Page 41 of Warrior Witch

Those who would do us harm, beware.

Harlow

“What kind of comfort read is this?” I groused, still feeling out of sorts from the vivid image of my own death that wasn’t actually mine. Was that what I’d look like when the curse took me?

The way her power had torn her apart before…

I shuddered, shifting back from the edge of the cliff to stand. This little overlook had fast become my favorite place to take a time out, to learn more about the coven and hopefully figure out how the hell to avoid dying.

I shook my hands out, ignoring the snap and crackle of energy that sparked from my fingers with the movement. I was in control. No rogue powers here. I wished I believed it.

My stomach turned, and even the cool sea breeze did nothing to soothe my stress-heated skin. Had she exploded? Or had it been more of an implosion? I felt like it was an important distinction, because if I was a hazard to Addie or Lindsay when the curse detonated me, I didn’t want them caught in the fallout.

Was it hot out here?

I flapped my tank top, trying to create a breeze as my chest tightened. Hoo-wee, it was getting a little difficult to breathe. Okay, hands on knees and just focus on the in and out. In through the nose, and out through the mouth. In through the…

I cut off mid-panic as a sharp cry echoed through the air.

“What the hell is that?”

The creature had wings bigger than any bird I’d ever seen, which was a good thing because the lion-type body seemed to defy all laws of aerodynamics. I mean… they were the same laws that said bumble bees shouldn’t have been able to fly, so I guess this was another strike against science.

The lion-bird skimmed the tree line, heading deeper into the woods and, without giving it much thought, I followed. Luckily—or perhaps unluckily, depending on how receptive the beast was to company—it didn’t seem to have a stealth mode, and the size made it easy to follow from the ground. I tripped over tree roots and stumbled through low-lying bushes, keeping one eye on the gaps in the branches so I didn’t lose sight of it.

After a time, I came out into a familiar grass clearing and slowed to a stop as the creature landed on the far side of a cold fire pit. Its feathered head swung toward me, studying me with a beady bird eye.

“Hi. Nice bird-lion thing. You’re friendly, right? I probably should have worked that out before following you out into the middle of nowhere.” My mouth kept running while inwardly I cringed. I hadn’t had this bad of a case of verbal diarrhea since…

The beast reared on its hind legs, and I took a quick step back, preparing to run. It stretched its wings wide as its shape shimmered into a slimmer humanoid… Hendrix.

The beast was Hendrix.

“Did you just call me a lion-bird? The word you want is gryphon, you heathen.” His words were as grumpy as the last couple of times I’d met him, but this time there was an odd curl to his lip. Like he was amused by my ignorant ass rather than offended.

I suppressed an answering smile, flipping my hand while I tried to play off the mistake. “Well, I mean, you’re half bird, half lion. What was I supposed to think?”

He crossed the clearing, closing in until we were almost toe to toe. Ducking his head to look me in the eye, he pointed at himself. “Gryphon.”

“Gryphon,” I repeated, enjoying the happy buzz my power gave me being so close to him.

The reminder of my powers was like a bucket of ice water, wiping my mind clear of the gryphon distraction and right back to the panic attack.

“Whoa, where did you go?” he asked, gripping my shoulders as the clearing went for a spin.

“I just…” I looked up into his warm eyes and wished, for a moment, that things could be heading in a different direction.

“I’m going to die. Probably soon. Definitely, probably in some kind of a full body meltdown like that death loop we saw before. That’s going to be me, and Addie and Lindsay are going to see it. I don’t know how to stop it.” He held me upright as I said the words I’d been hiding from since this whole quest had started.

“My powers are unstable, and I’m scared I’ll lose control.”

I had never admitted to being afraid in my life.

The uncomfortable awareness of my vulnerability crawled through my body, battering against the fear and anxiety until I worried it would all bubble out of me in some toxic, emotional vomit.

“What do you need?” Hendrix’s fingers tapped out a nervous rhythm on my shoulders, clearly as far out of his comfort zone as I felt. I had only met him in passing a couple of times. Had never been alone with him. And yet, the answer that fell from my lips didn’t catch me by surprise the way it did him.

“You.”

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