by B N Miles
But that didn’t mean she stopped loving them, even despite all the evil they’d done to her. Jared could understand where she was. He felt something similar about his own family. He knew they were broken, terrible people, but they were still his family. Lumi probably was desperate to understand why the Medlar were doing all of this, and the idea of letting Hank go was probably tearing her apart.
Jared touched her arm again, then slid his hand down into hers. He took it tight and squeezed. His Need rumbled in his skull at her touch, and her eyes moved up to his. For a moment, he thought he felt that connection again, thought he could touch her mind and taste her feeling. He nodded to her once, his eyes sharp, his body ringing with what they had to do together.
“Come on,” he said, his voice soft. “We have to move.”
She frowned at him, looked at Hank, and then sighed. She released the gathered energy. She squeezed his hand once then dropped it. Jared felt her power dissipate into the air, more priori than he’d touched in a week. She let Jared move her from the room.
Hank laughed and started walking.
40
Jared kept his hand on Lumi’s arm as the pair backed down the hall. He didn’t want her to do something stupid or rash. Even if she released her power, that didn’t mean she was letting this happen. “Good,” Hank said. “Just keep going.”
Jessalene shuffled along, her teeth clenched, as Hank kept his knife to her throat. Jared kept his eyes on her, watching for any movement from Hank. Her injured arm hung uselessly and Jared could tell her steps were sluggish. Hank was holding her up, supporting her weight as they shuffled forward toward the stairs. She glared at them, and Jared knew the only thing she wanted was for them to get Hank and extract every ounce of information from him.
But Jared wouldn’t let that happen, not if it meant losing her.
They reached the stairs and descended. Jared hesitated, his eyes moving back down toward the living room. The plants, or what was left of them, cleared the path, curling away. Hank laughed. “Looks like you were busy,” he said, kicking aside a charred vine husk. It clattered down the stairs and landed on the floor, breaking into ash.
Jared didn’t speak. He continued down, tugging Lumi along. They reached the bottom and Hank jerked his head toward the back. “Through the kitchen. Back door.”
Jared nodded and resisted the urge to look at Jessalene or Lumi. He kept moving, shuffling along, keeping his eyes on Hank as the Dryad pushed Jessalene ahead of him, his knife never once wavering from her throat. He moved with surprising grace and fluidity, and Jared was struck all over again at the Dryad’s ability. The plants grew away from them, forming a tunnel in the foliage. The smoke hadn’t entirely cleared, and Jared sucked in acrid breath after acrid breath, fighting the urge to cough.
They moved through a doorway Jared had missed on their first pass and into a barren kitchen. The plants ended at its threshold. There was no table, no refrigerator, no stove. The cabinets were open and empty. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and little black pellets of mouse droppings filled the space where the refrigerator should have been. Hank gestured at the wall with his head. “Up against it,” he said. “Hands splayed. Not that it matters with you folks.” He gave them a little smile and shuffled Jessalene toward the door. “Here’s how this will work. I’m going to open the door then push your little Jessa toward you. She’s going to fall, but don’t worry. The paralytic will wear off.”
“If she’s hurt,” Jared growled, “you’re dead.”
“I doubt it,” he said. “You’ll catch her, make sure she’s okay, but I’ll be gone. If I feel magic, even a fucking hint of it, I’ll make sure the girl doesn’t survive. Do you understand?”
Jared nodded. “That laptop better have Wen Bet’s exact location.”
“It will.” Hank sighed. “This is going to really hurt my professional reputation, you know that, right? Then again, escaping two Magi might make it all a wash, so we’ll see.” He shuffled to the door and reached back with his other hand, turning the knob. He kicked it open and lingered there, light flooding into the dim kitchen. Jared could see a backyard behind him, a four-step stoop, and a fence beyond. A surprisingly large oak tree grew in the back right corner, casting shade across the neighboring lawns. “Ready?”
Jared nodded. “Let her go.”
“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you both. Sorry about the Elf. He put up a good fight, if it’s any consolation. But business is business.” He shoved Jessalene hard in the back.
She lost her footing and tipped forward. Jared moved to catch her, reaching out with the priori. Jessa tried to get her arms up, but they didn’t move, and she topped toward the ground face-first with a sickening groan of fear. Jared managed to snap a memgram into place, wind rushing from a deep geyser in the ground, and wrapped it around her.
The air slowed her fall. He caught her and held her against him. “Jessa,” he said, his voice choked with anger.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “Get him.”
Jared lowered her to the ground and looked up. Lumi came toward them, her eyes filled with concern. Jared had expected her to go after Hank immediately, but instead she came to Jessalene. The choice surprised him. For Jared, it was easy to let Hank go to make sure that Jessalene was okay, but he didn’t realize Lumi cared that much. As his eyes scanned the kitchen, he saw that the Dryad was gone, but he heard a roar out in the yard, and a scream of pain.
“Stay here,” he said.
Jessa smiled at him. “My hero.”
He kissed her, laid her down gently on the ground, then stood. Lumi cocked her head at him. “I don’t know healing magic,” he said.
She nodded. “I can do something for her. Hurry.”
He turned and ran to the back door. He felt his power come to him, like a lover caressing his thigh, piercing through the Need that hammered at his skull.
41
Cassie stood in her Were form, her massive, fox-like, black and red snout snapping at Hank as he danced backward, his long, curved knife in his hand. The grass began to shake and grow, crawling from the earth in massive ropes, twisting around themselves before whipping out at Cassie. Dirt splattered in a sharp spray as she leapt back, away from the attacking grass, another roar coming from her throat.
Jared shouted in rage and snapped a memgram into place. A shimmering shield wrapped itself around Cassie as Hank lunged at her. She tried to move away, but she seemed sluggish, and the grass wrapped around her hind paws, locking her into place. She twisted and the knife skittered across her flank, ripping into the shield with a spark. Jared clenched his jaw as he funneled more power into the shield, keeping it from snapping wide open. Cassie twisted again and tried to gut Hank with her enormous claws, but he managed to shift back and avoid her strike.
More power flowed through Jared as he reached for a second memgram. He knew he was going too far, and at the end of this, he’d be raving with the Need. But right now, the only thing that mattered was Cassie. There was a long, red line along her flank where Hank had first cut her, but the Dryad had a matching pair of bleeding puncture wounds on his shoulder where Cassie must’ve bitten down in their first exchange.
Rage filled him, more rage than he thought he had, tempered only by the priori. His second memgram ripped through his skin as he unleashed orange fire in a tight, spiraling pillar that tore across the yard, burning the grass black. Hank rolled away from the flame, his eyes narrowing into slits as Jared stepped down into the yard. He burned away the grass holding Cassie back, unleashing her. She staggered forward and snarled as she moved to flank the Dryad. Jared could tell her movements were weak and slow, and fear spiked in his chest.
Poison. The bastard had cut her with his poisoned knife.
Hank smirked and slid a second knife from his belt. He touched the trunk of the large oak tree and its branches began to twist and bend, moving like the tentacles of some monster. The tree lashed out at Cassie, causing her to jump aside, stag
gering a little bit, her jaws snapping down on the branches, breaking them in half as Jared moved toward Hank, his power flowing. He continually renewed the shield around Cassie, keeping her safe, while he began to funnel more power into a second memgram.
“You’re making a mistake,” Hank snarled.
Jared sensed power flare behind him back inside the house, and a small voice in his head told him that Lumi was fixing Jessalene. Still, he barely heard that voice.
All he could see in his mind was the wound on Jessa’s arm, the wound on Cassie’s side. His girls, his fucking girls, hurt by this bastard. This piece of shit dared to touch his women. Jared might’ve let him go when the Dryad held the upper hand on Jessalene, but not now.
Now, that bastard wasn’t going anywhere.
They were his girls. His girls.
Power flared through him again, sweet like honey, and he knew he was drunk on it, but didn’t care. Flames raced across the yard as more grass sprung to life, a dense wall of the stuff. Jared funneled the flames, burning the grass away, the smoke curling and filling the back yard.
Hank came at him through the flames, his mouth pulled back in a sneer. Jared stumbled back and snapped another memgram into place, sending a jolt of frigid air at Hank, pushing the Dryad aside just enough for Jared to dodge the double dagger blows. Hank leapt aside, gracefully turning, pivoting to face Jared again. More flames poured from Jared’s hands as he switched the second memgram back. He funneled more power at the Dryad, his jaw clenched, the pain and the ecstasy of the priori ripping through his human frame and sending him into a frenzy.
Hank pulled up more grass, more weeds. Cassie came roaring from the side, her jaws snapping, and Hank rolled away, thrusting his daggers up. They bounced off Cassie’s shield as Jared tried to catch him with the flames, whipping his fire pillar at the Dryad. Hank grunted in pain but moved too fast for Jared to get a lock, coming at him low and strong. Jared had just enough time to drop the flames and wrap a shield around his torso as Hank thrust his daggers at Jared’s chest, a killing blow.
The knives slammed into the shield, sparking bright. It still hurt, like taking a bullet in a vest. He staggered back as Hank kept coming. Jared had to pull the shield from Cassie and concentrate on himself, wrapping it tight around his body. He took one blow, two blows, barely turning the knives away.
Cassie leapt on Hank from behind, roaring in anger. Grass vines whipped up from the ground and grabbed her from behind, pulling her back, but not before her claws raked down his back. Hank clenched his jaw in pain as Jared stepped forward. She hit the ground hard and let out a groan, struggling against the vines, but not able to get out of their grasp.
He met the Dryad’s eyes and felt so much hate, so much anger, that it almost made calling the priori easier. He snapped two memgrams into place: the first shifted his shield from his body to his fist, wrapping it in a diamond-hard and thick layer of air, and the second wreathed his arm in flames so blue-hot that they would’ve melted Jared’s skin if he wasn’t covered in the protective layer of shield. He whipped his arm back then slammed his fist forward at Hank’s face.
The Dryad’s eyes went wide, but he was off balance and it was too late. Jared’s punch connected, snapping Hank’s head back. Jared felt bone break and flesh sizzle as the smell of cooked skin and muscle filled the air. Hank took two steps back them slammed into the ground with an audible thud.
Jared didn’t stop there. He dropped his fist shield and flames as he snapped another memgram into place. Ice sprouted around the Dryad, making him squirm and roar. His face was demolished, his nose snapped and bleeding, his cheek caved in and badly burned. His back bled freely from the wounds Cassie gave him, feeding the dirt with blood, but he still fought against the ice. Jared poured power into it, freezing Hank tightly to the ground.
He groaned and struggled but couldn’t get away. Jared walked to him and placed a boot on the Dryad’s chest before leaning down to stare into his eyes. The Dryad stared back at him, fear in his expression. Jared’s fingers curled toward the fallen assassin’s face, and he felt power crackling in his hands. He wanted to smash the Dryad’s face in, finish him here and now, leave him as a smattering of red gore on the grassy ground.
But instead, he heard a voice from the house that pulled him back into himself. “I knew you had it in you.”
He turned and saw Lumi standing there. Jessalene was behind her, leaning heavily against the doorframe, her eyes wide.
Jared stepped away from the Dryad. He didn’t release the ice as Lumi came toward him.
“I did what I had to do,” he said through clenched teeth.
She stopped and nodded. She reached out and touched his face. “I bet you were a terrifying Fist,” she said. “The amount of power you just pulled… and two memgrams at once.” She shook her head. “You don’t need me at all.”
He caught her wrist, pulled her against him. He couldn’t help himself, so lost in the pure animal Need. “I need you,” he said, and kissed her.
The kiss lasted for a moment before he broke it off and locked eyes with Jessalene. He expected to see hurt there, but instead, she smiled.
“I’m okay,” she said.
He nodded once and looked back over his shoulder.
The yard was a scorched mess. The fence was on fire, crackling like a bonfire. Long ropes of grass were scattered all over, some arched and burnt, and the tree was bent and twisted out of shape. Cassie stood a few feet away, panting heavily, her mouth still pulled into a snarl. She swayed from side to side/
“Shift back,” he said. “Heal that wound. You’re poisoned, Cass. Shift now before it gets too bad.”
She tilted her head at him, but then her body began to morph and change, flowing back into her human shape. She let out a long breath and smiled at him. “That was fun,” she said, leaning back on her hands, sitting there completely naked. “God, I feel so much better.”
Jared rolled his eyes as she got to her feet then ran over and hugged him. He kissed her, too aware of her naked flesh, and his cock stirred in response, completely against his will. “Easy there,” he said.
“Bad, huh?” She bit her lip.
“Bad.”
Lumi walked over to the fallen Dryad and whistled. “I’ll handle him. Drop the ice.”
He hesitated, but wards began to appear on the ground behind him, flashing into being then fading into that strange half-glow. He struggled, stopping the flow of the priori entirely, and let out a groan. Jared released the last bit of power he’d been holding on to, and the ice melted away into the dirt as Lumi’s wards shined bright again then faded back down.
Jared let out a low growl as the Need hit him full in the chest. He slumped, clenching his fists. Cassie touched him, leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Come on,” she said. “Come inside.”
“I have to…call this in.” He said it through clenched teeth. His mind was screaming at him, begging him to take more magic, begging for him to release it all inside the nearest woman. “Have to call Wyatt.”
“Go take care of yourself,” Lumi said. “You can call when you’re finished.”
He stared at her for a long moment, but let Cassie drag him inside. Naked Cassie, beautiful Cassie. Jessalene kissed him as he passed and smiled. “I’d help if I could.”
He groaned and kissed her, fist in her hair, tempted to pull her along regardless of her condition, before Cassie tugged him along. They found the first empty room, and Cassie turned to him.
All sense left him. All sanity fled. He kissed her hard and felt her take off his pants, drop to her knees, and suck his hard cock. He grabbed her hair tight and fucked her face, unable to help himself, before pulling her from the ground and turning her around.
She presented herself to him, dripping wet and beautiful. He slid deep inside and grabbed her hair, fucking her wild, fucking her with a mindless, intense desire.
Her body drove him mad with lust. The Need made him crazed with it as he took her, kissing her o
ver the shoulder, spanking her tight, taut ass. He filled her pussy again and again, rough thrusts deep inside her, growling like an animal the whole time. Her perky breasts, her moans, the sweat that dripped down her body, it made him wild, unable to stop.
She worked her ass back against him, rode his thick cock, bucked and moved her hips. He groaned and had no clue how long he took her, how rough he was being. All sense and meaning left him, fled from him. He was a machine, an animal, and his only desire was to fill Cassie raw.
He kept working her deeper, deeper. He spanked her harder, grabbed her hair, took her and owned her. And as he felt it growing between them, he let out a deep groan as she kissed him over her shoulder. “Come on, take me there,” she whispered.
And he filled her with his magic. They came together, a mess of bliss and incredible energy, as he spent himself deep inside his beautiful girl. She moaned, her head thrown back, her fingers curling and digging into the wood of the door. It lasted a lifetime, mere seconds, Jared didn’t know, didn’t care. They flew together, transported to that magical bliss that followed, as he drained himself dry.
Slowly it ended, and reason began to assert itself again. Cassie sunk down to the floor and leaned back against the door, grinning ear to ear, as Jared slid down beside her.
“Better?” she asked, sounding dreamy.
“Better.” He closed his eyes then leaned over and put an arm around her naked shoulders. “Gods, I could barely think.”
“I know. I could see it in your eyes.” She gave a delirious giggle. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”
“I hope not.” They lingered there for a long moment before Jared sighed. “Come on. Let’s get back out there. And maybe find some clothes for you.”
“Clothes? You think I need clothes?” She pouted.
He laughed. “Cassie, if you were naked all the time, we’d get nothing done.”
