Eleri Stone - Witch Bound

“I know what it is,” he hissed.

She swallowed hard. “It will allow you to cross without danger to the bridge.”

“Or it might kill us both. You cannot know for certain.”

“The reason the demons can cross Asbrú is because of the geis binding them to us. They can’t leave Asgard until all of us are dead. If you’re bound to me, you can cross too. It will work.” She saw confirmation of that on the witch’s face.

“You dabble in things you do not understand, child,” Kamis said. “Even the gods did not place such things lightly.”

“It’s the only way I could think of so. Unless you have a better idea...”

His jaw clenched and she felt certain that he would deny it even though she knew she was right. Rane dropped from her ledge, landed a foot away from him. Kamis looked at her and some of the defiance seemed to drain from him. “Until Surtr attempted to use my magic to break the curse laid on his kind by mine, he believed that there was a chance he could one day return to his home. They’ve lost their connection to their world and only survive because you do. The geis keeps them alive, binds them to you and allows them to cross Asbrú. It has also...changed them. Once they were not so very different from you or I. I don’t know exactly what your geis will do to me, but it will change me as well.”

“But will it work?” Aiden repeated.

Kamis stared at Raquel as if looking into her soul. Measuring, weighing her and the price she was asking him to pay. The geis would give her complete control over not only his power but his will, if she chose to abuse the link. “It will allow me to cross Asbrú.”

“Will you accept it?” Aiden asked him. The alternative was death, he didn’t need to say it out loud. But many people would choose death over the alternative she offered.

When Kamis nodded, Raquel stepped forward to place the slender chain around his neck. At first there was nothing. Kamis touched the small stone which was bound in silver and suspended on a leather cord. She felt a flash of disappointment as she started to climb to her feet. Then the rune magic activated and dropped her to her knees. Too much. His power compared to hers—the imbalance was too great. The witch’s power wrapped around her body and entered her, seeking to bond to her magic, trying to find space inside her where there was none.

He was so strong. She’d never imagined...

Vaguely, she was aware of someone shaking her shoulder and then of Aiden shouting in her ear. She couldn’t swim up to the surface to answer him. It was the Vanir that kept her from drowning when he could have taken control of her magic, overpowered her through the link and leashed her instead. He...pulled back even as Aiden tossed her over his shoulder and passed her to Christian. When Christian called her name, she blinked and the world snapped back into place.

But this wasn’t her world. They needed to get the hell out of here.

The demons were beginning to swarm. The hounds were still holding them back but even as she watched, the circle tightened. They would need Christian’s sword and he couldn’t fight when he was carrying her.

“I can hold on.” By the time she was secure behind Christian, Aiden had managed to get the Vanir witch onto the horse with him. She didn’t know how Kamis was holding on. He looked half-dead, but his face tightened with determination as Aiden gave a shout. The hunt was on the move again.

She was aware of motion. At one point, she was nearly bumped out of the saddle by a sudden stop, but Christian grabbed her arm and jerked her back into place. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she shouted, but she wasn’t really. It was taking all her concentration to get a grip on the binding. Kamis was not only the most powerful witch she’d ever encountered, he also had exquisite control over his power. She was beginning to suspect that he’d nearly reversed the geis just to show her that he could. To prove a point. Not out of pride, but out of warning. It wouldn’t matter. He couldn’t remove it now that it was set, no more than he would be able to remove the amulet from his neck. He was hers, but she was having a hell of a time adjusting to the change. It was more of a burden than she’d expected and she felt like a donkey with a poorly weighted load.

“An ass,” came the amused commentary from down the link.

Oh , shit. “Get out of my head.”

Christian stiffened. “Raquel?”

“I’m fine,” she said, and Christian bent again over the neck of his horse. The horses could ride faster than the demons could run and it was a full out race to the portal now. The only demons they engaged were the ones they couldn’t avoid. Those they trampled when they could, attempted to behead them if they got within range of their weapons.

Kamis’s consciousness crowded her and Raquel pushed against it, aware that she needed to lock her own thoughts inside her head. As they streaked through the shadow world that Asgard had become, she built a mental shield. She didn’t want the Vanir to be able to pick up on her thoughts. Even more than that, she didn’t want to know his.

Ahead, the portal was an open gash, bleeding the warmth of Midgard into this dead world. At the edge of her consciousness, she felt Aiden removing the blocks he’d placed after they crossed. As they barreled toward the portal, he widened the flow so that the hunt could pass through again and return home. She and Kamis should go last...just in case.

Christian and Aiden seemed to think the same thing because they slowed, allowing the rest to push forward. A flash of movement caught her eye and she sucked in a mouthful of cold, metallic air before realizing that it was Fen. How long had he been there? Pacing along a step behind them, protecting their flank.

The static hum of the portal increased as the first riders reached it. Almost there.

Five yards before they reached the shimmering air that marked their goal, a large demon unfolded from the shadows. Christian’s horse screamed and instinctively tried to stop. Fighting for control, Christian urged his panicked mount forward as the animal tried to turn and run. The portal was their only chance and they were so freaking close. Fen leaped at the demon’s throat and was swatted aside with a heavy sound that made her stomach clench in fear. She turned her head to follow him, but her attention snapped back when Christian wheeled his horse around. The demon went directly for Aiden and Kamis. Aiden was hampered by Kamis, slung over the horse’s back like the deadweight he currently was. Christian swore and she felt his indecision.

“Put me down. I can make it through on my own. Bring me Kamis if you can. Aiden needs you.”

There wasn’t time to discuss it and Christian damn well knew it. He dropped her to her feet and shouted at her to run. She couldn’t help scanning the area for a sign of Fen. She didn’t know where—

There, beside Aiden, crouched, snarling and ready to lunge for the demon’s throat at the first opening. A sob of relief and frustration escaped her. She lowered her newly built shields and said to Kamis, “You need to get to me. We need to cross together.”

“I don’t—”

Christian engaged the demon and shouted something at Aiden she couldn’t hear. Aiden dropped back and lowered Kamis into Raquel’s waiting arms before returning to the fight. Her legs nearly buckled beneath his weight until he managed to stand on his own. She placed her shoulder under his armpit and dragged him toward the portal. The demons that had been chasing them on their ride were there now too, some distracted by the higher level demon fighting Aiden, Fen and Christian beside the portal, but a few were headed their way. She gathered electricity from the air and zapped the first one stupid enough to get close.