Deadly Vows

by Arthur, Keri

  “It’s part of our no-sex-under-this-roof rule,” Belle said. “Which we undertook after several bad relationships stained the atmosphere in previous homes.”

  Amusement crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Which means you’ll just have to move out when we get married.”

  Belle snorted and flicked a bit of cream at him. He laughed and dodged. “Seriously though, if Clayton comes here against his vow, he risks his position on the High Council and generally being ostracized—especially with your father as a witness.”

  “Because my father will always protect his position and power base first and foremost.” I couldn’t help the edge in my voice. “And that brings a secondary problem—he’ll want to use me as a bargaining chip once he’s got confirmation of my ability to use wild magic.”

  “It won’t do him any good if you can’t leave the reservation,” Aiden commented. “And let’s all be honest, few high-blood witches would deign to leave their lofty positions in Canberra to live here. Hell, look at the lack of choice we had when it came to the reservation witch position.”

  “That lack of choice did lead you to the best choice,” Monty said immodestly.

  Amusement lurked around the corners of Aiden’s eyes. “The best of a bad bunch isn’t really something to boast about.”

  “You’ve obviously been hanging around Ashworth far too much.”

  Aiden’s smile broke loose. “He does have a way of cutting through the bullshit that I quite like.”

  Monty rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to mine. “While I think it unlikely Clayton will break his vow, I’m also aware that we can’t ignore your premonitions—even if they’re fear based. Which means we need a—”

  He stopped at the sharp ringing of a phone. Aiden grimaced and said, “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

  He rose from the table and walked a few yards away.

  “That,” I said, watching the tension ripple across his shoulders, “isn’t good news.”

  “Another death?”

  “I think so. Whether it’s related to our recent ghoul attacks or something else, I can’t say.”

  “Just as well I’m back to take up the investigating reins, then,” Monty said. “I doubt you’re up to visiting a crime scene right now.”

  “Actually, it’d probably take my mind off deeper, darker matters.” I sipped my coffee and half wished Belle had been a little more generous with the whiskey. “Did you get any information from the friend you went down to Melbourne to meet?”

  “I did, but I’ll have to update you tomorrow.” He gulped down the rest of his coffee and rose as Aiden approached. “We’ve got another one, I take it?”

  “Uncertain.” Aiden’s gaze met mine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to return tonight?”

  I nodded. “Even with tame judges in their pockets, it’s going to take a few days to get the annulment. We have breathing space.”

  His gaze remained on mine; judging my words, looking for lies. Eventually, he bent and kissed me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  “For breakfast?”

  “That would be appreciated.”

  “It really would,” Monty said.

  I grinned. “You’re usually here for breakfast these days anyway, so I just took it as a given.”

  “Excellent.” He slapped Aiden’s shoulder lightly. “Shall we go hunt us up a ghoul?”

  “When it comes to hunting, I prefer rabbits and foxes.” Aiden sent a wink my way, then turned and walked out.

  Once Belle had locked the door behind the two of them, she said, “Are we really staying here tonight?”

  “I think we’ll have two safe days up our sleeves; after that, it’s all bets off.”

  Belle plonked down and nursed her coffee mug between her hands. “Surely it’s in your father’s best interests to keep an eye on him? Especially if you’re right and he’s already formulating plans to pair you off to a more suitable blueblood beau?”

  I shuddered at the thought. “You’re forgetting how long they’ve been friends. It’ll never occur to my father that a witch of Clayton’s standing wouldn’t honor a vow.”

  “So, what are we going to do?”

  I shrugged. “Given we can’t afford to close the café—”

  “If there’s one thing I’m certain of,” Belle cut in, “it’s the fact he won’t attack us where there’re witnesses.”

  I grimaced and drained my mug. The alcohol within the coffee didn’t really do a whole lot to ease the inner tension. But I doubted even a full bottle of whiskey would do that.

  “I actually don’t think he’ll attack me at all. I think he’ll go after you first. And if he can’t snatch you, then he’ll go after Aiden or Monty. They’ve been following us for a week, remember? They know our movements and ties.”

  “We could camp up at Katie’s wellspring,” Belle said. “If we’re not safe there, we won’t be safe anywhere.”

  I hesitated, then shook my head. While we now had permission to enter the clearing whenever necessary from the Marin pack—on whose land the wellspring was situated—I doubted they’d be too happy about us camping there for any length of time. Werewolves were notoriously protective of their privacy and their compounds. Humans found wandering around without permission soon found themselves spending quite a bit of time in jail. Unlike most in the reservation, I’d been privileged enough to see both the Marins’ and O’Connors’ inner sanctums, but only because they’d needed the use of my psi skills. Even though I was Aiden’s girlfriend, I was not—and never would be—fully welcomed into their midst.

  “I don’t want him or anyone else from Canberra finding that wellspring. Besides, the final confrontation will get nasty, and we can’t afford to shed blood in that place.”

  Belle blinked. “I’m not liking the fact your premonitions have jumped from revenge to bloodletting.”

  “It was always going to come down to that. It’s just a matter of whether we’ll all survive said letting.” I pushed up from the table. “And on that cheery note, I’m going to bed.”

  Belle’s concern ran through my mind. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m just dead tired.” I paused and added with a somewhat wry smile, “Which is better than being dead any day.”

  She snorted and flicked a leftover bit of cake at me. I dodged it with a laugh and headed upstairs. The spell across the top was still intact, which at least meant neither my father nor my husband had snooped. I set the alarm on my phone, then stripped off, climbed into bed, and was quickly asleep.

  And dreamed of destruction, bloodshed, and death.

  Whose was the one point the dreams refused to answer.

  * * *

  I shivered in my coat and then slammed the SUV’s door shut. The stars were bright overhead, but the moon was on the wane and her power little more than a distant hum. The mountain was an indistinct shadow that loomed above us, and the surrounding scrub was filled with the scrabbling of small animals, though whether they were bush rats, possums, or some other kind of nocturnal hunter, I couldn’t say.

  Belle flicked on her flashlight and shone the beam on the barrier that signaled the end of the dirt road and the beginning of the goat track that led up to the wellspring’s clearing.

  “I’m not looking forward to doing this in the dark,” Belle said. “It was bad enough climbing the damn mountain in full daylight.”

  “At least this time, we’re better prepared.” Not only were we wearing proper hiking boots, but I also had water and energy bars in the backpack. I slung it over my shoulder, switched on my flashlight, and resolutely strode toward the track.

  It seemed rougher—and the incline steeper—than I remembered. It didn’t take long for the burn in my legs to begin, but I ignored it and strode on resolutely. While my breath quickly became short, sharp pants for air, I noted with at least a little satisfaction that—unlike the last time we’d been here—I didn’t have to stop multiple times. My somewhat haphazard fitness routine wa
s at least having some benefit.

  We paused about halfway up to grab some water and munch on a protein bar. I tugged off the coat and tied it around my waist, but left the sweater on. The night was bitter, and I didn’t want the sweat chilling on my skin. The last thing I needed was a cold right now.

  The scrub and trees became much denser the farther up the mountain we got. Unlike the forests around Castle Rock, this area didn’t have much in the way of old mines or tailings. It was so quiet that the sharp sound of our puffing echoed through the trees.

  Eventually, the path leveled off. The trees around us were thick and tall, and shut out both the stars and the moon’s waning light, leaving the vast areas not lit by the flashlights in deep shadow.

  But shadows weren’t the only things here.

  There was magic.

  Wild magic.

  Katie’s magic.

  She was waiting for us.

  Chapter Eight

  The sting of energy got stronger the closer we drew to the clearing. While this wellspring was far younger than the other, it was giving every indication it would end up being as powerful, if not more so, than the older one.

  From up ahead came the soft glimmer of lights—wisps of wild magic, drifting on the breeze. Waiting for me, as Katie waited for me. My fingers twitched in response, and something within began to hum, as if in answer to unheard music.

  We reached the edge of the forest and stopped. The clearing wasn’t very large, but it was strewn with rocks and other debris from the landslip that had taken out a good portion of the cliff directly opposite. At the base of this was an ankle-deep rock well. Water bubbled up from a seam near the cliff’s base, lapped over the edge of the basin, and then wound its way down the gentle slope, where it would no doubt join forces with the stream further down the mountain.

  The tiny well was the source of the wild magic, and the air above it shimmered with its force. It had certainly ramped up since the last time we’d been here, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with Katie’s presence.

  I raised a hand; the tiny threads of magic danced toward me and then curled around my fingers and wrists. They were as fragile as moonbeams and yet pulsed with power. Within that power was a sense of acknowledgment. Of kinship—and it was one that had nothing to do with Katie.

  It should have frightened me—and I suppose in the saner portions of my mind it did—but this wild power was part of my being and coming here felt like a homecoming.

  Your whole body hums came Belle’s awed comment. You’re totally in tune with the music and power of this place.

  I glanced at her. Her eyes glowed with echoes of the energy that pulsed through me. It’s not Katie who won’t let me go. It’s the wild magic itself.

  Because you’re a part of it.

  I nodded. The origin of my wild magic might not be this wellspring, but it all comes from the one source deep within the earth.

  The delicate threads of power began tugging me forward. Katie’s doing rather than the wild magic’s.

  I’ll wait here, Belle said.

  You’re safe from the wild magic. It won’t ever hurt you.

  A smile touched her lips. I know, but I think it better at least one of us remains fully aware of what is going on around us.

  Good point. Just because I believed we were safe from Clayton for the next couple of days didn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind—especially when there was a murderous ghoul roaming around the reservation. It might have kept its kills to newlyweds, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t broaden its tastes if the opportunity presented itself.

  I switched off the flashlight and shoved it into my pocket as I stepped into the clearing. The gentle moonbeams spun around me, their music echoing through my mind, the notes alien and yet not. It was a sound I’d heard intermittently and distantly over the years, and long ignored.

  It was through that sound—through the power of it—that I could now see Katie. Her form was ghostly, but she very much looked like a younger version of Ciara.

  Standing behind her was a pale, wispy figure. I knew who it was without his features being clear—her husband, Gabe, who’d died here during the process of melding Katie’s soul to the wellspring.

  “You have questions?” Katie’s voice was soft—melodious.

  “Yes, about the wild magic and what it’s doing.”

  Her gaze swept me; I suspect she missed little. She motioned toward the wellspring. “Let’s sit. I like being close to our energy source.”

  ‘Our’ meaning not just hers and Gabe’s, but also mine. Interestingly, the closer we got to the wellspring, the more Gabe’s body solidified. He reached out and pressed his hand against Katie’s spine, and the two shared a glance. The sheer joy and utter love so evident in their faces had me blinking back tears.

  No wonder she liked being close to the wellspring—it enabled the two of them to physically interact.

  I crossed my legs and sat in front of the basin. Its energy was fierce and skittered across my skin like thousands of tiny fireflies, a warm rush that both burned and welcomed. Katie elegantly sat opposite me. Gabe remained standing.

  “Why do I suddenly appear to have wolf-like senses?” I asked, once she was comfortable.

  “I think it’s a combination of me briefly taking over your body and my presence within the wild magic. Some sort of bleed over has occurred.”

  Which was exactly what I’d thought might be happening. “How far do you think the changes will go?”

  A smile touched her ghostly lips. “Not far enough for you, I suspect.”

  “I don’t want to be a werewolf.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Not even to catch one?”

  “That’s never going to happen—even you know that.”

  “I know the heart usually wins, even when the head wishes otherwise.” She glanced up at Gabe. Love shone like a beacon from her eyes and her body.

  It made me feel like I was intruding. Made me envious of what they still had.

  I cleared my throat. “In the case of your brother, his heart has already been taken, so it’s really not a contest.”

  “Perhaps,” Katie said, amusement gleaming in her eyes, “and perhaps not.”

  I raised my eyebrows even as my heart began to beat a little faster. “Meaning that you’ve now revised the warning you gave to both your mother and Aiden?”

  “No. What they both wish will come to pass—that, I’m afraid, is inevitable now. It’s what happens after she returns that remains unclear.”

  Meaning there was no escaping heartache for me. Great.

  Katie’s hand lightly touched mine. Her energy fizzed across my skin, as electric as lightning. “Hold on to hope. What isn’t yet written can always be changed.”

  My smile no doubt echoed the sadness within. “Except for the fact my own dreams are telling me a very different story.”

  “Your dreams aren’t always right. You’ve admitted that multiple times.”

  Not to her I hadn’t, which meant that even when I couldn’t feel her presence or that of the wild magic, she was aware of everything that was going on.

  “Not everything,” she said. “But I do tend to keep an eye on the people I care about as well as the people they care about.”

  I stared at her for a heartbeat. “That thought wasn’t spoken out loud.”

  “Because we don’t need to now, thanks to your strengthening connection to the wild magic. Voicing our thoughts is more a pleasant habit than a necessity.”

  “Does that mean I can summon the wild magic from anywhere within the reservation? Even if it isn’t in the area?”

  “I don’t know, so maybe you should try it next time you’re out in the middle of nowhere.” A smile tugged at her lips. “But, for modesty’s sake, perhaps not when you’re with Aiden.”

  “On that I agree.” My voice was dry. “There’re definitely some things a sister shouldn’t see.”

  She chuckled. “I was ta
lking about your modesty rather than mine. Wolves tend not to worry about such things.”

  “Even werewolves aren’t into public displays.”

  “Depends entirely on the werewolf,” she said, cheeks dimpling.

  I snorted softly. “How much sharper do you think my senses are going to get?”

  She shrugged. “Who knows? By rights, Gabe’s spell shouldn’t have worked. By rights, you should have died in utero. If I had to guess, I’d say that—while there’s no denying the wild magic protects and strengthens you—it will also be the reason why the changes you’re currently experiencing will go no further than sight, sound, and perhaps strength and endurance.”

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “Because the wild magic is so deeply embedded that even if it were possible for your DNA to be enhanced to the point of enabling change, I don’t believe the magic within would allow it.”

  A vague spark of hope stirred. “What about any children I might have?”

  Amusement crossed her features. “Are we specifically talking part werewolves here?”

  “In theory. Just in case, because hey, sometimes miracles do happen.”

  “And I’m proof enough of that.” She paused. “In truth, that’s another question neither of us can answer, as no one, as far as we’re aware—and the songs and memories of the wild magic stretches back to the beginning of time itself—has ever survived complete immersion in the way you have.”

  Which only made that vague flicker of hope shine brighter.

  “So it is remotely possible that if I did happen to marry a werewolf and we did happen to have children, they’d survive the problem your mother described in great detail?”

  “Mom means well, but she’s an alpha and can sometimes be very overbearing.”

  “To say the least,” I muttered.

  Katie’s smile shone. “To answer the question, what protects you should also protect your offspring, but there’s no guarantee, and Mom is right—the consequences of such a marriage can be heartbreaking.”

  I hesitated. “And yet it’s a risk you and Gabe were willing to take.”