Witch Heart

CHAPTER TWELVE

She blinked. "What?"

"The elium, Claire." His eyelids lowered a little, along with his voice — smooth black velvet. "What did you think I meant?"

Adam tried hard to keep up the facade of a carefree, joking man, but Claire could see through it. All was laid bare in his blue eyes, which teemed with a turmoil and darkness that often contradicted his harmless grin. Perhaps he'd fooled the Coven witches, but he hadn't fooled her.

Adam was a man to watch out for, a man with a temper, a past, and an appetite to do damage because of it all.

"I never know for certain with you." Was her voice shaking a little? Damn it!

"As a fire witch, healing lies within my domain. You say the elium is like a cancer within you, so let me explore it. Maybe I can help." His thumb continued to stroke her palm.

"Stop that," she snapped.

"I'm trying to make you relax."

"It's having the exact-opposite effect."

The stroking stopped. "Sorry, baby."

Irritation flashed. "Don't call me baby. I am not your baby. Stop it."

He grinned. "Sorry, Claire. Relax now."

"You won't be able to — oh." Her breath hitched and her eyes closed.

His power invaded her senses — spicy, strong, hot. It curled through her body like a velvet ribbon with a mind and a mission. It reminded her of the first time Rue had tweaked her power, but that had been purposeful, matter-of-fact. This was seductive, sexual.

Adam's magick permeated her skin and soaked through her, like a smoky awareness. It wasn't threatening, but rather something subtle and soft. It reached into her body, exploring her within — seeking, seeking…

She shivered. "How can you do that?"

"Don't underestimate us lowly witches." His voice was a silken snare. "We all have our specialties. Now relax."

"I don't think of you as low—oh." The sleek tangle he wove through her did things that had nothing to do with magick, not the elemental kind, anyway. She was powerless to tell him to stop.

"That's right. Just allow it."

Her knees went weak and Adam helped her to sit on the couch. He knelt on the carpet in front of her and continued the exploration.

Then he found the elium and she jerked, her eyes coming open. What had been the brush of velvet and silk now rasped like burlap. It didn't hurt, but it did jar in comparison. The elium was an oddity, not fitting with the rest of her magic. Adam's gentle exploration brought that fact home clearly.

His eyes were closed. "Ah, there it is." The internal stroking began again, calming her back into relaxation. "I can feel it. It's rougher than the rest of your magick, foreign. It doesn't fit with your base power, like a puzzle piece with irregular edges, but it's still elemental in nature."

Her body had gone heavy and warm. Adam's fingers tangled through her hair and massaged the base of her neck as the tendrils of his power curled through her. She swallowed hard and had to force her vocal cords to work. "It's daaeman magick, not elemental."

"Maybe, but it is elemental at its core, Claire. I can taste the fire in it. It calls to me. Fire and metal. I can feel cold, hard ore. The tang of it, almost like copper but not quite, coats the back of my mouth. Wood is present, too. It's otherworldly fire, metal that I can't place, and foreign wood. They're—"

"Elements of Eudae."

"Yes, maybe."

She opened her eyes. Adam's mouth was only a breath's width from hers. He'd been staring at her as he worked, his eyes unfocused. Now they focused. His fingers ceased the gentle massage at her nape for several heartbeats, then resumed.

Claire thought for a moment that Adam would close the short space between their lips and kiss her. They held a heated moment between them before Adam released her, the magickal tendril of his power yanking from her with a palpable snap. She let out the breath she'd been holding.

Adam turned away, his shoulders hunched, a slight tremble going through him. "How much do you know about demon magick? Educate me."

She forced her mind into first gear with effort. She cleared her throat and, with it, tried to clear the lazy fog that Adam had settled over her mind and body. "I can't do what you just did. I've never touched any daaeman magick with my power, but it seems natural there would be elemental magick in daaeman magick."

"Why do you say that?"

She swallowed hard and organized her thoughts. "Our magick was born of theirs, so the elements must be present in their power."

"Yes." He turned to her. His face was once again that mask she was familiar with, but shadows moved through his eyes. "I bet you can touch another witch's power, Claire. Witch, being the operative word. It's a skill only some have, and with your abilities I bet you have it. Want to try? You never had the opportunity on Eudae. Here you do."

She took a step toward him, intrigued by the possibility. "Can I try on you?"

A cocky grin split the serious expression on his face, but something unsure moved through his gaze. It was gone in a moment and he walked to her. "That was the general idea."

She touched the center of his chest, the seat of his magick. "How do I start?"

"Close your eyes."

She allowed her eyelids to drift down. His hand closed over hers, broad, strong, and warm. It made her jump.

"Shhh, it's all right, Claire." His voice was the barest whisper and she could too easily imagine him using it in bed with her, limbs and sheets entangled. She licked her suddenly dry lips.

"Now, draw a thread of your power," he instructed. "However you do that, from one element or a couple. Parse out just a little and send it into me."

She did as he instructed, feeling the sluggishness of the Earth she now resided on. Working magick here was akin to living on the moon her whole life and then having to get used to gravity. Focusing her power, she eased it to Adam's chest, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed it in.

His breath caught and his hand tightened on hers. "Yeah," he breathed. "You're in."

Her mouth twitched a little at the desire in his voice. It was arousing to feel another's power rub against yours that way. Nice to know he felt it, too. Now if she could excite him to the point of insanity and then walk away, they'd be even.

She would if she could.

Inching a little closer to him, so she just brushed his chest, she allowed her magick free rein in his body, touching the fiery heat that dwelt within his seat. It was dangerous, playing with power like his. You could get burned if you went too far. So she resided just on the edges of it, licking at it with her own magick, rubbing up against it like a cat.

He pulled her against his body with a groan and his hard cock pressed against her stomach. His hands slipped to her waist, sought the hem of her shirt and her skin beneath it.

"Claire, fuck—" he bit off. His hands went to the button and zipper of her jeans, lingered there. The heat of his fingers warmed her abdomen.

Finally, some reaction from him. Maybe she wasn't just chopped liver after all.

The problem was that she was reacting, too; her body was responding to his interest in her. The game she played with him might cost her considerably. She stroked his magick anyway, calling it to hers to pet.

Suddenly, his hands tightened around her and his magick flashed white-hot. She gasped, snapping her power back into herself as he pushed her away. She sat down hard on the couch behind her.

Then he was there, with his hands on her knees. "Are you okay, Claire?"

"I–I'm fine. What was that?"

"You," his voice sounded ragged. "It was you. It was hard for me to hold myself back. Eventually, I couldn't." He paused. "The draw between us should have evened out by now, but I'm still really attracted to you. Too much."

Her head snapped up. "I thought you couldn't feel it."

"Oh, hell, Claire, I feel it every second you're near me."

That was great, but it still didn't explain why he hadn't been touching her. By all rights, if he was feeling even a fraction of what she was feeling, he should have been all over her. "It should have faded by now."

"I know." His voice came out a low growl. "Goddamn it, I know."

She swallowed hard at the heated look in his eyes. At the moment he looked ready to push her back onto the couch and strip her clothes off right then and there. Not even Ty had looked at her that way — like she was a four-course meal and he hadn't eaten in days.

"Why do you seem so concerned by the attraction between us, Adam?"

He broke his intense study of her face. "Claire, I don't know what to say." Adam turned his head away and rubbed his hand over a jaw that needed a shave. "Look—"

"Hey."

They both looked up to find Theo staring hard at them from the entrance of the living room. Correction, staring hard at Adam.

"Got something to say?" Adam asked. He didn't move his hand from her knee and there was a challenge to his voice. Some unspoken communication passed between the two men.

Theo stared at him a moment longer and then looked at her. "You all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Theo's shoulders were tense. "If you ever aren't all right, you come to me."

Adam stood. "What's the big deal, Theo? I was helping her with her magick. She got burned by mine and I was making sure she was okay."

"Yeah, well, it looked to me like you wanted to help her with more than just her magick." Theo moved his gaze to Claire again. "Like I said, if he gives you trouble you don't want, you come to me."

Adam shifted, visibly bristling. His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn't reply.

Claire tried not to smile. These aeamon weren't as disciplined as the Ytrayi, but the males had just as much testosterone pumping through their veins. "What if he gives me trouble I do want?"

Theo mastered his surprise well, but she still caught it moving over his face like a swiftly moving cloud. He blinked. "That's between you two. I'm not the house mother."

She didn't know what a house mother was, but she surmised he was saying he wasn't in charge. "That's good to know."

Adam shifted and a bored look overcame his face. "Did you come in here to actually say something interesting, Theo?"

"I just talked to Thomas. He's handpicked ten witches to intercept us and help us guard Claire until Micah makes some progress. They're going to trickle out of the Coven, make sure they're not being watched, meet up, and travel here. Thomas said we can expect them tomorrow morning sometime."

"Who?" Adam asked.

"I only know James, Craig, Erin, Tom Blake, Andrea, Lisa M., and Ingrid for sure are coming. He didn't name the rest. Jack fought to come, but Thomas nixed it because of the baby."

Adam nodded. "It's a good crew."

"Just about the best. If Jack and Thomas were in it, it would be."

Claire stood, suddenly feeling cold. She hugged herself. "I don't want the best of the Coven witches put in danger for me."

Theo fixed her with a stare. "This isn't just about you, Claire. We don't want the Atrika to have the elium either. That could be dangerous for us."

"You're not worried about the Ytrayi?"

Theo shrugged. "The Ytrayi are a wild card, but they've gone out of their way to leave us alone." He shook his head. "We don't know what the Atrika would do with the elium in their hands. Trust me, this is about self-preservation just as much as it is about saving your life."

"You're awfully talkative there, Theo. Did you get laid last night or something?" asked Adam.

"Fuck you, Adam," he shot back… and actually grinned. Claire was surprised the man's face didn't crack.

"I want to take Claire to the park," said Adam. "We need to get out of the house." He turned to her. "Wanna get out of here for a while?"

"You don't have to ask me twice."

Theo's grin had faded.

Adam noticed and held up a hand toward the earth witch. "Hey, man, you know the Atrika can come in here whenever they want. We could have Claire locked down in Gribben and the demons would tear through it like tinfoil. The wards mean nothing to them. They haven't attacked for four days, which means they don't know where we are. It's okay if we go out for a while. Claire needs some space and fresh air."

She did. Adam had nicely anticipated her needs… in that regard anyway.

"Like I said, I'm not the house mother." Theo glowered a moment longer, then disappeared back through the doorway.

Adam looked at her for a full moment, then grinned and held out his hand. "Let's ditch this place for a while."

A few minutes later they were out in the car. Neither of them bothered with coats, since they both had fire magick to call. The Charger vroomed to life and settled into a low purr, the vehicle humming beneath her with obvious leashed power.

Adam curled his hands around the steering wheel and closed his eyes for a moment. Bliss enveloped his features.

"You love this car," she said when he put it into drive and hit the gas pedal.

"It's a thing of beauty. What's not to love?"

She settled into her seat and watched the scenery pass by — huge, older homes that housed wealthy families. Perfectly trimmed lawns. Careful sidewalks. There were no cold, hard edges here. In this place, Claire felt a little more at ease. Or maybe it was the man beside her that put her at ease. Adam had an alternating effect on her. One minute he made her blind with need, the next she was comforted by his presence.

He turned down another of the pretty streets and they traveled out of the residential area and into a commercial one. Shops twinkled brightly in the early evening and couples walked hand-in-hand down the street.

Must be nice, she mused, to have someone all your own. Someone you could share yourself with, body and soul. Even though she'd learned to live without that, a part of her longed for it. Longed for a person to call her own in this world, or any of them.

"You know this place well," she said, distracting herself from the dangerous, self-indulgent path her thoughts were taking. "You know right where you're going."

"I have ties here. Family." He paused and drew a breath. "My wife's family, actually. They live around here. My wife and I were both born and raised in Chicago, but she had extended family up here, uncles and cousins. I used to come to the cities with her sometimes."

Claire really didn't hear much after the word wife. She'd turned and begun to study him with fierce attentiveness. "You're married?"

He glanced at her. "No. Not anymore." His voice had gone tight, as tight as his white hands gripping the steering wheel.

Claire searched her memory, as she so often did, for her mother's teachings. "You're divorced, then?"

"No, we never divorced."

She stared straight ahead, working it out. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Wasn't your fault." He cast her a sideways grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. Not even close. "Anyway, lots of the Coven witches have ties to Minnesota. Maybe there was a genetic pool here, some kind of witchy draw or something, I don't know. Ingrid is from around here. Jack McAllister, too. Thomas even keeps an apartment around the cities. Me, I just know it secondhand."

"Might be the water and trees."

"Excuse me?"

"The elements in this state are strong. Lots of water. I can feel it all calling to me."

"They don't call it the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for nothing. There are a lot of water witches here, according to Micah." He took a left. "Here we are, Cherokee Park."

Adam slid the Charger into a spot. They got out and walked into the trees. It was a bit cold outside, so there was no one around. The residential street opposite the park was quiet.

Once they were well into the park, Claire felt more at ease. She stopped for a moment by a towering tree. Leaning against it, she splayed her hand on the rough bark and closed her eyes, soaking in the environment. The cool air kissed her cheek and rustled the branches of the tree overhead. The ground was soft beneath her feet and the scent of earth subtly reached her nose.

This was the earth she remembered from her childhood.

Green, growing, redolent with the scent of the raw element. All of the elements were here save fire, though the possibility of that one existed everywhere, all the time. Ah, yes, now the human part of her was home.. .finally.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said, her eyes still closed. Emotion rocked through her, stimulating the water magick in her seat.

The heat of him wanned her, he stood so close. "I thought you might like a little nature in your diet. After I felt your magick, with all four elements combined, I figured you were probably dying for some of this."

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air. "And I didn't even know I needed it."

He jerked his head. "Come on, I want to show you something."

She followed him, almost unconsciously locking step with his.

Adam glanced at her, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So what's with the Houses thing?"

Claire frowned, then realized he referred to the expression she used. "The Four Houses of the Universe. It's the primary religion of the daaeman. I was raised on it. There are four houses, each with a spiritual patron, one for each of the daaeman breeds. When daaeman die, they live between lifetimes in their respective house, awaiting rebirth." She pursed her lips. "Where they figure the aeamon go, I've no clue. I suspect they think we're soulless."

He missed a step. "Demon religion. That's wild."

"Why? They have a culture just like you. Religion, laws, art."

"Yeah, that's what Micah keeps saying. It's just strange. I mean, here demons are a part of our religion. They're the bad guys, the devil's pals. They're the ones responsible for all the evil in the world and are the creatures some people blame for their own bad behavior. Demons possess people, make them do malicious things."

Claire went silent, thinking on what he said. "The breeds once dwelt here, a very long time ago, during your biblical times and long before. They coexisted with humans, even had babies with them."

Adam nodded. "That's what created witches."

"Yes. Now, I don't know for certain, but I'd make a guess that because the daaeman were so otherworldly, so like gods, that they became a legend in your culture. Eventually perhaps they were made into these creatures that spread evil. I can see how they would be perceived that way by humans."

"But Atrika really are pure evil."

She nodded. "Yes. The Atrika are living weapons, created only to fight wars on a scale that has likely never been seen on Earth. The Ytrayi, Syari and Mandari lived with the humans in harmony. The Atrika hunted them and occasionally fathered children on the females, oftentimes through rape. The bridge was open to all the breeds back then, before the Ytrayi tried to rid Eudae of the Atrika."

"Too bad they weren't more successful."

"It's true the Atrika are bloodthirsty, every last one of them. They were designed to be that way. They're the most emotional of the breeds, too. The emotion makes them even more dangerous because they act from impulse and on selfish whim. Ever since the wars on Eudae ended, they've been bored. The other breeds — mostly — think of the greater good of their race before making decisions."

"A bored Atrika is a dangerous Atrika."

"Any kind of Atrika is a dangerous Atrika."

Falling into silence, they walked through a copse of trees in the darkening twilight. Leaves crunched under their shoes and their breath showed in the cool evening air.

Claire caught her breath as the view emerged.

Adam came to a stop beside her. "The bluff overlooking the Mississippi."

"It's gorgeous."

Adam had known what she'd needed more. All he'd had to do was touch her power and he'd understood her better than anyone else had in a long time. She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply. "You really do know how to heal people."

"That's my thing, strangely enough. Odd skill to have in such a destructive element." The edge of his mouth crooked upward. "Healing is my greatest strength. Thomas would say my greatest strength is demolition and I'm pretty good at that, too, but healing? Yeah, that's really my thing."

She stared at him for a long moment, looking past the surface of the personality he put on display and straight into the center of him. Claire tipped her head to the side. "So you heal everyone but yourself?"

His slight smile faded and he shifted a little. "Everyone's got wounds."

She redirected her gaze to stare out over the bluffs. "True, but some people's are deeper than others."

He jerked his gaze away from her. "Mine aren't."

She didn't believe him.

The sun sank below the horizon, tangling the sky in hues of red, orange, purple, and yellow until full dark settled over them.

"Maybe this place can be beautiful after all," she murmured.

"Claire?"

She turned toward him and opened her mouth to answer, but he pulled her up against his chest and settled his lips over hers.