Chapter 13
To say Isla was pissed when Rana and I came back near morning after spending several hours waiting in the hollow near the other camp for the powerhouse witch to leave, was the understatement of the day.
Isla’s voice climbed several octaves as she took out her anger not on Veyyr, but Harrison, backing him up against a tree as her hands crackled, sparks literally flying off her fingertips.
“You let her take a bike, use up the fuel that I painstakingly made, and then she comes back with the mutt child? You should be throwing her out at the least! Not making her breakfast like a simpleton housewife. Your mother would be ashamed.”
Lucky let out a low whistle. “Too far, witch.”
Harrison swallowed hard, his eyes wide with fear and what looked like slow burning anger. “I…”
I’d barely sat next to the fire when Isla had arrived. Pointing at Rana, I said only one word. “Stay.”
She frowned but nodded and I stood. The witch wanted to pick on someone, she could turn to me and pick on someone who could kick her ass into next week.
I wanted to shoot at her, to drive an arrow into her hand as I’d done to Veyyr, but instead, I just clapped hard, startling Isla into looking over her shoulder.
“Your anger is with me, not Harrison. Perhaps you’d like to have a discussion as adults? Rather than picking on someone who has no magic?” I was about ten feet from her when she spun, her hands raised, magic flaring across them. I was too exhausted to be as worried as I should have been.
“I could turn you into ashes, you, you…”
“Are you trying to say unique skill set?” I offered.
“Because that’s the only reason Veyyr is keeping me around.
That’s it. I’d apologize about the fuel, but I really don’t care if I give you more work.
” I closed the distance between us, so that I stood looking down at her.
Her magic was nothing compared to the witch from the night before…
the spell she was weaving was a mean one, but even if she managed to hit me with it, she’d only hurt me. Not kill me.
I hoped.
Her teeth set together so hard they clicked and then ground as she flexed her jaw. I didn’t try to stop her as she slung a hand toward me, arching her fingers.
I read the spell as it left her hand—a bonebreaker, one that would cause a lot of pain, but not kill me—I’d been right about her choice at least. She knew Veyyr wanted to keep me around for now.
Holding my ground, I let out a slow breath as it smacked into my bare skin and waited for the pain to hit. But my immunity held.
The spell melted off me, like chunks of clear jelly it dropped to the ground and sunk into the soil. I wondered if I was the only one besides Isla who could see the magic fail so spectacularly.
Isla’s eyes went wide.
“Breaking bones isn’t nice,” I said. “I suggest next time you do it the old-fashioned way if you want to make a good impact on someone’s perception of you.”
I snapped a fist into the side of her head, the blow rippling up to my shoulder, and watched with satisfaction as those wide eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground.
I shook my hand out, skin stinging a little, but the hit didn’t hurt me near as much as it had hurt her.
Go me.
Harrison gave me a wobbly smile and I winked at him. “I got you.”
Of course, that was all Veyyr saw—my sending his witch to the ground. His magic didn’t seem to have an issue with me and my immunity as a snapping gust of wind swept me off my feet and threw me up against the tree that Harrison had leaned against only moments before.
It was a good thing my ribs were healed because being slammed that hard knocked the air out of me and as I slid down to my feet, I had to work to get my lungs going again.
“She’s the only one who can whip up the fuel, and you thought knocking her out was a good idea?” Veyyr sounded more irritated than truly angry, but again I struggled to care.
Sorrow dropped to the ground between us and plucked at Isla’s long hair, yanking a few strands out. “No like her. Bad. Black.”
Veyyr’s eyes slid to the bird. “Away from her, Sorrow.”
He fluffed his wings and…fuck…he fucking shit on Isla’s casting hand.
Lucky made a distinct choking sound.
Perhaps something broke in me the night before—whether it was watching a powerful witch argue with herself as if she were possessed, or the fact that the same witch resided in the first real memory I’d had emerge from the darkness of my past, I didn’t know.
I was exhausted on top of those rather complicated emotions which left me no patience for a violent middling skill set witch with a vendetta against me and a distinct lack of brains.
“I’d do it again,” I said as I pushed off the tree. “And I’ll hit harder next time.”
Veyyr and I locked eyes, the struggle of wills a very real thing.
“Everyone load up,” Veyyr bent and scooped Isla in his arms, cradling her lightly.
Would he treat her so kindly if he knew what she’d done to Rana’s parents?
Would he care? Or was she just a tool that looked good in a skirt?
“I’ll take Isla in the Jeep, put the extra bike in the truck.
Rest of you pile in where there’s room to save fuel. ”
Lucky sidled up to me as Dave, Egan, and Harrison did as they’d been told. Rana took my hand in hers.
That was an excellent punch. My dad would have cheered. Her fingers tightened and I squeezed them back.
“Yeah well, all the magic in the world won’t save you if you end up without it.”
Rana frowned, Lucky picked her up and handed her up to Harrison who wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes.
I wasn’t going to call him out in front of his friends, not even to thank him for the breakfast, not with Isla basically telling him that he wasn’t a real man because he didn’t agree with her.
Instead, I gave him a curt nod and followed Lucky to the remaining bike. Lucky raised both eyebrows. “She could take us out in one big swoop of a spell if we ride together.”
“She’d have to wake up first,” I said as I slung a leg over behind him.
His laugh rumbled between us. “I’ll be replaying that in my head for a long time.
Her eyes fucking rolled, but,” he kick-started the bike, “it was the shock in her face a split second before your fist landed. That was the best part. No doubt she thought you wouldn’t dare!
I mean, if you are a Tracker…she should be watching her back a hell of a lot closer. ”
Revving the engine, he took off after the other vehicles, still laughing.
Me, I just hung onto him, taking a deep breath for what felt like the first time in the last twelve hours.
I was replaying a memory alright, but it wasn’t slugging Isla.
It was seeing that other witch, the one from the night before…standing over me, knife in hand, blue cloak snapping out behind her, as if tugging her body away from me.
It didn’t matter if I closed my eyes, or opened them, I could see her blue cloak swirling, a spell that belonged to her wrapping itself around me, the knife covered in something, maybe blood? The memory was just a fraction of a scene, ten seconds at best—the time it took for a breath in, and out.
The very end of the memory her mouth opened, the spell unleashed and there was a sensation of…falling? Was that right?
“You hang on any tighter and I’m going to pass out.” Lucky broke through my concentration as he patted my hands. My arms had tightened around his middle until my muscles shook.
Forcing myself to relax my hold on him, I stared out at the scene whipping by—a river to our right, trees that had been burned, but still stood along the edge. Not alive but still standing.
Dead inside.
But still standing.
Was that what I was? Empty but still standing? Dead but didn’t know it? I shook my head and adjusted my mental questions to be less about things I couldn’t control and didn’t fully understand to something I desperately needed to understand.
Who was that witch, that woman? A powerhouse, yes, but more than that, she obviously had a vendetta against me. Maybe I just pissed off every witch I crossed paths with?
Somehow, I didn’t think that was the case—the way she had stood over me felt personal, the look in her eyes one of knowing. And when she’d spoken of me to whatever was inside of her, she spoke with a need that matched my own.
We both wanted to find me.
“We’ll head north today, try to find those mines,” Lucky again cut across my train of thought, yanking me away from the memory.
A shiver ran through my body, as if someone had walked across a future grave holding my bones. North…
“Are we sure that’s smart?” Something about going north seemed like a poor life decision.
The giant had headed that way. North had been crossed out on my map from Dakota.
“That’s what the boss says. Maybe still a hydra there…maybe it would like to eat a witch?”
“We would not be that lucky, well maybe you, but not me.”
His laughter should have been contagious, but I didn’t laugh with him, not this time.
What I wanted was to ask someone about what had happened the night before and who that other witch truly was. And the only person I could think of that might know, was Veyyr.
Which was the only reason I sought him out once we’d made camp. But he slipped away before I had a chance to pin him down.
Dave took Harrison and Rana to scout out the remainder of the building that looked like it had been some sort of marketplace. I’d sent Sorrow with them. “Come get me if there’s trouble." I scratched the back of his head with two fingers, and he leaned into the touch before flying after the others.
Two stories high and lots of open air gave Sorrow plenty of room to fly. The building covered a huge swath of land, and it had several empty fountains, metal stairs, signage that was still legible even if it was no longer bright and shiny.
Sportschek.
Nails by Emily.
Danier.
Some just had symbols that indicated if they were clothing, shoes, food, or housewares. I frowned. “What is this place?”