Electric Heat (A Raven Investigations Novel Book 3) Read online

  His brows lowered in annoyance. “They’re not slaves. They occupy a unique position in the pack. Their family is honored for their services.”

  “Be a slave or leave the pack. How is that a choice? The witches can do anything they want to their familiars and no one will object.”

  Durant laughed, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “You think so little of us. They’re actually highly protected, and, better yet, they’re still considered part of the pack. Each shifter signs a contract. For every maiming or death, the witches must pay a severe fine. They can’t afford to damage or kill a shifter. It costs too much.”

  Raven was flabbergasted, the papers crumpling in her hands. “And paying a fine makes it all better?”

  Durant gave her a cynical look. “Your military is run the same way. Soldiers are paid for their services. The family receives benefits if they die in battle. It’s considered an honor to serve one’s country.”

  “That’s different,” Raven muttered.

  “Is it?”

  She had no answer and didn’t like the comparison. “Have you ever thought of becoming one?”

  He cast her a peculiar look, then shook his head. “No.”

  It floored her when he hesitated. Jealousy curled through her until she thought she was going to be sick. “But the spell on your back. You got it to prevent becoming a familiar.”

  “The spell protects my beast. I can activate it or grant the witch my permission.”

  She bit her lip, desperately wanting to know who had so captured his affections, picking at the unanswered question like a raw wound. “Who?”

  A half-smile curled his lips, and he raised a brow. “You don’t know?”

  She racked her brain for a name and came up blank. She curled her fingers into fists. Maybe it was better not to know, so she wouldn’t be tempted to kill the bitch.

  “You.”

  Heat burned her cheeks at the husky tone and warm spilled into her chest. “But I’m not a witch.”

  He shrugged away her protest. “You can take what you want from me with my blessing.”

  Raven had no idea how to reply. They fell silent as he maneuvered the car along the hairpin curves. The warm sun beat down on her, and his leather scent lulled her until her eyelids grew heavy.

  * * *

  Raven jolted awake when the car pulled to a stop. Her head was nestled on Durant’s leg, her hand curled over his thigh. A comforting heat radiated from him, and she wanted to snuggle closer. If she concentrated, she’d almost swear she could hear his tiger purring. The sound soothed her. He turned off the car, and neither moved, both enjoying the novelty of touching.

  Then she became conscious of where exactly her head was resting…just inches away from his erection. Heat climbed in her cheeks at the intimate position, and she straightened, avoiding his gaze. She expected a comment, but he remained silent. When she stole a glance at him, it was to find his golden eyes watching her with a single-minded focus hot enough to scorch her insides.

  “You look better.” Good enough to eat went unsaid, but it was there in his eyes.

  Raven held perfectly still, so as not to squirm under his scrutiny, and realized with a start that he was correct. She felt almost normal. She eyed him suspiciously, but his bland expression gave away nothing.

  She checked the vault where she used to store her power, but it remained barren and cold. And she was beginning to fear nothing would be the way it used to be. She reached over to brush a hand against her side to gauge if the spot had grown, but stopped when she noticed he was still watching her.

  She fiddled with her gloves, coming to resent them. They kept her from touching her pack. The loss of connection left behind an ache that wouldn’t be appeased any other way.

  She hastily glanced out the window. “Are we there?”

  “We’ve been on their land for the last twenty minutes.” He tipped his head, gesturing over her shoulder.

  When she turned, she saw a large wrought iron gate blocking the way. There was no guard box, no security cameras. No electricity at all. Opposite was a sheer cliff dropping off into nothingness. Beyond, all the eye could see were miles and miles of wilderness. Much to her surprise, the absolute silence was actually calming. “How far are we from civilization?”

  Durant unhooked her seatbelt. “Not far. Only about eighty miles as the crow flies.”

  Raven glanced at the clock. Four hours had passed. Then she understood. With all the twists and turns, no one could sneak up on the coven. “Clever.”

  Durant straightened from the car and leaned in to grab his bag. By the time she’d untangled herself from her seatbelt, he was already around the vehicle and opening her door. “Where did the witches go?”

  He nodded toward the gate. “The doors had opened when the witches pulled up.”

  She studied the entrance more closely. “Let me guess. They closed when we approached.”

  “You got it.” He shouldered his bag and headed toward the doors. The gate stood fifteen feet high at the tallest point. Shrubs lined both sides of the entrance, trailing off into a knot of towering trees.

  The closer she got, the denser the magic became, until she could barely push her way forward. Cobwebs clung to her, thickening to an invisible spider web that threatened to trap her.

  A binding spell.

  But instead of allowing the spell to seep into her like an infection, the energy resting under her skin hardened to an impenetrable armor, blocking the enchantment.

  Magic flowed over her, then splashed off like water before soaking into the ground.

  Each step became easier than the last.

  Durant strolled through the spell like he didn’t have a care in the world.

  Damned if she wasn’t a little envious of his wards.

  He pushed on the gates, muscles bulging, but nothing happened. His brows lowered in annoyance, and he strode toward the shrubs. They stood just five feet tall, something a shifter could easily scale—hell, jump with a single bound. So why did she feel so uneasy? “Durant, wait.”

  He halted and turned to look at her. As she neared, she couldn’t put her finger on what bothered her. Then it clicked. She didn’t sense any magic at all, when she had been all but drowning in it not two seconds ago.

  Playing a hunch, she stooped, picked up a rock and heaved it over the side. Branches and vines shot up, twisting through the air, catching the small missile. There was a slight pause when nothing happened, then the rock imploded in a shower of dust.

  Durant pursed his lips.

  Raven gritted her teeth. “Another damned test.”

  She walked up to the gate and set her hand on the front plate as Durant had done. Power from the metal hummed at her touch, and licked at her as if hungry for a taste. The sharp, overly sweet stench of magic enveloped her like she’d fallen in a vat of pixy stick powder.

  Then the magic invaded her chest. She coughed, trying to expel it from her lungs, when her creature cracked open its eyes.

  Raven froze, not certain she could fight both it and the spell at the same time, but the creature seemed more interested in the magic. The beast fed on energy, and she waited for it to slurp it down. Instead, it struck fast, grabbed hold of the hex before it could escape, and shredded it with razor-sharp teeth and claws.

  Ribbons of the destroyed spell fluttered to the ground to pile up like burnt shadows. The sweet smell turned sour. After what felt like eons, a tiny opening appeared in the magic surrounding the property. Raven thrust her hand through and shoved against the gate until the latch click open. As soon as the lock disengaged, what remained of the magic faded.

  The creature puffed up with pride at the victory, pleased to show Raven what they could achieve if they worked as a team. Raven wasn’t so easily convinced. She focused on the creature, wanting to identify what type of breed she harbored, but couldn’t seem to get a lock on the beast. Every time she got close, it wiggled away, dissipating into nothing.

  No matter how h
ard she searched, the creature was gone.

  When she opened her eyes, she found herself facing the now benign gate.

  Putting her shoulder against the metal, she used her weight to force it open. The doors creaked, and she stumbled through, and would have landed on her face if Durant hadn’t caught her close. She looked up, half-expecting to find a gaggle of witches waiting to take them into custody. Instead, only the coven leader stood waiting on the path.

  Raven was furious at the witches’ casual disregard for their safety. They would have killed Durant over a lousy test. She shrugged off Durant’s restraining arm, and marched forward, not stopping until she was up close and personal with the voodoo priestess. Magic billowed in the air around the woman, ready to strike, but Raven had had enough. “Try anything like that again, and I’ll consider our bargain null and void.”

  The witch raised a brow, all surprised and innocent. “I have no idea what you mean. I came to let you into the compound.”

  Raven didn’t believe it for a second.

  “If you’ve finished with your threats, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” The witch turned and…there was no other word for it…sashayed down the main trail as if nothing had happened.

  Raven glared, only sheer will holding her back from throttling the woman. As they came around a bend in the road, the small coven she had expected spread out before them like a college campus. Large buildings were strewn about the grounds, a dozen cabins scattered throughout. The trees were groomed, the lawn manicured. “It’s a school.”

  “You seem surprised.” Her amused tone said she enjoyed exposing Raven’s ignorance.

  What really surprised her was the size of the place. “I thought I was supposed to help your coven.”

  “My coven runs this center.” Pride gave her eyes a certain gleam, and she led them to the middle of the campus, where a group of small cabins huddled. She pushed open the door to one and stepped back. “You’ll stay here while we conduct our business. Your tiger can stay in the barracks with the other shifters.”

  Durant stiffened, his hands curling into fists at the prospect of being separated. Raven halted, not even bothering to inspect the one-room cabin. She scanned the school grounds, then nodded to a row of cabins almost a mile away and off the beaten path. “One of those will work better.”

  The smile on the witch’s face became hard. “That will not be possible.”

  The thought of being surrounded, constantly watched and studied like a specimen raised the hairs on the back of her neck. She would not be used as a petri dish. Even now, their invasive stares frayed her composure and left her feeling exposed. Magic dusted the air, and she resisted the urge to sneeze and clear her head.

  Then she narrowed her eyes when she located the source.

  The cabin was wrapped in a tangle of spells, so subtle they were almost undetectable, no doubt set there to spy on them.

  Raven grinned and was rewarded when the pleased expression dropped off the woman’s face. “I have no intention of being parted from my guards. I’m sure you can see why having a vampire in the middle of your campus might not be the best choice.”

  Calculation danced in the witch’s eyes until the offer was grudgingly accepted. “Fine.”

  They were almost across the grounds when a bell tolled in the distance. In under a minute, smiling teenagers flooded the quad. A babble of voices filled the air, punctuated by shrieks of laughter. A few kids glanced at them. They quickly dismissed her, but Durant earned a number of admiring stares. That alone didn’t surprise her, he was a handsome man, but the calculation behind some of the looks did take her aback.

  Those kids saw him as a commodity, not a person.

  She resisted the urge to step in front of him.

  “I’m fine.” Humor lurked in Durant’s voice, and he nudged her forward, urging her to catch up with the witch.

  Raven flushed, then did as bided, practically running to escape his too-pleased expression, but the bastard easily kept pace. She felt him staring at her and shivered under his heated gaze. “Stop it.”

  His cat gave a pleased hum. “Stop what?”

  His damned hypnotic voice rubbed up against her skin, urging her to linger and flirt with him. Raven sighed in relief when the witch pulled open a door. Not waiting for an invitation, she launched herself inside the cabin, determined to keep her distance from the cat before he drove her insane. She couldn’t afford to bind him tighter to her, not until she could control her creature and make it abundantly clear that the pack was hers alone, not something she was willing to share.

  Durant followed relentlessly, as if sensing her pulling away, determined not to let her escape.

  “I assume this will suit your needs?” The witch trailed after them, her ire forgotten, seemingly fascinated by the interplay between Raven and Durant.

  Thankfully, Durant wandered away to inspect the small cabin, giving her room to breathe. The cabin had two rooms in addition to the main living area. To the right was a single room where a large bed stood front and center, taking up most of the cramped space…or maybe it was all she saw. The other room was a tiny bathroom. With the three of them, the place would be quite cozy.

  Though small, the space was adequate. She didn’t plan to spend any more time there than absolutely necessary. More importantly, the cabin was the farthest from the kids, and partially concealed by the tree line. The campus appeared as if it had been carved out of the wilderness, the woodland encroaching, determined to take it back. “It will do. But why do you have cabins in the first place when you have so many other buildings?”

  “Teachers bring a few of the more advanced students here for lessons. These buildings are used to study the more dangerous magic, the distance providing added protection for the other students in case the spells go awry.”

  “A way to prevent inflicting damage on others.” Which explained why the kitchen was be the largest room…a place where they could create their spells or be torn apart if they failed.

  The witch nodded, not volunteering anything further on the subject. “After those lessons, the wizards use this place to charge their charms. They usually stay until all the magic has either been used or faded beyond their grasp.”

  The witch was chatting in a friendly matter, but revealing nothing important. “Why don’t you tell me the real reason you wanted me here?”

  The witch hesitated, her head tipped as if listening to something only she could hear. “Dinner will take place in an hour in the main hall. We can discuss it afterwards. I want your take on what you see before I go into any details.”

  Raven stared off into space long after the witch had left, only becoming aware of her surroundings again when Durant silently came up behind her, and the delicious heat of him seeped into her chilled body. “Something about Heloise bothers you.”

  “So that’s her name.” Raven avoided his question, refusing to say more, not until she pinned down what troubled her. “We should go.”

  She didn’t care that they’d be early; she wanted to avoid being alone with Durant as much as possible. He was breaking down the barriers between them faster than she could erect new ones, and she couldn’t afford anyone getting too close. If she lost control and had to do the unthinkable, she couldn’t risk that they might guess the truth and try to stop her. If it was just her, she could lock herself away, but she refused to risk harming the pack she’d come to love.

  Durant didn’t protest. He dropped his bag on the bed and followed her out the door. Only a few students were about, less than a handful, all heading in the same direction.

  She could pick out a few shifters lingering at the outskirts of the campus, something in their stillness standing out. Despite not being full shifters, there was a lick of wildness in the air around them, signaling they were not quite human. The two she saw didn’t appeared injured in any way, but then again, it took a lot to damage shifters beyond their ability to heal. She inhaled to see if she could catch their scent, th
en jerked back in surprise when a whiff of their curiosity reached her. “They aren’t allowed on campus, are they? Kept away like wild animals who might attack at any moment.”

  “They might not be wrong.” Durant stepped closer as if to offer her comfort. “It’s for both the witches’ and shifters’ protection. The witches need to guard their children and their secrets. The shifters are stronger together, the pack offering its own protection.” He fell silent for a heartbeat. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She quickened her pace, hating him a little for being so perceptive. “Talk about what?”

  He didn’t back down, easily keeping pace, and she cursed the never ending shifter endurance. He wasn’t going to let her escape.

  “Oh, I don’t know. How about what you sacrificed to rescue the pack? That you killed a man and saw Taggert nearly die trying to save your life?”

  She shuddered, the memories of the near miss still too recent. She felt Durant study her and avoided looking at him lest he realize the devastating toll keeping Taggert alive had exacted. Raven didn’t regret her choice, she’d do it again; she just wished she had a way to counter her creature’s determination to wake.

  Durant was too silent.

  He wasn’t done with her yet. She could feel him crouching, getting ready to pounce.

  “Or we could discuss the fact that you’re changing and running scared.”

  She cringed, her shoulders tightening with each damning word. “Why don’t we concentrate on the case instead?” She glanced around the campus. “Why are we here? You’d think having us even in the vicinity of their children would be the last thing they’d want.”

  Long seconds passed when she thought he would refuse the change of subject. “Something has her rattled.”

  As the cluster of buildings thinned, a large manicured lawn spread out before them. At the end of the walkways stood an ancient mansion. Age thickened the air around the grounds, until she could almost feel the presence of something hovering over it.

  It wasn’t magic or spells.

  More like ghosts of those long dead.

  “Raven?” Durant came to stand in front of her, and she realized she must have stopped walking.