Page 6 of Rise of the Witch
True to form, Taneer was tailing her like a hound sniffing out its next conquest, and Asa was also acting like an idiot by letting his ingrained manners override the protocol heshouldhave been following when faced with a potential threat. Not that I was one to talk, as I was obediently going along with them as well, although that was mostly so I could get a drink of hopefully potable water to clear my foggy head and plan our next move. It certainly had nothing to do with how ridiculously tempting she was—with thick curves for days, waves of dark hair down her back, and gemlike eyes that reminded me of the stormy sea back home. Or with how her ass was shaking enticingly inside the thin cloak she’d wrapped around herself. Nope. You couldn’t pay me enough to tap that.
I’d probably catch the crazy from her like an STD.
After what felt like an eternity of aimless walking in the fading light, the dense forest suddenly gave way to a small clearing with an old-fashioned log cabin in the center, perched on what appeared to be two tapered trees. As if the scene wasn’t creepy enough, the dwelling was surrounded by a rickety fence topped with human skulls, like some sort of not-so-subtle warning to avoid this murder barn at all costs. Circling the cabin, our guide stopped decisively in front of one side that looked no different than the other three and certainly didn’t appear to have a door.
“Mahluh izba,”she sang out, her clear voice echoing off the surrounding trees. “Turn your back to the forest, your front to me.”
And now she’s talking to her “little hut.”
Because, of course she is.
Before I could signal Tan to incapacitate the nut job, the house suddenly moved, causing those of us who weren’t certifiable to jump back in alarm. In fact, it didn’t just move—it fucking spun at a dizzying speed until a porch and door materialized in front of us.
“Holyshit!”Tan gasped and threw an arm in front of Asa, instinctively protecting his boyfriend from whatever sorcery was going on here.
The witch—because clearly, that’s what she fucking was—actually cackled. “There’s nothingholyhere,” she grinned wickedly, and in the dusky light, it almost looked like her teeth were coated in something metallic. Obviously enjoying our discomfort, she shifted her gaze to me, her smile turning to a smirk as the house suddenlysank to the ground so we could enter it.
“What thefuckis going on?” I shouted, reaching for my gun, daring this woman to make a move so I could blow her away, take what supplies we needed, and get as far away from this demonic bullshit as we could.
Apparently unbothered by my threatening stance, she casually gestured to the door. “Well, as you didn’t appear to have wings, I assumed my home would have to come down to...your level.”She enunciated the last part, sending a clear message that she considered me beneath both her and her spooky hut.
Oh, it is on, witch.
“Nox,” As usual, Ace’s soothing voice managed to cut through the rage blinding my vision. “Right now, we are all in need of food and rest. If you want, we can take shifts tonight while the others sleep, but we cannot spend another night in the forest with dwindling supplies.”
“Agreed,” Tan added, although nobody had asked him. “I’m not sure what your fucking problem is since I doubt thevery nice ladyis planning on cooking us for dinner once she gets us inside.”
The “very nice lady” cocked her head at Tan in interest, almost as if considering how he would taste before turning to me once again. “That is correct. As mentioned, I have stew cooking already. Besides, a big ogre like you wouldn’t fit in my oven, and I can only assume you’re too gamey to eat raw.”
Tan snorted in amusement, and Asa even cracked a smile before catching my eye and immediately burying it beneath a more sober expression.
“Fine,” I huffed, the need for water outweighing the need to die on this hill. Pointing a thick finger in her direction, I added, “But I’m watching you, bitch. You make one move I don’t like, and your brains will be all over the inside of this deathtrap.”
“Vasi,” she replied.
“What?” I snapped.
“My name is Vasi, not ‘bitch,’although your crude assessment of me as a witch is close enough,”she chuckled darkly, turning toward the door and opening it with a handle that looked unnervingly like a human bone. “And ifyoumake one moveIdon’t like, it will be your skull on that empty post over there,” she canted her head toward a fencepost to my left, the only one missing a trophy.
Grumbling under my breath, I followed the guys and “Vasi” inside what turned out to be a relatively traditional Russianizba.After crossing the decoratively carved front porch, we passed through theseni, a vestibule built to keep the cold air outside. Upon entering the main living area, I was immediately hit with a wall of heat blasting from the massive adobe stove in the far corner. Nearby stood a loom, a wooden hutch contained neatly organized cooking paraphernalia, and a bathtub partially obscured by a privacy curtain. The women’s area, and usually fiercely guarded as such.
Without warning, an early memory of visiting my grandmother in herizbacame rushing in, but I angrily shook it off before looking around the rest of the hut. Unsurprisingly, there were no religious artifacts in the icon corner. The traditional men’s corner was still set up as usual to the right of the door, although I didn’t see any sign of a man’s presence.
Although, all that could mean was that Mr. Witch Bitch hasn’t returned home for the night.
Shuddering at the thought of what sort of bridge troll would be shacking up with Vasi, I headed to the right, catching Asa’s eye and motioning for him to follow me. Tan was too busy watching the witch’s ass to notice and stupidly followed her toward the stove. Sensing that her sacred zone was being infiltrated, Vasi spun around, causing the idiot to almost walk right into her.
“Are youtryingto end up in my oven tonight?” she growled angrily, arms crossed and blueish-greenish-grayish eyes flashing in a way that made my dick annoyingly twitch. “You don’t belong back here. Shoo! Shoo!”
Oblivious to his cultural faux pas, Tan pointed to the sleeping area above the oven, no doubt shooting her one of his panty-melting grins. “I’m just looking to warm up, doll, and it sure looks cozy up there.”
I tensed, fully expecting a reaction similar to when she raged at me at the thermal pools. Instead, she looked almost amused as she flicked a finger and somehow sent themudakflying across the cabin to land in a heap at our feet.
“Fuck,guys…” Tan groaned, crawling toward the bench, looking no worse for wear. “I think I’m in love.”
Asa choked on a laugh, helping Tan onto the bench and absently running a thumb along his tattooed bicep. I quickly looked away, not because I had a problem with their affection, but to give them a modicum of privacy in this oddly intimate domestic setting. I’d been close friends with Tan for over a decade, and Ace had seamlessly joined our brotherhood when he first arrived at the Facility about 8 years ago. Their relationship had grown into something more, but it hadn’t changed the bond between the three of us.
Besides my father, these men were the closest thing I had to family, and to say I would die for them would be an understatement. Most of the Facility recruits were hotshots who thought they could take out an enemy single-handedly, but the three of us operated as a single unit, a well-oiled machine. We knew everything about each other—could anticipate the others’ moves like they were our own—and we used that knowledge to accomplish our goals as a team. Even our superiors had figured out not to separate us during our missions because alone, we may have been dangerous, but together, we were the best there was.
