Saved by the Spell (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 2)

by Heidi Vanlandingham

“He let the harpy get away.”

  Suddenly I noticed the lycan leader, Sebastian, had the werewolf clamped against his chest. “Can he hurt that thing?”

  “With his arms stretched around the beast’s chest, he can crush the ribcage.”

  But in a blink the werewolf twisted away, his long claws scoring Sebastian’s ribs. The Lycan leader snarled at the werewolf.

  “Now you’re going to see a real fight.” DC jumped onto the rock beside my head and crouched. She resembled a long-haired Persian cat with a serious case of static. Once more she pawed at my face. “Pay attention to the battle. You might learn something.”

  Sebastian’s loud roar echoed around us, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. When his body started to change, my mouth dropped open. “What—oh my gods, he’s a werewolf too?” I gaped at DC. “You didn’t say he was one too!”

  “Silly girl, how else is a Lycan leader going to control his pack? You’re not watching again.”

  I whirled back to Sebastian just as his leather coat morphed into dense hair that sprouted over the rest of his body. His face elongated, his ears lengthening into points, and he grew taller by easily a foot. Lastly, his muscles thickened as he shifted into a large black wolf, standing upright on his hind feet. He made the other werewolf look small.

  “So, if Sebastian can shift into a wolf, do you think my hero can shift too?” Please say yes, because the way the crocodile is gaining ground behind him, he’d better do something fast.

  Even from this distance, the croc’s double rows of pointy teeth looked sharp enough to tear just about anything in half.

  My hero abruptly flicked the long chain whip, and it split apart, becoming two separate whips. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed DC’s paw. “Wow! Did you see that?”

  Apophos opened wider and snapped at the chain, biting off the last few links. My hero howled in rage and snapped the whip, leaving a long red line running across the croc’s back.

  I followed my hero’s movements as he casually swirled his chains in either hand. The croc got too close again and the tip of one chain snuck out, flicking the monster in the face. At the same time, he raised his other hand and hit the harpy with the second whip.

  “She’s wounded.” Blood now dripped from the harpy’s wounds.

  “Your hero scored a couple of good hits. I’m impressed with how he handles his chains.”

  I squinted, noticing the black liquid running down her feathers and staining the sand below. Wherever the blood drops landed, the sand reacted as if it was on fire. “Why is the sand smoking?”

  “Celaeno’s blood is acid and can burn a hole in just about anything.”

  “Will he be able to kill her?”

  “No, she’s immortal. He can wound her enough so she can’t fight. He can tear off a wing or gut her with his chains.”

  I pressed my hand against my queasy stomach in disgust. When I glanced back to see how my hero fared, I got a new surprise as yet another joined the battle. “Who’s that?”

  A large scythe appeared in the newcomer’s raised arms. He was a tall man with caramel-colored skin and blue tattoos on his face. His head was shaved, and he wore white linen ending just above his knees, sandals on his feet. Bare-chested, gold armbands circled his lean biceps.

  “DC,” I prodded, “who’s the blue man?”

  “Osiris. An Egyptian god. He’s come to collect Apophis. Your hero should be grateful. A few more steps, and the reptile would have bitten his leg. If he’s immortal, the poison would have caused extreme pain, but if he’s not . . . Let’s just say his last moments wouldn’t be pleasant.” DC paused at the furious animalistic scream. “Did you see that?”

  I looked, and then wished I hadn’t. Sebastian had taken down the werewolf.

  “Too bad the young Were’s a canine. His musculature is divine,” DC sighed.

  I wanted to gag. My demon cat was lusting over a wolf. How twisted was that? Actually, nothing about this realm was normal, but even I knew a cat lusting over a dog was just wrong. I couldn’t fault her as the massive black wolf let out another loud roar. Clutching the werewolf by his shoulders and one thigh, Sebastian bent the monster backward until the audible snap of his spine echoed like a gunshot. He dropped the werewolf’s dying body to the ground and turned to face the harpy.

  A few feet away, Osiris’s scythe finished dicing the crocodile’s body into small pieces. Osiris glanced over at my hero as his chains wrapped around the harpy’s neck. With a quick tug, the harpy’s head separated from her body. It dropped to the ground, twitching.

  “Can I throw up now?” I rested my head against the sharp rocks and moaned. Evidently, I didn’t have the stomach to watch battles. My gaze strayed back to the men below. Osiris’s tattoos glowed golden as he raised his hands. Crocodile chunks floated up to about his waist. I could see his mouth moving, either talking or chanting as he stared at what was left of Apophis. The golden light expanded to surround the pieces. The light brightened then, in a blink, it and Apophis’s remains melted into nothingness. Osiris sent a one-armed salute to my hero before he, too, disappeared.

  “I’d love to be able to do that,” I muttered.

  Reluctantly, my gaze moved to the dead werewolf. As if spontaneously combusting, the furry body burst into a blue-tipped flame. In seconds, the body was nothing more than a pile of ash at Sebastian’s own furry feet.

  The Lycan ruler shook my hero’s hand with his paw, before he too, vanished. I no longer saw the harpy’s body and assumed it had gone to wherever everyone else had. Not that I cared.

  With a flick of his wrist, his two whips morphed back into one. It slithered over his chest and around his back, repeating on the other side as it crisscrossed his chest and he stomped away. He topped the hill on the other side of the valley.

  DC yawned and winked out, but I immediately noticed a tickling sensation on my inner wrist. Glancing down, I saw her grinning face staring up at me.

  I stayed where I was until I could no longer see my hero, then stood and slid down the sand-covered hill after him.

  He and I played cat and mouse for hours. A few times he abruptly stopped and turned, as if sensing I was behind him. Luckily, he never turned fast enough. Or so I thought. Sometimes he paced back and forth restlessly and at others, seemed to be muttering to himself. Is he crazy?

  I cocked my head inquiringly. “What is his problem? Is he looking for something?” I asked aloud, scooting closer to the huge column I’d stopped behind.

  Looking for someone. A low, syrupy voice sounded in my head.

  “DC?” She didn’t answer. “Who’s there?” I hissed, doing a great tennis-match imitation with my head, until I remembered the cat could talk to me in my mind. When she stayed silent, I gave up, my gaze moving back to where the man should have been but found the path empty. I hurried forward, ignoring my screaming leg muscles, still not understanding why all of a sudden they hurt.

  Abruptly, DC appeared on my shoulder, her fat tail wrapped around my neck. Thankfully, I wasn’t the kind of person to scream or faint when startled. Instead, I froze, complete with my body locking up and my throat becoming so tight, not even a wisp of air could get through.

  I wanted to strangle her, instead refocusing on calming my racing heartbeat. “Next time warn me before popping in like that. You nearly scared me to death,” I scolded, thankful my voice sounded normal.

  I scared you? How wonderful.

  I slowly counted to ten, reminding myself she was only a kitten. “Explain again how I can hear you when you aren’t moving your mouth.”

  You accepted me. We are bound.

  “Your answer is not very helpful. I still don’t understand what you mean.” I met her orange gaze, our noses touching as we stared into each other’s eyes.

  “I’m beginning
to doubt your intelligence.”

  “Grrrrrrr.”

  The end of the cat’s tail annoyingly tickled my ear. “I have explained this to you.”

  “You have? When?”

  “Before we merged.” She exhaled, but it sounded more like an annoyed growl. “I will explain again.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something I’d later regret.

  “When you accepted me as yours and we merged, it bonded us.”

  “When I agreed to you being a tattoo?”

  “Yes. You hear me in your mind the same as I will hear you, if you’re able to learn how.”

  The questions flew from my mouth. “You mean letting you run around in my brain was accepting you? That’s the bond? And why don’t you think I’ll be able to do it? I haven’t even tried. Of course, if you’d told me—”

  DC blinked out, midsentence.

  “Why are you following me?” A deep voice boomed behind me, making my ears ring. I let out a high-pitched squeak and jumped, toppling sideways and slamming my head into the nearest column.

  I grabbed my head and groaned. “Oh gods, that hurts. By the time I get out of here, I’m going to be brain damaged.” My vision blurred from the pain, but there was no way I could ignore the large piece of male perfection standing in front of me, glowering with anger, his massive arms crossed over the silver chains on his sculpted chest.

  I forgot how to exhale, not helping my aching head to feel better.

  “Why have you been following me? How are you following me?” He stepped closer.

  I answered before I thought it through. Normal for me. “By putting one foot in front of the other. It’s called walking. But if it’s any consolation, in your case I’m jogging.”

  Towering over me, this giant of a man was very intimidating. Stranger still, my fingers itched, the tips actually tingling, to trace the silver chains on his chest. Something about this man drew me, confounding me even more. I didn’t look at men and I definitely didn’t have urges to touch them, perfect strangers or not.

  Somehow, I reined in my wayward impulses. My life was complicated enough, I didn’t need anything or anyone messing it up more. Every man I’d ever known had ended up being worthless. I didn’t know of a single redeeming quality among any of them.

  Ignoring the pain pulsing inside my head in perfect rhythm with my heartbeat, I carefully pushed myself away from the rock I’d been leaning against and, trying not to sway, pasted on my worst glare. “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

  His face twisted into a knowing sneer. “Then why are you following me?”

  “Because.” I ignored Demon Cat’s sigh of disgust and bit back my own when the man arched his brow.

  “That is not an answer.”

  “Well, it’s my answer. Take it or leave it.”

  When he turned away, I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. I guess he isn’t going to take it.

  ~ ~ ~

  Malachi

  I stormed away from the girl, uncaring whether she followed or not. I couldn’t fail to notice how cute she was with the ends of her hair dyed purple. My focus re-centered on finding Sabine and Gerard, not a wayward prisoner. The purple-haired waif didn’t concern me. Johnna’s powers, on the other hand did, especially if I didn’t return with her parents.

  The fact this strange girl seemed somewhat immune to the realm’s power? It bothered me. I’d never come across anyone who could withstand the nightmares. She should be writhing on the ground in agony. This turn of events lent credence to what Danielle and Regan had reported earlier. The realm might, indeed, be broken.

  Who is this girl?

  I heard the soft thump, thump of her boots as she followed me, and a soft whisper wrapped around my brain. Willow. I stumbled and my fast pace slowed as I peered around for whomever had spoken. Hearing a feminine voice in my mind wasn’t something I was accustomed to. Male demons, yes. Females, definitely not. Moving only my eyes, I scanned the horizon, but a thousand years of experience told me we were alone. In the realm’s silence, the only sound echoing in my ears was her soft chuffing breaths as she tried to keep up.

  “Why are you in such a hurry?”

  I ignored her question, hoping she would give up and leave me alone. The longer I searched without finding my friends, the more my irritation grew.

  “And so fast . . . I’m practically running back here.”

  I bit back a smile. Whether she meant to be or not, she was amusing and definitely a change for this tiresome realm.

  “Who are you anyway? I watched you fight earlier. Nice job winning but strangling the harpy’s head off was disgusting.”

  For the first hour she followed me, nonstop questions battered me from behind, but it had now been ten minutes or more since she’d last spoken. I wondered how long the blessed silence would last.

  “So,” her soft, husky voice said behind me. One side of my mouth curled up, hopefully resembling a smile. Not long at all. “Where are we, anyway?”

  I jerked to a stop, and she ran into my back. I turned and bit back the urge to laugh when her flashing blue eyes met mine over the hand now cradling her nose.

  “Owww! I tink I broge by doze.” She gingerly pinched the bridge of her nose, making sure it was still in one piece and not smashed flat over her face.

  “Did you just ask where we are?” I didn’t wait for her response. “You should know where you are and why you’re here.” The urge to laugh returned as I waited for her to respond to my question, her hand still clenched over her nose.

  “A zorry would be dize, you doe.”

  I pressed my lips together, knowing from her glower she would not appreciate the humor I found in her situation. I tilted my head. “You are right. I’m sorry.”

  She wiggled her chin to stretch her face, wrinkling and unwrinkling her nose before commenting, “If I knew where I was, I wouldn’t have to ask, now would I?”

  Again, laughter threatened to ruin what little middle ground I’d achieved, but from force of habit, my face remained emotionless.

  At my persistent gaze, she finally threw her hands up. “Fine. I truly don’t know where I am. I would like to know, if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Interesting dilemma.”

  “Why? Don’t you know?”

  Fascinated, I watched her mouth form a cute moue. I’d watched Johnna do the same trick. How did women learn these things?

  Her eyes widened. “You aren’t stupid. Or are you?”

  I choked out a few coughs. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s a simple enough question. And if you can’t tell me where we are, I thought I’d ask if you are just too stupid to know the—”

  I doubled over with deep, lung-bursting laughter. At her hasty retreat, I laughed harder.

  She threw her arms outward in a wide vee. “What?”

  Chapter 5

  Willow

  I wasn’t sure what to think about the gorgeous but very strange man. First he was rude, then two seconds later, laughing his head off. Maybe he was crazy. My thoughts scattered the moment he straightened, and I got a good look at his face. The transformation was unbelievable and incredibly sexy with his lips turned up. My first impression of him had been right on. He was perfection.

  A knot formed in my throat. Swallowing was impossible because my mouth had turned into the Sahara. Beautiful in a dark, pagan sort of way, something wild, and maybe a little bit wicked, hung over him. My senses soared.

  Until I raised my gaze to the top of his head and noticed the tiny black horns peeking through his thick, black hair.

  I whispered my next question. “More importantly, what are you?”

  His smile instantly disappeared. His ruddy complexion darkened. I met his gaz
e and cringed. Open mouth, insert foot. A technique I had perfected long ago.

  “Follow me,” he ordered.

  My imagination had to be playing tricks on me. With the two-word command, he seemed to increase, both in height and girth. I ignored the shudder racing through my muscles, threatening to overtake them, but my stubbornness reared its ugly head, overshadowing any building trepidation. I wasn’t about to let this overstuffed tomato bully me. Not after what I’d experienced in my life.

  Good for you, although his nature is to command, DC whispered in my head.

  I concentrated, wondering how I was supposed to answer her. I pictured the words what do you mean in my mind and hoped for the best. DC?

  What?

  Ha! I can do it.

  She didn’t comment. Apparently, my new ability not only didn’t impress her, but she also didn’t bother answering my question. I rolled my shoulders and some of the tension eased as my muscles shifted. However, my stomach now resembled a solid knot and remained an uncomfortable reminder of the stranger’s outburst a few moments ago. I think I might have bitten off more than I could chew with this one. Par for the course, but I was used to it.

  My unwillingness to be left alone overtook what little sense I had, and I took off after him, running to catch up with his annoyingly long stride. My short, stubby legs would never be able to keep up this pace. With only the soft thuds from our shoes hitting the ground, the repetitive rhythm irritated the tiny nerve endings in my brain and quickly grew to a deafening roar.

  After a prolonged silent treatment, I wondered whether or not he would notice if I stopped right here, giving in to my legs’ screaming demand for rest.

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  Had he read my thoughts? “What, am I now your prisoner?”

  “Yes.”

  “Humph.”

  We circled the same rock formation three times before the man stopped, forcing me to backtrack and wait for the imminent explosion. Judging from the glassy-eyed look he threw my way, I had something to do with whatever bothered him. And he was pissed. I understood the emotion. Intimately.