Warlock Unbound: Heart's Desire, Book 4 Read online

  “How so?” She’d witnessed Annabelle’s magic and some of the Becketts’ magic, but it looked pretty similar to her. “I mean, Annabelle explained that witches use their emotions to power their magic, and that negative emotions can cause a negative reaction. Other than that, she didn’t tell me where the power comes from.”

  Jo nodded. “That’s correct. A witch’s power does come from her emotions, but it’s important to control those emotions.”

  “And wizards are all cool and collected?” Kerry doubted that. All the Becketts were capable of temper tantrums. Chris was the only one she hadn’t seen lose his ever-loving mind.

  “Nah.” Gareth winked. “We can be total bastards, but it doesn’t affect us the way it does a witch.”

  Jo picked up where Gareth left off. “A wizard casts spells that take time, parsing out their power in doses so that they don’t exhaust themselves. Thus, their magic is strong without the wizard collapsing in battle, but they’re limited to those precast spells. Those spells are then cast on objects, like amulets, runes or charms.”

  “We use charms and amulets to hold those spells when we need them to be mobile,” Gareth corrected, “but usually the spell remains in the workroom. We stock our workrooms with everything we might need to cast a spell. It’s where we do all of our work, whereas a witch can cast spells outside the workroom without any problem whatsoever.”

  Kerry thought about the spell that had called her here. “Which is why the Beckett mate spell is cast in and remains in the workroom?”

  “Exactly.” Gareth’s eyes gleamed with approval.

  “So, what about witches?” Kerry leaned forward, fascinated.

  Jo folded her hands on her lap. “A witch is guided solely by instinct. She can cast a spell spontaneously, without the need of ritual, which gives her a greater versatility than a wizard at the cost of exhaustion of her power. This leads to witches collapsing if they use too much power to overcome something.”

  Gareth nodded. “I’ve seen it in Lana. She collapsed when she held back Cole’s storm, and Zach collapsed after defeating Davis Godwin and saving Chris from Cole’s curse. It takes a lot of power to do those spells, so the stronger the witch, the stronger the spell.” He put the ice pack back on his eye at Jo’s quiet urging. “There can seem to be more power in a witch than in a wizard, but that’s mostly because they tend to throw everything they have at you all at once, whereas a wizard is always holding something back. You won’t see a wizard fall to exhaustion unless it’s a truly lengthy battle. Completing a spell doesn’t take much energy, but it does take some.”

  “Is that why Annabelle’s spell couldn’t kick the hex off of me?”

  Jo and Gareth exchanged another glance. “No, I don’t think so,” Gareth answered slowly. “I think it had more to do with how powerful the hex is than the amount of power Annabelle has. While she’s strong, she’s not Own strong, and that’s what this hex needs in order to be removed.”

  “So I get to drink from the fire hose instead of the water fountain. Great.” Kerry leaned back in her chair, more questions bubbling in her mind now that she had two magics willing to talk to her about it. “Right. I think I get it, but what about warlocks?” Kerry shivered. “No offense, but the few I’ve met have been nuts. No offense to Gen, by the way. She’s awesome.”

  “Yes, she is.” Gareth leaned forward, placing his hand on Kerry’s. “I promise we’ll stop Arthur before he gets to you again.”

  “You think it was Arthur who put the sleeper hex on me?” It made a certain amount of sense. Davis was dead, and Hugh had been too busy trying to get the wizard king’s power to cast a sleeper hex. “How long would it take to cast something like this?”

  “A while, and it would take significant amounts of power.” Gareth shook his head. “Gen’s told me a lot about warlocks. They do rituals like a wizard, but can spontaneously cast like a witch. The only difference is their power comes from the outside rather than inside.”

  Jo nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Damn.” Kerry ran her free hand through her hair. “All right. Educate me, Professor Yashodar. Give me Warlocks 101.”

  Jo grinned. “You’ll be getting a test on this later.”

  “I’m an ace student.” Kerry winked. “Lay it on me, sistah.”

  “A warlock’s magic comes from without, not from within as it does with witches and wizards. They’re attuned to forces outside themselves, and draw their power from them. Most warlocks wind up being seduced by demons at an early age, around puberty, with little recourse but to accept the demon’s proposal.” Jo frowned. “Before I met Gen, I assumed that was how most warlocks got their power.”

  “Damn.” Kerry was fascinated. “They like them young, don’t they?”

  “And easily malleable. The young ones don’t fight all that hard, not when the demon whispers to them that they’ll have everything they desire. All you have to do is pay the demon back, usually with your soul or the souls of your victims.”

  “Which is what the Godwin boys are doing.”

  “Not exactly. Davis Godwin was powering up, trying to bring his demon here to earth. If that happened, the demon would have used him to try and take over the magical world. Once that was accomplished, it would create an army of magics, forcing us to go to war with the mundanes. The end of that would be—”

  “Hell on earth,” Gareth interrupted.

  “Yeah. That would suck. I kinda like the earth the way it is. It’s where I keep all my stuff.”

  Jo giggled. “Me too.”

  “But you said there were other ways for warlocks to get power. How?” Kerry had to know. The desire for knowledge was burning brightly inside her.

  “The elementals are another way a warlock can gain power without having to succumb to the dark, but you always run the risk that the elementals will burn you out before you can learn to control their magic. They are powerful, but untamable. Only an iron will can withstand the force of their magic. There are also the gods. Binding yourself to one causes you to become an Own.”

  “Is it really that easy?” Somehow Kerry doubted it.

  Jo shook her head. “Not at all. An Own is born if the Goddess accepts the plea of one born to be hers. And make no mistake, they are born, not made. Zach and Gen were always meant to pledge themselves to the Goddess. It’s as natural as breathing for them.”

  “And the God?” Kerry knew that the Becketts called on both in their rituals. Was there such a thing as an Own of the God?

  Jo shrugged. “There are those who follow the God and channel from him rather than the Goddess. Like Hecate’s Own, they’re born to it rather than made. From what I’ve heard they’re unique, each one of them, and quite possibly insane, but they get the job done the same as Hecate’s Own do.”

  “So, that’s it, right? No other ways to make a baby warlock?”

  Jo and Gareth exchanged a quick, intense glance. It was Gareth who answered. “There is one other way, but it’s so rarely done that I’ve never met someone who’s done it.”

  “Oh?”

  “A warlock could choose to bond with another magic user in a sort of symbiotic relationship. The combination can be strong, because the witch or wizard must be a willing participant, but as I said, they’re so rare I think of them as fairytales.”

  Why would someone ever allow someone else to use their powers? “What does the witch or wizard get out of it if they do choose to bond, and what does the warlock get?”

  “The warlock gets power, that much is obvious.” Gareth spoke softly, his expression thoughtful as he looked once more at Jo. “What does the witch or wizard get?”

  Jo shrugged. “How the hell do I know? I teach this stuff, but I’ve never met a warlock bound to another person before. Maybe they get an unshakeable bond? A companion for life? A soul mate?”

  Soul mate? “Like a husband and wife team
who happen to be magical?”

  Jo seemed to like that. “Or best friends, so in tune with one another that they complete each other’s sentences.”

  “Or brothers.” Gareth nodded. “I would bond with one of them if necessary. I trust all three with my life and my power.”

  That might be true, but there was more to it than that. There had to be. Otherwise warlocks would bond with other magics all the time. “But what are the consequences?” She glanced between Gareth and Jo, seeing their immediate winces. “Not just of a bond like that, but all magic use?”

  “Well, for one, most wizards and witches don’t get along well. We don’t understand one another’s methods of magical working, and are often frustrated with one another because we don’t understand what the fuck is going on.” Gareth put the ice pack back in his lap. “I hope to change that, at least to some degree.”

  Jo nodded. “And all warlocks are viewed with suspicion because the dark warlocks are so much more prevalent than the light ones. It’s easier just to assume that a warlock is a bad guy than talk to one and find out whether or not they’re light, dark or in between.”

  “And then there’s karma.” Jo’s eyes widened in fear. “You really need to learn about that.”

  Kerry knew this one. Annabelle had been very adamant that she learn it. “That’s the an it harm none part, right?”

  “Exactly.” Gareth grinned, and for a moment Kerry saw Daniel in the oldest Beckett brother, making her long for Daniel’s presence. “You do something to someone without provocation and you’ll get your ass handed to you in a spike-lined basket.”

  Jo laughed, the sound low and musical. “Indeed. And no one wants spiked goodies unless they’re at a frat party.”

  “Jo!” Kerry giggled.

  “What?”

  Like Jo’s innocent look fooled any of them.

  Jo stood. “I think I have an idea of how to hold the hex once we remove it, but I need to check your workroom, G-man.” Jo strode for the door. “You stay with Kerry so Daniel knows we were protecting her, all right?”

  “Gotcha.” Gareth’s gaze as he watched Jo leave was full of amusement. “So. Gin Rummy?”

  Kerry laughed. “Sure.” And let’s hope I don’t accidentally decapitate myself with the cards.

  Chapter Nine

  “We lost him, but hey! We gained a few kids.” Zach breezed into Gareth’s apartment ahead of Daniel. For some reason the witch was still full of energy. Daniel was the one who was exhausted.

  Daniel stumbled into Gareth’s apartment, so tired he couldn’t see straight. “And what the fuck happened to the elevator?” The stairs were brutal. His thighs were staging a revolt, and his calves were screaming about abuse.

  “Kerry,” Jo replied, placing an open box on the coffee table.

  Gen glanced around with a small frown. “Where is Gareth?”

  Daniel’s wolf howled. Fuck Gareth. Daniel wanted to know what was wrong with his mate. “What happened to Kerry?”

  Jo studied the contents of the box intently, not even glancing in their direction. “Kerry’s been hexed.”

  Daniel’s claws extended, scratching against the glass tumbler.

  Zach blinked, his shock evident. “What? How?”

  “According to Annabelle, it was a sleeper hex. Once Daniel cast the mate spell, it activated. So I did some research on sleeper hexes to figure out why she didn’t blow up our protections.” Jo sighed wearily.

  “And?” Daniel wanted to know. If anyone else was under such a hex, it could hit at any time. Hell, they’d kidnapped Jo. Could she be under some kind of sleeper hex as well?

  Nah. Zach would have noticed something like that. Zach seemed to specialize in hex removal and warlock beat-downs.

  “Turns out she didn’t set off our wards or protections because there was nothing there to detect until it went live. And the amulets were given to her after the sleeper hex was cast, so they didn’t detect it either until it was too late.” From the circles around Jo’s eyes and her slumped shoulders, she’d managed to exhaust herself. “I’m sorry, Daniel.”

  “I knew it. I knew there was a reason my wolf didn’t want to cast the spell, but oh, no, you guys had to insist I do it anyway.” Daniel began to pace, his wolf wanting out in the worst way.

  “Think of it this way. We never would have discovered the hex if you hadn’t cast the mate spell. We would have lost both of you, because the hex would have slowly poisoned her life.” Jo held up a small bowl of what appeared to be dust. “This is the only remains of the doll that Annabelle used to protect Kerry long enough to get her here. This isn’t some big blow-out hex, Daniel. This is long-term poison. I think it’s been affecting her since her kidnapping, but it was so low-key that none of us noticed it.”

  Daniel stared at the dust. A hex that strong could have killed her easily. “Where is Kerry now?”

  “In your suite, wrapped in bubble wrap. Gareth is with her.” Jo placed the small pile of dust into a plastic zipper bag, closing it tight. “Just in case we need this for the hex removal.”

  “Gimme.” Zach took the bag and put it in his pouch. “Even if I don’t need it for the removal, I will want to do something with it. This holds part of the damage Kerry was supposed to take. It will need to be disposed of properly or it could harm her again.”

  “Or be used to pull the damage out of the dust and redirect it back to her.” Gen shivered.

  Daniel nodded. That made sense. It would be sympathetic magic, a part of Kerry used to harm her. “Let’s go.”

  Zach held the door open for Daniel, following him down the corridor. Gen remained behind, talking quietly with Jo. “I’m going to need to take a look at her. I want to make sure I get this right.”

  “You will. I trust you.” Zach’s screw-ups with magic hadn’t been his fault, not really. As an Own, his power was incredible. He’d be able to get the hex off of Kerry, just as he’d removed the ones from Lana and himself. Zach was the most experienced of all of them when it came to this sort of spell work.

  Daniel opened the door and stopped dead, Zach bumping into him from behind.

  Kerry was on his couch, her hands clenched in her lap, her expression so fearful he wanted to snap Arthur Godwin like a twig. “Hey.”

  She gave him a tiny, embarrassed shrug. “Hey.”

  He stepped into his suite, feeling like he was hunting his prey. She shivered on the sofa, so stiff he knew she was going to bolt the moment someone touched her. “We’re going to make this all right.”

  “That’s what they tell me.” She stared at him, that fearful expression still on her face. “How have you been?”

  “Growly,” Zach answered before Daniel could.

  “Pissy,” Gareth added. He was seated across from Kerry, playing cards in his hands. His brother had been trying to keep Kerry calm, probably with Gin Rummy. It was one of the few card games Gareth knew other than Solitaire.

  “We thought about checking him for fleas or ticks, but we can’t get him to sit still long enough.” Zach flinched back when Daniel tried to pop him one on the arm. “What? Tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

  Gareth ignored Zach, instead moving to Kerry’s side. He picked up one of her hands, holding it between his own.

  If Gareth weren’t mated Daniel would have ripped his arm off for touching Kerry when she was so frightened. Instead, his wolf approved of his brother bringing his mate a sense of safety and security even if Daniel’s human half wanted to pop his brother one for taking his spot at her side.

  “All right. Now that Dumb and Dumber are here, Zach is going to work with Gen on getting the hex off of you. In the meantime, I want you to stay here, right by Daniel’s side. Nothing’s going to happen while you’re in his suite.”

  Gareth’s attempt to reassure Kerry seemed to be falling flat, because Kerry pulled her han
ds out of Gareth’s and touched his black eye. “Really? Daniel will be safe here with me?”

  “Well, ah…” Gareth cleared his throat. “Try hard not to kill him?”

  Daniel stared at his brother. “Why did you phrase that as a question?”

  “You’ve been really snarly?” Gareth laughed when Daniel growled. “Down, pup.”

  Daniel huffed and shooed his brother away from Kerry. “We’ll be fine, asshole. Just go do your king stuff and leave us alone.”

  “What about your job?” Zach glanced at Gareth. “Because I ain’t doing it.”

  Gareth shrugged. “Mac can handle the extra chores while we make sure Kerry is safe.”

  “Did you talk to Mac about that? He must be thrilled.” Daniel’s new job wasn’t an easy one. Giving Mac the extra work would mean long, sleepless nights for the steward of the court.

  “He’ll be fine.”

  “If you say so.” Daniel turned his attention once more to Kerry. “Anything you want or need?”

  She blinked. “A toothbrush, clean underwear, some scrubs and the TV remote.”

  “I told you, Annabelle is packing up your apartment.” Gareth crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll have your stuff in no time.”

  Kerry glared at Gareth. “I’m not wearing the same panties for days.” She turned to Daniel, her expression softening. “Can you get Lana up here? She’ll get what I need.”

  Daniel nodded. He’d get Prince Roland and Princess Arianna if that were her request. “I’ll call her in a bit, but first things first. Zach?”

  Zach began to glow as he approached Kerry. “Wow. That’s…nasty.”

  “How hard will it be to get rid of it?” A hex so dangerous it caused an elevator to crash was way too dangerous to fuck around with. Hell, a meteor could fall out of the sky right on her head.

  He glanced up at the ceiling. Yup, still there.

  “Pretty damn hard. It’s embedded deep, deeper than the one that was on me. I’ll need Gen’s help to get rid of it, I think.” Zach strode toward the door. “Come see me once Kerry is settled.”