Destiny Bewitched (7 page)

A small smile formed on
her lips. Last night Geo had called her a darling. Under no
circumstances was darling an appropriate term to describe her but
it warmed her to her toes that he would say so, even if he was just
trying to be nice. When was the last time anyone had said something
nice about her? She couldn’t remember. Her brothers called her a
fuck-up. Other girls whispered “bitch” behind her back. She figured
she was just misunderstood, but no one seemed to care.

But being with Geo was
so easy. She was used to her father’s rages when he was drunk or
when he’d lost a bet. Yesterday they’d been eaten by a giant worm
because of her and he hadn’t even raised his voice. What would it
be like to have the unconditional love of a man like that?

She shook her head and
scolded herself.
Focus!
Her sister had been dragged away to some
hideous supernatural version of Fight Club and she was daydreaming
about the love of a demon. Someone ought to smack her.

“Ow!” She rubbed her
forehead where she’d just bumped it on a low hanging tree root.
“Stupid karma.”

Wait. Tree root?

“Aha!” Geo said,
stopping to stare ahead of them. “Smell that?”

She inhaled a deep
breath then sneezed. “Dust and death?”

“No.” He turned around
with a wide smile. “Fresh air. We’re almost out.”

Oh, thank the gods!
She rushed
ahead, grabbed the torch from his hand and pushed by him. “I am
so
done with
this place.”

He laughed and followed
closely behind. Another fifteen minutes and she smelled it too.
Stale, muggy Underworld air. But fuck it all to hell, she’d take it
over that damn tunnel any day.

Light poured through a
gap between some boulders up ahead.
Ah, blessed light!

She handed the torch to
Geo, who stomped it out on the ground. The tunnel opened to a wide
cavern like the one they’d spent the night in, only the ceiling was
at least fifty feet high. A tall pile of boulders and smaller rocks
made a steep incline that led straight to the gap and outside.

She moved toward it but
Geo snagged her arm and spun her around to face him.

“You didn’t scan,” he
scolded softly then pointed to the ceiling.

She followed his gaze
and squinted at the high cavern roof. It was darker in color than
the rest of the tunnel but –

Wait. It was moving.
Slow, subtle ripples spread across the surface.

“What –”

“Vampire bats.”

Oh yes. Now she saw
them – little black rodents packed tightly and hanging upside down
on the ceiling. She shuddered.
Fucking hate this place
.

“If we’re quiet we
–”

“Shouldn’t bother
them?” She rolled her eyes. “Right. Cause that worked out so well
last time.”

He arched a brow. “And
whose fault was that?” When she didn’t answer, he continued.
“Anyway, let’s just get the hell out of here as quickly and quietly
as we can.”

“Agreed.”

Samantha went first,
making her way up the incline, using her hands at the steepest
parts. Geo followed behind, giving her a push here and there. A few
small rocks were kicked loose and fell down the hill, pinging and
clinking as they went. Geo and Sam froze, waiting to see if it
disturbed the bats. Other than a few twitches, they slept
soundly.

They’d made it just
twenty or so feet from the top without incident.

Then Geo grunted and
Sam turned around just in time to see a large boulder shift under
his foot. He jumped to the next one before falling, but the boulder
rolled…and rolled…and rolled. Geo cringed as it fell down, rumbling
and banging as it went.

“Good one, clumsy,” she
hissed when it finally landed at the bottom.

They waited. Two
seconds later the flapping began. High-pitched screeches so loud
she clapped her hands over her ears, filled the cave. The ceiling
seemed to drop as thousands of bats took flight and whirled around
the cavern.

“Go!” Geo yelled and
shoved her forward.

She scrambled up the
last of the rocks as fast as she could. A breeze whooshed by her
head and she bit back a scream realizing it was the bat’s wings.
She stumbled and fell a few times but kept going despite the
pain.

Just a little
further.

Geo jumped ahead,
grabbed her hand and dragged her to the opening. When they reached
it, he shoved her through then followed just behind. They ran
through the wooded terrain, dodging tree trunks as big as houses,
until the tunnel was out of sight.

When they stopped, Sam
bent over to catch her breath. Geo walked a circle around them,
scanning the trees. She didn’t care where they were, or if they
were in more danger than before, she was just happy to be out of
the tunnel of doom. If she died right here, right now, she’d go
with a smile on her face.

Geo stalked toward her,
his face crinkled with worry. “Are you alright? Did you get
bitten?” He took her wrist and studied one arm then the other. Then
he picked up her hair and looked over her neck and face.

“No. They didn’t get
me.”

Ignoring her, he lifted
the front of her shirt. “Hey!” She jumped away. “I said they didn’t
bite me.”

He pursed his lips.
“Please check. This is important.”

She didn’t want to know
why so she didn’t ask. Instead she obliged him, lifting her shirt
and looking over her body. “Clear. No bites. You?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t
matter. Won’t affect me.”

She turned a circle.
Tall, straight tree trunks surrounded them. Branches with leaves as
big as her head grew up high like a canopy. It reminded her of
photos she’d seen of Sequoia National Park. Only…bigger. The
Underworld could give Texas a run for its money. Everything was
bigger in Texas? Try everything was bigger – and more badass – in
the Underworld.

“Now what?” she asked
Geo.

“We move. I don’t want
to stay in this forest long. I smell vampires.”

“Are you sure it’s not
the bats?”

He shook his head then
pointed behind her through some thinner trees to a group of small,
but daunting, mountains.

Her shoulders
slumped.

“We’ll travel through
there.”

“I was afraid you’d say
that.”

A soft smile graced his
face as he looked into her eyes. “You amaze me.”

She blinked.
“What?”

“For a human, you’re
pretty tough.”

She’d ignore the “for a
human part” and take it as a compliment. “Thanks. And you’re not so
bad for a demon guide.”

He arched a brow. “Not
a demon.”

Riiiight.

With a nod of his head,
he gestured toward the mountains. “Let’s get moving. I don’t want
to be anywhere near
Rheol Heaern
when the sun sets.”

“
Rheol Heaern
? Where the Dark King
lives?” She’d heard about him. A sorcerer turned vampire banished
from Caerwyn – the sorcerer’s homeland in Wales. In an act of
spite, he took hold of the Underworld and had been waging war on
the sorcerers for the last five centuries. Most say he’d gone mad
with lust for power.

“Not anymore. He was
murdered by his own daughter. A queen now rules the Underworld.
Queen Eirian.”

Why did that sound
familiar?

“She’s half-witch, I
think,” he added.

The vision of a
brunette, hair cut in a bob and the greenest eyes she’d ever seen
popped into her mind. “Sage!”

Geo’s brow furrowed.
“You know her?”

She grunted. “Yes.
Let’s just say there’s no love lost between us.” Samantha hadn’t
treated the confused witch very well when she’d literally fallen
into Sam’s mentor’s house only a few months ago. Sage hadn’t taken
too kindly to a sword pointed at her throat. Some people were so
touchy. Selene, the witch guide, was Sage’s dead mother’s best
friend. After a tearful reunion, the house had been attacked by
werewolves and Sage fled – to become ruler of the Underworld
apparently. How odd. But she doubted Sage would embrace her with
open arms any time soon.

She sighed. “To the
mountains it is.”

“Just an hour or two
more then we’ll rest. Let me carry your bag and sword.”

“No.” Two things she’d
never give up to anybody – not even the demon who’d saved her
life.

“Come on. It’ll be at
least ten pounds off your back.”

“Absolutely not.”

His eyes narrowed and
his voice dropped to a low whisper. “I could make you.”

She arched a brow. “Is
that a threat?”

“Maybe.”

“You won’t. You
promised.”

“So sure of yourself,
little witch.” His expression was fierce yet she got the impression
he was teasing her again.

“Maybe I’m sure of you.
For some insane reason, I trust you. Don’t make me regret it.”

That made him smile.
“Let’s go, stubborn girl. Try to keep up.”

Geo stayed on
hyperalert as they made their way through the forest. It wasn’t as
densely packed as where he lived so it was easier to sense threats
here. And thank the gods they were out of that depressing tunnel.
He had felt death nipping at his heels, waiting for him to give up
or make a mistake.

Samantha had descended
into silence since starting for the mountains – not unusual for
her, he was learning. Even in silence, he liked her company. He
looked back and she lifted her head to give him a small smile. Poor
thing must’ve been exhausted yet she didn’t complain. Wouldn’t give
up that sword either, damn obstinate woman. Though if it were him,
he wouldn’t have either.

Almost an hour later,
they left the forest and crossed a grassy valley at the base of the
mountain. They would travel through the range instead of going
straight up. It would save their energy but still keep them a safe
distance from
Rheol
Heaern
and its guard. At the thought of the vicious army of
werewolves, worry formed a knot in his chest. Samantha proved to be
remarkably strong-willed, resourceful, and quick-witted, but she
was still just a girl, barely in her second decade of life.

Geo was thousands of
years old – from a place before time existed – and even he wouldn’t
brave a rescue mission into the heart of the Underworld Games. Not
without proper motivation. He admired Samantha’s loyalty, but that
wouldn’t keep her alive. If her sister was in the Underworld, the
chances she wasn’t already dead were slim.

He fell back to
question Sam. Maybe he could convince her to go home. “How do you
know your sister is here?”

“None of your
business,” was the quick reply.

He sighed. “So many
secrets.” He was getting tired of it. “I was swallowed whole by a
death worm because of you. Now I don’t mind dragging your cute
behind halfway across the Underworld to find someone I’ve never met
so long as you fulfill your end of the bargain, but you’re going to
start answering a few questions. Now.” He’d never been so firm with
her.
I wonder how
she’ll take it.

She looked at him for a
long moment then nodded. “Alright.”

His brows shot up in
surprise. Apparently demanding answers was the only way to get them
with her. He’d have to remember that.

“My dad was in debt to
the overseer of the Games. After a few escalating threats he still
didn’t pay up. And then Nikki disappeared. I put two and two
together.”

What kind of father put
his family in danger? And why wasn’t he here in the Underworld
instead of his daughter? A child was a sacred gift to be protected
and treasured, not exposed to harm for a selfish addiction. “Do you
have proof?”

“I don’t need proof.”
She fingered the feather hanging from her neck. “I can feel her.
I’m in the right realm at least.”

“Does that have
something to do with your necklaces?”

She shot him a
surprised look. “Um. Yes. The feather is a signet. I used it to
bind us a few years ago after she got lost in the woods behind the
trailer park. Like a sixth sense, I can feel when I’m near her. Or
when she’s in trouble.”

“And what do you plan
to do after you rescue her?” That was assuming a small mortal witch
could walk into the most vicious place in the Underworld and come
out alive with what the overseer considered his property.

“When we get out of
here, I’ll keep working on my five-year plan.” Seeming to talk to
herself, she muttered, “Then my ten-year plan. And only then will I
know I’ll never end up like them.”

“What’s your five-year
plan?” The blink of an eye in his world.

“Can’t see how it would
matter to you. It doesn’t include the Underworld, that’s for
sure.”

He’d let that one go
for now. She absently chewed a nail and that adorable spot between
her brows crinkled.

“How do you plan to
support your sister?” He pictured their life Topside. Two young
women, alone. He didn’t like it.

She raised her chin.
“I’m a witch for hire.”

“A merc?”

She shrugged.
“Something like that.”

“And you make money
doing this? I thought your powers were unpredictable.”

Her confidence seemed
to falter. “I take the jobs no one else will. And I’m not
unpredictable at everything. I rock at potions and can do basic
spells.” She stared at the ground and mumbled, “I’m just shit at
everything else.”

“What do you mean ‘the
jobs no one else will’? Are they dangerous?” Though it was none of
his business what she did Topside, for some reason, it was critical
she answered no.

“Not necessarily.
Mostly they’re just illegal.”

He opened his mouth to
further question her but he didn’t like how her face fell and her
eyes glossed over in sadness. He preferred the fire that matched
her hair. With a devilish grin he goaded her. “So what you’re
saying is, you have no principles.”