Witch Bound (Twilight of the Gods) (20 page)

“An ass,” came the amused commentary from down the link.

Oh
,
shit.
“Get out of my head.”

Christian stiffened. “Raquel?”

“I’m fine,” she said, and Christian bent again over the neck of his horse. The horses could ride faster than the demons could run and it was a full out race to the portal now. The only demons they engaged were the ones they couldn’t avoid. Those they trampled when they could, attempted to behead them if they got within range of their weapons.

Kamis’s consciousness crowded her and Raquel pushed against it, aware that she needed to lock her own thoughts inside her head. As they streaked through the shadow world that Asgard had become, she built a mental shield. She didn’t want the Vanir to be able to pick up on her thoughts. Even more than that, she didn’t want to know his.

Ahead, the portal was an open gash, bleeding the warmth of Midgard into this dead world. At the edge of her consciousness, she felt Aiden removing the blocks he’d placed after they crossed. As they barreled toward the portal, he widened the flow so that the hunt could pass through again and return home. She and Kamis should go last...just in case.

Christian and Aiden seemed to think the same thing because they slowed, allowing the rest to push forward. A flash of movement caught her eye and she sucked in a mouthful of cold, metallic air before realizing that it was Fen. How long had he been there? Pacing along a step behind them, protecting their flank.

The static hum of the portal increased as the first riders reached it. Almost there.

Five yards before they reached the shimmering air that marked their goal, a large demon unfolded from the shadows. Christian’s horse screamed and instinctively tried to stop. Fighting for control, Christian urged his panicked mount forward as the animal tried to turn and run. The portal was their only chance and they were so freaking close. Fen leaped at the demon’s throat and was swatted aside with a heavy sound that made her stomach clench in fear. She turned her head to follow him, but her attention snapped back when Christian wheeled his horse around. The demon went directly for Aiden and Kamis. Aiden was hampered by Kamis, slung over the horse’s back like the deadweight he currently was. Christian swore and she felt his indecision.

“Put me down. I can make it through on my own. Bring me Kamis if you can. Aiden needs you.”

There wasn’t time to discuss it and Christian damn well knew it. He dropped her to her feet and shouted at her to run. She couldn’t help scanning the area for a sign of Fen. She didn’t know where—

There, beside Aiden, crouched, snarling and ready to lunge for the demon’s throat at the first opening. A sob of relief and frustration escaped her. She lowered her newly built shields and said to Kamis, “You need to get to me. We need to cross together.”

“I don’t—”

Christian engaged the demon and shouted something at Aiden she couldn’t hear. Aiden dropped back and lowered Kamis into Raquel’s waiting arms before returning to the fight. Her legs nearly buckled beneath his weight until he managed to stand on his own. She placed her shoulder under his armpit and dragged him toward the portal. The demons that had been chasing them on their ride were there now too, some distracted by the higher level demon fighting Aiden, Fen and Christian beside the portal, but a few were headed their way. She gathered electricity from the air and zapped the first one stupid enough to get close.

“Five more feet,” she said as much to Kamis as to herself. “You can do this.”

But his legs were barely moving. He couldn’t support his own weight and the demons, even the singed ones, were drawing closer. The Vanir’s cold, thin arms wrapped around her waist and his breath touched her ear. But when he spoke, his voice was inside her head. “Am I worth this, little girl?”

“Shut up,” she snapped and turned them toward the portal.

She directed another bolt at the closest demon, but defending herself in this way required both an enormous amount of energy and concentration. She heard Fen howl in rage or pain and turned her head. Mistake.

A demon leaped down on them from a boulder and hit her shoulder hard. She heard a ripping noise and felt the warmth of the blood before the pain hit. She wouldn’t look. Struggling to her feet, it was now Kamis trying to pull her toward the portal. With a last heroic effort, she managed to get her feet under her and lunged forward. They hit the portal just as the injured demon rolled to its feet. White light exploded in her head. Behind her eyes. For an instant there was nothing except her and Kamis and that cursed silver amulet binding them. Then there was pain.

And darkness.

They passed through and for a second she thought she’d made a mistake. That the
geis
hadn’t worked or they’d accidentally exited through another portal. Everything looked strange and unnatural, a white hazy wash of light that hurt her eyes, which had adjusted to the darkness of Asgard. But then she realized...

It was snowing.

She looked down. Blood stained the snow red where her hand pressed to the ground. She still had a hand though, two of them, so that was something. A shout came from the left followed by the clean whistling slice of a Skimstrok blade. Hard hands dragged her away from the portal, but she could barely open her eyes. She didn’t know who lifted her onto a horse. Someone cradled her on his lap, but she couldn’t drag her attention away from the portal. They would make it out. They had to.

Snow drifted down so sweet and soft and gentle.

The open portal shimmered in the air like heat from a hot sidewalk on a summer’s day but didn’t melt the snow. The heaped body of the demon stupid enough to chase them directly into the waiting hunt lay beside the portal. She stared until her eyes burned. And then Christian emerged, followed by a bloody Aiden hunched over his horse’s neck. And finally, after a brief pause, there was Fen. She closed her eyes.

Chapter Twenty

“Ouch, Alan.” Raquel tried to pull her arm back, but Alan had a firm hold on her wrist and the pain that accompanied her attempt made her vision go gray at the edges.

He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and cut through what was left of her shirt. With one last snip, he clipped her bra strap and grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor and happily married
and
attached to my head. I don’t know if Christian or Fen would rip it off faster.”

“Ha.” He wasn’t interested in her body aside from the great gaping slash on her shoulder and she knew it. There were actually three gashes at the top of her shoulder that sort of blended into one tear ending beneath her armpit. It was still weeping blood, and she’d been dizzy and a little nauseous
before
she got a good look at it.

He whistled softly. “That is a beauty. Here, you can lie down. It stops before it reaches your back. Okay, now you have to let me in.”

He placed his hand directly over the wound, not touching her skin but close enough to breach her personal shields. She closed her eyes and set aside her protective blocks. Normally, she didn’t bother with them though some witches kept them up all the time. She’d placed them before the crossing and held them because they added an extra barrier of protection between her and Kamis. Now, as she dropped her shields, her awareness of the Vanir witch increased. He was sleeping, thank the gods.

“Did you look at the witch’s legs yet?” she asked and then hissed as Alan began to repair the deeper wound in the muscle.

“Briefly. Whatever Surtr did, it didn’t affect blood flow so there’s no permanent damage. Mostly muscle atrophy. A burn where the chain was wrapped. He needs rest...if Aiden decides you can keep him.”

“He’s not mine.”

Alan gave a huff of laughter. “Says the woman who ensorcelled him. I think it’s something like ‘you brought him home now you have to take care of him.’”

“He’s not a stray dog.”

“No.” The smile left his face. “He’s a Vanir witch exiled to Asgard for reasons we don’t understand, and you’re the only one who can control him.”

She winced and he patted her leg before sitting back to reach for the washbasin. “Make sure you do that, Raquel.”

She dropped her head onto the pillow and closed her eyes as he started to wipe the blood off. “I...”

“Didn’t think it through? Yeah. That’s what they’re arguing about downstairs. Decide now because if you decide to keep him, you’ll have to convince the town he’s safe. His life is now officially in your hands. Can you raise your arm for me?”

He put a hand behind her back to help her up and then tested the range of motion in her shoulder. There was a dull ache in the area he’d healed, but that sharp, slicing pain was gone. “It should feel completely normal by morning. Let me know if it doesn’t. I’ll tell them you need to rest. That’ll buy you a few hours.”

“Thanks, Alan.”

He nodded, blond hair falling across his forehead. He looked rumpled although they hadn’t had to rouse him from bed. He’d kept a vigil with Grace last night, along with the other family members of the people who’d crossed.

“Fen’s okay? Really?” she asked for the third time. She’d have sworn she heard bone breaking when the demon slammed him into the rock. “Christian and Aiden too?”

“You were the worst.” He switched the light off before opening the door. “Get some sleep.”

Sleep was an impossibility, but she closed her eyes as she began to restore the shields that walled off her awareness of the Vanir witch. Her responsibility. On some level she’d known it would come to that. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought it through but...what choice did she have really? Even now, occasionally brushing up against his mind like two people trapped in an elevator, he didn’t really seem evil. She could sympathize with Grace’s reluctance to kill him outright...and Aiden’s.

She had no idea how to convince the town of that. But then she didn’t really need to convince the town that he meant them no harm, she had to convince the town that she could keep them safe from the threat of him. And she wasn’t sure it was the truth. He was powerful and while she didn’t think that he could break the
geis
without killing her, he might be powerful enough to kill her even while he was bound.

“Don’t fear, little girl. I won’t harm you...or your town. I’ve no desire to return to Asgard and no way to survive here without you. Killing you would mean my death as well.”

Tentatively, she reached out with her mind. “It’s not safe then.”

“Safety is as much an illusion as certainty. That’s as true in this world as any other, I imagine.” She felt his amusement, touched by a big, fat load of condescension.

“I want you out of my head.”

A pause. “We’ll rework the amulet in the morning so that we both have our privacy.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Nor should you.”

He was gone, proving that he could withdraw as easily as she could. The magical chain formed by the
geis
was loose enough to provide that much space. She needed to place a barrier there. Kathy would know how to do it. If she—

The door creaked open and the light from the hall outlined Fen’s dark shape. He paused on the threshold before entering.

“Fen?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “It’s me.”

The room was dark and she only caught glimpses of him as he moved across the room. The curve of his cheek when he turned his head, the sheen of bare skin when his arm was touched by the light seeping in from under the door. He sat down on her bed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He touched her hand, the backs of her knuckles, in a brief, glancing caress. “I wanted to make sure you were all right. Alan said you needed to rest and I worried it meant you were hurt worse than I thought. I needed to see for myself.”

“He healed my shoulder. It aches.” She caught his hand when it moved to her arm. “It’s okay. He didn’t think I was up to an inquisition.”

Fen chuckled, a low sound that made warmth coil in her belly. That sound coming out of the darkness...

“Is that what he said? It’s not as bad as that. Aiden’s assuming full responsibility for the Vanir witch.”

He paused and she said what he’d been too kind to say out loud. “But you know better.”

“Of course I do.”

She waited for him to say something else. Yell at her for her impulsiveness or putting herself into danger again, but he didn’t. He didn’t seem angry at all. Just...tired.

“You’re not going to tell me how stupid it was to put a
geis
on him?”

“You’re not stupid,” he said. “I never called you that. You’re braver than I wish you were. Rash. Why did you risk your life for him?”

She started to scoot back before remembering that beneath the sheet she was bare to the waist. The hounds had excellent night vision and she didn’t want to test it now. She drew the sheet up a little higher. “It was wrong to kill him. He knew he was sacrificing his life for ours and was willing to do it. I didn’t want to force Aiden to act as his executioner. Not when there was a choice.”

“How did you know it would work?

She blushed. “We’ve always known the Vanir used bond magic to form the
geis
that compels the demons to hunt us. It’s what’s kept them alive all this time even though the bridge to their home world is broken. Their lives are tied to ours. And since our presence here is what allows the demons to cross Asbrú, I knew that if I bound Kamis to me, he’d make it too.”

“You suspected he would.”

“I
knew
...” How to explain it? “I’ve been studying this my whole life, Fen. I know it looks like a wild risk from the outside, but I knew what I was doing.”

“Kathy—”

“Kathy said I shouldn’t try it. I brought the amulet anyway, as a last resort. I know this sounds like I have an enormous ego, but I’ve gone as far as I can go with Kathy’s training.” She shook her head. “Maybe that’s why the block was there. It’s like you know how to shift. I can feel that magic. I know when it’s right and I know how to change it.” She paused, but Fen didn’t comment. He toyed with her fingers while he patiently heard her out. “I was maybe a little bit selfish too. Kamis...I think I can learn a lot from him.”

He looked up. “It’s not really a mating bond is it?”

“No,” she said, quickly responding to the strain in his voice. “A
geis
is far less intricate than a mating bond. This one is barely a tether.”

“Can you control him?”

She hesitated and Fen groaned. “Rocky.”

“If I need to, I can.” It would kill her too, but she could stop him. She chose not to share the entire truth. If Fen was aware of her omission, he didn’t call her on it.

“Can you transfer it to Kathy?”

Raquel thought about all that power. “No.”

“Okay.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll deal with it then.”

She squinted, trying to see his face, but she could only see his downturned profile. The sharp blade of his nose, the angle of his jaw.

“We?”

“You’re part of our clan, Rocky. No backing out now.”

The bed creaked when he stood and he paused, looking down at her. She resisted the urge to grab onto the hand that hung loose at his side. Would he stay with her if she asked?

“Rocky?”

“Yes.”

“It would help me immensely if you would learn to be more cautious. No more leashing Vanir demigods and bringing them home as pets, okay?”

“No more pets, got it.” She gathered her courage. “I’m ready for that talk now, if you are.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I’d rest easier if I knew what you wanted to talk to me about.”

He hesitated and she reached for his hand again. She’d given him a chance to run and he hadn’t taken it. He couldn’t expect to stand there all night without her trying to touch him. Gently, he turned his hand so their palms were pressed together. His long fingers curved around hers, warm and solid and reassuring.

“I want to try.” He drew in a deep breath. “Us. I want to try to make it work. When this has all settled down, I’d like to take you out. For dinner or a movie, whatever you want to do. I spoke with Christian and he’s okay with that.”

That conversation had to have been hard for him. Tears pricked her eyes, but she managed to keep her voice steady. Mostly. “I’d like that, Fen. I’d like it a lot.”

He cleared his throat. “I worry that we’ve moved too fast. With the wedding and the crossing...I don’t want you to make a quick decision you’ll regret later.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Since Aiden plans to keep you on as clan witch, there’s no rush. We can take things slow.” His hand flexed and released her. “You make sure I’m who you want.”

“I know what I want.” She hesitated and then plunged ahead. “What do you want, Fen?”

His gaze angled up to meet hers, but it was a long time before he spoke. The words spilled softly into the dark room. “You. It frightens me how much I want you. I’d give up the pack, the clan, my oldest friends. I would lose myself to have you and that terrifies me.”

“Fen—”

“The right thing—the best thing—would be for me to let you go. But what I
want
is you, all of you. I have from the beginning. And I worry that it’s selfish, and I worry that you’ll change your mind.”

Raquel swiped at the tears on her face. Fen made a soft sound. The mattress shifted beneath his weight and then his arms were there, surrounding her, drawing her into the shelter of his body. Slowly—because she didn’t want to chase him away—she reached out to touch him.

When he didn’t pull back, she traced the seam of his jeans with her fingertips all the way to his hip. She skated her fingertips over his abdomen and his muscles contracted beneath her touch. She smiled against his neck. So many muscles. She wanted to trace that path with her tongue. That might be pushing too hard. He wanted to woo her. A warm rush of feeling accompanied the thought and she turned her head, breathing him in.

She laid her palm upon his chest. His heartbeat was fast and strong, thundering away as fast as hers. She lifted her face to find him staring at her intently. His eyes nearly glowing in the faint light. His beautiful expressive mouth turned up at the corners as he took her hand and guided it back to the bed.

“But before any of that happens, you need to finish healing. You need to rest.”

“I want you to stay.”

A flash of white teeth in the darkness. “Sometimes I think you’re purposefully trying to drive me crazy.”

“I won’t change my mind.” He didn’t argue, but she could tell by his expression that he wanted to. “I know you think I rush into things, but I’m right
a
lot
of the time.”

He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead. A light sweep of his lips that tingled all the way to her toes. “Give me some time to get used to the idea then.” His lips curved against her skin. “Let me woo you.”

“I’ll let you woo me all night long.”

He swallowed a laugh. “This is Aiden’s home and you were injured. Don’t worry, I’ll be here in the morning. I’ll always be here when you need me, however this turns out.”

When he reached the door, she called his name and he turned around.

“I love you, Fen.”

She could see his smile even in the dim light. “Go to sleep, Rocky.”