Wandering Witch, page 7
He didn’t let up until well after sunset, but I was able to return blows by then. I didn’t realize I had started a sparring session at first, but I found I actually enjoyed having a bonding experience with someone.
Locke was the one to call an end to our training when he realized we were losing daylight. He clapped a hand on my shoulder before he stopped at the tent long enough to grab a water bottle from Fare on his way to start the fire.
I yawned as I moved over to the crackling flames.
“You look tired, for once. Why don’t you lie down in the tent for a while? I can take watch tonight,” Locke offered as Fare came to sit by his side.
I nodded without thinking as I left the pair behind.
Locke
Iglanced over my shoulder to watch as Roan floated into the tent, his feet were actually dragging through the ground with his exhaustion. I chuckled as I cracked my neck before looking at Fare.
“He’s really not as bad as I first thought. A little rough in a lot of ways and places, but he’s got a lot of potential,” I said.
She looked taken aback a moment before she laughed. I couldn’t stop myself from watching her as she threw her head back and longed to trace her throat with my tongue.
“He does grow on a person after a while, doesn’t he?” she asked as her laughter died down. “Kind of strange that you were actually able to tire him out though. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“I guess. But he was the one who started it,” I replied. “But it was interesting. When we started, I couldn’t land a blow on him. Not that he was able to dodge or block me, but all my attacks went straight through him.”
I lost myself in my thoughts as I recalled the surprising sparring session.
When I’d first noticed Roan was trying to lift a stick, I had no clue what he was trying to do. But when I saw the extra weight from a bundle of twigs was too much, I helped him out by pulling it aside. That was all the assistance I had planned to give the spirit.
If he wanted to make himself stronger, he would have to ask before I would even consider aiding him. At least, until he could lift the damn stick enough to swing it at my head.
Okay, so I knew that wasn’t what he meant. After watching him swing it around wildly like a child, I made sure I had a weapon of my own to stop him from accidentally hurting either Fare or myself.
The boy had some minor skills, I would give him that. The thought had crossed my mind as I studied him from the corner of my eye. When I was done with my chores and was able to give him more of my attention, I think I intimidated him.
Good. I thought as I raised my weapon against him. That will stop him from getting cocky.
I only gave him a brief moment to recover from my deflection of his careless blows before I charged him, my mock club at the ready. There was never the intention to cause him harm, but I had noticed that the longer we sparred and the more I focused and willed my blows to affect him, his body took damage.
That fact that he had to expand more of his willpower to keep his stick in the air as he tried to block me wasn’t shocking. But that I could hurt his form was a surprise. Then again, maybe not. I mused. After all, I was able to drag him most of the way to the mountains by my force of will alone. And he must have been at least open to the possibility. Just like he was open to being able to physically interact with Fare and me.
The powers of the ghost intrigued me far more than it probably should have, but maybe what I should have been more interested in was the source of his strange abilities.
Could it be the darkness within him that called to the shadow in me?
Farren
The rest of the night passed in silence. Locke ended up staying on watch all night, but after getting to rest the nights before, I don’t think it bothered him. Roan slept like the dead until dawn.
I was concerned when I woke up and saw him in the same position he had been in when I fell asleep. It took Locke coming in and shaking him into wakefulness for me to breathe easier once more. When the guys left the tent, I stole a moment to shake the nerves.
What was I so worried about with Roan? He’s a ghost. Nothing could hurt him.
I shook my head to clear the thoughts before I packed everything back up. We should arrive at our next destination sometime today and I had to be ready to face whatever was waiting for me there.
The trip went by without a hitch, but I had no clue what to look for when we got there. I had spent a long time studying the map to see what could be hidden out here, but there was nothing. No town, no historical landmark, nothing.
When I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time, Roan rubbed his ghostly hand along my back.
“Hey, it’s okay. Wouldn’t it have been too suspicious if whoever we were looking for made it super easy? Let’s calm down, set up camp, and come up with ideas on how to look for whatever it is we need here.”
Locke must have agreed with him as he lowered us down into a small clearing without a word. We did as Roan suggested and got camp ready, all the while we were on edge with uncertainty.
“Come on, boy, let’s spar,” Locke called out as he held out a branch that looked similar to the one Roan had used the night before.
“Again?” came the whined complaint from behind me.
“Yes, again. The only way you’ll get stronger is if you train. Last night it took you close to ten minutes before you were able to just successfully pick up a stick. Another five plus to get confident enough to wield it. Consider this my newest requirement for staying with us,” Locke explained, and I was shocked at his words.
Did he really place requirements on Roan travelling with us? What right did he have to do something like that?
“I don’t think I like you very much anymore,” Roan groaned as he made his way over to Locke. I watched as he did indeed struggle to take the stick from my bear’s outstretched hand.
I leaned back on my log seat and simply observed the training session. Not that there was much to see at first.
Roan took a long time before he was able to grab and lift the stick from Locke. Most of the time his hand would either pass through it right away or he would only manage to barely lift it before it fell through his grasp.
“Can either one of you explain to me what exactly I’m staring at here?” I called, hoping that it wouldn’t distract either of them too much.
“Roan here proved to me last night that if he focused enough of his will into doing something, he could do it,” Locke answered, never taking his eyes off his impromptu student. “So what I’m hoping is that with enough practice, his source of will will be strong enough eventually that he will be able to simply reach out and grab onto anything as easily as you and me.”
“I get that, I think. But then, why spar afterward?”
I had to swallow hard as Locke finally turned to look at me with a devastating smile on his face.
“For starters, it’s fun. But it also causes him to push even more will into being able to hand the objects to maintain control of them.” Locke dropped his smile as he looked back at Roan. “And also because his skills with a weapon are terrible.”
“No need to rub it in,” Roan grumbled under his breath as he finally took the stick from Locke. “Not all of us had elite berserker training, either.”
Locke just threw his head back and roared with laughter.
“I never received any kind of training either. And as far as I’m aware neither of my parents’ people hailed from the Norse folk anyway.”
My heart swelled as I watched my boys joke around as Locke commented on Roan’s form. It was so amazing to see how far he had come in such a short time, now that I was actually looking at him.
When we first met the only things he could interact with were us or the chains I had explicitly conjured for him. But once we left his park, it was as though he had to fight more to do the same things. So maybe this training that Locke was insisting on was a good thing after all.
Farren
Istayed up and watched the boys train until sunset when I decided that if I wanted to eat I had to prepare my own supper.
As I carefully moved around the guys to reach the fire to cook my meal, I caught my foot on a raised rock and went sprawling forward.
I slammed my eyes shut as I squeaked in fright. But my face never collided with the rough ground. When I risked cracking open an eye, I saw the earth moving away from me as I was lifted back to my feet.
“Are you falling for us, Fare one?” Locke whispered in my ear as he pulled me close enough that I felt the muscles of his chest along my back.
I flushed and stammered as I tried to get my feet back under me even as I was being held inches off the ground. He laughed as I was eased back down and I swore I saw the tips of Roan’s ears pinken.
“I think we’ve worked long enough, our girl is getting hungry.” My bear teased as he guided me to the spot that I was originally aiming for.
I stuck my tongue out at him as he turned away with my food in his giant paws. I slouched back with my arms crossed in a pout as Roan came up to rest on the ground beside me.
“He’s really not happy unless he’s taking care of either of us, is he?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“It’s a shifter thing,” Locke answered for me over his shoulder. “My father grew up in a pack community and I guess some of those traits must have passed onto me.” He shrugged as he started cooking for me.
“And what exactly does that mean? For those of us who don’t speak shifter,” Roan asked with his hand raised like a student in school. I had to hold back my laughter at his antics.
“You’re a bit of a movie buff, right?” Locke replied, looking back long enough to see Roan nod. “Think about the movies that feature multiple wolves. They live in packs and those packs take care of each other. It’s pretty much like that. I just have a natural instinct to want to take care of my pack since I have one now. Before I, I lived my life as a pure bear. Solo.”
I nodded along. It made sense at least from what I had learned in my travels. It didn’t matter what the animal was, all shifters had a natural instinct to live in communities.
Roan seemed to still have questions but was willing to drop them as Locke passed me my cooked meal.
I ate while watching Locke prepare his own supper. We finished about the same time, so I stood up to give him my seat. As he bent down to assure me that it wasn’t necessary, I told him I was tired anyway and went to lie down in the tent.
Farren
Iwoke up only once during the night when the boys came into the tent and each placed a kiss on my cheek before Locke bundled me into his arms and lulled me back to sleep with his steady breathing. When I woke up again, it was morning and I was alone but could hear the boys shouting outside.
I crawled over the sleeping bags until I was at the entrance and risked a glance out of the opening to see what they were fighting over. My voice caught in my throat as I saw they were squared off against something blocked from my sight.
“Look boys, I’ll make this easy. Let the girlie go and I’ll let you live.” A voice that must have belonged to the intruder came. “There’s not enough room in this mountain for more than one demon and I don’t share.”
Fear flooded my system. What was a demon doing here? Only the strongest ones could be summoned to this plane of existence and of those, only the real cream of the crop had enough power to stay after their summoners died.
“No way in hell are we going to let you have our girl,” Locke growled as he lunged at the demon.
“Fine, it’s the fun way then.” I could hear the smirk in his dark, silky voice before small sparks of light appeared over the guys.
Once Locke had passed in front of Roan, I could faintly see through to the other side and could barely make out a lithe form as he dodged my mate’s swinging fists.
Periodically one of the sparks fell to land on either guy and I heard them yelp out before faint whiffs of something burning hit my nose. Just as I was about to stumble to my feet and dash out to help them, the tent zipper slid shut.
I screamed as I tried to pull it open, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge.
Benny
Iwas miffed with myself as I came upon a trio of campers in my woods that I hadn’t even sensed breaching my lands. There were wards placed all around the perimeter so nothing would ever be able to sneak up on me.
The frustrating part of these intruders was that they were of supernatural heritage. Humans I always allowed free rein to enter as they please. If they chose to break any of my unspoken laws, I would happily play judge, jury, and executioner. Regardless if they knew any of that or not.
But supernaturals, I had learned, could very rarely be trusted to leave well enough alone. So I always made sure to catch them as soon as I could to stop any unwanted behaviors before they could begin. And, I mused to myself, to eliminate any other demons who might try to send me back.
I had thrived in the human world in ways that just weren’t possible for me in the demon realms. There, I was a near-bottom-rung kind of demon who just got lucky to be summoned by mistake. But up here, I was on equal footing with superior supernaturals.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived at this camp that stank of demonic energy.
With a flare of my power, I strode into the middle of the clearing and was only a little disappointed that there was no one awake to greet me. But that just gave me time to cause some mayhem before I got company.
I snapped my fingers as I sent a small burst of power to their dying campfire causing the embers to flare back into roaring flames. An evil cackle passed my lips as I willed the sparks of the fire to dance toward the tent containing my prey.
Just as the first ones reached the canvas, a specter exploded from within. His clothing choices were definitively modern, but that was the only thing that seemed to keep up with the change of times. Long dark hair curled around his shoulders, and he looked like a wannabe colonist.
But what really caught my attention about him was the power he radiated that called to my own. His blood was greatly diluted, but if there wasn’t at least a good few drops of demon blood in this spirit I’d be damned.
A smile cracked my lips as I swished my fingers around in a tight circle to send more sparks of flame flying at him. Instead of dodging, like I expected him to, he moved to block as many as he could. And the ones that his body didn’t reach, he appeared to pull towards himself and put them out with a sound that reminded me of rain striking a roaring fire. This was going to be fun.
I took a step forward before a massive beast of a man exited the tent. I wasn’t expecting a behemoth like that. I thought as he moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the ghost.
If his size wasn’t bad enough, as his energy reached out to me I realized just what kind of supernatural I was looking at. He was some kind of mixed shifter breed, favoring bears if the musky odor was any indication and demon. I wouldn’t say that he would rate as a half-blood, but definitely more than his friend.
Great. Just fucking great. Had to have been some kind of wrath demon that sired his line. They were just about the only ones dumb enough to try and bed a bear.
At least with them both outside their shelter, I could scent just enough of the air to gather they were the only ones with demon blood in their group. Whatever the final member of their group was, it would be manageable once I got rid of frick and frack here. Still, the bear was giving me a bad feeling.
I was just about to release my blaze on them, hoping to shock and awe them enough to remove the threats they posed before I got hit. The thing that stopped me from doing so came when the bear lumbered towards me. I got a peek at what they were hiding in the tent, and my heart leaped into my throat.
It was only the smallest of glimpses, but there was the most beautiful female I had ever laid eyes on. I knew that there was no way this goddess was traveling with this pair of her own will. Let alone happily dwelling in such a drab, flimsy shelter. I had to get her away from them before they caused her any more harm.
“Look boys, I’ll make this easy. Let the girlie go and I’ll let you live. There’s not enough room in this mountain for more than one demon and I don’t share,” I snarked as the bear bristled.
“No way in hell are we going to let you have our girl,” the large male growled as he lunged at me.
“Fine, it’s the fun way then,” I smirked as I sent small sparks of fire to appear over the males.
When the bear-man reached out to swipe at me, I dipped back and brought a fist of fire to strike at his gut. My fire punch landed with a satisfying hiss of burning flesh that sent him stumbling back. I pressed my advantage and threw flaming fists one after another as I backed him into the trunk of a tree.
Unfortunately, I forgot two things as I lost myself in striking at my opponent. Never back a bear into a corner, and never lose sight of all your enemies.
The bear roared and swung back at me with a half-changed paw that I was only able to dodge by throwing myself backward, right into the ghost who was ready to catch me.
As strong arms held me fast, the shifter charged at us and reduced me to little more than a punching bag. With what breath remained in my lungs, I focused on calling up a firestorm to take out the bear.
However, every time I got anything more than a few sparks ignited, spectral water rushed over me to extinguish the flames. I growled at the futility of my situation and threw my head back to break the nose of the male holding me. But somehow my head passed as though there was nothing there even as his grasp on my torso stayed strong.
My sudden movement did succeed at least in throwing the ghost off balance. Though, I think I felt it more than he did as I threw us back ass over teakettle.
