by Theda Vallee
Now I knew. Oh, my God, did I know! Was it the magic that made it amazing? Was Luc just that much better at it? Or was it allowing myself to get lost in it? Maybe it was a combination of all three. Whatever it was, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to do it again.
Chapter
21
Snoring. Right in my damn ear. That was something I didn't miss about sharing my bed. Luc was lucky my legs still felt like rubber after last night, or I might’ve smothered him with a pillow. I wiggled out from under his arm, my bladder demanding to be relieved. He didn’t stir as I slid out of bed. How’d he think he was going to protect me if he could sleep through the bed jostling around like a bouncy castle?
I stumbled to the bathroom, quickly relieving myself. What the hell was wrong with me? I’d had mind-blowing sex with my boss. I’d let my hormones and fear allow me to make a very stupid decision. The worst part of it was I wanted to go in there, wake him up and do it all over again. I had let the beast free, and just like my magic it didn't want to go back into its cage. How would I go back to celibate life?
Nerina wasn’t going to let me get away with keeping this to myself. She was probably waiting outside the door, desperate for a detailed blow by blow of the night. Shit. All her clothes were in here. I needed to get them over to her, so she could get her excitement out of her system before Luc woke up.
I jumped in the shower, washing quickly. Hopping out, I threw on the fresh jeans and a tank top. Luc lay on his back with his arm over his face, snoring intermittently. He looked adorable. Ughh. Stupid hormones. I snatched Nerina’s backpack off the ground and crept out the door.
“Who’s got lucky last night?” Brady said, opening the door to their room on the first knock.
“I need coffee before you start in,” I grumbled.
“You’re in luck. I got you covered.”
He handed me a cup of coffee as I walked into the room. It was the exact twin of my room, except they had a desk chair. That was unfair. I might not have given in to my hormone’s last night if there’d been somewhere else for Luc to sit. A box of donuts sat on the desk begging me to eat one. I was starving. Athletic sex on an empty stomach will do that to you. I grabbed one out of the box and sat down tearing into it.
“Etta? Is that my sister?” Nerina flew out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her head. “You have to tell me everything? Was it good?”
“Is his manhood impressive?” Brady added.
“Do you really want to know how big your best friend and boss’ penis is?” I asked shaking my head in disbelief.
“Well, if you get to know, we should all know,” he replied winking at me.
“I’m not going to talk about this. It’s private. I’m sure Luc wouldn't appreciate me giving you two all the details.”
“You owe me at least the cliff notes version,” Nerina demanded. “I’ll ask about it every five minutes until you tell me.”
“Oh, my God. Fine. We did it. We had hot dirty sex, I had two orgasms. His dick is spectacular. The end,” I said shoveling another bite of donut in my mouth.
“Two orgasms? Like during sex? Wow. Now that’s how you jump back into the game,” Nerina said, nodding.
“When you say spectacular, can you be more specific?” Brady asked moving to the edge of the bed in anticipation.
“No. That is all you’re going to get.” I clamped my mouth shut refusing to say another word.
“I can’t believe you got down and dirty in that room. You’re going to need to get checked for diseases when we get back.” Nerina laughed. “Seriously though, how are you? I know this was a big deal for you, and your feelings for Luc are volatile at best.”
“I’m feeling a tiny bit of regret this morning. This could make things between us even weirder. It’s so hard with him. He has these moments where I see this glimpse of an amazing guy, then the next second, he’s doing something shitty. If we can get to a place where he can be that amazing guy all the time, we might be able to figure something out. I don’t know, I’m just not going to worry about it today.”
“You know I’m here to talk if you need to, especially if it means giving me more details about last night.” Nerina hugged me. “You brought my clothes. You’re the best.”
She took her clothes into the bathroom, leaving me alone with Brady. I didn't want to answer any more questions, so I ignored him, instead focusing on the carpet hoping he’d think I was lost in thought.
“You know, he wants to be that guy all the time,” Brady said quietly.
“Then why isn’t he?” I asked
“There’s so many layers to that question, but it’s something you need to talk to him about. I think he might surprise you,” Brady said.
Just what I didn't want to do. I sipped my coffee, wondering when I’d find time to have a heart to heart with Luc. We had a date with the Benandanti in a few hours, and what would happen after that. Couldn’t we just hook-up from time to time and leave it at that?
“Etta! Etta!” Luc’s voice boomed through the paper-thin walls. The door almost shattered with a fist pounding on the outside. “Brady, get up!”
“What is your issue?” Brady said, opening the door. Luc stood in the doorway completely naked. His eyes were wild with panic, as he ran his hand through his tangled hair. “I think you forgot something, maybe you should go back to your room and start again.”
“Etta, where the hell did you go?” his bellow echoed off the walls around us.
“To get coffee and bring my sister her things. What the hell is your issue?” I said frowning at him. Who did he think he was demanding to know where I’d been?
“You could’ve left a note? Something to let me know you weren't snatched away in the middle of the night!” A frantic note of fear underlied the anger.
“Kitten, you need to handle your hulk here.” Brady stepped away from the door waving at me to step in.
“You realize you’re naked, right?” I said, walking to the door with his coffee. I held the cup out to him hoping it would soothe the savage beast. I could feel his magic raging around him, sparking the air with panic.
He took the proffered cup and headed back to the room without a word. I winced when he stepped on a large rock cursing as he walked into the door and out of sight. Sighing, I decided I’d better go to talk to him. He needed to be in the right frame of mind before we headed out.
“Spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Nerina said as I walked out of the room.
I pushed the door open hoping he’d gone to shower. Instead, he sat on the bed, with his face buried in his hands. Maybe asking him to come with me had been too much. I set my coffee on the nightstand and walked over to where he sat. Instantly his arms wrapped around me, his face pressed into my stomach.
“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.” I said staring down at him.
“Today, you need to stay right by me, no matter what happens. Can you promise me that?” he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
I nodded, not sure how else to respond. I was overwhelmed by his reaction this morning. Either the pressure of this mission was getting to him, or he really needed some therapy. I had a suspicion it was a combination of both.
“We should get going. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight. Last night was amazing, but I really don’t relish the idea of staying in this hotel another night,” I said, trying to lighten his mood.
“You thought I was amazing?” he asked standing up, a hint of cockiness returning to his voice. “I was tired yesterday. Wait until you see what I can do when I’m fully rested.”
He kissed me deeply with a hint of the passion from last night lingering between his lips before pulling away to get ready. Now was not the time, but we needed to talk. He was acting like last night meant a little more than it did. I could be paranoid, but all signs pointed to him thinking we might be more than just two adults who spent one night together. Of course, this had to be complicated.
Bra
dy leaned on the Mustang texting when we left the room. “I sent the exact GPS coordinates to headquarters. I’ll text them when we get there. If they don’t hear from us within twenty minutes of the first text, they’ll sound the alarm.”
“Twenty minutes? We could be dead in twenty minutes.” I tried to keep the panic from triggering my magic. Twenty minutes was an eternity if you needed help.
“She has a point. How about we make it ten-minute intervals?” Luc said, siding with me. Maybe sleeping with the boss was going to have some perks after all.
We followed the map heading out of town down the main highway. After ten miles we turned off onto a dirt road that blended into the surrounding landscape. The town hadn’t been my favorite place but at least there’d been people around. Dust billowed out behind us as we slowly crept down the unpaved road. The land on either side spread out endlessly in a sea of taupe colored grass that seemed to be begging for a drink of water. It felt as if we were marching across an apocalyptic wasteland. As we neared the end of the road a two-story wooden house sagged sadly off to the left. A low wooden awning sat on the side of the building. This was quaint.
Chickens scurried past us as we stepped out of the car. The screen door of the house flapped open and our good buddy Brett stepped out. He was followed by four other men, all hulking in size and stature. What the hell was in the water out here?
“Well, ain’t this the darndest thing. When I brought that note last night I was sure you’d turn tail and run back the way you’d come. It never occurred to me you’d be stupid enough to show up.”
“I was stupid enough to show up in Baltry in the first place. That should have been a hint that I’d show up today.” I said, posing my body to make sure Nerina was behind me.
Luc and Brady stood beside me, I could feel the heat from their magic radiating off them. Stella perked her head up, realizing something was amiss. She must have been sluggish from all the explosive sex magic last night. No more napping, Stella. This is already looking sketchy, we need to be ready.
“We aren’t here for trouble. My name is Luc DeFiero. We’re with the Osservatori. We’re here asking for help,” Luc said, trying to be diplomatic.
“You forgot to mention you’re also a filthy half-breed. You do realize what we do to your kind?” Brett asked sneering at Luc.
“I’m very aware of what you do to my kind. We came here asking for help despite that. We’ve been investigating a string of attacks that have left people trapped in the dreamscape. My friend here is a powerful strega and we think she can get in and stop whoever’s responsible. The problem is we don’t know how to show her how to do that. The people trapped are running out of time. We’re hoping you’d consider helping us save them.” Luc said calmly, ignoring the insult Brett had thrown out.
“Now that’s a story for the history books right there. You expect us to believe a strega wants to use her power for good? All she wants to do is save people? Is that the story you want us to believe, boy?” he snickered at Luc and his lackeys joined in like good little goons.
“Yes. That’s the story we want you to believe because it’s true. There are seventeen people in a hospital room that will die if we can’t find the person doing this. Her grandmother is one of them.” Luc said, inching closer to me.
The stranger descended the steps, slowly shaking his head. His black cowboy boots thudded harshly on the worn wood. His four shadows followed closely behind him. When they stopped in front of us, I stared in confusion. They were all identical. Looking from face to face there was nothing different I could pick out. Usually twins had some slight variation that you could find if you looked hard enough. This was freaky. Were the Benandanti creating a clone army out in the wilds of Wyoming?
“What do you have to say for yourself, sweetheart?” Brett grinned at me.
“I think you like asking questions you already know the answer too,” I said, meeting his grin with a smile of my own. “You know we’re telling the truth. From what I’ve heard about your people’s history I believe you can feel a witch’s intent. I think you just choose to ignore it.”
“We don’t ignore shit! All witches fall eventually. Your magic will corrupt you, it's just a matter of time. Someone with as much power as you, well that’s just a crime against humanity waiting to happen.” Brett stepped closer to me his lipped curled in anger.
“I’d like to see the statistics on that. I have a feeling someone’s been stuffing the ballot box,” I sniped back at him.
“Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll show you,” Brett said, baring his teeth. Reaching out he moved his hand forward as if to grab me. Moving quicker than my eye could register Luc’s hand shot out grabbing the man around the wrist. Brady yanked me behind him shielding me with his body. Brett’s eyes went cold with rage. He was used to being feared. “You ought not’ve done that, boy. We could’ve settled this peacefully. Now that ain’t gonna happen,” he snarled.
He whistled loudly. Behind us the sound of yipping, and barks carried across the grasslands. A long ominous howl filled the air. Turning I watched as twenty or more wolves bounded across an open field towards us in a rolling wave of fur.
First hellhounds and now wolves? I used to love dogs. I was starting to rethink that. Until further notice, I was a cat person. I turned back towards the men in front of us. Some of them had shifted while I’d been distracted by their friends making their way towards us. Two more men dropped to the ground, groaning as they began to change. Their bodies morphed, stretching in ways a human body should never move. The sound of bones snapping through flesh sent my coffee rushing up into my throat. I shuttered as the men’s screams of pain turned into howls.
They were joined by the rest of their pack, a snarling mass of angry fur and teeth. The wolves stood ready, their hackles raised. They were close to three feet tall, easily weighing a hundred pounds each. Most of them had the dingy gray fur that was common to wolves in these parts. A few were black or brindled. One was pure white with red eyes and he was glaring at me like I was dinner.
“Now perhaps you boys’ll consider stepping aside and letting me take the lady for a chat,” Brett said.
“You can chat with all of us. The lady doesn’t go anywhere alone,” Luc replied his fists clinched at his sides.
“Come on now, boys. Pussy flows freely in this great nation of ours. This one’s can’t be worth dying for.” Brett chuckled but his eyes remained focused on Luc.
Neither Luc nor Brady responded to his taunt. Instead, they edged closer to me. The pack bared their teeth in unison, showing off their huge front canines. Those would do some damage. Nerina shook like a leaf against my side. She’d brought the spells that Gia had made, but those were going to be useless if her face was being gnawed on by a wolf. I needed to get her out of here.
“Get in the car and get down on the floor now,” I hissed at her.
“How is a convertible going to be any more protection than standing right here?” she snapped under her breath.
“Because the keys are still in the ignition. If these things attack, you need to go. Don’t stop until your hundreds of miles from here. Do you don’t understand me?” I whispered.
She shook her head defiantly. “No. I’m not leaving you, so shut up and pay attention to the stupid wolves.”
“At least stay behind me?” I ground my teeth in anger. Did she have a damn death wish?
I didn’t wait for her answer. Stella was ready for action. Magic ripped through me, barely restrained by my body. It took enormous focus to keep it from spilling out and wreaking havoc around me. She was growing stronger each time she was unleashed. Today it felt like a raging river ripping its way through my anatomy.
“Don’t say I didn't give you fellas a chance. Boys, show these folks how we take care of intruders,” Brett said waving his hand to signal the attack.
A golden arc of light flared to life in front of me as Luc threw up a shield. The wolves smashed into it, their fur sizzling on impa
ct. Luc’s shield was strong and unyielding compared to the shield I’d managed when fighting Heilwig. Despite his skill, no magical barrier could last forever. It was a huge magic drain. I needed to make my body more impervious to wolf bites for when that shield came down. What would protect me? I watched nature shows. Wolves were apex predators, but there had to be something higher up on the food chain that could take them down. Come on brain, this useless knowledge is in here somewhere.
My brain clutched onto a stray thought. I remembered watching a special where wolves were hunted by Siberian tigers in Russia. Or was it bears? Or was it tigers hunting bears? Crap! Which one was going to be able to take on a pack of bloodthirsty wolves? As I mentally debated with myself the merits of which animal would stand a chance in a fight, Stella decided to take matters into her own hands.
I felt the magic fill me. It was a waterfall smashing down through my veins. This time there was nothing I could do to stop it. Everything lost focus as my body began to expand against my will. Pain overtook thought. I tried to scream as the molecular structure of my body shifted itself into something new. I convulsed on the ground as I felt muscles tear and bones break.
Within a few moments the transformation was complete. I opened my eyes, slowly lifting myself up from the ground. Looking down I saw the shaggy brown fur and four-inch claws surrounding what would’ve normally been my hands. A bear? Damn it! I wanted to be a tiger. I had visions of being a graceful terror. But no, I had to be a huge lumbering bear. I weighed half a ton. Way to make us an even bigger slower target, Stella.
She simmered, popping against my insides in defiance. She thought she’d made a great choice.
Opening my mouth, a low throaty fog horn sound rolled out from deep in my chest. Well, so much for communication. No one was going to have any clue what that sound meant. This had been a very bad idea.
The wolves slammed themselves against the shield repeatedly, undeterred. The air was permeated with the smell of singed wolf hair. Nerina huddled against the side of my massive form. She had a handful of bespelled stones ready to be activated. “How are you a bear for five seconds, and already stink like one?” Nerina said. I let out a series of clicks and grumbles that hopefully let her know she was not funny.
