Authors: Ann Gimpel
“Aw, crap! Did she get hurt?” the male witch asked.
“Not hardly. She fought back. Told Mathilde off, gathered the others, and the bunch of ’em hightailed it out of here.”
Thank the goddess. Duncan shook his head. Colleen was strong, courageous, and resourceful, but still… If something hideous happened to her because he wasn’t by her side, he’d never forgive himself. A sense of calm descended, welcome counterpoint to the welter of confusing feelings he’d battled since walking into Colleen’s shop two days before. In that moment he knew what he needed to do. There wasn’t any rush, but he’d track Titania down again, tell her he was mated to a mortal, and let the chips fall where they would. He wasn’t quite sure what the process was to sever him from his immortality, but he’d do whatever he had to.
Colleen was worth it.
A smile tugged at his lips.
Now all I have to do is get her to say yes.
He walked briskly down the steps, still shrouded in invisibility. Where would the women have gone? Supposedly, there were Irichnas nearby. Would they have gone after them? He stopped in the shadow of a stand of evergreens across from the Victorian that housed Witches’ Northwest and sent tracking magic tumbling outward.
He followed it back across the street to a parking lot behind the Coven’s building, which probably meant the women left in a car. Roz must have arrived that way; it made sense they wouldn’t want to abandon her vehicle. Duncan tried to imagine what he’d do in Colleen’s place.
“Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t chase down some demon to please Mathilde,” he muttered. “Not after she laid into me.”
Anger simmered. Part of him still wanted to storm Coven headquarters, solve the problem of what was wrong with Mathilde, and kick her from here to Faerie. But a bigger part wanted to find Colleen. Had the women decided to return to Fairbanks? It had to be better than two thousand miles. Quite a car trip for beings who could teleport and be there in minutes.
Something caught his attention. It was subtle, just a whiff of evil, but he stopped in his tracks, and warded himself more tightly. Was it a demon? Or Danu forbid, two of them? Before his experience yesterday, he would scarcely have noticed the faint miasma eddying in the air.
If it is a demon, what the hell do I do? Assuming I can even corral the thing, will the gatekeeper let me into Hell?
Duncan slipped between two lobes of an elaborate hedge system fronting a mansion, and borrowed plant energy to mask his own. He sent a stealthy tendril of magic toward where he’d felt the wrongness. It was definitely there, and much stronger this time. Worse, at least one hapless mortal was snared in whatever trap the demon—or demons—had set.
I have to do something. Walking away would be wrong.
He activated a telepathic version of 911, and prayed to whoever might be listening that there’d be at least one Sidhe close enough to help.
“For the love of Danu, what is it?”
A female voice, thick with annoyance, sounded in his mind.
Duncan identified himself and outlined his problem, before asking who’d responded to his summons.
“Andraste,”
the Celtic goddess of victory announced. That one word held such a patronizing note, Duncan winced, but the goddess wasn’t done.
“I fail to see why you bothered me. We do not meddle in mortal affairs. In case you’ve forgotten, neither do the Sidhe.”
“That’s normally true.”
Duncan chose his words with care.
“If we don’t do something, the Irichna will overrun Earth. This has gotten bigger than just a mortals’ problem. It belongs to all of us.”
Andraste was silent so long, he feared she’d severed their mind link. He readied himself to approach the demons and their prey, when he felt Celtic energy pulse near him. Duncan let go of the invisibility cloaking him just as Andraste’s form materialized. Taller than him, she was built like an Amazon warrior, with broad shoulders and slim hips. Her long, blonde hair was braided into two plaits to keep it out of the way. She might have been beautiful, but for the severe planes of her ageless face. Her sharp, blue gaze nailed him. “This grates against my better judgment, yet I am here.”
“Thank you for heeding my call.” Duncan bowed formally. “I had hoped for another Sidhe. That you are here is a gift, since you are much stronger than any of us.”
Andraste rolled her eyes. “Pretty words from a pretty man.” She stared at him with evident interest, and licked her lips. A predatory grin spread over her face. “Once we have bested this demon, we shall spend a bit of time together.”
It hadn’t been a question, but now wasn’t the time to tell her his heart belonged to another. It might piss her off and Duncan needed her help. “Maybe so, my lady.” He bowed again.
“Heh! A spot of motivation to get this over with.” Andraste’s nose twitched. She craned her neck in one direction, then another. “The demon is that way.” She tilted her head.
“I know. We need a plan. Do you think there might be two of them?”
The goddess eyed him as if he had the intelligence of a kumquat. “I shall immobilize the demon—and I sensed only one—for a short time. You rescue the human.” She dusted her hands together. “Game over. We go home.”
Duncan felt appalled, but tried to mask his concern. “The demon will just move on to the next likely human.”
Andraste blew out a breath. “By then, you won’t be near enough to rescue whoever is stupid enough to fall into the Irichna’s trap.” She shook her head, temper obviously on a very short tether. “It’s damned difficult to get rid of any variety of demon, but Irichna are the absolute worst. Sorry, but I don’t have time for a trip to Hell today.”
Guess I’ll take what I can get.
Duncan clamped his jaws together. “Lead out.”
“We go together. It’s impossible to sneak up on a demon, so we’ll storm the wards it’s hiding behind.”
Duncan hadn’t considered a direct, frontal attack. “Will we have enough juice to blow right through its wards?”
She arranged her full lips in a parody of a smile. “I never fail in battle.”
Duncan remembered the Irichna from yesterday, opened his mouth to issue a warning, and shut it again. Surely Andraste had faced demons before. He tightened his warding. “Ready.” An image of their location flashed into his mind. He pulled teleport magic and joined the goddess.
In the moments it took them to get to the demon, Duncan girded himself to be prepared for anything. It didn’t work. Horror filled him at the sight of the Irichna—thank Danu, there was only one—in a cowled black robe, obviously masquerading as a holy man, which was probably how he’d lured his victims. A mockery of a cross sat off to one side, with two crosspieces rather than one, and a live serpent winding its way amongst the staves.
Two youngish teenagers, both female, knelt before the demon, crying, begging, pleading. Blood ran down their faces and dripped to the ground. The air was thick with its coppery smell. Duncan looked closely for wounds and realized the Irichna was draining the girls’ essence through their eyes, which ran red. One of the victims swayed alarmingly, her face paper white. The other put a steadying arm around her friend’s shoulder.
Andraste lunged in front of the demon, hands extended, chanting furiously in Gaelic. It didn’t even slow the creature down. At the shocked look on the goddess’ face, Duncan knew she’d expected the thing to capitulate to her spell. She barked a word and a javelin appeared in one hand. She balanced it for a moment and then threw it at the Irichna. It went right through the demon, opening a hole in his robes, which closed right behind the spear’s passage.
Duncan deployed magic. Maybe if he mixed earth and air with her fire, they might have a chance. Andraste had obviously been in his mind. “Do it,” she hissed. “It’s either that or call in reinforcements, which will turn this into an all-out war.”
The demon threw back its head and laughed. It was an eerie sound, like glass scraping against itself. The cowl dropped away, revealing a face so heartbreakingly beautiful, Duncan had trouble tearing his gaze away. Blue-black hair framed Greek god features. No wonder the Irichna had been able to entice the girls mewling in fear before it. Was this the demon’s true form, or merely another illusion? Ice chips skittered through Duncan’s blood. His mouth was dry, his muscles so tense, they felt like rocks.
“On my count of three,” Andraste shouted. “One, two…”
Duncan gave it all he had. He shoved as much as he could into the goddess’ working. For one long, terrible span of time, he was afraid the best they had wouldn’t be good enough, but then the Irichna’s smoky eyes glazed and it wavered on its feet.
“What are you waiting for?” Andraste swatted him across the back. “Grab those girls and get them out of here. They’re as good as dead, but at least they can die in better company.”
Duncan swept the girls into a teleport spell and moved them to the one place he hoped might save them. Collective gasps surged around him as they materialized in the middle of the University Hospital’s emergency room. With an arm supporting each girl, he pushed through double, swinging doors.
“Sir. Stop! You can’t come back here,” a nurse yelled at him.
Duncan spun toward her and cast an
obey me and then forget you ever saw me
spell. “Take care of these girls.” He imbued his voice with an impossible to resist sweetness. “They’ve both lost a lot of blood.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
As soon as the nurse had the girls, whose life force was indeed fading, Duncan strode from the hospital churning out
forget me
spells. He was intent on coffee and a sandwich before heading for Fairbanks, where he hoped he’d find Colleen and the other witches. If they weren’t there, he’d just wait for them in their shop.
Once he’d walked to the absolute rear of a huge parking lot, he glanced about and didn’t see anybody. Satisfaction bit deep. When done properly,
forget me
spells made people turn the other way. Sucking in a steadying breath, he pictured a small deli in the middle of a quiet neighborhood and hoped for the best. Teleport spells were usually cooperative that way, even if he didn’t have a firm destination in mind, so long as he made his needs clear.
A grove of trees materialized around him. Through their branches, he saw a diner’s neon sign and grinned. The day was going pretty well, all in all. Even though he and Andraste may have not gotten there in time to save the girls—and he wasn’t certain they’d die, hospitals could do amazing things these days—he felt good about what they’d done. And amazed the demon hadn’t gotten to him like the one the previous day.
“That’s because it wasn’t focused on you.” Andraste stepped out of the ether and hooked an arm through his. Duncan choked back astonishment. The goddess laughed heartily. “What? You thought I wouldn’t be able to find you?”
“Uh, I’m not sure I thought anything.” He straightened his shoulders and tried to pull away, but she hung on.
“The Irichna didn’t remain quiescent for long once you left.” She shook her head; furrows creased her brow. “I don’t fully understand why my magic was insufficient to quell the thing.”
“The witches who hunt them believe they’re getting stronger. We believe the same thing.”
“Mmph.” She pressed her body against his side. The heat of her was electric and Duncan felt his body respond. “The demon hunt is over, at least for now. It may have been by the barest of margins, but we were victorious.” She wound her other arm around him and drew her fingertips down his back. “Shall we celebrate, pretty man?” Her nipples hardened against his chest. Andraste ground her pubes against his growing erection.
“I, er, I am promised to another.” Duncan resisted the desire to wind his arms around the goddess’ body. Her lips hovered over his, so close her warm, fragrant breath bathed his face. He tried to turn his head away, but her sky blue eyes snared him.
Andraste laughed again, deep and throaty this time. “Well, I certainly won’t tell her. If you keep your mouth shut, we should be in fine shape. You’ve had lots of women, why not me?”
He tried to utter words about honor and integrity, but his throat was thick and his cock engorged. Too late, he understood she’d spelled him. Outrage ran hot through his veins. He wrenched away from her grip, breathing as if he’d just run a race. Aroused and ashamed of his body’s betrayal, Duncan put some distance between himself and the goddess, warded himself, and eyed her warily.
“I am very grateful to you for heeding my earlier summons—” he began.
“But not so grateful you’ll bed me?” She quirked a blonde brow in her perfect face.
“I l-love another.” His tongue stumbled over the word. The goddess surged into his head, cutting through his ward as if it weren’t there.
“I see how things are.” Andraste smiled knowingly. “You believe yourself in love with a mortal, yet such is forbidden to you. I can be patient, pretty man. Come find me when you need someone to pick up the pieces. These affairs are thrilling, but they never end well.”
The air shimmered and Duncan was alone again. He dropped his head onto his palm and squeezed his eyes shut. Andraste damn near had him. Was he truly as weak as that? Gathering the shreds of his dignity with difficulty, he walked slowly toward the diner. The sooner he got something to eat, the sooner he could find Colleen.
Colleen kept an invisibility spell around Bubba. She and Jenna were waiting for Roz, who’d been inside the ferry terminal for the better part of half an hour. It was chilly and starting to drizzle. “I guess it’s not the end of the world if one of has to drive the car back to Alaska,” she said.
“Yeah, but it would be so much better if this worked out for us.” Jenna shivered and pulled her hood up.
“Do you have an extra coat in your rucksack?” Bubba asked.
“Ssh. No one can see you. They’ll think it odd if they hear you. You’re never cold.”
“I am now,” the changeling insisted. “Maybe I caught something from the you-know-what yesterday.” Colleen exchanged worried glances with Jenna. The changeling was never sick. She dug through her bag for a sweater and handed it to Bubba.