A Witch's Path (25 page)

He twisted his finger. "I know, but I didn't have a choice. They thought you'd be more willing to listen to me because of our date."

"Then your elders are as foolish as the man who can't tell them no. Go away. Don't come back." If I did join a clan, I wouldn't pick that pack of idiots.

Beside me, Elron tensed like a predator focusing on his prey. He reached out and raked his finger through Andrew's aura. A green shimmer washed over Elron. "If you or any member of your clan comes here again the forest will not let you pass. You, and yours, have bothered Michelle enough."

Andrew stepped closer to me. "Michelle, think about this. It's a good offer—"

"The lady declined your offer. Be on your way."

"Listen to him, Andrew. I'm done."

Andrew reached for me. I stepped back, unwilling to have his aura brush mine. Andrew's arm was extended, fingers open, when the flat of a sword knocked his arm away. The sword arced up, coming to rest at his throat. Andrew stilled, eyes locked on Elron.

"You do not listen. The lady does not want you here. Neither do I," Elron hissed.
 

Andrew's head jerked up and down. Elron stepped back, lowering the sword, and Andrew fled.
 

A warm breeze hit the back of my neck. I turned, "Ty, stop that."
 

He tilted his head and danced from one foot to another.
 

"Do you want to scare him?"
 

Ty nodded.
 

"Okay, but don't hurt him or the car."

When Andrew saw the dinosaur in pursuit, he gunned it, tossing gravel as he sped down the road. Ty made a happy sound and trotted after him, growling and snapping at the car.
 

When Andrew's car had vanished into the night, Ty came back. I told him he'd been a good boy, scratched his nose, and sent him back to the garden.
 

Elron was still looking down the road, hands in his pocket, sword missing.
 

"Where did the sword go? And where did you get it in the first place? What did you do to him?" The questions tumbled out of my mouth.

"Elven magic, it is difficult to explain."
 

"Try me. I'm pretty good at following magic," I answered dryly.
 

"The edge of your power, or aura, is similar to skin, right? It holds everything inside." I nodded. "I broke the aura so the earth could get a better sense of him, and his clan. The forest wants to help, this gives it the information it needs to protect you."

"Smart. I like it." It used minimal power, but maximized what an elf was capable of doing. He hadn't answered my question about the sword. That was a trick I wasn't going to forget. "And the sword?"

"The blade is spelled. Our blade masters bestow them upon elves who finish training. As you can see, it has some special abilities." As I watched, Elron closed his hand as if around a hilt, the empty air was filled by a sword. His hand twitched and the sword was gone again.
 

"That's a nice trick. Why did you scare Andrew away?"

"He did not understand your dismissal, and I'm tired of people threatening you. They seem bent on frightening you at the most inconvenient times, disturbing my rest." He held the front door open before following me inside.

"It's not my fault they're frightening me."

"Stay with me. They won't look for you in my apartment."

"I think it's a bit early in the relationship for that." Elron was growing on me, but spending the night with him was taking it too far.
 

"Narzel take it." Elron stopped us in the middle of the hall. Color brightened his cheeks, and he ducked his head. "That is not what I meant. It would not be proper for us to share a bed. You could have my guest bed, my bed, or the sofa. I would take the one you weren't using. If none of those were acceptable for you, we would discuss other options, but I would not dream of insulting a lady by asking to have relations after the first date."
 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood. Guys my age are more focused on sex than companionship. Thank you, but it would be best if we kept a distance for now, since someone is hell bent on harming me."

"I don't want to keep my distance." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, my skin tingling under his touch.
 

"You could get hurt."

"So could you."

"It's not your fight." He didn't say anything, but I could see his mind working.
 

"I'll make it my fight."

My eyes traveled over his face, looking for a clue. "Why would you do that?"

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "I want to be there for you, help you when you are in need." I cocked my head and he continued. "When I'm with you, I feel something I can't explain."

This was the strangest post-date conversation I'd ever had, not that I'd been on that many dates. "Why don't we date, and get to know each other? You can help me fight battles later."

The corners of his mouth tipped up. "That will do for now. You are a charming woman."
 

His fingers brushed the underside of my jaw, tipping my head up. With his eyes locked on min, he laid a chaste kiss on my lips.
 

"Michelle?"

I licked my lips, and swallowed. My mouth didn't want to work. "Yes?"

"You can count on me to help you."

"I need to take care of my own messes, they are my responsibility." I couldn't pawn my problems off on someone else. It wasn't right, and right now my problems couldn't be solved by anyone else. They needed a witch. Other witches weren't exactly beating a path to my door, eager to take my place as occasional hero and punching bag.

"You aren't alone. You have acquired an impressive array of guardians."

"What guardians?" I wasn't acquiring anything of the sort. Even if I did, I hadn't tried to acquire them and I didn't know how to use them.

"There is the indestructible dinosaur in the yard. The forest is very attached to you. Landa and Mander are no small force. You recruited a flock of gargoyles. That doesn't factor in your mother and father or me. I'm sure there are others."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of it that way." When he put it like that, it started to sound like an army. But why would I need that many protectors, or an army?

"Learn from the old man, look around and see what you have."
 

I gazed into his lovely eyes, and nodded in agreement. His hands framed my face and he pulled me in for a leg melting kiss.
 

"Good night, Michelle. Thank you for spending time with me tonight. If you need me I am but a shout away." He was back in his room before I could say anything. In a daze I walked to my room.
 

*******

It didn't talk long for the daze to pass. The magical evening couldn't stand up to my guilt. Amber was out there.
 

Checking my phone, I found a message from Tiffany. No news.
 

I dug around on my night stand. I had one last trick, but first I had to find the paper. After looking in the drawer, on top, under the loose change, and behind the clock I was stumped. It had to be here. Kneeling down, I checked behind the table legs. Nothing. I took a step back. Where else could it be. I'd moved everything…but the lamp. I picked up the lamp and there it was, hiding under the base, the tiny piece of paper with ten numbers scrawled across it.
 

Before I could second guess myself, I dialed the number, wishing Baden had given me more information. The phone rang and I crossed my fingers. This was my last hope.
 

"Hello?" A deep voice, with an Irish accent came across the line.
 

"Hi, this is Michelle Oaks. I'm a witch, and a friend of mine told me you might know something that could help me recover my friend who's been abducted."
 

His voice warmed, "I know who you are. This is Liam. Who gave you this number? It isn't the one I left with you."

On the bright side, Liam had expressed his willingness to help me in the past. On the other hand, he had been at the lodge this morning. "Baden, the weretiger who lives here, gave me this number when I asked him if he knew why Adder had taken Amber."

"Who's Amber?"

"Amber's one of my best friends. She's a werepeahen, and a few nights ago she was abducted. The shifters she was with at the time blamed it on werewolves, and odds are that means Adder."

"So, that's who he has. I can tell you she's unharmed, and safe for the moment. I can't say how long she'll be safe, as Adder has gone quite mad."

"She's safe? Thank the earth." I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. The rest of what Liam said sank in. "Mad?" That was bad. Amber wasn't powerful, or a fighter. She wouldn't be able to defend herself against an angry werewolf.
 

"Yes, he murdered his father, and I think he's working for someone. Adder couldn't have killed Simon without help, magical help. He wasn't a good enough fighter, and he was terrible with pack magic. When Simon died there were signs that magic had been used."

If Adder had killed Simon, there was no one standing between him and the rest of the world. Amber was being held by a man feared by strong and tough shifters. A mad wolf was scary. A mad wolf with magic was terrifying. "What kind of magic?"

"I don't know. It wasn't pack magic, and it didn't feel like any magic I've felt a witch perform."

Werewolves weren't sensitive to magic. They had to be near it to feel it. "You were there? How did Simon die?"
 

"I had a meeting scheduled with him. I walked into his office and found his body. There was a single stab wound to the chest. Without magic, it shouldn't have been a fatal wound. There was an odd energy around the body, magic, but not a type I've seen before. The body was still warm and stunk of Adder. I left because there was nothing I could do for him. I would've reported his death to the police, but Adder couldn't find out I was meeting with his father."

"Why not? Wolves meet. There's nothing wrong with that."

"There is when Simon was planning on stepping down and handing the pack to me. He was tired of being the alpha. We agreed to do a ritual fight, in which he would surrender. He thought Adder would challenge me and I'd deal with him. I came here at Simon's invitation because the alpha of my last pack was happy in his role, and I had no desire to challenge my father."

"From what I've heard Adder isn't a popular man."

"I know, and I've petitioned the council to let me take over a hostile pack, but until they agree, there's nothing I can do without risking their wrath. My life isn't worth that. I want to help but I'm not willing to die to help a bunch of wolves that can't help themselves."

"Fair enough. Do you know where Adder is keeping Amber? I need to get her back."

"That I can help you with. He's in a big house off of Clear Creek Road. If you go down by the cemetery near the Baptist Church, you'll see a rustic house with well-maintained pastures. That's where he's living. She's in a bedroom off the living room."

"How do you know that?"

"I have allies in the pack. They want her in a safe location as much as you do, though they can't do anything without risking their lives." Liam paused. "Michelle, you're a good lass. Adder would enjoy hurting you. He's not right in the head. If you tell me when you're going after her I might be able to protect you. I'm not at the lodge right now, but I'll be back later."

"Thank you for helping me, for telling me she's safe, but it isn't your job to keep me safe. I'll keep in touch."

Liam sighed, as if he could tell that I'd lied. "Be careful. There is more than a rogue werewolf at work; Adder had help killing Simon."
 

I thanked him again and got off the phone. His last words kept playing over in my head. Adder had help. That had to be the evil in Ellijay. A crazy werewolf was bad, a crazy werewolf with a powerful and evil supporter was a new level of scary.

*******

Seconds after I hung up the phone, someone knocked on the door.
 

"Just a minute," I hollered.
 

I opened the door to find Tiffany, with a stun gun in her hand.
 

"May I come in?"

"It depends. Are you going to use that on me?" Friends don't electrocute friends.
 

"I wasn't planning on it."

I stepped out of her way, and closed the door behind her.
 

"Sit," I pointed at the dining room table. She sat, stun gun resting on the table. "What are you doing here, late at night, armed with that?" That was as polite as I was going to get under the circumstances.
 

She tapped a foot on the ground, eyes locked on the table. "You said you'd take matters into your own hands in twenty-four hours. It's been thirty. I've been worried sick, checking in with the police, doing anything I can to find her. You've done one silly spell. When are you going to do something?"

"That's what this is about?" I demanded.

Tiffany looked at me and nodded.
 

"Let's get something straight, I've been working my butt off since she was taken."

"That's a lie."

"What did you say?"

She leaned on the table. "I said that's a lie."

"What makes you say that?" I knew what she was going to say, but I wanted to hear it.

"You went on a date."

I nodded. "Yes, I did. I went on one bloody date, because he asked me. And you know what? I liked it. It was nice. He was nice. And unlike the last guy I went on a date with, Elron doesn't have a reason to spell me or recruit me. I felt guilty too; guilty because I was safe and having fun. If you'd been nice, we wouldn't be wasting time with this conversation, and I'd be telling you what I found out about Amber."

Tiffany had the grace to look ashamed. Then she opened her mouth and that grace went out the window. "What about Amber?"

Nope, not ashamed at all. I resisted the urge to jump over the table and strangle her. Ignoring her question, I continued, "Since you interrupted my sleep two days ago I've battled a dinosaur, family issues, death threats, examined the bodies of children, looked at a badly decomposed body, negotiated with gargoyles, and had a date. I'm grateful that you kept up with the police investigation, because I couldn't. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, and that you felt alone. I'm sorry you think I don't care about Amber. Trust me, I care. Are we good?"