Witch Heart

CHAPTER FIVE

Chaos exploded.

Thomas whirled toward Tevan in combat position even as Adam yanked Claire back hard against him.

Apparently, the tearful reunion would have to wait.

Claire stumbled back and around, watching Adam reach to the nape of his neck and pull a copper blade from the sheath apparently concealed under his long coat. Thomas and Theo had done the same.

Tevan would have his hands full, whether or not he'd ingested the caplium that would make him partially immune to the bite of copper. Claire had taught Thomas how to wield his magick to get it past an Atrika's shields.

"Come on, honey, we've got to go," Adam ground out as he pulled her down the corridor. "Thomas will have my ass on a platter if I don't keep you safe and a fucking Atrika demon just fixed his beady red eyes on you with murderous intent."

Claire glanced back at Thomas and the other witch, Theo. They'd engaged with the daaeman right there by the reception desk. By all Four Houses, she wanted to use her magick! She hated that she was vulnerable and powerless as any common human right now.

Just like the ones who would soon be spilling out into the corridors as a result of the earth magick no longer being focused on keeping them behind doors. "But what about—"

Adam yanked her down the corridor with a strength she couldn't fight, cutting off her sentence. Clearly, she wouldn't be around to see the looks on the human's faces if this fire witch had anything to do with it.

Together they ran to the end of the corridor, turned right, and bolted out a pair of double doors with a flashing red sign above it that read emergency exit. Yes, this was an emergency.

They pounded their way down flight after flight of stairs, their footsteps echoing through the stairwell. Adam kept her hand tight in his and gripped the sword handle in his opposite hand.

"What about the humans?" she panted at Adam. "They're going to start coming out of the rooms, into the corridors."

"Yeah, I know. We don't ordinarily open cans of magickical whoop ass where the normals can see. In this case, I don't know. Thomas and Theo will do their best, but it depends more on that Atrika than anything else. I doubt the demon cares much if he's seen."

"He does. I don't know why but they don't want attention drawn to themselves. I noticed I was safe whenever I was around humans." She paused, remembering the diner. "Well, mostly."

"That's good. We'll take any advantage we've got at this point."

At the bottom of the stairs, he guided her into a corner and carefully opened the door. Apparently, he found the other side Atrika-free because he sheathed his weapon. He threw her the bag draped over his shoulder. "In there you'll find a change of clothes and a wig. Go on and change."

Breathing hard more of pure fear than physical exertion, she doffed her pajama top immediately.

"Oh, fuck," Adam breathed. He turned around.

She wasn't wearing any undergarment beneath.

Oops.

Claire finished dressing, remembering belatedly that Earth customs were different than Eudae customs. Her mother had explained that to her before she'd died. "I apologize, but now is not the time for modesty." She threw her hospital clothing into a corner, having shed all of it but the soft slippers.

Adam turned back around, a grin spread across his mouth. "Did I say I minded?"

Claire's cheeks warmed and she crammed the blond wig over her head. It covered her long, curly dark hair.

She could have forgotten to dress every day on Eudae, walked around naked all the time, and the Ytrayi daaeman would never have given her more than a cursory glance. It wasn't that they didn't view her in a sexual way, it was more that they respected her female status in such a formal, regimented way that they would never allow their libidos to get out of control. They would never note their arousal or comment on her beauty out loud. She'd been totally safe from them.

It was important to remember that aeamon males were different. They would view her in a way the Ytrayi didn't — as a sexual possibility — and did not, by all accounts, have the same restraint and discipline an Ytrayi had.

That was something to get used to. Something important to remember.

He grabbed her hand and opened the door a crack again. "Okay, come on. We have to get out of this building. Hell's breaking loose." Adam pulled her along behind him as he slipped out into the corridor beyond the door.

Two policemen bustled down the hallway past them toward the elevators, hands on their service revolvers.

"Thomas said to go out the Emergency Room exit if we got split up." Adam steered her down a corridor past people in wheelchairs and on gurneys who were accompanied by nurses and doctors.

They made their way through the emergency room waiting area. Claire got an eyeful: there was a woman with a bloody leg, a flushed, tired-looking child, and a man holding his stomach among the waiting throng. Adam guided her out a pair of automatic sliding doors and into the blessedly fresh air.

A shiny silver vehicle pulled in front of them, tires squealing. The dark earth witch, Theo, he was called, sat in the front seat. Thomas drove.

"Get in quick," Theo commanded.

Adam opened the back door, pushed her in, and quickly followed after her. She ended up with her cheek to the leather upholstery and Adam's big body pinning hers as Thomas sped away.

The fire witch helped her sit up and she found herself tucked against his side, his arm around her. His heat calmed her, so he didn't move away.

Thomas glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Hi, Claire." His gaze was warm, affectionate. Like a brother's.

Her heart plummeted to her toes and she realized she still nursed, way deep down, a little flame for this man. Stupid. She knew all too well his heart belonged to another.

Claire reached out and fingered his blacker-than-obsidian hair. In spite of everything, she grinned. "It's growing back in."

"Everything broken heals. It's good to see you."

Her grin broadened. "Well, that's a lie."

"Okay," he amended with the shrug of one broad shoulder and a disarming smile flashing in the rearview mirror. "I'd prefer it be under different circumstances." He paused. "What are you doing Earth-side and can you tell me why we just had to evade two Atrika demons, Claire?"

She drew a breath, pulled the blond wig from her head, and told him everything that had happened to her in the last forty-eight hours.

"I can't use my magick," she finished. "Rue gave me this ball of… this… this power that the Atrika want so badly and then pushed me through the doorway. I don't know how to wield this daaeman magick yet. I think it's a weapon called the elium and it could kill me or those around me if I try. I only used my own magick in the hospital to reach out to air witches out of pure desperation." She twisted the fake hair in her lap. "You remember how hard it was to kill one Atrika—"

"Now there are two Earth-side."

She nodded.

"But no more. If Rue crashed the doorway, that means no more than two came through. At least there's that."

Claire raised her gaze to meet Thomas's in the mirror for a moment. "Rue crashed the doorway, which means no one comes through… or goes back. Not until he gets it up again, which is time-consuming and difficult to do." She pressed her lips together. "If he's still alive."

"We know how hard it is to create a doorway, Claire. We've been trying to do that for the last eleven months, to pull you through." She started in surprise, but Thomas went on. "I know you declined to come back with me, Claire, but you looked uncertain about your decision to stay."

She dipped her head and studied her jean-clad knee. "I was afraid to leave the life I knew, but a part of me did want to return with you that night."

"I thought so."

"Fear won," she finished, swallowing hard. "I missed the Earth I remembered, but I was afraid to leave Eudae."

He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. "And now here you are, despite your fear."

"Yes."

"Were you punished for helping me escape, Claire?"

That night was burned into her memory. She'd spent weeks nursing Thomas through the torture Rue had inflicted on him, weeks planning his escape. On the night her plans had come to fruition and she'd helped Thomas from his cell to the portal chamber, the Ytrayi had discovered her betrayal. There had been a battle, but she'd taught Thomas how to fight daaeman with his elemental earth magick and they'd fought their way down the corridors of Yrystrayi successfully.

She'd betrayed the Ytrayi out of allegiance to the aeamon, because she was one. She'd done it to show Rue she was not his, that he'd never broken her and shouldn't take her for granted. She'd done it to show the Ytrayi she could do it, to prove her strength to them. Finally, she'd done it in honor of the love Thomas and Isabelle shared.

"Yes, I was punished, but not badly." She reflected. "Well, it was bad enough. Rue hobbled me magickically for six months."

Thomas glanced at her in the mirror. "But they didn't hurt you? I was very concerned they'd hurt you physically."

She shook her head. "Rue would never allow me to come to harm, no matter how dire my crime." Claire paused. "Until now, anyway."

"You're valuable to Rue, aren't you?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "I'm a magickal oddity on Eudae. A diversion, an… entertainment for him."

"What, like a pet?" Adam growled beside her.

"No, I'm more than that. I'm a servant, his handmaiden, but Rue has some emotional attachment to me. I am his property, though."

Adam's arm tightened around her. "Not anymore you aren't."

The realization that she was now free hadn't registered until that moment. Lightness flared briefly in her chest right before the sentiment crashed straight to her toes.

She shook her head. "Rue will come for me." She paused and drew a breath. "I remain his property."

Theo spoke for the first time as he turned toward her. "We need to deal with the Atrika demons first. Then we'll think of how to handle your keeper." He bared his teeth briefly, making Claire think he probably already had some idea of what he wished to do with Rue. "But you're only property if you choose to be." He turned back around.

"The Atrika will come after me with a vengeance," said Claire. "They can scent me from a long distance because of the nature of my magick. They also freely use blood magick, unlike the Ytrayi. I don't know much about blood magick, but they may have access to a tracking spell."

Thomas glanced at her in the mirror. "That's why we're running. Right now. When we've put some distance between ourselves and these guys, we'll stop and regroup, figure out where to go from there."

"What? We?" Claire leaned forward. "No, Thomas. I will not allow you to become more involved in this than you already are. What about Isabelle? You need to protect her from the threat I've brought with me."

Adam snorted.

Thomas met her gaze in the mirror. "Protect Isabelle? Clearly, you've never met my wife. Isabelle knows how much we owe you, Claire. She'd skin me alive for not doing all I could to keep you safe."

Adam laid his hand flat against her back. The heat of his palm radiated through her shirt and into her skin. "It's not safe for you to go it alone."

She turned wild eyes toward him. "It's not safe for Isabelle! Or for anyone because of me."

"Because of Rue, not you, Claire." Thomas's hand tightened a degree on the steering wheel. "I've warned the Coven already. Those who are vulnerable to a possible attack have already left the building. Jack, Mira, and the baby, for example. I told Isabelle to go, too."

"Think she listened?" Adam's mouth curved in a smile.

Thomas glanced in the mirror. "You know Isabelle. Anyway, the Atrika are hunting Claire. They're not going to the Coven, so everyone there is safe. They're coming straight at us."

She flopped back against the seat. "Stop the car immediately. I'm getting out. I didn't save you on Eudae to send you back to Isabelle only to have you killed by an Atrika here."

"Claire," said Thomas in a steel-backed voice. "I'm not arguing with you about this."

She jerked her chin at Theo and Adam. "I suppose both of you have loved ones, too?"

Theo just stared straight ahead and said nothing. Adam looked down at his shoes. Neither of them answered.

"No?" She jerked her hand out. "Well, then, fine. These two are expendable. They can help me get free of the Atrika. You, Thomas, as head of the Coven most certainly are not expendable and shouldn't be anywhere near me right now."

Adam frowned. "Expendable? I'm not sure I—"

Claire leaned forward, gesturing. "I will not be responsible for putting your people's head mage in harm's way. I will not argue about that with you, Thomas."

"I actually agree with her," said Theo.

The car went silent. Seems that this one didn't speak often, but when he did, people listened.

Theo continued. "I believe what she's suggesting is a wise course of action. Adam and I can take her out of Chicago, away from the demons hunting her. You can go back and protect the Coven. They need your leadership now more than ever, Thomas."

"Exactly." Claire sat back with a huff of breath. She cared too much about Thomas to see him in danger's path now, and she wouldn't be the one to put him there.

Thomas's fingers tightened to whiteness on the steering wheel.

"I don't exactly think Theo and I are expendable." Adam shot her a glance laced with icicles. "But I have to say that Claire and Theo have a point. We don't need you anyway, boss. Theo and I are totally capable of making sure Claire stays safe."

Thomas glanced up into the rearview mirror at the phrase, we don V need you anyway, his lips compressing. "Against two Atrika demons?"

Adam leaned forward, a mischievous grin flashing over his mouth. "We all know you're a micromanager and a control freak. Everyone says you need to start trusting your people more. Now's the perfect opportunity."

"I do trust you and Theo." He glowered. "And I'm not a micromanager or a control freak."

The entire vehicle went silent. Beside her, Adam coughed.

"Don't forget the Duskoff," said Theo finally. "Don't ever forget about them. Who knows what's going on here exactly? Who knows whether they're involved or not? You need to stay at the Coven, Thomas. Let me and Adam handle the woman."

"Don't call me woman." Claire glared at the back of Theo's head. "I have a name."

Adam leaned close to her. "He has issues with things like normal social interaction."

Well, she did, too, but she still managed to remember people's names.

"Fuck," Thomas swore under his breath. Claire detected a note of defeat in his voice. "You take this car. You take my Coven ATM card. You withdraw a ton of cash and only use that for whatever you do. No credit cards. No paper trail. We don't know what kind of resources or Earth-savvy these demons have yet or whether or not the Duskoff is involved. Keep your head down. Hear me?"

"We hear you, Daddy," Adam answered.

"Head to the Twin Cities," Thomas added.

Adam raised his head. "To Jack's place in Minneapolis?"

Thomas shook his head. "No. To a heavily warded safe house in Saint Paul. For now. Until we figure out what's going on."

Adam gave him a strange look. "Wards don't work on demons. Nothing works on demons."

"Yes, but we don't know yet if the Duskoff are involved."

"Good point. I didn't know we had any safe houses there."

"The Coven keeps at least one in all the major cities. They double as investment properties." Jonah glanced at Adam. "It's heavily insured, so if you have to torch the place, you can, but try not to, okay?"

Adam held up his hands. "Hey, boss, you know me."

"Yeah, I do."

Thomas guided the car into the parking lot of a long building where people went in and out with plastic and paper bags. While Thomas did something in the front of the vehicle, Claire gawked at her surroundings.

Adam caught her eye, probably catching her staring. "We're northwest of the city. Lots of suburbs. This is a shopping mall. People come here to buy things."

"Oh, like a marketplace."

"Sort of. They sell clothing, furniture, and other household things here. Not food."

"Ah." She stared out the window at the passersby. "On Eudae the women make most everything for the home and for decoration. They are the artisans in that world." She tried to keep the note of wistfulness out of her voice.

Eudae was the only home she'd ever known and she felt a bit sick for it, brutal and cold though it had been at times. These aeamon wouldn't understand her feelings, since the daaeman were their enemies.

Only the Atrika were her enemy. Not the rest. Not the other breeds. Yes, she might harbor some resentment for the Ytrayi and for Rue in particular, but her feelings were mixed. They were, after all, the only people she'd ever really known or identified with.

"Micah would love to talk to you sometime," Adam said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Who is Micah?"

"He's the Coven archivist and general all-around knowledge manager. He's the one who has been spearheading the efforts to open a doorway and rescue you these past months. Micah is fascinated with all aspects of demon culture, and you're a direct source. The texts he's got are useful, but aren't complete. Especially when it comes to modern-day culture on Eudae."

She fingered the hem of her shirt. "I would be happy to speak with him sometime."

Thomas turned and handed a folded piece of paper to Adam. "I hope you can speak to Micah in person soon, Claire. For the time being, it's time for you all to get going. Go far. Go fast. All the information you need is on that sheet." He slipped a small rectangular disk from his wallet. "ATM card. I'm out of here." He opened the door and exited the vehicle.

Claire quickly got out, too, and threw herself into Thomas's arms as Adam took the wheel. She buried her face in his chest. "Thank you." The words came from the bottom of her being.

Thomas dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. "No, Claire. You have nothing to thank me for. You saved my life. Now I'm just trying to return the favor."

He released her and strode away, pulling a small black object from his pocket, pressing a button and talking into it.

Claire stood for a moment outside the car, letting the breeze buffet her hair. She stared down the strange street they'd traveled on, watching strange people and smelling strange smells.

Were the daaeman on their trail even now?

Dumb question. Of course they were.