The COMPLETE Witching Pen Series, Boxed Set (8 page)

Teleporting to the other side of the world, however, was enough to take its toll on even the most powerful of witches and Amy had not been looking forward to this journey to begin with. Such a journey would tire her out, rendering her useless and magically unprotected for at least two hours.

Now as she materialised in Death Valley, USA, she hoped she got the location spell accurate and had landed in the Nevada end, and not the California end … and it's not like there were any signposts.

Stupidly, in her forced rush to get here – Etienne, that Elder, could be
so
pushy – she'd forgotten to take the time difference into account. She'd dressed light for hot desert weather, not intending to stay for longer than necessary. Unfortunately, it was two in the morning here, pitch black and bloody freezing.
 

“Shit,” she cursed as she took on form. This little trip was wrong on so many levels. Firstly, her bargaining tool with the Dessec was nothing but The Council's word of virtue –
yeah, we all know how well
that's
going to go down
– secondly, she had no idea if she was in the right place, thirdly, and what was bothering her the most, was the very nature of this potential pact: the extermination of Elena Green.
 

Okay, so supposedly she was here to ensure her erasure from history rather than her extermination, but Amy was damned if she could see the difference. And the truth was, that she kind of liked Elena. The girl was quiet, harbouring your superhero-type powers, but seemingly kind, meek, mild and completely unassuming. She was innocence personified. Fuck it, that girl had been sheltered her entire life, lied to about her very existence, and when the shit hits the fan and the truth comes out, Amy wondered whether she'd curl up and die or make like a bat out of hell.

Innocence personified. And Amy was here to arrange her assassination. Wrong, wrong, wrong.  And if she refused? Amy imprisoned by The Council for anything up 'til eternity, because she knew too much. Yeah, the godfather of all the witch covens in the world were a real nice group of people.

With a shiver and a sigh, she looked around and saw nothing but an expanse of black.

There's no way I can stay out here for two hours, I'll freeze to death.
She gave herself a little shrug of surrender and chose a direction to go in.
Got to keep moving … stay warm. No doubt the Dessec now know a foreigner's in their territory – they'll have to come find me.
 

She almost hoped they didn't. Although she wasn't sure what would happen if she went back to Etienne with a failed mission. Maybe being eaten by coyotes would be the better deal. The Elder seemed to be taking this whole Elena thing really personally and she had no idea why.

The blast of hot energy hit her from the right, licking at her skin like the heat of a bonfire. Or maybe it was a bonfire, because a spire of flames, reaching up into the night sky, is what she saw when she turned. It grew shorter, filled out and took on the shape of a man, until flesh engulfed flame and a dark God stood in front of her … well, that was her first thought. Realistically, this was probably a Dessec demon, not a God, but still...

Amy let her eyes roam across his shirtless chest and …
holy crap – he was wearing nothing but a loin cloth!
Mocha coloured skin wrapped around a warrior's body glistened in the dark. Muscles? Check. Tall? Check. Handsome? Double check.
 

With a mental scolding, she shook her head – this was so not why she was here.

“You have entered Dessec territory, witch.”
 

Well, duh.

“Yes, I seek the Dessec. I bring a proposition from The Council.”
 

The demon's eyes flickered yellow like a cat's and Amy almost melted on the spot. Jesus Christ, did all Dessec demons look like this? Those eyes were
wild.
 

He strode towards her and it was all she could do not to bolt. She was vaguely aware of her legs shaking.

“You're shivering,” he stated in that baritone voice of his.
 

“What? Oh, yeah...” In fact, her legs weren't trembling from lust – she was actually shaking uncontrollably from the cold.
 

“Are you human?”
 

“Yes.”
 

“Then you'll become ill out here.”
 

“I forgot my clothes … I mean, my warm clothes.”
 

Amy, get a grip, you're talking gibberish.

He nodded. “It's hard to teleport with too many material items.”

All at once his body started to glow, that fire reigniting on his skin, smaller flames this time, like on a log fire. He took her arm and pulled her towards him.

“Stay close to me. I will keep you warm.”
 

Amy inhaled sharply. If she was going to die out here, it wasn't going to be from the cold.

~*~

Katherine materialised in Elena and Karl's kitchen, the book she had pulled from her overnight bag, clutched tightly in her hand.

“Hello?” she called out, but knew she must have just missed them, even as the word left her mouth.
Damn
.
 

She'd have to be quick. As soon as her father discovered she'd gone, he'd be here in an instant. She had no idea what a spell to erase history entailed – she'd never had reason to look it up – but she hoped nothing could happen without her blood … at least not right away.

Hurriedly, she scanned the flat for a place to leave the book. Elena had to find it, but it was imperative her father did not. Running upstairs, she had the sense that time was nipping her heels – ten, nine, eight…

He's knocking on the bathroom door.
She rushed into Elena's bedroom…
 

Seven, six, five…

He's throwing open the door.
She looked around, frantically – not the drawers, he'd look in the drawers…
 

Four, three, two...

He knows I'm gone – he knows where I am!
She shoved the book inside Elena's pillowcase, making sure it was sandwiched between the pillow and the bed so the outline could not be seen, hoping to God that if the bed was searched, he'd look under the pillow and not
at
it...
 

One...

The 'thunk' of materialisation sounded downstairs, and Katherine disappeared.

Chapter Seven

The best thing about working at
Ancient Ways
, was that she owned it and could decide how to run it – it was her baby, and she'd always thought of it as the substitute baby she would never have. Today, however, was different. Today, the best thing about working at
Ancient Ways,
was that Karl worked in
Royal Treasures
, the antique shop just across the road, and their usual lunch date, which was normally casual, would now mean so much more.
 

Elena failed miserably in hiding the beaming smile that graced her features as she opened her new age shop. Pagan in theme, it was like most other new age shops across the country, with a healing clinic upstairs where various therapies were practised. Elena, herself, offered spiritual and crystal healing. Of course, no one knew she could
actually
heal someone in the manner that she could, so on a daily basis, she held back her powers, only letting the tiniest amount of that energy trickle into her clients' auric fields as she worked on them. They went away feeling better and none the wiser, and Elena felt she was making a difference without exposing herself or her lineage.
 

Like Elena, Karl also owned his shop. In fact, he had taken the leap into retail first instead of attending university, fuelled by a desire to keep busy and start earning money straight away, rather than end up like his ill-fated family. He had always had a love for antiques, and an uncanny ability to know their history; that coupled with his determination had him studying everything he could about the subject, and attending every antiques fair and auction that he could get into. All the while, he worked in the sales department of a mobile phone company, striving for the bonuses that would help him realise his passion. A year later, having scrupulously saved, and gleaned all the knowledge he could, an antiques shop in South Kensington practically fell into his lap. The owners had gone bankrupt, and the shop was all but being given away, complete with stock. With the economy taking a downward turn, and the antiques industry growing too competitive in the current climate, no one would touch it with a barge pole. Karl bought the business for £1 and invested the money he'd saved into pulling it out of debt. He turned the entire shop around by giving it a niche: the British monarchy. Coins, stamps, postcards, letterheads, Tudor furniture … if it had anything to do with British royalty, he housed it. A new store name, a re-designed interior, and a busy internet presence complete with an active blog, had tourists flocking to
Royal Treasures
to buy something unique. Five years on, Karl had just started to make a handsome profit.
 

And it was Karl who had told Elena last year about the gift shop across the road that had just closed down. Bored of her mundane office job reviewing articles for a prestigious and stuffy magazine publication –
not
where she thought she'd end up after her Psychology degree – she was ready for the challenge of something new. She bought the shop, set it up with Karl's help, and never looked back.
 

God
, she thought, still grinning from ear to ear,
we really are like an old married couple!
 

The bell above the door tinkled, and her assistant manager walked in.

“Hey, Elena.”
 

“Hi, Mary.”
 

Mary stopped in her tracks and eyed her suspiciously. “Something's different about you … did you cut your hair?”

“No … wait – it's not blue is it?” She hurriedly ran her fingers through it.
 

“Nope – still that gorgeous, rich brown it always was … blue?”
 

“Nevermind.”
 

Mary made her way to the staff room at the back, her voice echoing through the corridor. “So, what gives?”

“I don't know what you mean.”
 

“Liar.”
 

“Erm … less of that, thank you – I am still your boss.”
 

“And if you were anyone else, I would not be saying such things, but you're the best, nicest boss I've ever had, and I know something's up.” Mary's head poked around the door, flashing a cheeky grin. “Did you get some last night?”
 

“What?! Mary!”
 

“You did, didn't you! I can tell – you look all glowy.”
 

“Glowy?” She looked down at herself to make sure she wasn't actually glowing.
 

“Yes, you're positively beaming, and it's about fucking time you had a boyfriend.”
 

Elena rolled her eyes, but her smile widened.

“Who is it?” asked Mary, refreshed and bouncing around the corner, her own blue-black hair bobbing up and down with every step. “Do I know him?”
 

Before she could stop herself, Elena's eyes flitted over to the shop across the road. The reaction did not go unnoticed.

“Oh, my God! Karl – it's Karl!”
 

“Mary, sshhh...”
 

“It is, isn't it?”
 

“Well … yes...”
 

Mary squealed like a four year old and wrapped her arms around Elena. “It's about fucking time!”

“You already said that, and stop swearing – people might hear you.”
 

“You two are so perfect for each other; I can't believe it's taken this long for you to
finally
get together – he's been in love with you since, like,
forever
.”
 

“I know, I know, but you don't need to make a big deal out of it, okay?”
 

“Hey, you're the one with an invisible coat hanger in your mouth.”
 

“Mary!”
 

“All right! I'll stop...”
 

 But Elena found herself embraced in another bear hug.
 

Mary pulled back just enough to look at her with those piercing blue eyes that always seemed like they held a millennium of knowledge.

“Elena, I mean it, I'm so happy for you two. I mean, I don't know guys your age that are like you  – you both act like you're an old couple most of the time – and if you were anyone else, I'd say, 'get a life, already', but you're both the nicest, most together people I've ever known and you're
supposed
to be together.”
 

With a laugh, Elena disentangled herself from the woman's arms. It never ceased to amaze her how Mary was three years her senior, yet acted as if she was a teenager on a permanent hit of Red Bull. “Thank you, I think. Anyway … how are you? You sleeping better?”