other witch - complete series, page 64
He blinked at the change of subject. ‘Why?’
‘I need to see a man about a dog.’
Chapter 55
In the end we flew Griffin Air despite Oscar and Benji’s protests. We left them to debrief Ethan and disseminate news of Jeb’s betrayal. It was nice to be alone with Bastion again, to have nothing around us but air and sun. It felt entirely too long since we’d had time to ourselves but this would have to do. When all this was over, I was renting us a cabin on a beach and we were going to drink cocktails and re-enact as many of the drinks as possible. An Orgasm followed by a Wallbanger sounded fun. A girl can dream.
The air was cool and I was feeling relaxed when we finally landed. We were met by a host of solemn brethren guards, all dressed in black, who escorted us into a small side office. Indy was in her Great Dane form; she was curled into a surprisingly small ball, blue-grey fur giving her an other-worldly feel even in her incognito mode.
She stretched as soon as we walked in and bounded to greet us. Her tail caught a mug on the desk and sent it flying. It broke on the hard wooden floor. The man behind the desk sighed. ‘Another one bites the dust.’
Tom Smith is a fellow ginger but, unlike me, he is all hard muscle. His bulk has extra bulk – he is a tank of a man. Despite having very limited magic, I had no doubt he’d be one of the deadliest men in a room at any given time. Except when Bastion was there, of course.
I wondered if Tom was one of those griffins who were hidden as brethren then dismissed the thought. Emory had told me once that Tom Smith’s family line had been a gift to him from his adoptive parents, Audrey and Cuthbert. And dragons can’t lie.
Tom stood and offered his hand to Bastion, a rare gesture. Bastion took it and pulled him in for one of those manly hugs. They clapped each other on the shoulders and then drew back. ‘Bastion,’ Tom greeted him, laying a bit too much emphasis on his name.
A ghost of a smile touched Bastion’s lips. I looked between them. ‘What am I missing?’
‘Tom used to know me by another name. He’s still sulking about it.’
Tom glared. ‘I do not sulk.’
‘Could have fooled me,’ Bastion said mildly, but then he spoiled it by shooting Tom a grin. ‘How’s things?’
Tom pinched his nose. ‘Emory is never allowed to go on holiday ever again.’
‘Are the dragon Council members not pulling their weight?’ I asked as I stroked Indy’s slightly bitey head. I fixed her with my best glare and she subsided, coming close so I could stroke her on a less toothy part of her body.
‘The Council members are too busy playing games amongst themselves. Their political manoeuvring makes chess look easy,’ Tom complained. ‘And quite a few of the dark seraph are missing.’
There was genuine anxiety in his voice, which is why I decided to take pity on him. ‘Reynard and a select few went to guard Emory and Jinx.’
Tom’s jaw worked. ‘So I’ve been wasting valuable resources trying to find four dark seraph that are actually dicking about in Thailand?’
‘I don’t know what they’re doing there but yes, dicking about might be included.’
‘Reynard and I are going to have words,’ he promised darkly.
‘Just don’t do it near Shirdal,’ I advised. ‘He’s all protective. It’s sweet.’
Tom grimaced. ‘Noted. I don’t want to piss off Shirdal. Now, do you want the dog?’ He gestured to Indy, who was still busy wagging at us with her whole bum.
At the mention of her name, she went to give me a lick across the face, ‘No!’ I said firmly. ‘No kisses!’
She made a sad noise but went back to nuzzling me instead. This time she kept her teeth in check. ‘Good girl,’ I praised her. I knew first-hand how smart hellhounds are. I had spoken to Gato a number of times, albeit he is a special case.
‘Indy,’ I started, ‘I’m here to see you. I need to make a potion to help my mum. She was in the third realm too much and her mind is fractured, lost in time. I need to brew her a potion, a potion that’s never been made before. I think if I used something from you it might help her. I really need to speak to her and get some information from her. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t essential. Can I take something from you – some hair, a nail clipping, perhaps? I won’t use it for anything other than Mum’s potion, you have my word and oath.’
Indy studied me for a long moment, her body tense and her tail eerily still. Then she strode to Bastion and nudged him firmly. He raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’ He didn’t speak hellhound. Nor did I.
‘She wants you to do something?’ I guessed.
‘Yes, but what?’
I shrugged. ‘You’re the one she’s trying to talk to. You figure it out.’
Indy barked then batted his hand with her head. He looked at her for a moment before shifting his hand to his talons. She barked again, gave a wag then sat down and offered him a paw. Relief surged through me; she was offering her paw for clippings. She was willing to help.
‘Thank you, Indy. Thank you so much.’ I struggled to keep my emotions hidden. I couldn’t have Tom reporting that I’d grown soft since my appointment as the Crone.
My words distracted her. She stood back up, came over to give me an enthusiastic lick on the face. This time I let her. I stroked her on her back and kissed her giant forehead. ‘Thank you,’ I repeated softly.
She wagged heartily before seeming to remember that she was supposed to be doing something else. She sat back down and held out her right forepaw again. Bastion carefully trimmed her nails and took a little patch of her fur. When he set her paw back down, she lifted it up again and pawed him firmly. He took a little more of her fur and looked at her quizzically. She barked at him.
‘Look,’ Bastion said, ‘I’m just going to hold still. You do whatever you think you need to do with my talons, okay?’
Indy lifted her paw up and promptly used his claw to cut her front leg. Blood welled up. I hastily threw open my tote bag and rifled through it for an empty vial. I caught the blood as it dripped down her outstretched leg. ‘Warn us next time!’ I chastened.
She gave me a flat look.
‘Sorry, you’re right. Thanks. Just thanks.’
She gave me a satisfied look and a toothy grin. She hadn’t cut herself too deeply and the blood soon slowed. She sat back down in her bed behind Tom’s desk and carefully licked her paw. ‘Do you want me to heal it?’ I offered.
She snorted derisively and went back to licking, so I guessed that was a no. I stoppered the vial and stowed it carefully in my tote bag.
‘You want me to arrange a helicopter ride home for you?’ Tom offered politely.
‘No, thank you. I like riding on Bastion.’
Tom snickered. ‘I bet you do,’ he muttered, smirking at Bastion.
Bastion’s eyes narrowed and I heard the rumble of a growl. The smirk fled Tom’s features. ‘Touchy!’ he noted, holding up his hands.
Bastion held his eyes a moment longer before stepping back. I heard Tom’s little sigh of relief. They might be friendly, but Bastion wouldn’t let anyone disrespect me. It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
There was a chewing noise and we all turned to Indy. ‘Indy!’ Tom barked. ‘Bad dog! Those are my inclement-weather boots!’
A grin tugged at my lips. ‘You call your welly boots “inclement-weather boots”?’ I did air quotes with my fingers.
The tops of his ears pinked and he cleared his throat. ‘Welly boots seems a bit childish.’
‘Gumboots?’ Bastion suggested.
Another loud chew sounded and Tom gave an aggrieved sigh. ‘She hates me.’
Indy barked and tapped her tail. ‘She likes you,’ I disagreed. ‘She just really loves inclement-weather boots. Buy her some new chew toys.’
‘Roger that.’
We said our goodbyes and flew home the same way we’d arrived. I had all of the flight to go over the flat look Bastion had given Tom on my behalf, so when we got home I made sure to show Bastion exactly how much I loved his protective urges.
Chapter 56
I got up early and consulted the DeLea potion bible. It didn’t have a potion for anything like I needed, but I cobbled together a base by using a combination of three memory and mind healing bases together. There was a lot of overlap; but apart from removing a couple of ingredients that could have had explosive consequences, I put them together without too much difficulty.
When I added Indy’s gifts depended on how the potion progressed. There were a couple of variations I could go with, so I decided to split the prepared base into four. I’d add the hair to one, the claw clippings to another and the blood to the third. The fourth would get a bit of everything.
I had already tasked Oscar with meeting with Mum and getting a small sample of her blood so we could key the potion directly to her. He was due back any minute and I was antsy to get to the next stage of brewing.
I took a deep breath and calmed my mind. Hurrying could ruin everything; perfection takes time. I blew out my breath and turned up the fire a little. When the colour was uniform, it was ready to be split.
I carefully decanted the hot liquid into four small pewter cauldrons and let them cool slightly. Satisfied they were stable, I went to my office to see if Oscar was back. He was talking quietly to Bastion, who had Fehu sitting on his shoulder.
‘Hey, Fehu!’ I called. I wondered where he’d been – I’d missed his feathery presence. He gave a kraa and leapt from Bastion’s shoulder onto mine. I gave his jet-black feathers a stroke. ‘It’s good to see you,’ I murmured.
I felt a rush of warmth and affection that wasn’t my own. My eyes widened as I realised it wasn’t Bastion’s feelings I was experiencing but Fehu’s. Somehow lifting the suppression rune from our bond had also let me feel Fehu, too.
‘I can feel him,’ I blurted to Bastion. ‘Fehu! I can feel him!’ I was grinning from ear to ear.
Fehu nuzzled me, tangling in my red hair and peeking through the loose strands. That was what I’d always imagined a bond with a familiar would be like. I didn’t regret being bonded with Bastion, not for a second, but it wasn’t like I could keep him in my pocket like Ria kept her familiar Fido, or twirled around my wrist like Hannah kept Fifi.
I felt a wave of pleasure from Bastion. ‘You don’t mind?’ I asked. Some might feel aggrieved to share a familiar, especially one like Fehu who had been bonded with Bastion for more than a century.
‘Not at all,’ he said lightly. ‘I hoped something like this might happen. The way Fehu always acted around you, I wondered if there was something there but these things can take time.’
Oscar smiled. ‘I’m glad for you, Amber.’
‘Thank you.’ I stroked Fehu’s little head again. ‘Did everything go okay with Mum? Did she give you the blood?’
The smile slid off his face. ‘She didn’t know me, so I asked Charlize to take it. Your mum gave it willingly to her.’ He handed me a small bag of blood.
‘Thanks.’ I stepped forward and hugged him. ‘I’m sorry she didn’t know you.’ Oscar hadn’t wanted to take her blood; he seemed resigned to my potion failing, which seemed oddly defeatist. I hoped I’d prove him wrong.
‘Can you get me an appointment with Liyana?’ I asked Bastion. No doubt the Seer High Priestess would be busy, but at least I could tell her that I’d found and killed Melva’s murderer – and get my potion tested.
‘Consider it done,’ Bastion said lightly.
‘Thank you.’ I brushed my lips against his forehead before heading back into my office and the laboratory behind it. I’d just stepped into it when Benji slid out of the walls. I gasped and held a hand to my heart. ‘By the Goddess, Benji, you scared the life out of me! I didn’t realise you could move through the walls here, too. I thought it was an Edinburgh thing.’
‘It’s harder,’ he admitted, ‘but not impossible.’
‘What’s up?’
‘I’m feeling lonely,’ he said abruptly.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I said softly. ‘Lonely is not fun. Are you missing David?’
‘I believe I am. I liked teaching him things. It made me feel important.’
‘You are important,’ I insisted. ‘In lots of ways.’ I set down the small bag of blood carefully. ‘Would you like a hug?’
‘Yes please, Am Bam. Perhaps it will stop this ache.’
That gave a hard tug at my heartstrings. I pulled him close and he returned the gesture, tucking my head under his chin. His cold touch leached into my skin but I held on; he wasn’t ready to let go and I wasn’t ready to let him down. I’d been lonely more times than I could count.
I wracked my brains for what people were supposed to do when someone felt low. ‘Cup of tea?’ I offered.
A smile traced his lips. ‘That would be nice but finish your potion first. I’ll watch quietly. Your company will be enough to make me happy.’
Benji pulled out a bar stool and sat down, then watched me bustle around, fiddling with ingredients and the height of the flame. I checked the temperature: it was perfect for ingredient combination, so I added Mum’s blood to each cauldron. Then I added each variation of ingredient to the three waiting cauldrons, and all three to the fourth cauldron.
I stirred patiently. When the potions turned silver, I knew they were done. I had already prepared the ice bath, so I transferred the cauldrons to it and heard the hiss as the heat hit the cold. I started to stir each of them in turn.
‘Can I help?’ Benji offered solicitously.
I am not good at delegating but I surprised myself by nodding. ‘Sure. You can stir these two.’
He joined me by the ice bath and together we stirred the cauldrons. It was easier with the two of us working together. My necklace was warm on my neck. I touched it lightly and felt a roll of approval from my sisters.
It had taken me a long time, but maybe I was finally learning how to play nicely with others.
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Destiny of the Witch
Book 4
The Other Witch Series
Heather G. Harris
Chapter 1
High Priestess Liyana was playing games.
Benji, Bastion and I were cooling our heels in reception. We’d had an appointment for 3pm and it was now closer to 3.30. I was sorely tempted to leave and find another seer – any other seer – but if I stormed off Liyana would ensure that no one else would see me. That was the sort of thing I’d done in the past and I was a little ashamed of that behaviour now. I would wait Liyana out; surely I had more patience than she had rudeness?
As time dragged on, however, my impatience boiled over into anger. She was being disrespectful, not just to me but to the Coven Council over which I now – somehow – presided. That disrespect could not stand.
Nell, the seer’s receptionist, kept giving me furtive looks as if she were waiting for me to explode. That was enough to make me rein in my temper, so I was entirely level-headed when I instructed Bastion to kick down the door.
Nell squeaked as Bastion used his combat boots against the flimsy wood. The door banged open and slammed against the wall. We strode in, Bastion taking point, then me, with Benji bringing up the rear. Oscar was in the car ready for a quick getaway – which we might well need to make after the door debacle.
Liyana looked up coolly from her desk. She was hip-deep in paperwork and I knew how that felt, but nothing excused such disgraceful tardiness. People make appointments for a reason; if you can’t keep to them, you shouldn’t offer them.
I narrowed my eyes. ‘Do you intend to sever all ties with the Coven Council?’ I asked calmly.
She looked slightly taken aback. ‘You don’t have the power to—’
‘I do,’ I interrupted firmly. ‘I am the Crone. Let me tell you what will happen if the witches withdraw their services from you. Your homes, your offices, public spaces – none of them would be runed. The vampyrs could slide into your offices and public spaces and kill you where you stood.’
I saw shock cross her face but she regrouped quickly. ‘And how is that different to what happened to Melva?’ Liyana snarled.
‘Melva removed the protective wards on purpose in order to meet with the vampyrs. She didn’t get them re-activated after the meeting.’
‘If you’re implying she is somehow at fault for her own death, I—’
‘Of course not!’ I snarled back. ‘She was a victim. And if you hadn’t left me cooling my heels for more than half an hour, you’d already know that I came here to tell you that her killer has been found and dealt with.’
She slumped back and gripped the arms of her chair. ‘Taken to the Connection?’ she asked tightly.
‘No. This was a witch matter and it has been dealt with internally.’
‘The necromancer,’ she spat. ‘Who was it?’
I hated having to admit it. ‘A witch from my Coven. Jeb.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘I want him handed over to me for punishment.’
‘That is not possible,’ I said firmly.
She raised her voice. ‘I demand—’
‘Demand all you want.’ I made my voice louder than hers. ‘He is dead and his body has been burned. There is nothing left to give you.’
‘He’s dead?’ Her hands gripped the edge of her desk in a white-knuckled grip.
‘As dead as a Norwegian Blue parrot,’ I confirmed drily.
A ghost of a smile rippled across Liyana’s face before she got it under control. Evidently she was familiar with Monty Python, which made me like her a little more.
‘Okay.’ She rubbed a hand across her eyes and grimaced. I could tell that the next words were going to be difficult for her to say. ‘I’m sorry that I kept you waiting.’
‘You could have had this news half an hour ago,’ I pointed out huffily.
She closed her eyes and nodded. ‘I appreciate that you attended the office in person to let me know. It will be a great comfort to Melva’s nearest and dearest to learn that she has been avenged.’
