Witch Fury

SEVENTEEN

HER MOTHER SLAMMED OPEN HER BEDROOM DOOR SO hard the knob stuck in the wall, making a hole.

Sarafina jumped in surprise and gripped her doll close to her, as if it could protect her from the insane glint in her mother’s eyes. Her mom’s frizzy blond hair stood up all around her head as though she’d been electrified, and her body gave off a constant heat that Sarafina could feel even across the room. Her body always gave off that heat, like she was ready to boil.

Today it was even more palpable. Perspiration beaded her mother’s forehead even though it wasn’t warm in the room, and her face was flushed as if she had a fever. Her flowered sundress clung to her damp skin.

But heat wasn’t the only thing emanating from her mother today.

Today the off-balance quality that her mother always displayed seemed more severe. Today Sarafina suspected something had sent her mother over the edge of the precipice she always balanced on.

Today was a dangerous day.

Sarafina’s body tensed. On the dangerous days she went to bed with bruises on her arms and legs, sometimes even odd burn marks from where her mother gripped her skin. Dangerous days were the ones when Sarafina knew to get out of the house fast and stay out.

Her mother took another step toward her, eyeing her narrowly. “You have a wickedness inside you. You have fire in your soul. We have to purge you of the evil, my child, so you can go to God pure.” Purging at her mother’s hands meant pain.

Sarafina noted her mother was moving closer to the bed, leaving the door open. Her gaze darted toward escape as she gripped her doll tight.

“Just like me, Sarafina. Just like your grandmother. Like your father, too. We are all cursed with the hellfire of the devil.” Her mother lunged for her, but Sarafina dove off the side of the bed, leaving her beloved doll behind, and darted past her, feeling displaced air at the nape of her neck where her mother almost grabbed hold of her.

“Sarafina!” her mother raged as Sarafina ran full bore through the living room and out the front door. “Come back here!” Sarafina ran across the front lawn and down the street, feeling the heat of her mother as she drew closer. Glancing back, she saw the glint of something long and sharp in the morning sunlight. Her mother had a weapon.

Neighbors, out in their yards on such a fine day, stared. Too stunned, too complacent. Whatever the reason, no one did anything to help Sarafina as she ran screaming down the street.

She darted between houses and ran through backyards, her short eight-year-old legs pumping as fast as she could make them.

It wasn’t fast enough.

She was no match for the long, adult legs chasing her and every step she took felt like a step backward. The farther she ran, the closer her mother got — her heat and the flash of that pointy thing she held bearing down on Sarafina.

Sarafina’s sandal caught the edge of a sandbox in her friend’s backyard and she went sprawling face-first into it. She scrambled forward, sending sand flying, and turned over just in time to see her mother looming over her.

Sarafina threw her hands up, as if her tiny arms would be enough to ward off the weapon coming toward her and the wild glint in her mother’s eye.

“I’m trying to save you, child,” her mother yelled. “Don’t you see?” “Momma, no!”

Light erupted in a brilliant display. Her mother cried out.

Sarafina scrambled back away from flame, stared for a moment at the sight before her.

Then she screamed.

“Shhh. . it’s all right. Sarafina, wake up. Wake up.” Sarafina roused with a gasp to a warm, hard body against hers. “Alex?” But it couldn’t be Alex, she thought groggily. Alex was out of her life now.

“No,” came a low, rumbling voice. “It’s not Alex. You were screaming in your sleep, Sarafina.” “Theo.” She blinked back tears, a remnant of her nightmare. She had that one so often. Over and over. Like her subconscious just didn’t want her to forget that day. Her conscious mind did, though. Oh, she wanted so much to banish that day into the blackness of nevermore.

Why couldn’t she just let it go, all of it? That memory didn’t serve her and she wanted it gone. Anytime her mind brushed past that event when she was awake, she veered from it, refusing to remember.

But when she was asleep, in her dreams, her subconscious played it over and over on a loop.

“Oh, God, make it stop,” she whispered, melting against Theo’s chest. She couldn’t get enough air. Her throat was closing up. “Why can’t I make it stop?” He rubbed her back and held her close. “It’s okay, Sarafina. It’s over now. You’re awake. All over. Sometimes when a new witch starts training, stuff gets dredged up. The encounter with Bai probably didn’t help, either.” She shook her head. “The dreams have always been there.” She could barely get the words past her constricted throat. “Nothing I do makes them go away.” Her voice held a thread note of hysteria.

“Relax, Sarafina. Take a deep breath.” She gulped in air and let it out slowly.

“There you go. Good. Now, do it again.” Sarafina fought for another lungful and let it out slowly, again and again until the tenseness in her body eased. A sob escaped her, but she didn’t cry. Sarafina was done crying for the woman who’d borne her. She hadn’t truly been her mother, Rosemary had.

Rosemary had been the one to help her cope in the days after this incident. She’d been the one to see Sarafina through her adolescent and teenage years. Rosemary had been the one to help Sarafina banish the cripplingly low self-esteem she’d had as a child from it.

Her foster mother had been the one who’d patiently taught her about life, the one who had loved her. Rosemary had been the one who’d helped her pick out her prom dress and who had held Sarafina while she’d cried from her first heart-break.

The woman who’d borne her wasn’t worth a thought, a memory, let alone a traumatic reoccurring dream.

If only Sarafina could convince her subconscious of that.

“Are you all right?” Theo murmured, stroking her hair.

She drew a trembling breath and took a moment to respond. “I’m better. I’m glad you’re here.” Her voice shook a little.

His arms tightened around her a degree, but he said nothing in response.

Sarafina clung to him in the dark. After the recent couple of awkward days they’d shared since their encounter in his bedroom, she supposed she should’ve felt ill at ease holding on to him so tightly right now. She clung to him like he could save her from the scary monsters in her brain — and maybe the ones who weren’t in her brain, too. The feel of Theo against her only comforted her. He was hard and warm and real, strong enough to dispel residual shadows clinging to her psyche.

“Thank you for waking me up.” Her whisper sounded loud in the dark.

Again, he said nothing in response, but she’d grown used to his less-than-loquacious nature. His silence was more of a comfort than anything else. Anyway, it was just him. Just Theo.

They lay twined together for close to an hour, just breathing. The intimacy warmed her chest, made something inside flutter and dance. His presence chased away the dark memories of her childhood, if only momentarily.

As relaxed fatigue settled heavily over her limbs, Theo rolled her to the side, beneath his big body. “Let me touch you.” The words came heavy and silken in the dark.

Whoa.

She stiffened a little, not because she didn’t want him to touch her but because she hadn’t been expecting him to ask.

“Yes.” The word came out in a soft rush. God, she was pathetic. But to feel something right now, something else, would be a gift.

His voice shook a little. “Let me taste you.” She shivered, fine ripples of pleasure running through her body. Maybe she was dreaming this. If so, she didn’t want to wake up. “Theo, I’m yours.” She spared a thought for Bai and what Stefan had told her. Where was that mysterious daaeman now and why, exactly, did he care whom she slept with? The various reasons why an Atrika would lay such a claim on her chilled her blood.

But then Theo slid his hands along her body and her blood warmed, her muscles made the slow slide to soft butter. All thoughts of Bai, all thoughts of anything but Theo’s hands on her, dissolved like so much sugar into water.

He worked her boxer shorts down and off. Then his big hands were planing her inner thighs and spreading her legs. His chest brushed hers as he worked his way down her body, her nipples tightening just from the memory of his tongue on them. Finally, his breath warmed the skin near her sensitive sex, making her hot and achy before he ever even touched her.

“Why are you doing this, Theo? You confuse me. You leave me alone and then show up in the middle of the night like this.” “Stop talking and let me touch you. I just need a taste—” “But why?” She moaned as his breath warmed her intimate flesh. “If I’m here and I’m willing, I don’t understand—” “I don’t know.” The words came out agonized. “Sarafina, I don’t know why I can’t let myself.” “Let me touch you, too.” She reached out to place her hand on his shoulder.

“No.” The word was uttered forcefully enough to make her draw her hand back. “If you do that, I’ll lose control. I just need to touch you a little.” She groaned and let her head fall back. “What if I want you to touch me a lot?” “Let me do this. Give me.” Of course, he wasn’t really asking for permission. Theodosius Winters didn’t do that. So before she could respond, he just took what he wanted. In the half light of the room, she watched his head descend to her sex.

Her back arched as his tongue swept over her folds, his hands bracing her thighs wide apart. He held her down like he was afraid she’d try to escape. His tongue found her clit and she relaxed into the pillows as his lips played along it, teasing it to the point of orgasm. Sensation spread out in slow waves, enveloping her body and swamping her mind until she couldn’t think straight.

Soon she was helpless against him, moaning beneath him and trying not to beg for more. Theo made low sounds of pleasure that dovetailed with hers, like he loved the taste of her and couldn’t get enough.

His tongue slipped deep inside her sex, filling her up, then went back to the slow, teasing slide against her aroused clit. Again and again, he pushed her to the point of climax, drew back, then built her up again. He pressed his fingers inside her, finding a sensitive place deep within and stroking it over and over in a semblance of what his cock would do — driving her crazy with need.

Over and over he did this, playing her body like it was an instrument. The pleasure zinged through her veins and built to a fever pitch before exploding over her. She shuddered and cried out his name, trembling from the force of her climax. After it was over, she collapsed, sated.

He swiped his tongue over the small tattoo high on her hip, a sun and moon intertwined like a yin-yang symbol. “You said I’d never see it.” “I was wrong,” she murmured.

Theo came up to lie beside her.

Sarafina turned to him. “Please don’t run away this time. Give me that, at least.” Silence.

She reached out and touched his chest, but her hand on him only made him stiffen. “I want to touch you.” “No. This has already gone too far.” She withdrew her hand, even though her fingers itched to explore his chest, to trace the scars and tattoos. Her fingers curled a little at the thought of delving past the button fly of his jeans to discover the treasures below it.

“I don’t understand you,” she said finally. The words fell into the stillness of the room like rocks.

“No one does.” Pause. “Not even I do.” “But I want to get to know you.”

He said nothing. The moonlight shone in from the cur tainless window, painting his face and throat in pale silver and bleaching the color from his hair. His eyes were open and his face troubled.

“Will you let me try?” she whispered.

“Let’s just get through tonight. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” That was not an answer at all.

“Don’t leave tonight, Theo. Stay here with me.” He didn’t reply, but he did close his eyes. Sarafina took that as acquiescence. Closing her eyes, her mind was a jumble of Theo. What was going on in his head? What drove him to behave this way, waking her up in the middle of the night to touch her like she was his fix? To tell her in a roundabout way that he needed her and at the same time hold her away from him with one hand?

Theo did need her. Sarafina could see that. She needed him, too. With every passing moment he became more intriguing to her, more a person she simply had to get to know.

She just wasn’t sure how to break down his barriers enough to make that happen.

THEO STAYED WITH HER ALL NIGHT. HE WRAPPED himself around her body and saw her through until the morning.

But when she woke, Theo was gone.

She could hear low voices in the living room of the suite, so she rolled off the side of the bed and discovered she was naked.

Oh, yeah. Right. Now she remembered.

The eroticism of her encounter with Theo in the early morning hours came rushing back to meet her. Her knees went weak as her body recalled the broad, hard press of his hand against her inner thigh and the slow stroke of his tongue along her sex.

She sat down on the side of the bed and drew a deep breath before recovering enough to make it into the bathroom for a shower.

When she emerged, she dressed from head to toe in Ralph Lauren — a filmy eggshell blouse, a gorgeous lavender skirt, and designer heels that brought the two colors together. The clothes had again been gifts from the Coven. It was important that Stefan thought she desired the “good” things in life.

As she curled her hair becomingly around her face, she decided that her mind was a little clearer from the hot pound of the water. She touched up her makeup and exited the bedroom.

Theo sat on the edge of the couch, wearing only a pair of faded blue jeans. His hair was still mussed from the night before, and he held an empty coffee cup in one hand.

His gaze rose to meet hers, his pupils dilating. The memory of what they’d done together the night before seemed to dwell in his dark gaze. It made her cheeks heat and her sex along with it. Sarafina had to look away quickly.

Darren sat in an armchair, wearing a pair of expensive-looking gray trousers and a light white sweater. Two unfamiliar women and a man sat nearby.

She nodded. “Darren.”

He gave her a head-to-toe sweep. The kind men gave women when they thought they were attractive. Sarafina’s face warmed again. “Sarafina.” “I see you’re eager to get back to the Duskoff.” That was from Theo, and it came out friendly enough to the uneducated ear. Sarafina heard the aggressive undercurrent, however.

She managed to meet his gaze levelly. “I’m eager to do what needs to be done.” Theo motioned with the empty coffee cup toward a cart in the corner of the room, near the small bar. “I had breakfast sent up.” She nodded, unwilling to look at him.

“I’d like you to meet Gina, Lily, and Carl,” said Darren. He motioned to the Boston Coven witches, who all nodded and said their hellos. “I brought ten total. The rest are staying in various places around Manhattan. We’re here just in case.” Yes. Just in case.

“Thanks for coming.”

Darren shrugged. “Give us a crack at Stefan Faucheux, even the possibility of one, and we’ll take it.” His voice and expression had gone hard.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Gina, a dark-haired earth witch with a heavy build.

Sarafina walked over to the spread, picked up a croissant, and nibbled on the end. “The plan is,” she said in between bites, “I go back to Stefan this morning and tell him I want in. I find out as much as I can about what they’re doing. Simple enough.” She turned around to seek a cup of coffee and realized her hands were trembling. Damn it. Her stomach had a cold, empty, fluttery feeling, too: stage fright.

“What about the daaeman who is so enamored of you?” asked Darren.

“The daaeman is Stefan’s pet.” She sipped a bit of the hot black blend, closed her eyes, and relaxed for a moment. Ahhh, that was better. “I do think he intends to feed me to the monster at some point, but he wants something from me first. Until Stefan gets that from me, he’ll control Bai as much as he’s able.” “But you’re not safe from him.”

She turned to face Darren. “I’m not safe from Bai anywhere.” Darren gave her another slow sweep of his gaze, respect now lighting his eyes. He was a water witch and typically water and fire repelled each other. All the same, Darren seemed quite attracted to her. But Sarafina was all filled up with Theo. She didn’t share Darren’s feelings; hers were already reserved.

Too bad she’d picked a lost cause.

Theo stood. “Come here. I have a charm to give you.” She set her mug and croissant down and walked over to him. He took a small silver necklace from his back pocket and dangled it in front of her. It winked prettily in the morning light.

“Do you understand the significance of the pentagram?” he asked her.

She reached out and fingered it. The metal was still warm from his body heat. “I know the Wiccan hold it dear, but I don’t know what it symbolizes. My birth mother raised me Baptist, so it’s a little, well. .” She trailed off, not wanting to offend anyone.

Rosemary had been agnostic and Sarafina’s churchgoing had ended with her. Still, as a throwback to her childhood, the thought of Wicca made her sweat a little. The upright pentagram, as a symbol of that pagan religion, made her a bit nervous, she was ashamed to say. Early childhood experiences cut deep, it appeared, clung hard to the psyche. Her recurring nightmares were evidence enough of that.

She looked up at Theo who studied her solemnly. Theo probably was Wiccan. Figured. What he’d said earlier about the afterlife had made her think that. Everything else about him made her sweat, so why not his religion, too?

“It’s not a symbol of Satan,” said Theo. “That’s a myth fundamentalists believe, partially based on stuff cooked up by fifteenth-century Christian propagandists to vilify pagans. Wiccans don’t even believe in Satan.” She nodded and licked her lips. “I know. I mean, I’ve read that.” “Good.” His hand closed around hers. He placed his index finger to each point as he spoke. “Air, water, fire, earth. This last one is for spirit.” She frowned, feeling the pendant. “It’s thick.” Theo nodded. “It’s got water in it, water I charmed this morning so that Darren can use it to track you. Wherever you go, we’ll follow.” She turned and gathered her hair on top of her head so Theo could put it on her. Was it her imagination or did his fingers linger at the nape of her neck longer than they should have? Did they brush the tiny hairs there a little? His touch gave her goose bumps, made her tremble.

Theo stepped away from her; she noticed the loss of his body heat. “It’s also calibrated to gauge your emotion. If you have a surge of fear or panic, we’ll know something is wrong and come in after you.” “Okay, then.” Shivering a little, she let her hair drop into place and turned. “Let’s go.”