Tainted Waters: A Dark Paranormal Fantasy Novel (Paranormal Peacekeepers Book 1)

by Lucretia Stanhope

  Even though she felt witch, her internal alarms were screaming at her to run and hide.

  Was the witch staying back because Decker was still near? Maybe because of what he did with her blood? Was he still there?

  Alice focused on the magic hanging in the air. She did feel something else. Could he see her? Probably. His eyes were designed to see in the pitch. Could a witch? No. They were human.

  She mouthed his name. Decker, help me.

  Alice. Again, her name came as a growled whisper that she knew only she could hear.

  The connection. Her blood. He was in her mind. It was Decker, but the tone lacked his stern confidence.

  She took a strange comfort in knowing he was there, watching. As she laced her boots and pulled on her shirt, the comfort vanished. Was he hurt? He did look distressed before she dove under. The water still glowed brighter, seeming to pulse stronger. A haze rose from it that wasn’t there before.

  “Alice.” The voice that called her name that time was not Decker, not a whisper, and full of fake softness. “Child, come away from there.”

  Alice knew who it was. Gretchen, a top witch in the coven, who called her child in a condescending tone since the day she arrived.

  She scanned for Decker again, finding no signs of his pale skin in the blackness. “Gretchen? Where are you?”

  In response, a flame sparked in the distance.

  Alice could see the older woman standing on a larger rise, with a ball of fire above her hand. “Did those creatures hurt you and dump you in the swamps?”

  As she stood, Alice chewed her lip. What was the right thing to do? Should she leave Decker the water for Jasper to work with? Could Jasper? Should she run away and find Decker? No. Gretchen was a powerful witch. “I’m not hurt. I almost drowned.” Alice took a few steps toward Gretchen. It occurred to her that she might have been following them and seen that she walked freely, hand in hand with Decker. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Supplies, child. Come here, before the vile thing returns for you.” The flame wavered over her hand.

  Alice took more shaky steps and stumbled in the thick, smelly muck. Her skin prickled in warning as she moved closer to the witch. The sensation helped her choose her ally.

  With a shaking hand, she pulled the vial from her pocket and dropped it by her foot, while she pretended to retie her boot.

  Decker, the vial will be here. I filled it.

  Decker didn’t send her any more thoughts.

  On the rise with Gretchen, Alice lost the sensation of dark elf against her. The cold, night air replaced the warning of their magic mingling together. He was gone.

  She swallowed. “I didn’t get the nettle. They took me before I could find it.” It sounded childish, but she hadn’t prepared any sort of story for the witches.

  Gretchen made a tsking sound, and handed her a bag that was filled with roots, plants, and berries, as well as some small living things. “We will find another way.”

  Alice closed the bag tight, and tied the drawstring to make sure nothing slithered out. “Did Davina send anyone for me?” Part of her hoped her aunt cared.

  “I did find you, didn’t I?” Gretchen walked away. “Hurry now. We shouldn’t stay here long. I can feel that elf watching.” Her head jerked, and she narrowed her gaze on Alice. “He fled from you? How did you scare him away?”

  “I…” She looked over her shoulder and reached out, trying to imagine herself in his thoughts. Help me, Decker.

  The water, sweet. Tell her you attacked me with water. The thought came across broken, like he was struggling.

  “The water. It hurt him.” Her voice stuttered. That would add credibility to her experience of being a prisoner, an experience she needed to play up. “I knew as soon as we neared it, I could hide in the light from him. That’s why I was in the water when you came. I flung it at him, and he fled to a safe distance.”

  “Clever girl. How did you know to do that?” Gretchen sounded impressed, and made a clicking sound before she continued. “Has the water made them all ill?”

  That question meant that witches did spell the water in hopes to make the elves sick or dead. Her conscience and heart tugged her in different directions. Alice put her hand in her pocket, feeling the stone, and remembering that Jasper had given it to Decker to offer her comfort in the dark. “It’s bad for them. He thought I did it. That’s why he made me come here. I was in danger.”

  Gretchen put her hand on Alice’s shoulder. “You are weak. We can heal you, when we get back.”

  Alice glanced behind them, and stumbled in a hole of mud.

  Gretchen watched her fall, not offering her a hand. “Watch your step. All that noise will attract things. How many were with you?”

  Alice knew a witch had followed them, that was why Decker kept stopping along the way, changing his path, and holding her still. “Just the one.”

  “Good. A solo elf won’t attack two witches outside of the cave. You are safe now. I am able to call water as well as fire to blind him.” Her laugh was more of a cackle.

  Alice refrained from pointing out she’d told her to be quiet.

  DECKER STEPPED FROM the shadows, moving toward the dip once Alice and the other witch were out of the area. It puzzled him that the witch Alice called Gretchen didn’t step to the last rise. Could the magic used have been too light for a witch even?

  It was strong. Stronger now that Alice touched it. Something about her in the water made the effects intensify. He didn’t stand too near. A vapor arose from the water. The reaction he had while Alice was swimming was all he needed to know that the mist would kill him.

  His tongue ran over his lips, tasting the air. Doubt, fear, Alice, and poison. Lingering to gather more details wasn’t an option.

  With a graceful swoop, he retrieved the vial. His fingers burned. A fresh scent made his vision hazy. He stumbled back, and dropped the vial.

  The water from the depths was potent. Toxic. Like the air. He carefully unwrapped the other jar of water, and used his shirt to grab the vial, tossing it in the bag. He would have to move slowly on the way back. If either container broke or leaked, he would be poisoned, alone, and die.

  No longer hindered by Alice, he slunk easily in the shadows. The distance between him and the water cleared his mind, and renewed his strength.

  With all he said, did, and the vision, Alice still left him the water in an inexplicable display of faith. She had to know he planned on taking her apart. There were far too many questions he needed answered to let her walk away alive.

  He had let her walk away, in his own leap of faith. Had the water not weakened him, he wouldn’t have. She would return.

  Initially, the witch had not been alone. Having a witch and light elf in the same area threw him off. An elf on its own wouldn’t have been trouble. The witch was strong enough, but didn’t scare him. Thinking of drowning her in the swamp, and eating her beating heart, filled him with warmth. Together and with him trying to keep an eye on Alice, they could have been trouble.

  All of that was compounded by the way the water changed and throbbed with noxious light that made him shrink into the shadows. The fumes and brightness sufficiently limited his strength and magic. Even when the elf left, he wasn’t sure he could have waged a magic attack on a witch with fire at her fingertips.

  Elves didn’t use intuition in the way witches did, but Decker knew Alice would hold the key to his water, and that she would be back. The oracle saw as much as well. He wasn’t sure how it would end, or if he would let her walk back out of the cave again, but she would fix the water. The water reacted to her.

  Without her to slow him, he passed the place they stopped for the day, and carried on to his cave.

  As he neared, the noxious smell of fresh water grew stronger. He slowed and scanned the clearing from the safety of the woods. There were no witches lying in wait. No elves.

  His nose twitched as the scent assaulted him. Had Alice run from the witch, and
started playing with his water already? No. He knew from their trek that she couldn’t have navigated past him without making noise, or using the rock to light her way. He would have spotted her, felt her, smelled her. Nothing that sweet lived in the woods, she would stand out.

  He licked his lips, tasting the air. Clean, fresh, like the charmed water at the swamp. He let out a few elfin curses. Something was wrong. He strode from the woods, and crossed the clearing.

  Inside the cave, the light drifting from the water source made him shield his eyes. He held his breath, feeling the dampness in the air burning his throat.

  Dizziness took him to his knees. Through watering eyes, he saw two guards on the ground a few feet away. “Report!”

  Neither stirred.

  “Report, now.”

  Tendrils of light shot across his vision. He gasped for breath. Time was running out. If he didn’t get out of the fumes, he would be as useless as his guards. A ruler didn’t abandon his men.

  There were two options. Drag the men outside and try to revive them, or open the barrier and shove them into the cave. If he didn’t get it closed off, fumes might make a lot of elves sick. In the woods, he wouldn’t have the needed supplies to tend to the injured men. If they were caught out in the daylight, all three them would be in jars on the shelves of a coven witch. Maybe Alice would find her inner witch and start practicing with his bits.

  He chuckled, growing delirious.

  On his hands and knees, he propelled himself forward, crawling over the men. One of them groaned, but didn’t move. At the wall, Decker dropped flat and reached out, chanting.

  Once the wall dropped, he sat his bag inside to the right, and tugged one of the guards in. The effort caused him to breathe deeper, despite the air scorching his throat.

  He had the other elf halfway through the opening when Jasper came running up.

  “Sir!” Jasper snatched the body from him, and pulled it the rest of the way. He helped Decker clear the wall.

  “Get the wall up. Fumes. The water.” Decker felt himself slipping as he struggled to make complete thoughts. “Alice. Water in my bag.” He said a soft chant, but his strength faded.

  Jasper closed them in, and knelt beside Decker. “Can you hear me?”

  Decker muttered.

  “Where is Alice? Did witches ambush you?” Jasper leaned in to hear his answers.

  The water in Decker’s bag hummed.

  Jasper opened the bag, and peered inside. With two fingers, he pulled back the shirt it was wrapped in. Uncovered, the glow was garish. He turned away from the bright water in the jar, and blew out through his closed mouth.

  “Alice is… help.” Decker passed out before he could finish his thought.

  Chapter Seven

  “THANK GOD YOU’RE back.” Samantha, one of the coven witches raced down the steps to greet Alice and Gretchen. “Davina came home from her walk incoherent.”

  Alice raised her hand to her mouth. What had they done? “Davina?”

  Gretchen cut her eyes at Alice, and looked back to Samantha. “Incoherent? Take us to her. Alice, stay with me.”

  As they walked the main hall, no other witches came out. Alice ignored their muttering, while she focused on keeping her guilt off her face. What did it mean that it was her aunt who was hurt? Aside from the obvious, that if anyone found out he used her blood, with consent, they would burn her, it could also mean Davina was responsible for sending her to Decker. She must have known the elves were in that cave, and sent her to die. Why was she following them and gathering plants that Decker said were used to make truth serum?

  The door creaked as Gretchen pushed it open. Fear hung thick in the air. The scent of herbal tea mixed with something bitter and burned.

  Davina stood in the corner, wringing her hands and talking to herself. She looked up and locked eyes on Alice. Fear raced across her features. “Hungry, so much pain. Can’t save you.”

  Alice slipped past Gretchen and Samantha, walked to Davina, and reached for her. While her aunt was a stranger in most ways, Alice had known her to be a lot of things in the short time she was there. A leader, strong, confident, and even scary, but never vulnerable. That was what she was now. Everything about her looked fragile.

  She remembered that until the realization Decker hadn’t hurt her, she was also incoherent and in pain. “Where does it hurt?” Alice hoped to make her realize that she wasn’t actually injured. “Show me. I’ll heal it.”

  Davina held her hands and for a second her eyes showed clarity. “Not the dark elves. So much danger. You shouldn’t have come. Go. Go. You must leave.”

  “Priestess, you are delirious. Those disgusting elves will pay for this.” Gretchen strode over and pried their hands apart. She put a cup in Davina’s hand, and tipped it toward her mouth. “Drink.”

  “What’s not elves? What did you see?” Alice reached for the cup.

  Samantha tugged her hand away. “That will help her rest. Your aunt is ill. Trust we know what is best for our sister witch.”

  Gretchen tipped the drink again. “That’s right, drink.”

  Davina swallowed. Some dribbled down her chin. Her eyes glazed over and tears brimmed at their corners. “It ate me. Chewed my skin.”

  “Wretched monsters.” Gretchen edged her toward the bed. “Rest now. Tomorrow it will be clearer.”

  Davina sat on the bed. Her lip quivered. “No dark. It hides in the dark. I’ll never be safe. It’s not safe.”

  Gretchen pushed her back. “No dark. I promise. Sleep.”

  Whatever was in the drink softened Davina’s will to resist. She laid her head down. Her eyes closed. She muttered about the dark and elves.

  Samantha sat in a chair beside the bed.

  Gretchen ushered Alice into the hall.

  As soon as they were alone, Alice asked, “why didn’t you let me help her? She might have had something important to say.”

  “No. What she had to say was nothing more than the rantings of a traumatized witch. You haven’t been here long enough to know better. We’ve all heard of witches spelled by those disgusting dark elves. It begs the question, why were you spared?” Gretchen stopped walking and raised her brows. “What did you do for them? No witch in the past has ever encountered them, and walked away without killing them to do so.”

  “I? Me? I told you, the water. I threw it at him. Maybe he is dead.” Alice put her hands on her hips, feeling her anger ignite her magic. “The bigger question is, who sent me for that nettle, and what was the real reason?”

  Alice thought she saw a twitch in Gretchen’s left eye. If she had, it passed, and Gretchen recovered.

  The hardness of the older witch rivaled Decker’s. “I’ll get to the bottom of that, child. I need to know exactly what happened.”

  At her room, Alice wondered what she needed to be doing. Since the swamps, Gretchen seemed to want to shadow her, and several times spoke to her in a way that insinuated she had done something wrong. She had, in the cave with her blood, and that was the only thing that stilled her temper, and kept her from tossing her own accusations more freely.

  Alice spoke through clenched teeth. “See that you do. I don’t appreciate being sent to die. That’s a crime. Whoever sent me, attempted to kill a witch in doing so.”

  Gretchen let a few soft chuckles escape. “There is something treacherous in our midst. I will root it out.”

  “I want to see Davina as soon as she wakes.” Alice ignored the accusation in her tone.

  Gretchen followed her into the room. “When it is prudent. You were in that cave for some time. What did they say or do to you?” Her hand roughly ran over Alice.

  An abrasive magic sensation came from Gretchen. Was she searching for residue or links? Would there be any? A blood link? Alice stepped back, afraid Gretchen might be able to feel the magic they worked. “Stop that. You keep ignoring my questions. I want answers.”

  “Samantha is asking for you. She says it’s important.” Chester walked in
to Alice’s room, and spoke to Gretchen. His gaze flicked to Alice as his upper lip twitched, and nose flared. “I’ll tend to her.”

  Alice sat in the chair beside her bed, and looked up to see the tall, lanky man. Her gaze left him and landed on Gretchen.

  She didn’t have much leverage. What happened with Decker not only gave her a new bravery, but needed to stay between her and him, until she could determine if it was him, or the witches she needed to fear most. “I don’t need tending to. See to my answers, and we can discuss what happened in detail.”

  A twinge of guilt raced through her. Having seen a glimpse of what Decker did to her aunt’s mind, Alice doubted anything other than time would draw her back to them. Her aunt. Why had she been stalking them to begin with? What were the plants for? To get truths about what?

  “Fine, stay with her.” Gretchen stepped into the hall and paused, adding, “just until we are sure she’s not been cast on.”

  The guilt vanished. Anger replaced it. The constant changing of emotions wore on her. Gretchen, and all the witches they encountered, treated her as if she went to the cave for nefarious reasons, rather than them asking her to go for nettle.

  Chester remained in the door, watching until Gretchen vanished. He rubbed his hand through his dark hair and scowled at Alice. His intense eyes filled with hate.

  Before Alice could say anything, he closed the door, and slipped the lock in place. “Why are you back? You will destroy everything I am doing here. I don’t need your help. This is reckless. I’ll report you. Don’t think I won’t. Witch or not, we won’t be friends, if you make this hard on me.”

  Alice bristled at his tone, but he didn’t give her the same alarm like Gretchen did. “Excuse me? Why am I back?” She stood, and walked toward him. Between Decker and Gretchen, she’d had her fill of being pushed around. “I fought my way back from that cave. Nettle, my ass.”

  “Did you at least settle them?” Chester leaned close, invading her space. “Well, did you? Is that why they let you go? Placated them with some offer we can’t keep?”

  “Settle? I was almost taken apart. I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to leave my room.” Alice lifted her shoulders. Her magic hummed with agitation.