Witch Fury

TWENTY-NINE

SARAFINA PRESSED HER PALMS AGAINST THE FLOOR and retched. Her whole world was focused only on that for a moment. When she finished, she closed her eyes as another wave of intense nausea swept through her.

The scent of the place wasn’t helping. It smelled of old blood — tangy and metallic — and a twist of unfamiliar, decaying plants. The spot where she’d landed seemed to exude death and violence. When she moved her hands, cold dirt and grit bit into her palms.

The Atrikan part of Eudae. It had to be.

The look on Theo’s face. . He’d been shattered, terrified. What could he be feeling now? Sarafina couldn’t venture a guess. He’d be feeling like this was his fault, like he’d failed her. Theo thought he failed everyone. This would destroy him.

Her heart grieved that more than anything, even more than the fact that when she lifted her head she would find herself in a brutal alien world with no hope of rescue or escape.

Oh, God, she missed Grosset so much. It hurt like a physical pain in her chest and gut. She knew Theo would take him in as soon as the smoke cleared. As gruff as Theo acted toward her pet, she knew he had a soft spot for Grosset. The little dog would be okay. But she’d never be able to bury her face in his warm fur again.

And Theo.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tears splashed to the concrete floor. Sarafina couldn’t even think about that loss right now. It hurt too much.

Anyway, she’d lost him before Bai had ever grabbed her.

The wave of nausea faded and she rocked back on her heels, taking stock of her situation through her tangled hair.

She blinked, not believing the scene that met her eyes. “What?” They were back in the building in Kentucky, in the room where they’d had the knock-down, drag-out fight with Stefan and the Atrika.

Bai hadn’t moved her to Eudae.

She wondered why for a fleeting moment before a surge of incredible joy made her entire body sing. If she wasn’t on Eudae, there was a slender thread of hope to hold on to. Her euphoria tamped out like a candle in a tornado as soon as she saw the shadow in the corner.

Using one of the tipped-over chairs to help herself up, she stood and grabbed an old towel from one of the tables to wipe her mouth clean. The fabric smelled of herbs.

“What are we doing here?” Her voice echoed eerily in the large, empty space and raised goose bumps along her arms. Dropping the towel, she hugged herself.

Silence.

She sighed. “Look, if you expect me to play broodmare, expect me to bear and raise all your brats, you’d better answer me when I ask you a question, buddy.” He moved his gaze from where he’d been staring off into the distance at some unknowable thing and settled it on her. All her bravado evaporated. “Eudae is not like Earth for Atrikan females. You cannot expect. . respect.” “I’m not an Atrikan female.” “You’re not a full blood, but you carry our spark in your DNA. You are descended from the Atrikan line, I can smell it on you. Why is it do you think I am so attracted to you?” There was so much wrong with that last sentence she couldn’t even begin to fully digest it. She had Atrika in her DNA? Oh, wow, that was so not a compliment.

Bai took a step toward her and she took a step back involuntarily. “You have just the barest trace, as do several others in the Coven.” He tapped his nose. “It’s a special talent of mine.” Another step. And another. For every one he took toward her, she moved back. She knew she might be backing herself into a corner, but she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t want Bai within ten feet of her, even though Bai wanted to get much closer than that.

Much closer.

The backs of Sarafina’s thighs hit an overturned table and she almost went sprawling. The feet of the table scraped against the concrete floor — loud in the otherwise quiet space.

Sarafina spied an abandoned sword on the floor and scooped it up, holding it between her and Bai. Uneasily, she inched around the table to put more distance between them.

Bai held out a huge hand. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant, vae Sarafina.” She raised her sword and gave a grim laugh. “Oh, I intend to make it pretty damn unpleasant, Bai.” “You could learn to accept your circumstances, accept me. It’s my hope that one day you will.” “You mean actually learn to like having sex with a monster, carrying and raising little daaeman bratlings? Serving up raw meat for dinner every night? I think not.” “You have seen only Atrikan battle behavior, not our everyday life.” “I’ve imagined it, and it makes me shudder with revulsion. How do Atrikan children play, anyway? By dismembering small animals?” His eyes glowed red and his lips pulled back a little, revealing sharpened teeth. Man, she really needed to learn to keep her thoughts to herself.

He turned his face to the side and closed his eyes. When he turned back his eyes were no longer red. Apparently, he’d mastered his sudden flash of temper. That was good news for her.

He held out a hand. “Come with me, vae Sarafina. You are so beautiful, like the human image of an angel. Your mother named you well.” She clenched her hands around the sword handle. “Why haven’t you taken me back to Eudae yet?” “I cannot until Stefan gives us what he has promised.” “The elium.”

Bai nodded. “He is not stupid, this warlock. He has managed to manipulate us well, but we will have the better of him in the end.” Sarafina had no doubts on that score. Stefan was stupid — or desperate — to have tried to control this daaeman breed. He deserved anything he got, in the end.

“Stefan somehow gained control of the one thing the entire Atrikan breed never could. How did he do it?” she asked.

Bai smiled. It was a terrifying sight. “Love.” “What?”

He motioned at the sword. “Put the sword down and I’ll tell you how he managed it.” She hesitated, staring at him.

“I will not hurt you, vae Sarafina. I want you to mother my children, after all. At the Coven when Stefan released the magick, I was afraid for you. I searched until I located you with the intention of protecting you.” That made sense in a horrifying, stomach-lurching, bile-in-the-back-of-her-throat kind of way. Sarafina set the sword down on the floor at her feet, then rose and waited expectantly.

“When your head mage, Thomas Monahan, and his woman were pushed into Eudae, preceding them went an Atrika named Ashe. The humans and the aeamon knew him as Erasmus Boyle.” Sarafina nodded. “He was some kind of military leader, wasn’t he?” “Long before he was pulled through the daaeman circle by the Duskoff, he had been high in our military, yes. However, he was in our version of prison for crimes against our people at the time he was yanked to Earth.” Sarafina tried not to imagine how horrible the crimes must have been to land an Atrika in prison.

“He was murdering women and children for pleasure,” Bai answered, perhaps correctly reading her expression.

She screwed her face up. “I didn’t need to know that. So, Ashe was pulled through the demon circle and then what?” Bai recounted the story, explaining that the demon circles that the Duskoff performed were dark magick, blood magick. The warlocks would gather powerful witches from each of the elements and put them in a charmed circle that pulled their magick and life force from their bodies. That helped create a doorway between Earth and Eudae. Through it, they called a daaeman who would be tied to them for a time to do their bidding.

The daaeman called through always matched the emotional energies of the summoning warlocks. That meant the Duskoff always called Atrika through, not Ytrayi, Mandari, or Syari. In addition, the daaeman who was called through always matched the power of the witches sacrificed in the circle. The more powerful the witches, the more powerful the daaeman.

Erasmus Boyle had been called to Earth from the circle that had killed Mira Hoskins’s mother. Boyle was mega-powerful. “He lived here until he devised a way to open a doorway to return home,” Bai explained.

Sarafina nodded. “He killed six witches to do it.” She knew the story.

Bai nodded. “In the course of his quest to return to Eudae, he developed a fascination with Isabelle Novak, whom he decided to use as the last witch to secure the doorway. In order to win her regard, Ashe kidnapped Stefan Faucheux from Gribben and intended to kill him. However, Stefan convinced him to spare his life. Instead, Ashe and Stefan struck a bargain.” She lifted a brow. “A bargain?”

“The warlock formed an alliance with Ashe. Ashe intended to return to Eudae, you see, to urge us to form an interdimensional partnership with the Duskoff, using the portal he had opened. Ashe believed bringing us this partnership would convince us to spare his life.” Sarafina shook her head. She didn’t understand. “But that never happened. Thomas and Isabelle wounded Ashe before he limped over to the other side and was beheaded by the Ytrayi. Thomas and Isabelle were sucked in after him because the doorway was so unstable and they were there when Ashe was killed. They saw it. Ashe never hooked up with the Atrika, so no alliance could ever have been formed between the Atrika and the Duskoff.” Bai smiled.

Sarafina fought the urge to tell him to stop. The smile of a daaeman was nothing happy. All those teeth didn’t warm her heart.

“You are correct,” Bai answered. “Before he died, Ashe planted a small bit of daaeman magick on Eudae for Stefan, which allowed communication to be sent back and forth through the use of an air witch. Ashe loved his people above all else. He must’ve deemed the alliance with the warlocks as something of benefit to the Atrika.” Bai paused. “Indeed, it has been an advantage and will be even more so if Stefan produces the elium.” Sarafina frowned, trying to wrap her mind around it all. Then she remembered the kidnapped air witch from Boston. The one who’d only had enough power to send and receive messages. The woman they’d kept awhile and then simply killed without trying to use in a demon circle.

Had she acted as their telephone?

Sarafina blinked at the implication. “But how did Stefan get the elium?” She shook her head. “For that matter, how did you-all open a doorway between Earth and Eudae and get over here in the first place?” “Ah, that brings us to love. Stefan manipulated Rue, the Cae of the Ytrayi and the holder of the elium, into believing that he and the Duskoff had kidnapped Claire and intended to kill her. Thus, Stefan led him into opening a doorway in a specific location. Once they did, the Duskoff was ready for him. It was a trap, you see.” “So they extracted the elium and killed Rue?” Bai shook his head. “No. It is my understanding that the Duskoff are keeping the Cae alive for the time being and the elium intact within him. I don’t know how they have done this or where they are keeping him, but we have been promised his body and the elium once we have accomplished what Stefan requires of us.” “The destruction of the Coven.”

Bai nodded sharply. “Yes.”

“What do you intend to do with Stefan and the Duskoff once you have what you want?” Bai blinked. “We are not without honor.” “That’s not an answer.”

“The Atrika do not take well to being placed on a leash and told to heel.” His voice had taken on a sharp quality and his eyes flashed red. “Stefan Faucheux has destroyed himself in his quest for revenge. He wanted it badly enough to risk his life and, thus, he will likely lose it.” “You’ll kill Stefan, then take the elium from the Cae, return to Eudae, and overthrow the Ytrayi.” Bai nodded once. “You will see it all because you will return with us. . with me.” He stepped toward her and she glanced down at the sword. “And what if I say no?” He bared his very sharp teeth. “You cannot. Your magick is strong and you’re perfect in every way to carry my children. You’ll return to Eudae and do that.” “How many other wives do you have?”

He looked surprised. “You will be my only one.” “How will I carry your children? Your blood is acidic.” The thought of carrying an acidic daaeman child in her belly made her shudder, not to mention the mental picture of how it might get in there.

“There are ways,” he replied calmly. “Our ancestors bred children on humans in ancient times through the use of—” “Yes, yes, I know. It’s how elemental witches came into existence.” “The concept is much the same.”

“What if I’m in love with someone else?” He roared and Sarafina almost wet herself. “Don’t speak to me of love. Love is for children. Love only gets people in trouble, like it got the Cae of the Ytrayi in trouble.” She couldn’t argue with that last part.

He closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep, steadying breath, once again trying to master his emotions. Bai reached out to her. “Now come. Let’s get to know each other a little while we wait.” Oh, hell no.

Sarafina scooped the sword from the floor and ran for the door. She’d spent an entire day exploring this piece of land; surely she could find a place to hide.

Behind her Bai roared again. His boots clomped on the concrete as he chased her.

Only she’d better hurry.

Good God, this was worse than nightmares she had as a child. The monster in her closet was real and it wanted to do a whole lot more than just kill her.