Page 19 of Warrior Witch

Turning into a lazy downward spiral, I aimed for a clearing beside the river that ambled around the outskirts of town before cutting through the cliff side. I looked back toward the woods, considering heading deeper to find a good campsite for the night. Eh, the sun was nowhere near its zenith yet, and the call of treasure begged me to head toward town. Shaking out my mane, I took a deep breath and called to the man inside me, releasing the beast with a promise to fly again soon.

The scent of salt and seaweed danced in my nostrils as the onshore wind swept over me, invigorating me on my walk as I passed dilapidated buildings that would have housed working-class families in years gone by. Some were little more than rubble, collapsed chimneys, and rotten log cabins, but every now and then I would glimpse one whose frame had withstood the battering of the elements.

According to my research, it had been three hundred and fifty-odd years since Spells Hollow was a thriving community. Centuries since some event, lost to time, had caused the inhabitants to abandon the town. I could admit that the history buff in me was almost as interested in finding out what happened here as I was in the treasure that called to me like the sweetest siren song.

The earth crunched beneath my boot, and I glanced down, frowning at the dark line on the ground. Glancing left and right, I noticed it extended out on both sides. Behind me, the grass grew green and lush, the trees plentiful. Before me, there was only death. Dirt and shriveled stalks that may once have been plants littered the ground, and I wondered what could have caused such a marked distinction between the two. It was as though someone had burned and salted the earth. Like life had been leached from everything this side of the line.

Like a curse.

The soft murmur of voices reached me from the far side of the nearest house. This one appeared to be in far better repair than the ones I had passed earlier. Two stories high, it had not only maintained its walls, but most of its windows, too. Keeping hidden from whoever else had decided to explore the abandoned town, I moved closer to the house, noting there were several others that appeared to be arranged in a circle around the town square. I wished I’d taken the time to map out the town while I was airborne, but the novelty of flight had outweighed my curiosity about the town while I was up there. No chance of flying now, though. I had company.

Huffing in annoyance, I quietly circled the house, hoping to catch a glimpse of the interlopers and barely suppressed a curse. A familiar dark head and admittedly spectacular ass was climbing the stairs to the front door. Behind her, the noisy entourage from last night continued to bicker and jest.

Of all the abandoned towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine.

And if she was after my treasure, we were going to have a problem.

A low growl caught my attention. I swung around, coming face to face with the white wolf I’d spotted earlier; although now I was closer, I knew he wasn’t just any white wolf. He was a raiju, a creature native to Japan, whose powers were linked to lightning.

“You’re a long way from home, pup,” I murmured.

His lip curled as the low growl came again. I could take him with my eyes closed, but something in the back of my mind cautioned that the animal could be useful. Holding my hands up, I took a careful step away from the house and turned my back on the stampede of feet entering it.

“Nothing to worry about. I’m not here for them.”

The wolf chuffed, his hackles dropping as he moved forward and took a long inhale. His thick tail twitched a half wag before he turned and disappeared between the buildings.

Maybe I’d made a new friend.

Not that I needed one.

Harlow

“Are the vines still necessary?” Bruin asked, raising his bound hands with an irritation that continued to amuse me the longer it lasted.

We’d squished him between Kylen and me in the middle seat of the Camry, and I immediately missed those beautiful hours the day before when he’d been unconscious in the trunk. Good times.

“Yep. I don’t trust you not to try something while we’re driving. Now shush,” I snapped back before leaning forward to flick Addie on the shoulder. “Hey, eyes front, kiddo! No conversations with the hostage allowed.”

“Hostage? Really?” Bruin muttered.

Addie slumped in her seat, unusually grumpy despite being in her preferred shotgun position. Honestly, she was lucky we didn’t leave her in the motel. If I thought she wouldn’t hike through the woods to follow us, I would have.

She muttered something I couldn’t hear, but it made Lindsay laugh from the driver’s seat. “Aww, Addie’s getting maddie,” he teased, reaching over with one hand to ruffle her hair.

“Oh my gawd! You suck so hard!”

“Funnily enough, Kedron said the same thing to me last week.” Lindsay winked at me in the rearview mirror, and I snorted.

Addie went quiet for a moment, processing his words. “Dude. Pull over, I gotta puke.”

“Seconded,” Bruin grunted.

“No need, prudes,” Lindsay said, slowing the car to a stop as the woodland road opened up. “I think this is it.”

Leaning out of the passenger window, an old, rotting gate loomed ahead of us. It was too modern to be the original town gate, but the metal was rusted and frail. “Everyone, stay here for a minute. Don’t touch the car doors or anything made of metal.”

I slid out of the car and gripped the remains of the gate tight with both hands. With a deep breath, I pushed out with my magic, like I would blow out a few too many candles. Electricity crackled across the metal, fizzling and sparking until the whole thing blew apart with a crash.

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