Hex Me All Night Long, page 1
HEX ME ALL NIGHT LONG (HEX DRIVE BOOK 5)
Magic & Mayhem Universe
RENEE GEORGE
Barkside of the Moon Press
Contents
Foreword
Blurb
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Paranormal Mysteries & Romances
My Peculiar Road Trip (Peculiar Mysteries In Between)
About the Author
Foreword
Blast Off with us into the Magic and Mayhem Universe!
I’m Robyn Peterman, the creator of the Magic and Mayhem Series and I’d like to invite you to my Magic and Mayhem Universe.
What is the Magic and Mayhem Universe, you may ask?
Well, let me explain…
It’s basically authorized fan fiction written by some amazing authors that I stalked and blackmailed! KIDDING! I was lucky and blessed to have some brilliant authors say yes! They have written brand new stories using my world and some of my characters. And let me tell you…the results are hilarious!
So here it is! Blast off with us into the hilarious Magic and Mayhem Universe. Side splitting books by fantabulous authors! Check out each and every one. You will laugh your way to a magical HEA!
For all the stories, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/. Grab your copy today!
And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!
https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/
Copyright © 2022 by Renee George
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.
This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.
The Author of this Book has been granted permission by Robyn Peterman to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by Robyn Peterman in this book. All copyright protection to the original characters and/or worlds of the Magic and Mayhem series is retained by Robyn Peterman.
Blurb
When you love life is laggin’, and you’re crushin’ on a dragon, it's time to practice safe hex.
Shirley Brothers, the head of the Rogue Magic Control Agency (RMCA), has one mission on her mind. Find a dragon’s heart and don’t lose her own in the process. Falling for the dragon isn’t part of the plan.
Plan’s fail. Andrak the dragon is big, he’s sexy, and he doesn’t have to breathe fire to get her hot.
He’s also single-minded when it comes to getting what’s his.
Andrak searched for the pieces of his broken heart for thousands of years. He’s finally closing in on the prize, and nothing will stop him from reaching his ultimate goal.
Well, nothing except a 200-year-old witch. She’s a little bit bossy, and he finds that a lot sexy.
But when the fragments are taken by a cult of necromancers and the witch council call for Shirley’s arrest, the two of them go rogue for a mission that puts their romance and their lives in jeopardy.
Acknowledgments
I have to thank my favorite cookie and one of my besties in the universe Robyn Peterman for allowing me, once again, to play in her sandbox, and for being one of the best critique partners ever! This world has so many hilarious roads, and it allows for so much creative freedom! I adore you, darling!
And, as always, I have to thank the other Robbin in my life, my sister. I love you to the moon and back times infinity plus plus plus. And to Michele Freeman, who was there for me every step of the way!
Next, I want to thank my readers and my rebels. Without you all, there would be no reason to write these stories. You rock!
And lastly, thank you hot, black coffee, Diet Coke, and So Delicious Dairy-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches. I owe every word to the three of you.
Chapter One
“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.” —Katniss Everdeen in The Mockingjay by Susan Collins.
* * *
“Fuck falling apart. Who has time for that shit?”
—Shirley Brothers, 200-year-old creator witch.
—Shirley—
In the Verkhoyansk mountains, trying to keep my agents alive. They don’t make it easy...
Time Bomb, a Bear Shifter who had transitioned into his warrior form, punched the silver dragon with one paw while he dug into the scaly chest with his other.
“Ieeee-hah!” I shouted as I rode my broom at their flank. I circled around them, hitting the dragon with every ounce of energy I could muster, throwing barrages of lightning bolts, fireballs, and major zaps at the beast without result.
Behind me on the broom sat my ride-along, Dee, a tall, thin vampire with flowing black hair and blue eyes bright enough to light up the night sky.
“Jump, baby!” Dee shouted.
“It’s too dangerous.”
According to Gigi, Time Bomb’s team leader, Dee was the Shifter’s mate. I’d never heard of a Shifter-Vampire pairing, but Dee was certainly acting like someone with the world to lose.
The bear roared then shouted, “Jumping seems pretty freaking dangerous.”
The dragon said something, but I couldn’t hear him with the wind beating at my ears.
Time Bomb punched through the opening he’d made in the scales, and the dragon howled in pain. I was horrified when he reared back his head to blow fire on the bear, but all that came out was a trail of smoke.
“I did it!” Time Bomb yelled triumphantly. “I got the sucker.”
“That’s great,” Dee shouted at him. “Now let him go.”
Uh oh. I watched the dragon’s eyes go milky white, and the next thing I knew, both he and Time Bomb were plummeting to the earth.
“Goddess on a hot spit!” I waved at Time Bomb. “Jump. I’ll catch you.”
“Can’t get away from him,” he shouted. “Can you use your magic to float us down or something?”
I could see now his paw was trapped inside the dragon’s chest. Son of a crone. This wasn’t good at all, and there was nothing I could do to help. I knew this because I had thrown all my best tricks at the beast. All the bombs, fireballs, and zaps had dissipated the minute they touched him. I was very good at what I did. There’s a reason I’m the head of the Rogue Magic Control Agency for Baba Yaga and the witch council. Not to toot my own horn, but I can handle my business. Unfortunately, the dragon had proven impervious.
“I could for you, but magic has zero effect on the dragon. Zip. Nada. None. As long as you’re attached to him, I can’t help you either,” I yelled back. The wind kicked up, and it made it hard to hear anything. “Get mad, big guy, and get yourself out.”
Time Bomb, one of my Rogue Magic Control Agency agents, had a berserker gene. I knew he’d had to give up a lot because of it, but he sure came in handy during a fight. Still, I could see the bear was struggling. Maybe the dragon’s magical null worked on his berserker gene. I’d always believe it was strictly inherited, but maybe there was a magic component as well.
Time Bomb turned human, but I watched with futility as he yanked and yanked but still couldn’t get loose.
“Fuuuuuck!” He kicked at the unconscious dragon. “Let me go, hornbreath.”
“His name’s Andrak,” Dee shouted. I could hear the panic in her voice. “Andrak!” she pleaded. “Wake up. Stupid bastard, wake the hell up!”
We were plummeting to the ground, and there was no way out for the Bear Shifter. I wanted to stay with him as long as I could, but I knew if I didn’t pull up the broom, his fate would also be Dee’s and mine.
Time Bomb smiled as he looked at Dee. “I love you.”
“No.” She reached out. “Don’t you dare, Time Bomb. Don’t you fucking dare leave me!”
I nodded at him. He knew the score, and he was saying his goodbye. I peeled off from the descent. Dee’s angry cries ate away at me as we watched Time Bomb and the unconscious dragon smash into the cold, hard and unforgiving ground.
“I swear to the Goddess that if you don’t take me to him right now, I am going to tear you a new asshole,” Dee threatened. “Why did you let him do that? Why didn’t you stop it?”
“Because I’m not a miracle worker, kid.” I felt wretched and heartbroken, but I’d done everything I could do to save Time Bomb. He was her mate. I knew that made the pain so much greater. But he was my agent, and I would have to find a way to live with not being able to save him. “I told you,” I shouted over the wind to Dee, “the dragon isn’t affected by magic. Like at all. Which means no amount of spell casting was going to make that go any other way.”
I flew Dee on my broom toward the crater that the dragon and Time Bomb had made.
Dee jumped off the broom and ran to the two fallen figures. Andrak was on top of him, and Time Bomb was back in his human form.
“Help!” Dee called out. Drag Jones, Baz Delgados, Brita Davis, Cas Connor, Gigi Wise, and Monty Abadose—all either agents or with ties to the RMCA—were there in seconds, and it took all of us to move the dinosaur-sized dragon far enough to free Time Bomb’s body.
Drag, an ex-RMCA agent, choked out a sob, and I knew why. Time Bomb was her best friend. They’d been team partners for a long time, and now, he was gone.
Two red-headed witches, Brita and Monty stood by Drag. The witch and warlock were both healers.
“Help him. Save him,” Dee begged them.
Monty knelt beside the fallen Shifter and checked for a pulse. Meanwhile, Brita waved her magically sparking hand over his body. Her stark expression when she glanced at Dee was hard to watch.
Time Bomb was dead.
Dee cried out with grief and pain, and I sent up a prayer for the Goddess to bring her peace that I was certain wouldn’t come on its own.
I was startled when Dee screamed and then vaulted onto the dragon’s chest, punching him in the face. “Die, you bastard. Just freaking die.” She sobbed. “Why won’t you die?” She looked at Time Bomb, then back to Andrak. “Why him and not you?”
The dragon didn’t try to defend himself. “I am very difficult to kill.” He set his gaze upon Time Bomb. “He was a worthy opponent. He does Veles, the bear god, proud.”
“I don’t want his honorable death,” Dee snapped. “I want him alive. I want him with me.” She poked at her chest. “All this for a book? He’s dead because someone borrowed a book from you and didn’t return it?” He rolled onto his clawed feet, easily dislodging Dee from his massive, scaled chest. “Tell me what was so important that you caused all this.” The vampire spread her hands to indicate the destruction and death. “For a book.”
“It is my heart.” The way Andrak said heart struck me as profound. I could feel the longing in his words, along with an emptiness that made my chest squeeze. “And I have been searching for it for almost three thousand years.”
“Your heart?” I asked. “You mean the witch’s soul that was cursed into the book?” The Book of En-dor had reportedly been a means to trap a witch’s immortal soul. After the trap was sprung, it had turned to stone. It was then broken into seven pieces that were hidden all over the world. Had Andrak been in love with her? Why did the idea that he had this great love make my stomach hurt? “Was she your love or something?”
“No.” Andrak shook his head, his silver gaze meeting mine. His expression was somber as he transitioned to his human form. He lay naked, and his impressive physique aside, his skin was pallid, almost gray, and his eyes were slightly sunken in as if he’d been suffering for an extremely long time. “My actual heart. The seventh piece. The one Desma found in the Bering Sea.”
“How did you know to find me there?” Dee asked him. “Did you bribe Paxton? Our guide? Or someone else in the king’s court?”
“I didn’t have to bribe anyone,” the dragon said flatly. “When you found the first piece and let it dry, it called to me. I’ve been tracking you ever since. It wasn’t hard to learn your routine of finding the fragments and then going to a local bar to feed.” He turned and met my gaze. “Now. Can you get it for me? It’s in the tallest castle tower.”
I searched the castle and found a tower with what looked like a giant lightning rod mounted on top. I pointed. “That one?”
A strange look passed over his face, as if for a moment he were uncertain, then the dragon inclined his head. “Yes. That’s the one.”
I snapped my fingers and apparated inside the structure as Andrak had asked. The room was barren except for a locked box. I was only slightly disappointed. I think I hoped there would be something personal in the room that would give me a glimpse at the dragon’s inner workings.
I apparated back into the same spot with the box in hand.
“Don’t give it to him,” Dee ordered. She crawled over to Time Bomb and curled up next to him. “He doesn’t deserve to have a heart.”
I was heartbroken for her and for all our group. Time Bomb would be extremely missed. But I wouldn’t let it stop me from doing what was right. I opened the box and pulled out the dripping fragment.
“If it dries, the Saturday dudes will be on us in minutes,” Dee warned them.
She was talking about the Sabbatianoi or the Saturday dudes—a name coined by Drag when they’d tried to kill Baz Delgados, heir to the throne of the Ravenblood Clan, the vampire she loved. The group of first sons, all born on Saturdays, had somehow gained necromancy for control over the undead, and they’d been led by Baz’s uncle. He had been a bad dude who had tried to take out all the competition for the Ravenblood throne. He lost. Drag, who also had necromancy magic, exploded their heads right off their body when they’d killed her lover. Then, she’d used her power to bring him back from the dead. That last part was only known to a handful of people, and they were all in this crater.
Slowly, Andrak sat up. He held out his hand for the Book of Endor stone artifact, which, it turned out, was a piece of his heart.
“Don’t trust him,” Baz said. “He might take it and run.”
The vampire wasn’t thinking straight. “To what end?” If Andrak wanted to run away with the artifact, there had been plenty of time for it after he’d captured Dee. No. He wanted something else. “He could’ve done that in the first place,” I told Baz before handing Andrak the artifact.
The dragon’s silvery eyes flashed with relief as white nictitating membranes slid across his irises as he examined the stone. His chest opened a crack, and he slipped the artifact inside. Immediately, the color and vigor returned to his skin.
Yes, I thought. This is right.
Andrak inclined his head to me, his eyes soft as he spoke. “Thank you. It has been a long time since I have felt even this much.”
I felt an unfamiliar flutter in my stomach that gave me pause.
Andrak continued, “Salia, the witch of Endor, had been threatened by King Saul’s advisor. She could either produce Samuel’s spirit or be drowned or burned as a witch.”
I let out a sound of disgust. This was a tale both old and new. Things wouldn’t be much better for my kind today if the humans knew we really existed. “So, either be a witch or be killed for the accusation.”
Andrak nodded. “I helped her because I thought she was kind. I gave her a stone's weight of my heart because, with it, she could do what the king required, but I never meant for her to keep it. You see, Salia abused my power. She raised the dead and created a group of followers who went into the town and killed all of her enemies by draining them dry. So, when the priests of Saul came to me after he died, begging me for a way to stop her from bringing back more of their dead, I gave them the rest of my heart to create a book to trap the witch of my making.”
“You’re a creator.” I was fascinated by the tall, dark, and handsome creature, no matter how much I wished I wasn’t.
“Of a sort,” Andrak agreed. “I want the rest of my heart back, and I am willing to make a generous trade.”
And there was the rub. The reason the dragon didn’t take off was when he got the artifact from Dee. He didn’t want one. He wanted them all.
Chapter Two
—Shirley—
Still in the mountains…
My heart broke for Dee as she whipped her tear-streaked face to Andrak. Her face was full of accusation. “What could you possibly trade that would make me help you in any way?”
“Your bond to your bear is strong, little raven. It’s not too late to bring him back,” the dragon said.
