“If you only needed three witches, why is Paige here?”
“Good question,” her friend asked.
“Alex,” he cooed. “You are more powerful than you realize, and with Paige here, I know you’ll do whatever I ask.”
Before he could continue gloating about his plan, Alex heard the familiar tune she’d programed on her phone for all incoming texts.
Trevor walked past the other cage and snatched the phone off the table. After reading the message, he released a disgusted snort and pursed his lips. “Interfering shifter.” He threw the phone, smashing it against the wall.
“It appears your new boyfriend is determined to find you.” He waved his hand dismissively. “No matter. If he manages to show up here, my ‘hounds from hell,’ as you call them, will take care of him.”
Fear for Mason’s life coiled around Alex’s heart like a venomous snake. Over the last few days, she’d had a small sampling of the power Trevor wielded. The thought of what he could do with the magic from three witches made her shiver. She was convinced the man was sadistic, psychotic, and passed the line for certifiable.
A few minutes later, as if they’d been summoned psychically, the exit door opened and three of the techies, the same ones she’d seen in the campus common area, scuffled into the room, their tennis shoes squeaking against the concrete.
“Anything?” Trevor snapped.
Nate, the tallest of the three, whose dull red T-shirt looked as if he’d slept in it, took a step forward. “No sign of anyone yet.” He gave Trevor an acknowledging nod and moved back with the other two.
“Good, but I want to be ready just in case.” Trevor flexed his hands, then glanced at Alex. “Not that I think your uncle is powerful enough to track you here.” His words lacked their usual confidence.
Trevor directed his attention back to the three men, then held up his hands and started chanting. She didn’t need to understand the words to know they had a magical connotation, and moved to the other side of the cage with Paige, who mumbled, “So not good.”
A strong sulfuric stench spread through the room, forcing Alex to breathe through her mouth. The floor beneath the men’s feet began to glow, followed by a red mist that formed a billowy blanket all the way to their ankles. Hundreds of tiny black tendrils sprang from the cloud. They coiled around their legs, slowly spiraling their way upward until the techies’ bodies were completely covered in a huge, pulsating cocoon.
The sound of bones cracking and tendons popping echoed around the room. Alex could hear Francesca’s and Megan’s whimpers, but couldn’t take her eyes off what was happening to check on them.
As soon as the noises stopped, the misty cocoons evaporated without a trace, leaving behind three creatures resembling two-legged wolves. Their massive bodies were hunched, their eyes nothing but glowing red orbs.
Paige wrapped her fingers tightly around Alex’s arm, her nails digging into her skin. The other two women’s whimpers had turned into shrieks. They clutched at each other, trying to hide their horror-stricken faces.
Trevor eyed his creations, beaming with admiration. “Amazing, aren’t they?”
Amazing wasn’t the word perched on the tip of her tongue. Creepy, ugly, and downright scary were the words she’d use to describe the beasts.
“It’s time to get started.” He spoke to the Nate creature. “Bring Paige.”
The animal stalked across the room, its gait and movements slow, hindered by its awkward size.
Paige’s panicked eyes widened, and she pressed back into the bars. “Now would be a good time for you to get one of your crazy ideas.”
Other than shoving Paige into the corner farthest from the cage door and stepping in front of her, nothing remotely brilliant came to mind. The creature yanked the door open and swiped its arm inside the cage. When its oversize body wouldn’t fit through the frame, it roared and rammed the metal with enough force to shake the bars.
Alex had been so focused on keeping her friend away from Nate and avoiding his claws, she hadn’t seen the other creature stalk behind the cage. He reached his fur covered hand through the bars and grabbed her arm, tearing through her sleeve and into her flesh. She yelped, trying to wrench free of his grip. Paige turned, so focused on smacking the creature’s arm and pulling his fur that she didn’t realize she’d stepped within Nate’s reach. He latched on to her arm and yanked her through the doorway. She screamed, grabbing for Alex’s arm and grasping empty air.
“No!” Alex reached for her friend but was kept in place by the creature behind her.
Paige kicked and beat against the creature’s body as it dragged her to the corner on the opposite side of the room.
“Alex,” Trevor snarled. “Unless you want Nate to rip her to shreds, you will do exactly what I say.”
Her chest heaved, the fire at her core ignited by her anger. She took a deep breath to keep from losing control and shot a furious glare in his direction. “Fine. What do you want?”
“Come out and I’ll show you.” He signaled the creature to release her.
As soon as Alex stepped outside, he walked over to the other cage and, with a wave of his hand, unlocked the door. Francesca wrapped her arms around Megan and remained huddled on the floor.
He kicked the bars when neither of the women moved. “Let’s go. You can either come out on your own, or I’ll have one of my friends drag you out.”
Dark eyes wide with terror, Francesca pushed off the floor, nervously rubbing her hands along the front of her jeans before helping the other woman to her feet. “It’s going to be okay.” She pushed the matted curls off Megan’s face and eased her through the narrow opening.
“I want all of you to step inside the circle”—Trevor pointed to the circular line drawn with blood on the floor—“then stand on one of the symbols.”
As Francesca walked past Alex, she grabbed her sleeve. “You have the power of fire. Please, you have to stop him. I don’t want to die.”
The other woman’s plea tore at her heart. How could she tell Francesca she couldn’t control her element’s magic, much less use it to save them? Instead, Alex squeezed her hand and tried to sound reassuring. “Do what he says. It will be okay.” She gave Paige one last glance to make sure she was okay, then headed for the circle.
Once they were positioned as Trevor had instructed, he whispered something to Nate’s partners. They answered him by snorting and grunting, then stalked out of the room. Alex didn’t need to ask where the creatures were going. They were the welcoming party for anyone who came searching for her.
She tried to focus on the positive. Drake and Aidan both possessed strong magic, and Mason was an alpha. Even if he hadn’t mentioned that his wolf was powerful, she’d sensed the dominance flowing through him the minute their magic connected.
She hoped the men in her life, the ones she cared about the most, including Mason, were able to find her and the other women before it was too late. And if they did, she hoped their powers were strong enough to overcome the creatures and take on a powerful warlock.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” Trevor shot her a malevolent grin and walked to a nearby table containing a small wooden chest. He lifted the lid, retrieving four metal cylinders, their polished exteriors carved with unique symbols, then placed them on the table.
The pieces were familiar, and after a few minutes of sifting through her memories, she realized why. They were part of a museum display she’d spent hours looking at with her brother as a child.
Astonished, she spoke before she could stop herself. “Those are the artifacts that were stolen from the museum, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Together they make up what is known as the demon fire.” He ran his hand over each piece one at a time, his fingers caressing the shiny finish. “The coven had no idea how valuable these pieces are or what they’re used for. If they had, they never would have put them on display or used such weak security.”
One of the requirements for being a pri
vate investigator in a paranormal world was learning about the different types of magic and a brief overview of what was used to perform spells. When Trevor reached inside the box and retrieved a small blade, she knew right away that it was ceremonial, more commonly called a blood knife.
Francesca’s body shook so badly, Alex thought she might fall down when Trevor stalked toward her first.
“Give me your hand,” he commanded. When she refused, he grabbed her wrist and twisted until she flipped her hand over. He roughly swiped the blade across her palm, not caring that the slice was deep. Francesca screamed, and once he released her, she clutched her injured hand against her chest.
Next, he approached Megan. The poor woman seemed unaffected by his approach. She didn’t move, only stood there like a zombie, staring straight ahead, emotionally unresponsive.
At some point, she’d done a lot of crying. Mascara smudged the skin under her eyes, and the remnants of tear trails covered her cheeks. She didn’t struggle when he swiped the blade across her palm, nor did she try to stop the blood from running along her fingers and dripping onto the floor.
When he finally reached Alex, smug satisfaction tugged at the corners of his mouth. Shoulders raised, chest out, she challenged his dark gaze. When she refused to give him her hand, he glanced over his shoulder in Paige’s direction.
Glaring at him with all the contempt she could muster, she clamped her teeth together and stuck out her hand. With a triumphant snort, he yanked her arm and sliced the blade across her skin. She bit back a sob and clamped her hand shut, unable to squelch the pain radiating across her palm and along her arm.
Returning to the table, he laid down the knife and selected three of the cylinders. He walked around the circle, making each of them grip one of the long cylinders with their bloodied hand.
Trevor picked up the remaining rod and stepped onto the last symbol, which reminded her of a spiraling snake. He faced the middle of the circle, then gripped both ends of his rod and held it out in front of him.
As soon as he began chanting, the cylinder Alex held heated, the warmth seeping into the flesh of her palm. The ornate symbols etched into the metal glowed and shimmered a brilliant blue. She glanced at Francesca and Megan, noting that their cylinders were also emitting the same vibrant hue.
The longer she gripped the cylinder, the more it seemed to reach inside her body. Before long, she felt an uncomfortable pressure, a strong invasive force reaching into her core and tugging at her essence.
The more Trevor chanted, the warmer the metal became until it was so hot, she thought it might sear the flesh from her hand.
Alex could feel her magic awaken, could feel the flames inside her flaring into a fire, trying and failing to resist the pull from the cylinder.
She tried to move her feet, to step out of the circle and break the spell. Her legs locked into leaden weights, and her feet wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard she tried to pry the cylinder from her hand, her fingers remained locked tight around it. The demon fire’s enchantment was too strong. The bastard was stealing her powers, their powers, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.
Megan screamed, her terror-filled eyes forced wide as if she finally realized what was happening to her. Francesca’s screams were equally loud, her attempts to dislodge the cylinder just as futile. She turned her wild, frantic gaze on Alex and cried, “Please. Help. Us!”
Chapter Thirteen
“Fuck, Aidan. I’d like to be alive when we get there.” Mason braced his hand on the dashboard, wishing he hadn’t let the other man talk him out of taking his Jeep. Luckily, Sunday afternoon traffic in Wicks Hollow was light, or Aidan’s driving would have already alerted the cops, landed them in the hospital, or gotten them seriously injured.
They already knew Alex had driven to the college, but Drake had broken through the spell preventing Chance from getting an exact location for the GPS on Alex’s vehicle. Her car was located in one of the campus parking lots, which was where they were headed.
Mason’s cell phone rang, and he released his tight grip on the door to fish it out of his jacket pocket. He saw Chance’s name on the screen, then tapped the speaker and answered the call. “Did you find out anything useful?”
The other man’s voice filled the car’s interior. “It took a bit of doing, but I found some info on your guy, Trevor. His real name is Trevor Radcliffe.”
“Why does the name sound familiar?” Aidan asked, swerving to the left to pass another car.
“Because ten years ago, his father was an elder on the council who secretly practiced the dark arts. The coven caught him stealing magic from witches, and they executed him.”
Aidan cranked the wheel hard to the left, throwing Mason against the door. He barked another warning at Aidan, then braced his free hand on the dashboard.
Chance’s cough sounded more like a stifled chuckle. “Oh, and get this.” More key tapping could be heard in the background. “At the time Trevor’s father was executed, his mother worked at the college and was fired from her job. A few years later, she committed suicide. Shortly after that, Trevor disappeared until about six months ago when he became a teaching assistant and volunteered for the college mentoring program.”
“And I’ll bet he used a different name so no one would make the connection to his father,” Mason said.
“Is Drake still there? What did he have to say when he found out about Trevor’s real identity?” Aidan pressed on the brakes long enough to avoid rear-ending a vehicle, then tromped on the gas as soon as he was around it.
“He didn’t say too much, only that he remembered Radcliffe, then about ten minutes ago, he stormed out of the office, cursing when he left.” Chance released a heavy sigh. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Drake get that upset before.”
“Did he mention where he was going?” Mason asked.
“No, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s headed for the campus,” Chance said.
A moment of quiet tension passed before Chance spoke again. “If Trevor has even half the power his father had…you guys really need to be careful.”
“Got it.” Mason caught Aidan’s concerned look and disconnected the call. Neither of them voiced their thoughts out loud. They both knew the odds of walking away from a battle with a warlock were slim, but were willing to risk their lives to save Alex.
They’d finally reached the side road leading to the main entrance of the college. With tires squealing, Aidan maneuvered his car into the main parking lot. There were only a handful of vehicles, so finding Alex’s car was easy. Finding Alex herself was going to be more difficult, especially if he couldn’t pick up her scent, using his wolf senses to track her.
Mason was out the door and racing across the paved surface seconds after the sedan stopped. He also needed to appease his anxious beast. It had been pressing for dominance, urging him to shift from the moment they discovered she was missing.
He inhaled a deep breath. Once. Twice, and nothing. It was as if any trace of Alex had been permanently erased.
The campus covered many blocks, and without a scent to follow, he had no idea where to start searching for her. “I can’t find her scent.” He growled and slammed his fist on the trunk.
“Did you sleep with my sister?” Aidan asked in a clinical, unemotional tone.
Disbelief furrowed his brow. “Are you kidding me? You want to do the protective big brother thing now?” Mason clenched his fists, straining to maintain the last of his patience. “Alex is a grown woman and—”
Aidan groaned. “I don’t care if you’re sleeping with my sister. Well, I do because it’s my job to look out for her, but that’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” Mason snarled, his wolf ready to make Alex an only child if her brother continued to irritate them.
If you were…had sex, then theoretically, you shared magic.”
“Again, your point is?”
“I can use your magic to track Alex.�
�� Aidan’s positive response didn’t match his serious expression.
“How?”
“By using a binding spell and some of your blood. And when I say binding, I don’t mean holding hands. I mean you’ll be linked completely, body and magic, for several days.” Aidan rubbed his nape. “Before I do this, you also need to know that being a shifter, with the whole mating-for-life-thing, could alter the spell. If there’s even a remote possibility she’s your mate, the spell will lock you together permanently, and as far as I know, it can’t be reversed.”
Was Alex his mate? His wolf had been convinced she was theirs, had been after him to claim her from the first time they’d met. His human side had been reluctant, too wrapped up in what had happened with Danny.
One unforgettable night with Alex had changed his world. She’d made him see things differently, showed him that he’d been punishing himself for something he’d had no control over. He’d also discovered how important she was, how much he cared about her, that he was willing to take the risk involved with binding them, to protect her, to save her.
Mason took a few nervous steps. If she was his true mate, and every animalistic instinct he possessed said she was, did he have the right to force the binding without her consent? He knew he didn’t and would never consider the option if her life weren’t in danger.
He turned to Aidan. “Do it. Whatever it takes.” He’d worry about the consequences later.
Aidan walked back to his vehicle and returned with a small thin blade and a vial containing a liquid in a disgusting shade of green. He knelt next to Mason, dipped his finger in the solution, and drew a strange symbol on the pavement.
He crouched beside Aidan. “I meant to ask, what’s with all the vials? I thought all the St. Claires had elemental powers.”
“Our powers do stem from the elements, but only one sibling in each generation gets an element. Alex got fire, and I got the ability to manipulate spells and potions.” He picked up the knife. “Hold out your hand.”
Hexed by Fire Page 11
