Heirloom Magic: Every Witch Way

by Megan Berry

  Harper watched him go, her heart pounding. She counted her rapid heartbeats to fifty before she began to struggle against the cuffs. She struggled until sweat began to pour off her body and she was out of breath. The chair wobbled beneath her and she tipped over, barely managing to keep a small cry to herself when she knocked her head against the concrete floor.

  “You do know you’re a witch right?” she heard a sardonic voice ask. It was a familiar voice that sent a thrill racing down her spine. Harper twisted around until she could see Jasper standing in the doorway.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, having never been so relieved to see someone in her entire life!

  “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Jasper asked, and Harper nodded emphatically.

  “I never thought I’d say this…but I am. I really am” she admitted, and Jasper chuckled as he moved quickly through the room and used a sharp fingernail, which seemed to grow suddenly from his regular looking nails, to cut the rope. He touched her cuffs and then jerked his hand away as a red burn appeared on his skin.

  “You’re going to have to take this one,” he told her, shaking his hand, and Harper could see the skin already knitting itself back together.

  “How?” she asked, and Jasper looked nervously over his shoulder at the door.

  “Imagine them falling off, I really don’t know, but you’d better hurry up!” he told her, his fangs elongating at something that Harper couldn’t hear.

  Harper stared at the cuffs, though it was hard to concentrate when she kept expecting angry demons to burst in the room at any moment. She imagined the cuffs clicking open, but nothing happened.

  “Focus.” Jasper snapped at her, and it took everything Harper had not to argue that she was focusing, but she knew there was definitely no time for arguing.

  Harper stared at the cuffs again. This time anger spiked through her, and the cuffs began to shimmer as she focused all her rage and frustration on them. Harper felt a warm drip on her leg and looked down in surprise to see the cuffs were melting, dripping off her wrist and into a molten puddle on the floor. She expected it to burn, but something in the spell must’ve been protecting her.

  She looked up at Jasper with a triumphant smile, but his face was void of any sign of celebration. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet, yanking her back sharply when Harper started for the door. Jasper’s hand held her immobile. “What?” she demanded when he just looked at her with his hooded, unreadable gaze.

  “Were you really going to take their deal?” he asked seriously, and Harper realized with a start that he must’ve been listening to her entire conversation earlier.

  “Of course not,” she snapped. “I just wanted them to give me a chance to get away.” Harper paused and pursed her lips as she looked at him. “Didn’t you see me trying to escape when you came in here?” she demanded, and Jasper grudgingly nodded.

  “Alright then. Let’s go,” he told her, and Harper started for the door again, only to have Jasper pull her back a second time. She was just about to open her mouth and berate him when he motioned to the window. “The window is best, they are almost here,” he said. Harper ran for it, and this time he didn’t pull her back.

  The window was a bit higher than Harper could reach, but Jasper easily tossed her up and then followed her through. Harper landed hard, letting a little woof of air escape her bruised body. She gave Jasper a dirty look when he landed lightly beside her without sound or struggle.

  “What have we got here?” a gruff voice demanded, and Harper let out a little yelp when she saw a man, who she was certain was a demon, standing about six feet from them.

  Jasper didn’t reply but his image blurred as he rushed forward at vampire super speed and snapped the demon’s neck. “That won’t kill him, but it should keep him out of commission long enough for us to escape,” Jasper murmured as he grabbed Harper’s hand and pulled her along.

  It was dark outside and they melted into the landscape easily. Harper felt the squish of sand between her toes, and the smell of salt and seaweed assailed her nose. They must be somewhere near the ocean—it made Harper wonder how she had gotten so far from her inland house.

  Jasper pulled her through some underbrush just as the camp behind them erupted into noisy shouting. “Sounds like they’ve discovered you’re missing,” Jasper said grimly as he scooped Harper up into his arms.

  “Not so fast, vampire,” a woman commanded, stepping out from behind a tree. Jasper set Harper down and slipped a small, coarse bag into her hand. Harper squeezed it and felt all the tiny grains move—it was salt.

  Harper had never seen a female demon before, well, besides herself… The woman was beautiful but deadly looking as she stepped boldly forward. It was obvious that she didn’t see Jasper as much of a threat either, by her casual attitude. Jasper blurred and moved towards her, but she somehow managed to catch him around the throat. With a growl, she began tugging at his neck, trying to loosen it from his head.

  Harper was horrified, and even more so when she began to feel the strain on her own vertebrae. “Wait!” Harper screamed in terror, and the demon’s hand actually stilled for a moment. It was like she could feel everything that hurt Jasper. Her eyes widened when she realized that Jasper hadn’t known the entire story when he’d told her that if she died, he would as well. If Jasper died, so would she! Now she knew how Jasper felt having his life tied to her own. It was a sick feeling in her gut. “You want me alive, don’t you?” she demanded, and the demon smirked.

  “I don’t particularly care, but the higher ups think we should,” she admitted, her voice distracting Harper for a moment. It was all rough and course sounding, like she smoked ten packs a day.

  “Then you can’t kill him,” she pointed out, nodding towards Jasper. “He’s cursed. His life is tied to mine. If he dies, so do I,” she warned the she-demon. The demon smirked.

  “You really expect me to believe that?” she rasped, and Harper nodded, not missing the odd look Jasper cast her way. He really didn’t know. The demon gave them both a nasty look before plunging her claws into Jasper’s chest. Jasper let out a grunt of pain that was covered up by the hoarse scream that fell from Harper’s lips.

  The demon looked at the bloom of red on Harper’s own chest and quickly pulled her fingers from the vampire. “Damn it.” She cursed, looking a little bit afraid. Jasper started to heal at once, but Harper’s wound continued to bleed.

  Jasper was stunned to discover the curse worked both ways. “She doesn’t heal like you or I,” he panted as he struggled to make his way over to where Harper lay on the springy, moss-covered ground, her chest bleeding profusely. The demon let Jasper go but kept a close eye on him as he landed beside the half-breed and bit his wrist, forcing his blood down her throat.

  Nothing happened at first, and the demon came even closer, leaning down so that she could get a better look.

  Harper was still feeling weak, but already the vampire blood was starting to knit her chest together. It had been a superficial wound, painful as hell, and had grazed her ribs, but at least the bitch hadn’t touched any vital organs. Harper looked up into Jasper’s worried face and felt intense anger at the demon. Her fingers dug into the bag of salt, blocked by Jasper as he leaned over her in concern. The demon yanked Jasper back up to his feet when she was sure Harper was going to live, allowing the vampire to gingerly help the half-breed up.

  As soon as her feet were back on solid ground, Harper didn’t even think twice about throwing a handful of salt at the demon’s face. Cruella De-vil’s mouth opened in a scream as salt viciously ate away her demonic face, and Harper tossed another handful of salt right into the demon’s screeching mouth. She wasn’t really sure the salt would do anything, but why else would Jasper have given it to her? The demon gargled and steam issued from her throat as she flailed around. Jasper used the distraction to move in and rip out her black, beating heart from her chest. The demon fell to the ground with a hard thump, and Jasper
threw the heart to the ground and picked Harper up and took off at vampire speed.

  Harper felt ill as the wind rushed past her face, making it difficult to draw a breath, but it was still one hundred times better than being back with the demons. Jasper ran for over an hour with his super speed, and Harper was amazed that he didn’t seem to tire.

  Eventually he stopped and Harper finally risked pulling her head from where she’d shielded it against his shoulder. Jasper was even more pale than usual, and his steps staggered as he half set her down, half dropped her. “Are you okay?” Harper asked in concern, and Jasper nodded slowly, shrugging away her worry.

  “It just took a lot out of me. I’ll be fine again once I’ve fed,” he told her as he sat down hard in the dirt. Harper looked around at the place where they’d stopped for the first time and realized that they were in the middle of a vineyard. Harper stared at the rows and rows of grapes and knew without a doubt that they were no longer in Alabama, even though the tropical vegetation had already clued her in somewhat.

  “Where are we?” she asked, and Jasper had to take several deep breaths before he could answer.

  “We are in California, in the middle of the Coachella Valley.”

  Harper looked around in surprise. “How long was I out for?” she couldn’t help asking.

  “Not long. Demons can teleport great distances. It only took seconds to get you across the country,” he told her.

  “How did you find me?” she asked, realizing for the first time how far Jasper had tracked her.

  “Our connection can be like a tracking device if you know how to use it,” he shrugged.

  “Did you teleport too?” she asked, and Jasper shook his head.

  “Vampires can’t teleport—but I know a guy.” Harper wanted to ask more questions, but Jasper collapsed backwards and she realized what a jerk she was to grill him like this right now. He had just saved her life.

  “Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked, coming to kneel down beside him. Jasper nodded.

  “I’m just weak, even my body has its limitations. Vampires usually have to feed after they are wounded or use great bursts of energy, I’m just depleted.”

  Harper thought about the men that’d attacked Jasper in their home. That had probably weakened him. Then he had somehow teleported here and been attacked by a demon and wounded, just to speed across who knew how many miles—to save her life. Harper held her wrist out to him without hesitation. “Here, drink,” she offered, and Jasper recoiled like she’d offered him poison. It was a weird sensation to be offended because someone wouldn’t drink your blood, but it hurt her feelings a little.

  “I am in no danger of expiring, you don’t need to offer me your blood,” he protested, and Harper frowned.

  “I want to help you,” she argued back. “I’m not doing this out of self-preservation.” She hadn’t honestly thought he was in any danger of death.

  Jasper looked at her wrist hungrily. “It’s not right.”

  Harper snorted. “We’re friends,” she said, “–sort of,” she amended when he looked at her funny. “Just do it!” She waved her wrist under his nose and saw his nostrils flare. His teeth descended and Harper’s heartbeat picked up, not sure if this had been a good idea after all, but his teeth were already sinking into the soft part of her wrist, tapping into her vein, and it was too late to rescind the offer.

  “Oh,” Harper exclaimed as Jasper pulled her down to the ground.

  Chapter Ten

  The bite pinched at first, and Harper could feel every slide of his fangs, but then something changed and it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It was actually…pleasurable. Harper gasped as Jasper drank for only a minute more before he pulled away, panting, and wiped his sleeve across his mouth. Harper stared at him, her eyes wide.

  “I apologize,” Jasper said stiffly as he stood and offered Harper a hand up. Harper stood and felt slightly dizzy. She stared at her wrist where the twin puncture marks were already fading. “Vampires have special saliva that heals the wound,” Jasper explained when he saw her staring at it. “It’s how we’ve avoided detection for so many centuries.”

  Harper cleared her throat and nodded. “That makes sense,” she said as she stood there, not really sure what else to say. He had just drank her blood and now his cheeks had a flush of color that she had never seen before.

  “Thank you,” Jasper said after a moment, and Harper looked up from her wrist to meet his eyes.

  “You’re welcome,” she told him, and she really meant it. Jasper looked entirely refreshed, and since he was the one entirely saving their lives right now, that was a very good thing.

  “I’ve never had demon blood before,” Jasper blurted out, and Harper flushed when she suddenly remembered the way Caspian had spat her blood to the floor. What if she’d poisoned him! “It was not unpleasant!” Jasper hastened to reassure her when he saw the look on her face.

  Jasper stared at the witch before him; she was pale from her blood sacrifice. He had been trying to play it tough, but he had really needed the blood. He hadn’t been sure what would happen if he bit her. He had tried, years ago when he had first been imprisoned, to bite Liz, and the ring had walloped his ass for his efforts. The only thing he could think of was that he hadn’t bitten Harper with ill intent. He stared at the ring on her finger intently. If Harper could actually break the curse, he could be free again.

  He could hear the blood rushing through Harper’s veins and felt his fangs twitch in response. It startled him. He hadn’t been close to losing control in over a century. He hadn’t been lying though, her demon blood was good—like regular blood on steroids. His mouth watered for another taste, but he knew that he could not allow himself to give in to temptation.

  “How much farther?” Harper asked, distracting him from his dark thoughts.

  “We are about seven or eight miles from our contact,” he guessed. “He is waiting for us at a small motel that is off the radar of pretty much everyone but the locals,” Jasper told her. He opened his arms and Harper stepped forward willingly. Jasper scooped her up and they took off again.

  Ten minutes later, Jasper skidded to a stop in the dusty parking lot of a small, rundown motel. There was no one around as he set Harper down. Light was coming from the window with the sign that said ‘office,’ and Jasper started towards it. Harper was confused. Was Jasper renting a room for the rest of the night?

  The bell over the door jingled, and a pimply looking teenager looked up from where his face was glued to a small television set on the desk. His eyes widened when he saw Jasper.

  “You made it,” he said, sounding surprised as he got to his feet and came around the desk. In the dim room, Harper gasped when she saw that his eyes glinted with the fires of Hell.

  “Jasper,” she managed to choke out as she grabbed Jasper’s arm and started to back away. Jasper refused to be moved. “He’s a demon,” she hissed, and Jasper nodded.

  “I know,” he told her. “Remember when I told you that demons were the only ones who could teleport?” he asked, and Harper nodded. “This is Fergus. He teleported me to you.” Harper peeked around Jasper at the pimply faced demon and took a steadying breath.

  “Okay,” she said. She didn’t trust this demon, but she trusted Jasper.

  The demon was studying her, and it made her feel uncomfortable. “Do you have the second half of the payment?” he demanded, and Jasper nodded his head.

  “Back at the house. I couldn’t exactly carry bricks of gold around with me on a rescue mission,” he retorted.

  The demon’s eyes narrowed. “Let us not forget what happened to the last guy who tried to rip me off,” he reminded Jasper, and Jasper’s fangs descended.

  “You know I am good for it, Fergus,” he growled, and the demon shrugged.

  “What did happen to the last guy?” Harper blurted out before she could stop herself.

  The demon gave her a nasty smile. “I teleported him out into the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean and left him there,” he told her succinctly, and Harper’s stomach turned.

  “We are ready,” Jasper told the demon, interrupting, and Fergus nodded, stepping forward to put a hand on both their elbows. Harper was just about to yank out of his grasp when her world started to spin. She let out a yelp, and then just as quickly her feet were back on solid ground.

  Harper stared blearily around Gran’s living room. Her dirty bare feet were back on the familiar hardwood, and they weren’t alone. Mallory rushed forward and hugged Harper so tightly that she thought her spine would crack. Mr. Bell was there also, and he came forward looking relieved. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he said, his voice gruff and deep. Even the mayor, Mary, was there.

  “I am glad you are back unharmed,” the mayor told her seriously, and Harper nodded her thanks. “What happened?” she asked, and Harper wasn’t really sure where to begin.

  “The demons took her. They wanted her to join their ranks as a power grab,” Jasper answered instead, and Harper was grateful that she was spared having to answer.

  The room went so still you could’ve heard a pin drop. Harper looked around at the concern on all their faces.

  “I’m not going to do it!” she told them, a little offended by how worried they all looked.

  “Of course you’re not,” Mallory chimed up in her defense. “But this is bad news. The demons have limited control in our world for good reason. They are chaos bringers. If they think you might join their side—you’re in danger.”

  Harper’s stomach dropped at the news. “But—what can I do?” she demanded, not liking finding herself in the middle of some demon power grab, being a witch was already weird enough.

  “Maybe we should wait to discuss this,” Jasper chimed in, motioning to the demon that was leaning casually against the side of the couch, watching the whole thing.