Page 31 of Battle of Witches
“It’s not the potion, though Idoneed it again. Your creator posted a video with his son and another one of his creations. You’re going to want to see this.”
Scooter handed her his tablet, and she must have been really secure in this whole evil-villain thing because she didn’t even try to watch it with headphones on where her minions couldn’t hear. And they were all listening as Loki, Sleipnir, and Bjorn dropped the bomb that Asfrid really was a mass-murdering psycho whose necromancy only worked with a rare eclipse and more murder,andshe couldn’t even make them hybrids as she promised.
Asfrid shrieked and threw Scooter’s whole tablet in the pool. That was one of those top-of-the-line tablets that graphic designers usually used. Scooter’s podcast was probably on that tablet, and he just smelled like a man who never made a backup and wanted someone’s manager when he called tech support and got told multiple times if there were no backup, there would be no joy in getting his files back.
It was too late. The message did what we wanted it to do—better even. We didn’t know how many people were following her now or how many saw her posts and were thinking of joining her. Scooter probably thought he was being a very good boy and would get a treat by bringing her that video. Asfrid didn’t pay attention to a damned thing being raised by Loki. Odin was a god who sacrificed an eye for wisdom, and not even he could outsmart Loki.
Asfrid thought she would be the one, and she walked straight into it and played the video for her inner circle. I was trying so hard not to laugh. Whatever shit show was about to happen, she brought this on herself in very many ways.
“You never told us the necromancy spell required a rare eclipse,” a wolf snapped.
“A technicality. I can tweak it so that it works on any full moon.”
“Shifters don’t murder their own, and we only kill when provoked,” the hot, little bear shifter snapped. “You conveniently left out that Valentine murdered two kids to bring you back. Most of us joined you because you said the past was all a smear campaign, and you followed the shifter code, too. Clearly, you don’t. If you were willing to lie about something as sacred as that, I’m guessing Loki is right about no one being able to make us hybrids, either.
“I only went along with this because our alpha gave the order, but he’s a shell of himself and smells sick since he started drinking your potions. Everyone who wants your potions every day smells like a walking corpse. I’m out. I’m going back to my clan and my alpha.”
Asfrid jumped to her feet, and I finally saw the monster. When I saw her in the clearing just before she cursed me, she was the picture of calm and looked like she found all this amusing. Valentine was standing over her, dripping in the blood of two young supernaturals. She was facing her creator, a primordial and many very powerful supernaturals, and she didn’t lose her cool.
Not like this. Asfrid wasn’t a tall woman. There didn’t seem to be a single female at the estate, for that matter. Asfrid seemed to surround herself with massive, good-looking, male shifters. They all dwarfed her, but they flinched when she jumped to her feet and shrieked.
“Iam your alpha now. You listen tomyorders, andmyorders right now are that you get me those Gemini Twins no matter what the cost.”
“No,” the hot bear shifter said. “Youare notmy alpha, and youdo notgive me orders. So, do your own fucking dirty work and stop bringing shifters down with you.”
Now, I didn’t know the hot, little bear shifter, but it sounded like the only reason he was here was that his alpha fell for Asfrid’s shit and asked him to be. I rather liked him. I hoped he got that perky arse out of here before we descended on this place and magic and dragon fire started flying everywhere.
Asfrid had other ideas, and I seriously hated her even more for it. Shifters couldn’t shield against magic. They could shift and run, and their fur provided extra protection against magic. She didn’t even give him the chance. Instead, she flung magic directly at his chest. Asfrid didn’t have the same magic I did, but I recognized killing magic.
Bitch.
All because she couldn’t hear the word no. The rest of the shifters exchanged looks but didn’t take a stand. I knew enough about shifters to know they would always avenge a fallen shifter, even if they weren’t from the same pack or even the same kind of shifter, but for the most part, they were smart about it.
Some people stereotyped them as big, dumb idiots who would rush into any fight they were bound to lose and get themselves killed, but that wasn’t true for most of them. They were fierce warriors and would generally plot a battle to their advantage if they were facing a more powerful foe.
So, when they told Asfrid they’d go fetch my girlfriend and her twin, I followed them. My video idea had the intended effect of sowing doubt, but I really wasn’t expecting Asfrid to murder someone. Iknewthat bitch was a murderer, but she’d been so careful this far. She’d constantly manipulated other people to commit crimes for her. Shehadto know killing that shifter in front of her other followers would have serious blowback.
I stayed where I was for five minutes. Asfrid flopped down on her lounger with a big sigh like she just worked a double shift at the mall at a retail outlet and everyone wanted to speak to her manager rather than her killing someone because she got called on her shit.
Scooter was hooked. And an idiot. He wasn’t even worried about his tablet at the bottom of the pool. Instead, he asked about getting her something to drink and rubbed her feet. Man, that was just sad. Have some respect.
I couldn’t watch this anymore. I was guessing the shifters who just left were plotting something big. Maybe we could work together to stop Asfrid for good.
At least, I hoped we could.
Chapter25
Ravyn
My phone went off that I’d been tagged in a video right as the guys popped back into the warehouse. And, ha! Fuck Asfrid because I tweaked her toxic gas potion and made an aerosol sleeping potion. Can I say I loved it when I pulled off the impossible? It was the best kind of validation. But, of course, I also needed hugs, two million dollars, and everyone to tell me I was pretty. I hadn’t had a chance to watch the video yet, but I did have one major question.
“Not that I’m complaining about the scorching view, but why are you all shirtless?”
“Peer pressure,” Bjorn grumped.
“Vying for the thirsty vote,” Loki said. “We went viral faster than she did.”
I held up my fist for a bump.
