Spell-Weaver (3 page)

Chapter Five

He liked the smell of her—layers of complexity, from candy sweet to antiseptic, tattoo ink and something fruity all mingling together. It wafted up his nose as she struggled with the rope that bound him. He inhaled again, letting her scent play on his tongue. This was
his
woman, and his wolf believed she was his savior in some way as well. There was a sense of calm now, the wolf feeling content that she was near. The pain from the poison and the knife wound still pulsed, but the agitation his wolf had felt before had subsided somewhat.

“You might want to use one of your little tricks to loosen things up.”

She snapped her gaze up to meet his, her brow furrowed. Confusion warred instinct. Somewhere deep inside, her body was transforming. His bite had ignited a change, calling forth her innate powers as a Huntress. Her mind, however, was still processing things as a human.

He nodded toward the door adjoining the two rooms. “That symbol you drew? On the door? Can you do something like that again?”

He hadn't made the connection at all when he'd first seen her. The designs on her arms had looked like cool tattoos, but now he knew. Watching her etch on the doorknob had confirmed things. He'd heard about the spell weavers, those who etched magical symbols on objects, wielding power. As a Huntress who was raised human, she not only would have no idea of her heritage, but she would have no preparation for seeing him transform into a beast. Luckily, that wasn't even remotely possible at the moment. His wolf still preoccupied, battling the poison, his body too battered to do anything but attempt to heal itself.

“Summer,” Dy said. The banging on the door had stopped. Vic was presumably going for another method of entry. “We need to get out of here before your boyfriend breaks in somehow. I need you to concentrate on getting me out of these ropes. Do what comes instinctively, okay?”

She contemplated him for a moment, like she was analyzing his words. “Okay.” Summer nodded, her response coming out in a hushed whisper. She closed her eyes, fingers poised, brow still furrowed.

The room was so quiet, only the sound of their breathing audible…and then something else. A little scrape, metal on metal.

Dyami swiveled his head, glared at the door leading to the outside. “Summer,” he whispered. “He's got the key.”

With eyes still closed, she touched her fingers to the rope and traced a series of lines—swirls, dots, whatever.

Vic burst into the room. The ropes fell free. Summer opened her eyes. “Throw it,” she said.

“Summer, get the fuck away from him, now!” Vic shouted as he charged, knife in hand, coming at Dyami with a fury only a destined mate could understand. She was his Huntress too, after all.

Dy pulled the ropes free, bunched them as best he could and launched the bundle at Vic. Then Dy dragged Summer from the bed, pulling her as far away from the Hunter and his knife as possible.

The rope caught Vic around the waist, then curled and tangled itself around his legs and throat, binding his arms down to his body, immobilizing him as it tightened like a python. He dropped to the ground with a grunt, the air in his lungs coming out in a whoosh of breath.

Now
that
was some awesome display of magic.

Dy looked from Vic to Summer, pride swelling at the skill from his destined mate.
And this without training.

“Leave us alone!” Summer screamed.

“Let's go,” Dyami kept an eye on the Hunter as he pulled her around his prone body. Vic's gaze followed them, fury and panic glaring as they left him behind.

It was raining outside. Not a torrential downpour, but heavy enough that they were soaked within minutes. Dy pulled Summer closer, fingers tightly entwined with hers, arms pressed together. She was shivering already, probably more to do with what had just happened than the actual chill of the rain, but Dy knew they needed to get somewhere safe fast. Where there was one Hunter, more would come. If they brought Huntresses with them, which they undoubtedly would, he was as good as dead.

It was only the Huntress who could kill him—Summer included—and he was already in rough shape. The alcohol had burned through his system, making him feel naked to the pain of the poison as it ate him alive. He couldn't take another hit from a Huntress. He'd be dead the next time for sure. Running was the only option.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his few remaining bills. Fifty bucks. “Shit.” He sighed, remembering that he'd left a grand sitting on Summer's tattoo table.

He scanned the landscape. Rundown motel, neon lights flickering, some bulbs burned out. He didn't even know what state they were in or how long he'd been unconscious. Clearly, Summer's Hunter had used his powers to subdue them both. If Summer was a magic weaver, so was her Hunter. Although Vic's powers would be more subtle, whatever her Hunter had, she had. If she'd bonded with him, she'd have all of his training, skills, consciousness of her role as the Huntress and wolf slayer. Because Dyami had bitten her, she was stuck with only instinct and no clear knowledge on how to use the gift he'd awakened.

Too heavy a story to lay on her now.

He wondered if it was too heavy to lay on her, period.
Hey, Summer, I know we just met but you're actually my destined mate and a Huntress, born from an ancient line of powerful female wolf slayers. Now that I've bitten you, you're technically aligned with the bad guys—or at least that's what the Hunters believe… Oh and it's possible your magic might be just what I need to save my life. At least, that's what my wolf thinks anyway.

Oh yeah, she'd swallow that easy.

An SUV pulled off the highway, its headlights washing over them as it turned into the parking lot. The hairs on the back of Dyami's neck prickled. He pulled Summer down the walkway, drawing them both farther into the shadows. The truck skidded to a halt and before the engine had completely died, Dyami knew. The Hunters had arrived. All four doors opened and Dy felt it again.

A Huntress was among them.

He tugged Summer to the end of the building and around the corner. They only had moments before Vic was discovered. They'd be tracked not long after that. He scanned the perimeter of the motel's property, calling forth his wolf, begging for assistance. Beyond exhausted, his wolf still distracted by his battle within, he got only a little jolt of awareness—a flash of enhanced wolf vision. Enough to see they were surrounded by forest. His second home.

“Come on, Summer.”

A shout came from behind. The Hunters would be on their trail. Summer dug in her heels. “Where are we going to go?”

Dyami turned, his fingers still clenching around hers. As he met her gaze, he saw she was frightened, confused. Her eyes narrowed, body trembling.

“You need to trust me on this, Summer. I will never do anything to hurt you but we have to get the fuck out of here now, before the rest of the Hunters find us.”

“Hunters? I don't understand.” She was shaking her head, clearly trying to make sense of what he was telling her. “I feel strange, Dy. I've got these things running through my mind. These symbols are all I'm seeing.” Her bottom lip trembled. “None of this makes sense. I don't know what I should be doing right now. Vic…” She seemed to choke on her next words.

“I'll explain everything. I will, once we get out of here and find a safe place.” He lifted a hand to her cheek, rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip. “I won't force you. If you want to go with Vic, you can. I don't believe he will hurt you. You've got to trust yourself, Summer. What does your gut say?”

He held his breath while she stared at him, the rain beating her hair around her face, her eyelashes batting the drops away like tears. “My gut says to trust you.”

With a deep sigh of relief, he nodded and kissed her gently, tenderly. Their first kiss—the sweetest one. He pulled away. “Then let's go.”

“Okay.” She touched her arm, the one that he was holding and traced her fingers over her tattoos. “Here.” She lifted her fingers to his cheek. “I don't know why I'm doing this, Dy, but I think I need to.”

He jolted at her touch, his wolf snapping to attention. His eyes went wide as the power of her symbol coursed through him. Dizzy with whatever she'd done.

“I think it's going to protect us somehow.”

He blinked away the buzz, could feel the darkness surrounding them, cloaking their presence, disguising their scent. She was right. It was enough to throw the Hunters off for a while. His wolf-awareness propelled him into action. Time to go—put distance between them and the Hunters. They moved quickly, half walk, half run, side by side, cutting into the forest like specters, shouts of the Hunters echoing behind them, growing faint.

Chapter Six

No part of this made sense to her. Well, except for the symbols—they seemed to make more sense than they should. All those dreams, all those nights of drawing them, not knowing what they meant or where they'd come from. She searched dream dictionaries, gone to psychics, and accessed historical texts all in vain. Her subconscious conjured them and she drew them, plain and simple. And now these symbols were alive with power, floating to her consciousness fully formed, but with only a feeling of what they could do—nothing concrete. Giving her abilities she could barely accept.

There was no explanation for what was happening. But what she didn't understand, she could at least appreciate. The symbols on her body were for protection. She'd been unconsciously tattooing protection runes—or whatever they were—all over herself, and she was slowly developing an awareness of each and every one of them.

“I can hear them coming from behind, fast. They must have picked up our trail somehow.” Dy kept moving deeper in the woods, using the light of the moon, it seemed, to avoid any dangerous obstacles.

He was another mystery to her. Dyami, super hot rock star, handling all this crazy stuff like he was in the know. Wouldn't any normal man balk at the idea of magic and spells? And seriously, navigating the forest terrain like some survival expert? What was up with that? And what about that kiss? The sweetest kiss she'd ever had, one that blasted her with a lust so profound that she'd instantly wet her panties with desire. It had to be the adrenaline, right? Wanting to screw a man while on the run from a crazy knife-throwing kidnapper and his buddies was enough to drive any woman into the arms of a hero. Right? That was all it was.

Keep telling yourself that, princess, and we'll be just fine.

“We're going to have to stop. Find a way to fight or hide.” He paused at the edge of a clearing, scanning for the next step. “Without weapons, though, I think it might be better for us to hide, hope they overlook us. Maybe you can use something from your repertoire?”

“That thing I did back there, it didn't last long. I can feel it fading faster now.” Strange, like the symbols were actually alive in some way when she drew them, and died as time passed. She mourned the loss, wanted to feel the surge of power again. There was an element of addiction there—she could tell—wielding whatever it was she wielded. Intoxicating. Just like Dyami's touch. Enthralling. “I might be able to do something that will throw them off. Maybe buy us some time.”

Dyami nodded, distracted as he searched the area around them, disentangling his hand from hers and leaving her without his touch for the first time in over an hour. She mourned the loss of that too. Like the distance of a few feet was leaving a gaping hole in her heart. Curiouser and curiouser.

He disappeared, weaving in and out of the trees. Her heart almost exploded with panic each time he left her line of sight.

“Here.” Dyami came back for her, snatched her hand to cradle in his own as he tugged her farther into the woods. “There's a ravine with some overhangs. We can nestle in there, hope it throws them off.”

A symbol floated into Summer's mind, fully formed and functional. “I think I can distract them enough to keep moving.”

“Do what you need to do.”

Summer let go of his hand reluctantly, then moved quickly from tree to tree, etching the mysterious symbol on each. She had a feeling in her gut that Vic knew these symbols too. That he had even used one or two on her in the time they'd been together to sedate her into compliance on a few occasions. Or maybe to distract her from things that he didn't want her to see. She couldn't explain how she knew this. It was just a feeling, but she was learning her feelings were pretty dead on lately.

“Trust your gut,”
Dyami had said.
“What does it tell you?”

Her gut was telling her she was more powerful than Vic. Her ruse would deflect him enough to buy them the time they needed.

“Done.” She walked back to Dyami, who'd been watching her the whole time. Again, unfazed by what he was seeing. “You must think this is so crazy. I can hardly understand it.”

He cradled her face in his massive hands, angled her head so that he could stare into her eyes. “Nothing about this seems crazy to me.”

She licked her lips, willing him to kiss her again. He didn't disappoint. Leaning down, he kissed her tenderly, like he was sampling her mouth, lingering as he pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, her body up against his, pushing her mouth into him as she teased his lips with her tongue. With a soft rumble of a chuckle, he opened up to her, let her devour him from the inside as he did the same to her. Exploring each other, entangling tongues, all consuming as they melded into one another.

They heard the crack of branches snapping at the same time, pulled away from each other on a whoosh of breath. Dyami lifted his finger to his puffy, wet lips. Quiet. She could feel them too. They were near.

He moved her to the ravine, guiding her down until she was resting in a small depression. It was only big enough for them to sit nestled into one another, Dyami in behind, his arms and legs cradling her. Overhanging branches, tree roots and leaves gave them some element of disguise. In the daylight, this would never work. Night offered the perfect hideout. He rested his chin on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck briefly before letting out a contented sounding sigh as he squeezed her tight. Yes, it did feel right to be in his arms. Stranger still, it felt like she could never again be apart from him and survive. She nestled closer, taking the momentary comfort he offered.

“They definitely came this way.” Vic's voice seemed to boom from above them, carried on the wind, no doubt, to seem like he had breached her hastily made barrier.

Summer tensed at the sound of him so close. Dyami gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Has she been casting?” A woman spoke next, frustration evident in her tone. “Are you sure we're headed in the right direction this time?”

“Yes.” Vic hesitated. “I think.”

“You think? What the fuck, man?” The woman spat her words.

“Calm down, sweetheart, Vic knows what he's doing,” another man said.

“No, Talia's right. Vic's been unsure this whole time, leading us in the wrong direction for a good thirty minutes. I think we need to head west. She must have used a symbol somewhere back there to throw us off again. Vic, you missed it.”

There was a beat of silence in which Summer thought her heart might explode. By their voices, she counted one woman, three men, and they were closer than she would have liked, having moved to the other side of the ravine. She could just make out Vic's legs, recognizing him by the boots he always wore. His fists were clenched at his sides, a gun in one hand. She shuddered. He was not the man she'd thought he was.

“Fine!” Vic said on an explosion of breath. “Whatever, I missed it. Let's go.”

“Admit it, Vic, you haven't been as with it as usual. She's stronger than you already.” Talia's voice held a note of satisfaction, like she was reveling in Vic's inabilities.

“I told you she was marked, didn't I?” Vic growled. “Her abilities have surpassed mine already, so what? Isn't that the way it always is?”

“So you're admitting that you might have led us astray?” Talia came into view, two menacing looking weapons in her hands—like mini swords with prongs on each side.

Vic slid his gun into the back of his jeans. “Yes, okay? I'm admitting the possibility of that. Let's head west.”

“Eyes out for wolves, folks.” Talia motioned with one weapon in the opposite direction. “I'm looking to get me a skin before the end of the night.”

Summer felt Dyami shiver, and his whole body clenched a moment later—a symptom of their soaked clothes and the cool night air no doubt. They needed to get dry, find food, make some calls to extricate themselves from this situation. The only thing keeping her from losing her shit completely was the fact that Dyami was so calm, living the nightmare with her. As long as she had him, her hero, acting like a normal human being, she felt like she was safe.