Acting Witchy (Witch Hunters) (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Mystique turned away from the view out of her hotel window and massaged her temples. She had a sudden sharp headache. Nausea had her clutching her stomach. She fumbled through her purse in search of pain medicine. Unable to find it, she dumped the contents of her bag onto the bed. The bottle dropped out last, bounced on the other items, and rolled onto the floor. Groaning, she dropped to her knees to scoop it up.

Cursing childproof caps, she opened the container and removed two pills. She filled a glass with water from the bathroom tap. She hated lukewarm water but decided now wasn’t the time to be picky.

Mystique swallowed the pills quickly and decided a nap would be a good idea. She’d rented a car. She would use it later to go out for dinner.

Turning out the lights, she curled up into a ball. She didn’t even remove her clothes, simply pulled the covers back and slid onto the cool sheets.

She woke with a start. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It seemed that only minutes had passed, but she had been sleeping for an hour. She squinted into the darkness trying to figure out what woke her. Flashes of a dream came to her. Spinning, nausea, pain….

A knock sounded at her door and she realized it wasn’t the person’s first time knocking. She turned on the light at the bedside and rolled out of bed. Her head felt somewhat better.

A quick peek out the peephole revealed a slender young woman about her age with her long black hair styled in two fat braids tossed over slim shoulders. Dark shades were perched on top of her head. She had large exotic eyes that reminded one of a cat. Her ears and fingers glittered with rows of silver.

Mystique swung the door open and enveloped her cousin Nikita in a tight embrace. “Kita, it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much.” They might have been cousins but they were raised as sisters.

Nikita’s arms closed around her for a brief squeeze before she pulled back. “Why is it so damn dark in here?”

“Sorry.” She flipped on a switch and went about the room lighting the various lamps. She bit her lip. “What brings you? Did you talk with Meadow?”

“I was helping her at the shop but she said she could handle it on her own. So I went to Mama Skye’s for dinner. I was surprised when she told me that you were home. What’s it been? Two years?”

Mystique nodded, careful to avoid eye contact. She’d like to spend some time with her before the fireworks began.

Nikita sat on the bed and crossed her legs. They were encased in thick black tights under a black pleated skirt. Nikita was petite. Everything about her was small and cute. Even the slick black boots she wore with the ridiculously high heels were cute. The same shoe on her size ten foot wouldn’t be nearly so adorable. “So what brings you back?”

“I was working on a film in Wilmington. We wrapped today.” She shrugged. “Since I was in the state, I decided to drop in before heading back.”

“I caught one of your movies on DVD a week or two ago. It was the one where you played a belly dancer. You’ve got to teach me those moves.”

She laughed. “It’s been a while since I made that, but I might be able to—” Her phone emitted an insistent buzz from the nightstand. “Excuse me.” She picked it up. The incoming number was listed as restricted. Curiosity made her slide the bar across the phone to answer it. “Hello?”

“Mystique Gray?” asked a deep male voice.

“Yes, this is Mystique.”

“This is Keith Savage, Sean’s brother. I got your number from Neva. Is Sean with you?”

“N-no. I’m in Asheville. Sean is still in Wilmington.”

“I spoke with Sean. He was planning to follow you using witchcraft. I wanted to make sure he arrived in one piece.”

Her hand tightened over the phone as her stomach clenched. Dread gripped her. “I haven’t seen him,” she said slowly.

“Mystique, he told me you were his mate. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Then you feel it as well as I do.” Keith’s voice was brisk and anxious. “He’s in trouble. Any idea where he could be?”

Her eyes met Nikita’s for a brief second before skittering away. “I might. Call me in a couple of hours. I’ll have Sean by then.”

“What’s wrong?” Nikita asked when she was off the phone.

Mystique took a deep breath. This day felt like it would never end and the hardest part was still before her. “You said you were helping Meadow. Was she alone?”

Nikita’s lips curled in a smile. “No. We’d caught one. This one evidently strolled in and offered himself.”

“Do you know who he was? What did he look like?”

“Didn’t catch his name before I conked him.” She gave a casual shrug. “He was tall, fit. His hair was black. Don’t know what color his eyes were. Why does it matter? They’re all the same.”

Mystique snatched up her wallet, phone and keys and headed for the door. “Damn it, Nikita, he’s my mate.”

“Your
what
?”

****

Sean hissed as the blade sliced through the skin of his abdomen. The cut was a thin gash that bled freely and stung like a bitch. He’d woken to this torment. The first cuts, the ones that had brought him back to consciousness, had been to his cheeks. He was in a dark underground room with no windows. He was sitting in an old wooden chair that creaked with every movement he made. His hands were bound behind him. His legs were tied with thick rope to the chair.

“What do you want?” he asked his tormentor yet again. Another slice of the knife was his only answer. She was methodical and precise. Her hands were steady as they worked over him. She showed no emotion as she patterned his skin into a bloody map of lesions. His shirt had been ripped open and pushed back over his shoulders.

She stood back and surveyed her work.

Sean wet his lips. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”

“You know why. You’re a witch. You’re a vile abomination and you’ve ruined my daughter.”

“I was born this way. How can it be wrong?” He flexed his wrists, testing the strength of the rope. His magic was too weak from the earlier travel and from his injuries.

“Because you’re evil, every one of you. Some of you hide it better than others, but you’re all in league with the devil.”

“Does that include your daughter?”

“No. I brought her up right.” She casually leaned over and cut the top of his shoulder.

Sean suppressed a swear word at the sharp sting. Meeting Meadow gave him new understanding of why Mystique had been so reluctant to give their relationship a chance. It wasn’t about him at all. She was raised to be ashamed of what she was. In his family, their abilities had always been a source of pride to their parents. “So what’s your plan? Slice me to ribbons, let me bleed out and die here on your floor? We’re mated. Do you know what that will do to her? It will leave her an empty shell. That’s a dangerous thing for a witch.”

“Don’t you call her that!”

“But that’s what she is. She would be dangerous. She’s very strong, even stronger since we’ve become mates. She’s managed to refrain from using her magic, though it has to be tempting. It will push at her, call to her. She will be out of control and you don’t want that.”

“No, without you, she will need the comfort of her family. She will be more biddable and finally take her position in the family business. Because of her special skills, she will be the best of us. Who better to hunt and kill witches than another witch?”

“Is that why you advised me to sleep with him, Meadow?”

Meadow turned and Sean strained his neck to look behind him. Mystique came down the wooden stairs with a petite woman in killer heels following. 

Chapter Fifteen

Mystique could barely stand to look at Sean. She knew if she did, she wouldn’t be able to go on. The briefest of glimpses at him on the way down had made her legs tremble and filled her with fury. He had two long cuts on his face, one on each cheek. His chest was a mass of small cuts, shallow but effective. And her mother had done this. How could she? Was she insane?

“Is it? Did you do it to lure him here and pull me back into the fold?”

“You finally begin to understand. Our work is important.”

“Meadow, Sean is not evil. You’ve got to let him go.”

Meadow pressed the blade of her knife to Sean’s throat. “They’re all evil. And if I let this one live, you will find out all too well.”

“He is not my father. We are truly bound.” She chanced a quick glance at Sean. His eyes were closed. A thin line of blood was forming along his neck where the edge of the blade was piercing his flesh. She gulped and moved closer. Close enough that she could reach out and touch her mother. “Meadow, I love him.”

“Then you should thank me for killing him. You will never know the disillusionment of finding out you’re lying down with a devil.” She pressed the knife deeper.

Mystique stepped forward, a scream building in her throat.

Nikita moved ahead of her smoothly, plucking the knife from Meadow’s hand. “Let me. I’m stronger than you.”

“Nikita, please,” Mystique began, feeling that she at least had a chance of talking Nikita out of taking this action.

“Don’t worry, Myst, I’ll make this quick.” Nikita flipped the blade from hand to hand, her expertise obvious. When it was in her left hand, quick as lightning, she balled her right into a fist and punched Meadow square on the jaw. The much larger woman’s eyes widened even as she staggered and fell to the floor. Her head hit the concrete with a thump that made Mystique wince. Meadow’s eyes closed.

Mystique cupped Sean’s face in her hands. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”

Nikita slashed through the rope holding him to the chair. Nikita and Mystique helped him to stand and assisted him up the stairs. Mystique didn’t pause until they had him strapped into the rental car. “You should go back and check on Meadow,” she said quietly to Nikita, unable to meet her cousin’s eyes. She felt like she had gone over to the other side. She still couldn’t believe Nikita had helped her.

“She’ll be fine. She’s a tough one.”

“I can’t thank you enough. If you ever need a favor—”

Nikita smiled. “Don’t offer me favors. You know I enjoy cashing them in. I’m sorry I helped get him in that situation. I didn’t know he was yours. Meadow should know better.”

“She’s never going to change.”

“Probably not. What are you going to do about him?” She nodded towards Sean. “You can’t take him to the hospital.”

She bit her lip. “I’ll handle it.” They shared a look. Mystique wanted to say more, to tell her cousin how much she loved her, but there wasn’t enough time. “I need to go…start handling it.”

“Yeah, and I should get Meadow off that cold floor.”

They hugged. Mystique broke it off and strode around to the driver side of the car. She gave a small wave before getting inside and starting the car. Sean’s head was supported by the headrest. He had pulled together the ends of his shirt. It was black. Though the blood showed through as wet spots, the color of the stains was obscure. He looked very tired. “How are you?”

“Still here. Want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

She was suddenly very angry with him. He could have died tonight. “None of this had to happen. Why are you
here
? I left you a note asking you to meet me at home.”

His eyes popped open, his gaze steady and lucid as it met hers. “Because I felt your anxiety. I couldn’t stay in Wilmington knowing you needed me. I came to support you.”

“I appreciate that. I wish you’d just called me instead.”

“You’ve been hiding this from me. Your mother claimed you kill witches. I want to hear it from your lips. What exactly does your family do for a living?”

Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. How did she explain her mother attempting to kill him? And why she wouldn’t be calling the police or taking him to a hospital? She didn’t want to tell him like this. Hell, she’d hoped to avoid telling him at all. “Sean, does your family have a history of being witches?”

“Since the 1700s.”

She nodded. “For just as long, my family has been witch hunters.”

“You kill witches,” he said dryly. He shifted in his seat. “Was it a plan all along to kill me? Did you intentionally lure me here?”

“Of course not! From the second we met, I’ve been trying to avoid this moment! Only you kept pushing it!”

“If you’d told me the truth from the beginning, I wouldn’t have.”

She took that to mean that he wished that he had never met her. Tears flooded her eyes, making her vision blurry. She blinked. They rode the rest of the way to the hotel in silence.

Fortunately the lobby was empty as they entered. Mystique offered her help but Sean refused her assistance. They made their way to the elevators as fast as his pain
-
stilted pace could take them. Once in the room, he stripped off his shirt and sat on the edge of the bed. Mystique filled the sink with water and used a cloth to clean away the excess blood. She studied his face and chest. Again she questioned how her mother could do this to another human being.

She lifted her hands to place them on his cheeks. He stopped her, holding her wrists. His blue eyes searched hers. “Have you ever killed a witch?”

“No. I could never do it. It’s why my mother considers me a failure, a weakling.” He nodded and released her hands. Very gently, she pressed her hands to his flesh. She closed her eyes. “I hope I can do this,” she whispered. She concentrated on the desired result. Energy surged in all her veins, surging and pulsing in waves. It coalesced in her fingers, in her palms. There it stayed. She couldn’t get it to flow outward. She frowned, urging harder but nothing was happening. “I don’t…I can’t…”

    Sean spread his thighs and pulled her between them. “You can. You can do anything you want. I know you can do it.” He reached up and gripped her behind her neck and brought her down to him. He kissed her, his lips brushing over hers. “Relax. I know you’re scared. You’ve been taught that this is wrong, but it can be beautiful. You can do wonderful, amazing things. I’m so proud of you for trying.”

“Oh, Sean.” She covered his mouth, kissing him deeply. She didn’t end the kiss even as she began harnessing her magic again. It washed through her like water, gathered in her palms. This time it didn’t stop. It rained in healing drops along Sean’s scars, knitting his flesh back together until the bleeding ceased and all evidence of the cuts was healed.

She removed her hands, relieved to see his face was perfect once more. “I did it.”

“I knew you could.” He gestured to his chest. “Think you can do it again?”

Almost an hour later, Mystique collapsed against Sean, her forehead pressed to his. She’d healed each of his wounds and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep. She sighed and straightened to remove her clothes. “Call your brother. I’m too tired to do it.” She slid beneath the covers in only her underwear. Her head had barely touched the pillow before she was asleep. She didn’t wake until Sean wrapped himself around her, his chest heating her back, his hand spanning her belly.

“I wish you’d told me first and not under these circumstances.”

“I was hoping to not have to tell you at all. My mother and I are estranged. I never wanted you to know our family history.”

He kissed her neck. “That’s not what I meant. I wish you’d told me that you loved me when we were alone and not when I had a blade to my neck.”

Mystique turned into his embrace. She caressed his cheek with the backs of her fingers. “Sean, I love you. I have for some time.”

“I know, but hearing you say it means so much to me.” He kissed her, his lips soft and sweet against hers.

“I thought you were angry with me. That-that you wished we’d never met,” she whispered unable to meet his gaze.

“Being angry with you doesn’t change what I feel for you. When I told you that I love you, it wasn’t conditional. My love is forever.”