Page 19 of A Witch Out of Time
“What…” the clan leader stuttered, warily watching his daughter as she attempted a shaky step. “What did theydoto her?”
I sadly shook my head, “I’m sorry, Gerard, I don’t know. Anthia only just woke up an hour ago from whatever drugs they’d given her. She doesn’t seem to want to talk about what happened...” I swallowed hard as tears of rage pricked the corners of my eyes. Seeing Anthia like this was unnerving, and knowing how easily I could have lost her for good devastated me. With everyone I knew in my former life long since returned to dust, having a friend like her was something I would never take for granted again.
I am finding it very hard not to kill every human on earth right now.
Clearing my throat, I saw the clan seemed to be readying their caravan to move. “You’re migrating?” I distractedly asked, also noticing the invasive algae on the lake had spread again, although less aggressively.
Gerard eyed me suspiciously, back to his cantankerous manner. “Yes, but I hesitate to disclose the new location to you until we know more about what’s going on with thishumanFacility.”
Sighing, I nodded, unable to fault him for his cautiousness, especially as I was once human myself. “Understood, but I will need to find you once we return, to share what we’ve learned. I assure you, Nox and I are equally disgusted with the Facility, and we hope to secure a powerful ally while we’re away.” A few of the other elders had joined us, so I told the group everything I’d learned while under Matthew’s control. Their reactions ranged from fury and horror to despair as each realized what had been done to their kind.
After Gerard agreed to call a clan leader meeting to relay what I’d shared, Nox and I climbed back aboard the hut and departed. While my Rider took inventory of the supplies we’d gathered from the Facility, I decided to finally wash the human stink of the past few days from my skin.
I hissed as I lowered myself into the chilly water of my washtub, adjusting the thin privacy curtain to hide me from Nox’s view across the cabin.
Not that he hasn’t seen me naked at this point.
From some very interesting angles…
In some ways, it was a relief to be seen in my true form again, although I would’ve preferred Nox’s father not enjoy that privilege. Learning that Matthew could also see my “legendary beauty” had rattled me, more so than his unwanted attention. I scoffed, realizing the way I looked probably didn’t match whatever modern men found attractive anyway. If the fashion magazines Anthia occasionally brought over were anything to go on…
My mood darkened further at the thought of my dearest friend. Anthia had always been the steady, unflappable presence in my life, but now she was broken—physically and emotionally. I then remembered the dozens of shifters we’d been forced to leave behind, and that Tan and Asa were still missing and possibly in danger. All of a sudden, I couldn’t control the emotions welling up inside of me.
I began to cry.
“Vasi?!” Nox was ripping open the privacy curtain in an instant, eyes widening in shock at the tears streaming down my face, although no one was more surprised than me. Once the floodgates opened, however, I couldn’t stop. I loudly sobbed in despair as Nox gently hauled me out of the tub, wrapping a towel around me with the same surprising level of care he’d shown to Anthia.
My vision was so blurred by tears I allowed him to guide me up to my bed above the stove. As I laid down, Nox brushed my long hair out of the way and sharply inhaled, his fingers pausing over the brand on my upper back. Suddenly realizing none of my Riders had seen it yet, I held my breath and braced myself for his reaction.
Here it comes...
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, and I wearily glanced back over my shoulder, fully expecting his suspicion and fury to be directed at me, as usual. To my surprise, he showed such acute concern while lightly brushing his fingertips over the scar tissue that I almost started crying once again.
Rolling over to face him, I haltingly answered, closely watching his reaction. “My mentor branded me during what I thought was my initiation ceremony. She’d told me it would be in honor of Mokosh—the Mother Goddess and patron of all Yagas. Clearly, she chose Veles’ symbol to permanently mark me instead...” I trailed off as his eyes darkened in anger, quickly adding, “I’m telling you the truth, Nox! I didn’t know she would do that, I swear!”
He froze, eyes widening, and for a moment, I feared he would bolt back down the ladder. Instead, he surprised me again by lifting the blanket and joining me underneath, pulling me so close our noses almost touched.
“I’m not angry atyou,Vashka,” he rumbled, his hand caressing my back again. “It’s just...it’s a lot of things, that’s all.”
I stifled a smile at his vague reply, thankful that I wasn’t the only one who found it difficult to talk about emotions. Humming in agreement, I took advantage of his openness to ask him something that had been bothering me since we’d left the crater. “How do you and Veles know each other, Nox?”
He tensed, and I quickly dug my claws into his arm in case he tried to escape. “Calm down, witch,” he chuckled, the amusement flickering in his dark brown eyes making me grin. Clearing his throat, he sobered before continuing. “My only other encounter with Veles was right before my grandmother...passed away.”
Determined to unearth the layers of secrets between us, I bluntly asked, “You mean when she wasmurdered?”He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, so I explained, “Asa mentioned it, although he said he knew little about what happened to you.”
Softening slightly, he sighed. “Yeah, Tan is the only person I’ve told. And he really only got it out of me because he and I used to get wasted together and...well, never mind what we used to do. Then Ace came along, and, at that point, I already believed what my father told me about my grandmother—that she was a witch who deserved to die.”
I gasped at the pain passing over his handsome face, immediately lifting my hand to cup his cheek. “Again, it is not your fault your father lied to you,” I fiercely whispered. “That ishisfailing, not yours.”
He looked unconvinced, but leaned into my touch all the same. “My grandmother raised me,” he quietly added, gaze dropping to my mouth as I licked my dry lips. “My mother disappeared when I was only three or four—for all I know, she died. Anyway, from then until I was eleven, mybabawas the only family I had.”
“And then what happened?” I whispered, desperate to keep him talking, to learn more about this man who was still such a mystery to me.
Nox grimaced as if in pain. “It was so fucking stupid. Friends dared me to eat some wild mushrooms that I damn well knew I shouldn’t have. Although my grandmother was the local healer, there was nothing she could do by the time they got me home. I died. Right there on her kitchen table. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the Nav, and that’s when I met Veles.” He closed his eyes with a shaky exhale, and I lightly ran my fingers through his thick beard, coaxing him back to the present.
Come back to me.
But when he opened his eyes again, something had changed. The uncharacteristic vulnerability he had shown me was replaced by a steely resolve, and I immediately knew he’d closed himself off again. He sat up, his gaze briefly landing on my bare chest. Gritting his teeth, he quickly disappeared back down the ladder, the wall between us firmly back in place.
