A part of me wanted him to go so the pain would fade. I wasn’t aware at the time that no matter where he was, I would love him.
*
“Don’t you love the pattern?”
Squinting, I opened my eyes. My head protested as light flooded into my pupils.
“This dance between the three of us has been going on for many lifetimes.”
Nick’s face came into focus as he hovered over me, his creepy grey eyes trained on my face. There had been two lifetimes in my dream. He had managed to separate me from my soulmate in both of them.
“Why are you being less subtle now?”
Dragging myself up, I winced as I sat and leant against the wall. Daniel was curled up in the corner of the room, his back to us as he snored.
“You remember what you’re here for this time so I have to stop you in other ways.”
Nick sat on a folding stool with the door open behind him. There were stone steps leading up to the next floor, a light from above shining down.
“Will you kill him?” I asked, gesturing towards Daniel.
I wanted Daniel to wake up and look at me. A weird feeling made my stomach roll. I needed to see his eyes again.
My captor put his head to the side as he watched me. I moved my hair out of my face as my foggy head started to clear.
“I may do.”
He got up.
“Don’t go. I was just about to ask you an important question.”
He paused and sat back down. “Go ahead.”
“Why?”
His back straightened as he rubbed his grisly chin. He hadn’t shaved for a couple of days and the greying stubble made me itchy.
“Keeping you from your soul-match is my mission as much as uniting with him is yours. We don’t need the witches to awaken magic, we’re doing fine on our own. In fact, if the witches are revived, it will make it harder for us again.”
Smirking, he stood and folded the chair. I lunged at him, my arms wrapping around his legs.
“Daniel,” I cried. “Run!”
Daniel grunted awake at the same time as Nick fell to the floor. I had given him time to run straight for the door and up the stairs. If he was my match, he would leave and raise the alarm.
Nick wrestled with me, flipping me over and pinning me to the floor. Daniel was on his feet, hovering over us. What was he doing? Why hadn’t he taken the opportunity to run?
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
My breath rushed out of me as Nick clambered up, growling low in his throat as he looked down at me. My stomach rolled when he grinned at Daniel.
Daniel wasn’t my soulmate, it was clear in the way he shrugged his shoulders and almost bowed to the man who had kidnapped us. Me. He’d taken me. Why hadn’t I listened to my gut instinct?
“We tricked you. It was so easy. You’re so sensitive and your parents put so much pressure on you, you closed up emotionally when you were young. You believe that love can be with anyone. You never once used your own intuition or magical power, which I’m actually quite jealous of, by the way.” Nick started to back away from me. I didn’t want to give up, but there was no point in fighting both of them. “You fell for Daniel’s charm, instead of feeling his energy. Witches are usually so good at that. Your innocence worked well for my plans and now you’ll never be with your soulmate. Without you, the last witch coven cannot bring back pure magic.” Nick’s laugh resounded around me as I covered my ears.
“You stay here,” he ordered Daniel.
“But, why…?”
Nick didn’t reply, but I knew what he was doing. He hoped that by spending time with Daniel, I would fall in love with him and forget about my mission. It was an idiotic plan, one meant to appeal to my innocence.
I had to get out of there. If I stayed, the witches would die out forever. I was sick of the merry-go-round.
“Okay, you win.”
The simple words made Nick stop in his tracks. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t want this stupid mission, it’s stressing me out. I just want to experience love. I don’t care who it’s with.” I looked up at Daniel, fluttering my eyelashes for his benefit.
It was a long shot, and they’d probably see right through me, but maybe my naivety would help me in the long run.
Nick laughed as he left, locking the door behind him. Daniel sat next to me and grabbed my hand, staring at the wall, disinterested as he sighed. My skin broke out in sweat as I fought the urge to push him away in disgust. Whatever game they played, I had to go along with it for now. Even though I wanted to vomit all over his creased suit.
“Why are you doing this?”
He shrugged, his gaze slinking down to look at me. His breath was heavy on my face, unwashed teeth wasn’t his scent. And yet, his eyes softened as he took in my – no doubt dreadful – appearance.
When he tilted my head back by pulling my hair, a tiny part of me wanted him to blow me away with a comforting kiss. Something to wash away the fear and confusion that made me take a shuddery breath.
“You’re a nice girl,” he whispered. “I feel responsible, let me make it up to you.”
His lips descended on mine. My stomach churned, making me gag and pull away. Daniel cleared his throat, his forehead pulled into a frown.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Wait, no I’m not.”
“You don’t need to be quite so quick to get it on…” Nick’s voice came over the speaker.
“What’s the matter, Nick?” I shouted. “Jealous…?”
“That’s enough!” the warlock leader snapped.
Daniel reared back. What had Nick done to persuade him to work alongside him? He was obviously a warlock. And yet, he was clearly scared of the grey-eyed man.
Reliving my past lives had made me less afraid. I wasn’t scared of dying. I wasn’t afraid of anything. It was pretty simple really. If I didn’t complete my mission this time, I would just come back and try again.
Chapter Fifteen
Rough hands grabbed me, jolting me awake. My body bounced, bashing against something. It took me a moment to realise that I was being carried over someone’s shoulder. Tensing my muscles, I opened my eyes.
“Will you relax? You’re going to live a happy life with Daniel.” Nick’s muffled voice came through the bag over my head.
The sound of his heavy footsteps grew louder as he slowed.
“Where are you taking me?” I spluttered, coughing when the rough canvas sucked into my mouth.
Ignoring my question, Nick groaned as my body shifted, sending my heart shooting into my throat. I hadn’t been expecting the sudden change of position as my feet slammed against the floor. Pain shot through my calves, making my knees buckle. I gripped hold of an arm – presumably Nick’s – squeezing hard.
Thrusting me upright before letting go, Nick growled low in his throat as the bag was ripped off my head. Blinking through the blinding light, I cringed away from the evil warlock. We were standing in the middle of a kitchen. What had he meant about living a happy life with Daniel?
“Why put a bag over my head to carry me up a flight of steps?”
Nick grinned as he backed away from me. “I’ve been carrying you for ten minutes.”
He must have picked me up and taken me to another house. My muscles started to shake as I looked around. Someone had put my coat on me. Great, so the nasty warlock must have drugged me so he could move me to a different house. Who knew what else he had done.
“I put a slight sedative in your food,” he said when I frowned at him.
“Where’s Daniel?” I uttered, studying the small table in the centre of the room.
“Hi, honey, I’m home,” Daniel called, coming into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Dripping water on the floor, he flicked the kettle on and winked at me. I gritted my teeth as a puddle formed on the grey lino floor. Was it unreasonable that for some reason, his disregard irritated me? It was a trivial thing, one that shouldn’t c
ommand my attention, and yet, I scowled enough for him to look down sheepishly.
“What’s going on?” I asked Nick.
“You might think I’m cruel, and yes, it’s a little true. However, I can’t just keep you locked up in a basement for the rest of your life, the other warlocks wouldn’t allow it.” Tutting at my raised eyebrows, he shrugged. “The warlock council voted for you to be allowed a little bit of normality.”
“Huh?” My mouth hung open as I glanced towards the door, trying not to make it too obvious that I was searching for a way out.
“What can I say?” Nick said. “We’re too kind. Anyway, you’ll live here with Daniel and play housewife. You won’t be able to leave, but you can have free rein of the house.”
“I’ll go to work like a good husband,” Daniel said, smiling broadly at Nick.
Clenching my fists at my side, I swallowed back the sarcastic retort about to launch from my mouth. It was bad that I hadn’t brushed my teeth for days, but the swear words I wanted to use would add a whole new layer of filth to my tongue.
It was hard to know how much time had passed since Nick had left us alone in the cell. At first, I had been prepared to try and get Daniel on my side, but any gentle questioning had led me to realise that he would never betray Nick.
“Am I supposed to be grateful?”
The edge of my anger threshold loomed, flaming the skin on my arms. Gritting my teeth, I stayed quiet. I had to keep my cool. If I had free rein of the house, maybe I could escape. Or I could get an outsider’s attention through a window, unless Nick had... Yep, a quick glance confirmed that the glass was blacked out.
A thump on the ceiling made us look up. Nick’s cheeks flashed red as he darted around the table. The sound of footsteps danced across the floor in the room above. What was happening?
Whoever was upstairs clearly didn’t have an invitation. Nick’s frantic gestures gave away his fright.
“Get her down to the basement!” he shouted at Daniel as he ran out of the room.
“Come on,” Daniel said, coming towards me.
It was my chance. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to escape, no matter what Daniel thought. Whatever was going on upstairs – the crashes made me jump – was the perfect distraction. I could at least try to get out of this mess. I couldn’t stay. A part of me wanted to die, rather than spend another day with Daniel.
“No chance,” I said under my breath.
Reaching out to him, I pretended I was going to play along. When he was close enough, I placed my hands on his shoulders and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. His towel fell to the floor and he went with it.
“Penny…?”
The shout came from above. Cautiously, I trotted out of the kitchen and into the hallway, keeping my shaking hands in front of me, in case I was attacked. The muffled voice hadn’t been recognisable, and yet, I was sure it wasn’t Nick. Was it someone who had come to rescue me?
“Penny, are you here?”
The voice sounded more familiar, although I still couldn’t place it.
“Down here!” I called, rounding the corner of the stairs and flying up them when a ball of fire flew across the balcony above. “I’m coming!”
The sound of a grunt reached me as I came to the top of the steps, my arms held up in surrender, just in case one of my brothers used their fire magic on me.
Down the hall, Alex rushed forward and pinned Nick to the wall.
“Penny…!” he shouted, wrestling with the warlock leader. “Antony, she’s here, where are you…?”
“I’m here!” Antony shouted, almost flying towards me.
He tripped, only just managing to stay upright as he got closer. Ducking out of his reach, I ran down the landing towards Alex. He struggled to keep hold of Nick, his jaw tight as the warlock pushed against his grip. The stench of scorched skin slunk up my nose, making me put a hand over my face. There were bright pink sores and blisters marring the skin around Nick’s wrist. Alex was using his elemental magic to keep him in check.
Heat fired up my veins when my gaze clashed with Nick’s grey eyes, eyes that had tormented me for many lifetimes. Growling, I thrust forward and threw my fist around Alex’s head and straight into Nick’s face.
“Okay, we need to get you out of here,” Antony said from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist and lifting me away.
Sharing a look with Alex, he spun and headed across the hallway, holding me as if I weighed nothing.
“Hurry…!” Alex called.
What made my brother struggle to hold onto Nick? The man was half his size. Although, he did have evil magic on his side, even if I didn’t know how much he could use.
Antony’s breath was loud as he carried me down the stairs and through the hallway, not stopping, even when I protested.
An explosion echoed around us and we were thrown out of the open door. My knees grazed the concrete pavement as we landed haphazardly. Wincing, I turned, scrambling to my feet when my gaze landed on the house. It wasn’t burning. In fact, it looked completely normal. Hadn’t there just been a bomb or something?
Air rushed from my lungs when Alex skipped out of the front door.
“What happened? I thought that—”
“Nick used a magical energy blast. He’s gone. You need to get out of here.”
Antony hovered behind me, his gaze darting between us. They had rescued me, they had bloody well found me. Blinking back the tears that tried to force their way out, I dropped my head, letting my hair fall forward.
“Let’s go.” Antony took hold of my hand.
An electric shock vibrated up my arm, jolting through me. I yanked away from him, cringing from the sudden sensation. I had never felt anything so intense before, what did it mean?
When our gaze met, heat sizzled between us, almost visible. It was quickly broken by Alex as he shot past and shouted for us to follow.
“He has reinforcements!” Lee’s shout made me jump as he joined us.
Engaging my brain, I jogged along with them. I didn’t recognise the street we were in. My legs were weak from misuse and as the adrenaline wore off, I found myself slowing down.
“Let me help you.” Antony put an arm around my waist.
Something made me want to push away from him. I had no idea why I reacted to him so negatively, but I didn’t want to be near him right now.
“The bus is coming,” Lee said, winking at me when he caught my eye.
We were too busy trying to get away for me to thank him. I wanted to grab his face and kiss his cheek. Being locked up had helped me to realise how much I appreciated my brothers and sisters.
Our minivan screeched to a stop next to us. Theo was behind the wheel, with Clarie at his side.
“Get in, you gorgeous bunch!” he called.
Antony picked me up and threw me onto the back seat when Lee opened the door. I landed with my legs and arms caught under me and my hair over my face. Something soft was placed over me as the doors slammed shut and the tyres burned rubber on the concrete as we sped away.
“Lee and Alex will sort them out. That fireball was impressive,” I heard Clarie say.
The others hadn’t got in the vehicle? Why had they not jumped in with us?
Struggling, I tried to get free of the blanket that concealed me. The touch of a hand on my back made me go still.
“Stop moving, we need to keep you hidden.”
Antony’s words sunk into me. I let my muscles relax as well as I could considering the circumstances.
“I love how Alex and Lee can create fire with their magic. They’re going to floor those warlocks!”
I smiled at Clarie’s commentary but it quickly turned into a frown. What if the two left behind got hurt? Alex rarely used his power, but when he did, he was formidable. Lee had a bit of a harsh temper occasionally, so he would be able to help. Luckily for us in this instance, Alex was a blazing fireball when he got angry.
“I can’t see them now!” Cla
rie whined.
“We have to get Penny home,” Theo said.
“I know. It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure they were okay.”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. As soon as I stopped my whirling mind, I realised that Antony stroked my back gently. The sudden concentration made the feel of him ultra-sensitive. The smooth rub of his hand over the blanket was strong enough to make me shiver.
“Penny, I’ve been so worried about you!” Clarie shouted as the van came to a stop.
The clunk of the doors opening made me lift my head, eager to be free. Antony tightened his grip, forcing me to keep the blanket on as I was lifted out.
“Let me take her, mate,” Theo offered.
“No, I’ve got her,” Antony said.
He held me in a bridal carry, cradling me in his arms. I couldn’t help snuggling against his chest. He wasn’t as big as Theo, and yet, he held my weight with no struggle as he took me inside. For just one moment, I allowed myself to soften towards the handsome bodyguard who had saved me from a life of hell with Daniel.
As soon as the front door closed, a mass of voices exploded around me. Cringing, I slunk further into Antony’s embrace, wishing I could put my hands over my ears.
“Leave her alone,” Antony shouted, striding through them.
As the voices faded, I heard the sound of a door as it closed. Bending down, Antony lowered me, letting go when my bottom hit something soft. The blanket dropped away to reveal him staring down at me.
Swallowing when butterflies danced in my tummy, I smiled a thank you.
We were in my bedroom, shut away from my siblings, who were noisily protesting on the other side of the door. Pointing, I opened my mouth, too stunned to say anything. Understanding my meaning, Antony moved to lock the door. I wasn’t ready to be bombarded by my siblings yet.
“Are you all right?” he whispered, coming back over.
Sitting up, I looked down at myself. I stank. My clothes were ruffled, and I hadn’t been allowed to shower for a couple of days.
Opening my mouth again, I blinked when nothing came out. Antony knelt in front of me and took my hands. When I looked into his eyes, my chest squeezed and the shock of the last few days penetrated, breaking me down.
Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1 Page 15
