Page 16 of Witch's Exile
7
DEJA
My heart squeezed painfully in my chest as the two of them began shoving clothes and belongings into duffel bags. This wasn't right. If we had to run from hunters, we should all be together.
"What about Raum?" I asked.
"I'll fill him in. He can meet us there," Ash said hurriedly as he bounded downstairs to the kitchen.
Sal paused his frantic packing and gave me a strange look.
"Raum still hasn't talked to you?"
I shook my head slowly and he frowned.
"Why, did he talk to you?" I demanded.
Sal sighed. "That fucking guy." He leaned down to give me a kiss and a gentle smack on the side of my ass. "Come on, beautiful."
I slid off the bed and quickly pulled on a fresh pair of leggings and a T-shirt. "Sal, what did he say?"
"It's like I said, babe." Sal watched me shove dirty and clean clothes into my duffel. "He misses the hell out of you, he's just proud and stubborn as fuck."
"Well that doesn't help us at all," I muttered, zipping the bag aggressively and swinging it over my shoulder. "We need to be a united front against the hunters."
"I agree." Sal took my bag from me and gestured for me to go down the stairs ahead of him. "Tell that to the guy with the ego big enough for all four of us."
With Sal following closely behind, I went down the stairs and looked out the massive windows at the forest surrounding us. I just started getting used to this place. It started feeling like home, although that was anywhere I had my family with me.
I pressed a hand to my belly with a small smile. I discovered my daughter here. This place held the memory of my greatest joy in this lifetime, not just nightmares and exhaustion. I had to focus on her. The magic of earth and life would keep me going.
Sal hugged me from behind, his hands covering mine as he gently pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and accepted a silent kiss from him, no words needed. My fiery demon was also the calm in my chaos. I had to remember to lean on him when I couldn't stand on my own.
Ash came up to us and cupped my face, paying no mind to Sal's arms around me.
"Want to help me ward this place, love?" His icy eyes were mischievous as his thumbs stroked my cheekbones affectionately. "Let's send those hunters chasing their tails a bit."
I grinned. "Definitely."
He returned my grin and dropped a quick kiss to my lips before gently pulling me out of Sal's embrace. We walked hand in hand to the backyard where the earth greeted me with the hum of its power.
"The place we're going to will have earth magic just as strong as this, if not stronger," Ash assured me.
"And where might that be?" I followed him through the dense trees, realizing we were near the spot we originally searched through my shadows yesterday.
"A little place in Hell's Canyon." He smirked at my confused expression. "It's in Oregon, one of the most remote wildlife areas in the United States. The hunters will have a hell of a time finding us there."
"So we're gonna be roughing it for a while?" Despite my earth magic, I had still been quite the city girl all my life. Being pregnant in the remote wilderness made me a little apprehensive.
"We'll have a house like this one," he said, squeezing my hands reassuringly. "And a vehicle so we can drive into the nearest town for supplies. To any humans, we'll just look like a group of friends on vacation."
"Yeah,friends," I snickered. "Alright, so what are we doing to this place?"
"Casting a large-scale glamour spell, essentially. But with shadows."
"Of course," I muttered. "Even glamour would have a shadow side."
"Everything has a shadow side, love."
