Embracing Magick: an Urban Fantasy Novel (The Witch Blood Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  In the meantime, I needed to check in with my aunt and admit I’d ignored her advice and stormed off to confront the High Witch about the witch’s oath she’d coerced my mum into taking. I couldn’t handle not knowing the truth about my heritage. It was obvious now that the High Witch knew who my biological mother was and was hiding the information, but what I didn’t understand was why? And if she knew who my mother was then maybe she knew why my power had been bound and who’d done the binding.

  The phone rang for ages before my aunt answered.

  “Carmella, baby. How are you?”

  “I’m good, but I have a confession to make.”

  “You went to see the High Witch didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. I have to know.”

  She sighed. “I understand, sweetheart. Sometimes we need closure to put the past behind us and move on. So did you get the answers you were looking for?”

  “No. She refused to see me. I didn’t even get past the front door.”

  Aunt Constance was silent for a long time. “I have a bad feeling about this, Carmella. I don’t believe the High Witch means you any harm, but I’ve been thinking, and having spoken to your mother, I’m starting to believe that maybe the oath was to protect you.”

  “Protect me?”

  “Someone bound your powers. You were given to another woman to raise, and when that woman discovered you weren’t her biological child, the High Witch made her take an oath of silence. Maybe the High Witch doesn’t want you to know where you came from because it could put you in danger? I can’t think of any other reason for her to go to such great lengths to hide you.”

  “And now she refuses to speak to me. She must know that I’ve found mum.”

  “It seems the only explanation.”

  “Okay. So, finding out the truth could put me in danger, but I can’t go on not knowing.”

  “I know, sweetheart. Just...be careful.”

  “I will.”

  We spoke for a few more minutes about work and general stuff and then said our goodbyes for now.

  Aunt’s theory sent a chill down my spine, but there was no giving up on finding out what the High Witch knew. If she wouldn’t see me then I’d have to bide my time until she came to me, or I found myself in a position of having something to offer her in return.

  Mira strode into the flat with a scowl.

  “Bad day?”

  She kicked off her shoes and flung herself onto the single sofa. “The worst. Do I have to get a job?”

  “Yep. If you intend to take over the rent on this place when I move out, you need money.”

  “Why can’t you just pay for it? You’re already staying at Shaitan Enterprises four nights out of the week, and it’s not like your dragon friend is charging you rent.”

  “That’s not the point. If you’re going to be living in this world you need to adapt and learn to fend for yourself, and in our world, you need money to survive.”

  “Then pay me to be your body guard.”

  I picked up my plate and strolled into the kitchen. “I’m perfectly capable of guarding my own body. You need a job to earn money so I can move out.” Yeah, that sounded strange. “I got you a new identity, but the rest is up to you.”

  “I still assert that you should let me work with you. Surely your IEPEU could do with some extra claws?” She gave me one of her wicked grins.

  The feral smile sent a shiver up my spine. Why was it that every time I forgot what she was, she’d do something to remind me? “Patrols are a team, and you’re not exactly a team player, are you?”

  She snorted. “I work better alone.”

  “And there’s your answer. Just keep looking. There’s no rush.” Truth was, the grumpy, prickly cow had grown on me like some kind of persistent fungus. “It’s getting cramped. Wouldn’t you like to be able to sleep in human form?”

  She shrugged. “Why?”

  I finished drying my plate and popped it back in the cupboard. “Because, it’s more comfortable than lying by my bed in panther form.” Not to mention, much less disconcerting.

  “I told you, it’s my preferred avatar.” She gave me a sly grin. “You still think I’m gonna take a bite out of your arse in your sleep, don’t you?”

  My neck heated. “No. I do not think that...anymore.”

  She threw back her head and let out a bark of laughter. “Yes you do.” She strolled over to the small cabinet by the window and picked up a pile of envelopes. “These came for you while you were with your dragon lover.”

  “He is not my lover.” To be honest I wasn’t sure what we were. Henna had asked me to watch out for Vritra with her dying breath, and so I’d split my time between my flat and my penthouse suite at Shaitan Enterprises. The first couple of weeks, I’d pretty much lived there. Vritra had been in bad shape, withdrawn and lost, so we’d hung out. We watched old movies and foreign movies that turned out to be pretty good, and we’d trained, and we’d trained. He wasn’t the let’s-talk-about-our-feelings kinda guy, but even when we were sitting in total silence eating a meal, I never felt uncomfortable, aside from the whole dragons wanting to do the nasty. But even they’d been behaving themselves of late.

  Mira shoved the envelopes into my hands and then flopped onto the sofa bed. I flipped through them. Urgh, more invites to coven events. A quick peek inside each one confirmed my suspicions—not a single invite from Mayfair. Piccadilly, Camden and Soho had all made their interests clear. Now that the taint had been lifted, they knew I wasn’t a danger to the skein, the bidding had begun in earnest. But the only coven I was interested in seemed to be completely disinterested in recruiting me, and there was only one person who could be responsible for that—the High Witch herself. She must have found out that Aunt Constance had visited my mum. She was keeping her distance, minimizing the chance of us being in a position where I could possibly question her. But determination was my unofficial middle name.

  “You should just go to them all,” Mira said. “Take me with you. It could be fun.”

  “I don’t have time for fun.” I glared at her, hands on hips. “Because I have a job.”

  She sat up, her eyes gleaming, part mirth, part annoyance. “I am so tempted to eat you right now.”

  The temperature dropped and Mira was off the bed and out the front door in a shot. I sighed and braced myself on the counter, waiting for Paimon to materialize.

  He appeared by the sofa bed.

  I crossed my arms under my breasts. “She’s not here.”

  His shoulders sagged. “Will you tell her—”

  “No. Not my problem.”

  He clenched his jaw. “Do you think I wanted to relieve her of duty?”

  “We’ve had this conversation, and I’m not into repetition. And Mira’s absence every time you drop in should be answer enough for you.”

  “You think I’m weak, don’t you?”

  I smiled wryly. “Surely, it doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters, is that your betrothed is happy, even if it means hurting someone who’s been by your side all her life.”

  His chest heaved as if holding back a tide of emotion. “Mira knows how important this alliance is. How much is dependent on this marriage. My kingdom is new and alien to Alara, and if this betrothal is to lead to marriage, then I must do whatever I can to win her heart. Her father has left the decision in her hands, and if she turns me down...”

  He looked pained, and my traitorous heart began to melt. Stop it. He was about to marry someone else. He’d just admitted he was working on winning her heart. I dropped the defensive pose.

  I couldn’t believe I was going to do this. “What have you tried so far, to win her heart?”

  He looked up in surprise. “You really want to discuss this?”

  I walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Sit and tell me.”

  He took the single sofa. His huge body making it look like a child’s seat. “I’ve shown her around the kingdom. Shown her the beauty of nature and employed th
e best musicians to play for her. Fed her the finest foods and sent her the most expensive gifts. Yet still, she looks at me as if I were an unwelcome stranger.”

  “That’s because you are.”

  “What? No. I read to her while she was trapped in the poison sleep, and I sat by her side while she convalesced. A stranger would not do those things.”

  He’d taken care of her, real care. Dammit, it had been six weeks, so why was my heart aching at his words? Get the heck over it, Hunter.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued. “Does she know that you did those things?”

  He looked baffled. “I don’t know. No. It never came up.”

  “So far, from what you’ve told me, you’ve done your utmost to make sure she’s no stranger to your kingdom, but I bet she barely knows anything about you—your likes, dislikes, your hopes and dreams.”

  His gaze darkened as it roved over my face. “Sometimes, familiarity can be born without sharing more than a few words. When it is right, it’s right.”

  “Don’t.” I held up my hand. “It’s not fair and you know it.”

  He tucked in his chin. “Maybe that is my problem. How can I win her heart in good conscience when I cannot give her mine?”

  My pulse fluttered as darned hope raised its head again, but we’d been down this road before, several times. He had a duty to his people, and I had duty to my heart and my sanity. I would not fall into his arms only to walk away bruised and wounded.

  “You need to go now. Spend time with Alara. Show her who you are. A picnic by a lake maybe. Just the two of you. Sunshine, butterflies, dammit, maybe an impromptu boat ride. Learn who she is and maybe... Maybe you can love her too.”

  God those words hurt my mouth.

  He stared at me wide eyed. “Carmella.”

  There was too much longing in that word, and too much need wrapped up in my name. But I was stone. I had to be.

  “Goodbye, Paimon.”

  He inclined his head and vanished.

  I flopped back onto the sofa. It was getting easier. Saying goodbye was getting easier. Then why the heck were their tears in my eyes? And why did I have the urge to hit something?

  My pager buzzed.

  Just in time.

  4

  “What have you got for me?” I pulled up a chair and stared at the screen of numbers and

  letters.

  Kevin tapped a few more buttons and the screen cleared to reveal a list of websites.

  “What is this?”

  “Search history. Recent websites he went on. Kevin scrolled down. Yep, typical teenage boy. Some blocked sites here that would make your ears burn.”

  “So, he watched some porn, so what? Find me something concrete, Kevin.”

  “I’m doing my best. Whoa, what the heck is this?” He clicked on a link and the screen went dark. Strange lights began to flash and then a message came up.

  Welcome to Cosmic Nirvana, the place where all your dreams come true. Click to join.

  “What is this?”

  Kevin plugged a small tablet into the notepad and began to run some kind of test. More numbers and shit I didn’t understand, but Kevin’s mouth dropped open.

  “Speak to me, Kevin.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense. It’s some kind of darknet site. You know, the hidden sites that can only be accessed using specific software or configurations.”

  Okay, I kinda got that. “But how did Ben access it?”

  “That’s just it. It looks like it accessed him.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “There’s a code buried deep in this. I’m going to need time to work through it, to examine the site more. But I think that it accesses cookie information from the regular web, locating people within a certain age group with certain interests and web activity and then it accesses them.”

  Okay, this was getting creepier by the minute. “Can you trace the IP or whatever that thing is that tells you where the whole damn thing originates?”

  “Possibly, but this is no joke, Hunter. I’m going to need more manpower, and if I’m right, it’s not Ben who shut down his laptop, it was the darknet site.”

  A shiver ran up my spine. “Okay, page me when you have something.”

  “Where are you off to?”

  “I need to hit something.”

  ◆◆◆

  A quick stop at my suite to change into my yoga pants and vest and I was hitting the training room. Several asura were already there, goofing around. Not real training, just play fighting. Gah. I needed someone serious to spar with.

  Gita waved me over. “You want to train?”

  “Maybe in a little while.” I parked my butt on the bench beside her.

  She was good, but since I’d been training with Vritra it was too easy to beat the young asura. The older generation had a separate training room on the uppermost floor, and Vritra had promised me a spot there once he thought I was ready. But I was ready now.

  “Where’s Kiran?”

  Gita ducked her head. “He’s on a date.”

  “Really?” I looked her over. Her cheeks had a definite pink tinge to them. I’d always suspected she had a thing for Kiran, that maybe they were circling each other and would eventually become a couple, but if Kiran was on a date then maybe I’d been wrong. “Are you okay?”

  She kept her gaze on the ground. “Course. He’s allowed to go on dates.”

  “Gita. You can talk to me.”

  She made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. “It’s just that I thought the date would be with me.” She turned her head to look at me. “I thought he liked me.”

  Yeah, so had I. “Look, guys can be a slow to pick up cues sometimes. And if you wait around for him to figure out how you feel, then you may lose the chance. My advice is to tell him how you feel, and allow him to process it. You guys spend a lot of time together, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Yeah, see that can go one of two ways. You can either end up as a couple, or slip into the friend zone.”

  She nodded. “So which way are you and Vritra headed?”

  “Huh?” Why were my ears suddenly hot?

  “When you’re here, which is a lot, you guys are always hanging out. So, what are you headed toward?”

  She was right, but there was no clean cut way to answer that. My attraction to Vritra was still as strong as ever, but another layer had settled over that, something I’d have to tentatively label as friendship.

  “Vritra and I are complicated.”

  She worried her bottom lip. “I wish Kiran and I were complicated, at least then I’d know he felt something.”

  Maybe sparring would take her mind off things. “Come on, let’s grab a mat and do a few rounds.”

  Three minutes later, Gita was flat on her back and gasping for breath.

  “Shit, shit. Oh, God, did I hit you too hard? Oh, shit.” I helped her sit up and rubbed her back.

  She blinked back tears and offered me a wobbly smile. “That’ll teach me to go up against a dragon asura.”

  “I’m so sorry, Gita.”

  Gita looked over my shoulder, and I followed her gaze to find all the young asura watching me warily.

  I winced. “Does anyone else want to spar?”

  No one would meet my eyes. Great. The group that I’d thought I’d be a part of now shunned me. But the need to pummel something was still there, setting my teeth on edge. If I didn’t release the tension soon, it would drive me nuts.

  Vritra had said he’d introduce me to the upper level training room once he thought I was ready. But sod waiting.

  “Hey, Nevil. How about you show me to the other training room.”

  ***

  The sound of metal on metal seeped through the door.

  Nevil hung back. “This is it.”

  “You’re not coming in?”

  “Hell, no.” His eyes widened. “And if I were you, I’d steer clear too. The asura that train in there are
lethal. They don’t hold back. They don’t give a shit if they hurt you. It’s why Vritra has the two rooms. Our training room is for hand-to-hand combat. Once we’re proficient in that, we get moved up to weapons.”

  That explained the metal on metal noises. “What kind of weapons?”

  “Swords, katanas, chakras, you name it, they have it.”

  The IEPEU had trained me in the use of guns, but anything else was virgin territory for me. I pressed my hand to the door.

  Nevil touched my elbow. “Hey, why don’t we scrap this idea? We could head to the kitchens and make some of those amazing cinnamon rolls of yours.”

  I’d been baking a lot while staying here. Rolls and cakes and pastries, and Nevil was my star pupil in the kitchen. Any other day, when I wasn’t feeling so congested with aggression, I’d have taken him up on his offer in a heartbeat, but not today.

  Today I needed to fight—to hurt, and be hurt.

  “Maybe later, Nevil.” I pushed open the door and stepped into the hardcore, I’m-a-fucking-ninja, training room.

  The door swung shut behind me with a soft swish, and I got my first introduction to the asura of old. The demi-gods who’d slumbered or traveled the world for a century before either returning, or being awoken—powerful, magnificent men and women, wielding lethal weapons. There were no sparring swords in this arena. No. Real, cut the fuck out of you, swords, and rip the shit out of you whips. To my left, a woman with a katana spun and sliced at a guy twice her size. He leapt back just in time to avoid a serious thoraoctomy. Her hair was unbound, whipping around as she pivoted, ducked and swiped. The man was huge, his biceps bulging as if a small animal were desperately trying to claw its way out from beneath his skin. His sword was almost the same size as the woman, and damn, if he managed to score a hit, that thing would cleave her in two. But she moved like lightning, avoiding his powerful jabs and thrusts with apparent ease. It was the same everywhere I looked. These asura weren’t sparring, they were fighting. To my left, there was a male covered in blood, his smile a white stain on his crimson face. And way down at the bottom of the room, arrows whizzed back and forth as two nimble asura leapt, climbed and rolled while shooting at each other. A whoop filled the air, and my gaze was drawn to the sound. I spotted him a moment later. He’d been obscured by all the bodies rushing about, but now that I’d found him, I couldn’t tear my eyes away.