Lucas slows to a stop, and I look up. We’re at the house—our house—and there’s no warding here. Lucas jumps onto the front porch. I push out of his arms and go down the steps, holding out my hands.
“Elementals vocationem ore exíbit gládis acútus: hanc domun praesidio! Custodrie moneia malo!” I spread my hands apart, setting a line of magic around the house. The wendigo barrels out of the woods, sprinting right at us. Lucas leaps in front of me, putting himself in the line of fire.
The wendigo runs into the warding and bounces off, roaring in frustration. It leans in, coming as close as it can to the warding without getting zapped.
“I thought wendigos were extinct.” Lucas takes a step back, reaching behind for my hand.
“Apparently not. I’ve never seen one in person before. But that…that’s not what they’re supposed to look like.”
“How do we kill it?”
“Cut out its heart with a silver knife and bury it in a hex box in holy ground, like a graveyard or church lawn.”
“Does it have to be silver? I can’t rip it out?”
I make a face. “We could try…but I don’t know how we’re going to get close to that thing. Wendigos are perfect hunters.”
“So are vampires.”
I look from Lucas to the wendigo and pray my warding will hold. The thing has to be nearly seven feet tall with razor sharp teeth and huge claws.
“They’re not just fast and strong,” I start. “They have some powers.”
The wendigo charges again, and I throw up my hands, muttering the incantation over again. “Elementals vocationem ore exíbit gládis acútus: hanc domun praesidio! Custodrie moneia malo!” A shockwave of magic erupts from the circle I cast, knocking the wendigo to the ground. Pissed off, it gets up and looks like it’s going to run at us again, but it turns and takes off into the woods.
Lucas rushes to the edge of the circle, inhaling deep. “I smell blood. Human blood.”
“Shit.” I go to the edge of the circle with him, shaking my head. “We have to go out there and help them.”
“No, we don’t.” He grabs my shoulders, spinning me around and looking at me. “That thing is dangerous, Callie.”
“I know, and we barely got away…humans…humans won’t stand a chance. And who’s to say that human you’re smelling isn’t a witch from my coven trying to get through the door. The crack is there because that demon was trying to get to me and only me. I know it’s not directly my fault, but you can’t blame me for feeling a little bit of responsibility for this.”
Lucas’s fingers press into my shoulders and his brow furrows. “Once this is over, I’m taking you on that vacation. Somewhere far away from Ley lines and demons.”
“We can go away from Ley lines, but I think demons might follow me around.”
“I’ll handle the demons then while you relax.”
“This is a plan I can get behind.” I smile as I inhale, turning and looking at the woods. “Can you follow the scent of blood?”
“Yes, they’re not far.”
“Let’s go.”
Lucas takes a step and then hesitates. “Can we walk through it?”
I nod. “It keeps evil away. We’re not evil so it won’t work against us.”
“Smart.”
“Thanks.” We step through the circle, and Lucas takes a breath, smelling the blood trail. Fangs drawn, he leads the way. I conjure strings of magic, weaving them between my fingers. A blood-curdling scream comes from only a few yards ahead, followed by several gunshots.
“Witches don’t use guns.” I hold up my hands, eyes going wide. “Those are normal humans out there. They don’t stand a chance.”
Two more gunshots ring out, and then the forest goes silent. Lucas stops, turning around to look at me. “You don’t need to see this, Callie,” he says gently. “If they’re dead, I’ll take care of it.”
I nod, feeling the Ley line send out another wave of energy. Holding up my hand so I can see what’s in front of me, I let Lucas move a few paces ahead as we approach the site of the humans.
Then something snaps behind us, and a person jumps out of the shadows, crossbow raised and aimed at Lucas.
“No!” I shout, but I’m too late. The person fires the crossbow, sending a silver-tipped wooden stake flying right at Lucas’s chest.
Lucas whirls around, moving so fast he’s just a blur, and catches the stake. The person holding the crossbow stumbles back, shaken that Lucas so easily caught the arrow. Lucas, looking bored, snaps the wooden arrow in half and drops it on the ground. Snarling, he lurches forward, and the person with the crossbow turns to run away but trips and falls. Lucas grabs him by the throat, lifting him into the air, flashing his fangs and looking just at terrifying as the wendigo.
Three more humans move in, two with guns and another with a crossbow.
“Let him go,” one of them orders, and his voice is vaguely familiar. “This gun is loaded with silver bullets with a wooden core. Unless you want to be nothing but goo on the forest floor, you let him go right now, you son of a bitch.”
I jump forward, putting my back to Lucas’s and holding up my hands. “Stop,” I say, heart racing. “Put your guns down or I eviscerate you where you stand.”
“Nice try, princess,” one of the hunters sneers. He’s the one with the crossbow, wearing dirty jeans and muddy boots. I know what he sees when he looks at me. A pretty girl with big tits, out of place in the forest.
He sees me as weak.
And I won’t have it.
“Move away and let the boys handle this.”
I cock an eyebrow and flick my wrist, shoving the end of the crossbow into the man’s face. He staggers back, and the other two move in, pointing their guns at me.
“Anyone else want to try me?” I splay my fingers, sending sparks of magic into the air.
“She’s a witch,” the guy Lucas is holding chokes out.
“She is,” Lucas grows, turning around and tossing the guy at the other hunters’ feet. “And I’m with her.” He steps next to me and flashes his fangs again.
One of the hunters lowers his gun. “Callie?”
I hold my hands up higher, not letting my guard down. Squinting my eyes to see past the bright magic I’m holding, I see his face. And now I know why his voice was so familiar.
“Easton?” I wrinkle my nose. It’s been nearly ten years since I’ve seen him.
“Stand down,” he tells the others. “I know this witch.” He takes a step forward, and Lucas growls. “Mind getting your attack dog under control?” he asks, flicking his eyes from me to Lucas.
“Depends.” I release the magic but keep it floating in front of us. “Are you going to try and kill me again?”
“That was a long time ago.”
The hunter I hit in the face with the crossbow wipes up the blood that’s streaming down his face. “What the fuck is going on?”
“That’s a good question,” Lucas echoes. “And whoever you left bleeding over there is fair game for the demons that lurk in these woods.”
“He’s right.” I swallow hard, looking past Easton and his band of witch hunters. A girl lies on the ground, holding pressure to a wound on her thigh. “Is that Melinda?”
“Yes,” Easton says, voice faltering. Melinda is his sister and was more or less my friend the summer we met.
“Is she okay?”
“If we can get her out of here in time, yes.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, looking at Lucas. Before I can explain anything or make any sort of decision, someone calls out for help deep inside the forest. The voice is high-pitched, sounding like a child. It echoes all around us, making it impossible to know where the voice is coming from.
“The wendigo,” Easton and I say at the same time.
“Do you have a silver knife?” I ask Easton.
“Of course.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls one out, handing it to me. I give it to Lucas, knowing he has the best chance of all of
us to cut out the thing’s heart. “The wendigo is high on demonic energy, making it ten times harder to kill. We need to get you out of here now.”
“Out of here?” Crossbow Hunter echoes. “We’ve been tracking this thing for weeks.”
“Give me a few hours, and I’ll handle it,” I say. “Leave it to the girls, I guess, and we’ll get shit done.” I flick my gaze to Easton. “Get Melinda and follow us.”