Page 36 of Dawn Unearthed

I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. Because I still didn’t know who or what anybody was. It wasn’t like anyone wore a name tag. Sometimes, I saw glowing eyes and figured they had to be shifters, but for all I knew, the fae’s eyes glowed, too.

“When the shifters do show up, probably within the week, they’ll eat you out of house and home. They put away far more than anyone I know.”

“Oh,” I said softly.

“Yes. Oh. It’s pretty great. You have a hit on your hands. You filled a need. It’s as if we were waiting for you forever.”

She grinned and helped me clean up a bit more before she left.

I followed her out, locking the door behind her before I went to finish.

I felt as if I were still catching up, and yet, I felt at home. Finally. This was my place. A bakery I’d wanted since I was a little girl but couldn’t afford on my own, both time and money-wise.

Now, it was all mine.

And I was a witch.

I shook my head and looked down at my hands. “What am I doing?”

“Isn’t that the question?”

I looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. The woman was blond, had bright blue eyes, and a cunning smile. She stood at the register, some type of manic glee in her eyes that worried me. I hadn’t seen this woman before around town, but I didn’t know what or who she was. Still, something inside told me she was dangerous. I needed to run, to do something—not let myself become prey.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still here when I locked up.”

“I came in through the back. You should be careful about the locks on your doors.”

Alarm shot through me. “We’re closed now. We’ll be open tomorrow if you’d like something.”

“Oh, I don’t need anything from you. At least, not yet. I thought I’d introduce myself.” She winked and came forward, her eyes glowing red for a moment. I blinked. Unsure what I had seen—if anything. “My name’s Faith. We’ve met before, though you probably didn’t know it was me.”

My back was to the door. It was locked, and I realized there was no way out. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“You met some of my pets earlier. I’m kind of sad that you took care of them so quickly. It’s okay. There’s more where they came from.”

“It’s you,” I breathed. Faith was the necromancer.

“It’s me. It’s amazing how long I’ve been here, and no one noticed. The town of Ravenwood is safe for all creatures, it seems. Even little old me. I wanted to introduce myself. And to give you a warning. Be careful when the darkness comes. Because light fades, and so will you.” Before I could breathe, she held up her hand. Water sliced out, seemingly out of nowhere, and slapped me in the face. A trail of warmth slid down my cheek, and I reached up, only to see my hand come back red.

“You don’t even know how to use your powers and you think to go against me? Oh, honey, you don’t even know. Tell the others I’m here. This was a warning. If we’re not careful, the game’s going to end far too soon for my liking.”

She held up her hands again, and I threw mine up in defense, not knowing what to do. Water pulled out of the small jars of water lilies around the room and flew at her. It soaked her to the bone, but the force of it pushed Faith enough that she slammed her back against the counter. Her eyes widened marginally, and it seemed as if I had surprised her as much as I had shocked myself. She winked, threw out another arm as water sliced into my flesh, and I ducked, holding back a pained groan. I wasn’t trained. Could only do some magic. But she was a water witch, a necromancer. And, apparently, she could use water as a blade. I looked up and saw she was gone, but then the door behind me burst open. I looked over my shoulder as Rome appeared, his eyes gold and wild as he growled, huffing towards me.

“Where is she?” he asked, kneeling in front of me. Jaxton came in behind him, Laurel suddenly beside Jaxton with a sword in her hand.

“Her name was Faith,” I whispered as Rome reached up to my face, carefully wiping away the blood. “She said this was a message.”

I looked at the others and knew that the time of peace and to prepare was over.

Chapter Ten

Rome

My feet sloshed in the water on the floor, and my bear growled. My knee was soaked where I knelt in front of Sage. I reached out, grateful that my claws weren’t extended. It was only by force of will that I kept them from poking out from my fingertips. I didn’t want to scare Sage. She was still so new to everything as it was.

“Her name was Faith,” she whispered, and I nodded tightly. I glanced over at Laurel and Jaxton as they moved to the back of the building, trying to catch whoever had been in here. Whoever this Faith was. Part of me needed to follow them, to discover who would dare touch my mate, who would dare to deface and harm my town. I had no time for that, though. Not when Sage was bleeding in front of me. The coppery scent of her blood burned my nostrils, and my fangs started to slide through my gums. I growled, low, deadly, and my fangs went back to where they should be. Sage’s eyes widened, but she didn’t cower away from me or say anything. Instead, she leaned forward and reached up as if to touch the cut on her cheek. I shook my head and wiped away some more of the blood, careful not to touch the open wound.

“Don’t. I’ll take care of it.” My bear pushed at me, clawing. Needing to do something other than stand there. But I couldn’t leave Sage alone. Not with blood on her face. All I wanted to do was slash at anyone who came near. The others seemed to understand that because they gave us a wide berth—for now.

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