Witch Unbound by Debbie Cassidy

Chapter Twenty-One

We landed by the knoll and my gaze immediately fell on the huge, troll-like creature lying face up on the ground with a blade sticking out of its face.

Rune rushed about searching for Lauris and Bramble, his naked form silvery-pale in the moonlight.

Ursula joined him in the search, but I didn’t trust my legs to work. My arms were locked around Wren, who was breathing easier now.

“Over here!” Ursula called out.

Rune ran past me. “Bramble!”

Bramble appeared around the side of the knoll, supported by Ursula. Her head was bloody, and her eyes were dark pools of rage. “They took Lauris.” Her attention went from Rune to me. “You’re both naked.”

“Who took Lauris?” Rune asked.

She winced in pain. “A warlock and his minions, and I think there was a revenant.” Her hand went to her head to prod the wound gingerly. “I got one in the face. They were too powerful, though. Lauris fought, but… We have to get him back.”

The mirror had shimmered as we were about to leave. Had that been the warlock and his minions with Lauris in tow?

“We need to jump back to the fortress.” I tried to stand, but my knees buckled.

Rune rushed forward to grab me and swung me into his arms along with Wren. “You’re in no condition to go back.”

“You want to leave him here?” Bramble looked at us accusingly. “We can’t do that.”

“The place could be crawling with warlocks and darklings by now,” Ursula said. “There’s only a small window of time when the tower is empty. We can’t go back. It’s too dangerous. We need to leave and come back with reinforcements. We need to tell HQ and your coven what the Order is up to.”

Bramble’s jaw set. “Fine, you go. I’m not leaving without him.”

There was a heat in her eyes, the kind I knew would be in mine if one of my guys were taken, but if she went after Lauris she was as good as dead. I couldn’t let that happen.

Rune strode toward the rift. “We have to go now, before the rift closes.”

Bramble shook her head and made to move past us, but I grabbed her arm tightly. “Getting your ass killed won’t help Lauris.”

“We’ll gather a combat team and come back,” Ursula promised. “I have a score to settle too.”

Bramble made a sound of exasperation.

“Bramble, you can’t do this alone.”

“Feck.” She nodded. “Fine. But we move fast.”

“You have my word,” Ursula said.

The rift flickered. “Now,” Rune said. “Before it closes.” He rushed toward it with me and Wren clutched in his arms.

The world tipped and we materialized outside a house on a familiar residential street. The same house where Lauris used the key to get us into Shady Lane. The same one the guys had almost broken into to get to me.

“Stay here,” Ursula ordered us. “Stay in the shadows. I’m going to call on transport.” She pulled a small disc from a hidden inside pocket of her jacket and pressed it three times. “Won’t be long now.”

Bramble swayed and grabbed hold of Ursula’s shoulder for balance. “Shit.”

“That cut needs to be looked at,” Rune said. “You probably have a concussion.”

“I’ll heal,” she said. “I just need a minute.” She flopped down on the doorstep. “Or two.”

“We’ll get you checked out at HQ while the combat team suits up,” Ursula said.

“How long before they—”

The air crackled, cutting Rune off, and several Magiguard appeared on the street opposite the house.

Ursula strode down the path and across the road to join them. I was too exhausted to focus on listening in on their conversation, but whatever it was, it didn’t last long. She headed back to us with two of the Magiguard in tow.

“Riley and Finn will take you guys back to the cabin. Bramble, you come with me.” She smiled grimly at me. “Looks like our Magiguard case is linked to the Order. Can I trust you to inform Anna what happened?”

I nodded. “You’ll need The Elites to go up against the warlocks, especially if they have revenants with them.”

“The revenants can’t hurt us. They can’t feed off us. We’ll clear out any warlocks, and once it’s safe, we’ll send a team to take you in for a sweep.”

“How will we get back in?” Bramble looked panicked. “The rifts we used are closed.”

“We’ll locate another rift. They open and close all the time.”

Riley and Finn flanked me and Rune.

“I’ll need to take her,” Riley said to Rune. “We can’t transport more than one person each.”

Rune narrowed his eyes at the Magiguard, a vibration rattling his chest.

“I can stand.” I gently pushed at Rune’s chest, and he lowered me carefully until my feet touched the ground.

His grip on me relaxed enough for me to take my own weight, and as soon as I did, my knees gave way and he was forced to grab me again.

A jacket was thrust my way, and I looked up at the Magiguard holding it out, gaze averted from my naked form.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him even though he wasn’t looking at me.

Rune helped me into the jacket, supporting me with a solid arm around my waist, then zipped it up with Wren snuggled against my chest. The jacket covered me from neck to mid-thigh.

He pressed a kiss to my temple. “You good?”

“I’m good.”

“Thank you,” Rune said to Riley.

The Magiguard nodded and then Rune transferred me over.

Finn placed a hand on Rune’s shoulder. “You ready?” he asked us.

“Ready.”

The world lit up bright and tilted. When it righted itself, we were outside the cabin, bare feet on snow, crisp forest air in our lungs.

Riley tipped me toward Rune, who scooped me into his arms. “You good?”

“We’re good,” Rune confirmed.

The Magiguard winked out just as the cabin door flew open and Tor and Leif barreled out.

They stopped on the porch and stared.

“We need hot chocolate and food. Stat.” Rune trudged up to the house. “Cora’s going to need to refuel.”

* * *

Three steaks,two baked potatoes, and a slice of apple pie later, I was beginning to feel more like myself. Tucked up on the sofa with an epic mug of hot chocolate and Wren asleep on my lap, the events of a few hours ago felt like a bad dream. And if not for the remnants of dried blood under my nails and the smell of it in my hair, I’d have convinced myself that’s exactly what it had been.

I looked down at my little mogwai buddy, bandaged and healing now that he’d been fed. I thought he’d died. I’d been certain. But he was okay. He was going to be okay. While the guys tidied up in the kitchen, I called Anna, got her answering machine, so dialed Sloane instead.

“Cora, where are you?” Sloane asked.

“At the cabin. I’m fine. I’m safe.”

“Bramble, Lauris, and Rune?”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, things took a strange turn.” I filled her in on the events.

She was silent for a long beat, mulling it over. “The warlock we killed at The Order club changed. He was a changeling host, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, I think so. I think they’re using changelings to house revenants. But I think there’s more to it. The way he spoke… I dunno, Sloane, I’m worried.”

“I’ll let Anna know. You okay, though, Cupcake? You shifted…How do you feel about that? That’s a big deal.”

I closed my eyes and reveled in the sound of her husky voice. “I’m okay, I think. I need time to process it, but I’m fine. Just tired. Rain check on the sleepover?”

“You know it.”

“Night, Sloane.”

“Night, Cupcake.”

I hung up as the guys entered the lounge. Tor perched on the coffee table, forearms braced on his thighs, steel-gray eyes fixed on me in concern. Leif took a spot on the floor by my feet and placed his hand on my knee, massaging almost absently, while Rune settled beside me and stretched out his arm across the back of the sofa behind me protectively.

I was pretty certain Rune had told them about my beast mode while Wren and I’d been ungraciously stuffing our faces, but I guess it was time to talk about it now.

I leveled a look at Tor. “I turned into a monster.”

“No,” Rune said quickly. “You were…formidable.”

I looked sharply at him and found only sincerity. He meant it. He thought I’d been formidable and… being in a different skin had felt pretty awesome. Powerful. Liberating. It was also new, alien, and…unpredictable.

“Did you feel like you?” Leif asked.

How had I felt? I took a moment to find the words. “It felt like being in a powerful vehicle that I could maneuver with a thought. There was this sense of calm, an ice-cold calm, and assurance. The world looked different…infrared.”

Tor and Leif exchanged glances.

I gnawed on my bottom lip. “What am I?”

“I don’t know,” Rune said. “I’ve never seen anything like you.”

I twisted slightly in my seat to look at him again. “What did I look like?”

He pursed his lips and his gaze misted as if he was casting his mind back. “Bigger than a dire wolf shifter. Your skin is a thick, smooth, gray hide. Your eyes are silver, ringed in cornflower blue, bony ridges line your back, and your tail is thick and powerfully muscled.” He smiled proudly. “You’re…amazing.”

The description sounded awful, but the way he said the words, all reverent and hushed, brought a flush of pleasure to my skin.

I looked at Tor and Leif to find awestruck expressions on their faces.

Rune gently squeezed my thigh to garner my attention. “And when I was with you, like that, I felt power. Primal, ancient power that was out of this world.” He licked his lips. “I wanted to be a part of it. To be a part of you.” His pupils dilated huge and dark, and my stunned reflection stared back at me.

He meant it. He liked what I’d become. That was…good. I mean, I was some kind of unknown shifter, but it was okay because my guys weren’t repulsed, but the change came with several cons.

“I don’t think I can use my witch powers if the beast inside is close to the surface. I think that’s why I couldn’t jump when the warlocks first arrived. I felt her surging up.”

“Makes sense,” Leif said. “The power required for a shift to happen must detract or conflict with your witch power. Your beast was close to the surface because she sensed a major threat and wanted to be there to protect you.”

It seemed that my power was no longer glitching due to the change but would completely cease to work if my body was preparing for a shift. Good to know. It was good to finally know what I was, even though it didn’t have a name.

“I guess I need to be prepared to feel like shit after every shift.”

The guys exchanged glances once again.

It was a meaningful glance, though. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

Tor’s eyes narrowed. “We want to see you shift.”

I stared at him in confusion. “What?”

“We want to see her too,” Leif said sheepishly.

Her?

Rune’s hand fell to my shoulder. “I told them how impressive you are in beast form, and I guess they want to see for themselves.”

“You want to see her?” I arched a brow.

“She is a part of you,” Tor said. “Just as our dire wolves are a part of us.”

I guess there was nothing wrong with that, and the thought of slipping back into the powerful body sent a thrill through me. But… “I have no clue how to shift. Back at the lab, it just happened.” I looked down at Wren. “I thought Wren was in danger, maybe dead, and I think that brought her out.”

“But she was there before,” Rune said. “Because you couldn’t jump us out.”

I nodded and set my mug on the coffee table. “Yeah, she was there. I felt her, I just didn’t know what she was.”

“And she took over when you thought Wren was dead.” Tor looked thoughtful. “Maybe she’s simply a manifestation of your rage. A protector that’s there when you desperately need her.”

“And you’re not threatened right now,” Rune said. “You’re safe.”

I sagged back on the sofa. “Sorry, guys.”

“Don’t be.” Leif patted my knee. “I’m sure we’ll be in mortal danger sometime soon.”

Tor shot him a pained look.

Leif shrugged. “What? It’s true.”

“He has a point,” Rune said. “We do tend to attract mortal danger.”

“Not we. Cora.” Tor’s gaze locked on me. “We usually have to sit back and let her dive in.” His mouth dimpled in displeasure. “But not anymore.” He pushed to his feet. “This scarred warlock may be dead, but it’s obvious they wouldn’t hesitate to take Cora out given half the chance. And then there’s this entity and death.”

“I can protect myself.”

“I know, but we’re your mates. We want to be there for you. We’re going to make some major pack changes so that we can be with you whenever you need us.”

I looked into his smouldering eyes and nodded. “Okay.”

“First thing tomorrow we speak to Anna about an alteration to the rules that keep us out of the mansion. We need to be able to get on the grounds if need be.”

“She won’t go for that,” Rune said.

“She will once we remind her what’s at stake. The Order is up to something big, something that could bite us in the ass at any time. She can do with all the allies she can get. If these revenants get hosts, then the Order’s numbers will swell dramatically, and then…”

“Bad shit,” Leif said.

“I’ll try speaking to her once I hear back from Bramble.” I picked up my phone and checked it for messages. “Surely she should be back by now.”

“She’ll be safe with the combat team,” Tor said. “They’re elite.”

“But Faerie is a monster all of its own,” Rune said. “That place…” He shuddered.

Between worrying about Jasper and Bramble, my stomach was in epic knots. I hadn’t heard from Conah yet either.

“I need to sleep.” I stroked Wren’s head and he murmured softly. “I can’t think.”

Leif gently scooped Wren off my lap. “I’ll tuck him into bed.” He headed for the stairs.

Tor offered me his hand, and I was about to take it when my scalp prickled and my arms broke into gooseflesh.

Rune stiffened beside me, sensing it too.

Tor’s head whipped toward the window just as Jasper materialized. My heart leapt into my throat.

He stood stock still for a moment, his emerald eyes glazed, inky dark hair windswept as if he’d walked through a storm to get to us.

He blinked in confusion before focusing on me. “Cora?”

I was out of my seat and halfway across the room when his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled.