Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1) Read online

His words penetrated her brain, and he felt the rush of power circling her as she muttered, “Wake.” Instantly, she was awake and moving. “Can they hold him while I recast the spell?”

  Cade shook his head. “Even if they can, I don’t think you are strong enough to send him down.”

  “I can do it,” Tally said, offended.

  “Tally. I’m not saying you are weak, I’m saying the degetty is too strong.” Cade placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. “We’re going to have to take its head off, which means you need to get somewhere safe.”

  “No,” Tally said firmly. They both knew a cornered degetty was like a rabid animal fighting for its life.

  “Tally, that’s an order.”

  Her face was mutinous. “If it’s that strong, you are going to get hurt. You said you needed me.”

  “We can handle it,” Cade said, but the fight behind him was not going well, and all they were trying to do was contain the thing. It was trying to get to Eva, most likely to get the sword from her. Cade drew his knife. “Go.”

  “No.” Tally shook her head and held the Druid Box out in front of her and began to utter words he didn’t understand. All of Tally’s spells were said in English, that was the way of the Wiccan, but this, he didn’t need to understand the words to know this was druid magic.

  “Tally. What are you doing?” Cade yelled.

  Tally didn’t answer, she was too intent on gathering energy to her; he could feel himself giving her a small amount of his own life force, just like everything else around them. Her voice rose, commanding, and the degetty stopped fighting, turning to look at her. Intense hatred covered its face and then its body grew less dense, as if it were being erased.

  Tally repeated the same words, over and over, her voice stronger, firmer with each repetition, and then the Druid Box flashed bright green, and the space where the degetty had stood only moments before was empty. “Quae,” she finished.

  “Fuck,” Cade said with vehemence. “What have you done, Tally?”

  “Saved your necks,” she said quickly, and put the Druid Box into her mom’s spell bag.

  “That was druid magic.”

  “Congratulations,” she said sarcastically, but the edge was gone from her voice: she was afraid. Of what? Her own power, or the consequences this would have for them all? Tally was a Wiccan; if she had druid powers, she had to have druid blood in her veins. The question was—whose druid blood?

  “We’ll talk about this later,” Cade said, going to his mom and pulling her into a bear hug. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she nodded, breathless but unscathed, which was more than could be said for Seth and Isaac.

  “Son,” Kurt said, shifting back to his human form and kneeling by the side of Isaac, who was still in bear form and bleeding from a nasty cut on his shoulder. The flesh was split open. He needed to be treated. “Tally. Can you?”

  “Sure,” Tally said, sitting down and opening up the spell bag. Inside were hex bags and potions, something for every occasion. Taking out a small vial, she popped it open and tipped it on the wound, then she placed her hand over it and called on the Elements to help her heal the wound. “There. Give it a few minutes before he shifts.”

  Tally then turned to Seth, who had shifted back to his human form, but was sitting nursing his arm. “Damn thing was trying to take our legs out from under us.”

  “Hold still. I don’t think it’s dislocated.” She looked up at Cade with an expression that said it was. He let go of Eva, who crouched down by the side of Seth.

  “Oh, shit,” he said.

  “Who is my brave boy?” Eva asked, cradling his head as if he were still a child, rather than a full-grown man of twenty-three. But when Cade helped Tally put the shoulder back in place, he cried out as if he was a child.

  “Fuck!”

  “Language,” Eva said, holding him against her chest, tears coming down her face.

  “We all OK?” Cade asked.

  “Yep. Live to fight another day,” Isaac said. He had shifted back into his human form, and Kurt was applying a bandage to the cut on his shoulder with the help of Tally.

  “You knew his name?” Cade asked his mom, looking across the forest to see if he could see Kell. This was going to be hard to contain, if they had witnesses in the three young drunks.

  “Yes.”

  “And?” Cade pressed for information. Eva might be his mom but that did not give her the right to withhold important information from the rest of the squad, especially if it concerned a degetty.

  His mom moved away from the group, her arms hugging her body. “Mom?” Seth asked gently.

  “His name is Zinan. He attacked me the day I met your father.”

  Cade closed his eyes, understanding his mom’s reaction. Anything that reminded her of their father inflicted pain. “I remember you telling us the story. About the Dragon’s Tear.”

  Eva turned around quickly. “Yes. The degetty belonged to Gareth Hollingsworth. As far as I know, he sold Zinan to the highest bidder.”

  “And you think that’s is how Zinan ended up in the Druid Box?” Cade asked.

  “Makes sense.” Eva shivered. “Gareth was young, inexperienced. His father helped him pull Zinan from the Underworld. Gareth wasn’t a strong enough druid to do it alone. My guess is he didn’t unbind him properly before he put him in the box.”

  “Gareth set the degetty on you all those years ago, and there’s what? A residual memory?”

  “Something like that,” Eva shrugged. “Whatever it is, we need to give the Druid Box to Lucas and get him to send it back to where it belongs.”

  “We can talk about that later,” Kurt said, getting up and helping Isaac to his feet. “Right now, we all need to get home.”

  “Where the hell is Kell?” Cade asked, scanning the forest.

  “Call his cell. I’ll help get Seth and Isaac back to the Land Rover.” Kurt put Isaac’s arm around his shoulder and they limped away.

  Cade pulled out his cell and scrolled through to find Kell’s number. He pressed dial and listened to the phone ringing out. Kell wasn’t answering. “Damn it.”

  Cade entered the forest heading toward the last spot he’d seen Kell. There was no one there. He stopped and listened. No sound of voices, or movement. Where the hell was he?

  Deciding to double back and meet up with the rest of the squad, he jogged through the forest, the pent-up tension inside him setting his temper on edge. This whole night had been one serious cock-up. Not only was there a chance they would have to do some damage limitation on the three drunks, there was also the issue of Tally and her ability to activate the Druid Box. They were only supposed to work for those who had druid blood in their veins. If the Council found out about this, there would be too many questions. But how was he supposed to keep it quiet?

  “Hey, is Kell here?” Cade asked as he reached the others.

  “No.” Eva pointed across the street. “That’s his car, though, isn’t it?”

  Cade crossed the street and peered in through the window. The car was immaculate, as if it had been driven out of a showroom. Cade circled the car, his fingertips trailing across the paintwork. Recently washed and polished. It gave nothing away.

  “Hey, grunt, if you are looking to steal my car, you shouldn’t be so obvious about it.” Kell’s voice rang out from up the road.

  “We thought you’d been eaten by a bear,” Seth called as he was loaded into the back of the Land Rover.

  “Funny.” Kell reached Cade and stood with his hands on his hips. “We need to talk.”

  “Sure.” Cade swiveled around. “You get on home.”

  “What about you?” Kurt asked.

  “I’ll either get a ride with Kell, or I’ll run home. I need to work through a few things in my head.”

  “OK, but take care,” Eva said.

  “I will, Mom.” He lifted his hand and waved to them.

  “How old are you?” Kell asked quietly. “And you s
till have to answer to your mommy.”

  “Do you want to say it loud enough for her to hear?” Cade asked. “You know she can still whoop your arse.”

  “I do,” Kell admitted. “A formidable woman, especially when her family is in danger.”

  “Are we in danger?” Cade asked as the Land Rover drove off taking his squad home.

  “Maybe.” Kell’s eyes narrowed. “There was another one.”

  “A what?” Cade asked, sure he had misheard Kell.

  He pressed his lips together, and shook his head. “I can’t be certain. But I was sure when you were fighting that one… I saw green eyes. In the trees.” He pointed back to where they had fought Zinan.

  “Damn it, why didn’t you say?”

  “Because your squad was in no fit state to track it, and I didn’t want you going off on your own. Your family has enough missing members…” Kell paused, allowing Cade a glimpse of his true emotions, something he rarely did. Cold Kell was the Night Hunter’s nickname among both his own people and the Others. “And anyway, once you caught that one, it disappeared. I might not even have seen one.” Kell shook his head, looking uncertain.

  Out of everyone Cade knew, Kell was usually the most self-assured, not counting Tally. Kell’s self-assuredness came from years in the service of Night Hunters. He was the best, having given up all chance of a personal life to keep the human race safe from Others and, more recently, Templars.

  “I’ll come back out tomorrow and have a sniff around. I think we’ve raised enough suspicion for now. What happened to the witnesses?” Cade asked.

  “What witnesses?” Kell asked in return.

  “The ones you were talking to. In the trees.” Cade’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  “I told them they had better get home before I hauled them down to the police station for interrogation,” Kell said bluntly.

  “Interrogation for what?” Cade asked.

  “Wasting police time. I told them they must have taken something along with alcohol if they thought a man had come out of a box.” He unlocked his car and got in.

  “You told them they imagined the whole thing?” Cade asked.

  “They were in the forest with a gun, trying to take a pop at anything that moved. It was time to put an end to it.”

  “You really do care, don’t you, Kell?”

  “I care about how much paperwork I would have to do if they shot a bear,” Kell answered. “Get in. I still have a long night ahead of me.”

  “Sorry for the detour,” Cade said. “Although you can drop me off a couple of miles from home. I wouldn’t mind a run. I’d run from here, but I don’t want to leave the others alone too long.”

  “They can cope without you for an hour or two,” Kell said, pulling out onto the empty road, the car’s headlights illuminating the way, although Cade did not miss the sidelong look Kell gave to the forest.

  “You really saw something?” Cade asked quietly.

  Kell shrugged. “I’ve been in this game long enough, that if I’m not careful, I see things in the dark that aren’t there. I sometimes envy normal humans who have no idea what goes on around them.”

  “I know what you mean,” Cade said.

  “No, you don’t,” Kell answered. “For one thing you have this whole mating bond thing to look forward to. And for another, you get to change into a bear.”

  “I thought Night Hunters were supposed to abhor shifters.”

  Kell nodded. “So did I. But since I met your family… It changed me.” He glanced sideways at Cade. “That is on a need-to-know basis.”

  Cade nodded. “And no one else needs to know.”

  “You got it.”

  “Here will do,” Cade said, and Kell slowed the car, pulling up on the side of the road. If he took a direct route, Cade would be home in twenty minutes.

  “Promise me you are going to run home to Mommy, and not go looking for a stray degetty on your own.”

  “I give you my word. Unless that thing is heading for my family. Or Tally.”

  “She’s some kid,” Kell said. “So much like her mom.”

  “Yeah,” Cade said sadly. “I never knew Helena … before.”

  “She was a wicked witch,” Kell said fondly. “If I could find out how, or what, is affecting her, I’d destroy it.”

  “We’ve thought of everything.”

  “And?” Kell asked, stopping the car so that Cade could get out.

  “She’s bound, by someone, or something, but hell if we can break it.”

  “Even Lucas?” Kell asked.

  “Our fearsome leader tells us there is nothing he can do. It’s a private matter, not one that involves the Council.”

  “You think he knows something and isn’t telling?” Kell asked.

  “That is the question,” Cade said. He was out of the car, eager to run. “See you around, Kell.”

  “You too, Cade.”

  Cade tapped the roof of the car, and Kell drove away, leaving him all alone in the forest. He stood and watched until the taillights of the car had completely vanished, and then he took a deep draw of the forest air and exhaled sharply.

  He repeated the action, this time letting the air tantalize his taste buds. There was something out here. Something different.

  Shifting into his bear, he decided he was going to find out what. It was a compulsion, as if he was hypnotized, or drugged. He had to follow the scent.

  His bear agreed.

  Chapter Four – Octavia

  As she ran, she heard something behind her, following her. Something big. The demon was on her trail. The thing had been in the car.

  She shuddered: what kind of people sat in a car with a demon? Surely it would rip them to shreds, just as it had ripped the man in the park… Not the time to think about that. She needed to run, to figure out how she was going to escape.

  Her inner voice laughed at her naivety. There was no escape, this demon was going to hunt her down and rip her to shreds. Unless… What if she had information that the men wanted? Why else were they tailing her?

  What information? Think. Octavia was a doctor’s receptionist; she had no inside information anyone would want. Let alone any information anyone would chase her halfway across the country for. So why?

  It all came back to the fortuneteller, the man who had read her palm. It was soon after that her life had changed, first Matthew, and then the demon. What had he seen? What hadn’t he told her? Surely, if he had seen Matthew entering her life, he should have seen a big-ass demon too.

  Was the fortune-teller behind all this? Had he sold her out? Anger boiled up inside her. If she ever got her hands on the fortuneteller, she would make sure he didn’t have a future either.

  The branches whipped at her face, and tore at her dress. Her shoes, with their impractical heels, were long gone, discarded as she ran. And didn’t Octavia’s feet know it. They were torn and bleeding, cut by the stones, holly leaves, and sharp twigs that she stepped on as she ran. But she couldn’t stop.

  “Crap!” Octavia slid to a halt. In front of her was a bank of dirt, with a wire fence on top of it. Behind the fence was thick undergrowth. Of course, she remembered the New Forest was sectioned off into inclosures, and she had reached the edge of this inclosure.

  Left or right? Which way to the nearest gate that would take her into the next part of the forest? With no time to think, she turned to follow the fence to the right, her heart thumping in her chest so loudly she couldn’t hear anything else.

  However, she could sense its presence, the faint scent of rotten eggs confirming the demon was close. There was no escape.

  Searching the ground, she sought out a good-sized branch she could use as a club. Octavia was certain that hitting the thing was futile, but she had to try something.

  She stopped, turning to watch for the demon to approach. She was going to face it head on, rather than let it run her down. Spreading her sore feet hip-width apart, Octavia took up a fighting stance, the ma
keshift wooden club raised above her head like a baseball bat.

  A noise to her left told her the demon was near, and then she saw its green eyes, coming toward her at a walk. As he drew closer she could see him more clearly. He looked like a man, a huge man, the kind that did steroids and worked out for four hours a day, seven days a week. But a man all the same—except for the green eyes.

  “Come get me then, you bastard,” she screamed, psyching herself up for his attack.

  The demon tipped his head to one side and looked at her. Damn it, was he like a cat who enjoyed playing with its prey? Was he hoping to scare her to death?

  “What’s the matter, scared?” She took a step toward him. He took a step to the left. She mirrored his movement, her concentration intense while she tried to work out how he planned to attack. But he didn’t.

  “You want me alive,” she said, taking two quick steps toward him. He backed away. “Why? I don’t know anything, I have nothing you want. Why are you doing this?”

  The demon stared at her, the green eyes intense, mesmerizing. She fought through the fuzzy sensation filling her brain; something was off. Even if he wanted her alive, he would have acted by now, caught her in his huge hands, and taken her to his master. He couldn’t be scared, the club in her hand wouldn’t hurt him, a couple of blows and the wood would likely shatter.

  “You don’t want to catch me, do you?” She lowered the club, testing her theory. The demon stood his ground, staring at her. “You want me to run.” The club fell to the ground, and exhaustion took her. “What the hell is this?”

  The demon raised his head, as if he had heard something in the distance. Octavia listened, but there was no other sound besides her beating heart and the rustle of the leaves in the wind. She turned her head to look in the same direction as the demon; she couldn’t see a thing. However, when she turned back the demon was gone.

  Octavia scanned the forest for his green eyes. She couldn’t see him. Walking to where he had stood, she looked for tracks, but the ground was too dry. He was gone. The only thing left was the smell, so strong it wrinkled her nose.

  Another wave of exhaustion swept over her. Adrenaline had kept her moving past the point of exhaustion, but as it seeped out of her bloodstream, her body yelled at her. It needed to shut down and rest. The pain in her feet become acute, as the bruising and cuts all began to register in her brain.