“It’s like a maze down there. No wonder so many men were trapped. When the elevator shaft collapsed, there was no other way out.”
Everly shook her head at the building plans and old maps spread before her. She’d cleared off the desks within the vault, carefully organizing every note and journal as I dragged the remains of the Eld creature outside and dumped it in the woods. The vault had reeked of rotten fish when we entered, but Everly found a book of beautification spells and was eager to use them at every opportunity.
Now, the room smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. Following Winona’s careful instructions, Everly enchanted a broom and a dust rag to get to work, tidying up the vault as she and I carefully studied the building plans we had found in the university library.
But there was a problem.
“Whatever part of the mine is underneath the house, they didn’t map it,” Everly admitted, after scouring the maps with increasing frustration for an hour. “God, did we really waste all that time…”
Nuzzling my face against her neck, I said, “I hardly think fucking you in a library was a waste of time.”
She was deep in thought, chewing her lip as she nudged her body closer against my own. Even distracted by other tasks, she reacted to me, leaning into me, asking silently for more.
“Sybil must have created the tunnels under the house herself,” she said. “They weren’t part of the original mine, but were dug after. Where would they connect?’ She tapped the end of her pen against her mouth. Finally, with a determined look, she circled a section of the mine with her pen. “There. It has to be. That upper level is the only one that could reasonably connect.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” I said, playing with her hair as she studied. “While you investigate Sybil’s notes, I’ll explore the tunnels. We’ll have them mapped out soon enough.”
She looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes bright with excitement. “There’s something special in those notes, Callum, I just know it. Sybil found something important, and if I can translate her code…”
“You can. I have no doubt your clever mind can solve any puzzle it’s given.”
A blush rose on her face, and I brushed my fingers over her cheek just to feel the heat of her skin. My need for her grew more every day. It was a constant, insatiable desire to be close to her, touch her, listen to her speak.
Nothing else could satisfy me. Her body was a siren’s song and I was its slave.
Everly rose excitedly from her seat, quickly gathering her maps. “Let’s go down there now!” “You can explore, I’ll start looking through her notes —”
She stopped when my head tipped curiously to the side, listening for the voice I’d heard calling me.
“It’s Darragh,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I’ll go see what he wants.”
Teleporting to the exterior of the greenhouse, I found Darragh lounging lazily between the boughs of his tree.
“There’s intruders in the forest,” he said before I could ask what he wanted. “A mortal woman and a demon.” He opened one amber eye, giving me a thorny smile. “I have them walking in circles, and the flowers will put the woman to sleep soon. Shall I make them leave?”
A mortal and demon. My mind immediately went to Juniper, the woman who’d chased Everly. She’d told me to leave her alone, but…
“What do they want?”
“Oh, I certainly don’t know,” Darragh said with a dramatic yawn. “But the woman carries weapons.”
Rage blanketed my vision. Then I had been right all along. This woman meant harm to my witch; she’d even brought a demon along to help her. No matter. They would both be destroyed, and Everly wouldn’t have to fear them anymore.
“I’ll take care of them,” I said and returned to the library before the Woodsprie could reply.
Everly was waiting for me, clearly eager to get down to the tunnels. Her face fell when I said, “Darragh found intruders in the woods. But don’t be afraid, they won’t reach the house. I’ll be back soon.”
“Intruders? Who?” She gulped, her eyes widening with fear. “Are they humans?”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with it,” I said. “Find something to read in the meantime. When I return, we’ll go down to the laboratory.”
But that didn’t satisfy her.
“Callum,” she said slowly, softly. “Who is in the woods?”
But I didn’t answer her. I vanished, reappearing in the yard and stalking out into the trees. It didn’t take me long to catch the intruders’ scent, and I shrouded myself in shadow as I pursued them. Everly would be angry, but her heart was gentle.
She didn’t yet understand that violence was often the only answer.
The woman and her demon were walking in circles, confused and misled by Darragh’s tricks. The air was thick with the scent of toxic flora, and as I stalked closer, the demon sensed my presence, warning the woman not to brandish her weapons.
But it was too late for that.
Creeping closer, I sniffed the air, inhaling the demon’s scent. I didn’t know him; he was younger than me but strong, not far off from ascending to an archdemon himself. I didn’t like killing my own kind. Perhaps with his woman dead, he would choose to simply be on his way.
But if I needed to destroy him too, I would. Murderous intent surrounded the woman, anger fueled her.
They shouldn’t have come here. They shouldn’t have come after my witch.
Wrapped in darkness, crouched low as the rain poured around me, I waited. They didn’t even notice I was there until they were within just a few inches of me.
When he spotted me, the demon managed to get out a single word.
“Fuck.”
Leaping from my perch, it took one swipe of my arm to send him flying back into a tree with an audible crack of wood. The woman scrambled to take out her gun, but I knocked her to the ground and the weapon was flung from her grasp. Bloodlust overtook me as the demon got up, charging for me with claws out, fangs snapping.
With a laugh, I plunged the forest into darkness, surrounding the three of us in swirling shadows. The demon was quick, but not quick enough. My claws ripped at him, tearing through flesh and cracking bone. My breath quickened with excitement, rabid energy filling me. The woman was still struggling for her weapon, but I seized her hair, my other hand wrapping around her jaw.
Her death would be quick, if not entirely painless. I could practically taste her blood in my mouth already. How sweet it would be to see the light go out in her eyes.
But her demon wasn’t giving up. He slammed into me, knocking me off her, and we tumbled across the forest floor. His claws tore into me, teeth snapping viciously toward my throat.
“Why don’t you fucking stay still?” I snarled and threw him off, and the moment he hit the ground, I slammed my foot into his face, crunching bone and sending blood spattering across the bright green grass.
Poor fool actually thought he could save the woman.
Comfortably cracking my back, I hummed a cheerful little tune as I approached the woman again. She looked at me as if she was witnessing Lucifer himself; eyes wide, mouth agape. The certainty of impending death settled coldly in her eyes. In an act of mercy, I knocked her unconscious before I wrenched her head back, extending my claws to rip open her throat —
“Callum! Callum, STOP!”
Everly’s voice froze me. She was scrambling toward me through the trees, her feet bare, her hair wild and tangled from sprinting through the forest. Her eyes were wide with horror as she came upon the scene, a gasp leaving her as she saw the woman in my grasp.
“Put her down.”
She didn’t understand.
“Go back to the house, Everly,” I said. “It isn’t safe for you here.”
“I SAID, PUT HER DOWN!”
The command in her voice was undeniable, and I winced, furiously baring my teeth as I refused to release the woman in my grasp. Snarling, I said, “They mean you harm, Everly. They came here with weapons. The woman brought a demon with her. They intended to kill you.”
“You don’t know that.” Her jaw was tight, her eyes brimming with unexpected, angry tears. The sight of such emotion shook me, and my grip on the woman relaxed, her head dropping to the ground.
“My duty is to protect you,” I said, shooting a cautious glance at the groaning, writhing demon. Stepping over my unconscious victim, I extended my hand to Everly, hoping to comfort her, to ease her fears.
But she stepped back from me and shook her head. Blood was dripping thickly from my fingers, drenching my hands, my arms. I could taste it in my mouth, sharp and delicious. I wanted more.
I wanted her in my arms. I wanted her understanding, her acceptance.
But she was looking at me in fear.
“Everly…” My voice was too loud, too fierce. “I’m protecting you.”
“No,” she said firmly. “You’re disobeying me.”
The words hurt. They pierced deep and sharp into my chest, tugging at the very strings of our bond. Anger and confusion wrestled within me as I stared at her. Her eyes kept darting around the scene.
I wanted to calm her, reassure her. But with every step I took toward her, she backed away.
“Stop,” she said, and I went still. “Don’t hurt them. We’re taking them back to the house. I need to talk to Juniper. Just keep her demon restrained while I do, but don’t hurt him.”
Her commands were a riddle I couldn’t unravel. Restrain, but don’t hurt. Let enemies into our house, let a murderous woman near my witch.
I wanted to defy her.
“Why do you wish to speak to her?”
“Because I think I know why she came back to Abelaum,” she said. Her voice didn’t waver this time. “She wants revenge against the people who hurt her, who murdered her brother. If she goes after the Libiri, if she keeps them distracted, we might gain a little more time.”
Finally, I was able to see the sense in her words. But I still didn’t like it. We didn’t need anyone else’s help. If she needed something done, I would do it. She only needed to give me the command.
Yet there I was, resisting her orders because I didn’t agree. She wasn’t backing down either. Her eyes still glistened with unshed tears, and frustration made me pace. I could kill them quickly, just get it over with, eliminate the problem.
But I couldn’t disobey her. The idea of doing so repulsed me.
“Fine,” I relented. “I’ll take them back to the house.”
