Chapter Five
Neith
“So yeah, I couldn’t really risk telling the truth, although now that you know that I died, you’re probably going to hate me anyway,” I carry on my rambling.
“Neith,” Evander starts.
I wave my hand and interrupt again, “Yeah, yeah, okay I will start from the beginning. So, the heading to a job and falling asleep was true, and a rookie move on my part. I woke up, and we were on this deserted stretch of road. The road was blocked off by cars that were similar to the one that I was traveling in. The driver cursed and tried to reverse, but we didn’t get far before we got hit with a bazooka. Obviously, I died. When I came back, the Darkness was clinging to me still, and I was aware of what was going on around me but still very much dead,” I look at Doc, “Even if you had examined me with your magic, it would have told you that I was dead.”
I don’t want to explain how I know that it’s a story for another time and actually one that I hope I never have to tell.
“I, what?” Doc replies.
I continue where I left off, hoping that they are all keeping up, “I can still hear when I am in that state though, and that is when I heard them talking about the guy that they take supes to, and I recognized the voices of the agents that were speaking. They said he would be disappointed that I wasn’t a supernatural because they were all convinced that I was. So they threw my body into the woods, alongside the driver who was very dead. They then got on with the clean up, and I stayed as I was until they had finished it. When I was finally able to move again when the Darkness had decided that the threat to me was over, I woke up and realized that a bear had eaten the driver and that it was centimeters away from my face, I managed to back up and find Betty, and took the shot, but the fucker swiped me before I could kill him, and then I walked here.”
I debate telling them what usually happens after I die because then that is going to invite more questions about how often I have died and how it happened, and who did it, and some of those deaths I haven’t dealt with yet. It would also take a long time to explain because I die a lot. So, because of all of that I decide to keep it to myself unless they ask, and then I won’t lie to them.
For some reason, in my mind that makes it better.
“A bazooka,” Raiden growls, his eyes flashing with anger and his jaw clenching. He looks hot as fuck, and looking at him reminds me.
I point at him, “What did you do to save me?”
His eyes widen.
“How the fuck could you possibly know that he did something, you were practically dead,” Doc questions. I have a feeling that question is going to be the most straightforward question that he is going to ask me.
“I can feel his magic,” I explain and pick up another slice of pizza.
Everyone is staring at me, all of their expressions are arranged in some form of shock, as they react to what I have just told them. I may look like I am chilled out and calm, at least on the outside, but on the inside, I am a raging ball of nerves. I am calculating how quickly I can get out of here if their reaction is bad. I am also eating more because if they do decide that they are done with me and kick me out, I have no idea when I am going to be able to eat next.
Having said that, I do have that little black card that has a lot of money on it. If I can get the money out before they freeze the card, then that will be a massive help in the ‘keep me hidden and alive’ plan. I wonder if I can convince them not to tell Ty, just to say that we didn’t work out after all, and then I can carry on working and not dying. I mean, I haven’t actually done anything to them apart from lying, so there is a possibility that they might want to rid themselves of me but acknowledge that I am not a danger.
I hope that is the case anyway, and then Betty and I can just get on with it like we always have, just the two of us.
I gasp, interrupting whatever it was that Raiden was going to say, “Betty!” understanding dawns on all of the guys faces, “Please tell me that one of you managed to grab her?”
They all shake their heads, looking apologetic. It’s evident to anyone with half a brain how much Betty means to me.
“Sorry, Neith. I think we were all too busy running to find her,” Ransom apologizes.
“I can’t believe I left her,” I mutter, feeling far more sadness than I probably should, considering she is a gun. The thing is, she has been with me since the year after Evander went to the magic academy, she has saved my life more times than I can count, and in a life where everything is up in the air and unsure, Betty is my only constant. “Maybe I can go back tomorrow and see if she is okay? She might be.”
“She was right in the middle of the magical fire,” River says gently.
Before I can answer, there is a thump on the couch behind me, and I spin around to see what made the noise: “Betty!”
I grab her and pull her toward me. I am aware that I look completely insane, cuddling a gun, but I was about to spiral downward, and we still haven’t dealt with the whole I died thing because I once again managed to derail the entire conversation. Which will probably be another reason that they decide to get rid of me. They will at least be able to have a normal conversation without me around.
“What the fuck?” Raiden exclaims.
“That gun just came out of nowhere. There was no build-up of magic, nothing,” Griff says. He narrows his eyes, “Didn’t you say that you didn’t have any bullets in her when you managed to shoot that hole in the wall in your bedroom?”
I wince, “Yeah, I’m still sorry about that, by the way.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ve already fixed it,” Ransom says, waving away my concern. He focuses back on Griff, “You’re thinking that Betty isn’t a normal weapon.”
“Where did you get her?” Van asks me.
I frown, as I try to think of where I got her, I know how long I’ve had her, but the details on how I got her are a little bit fuzzy, a hazy memory finally manages to push to the forefront of my mind, “I think I got her from a little antiques shop in a town that I was staying near at the time.”
“You think?” Raiden asks.
I nod, “Yeah, my memory is a bit hazy. I just know that I have had her for a decade.”
“She showed up just after I got into the magical academy?” Evander asks, quickly connecting the dots and the timeline.
I nod, “Yeah.” Looking around at all the contemplating faces I ask, “You guys think that she is an enchanted object?”
“I’m not sure whether I would say enchanted, but I think she might have magic of her own,” Ransom says.
Reed shakes his head, clearly in disagreement with Ransom. “Not necessarily. It might be Neith. We have no idea what kind of supernatural she is. She could be making the bullets for Betty, and she could have called the gun to her a moment ago. She could have even put some kind of protection on it without even realizing that she had done it simply because she feels protective of it.”
Ransom nods, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thinks over Reed’s alternative option, “You know I would be more inclined to believe that than I would to believe that Betty herself is enchanted. An enchanted object is rare, and I don’t think I have ever heard of a gun being enchanted before.”
“I think you guys are focusing on the wrong thing right now,” Raiden says, “I mean, it’s fantastic that Betty is back, and it’s weird because she was definitely in the magical fire and should have been burnt to a crisp, I get all of that, but Neith just told us she got blown up with a bazooka and died.”
“It fucking hurt,” I mutter.
The room becomes so quiet that you can hear a pin drop, and they all stare at me, absolutely horrified.
“You felt it?” River asks, his voice a whisper.
I shrug and nod, “Yeah. Just because I come back doesn’t mean that I don’t feel the pain of dying.”
Reed’s magic flares, “You . . .”
He shakes his head, anger flaring in the depths of his eyes before he storms out of the room. I look around at the guys in confusion.
Van shakes his head, “Don’t worry. He just isn’t used to people putting him above themselves.”
That is all the explanation that he gives, and I am pretty sure that is all I am going to get no matter how much I ask, that’s fine I will just ask Reed what is wrong when he gets back.
“Is there anything else that we should know?” Doc asks, concern etched into his features.
I shrug, “Probably, but I don’t know what.”
He smiles, “How are you feeling? We nearly lost you again, and the moose led us to believe that would have been very bad.”
“Wallace,” I grin.
His eyebrows raise, “Wallace?”
“The moose,” I explain, my smile widening.
Understanding flashes across his features, “Ah, okay. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Whatever Raiden did worked well. I actually feel better than I did last time after I came back,” I reply, only just catching myself from saying better than I usually do.
Raiden winces, “I’m sorry that you can feel it. You aren’t supposed to, but then you don’t quite conform to any of the usual rules, so I should have guessed that it would affect you differently. If it weren’t a life-or-death situation, I would have asked.”
His eyes practically beg me to understand, but I have no idea what it is that he wants me to understand. In the end, I decide honesty is the best policy because he is getting more nervous by the second.
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you are apologizing for,” I say honestly. “You saved my life.”
“Yeah, but you can now feel my magic,” he winces again.
“Yeah, I can and it's all warm and comforting. It feels a bit like I imagine home would, a true home, not a make do one,” I explain and then widen my eyes, “sorry, that was really weird wasn’t it.”
Raiden’s smile is broad, his eyes lighting up with stars, “Not weird at all.”
“Thank fuck,” I yawn. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“A rest day,” Evander says before anyone else can say anything, and I don’t miss the looks that they give him. He carries on before I can question him, “Did you manage to get anything ordered for yourself?”
“Food?” I ask curiously, and my eyes widen, “Oh my fuck, do you guys have a dessert place around here that delivers?”
The guys burst out laughing, although I am not sure why. This is a pretty serious situation.
“We do,” Griff confirms, his usual stoic expression on his face but a twinkle in his eye.
“Can we order?” I ask excitedly, my butt wriggling where I’m sitting.
“Fucking hell, she’s adorable.” Doc chuckles, he pulls out his phone, presses a couple of buttons, and then hands it to me, “Here, Love, get what you want.”
“Yes! You are my favorite today,” I grin.
“Again!” River exclaims. “How do you keep getting her favorite?”
“I’m just that good,” Doc replies.
I’m too absorbed in picking out desserts, and yes, I am picking out multiple because I have never been good at limiting myself to one thing, so I answer.
“I bet you are,” I reply, the implication clear in my voice. It’s not one of the worst things that I have said. It would have been okay if I had left it at that, but unfortunately, my mouth has other ideas, “I bet you could make me scream in the best way.”
As soon as the words register, I glance up from the phone, as several groans sound around me, and I find myself the subject of heated gazes.
Doc surprises me the most though, because he crouches down next to me gripping my chin as he makes sure that I am looking at him.
“I wouldn’t just make you scream, Neith. I would make you beg. I would bring you to the very edge of oblivion and pull you back until you were screaming my name,” his voice is like a warm caress, seductive and full of promise. I have absolutely no doubt that he is capable of what he is describing.
My body heats, desire flooding my system, his eyes flash gold as he takes breath, and his fingers tense on my jaw—surprise flares in his eyes when I bite back a moan, and my desire spikes. I have always liked a little pain with my pleasure.
My voice comes out breathy, “Promise?”
He gulps.
“Doc,” Evander says, a warning in his tone.
Doc’s thumb rubs along my jaw, his eyes flaring liquid gold again, his voice comes out sounding like pure sex as he leans closer, his lips brushing my ear as he whispers, “I promise, Love.”
Just like that he is gone, standing up and moving away from me, back to where he was standing before, if it weren’t for the remaining heat in his eyes and the watchful gazes of the others, I would have thought that I had imagined it.
I take a deep breath, I want him, I want him really fucking bad. I would accuse him of using his succubus mojo on me, but he is just as affected as I am and even if he had I wouldn’t have cared, the attraction was there before anyway. He didn’t use it on me though, and I know that without a doubt, because of my instincts, they would have let me know if his magic was being used.
I let my eyes dip to the straining bulge in his jeans, lick my lips and then return my attention to the phone in my hand, a smirk playing on my lips.
I give as good as I get.
“Does anyone else want to order something?” I say as I look up from adding the last thing that I want to the basket.
River clears his throat, “Sure, I could do with something sweet after that.”
I chuckle. It turns out that they all want something, so the phone gets passed around them all.
“What about Reed, should we order something for him?” I ask.
“I have already put his favorite into the basket. He’s going to be pissed that he missed that show you two just put on,” Ransom replies, his eyes sparkling with heat.
I snort, which is attractive, “That wasn’t a show, that was barely a preview.”
“Damn,” Raiden smirks. “You really are trouble, aren’t you.”
I shrug, I am, and for more reasons than my love of good sex. I shouldn’t be playing games with them. It’s not going to turn out well for any of us. Even though I am one hundred percent certain that the sex would be fucking mind-blowing. Especially if I could convince a couple of them to let me be the filling in a man-wich.
“Yum,” I mutter.
“What?” Evander asks.
I point to the phone still being passed around, “Just thinking about dessert.”
Van raises his eyebrow like he doesn’t believe me in the slightest but shakes his head, this whole conversation got derailed pretty fucking quickly, and if he questions me further, it’s just going to happen again.
“Before you successfully took the conversation in an entirely different direction, I wasn’t referring to if you had ordered dessert,” Evander says.
“You weren’t?” I ask, my eyebrows furrowing.
Van sighs, “No, I was referring to your clothes situation.”
“Oh,” I reply, “you know actually that makes more sense now that I think about it.”
“Well?” Van asks, when I don’t immediately answer.
“Oh, no I haven’t got anything yet, I need a laptop so I can order some stuff. I am getting pretty low on stuff now, so I probably need to nip into a town or something to get a few essentials,” I admit with a grimace.
“Why the look?” River asks curiously.
“I fucking hate shopping, it makes me cranky,” I admit.
Evander chuckles, “Some things never change. We have to write up the reports tomorrow, if you are feeling up to it, and then we can head back into town.”
I nod, “That would be great, I only have the essentials. If I can borrow someone’s laptop then I can order the rest of the things I need online.”
“Got it,” he replies.
That sounds like a good plan. I'm not too fond of shopping but I should be able to get everything I need in one store depending on the size of the town, and it’s not like I need anything fancy. I am tired, really tired, but not only do I now need to wait for my desserts to be delivered, but I also want Reed to come back.
I don’t like the way that he suddenly disappeared, and I can’t help but feel like it was my fault. Like I did something wrong.
I don’t know how long I sit listening to the guys pick apart the plot holes in a TV show that they have put on before I get up. There is a need riding me hard, I need to find Reed. The trouble is I don’t know where he is, and I don’t want to ask the guys where he is because he probably wants to be left alone. I need a distraction.