Witchlock

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  Adrianna was listening intently, watching the play between Evalle and Isak.

  He stood, blocking Evalle's exit with his wide body. She had to get him turned around and out of here. "I really am sorry for all the delays."

  He asked, "What time tomorrow?"

  She accepted the end of her wiggle room. "I'll meet you here at dark."

  "If you aren't here at dark, I'm coming to get you."

  She said, "I'll be here, but I need to get back to my conversation with Adrianna. She's, uh, working on that project with me."

  "Hmm." His gaze jumped to Adrianna, who managed to suddenly radiate even more sex than usual, while still giving him a frosty look.

  Evalle had no idea what was going on with her.

  Isak spoke too low to be heard outside their small circle, but he sounded disgusted when he asked Evalle, "You need a witch to help you?"

  He'd said that as if he asked whether she needed an ex-con to aid her.

  Adrianna remained in a relaxed position, with her elbow propped on the bar and stirring her club soda with a tiny straw. "Yes, she does, because as you had the privilege to witness, I can handle anything thrown my way."

  "You sure about that?"

  Sitting forward, Adrianna spoke softly, which meant Isak had to lean down to hear her when she said, "A foolish man made the mistake of underestimating me. It only happened once."

  She sat back and he straightened to his full, humongous height. Daggers flew between their gazes.

  Evalle didn't move for fear of getting cut by the sharp-edged glares. She suggested, "Nice to see you, Isak, but I really have to get back to work."

  He nodded and turned, then stopped.

  She leaned around to see what blocked his path.

  Storm.

  Chapter 18

  Storm locked down on his emotions before Evalle picked up on his urge to rip Isak into two pieces and toss each half as far away from Evalle as possible.

  Isak mimicked Storm's posture, with legs slightly apart and arms crossed.

  Storm would be the bigger man for Evalle, who didn't need to be stressed over this. At least, he would be as long as Isak didn't touch her.

  Evalle stepped around Isak and looked up at Storm. "Funny running into Isak here, but he was just leaving."

  Isak interjected, "I might hang around and have a beer."

  Being the bigger man was overrated. "That's fine. We're leaving," Storm told Isak, who wasn't budging.

  Evalle glared first at Isak then at Storm.

  Then she must have noticed how quiet things were getting in the normally bustling restaurant.

  People were watching.

  Waiting on the show to begin.

  Could Isak not recognize that the chase was over? Evalle had made her choice, dammit.

  Isak gave Storm a narrowed-eyed stare of challenge.

  The human outweighed him by about thirty pounds, but Storm's jaguar strength would more than balance out that difference.

  Hurting this guy would upset Evalle and she had enough on her plate right now, but Storm needed to get things straight with Isak so he'd stop sniffing around.

  If that didn't work, then Storm would have a more in-depth conversation in a less public venue.

  Evalle muttered, "Another minute of this and I'll get testosterone poisoning." She leaned past Isak and called out, "Ready?"

  Adrianna slid off the barstool.

  Storm angled his head just enough to see Adrianna, whose eyebrows lifted and dropped just as quickly. She tossed money on the counter and slipped the strap of her tiny purse over her shoulder, striding past Isak without a second look.

  Isak noticed her though, his gaze sliding from head to toe as the petite witch walked away, before he caught himself and returned to posturing.

  Storm picked up on male interest in the witch that should have eased his anger, but Isak's gaze slid from Adrianna to Evalle, who rolled her eyes at both of them.

  Then she fell into step behind Adrianna, not saying a word.

  Storm felt eyes on his back and sent a look across the bar area and around the restaurant. That had everyone immediately shifting their attention to whatever conversation had been going on a moment ago.

  Isak's mouth lifted with smug sarcasm. "Nice trick. That all you got?"

  Storm stepped up to Isak. "Let's make this simple. In case you didn't get the memo, Evalle is my mate. Don't come near her again."

  "Going to be hard to avoid it when she just agreed to go to dinner with me tomorrow."

  Shock whipped through Storm first and disappointment followed close behind. What was going on between Evalle and Isak?

  Storm was a master at disguising his emotions and shrugged off Isak's comment, telling him, "Don't get your hopes up."

  Isak's mouth turned up, beaming arrogance. "Don't bet against me." He walked out.

  Storm needed a minute to pull his fury under control before he walked out of here and faced Evalle. She was as genuine as they came, so his first guess was that she owed Isak dinner for something in the past, probably borrowing one of Isak's damned weapons.

  With that realization, Storm's blood pressure started dropping. Isak had come around to collect on a debt.

  Storm had won her love and he wasn't letting anyone impose on her. If Evalle had an outstanding debt with Isak, Storm would settle it.

  Sure that Isak had cleared out, Storm turned to catch up to Adrianna and Evalle, but when he stepped outside the women were nowhere in sight.

  Thumbing the keys on his phone, he sent her a text on the way to his truck. Where are you?

  Busy.

  His fingers paused on the handle of his truck and he stared up into the heavens, searching for patience. He could track her and Adrianna, but that would take time and he didn't want to risk those two trying to cross into a hostile realm by themselves.

  He climbed into his truck, mentally searching for the right thing to say, and texted: Isak and I parted on civil terms. Now can I come join you? I missed you today.

  Thirty seconds passed and he stared at the phone, waiting.

  Forty seconds.

  A minute.

  When she finally texted back, she sent an address for the construction location of the new dome, but it was the smiley face she included that eased the tightness in his chest.

  Still, she'd been stressed when she left the restaurant and knowing he'd contributed to her tension felt like shit.

  He glanced up at the rearview mirror, seeing the face of a frustrated man. "Your trying to build walls around her to keep her safe is not helping."

  No, but he could fix that. He'd have to give her space and hope like hell nothing happened to her.

  Chapter 19

  Evalle followed Adrianna over chewed-up ground that would eventually be home to the Atlanta Falcons football team. Once this new dome was finished, the old one next door would be torn down.

  The Georgia Dome still looked nice to her, but she'd never been to a football game so what did she know?

  "Is Storm coming?" Adrianna asked, sounding concerned but not missing a step with those spiked boots.

  "He's on the way."

  Adrianna wore a backpack that had been stuffed full. She had her palms turned toward the ground, shining a glow ahead of her, which made up for her lack of night vision.

  But Evalle saw just fine even through her dark sunglasses, and Storm would move through the night with the eyes of the predator he could shift into.

  Adrianna paused and swung around, adjusting the backpack, then gave a head nod in the direction of something behind Evalle. "Looks like he found us."

  Evalle twisted around.

  Storm closed in on them with long strides, his knee-length coat billowing open. He was silent as a shadow in spite of how quickly he moved across the construction site.

  When he reached them, he stopped and looked around. "There are cameras all over this place, plus they've got to have on-site security."

  "I've taken care o
f the cameras," Adrianna assured him. "Whoever monitors the feed will see the same picture with an occasional bird flying past to break it up. We'll be shielded from human eyes. As for human security moving around, they'll turn back as soon as they reach this area and retrace their steps, thinking they've circled the building."

  Evalle tried to get a read on Storm and picked up strong determination.

  Storm worked on one speed when he was focused. All out.

  He wouldn't let her or Adrianna move forward unless he was convinced they'd both be safe.

  That was the man she loved, who might go overboard when it came to watching out for the woman he loved, but he didn't love in half measure.

  He studied the construction site, where the skeletal structure soared four floors high already, with gantry cranes and scaffolding everywhere. "Is this where you want to access the realm?"

  "Yes. I spent several hours here checking for spirits. There were two Nightstalkers, but I made a deal with each one for tomorrow if they stay away tonight. I haven't seen them. Once we get to where we're going, I'll enclose us with a spell that will prevent humans from hearing or seeing us, plus deter most curious supernatural beings from bothering us, but it won't stop someone truly determined."

  "I won't let anyone close," Storm said.

  Evalle took that to mean he was finally on board with staying here as their guard. "Then let's get this done."

  He held up his hand to stall her and asked Adrianna for the specific location, which was on the very top level, of course.

  Evalle asked, "Why does it have to be up there?"

  Adrianna gave her a look that questioned why she was picking at the plan. "Because that construction level is the newest ground with no specific energies connected to it yet, and it's in the most open spot with nothing above us. Plus the vibration is always higher at elevation, and we can use all the help we can get. So what's the matter?"

  "Nothing. Just wondering."

  Storm asked, "Would you go ahead of us and get everything set up, Adrianna? We'll be right behind you."

  "Sure." She walked away, hands glowing in front of her again.

  Here it comes. Evalle gave him her full attention.

  "Were you going to tell me?" Storm asked in an even voice, which might mean Isak hadn't said anything.

  "About what?" she bluffed.

  He waited, not saying a word.

  Nope. That blasted Isak had bragged about the stupid dinner she owed him.

  She folded. "I agreed to dinner a long time ago, with his mother in fact, and it somehow morphed into dinner with Isak. I'm paying a debt. That's all. Isak means nothing to me. Yes, I was going to tell you, but-"

  "But?"

  "Not until after this was over tonight. We just haven't--"

  "Haven't had any time to talk," he finished, lifting a hand to smooth over her hair.

  She leaned into his hand, wishing they could just spend some quiet time together. "I wasn't keeping this from you. It's just a meal."

  "I didn't think you were hiding anything, sweetheart."

  She smiled, glad he was not making a big deal out of this, especially after having just run into Isak at one of Evalle's favorite restaurants. She admitted, "I don't even want to do this."

  "Then don't."

  As if her life was that easy. She was tired of IOUs hanging over her head and wanted to get them paid off. People had helped her and she wanted to show her appreciation even if it meant dinner with Isak when she could be spending the evening with Storm. "I have to go. It's just one dinner and then this will be off my conscience." Plus, she intended to ask Isak to accept her decision and stop trying to spend time with her. "Isak will let it go and I won't make the mistake of getting indebted to him again."

  Considering how uber-protective and possessive Storm tended to be, he surprised her by calmly accepting what she wanted to do. Or he was doing a great job of hiding his true reaction.

  He studied her face, then asked, "This isn't just about the megablaster he loaned you for the Svart trolls, is it?"

  She might as well get this out on the table and be done with it. "No. Isak backed us up when Adrianna and I had to capture the witch doctor. He brought one of his custom weapons, and stunned Nadina long enough for us to contain her. Even then she managed to call up a smoky dragon, but Adrianna shut that down."

  "Then I'm really the one who owes him. Why don't you let me talk to him about settling this debt another way?"

  She shoved her hands up in the air and dropped them. "You know what? Then you go to dinner with him, and while you're at it, you can figure out how to thank his mother for watching over those two homeless witch boys."

  "I'm trying to give you what you need." Storm backed off and clutched his head with both hands, walking away then back to her. He dropped his hands and cupped her face, kissing her hard.

  If this was him trying to give her what she needed, he definitely got it right. His mouth swept away all the anxiety that had been riding her for days, just like he had last night. But they couldn't spend every minute of their lives in the shower, in bed or kissing.

  If they could, she'd totally be down with that.

  When he let her come up for air, he said, "I hate everything you had to do to come for me in Mitnal. I hate that you constantly sacrifice. I don't like you owing anyone, especially another man, because of me. And I really hate you being out here tonight for this thing with Adrianna." He kissed her forehead and tugged her into his arms. "But you know what bothers me the most?"

  That wasn't enough? "No."

  "That you're going to do this tonight even though you know I don't want you to take the risk." He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "I know that's selfish, but I'm a selfish bastard when it comes to you. I'm trying to give you the room to do what you need to do, but not knowing if I can keep you safe is killing me."

  Her insides did a happy dance. God, she loved this man. But something had to give.

  "When did you start thinking I couldn't protect myself, Storm? I was battling creatures worse than demons long before you came along. I love that you care for me, but I'm starting to feel smothered with you making everyone scared to put a scratch on me. And the bigger question is, when did you start thinking I would stop doing dangerous things or actually not do my job because we're together?"

  He rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks and touched her lips with his. "I know you can handle yourself in a fight. You're the most amazing woman and warrior I've ever known, but that doesn't mean I like seeing you hurt. After my dad died, I was an island. Nothing could touch me, because I had no one to lose. Then you came along and--" His throat moved with a deep swallow. "I have no world without you."

  Her heart quivered. She said, "Adrianna and I can do this. We'll make it out of there alive."

  "You don't even know what you're going up against."

  "It doesn't matter. Nothing will stop me from getting back to you." She hoped she was right, but she didn't want to think otherwise. Staring up into his dark eyes, she had to know the answer to a question that had been hounding her. "Are you happy about living with me?"

  "Of course I am." He showed no signs of his body punishing him for lying, so that had to be true.

  "Let's get this done. Part of why I'm stressing is because I'm not sure what to do once I follow her into this realm."

  "I'm in a tough spot here because you need my help to go and I don't want you doing this, but I gave you my word and I'm going to do my part."

  "Thank you."

  He hooked an arm around her and started them toward the building. "You're welcome. I hope you still love me when you turn my hair gray in a year."

  She felt like poking at him. "You don't want me out in the sun. You don't want me to have dinner with Isak. You don't want me working alone. And you don't want me realm traveling with Adrianna. Does that sum it up?"

  "Pretty much."

  She punched him in the abs, but he was like rock and the grunt came out in a chuckle.
She smarted back, "What comes next? 'I want you barefoot and pregnant'?"

  "No."

  Thank goodness.

  Then he added, "I like your boots."

  The hair on her neck stood up.

  His chuckle turned into a full laugh, then he turned quiet before saying, "I really don't want to change you, sweetheart. But this is not an easy adjustment for me."

  "Me either." She put a hand on his arm and when he stopped, she reached up for a quick kiss, but he caught her in his arms and she poured her whole soul into it, letting her wild emotions run loose and showing him how she felt. When she pulled back, they were both breathing hard. She whispered, "Let's just get this done so we can go home."

  "Agreed."

  She climbed ladders and scaffolding with Storm behind her, constantly commenting about the view. She knew he was doing that because heights bothered her, but it worked.

  She made it to the top without having a panic attack.

  Glowing candles surrounded an open area thirty feet across. Evalle lost count at twenty-five candles.

  Adrianna finished drawing a perfect circle ten feet in diameter with a thick piece of chalk, then pulled what looked like a blanket from her backpack. When she shook it out and placed the material in the circle, it turned out to be round, with strips of gold attached in the shape of a pentagram that glowed against the black blanket.

  Evalle pointed at the ground covering. "Is that real gold?"

  "Yes. Spun gold threads." Adrianna drew odd symbols all around the outside of the round shape, then she drew another circle three feet in diameter that touched the big one, complete with a perfectly drawn pentagram inside. She pointed at the small circle. "Storm will be in this one. Evalle, you will lie beside me on the blanket. We have to hold hands."

  "Why?"

  Giving Evalle an I'm-not-in-the-mood glance, Adrianna said, "Because it's the only way I can be sure we show up in the same spot on the other side."

  "I see your point."

  Adrianna shook her head and asked Storm, "Are you sure you have a strong tie to the emerald on Evalle's chest?"

  "I do. I increased the power on it this morning while she slept."

  Well, crud. Evalle's hand flew to the emerald that was just a cold rock at the moment. "Were you going to tell me?" she said, echoing his earlier words right back at him.

  "As soon as we had a chance to talk." He winked.

  Touche.

  Adrianna waved her hands. "Can you two work out your domestic differences later?" With silence in place again, Adrianna stepped into the center of the circle, standing on the blanket, then she chanted as she used a small dagger to point to the four cardinal directions, one at a time, then up at the sky and down toward the earth. Power zinged through the air and a dome of shimmering light formed around the area, encompassing the two circles drawn on the ground. The shimmer faded, but Evalle could still feel the hum of the energy as she reached out to touch the circle.