Page 26 of Wandering Witch

“That’s not necessary, but thank you. I’ll live with just a bucket and soap.” An awkward silence formed between us as we seemed to run out of topics. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, but how did you get out of your binds? The guys seemed pretty determined to leave you tied up for as long as possible.”

“I’m guessing once you fell asleep, your spell ended and they re-tied me with rope. After that, it was easy to work my way free.” He stepped forward with a hand extended to me. “Here, let’s sit down.”

I let him guide me back to my rocking chair and watched as he fetched a stool of twisted nylon. Once he placed that beside me, we just sat there and talked about nothing in particular while we waited for my guys to be ready for our next steps.

Roan

Damn that demon for being right. I thought as I lay on the surface of the pond he’d mentioned.

The pond was spacious enough for me to swim in, you know if I could still swim. I snorted at myself as I willed myself to sink beneath the surface. This was the closest I could get to what was probably my greatest passion in life now. I had to focus as I sank to make sure I stopped at the floor of the pond and did not keep dropping lower, but just the appearance of being underwater again soothed my weary soul.

What am I doing following around the living like this? It’s not as though I’m of any use to anyone. My thoughts tore at my ragged spirit as I shifted my position so I could pace. Then again, I was actually able to hold down a real demon the other night.

Could it have been wishful thinking that my power was growing? Or was there some truth in what Locke had been trying to teach me about the power of will? What would it hurt if I tried an exercise of my own? It’s not like there’s anyone here who would be able to see if I failed.

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths before I turned all of my attention inward. With all distractions blocked from sight and mind, I focused like I did whenever I had wielded my stick in training with Locke. However, this time I thought about how the water used to feel as it rushed over my feet when I stood on the beach staring out at the ocean. The scent of the salt spray that was everywhere when I sailed over from England. The peace that being immersed in the water had always brought me in life.

Finally, I just let go. Let go of everything. Let go of the beliefs that I had held onto all my afterlife that since I was dead I had lost everything that once mattered to me. Let go of the voice in my head that always told me I would forever be alone. Let go of anything that held me back.

My eyes shot open as the pressure around me crashed down before I was lifted from my cross-legged position on the ground. I was floating in the middle of the water now and being pushed around by its gentle current as the soft breeze from above brushed at the surface. Laughter bubbled in me as I pushed against the familiar weight of water to make my way to the surface.

I finally let myself throw my head back and roared with laughter as I broke the surface and bobbed there. Droplets fell from my hair as I laughed and I lifted a shaky hand to move them from my eyes.

Strange. The water is so much warmer than I remembered. My thoughts only lasted a few more seconds before my shoulders shuddered and I realized the hot rivulets racing down my cheeks were tears. When was the last time I’d cried? When was the last time I even had a reason to?

I stayed in that pond for a couple of hours, simply swimming laps back and forth until my limbs didn’t want to move anymore. It was then that I figured I should return to my friends before Fare got worried and sent Locke after me.

As I paddled to the shore closest to where the thread in my heart that was connected to Fare pulled, I was surprised to find my clothes were completely sodden and I had a hard time moving. I shrugged and pulled off most of my clothing, leaving myself in just my undergarment before walking back to the cabin where the love of my afterlife was waiting for me.

Farren

Benny and I were still sitting in our chairs and chatting when Locke woke up. He grumbled as he lumbered down the stairs and I flinched at the creaking coming from the wooden porch.

“Good morning, my friend! I trust you slept well?” Benny called as he looked over his shoulder.

Locke, for his part, simply ignored him as he wandered out of the clearing to, I would guess, answer nature’s call.

I guess that’s an improvement, I mused as I turned my attention back to Benny.

However his focus was not on me, but on something happening behind me. When I tried to see what had distracted him, he leaned forward and grasped my chin lightly.

“You really don’t want to look, Goddess. Trust me, it really is a rather abhorrent sight.” The demon tried to discourage me from looking, but now I kinda really wanted to see what he was trying to hide from me.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny. You’re just lucky that I’m in too good of a mood to be insulted by that,” Roan called from behind me, and indeed he sounded lighter than ever before.

Now I really had to look. After all, if Roan had found something to lighten his spirit, no pun intended, I wanted to know what that was so I could celebrate it with him. But the second I pushed myself out of my chair and started to round it, I stumbled and tripped over the rockers of my chair.

Roan stood before me with a radiant grin that put the sun to shame. But I was initially stopped by the fact that his hair was soaked. My feet had fumbled as I tried to race to him in a fit of concern. What could have happened to him?

Fate had other ideas, however, and I pitched forward, my face on a collision course with the ground. I barely had time to scream when my open mouth landed on a patch of warm, bare skin. Strong arms wrapped around me and the salty scent of the sea filled my lungs. My hands were splayed across tawny muscles that twitched as I absently caressed them.

I pulled my face away from Roan’s neck and looked down to see what my hands were touching. Shock and warmth erupted throughout me as I took in the acres of naked male muscles before me. My gaze slowly dragged down the sculpted form of Roan, and I tried not to drool as various parts of him stiffened.

I sucked in a sharp gasp as my perusal found a faint trail of hair that led from his naval down into a band of rolled cloth. Cloth that strained to contain him. He swallowed audibly as he shifted his stance slightly and I tried to continue to take him in. However, my eyes didn’t want to budge from his impressive bulge.

The strain on his minimal clothing held me so captivated that I had only barely noticed that his coverings left his legs completely bare. My hand had reached out and traced his happy trail without me even noticing it. He shuddered as my hand reached the top of his undergarment and danced around the edges of it.

My clumsy exploration was only stopped when his hand grabbed mine and pulled it away. I looked up to him with confusion, and more than a little hurt, in my eyes.

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