Now that she’d okayed him helping her, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be responsible for anything that might happen to her when he did this. However, she had told him to wake it, not asked, so Darin had no choice but to do just what she’d told him to do. Reaching out to touch her, he said a small spell that would protect him from whatever happened and touched his fingers to her chest. His entire world just blinked out.
“Wake up, damn it!” Darin looked at Rebel, realizing first of all that she was taller than he’d thought. Then he realized that he was laying on the ground and that he had been out for some time. “Are you going to sit up, or am I going to have to zap you again? You scared the living shit out of me. Why didn’t you tell me it would hurt you?”
“I didn’t think it would. I put a protection spell around me.” She asked him how he thought that worked for him. “You’re very snarky, aren’t you? I’m fine. Just a little off balance.”
Sitting up slowly, he did feel slightly off balance. Sitting there with his eyes closed, he took a quick inventory of his body. Nothing was broken or harmed, but he was a little more powerful than he’d been when he’d agreed to meet her here.
“You gave me a bit of your magic.” She said she’d zapped him. Darin looked at her. “I’m not at all sure what that means. You zapped me, how?”
“When you flipped backwards out of the chair, I had to revive you. You were dead when I touched my fingers to your pulse. I just thought of shocking you a little to get your heart beating again, and it worked. Don’t do that again. You hear me?” He nodded at her as he stood up, feeling better by the moment, his mind still stuck on the fact that he’d been dead. “I know a great deal now. It’s not as overwhelming as I thought it might be. I also know enough to tell you that you’re not magically immortal anymore. You’re as true to it as I am. I guess zapping you gave you that.”
Sitting down, hard enough to make his teeth snap together, he looked at the young witch. A great many things were going through his own head right now, and none of it was about teaching this woman about her newfound powers. She’d saved his life.
“Do you know that had you let me stay dead, you’d have gotten my magic as well as whatever came to you by your birthright, don’t you?” She said she did but didn’t want him dead. “For what reason would you not want to kill someone as powerful as I am? You will have to do that someday, my lady. There will be others that come for you, trying very hard to take your magic and powers from you.”
“For now, I’m not going to worry about that. I’m sure that when the time comes, I will not only have a better handle on things but what most don’t know is that I have my own familiar in the form of a very powerful jaguar. That will not only make me more powerful, which I don’t know how the hell that’s supposed to work, but with him at my side, I’m pretty much invincible.” Darin was beginning to really like this woman. She was far from what he thought she’d be when he’d been first approached by his good friend Grandda Marshall. “I do have a question I’d like for you to answer if you can. You’ll notice I’m careful not to demand anything of you. I wish I had known that before, but now that I do, I’m not going to treat you as a servant of mine, but my friend. The question. All right. What can you tell me that would involve me challenging the lesser witch that claims to be a grand witch? She’s causing trouble for our kind, and she needs to be either ended or made to see the error of her ways. Before someone else gets hurt, I mean.”
“You can feel all the witches and warlocks around you, correct?” Rebel nodded. “Good. That was something I learned from your zap, that you’re much more powerful than even I first thought. But to challenge her, you need only to tell her to step down or face the consequences of your wrath. You must tell her, in your own way, that you’re not happy with her current way of doing things. As her superior, you must tell her from the start that you’re stronger than her and know that you’ll be required to take her to task.”
“So in other words, I tell her to stop fucking around, or I’ll have to fuck her up. That’s it?” Darin laughed. Hard and long. She was like a breath of fresh air in his world. When he nodded, telling her that was it precisely, Rebel grinned back at him. “I’m really good at telling people like it is rather than beating around the bush to get back where we started in the first place. With this magic, I can summon her here, or I can go to where she is. How does it work if…? Never mind. I got it. Hang onto your hat, Darin. We’re going for a ride.”
He found himself standing in a large room with not just Wendy, the witch, but several other lesser witches, as well as wannabes. When the ones that were down on their knees, seemingly bowing to Wendy, saw them, they all fell to the floor on their bellies as soon as Rebel cleared her throat.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Wendy tossed a spell at Rebel when she spoke. However, the effect it had on the stronger woman was that she absorbed it rather than it hurting her as Wendy appeared to have wanted. “Stand down, or so help me whatever you threw at me will be a walk in the park compared to what I will do to you.”
Rebel looked at the ones on the floor and told them to be gone. Darin figured they’d leave on their own, but they simply disappeared. He didn’t ask her what she’d done with them but waited until this was finished before he started questioning her methods. Telling Wendy to sit down had the witch not just sitting on the floor, but her hands were bound together with magic, and her mouth seemed to be glued shut.
“Now, here is what I’m going to tell you. Only this one time so that you can ask me questions if you wish. But I’m telling you right now, you fuck with me, and I’m going to kill you. It won’t be a pleasant send-off, either. I will make you suffer in ways that what you’ve done to your victims looks like a day at the zoo. Nod if you understand me.” Wendy screamed behind her closed mouth, and that was when Rebel simply snapped her fingers. “You may speak, but I want to warn you once again, I’m not one to fuck with.”
“Who the hell do you think you are coming in here like you own this place?” Rebel said she was sorry and told her what her name was. Also, he was glad to hear her declare herself as the grand witch. It would be her saving grace to tell anyone that asked about today that she had warned the other woman. In introducing him, he was glad to hear only their first names when she finished speaking. “I don’t give a shit what your name is. What do you hope to gain by pissing me off? I will tell you right now, I’m going to put you into a world of hurt myself when I’m free from this magic.”
“I want you to think about what it is you’re saying. Not only was I powerful enough to send your would-be victims away, but I was able to order you to sit and bound you in a way that prevents you from using your…well, your paltry magic. Do you know that only someone more powerful than you could have done that?” Wendy stupidly said Rebel wasn’t more powerful than she was. “Okay, let’s test that theory of yours. I’ll allow you to try and harm me once. If that doesn’t work, then you’ll concede to the fact that I’m not only stronger than you are but apparently a good deal smarter than you are too.”
As soon as she was freed from the magic, Wendy stood up and gathered strength around her. The magic was dark. He was able to see that now, and when she shoved it at them, not only was he not hurt by it, but neither was Rebel. Again, she seemed to take it as her own.
“Is that all you have?” Wendy screamed out her frustrations and tried again. This time it was powerful, but nothing that harmed either of them. “I can see that you’re wearing yourself out. Would you like a few minutes to recoup before I shove it all back at you? I have to tell you, I had hoped this would go better than I thought it would. You’ve broken a hefty rule. One that, even as a lesser witch like you are, will get you into serious hot water with the other witches.”
“If you leave right now, I won’t report you to the council.” Rebel said they were there, and as if they’d been summoned to show themselves, the nine witches of the board sho
wed themselves. Wendy turned to them. “She came here to kill me. Not only that, but she disbanded my helpers.”
“We’ve seen enough, young Wendy. You have been a blot on our kind for many years. Even as a novice, you were showing others what you could do when there was no reason for it. You’ve caused harm to those lesser than you, even going so far as to kill humans that had no more power than a newborn cat might. No, you’ve taken this too far this time, and we’re happy to have one as strong as Rebel Marshall to call you on the carpet.”
“You can’t be serious.” The witches nodded as one. Darin hadn’t called them there, but he was ever so glad they were. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to end well for Wendy. He had a feeling that she’d either be dead by the end of this or so broken she might wish for her death. When the council looked at him, he felt his own cock, long since lying dormant, tuck itself closer to his body.
“You are the grand witch’s helper?” He started to tell them he was, but Rebel said they were partners. “Warlock, you have attached yourself to a good person. We’re quite jealous that you get to be with someone so powerful. Thank you for doing this for us and all witches.”
“It’s been a pleasure working with her.” Rebel winked at him when he spoke. “What are your plans for Wendy? I would like to say that she is redeemable, but she isn’t. For a great many years now, she’s been like a monster. I only had to mention her to Rebel, and she came right here to make sure no one else was murdered.”
“That is why we came. To make sure we took the right course of action. I believe you both will be a good source of help for all of us.” The man doing the speaking looked at the others that were with him before turning back to Rebel. “We nine, as a whole, wish to give both of you more magic. It will, we think, make you more powerful than you are now. But it will also keep you safe from others like Wendy here. As to what we will do with her?” Wendy disappeared mid-scream. “She will be taken care of. Thank you.”
Rebel turned to him when he felt the magic wash over him. When she steadied him, he didn’t complain about it. He was a little dizzy, as well as lightheaded. Closing his eyes when she told him to, they were suddenly in a lovely home sitting in what he thought the heart of the place. A young man, he thought her mate, seemed to be waiting for them.
~*~
Rodney listened to what was going on, also keeping an eye on his mate. She was nearly glowing with magic, and he was ever so proud of her. He had a few, quite a few questions of his own, but he thought they could wait. Rebel was telling him about her meeting with the man that looked as confused as he felt.
“You’re not listening to me.” Rodney promised her that he was. When she put her hand on his head, things in his mind, questions he’d been dealing with, seemed to have answers all of a sudden. Looking up at Rebel, he asked her what she’d done. “I gave you what Darin did me. An understanding. Also, I guess you could call it, an awakening. Your magic is now as powerful as mine. And yes, your cat is as well. He’s bigger too.”
Nodding, he looked at Darin. “You’ve been busy, I guess. I had no idea there were so many witches around. It’s like I have a location on all of them. Is that normal?” Darin told him he was feeling them as well, but he did say he doubted anything would be normal about this with the two of them. “Yes, I can see that too. Rebel is good at shaking things up for me. But I love her, and I’d not have it any other way.”
“Yes, I can see that you two are matched well.” Darin stood up after speaking. “I must be going home now. I have a great deal to do now that I’m stronger. I will need to reinforce things that I took no heed of before. Great power comes with great responsibility. I’m sure you know that, but it is something to think about.”
“Yes. I’ve thought of very little else since this morning. Thank you for your help, Darin. You’ll still be my partner in this, correct?” He said he would enjoy that. “Good. I’ll call on you when I need you for backup. I’m sure you know I have a bit of a temper, and I might need you to calm me.”
“What about me?” He didn’t like the way the two of them looked at him. Like they were thinking of where to stick the knife. “I don’t think I want to know. Do I?”
“You are my familiar, Rodney. I didn’t know that that was an actual thing, but apparently, it is. You will keep me safe and steady. But more importantly, you’ll be at my side when I fall apart after passing judgment on someone. And I will do that, a great deal more than I think I want to.” Darin said that it would lessen, the stress of it, as witches realized that someone was around to take them to task. “I suppose, but I don’t have to like it, do I?”
“I would be terrified if you were to like it.”
The man disappeared, and Rebel sat down next to Rodney on the couch. She laid back against his arm that he’d put around her and closed her eyes. He asked her if she was all right.
“I am. Just exhausted. I’ll have to have ready juice and sweet stuff around all the time if I’m going to be doing this.” She looked at him. “I would very much like to take you out to lunch.”
“We’re having that thing with my family today. But I’m sure we can work in dinner. If you’d like.” Wiggling his brows at her caused her to laugh. The sound of it was wonderful to his ears, and he decided to make sure he made her laugh a great deal more. “Also, while you were out, you got a phone call from the insurance agency that is handling your brother’s insurance. They would like you to come in, so this can be settled. I’ve already told Harris, and she said she’d go with you. Did you know that when you’re out and about doing this witchy stuff, I can’t contact you? I wonder why that is?”
“You can now. You just had to understand it.” He nodded, thinking that while he did have a great deal more information he’d not had before, there was still a great deal he had to learn. “Would you go with me? I have a feeling I’m going to need to be bailed out of jail if this goes wrong again.”
“I thought you’d need me. So I had Adeline close up the office today. There weren’t any appointments that were emergencies, but she said she’d be there if any came in.” He stood up, pulling her from the couch too. “Let’s get this done so we can head over to Shep’s home. I’ll be glad when we have some quiet time for just the two of us.”
“I will too, but I’d not expect that anytime too soon.” Rodney didn’t. That was the thing about having such a powerful person in your life, he’d discovered—there was always something going on that needed attention. “I’m ready. Tell Harris we’ll meet her there.”
He found himself outside the office of the agency. When Rebel giggled, he pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. This travel thing was nice, but it was a little taxing on the mind. Going into the place, he was surprised to find not just Harris there but also Shep.
“We just showed up here.” Shep shook his head as he continued. “I don’t know what happened, but if you two did it, I’d like a little warning next time. What if I had been in the shower or something?”
“I would have known.” Would he too? It bore thinking about. Taking Rebel’s hand into his, they went to the elevator. “This will go much faster if you don’t mind me taking over. I have a way about me that will make sure that a lot of people get their money from these bastards.”
They were all in agreement that she could be in charge. Shep said so long as he wasn’t covered in that goop from the other day, he was fine about a lot of things. Rebel didn’t answer him, and Rodney thought that was funny too. It would do Shep some good to be slimed by a ghost. He needed some loosening up.
The men were all seated and waiting for them, which he thought was particularly strange as they hadn’t scheduled a time to be there. As soon as they were seated, the man, Mr. Crumble, started telling them that the check had been cashed and things were out of his hands.
“How many times have you done this before me sister?” Rodney watched the man struggle with answering h
er. “I’m thinking not only do you have a good accounting of it, but right to the penny on how much you’ve scammed from them.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The other man, his name was Saulnier, looked at Crumble. “What is the matter with you? Tell them we’re not going to pay them any more money.”
“Five hundred and twelve times.” It hurt the man to say that, Rodney realized. He was still fighting whatever Rebel was doing to them. “It’s been extremely profitable to us, and we’re going to keep right on doing it.”
Smiling at him, Rebel shook her head. “No. I’m afraid that doesn’t work for me. Not to mention all the other people you’ve taken advantage of. I tell you what you’re going to do. I want you to call your offshore accounts manager and have them wire the money directly to Harris Marshall. She’ll make sure all the money is returned to the rightful owners.” Harris said she could do that. “What are you doing just sitting here? Get up off your asses and do what I told you.”
Rodney was impressed. Shep, he thought, was afraid of Rebel and her new magic. But the two men did what she’d told them to do after getting the information from Harris as to where to send the money.
“That’s very good of the two of you. Now, I know that you both have quite a bit of money in your bank. That will need to be given to her as well.” Crumble asked what they were supposed to live on. “I don’t really give a shit if you live or die right now. Billions of dollars have been taken from good families, and you knew just what you were doing when you did it. Empty your accounts now by writing a check made out to whomever Harris says. Then we’ll talk about the little toy collection that you have.”
Rodney: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 7
