The Witch & the Bounty Hunter (Federation of Magic Book 1)

by Rachel Medhurst

  Clenching my fists, I searched too, my gaze drawn towards the civilians queuing to get on the Eye. Dark shaggy hair caught my attention. “Tinniel!” I shouted, my insides quivering frantically.

  I spun, ready to run out the door to find my – wait, he wasn’t mine. I had to keep reminding myself that, regardless of the bond and the fact we hardly knew each other, Tinniel didn’t want to even contemplate pursuing the charge.

  “Not so fast.” Naz gripped my shoulder, forcing me to a painful stop.

  “Ouch!”

  Holding his hands up in apology, he pointed back to the window. “We don’t go blazing in there. Bounty hunters hunt. We analyse the situation and figure out the best way to catch our bounty. We never get seen before we’re ready to pounce. You…” His gaze traced Tinniel as he was shuffled past the crowd and taken into Jimmy’s capsule by two hulking men. “…will have to wait here.”

  Freezing, I stared at him. “You are joking?”

  “Sorry,” Synthia said, getting out a pair of binoculars. “Orders from up high. You’re not technically a bounty hunter. Yet.”

  Heat slammed my cheeks as I glared at Naz. “Excuse me? You use my magic to find both Jimmy and Tinniel, and yet, you won’t let me rescue your brother?”

  “You’re too emotionally involved.” Snapping his fingers, Naz gestured at Zac, who took out a sniper rifle.

  What the…? Er, like the brother of the kidnapped was going to be any less emotionally involved than me? He was literally his brother. His brother!

  “Chill,” Naz said, his eyes widening. “You can help Zac guide us–”

  My nails dug painfully into my palm as I clenched my fists. “No.”

  “No?”

  Folding my arms over my chest, I shook my head. “You’re letting me come with you. If not, I’m going home. I won’t let you use me when you feel like it. I need to see what I’m capable of. Plus, there’s five vampires in there. You’re not a god, Naz.”

  “They’re helping themselves to the canapés,” Synthia interrupted my tantrum. “If we don’t go soon, they’ll be out of our reach.”

  Narrowing his gaze on me, Naz chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Zac will stun the vampires with wooden bullets laced with vervain and garlic. It won’t incapacitate them for long, so we need to get in and out, with both Jimmy and Tinniel, before they can fight us.”

  Tingling spread over my skin as I reached for Beauty, who hung on my side, lightweight from another of Synthia’s spells. “So, you’re letting me go?”

  Naz zipped up his jacket and conjured his crossbow, smiling when it appeared in his hand. Checking it over, he nodded before closing his fingers with a snap. It disappeared, presumably ready to appear when we were inside the capsule.

  “Wait, how will we get inside without everyone seeing us? And you know, falling into the river?” Going over to the window, I studied the capsule, which was already moving off the platform. And there went our chance to jump on. If only it would’ve been that easy.

  “I’ll cast a spell over the capsule, to hide what’s going on inside,” Naz said, cracking his knuckles. “You’re fit and healthy. Do you think you could scale the structure?”

  Imitating a fish, which was becoming a habit of mine, I gaped, my mouth hanging open. He seriously wanted me to climb on the metal poles of a big-arse wheel that moved?

  Licking his bottom lip, Naz tilted his shaved head to the side. “You want in, you got to do it.”

  “Okay,” Zac announced. “They’re dragging Tinniel up, shoving him into the centre of the crowd.”

  Naz shot into action, checking out the window before spinning on his heel, waving a hand over Synthia and heading towards the door, his huge bulk only just fitting through the frame.

  Synthia was on his tail, a gun in her hand and her ponytail flicking as she glanced over her shoulder and gestured with her head, urging me to join them.

  “Erm,” I stuttered, pushing myself into a run and almost tripping on the old wooden floor. “Yes, I’m so going to kick that vampire’s arse.”

  Catching up to them in the hallway, I patted Beauty once again and tried to calm my erratic breathing.

  Naz looked over his shoulder as he marched. When he saw me, he paused, briefly putting a hand on my hand before moving on. “I’ve cast us with an invisibility spell so no one can see us scaling the London Eye.” Trotting down the stairs, he rubbed a hand over his hair. “When we reach it, we’ll climb on top of the capsule. I’ll only have a few moments to cut a hole in the glass. At the same time, Zac will shoot the vamps, who’ll smell us before they see us. As soon as the glass is gone, we jump down.” Coming to the bottom of the steps, he paused and turned to look at us. “Synthia, you hold off any vampires that Zac doesn’t hit. Lyla, you go to Tinniel and free him from his ropes. I’ll get Jimmy.”

  Synthia nodded once.

  I copied her, straightening my spine and calling on the discipline I had mastered as a kickboxer. Keeping my breath shallow, I released my clenched hands and calmed my thundering heartbeat. I had the training to keep calm in stressful situations, I could do this. Maybe. Hopefully.

  “Ready?” Naz asked, taking his time, if you asked me. “Bounty hunters often work alone or in pairs, but when one of our own is in danger, we come together, we plan well, and we execute with precision.” Verbally flipping the finger at me, Naz shot through the aquarium entrance hall, ignoring those who queued for their tickets.

  I jogged to catch up to him, my feet having to move twice as fast to keep up with his long strides.

  Synthia was just behind us, checking for other paranormal creatures, who might be Jimmy’s security.

  “We might be invisible but keep your guard up. Werewolves and vamps can smell witches.” Naz trotted past the humans waiting in line and ducked into the private entrance.

  Glancing at the capsule, I sucked in a breath. It had just moved over the water. Luckily it hadn’t moved too high, which was a blessing. I wasn’t scared of heights. However, I didn’t really fancy scaling the London Eye to the top. It would be a long way down if I fell.

  “You won’t fall. Keep focused,” Naz snapped, gesturing for us to walk around the woman who had shown Jimmy’s people onto the capsule. “Vampire, be careful.”

  It was a good job he was narrating our movements, otherwise I wouldn’t have known that she was a vampire.

  When she looked up, she sniffed, her eyebrows pulled low in a frown. Okay, I didn’t smell that bad, thank you. I had showered literally two hours ago. Although, I was sweating profusely as we crept past her. Still, it was clean sweat, it didn’t smell. And… my thought process was totally irrelevant.

  Naz raised his eyebrows at me as I held up my hands and silently admitted that I was pretty crazy. I never seemed to think appropriate thoughts in stressful situations. It was something he would have to get used to.

  Rolling his eyes, Naz turned to the approaching capsule. “When it stops, the doors will open to let everyone out. We’ll have a few seconds to grab the top of the door frame and haul ourselves on top. From there, we can climb up to the main structure and use the poles to navigate across to Jimmy’s capsule. Luckily, it’s only the next one along, so it won’t be too exhausting.”

  It was my turn to roll my eyes. It might not be too much for him, considering he was a monster sorcerer with rippling muscles. However, Synthia and I were a little less beastly.

  The capsule doors opened, signalling our time. Licking my lips, I followed Naz, who led us to the left of the door and waited.

  As the last person came out, I fought the urge to vomit and looked up, ready to get cracking. Er, yeah, it was quite high. How was I going to–?

  Thick hands wrapped around my waist, hoisting me up. I fumbled, only just getting a hold of the metal doorframe of the capsule. Naz pushed me from underneath, giving me the momentum to scramble onto the glass and somehow grab hold of the joist pole connecting the capsule to the wheel.

  Synthia was next, making
easy work of it as she joined me before I’d had the chance to open my eyes. Yes, I had closed them as soon as I’d reached the top. It was scary, and I might have been freaking out… just a little bit.

  “You’re fine,” Synthia said, patting my shoulder as I glanced down.

  The people waiting to get on suddenly surged forward, forcing Naz to jump and lift himself onto the glass before they ran into him. “Go!” Gesturing, he instantly took hold of the pole and monkey climbed up it.

  My stomach flipped as I attempted to do the same, surprising myself as my strength washed over me, propelling me up and onto the main structure.

  It was a good job my mother had encouraged me to do kickboxing. The discipline would help me become a better bounty hunter. I would have to thank her for at least protecting me in that way.

  Gritting my teeth, I pushed away the sadness that threatened to overtake. We would find my mother after we’d kicked some vampire butt.

  “Okay,” Naz said when Synthia swung onto the pole next to me.

  The healer was ten times more kickass than she looked. I’d judged her poorly initially, which was a mistake I wouldn’t make again. Nothing was as it seemed, not even myself. If only I’d looked deeper earlier, maybe I could’ve helped my mother.

  “Zac says they’re laying into Tinniel, each vampire beating him. We have to hurry.”

  My hands and feet were extending before I’d even engaged my brain. Heat tickled my skin, raising the hairs as I almost flew from pole to pole.

  How dare Jimmy use Tinniel to amuse his friends? The sorcerer was a powerful, handsome, secretly kind and passionate man. He didn’t deserve to be beaten. Wait, he did have the use of magic. Why hadn’t he used it to get free?

  “Because,” Naz panted, drawing up next to me as we neared the capsule. “He’s waiting for us. He tried to take him down alone and it didn’t work.”

  “He’s going to be a drama queen about that, isn’t he?” Synthia asked, her breath only slightly laboured.

  “Shhh!” Indicating below us as we bent to slide down the pole, Naz whispered. “Zac will start shooting as soon as I cut the hole in the roof.”

  Inclining our heads, Synthia and I went first, careful to place our feet silently as we landed. Naz’s tread would be heavy, no matter how slowly he tried to step, so he looked through the glass roof before he stepped off the pole.

  Following his gaze, I inhaled sharply. Tinniel was on the floor, curled up in a ball. Jimmy was giving a speech, no doubt toasting his escape from the bounty hunter.

  The rage that burned inside me ignited, sending a blast of fire-like energy throughout my whole body. I only just managed to stop my knees from buckling.

  Naz held out a hand, his lips moving in a rhythm. I looked to where he pointed at the roof, right above Jimmy’s head.

  “What the…?” someone exclaimed from below as the sound of whooshing was followed by a tinny crack.

  One of the men fell over, writhing as he clasped his neck. Two more followed in quick succession. Naz stormed over the capsule roof, jumped high and slammed his bulk down onto the presumably weak glass, disappearing as it fell.

  Holding out my arms to balance, I rushed over to the now gaping hole as Synthia followed him, her slim figure vanishing into the capsule.

  Checking that there was no one beneath me, I launched myself, hoping that I wouldn’t break a leg. Pain jolted my ankles as I landed in a crouch, just like my kickboxing instructor Ashley had taught me.

  Without thinking, I drew out Beauty and spun, only just clocking the vamp dude who came for me, fangs and all. “Eat shit!” I shouted, swiping my sword in a circle.

  The blade sliced his neck all the way through, taking his head clean off. Yelping as it crashed into the glass wall, I jumped back to avoid the gush of blood that spurted from the headless torso as it slummed to the ground.

  Naz had gone for Jimmy, who was hiding behind two burly vampires.

  Synthia wrestled with one of the last standing vampires, her beautifully made up face not even broken out in a sweat.

  Tinniel was at the far end of the capsule, curled up in a ball on the floor. The human women stood around him, forced there by a man who didn’t seem to be a vampire. Was he human, too?

  As I approached, he shouted at a woman who tried to run away from him. His arm reached out, claws extending from his fingers as he swiped them across her back. Screaming, she fell to the floor, whimpering as blood poured down her ripped lacy dress.

  “I wouldn’t,” he warned as I held Beauty up in front of me.

  “I thought I could smell wet dog,” I replied, raising my eyebrows in invitation.

  So, there were werewolves – there were fucking werewolves? – I could take him down with my fancy sword fighting and burny magic. Hopefully.

  The blood rushed in my ears as the werewolf sauntered towards me, a cocky grin on his face. “You’re a pretty witch, aren’t you? I didn’t know the Federation were hiring.”

  “I could get you a job,” I replied, switching Beauty into my left hand to give my aching right arm a break. “We need a new sniffer dog.”

  A growl rolled from his mouth as his eyes flashed red. What was it with the red glow coming from the supernaturals eyes? None of the hunters had them, so what made the bad men different? Was it the evil within them?

  Waiting for the wolf to reply, I smiled and fluffed my hair. He didn’t bother to speak. Instead, he charged for me quicker than I’d anticipated. My slippery palm almost dropped the sword as I skipped to the left, dodging out of my enemy’s way.

  “Bitch!” the wolf drawled as he circled me.

  Shrugging, I saved my energy for the attack. He was fast. Superfast.

  Taking a breath, I lunged forward, thrusting the sword in front of me. His arm snapped out, gripping the blade and pushing me back until my spine slammed into the glass wall.

  Air rushed from my lungs, almost winding me. I sucked it back and ripped the handle of the sword upwards, cutting the wolf’s hands enough to force him to let go. He gritted his teeth as he clasped his mangled palms.

  The sound of grunting and cries almost distracted me. Shaking my head, I focused on the man’s red eyes as I slunk across the glass, spun around him and kicked my leg in a roundhouse, smacking my boot straight into his jaw.

  “Go girl!” one of the females cried, clapping me on.

  Using my momentum, I jumped, lifted my other leg and propelled myself off his chest with my boots. As I fell, a smirk lifted my lips. He would be toast, probably hitting his head–

  Hands grabbed my ankles and tugged. “It’s not that easy,” the wolfman spat as I landed near him, cursing when Beauty clattered away from me.

  He was on his knees, clearly having stopped himself from falling completely.

  My chest heaved as he dug his claws into my calf. “Oh, but it is,” I quipped, twisting in his grip. Pain seized my legs as his sharp talons sliced through my skin, only releasing me when I scrambled into a sit and pushed my hands onto his face. Fury laced my veins as I glanced over his shoulder to see Tinniel being dragged by one of Jimmy’s henchmen.

  Where was Naz? Why hadn’t he taken the vamp down? Or Zac with his gun?

  “What are you doing?” The werewolf’s lips contorted as his skin sizzled.

  The stench of burning flesh filled my nose as I squeezed, gritting my teeth and closing my eyes. My thumbs worked their way to the red eyeballs, even though I couldn’t see them. Crying out, I forced them into the sockets, opening my eyes just as a squelch was joined by the werewolf’s scream.

  Blood and mucus coated my thumbs. Bile rose in my throat as I scampered backwards on my hands and feet, cringing when the wolf fell to the floor, whimpering and crying in pain as he covered his eye sockets.

  “Lyla, get Tinniel!” Naz shouted.

  Swallowing, I pushed into a stand, wincing when the pain of my wounds rushed into my conscience. My breath was heavy as I turned to Tinniel. The vamp had a thick arm around his throa
t, ready to wrench it.

  “Lyla,” Tinniel pushed through his teeth as I trotted closer, my heartbeat racing, and my stomach rolling. “Don’t. I won’t have you hurt.”

  Trust Tinniel to be all macho and protective. He was bloodied and bruised, and he was going to risk his life to make sure I didn’t come to any harm. And the stupid bugger thought we could keep apart. Sucker.

  Naz’s curse word almost distracted me, but I kept my gaze on Tinniel.

  The vampire growled, raising his eyebrows in threat. Why hadn’t he already killed him? Surely, he could break the sorcerer’s neck in one swift jerk. Why wait?

  The ugly man bared his elongated teeth and glanced over my shoulder. Ah, he was awaiting orders from his boss. Who was currently being wrestled to the ground by Naz.

  Synthia was close by, bent over her arm, which was… ouch, it was bent twice, the angles all wrong. It was a good job my stomach was already churning, otherwise I would’ve thrown up everywhere.

  “Run along,” the vamp said when I brought my attention back to him. “You won’t win this fight.”

  Glancing at the floor, I hid a smile behind my hair. Beauty was just in front of his feet, barely visible under a discarded pink jacket. If he had to hold off killing Tinniel until his boss ordered it, I had a chance to free the sorcerer. “No chance!” Diving forward, I kept low, skidding along the floor.

  The vamp swung Tinniel behind him, throwing a fist into his stomach before letting him go.

  My boots squeaked on the glass as I grabbed Beauty, flung her in a semi-circle and shouted an incredible war-cry. As the tip of the blade sliced through his knees, a spark of pink blasted from the end, shattering the skin and bone into a bloody mess.

  His frame crumbled, his mouth gaping open in surprise. As his messed up thighs crashed onto the floor, a tiny bullet flew past my head and sunk into the side of his head.

  Rushing around the vamp as his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, I reached Tinniel and took hold of his torn jacket, yanking desperately to try and pick him up. Nope, the monster of a hotty was far too heavy for little old me.