Page 36 of Witches Be Damned

I went around to the side of the car, opening my mate’s door, offering her my hand to climb down from the truck. “The burial location is a sacred spot to the tribe, marked with rocks and black cockatoo’s feathers.”

Wind tugged at her ponytail, and she squinted in the bright sunlight. “Black? That’s not ominous at all.”

“It’s a symbol of death in my mother’s tribe.” It hurt less each day to refer to them as that. “This way.”

I lead her six-hundred feet north, dropping my bag to the ground and removing the shovel, lighter fluid, sticks, and matches.

Dark vapor heralded the bone witch’s arrival. Chants of ancestors past sounded in the background, as she crouched low, shaking her damn tool of torment, uttering condemning magical words.

Little Wolf squeezed my fingers. “Oh, God, she’s cursing us again!”

“No more, witch.” I stabbed the shovel into the sand and didn’t stop digging until I exposed her object of misery.

Hands shaking, I removed it, unwrapping the animal skin keeping it dry, confirming the bone within, and a leather pouch secured to one end. Dried magical herbs, a cockatoo’s claw and tooth of a possum stored inside the bag formed a protection spell from scavenger animals seeking to unearth and desecrate the bones.

Holding onto one end of the femur, I lifted my boot, pressing it to the center of the bone and applying enough pressure to snap it in two. Part one of ridding the curse.

I dropped the offending item into the hole and exacted part two. “Fire, please, Little Wolf.”

My mate added the sticks into the hole, squirted lighter fluid over the wood, and removed a match from the box. Fire licked at the pile, burning in her eyes. Everything went up in flames. I drew her into a hug to comfort her, watching the fire darken the bones, burning away the symbols etched into one side that brought it power.

“No, please, don’t,” the bone witch begged, stepping into the hole to protect the treasure connecting her to this world.

“You cursed me for no reason, witch!” I barked, ready to be free of this.

“You never would have escaped if I didn’t afflict you.” The witch tried to reason her way out of it.

Spirits were crafty like that, tricking you into finding your path. I wanted to claim my own fate and not have others meddle. That included the Guardians.

“Go to Biame and wander the stars, ancestor,” I commanded.

“No,” the witch sobbed, her outline fading.

Wisps of darkness teemed off my mate’s and my skin as the curse released. Pressure on my ribcage and throat eased. Relief danced at the edge of my heart. I thumped a fist on my chest and saluted her as the last of her spirit vanished into the afterlife.

“Do you feel that, Little Wolf?” I ran my fingertips along her shoulder.

She rubbed at her ribs. “Yes. It feels lighter and not as tight.”

I squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “We’re free.”

“Ohthankgod!” Rushed words burst from her mouth and I laughed, pulling her in front of me and wrapping my arms over her shoulders.

We stayed until the blaze consumed all the sticks, and I shoveled sand back into the hole, burying the remains.

My mate packed up the rest of our belongings, and held the bag open, letting me insert the shovel and zip up the pocket.

“Thank you for this, Little Wolf.” I lifted her into my arms to give her my undying vow to defend my mate from any threat to her and our pack.

“No thanks needed. You wouldn’t have rested with it on your conscience.”

“Would you be up for some more hiking?” I kissed her forehead to eradicate the lines bunching her skin. “There’s somewhere I want to camp for the evening with the most beautiful view. I think you’ll like it.”

“I’d love that.” Her smile kept the fire in my heart ticking over.

I clasped her hand and led her back to my vehicle, driving us to the Sundown Nature Trail, famous for its night sky views. We grabbed our camping gear, and commenced the trail through sparsely vegetated hills, covered in ephemeral grasses and wildflowers, adapted to the harsh, dry environment. Along the way, we spotted goannas and bearded dragons, and I took pictures for her with them in the background, since the lizard was her spirit animal of protection.

“I want to show you something.” I tugged my mate ten feet off the path to a tree with a white trunk. “This is aGumbi gumbiplant.” I picked an orange fruit and crushed it between my fingers, releasing red seeds. “It’s a native apricot.”

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