Page 67 of Familiar of the Witch

There was a beat of silence. ‘Sure,’ he said finally. ‘Why not? Though I don’t guarantee you’ll get much sense out of her.’

I didn’t need to understand the hellhound, I just needed her to understand me. I contemplated calling Lucy for help. As a piper she can talk to animals, which would come in handy, but I hesitated. She would do anything for a friend, even if it was to her detriment, but she had visiting werewolves to deal with. No, I couldn’t distract her now when she needed her wits about her. I cared about her too much to derail her career.

Indy would understand me just fine; hellhounds are very smart. ‘Where is Indy?’ I asked Tom.

‘At the castle.’ Caernarfon Castle is the dragons’ stronghold; there is a reason why the dragon appears on the Welsh flag.

‘I’m on my way.’ I hung up and stowed Grimmy back in the safe. When I left the bedroom, Bastion was pacing outside the bedroom door.

‘Hey,’ I greeted him, stepping into his arms. He smelled like sandalwood and something uniquely him. He’d just showered – he’d probably been splattered with Jeb’s blood, too. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

‘Hey, Bambi,’ he murmured. ‘I’m sorry I killed him. I know you wanted to question him, but I couldn’t risk you.’ He was braced for a fight.

I sighed and rested my head against his chest. ‘I know. Jeb did it on purpose – he didn’t want to be captured, to be a liability to his foul Coven. I don’t think it was fanatical loyalty that made him do it but fear of the evil witches and what they’d do to him.’

‘Maybe. All the same, I’m sorry. I know you liked him.’

‘It looks like I didn’t even know him. The Jeb IthoughtI knew was a fabrication – something to make me fall in love with,’ I said bitterly.

‘Unsuccessfully,’ Bastion interjected.

‘Very unsuccessfully,’ I agreed. ‘No man has turned my head in years until you.’ I kissed him lightly. ‘So, we need to go to Caernarfon Castle.’

He blinked at the change of subject. ‘Why?’

‘I need to see a man about a dog.’

Chapter 55

In the end we flew Griffin Air despite Oscar and Benji’s protests. We left them to debrief Ethan and disseminate news of Jeb’s betrayal. It was nice to be alone with Bastion again, to have nothing around us but air and sun. It felt entirely too long since we’d had time to ourselves but this would have to do. When all this was over, I was renting us a cabin on a beach and we were going to drink cocktails and re-enact as many of the drinks as possible. An Orgasm followed by a Wallbanger sounded fun. A girl can dream.

The air was cool and I was feeling relaxed when we finally landed. We were met by a host of solemn brethren guards, all dressed in black, who escorted us into a small side office. Indy was in her Great Dane form; she was curled into a surprisingly small ball, blue-grey fur giving her an other-worldly feel even in her incognito mode.

She stretched as soon as we walked in and bounded to greet us. Her tail caught a mug on the desk and sent it flying. It broke on the hard wooden floor. The man behind the desk sighed. ‘Another one bites the dust.’

Tom Smith is a fellow ginger but, unlike me, he is all hard muscle. His bulk has extra bulk – he is a tank of a man. Despite having very limited magic, I had no doubt he’d be one of the deadliest men in a room at any given time. Except when Bastion was there, of course.

I wondered if Tom was one of those griffins who were hidden as brethren then dismissed the thought. Emory had told me once that Tom Smith’s family line had been a gift to him from his adoptive parents, Audrey and Cuthbert. And dragons can’t lie.

Tom stood and offered his hand to Bastion, a rare gesture. Bastion took it and pulled him in for one of those manly hugs. They clapped each other on the shoulders and then drew back. ‘Bastion,’ Tom greeted him, laying a bit too much emphasis on his name.

A ghost of a smile touched Bastion’s lips. I looked between them. ‘What am I missing?’

‘Tom used to know me by another name. He’s still sulking about it.’

Tom glared. ‘I do notsulk.’

‘Could have fooled me,’ Bastion said mildly, but then he spoiled it by shooting Tom a grin. ‘How’s things?’

Tom pinched his nose. ‘Emory is never allowed to go on holiday ever again.’

‘Are the dragon Council members not pulling their weight?’ I asked as I stroked Indy’s slightly bitey head. I fixed her with my best glare and she subsided, coming close so I could stroke her on a less toothy part of her body.

‘The Council members are too busy playing games amongst themselves. Their political manoeuvring makes chess look easy,’ Tom complained. ‘And quite a few of the dark seraph are missing.’

There was genuine anxiety in his voice, which is why I decided to take pity on him. ‘Reynard and a select few went to guard Emory and Jinx.’

Tom’s jaw worked. ‘So I’ve been wasting valuable resources trying to find four dark seraph that are actually dicking about in Thailand?’

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