“No, I don’t,” I replied, wishing the boys hadn’t left me behind.
A flashback entered my mind, the image clear in my head as I gulped. A man with grey eyes towered over me. We had met in a past life somewhere. He had stopped me from being with my match then.
“There’s always been this back and forth between us, Penny. I’m the leader of the warlock coven that stops you and your siblings from rebirthing the witch race every lifetime.”
As he edged closer, I moved further away.
“Why is it so important to you that we don’t complete our mission?”
He took off his mask, blinking as he grinned at me. His jaw was strong and his grey eyes were hypnotic, even in the dark.
“This is my planet. Warlocks are the superior race. Pure magic will drown out the dark and the humans will no longer be under our control.”
The humans? Surely they had nothing to do with this. Although, whoever controlled the biggest race on earth would win the war. Ah, that made sense.
A part of me wanted to keep talking to him. I had often wondered what drove the warlocks and finding out that they were close to bringing back the dark arts made me want to know more.
“I must admit, I find it a strange curse to have to come back time and again. Us, to unite with our dormant witch match, and you, to stop that happening. I bet it’s entertaining to watch people fall in love, isn’t it?” I crowed.
He grinned and stopped pursuing me. I countered him by stepping forward. His gaze narrowed. A distant part of myself was annoyed that the boys hadn’t come back for me.
“Ah, but that’s the thing,” he said. “Yes, if all eight witches in the coven manage to unite with their soul-match, the curse will be lifted, and witches will be able to procreate again. However, in the old times, witches could be swayed to the dark side. How do you think warlocks became our own race away from witches? It’s not just about falling in love, it’s a whole magic system that needs to be awoken, and I won’t let that happen.”
Other masked men started to come out from the alleyways nearby, skulking towards their leader. It was time to finish the chat.
“Well, good luck with that,” I said, stepping forward, spinning and running towards the bridge.
Someone fired a gun. The air beside my ear whistled as I hurtled forwards, slinking around the corner and onto the bridge. My whole body shook as I halted, coming face to face with the man who had just threatened me. How on earth had he got there? He must have magic, but-
Another shot fired, the bullet chinking against the concrete by my feet.
“There’s no point in running,” the man called, laughing when I looked between him and the shooter behind me. He also wore a black balaclava over his head, hiding his face. Cowards.
Raising his gun, the man took aim. My parents had told us that it was impossible for the warlocks to kill us. I wasn’t going to hang around to find out if that was true.
The blood rushed in my ears as I swallowed. What did I do?
“This game we play,” the man in charge said. “You finding your mate, us trying to prevent it or killing them, it’s getting a little boring. We all know how this is going to end, so let’s just settle this here.”
“How?”
The corner of his lip lifted into his cheek. “If you come with me now, I’ll let your siblings live a normal life. They can even find their witch match. However, if you never find yours, we’ll be safe.”
“As if I would do that.” Charging to the right, I jumped onto the ledge of the bridge.
“Don’t,” the man ordered his friend when the loading of the gun clicked. “There’s no point.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “You’re right. I would never betray my mission. Witches will live again and pure magic will return.”
Opening my arms, I allowed myself to fall backwards. The air rushed around me as I plunged towards the surface of the river, praying that the tide was high enough for the water to catch me. If not, I would smash against the riverbed, probably breaking a bone or two.
When my bare legs sank into the river, my breath caught in my throat. I relaxed, not fighting as the water swallowed me, and I descended into the murky darkness. There was a shout above, no doubt the warlocks on the bridge. I didn’t panic, they couldn’t very well come after me.
Opening my mouth, I sucked the salt water into my lungs and blew it out again.
When I was low enough, I started to swim downstream. I couldn’t believe I was in the River Thames again. The amount of times I had swum in the capital’s river was beyond counting and getting boring.
Blowing out another breath, I blinked several times. It was dark down here, which meant I could hit debris. There were all sorts of things in the grimy river, and at night, visibility was impossible. There was a ringing in my ear as I moved with the flow, allowing myself to float along. The silence made it feel like I was in another world.
My magical ability came naturally. I had no use for it and often dreamt of a time when I could wield real earth magic. It would be incredible to be able to cast spells. Alas, if we didn’t reignite the magical current in the earth, we wouldn’t be able to hone our craft.
After a few minutes, I came up to the surface to see where I was. The London eye was right next to me, the massive Ferris wheel still against the skyline.
Climbing out, I sat on the edge of the boat runway that led up to the big attraction. It was the middle of the night, and in normal places, it would’ve been quiet, but not London. The city never slept. I had to be careful that no one saw me in a dripping wet short dress.
My breath was hurried as I tried to regain my strength. Swimming was hard work, especially when there were warlocks’ right above the water.
How had the man teleported right in front of me on the bridge? Magic was supposed to be dormant. Surely his claim that they were close to reawakening black magic was a lie?
As the adrenaline wore off, I started to shiver uncontrollably. I had left my bag at the club, leaving me with no phone to ring the boys. Talking about the boys, where had they been when I needed them? Father had allowed me to leave Antony behind because I’d assured him that my brothers would look after me, but no, they had abandoned me.
Kicking the water, I grunted as it splashed over me. “Bloody men!”
“Are you okay?”
The sound of a voice made me jump up. Swallowing, I searched the wall above me, looking for where it had come from. Was it the warlocks? No, it couldn’t be, they wouldn’t have been so nice.
“Penny?” The familiar voice sent a shot of relief through me.
Smiling, I hurried up the runway, not bothering to search for where he was. When I reached the top, I froze – almost quite literally at this point – when my gaze landed on the joined hands of Antony and a pretty girl. She was petite and dainty, unlike me. Not that it mattered, it was none of my business.
“Penny! What’s going on?” Antony said, letting go of the girl and taking off his coat.
“What are you doing here?”
How was it that he just happened to be at the London Eye when I climbed out of the river? Did the universe seriously think it was helping me by sending Antony? Why couldn’t it be one of my brothers? It wouldn’t bother me if I had seen one of them on a date. Not that I cared if Antony was on a date either. Gosh, what was wrong with me?
“You know this crazy lady?” the woman asked him.
I laughed, the bark coming out of me unbidden. What? It was quite funny. Me, sopping wet in the middle of the night. Them, having a romantic stroll in the middle of the night. Pretty amusing if you had asked me.
They glanced at one another, frowning. Antony hesitated before stepped forward and offering his coat. “Let’s get you home.”
Allowing him to wrap it around me, I gritted my teeth as my muscles started to spasm from the cold.
“Shouldn’t you ring the police, Ant? She’s just tried to commit suicide.”
Putting my hand over my
mouth, I tried to stop the hysterical laughter, but it came anyway. I probably was mad. The evening had been a crazy one. It was quite frankly hilarious that she thought I had tried to kill myself. The mirth left me and my laughter died down as the idea planted in my head. Maybe it would be a lot easier if I had killed myself.
“No, I know her. She’s a friend. Your flat is nearby, will you be okay? I need to get her dry or she’ll get ill.”
Antony started to drag me away from the girl, tugging on my arm. She stared after us, her eyebrows pulled low over her pretty eyes. I felt bad for ruining her date. Would Antony have kissed her the way he had kissed me? Not that it mattered. In fact, I had no idea why the thought had even entered my head.
“What happened?” he said when we were far enough away.
I couldn’t talk. My teeth chattered so much, I couldn’t even form words. He swore and stopped in the middle of the walkway. I stopped with him, not sure what he was doing. Unbuttoning his jeans, he stepped out of them as they fell to the ground.
“What are you doing?” I stuttered.
He came over and knelt down in front of me. Picking up one of my ankles, he put my foot in the leg of his jeans. Shaking his head when I almost stumbled, he did the same with the other one. I grasped his shoulder in order to keep myself upright, cringing at the indignity of it all.
It was probably a stupid move to jump in the water, but otherwise, I might have been taken by the warlocks.
“They’re not going to fit.” I gasped.
He straightened slowly, pulling the jeans up my legs. They were a bit too long, but not as bad as I had thought they would be. When he fastened the button, they bagged on my waist. Luckily, my hips kept them up, the material instantly warming me.
“You have very long legs,” he muttered, putting his good arm around me as we started to walk again.
My feet hurt from the rub of my high heels, my muscles were tense and my lips were frozen. I’d had enough, I just wanted to get home. Instead of taking me to the bus station, Antony guided me to a hotel.
When he stepped through the door before me, I started to laugh again. Although his shirt was long and covered his underpants, his bare legs looked ridiculous.
“Can I help you?”
The receptionist eyed us, her professional expression only just staying in place. I prayed that she wouldn’t call security to chuck us out. It was too cold outside. If I had to carry on, I would die of hyperthermia. Dramatic, yes. True? Probably.
“My girlfriend just fell into the river, and I need to get her out of her wet clothes. I know it’s crazy, but do you have a spare room, please?” Antony said, batting his eyelashes at her.
She blinked at him before glancing over his shoulder at me. “You’re not kidding. Shouldn’t you get her to hospital?”
“Why waste precious time when she could be in one of your hot baths in a few minutes?” he replied.
I tried to smile at her as my teeth jumped against each other.
“Okay, what’s your name? Go to room twelve,” she said to me, throwing the key. Reaching out to catch it, I winced when it fell to the floor.
“Antony Miller.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it as he gave her his credit card. “Thank you!”
“Just go and get her sorted, she’s about to fall over.”
Antony came to me and picked up the key. I was about to step forward when he swept me into his arms, fireman carry style. His grunt reminded me of his wound.
“You can’t, your shoulder,” I muttered feebly.
“Relax,” he said. “Bev put a strange smelling poultice on the wound. It’s nearly healed already.”
Nestling into the warmth of his chest, I muttered a thank you to both of them.
“Bring out her clothes. I’ll put them in the dryer,” the receptionist called.
Antony shouted his thanks, assuring her that we would make do.
“You’re bloody mad, you know that?” he whispered.
I didn’t disagree. I couldn’t. My whole life was mad. My whole existence was crazy. Tears squeezed their way out of their ducts, and I couldn’t stop them.
Sucking in a breath as he marched down the corridor, I stayed quiet, not answering him. When we reached the room, he unlocked the door, rushed inside and dumped me on the bed. He literally dropped me before shutting the door and disappearing into the bathroom.
“Crap, there’s only a shower,” he called.
The rush of water sounded as I sat on the bed. I couldn’t move. My muscles were seizing up and my emotions came through me in waves.
Flustered, Antony came back into the room, his cheeks going red as he stood in front of me. I looked up at him, licking my lips when he reached out to wipe a silent tear from my cheek.
“Come on,” he said, gently tugging me into a stand and pushing the jeans off my waist.
When they hit the floor, I stepped out of them as he grabbed the bottom of my dress and pulled it up. I yelped in surprise, clutching my arms to my side. I hadn’t expected him to undress me, he shouldn’t have assumed I was incapable.
My body shook uncontrollably, my limbs refusing to move. As soon as the cool air had touched my skin, it made it worse.
“Arms up.” He grunted.
His shoulder must have been sore, even if he showed no sign of pain outwardly. I knew he was hurting though, I could see it in his eyes.
Admitting defeat, I lifted my arms and the dress slid off. I was left standing in my underwear and high heels. My cheeks flushed as I swallowed, appreciating his ability to keep his eyes on my face the whole time.
“As hot as you look, the heels have got to come off, and so does…”
He still didn’t look down, instead pinging the strap of my bra. I gulped through the shivering and nodded, not quite believing that I was giving him consent to undress me. I had lost my sense back in the River Thames.
Guiding me, he pushed my shoulder, urging me to sit on the side of the bed before he knelt in front of me. Taking off my shoes, he threw them behind him.
“You can do the rest.”
Taking my arms, he helped me into the small bathroom. It was steamy, the warmth of the air enveloping me. I wobbled on my feet, unable to keep still. My muscles spasmed at the same time as I shuddered. Antony had to help me into the shower stall, using his good arm. Fortunately, it was a big one, built for two.
When he left me, I struggled to keep my balance, almost stumbling as I stepped under the water. My knees shook so badly, I probably wouldn’t be able to stay standing.
“Will you be okay? Can you get your underwear off?”
I didn’t want him to see me naked, and yet, my fingers were so stiff, I could hardly move them.
Swallowing hard, he ripped his shirt off when I shook my head, revealing the dressing that was still on his gunshot wound.
“Can I come in?” he asked quietly.
Nodding, I clenched my hands into fists as he stepped into the cubicle and wrapped his arms around me. He pushed me into the middle of the shower, holding me up as the water ran over my skin. I groaned, the pleasure of the warmth mixing with the pain of my nerves coming alive again.
“Are you okay?”
“It hurts. How’s your shoulder?” I whispered as I started to thaw out.
“I’ll live.”
Leaning on him, I rested my head on his chest as we stood under the shower spray. My muscles started to shake from a different emotion as the beat of his heart thumped against my cheek.
“You have to tell me what happened,” he said, moving my hair off my face.
The tears came again. He didn’t say anything as he stroked my back, and I started to feel normal again.
“We need to get you dry.”
It wasn’t a certainty, but I was sure he touched his lips to my hair. My skin tingled as he let me go and stepped out of the shower. Throwing a towel around his shoulders, he reached back in. The water snapped off before he wrapped me in a towel and pulled me out.
&nb
sp; My insides quivered as he raised his eyebrows along with his hands, asking permission to dry me. When I nodded, he started to rub the material over my skin vigorously, moving the towel over the whole of my body, even down my legs.
“You really need to take these off now,” he said, rubbing my butt with the towel.
Jolting back, I almost slipped over. I had accepted his help with everything else, but I wouldn’t let him see my birthday suit. I wasn’t that type of girl.
“Calm down, I’ll leave you to it.” He chuckled, standing up.
Stretching, he backed out of the bathroom, a small smile on his lips.
Feeling a lot better, I quickly stripped off and wrapped myself in the towel, my hair following suit in a clean one. Peering in the steamy mirror, I glowered at my reflection. How had I got myself into this position?
When I came out of the bathroom, Antony was wearing his jeans and nothing else. His shirt, underpants, and my dress, hung by the radiator.
“Quick, get in the bed.”
I did as I was told, rushing to dive under the covers. My body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and I needed warmth.
“We need to dry your hair. I found this in the drawer,” he said, holding up a hair dryer.
Sitting up, I released my hair from the towel and discarded it on the floor. The hair dryer burst into life as Antony climbed onto the bed behind me. He aimed the hot blast in my face, making me choke. Laughing, he turned it to my hair.
“Sorry, I’ve never dried someone’s hair before.”
“Do you do your own?”
Smiling as the strands of my brown hair flew everywhere, I tried not to laugh. He wasn’t a very good hairdresser.
“Only sometimes. Not very often,” he said, turning the dryer on his own hair for a second.
“So you don’t sit in front of a mirror, styling it every day?”
Pushing my head gently forward, he aimed the dryer underneath my hair, unfolding his legs so they were either side of me.
“Nah, I get up and let it rest how it does.”
It was nice to joke together. His hair would never need drying or styling. It was too short.
Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1 Page 9
