Borrowed Magic: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Witch's Bite Series Book 1)

by Stephanie Foxe

  “Water?” Lydia has a glass in one hand, the other extended to help me up. I take her hand gratefully and let her pull me to my feet. I take the glass eagerly and gulp it down. The water feels amazing on my throat, I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem, will food help as well?”

  “Yes, but I need to talk to Emilio. I need to know how we’re going to get Patrick back. He’s alive for now or the magic wouldn’t work, but they could be killing him or hurting him. I have to—”

  “Olivia,” Lydia interrupts. “We can do nothing until Javier finishes feeding, and you need to be at your full strength as well. It will only take a few minutes to eat.”

  I curl my nails into the palm of my hand. “Fine, but I want to talk to Emilio.”

  Lydia snaps her fingers at another vampire standing in the corner who immediately runs out of the room, then walks toward the kitchen. I follow with one last glance back at Javier. There is already another human waiting for him to feed on.

  Lydia forces an apple on me and watches, hands on hips, until I take a bite. I eat it mechanically because I know that I need it, but I barely taste it.

  Emilio sweeps into the room. “The coven refuses to take my call.”

  I snort. “Too good for everyone else, as usual.”

  “The wolves, however, are willing to assist,” Emilio says, his voice smug.

  I look up shocked. “The wolves? They never get involved in anything. Why are they willing to help now?”

  “Because I was attacked by humans,” Javier says from the doorway. He is standing up straight, but his wounds still aren’t fully closed. His skin is flushed from the feeding though, I have no doubt he will recover now. “Humans affiliated with New World Reformation to be exact.”

  Everyone in the room goes still. NWR is the boogeyman that hides under the bed of every paranormal. A quiet war has been waged against them since before we went public, and it’s one that will probably never end. Someone will always hate us, and they will always be there to recruit them and arm them. Paranormals might have power beyond the average human, but our vulnerabilities are just as extreme. Balance, in everything.

  “You’re sure it was them?” I ask, shoving my hands in my pockets to hide my trembling. I don’t want to think about what they’re doing to Patrick. They never shy away from hurting people, part of what makes them so scary. They don’t just kill, they do everything they can to make us fear them.

  “We can’t go into this fight with only paranormals. They’ll destroy us,” I say quietly.

  “And who will help us? The police?” Emilio sneers. “Did you forget that they just arrested you and accused you of kidnapping the missing girls?”

  “No, but just because it might be difficult to persuade them doesn’t mean that we don’t need them,” I say, stepping forward, my hands clenched into fists.

  “Then persuade them, Olivia, if you are so convinced. We will attack Rudie’s within the hour, with or without them,” Javier says before turning and stalking away.

  Emilio glares at me and follows after him.

  “I’ll make a phone call as well, maybe I can help,” Lydia says pulling out her phone.

  “Thanks,” I say, pulling Martinez’s card out of my back pocket and staring at it.

  I dial the number before I can second guess what I’m doing. The phone rings once, twice, then three times, then four and I’m almost convinced he just isn’t going to answer when I hear a gruff hello.

  “Martinez, I have some information for you.”

  7

  “Information,” he bites the word out like a curse word. “After I have been asking for days, after an interrogation in which you refused to help me. Now you want to talk?”

  “Yes, you want it or not?”

  “I’m not sure. Why should I trust anything you say now?”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Do you want to know why I work for the vampires? The real reason?”

  Martinez is silent for just long enough to make me worry. “Sure.”

  “My mom disappeared when I was sixteen. The coven we were with kicked me out without a second thought and I ended up with a bad crowd. I was desperate, and I made bad decisions and did bad things, I’m sure you’ve seen my record. Chief of Police Howard Brunson found me one night when he was off duty and saved my life. He helped me turn things around. The only problem is, paranormals live by a different set of rules than humans. It’s hard for anyone to get a job with a felony on their record, but add in being a witch? You’re fucked.”

  I pause, weighing how much about myself I want to tell him. Talking about myself like this feels like I’m stripping off my actual skin.

  “The vampires are much more lenient than any of the other paranormals. After Mr. Brunson died, Javier offered me a job. It was humiliating at first and terrifying. They prey on the weak after all. They’re monsters that feed on women then, when their blood isn’t good anymore, turn them out on the streets to be drug addicts and whores,” I say, echoing what Martinez had told me at breakfast. They were stereotypes I had bought into as well.

  “Only that wasn’t what was happening. There are some girls like that, but they make those choices despite the help Javier offers them. The majority are in college and doing well. They don’t allow any of the neckers to do drugs, or anything else illegal. They protect everyone that is associated with them. I still don’t like working for them sometimes, but before Javier offered me this job, I was about to start brewing drugs again. Javier saved me. And that’s why I’m still working for them. That’s why I wouldn’t give into the threats and throw them under the bus for these murders.”

  “What information do you have?” Martinez asks. I just barely stop myself by letting out a big sigh of relief. I still don’t have his promise of help.

  “Two vampires are missing, they were taken just like the girls and I suspect being starved into loss of control. Javier went to look for them again tonight and they tried to capture him, he was almost killed. New World Reformation are the ones that have been taking the girls and trying to frame the vampires for the murders.”

  Martinez barks out a laugh. “NWR, that’s a pretty bold claim.”

  “It’s the truth,” I say angrily.

  “Where are these alleged terrorists?”

  “Rudie’s.”

  He doesn’t respond, but I hear a muffled conversation like he is holding his hand over the phone and talking to someone else.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “So, what is it that you want? The police to raid the bar to prove there are terrorists hiding out there?”

  “Yes.”

  “We can’t do that based on your word any more than we could arrest you tonight off one tip. We’ll have to get a search warrant.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. I won’t let Patrick die because the police can’t deal with a little red tape.

  “Look, just give me an hour or two. I will be able to get something pushed through, the Mayor is all over us to find his daughter,” Martinez says with a sigh.

  “They could be dead in an hour.”

  “Look, Carter, I know you’re worried, but I need you to be patient. Don’t do anything stupid and let me handle this, alright?”

  As usual, I can’t rely on anyone else to help. Gerard did say that the powers that be wouldn’t be getting involved, I guess he was right.

  “Olivia, did you hear me? I need you to promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

  “Sure thing, Martinez.” I slip my phone back into my pocket and go to find the others, my stomach churning.

  We’re standing behind Rudie’s in the tree line that’s about fifty feet from the parking lot. It’s still muggy outside, I don’t have any of my brews since someone took them, and Javier is nervous. I’ve never seen him nervous before.

  “You’re sure Patrick is in there?” Javier asks qu
ietly.

  “Yes.” I can feel Patrick still, like a tug in the center of my belly. It’s stronger now that I’m so close to him.

  Javier straightens and looks over my shoulder. A woman with light brown hair cut in a short bob, wearing nothing more than a sports bra and a pair of men’s running shorts, is approaching. She must be the local werewolf Alpha. Even though I’ve been here over six months, I still haven’t met any of the weres, that I know of at least. They keep to themselves from what I’ve been able to gather.

  “Ms. Georgia,” Javier says, bending at the waist in a deep bow. “I am honored that you are joining us today to hunt a mutual enemy.”

  “I couldn’t leave all the fun to you, now could I?” She asks with a wide grin that turns her face from stern to youthful in an instant. She looks me up and down. “Who’s this?”

  “Olivia Carter, hedgewitch.” I hold out my hand and she shakes it firmly.

  “Georgia Willis, werewolf and Alpha of this pack,” she says, extending her hand behind to the group of about ten weres, a mish-mash of people ranging from what looks like a couple around my age to grizzled old men, all watching us closely.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” I say.

  She inclines her head in agreement then turns to look at Rudie’s. The parking lot is mostly empty and there are lights on inside still, but there is nothing that would indicate it’s housing terrorists. Patrick was probably in there the last time I was here. My stomach twists in anger and I have to look away.

  “I always liked this bar, it’s a real bummer we’re going to tear it down brick by brick and soak the ground with blood of every soul contained within it,” Georgia says, her eyes bright and her teeth already growing into fangs in her mouth.

  “Not to take away from your analogy, but not every soul,” I say cautiously. “The mayor’s daughter and two vampires should be in there as well. They’re on our side.”

  Javier is holding back laughter, but I had to say something. That would be such an awkward mistake.

  She laughs, the sound deep and wild, coming up from her belly. “I will not eat your friends.”

  Javier and Georgia turn around first, and after a moment I too can hear the rumble of a truck coming down the narrow road that runs past the left side of Rudie’s back toward town where we parked.

  “It’s Lydia,” Javier says. “I think she has something for you.”

  I raise a brow but walk back through the trees to meet her. She steps out of her truck with a small black bag that she lifts in my direction.

  “I got what I could, but it wasn’t everything,” she says as I take the bag from her. It’s my brews and my jacket. I set the bag on the ground and crouch next to it as I take inventory.

  “Thanks, I wasn’t happy about losing any of this.” I shrug on the jacket and start loading my pockets with brews. “How on earth did you get it?”

  “I just walked into the police station and took it, to be honest,” she says with a mischievous smile. “If you look like you belong there, most people don’t stop to question you.”

  I feel like I have a chance of making it out of there alive now. I had felt naked without my brews.

  Lydia kicks off her heels and pulls a pair of sneakers out of the truck. She pulls out a gun as well that she tucks into the holster she is wearing under her clothes. She pulls out another pistol as well.

  “This one is for you,” Lydia says, handing me the gun “It has fifteen rounds in the magazine, and one in the chamber, so don’t point it at anyone until you’re ready to shoot them.”

  I take the gun hesitantly. I know how to use it, but it’s been a long time since I’ve held one. “Thank you.”

  Lydia shrugs. “I know you have your magic, but sometimes you just need to shoot someone.”

  “You coming in there with us?” I ask as I tuck the gun into my waistband on the left side.

  “No, I have to stay alive so I can keep you all out of jail once you are finished rescuing Javier’s vampires. I will, however, keep an eye out for anyone trying to run away.”

  I check my watch, we only have three more hours until sunrise.

  “Thanks again Lydia,” I say with a nod. She waves my thanks away and I jog back over to Javier and Georgia. I can feel Georgia watching me approach, I can almost feel her hunger to get in there and fight. I understand it.

  “Do we have a plan, other than kill everyone?” I ask Javier.

  “Don’t die,” he says with a wink, echoing Gerard’s advice.

  I roll my eyes and pull out the same potion I had used while kidnapping Aaron. I have three vials left, enough for about nine people. “There isn’t enough for everyone, choose three vampires and three wolves,” I say, nodding at Javier and Georgia in turn. “I should protect us against anything the NWR has that could knock us out or make us lose control.”

  Javier waves over three of his vampires without hesitation, while Georgia takes a moment longer, whispering with a man that I think is second in command. He jogs off, then returns with three weres. A slender woman with bright eyes, a burly man, and boy that I suspect is barely over eighteen.

  I hand a vial to the slender woman and another to one of Javier’s vampires. “Everyone get close to the vial and inhale deeply.”

  Javier and Georgia step in close, our shoulders touching, and I pop the cork out of the vial. The green smoke pours out, curling up into our nostrils. I hear the weres grumbling that it burns.

  “I don’t recommend breathing in the fumes from anything else I’ll be using tonight.”

  “Noted,” Georgia says, rolling her neck in a circle and flexing her hands.

  We start toward Rudie’s, Javier on my right and Georgia on my left. Behind us is the crunch of bone as the werewolves drop to their hands and knees, their skin morphing into fur, and their teeth lengthening into fangs. The transformation is disgusting to watch, but I glance back nonetheless. I never can keep myself from looking.

  As soon as the first wolf is changed he races ahead, fading into the night as he circles around to the other side of Rudie’s. The vampires are nowhere to be seen. They’re probably already there, I think I see movement on the roof.

  As we walk through the parking lot, the lights go out one by one with the sound of shattering glass. Darkness advances before us like a shroud. The lights inside of Rudie’s go out all at once and the darkness is complete.

  The back door to Rudie’s is unguarded, at least on the outside. Georgia crouches in front of it, waiting for Javier to give her the signal. I grab a brew out of my pocket and the glass vial digs into the palm of my hand as I clench my fingers around it. Javier is directly behind me, almost plastered to my back.

  Georgia busts through the door with one well-placed kick.

  8

  Georgia takes one step inside before an explosion flings her back and knocks me in Javier. I’d be flying too if he wasn’t there to stop me. My ears are ringing and my night vision is almost completely gone.

  I throw a brew inside on reflex and hear a guttural scream as it instantly heats the immediate area by two hundred degrees.

  Javier is gone, I don’t even feel him move, just the sudden absence as I tip backward. I scramble to my feet as howls erupt around me. A huge, red wolf flies past me through the doorway, followed closely by a black wolf.

  There is gunfire behind me and above me. Someone screams and I don’t know if it’s vampire or human. They’re fighting on the roof too, possibly in the parking lot. If they’re in the parking lot, then they have us surrounded. They must have known we were coming though I have no idea how.

  I run inside. The entire place is smokey, I can’t even see the bar from here. There’s a man laying on the floor directly in front of the doorway, his skin is blistered and red, and his throat has been torn out. A gas mask hangs half off his face. The burn in the back of my throat tells me that they expected this smoke to knock us out. They’re in for a surprise.

  A door slams open and I can see a glim
pse of movement through the smoke. There’s a crack and a net flies out and wraps around Georgia. She howls in pain and jerks as the net crackles and sparks. Two wolves charge into the smoke amid the crack of gunfire.

  A vampire drops from the ceiling and is immediately struck in the chest by a bullet. The vampire shrieks, clawing at his shirt. A purple flame licks out of the wound and the room fills with the scent of sulfur.

  I dive behind the bar and several more wolves rush inside after me. Wood splinters over my head and a wolf yelps in pain, but one of the guns stop. I army crawl toward where I think the shooters are. There is broken glass and the floor is sticky from spilled alcohol. I’m glad I’m wearing the jacket. I grab two brews from my jacket and fling the first over the bar like a grenade. It shatters and I hope it didn’t catch any of the wolves, but it won’t keep them down for long. I can hear the panicked gasping for a breath they can’t take.

  An explosion rattles the glass bottles in front of me and makes my ears ring. Then another, and another. I can’t even hear myself breathing at this point, just a faint ringing in my ears. The wolves and vampires must be hurting right now. The explosions are worrying. I can’t tell where they’re occurring. How many of us are dead now?

  The smoke is beginning to clear though, so I peek over the bar and see one of the men firing from the corner. I throw the brew directly at him. It breaks over his black armor and begins to eat through it, glowing bright green. He shouts and slaps at the green fire, but all that does is make his hands burn too. I look away as the fire begins to crawl up his neck, but I can't block out the anguished screams.

  Javier is dodging two of the men who have dropped their guns. One is swinging a silver net at him, the other has a long wooden spear sharpened to a point. Georgia is still struggling under the net she was caught in. One of the other wolves tries to pull the net off of her, but yelps in pain as it burns his mouth. There is another wolf dead in front of her. I fumble with the brews in my pocket, trying to find the right one by feel.