by Keri Arthur
At the very last minute, the Empusae must have sensed Vita’s sphere, because she flung herself skyward. This time, she wasn’t fast enough. The sphere hit and exploded, and the feathered fury was sent tumbling back into the darkness.
I skidded to a halt, my breath a harsh rasp that echoed across the night, and my heart a rapid-fire gun pulsing high in my throat. For several minutes, I simply stood there, scanning the nearby trees, every sense—human and psychic—searching for some sign of the demon. Vita stirred to my left, her force faint and filled with uncertainty. If she wasn’t sure if she’d killed her quarry, then it was doubtful we had.
I bit my lip and continued to scan the area, hoping against hope that I was wrong, that the elder was dead and that we didn’t have to worry about her anymore.
The soft breeze stirred, teasing my nostrils with the scent of blood and ash combined.
Then there was movement.
It was little more than a flicker—a flash of gold against the shadows of the night—but it was enough. The Empusae was injured but not dead.
I took a deep breath, gathering courage, the whip still gleaming brightly in one hand, then followed the scent of blood into the scrub.
But I’d barely taken three steps when the ground underneath me gave way and I tumbled forward into deep, dank darkness.
Fourteen
A mine.
Another fucking mine.
Horror and fear surged, but I ruthlessly thrust them aside and threw out my hands, trying to find something, anything, to latch on to before I fell too far and too deep. My left dug into the soft sides of the shaft but didn’t catch. My right scraped against wood that crumbled away at my touch.
Below me, there was nothing but darkness. Then, out of that ink, loomed a deeper shadow. An old support beam, sticking out at an angle from the wall; it was right in the path of my fall.
I hit it just above my belly, and with such force it knocked the air from my lungs and cracked something inside. A tide of pain washed through me, and oblivion threatened. But if I gave in to the siren call of unconscious, I’d fall and die.
I’ve just contacted Aiden; he’s ordering search and rescue out as we speak. Belle’s mental tone was filled with tension and fear. How secure is that beam you’re wrapped around?
I have no idea. And no immediate desire to move and find out. Not when it felt like someone had lit a fire inside my chest.
That could be the pressure of your weight against your ribs. You probably cracked one or two of them when you hit.
If that was all I’d done, I’d be damned lucky. I wriggled fingers and toes just to be sure, and they all responded. Relief swept through me, though I was a long way from safe.
My breathing was fast and shallow—the absolute wrong thing to do if I had cracked ribs—but with the pressure of the old beam digging in I had little other choice. I carefully turned my head and inspected the length of it. From the little I could see in the darkness, it appeared to be securely stuck into the shaft’s wall, though whether it would remain that way with my weight dangling close to the end of it was another matter entirely. I needed to adjust my position and move back toward the wall.
It was going to hurt. A lot.
I could do it. I had to do it.
I carefully pictured exactly what I needed to do, and then, before the fear of what it would physically cost could stop me, swung my right leg toward the beam. Heat and pain and darkness surged, tearing a scream from my throat. It seemed to echo forever in the mineshaft, an indication just how deep this thing was.
Then, from darkness far above me, came an answering howl.
Imagination? Wishful thinking?
Possibly.
The heel of my boot caught the far edge of the beam. I shifted position, forced my entire leg over, and then shifted again, this time pulling myself around until I was lying along the length of wood rather than hanging limply over it.
It hurt. Lord, how it hurt. But I wasn’t finished yet. Wasn’t safe yet.
Slowly, carefully, I hooked my feet together under the beam and began to inch backwards. Sweat stung my eyes, making it difficult to see, and all I could smell on the dank air was my own fear.
It was a slow and painful process; by the time my butt hit the wall, I was soaked and shaking. But I was still conscious and still on the beam, and that was a miracle in itself.
I remained in that position for several minutes, but Belle was right. My weight was putting too much pressure on whatever I cracked. I closed my eyes, once again gathering courage for the pain that was about to hit, and then carefully pushed upright. For one intensely scary moment, I tipped sideways, but I gripped the beam fiercely and managed to stop the fall.
Then, and only then, did I look up. The stars twinkled brightly, looking far closer than I thought they’d be. Despite what I’d thought, I hadn’t actually fallen that far—maybe only twenty feet or so.
People can be killed falling ten feet, Belle said. Once again, lady luck has been with you.
She does seem to have a soft spot for me.
Or perhaps you were a cat in a previous incarnation and you’re just using up whatever spare lives you carried forward. It could also explain why Eamon dislikes you.
I snorted and instantly regretted it. I hissed and clamped a hand to my left side in a vague effort to contain the hurt, even though I knew it wouldn’t help. How far away is the rescue party?
Aiden called me about five minutes ago—they’d just found the remnants of our SUV.
Meaning they should be close. The council is going to be pissed.
The damn council needs to be bitch slapped. If they hadn’t been so damn recalcitrant about getting another witch when Gabe disappeared, none of this would be happening.
Something they’d at least admitted and rectified. It had just happened a little too late to prevent word of an unchecked wellspring spreading through the darker places of this world.
“Lizzie? Are you out there?”
The question rose out of the silence, making me jump even as relief shot through me.
Aiden. I briefly closed my eyes against the sting of tears. “Yes. I’m down a mine shaft.”
Dirt fell from the rim of the hole, and then he appeared above me. Never in my life had I been so glad to see anyone. “Are you hurt?”
“Cracked a rib or two, I think.”
“And that beam? How secure is it?”
“It hasn’t moved.”
“Paramedics and rescue are two minutes behind me. Once we get some painkillers into you, we’ll get you out of there. In the meantime, if I lower a harness down to you, do you think you can put it on?”
“Yes.”
He immediately did so. Putting it on was harder than it looked, but I eventually had everything strapped in. Securing it across my chest hurt like blazes, but falling would be ten times worse.
I swiped at the sweat dribbling down my face and then looked up. Aiden’s face was shadowed, but his eyes were as blue as sapphires. “Okay, secure this end.”
“As we are here. You won’t fall any farther, Liz.”
Which didn’t make me feel any safer. Nothing would until I got out of this goddamn shaft. I rested my head back against the wall and tried to curb my impatience. “Is Ashworth with you? Because the Empusae might still be—”
“She’s long gone.” Ashworth appeared on the other side of the mine’s shaft. “You two had one hell of a battle, if the magic lingering on the air is anything to go by.”
“There were three of us—the White Lady was also here.”
“I take it she missed her quarry yet again.”
“Sort of.” I gave them a quick rundown and then added, “My tracker will probably last twenty-four hours, but the sooner you get me out of here, the sooner we can hunt this bitch.”
“You’re not chasing after the goddamn demon until you’re fully checked out and cleared by the hospital,” Aiden growled. “If I have to physically restrain you, I will.”
“How about we get her out of the goddamn mine before we start any arguments,” Ashworth said. “The rescue team has just arrived, lass. We should have you out of there in no time.”
His idea of no time and mine turned out to be vastly different, but I was eventually dragged up and carefully extracted. Once at the hospital, they ran me through a series of checks and scans, but aside from two cracked ribs and a blooming array of bruises across my stomach, there was no major damage.
Aiden did make good with his promise, however, sitting by my side all night to ensure I didn’t check myself out early. Which was only a little bit frustrating; truth was, between the ribs and the bruises, I could barely move without it hurting like hell. Painkillers helped, but it was pretty obvious I’d be next to useless in the café for the next week or so.
The following morning, after the doctors had given me the all-clear to go home and supplied me with painkillers and prescriptions, Aiden help me dress—replacing the hospital gown they’d stuck me in after they’d cut off my clothes with a spare pair of track pants and a sweater he kept in his truck—then grabbed my pack and took me home.
Belle was waiting by the front door. “Do you want a shower or breakfast first?”
“Shower,” Aiden said. “Definitely a shower.”
I gave him a deadpan look. “Are you suggesting I stink?”
“Of sweat, antiseptic, and dank mine. Yes.”
“Charming.”
“That’s one word for it, though not one I’d personally use. Do you want help up the stairs?”
I hesitated and then nodded. While I could probably lean on the banister just as easily as him, I rather liked his closeness. The way his scent wrapped around me, warm and comforting. “But after I shower, we need to have a council of war—”
“Already on it,” Belle said. “Monty, Ashworth, and Eli should be here for breakfast in fifteen minutes.”
“We open in fifteen minutes.” I looked around. “Where is everyone?”
“I explained what happened and gave them the day off. Figured it was easier than trying to juggle plans and customers.”
“Good thinking.”
“Go,” she said. “I’ll start breakfast.”
Aiden carefully helped me up the stairs and into the bathroom. “I can see why you enjoy my shower—there’s barely enough room to swing a flannel in this thing.”
“Which basically sums up our whole upper floor accommodation.”
“Then why not move into my place on a more permanent basis?”
I touched his stubbly cheek and stared into his beautiful eyes. “I think we both know why that wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Actually, no, we don’t. You’re all I want, Liz—”
“At this point in time—”
“Which is all I care about.” He brushed limp hair away from my face, his fingers warm on my skin. “You spend far too much of your time worrying about the future. You need to live for now.”
“I am. But I also can’t afford to deepen a relationship that realistically has no future. We both eventually want marriage and kids, Aiden, and that’s not something we can achieve together.”
No matter how much I might wish otherwise.
He didn’t immediately answer, but I could feel conflict in him. Could see it in his aura and smell it in his scent. His fingers tracked slowly down my cheek and caught my chin. Then he kissed me like it meant something. Like I meant something. Something far more than just another woman whose company he enjoyed.
And while I had no doubt he cared for me as much as he would ever care for anyone who wasn’t a werewolf, to believe the depth of emotion I could feel in this kiss was the short path to madness.
He eventually released me, but if the shadows and uncertainty I could feel in him were anything to go by, the kiss had comforted him no more than it did me. We were stepping into dangerous territory and we both knew it—even if he didn’t appear willing to acknowledge it.
“Do you need help stripping down?”
“I’ll need help with your sweater, at least.”
He gently tugged the sweater off, then kissed me again and left. I finished getting undressed, then got into the shower and let the hot water run over my body in an attempt to ease all the aches and bruising. I just had to hope that we caught the Empusae today, because I doubted I was going to be in a fit state to be chasing demons across the countryside tomorrow.
Once I’d dressed in my own track pants and a loose-fitting zip-up sweater I could undo easily, I shoved my feet into some shoes and headed downstairs. All three witches had arrived and were busily tucking into an assortment of bacon, eggs, and freshly made bread.
“I’ve put yours in the warmer,” Belle said. “The horde’s appetite is a bit voracious this morning.”
“Midnight rescues will do that to you,” Ashworth said. “Though I will point out that the young laddie here does not have that excuse.”
“No. He just has a naturally healthy appetite.” Monty’s gaze was on Belle when he said that, and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes.
She gave him ‘the look’, which was met with an even wider grin. She shook her head and looked at me. “Do you need help with that plate?”
“No, I should be fine. Thanks.” I grabbed a tea towel to counter the hot plate and then joined them at the table.
“So,” Monty said. “How did you manage to pin a tracker spell onto the Empusae? And is it still active? Given she’s magic capable, it’s possible she’s already countered it.”
“Whether it’s still active or not is a question I can’t answer until I create a secondary spell to track it—”
“Meaning it was another of your freeform spells?” he asked.
“Yes—a demon net spell combined with a couple of tracker threads. I’m hoping they’re not powerful enough for her to have sensed them. She didn’t seem to.”
“That might have been because she was too busy trying to kill you,” Ashworth commented. “But she’s had plenty of time since to feel and deal with your spell.”
If she had, we’d either have to wait for her next attack or hope that, in the next couple of days, she went into that mine we’d found and triggered Ashworth’s trap.
“Maybe not,” Belle said. “It’s possible the blows she took from Vita wiped her out.”
“Given how little we know about White Ladies who were once also witches,” Eli said, “anything is possible.”
“Presuming Liz is able to track her,” Aiden said. “What’s the plan?”
“First priority has to be containment—we can’t afford to have her escaping us again,” Monty said. “Once we’ve done that, we can probably do to her what we did to the other one.”
“There’s two problems with that,” Ashworth said. “Firstly, we’re dealing with a demon who’s far older and stronger than that other one—”
“And two,” Belle cut in. “If we kill her without first giving Vita her chance, there’ll be hell to pay.”
I grabbed a fresh bit of bread to mop up the egg remnants with. “I’m still not liking the idea of you letting her into your body.”
“Neither do I, but if we have to do this, then today is the perfect time. She’ll be wiped out after her efforts last night, and won’t have the same sort of power or control.”
“Her recovery skills—or lack thereof—are something I’d rather not rely on,” Monty said. “It’d be better if we take other precautions.”
“You thinking of a restrictor spell?” Eli asked. “Because they have their dangers.”
“Which could be countered easily enough by placing the spell on Liz rather than Belle. The two will be connected, so it mutes the risks to Belle while still restricting what the demon can and can’t do.”
Eli nodded. “Worth a shot, certainly.”
“Um, before you actually get set on that course of action, care to explain what this spell does and what the possible dangers are?” Belle asked.
“It
basically wraps around your mind and stops the entity from invading. The problem is that sometimes the spell can wrap so tightly that it can tear the mind apart. There have been cases—very few cases—of witches being sent mad,” Monty said. “That’s very unlikely to happen here, thanks to the fact that you two are so deeply connected. Basically, you’ll keep each other sane.”
“Or so you hope,” I said.
He waved a hand. “Hope is such a fragile thing that it’s better not to trust in it. Trust in me and my knowledge instead.”
“Oh boy,” Belle muttered, “That really calms the nerves.”
“It isn’t like we really have many other options,” he replied. “In the end, it’ll come down to the strength of your connection with Liz. And that is the one thing you can trust and believe in.”
A truth neither of us could deny. And yet, however much we believed that our connection would repel all comers, the truth was it had never truly been tested.
“How are you going to contact Vita?” Aiden asked. “Or is she hanging about here somewhere?”
Belle smiled. “She can’t get in here unless she’s invited. I’ll call her once we know whether the tracker is working or not. She said she’d respond if we use her name.”
Ashworth glanced at his watch. “Midday is probably the best time to tackle finding the demon. Shall we reassemble here just before then?”
I nodded. “In the meantime, I’ll work on a receiver and see if I can get anything.”
Ashworth raised his eyebrows. “Were you ever taught how to do a receiver?”
“No, but that’s never stopped her,” Monty said before I could. “I keep telling her it’s dangerous to make it up as you go along, but she won’t listen.”
“Because my very avoidance of the rules of magic might yet be the one thing that saves me.”
Monty’s gaze met mine, and all amusement fell from his expression. After a moment, he nodded and then rose. “Thank you for breakfast, Belle. I’ll go grab my gear, then come back and talk you both through that restrictor spell. That way, you can just activate it when and if necessary.”
I nodded and hoped like hell that it wouldn’t be necessary. That Vita would do the right thing and leave once she’d gained her revenge.
