Page 1 of Witches Be Damned

CHAPTER 1 - KNOXE

Author’s note:I hope you checked out the content warnings before you commenced!

Knoxe

Fuck me,we were doing this. Retrieving the compass for the thief avatar was the craziest pursuit of my Guardian career, topping my report to the warden that started the feud with Devon’s gang, going to the Fae casino to win money to repay Astra’s debt, and even stupider than hiding Raze’s secret of being an illegal gantii within the Guild.

Damn. Maybe Tor and I were more alike than I cared to admit. After all, he

got us into this mess by making a bargain with Mads. Risky business when we might earn more time on our sentences if we were caught breaking into a Guardian vault to retrieve a compass. Harsh punishment for him and me if we were found conspiring.

Tor might be reckless sometimes, ask for damn trouble and take us down for the count with him, but he was also a skilled negotiator, wheeling and dealing to obtain and sell contraband in the prison and outside. Prowess that bargained for our woman’s location and data to track all the missing Guardians and payments to corrupt guards and the families of inmates.

At first, I was pissed at him for summoning the thief avatar and making a bargain with him. Three actually. Sunset’s location. Hideouts of all the missing Guardians. And payment trails to guards and the families of inmates. Did I want to do serious damage to Tor’s Tommy Hilfiger face. Once my anger subsided, I wanted to kiss the bloody brilliant idiot.

In all fairness, no one made the best decisions under duress. Tor wasn’t the only one losing it, we all were when Styx, the head of the rogue vampire faction, took our woman and we didn’t know where she was or how long she’d stay alive. This foolish mission was worth it if we saved Sunset and earned our freedom in the process.

Without Tor’s trade, it would have taken us months to comb through and piece together the files on the USB Vartros gave us. Sunset would be dead by then.

“I’ll get the compass from the vault.” Tor made the valiant offer. “It only seems fair since I made the deal. Plus, I’ve got more time on my sentence, and I can spend it with Supergal, protecting her.”

Over my dead fucking body. Astra was getting out with all of us, period. No fucking negotiations.

As for the compass retrieval, I was the best person for the job. Cool-headed. Logical. Efficient. Tor was wobbly on his feet with his exoskeleton and might stumble over and trip a sensor that alerted security. Pascal rested in the hospital from his injuries, eliminating him. Loco was crazy enough to do this without any convincing to save his daughter, but I wasn’t taking a chance with his volatility. Serena was out of the question, when she might write me up for an infraction and report me to the warden. I didn’t give a fuck if I was caught and earned a longer sentence so long as my Sunset survived.

Once I completed this insane task, I’d twist Serena’s arm to seek approval to retrieve Astra based on the data the thief avatar supplied. She didn’t need to know how we obtained it. Being a mother and close with Loco, I doubt she’d say no, but if she did, I’d figure out how to get her onside. She adhered to the Guardian code of not leaving a man behind.

“No, I’ll do this,” I replied to Tor. “I protect the team and take the heat. It’s my job.”

Fuck Vancor. Several red flags waved in my mind, starting with why he initially didn’t permit us to return to the scene to collect evidence, samples, and locate the portaling device. Critical proof for us to determine the location of the remainder of the deserter prisoners. Instead, he wanted us to question the captives. Leaving the scene encouraged cover-ups by any traitors we didn’t capture, depriving us of more leads.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. Our new warden also cuffed Pascal to suppress his expanding powers and leave him weak and unable to defend himself against the vampires that jumped him. Vartros would never have put Pascal in that position, knowing wearing the cuffs sent him into an anxious spiral that could have compromised our mission. For that, Astra’s kidnapping was on the Vancor’s head.

And why did the asshole allow Tor out into the field using an untested and unapproved exoskeleton technology, going against the Work Health Safety, medical clearance, and technology safety policies?

This led me to the conclusion that the new warden was connected to Vartros’ list of corrupt Guild officers and families. I just had to sift through the USB device to find solid proof.

Tor grabbed his cock through his pants and squeezed. “All right, fine. But I’ve still got the bigger magick wand.”

“Breaking into the vault doesn’t equate to having the bigger magic wand,” I reminded him.

“Have it your way, bossman.” Tor clapped me on the shoulder, and my ego relished that he still recognized me as his leader, not Serena. “It’s better than calling the person doing the deed a fucking crazy idiot.”

Tor clamped a hand on my shoulder and signaled for me to shut it, pointing to the watchers and our guard Ben rousing as the thief avatar’s magick began to wear off them. Mads sent them to sleep, interrupted the camera feed into the room, and probably caused a mass blackout with his mischievous energy, which hacked into any computer.

“Let’s get back to it.” I clapped my hand to direct Tor back to his computer to review the data on the USB provided by Vartros and the new one supplied by Mads.

The two of us slid into our seats as if nothing godly just invaded this room and bargained to steal our tech.

Ben yawned and scrubbed down his face from eyebrows, nose, to mouth and chin. “I need another coffee. Anyone want one?” He moved to the pot in the back of the Watch Tower where prisoners kept it constantly full.

One of the few luxuries we had in here. While inside this bay, our team was protected from others who might try to enter and use the steaming liquid as a weapon. Gang members used this trick to exact revenge, and they were permanently banned from the Watch Tower and handed heavier sentences.

Tor shot out of his seat, doing his charming act. “Would love one, thanks.” He hugged Ben, glaring at me over his shoulder, signaling for me to get the damn compass. “Yours always tastes better.”

Ben eyed him when Tor let him go. “All right, what do you want?”

My fingers tensed over the mouse I pretended to scroll the computer screen with. This was why Vartros chose Ben as his closest ally. Nothing got past the guard, he didn’t accept bribes or leave threats unpunished.

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