Page 38 of Rise of the Witch
He closed his eyes and shuddered at the memory, no doubt helped by my wandering hand finding his already hardening dick. “It was…” he licked his lips and tilted his head at me, eyes already hooded with desire. “It was enough to make a man go straight.” Snorting at his own joke, he batted my hand away and readjusted himself before returning his focus to disassembling Nox’s gun.
Fuck, I’ve missed playful Ace.
Realizing I needed to stop before I got myself too worked up, I dutifully changed the subject. “So, when do you think either one of these moody Russians will explain more to us about this deathless guy?”
Ace didn’t reply; all playfulness erased from his expression as he scrutinized the object in his hand. “Nox?” he called out, the warning note in his question causing me to immediately snap to attention. “What is this?”
Nox turned to face us, the color draining from his face as he saw what Ace was holding. “What the fuck are you doing with my gun?” he rasped, although it wasn’t anger in his expression.
He’s afraid...
“I am cleaning our guns, as I often do,” Ace’s tone had turned icier still, and I saw he was holding a very odd-looking bullet. “Why exactly are your bullets different from ours?” Vasi had also brought her attention to the conversation, gaze shifting between the two men, face scrunched in confusion.
Ace stood up, blue eyes flashing as he zeroed in on Nox. “We’re a fuckingteam,remember,” he growled, throwing the other man’s own admonishment back in his face. “Do you have something you would like to share with theteam?”
Nox grimly looked at Vasi as if he were about to ask her to leave us, but I interrupted, “No, Nox. She’s part of this team now. Whatever you have to tell us, Vasi hears it too.” I rose to stand next to Ace, arms crossed over my chest in solidarity.
Refusing to make eye contact with anyone, Nox rubbed the back of his neck as he finally answered. “It’s a new kind of bullet the Facility is testing. My father gave me a mag before we left. He said he wanted to know how they worked on…” he trailed off, gaze guiltily drifting in Vasi’s direction again.
She was backing away from him, hands raised defensively in front of her, eyes darting around the hut like a cornered animal looking for an escape. Nox stupidly took a step toward her, causing her to gasp and vanish—the only indication of her trajectory being the now-open window swinging in the evening breeze.
“Shit,” Nox hissed, ripping open the front door and storming outside, shouting over his shoulder. “I’ll get her back, guys!”
Ace let out an inhuman growl and made to follow them, but I held him back. “No,Gueneshem,”I gripped his face between my hands, forcing him to look at me and snap out of his primal state. “This is between the two of them. I don’t think Nox will hurt her, but if only one of them comes back, I bet money it’ll be our witch.”
Chapter 31
Vasilisa
The rain that had been so scarce all Spring was now coming down in sheets, causing my bare feet to slip on the slimy leaf litter as I fled, the only light the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the dark forest. I was already deep into the tree line by the time I heard my cabin door slam, but somehow Nox knew exactly which direction I’d gone.
It seems the same connection I feel with them goes both ways...
“VASI!God-fucking-dammit,wait!” his booming voice echoed off the trees, magnified by the eerie silence between the claps of thunder.
Trusting in my knowledge of the terrain, I increased my pace, running blindly in the direction of the nearest sacred grove. I needed to tap into the power of Mother Mokosh to arm myself against my pursuers—the man currently chasing me and the otherworldly beings closing in.
I cursed myself for allowing these men such access to me and my life, for trusting them. In the end, they were nothing but a pack of humans, and that was where their loyalties would always lie. My intuition had flared up when Asa told me Nox’s father worked for the Facility, but I allowed him to talk me down. What I should have done was immediately question Nox when we returned to the hut, regardless of whether or not I had to slice theRusskito ribbons to make him talk.
But that was when I found Misha…
Tears started to stream down my face, mixing with the pouring rain as I openly sobbed. I did this. I must have brought Koschei’s attention to my forest, to the precious creatures who lived here, who relied on me to protect them. A dark and ancient evil was awakened, all because three men unlocked something in me I hadn’t felt in centuries, something that only brought me pain the last time I experienced it. I should have left such human nonsense alone. No good ever came from humoring such dangerous emotions.
Despite the conditions and my speed, Nox was still managing to closely follow my trail, which meant I was leading him straight to the grove. For a moment, I debated just running until dawn, until I couldn’t run any longer—until I collapsed from exhaustion and joined the other Yagas in the Nav where I belonged. Anything to keep this horrible man from catching up with me.
Let him find you.
My intuition spoke so suddenly, I stumbled and almost lost my footing. The sacred grove was just over the next hill, so I gritted my teeth and swerved toward it, praying to any deity who would listen that I was making the right decision.
Although the rain had lessened slightly, my toes squelched as I respectfully walked onto the lush grass of the grove. A flash of lightning illuminated the clearing, and I forced my breaths and steps to remain slow and even as I approached the towering oak at its center. Wiping damp strands of hair from my eyes, I carefully knelt before the altar, placing my shaking hands on the ancient stone surface, fingers tracing the familiar grooves I knew like the back of my hand.
And then I waited.
Without needing to hear or see him, IfeltNox enter the grove—that invisible tether between us pulling so gently I almost started crying again.
No matter what happens, I won’t cry.
He stopped directly behind me, his massive frame blocking the worst of the punishing storm, but I didn’t acknowledge him. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat as if to speak.
