Bounty Hunters and Black Magic

by Kristen Banet

  “Don’t talk to her. She can’t do anything to us and we need to get further from town so that we can send our demands,” another demon said calmly. “We need to stick to the plan. We have her; they’ll want her back.”

  So, I’m a hostage, huh? Shit. The guys are riding towards Fort Lackey, hoping for the demons to follow. And we’re not going in the same direction.

  That much was obvious to her. She knew the ride to Fort Lackey and everything about it. They were going south instead, towards rockier, more arid land.

  Adalyn needed a plan, and she needed one quickly. Aside from the throbbing headache she had, her back hurt from the uncomfortable position over the horse. From there, she couldn’t find any other injuries. That was good. The headache could be worked through, and the back was just an ache.

  If I could get a hand on one of their guns, I could just shoot them. The likelihood it goes in my favor is slim. They outnumber me.

  The demons spoke aimlessly, about how they were going to get Georgie back and then Lars.

  “You hear that, witch? You’re going to bring back Lars, then we’ll trade you for Georgie. We aren’t out to hurt you, just get back what is ours.” The one who rode with her said it, looking back down at her.

  She rolled her eyes. She didn’t think that was going to work. She knew the black magic to banish a demon, not summon one. Even then, even if she could, then her magic wouldn’t be acting up and she definitely wouldn’t be at the mercy of the demons.

  They rode on and she kept trying to plot and come up with a plan. She had honestly brought this on herself and she knew that, so she was determined to get herself out of it. Somehow. William never had to rescue me from something like this. I’m not going to make Maxwell, of all people, do it. Or the bounty hunters. Or even Valen. No, I’m getting myself out of this.

  Finally, the horses drew to a stop as dawn was creeping over the horizon, and she was pulled down and tossed over a shoulder. From her spot, she could see the lonely farmhouse. She heard boots hitting wood floors as she was carried inside.

  She couldn’t bring herself to be scared. She should have been, but really, she just kept thinking of a way out. She wasn’t worried about the demons doing anything untoward. They seemed smarter than she or any of the guys had given them credit for. They hadn’t rushed into town. They had made a demand and didn’t choose to sit in a firefight with Redstone. They didn’t run off rashly to get Georgie back from the guys; instead they came after her, when she was alone. When the saloon would be too loud for anyone there to hear.

  No, I really don’t think they’ll do anything to complicate their own plans. Damn, why do they all have to be smarter than Lars? That’s going to make this harder.

  She was dropped on a bed, which did worry her for a moment until she saw the demon backing away.

  “You should be comfortable here. Today, consider how you’re going to get us Lars back. That needs to be done before we agree to exchange you for Georgie.” The demon smiled. “Have a good rest, and we’ll bring you something to eat soon. I’m sure your head hurts. There’s a bump.”

  She wanted to slap him for the polite act now. He didn’t get to suddenly be a gentleman. He was the one who put said bump on her fucking head. He just walked out of the room, every step on the wood making her head throb.

  The first thing she did was yank the gag out of her mouth and throw the disgusting rag to the floor.

  “Gods damn it,” she muttered. Then she took a deep breath. “Okay. Get planning, Adalyn Lovett. You talked to William about this often enough to know what to do. First, evaluate the situation as it changes.”

  She looked around the bedroom they threw her in. It had a bed and other general furniture. A bedside table, a dresser. Nothing really unique. There was one small window. She could fit out that, but when? In the middle of the night? With her hands bound?

  She looked down at her wrists and hissed. With her teeth, she began to work the knots of the rope, loosening it as much as she could. They probably thought she wouldn’t try to run, being a good little woman who waited to be rescued.

  Too bad for them, and maybe for her, she wasn’t one of those women.

  It felt like it took forever, but she got the ropes off, wincing at the chafing on her wrists. Assholes. She rubbed them gently, hoping it would ease the pain.

  A few moments later, one of them opened the door and looked in on her. She didn’t move or attack him as he lifted a plate of food for her to see. There were four demons in the house and one of her. She had already lost that fight, and her magic was still acting up.

  They expect me to sleep all day, which means I have plenty of time to plan. At least being knocked out meant I slept through most of the night.

  Adalyn knew breaking out was going to be a pain and she didn’t have her magic. Damn it. Of all the days, it had to be this one.

  “Food. Breakfast, actually,” he said. “It’s not poisoned. You can’t help us if you’re dead.”

  “Thank you.” She still didn’t move as he placed it on the dresser near the door and then walked out. Before he closed the door, he turned back to her.

  “We’re too far out for you to run to anyone. We’re not afraid to hurt you if you push us.” He nodded to her wrists. “I won’t get you in trouble for getting out of the rope, but if you try anything, I’ll hog tie you and leave you on the floor. Like I said, not afraid to hurt you.”

  “I’ve noticed,” she replied shortly, pointing to her temple, where the bump still throbbed.

  “You did shoot Georgie in the head.” He showed her no sympathy. She hadn’t expected any. “No magic either. We’ve drawn runes around the house to make sure of it.” Then he closed the door.

  At that, she tried to levitate the plate and glared when it didn’t move. Nothing moved. That complicates things further. I should have known they would be smart enough for that too. I can’t even have screwed-up magic.

  Runes, of all the damned things. They knew runes. Permanent symbols of power with different effects. It didn’t matter if whatever drew them knew magic or not. As long as they were made correctly, they worked. The demons had planned this out very well.

  She sat down on the bed, still staring at the plate of food. She could buy herself some time. Maybe the evening. Tomorrow, she could argue with them over the possible spell, or pretend like she was helping. Then, well-fed and rested, she could escape the next night. Maybe her magic would stop acting up by then as well. That would be helpful to wait for, and the sooner it came back, the sooner she could try and get out.

  She had options. None of them were that good, but she had them.

  20

  Valen

  Valen watched his last patron leave as the sun came up, drunk from the success of them sending the demons back out of town, like they belonged. He knew they were all happy to know that the drama Addy had brought was so easily resolved. He figured Maxwell and the bounty hunters were probably very close to wrapping up the last loose ends. They had been gone for nearly a day already.

  “But where is the little witch?” he asked himself, cleaning a glass to keep his hands busy. She was probably hiding in her house, plotting, waiting to find a way to justify her use of black magic. She wouldn’t want to celebrate with the town either, since it was her mess they had to deal with.

  He understood, he really did. She had lost her husband because they hadn’t had a way to truly kill Beelzebub. They could only slow him down, stop him for the moment. He would come back and he could still succeed. William’s death would be for nothing if that happened.

  Understanding didn’t stop Valen from being angry, though. She was biting off more than she could chew, getting into trouble she never would have when William was alive. Black magic…

  “She hated that shit, and now she’s using it,” he said, his accent thick from anger, throwing down the rag at the same time. “To protect fucking Redstone.”

  William, I wish you were here. We wouldn’t be in this mes
s.

  He slapped his hand on the bar, frustrated. He and Maxwell needed to find her something to do. This was their fault. Really, it was mostly his. Maxwell lived a busy life and was obviously dealing with guilt that kept him away. He and Tobias were here. They should have bothered her more. They shouldn’t have given her so much space.

  They should have made sure she was okay. They were supposed to be her friends.

  Instead, we let her sit up in her house by herself, not remembering she’s the type of woman who is driven, intelligent, and more than a bit headstrong. Of course she would take matters into her own hands.

  He couldn’t help but also think that she should have talked to them. She should have opened up. If he’d failed to make sure she was okay, she failed to tell them what was bothering her. He’d been upset by her deciding to hunt demons to try and protect the town. He was angry that she was doing illegal magic in the process.

  “I should go see her,” he mumbled, walking out from behind his bar. “Can’t let her hide from me forever, and I can’t expect her to come see me now. This is so much worse than I thought it was.”

  He left his saloon and felt the immediate loss of his powers. All but one.

  Fucking curse.

  If he had the full extent of his powers, Redstone would never be in danger. William would be alive. Adalyn wouldn’t be on whatever quest she was on to get revenge for her husband. I would be able to laugh with them both again. I would talk with William for long hours about how she doesn’t realize how much she means to everyone, like we talked nearly every week.

  Sadly, he’d been cursed long before he ever met them. He was certain the ones who did it didn’t know the long-term repercussions of their decisions. He was also certain they didn’t care.

  He was nearly down the street, walking slowly, when Forrest jumped in front of him.

  “I wanted to speak to you,” the horse shifter said quickly.

  “Oh really?” he responded, stopping before he ran right into the man. Valen didn’t have the patience for the shifter, but he would listen, for a moment. “Talk.”

  “I think we need to request a sheriff from another town. Even a human. Ask someone to send a deputy and promote them. We can’t keep going on like this.”

  Valen groaned, shaking his head.

  “Please, Valen-”

  “A human would get killed here, even if we took it easy on him. One full moon or new moon and the poor guy, if he lived through it, would go running. You know why we can’t do that. If no one in town steps up, then that’s too bad.” It wasn’t the first time someone had approached him about it. The Alpha of the werewolf Pack had mentioned it only a month before. He’d also said he refused to take the job since he was too busy.

  The same thing had been said by the werecat Pride Alpha, to the same effect. Find a sheriff, but it can’t be them.

  “This is about Adalyn, isn’t it?” Valen asked patiently. “Be honest. You two have always been cordial at best, outright hateful at worst.”

  “She blew up things in my store. I deserve to feel safe in Redstone.”

  “You shouldn’t have tried to screw her. Just because William isn’t around doesn’t mean that was acceptable.” Valen was now getting pissed off. Forrest was a greedy man, everyone knew it. “As for feeling safe, this entire mess started because she’s trying to do just that. Make us safe. Certainly, she could have approached the town and warned us, but that was all she was trying to do. She’s not out to get you or anyone else here.”

  “Well, if she wants to protect the town, why doesn’t she just take over for William? Why doesn’t she just prove she can play with the men?” Forrest asked, snidely.

  Valen knew it was meant as an insult, but honestly, it was the best idea he’d heard in the last year. Why couldn’t Adalyn be the sheriff? She wanted to protect the town, and that was the best way to do it. She knew all the ins and outs from William.

  It would put her in a ton of danger.

  But it would keep her in Redstone, where he’d be able to keep an eye on her.

  “Thank you,” he said suddenly to Forrest. “Have a nice day.”

  He would need to get the town leaders together. The shifter Alpha, the were Alphas. Madam at the brothel would like to hear about this as well. She’d kept her nose down for the demons, but she would like to know if there was a possible new sheriff, especially if it was someone she liked. And she loved Adalyn. She had a soft spot for their witch, even though she hated witches in general, especially after William died. If anyone understood the pain of loss, it was immortals like her.

  He couldn’t find a reason to say no to the idea. He knew Maxwell would. She was a woman, but Valen wasn’t going to go there, not with her. He wasn’t going to let Maxwell try it either, if she agreed.

  “Wait!” Forrest called, but Valen just kept going, out of Redstone and up to Adalyn’s home.

  It’s perfect. Make her sheriff, and she’ll be too busy dealing with the town to go out and find problems. It would also give her some immunity. As sheriff, she could do practically anything she wants to keep the town safe. Maxwell wouldn’t have to get in trouble for her doing anything crazy.

  And maybe we could keep her from doing anything like black magic.

  He was feeling nearly giddy to tell her when he entered her field. Then he realized something was off.

  Dark Prince ran for him, nickering and anxious the moment he was in the field.

  “Hey, boy,” he murmured, reaching out. Dark Prince didn’t like people touching him too much, but he let Valen rub his nose. That meant something was wrong and the horse was looking for comfort. “What’s with you?”

  The stallion pulled back and went running towards the house. Valen followed, worried. He passed the horse and went to the front door, opening it without knocking. This had to do with Adalyn. The horse only cared about her and the mares.

  He could smell the sulfur first. He could see the blood on the floor of the entryway. For the first time in over a year, Valen was afraid.

  “Addy?” he called. “Adalyn? Little witch?” Each name was more desperate than the last, hoping for a response.

  He stepped inside, leaving the front door open behind him. He saw a bullet hole in the wall and knew. He just knew.

  He just had to make sure.

  He didn’t find her in the kitchen. He found a puddle of blood and furniture knocked around. He followed the blood back out and up the stairs. He ignored the door off its hinges. Maxwell had told him Adalyn did that when he’d screamed in her house. She had a temper like that. He probably would have been asked to fix it, if she were still there.

  No, the blood went into a guest bedroom.

  She’d tried to lock them out, hide. It was good thinking. He wondered if she nearly succeeded.

  He was putting the pieces together as he walked into that guest bedroom. The blood stopped there. If she had her magic, this should have gone easy for her. Hide and ward them out. But then, he knew her magic could act up. She had that sort of bad luck.

  Damn it, devushka, you tried, didn’t you? That’s why all the furniture is knocked around…

  One thing was clear at the end of it all: Adalyn Lorelei Lovett was not in the house. She was not on the property at all.

  They had her. They had come back and taken her. This far from town, no one heard the gunshots. Even if the house was closer, he’d been in the saloon, with music playing and people celebrating.

  I should have checked on her sooner. Why am I getting the suspicion that I’m always just too damn late?

  He needed to find Maxwell. He needed the bounty hunters. The demons had Adalyn and he couldn’t get her back on his own. If only the assholes who had cursed me could see the damn future.

  Valen turned and ran out of the house towards the barn, whistling to get the stallion’s attention. The horse came running, and Valen quickly got a saddle on him. “Boy, we got to get Maxwell. Think you can do that with me?” he asked the horse.
<
br />   Dark Prince let no one ride him, so he had to ask first. This was a first for both of them, but the Hell-Touched horse was smart enough to know exactly what he was saying. The horse’s head bobbed and Valen pulled himself up.

  “Let me guess. She’s spelled the fences so you can’t roam unless you have a willing rider, to protect you from thieves.”

  The horse’s head bobbed again.

  Valen tried not to give a snort. Of course. The one thing on the planet that could have gotten him to help her sooner was the one thing she made precautions to keep from leaving her property.

  They rode hard, tearing through town. They nearly ran over a werecat, who yelled at them, but he didn’t stop to offer apologies.

  They were already behind. If he had to guess, they had taken her sometime in the evening or night, which meant he was already hours behind the demons and Adalyn. He couldn’t go alone, which meant he was going to lose more time to get the three people he knew could help him best. They were probably a day away, at the least. That meant they would lose at least two days just getting ready to chase after her.

  Valen knew the horse under him didn’t care about any of that. The Hell-Touched horse could run for days without breaking, and would, if it meant getting Adalyn back.

  It was a hard ride. Valen held on for dear life, and the stallion really stretched his legs to cover ground. He wondered how in the hell Adalyn rode the damn thing, or if Dark Prince never went this hard with her on him.

  He didn’t pull the reins to slow down, though. Every second, every step, counted.

  21

  Adalyn

  Adalyn woke up from her nap as they brought in dinner. She hadn’t been able to stay awake all day, not with the headache she had. It wasn’t completely gone either; when the plate of food was dropped on the bedside table, it made her head throb.

  “Eat, then we are going to talk, Mrs. Lovett, about what you are going to do for us. Meet us downstairs.” The demon walked out without even looking at her.