The Witching Hour: 11 Enchanting Novels Featuring Witches, Wizards, Vampires, Shifters, Ghosts, Fae, and More!, page 194
“No, you’re not going around naked,” I said before the hound could speak.
He gave me a positively sinful smile. He was settling in just fine.
“Can we put that on the expense account?” I asked Dante.
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. The shops should still be open, we’ll pick him up some clothing on the way to dinner.”
And just like that, we were clothes shopping for a hellhound.
We’d barely stepped out the door when we were surrounded by Olapireta assholes. They had filled the small alley in front of the apartment, a group of them pressed in close to each other, each with looks of righteous fury. I knew it was them because Darijo’s father was leading the group.
“The cambion must leave the city. Now,” the short blond man next to him demanded.
They all looked so normal. One even wore the type of Hawaiian shirt you only expect to see in gaudy tourists. The rest were in perfectly reasonable outfits from jeans and t-shirts to pretty sun dresses. They looked like average people, not crazed assholes hellbent on destroying people who happened to be born to the ’wrong’ bloodlines.
“Make me,” Dante said with a feral grin.
Darijo’s father lost all colour and stepped back. The younger men in the group put their shoulders back, likely seeing this as a chance to prove they were worthy and had balls. The older members of the group shrank back a little. They had more experience. They knew what Dante and people like us were capable of.
Kane stepped forward next to Dante, and the mood suddenly changed.
“He is a pure-blood,” a woman said in a reverent whisper.
“Yes, he is from the sacred bloodline,” a younger man said his eyes wide in awe.
Whispers rippled through the group, the righteous anger replaced with confusion and worshipful gazes. Dante was almost forgotten as attention turned to Kane.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
“That witch is perfection,” a dark-haired woman said.
I rolled my eyes.
“He’s hot, but there’s no need to feed his ego.”
“He is from the purest bloodline, the sacred line,” an older man said as though that explained everything.
“Piss off. Now,” Kane growled.
The leaders of the group, those who looked ready to throw themselves at Kane’s feet, looked like hurt puppies at Kane telling them to piss off.
Gideon bared his teeth and really growled. Darijo’s father yelped and led the rest of the group quickly away.
“What did they mean, you’re from a sacred bloodline?” I asked Kane.
He rolled his eyes. “My coven is a very, very old bloodline, and they’ve been snobby assholes about who’s allowed to breed into it for centuries. Bastards like that love that shit.”
I ran my fingers over Dante’s inner wrist, and he smiled at me.
“Are you ok?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Time to get Gideon some clothing. What type of clothes do you want, hound?”
There was a soft affection to the word ‘hound,’ so he was softening to him.
Gideon looked down at Kane’s old jeans. “I like these.”
“Jeans and t-shirts it is,” Dante said with a smile.
And so, we headed out into the city to go clothes shopping, the worst type of shopping known to man.
The shopping trip was successful. Kane replaced the two pairs of jeans he’d lost to Gideon, and Gideon had more of his own clothes. He was positively gleeful that he’d been able to pick out his own clothes. Dinner was quiet and peaceful, no one sniped at each other, and Gideon’s manners were impeccable. All in all, it was a pleasant evening, a much-needed break from the chaos that had been our lives recently.
Once we were back in the apartment, the topic of conversation turned back to the cult and, inevitably, blood magic.
“Why were they executed?” Gideon asked.
I glared at him. That was not a useful topic. He pulled me close to him and nuzzled my neck, feelings of security and helpfulness pouring down the bond. His idea of helpfulness did not match up with mine. Dante stole the seat next to me on the sofa, relegating Kane to the armchair. Gideon’s amusement rippled down the bond.
“They were executed because they are too dangerous to allow them to live,” Dante said.
“Surely they’re people, they can make decisions,” I said.
“Their magic is inherently dark and dangerous. They will always become a weapon, something which causes harm,” he said.
“Like a cambion?” I said sweetly.
“Never call me that. Call me half-demon, my father’s son, but never cambion,” he said.
“What changed? Surely blood witches existed alongside other witches for many centuries, what made the execution order come into effect?” Gideon asked.
He was leaning against me, his thigh pressed to mine and his hand resting lightly on mine. The happiness at the contact filled every fibre of his being, put me at ease despite the unpleasant topic of conversation.
“They were always solitary witches, but a trio of them started working together. They were hunting for a blood knight. They wanted to bring him back and use him to take over the world,” Kane said.
“Really? They couldn’t think of something less cliché?” I said.
Kane and Gideon laughed.
“Power appeals to many people,” Dante said.
“What’s a blood knight?” I asked.
“The myth goes that a blood witch fell for a valiant protector. He had hoped to become a Guardian chosen by the gods, but no god ever chose him. The witch, though, seeing his desire to protect people and make the world a brighter place, she gave him the gift of blood magic. It was a curse that twisted and warped him. Soon, he felt that the people around him were weak, and the best way to protect them was to twist them into monsters. The witch, heartbroken, used the last of her life essence to lock him away in a vault. She had already given him too much of herself; she didn’t have the magic or life essence to be able to kill him. Of course, it’s just a myth. No one has ever found the vault. No one can even agree on which country it was in,” Dante said.
“Some people say it was here, though, not far outside of the city,” Kane said.
Dante laughed. “Are you going to try and tell me you think the cult is the mythical blood knight?”
Kane shrugged. “Never say never.”
“And on that note, I believe we’re all exhausted. I’m going to bed, and I suggest you go, too,” Dante said before he leaned in and kissed my cheek.
The warmth from his lips against my skin spread through my body and made my toes curl. I looked to Kane, expecting to see jealousy or anger after our kiss earlier, but he had a small smirk on his face instead. Had the kiss earlier been a game? No, Kane would never do that to me.
“I’ll get you a blanket,” I said to Gideon.
He frowned, “I had hoped to stay with you.”
Kane shrugged.
“The choice is yours,” he said.
The hope coming down the bond was too much. I couldn’t shatter that.
“There isn’t much room in the bed, but your hound form will fit on the floor,” I said.
Gideon nipped my ear gently. “Then I’ll get a shower and see you soon.”
I buried my face in my hands. What a ridiculous mess I was in.
46
I woke up in Kane’s arms with Gideon in his hound form laying over my legs feeling very contented to be treated well. I reached down and rubbed behind his ear, as much as it felt weird knowing he had a human form. Kane stretched and kissed me on the forehead before he rolled out of the bed leaving me feeling lost and confused. Nothing had changed since the kiss, and I had no idea what to make of that.
Gideon shifted into his human form when Kane left for the bathroom.
“He was claiming you as his,” Gideon said while he stretched.
I tried to look away from the long lines of his muscles and his nakedness, but I was struggling. Of course, that only encouraged him to stretch more gymnastically and really flex his muscles.
“Tease,” I grumbled.
He grinned at me.
“What on Earth did you mean, ‘He was claiming me?’” I said as I got out of the bed and rummaged around for some clean clothes.
“I meant what I said. He wants you as his, the kiss was a gentle way to stake that claim. Personally, I’d have used my teeth.”
“Then why hasn’t he… done more?” I asked, exasperated with the entire situation.
“The time isn’t right.” He shrugged.
A flicker of desire came down the bond before he placed his hands on my hips and grazed his teeth over the sensitive part of my throat. A shiver ran through me and my desire joined his.
“Do you not wish to claim me?” he whispered.
In that moment, I wanted nothing more, but I snapped myself out of it.
“I don’t want to hurt Kane,” I said with a frown.
“And what if he is ok with sharing you?”
That thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but it would certainly make life easier. Especially given I was developing feelings for Dante, too.
“And what if he isn’t?” I countered.
Gideon stepped back and walked directly in my line of sight, showing off his tight pert ass as he did so. I would end up with the flirty tease of a hellhound, wouldn’t I?
“He does it because he wants your affection and attention,” Dante said from the doorway.
I looked between Gideon, who was pulling on a pair of boxers, thank the gods, and Dante.
“So, I should encourage him?” I asked, entirely lost.
“You should get dressed, ready to break into the cult. The Council has given us the go ahead, as we have proof they tried to kill us multiple times,” he said.
I waited for Gideon to leave the room before I dressed in the Silk and Thread things, wanting as much protection as I could get. I double-checked my daggers were in their sheaths before I headed down the stairs to find the guys all laughing over coffee. What if I could have that every morning? All three of them happy and mine?
Gideon looked at me with a knowing smile.
“Do we have a plan?” I asked.
Kane handed me a plate of perfectly cooked French toast. I hadn’t had French toast in years, and all other thoughts vanished as I sat down and bit into the heavenly food. It was sweet, rich, and perfectly chewy.
“Then we’ll knock on their front door,” Dante said.
“Hm? Sorry, I was lost in thought,” I said.
Kane laughed. “She means she was too focused on her French toast to notice anything else existed.”
“It’s really good!” I said with a grin.
“I said that Kane’s combat magic combined with Gideon’s and my infernal magic will be able to break a hole in the barrier not far from the road. There was a small spot there where the magics shifted and a thread of infernal magic came through, likely from where someone performed a ritual such as bringing through a hellhound,” Dante said between bites of his own toast.
I’d finished my toast and looked at his, wondering if I’d be able to steal a bite without losing an arm.
He pushed his plate over with one neat little square left.
“All yours,” he said with a smile.
I could definitely see myself falling hard for him. Only a good man would give a piece of that French toast.
“I’m assuming this breaking of the barrier won’t be even slightly subtle,” I said with a smile.
“Not even a little bit,” Dante said with a grin.
“We’ll make sure the flames don’t get high enough to alert the non-magical community,” Gideon said.
“And the explosion will be masked with some of my new alchemical sound proofing I bought,” Kane added.
Explosion and huge flames - they really weren’t kidding when they said it wasn’t going to be subtle.
“So, we break in through the barrier, and then we just rock up to the front door?” I said, making sure I’d understood this plan.
“Yea,” Kane said.
“That’s it,” Dante agreed.
“Remind me how you have such a good reputation with the Council,” I said to Dante.
He grinned at me. “They can’t resist my charm.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Are we ready to blow shit up, then?” I asked.
All three of them grinned like little boys.
Dante parked a couple of hundred feet away from the barrier. He didn’t want to blow up the rental car. I had to admit that I was a bit more worried about them blowing me up at that point.
Gideon was ecstatic to be involved in this and part of a pack. I sat on a large boulder and watched as Kane drew his large sword from his pocket dimension, and Dante and Gideon both summoned infernal fire into the palms of their hands. I wasn’t going to deny that it looked really badass. Kane’s sword glowed blinding white as he thrust it into the air before him, which rippled with lilac and electric blue. He slowly sliced downwards. Once the blade was at knee height, Gideon and Dante poured deep orange flames into it. The air in front of them became a wall of fire, and not one of them flinched. The heat washed over me, and then, suddenly, they all leapt back as an explosion rocked the area. I was knocked back off my boulder and landed in an undignified heap behind it.
The guys all looked entirely unruffled and looked down at me with big proud smiles. Once the air cleared and I’d stood back up thanks to a hand from Gideon, we saw that we weren’t alone.
There must have been 100 people there. Some in blood red robes with matching masks, others in simple jeans and shirts with guns.
“You are not welcome here,” a tall man bellowed.
A gun shot rang out. Fuck, I wasn’t protected against gun shots.
“Those to the left are purists, those with the red are from the cult,” Dante said.
Personally, I didn’t see what difference it made, given that they both looked like they planned on killing us. Another gun shot rang out and a chip was blown from the rock next to my leg. My magic bubbled up within me. I could end them all. I quashed it; that sort of thinking was what had gotten my ancestors executed. I was better than that.
I drew my daggers and made my way up through the rocks on my left, keeping my body low and hiding behind the scrubby bushes. Gideon and Dante had taken a different approach. They’d both summoned their infernal fire and were setting people alight with it. Kane had his sword and was cutting people down while ducking away from the jackasses shooting at him. I managed to get behind the shooters, leapt down from my hiding place, and slit one throat.
That left me with two more gunmen, both of whom were now looking at me with their friend in a bloody heap at my feet. A foot collided with my spine, and I instinctively spun around and slashed at the throat of the bastard that had kicked me. My instincts kicked in fully from there. I was vaguely aware of Gideon’s hunting and protective instincts in the back of my mind, but it was all a mass of attack and defend.
Blows rained down on my arms and upper thighs, blood coated my hands, but I was winning. There were more bodies near my feet, wedged up against the large cream rocks. My magic was calling to me, there was so much blood to control, but I pushed it down. It wasn’t the time. There were no more gunshots. We were down to hand-to-hand combat, which suited me just fine. I compartmentalised the pain and kept pushing forward, determined to protect the others.
The air was full of screams, anger, fear, and pain. Crunching bones and the wet tearing of muscle occasionally cut through the din. The bloodsongs were a cacophony of terrified and furious beats all thundering around me. Someone ran around while on fire, setting bushes and other people on fire with them.
The smell of burning flesh slowly filled the air along with blood and insides that were now outsides. I saw flailing limbs and heard the final death gurgle from strangers. None of it mattered. There was only the need to survive and get my guys out of there safely.
I failed.
47
The purists were gone, and they’d dragged an unconscious Dante away with them. Kane had been taken by people in red robes and masks. Gideon came to my side and nuzzled against my neck, the feeling of failure weighing heavily down the bond. I wrapped my arms around his neck and grazed my teeth over this throat, a desire that must have come from him. He held me close, and we remained like that for a long moment, embracing the fact we still had each other before we began the next fight. I was not going to lose them.
I pulled away from Gideon.
“We need to decide who we’re rescuing first. They’ll almost certainly try and kill Dante, and I’m not sure where they took him. I have no idea what the cult wants with Kane, but I do know they have blood magic,” I said.
“I can track Dante,” Gideon said.
It hurt my heart to leave Kane in the cult, but I knew that Dante’s life was in mortal danger; I didn’t know what risk Kane was in.
“Then we go after Dante first,” I said.
Gideon took three steps towards the car before a voice called out.
“Sofia?”
I spun around to see an angelic-looking man with golden-blond hair down to his shoulders, sky-blue eyes, and a ridiculously expensive slate-grey suit that hugged his athletic body. Sofia was my middle name. No one ever called me that. As the man got closer, I recognised the man. I hadn’t seen him in years, though he’d been in my dreams most nights as a little girl. The dreams rarely changed. He was trapped in a deep dark cave, and I was trying so very hard to free him from there, but no matter what I did I couldn’t free him. He had been a comforting and familiar presence in my subconscious, and I had turned to him when I’d had bad days.
“Who are you?” I asked.
Gideon came to my side. I felt his hackles rise and him bare his teeth as the man approached. People in red robes hung back not far behind him, close enough to rush to his aid should he need it.
“Sofia? My love… do you not remember me? Addison?”
