Page 46 of Destiny of the Witch

I despise waste, but I couldn’t possibly take all of the potion bomb I’d made with me. I decanted two dozen vials and put a dozen of them in my left pocket and a dozen of them in my right pocket. Then, with significant regret, I added arrowroot into the remaining potion to nullify it. What a damned shame.

Beatrice had told me she wouldn’t give me much time, and Bastion was on his way, so I needed to act now. At the thought of Bastion, I reached inwards but he still wasn’t there. As I looked, I suddenly saw that something elsewas.The ward runes may have been enough to disrupt one of my familiar bonds – but not enough to disrupt two.

My bond with Fehu was faint in comparison to the all-consuming roar of the one with Bastion, but it was there. I gave it a solid tug, and suddenly felt that he was much closer. That comforted me, though I had no ideawhat use the raven would be to me besides being able to lend me some extra strength.

I pulled one of the vials out of my pocket and stepped back. Historically, I had terrible aim. I pulled my magic through the vial to activate it, then hauled my arm back and threw the vial at the base of the wall opposite me. Naturally, I missed and struck the window instead. Glass shattered and sprayed everywhere, and I covered my face as stray shards blew back at me. I felt several stings as some of it cut me, but it couldn’t be helped.

I had created a significant hole in the wall. It was too high for me to jump through easily but I had plenty of firepower. I threw another vial at the wall to make the hole bigger and there was a rumble and another boom as the potion bomb struck the wall. The bricks and masonry dust sprayed outwards this time and my escape attempt was definitely noticed. I heard shouting.

I had been planning on lowering myself so that there wasn’t too much distance to fall. Hopefully I’d land on the cushioning bushes below; at two floors up, I was going to break limbs but I wouldn’t die unless I landed on my head – and I was hoping to avoid that. With the shouting, though, adrenaline surged through me. It was now or never, and there was no time to descend carefully.

I pulled on my bond to Fehu again, took a deep breath andran.I leapt through the hole, arms and legs milling.Don’t hit your head!I screamed to myself as I plummeted towards the ground. The fall was over in seconds – and before I could hit the ground with a crunch of bones, claws grabbed me, digging into my shoulders and lifting me up.

I cried out at the stab of pain and felt Fehu’s distress.Fehu?I looked up to see my rescuer; I had been expecting to see Bastion, but instead I was looking up at a bundle of black feathers. ‘How the heck are you carrying me?’ I shouted at the small avian.

He ignored me and kept on flapping his wings purposefully, lifting us higher into the air. I was being lifted by a raven – a large raven, but even so it should have been physically impossible.

Magic,came the amused thought from the bird.

Well, yes. There was that.

Fehu lifted us higher and I tried not to look down. Now that I was out of the confines of the wards, my bond with Bastion slammed into me. He was almost incandescent with rage – and he was also very, very close.

‘Can you put me down?’ I shouted to Fehu, a shade panicky as my legs flailed reflexively. It felt like one wrong move and I would plummet to my death. I was fine flyingon Bastion, but it was different being carried instead of riding. ‘I really don’t like that there’s nothing between my legs!’ I hollered.

‘I’m always willing to be between your legs,’ Bastion said as he flew up behind me. He nudged his head between my legs, moving carefully until my legs were astride his back.

‘I’ve got her,’ he said to Fehu. ‘You can let her go, raven.’

Fehu gave a triumphantkraaand pulled his claws from my shoulders. I winced with pain and Bastion let out a shriek as he felt it. ‘Let’s get you healed,’ he growled fiercely.

I leaned low on his back and hugged him fiercely, sending him a wave of love, relief and joy. His echoing joy bounced through me, but his anger was still simmering underneath. He would kill anyone who dared harm me.

He wheeled around and headed straight towards a clearing in the forest. The place was a hive of activity, and I gaped as I saw my mum imperiously ordering people about with not a trace of her usual forgetfulness fogging her eyes.

Bastion landed lightly and I scrambled off his back. ‘Shift!’ I demanded.

He shifted and I threw myself into his strong arms, pulling his head down for a fervent kiss. He responded just as passionately, holding me hard against his body. I felthis rush of desire. Luckily his need to see that I was safe dampened his ardour because otherwise I could feel that he’d have taken me there and then.

I pulled back, eyes wide. ‘Not here!’ I said scandalised.

He sent me a predatory grin. ‘Not here,’ he agreed. ‘Soon,’ he promised huskily. He kissed my lips lightly. ‘You left these.’ He passed over my athame and vial of final defence. ‘Don’t lose them again.’

‘No, sir,’ I quipped with a salute. I put the small vial in my left pocket and slid the athame back into my ankle holster.

Bastion tucked some stray hair around my ear. ‘Let’s get you fixed up.’

I kissed him gently one last time. I couldn’t get enough of touching him. ‘Hold that thought.’ I looked behind him to the people in the clearing. One person stood out, of course. ‘Mum?’

She turned and smiled at me, her eyes knowing. She looked at me and sheknewme. ‘Hello, Amber.’

Chapter 40

‘Mum!’ I ran to her. She was having a lucid day, thank the Goddess. She gathered me into her arms and squeezed me. I hissed a little as all my cuts and scrapes made themselves known. ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

‘It calls to me,’ she said faintly. ‘The harkan.’ She looked at me with haunted eyes. ‘I had segregated my mind as much as possible to stop me falling under its thrall, but obviously it didn’t work quite as I intended.’

Lucille was draped around her neck, deathly still. ‘Lucille?’ I asked fearfully. Maybe my potion hadn’t worked after all.

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