Page 74 of Blood of a Huntsman

Mind Tricks

Seth was eating with his least favorite people in the world when he felt it. Her.

He was glad for the distraction.

He tugged on the pull at the edge of his mind, and felt the witch trying to bridge his consciousness startle. He grinned. She hadn't expected a response.

"Who are you?"

She said nothing, hoping he couldn't identify her. Trying to find an out. But she'd started this. He'd finish it.

"You will not return to your body again until I allow it, witch. Who are you? What fool would attempt to control the mind of a nephilim?"

"I'm not trying to control you, all right!"

The moment she spoke, he saw her clearly, as though she were standing right in front of him. The room where he was sitting disappeared, the food he ate became immaterial, irrelevant.

He kept moving, even talking, splitting his mind in two so his actions wouldn't seem suspicious back in Stormhall.

But his attention was on her.

She wasn't what he'd expected. Only the strongest would have dared to enter his defenses, so he imagined an old, arrogant queen of some coven,at the head of a dozen witches. Instead, the intruder was just one girl. Woman. Something between a woman and a girl. She was in her twenties. Pretty. Her hair was ridiculous. To say nothing of her moss-green nails.

He believed her. She hadn't meant to control his mind. She seemed shocked to have managed to reach it at all. For that reason alone, he decided not to fry her brain until she screamed in agony and begged for a quick death.

Well, that and the fact that she was quite pretty. Despite the hair and nails. And the dreadful clothes. He'd always hated plain gear.

His eyes narrowed on the object in her hands. He recognized it.

"Ah. You're a friend of my sister, I see."

"She asked me to connect you, okay? I was just supposed to link your minds so she could speak to you directly."

That made sense.

"Tell Catharina I'll get in touch with her shortly. We have matters to discuss."

He should have let her go after that. He had nothing else to say to the witch. Instead, Seth retained her, keeping her tethered to his mind.

"What is your name?"

"Blair."

That didn't sound right.

“Blair the Witch?” he laughed.

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

“What's your true name, Blair?”

She narrowed her eyes. "Right. Because that's the sort of thing one tells creepy strangers who keep your damn consciousness hostage."

He grinned. She was frightened. Terrified, actually. But she had a backbone nonetheless.

"But you do have one. A name hidden beneath the mortal flesh. A celestial being inside you."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're creepy?"

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