyes narrowed. He studied the three of us, before his gaze settled on me. “That him?”