Colin: Her Warlock Protector Book 4 Read online

  He started to speak, and she shook her head.

  “And what waits for me when I get back?”

  “A hearing first,” Colin said, sounding relieved. Honestly, she could have laughed. “You'll state in front of a set of mediators why you injured the coven master. He will be allowed to present his side of things. The consequences may be harsh, but you can be assured that they will be fair.”

  “I'm sure,” she said, doing her best to sound contrite.

  She stepped closer to him, something that seemed to startle him. Now there was just a few feet of space separating them, and she became aware of how good he smelled. There was just a touch of cologne on him, and whatever it was, it was mild and spicy, and she liked it.

  “Do you think I'll be okay?” she murmured, and he looked down for a moment, which was far from what she wanted.

  “I do,” he said, finally. “I'm not a mediator. But I have heard things about your coven master, and this is not the first hearing he has been sent for.”

  Selene laughed a little, and that made him look up startled. That was what she had been waiting for. This close, she could see that his eyes, whatever their color, were pale. It was a surprise against his black hair, but that mattered less than the fact that she could hold his gaze.

  “Praxis,” she muttered, and she saw him go still.

  This was a variation on the spell she had worked on Yasmine. It held him motionless, and it showed him that her powers worked in more than one way. The praxis charm would help him remember, but it also had the very handy side effect of putting him into a trance that would last until someone disturbed him. He was calm now, and she smiled.

  “I suppose I could lecture you on being so careless with a rogue like me,” she said softly, “but I'm sure your precious commandant will do that. I want you, and any other Corps members who come after me to know what they're dealing with, okay? I'm not some scared little witch who just realized she can spit fire. I'm not a terrified rogue who's desperate to be found. I took out a coven master. You know what that means. I'm taking off now, and if you don't want to be in a serious world of hurt, you won't come looking for me again.”

  She paused, and for a sudden, strange and wild moment, she wanted to punctuate her speech with a kiss. There was something about the combination of his scent, the way his lips looked in the low light, and his body that was compelling. She had to force herself back. Instead, she contented herself with a blown kiss thrown over her shoulder as she walked around him and headed down the street.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “SIR? SIR, ARE you all right?”

  Colin opened his eyes as if he were waking up in his own bed in his cabin in the Catskills. He shook his head. Where just a moment before, he had be staring down at a woman who might have been the most dangerous witch in her generation, now he was looking at a pleasant-faced blond woman carrying a small bag of trash.

  “Sir, should I call someone?”

  He smiled at her, and shook his head.

  “No, no, I'm fine. I just got lost in my thoughts there.”

  For an hour and a half, he realized, checking his watch.

  The woman looked a little comforted, and she nodded.

  “Do you need some food or something?”

  With a start, Colin realized that she thought he was looking for a handout, and he laughed.

  “No, but thank you for your kindness. I suppose I'm not really feeling myself tonight. So, I'll take myself off.”

  He walked onto the street, and as he did so, he pulled his smartphone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and dialed a number he had memorized. The line picked up immediately.

  “Stephan here. How's it going, Colin?”

  “Well, I made contact.”

  “How'd that go?”

  “I made contact. She held me in place while she told me to go fuck myself. And she left me with my memories.”

  “That’s a good thing?”

  “Well, it's not a terrible thing,” he said. “I figured out that her powers need eye contact. That's what I wanted to know.”

  “I am glad you figured that out, and that you still remember how to use a phone.”

  The relief in Stephan's voice was real. When Selene Lapointe had been discovered more than ten years ago, there were already mutterings about what should be done with a witch so powerful. The ability to manipulate memories was a rare power, and in the past, it was whispered that it was rarer still because those who possessed this power were frequently found guilty of terrible things and summarily executed.

  “So it sounds like phase one of your plan is taken care of,” Stephan observed. “What happens next?”

  “The next thing to do is use your clever little toy to track her down. This is going to work, right?”

  “What do you take me for, Colonel? Of course it will. Now that you've spoken to her, just picture her in your mind, do that magic that you do, and boom. That's all.”

  “Sounds a little too convenient. Are there any catches I should know about?”

  “Nope. Just that if you lose it, I'm sure as hell not replacing it. That's a one of a kind item, and it might be a hundred years before I can make another.”

  Other officers might deride Stephan for making toys, but Colin had simply been in the field too long to really disregard the man's talents. They were useful, and they made things possible that hadn't been for most of his career as a Corps officer. He knew that Stephan's devices had saved more than one life.

  “I understand. I'm heading off after Miss Lapointe now.”

  “Good luck. Hope you can remember me saying that in a few hours.”

  Stephan hung up, and Colin pocketed his phone thoughtfully. The amulet in his hand was a humble little thing. It was a leather thong knotted several times and threaded through a small black stone with a hole worn through it. He could feel its power, however, and he could feel it respond to his own. Now that he had made contact with Selene Lapointe, he could find her again. The thought made him smile.

  He had seen the way her golden eyes had lit up when she got close. He knew that his compact and muscular body had had an effect on her. He had been drawn to her as well. There was something about curvy women who knew what they wanted that always got to him.

  He knew that there was a more sober component to the chase. Selene was a confirmed rogue, and that meant that if he couldn't convince her, he would have to kill her. However, in his long life, there were only a handful of executions that he had had to oversee. He knew that Selene, no matter her troubles, could be made to see reason. Despite the potential grim work in front of him, a part of him was relishing that chase. It was a hunt, and he had always been a good hunter.

  The amulet in his hands lit up, emitting a shower of copper sparks, and he was reminded of Selene's hair. With a grin, he reached for his own power, and between the space of two heartbeats, he disappeared.

  CHAPTER THREE

  THERE WAS NO way that a waitress could afford Selene's apartment. It was a beautiful little brownstone at the end of a street paved in cobblestones. The interior was decorated with a charming old-world aesthetic, and the only thing that looked even vaguely modern was the computer in the study.

  Selene stripped out of her clothing with relief when the door was locked behind her. She grinned when a white ferret danced its way up to her toes.

  “Well hello there, little Bitsy. Did you miss me today?”

  She let the ferret nibble lightly on her fingers before going to the kitchen to prepare her pet's dinner. When Bitsy was happily munching away, Selene found herself torn.

  With a day like the one she had had, she wanted nothing more than to sink into her bathtub amidst a huge pile of bubbles and read a favorite book. However, her real job called, and instead she logged onto her computer. It took a few moments for even her powerful machine to handle the encryption, and she made a face when she saw an assignment waiting for her.

  She quickly scanned the several lines of text that she had b
een given. It looked simple enough, and it was even local. She didn't have to travel, and typically, she liked those jobs the best. She gave a passing thought to the handsome colonel she had dealt with earlier that evening, but she strongly doubted she would see him again. Most of the Magus Corps was more than happy to steer clear of her after they’d had a demonstration of her powers. She assumed that this one would be no different. Still, it might not be a bad thing to find herself a new place soon. She had been in Chicago for quite some time, and it was never a bad idea to stay mobile, to keep moving.

  She confirmed her assignment and logged off. She was headed for the bathroom when she realized that she would be sad to leave the home that she had created for herself. It was beautiful, and she’d had a wonderful time picking the items out. Selene sighed. It all went away sooner or later, and she tried to be philosophical about it. The apartment was lovely, but she was beginning to get the idea that this comfort was more a trap than anything else for her.

  Her bathroom was a modern wonder. There were two steps leading up to the deep round bath, and it filled quickly with gushing hot water. She poured plenty of bubble solution in, and when she stepped into the water, she sank to the bottom with a happy sigh. This was one of the pleasures that she had craved during her girlhood. She had imagined it in vivid detail when she was a young teen. But now that she had it, there was definitely something missing.

  As she slid into the water and under the bubbles, she thought of the colonel and her lips curved unconsciously into a smile. She remembered how muscular he was, and how good he had smelled. There was the way he had watched her—like a hawk—the way she knew he would move. Oh, it was a dangerous game to dream after a man like that, but it was fine, she reasoned, if she never saw him again.

  Selene imagined those broad and strong hands on her body, and the thought made her warm with pleasure. She wondered what he looked like under his clothes, whether he would be stoically silent or whether she could make him cry out with need. She was becoming lost in her fantasy. She could practically feel the way his hand would cup the back of her neck, how his lips would trace over her breast…

  “This is a little indelicate, for which I apologize.”

  Her eyes flew open, and she made an undignified sound. The colonel—Colin—was not a figment of her imagination. Instead, he was standing far too solid and real in her bathroom, watching her with a glint in his eyes. She could see now that they were the green of summer leaves, and it struck her idiotically how pretty they were before she realized what was going on.

  “How the hell did you get in here?” she demanded. “How did you find me?”

  “You're not that hard to track,” he said easily. “Not for someone like me. I assume that you didn't mean to run out on our conversation, Miss Lapointe. As a member of the Corps, I am offering you a chance to return home. We Wiccans are just like other people after all, and you've been away from your own kind for so long.”

  “I don't have a kind,” she snapped. “There's no one like me.”

  He ran appreciative eyes over the length of the tub, and she had to reassure herself that she was covered in bubbles before looking back at him.

  “I would well believe that there is no one like you,” he said. “You're quite right. But that must mean that you want the company of those who understand. Why would you live among people who could never understand or appreciate who you are and what you can do?”

  “I know a few who appreciate me well enough,” she said, and his eyes darkened.

  “Lovers?” he asked silkily, and she squirmed at the heat in his voice.

  “None of your business. Get out of my house.”

  “I'm afraid I am not going to do that,” he said with a playful grin. “I need your answer. I will not move forward without you saying yes or no to returning with me, and I will not leave your side either.” Up until this point, he had mostly been avoiding her gaze. Now he looked at her fully, green eyes wide. “What happens next is entirely up to you.”

  She was too panicked to reach for the spell with the command word praxis. Instead, she reverted to an old form of her powers, one that simply removed a few memories and rendered the subject quiet and still. Colin stood as if turned to stone. Selene gingerly got out of the tub and stepped around him. She thought longingly of her bed, and then she shook herself. She needed to move, and she needed to move now.

  She put on a tattered black sweater and a pair of black jeans, and though it gave her a pang to leave behind her growing shoe collection, she stomped into a pair of black boots. With a black beanie covering her bright hair, she looked as nondescript as she could possibly get. She threw some clothes into a small bag, and smiled when Bitsy immediately climbed in with her shirts and socks.

  On her way out of the apartment, she wondered if she would ever see it again, and then she told herself that she was being foolish.

  I should be willing to give up a dozen apartments if it meant I never saw Colonel Colin MacDaniel again, she thought, but then an image came to her mind of tumbling Colin down on her enormous bed.

  She shook the thought out of her head, and locked the door behind her. She had to relocate, and she knew it.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SOMETIME AFTER SELENE fled, Colin snapped awake. His recall of what had happened was patchy. He could remember her tone of voice, but not necessarily what was said. He wondered if he should be more disturbed by that, but then he remembered how she had looked: luxurious but then surprised when he had caught her in the bath. The bubbles had hidden everything he’d wanted to see, but he remembered the flush of pink on her cheeks well enough.

  He took out his smartphone.

  “Stephan here.”

  “I'm at her den, and I'll send the address along. She hit me with something that makes me a little dazed, but I'm holding up just fine. I'm going after her now.”

  “Roger that,” said Stephan efficiently. “If I don't get a message from you at least every forty-eight hours, I'm going to send someone to look for you.”

  “I don't like it, but that's smart,” he admitted. “If she does something truly nasty to me, you need to send someone to clean up.”

  Stephan paused.

  “Are you sure this is worth it?” he asked. “She's a single rogue.”

  “Those powers of hers turned against the Templars? I'm sure. I saw her heal a young woman tonight for no other reason than that she could. She lifted that woman's pain off of her, out of her. That counts for something, and I would like to see if she could be brought over to our side of things.”

  “The commandant wasn't certain about you taking this mission at all,” Stephan said bluntly. “I thought it would work if it was a strict kill mission. I don't like it, but it has to happen sometimes. You're the only one who thinks that it’s possible.”

  “I am. Trust me a little longer.”

  “Guess I'm going to have to.”

  After he hung up, he pulled out the little amulet again, and he thought about Selene. He thought about the fire in her, her courage and her beauty. The amulet gave off a shoal of sparks, and his own power responded to it. He was gone.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE TRAIN STATION was mostly empty at three in the morning. Selene sat slouched in one of the blue chairs off to one side. She had been up for almost twenty-four hours, and she knew that the exhaustion was catching up with her. The panic that had propelled her flight was wearing off, and it was leaving her a shaking mess.

  She reached into her bag where Bitsy was doing her best impression of a pair of white socks, and she got a gentle nibble of comfort. Despite her dire circumstances, her little pet's presence soothed her, and she stroked the ferret's narrow head.

  Selene had dealt with the Magus Corps before. She had sent most of their officers running, though she had to admit at least to herself that was because the majority of them had been lieutenants. All she’d had to do was to wipe their memories of simple things, small things, and that was all it took to se
nd them away as quickly as they could go. It would have been laughable if it wasn't so sad.

  She had taken away names of close friends, important phone numbers, all sorts of useless and trivial details as far as she was concerned, but as soon as she had done it, she had been allowed to disappear as she liked. They never made it a point to come looking for her, and more than once, she had suspected that they had simply reported her as a problem dealt with, rather than admitting to their own failure.

  But this colonel was different.

  Selene shivered.

  There was something about his frame, the way he smiled, the determination in his vivid green eyes, that told her that he would not be so easy to throw off the trail. There was no way that she was going to send him running with her little tricks. At this point, she wasn't even sure if they were working on him. This was something else again, and she felt a shiver of fear run up her spine.

  Fear? Was that all?

  In the cold, late night, she decided to be honest with herself. It was more than fear. There was a certain animal attraction about it as well. There was something profoundly compelling about the man, about the way he enacted his will on the world. She had long thought that the Corps were a group of men who set the rules and then had no way to enforce them, but now she wasn't so sure.

  She knew her Wiccan history as well as the next rogue, and she knew that the Corps had carved order from nothing. Where before there had only been lawless magic-workers, then there were the iron rules of conduct enforced to keep the entire population of witches and warlocks safe. She could well imagine Colin as one of the first members of the organization, warlocks who had imposed their law with nothing more than brute force and strength of will.

  Given how old witches and warlocks could become, there was nothing that said he couldn't have been one of them.

  “Where are you from, anyway?” she muttered.