Which Witch is Willing? (The Witches of Port Townsend Book 4)

by Kerrigan Byrne

  Tierra jerked her gaze around. “Where’s Killian? Is he here? Has he taken her soul already?”

  Violet released a soft giggle that seemed so out of place that Claire couldn’t help but look at her. The tiny child clung to her mother’s arm with one hand but held the other in the air, one finger extended. She twirled her finger around and around as though swirling the atmosphere.

  Tierra handed Violet to Claire and jumped to her feet. “When I find that Horseman…”

  Claire gasped. “Wait, Tierra. Aunt Justine’s not gone. She’s not with Killian.”

  She caught Tierra and Aerin’s glances and furtively raised her gaze upward.

  An ethereal form of Aunt Justine floated above them, translucent and peaceful.

  Tierra scrunched her face into a frown and then turned to her baby. She held Violet’s cheeks between her fingers, so that the baby would look at her. “Violet Mirelle de Moray. You put Aunt Justine’s soul back right now.”

  The little girl dropped her hand.

  A second passed, and then another, and then Aunt Justine sat upright, inhaling a full breath of air. She blinked a few times, obviously surprised to find everyone circled around her. She gripped the arms of the chair and dropped her gaze to her body.

  Several long seconds later, Justine lifted her head, looking slightly dazed. “What’s going on?”

  “Great Goddess,” someone in the crowd whispered. “The baby stole Justine’s soul.”

  Gwen pinched her lips together and shook her head. “A sure sign of ominous things to come. This is dire. Very dire indeed. We can’t allow this abomination to exist.”

  Abomination? Good Goddess. Gwen was talking about a baby. Claire and her sisters had to do something and fast, or the whole coven would be after Violet.

  Claire stood and start laughing. She eyed Aerin who caught on and did the same. Claire grinned at the crowd. “I’m sorry we had that laugh at your expense, but we couldn’t help it. Everyone in town has been so concerned that Tierra’s baby wouldn’t be normal that we simply had to play a joke.”

  The group remained stoic and unconvinced, and Aerin’s and Claire’s laughs faded into grim reality.

  Then Aunt Justine began to giggle, and the mood of the room turned to confusion. She laughed so hard that tears formed in her eyes and, slowly, others began to chuckle along with her.

  “As you can see,” Tierra said over their joviality. “My aunt is just fine, and my lovely daughter is perfectly normal.”

  “Just fine,” others murmured, but Gwen narrowed her gaze.

  Martha moved closer to Aunt Justine’s chair and glanced between Aerin and Claire. “I have to admit you got me with that one. You two witches might be okay after all.”

  Claire gave a weak laugh and smiled. “Thanks.”

  Tierra waved her hands as though to clear the atmosphere, and her bracelets tinkled in response. “It might be a while before they forgive you for that one, sisters.”

  The party continued, and Aunt Justine didn’t seem to be the worse for wear. Claire wondered if the older woman had any idea of what had really happened. If so, she’d played her part well.

  Aerin and Claire made their way to the edge of the room again where they could watch everyone. “Did that really happen?”

  Claire exhaled a year’s worth of anxiety. “It must have. Didn’t you see Aunt Justine floating?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know what I saw or what just happened, but we need to get these people out of here before something else goes wrong.”

  Aerin picked up a small, classic black and white striped gift bag from a side table. She held it out as she strode toward their sister. “Last but not least, here’s one from Moira and me.”

  Tierra bounced Violet on her lap as Aerin approached, and then she held out her daughter to her sister. “A trade?”

  Aerin sighed heavily and took the baby. She stood in front of Tierra holding Violet away from her while Tierra opened the bag. Tierra slid out a small jewelry box and flicked a quick glance toward Aerin and Violet. “Should we see what’s in here, honey? Something from your Aunties.”

  With a gift that size, Claire imagined whatever her sisters gave Violet would need to be put away until the little girl was much older.

  Tierra opened the box and inhaled a strangled breath. She jerked her gaze upward to Aerin and quickly snapped the box closed.

  Aerin frowned. “Don’t you like it?”

  Tierra blinked several times, obviously confused. “It’s…it’s lovely. Thank you both so much.”

  Aerin’s frown turned into confusion. Claire sensed that both had more to say, but it was obviously something they couldn’t speak of in front of guests.

  Undeniable tension filled the room, and Tierra stood. “Thank you all for coming.”

  A belch worthy of a drunken seaman erupted from sweet little Violet, and Aerin yelped in surprise. She shoved the baby at her sister, who wasn’t prepared to catch her.

  Little Violet bounced off her mom’s arm and fell toward the floor. Tierra gasped and lunged toward her daughter.

  But Violet didn’t land hard like Claire had feared.

  Instead, little white wings fluttered out from behind her. She giggled as she rose once again to her mother’s height. Tierra, with her face as white as morning mist, snatched her out of the air.

  Claire glanced from guest to guest, finding all the women with wide eyes or open mouths. Oh, shit.

  “Unnatural,” someone whispered.

  “Can’t be good,” said another.

  Then the chaos began. The coven witches squawked and pushed in their attempts to leave the parlor and escape before the house came down upon them and the abomination who lived there.

  Aerin nearly flew to the door and jerked it open as their guests rushed outside into the fresh air and supposed safety. Claire brought up the rear, following Gwen, who paused just outside the door. “This kind of evil can’t be allowed to exist,” she hissed.

  Claire snorted. “If that little baby is anything, she’s an angel.”

  Gwen straightened. “Try to hide it all you like, but I saw her steal Justine’s soul. Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. I shouldn’t need to remind you, but angels don’t steal souls.”

  “Fuck off,” Aerin said and promptly closed the door in Gwen’s face.

  33

  With the last of the guests gone, Claire and Aerin turned toward the parlor just as Moira hurried down the stairs as fast as she could considering she had a full-size basketball in her stomach. “What in the hell just happened? The vibrations I was getting upstairs were muddier than a crawdad’s poop chute.”

  Aerin shrugged. “Overall, I think things went rather well. The party ended right on time.”

  She strode into the parlor, and Claire and Moira were quick to follow.

  Tierra hugged little Violet tightly to her chest as tears streamed down her face. Aunt Justine soothingly patted her back. “It will be okay. They’ll get over it.”

  Moira put hands on both her hips. Her ocean-blue tank slid higher up her abdomen until her belly completely poked out, and she glared at her sisters. “From the looks of Tierra, I’d say things didn’t go right at all.”

  Aerin lifted a brow and regarded Moira’s exposed tummy. “I know times are tough, but I bet we could shop for maternity clothes somewhere online.”

  Moira glanced down at her protruding stomach. “Why? It would be a waste since I’m fixin’ to push this puppy out any day. And stop tryin’ to change the subject. I wanna know what happened.”

  “The shower was a big, freakin’ disaster,” Claire said, and Tierra cried harder.

  Aunt Justine shot a look of reproach toward them. “You’re not helping.”

  Tierra drew a knuckle beneath her eye, wiping away tears. “They hate Violet. They called her an abomination.”

  Moira gasped and then looked from Claire to Aerin and back again. “Say it ain’t so.”

  Claire sighed. “We
had a few issues. A few, slightly problematic issues. It seems Violet has taken after her father and can steal souls.”

  “Took Aunt Justine’s right in the middle of the party,” Aerin added.

  Moira’s eyes grew wide, even as a smirk creased one side of her mouth. “You don’t say.”

  Aunt Justine chided them with a grunt. “She didn’t really. That was a joke.”

  Claire snorted and shook her head. “It was no joke. She had you swirling around the ceiling.”

  Aerin nodded to confirm. “You don’t remember any of it?”

  Aunt Justine put a hand to her throat. “I…I… Oh, my stars. I do remember feeling lightheaded and like the room was spinning, but the same thing happens when I stand up too fast.”

  “Except you weren’t standing,” Claire added.

  Tierra hugged her baby tighter until Violet squeaked a complaint.

  Moira strode to Tierra and held her arms open to Violet. “Come see Auntie Moira.”

  Violet reached for her, and Moira scooped her up and propped her on a hip, while Tierra wiped her eyes. Violet placed a small hand on Moira’s stomach, and her cheeks pushed out in a wide grin.

  “That’s right,” Moira said. “You love your little cousin, don’t you, and he’ll be here soon, and the two of you can catch lightning bugs and chase frogs all the live long day.”

  Moira switched her gaze to the adults in the room. “If those dusty-crotch lemon-sucking biddies have a problem with this little one, I can only imagine what they’ll think of what I got cookin’. Don’t matter, though, Tierra. We got everything we need in this house, and if they want to throw a hissy-fit, we’ll let little Violet steal all their souls.”

  Tierra blinked wet lashes and sniffed. “That’s not all. Violet burped. Aerin freaked out and tossed her.”

  “I didn’t toss her,” Aerin interjected. “I gave her back to you. In a hurry. She burped, and I thought she was going to puke all over me.”

  Tierra sent her a look of disagreement. “That doesn’t mean you can just throw her.”

  Aerin glanced from Violet to Tierra. “I’m sorry. I…I panicked.”

  Things were rapidly declining between her sisters, and Claire felt the need to intervene fast. “Long story, short. Aerin caught Tierra by surprise when she handed over Violet, but instead of falling to the floor, Violet sprouted adorable, little white wings and flew, which sent the witches into a panic, and they all rushed out of here. The end.”

  Moira raised her brows high enough to wrinkle her forehead and gazed down at Violet. “You flew in front of them?”

  Violet giggled.

  Aerin lifted a forefinger. “You’re forgetting about Gwen’s threats at the end.”

  “Her threats?” Tierra cried.

  Claire shot Aerin a look that said she wasn’t helping matters. “No one cares what Gwen thinks.”

  “Some do,” Tierra argued. She exhaled a shaky breath. “There’s worse than that, too.”

  Her statement surprised Claire and apparently Aerin as well.

  Tierra looked toward Aerin. “Your gift. I don’t know if you meant it as a joke or what. But if so, it wasn’t funny.”

  Moira frowned. “What in the Sam hill are you talkin’ about?”

  Tierra reached for the small box from Moira and Aerin. “You gave Violet a piece of brimstone.”

  Aerin strode forward and thrust out her hand. “What the shit?”

  Tierra dropped the small box into her hand and then shooed Aerin away from her.

  Aerin took several steps and then carefully opened the box. Her eyes widened in horror, and she quickly snapped the box shut. “I promise you that is not what we got Violet.”

  Moira shook her head. “No, ma’am. It was one of them Tiffany rattles, only Aerin and I fixed it up with a teething spell.”

  Claire glanced at her aunt and sisters. “Someone must have switched them out. But who?”

  Killian strode into the room. “I’ve stayed away from the hen party and minded my own business as long as I could. My guess is Lucy brought the brimstone.”

  Tierra hurried to Moira and pulled Violet into her arms. “What do you mean, Lucy? She wasn’t in the house.”

  Killian folded massive arms across his chest. “That’s what I originally thought, too. I sensed her a couple of times and figured she was nearby somewhere. But she’s pretty much wasted into nothing, so I wasn’t too concerned.”

  Tierra inhaled a sharp breath. “Not concerned? How could you not worry about our child?”

  Killian moved to her side and spread one wing around his woman and baby. “I’ll never let anything happen to you or Violet, okay? We’ve proven you’re immortal, and with my blood flowing through Violet, she is, too. You can’t die, and if someone were to take either one of you, I’d search to hell and back to find you.”

  Tierra blinked wet lashes several times and leaned into him.

  He lifted Violet from her mother’s arms, held her close to his to face, and grinned. “Look at you stealing souls already. Papa’s proud of you.”

  Violet cooed, obviously a daddy’s girl.

  Aerin rolled her eyes. “Now that we have all that sappy bullshit out of the way, we need to think about what the hell we’re going to do with Lucy. Her reign is over, and she needs to come to an end. I say the sooner, the better.”

  Claire couldn’t agree more. “Let’s give Tierra today to settle. The rest of us can think overnight and meet tomorrow with possible solutions.”

  Moira brightened. “I could cook up some jambalaya for dinner tomorrow night. I promise you’ll love it.”

  Aerin regarded her water witch sister. “As long as no frog’s legs are involved.”

  34

  Dru woke the next morning to find Claire slumbering next to him, his arm draped across her waist, and he smiled. Their naked bodies fit together like two halves of a whole.

  He couldn’t believe almost a year had passed since he’d first caught sight of her at the airport. She’d been so attractive…and also his target. He’d been born to kill her.

  He wondered, if she’d known that day how lethal he was and how many men he’d killed, if she would have confronted him as she had, or if she would have hightailed it out of there.

  Wouldn’t have mattered, he decided. He would have tracked her down until he got what he wanted. Fortunately, what he ended up wanting was her.

  He couldn’t imagine what life would be like if he’d listened to his head instead of his heart. He wouldn’t be bonded to her as he was, he forever hers, and she forever his.

  Hell, he couldn’t have imagined having a woman in his life period. Now, here they were entwined after a heated night, where their bodies and hearts had melded them into one.

  Claire stirred, and he quickly closed his eyes, lest she catch him with emotional tears in his eyes. War did not cry.

  She trailed a fingertip across his thick forearm, and he struggled to keep from reacting to the rush of power he received from her touch. She’d told him once how hard it had been for her to grow up without family. A lost orphan who’d searched desperately for someone to love her.

  And Dru had found her, bringing an end to loneliness for both of them.

  Yes, he’d had his Horseman brothers, along with countless women who temporarily filled the void. He’d seen and done many things throughout the centuries, but none of it compared to how Claire filled that bottomless ache in his soul.

  She lifted a finger to his lips and lightly traced them. Resulting shivers coursed through his veins and left him hard with need.

  Unable to pretend sleep any longer, he cracked an eyelid. “What are you up to, Fire witch?”

  “Nothing,” she replied in a teasing tone that still held the dregs of sleep.

  Dru shifted, slipping a muscular thigh between her legs and against the warmth of her core. She squirmed, and he sighed with satisfaction as he propped himself up on one elbow.

  Her gaze traveled to the tribal tattoo on his bi
cep, and her finger followed. She drew along the thick black lines, rekindling the low fire smoldering in his veins.

  “Am I immortal, Dru?”

  Her question jerked him from the sexy place his mind had wandered, and he resented the distraction. Her thoughts, on the other hand, appeared to be somewhere other than her bedchamber and him.

  She frowned. “Exactly how long will I live, Dru? We’re bonded, so does that make me immortal like Tierra?”

  Hell if he knew. “Uh…”

  “I don’t feel any different,” she said, not waiting for more of a response from him. “So maybe I’m not. Though Killian had said Tierra wouldn’t have known either if her life hadn’t been challenged.”

  She shifted her gaze to him, and he worked to formulate an answer that would satisfy her. “Truth is, I don’t know.”

  She huffed her frustration. “Then how do I find out? I need to know, Dru, and I need to know now. We’re burning a course straight for the apocalypse, and I would be helpful to know if I could die or not.”

  He cupped her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. “I wish I knew, too. I waited so long to find you and can’t live without you. But this is all new to me.”

  She drew her brows together. “There must be a way to find out.”

  He snorted. “Short of receiving a deadly blow of some kind and having you die or not, there is no quick way.”

  She caught his gaze and gave a small shake of her head. “How am I supposed to judge what risks I take when the last seal is broken?”

  He smiled. “That’s easy. Take no risks. Let me take them for you.”

  She began to argue, but he trapped her mouth with a kiss. Instantly, the spark between them ignited. It caught hold and burst into massive flames inside him.

  Her fire. Gods, he loved her fire.

  He kissed her until she was breathless, and he burned with need.

  She inhaled a deep breath. “You remind me of a tiger.”

  He chuckled. “A tiger? Never been compared to a cat before.”