Glowing bunches of tiny white flowers bloomed on the transparent hedges protecting the two witches. The crystal circle drew power from the wolfsbane. Silver and other ingredients in the were-mace packed their own punch.
Red smiled. This might just hold them.
The wolves drew up on their hind quarters as they approached the barrier. They could sense the wolfsbane. Their darting eyes flashed silver as they shied away. Wheezing through their noses like they were trying to expel the scent, they circled the nightclub.
The smaller wolf disappeared under the lip of the stage, and a nude woman popped up in its place. Gloria sauntered around the edge of the stage, running her fingers along it. Bleached teased hair ran over her breasts like an 80s Godiva. Her eyes watered in profile even as a sharp grin curved through her cheek scars.
“Y’all have to know that this is the end of the line. Hollered for help, made some flashy magic, and still no Gendarme. This trick lasts as long as you do. And you two aren’t looking so hot.”
“Okay, Scarface.” Hannah huffed.
The hedges shrank. The large male wolf prowled the foot of the stage steps.
“Focus. Hannah,” Red ordered.
“See, look at that. Tsk tsk,” Gloria said, curiously still not looking at them head on.
“Ignore the villain banter,” Red said, gripping Hannah’s shoulder, inching more magic into the protection circle. She kept a firm hold of her energy as if she was feeding rope into a straining pulley.
“You’re already slipping. It’s a full moon. You do the math,” Gloria reasoned, her voice syrupy like they were all just a couple of girlfriends at brunch. Her wolf brother stalked in the background. “We can make it quick for you and let your friend go back to her Bard.”
Hannah paled, looking at Red. She mouthed the words, I could save you.
Red narrowed her eyes. She had been forced to make the same decision before by a psychopath herself. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. It was a deal where the house always won. She wasn’t going to let Hannah make her mistakes. Flipping the wolf off, she channeled her best Vic Constantine. “She’s young, but neither of us were born yesterday, sister.”
The female growled. “Slow death is fine with me. Our daddy is on the way with Paul, and you’ll wish it was just us again.”
Red propped her hand on her hip. So, the bearded son here was Nuno and the bald one was Paul. Stalling, she put half a mind to the conversation and kept her magic spooling into the protection circle with the other half. “Frank Lopes is a psycho, but he’ll know how stupid your plan is. He’s not coming. You’re going to face a world of scary weird when the Gendarme come rushing in.”
“They don’t really have this place locked down as much as they think.” Gloria cackled, the self-satisfied hag. “My daddy’s not scared. He’s been at this game a long time. Taken down better mages. He has his own good luck charm too. He stole it from the oldest wolfmage any pack has ever seen. Well, he was until Daddy killed Archibald Fowler, himself.”
The she-wolf said the name like they should 1. care, 2. be impressed, and 3. start pleading for mercy now.
Red lifted an eyebrow, shrugging. She’d never heard of him. Vic was the one with the werewolf obsession. “We can stay here longer than you can, Gloria.”
Red wished she knew a spell she could cast simultaneously, but all her attention was going toward the barrier. It gnawed at her to stay still. She could hold her own against two wolves with the silver athame long enough to get to the casino if she made a break for it. But she couldn’t do it while protecting Hannah.
“OMG, no one cares about your dad,” Hannah snarked with all the cutting apathy of a teenager.
“Tough little Hannah Proctor. You should care about my daddy, girl.” Gloria bobbed her head, teeth bared. Her eyes flashed silver. “He killed yours.”
Silence dropped on the cavernous nightclub. The low howl of the male wolf echoed on the walls. Razor leaves and thistles jutted from the mystical translucent energy surrounding their sacred circle. A jolt of emotion made it shudder.
Hannah stuttered. “You’re lying!”
Red touched the teen’s shoulder, not sure how to say that the hurtful thing sounded like the truth even on a liar’s tongue. She summoned up more of her energy in reserve, hoping to all the gods that Hannah kept up her end of the protection spell. Red couldn’t hold it alone.
“It’s some straight up realness.” Gloria laughed like a hyena. She propped her chin on her knuckles, leaning on the stage edge, but when she looked at Hannah, the protection circle spurred her to look away quickly. Still, she looked entirely too smug even in profile. “Your daddy was the first to die in that nasty feud, right?”
“Don’t let her distract you,” Red said, knowing it was futile. Few could hold it together after a truth bomb like that. She had researched the fall of the Proctors. Joseph Proctor had died weeks before the others.
Gloria rubbed her hands, relishing dishing out the gossip. “Well, the pedo alpha hadn’t wanted to dirty his hands that early in the feud, so he called us in to Oklahoma. Thought a fresh body would make your coven give up your brother’s wolf girlfriend. I guess Hector had a use for Breanna even after she grew up.”
“You’re lying!” Hannah’s yell came out like a sob. “You bitch!”
“They found him slumped over in his car with his brains all over his yellow sweater, right?” The wolf grinned, showing her canines. “I remember because I thought it was hideous with that puff paint on it. World’s Best Dad—did you decorate it?”
Hannah lunged forward from her sitting position. “It was for Father’s Day!”
Red pulled her back. “Be cool, Hannah. Don’t—"
The forgotten silver athame levitated from the stage floor to rocket at the werewolves. The protection spell faded in its wake.
Gloria grabbed the athame in midair. The blade sizzled in her palm as she threw it, shattering the glass wall of the raised DJ booth. She swung her leg up over the stage.
Scooping up the were-mace, Red sprayed the female wolf in the face with the last of the canister.
Gloria fell back on the ground, crying out. She hobbled over to the bar, leaping over to the sink.
Her brother Nuno loped on all fours up the stage stairs.
Red tossed the can, pinging it off the wolf’s head, and dropped back into the circle. She tried to raise the barrier by herself. Her heart thumped from the effort. She needed Hannah back in this. They had Gloria on the ropes, more concerned with splashing water on her face, but they still had Nuno. And whoever else in the family was dumb enough to show up next.
The wolf ran forward, whimpering when he hit the half barrier. He shuffled away.
“Help me!” Red shook Hannah’s shoulder to get the teen out of her frozen pose, leg propped up to stand.
“They killed my dad!” Hannah gritted out. Sparks shot from her fingers. They bounced uselessly off Nuno’s thick wolf skin. The girl was too strung out on grief and anger to conjure anything powerful enough to penetrate their supernatural hides.
“Then use it to fuel the protection circle.” Red sweated. She stared at the crystals, trying to hone her focus on them, winding her energy to power the ward. Without Hannah’s help, the hedge looked patchy and withered. “Be smart.”
Hannah pointed, lips trembling. “Red!”
Nuno had shifted back into a human. Feet suddenly on the edge of the crystals, he grabbed Red by the neck and squeezed. “Boo!”
Red gagged. Primal panic flooded her system as her airway snapped shut. Her feet lifted off the ground, throat holding the full weight of her body.
Face turned away, Nuno Lopes pulled her out of the circle. His skin bubbled up as it brushed the top of the barrier. He held her aloft like a duck hunter examining his catch.
Lightheaded and feet dangling, Red tugged at his steely fingers. She choked, extremities growing chill from lack of oxygen. Dull blotches marred her vision. She slammed her fist against his u
nyielding thick wrist.
Calling out to his sister, still splashing in the sink, he wrinkled his nose. “I expected her to look tougher. Kinda innocent-looking up close. Like that one chick in that show. You know, the one—”
“Just kill her!” Gloria yelled, eyes silvering as she convulsed, back arching before she dropped to the ground, preparing to shift.
Nuno shrugged. “I’ll remember it later.” His grip turned deadly.
Red kicked him hard in the nuts. In fashionable flats instead of her usual boots, the pointed toes still dug deep into his tender and very exposed flesh.
Eyes bulging, Nuno loosed his fingers, his other hand cupping his testicles. His mouth opened into a pained silent O.
“Shield yourself,” Red croaked to Hannah, jerking out of his grip, leaving her cardigan behind. The strap on her dress half tore, and her hair swept back from her neck.
“She’s a bleeder! Claimed. Look at her neck!” The werewolf paled under his beard. He backed away, dropping his arms. “Did you know that?”
“Yeah, I have a big vampire boyfriend who’s gonna kick your ass!” Red lied as loudly as she could through traumatized vocal cords. She leapt back into the sanctuary of the sacred circle. Dropping to her knees to take Hannah’s hand, she rested her forehead on the girl’s shoulder, catching her breath.
A canine yelp echoed in the nightclub. Fur flying, Gloria slammed against the wall, dropping into a heap. Her ears flopped at an awkward angle. She staggered to her feet.
Nuno backed away toward his sister.
“I’m your boyfriend now?” Kristoff smirked, adjusting his suit jacket. A silver-plated baseball bat rested on his shoulder. He swung and hit the charging female werewolf upside the head. “Moving a bit fast, are we?”
“Don’t start.” Red put her hand to her pounding chest. Her relieved smile felt goofy, but she couldn’t stop. The cavalry was a soulless monster in a great suit, but it was here.
Blue eyes turning amber, Kristoff pointed his baseball bat at the wolves. He snapped his fangs out to reveal his real weapon. “Who the fuck is challenging my claim?”
Nuno bolted for the door.
Intercepting the wolf in a blurred sprint, Kristoff swung his arms like a heavy hitter ready for the pitch. The bat whipped toward Nuno, cracking the air.
A flash blinded her spirit gaze. Red squinted against the mystical explosion.
Kristoff rocketed backward, cracking the peacock mural on impact. The bat slipped from his grip.
Red rushed to him.
Nuno started shifting, skin squelching as he hobbled on all fours in mid-shift out the door. Gloria was already disappearing in a smooth lope down the hall in front of him.
“The alchemists put an anti-violence ward up,” Hannah called out from the circle. “They must be coming!”
Dusting himself off, Kristoff met Red in the center of the dance floor. He cupped her cheek, swiftly cataloging her injuries.
She knew she should pull away, but his touch relaxed the defensive edge to her frame. The adrenaline and fear still made her pulse jump. She had done so much magic tonight. It had taken all her skill and nearly all her energy and it had almost not been enough.
Stroking her cheek one last time, Kristoff growled under his breath. He sped after the wolves.
Eyes drooping half closed, Red sighed. She turned back to the other witch and picked up her purse, looping it over her shoulder. “Let’s get back to the academy. He’s mad enough to take them out himself.”
Hannah nodded, backpack on, and hopped from the stage along with Red. “Oh, my athame.”
“You can get it later. Along with the rest of this stuff.” Red put an arm around her, fleeing down the hall. “You did good.”
Ian Keliʻi trooped at the head of a group of Gendarme in black bowler hats. His trench coat barely covered the pouches and vials on a utility belt studded with onyx that glittered to her third eye. “What’s happening, Red?”
“They went down the hall in wolf form,” Red warned, slowing to a walk.
Hannah panted, glance darting behind her at the trotting Gendarme. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Her face grew serious, mouth puckering as if she struggled to give voice to her thoughts.
“What is it? You can tell me,” Red asked, gently. She was there for the big reveal about Hannah’s father, but she wanted to let the other witch express herself in her own words. Gloria Lopes had lobbed that truth grenade at Hannah hoping for an explosion. She had gotten an athame instead. Red worried that the ignition was delayed.
Hannah swallowed and looked away. “How did you know to use that spray?”
“Freestyled.” Red shrugged, suspecting the kid had just blurted out something random to keep from fessing up her feelings. “Gave the protection spell a kick with the silver dust and cold iron in it. It’s a homebrew I bought in some shady gun shop, so who knows what was in it.”
Kristoff walked up behind them, clenching his jaw. “The protection ward works in the parking lot too. They slipped out of my grip and nearly caused an accident on the strip.”
“Thanks for trying.” Red smiled. “Was—"
“Are you really her boyfriend?” Hannah interrupted, checking him out. “Like, I’m cool with it, but I don’t get how the invitation thing works when you have a roommate. Can you come into my room without invitation or is that a separate domain?”
“We aren’t dating at all, past or present,” Red said tightly as they walked toward the casino floor. The sounds of jackpots already echoed in the hallway. “Hey, run ahead and charge your phone to tell Trudy.”
Hannah shot a curious glance at Kristoff, then ran ahead.
Kristoff smirked. “You neglected to mention the future in that statement.”
“Ask a seer about that.” Red rubbed the back of her neck. The future confused her at the best of times. This was a night she couldn’t have predicted. “Normally this is where I’d say thank you for the assist. Instead, I ask—how did you find us?”
“I heard glass breaking from the club office. Called the Gendarme, then checked out the nightclub security feed myself.”
“I’m grateful you’re a workaholic working through your lunch break then.”
“Speaking of lunch…” Kristoff bit his mischievous bottom lip. “I didn’t have one.”
“You’ll find it somewhere else then.” Red raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms to muffle her picked up heartbeat.
She’d had almost a few days without thinking about the last time he had fed off her. His Dark Gift was healing, but the more insidious one was his bite. Most vampires could put their victims in a thrall due to their transformed fangs which shot out a paralyzing venom. Kristoff made you want to stay in the thrall.
“I wouldn’t want to tick off a witch.” Kristoff leaned in closer, arms behind his back, a corner of his mouth curling up. The silver in his purple aura brightened in her spirit gaze.
A strange lightheadedness fell over Red. The floor tilted as she slumped. The heat of a soft morning sunbeam radiated on her face. The din of the casino disappeared at the sound of a door snapping shut, as if right next to her ear. She blinked, head spinning. The background blurred as she felt herself drawn against Kristoff. In her mind’s eye, he wore a different suit. His face was softer, as if the emotional shields had finally fallen. He pulled her closer and kissed her deep enough to steal her breath with the force of his yearning.
She gasped as the vision retreated.
The real Kristoff had one arm around her as he tipped her chin up. “This is the second time that I’ve seen you turn faint tonight. What is it?”
Blushing, Red swallowed. Was that something the enthymema potion had unlocked from her past life as Juniper? She couldn’t look away from his lips. “It’s either the magic drain or a peyote flashback. Long story.”
“Trudy is here with security!” Hannah called out, waving from the end of the hallway. She cupped a hand to her mouth, stage whispering. “There’s another vamp
ire here.”
Red met Lucas’s eyes as he stepped into view. She swallowed thickly and detached herself from Kristoff.
Chapter Eleven
Walking out of the corridor with Kristoff beside her, Red couldn’t look away from Lucas’s soulful stare. Gray like a distant storm, she couldn’t decipher the depths. She didn’t know what he felt, but she knew what he saw—her, in a short dress, clinging to his progeny. Even if he had dumped her, the sight would sting. The night had stung her ego too. After telling him to buzz off, that she was a strong independent female, werewolves attacked. The chokehold on her neck still made her words come out raspy. The mental defense didn’t make her feel any less uncomfortable.
“The Gendarme are clearing people out of this corner of the casino,” Hannah chattered, phone charging at her feet. “For the investigation.”
“They should move quick before the next movie ends,” Kristoff said, dryly.
Red barely heard them. She was so fixed on Lucas that she didn’t see Trudy coming until the Bard wrapped her arms around her.
“When I heard werewolves were in the building, I thought Hannah…”
Red patted Trudy on the back while she looked around in confusion. She hadn’t heard this much emotion in the Bard’s voice even when she had talked about having cancer.
Trudy pulled back, placing her chained glasses back on her nose, and coughed, composing her usual stern demeanor. “Hannah says you saved the day.”
“I just brought wolfsbane.” Red ducked her head, blushing. “I would have brought more if I had known about that missing ward.”
Spine going ramrod straight at the reminder, Trudy pivoted to glare at the female Gendarme who had started taking a statement from Kristoff. She marched over with a barrage of questions. “Who is supervising the wards? Has the Synod sent out trackers? Why haven’t my charge and I been escorted back to the academy? Now, thank you!”
Witch On The Run: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Red Witch Chronicles 4) Page 18
