Witch Undecided by Debbie Cassidy

Chapter Nine

Agroup of children were gathered around the Rover, peering in through the windows.

Wren.

Of course.

They backed away as I approached. “What is it?” the smallest of the group asked.

“Can I pet it?” another asked.

I couldn’t blame them for being intrigued by the living teddy bear in the back of the car. “His name’s Wren. He’s a mogwai and it’s up to him whether he wants to be petted or not.”

Wren stirred and sat up, eyes pinging wide open. The kids broke into a series of oohs and ahs.

Cuteness overload was a thing. I unlocked the door and Wren scrambled into my arms.

“Wren didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he said.

“So cute!”

“I want one.”

“Can I hold him?”

Wren seemed to notice the children for the first time. His body tensed and he shrank against me. “No childrensies.”

“Wren?”

He snuggled into me, body trembling. “No more childrensies.”

“Is he scared?” the little one asked. “We won’t hurt you.”

Wren peeked down at her. “Wren doesn’t want to sing.”

Oh shit. He’d spent goodness knows how long working for Merkle to capture children with his song. No doubt he’d been mistreated by Merkle too. These children were a reminder of that.

“Hey, Wren, buddy. It’s okay. You’re safe. The children are safe. Merkle’s gone forever, remember. He can’t hurt them, and he can’t hurt you. Ever.”

Wren lifted his chin and looked up at me with round, teary eyes. “Merkle’s gone.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No more childrensies to sing to.”

“Nope.”

“Is he okay?” the smallest child asked.

Wren looked down at her but kept a tight grip on me. “Wren okay, little childrensies. Maybe next time Wren play, but not today.” He shook his head. “Not today.”

The children looked past me and then dispersed, running toward various cabins. I didn’t need to glance over my shoulder to know Tor had joined us. His scent and the frisson of excitement racing up my back told me he was there.

“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you right now?” he asked in his rumbling, sexy voice.

I sighed and faced him. “Zero.”

His brows shot up.

I smirked up at him. “Why? Can’t you tell?”

He studied me for a long beat and then frowned. “You’re not mad.”

“Nope.”

He looked worried.

I smiled sweetly at him. “You should be pleased. I mean, a pissed-off Cora is very difficult to live with.”

“That does not put my mind at rest.”

I shrugged. “I can’t imagine why not.”

“Because I’m coming to know you, Cora, and you’re not the kind of woman to forgive so easily.” His eyes narrowed.

I narrowed my eyes right back at him. “The mate bond works both ways, Tor.”

His brow cleared. “No. Do not dig into this.” His tone was gruff. No-nonsense. “Promise me.”

Fuck, he’d sensed my evil plan. I hated this mate-bond thing. Was this how Fee felt? There had to be a way to block it. I’d have to speak to her soon.

“Cora. Promise me.” His tone softened.

I sighed and crossed my fingers behind my back. “Fine. I promise.”

He rolled his eyes and reached around me to drag my hand into view. “Seriously?”

Urgh. “Fine. But you should tell me what’s really going on. I might be able to help.”

His gaze darkened with sorrow. “Trust me, Cora, if I thought you could help, I’d tell you. But you can’t. Please drop it.”

Damn, he’d said please. “Okay. I won’t dig, but you need to promise me you’ll come to me for help if there’s anything I can do. I’m no damsel, Tor. And I have power. A ton of it.”

He nodded. “I promise. Now let’s get back to the cabin.” He looked down at Wren. “We’ll need to prepare a room for you.”

Wren sat up in my arms. “My own room?” He looked to me. “Cora, can Wren really have his own room?”

I’d missed snuggling with him, but he looked so excited about the prospect of his own space; no way was I spoiling that.

“Sure you can.”

“It’ll be temporary,” Tor said as he unlocked the driver’s side door. “Because we move to the big house in a few days.”

Wren hopped onto Tor’s shoulder. “Can Wren have a fluffy pillow and blue sheets?”

Tor chuckled. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Wren like Tor.”

Wait, had my mate just stolen my mogwai with the promise of fluffy pillows and blue sheets?

Damn.

I huggedthe phone to my ear, reveling in the sound of my best friend’s voice. “How do you do it?”

“It gets easier,” Fee said. “But then I’m not trying to fight my mate bond.”

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I’d received a text message an hour ago from Sloane asking me to meet her in the atrium at nine p.m. Lauris would be escorting me there. Yep. Bador had agreed to let me have the half-human gargoyle and I was sure Anna’s persuasive power had been largely to thank for that.

“I don’t have a choice, Fee.”

“I know, babe. I know.”

“I wish I had a mental wall like you.”

“You could.”

“I don’t have an Azazel to train me.”

“Does it bother you that much?” she asked softly.

Oh, God, it totally did. “I don’t like having my emotions on display all the time, and honestly, I don’t want to feel what they’re feeling all the time either.”

“You mean you can’t go off and do crazy shit without them finding out. Fuck it, no mental wall for you. That way they can keep you safe.”

“I can take care of myself and I don’t want my decisions being preempted.”

She sighed. “I know. You’re used to making your decisions and flying solo. I get it, but you’re in a unit now, a team. You need to consider their feelings and they…they need to consider yours. Set some boundaries, and if they care about you, they’ll respect them. The bond could save your life, especially with this trio of vamps that’s after you.”

I’d filled her in on the Sons of Adam, but she had no clue who they were. She had contacts in the Underealm. If anyone could get me more detailed information on the vampy threat, it was Fee.

She blew out a breath. “Promise me you’ll call me if you need backup.”

“I promise.”

There was a knock on the door and then it swung open with Wren dangling from the handle.

“Lauris is here,” he said. “It’s time to go.”

“Is that the cutie?” Fee asked.

“Yep, I promise you’ll get to meet him soon, but I got to go now.”

“Be safe out there. I’ll get back to you on the original vamp issue.”

“Thanks, babe.”

I flung open my wardrobe and stared at my selection of boots. Now, what said Elite revenant ass kicker?

“Nice boots,”Lauris said.

I looked down at my knee-high combat boots with a two-and-a-half-inch, stainless-steel cone heel. Made from butter-soft black leather with a Kevlar lining, they said comfort could also be kickass. The Kevlar lining meant extra protection from bullets and blades while the rear corset-style lacing added that ultra-sexy vibe.

“You like? Yeah, I felt they said Elite, plus check out my stylish knife holster. Okay, all my boots have a blade holster, but this one’s hidden. And the stainless-steel heels make these definite ball busters.” I winked.

“Ball busters?” Lauris grinned. “I like that. I guess you could call mine ball busters too. And I have hidden blades.”

I looked down at his kick-the-shit-outta-you boots covered by jeans.

“But you have to pull up your jeans to get to your blades.”

He knocked his heel on the ground and a blade shot out the front of his boot with a snick.

“Whoa. I need a pair.”

He pressed his boot to the ground and the blade retracted. “I’ll get you some.” He grinned at me, showcasing fangs.

He was dressed all casual-like, open-neck long-sleeve shirt and jeans, as if he were off on a night out, which fit with the whole club and bar scene where we’d be hunting revenants. But there was no muting his silver locks and eerie silver eyes. He was extraordinary to look at and would stick out like a pimple on the center of your forehead.

“Are you going to glamour?”

“Already have,” he said. “Humans won’t get the benefit of all this lusciousness.” He bumped my shoulder with his arm. “You still get to ogle, though.”

I snorted. “Thanks.”

We walked in silence for a minute, but it wasn’t an easy, companiable silence, it was one of those pregnant silences where one person needed to say shit.

“What’s on your mind, Lauris.”

“Bador said you asked for me personally?”

“Yeah, is that okay?” Fuck, what if he didn’t want this gig.

His mouth twisted slightly. “Look, I’m sure Bramble filled you in on my situation here. I’m happy to be your guard, but only if you genuinely want me, not because you feel sorry for me.”

Ah, okay. “You kicked ass, Lauris. You saved my life. I want you as my guard.”

“I did, didn’t I?” He grinned at me, teeth flashing white in the moonlight, but then his grin faded. “Have you heard from her?”

I didn’t need to ask him to clarify. It was obvious he meant Bramble. “No. I’ve sent her several texts. No reply.”

He ran a hand over his silver hair. “Yeah, I went into Leyton looking for her last night. The usual haunts, but no sign of her.”

“Elijah said she’d come back when ready.” An empty feeling filled my chest because I hadn’t heard from Elijah either. Like Elijah, Bramble had quickly become a friend to me, but she’d been betrayed by the person she’d trusted and loved the most. She was hurting. She needed time. “She’ll be back. She has to come back.”

He nodded, his mouth turned down.

“You miss her, don’t you?”

“Pfft, like a hole in the head.”

“Do you usually go searching for a hole in the head?”

He sighed. “Point. Bramble’s a pain in the neck, but she’s always there for me.”

The atrium came into view, dark and forbidding, and with the moon hiding behind cloud cover the glass looked black and dead. The door was slightly ajar and the sound of fist hitting leather drifted out to greet me.

Yeah, I knew that sound. I’d heard it many a time while training with Dean or Fee.

“I’ll wait here,” Lauris said.

“You can come in.”

He shook his head. “Atrium is off limits to anyone but witches.”

Weird. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

I headed into the gloom. No lights on, just slivers of stubborn moonlight that managed to pierce cloud cover. Sloane bounced from foot to foot amidst the shafts of light, smacking the punching bag with her fists over and over. She’d stripped off her long-sleeve polo shirt that was part of the Elite uniform and was in a white vest that showcased her rounded shoulders and ripped arms. She was powerfully built, and I got the impression she worked out hard, but this…this was no workout. The half-empty bottle of whiskey propped on the fountain ledge gave it away.

Sloane wasn’t working out, she was working shit out of her system, fighting demons only she could see.

This was about Brie.

It had to be.

It was almost nine. I was early. She’d probably wanted this time to herself, but fuck it, I was here.

She slapped her palm against the punching bag to halt its swing. “I said nine p.m.”

“If I’d known you’d be getting drunk and punching shit I’d have come earlier.”

The corner of her mouth turned up. “You’re not funny, cupcake.”

“Wasn’t trying to be.”

I clipped over to the fountain and swiped the bottle.

“Help yourself,” she said dryly.

I took a swig, reveling in the taste of raspberry lip gloss and the burn of alcohol.

Sloane unwrapped her hands and flexed her fingers. “You ready for patrol?”

“Are you?”

Her jaw flexed and she fixed her intense blue eyes on me. “I’m fine.”

“Course you are. ’Cause I’m sure you regularly drink whiskey and beat up on a punching bag before a patrol, right?”

Her eyes narrowed and she sucked on her bottom lip as she approached me. “I know what you’re trying to do, cupcake, and I appreciate it, but I’m not into talking about my feelings.”

I shrugged and handed her the bottle. “Me neither. So how about we go kick some revenant ass and get a proper drink afterwards. This whiskey sucks ass.”

She snorted. “It’s a cheap brand.”

“Yeah. I can tell.”

She was so close now, and the scent of raspberries was strong on the air. Her shampoo or body wash, maybe? Definitely her lip gloss. My gaze dropped to her mouth. She had a nice mouth. A sexy mouth.

She gripped my chin and forced my head up so our eyes locked. “Look at me like that again and I might take you up on your body language.”

What? “No, I—"

“Hey!” Jessie stood in the doorway. “We headed out or what?”

Sloane tugged on her polo shirt with a smirk. “Let’s do this.”

The driveinto Leyton was a silent one. Sloane broke it as we parked opposite Orion’s.

“Cora, you stick with me,” she said. “Same format as last time. Stay on comms, stay safe. We might have our work cut out for us tonight. The Order has no clue we’re back up in numbers and the revenants will be out in force.”

“Can you take them all out if they are?” Lauris asked.

Poppy opened her backpack and tipped it slightly to showcase the crystal inside. “We got amplification if needed.”

Sloane took a shuddering breath. “We play it safe. If things get hairy, we get out.”

“And leave the revenants to party?” Jessie’s lip curled. “No fucking way.”

Sloane rounded on her, eyes blazing. “I will not lose another witch.”

“And I won’t let Brie’s death be in vain,” Jessie retorted.

They bristled, eyes locked.

Poppy sighed. “Brie wouldn’t want humans to be hurt, but she wouldn’t want us to get hurt either. We play it smart and we assess the situation.”

Sloane’s eyes flinched. “You follow the chain of fucking command, that’s what you do.”

Jessie’s jaw ticked. “Let’s just get this done. I need a fucking drink.”

Oh boy.

We exited the vehicle, headed into the club, and split up like the last time, except this time Lauris shadowed Sloane and me as we made a circuit of the upper levels of the club. I knew what to look for now, but the place was devoid of revenant activity. In fact, the place was devoid of any human activity.

What the hell. “Sloane, this place is dead.”

She frowned and pulled her mobile from her pocket. “Orion. Yeah. Your business failing or something?... Shit. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me…No. Never mind.” She hung up. “A new club’s having an opening night. Drink free till midnight.”

“Fuck,” Lauris said.

“Yeah.” Sloane hit her comm. “Head back to the car. We’re at the wrong fucking venue.”

Fifteen minuteslater we were on the other side of Leyton, at the edge of town where a warehouse had been converted into a club. The area around it had once been a parking lot but was now lit by twinkling lights and dotted with gazebo seating for patrons wishing to take their drinks outside. Outdoor heaters were positioned here and there to combat the chill. Music spilled out of speakers positioned strategically across the parking lot, bringing the party outside, and it worked, because the place was jam-packed. People drank and danced, uncaring about the chill, while others queued to get into the main club.

Sloane stared at the monolith. “How did we not know about this?”

Jessie was on her phone scanning local news. “There’s no mention in the town news.”

“It makes no fucking sense,” Poppy said.

I got out of the car and looked up at the neon sign, my breath catching in my throat. “Guys. I think I may know why we didn’t know this place was coming.”

Car doors slammed as the others joined me to stare up at the sign.

THE ORDER.

Motherfucker.