Witch Unbound by Debbie Cassidy

Chapter Fourteen

The furry critters spilled into the alley, surrounding us with gnashing teeth and wide, desperate eyes. They reminded me of chimps, but…there was something off about them. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Bramble had her daggers out, ready to defend us. I adjusted Wren in my arms to draw my own dagger, the one Bramble had made for me, iron hilt wrapped in leather to prevent it from hurting my fae buddy Wren.

Wren mumbled something before stiffening in my arms, recharged and wide awake.

“Cora?” He clung to me, peering about.

“It’s okay, Wren, we’ve got this.”

“Have we?” Bramble asked. “We’re kinda surrounded here.”

But although the critters gnashed and growled, they didn’t attack.

It was almost as if…as if they were scared. But the scent of my blood must have brought them to us.

“What the fuck are they?” Bramble said.

“Childrensies,” Wren said softly. “Oh…Oh, poor little childrensies. They hurt. Cora, feel the hurt?”

“What?”

Wren clambered out of my arms and stood at my feet. “Childrensies, go to sleep now.”

He began to sing.

His voice rose up, soft and sweet, echoing around us as it bounced off the alley walls. The furry creatures began to sway, and then one by one they slumped to the ground, fast asleep. Wren kept singing to keep them asleep.

I looked to Bramble, my chest tight. “What the fuck?”

She crouched by one of the critters…one of the children. It was impossible to tell if it was a boy or girl. Its body was slender and covered with hair, but on closer inspection, now that its teeth were no longer bared and gnashing, you could see the childlike features.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Ursula. There was a click and then a different ringtone.

“Hello?” Mel answered.

“Mel, I need Ursula.”

A long beat of silence followed. “I’m afraid she isn’t available. Can I help?”

Shit. “I need a Magiguard pickup. I have…I think I have a group of altered children here. I…I can’t explain it. You need to send a team to retrieve…” I did a quick count. “Nine of them.”

“What’s the threat level?”

“Right now, zero. Wren’s singing to keep them asleep.”

“I’ll send a team right away.”

“Wait, don’t you need to know where I am.”

“I have your cellular coordinates.”

She hung up.

It should freak me out how the Magiguard kept tabs on everything, but it didn’t. It made me feel safe.

Wren was sitting on the ground, still singing and swaying from side to side.

“I don’t understand…” Bramble reached out and gently stroked the hair back off one of the children’s heads. “Are they human?”

“I don’t know…I think…I think they might have been human once.” A word bloomed in my mind. “Changelings…”

Bramble looked up at me, wide-eyed.

“I went into the fae realm a couple of months ago to get some children back. A fae had stolen them and Ursula told me that the longer they stayed in Faerie, the more they would be altered.”

“You think these are human children who spent time in Faerie.”

“Yes, Ursula said some would come back changed and the Magiguard would…clean up.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Bramble’s eyes grew wide. “Clean up as in…kill them?”

Crap. “I don’t know.”

She scrambled to her feet. “You can’t let them do that. It’s not their fault. They’re innocent.”

The air crackled and several Magiguard materialized down the alley. My gaze zeroed in on Mel. She’d come with.

“Cora.” She led the guards toward us, her gaze dropping to the changelings. “Oh, poor things.”

“Can you help them?”

“Help as in not kill them,” Bramble clarified.

Mel pulled a wand-like instrument from her bag and waved it over one of the changelings, then nodded. “I think we can.” She looked up at the Magiguard behind her. “You’ll need to tranq them.”

Wren continued to sing as the guards administered the drug using a device that reminded me of an EpiPen.

“You can stop singing now.” Mel smiled at Wren. “You did real good, Wren.”

His song petered out. “Poor childrensies. Wren remember. Wren remember the dark tower. So many poor childrensies.”

Mel froze. “What did you say?”

Wren sighed. “Merkle take childrensies there. Bad place. So bad.”

“Wren…would you know where to find this place?”

He shrank away from her and pressed his back to my legs. “Wren not want to find it. Ever. Bad place.”

Mel made a sound of exasperation. “But if you had to find it, could you?”

Wren whimpered and annoyance flared in my chest. I reached down and scooped him up. “You’re scaring him.”

Mel stood and wiped her palms on her jeans. “I’m sorry, Cora. I didn’t mean to.” She looked at Wren. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but we need your help. Ursula went into Faerie two days ago on the trail of more missing kids. She hasn’t come back.”

“Wait…I thought your magic didn’t work on that side.”

“It doesn’t, which is why we avoid crossing over, but the children are witch progeny. An exception was made for their retrieval.”

“I thought changelings had to be human,” Bramble said.

“Yes, so did we, which makes us suspect there’s more to this whole thing. Ursula and her team should have been back twelve hours ago, but we think they may have been compromised. We can’t risk sending in another team, so…”

“You’re going to leave them there?” I stared at her in horror. “That place is fucked up.”

Mel nodded. “I know.” The way she was looking at me, slightly expectant, with a smidge of hope in her eyes…

Oh, fuck.

Wren had seen the place where they took the children. He probably knew the way. He could lead us there.

I couldn’t ignore this. “I’ll go after her.”

“Cora?” Bramble looked at me in horror.

“My magic works there. Not fabulously, but enough to do the job.”

Wren clung to me and then tipped his head back to look up at me. “Cora not go without Wren. Wren keep Cora safe.”

I hugged him. “Thank you, buddy.”

“And me,” Bramble said. “You’re not fucking going without me.”

Mel sagged in relief. “Thank you. They entered Faerie through a rift in Necro. I’ll send you the coordinates as soon as I get back to base.” She backed up and began issuing orders to the guards. They gathered the changelings in their arms, two apiece, and winked out.

Bramble ran a hand over her face. “I guess we better get back home and suit up.”

And tell the guys. They were not going to be happy about this. Not one fucking bit.

* * *

Back at the cabin,the guys and Sloane listened without interruption as I filled them in on what had happened. Wren, hungry after his earlier transformation, sat munching on a bowl of pasta. I’d need him at full strength for the journey ahead.

“So, I have to go.” I winced, waiting for the objections.

Silence reigned.

“What? No objections? No explosions?” This was weird.

Leif pulled me to his chest and rested his chin on my head. “Nope. Because we have a plan.”

I peered at Tor around the bulge of Leif’s bicep. “Plan?”

His jaw was tight, and his expression was somber, but he didn’t look pissed, he looked…resigned. His gaze flicked to Sloane.

“I’m going with you too,” she said simply. “You need a team.”

“One of us will go too,” Tor added. “The two who stay will make sure patrols are covered.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. “You’re just going to go with this?”

Tor shrugged a huge shoulder. “This is who you are. This is what you do. We love you, so we’ll support you however we can.”

Leif released me reluctantly and the three of them gathered in a circle.

I glanced at Bramble, who shot me a confused look. What were they doing?

The guys held out their fists and then… Wait, were they playing rock paper scissors?

Bramble bit back a smirk.

I placed my hands on my hips. “Seriously?”

They ignored me and continued. I guess this was how they resolved such issues. Shit, I’d totally missed who was winning. But the game was over, and Tor looked pissed.

Leif simply sighed and patted Rune on the shoulder. “Take care of her.”

Rune grinned at me, hazel eyes crinkling with warmth. “Let’s do this.”

“Not so fast,” Sloane said. “We’ll need to let Anna know.”

I groaned. “Do we? I mean, do we really?”

Sloane chuckled. “Protocol for the anchor. Come on. Jump us there and we can get it over with.”

I allowed her to take my hand and laced my fingers with hers before giving the others a reassuring nod. “I’ll be back in a few.” I made the jump.

* * *

I was expectingto have to fight Anna on this, but as soon as she heard that Ursula was missing and that the children taken were witches, she was on board.

“You’ll take Lauris,” she said. “Faerie has been in eternal night for decades. He’ll be able to assist you. And you’ll take this…” She unpinned a brooch from her lapel and handed it to me. I’d never noticed it before, but it was a golden rose.

“As long as it remains gold, you’re safe. Once it starts to turn black, you’re in danger and you need to find your way back home. Do you understand?”

“I’ll make sure we do,” Sloane said.

Anna fixed her gaze on her. “Not you, Sloane. You do not have permission to go.”

Sloane flinched. “What? Why not?”

“Faerie has a strange effect on vampires. It brings out their bestial nature, which is all very well if the vampire is in control of their primal side, but not for you. You still have to master yours, and you could be a danger to Cora and the others if you go.”

Sloane clenched her jaw, obviously torn, but then she nodded sharply. “I get it. I understand.”

“I’m glad,” Anna said. “Because Cora and the others will need you more than ever when they return.” She pressed her lips together. “From what you’ve told me, you’ll be traveling deep into Faerie, and from what I’ve learned from my fae sources, the deeper you go, the more chance of an infection.”

“Infection?”

“There’s a darkness in Faerie, a plague, a sickness, and it’s eating away at the realm.”

“It’s why so many fae have come here…”

“Yes,” Anna said. “So you must be careful. Sloane and The Elites will prepare a tincture to cleanse you all once you return, but it won’t work on the severely infected. I’m afraid those unlucky few will need to be confined by the Magiguard.” She locked gazes with me. “The lives you’re going to save are important, but we cannot risk losing you, so watch the rose and leave as soon as it blackens. You’ll only have a handful of hours by then.”

I pinned the brooch to my top. “I promise.”

And I planned to keep it.

* * *

Outside the room,Sloane drew me into a shadowy alcove, pressed me up against the wall, and kissed me. I lost myself in the shape of her mouth, the imprint of her lips, and the rasp of her tongue wrestling with mine. Desire, heady and potent, unfurled between us, zinging across my skin and flushing my cheeks with warmth.

She broke the kiss, but I chased her lips with mine, reluctant for it to end. She tasted sweet, like chocolate, the orange-flavored kind. I licked my lips, gaze flicking up to tangle with hers. There was a tumultuous storm in her eyes, one I’d seen in Tor’s and Leif’s too.

Fear.

“You come back in one piece, you hear me?” She lightly touched her forehead to mine. “Please.”

I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to be heard past the pounding of my heart.

She stroked my cheek with her thumb and my eyes fluttered closed for a moment.

“We have so much left to explore, Cora. I can’t lose you just when I’ve accepted that I need you.”

I wanted to melt against her, mold to her and beg her to kiss me again.

She chuckled, low and sexy, as if reading my thoughts. “When you get back, Cupcake. When you get back, you’re spending the night with me.”

If that wasn’t an incentive to haul my ass back home quick, I wasn’t sure what was.