The Sorceress Screams (10 page)

“I need help.”
My skin warmed in embarrassment. “Well, I don’t need help, but I have someone who
does.”

“Could you get
to the point sometime today? I would like to go back to bed.”

My jaw set in
irritation. I’d like to go back to bed, too. I was alert thanks only to my
mother’s bracelet, but my back hurt and my muscles ached. They needed a proper rest.
“You’re going to have to take me on faith on this, but I just rescued six
witches from Nadir Khan.”

Wood creaked,
and then Desmond exclaimed. “What?”

“Let me
rephrase that. They’re all enthralled to him,” I revised before he could cut
in. “I was too late to save them from that. But they’re in the car with me. I’m
on my way back to
Wipuk
. I need the coalition’s help
to keep them safe.”

“How do you
suggest the coalition stop a vampire from calling on his thralls, Ms. Walsh?”
His stiffest tone didn’t bode well.

“Damn you,
Marino, I don’t know! You are the most powerful witches in the country. That
has to be good for something.”

He didn’t
immediately retort. Clearly he needed more persuading.

“Nadir was
keeping them like
freakin
’ harem girls. I had to get them
out of there. No one deserves to be treated like that.” At a softer volume I
said, “I told them the colony would help. Please, Marino, don’t make me a
liar.”

Desmond puffed
out an unhappy breath. “I can’t do anything to stop a vampire from calling on his
thrall, but I’ll call the coalition together to discuss their options.”

“Where do I
take them in the meantime? We’ll be there in roughly four hours. I don’t have
room at my apartment.”

“Bring them to
my house. I’ll notify the gate that you’re to be allowed inside.”

“Thank you,
Marino.”

“Your thanks
will be you owing me a favor for this, Ms. Walsh.”

The dick
disconnected the call before I could argue.

I wanted to
throw my phone out the window. He should
thank
me for helping the witches, not demand favors! Desmond the dick really earned
his nickname today.

“Are they
going to help?” Gemma asked.

I tamped down
my irritation with a heavy sigh. “They had better, or they won’t get a favor
from me.”

****

“I’m sorry but
the only authorized visitor for Dr. Marino today is
Kora
Walsh.”

“But I
am
Kora
Walsh!” I waved my driver’s license wildly at the guy blocking the road. “See?”

The security
guard’s gaze followed the plastic card. His delivery was as calm as mine was
frustrated. “Ma’am, that photograph shows a blue-haired woman with pale skin.”

“It’s cerulean,
and of course it does.” I jerked, recognizing the issue. At the moment I had
raven
hair and
dark
skin. “Oh. Uh, I’m in disguise.”

The guard
leveled a dubious look at me. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But I can’t let you into the
community without authorization.”

“What’s the
problem, Rick?”

I’d called on
Water a half second before Desmond’s smooth cadence broke into the
conversation. My attempt to fix my skin pigment fizzled in my distraction. And
then all attempts at thought went with it when I faced him.

Never had I
seen Desmond Marino in anything but a suit. The gray tank top taut around his
torso was darkened at the armpits and a portion down the chest. Navy knit
shorts hung to the middle of powerful thigh muscles. Sweat had broken out in a
fine sheen all over his pale skin, and a warm flush had built in his cheeks.
He’d been running. And Hera help me he looked good that way.

His gaze
passed over me twice before settling on Rick the guard’s face with an expectant
expression.

The guard
stammered an explanation. “Dr. Marino, sir, this young lady claims you gave her
authorization to visit your home.”

“I gave
Kora
Walsh authorization. She drives a sky blue Nissan
Sentra.” His pointed glance at the minivan implied he was aware the Dodge was
most certainly not a sky blue Nissan Sentra.

I stared at
Desmond for a blank moment. He knew the exact color of my car? I couldn’t
remember ever being in it around him.

“Um, s-sir.”
Rick’s gaze flitted between
us with obvious unease. “This young lady claims she
is
Kora
Walsh.”

Desmond’s
attention swiveled back to me. His dark eyebrows lowered into a perplexed V
that lasted until he’d done an extensive visual sweep up and down my body,
ending on my face.

“Good God,” he
said, softly cursing. “Is that shoe polish?”

“No. Can you
just let me inside, Marino?”

He visibly
shook himself. “That’s
Kora
Walsh, Rick. Please let
her inside.”

The security
guard glanced to the ID photo in my hand and then back at me. “Uh, are you
sure, Dr. Marino?”

“Unfortunately.”
Desmond’s drawl
barely finished before he’d set off at a jog toward his house.

I vaguely
remembered the route, but it would be my luck to get lost where Marino could
mock me. Having him jogging in those shorts in my rearview mirror would make it
harder to concentrate.
Kore’s
seeds! The man was so
gorgeous it was unreal.

“Who was
that
?”
Veronika
asked with her nose pressed to the window as we passed the Water priest.

“That’s
Desmond Marino,” I said between tightly clenched teeth.

“Oh my God.”
She pronounced each word
with undue emphasis. “I’ve seen photographs of our commander-in-chief, but he
was always in a suit. He’s even better in workout clothes.
Aye
chihuahua
!”

Yeah, he was.
And he’d be thrilled I was leaving a drop dead gorgeous, blonde Water witch
with fabulous fashion sense on his doorstep. Maybe I could claim that was my
favor to him and leave it at that.

Kaila let out
a grating giggle. “Will I get to see
Viho
Hiamovi
jogging around here, too?”

I ignored the
question because it was hypothetical and I wasn’t in the mood for it. Five and
a half hours in the car with these six had been aggravating. And I still had to
hold a party for Nell’s friends in a few hours. I only wanted to sleep for half
a day and avoid all contact with sentient beings.

I managed to
find the driveway to Desmond’s place using Water sensing. Unsurprisingly
Marino’s house had the largest water concentration in the area. I’d unlocked
the trailer for the women when he jogged up the driveway. He sported a new
coating of sweat but was only partially out of breath. I pretended not to
notice him until he tugged at my arm, pulling me away from the ladies.

“What is going
on, Ms. Walsh?”

His eyes
hooded while he rested his palms atop his knees, catching his breath. His scent
should have been rank, but instead he smelled more like a crisp mountain stream
than ever. Was it typical of Water witches to have nice smelling sweat?

“I can’t
explain it,” I whispered.

Desmond lifted
his gaze to my face. A frown turned down his pretty lips. “You are incapable of
it or unwilling?”

“A little of both.”
I maneuvered us
on to a more productive topic. “One of these women is a Water witch. You’re her
high priest. She’s going to look to you for protection.”

He glanced
over my shoulder in the direction of
Veronika’s
high-pitched complaint that Gemma had scuffed her luggage’s trim.

“I can’t do
anything for them because I’m just a human with a crystal shop,” I said. “But I
can tell you Water manipulation worked on him.”

Desmond got to
his feet. He ducked his head a little closer to mine. “It worked on Nadir
Khan?”

I nodded,
ignoring the way his scent rose in my nose in a strangely pleasant way. “Yes.
Otherwise I’d be enthralled in some Vegas hotel with
Were
dosing me with drugs to keep me docile.”

His hooded
eyes narrowed. “He’s going to come looking for them. And you.”

Fear spiked
through me. He was right. “But you didn’t recognize me.”

“I don’t have
a vampire’s sense of smell.”

“Crap!”

Nadir
would
recognize me by my scent. There
might be a moment where he’d think he was mistaken, but he’d soon realize what
had happened, especially if he heard me speak.

I took two
steps back because he’d lifted himself to his full height and was just a little
too close for my comfort. “What do I need to do for the other five? I don’t
know how to contact anyone but Alina and that’s through Nell.”

“I’ve already
taken care of it,” he said with a soothing tone. “We’re meeting here at noon.
They’d like you to be present.”

My jaw set
because I suspected
he
was the one
who wanted me to be present. “I don’t have any answers for them. The ladies can
explain what happened better than I can. You don’t need me.”

He leaned in
my direction. Frustration poured off him, brushing my consciousness with a
light clenching sensation. “You can’t steal a vampire’s thralls and then wash
your hands of them, Ms. Walsh!”

I lifted my
chin. “What is a high priest’s job if not to see to the protection of his
people?”

An angry vein
twitched in Desmond’s forehead as his face reddened. His voice began low,
growing harsher with each word he spoke. “Do you suppose I ought to kill this
vampire to free these women and thus begin an international war with the
undead? Because I can’t fathom how else I can help them.”

I knew little
of the undead, but I did know enough to answer his question. “He needs to be
within hearing distance to call them. Just don’t let him into
Wipuk
.”

“Just don’t
let Nadir Kahn into
Wipuk
.” He shook his head and
gave a bitter laugh. “How easy you make it sound.
As if we
can fortify our borders to keep him out when we couldn’t stop a
human
from invading.”

That was my
cue. I turned on my heel, stalking back to the van and then spoke to the
ladies. “This is Desmond Marino. He’s going to introduce you to the heads of
your covens. If for some horrible reason they deny you assistance, call me with
the number I gave you this morning. I’ll find some way to help you.”

Desmond called
after me. “Ms. Walsh.”

“I’ve got to
go drop the van off before they charge me extra.” It was a lie. I needed the
excuse to leave. Besides, Desmond had probably never reduced himself to renting
a car in his life. He wouldn’t know better.

“Ms. Walsh,
unless you want your new Dark witch friend to become part of
Eamonn
Cary’s harem, you should take her with you.”

“Harem?”
Jacqueline’s jaw dropped
open. “I’m happily married! I need to get home to my husband!”

I shot a glare
at Desmond. But I wasn’t certain he was wrong.
That made me
hesitate
. “Can you persuade him to take responsibility for her without
her being present?”

“I can do my
best, Ms. Walsh.” He paused, rubbing his fingers along his knuckles.
“Provided you owe me another favor.”

My teeth ground.
“Fine.
Jacqueline, you’ll need to put your luggage back in the car.”

I started down
the driveway to help.

Desmond called
out another disturbing statement. “That’s three favors now, Ms. Walsh.”

“Three? It’s
two!”

He lifted a
single finger. “One for calling the coalition together and providing a safe
house for the ladies until their covens take responsibility for them.” Desmond
lifted a second finger.
“One for persuading
Eamonn
to take responsibility for Jacqueline despite her
absence.”
A third finger joined the other two.
“And
one for holding this afternoon’s meeting in spite of
your
absence.”

“You are
such
a dick,” I said as I slipped into the
driver’s seat.

This would
probably come back to haunt me three times as badly as normal. What choice did
I have? I couldn’t answer any of the questions the coalition would ask. It was
best if I weren’t present to hear them.

I’d have to
owe the dick three favors.

Jacqueline’s
petite body settled into the passenger seat beside me. I put the van in
reverse, shooting one last glare at Desmond before backing out of the driveway
and away from the mound of
Veronika’s
suitcases.

The blonde’s
bright blue eyes were already fixed hungrily on him. My only consolation was
that she’d nullify one of my favors.