Witch Infernal (Infernal Hunt Book 3) (11 page)

"I will not answer
,
" she muttered.

"Oh
,
but you will
,
" I retorted.

"You are nothing compared to her
,
" she hissed.

“’Her’ who?"

"The great witch."

"And what is the name of this great witch?"

She shrank back in her seat and shook her head furiously. "No, no. I will not say."

I leaned forward over her and put my face barely inches from hers. "Tell us."

Her eyes flicked to Kadrix and Lysander who were behind me. She shook her head once more.
 

"I cannot. Death would be a pleasure if I spoke of her."

"That can be arranged
,
" I said seductively.

She laughed maniacally. "Then I will be grateful."

With that she closed her mouth, lifted her chin, and said nothing. I walked away with a growl. The others had refused to say anything more than the ‘great witch’, too, nor did they appear to know anything of the celestial. They had shut down and refused to speak about anything. Their sheer terror of whatever the witch would do far outweighed any physical pain we could inflict on them. Kadrix had used some alchemical tricks; Quin had refused to be involved. Lysander had begun to use some of his marrok interrogation skills, but he'd dug his heels in and refused to go any further.
 

We had nothing.
 

I left the room and exhaled slowly.
 

"What do we do now?" I asked Elise.

She gave me a small shrug. "My lady is of the opinion this is not the route we seek."

I sighed and looked for my cup of white tea. My throat was parched from the shouting and growling I'd done for the last twenty-four hours to no avail. The lukewarm liquid soothed the pain and eased my mind some.
 

"Are we supposed to let them back out into the world?"

She pursed her lips, her eyes rolled back in her head. I stepped back; I hadn't witnessed her in a trance with her lady before. Her face was serene, her body relaxed yet upright. She returned to me with a frown.
 

"Kill them quickly. They will be a message."

The amount of death was beginning to weigh on me, but it was necessary. We were fighting greater forces than lycan packs; it was an unfortunate side-effect of the higher stakes. We were making our mark on the world and standing up to the supernals. They would not walk all over us again.
 

I passed the word for Lysander
,
who acknowledged it with a grim expression. The bodies were carried outside minutes later. They hadn't made a noise. Not a single protest or final request.
 

"I've never seen such fear
,
" Lysander said softly.
 

"One thing at a time
,
" I said.
 

Elise squeezed my hand. "We will solve the celestial problem
,
then confront the witch one."

I gave a small smile. "Any progress on the celestial issue
,
Quin?"

He looked up from the large leather-bound tomes he'd piled up in front of him on the floor.
 

"Possibly. I need to do more reading."

Kadrix knelt down next to him and rested his head on Quin's shoulder while reading what Quin was reading. Lysander sat on the floor
,
his arm resting against my hip. Elise brought over fresh tea and sat opposite me. Her skin held a faint glow from the closeness she had so recently had with her lady.
 

She breathed deep from her tea and smiled. "This will all be worth it. We may not see how it will play out yet, but we must hold faith."

I held onto the cup
,
allowing the warmth of the smooth porcelain to ease away the aches from the fight and interrogation. Weariness settled deep in my bones; none of us had really slept while the witches were present. We were focused on our job at hand, working in long shifts
,
trying to get something worthwhile from the pain and bloodshed. Quin tenderly kissed Kadrix's cheek
,
bringing a smile to the elf's face; I focused on the happiness between them. The world wasn't entirely dark.
 

"We must rest. We are no good to anyone in this exhausted state. Finish your tea
,
then go to bed. All of you
,
" Elise said, looking pointedly at Quin.
 

Quin gave her a crooked smile before he licked his fingertips and turned the page of the old tome. Elise hadn't explained where it had come from
,
and I felt it wasn't my place to ask. There was much hidden; I had to trust her. I stroked Lysander's hair and enjoyed the refreshing taste of the gentle white tea. My worries slipped away
,
and I couldn't help but wonder exactly what my old friend had put in it. The relaxation washed over me and hid any concerns I may have had. There was much to do, to discuss, but first I needed to sleep.
 

The last thing I remembered was Lysander's arms wrapping around me, the scent of hot metal and petrichor swirling around me in a comforting haze.
 

Twenty-Three

I woke up in my bed with Lysander wrapped around me, his arms holding me close to his chest, his legs tangled in mine. His head nuzzled against my neck, his warm breath curled around my throat. I wriggled against him
,
enjoying his presence. His soft lips brushed my tender skin as he woke and stretched against me.
 

"Good morning
,
Evelyn."

I ran my foot up his calf. "Morning
,
Lysander."

He nuzzled against my neck and whispered, "We should talk."

I scrunched up my face trying to remember what I'd done wrong that time. The memory of the witch fight flashed in my mind. The sensation of being distant. The pleasure of the pain I inflicted. The desire for more blood. It felt like an iron fist around my heart, my chest constricted.
 

Lysander whispered soothing nothings in my ear as he stroked my wrists. "You're safe."

I took a deep breath
,
inhaling the scent of him. I was safe.
 

"What happened?" I managed to choke out.
 

He pulled me a little closer to him, wrapping himself more thoroughly around me. Protecting me from the world. From myself.
 

"You experienced what a hound feels during the thrill of the battle."

"You... you feel that?"

He buried his face in my hair while I eased my breathing, trying to understand.
 

"I do. I control it
,
though. I am not that creature anymore
,
Evelyn."
 

He pleaded with me to understand. To believe him.
 

I rubbed my foot against his calf once more and played the memories back frame by frame. I believed him. I had to.
 

I rolled over to face him. I wrapped one arm around the back of his neck and tucked the other up against his chest.
 

"What's happening to me
,
Lysander?"

I couldn't help but run my fingers over the smooth silver collar, the sensation of what it meant crystalising in my mind. He sighed softly
,
putting his arm over my ribs and wrapping his legs around mine.
 

"I haven't had this sort of bond before. The bond between demon and slave... is different."

I frowned. "Am I becoming one of you?"

His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. "No, Evelyn. You're not becoming a hound, you're a human. You do appear to be taking on some of my skills and attributes, though. I hope the bond will settle soon. It's solidifying. The bond between hound and master is different in every instance. Ours is particularly strong."

He couldn't help but smile as he said that. I chewed on my bottom lip
,
trying to figure out what exactly it all meant. The bond between a human and a hellhound was unheard of. He nuzzled against my neck, his lips brushing over the sensitive skin
,
sending shivers down my spine. I soon found myself arching against him, relishing the tender barely-there contact. His warm breath unfurled against my skin; my own breathing became shallower. I swallowed hard and pulled back. It was too soon. I couldn't do it. I wasn't ready.
 

Lysander held me firm, a small smile on his lips. "Don't run away
,
Evelyn. I won't push any further."

I narrowed my eyes at him
,
feeling uncomfortable at being held there. His hold was gentle; I pressed against it a little to find that he did give to me. I relaxed knowing that I could go if I really wanted.
 

He tilted his head and whispered, "Please don't run."

The wrinkles formed between his eyebrows, his mouth tugged down in concern. I wriggled closer to him. I wasn't going to run. He had respected my boundaries, that was what mattered. Our breathing soon settled into a steady rhythm, the world outside forgotten. Until Quin called through.
 

"Come on! We have things to do today!"

I curled my lip and shouted back, "Like what!? I'm not an alchemist. I am not stalking around the city on the off chance of finding the celestial."

A tapping came from the door.
 

"Come in
,
" I called back.

"Is that really how you feel
,
Evie?"

A frown marred his face. His hands were restless at his sides. I sighed. He tilted his head and surveyed me, in the embrace with Lysander.
 

"You're more than that
,
Evie
,
" he said softly. His frown deepened. "We're close to something. You can help us. Both of you."

I chewed my bottom lip and considered it.
 

"How?" I eventually said.

His mouth lifted into a hopeful smile. "We have some reading to do, and maybe you can offer some ideas."

"Thanks."
 

His shoulders loosened and he shut the door behind him when he left. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed working closely with him. How much everything had changed. I kissed Lysander's forehead without thinking before I pulled on some clothes, careful to keep anything too intimate hidden from the hound.
 

"So... reading, huh?" I said to Quin with a lopsided smile.

He grinned back at me. "You might even find it interesting. It's about how to kill stuff."

I laughed
,
and Lysander soon joined in. "Am I so one-dimensional? So... simple?"

Quin frowned again. "No. You just have different focuses. You're the protector."

I smiled and gave him a nod. We headed out the door in reasonably high spirits; progress was being made. I didn't relish the idea of being lost in books all day, but having my twin close at hand again and sharing laughter would be worth it.
 

Twenty-Four

Kadrix was himself. He bounced on the balls of his feet while Quin cleared a space for Lysander and me to work. The elf muttered something under his breath
.
He soon rushed off and began scribbling varying symbols down on a scrap of paper. It made about as much sense as sanskrit to me. Quin peered over his shoulder with two vials in each hand; he tilted his head and gestured at the second line.
 

"What if you change that to Esorel?"

The elf pursed his lips before his face lit up.
 

"Yes, yes, then this becomes Karin, and then from there we slip into Gaty and Hru."
 

He nodded enthusiastically.
 

Quin grinned and finished clearing the space while Lysander and I sat on the wooden stools, waiting patiently like school children. We'd been told not to touch anything unless Quin or Kadrix handed it to us. The temptation to run my hands over everything increased with every passing second.
 

Quin placed a slim red leather
-
bound book in front of me, and quickly followed it by a lurid green wooden
-
bound book, and a deep purple textile
-
covered book.
 

"Start here
,
" he opened it to pages that had been marked with small metal disks. "You're looking for anything on celestial apparition, lifeforce, or essence."

The small scrawling text swam before my eyes. I forced a smile when Quin grinned at me before he went and joined the elf again. Lysander gave me a wry smile before he leaned over the book and began reading. I'd never been a particular fan of reading, unless it was something directly relevant to my interests. The book in question was talking about matrices and how they interacted with crystalline energies, particularly when elven magic was involved. The words soon blurred into black wobbly lines. It meant nothing to me.
 

I took to skimming the pages looking for key words and reminded myself that it was making Quin happy. I was close to my twin
,
and it was would help us track down the celestial. Still
,
my mind wandered back to more interesting things, such as the feeling of Lyander's firm body pressed against mine. A happy warmth bubbled within me; Lysander flashed a grin at me. I cleared my throat and focused on the task at hand; it was bizarre having him know that I was thinking about him that way. I wasn't ready. My body was more than ready, but my mind wasn't.
 

The hours crawled by. We called Quin over to read a number of passages
,
but none of them were quite what they were looking for. Kadrix was growing increasingly excited about his formula thing
,
though; I hoped that meant one of us was making meaningful progress. Elise slipped in not long after dusk with lots of food and tea. Kadrix glared at her when she set up a small picnic on one of the workbenches; she smiled sweetly back at him. We tucked into freshly made sandwiches
.
The break was more than welcome.