Shadow witch, p.3
Shadow Witch, page 3
I had no doubt Ozul would end up dead, but Alek was right—Astaroth was always prepared.
“Will he be wherever Astaroth is?” Lazaro asked, his hard nickel-like gaze holding mine. “Will we come across him again?”
“I would assume so,” I said, and his eyes flashed with a darkness that I now knew resided under his skin. My gaze finally moved to Oz, who was staring over me towards Ozul, and when I followed his gaze I saw that the two of them were having some sort of silent conversation—or maybe a silent threat, because Ozul looked nearly green in the face. I stepped into Oz and rubbed my hand on his chest, his hand shooting up to capture my wrist before strumming a finger over my pulse.
“Let’s activate the cloaking spell and get her to safety,” Oz said simply. Cage made an amused noise, seeming to catch on that Oz was anything but okay right now. In fact, this sense of calm he had going on was more eerie than reassuring.
“Which way are we leaving?” I kept my back turned towards the crowd, the magical attacks slowing enough that I could lower my voice.
Lazaro’s gaze darted towards the graveyard, and silent understanding passed through our group. Oz spoke a single word—absconditus—and disappeared from sight. The rest of us followed his lead, and one by one we popped out of existence.
Ozul’s face turned red with fury. “Surround the building immediately—they cloaked themselves. We should be able to feel them break through the wards.”
Shit.
Despite not being able to see my men, I could feel my connection with them through our heartbeats. I followed my instincts, running towards the graves in the distance. Astaroth’s followers were spreading out along the driveway, and we were currently going far to the left of that. I tried to move quietly because despite being cloaked visually, I assumed the sound of our voices and footsteps were not. When we finally hit the grass, I was careful in how I moved, not wanting to give away our movements with the grass bending under an invisible force. A rumble in the sky sounded again, and a sense of exhilaration ran over my skin.
Despite hating that Astaroth’s followers were waiting for us, it hadn’t been him…and in the face of that I realized just how damn strong I’d become. It wasn’t his people I feared, it was him, and it felt like after running so long, I’d pulled the sheets off some looming threat chasing after me.
When we finally reached the graveyard, I easily scaled the wrought iron fence and made my way towards a mausoleum in the distance. I froze momentarily as I passed through the wards, looking in the distance to see if anyone had noticed the disturbance, but the robes continued spreading out along the driveway. I let out a controlled exhale of relief, though I hesitated when I reached the mausoleum. I didn’t want to call out to my men, but at the same time I didn’t want to leave the area—
A hard hand grabbed me, and with a wave of lethal magic my cloaking spell was removed in one hard sweep. Fuck.
I groaned as my head hit the back of the stone behind me and Ozul was in my space, a hand slapping over my mouth, his dangerous gaze glittering with amusement. His scent and his magic had my stomach churning uncomfortably as I tried to focus on what I needed to do to disengage from his hold on me.
“Quiet now, we wouldn’t want to alert the others you’ve been caught,” he whispered as I tried to make a sound that would escape past his hand. Getting the attention of my men was more important than ever, because Alek was right—I could feel the cloaked men and women standing behind Ozul, unaccounted for and a danger to my men.
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream sounded as bodies began to drop around us, their own cloaking spells being removed as their throats were slit, body after body falling into the grass with a dull thunk. Fear flashed over Ozul’s face, his grip on me tightening as he assaulted me with lunar magic. I cried out in surprise, unprepared for the attack. It felt like burning hot live wire under my skin, and I felt defenseless, any momentary victory ripped away by the fact that he was smashing my frame against the mausoleum with the full force of his weight.
Flashes of a time before when he had done something very similar, his hands roaming my body as bile rose in my throat and panic infiltrated my very being, started to slip through. My eyes fluttered shut, and all at once…
I exploded.
My magic detonated—all three forms of it at once—blasting over Ozul and throwing him back while ripping away the cloaking spells of every single person present. So many silver cloaks covered in blood crowded my vision, and I slumped against the stone wall behind me, glad to see that my men were okay. The blast seemed to have rendered many of the others unconscious or at least dazed, but it had protected my men, who looked a mixture of startled as well as completely on alert and focused, no doubt trying to figure out how the hell to get us out of this situation.
“We need to get out of here—they have way too many,” I said breathlessly.
“Absolutely not.” Ozul stood, trying to hide his groan behind a strained laugh. “You have an appointment with him, and I will be delivering you personally.”
Lazaro’s magic suddenly lashed out but Ozul met it, my eyes widening at the pure display of lunar magic. Ozul was powerful, years of training had ensured that, but Lazaro’s magic had a wild energy to it, lethal in its proximity and uncontrollable.
“Go,” Lazaro demanded harshly, his gaze holding mine.
“We go together,” I said evenly. His eyes flashed with frustration, making me know that I was probably going to hear about this later—but it was exactly how I felt. I wasn’t leaving him.
Unfortunately, that meant I had to face the swarms I had knocked back. They were flooding the space again, and I slipped into a mode I had long forgotten. The ability to fight in both physical combat and with magic was like a natural instinct to me, and as Astaroth’s witches flooded the area, I easily deflected them. I wanted to watch my men, watch them fight, because there was a level of skill and wild, untamable power that I could watch all day—but I also knew that we couldn’t do this forever.
The thunder in the distance was far closer now, followed by a crack of lightning. At that moment I realized the weather was far from normal, and shadow magic began to pour down from the sky, causing a direct divide between us and the opposing side. Grimshaw chuckled, and I watched in awe as figures appeared one after another in front of us, facing towards the enemy like a massive militia—a group of sentinels. An uneasy shiver rolled over my skin as I swallowed down a sense of fear that I hadn’t expected to experience.
“Who is that?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Cage’s gaze jumped with amusement that was completely misplaced at the moment but also unsurprising
“The Nyx family.”
4
DEVA
Shadowy apparitions spanned the space in front of us in an unbreakable wall of strength, standing out like a dark stain amongst the tombstones and silver sky. A chill rolled over me as I realized just how powerful the Nyx family was, just what their nature entailed.
It was one thing to be around Grim every day, but to be around a group of people all with Grim’s level of power, all united under the same cause—to stop Ozul and the witches he led from breaking through and reaching us…it was enough to rattle my own magic. It made sense now why the Nyx family estate had been so hard to break into—it made sense why so many people feared Grim’s name.
And it sure as hell made sense why Astaroth considered his family a threat.
“Nyx.” Ozul’s voice was stoney and hard, and I noticed his entire group was at a standstill, not willing to attack the black cloaked figures that stood between them and us.
It took me a moment to realize who Ozul was speaking to until a woman from the center of the group stepped forward, her cloak falling to reveal a veil of dark hair with silver streaks in it. Her magic vibrated around her like a black cosmic force as she spoke in a silky tone. “You should run, Ozul. Run back to Astaroth and tell him that if he ever comes for my family again, nowhere he hides will be good enough.”
The intensity of her words had a sense of apprehension pulsing through me as my own magic flared in response to the threat. It was enough that Grim slid a hand over my waist, his silence a bit unusual for him, as he seemed to be hyper-focused on Ozul’s reaction.
“Absolutely not,” Ozul growled. “We just want the girl. Your family has nothing to do with that.”
“That girl,” the woman hissed, her voice spiking with the slightest amount of anger, “is under our protection. Leave or face the consequences of attacking one of ours.”
I nearly reared back in shock. I understood it was probably for Grim’s benefit, but the way she said it—the way she claimed I was under their protection—was so much more ‘sure’ than I would have expected. I didn’t even know who this woman was.
“Deva will be coming with us.” Ozul’s words were final despite the fear prominent on his face.
The woman laughed softly and stepped back into line. “Very well then.”
In a quick motion she turned towards us as the others closed ranks to form a wall without her. A horn sounded, vibrating the air in a force that blanketed the graveyard with an eerie feel, the haunting melody momentarily interrupted by the woman shouting a word in a harsh tone before a wall of shadow shot straight up into the sky like a shield…
…and collapsed over Ozul’s men.
A clash of magic and furious cries rang out, the horn continuing to bellow as colors exploded within the haze of dark magic. My attention was only drawn away from the spectacle by the woman walking towards us, an individual that held so much authority and power that it baffled me for a long moment, until another element drew even more surprise from me.
The woman looked exactly like Grimshaw. It wasn’t just a familial similarity, either—no, this was down to her face shape—and while she had more distinctively feminine features, she had the same dark eyes and the same inky shade of hair. She was gorgeous, and her gaze was critical yet interested as she looked over me.
“We need to get to the estate immediately. They have reinforcements incoming. Follow me.”
“I’m staying,” Grim said evenly, looking towards the line of fighters, their bodies obscured by the shadows that encapsulated the front line of a battle that sounded gruesome, even from the outside. Then his words hit me fully.
“You want to stay?” I turned towards him as his dark gaze flickered down to mine.
“To fight with them, yes,” Grim said quietly. I could see that he was completely serious, and after a moment of thought I understood—this was his family, and they had come to save us. Which meant that I would stay as well, until I could ensure that Ozul wouldn’t leave without taking any of their lives—
“You need to go through the portal, though. I want you safe and back in the house,” Grim said. I blinked up at him as he stared at me intently, trying to will me to do exactly what he wanted.
Cage chuckled softly at my confusion. Why the hell would I leave him? Looking around at all the other men, Oz and Cage seemed neutral if not amused, whereas Lazaro and Alek looked a bit too much like they agreed with him, watching our interaction with interest.
“Absolutely not,” I finally said. “We stay together—you’ve said that yourself. You want to stay and fight, then we stay and fight.”
“The others will go with you.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I said, my eyes flickering towards the others, knowing that Oz, as well as a few others, wanted Ozul dead as soon as possible. “But it’s not happening, Grim. If you are staying to fight, then so am I.”
“Little jaguar,” Grim warned, his eyes darkening before his hand came up to cup my jaw, darkness leaking through his facade—one I hadn’t even realized he had in place until now. I kept my gaze on him as he spoke in a hard whisper, “I need to kill him. You can’t stop me from doing that.”
“Later,” I promised, not only to him, but the others. There was no use trying to deny him the satisfaction, because I completely understood. If someone had hurt or tried to abuse my men the same way Ozul had tried to hurt me…well, I already had plans for Alek’s father as it stood.
“All of you need to leave,” the woman said finally, a hint of amusement in her tone. I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Including you, Grimshaw.”
I tried to not find it frustrating that she was giving orders because I agreed with her in this case, but I also didn’t like the idea of anyone making decisions for us, family or not.
“Seriously. You should listen to her,” the woman said evenly, causing Grim to narrow his eyes over my shoulder momentarily before looking towards the others. A silent agreement seemed to take place within the group before Grimshaw muttered a curse and led me towards where the woman had directed. I thought I heard her murmur something under her breath, and as we moved further away from the battle, I noticed that she skipped ahead.
As in she appeared to have moved ten feet ahead of us in the blink of an eye and then created a black portal-like door frame.
“Think of it as how we portal using our shadows, but instead being able to do groups at a time,” Grim explained.
“I didn’t realize that was an option,” I murmured thoughtfully. Before we faced Astaroth, I needed to perfect that trick—the idea of an escape plan, especially from someone so toxically dangerous, was needed. I knew my men would never let me face him alone either, so having an ability like that would be amazing.
“I don’t believe lunar witches have anything similar,” the woman said as we approached.
So she knew me only as a lunar witch, then. It would be common knowledge that I had multiple strains of magic around the campus of DIA, but what about outside of that? It was clear they knew about Alek, but would they accept the same about me?
“This one shouldn’t make you sick,” Alek pointed out quietly. Oz grabbed my other hand, and without another word we all went through the shadowy portal. I had nearly argued that my other men go first, worried they would stay behind, but I could feel through our bond that we were mostly on the same page.
I could immediately feel the difference and found myself unable to fully call it a portal. It felt like my own magic rolling over my skin but with a distinctly different edge, one that was pure shadow magic, pure darkness.
For a long moment it was silent, but then I was deposited right on a stone floor. Grim tightened his hold on me as I moved out of the way, knowing the others would be right behind, and Oz muttered a curse but seemed to shake off the effect. I kept my gaze on the place we’d landed, unable to look around until I knew each had made it through safely. When the woman finally joined us and the shadow portal closed, I felt equal amounts of relief and maybe a bit of disappointment.
I felt like I should have stayed and fought as well, even if logic dictated otherwise. Even if I knew this wasn’t a battle I could fight right now—or at least not one I could win with how exhausted and drained I was.
“Well, glad we have that sorted.” The woman removed her cloak to reveal a dark black leather outfit before flashing me a softer smile. “I understand why you wanted to stay and fight, but I promise they have it handled.”
“I don’t like others fighting my battles,” I admitted.
“It’s not just yours,” Grim said quietly, the tone of the conversation shifting to something more relaxed.
The woman looked at him and narrowed her eyes, ignoring his words. “You, on the other hand—you don’t have nearly as good of reasoning. Just like your father, far too focused on the damn killing.”
Grimshaw chuckled. “I don’t know, Mom—I feel like that’s a bit like you.”
I froze as I stared up at Grim, wide-eyed. “That’s—she’s your—”
“Mom?” Grim mused. “Yes. Mom, this is Deva. She’s our girlfriend.”
Shit. Talk about a first impression.
Of course, it was logical that Grim had a mom. What other explanation could there be for their uncannily similar appearances? Maybe it was because of my lack of parents, or anything resembling a parental figure in my life, but I just felt more than a bit shocked. I was also embarrassed because I had never been one to date, let alone ‘meet the parents,’ and now I was overthinking the interactions I had with her prior, wondering if I had already messed up her opinion of me. It was probably ridiculous, silly to even consider something like that right now, but I also loved Grimshaw and it was clear that he was close with his family.
In fact, I was so caught up in the moment that I only barely processed my men talking around me. “Girlfriend. Still not a fan of that title.” Cage sighed but then flashed Grim’s mom a smile. “Mrs. Nyx, wonderful to see you again.”
“Yes, good to see you also.” She looked amused. “Same to you, Lazaro and Oz—although Alek, I was surprised to see you.” Her eyes flickered to me. “Makes a bit more sense now. I should have realized that the woman who broke into our house, stole a moonstone, and captured my son’s attention would do the same with his friends.”
Ah, shit.
“Is she blushing?” Alek tilted his head, his amusement causing me to scowl. I was absolutely not blushing. Although even I had to admit that I felt more than a bit awkward and maybe ashamed about what I’d done.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” she assured me. “I was honestly impressed. Even more so when you avoided detection all summer.”
Well, at least there was that.
“I don’t really know what to say,” I admitted.
“Nothing to say,” she promised. “My name is Circe.”
Meeting her extended hand, I felt a surge of magic whip across my skin as I held her gaze and allowed my magic to meet hers, recognizing that we were very similar when it came to the raw strength of our magic. The difference? Grim’s mom had a lot more control than me, and that was saying something.
“Wait.” I offered Grim a look, dropping my hand. “You told them about looking for me all summer? Did you tell them—”
