9
“You’ll never get what you want from me,” Jacob said with a sneer as he stared at the black-haired witch. Her magic had been intense when she’d marched him back into the basement, and the air was so thick with it that he’d almost been unable to breathe. It was a little better now, but every time he tried to reach for his own air magic, it just left him out of breath.
She tossed her head back and laughed. “You have no idea what I want.”
Jacob glanced down at the magical bindings that were holding him to the bed and raised one eyebrow. “You’re hardly a witch of mystery.”
“Well, that. Sure. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been with a man? In this body, I mean? Years . And you’re young and handsome. You should take it as a compliment that I’m even considering letting you seduce me.”
He snorted. “Seduce? I don’t even know your name.”
She gave him a curious look. “Does that really matter to men?”
Wow. This woman was a piece of work. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that yes, it does.”
“Fine. It’s Kariann. Better?”
At least he knew her name, but that wouldn’t change anything. He’d let her touch him over his dead body. “What’s your relationship to Marylin?” he asked, hoping to distract her.
“I don’t want to talk about my sister right now. She’s taken enough from me already.” Kariann moved to sit next to Jacob, placing her hand on his thigh.
He twitched, trying to get away from her. His skin crawled as his mind raced, trying to come up with a plan to get out of his current predicament. If he couldn’t wield his air magic, his only choice was pure blunt force. He’d have to get her to untie him first though.
“Now don’t be like that. I don’t bite.” She pumped her eyebrows. “Unless you want me to.”
He swallowed the bile that rose to the back of his throat. “What I want is for you to untie me. I’m not into bondage.”
She gave him a flat stare. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Do you think I’m a whore?”
Kariann’s lips quirked into an amused smile.
He wanted to wipe that look right off her face, but he schooled his features and asked, “What else do you want, besides… this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I want to be free of Marylin’s body and this depressing farmhouse. I want to be free to live however I want without her always judging me. All I need is more power. If I take you, I’ll have enough power to finally break the ties that have bound us together for the last eight months.”
“You think having sex with me will give you the power to break free from your sister?” he asked, feeling fairly scandalized.
She let out a bark of humorless laughter. “Sex? Now that’s funny. There’s no time for that right now, handsome. Though, if you survive when this is all over, we can revisit the idea then.”
He blinked at her, confused. “I thought…” He shook his head. “What’s all this about then? Why do you have me tied to the bed, and why is your hand still on my thigh?”
“You’re a handsome man. A girl can fantasize, can’t she?”
He was tired of her games. “Just tell me what you want.”
“Your magic, of course.” Her tone was light and airy as if she hadn’t just told him her plan was to steal something as vital to him as his very soul.
“I don’t think so,” he said, glaring at her.
“You don’t have a choice.” Kariann moved in and covered his mouth with hers.
Jacob jerked his head away from her, but she just crawled on top of him and forced him down onto his back, all while keeping her mouth locked with his. He jerked his head from side to side, but her hands came up, holding him in a vice-like grip, determined to take what wasn’t hers. He kicked and bucked and then finally settled as he tried to focus on the magic that she’d latched on to and was successfully sucking from his body.
He imagined his magic concentrating at his palms, and suddenly instead of it pouring into her it was rushing down his arms and into his hands. He couldn’t manipulate it in any way. Couldn’t unleash it to remove his bindings or to force Kariann off him, but at least he’d stopped her from stealing his magic.
It was a start.
Kariann redoubled her efforts, squeezing his head so tightly that he felt as if it might explode. His entire body was coiled with tension as he did everything he could to keep control of his magic. All of his muscles started to ache, and his head pounded. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.
And then, suddenly Jacob felt heat burning his wrists. He jerked and the restraints ripped away. Immediately, he grabbed Kariann’s wrists and forced her hands away from his head. Once he was free from her grip, he grabbed her by the arms and forcefully removed her from his body.
“No one seduces my husband,” Yvette said right before she swung one of the floor lamps and clobbered Kariann in the head with the base. The witch slumped over and then crumpled onto the floor of the basement.
“Yvette,” Jacob cried as he jumped up from the bed, all the magic that had been restraining him gone. “Are you all right?”
“Are you?” She grabbed his arms and inspected his wrists. “I’m sorry I burned you. I didn’t know what else to do. She had her lips locked to yours, and I was afraid if I attacked her I’d hit you. The way she was smothering you with her lips, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t miss and hit you both.”
“What?” He glanced down at his wrists, and when he saw his singed skin, he understood what had happened. Yvette had gotten into the basement and had used her fire magic to burn away his restraints. “It’s all right. When we get home, I’ll go to the healer. I’m sure they’ll get me fixed up.”
Yvette lurched forward and wrapped her arms around Jacob, holding on tightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
He clutched her. “I’m sorry you were left outside. How did you get in here?”
She pulled back and then held her hands up. They were covered in dirt and so were her T-shirt and jeans.
“Did you dig your way out of the garden?” he asked, gently inspecting her hands. A couple of her fingers were raw and red with blood.
“I did what I had to. What exactly was going on in here? I saw that wench forcing herself on you. Is that really what she wanted? Any man to…” She waved her hand in the air. “To satisfy her?”
He couldn’t help the inappropriate laughter that bubbled up from the back of his throat.
“It’s not funny, Jacob,” she said, looking over at the witch who was still sprawled out on the floor.
“Sorry. She didn’t want that. She wanted my magic,” he said quickly. “She was going to suck it right out of me.”
Yvette’s eyes got wide and then she snarled as she looked at the witch on the ground. “That miserable old crow. She was going to steal your magic?”
He nodded as he stood and looked at her. “She’s sharing a body with her sister and wants to be free. She thinks more power will help her achieve that goal.”
“That’s… insane. Would she take your body, too?”
“I’m guessing she planned to take Marylin’s. Kill her off and keep her shell, maybe.”
Yvette closed her eyes and grimaced. “What do we do now? We can’t just leave.”
“We still need to figure out how to reverse the curse in Keating Hollow,” Jacob said. “You haven’t forgotten why we came here, have you?”
“Oh, right. Marylin told me that we need to find the missing broom. I think she meant the one that should be on the cover. She said then we could reverse the curse.”
“How?” Jacob asked.
“She disappeared before she could elaborate. All I know is that our next mission is to find that broom.”
“A finding spell?” he asked.
“I think so. Between the two of us, I think we can do it.” Yvette looked at Kariann. “What do we do about her?”
“We can’t leave her here like this. She’s too dangerous. We better take her to Drew,” he said, already kneeling beside the woman. “What should we bind her with?”
Yvette picked up a pair of pink furry handcuffs, holding them with just her thumb and forefinger. “Will these do?”
He groaned but then nodded. “It’s probably the best we’ve got. I’ll reinforce them with my air magic.”
“Better use this too.” She handed him a silk scarf. “Use it as a gag. We can’t have her muttering spells if she comes to on the way back to town.”
He nodded and got to work.