A Witch’s Demons (Witch's Path Series: Book 6)

by N. E. Conneely

  “When I arrived home, Landa said you’d returned upset from an emergency call in Ellijay and would not speak to her about it.” He knelt down next to the sofa, took my hand in his, and looked up at me with worried eyes. “As soon as I make sure you are unharmed, I can leave you to your solitude or lend you my ear if you wish to talk.”

  I wanted to give him a nicer explanation, but all I had was the horrible truth. “Tiffany is dead. A demon killed her.”

  Elron sat next to me, then pulled me close, hugging me tightly. “I am sorry.”

  “It’s my fault. If she hadn’t been my friend, she would’ve been safe.” I broke down in tears again.

  “Shh. It is most certainly not your fault. It is the demon’s fault. It decided to kill her. Remember, strangers were not safe when the last demon was in the area.” He rested his head on top of mine and gently stroked my hair.

  “It tortured her.” I blubbered. “She suffered.”

  He squeezed me a little harder, like he could protect me from the demon.

  “It’s going to come for me.” And nothing, not even his strong arms, would be able to keep me safe.

  Pressed against him, I could hear the steady beat of his heart and feel his words reverberate through his body. “And we will kill it, as we did Gremory.”

  I pulled back and looked him in the eye. “But where does it stop? We killed Gremory, now this one comes after us? I don’t want to spend my entire life looking over my shoulder, trying to figure out when the next demon will attack. That’s no way to live.”

  “We will find a way.” Determination laced his voice. “I will make sure you are safe.”

  Sniffling, I shook my head. “Killing a demon requires at least the two of us, and it would be better if we had a group. We have to win every time. The demons only have to win once.”

  He tugged me over to the sofa, where he settled me in his lap, arms around me. Leaning against him, it felt more like we were talking about the weather than an older-than-time evil that wanted us dead.

  “If you wish to talk, I will listen. If you want to have a small meal and pretend that today was a horrible dream, I will cook.” He tugged my necklace, and the circular medallion came out from under my shirt. Then he picked up his own medallion and fit them together “Unlike last time, we have the tools with which to kill a demon. We understand the types of preparations we need. While Varro is gone, we have his medallions and they will aid us.”

  “The demons destroyed Varro’s life.” The elderly fey had been the last of the Hunters, a very old group devoted to hunting and killing demons. He’d passed on as much of his knowledge as he could in the short time he was with us, but the sacrifices he’d made weren’t lost on me. Not only had fighting them changed him, but the demons had killed his loved ones. I didn’t want to see that happen to my friends and family.

  His voice was steady and sure. “I will not let them destroy ours.”

  I studied him, trying to figure out what was so off about this conversation. To start with, he was calm. We were discussing demons wanting us dead. He shouldn’t be calm. Then there was the fact that he’d never asked me if I was sure. Now, I could argue that he respected both me and my work too much to do that, but any sane person—even one who totally trusted me—would want verification. He hadn’t.

  My eyes narrowed. “You knew. You knew there was a demon around, and you said nothing.”

  Elron’s expression was carefully blank. “You need to grieve and rest. When you have allowed yourself time to process and feel, we can resume this conversation.”

  “Oh no. You kept important information from me. If you’d shared, I could’ve saved Tiffany.” It was a good thing I felt numb, because if all my emotions had been awake, I would’ve been angry. No, not angry—enraged.

  He sucked in a deep breath. “I kept nothing from you that had any effect on the safety of those you love.”

  My mouth swung open. “How would you know? You’re not a witch!”

  “I am an elf with several of your lifetimes’ worth of experiences.” He glared at me. “I can determine, in some situations, the extent of the magical evidence.”

  This time I had to fight to keep my voice somewhat even. “And you didn’t think to tell me? If you’d given so much as a hint to what you’d found, I would’ve been at your side as fast as possible.”

  Elron shook his head. “You were unable to examine the evidence yourself, and I had no desire to complicate the situation.”

  “What?” I tried to understand, but it wasn’t making sense to me. Shaking my head, I tried again. “When did you figure out demons were involved?”

  This time he didn’t meet my eyes. “When we were escaping the maze. You had neutralized Ned and passed out from the magic you had used. I looked at the officer Ned had killed, and I could sense traces of the same magic Gremory used.”

  I wanted to say he was wrong, that I would’ve seen something as suspicious as traces of demon magic. However, with the amount of power I’d harnessed, I had serious doubts about that. With all that magic flowing through me, I hadn’t been in a state to understand language or much of anything outside the magic.

  “Fine,” I finally said. “I can understand why you didn’t say anything at the time, but since then? You’ve had plenty of opportunities to tell me and let all of them slide right by.”

  Elron shook his head. “Ever since we killed Gremory, you have known other demons would seek revenge and try to kill us before we could spread our knowledge. Had I told you of my discovery, you would have spent the past few weeks frantically trying to protect everyone instead of recovering. I put your health and happiness above all else, and I stand by my decision.”

  Shaking my head, I wished I could get well and truly angry. “You had no right. I could’ve saved her.”

  He clenched his jaw. “You don’t know that. Furthermore, you did not kill Tiffany. I will tell you that until you fully comprehend the meaning. You did not kill Tiffany. Considering the cause of the fight between the two of you, I doubt she would have agreed to your protection anyway.”

  “But—”

  “No.”

  I glared at him.

  “You are not, and will never be, responsible for this demon’s actions.” His voice softened. “The demon wanted to hurt you, so it found someone you cared about. It could just have easily been Amber, me, your parents, your grandmother.”

  “Unlike everyone else you listed, Tiffany was human.” Elron didn’t have my kind of magic, but he was hardly defenseless.

  “Amber shifts into a peahen. She’s hardly the most fearsome creature.” He sighed. “I thought you might know. After all, you erased Ned’s memory.”

  “Erased, not examined. There’s a difference.”

  He bowed his head. “I stand corrected.”

  “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” I scooted out of his lap so I could drive the next point home. “You proposed while keeping that secret.”

  His gaze dropped to the floor.

  It took me two tries to get the words out. “Why would you do that?” I should’ve been looking back at that proposal as one of the happiest moments in my life, not a time when the man I loved was holding back as he professed his love.

  “Because I love you. I want you in my life. I was to begin the process of formalizing the bond between us.” He swallowed hard. “I held back about the demon for the very same reasons. I love you and want you to have the best life you can. Countless hours lost worrying over a demon who may or may not be after you is hardly productive.”

  Those words and his pained expression had me ready to forgive him. Then my sluggish brain clicked the final piece into place. “The demon. That’s why you won’t set a wedding date.”

  He nodded sheepishly. “I could not bring myself to plan for a celebration of our life together when I knew there was a very real threat to that life.”

  “I’m not happy with you. Not at all.” I sighed heavily. “But I understa
nd.”

  “I love you.” The words were soft and filled with emotion.

  “I love you too. I love you even when I’m mad at you.” I looked into his eyes and saw good intentions, devotion, love, and a hint of fear. “You can’t keep secrets like that in the future. That’s how you hurt the person you love.”

  “Age does not stop foolish decisions.” He spoke carefully.

  I gave him a wry look. “And here I was looking forward to outgrowing the label of young and foolish.”

  He took my hand in his. “You are an exceptional woman, and I will gladly correct anyone who calls you foolish.”

  “You’ll need a time machine then. You said those very words to me not long after we met.”

  Elron winced.

  I grinned. “Didn’t think I’d remember that one, did you?”

  “An elf can hope for a mate who does not hold past misdeeds against him.”

  My smile faded as his deceit came to the forefront again. “I don’t like what you did, but I can understand why. Just don’t do it again, or the resulting discussion will be significantly less enjoyable.”

  “Noted.” He nodded. “Ethel has been inquiring as to why I have been reluctant to set a date. I would prefer to find an alternative explanation to offer her.”

  “When I talk to her, I’ll simply inform her that we had a cultural misunderstanding and are planning on a long engagement, as is the elven tradition.” It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. Some elves were engaged for decades before they married. I’d be patient for now, but if this engagement lasted for more than a year, I would have some stern words for him.

  “Thank you. I would very much appreciate that.”

  “Of course. Couples stick together.” I snuggled against his side. “Can you hold me? Help me put some distance between me and everything that happened today? I need to recover enough to do my job, and tomorrow I have to tell Amber.”

  His arm cradled me. “What do you need from me?”

  “Could you tell me a story?” Anything to fill my mind so I wouldn’t think of what I’d seen.

  “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away there lived a young girl—”

  I smiled.

  “Did I misuse the traditional story introduction?”

  Opening my eyes, I saw Elron frowning at me. “No, you did it perfectly. Keep going.”

  He nodded. “A young girl. Her father was a merchant, one who had done very well for himself.”

  His voice washed over me, muffling the noise in my head. I hoped the earth embraced Tiffany and gave me the strength to face Amber.

  Chapter Seven

  Elron transferred a big omelet onto the plate sitting in front of me.

  “Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome.” He carried the skillet back to the stove.

  I took a bite. “This is really good. Thank you for making breakfast.” I watched him take his seat. The bowl of fruit, yogurt, and nuts had been sitting there since before he made my omelet. “Is something bothering you?”

  He sighed and set down his fork. “I am sorry I awakened you so early.”

  I shrugged. “More sleep would’ve been nice, but I have a lot to do today and now I can get it all done and go back to bed.”

  “Good.” He looked at his yogurt for a long moment. “There is something I did not tell you yesterday. Please understand, I wanted to tell you, but you needed to rest and process. Under other circumstances, I would not tell you until the pain had faded; however, I really must explain.”

  “Yes, because it’s too early in the morning for you to be talking around whatever you’re going to tell me. I haven’t had enough tea to deal with the roundabout approach.” Not nearly enough.

  Elron met my gaze. “The demon attacked a student and me through a tree that was donated to the university. I was able to nullify the threat, but there was a message. I found a teapot embedded in the trunk of the tree. It told me, ‘I hunt the Hunters.’”

  I sat there, fork halfway to my mouth.

  “Michelle.” His eyes were sad. “This demon is different than Gremory.”

  Setting down my fork, I took a moment to compose myself. I wanted to be angry with him for keeping this. But I’d been in no shape to deal with it yesterday. If we survived this demon, I could be mad at him for something. Until then, I had to remember he was doing the best he could for both of us.

  “You’re right. This one is different. It’s outright killing people. It wants us to know it’s coming, and it knows what Varro passed down to us.” Cold dread started filling my body.

  “Correct.”

  “You said teapot. Do you have it?” A few months ago, I’d had a run-in with a teapot. I’d attributed its attack to someone else, but there was a chance I’d been wrong.

  “It took some doing, but it’s in my apartment.”

  “I’d like to examine it.” I felt like a wooden doll, going through all the right motions but with none of the feelings I should have.

  “After you eat.” He pointedly focused on the omelet that was missing a total of two bites.

  I poked it with my fork. “I’m not hungry.”

  He shrugged. “I will only tell you about the incident if you are eating.”

  “You’re mean.”

  He frowned and shook his head. “I care, and if at times that results in my being mean, so be it.”

  Huffing, I took another bite of the omelet.

  “I was at my desk when I lost contact with the plants and earth in greenhouse three.” His eyes darted between me and the omelet. I took another bite. “I was going to investigate when I heard a scream.”

  I swallowed the current bite of omelet and started on the next so he would keep talking rather than glaring at me or the food. As I ate, he told me what had happened, right up to when he pulled his sword out of the tree, discovered the teapot, and heard the threat. By the time he was finishing the story, I had moved from the omelet to a piece of toast.

  “There is one additional thing,” he said hesitantly.

  I swallowed the half-chewed toast. “Out with it.”

  “While I was dealing with the black pine, I sustained a broken wrist. A medical witch at the school fixed it, and I am fully healed.”

  Before he finished speaking, I was by his side, probing the area. “I don’t feel any lingering problems, but I’ve never been a very good healer. I should take you to my mom, just to be sure.” Or perhaps the emergency room. It was closer. Then again, I trusted Mom’s ability more than that of a medical witch I’d never met.

  “Michelle.” His voice was low. “Look at me.” His silver eyes were serious. “The witch who treated me was very competent. My wrist is fully healed.”

  Nodding, I slowly inhaled and exhaled, pushing memories away.

  “It will take more than a broken wrist to stop me.” His voice was hesitant when he continued. “I am an elf, not a human. Elves are a tough lot, and I am no different.”

  Swallowing, I tried to act calmer than I felt. “For a moment, I could see you—injured, fighting, losing. It reminded me of Tiffany and what she endured.”

  “Nothing will ever make that image go away. Over time, its power will lessen and instead of being a constant, it will be there only on occasion. Every time a memory starts to haunt you, I will be there.”

  I tried to hold the tears back, but I couldn’t. When the escaping tears morphed into sobs, Elron picked me up and settled me in his lap. He held me close, softly stroking my back as I cried for Tiffany and what she’d gone through.

  Eventually the tears stopped, and after a firm hug, Elron let me go. In the bathroom I gazed at my reflection. Puffy eyes, red nose, and grief, and under all that the first hints of despair. I didn’t know when it had started, but little by little I was coming to believe this demon would be the death of me.

  Worse yet, I had a feeling it would do its very best to work its way through everyone I loved before it got to me. I could end up in the morg
ue identifying my parents, Nana, Landa, Amber, and Elron.

  The face in the mirror changed. Oh, my nose was still red and my eyes were still puffy, but they glittered with determination. Instead of lines of pain and fear, there was a hard set to my jaw. No matter what it took, I would find a way through this.

  I would do anything to keep them safe. I would kill. I would embrace magic I had sworn never to dabble with, anything. I couldn’t be the reason for their suffering.

  Squaring my shoulders, I headed back out to the dining room. There were steps to killing demons. The first thing was to analyze anything they left behind. Once I’d had a look at that teapot, I’d know more.

  When I returned to the main room, Elron was closing the front door to my apartment while holding a square metal box. It was about a foot tall with four latches holding the lid onto the body.

  “Is that the teapot you want me to examine?”

  He nodded.

  “Is it shielded?” I really hoped it was, because I didn’t want to have to purify everything it had been close to, including Elron.

  He set the canister on the table. “Yes. We have a few on hand for emergencies. The teapot is in a purified cotton bag, resting on cotton batting.”

  “Good. I’ll take a look at it.” I debated for a moment. “I’ll write up something for the university. Give it to them free of charge. A thank-you from Oaks Consulting for taking care of your broken wrist.”

  Elron shook his head. “Do not write up any reports until we can discuss what you find. I went to a great deal of effort to convince the university that the pot was irrelevant to what had occurred so no one else would take an interest in it.”

  “Ah. Got it. I’ll tell you what I find.”

  Elron checked his watch and winced. “I must go. I need to finish the on-site evaluation and cleanup.” He pulled me in for a hug and kiss. “If you need me, simply call.”

  “That goes for you too.”

  He picked up a tote bag from beside the door.

  “Oh, and bring me a sample of that tree.”

  “They are in the box with the teapot.” He blew me a kiss and closed the door.