Chapter Five #2
“You asked for it, bitch.”
“No. Stop.” We reach the doorway. Jerry is facing us. He has his hand on her breast, and his other hand up her skirt. The woman is pushing on his chest.
“Freeze,” Mara commands, holding her hand up. Jerry becomes immobilized, and I allow my invisible shield to fall.
“What the hell?” The woman stares at us and then glances at Jerry. She jerks back, escaping his hands, but he doesn’t move. “How? What?” Her wild gaze bounces between us.
“Hey,” Archer says, smiling softly. “What is your name?”
“Rose,” she says, trapped in Archer’s trance.
“Rose. That’s a beautiful name.” Archer moves closer to her and reaches out his hand. “We came to rescue you from the bad man. Will you come with me?”
“Of course. I don’t like him.” She places her hand in his. Mara looks at me, shocked.
“Archer can put humans in a trance and influence their decisions. He’s very good at it,” I whisper.
“Rose. I want you to walk outside to a car with me,” Archer continues.
“Okay.”
“Did you bring anything with you?” he asks.
“Just my purse. He was so nice and handsome. I shouldn’t have come,” she says, grabbing her purse.
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” Archer nods at me as he leads her out of the room.
“What is your plan, Mara?” I look at Jerry. His eyes are wide. His body is frozen, but his mind is aware. My bond has been hiding lots of power.
“I didn’t realize I could do that to people,” she mumbles, and I’m not surprised. “Fluid.” She snaps her fingers, and Jerry shakes himself.
“Who the hell? Wait.” He points at Mara. “I know you. From the bookstore. I knew you were a freak.” I snarl and move a knife to fly through the air. I stop it an inch from his nose. This time, he doesn’t need a spell to become motionless. “No. I don’t understand.” He stares at the tip of the blade.
“You touched me,” Mara hisses, stepping forward, and I follow. “I felt everything you did to those women.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sputters.
“This isn’t the time to lie,” I drawl, glancing at the knife.
“Fine,” he swallows harshly. “What do you want?”
“I want you to admit it,” Mara says, stopping at the other end of the knife. “Those women did nothing wrong.”
“They asked for it,” he says. I curl my fingers, and the knife rotates. “Alright. Alright.” He licks his lips. “I did it.”
“The woman, Rose. Did you plan to kill her tonight?” Mara asks.
“Yes. After.” He winces, and I push the knife. It presses against the tip of his nose. “What are you going to do? What are you?”
“I’m a witch,” Mara answers. “I saw the fear and desperation on their faces. I want justice for them.”
“You can’t kill me,” he says, his panic stinking up the kitchen. “I’m an important man. You have no evidence. No one would believe you. I could pay you. Whatever you want?”
“Jerry, I don’t want anything from you. You inflicted pain. I felt it. I want to return the favor and give all their hurt back to you.” Mara squeezes my hand, and I feel her pulling at my magic. I open a connection, giving her permission to take what she needs. “Are you ready, Jerry?”
“Wait, wait.” He shakes his hands in the air, shuffling backwards.
“Take their memories. Take their anguish,” she says, her voice filled with power as she raises her hand. His arms drop to his sides.
His face contorts as Mara pushes the emotions from his memories into his head.
I watch in wonder as they flow through the air like smoke from her palm and enter his skull.
Jerry’s mouth falls open, yet no sound emerges.
He’s in shock and filled with terror. His eyes roll back, and I'm amazed he's still standing.
Mara is flipping the memories, somehow making them his nightmares, his pain, his fear, and he believes the murders are happening to him.
I take away the knife, and it floats back to the counter.
Jerry won’t move. He’s no longer in control of his body.
Blood trickles out of his mouth, and his eyes begin to lose their life.
A wound appears on his chest, soaking his shirt in red.
Another on his leg. Then his hip. Blood soaks his head, streaming down his face.
“Take it all, Jerry,” she whispers, and he falls to his knees.
Wind whips through the air, and the world outside booms. Her hands begin to shake as she moves forward, away from my touch.
Before I can follow her, she loses control of her spells and flies back.
She hits my chest, and I grunt. I wasn’t prepared for the momentum, and we fall, skidding across the floor until we hit the opposite cupboards.
Jerry gasps for breath, life returning to his body, and lurches straight.
“I got you.” I wrap my arm around her, cringing from the force of smacking the wood.
“Fuck,” she breathes. Power is swirling in the air. Her magic is out of control, with no direction. I can see it bouncing through the room, and the knife on the counter tumbles through the air. I barely get a spell out to stop it impaling my head, and it lands on the floor beside me.
“You bitch,” Jerry slurs. He’s still bleeding but attempts to stand. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Stop,” I grit out, and his body stills. I keep her secured to my chest as I stand.
“Rome,” she gasps, her breath coming in short bursts. Her body trembles against mine.
“Mara, I’m here.” I turn her to face me and cup her face. Her hair swirls around my arms. “You have to pull your magic back in.”
“But he’s—” She attempts to turn.
“Don’t worry about him. I have him controlled. Your spells need your direction.” I sweep my thumbs over her cheeks.
“I don’t know if I can.” Her wild eyes lock with mine.
“You can. I know you can.”
“Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?” she asks, panicked.
“I’m fine.” The twinge in my back will go away soon. My magic will soothe it.
“Are you sure?”
“I am. Concentrate on me and your magic,” I say firmly. “Take a deep breath. You have control.” She inhales. “You have control. Say it.”
“I have control,” she repeats, exhaling. Her lips move, saying the words, but they are lost in the wind.
“Yes, Mara. That’s it.” I drop my head to hers as the room quiets, and her magic finds its home back in her body. “Good girl. You are doing it.” Her chest rises and falls slowly, and everything stills.
“Rome,” she whispers, her body sagging against mine.
“You are going to be drained. That was an immense amount of power.” She buries her head in my shirt.
“Hold on to me. I have to finish him.” Once her arms circle my waist, I hold up my hand.
Jerry’s face is frozen, and I pull all his emotions.
I suck the life from him, and he falls. He can’t come back when my magic is done with him.
Getting rid of his body is the easy part.
“Burn.” I focus on the body, and fire flickers over him.
As he disintegrates, I open the door at the back of the kitchen.
“Go where you belong.” I wave my hand, and his ashes float outside.
“You will be no more,” I rumble, and wait for all his remains to fly away.
I shut the door and lock it. “He’s gone.
” Waving my hand, I make the blood disappear, and the kitchen is as it was.
I lift Mara in my arms, cradling her close. I kiss her forehead.
Invisible. Protect.
Her eyes close, and I carry her away. I lock the house, making sure no trace of our presence remains. Archer gets out of the car and opens the back door. I slide onto the seat, and Mara curls into a ball on my lap.
“Is she okay?” Lace asks from the driver's seat.
“She will be. Where’s the woman?” I ask, as Archer sits in the passenger seat.
“I sent her home. She won’t remember anything, and neither will the driver after he drops her off.
I got the name of the restaurant. I’ll need to go there and cover for her.
” If Jerry is missed, she’ll be the first one they come to if he told anyone about her.
“I cleaned the car of any trace of her.”
“Good. Lace, drive.” I hold the back of Mara’s head as she tucks her head into the crook of my neck. “She needs to be home. Do you live together?”
“Next to each other,” she says.
“I won’t leave her.” I didn’t have a plan past finding her. Archer took care of the travel plans and a hotel. He booked a room that won’t be slept in.
My body and mind are buzzing. I’ve never seen anything like what my mate can do.
She called on my magic, yet not much was taken.
Even though she didn’t finish Jerry, I’m stunned at the amount of potential she possesses.
I think meeting me has unlocked different levels of her powers.
The things she will now be able to do are unlimited once she learns how to control it.
I will be there to help guide her and keep her grounded.
The magicked have various gifts. Even if two witches have the same skill, the details are different.
Each individual adds their own personal touch.
I’ve met witches who can use their touch to influence humans and others who need another’s touch to fuel their magic.
Mara is special.
She has thought of her gift as a burden to overcome.
I want to show her the beauty of what she can do.
Pain will never affect her again. Adeline said it was her destiny, and maybe it is, but I don’t want her to think she must kill all the bad in the world.
I’m all for doing good, but she shouldn’t have to spend her life dedicated to others.
She needs to live. From the little I’ve learned about her, she hasn’t done much of it.
I feel like I have lived enough for both of us, and I’m ready to make a home in one place, with her.
Traveling the world is wonderful, and the places I have seen still amaze me.
I would like to show her all the things she’s dreamed of.
“Do you want me to go to the hotel?” Archer asks softly.