Witch Hunter Olivia (6 page)

“If you ever wanted to know what my truly disappointed face looks like, take a look,” he says, motioning to his expression. I can’t help but snort, to which he scoffs playfully.

“Thanks for the help tomorrow, Heath. I owe you one.”

“And just so you know, I plan to collect at a later date,” he replies with an impish grin.

I want to wrap my arms around his neck and lock lips right this instant, but I steel my reserve and settle for a smile. “See you in the morning,” I say.

“Good night, Liv,” he replies in that deep, sexy voice of his.

“Good night,” I stammer out before heading back to my car.

It’s eleven o’clock, and instead of sitting in my Intro to Criminology class, I’m here in front of the Dark Ink parlor, tapping on the steering wheel and waiting for Heath to come out. All while trying not to fall asleep.

I’m on my second extra-large cup of coffee, and the caffeine seems to be doing zilch. I got almost zero sleep last night because when I returned to the room, Tara played a game of twenty questions concerning what happened with my brother at the bar. Worry over what was really going on was the central theme of the conversation, and we pretty much spent the rest of the night going in circles with our theories. This morning, she fought tooth and nail to come with me, but I told her it wasn’t safe. I don’t know how much longer I can use that excuse before she decides she’s had enough and tags along anyway.

I grin internally when Heath emerges from the parlor. He yells something over his shoulder while slipping on his jacket. His voice is muddled through the rolled-up car windows, but it still has this effect on me that I can’t describe.

Heath has a certain swagger to him, and he swags it very well. In my opinion, he’s the definition of sex personified, and would fit perfectly in the category “parents’ worst nightmare.” The way he can move his lips, and the confidence he has while maneuvering his hands during a hook-up session, showcase how experienced he is with the opposite sex. And damn if his grin couldn’t get nuns to do things they took a vow never to do. He could prove to be hazardous to my health, that’s for sure, but he’s doing this favor for me, and that means he has a heart. He didn’t have to do this. Shit if I’m not falling harder for a half-warlock than I was before.

At first it was all physical with him. What I didn’t expect was not being able to get him out of my head. Since we’ve been apart, I’ve been suffering from what I’ve self-diagnosed as “Heath-more syndrome,” where my mind has unexpected flashes back to our heavy petting session and I find myself wanting to touch his perfectly sculpted body some
more
, or run my fingers through his thick, chestnut brown hair some
more
… or spend some
more
time exploring his glorious tattoos.

I watch Heath stroll over to Scarlet’s passenger side door and pop it open. He settles into the seat and sends me one hell of a smile before saying, “Good morning.”

My head becomes a little fuzzy as my eyes stay fixated on his gorgeous ones. Eventually, I snap out of it. “Morning.”

“Ready to head out?” he asks, tapping my knee with his hand.

This isn’t fair. He must know what his touch does to me. He has to.

Working through the incredible warmth inching up my leg at this very moment, I manage to say, “I have to make a pit stop first.”

“Sounds good. We just have to make sure we get to Jack’s place before sunset. We’ve got some time.”

“Wait … sunset? Then why did we have to meet up so early?”

He laughs. “Trust me, when you see where we’re going, you’ll be glad I told you to meet me this early. You’re gonna want to be there during a time when the sun’s at its brightest.”

I put the car in reverse and pull out of the parking lot with the intent of passing by the Alpha Nu Gamma house.

“Where exactly are we headed?” His voice wades its way into my head.

“I need to check out the sorority house we were at last night.”

Heath begins to fiddle with the stereo and his hand hovers close to my leg. I can feel the heat generating from the back of his hand, and I immediately roll down my window to get some air flowing through the car in order to cool down. I would have cranked on the A/C, but it hasn’t worked since I bought the car. He chuckles and comments about the song on the radio being one of his favorites, seemingly unaware of how he’s making me feel. I’m trying so hard to play it cool around him, but with all the emotions running through me right now, I’m a mess, and feel completely off my game.

Pulling down the road leading to the Alpha Nu Gamma house, I lower the radio a few notches and bring the car to a slow crawl. The two-story house is at the end of Greek Row all by itself and kind of secluded. As I stare at it now, it seems untouched, and there’s no sign of damage anywhere. The windows leading into the living room are intact and everything seems in place. There are no cars in the driveway or parked out in front of the house, so there probably isn’t anyone home right now.

“This is it? It doesn’t look like anything happened here,” Heath mentions, rolling down his window.

“Yep, this is the place, but it didn’t look anything like this last night. I’ll definitely be paying them a visit later.”

I speed past the house and turn onto the next main road, following Heath’s directions to get to where we’re meeting this Jack guy. The farther away from town we drive, the more uneasy I become about this trip. It’s not that I don’t trust Heath, it’s just that we’re a little ways from civilization now. I don’t think I’ve seen a house for at least the last ten miles. This place seems as far away from town as my parents’ house is, but in the opposite direction. We’re out in the sticks right now.

“So, where exactly does this Jack live?” I ask when Heath has me turn down a dirt road leading into a forest that looks like it was ripped straight out of a Tim Burton movie. Every tree lining the road looms tall overhead, creating a canopy of gnarled and twisted branches with scarce leaf coverage.

“He’s a very solitary man and prefers the company of nature to people. Actually, this will be only the second time I’ve met him. The first time was with my dad when we delivered some kind of package to him, but my father wouldn’t tell me what it was. The only thing he said to me was he wanted me to go with him because of safety in numbers,” he explains.

I pump the brakes to bring the car to an abrupt stop. “Wait—safety in numbers? I’m not sure how I feel about that. Your dad’s a warlock who can do magic, and he wanted you to come along for safety? What the hell are you getting me into?”

“Relax. You don’t have to worry about Jack. He’s mortal. The safety in numbers was for traveling through the forest. The delivery was at night, and these woods aren’t exactly the safest place to be after the sun goes down.”

“Oh,” I say before throwing the car back in gear to continue moving forward.

Not far down the muddy road, we come to a gate with a sign that reads:

WARNING:

Trespassers will be shot … survivors will be shot again, and then one more time for good measure.

“Uh, that’s not very comforting,” I comment while downshifting to put the car in park.

“Yeah, Jack has an interesting sense of humor. That sign’s only for people who don’t know any better. We’re good,” he says, popping his door open. “It’s on foot from here.”

“Sweet baby Jesus, thank you forethought,” I mumble to myself as I glance down at the worn-in black boots I’m wearing. I think these are the only pair of shoes I have that could survive out here.

Heath leads the way, leaving me with this wonderful visual of his tight-as-hell ass the entire trek through the woods. I catch myself staring at it, mesmerized. It seems to have a physics all of its own as it flexes and sways underneath the snug jeans he’s got on.

“It’s not much farther up the hill,” Heath calls out over his shoulder while glancing back at me. My eyes shoot up to meet his, not wanting to be caught staring at my newest favorite asset on him.

“Hey, Heath?”

“What’s up?” he replies peering back at me.

“Why exactly are you helping me?” I ask. I’m surprised when his first reaction is to release a soft laugh to himself.

“Can’t a guy just help a girl without it being about something other than to help out? Chivalry’s not completely dead, you know. It still exists,” he answers.

I send him a questioning stare. “Really?”

He comes to a halt and spins around to face me. “Okay, you got me. I still really want to get in your pants.” He moves in closer, eating up the space between us. “I’m kidding,” he says when he sees my face turn sour. “You intrigue me, Liv. You’re not like most girls.”

“We’ve only hung out once, and we spent most of that time making out. How do you know I’m not like most girls?”

“Well, first of all, making out with a girl is, to most guys, like talking for hours to get to know her better. The way a girl kisses you tells a lot about her. And your kiss, Liv, intrigues me. And so do you. That’s worth exploring in my book,” he says, standing toe to toe with me. “Besides, you seem to care about people, and I get this feeling not many people have done things for you. So, I thought why not help you out?”

I begin to get overheated and my cheeks flush with warmth as his face hovers in front of mine. It’s not just because he’s so close to me either, but then I remember where we are, and what we’re surrounded by, and snap out of it. This is not the right place to be having a conversation like this.

“Well, thanks,” I stutter. “I won’t lie. It’s nice to have someone in my corner for a change. I mean, other than Tara. Sorry, that came out all wrong. What I meant was that … oh, never mind.”

A smile lights up his face. “I get what you meant. You know, you’re really cute when you ramble like that. Just an observation; I’m not hitting on you.” He laughs and then proceeds to move his mouth closer to mine.

“I’m not going to kiss you out here, so you can forget it,” I say near his lips, patting the side of his cheek before moving past him.

“Damn, and I was so sure that would work too,” he jokes. “Hey, wait up. You don’t know where you’re going.”

The incline up the hill seems like it’s never-ending. Now I realize why Jack lives all the way out here. He’s hoping anyone trying to get to his house will give up before they get there. Not to mention, it’s creepy as hell out here. I keep hearing random noises off in the distance that don’t sound like any animal or thing I’ve ever heard.

Up ahead, the trail opens up into a clearing void of any trees. All I see is a big field of dirt with a few sporadic patches of grass.

“We’re here,” Heath announces when we leave the forest behind and step out onto the area of bare land.

“Where’s here?”

“Jack’s place.”

“Are you shitting me? This is it?” I ask, surveying the surrounding area and making sure I’m not missing something. “This is what I hiked through the damn mud for?”

“Hold up, you’ll see,” he replies, and then moves over to a cluster of rocks gathered on one of the few patches of grass to our right.

Heath draws out a tattoo needle from a plastic baggie he has tucked into his wallet and flashes it at me. He pricks the tip of his finger and holds his hand over the stones, letting a few drops of blood fall onto the large flat one in the middle. I hear a sizzling sound, like when you spill water on a hot stovetop, and watch as red smoke rises up from each spot where the blood lands.

“Now you.” He presents a new needle to me.

“What the hell’s going on? Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, this is how we get in,” he answers. “One thing you’ll learn about Jack is he’s very paranoid. When you drop your blood on the enchanted stone, as silly as that sounds, it’s plugged into his database so he knows exactly who’s outside wanting to see him.”

“If you say so. Here goes nothing.” I prick my finger before draping it over the rock, allowing the blood to drip on the center stone just as Heath did moments ago.

“Now watch,” he says, drawing my attention straight ahead.

Right before my eyes, a structure begins to appear, like something emerging from a bed of fog. It almost fills the entire empty plot of land. It resembles some kind of military compound with a high concrete wall surrounding it. We’re standing in front of a black iron gate, but can see the fortress beyond it through the slits between the bars.

“You weren’t lying when you said Jack’s paranoid,” I comment while analyzing the super-fortified structure.

“Nope.”

An electronic beep sounds from the gate just before it slowly swings open, allowing us to pass through. We take a few steps in with Heath leading the way again, but then come to a sudden stop when a voice comes over a loud speaker.

“Proceed to the front door and remove your shoes, thank you,” a man’s voice, which I assume is Jack’s, directs us.

“Oh, and he’s also kind of a clean freak. Well, actually, he’s got a lot of quirks, but you’ll get used to them,” Heath mentions as we continue toward the house.

After we remove our shoes, I hand mine to Heath so he can set both pairs off to the side of the door. I watch as he knocks a few times, but nothing happens. A mechanical noise resonates around us and I look over at Heath, who seems to be as confused by the sound as I am.

“Did this not happen when you were here last time?” I ask. He shakes his head.

The ground beneath our feet gives way, and we find ourselves sliding down a seemingly endless steel chute. My initial frightened gasp bounces off the walls, following us all the way down the tube. It feels like my stomach has flown up into my throat, suppressing every other scream I try to get out in order to relieve the building pressure.

We hit the bottom of the chute and I’m immediately thrown into a barrel roll onto a puffy mat sprawled on the ground. Heath tumbles out right after, landing on top of me. As we continue to lie here, the tension between our bodies becomes palpable. Mine begins to feel like it’s going to burst into flames at any minute … in a good way.

He grins when he catches my smirk. “I may have forgotten about that part,” he chuckles.

“You think? You could have warned a girl some crazy shit like that was going to happen,” I chastise.

He brushes some loose strands of hair from in front of my eyes and I get caught up in the moment until it hits me what just happened. “Uh, do you think this is the right time and place for this?” I ask.

A small laugh parts his lips. “Probably not.”

“All right, you two, break it up.” The voice behind us sounds like the guy from the overhead speaker. “You can do that on your own time, but you’re on my time now.”

We both scramble to our feet and begin adjusting our clothes like two teens that got caught making out. I finally get a good view of the room we landed in, and it appears to be a lab of sorts. The whole space is full of all of these different weapon prototypes, and a bunch of other things I don’t recognize or could even begin to explain are displayed on long metal tables.

When my eyes land on the man standing in front of us, I think he looks like your Average Joe, nothing special. I was expecting, like, battle scars or something, and a military getup judging by the compound he holes up in. Or at the very least, I thought he’d look studious, since it appears by the look of this place he dabbles in weapon creation.

“So, what brings you here again, Heath? It’s been a while. How’s your father?” Jack asks, but keeps his distance.

“He’s fine, thanks for asking. This is my friend, Olivia. We’re actually here because of her,” Heath explains.

“Pleasure, Olivia. Apologies for the unexpected entrance.” A slight smile cracks away his firm-as-stone facial features. “The chute acts as a third layer to my defenses. It throws everyone off-balance and gives me the upper-hand in case someone slips through who isn’t supposed to. I hope you understand.”

Just as I’m about to say something, a gentleman dressed as a servant or butler approaches Jack and whispers something into his ear. Without another word, Jack nods his head to the man and walks away from us with the man following closely behind him, not even sending so much as a glance in our direction.

“Jack, hold up,” Heath calls out, but Jack doesn’t turn around. He keeps moving away toward the door at the back of the room where the butler-looking guy came through.

“What the hell was that all about?” I ask Heath, who looks over at me and shrugs.

The sound of shoes clacking on the black tile floor fills the space, drawing my eye to the only apparent way out of the room. A young woman who’s a dead ringer for actress Lucy Liu approaches us decked out in tight black pants and a light purple blouse. Her liquid black hair, which shimmers in the lights overhead, is pulled back into a high ponytail. Her face is in a state that could be best described as “resting bitch face” until she gets within several feet of us, and then it breaks into a smirk.

“Hello. My name is Jack … short for Jackeline. I believe you’re here to see me,” she says.

I peek over at Heath, who looks as shocked as I am. He’s the first one to speak up. “Wait, you’re Jack? Then who’s the other guy?”

“Oh, you mean Nate. He’s my watchman and last line of defense. He masquerades as me so no one knows what I really look like. As you can probably guess, I have several individuals who’d love nothing more than to see me dead for what I do. For as many friends I’ve made while running the so-called ‘paranormal black market,’ I’ve made just as many enemies. I apologize for the deception, and normally I observe from afar while Nate attends to these kinds of dealings, but I had to meet Miss Olivia here,” she explains.

“And why is that?” I inquire.

“You may not be aware of this, Olivia, but you’re sort of an underground superstar in our world. Not everyone knows who you are and what you’ve done, but the important ones do. You’ve made an impression, that’s for sure. How you sacrificed a piece of yourself to save your little witch friend was highly admirable, and something that’s rarely been done. When a little nugget of info like this crosses my desk, that a Hunter bound her soul to a witch’s in order to save the witch’s life, it highly interests me.”

“How did you find out about me? The only ones who knew were my mother and Heath,” I say, and then look over at Heath who shakes his head slightly.

Jack laughs under her breath at my question. “I have my ways.” Her eyes glow bright red, like rubies glinting in the sunlight. “It’s my job, Olivia. I buy, sell, and trade information, with the occasional dip into weapon creation for all the different races and Guilds. I don’t discriminate. I’m an equal opportunity employer as long as the price is right.”

“What are you?”

A leer turns up the corner of her mouth. “A Jinn. But don’t let the red eyes mislead you; I’m not evil. Well, not entirely. And no, before you ask, I can’t grant wishes,” she answers.

“A Jinn, huh? I remember hearing about you guys at the academy. There aren’t too many of you left in the world. And given what a Jinn does, I’m thinking people don’t pay you with money for your services,” I say.

“You’re a smart one. I’ll have to keep my eye on you. You’ve got your hands full with this one, don’t you, Heath?” she asks, a smirk still present and accounted for. “I have no need for monetary gain. I’m more interested in an agreed
arrangement
with my clients. Like I said, if the price is right. Speaking of arrangements, what brings you all the way out here to my humble abode?”

“I was curious if you’d heard anything about a Witch Hunter assault on a sorority house last night.”

“I may have caught wind of such an incident. Why does it concern you?” She narrows her eyes when she looks at me.

“That Hunter was my brother, but the thing is, I don’t know if it actually was him. I’m not sure how, but I think someone’s either controlling him or someone used a spell to make themselves look like him,” I explain.

“Interesting conclusions. And what makes you think your brother didn’t do this of his own will? Or as an ordered hit from the Guild?”

“He said he wasn’t there, and I believe him. Have you heard anything about a hit put out on an Angelica Delacour, the daughter of one of the light witch High Priestesses?”

“No, but it sounds like if that were to get out, we’d have a little war on our hands between light witches and your ex-Guild. Breaking a thousand-year-old truce isn’t taken lightly in the paranormal world.”

“Hence the urgency, and why we’ve come to you,” Heath interjects.

Jack looks back and forth between Heath and me before landing her gaze on me. “It’s very seldom I do favors, but for you, Olivia, I’ll make an exception. I like you. Your soul is purer than most. I have some information that may prove useful, but what you do with it is up to you.” She pauses for a moment and then continues. “Once I tell you what I know, you’ll be shown out immediately with no further questions asked, understand?” We both nod. “Oh, and before I tell you, I just want to say it was such a pleasure meeting you.”

“Likewise,” I say, which causes her eyes to glow red and a smile to show on her face.

Jack claps her hands together and begins rubbing them back and forth while speaking in a language I don’t understand. A deep red smoke begins seeping from between her palms and swirls around her hands, completely encompassing them. Her hands part the instant she utters her last syllable. She cups them in front of her mouth and gently blows the smoke in our direction. It floats through the air like a snake slithering through the grass, heading right for me. It caresses my cheek, which kind of creeps me out, but I try not to panic. I feel the smoke crawl into my ear, and can suddenly hear Jack’s voice in my head, but her lips aren’t moving when I look at her.

Images begin to flood my mind. I see flashes of people’s faces I recognize, but then they disappear as quickly as they appeared. All I can see now is blinding white surrounding me. I look to my right for Heath, but he’s not there. Then out of nowhere, Jack appears in front of me, her eyes red and her lower half made up entirely of deep red smoke swirling around in lazy circles.

“The one you seek is an Elder of your Guild, Tobias Young. He’ll have the answers you’re looking for.” Jack’s voice rings through my head and then her image dissipates from in front of me.

My eyes shoot open and I draw in a deep breath, gasping for air. When I gain my bearings, I realize I’m back outside and staring out into the empty clearing where Jack’s compound stood.

Heath’s face comes into view. He places his hands on my shoulders, trying to get me to focus on him. “What the hell just happened?” he asks. “You okay?”

I nod, not able to speak. My head feels like it was pummeled. Why couldn’t Jack tell me what she knew instead of skull-effing me with her magic? Talk about a serious head-trip.

“That most definitely didn’t happen the last time I was here with my father. We only met with that Nate guy and then he showed us out himself. All I remember just now was Jack talking one moment, and then the next thing I know, there was red smoke, and then we were outside. I’ve seen magic before, but
damn
… that was fucking awesome,” Heath rambles.