Lucian, though…The man was more than just a pretty face. He was lethal to a woman’s senses, and wickedly good at kissing. In fact, I’d never been kissed as he kissed me tonight. The first kiss was soft, yet conquering. My senses had gone down in flames, and he’d made them his bitch. There was no white flag being waved around in surrender, just scorch marks left behind wherever he touched me. The second kiss was controlled, precise. He’d left me breathless and boneless. Obviously brainless as well, since I’d almost let him take me in the maze. I’d felt him all the way to my soul, and I was pretty sure he’d left a mark there, somewhere on it.
I wrapped a towel around my body and headed into the bedroom, where I pulled on a pair of soft baby blue lacy boxers, and a white camisole. It took about twenty minutes to finish unpacking and right the bedroom, and after that was finished I spread another layer of salt, and black salt I’d made before leaving Pacific City, around the house. The layer Kendra had drawn around the cottage would have protected the occupant; this one was more specific to protecting me.
Salt was big in our community, and had many uses. We dyed it black, yellow, green or blue. Each color had a different spell associated with the magical properties of the salt, which was excavated from the earth; the closer the salt deposits were to the leyline, the better. The black salt I placed would ward off any evil that wished to do me harm, and the white salt would pack an ass-kicking if anyone with evil intent neared the house. I used the last of the black salt around my bed, and pushed a small packet of black salt under my pillow.
I moved around the room, doing mundane things, until I heard Luna mewling in the front room. I walked into the room and bent down to pat her back, making sure she had food and water. I was about to turn off the light in the front room when I heard a scratch at the door. I moved closer, peering through the curtain to see what was there. I’m not sure what I expected, or if I expected an actual answer when I asked who was there.
Eventually I opened the door to get a better look and Luna darted out through the small opening. I opened the door further and called for her, and noted a branch that I would have to step over if I was going to catch her. Luna was a city cat, and we were deep enough in the woods that it wasn’t uncommon for mountain lions to be near. There was no way in hell I was letting my baby become mountain lion chow.
“Luna!” I snapped as I strained my eyes to see her through the darkness of the night. Most of the property was lit up by the moon. However, this area was shaded by the trees and bushes. I caught a glimpse of her as she darted towards the edge of the property and headed into the heavily wooded area.
“Damn, damn, damn,” I growled, wincing as I stepped on a twig as I started after her.
I’d taken a few steps before I felt the taint of darkness; an all too familiar rush of power pushed through me and I froze in place. I’d felt that familiar power a few times, once when I lost my grandfather at fifteen. I’d been grieving, and I’d had felt the first pull to the darkness that most witches denied easily. The second time was when I’d found Todd in bed with Cassidy, and I’d almost let it have control. I won those times, and had somehow managed to push it down and deny it the use of my anger for an entry way into my soul.
I’d lost the third battle, but I’d somehow managed to push it down after the fact. The day they’d brought my brother’s body back home to be laid to rest, I examined it. The magic, not the body. I poked it, and played with it to see what it was made of. I’d kept it a secret, which in this coven was against the rules. I’d won in the end, and lifted the taint of darkness and the seductive call of evil, and now I had the knowledge that I’d bested it.
The wind picked up and I felt a chill in the cool night air. I moved forward, instinctively looking for my baby, who was probably lost in the woods and scared by now; after all, she’d never been outside a day in her life since I’d found her.
I pushed through the bushes, and winced when they scraped my arms as I came out the other side. I could make out muffled voices asking questions about depth and the temperature of the soil. I started to take another step closer to the voices and paused. I blinked as I watched men with shovels, and Lucian, who appeared to be holding…a body? My hand slapped over my mouth to stifle a scream as the scene unfolded.
Men were digging in the ground, and one was so deep into the hole they had dug that only his head was visible. I watched in horror as Lucian turned enough that I could see his expensive suit, covered in blood. The moon lit up the surreal horror show and I silently stepped backwards, only to close my eyes against the deafening sound of my foot crunching a pile of twigs.
All eyes turned to me and I spun on my heels and hauled ass back towards my mother’s house. I screamed as my foot hit a hole, and I landed on the ground hard. I rolled and got back up, and didn’t plan on looking behind me until I hit the property line.
I ran like there was a crazy group of serial killers chasing me, because the reality of it was there actually were killers chasing me. I ran through tree branches and bushes and the memory of seeing it before hit me like a train, as if it had happened to me before. Running for my life shouldn’t have felt familiar, right? I turned and looked the moment my foot hit the property line, hoping that they wouldn’t be able to pass over the runes that were buried in the property lines, but no such luck.
They didn’t even slow down. I screamed, knowing my sister would be able to feel the terror I was experiencing, and relief washed over me as the porch light came on at the main house. I continued until she opened the door and I slipped inside and slammed it closed again, throwing the deadbolt and the other steel lock into place.
“Call the cops,” I wheezed, trying to catch my breath as my legs gave out and I fell to my knees on the floor, breathless. “Dead body. Lucian. Bury.”
I sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and shook my head. “Oh God, they were burying someone.”
“What are you talking about?” Kendra asked as she kneeled beside me and touched my arm comfortingly.
“Girls? Is that you?” Mother called from the stairs at the same moment a knock sounded at the door.
I jumped to my feet and slammed my back against the door, as if my slight weight would keep him out. Another knock sounded and I screamed for them to call the cops or the coven, someone who could actually save us. I’d counted at least four men chasing me, and they weren’t average sized by any means.
“What?” Mother said as her blue eyes took in the sweat that covered my brow and the dirt all over my hands and knees.
“He was burying a dead body, call someone! Anyone. They killed someone!”
My mother, God bless her, reached behind the coats on the rack and retrieved the shotgun, then cocked it to ready with one hand as she pulled the cordless off the shelf and dialed the number for the coven.
The knocking stopped and I moved to the window, just in time to watch Lucian as he disappeared into the shadows. I turned around as my mother set the phone down.
“What happened?” she asked as she moved to the window and stood guard.
“Luna got out, and I chased her. I made it to the edge of the property and into the woods. I came out in time to see Lucian holding a dead body, and his friends digging her grave. They were asking about the soil temperature and depth.”
“Are you sure it was a body?” my mom asked as she set the gun down and moved towards me.
“Yes, it was a body! He was covered in blood. I think I’d know if it was a body, right?”
“Calm down; Kendra, put some tea on while we wait for the coven to get here.”
Fucking tea? Was she serious? Was that supposed to make the murderers disappear? I’m sure they’d pause for a cup of tea before murdering us, sounded legit…Not!
My mom held my hand and shook her head. She pulled me in and hugged me tightly as I felt the first hiccup before the waterworks starte
d up. I wasn’t sure what was worse; that Luna was gone, I’d made out with a serial killer, or that someone was being buried in an unmarked grave. Probably the last one, but the fact that I’d made out with the number one suspect who’d killed them didn’t help my conscience any.
“If it’s true, they’ll send him away.”
“What about the body?” I whispered as I pulled myself together.
“It will be sent to the sheriff anonymously. He’ll know what to do to find where it belongs.”
Kendra entered the room and I shook my head as she offered me a mug of hot chamomile and peppermint tea.
It took the coven exactly thirteen minutes to make it to our house, and since most of the elders were located close to each other, it was easy enough for them to make it to our home in a timely fashion. I was questioned and then as a unit, with the Awakened witches at the front line, we made our way across the property lines.
When we got to where I had seen Lucian standing with the body in his arms, I gasped. The entire yard was covered in grass. There hadn’t been enough time for them to lay all that sod, let alone have it look as if it had been there for weeks. Lucian and his friends were there, and they greeted the coven and heard the suspicions.
I kept my eyes to the ground, trying not to panic as he moved closer until I was forced to make eye contact with him. I swallowed the panic, and fisted my hands tightly at my sides to hide the slight tremble that had yet to abate.
“A body?” he asked and moved his arm to indicate the yard with a sweeping motion. He was calm, much calmer than someone who had just been holding a bloody body should ever be. His suit was crisp and clean; the white shirt didn’t have a speck of blood on it. My eyes locked with his and I stepped back, away from him.
“I saw it,” I whispered.
“Magdalena, we don’t accuse those who seek to help the coven without good reason,” Helen admonished me along with a murderous look.
I chewed my lip and shook my head. “I know what I saw,” I said firmly as I squared my shoulders.
“Everyone knows she’s crazy, Lucian, we’re so sorry to bother you in such a way,” Cassidy cooed as she slithered over and rubbed her hand over his shoulder. He didn’t look away from me, and in his eyes I could see anger. “Lord knows she has to be going crazy, just finding out her own sister’s been warming her ex-fiancé’s bed in her absence.”
My head swung around to meet Kendra’s gaze, and I blanched at the guilt I felt from her. I swallowed and shook my head. “I’m not crazy,” I said softly. “Not yet anyway,” I muttered as I took my eyes from Kendra and settled them back on Lucian.
“You just called us out of bed because you thought you saw a dead body,” Cassidy said with a poisonous look.
“Mother,” I said, ignoring the fact that everyone here was looking at me. I didn’t break eye contact with Lucian. It was a battle of wills, and I sure as hell wasn’t losing. I just needed to high-tail my ass out of here.
“Go home, Lena,” she murmured softly and I glanced to where she stood, looking at me as if I was a stranger.
I turned on my heel and headed back through the woods. My feet ached from the forest floor, and I could feel bruises forming on my hands and knees.
“Someone ought to lock that crazy bitch up,” Cassidy sniped loud enough that I could hear it.
“Enough, Cassidy,” Helen said. “Lucian, I’m so sorry. You know how kids are; their imaginations can be so vivid and wild.”
“No harm was done,” he replied, and I didn’t bother to even turn and see if my mother was following me.
I moved through the woods and found Luna safe and in one piece waiting by the door of the cottage. I picked her up just as Kendra pushed through the bushes.
“We need to talk about this,” she pleaded softly.
“Not tonight,” I sighed as I pushed the door the rest of the way open and stood in the threshold as she mounted the stairs. The coven exited the forest; all of them seemed to be giving me heated looks. “I’m tired, and Cassidy is just praying we give her a show. Honestly, I don’t care if you were with him. I really don’t give a shit.”
I walked inside the cottage and closed the door in her face, then set Luna on the floor. I moved through the cottage in a daze, my mind replaying the scene from earlier that I’d walked into. It was a body wrapped loosely in a bloodied sheet; a bloody feminine hand had escaped the sheet, and dangled lifelessly. Lucian had been covered in blood, which according to logic, would indicate she’d been alive not too long ago. Not that I was an expert, but I’d watched enough police shows to know that some of the facts had to match up.
I flicked off the lights in the front room and headed into the tiny kitchen. I rummaged through the cupboards until I found tea and the old kettle that my grandfather had used when he’d been alive.
Luna rubbed against my ankle and I looked down and shook my head. “You’re a bad kitty. You know better.”
She meowed and started purring. I reached down and scratched behind her ear before I lit the stove and retrieved the first aid kit to clean my wounds. When I’d finished with that, I moved to find the valerian root to add to my tea. It would help me sleep tonight.
I turned off the stove and moved into the bedroom. I slowly turned off the lights on the way while holding the steaming cup of tea away from my body. In the bedroom, I placed it on the side table as I pulled down the sheet and moved it aside. I managed to sit back up as I remembered the tea and took a small sip before I moved to check the salt around the bed, the door, and beneath the pillow. After what I’d seen tonight, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Tonight had been a clusterfuck. I pulled my hair into a ponytail before bringing the cup up to my lips and blowing on the hot liquid before I took another drink, then sat back in bed. Luna jumped on the bed and moved to my side as I placed a hand on her and scrunched up my nose.
“I think I made a mistake coming home,” I whispered to the cat, who ignored me as she cleaned her paw.
I felt the valerian root start its magic and my eyes grew heavy as I lay there. Eventually I pushed the cat over enough that I could lay on my side, while stroking her gently. I fell asleep with her pressed against me, her soft rhythmic purring the only noise in the room.
I’m not sure what woke me, but something had. My hand smoothed over the bed, looking for Luna, but it wasn’t the cat that I felt. What I felt was hard and yet soft at the same time, warm. I whispered a name, and groaned as I opened my eyes a slit to see what my hand was touching, but the room was bathed in dark shadows.
My hand continued to explore the contours of whatever was in my bed, and then slowly, my brain kicked in and I lifted my head. I pushed off the bed instinctively, but before I could make it even an inch away from him, he was on me.
His hand captured my hands and pressed them against the metal frame of the bed painfully as his other arm pressed against my chest, pushing the air from my lungs and blocking me from being able to draw any new air in to replace it, or scream.
My lungs burned. I gasped and struggled against his unmovable body. He didn’t look like he weighed that much, and yet I couldn’t even pelvis bump his ass off of me. I moved my head and thrust my hips until stars filled my vision. I felt my pulse quicken as the reality of what was happening sank in. He was freaking killing me! In my own bed, why did the bad shit always happen in my bed?
His eyes watched me as if fascinated by me suffocating and the moment he lessened his hold and removed his elbow from the center of my chest, I gasped and sucked in air. I had planned to scream, but his hand covered my mouth, trapping it there.
“If you scream, you’re dead. Don’t be stupid. Don’t scream,” he whispered hoarsely. His hand lifted from my mouth and moved to my throat gently, the threat abundantly clear.
“Get out of my bedroom,” I whispered through t
he pain of fire that filled my lungs.
“And miss hearing you saying my name in your dreams? I think not, little witch. Were you dreaming of me?”
“No,” I whispered as I considered my options. They were limited, and I was pretty much fucked.
“You called out to me; my name left your lips more than once while you slept,” he argued as he positioned himself between my legs with finesse. I bucked my hips to move him and his lips curved into a wicked smile. “Is that an invitation?”
“Fuck you,” I snapped. “If I was dreaming about you, it probably had something to do with dead bodies and you being covered in blood, asshole.”
“Hold still, Magdalena,” he said after I bucked wildly to dislodge him, uncaring of the hand placed strategically against my windpipe.
“Get off of me,” I hissed and continued struggling to free my hands, right up until his hand left my throat and moved to my ass, lifting it to press me against his fully erect dick that no amount of clothing could hide.
“I’d stop before you drive me past the point of no return,” he growled, and I went limp. No struggling here, calm is me. “Too easy,” he whispered as he moved his erection away from me. “You’re fragile,” he noted. “You’ll be bruised come morning.”
“Proof that you’re an ass?” I sassed, which probably wasn’t the best idea, considering my position.
“What did you see tonight?”
“You and your sick friends burying a body,” I whispered. “I’m not crazy, I saw it. You were covered in blood.”
“You think you saw me covered in blood,” he replied in a tone that struck a nerve, or every nerve.
“No…”
His eyes held mine and I lost all coherent thought. I felt like I was drowning in them, as if I ceased to exist without their heat. I tried to form words, but nothing came out, as if I was a fish out of water gasping for air. Only I was gasping for words, and I couldn’t form any. What the fuck?