Page 4 of Son of a Witch

“I never got to thank you for what you did for me,” she said, and that had me stop but not turn around.

Stare at the broken walls. Avoid the mutilated bodies.

“What the fuck are you on about?” I didn’t have time for games and swung around to face her. Who the hell was she? Someone from the Sorcerers, obviously, but I didn’t recognize her. Maybe we’d met at the Shadows or something. The old memory was fuzzy right now. Stress and all that shit.

“The name’s Cheyanne.” My body tingled at her pronunciation of Chey-Anne.

I searched my memory banks. Still nothing. I blinked with impatience, telling her to get on with it.

“You might know me as Hunter.” She smiled, winked, and held up a clawed hand.

Hunter?Nope. I rubbed at my goosebumped arms.

“Don’t know anyone by that name.” I let my impatience show. Two more seconds and I was out of here.

“Not someone. Something.” She pressed the stone to her hip and leaned on her left leg. “Luna’s cat.”

I scratched my head. Back at Nightfire Academy, Luna had found a cat on the grounds and adopted it. A strange, mottled thing with black, white and ginger fur. Cute. Vocal. Smart little thing led us to find the snakes inside the campus that were eating away at the sigils, which allowed Camus, leader of the Serpents, to get inside.

Shit. After Luna was kicked out of the Academy, I’d promised to look after Hunter until I was arrested and transported here. “Sorry I wasn’t able to look after you.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Seriously? A cat? What for? To spy? This woman was fucking with me, and I didn’t appreciate it.

I was itching more than ever to get back to my men. “Unless you can get me and my men out of here, leave me alone.”

Rude. Screw it. I didn’t trust a goddamn person in this place. She clearly wanted something, and I wasn’t about to give it to her and stalked off.

She jogged after me and stopped my progress at the next door to the hall down to the infirmary.

“I was cursed. Trapped in my feline fur.” To demonstrate, she shifted into the same damn cat, purred, and rubbed up against my legs. The stone in her hand thudded on the floor.

Nothing freaking surprised me anymore, and I picked her up, cradling her, stroking her. “I’ll be damned.”

I’d missed this little feline furball. Right now, I needed the world’s best cuddle.

Hunter … Cheyanne … purred and nuzzled me for a moment, licked my hand, then wriggled to get out of my arms. I let her, and she leapt to the ground, changing back into a human. She snatched up the stone and clutched it to her stomach. Sorcerers apparently could shape-shift without ditching their clothes. Not that I was complaining. I’d much rather see Raze naked than her.

I studied her for a moment, touching my wild, messed up hair in need of a color touch up. The wild, bright pink hair that screamed rebel. Reminded me of myself until I ran out of hair dye. She didn’t wear the cloak like the other Sorcerers. Preferred to conduct her own investigation rather than hang with her huddle of collogues. Independent. Loner. Killer style in clothes. I liked her.

“Thanks for the sardines and the bed.” She held out her hand. “Better than eating bugs for months.” Gross. She stuck out her tongue and I chuckled. “I’ll never forget the kindness from you and Luna.”

I held both palms up. Germs. Germaphobe. Especially after the bug comment. Kind of moot since I’d held and nuzzled the cat, dirt and all. Old habits died hard. “Sorry, don’t do handshakes. But any time.”

“Listen.” She jerked her head up. “You ever need anything.” She fished a card from her pocket and handed it to me. “You call me.”

I huffed at her. “Can you get me out of here?” Unless she could, I didn’t want to waste my time.

“Angelic runes.” She held up the chunk of rock she couldn’t part with. “Not even Sorcerer magick can get past that. The only way to get you out would be to sneak you out before the magick is repaired.” She glanced over at the sentries who wouldn’t hesitate to blast us with their weapons and kill us. “Sorry, but I’m not going to risk that for a favor. Anything else but that.”

Fuck. Conditions. That’d be right. I didn’t hold my breath for a miracle. Freedom for my men and me was the only thing I wanted.

“I mean it.” She pushed the card into my hand, and I crushed it, thinking of the germs. “I owe you one, and I always pay my debts.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I humored her but didn’t trust her. No one in this place had our backs besides the warden, and in the end, he shit on Raze. All of it left me a bit jaded and suspicious.

I stuffed her card into my pocket. “You guys here to repair the place?”

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