Page 34 of Black Hand
“I take my words back.” Dominic snickered. “She doesn’t think you are a demon. The human thinks you are possessed.”
“Are you a witch, Mr. smartass?” Both hands on her hips, Alice squared off with the shifter.” I didn’t think so. Stay quiet and just rip the pendant off when it’s time.” Squinting for a second, she changed her mind. “No, don’t rip it off, you act unstable and you might rip her head off along with it. Just tug on it gently, okay muscles?”
Seeing the incredulous look on Dominic’s face was priceless, and my nostrils flared while I tried to hold back my laughter. Lips twitching and jaw working, I managed, but not before he saw it and gave me a deep scowl. I was sure I would’ve failed controlling my reaction soon enough, but luckily Alice started waving things at me and I focused back on her.
The human shouted for each element to come aid her and wiggled the feather, the clear stone, and a cup of water in my face. She went as far as spraying my face by flicking her fingers, much to Dominic’s amusement. A tick developed in my jaw the more animated she became, yet I couldn’t feel an ounce of power coming from her or the circle she made. So when she snatched the butcher’s knife and began brandishing it too close for my liking, I decided it was time to put a stop to the charade. It was one thing to humor her so I didn’t make her feel bad, and totally another if she could injure herself or me. Just because it wouldn’t kill me didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like a bitch.
Tracking her hand, I waited and tried to time it right so I could grab her wrist. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that if half the Syndicate walked in right then Alice wouldn’t have noticed. Unfortunately, as I stepped out and reached to take the knife from her, her eyes locked on mine before widening and she slashed the hand holding the knife down in an arch. The blade cut deep across my outstretched arm, the burn from it clenching my jaw tight. Dominic snarled from the side, but thankfully he didn’t move from his place outside the salt circle. I didn’t want Alice hurt. I, on the other hand, would heal in a matter of seconds.
The strength of her jerky movement pitched her body to the side, and I circled her shoulders to prevent her from falling. That placed me right on the inside edge of the circle so my blood trickled on top of the salt. It sizzled like pouring water over boiling oil, and everywhere it touched the salt sparks spit across the floor. A blinding light flung me back and forced me to release Alice. I ended up thrown at the center of the pentagram on my ass with a grunt.
“Brooklyn!” Dominic’s roar made my ears ring for a few moments while I blinked fast to get rid of the blindness. “Brooklyn!”
But I couldn’t answer him. Power erupted all around me, snapping shut like an invisible lid placed over the salt circle. It was so strong my skin felt like it was melting off my bones. Reaching out blindly, I patted the floor and fumbled to my knees in the hopes I could find a way out. The pain was preventing me from answering the shifter, and my teeth were glued together in a soundless snarl.Oh, dear fates, Alice.Panic gripped me like a vice and I found my will to speak.
“Alice.” Croaking through a raw throat, I crawled slowly forward. “Dominic, check on Alice.” I could’ve sworn I heard him growlstubborn female, but my ears were still ringing so I wasn’t sure. “Is she alive?” Surely that much power could kill a human.
“She’s unconscious, but alive,” Dominic spat angrily after I heard him stomp around the circle. “If it was up to me, I’d kill her myself for this.”
“It wasn’t her fault.” Jumping to her defense, I inched closer to his voice, my vision not clearing fast enough. The light that burst it seemed like it burned my retinas. “I shouldn’t have tried to grab her like that.”
“How are you doing over there?” I heard his boots thump on the floor, and I knew by the heaviness of each step that he had extra weight. He was carrying Alice to the couch was my guess.
“My vision is still blurry, and the power is unbearable, but I’ll live, unfortunately.” My humor was lost when he growled deep in his throat. “I’m fine,” I added on a sigh.
“Well, at least we know one thing.” Halfway through that his voice grew louder, which told me he’d returned to my side. “There is, indeed, a witch in the house.”
“Yeah.” Snorting, I rubbed the back of my hand over my eyes, and at least then I could see the blurry outline of Dominic standing as close as he could to me, the tips of his boots a hairsbreadth away from the circle. “When it comes to Alice, I’ve learned I can’t trust my instincts. She is full of surprises.”
“I wasn’t talking about the human.” His words were conversational, but there was no mistaking the intensity they carried.
“There was no one else doing all this demonic summoning, as you called it, or whatever it is” I reminded him, finally able to see his face. I wish I couldn’t. “Who are you talking about?”
“You.”
There was a flash in his green eyes that sent my heart to my feet.
19
“You have lost your mind.” I had to open and close my eyes a few more times to see properly, and when I could I pushed to my feet. “You know as well as I do that I’m Atua.”
“How can I ever forget that.” Dominic’s narrowed gaze bored into mine. “Obviously you’re not just Atua.”
“I’m not a hybrid,” I snapped at him as if it was his fault my whole life had just turned into a disaster. “Atua can’t reproduce with witches. If we could, imagine what the Council would’ve done with that by now.”
Dominic stayed silent, but his eyes lingered on my pendant for long enough to make me fidget where I stood. Since I wasn’t ready to entertain that insane idea, I chose the lesser of the two evils. Stabbing a finger at the cup of saltwater sitting next to his feet on the floor, I waited until he stopped staring at me and looked at where I was pointing.
“Might as well try and see if that will work.” Muttering under my breath, I avoided his gaze, glancing at Alice on the couch and the wolf plopped in front of her protectively like a statue of a gargoyle.
After what felt like an eternity, he bent down and swiped the cup that looked like a toy in his large hand. A lock of silky hair fell over his forehead, and stupidly I envied his fingers when they stabbed through it to smooth it back. With a frown he turned it around like he’d never seen one before, bringing it first to his nose to take a whiff before handing it over. I jumped back when his hand hit the invisible barrier and saltwater sloshed all over his hand and arm. He didn’t drop the cup, but it was a close call.
“You try to take it.” He pushed the words through clenched teeth.
With a deep sigh, I inched my hand in his direction. To my surprise, my hand passed without a problem, only tingling when my fingers brushed against his around the cup. A shiver raced up my spine, and he noticed my reaction. A smirk tilted his lips up at one corner, and he held tighter to the cup. When my eyebrow arched, he removed his fingers one by one.
“Why do I get the feeling you are enjoying this way too much?” I drawled, moving away from him and that penetrating stare.
“Because I am.” The smirk didn’t magically disappear, unfortunately. “Also, it would explain many things.”
