Midnight Shaman, Fire Witch Read online

  “And what do you think this witch will do when she wakes up?” Robert asked. “Is she going to take to her heels at the first opportunity?”

  Damien shrugged. “I told her that her life depended on coming here. I want to explain fully the dangers in being out there on her own, without a coven. And she has no family in London, as far as I know. I like to think she’ll stay here and help us.” He frowned. Kimi wondered if he was thinking about how he’d kissed her.

  “You must do your best to convince her,” said the other, plumper, red-haired woman. “If she really is as powerful as you say, we’ll need her when the invasion comes.”

  Damien said nothing, taking a sip from his drink. She studied him as the others continued talking, thinking how incredibly sexy he was. His power was a huge turn on, but that wasn’t the only thing that made him so attractive to her. She looked at his arms, the spiral tattoo on his left arm, the way his blue polo shirt stretched across his muscular chest, and his short dark blond hair. She knew what it felt like under her fingers.

  He took another large mouthful from the glass and leaned his mouth on the back of his hand as he swallowed, wincing. Clearly, he hadn’t added any water to it. His right hand bore a single ring, and she remembered the way it had rested on her thigh, sliding up her waist to her ribcage.

  At that moment, he took another sip from the whisky, right as she thought about his mouth closing over hers. A small but bright spark jumped from the glass onto his lips. He moved the glass an inch away, startled. He stared at it as Kimi stood terrified he would realise she was there. He glanced around, looking over at the doorway. Seeing nothing, a slight frown marring his forehead, he turned his attention back to the conversation.

  Kimi let out a long, shaky, spiritual breath. Storm looked over at her as she did so. He could obviously see her. She stuck her tongue out at him, and his tail wagged.

  “So we’ll leave it to you, Damien,” Max was saying. “You need to convince her to stay, and train her to control her powers.”

  Damien put down his drink. “Actually, I’d rather one of you took over her training.”

  Kimi felt as if he’d punched her in the stomach. He didn’t want to train her?

  The red-haired woman frowned. “What are you talking about? You train all the new witches.”

  “Not this one, Rose, please. I’d really rather not. I’ve got enough to do getting everyone ready for the invasion—I haven’t got time to start with a newbie. She’s completely raw—she needs to start with the basics. If the invasion comes before Halloween as we are suspecting, she won’t be trained in time anyway. I don’t want to waste precious time on such a beginner.” He sounded impatient.

  Kimi’s cheeks flushed with humiliation. He thought her powerful, but that didn’t mean he found her interesting enough to want to devote time to her. The kiss had meant nothing. She’d been an interesting diversion—he’d just been trying to teach her a lesson. Cold-hearted bastard. Anyway, they were all presuming she would stay and help with the invasion. Why should she? What was she going to get out of it?

  Her concentration faded and the scene before her flickered, then before she could do anything about it, she was back in her body and sat up with a jolt. Ella was asleep in bed, and the room was quiet. Kimi hugged her knees and rested her head on them. What was she doing here? She’d been whatever the magical word for ‘drugged’ was, packed into a car and kidnapped, and she’d tried to convince herself her kidnapper was someone who felt something for her. How ridiculous. The whole thing was ridiculous. She didn’t belong there.

  She got to her feet, picked up her shoes, and went to the door. She couldn’t stay there another minute. She let herself out of the room quietly and crept down the marble staircase, her bare feet as soundless as her spirit self had been. The front door squeaked slightly and she winced, but no alarms went off and nobody came rushing out. She slipped out and pulled it shut behind her.

  Luckily, the sky was clear and the full moon hung like a Christmas bauble in the darkness, lighting the park before her like something out of a black and white movie. A tear ran down her cheek, but she wiped it away furiously. She was not going to cry over him.

  Slipping on her shoes, she ran down the steps, disappearing into the trees at the bottom.

  Damien was only half listening to the conversation going on between the Elders. He couldn’t see Storm at that moment, but he could sense his movements and knew the wolf had wandered over to the door. He looked around, distracted, remembering the spark on his lips, but the others were too intent on the conversation to allow him time to reflect on it.

  “What is it, Damien?” Margaret was asking. “What’s bothering you about Kimi?”

  He looked back, seeing them all watching him, and turned away to pour himself another whisky. I shouldn’t drink any more. He’d already had enough. Too much alcohol blurred his sharp senses. But the evening had unsettled him, and he felt in need of something to calm himself.

  He turned back, glass in hand. Margaret looked curious, Rose suspicious, Max was interested, and his father just frowned, as usual. He looked at the amber liquid shining on the ice cubes, but in his mind’s eye, he was seeing Kimi with her curtain of shining black hair and bright green eyes. He could picture the way she’d danced so sensuously at the nightclub, and how he’d felt when her aura pulsed gold over him.

  Was it just her raw power that had affected him so badly? He didn’t know. He’d told the truth when he’d said he’d never had trouble before. How many witches had he trained? It was in the hundreds, easily, almost all women, and often younger than himself. Mostly he taught in classrooms, but sometimes he would train them one-to-one if they were having trouble learning to control their power. Alone with a witch…what could be more of a turn on, if he let himself? Two people in an intimate setting, talking about controlling sexual energies…

  Damien could have had all the fun in the world, if he’d wanted. Women of all kinds came through The Crux—beautiful, sexy, funny, naughty, slender, voluptuous… He loved women, and could find something attractive about all of them. And he wasn’t stupid—he knew there was more than one trainee who’d fallen for him. But he’d never encouraged it, and had never been tempted to give in and break his oath to the Elders, not once. He’d never even dated someone with magical power. Retaining his own powers was too important to him—that and the honour of the young women who came into his care often innocent and naive. It sounded pretentious and affected, but it was the truth. He did see himself as their protector. He felt very possessive toward them all—they were his witches, and he’d never done anything to ruin that relationship. He didn’t need to—he had enough contact with non-witch girls in town not to have to worry about it.

  But now? Why had Kimi affected him so that night? He thought of the way he’d pulled her toward him when she kissed him, how he’d grown hard as he pressed himself against her. Since the age of thirteen, he’d had extensive training to learn to separate his growing teenage-boy ever-present lustfulness from his shamanic powers. It had not been easy, and it had taken years of concentration and frustration to refine. All the Elders had gone to great lengths to ensure he was perfectly in command of his feelings. They wouldn’t let him be alone with the young women if they didn’t trust him to control himself. So how in Herne’s name had he given in tonight?

  It must be something to do with the way her power had affected him. She’d blasted him with that surge of energy, and he’d had to drain a phenomenal amount of power from her at the end. Surely, that was why he’d felt such a strong attraction to her?

  But he knew he was kidding himself. The man in him, as well as the shaman, had been extremely attracted to Kimi. There was something about her—she was so tiny and slim, she seemed almost fragile, and yet she was very much a woman…

  He swirled the whisky in his glass. She was only twenty-one, still a virgin, and even though she was a psychic savant—a completely natural witch with advanced natural abilities, she
still needed guidance in how to control the energies flooding through her. The last thing she needed was a shaman coming onto her. How could he have lost control like that?

  He remembered Kimi’s comment about their meeting being pre-ordained, and frowned. He didn’t want this complication. He didn’t like losing control. Everything about his life depended on him retaining that control. Kimi was powerful, but she was nothing special. She’d been wrong—there was nothing fateful about their meeting. Her sexy little ass had turned him on when she was dancing, that was all.

  He suddenly realised everyone was still waiting for him to answer Margaret’s question. She was watching him, frowning. He gave her a smile. He didn’t want to worry her—he respected Margaret above all the others there—even his father. Especially above his father.

  He cleared his throat. “I just think it would be better if someone else mentored her.” He sipped his whisky as they continued to stare at him.

  “Spit it out,” said Rose, amused.

  “She’s very powerful,” he said softly. “And very young. It…might be safer.”

  Max raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding me? After all the women you’ve trained? Has one of them finally got through your iron self-control?”

  “Don’t mock me, Max.”

  The older man smiled. “I’m not. You know we’re all impressed with how you conduct yourself at The Crux. Your behaviour is exemplary, always has been. But if she really is as powerful as you say, we won’t be able to help her. You are the only one here capable of controlling her.”

  “Not the only one,” said Robert. Damien looked across at his father. Robert looked amused. “I’ll train her—I’ll keep the little witch in line.”

  Damien bristled. “No,” he said before he could stop himself.

  Robert raised an eyebrow, humour fading. “I beg your pardon?”

  Damien finished off his drink and left the glass on the table. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll do it.”

  Robert gave a cynical laugh. “I don’t think so, not if there’s a chance you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”

  “Robert!” scolded Margaret. Rose hid a smile behind her hand. Max rolled his eyes.

  Damien studied his father, carefully erasing any sign of emotion from his face. “I found her, I’m in charge of training at The Crux—I’ll do it.”

  “You just said—”

  “I said I’m concerned she has latent abilities we don’t even know about. She may turn out to be more powerful than you or me. What would you say then?”

  “More powerful than you, maybe,” said Robert, finishing off his own drink. “I doubt she’d be more powerful than me.”

  “Pride comes before a fall, Dad,” said Damien. “There’s always somebody more powerful than ourselves and we have to remember that.”

  Robert dismissed the words with a wave of his hand. “Whatever. Do what you like. Just remember what happens if you disobey the rules.”

  “How could I forget?” Damien said softly.

  Robert stared at him, unmoving. Between them, the air crackled gently, full of static. “What did you just say?”

  Damien felt Storm circle around his legs in warning, but the drink had gone to his head and suddenly he didn’t care. “You heard me.”

  Robert studied him, his eyes half-lidded. “Well, well, she’s really got to you, hasn’t she?”

  “This has nothing to do with Kimi.”

  “This has everything to do with her.” Robert stepped closer. “I’m just trying to protect you, son.”

  “Like hell you are—trying to cover your own back and look after your reputation, you mean. As usual.”

  Robert shrugged. “You sure you want to risk everything for this girl? Like I said, I can keep her in line if you want.”

  Heat built in Damien’s hands and he knew his aura would be glowing an angry orange-red. “Keep away from her,” he said in a low voice. “I’m warning you.”

  “Oh, you’re warning me now?” Robert laughed. “You’re drunk.”

  “Even pissed, I’m twice the shaman you are.”

  “You want to go outside and prove it, boy?”

  “Oh for Goddess’s sake, get a grip on your testosterone you two,” Margaret snapped, standing.

  Damien opened his mouth to say something, but the peal of an alarm throughout the house interrupted him. They all froze and looked at each other.

  “Kimi?” said Max.

  “Which room did you put her in?” Rose asked.

  “Ella’s.”

  Rose closed her eyes and sent out a pulse of searching energy. Immediately she opened her eyes and jumped to her feet. “She’s not there.”

  Damien swore. He went to run out of the room, but his father grabbed his arm. “Let her go. If she doesn’t want to be here, why should we waste our energy on her?”

  Damien snatched his arm away. “That’s the outer perimeter alarm, not the house alarm. Something’s come in, not out.”

  Margaret stared at him. “The vampire? How did he get past the fence?”

  Damien walked toward the door. “I’ll find her. Then I’ll find him.”

  “I’ll help you.” Robert grabbed his jacket from the chair.

  Damien opened his mouth to refuse, then knew he was being selfish. Two hunters were always better than one. “Come on then,” he said tersely.

  “We’ll watch the house and the girls,” said Rose.

  “Keep safe,” said Damien, backing away and giving them a warning glance.

  Margaret fixed him with a steely stare. “Kill him, Damien. We can’t afford to have a vampire on the loose, not at the moment.”

  “I’m on it.” He disappeared into the darkness.

  Chapter Seven

  Damien ran through the dark foyer, pausing briefly by the front door to grab his long, black coat. He threw it around his shoulders, hiding his light blue shirt. Around the house, he could hear footsteps and people starting to shout as the alarm woke them.

  Margaret and Robert appeared behind him. “I’ll lock up,” she said to them. “Seal the door from the outside.”

  “Okay.”

  “Be careful. Don’t underestimate him,” said Margaret. “We know he’s one of the most powerful vampires we’ve seen cross over.”

  “Don’t worry, Margaret,” Damien scolded. He gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. “If the Stone men can’t track him down, we’re really in trouble.”

  “That’s what worries me,” she mumbled, but it was too late, they were already out the door.

  Behind them, Margaret turned the big key in the lock. Immediately they began to seal the door—Robert on the left, Damien on the right, running their hands slowly up the edge and casting a gold light in the crack between the door and the frame. The magical brand would burn any vampire that tried to break through.

  As soon as their hands met at the top of the frame, they broke away. They ran down the front steps, pausing at the bottom where the drive swept in a circle around the standing stone.

  “How do you think he got through the fence?” Damien said.

  “No idea. My guess is someone let him in.”

  Damien stared at his father. “Let him in? You mean we have a mole at The Crux?”

  Robert shrugged. “Only thing I can think of. Someone who’s already gone over to the forces of darkness.”

  There was no time to discuss it. Kimi’s life was at stake. Together they scanned the grounds, the dark trees and bushes trimmed with silver from the full moon.

  “I can feel her,” said Robert. “She’s scared.”

  Damien nodded. He could sense Kimi too, a stirring in his blood, as obvious to him as if she were wearing strong perfume. He touched his forehead between his eyes, and his father did the same. Damien inhaled as her energy trail leapt to life as a blaze of gold down the road and into the woods that covered a good few miles of land south of the house. In front of him, Storm looked up, eyes questioning. Robert’s spirit guide, a hawk called Vig
il, hovered above the wolf, waiting for them.

  “I’ll get the girl, you get the vampire,” Robert said. He held up his hand as Damien went to protest. “You’re a better hunter than me. Don’t worry—I’ll protect her.”

  There wasn’t time to argue. Damien knew every passing minute put her in more danger. He nodded reluctantly. They ran to the standing stone, then parted, Robert going west, following Kimi’s energy trail down into the wood, Vigil just ahead of him. Damien watched him for a moment, then glanced down at Storm, who seemed puzzled at why Damien wasn’t going with the older man.

  “He’ll look after her,” said Damien, knowing even though they had issues, there was nobody he’d rather entrust Kimi to than his father. “We’ve got other fish to fry. Come on Storm, let’s track the bastard down.”

  Robert had already disappeared between the trees. Damien set off in the opposite direction. The vampire would be on her trail. She’d smell like a bitch in heat to the demon—how could he not be following her? Damien had to fight against his urge to go and protect her. Concentrate, he told himself firmly as he reached the eastern edge of the wood. He had to try to ignore the effects of the alcohol. He’d been stupid to drink when there was a vampire on the loose—he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  He paused at the edge of the trees, forced himself to relax, and sent out a pulse of searching energy. Immediately he saw the vampire’s aura as a dark red mist writhing through the trees. If he followed it, he should come up behind the brute. He gave a wry smile and snapped his fingers at Storm. Together they jumped the small stream circling the wood and let the trees swallow them up.

  Kimi wished she’d thought to steal one of the coats that had been hanging on the rack by the front door. It was early October, it was cold, and she was only wearing a T-shirt on her top half. She couldn’t believe she had nothing with her—no phone, no purse, no money. What was she going to do? She’d have to try to thumb a lift into Exeter and hope to God some nutcase didn’t stop and pick her up.

  Still, she had her fury to keep her warm. The thought of how Damien had kidnapped her only to discard her like a pair of smelly old trainers made her burn with humiliation and anger. She’d thought they shared something special—she’d felt the connection in the nightclub. Something had happened between them she couldn’t explain, but clearly, it didn’t mean anything to the arrogant shaman. Obviously, he couldn’t spare the time for a beginner. She was nothing to him other than a nuisance, something annoying he’d picked up along the way, like dog shit on his shoes.