Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered Read Online Free PDF Page A

spikes of ice shot out from the blade, destroying Sir Rousseau’s heart.
    Squaring his shoulders, Zach turned and stared at Councilman Vargas. The room was silent, eerily so, without even the brush of fabric or whisper of breath. Vampires are terrified of dying, because terrible things happen to their souls when they do. Maybe they’d been assuming Zach would show mercy. If so, they didn’t know him very well.
    Vargas nodded, his expression placid. “Councilman Harrison has defended his seat upon the council. Are there any others who wish to issue a challenge?”
    “I do.”
    My heart sank, and I searched the crowd for the speaker. I spotted a big, burly, gray-haired man who looked a lot like I imagined a grizzly-bear shapeshifter would. No good would come of that.
    Vargas nodded again. “Very well. Gregori Petrovich has issued a challenge for Councilman Harrison’s seat. We will meet again at the next full moon to resolve it.”
    Full moon. That gave me a month until the next duel to the death. If I wanted to avoid it, I’d have to find the spell to undo our special bond. There had to be a counterspell somewhere—anything that has been cast can be unmade. Zach didn’t think a counterspell existed, but freedom from Zach was my only hope for some semblance of a normal life and a future with my soul mate. I stumbled away, toward said soul mate, and Lex caught me and pulled me close.
    “I’m going to kill him,” he promised, his voice low.
    “Not…today…” I wheezed. The pain of Zach’s injuries ached through me, but there wasn’t much I could do about them.
    Zach grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it free of Rousseau’s body. Anthony appeared at his mentor’s side and handed him a white handkerchief to clean the blade. They crossed to us, and I glared at him.
    “Thank you, Catherine,” Zach said.
    “Can I go now?” I asked. My rapier shook in my hand, and I envisioned stabbing Zach with it. Not today. At the moment I could barely stand, much less sheathe my weapon. Lex took it, and for a moment it looked like he was going to stab him with it, but instead he sheathed the blade for me.
    “Are we done here?” Lex prompted. His tone didn’t leave much room for a no .
    “For the time being,” Zach answered.
    “Good. Don’t call us, we’ll call you,” I replied.
    “Lady Titania, Lord Oberon, it was good to see you again,” Faust said politely.
    “Yeah sure. Stay out of trouble,” I said. Lex scooped me up to carry me. “Wait, my hat.”
    “I’ll get it,” Faust offered. He vanished into the crowd, and I closed my eyes and concentrated on healing. I hate being stabbed. After a few moments he returned. “Here we are.”
    I opened my eyes and frowned at the sight of it. “What the hell? Those aren’t my cards.”
    The faerie turned the top hat and peered at the two tarot cards stuck into the band. The cards should have been Justice and The Moon, but instead they were The Devil and the Ten of Swords.
    “Strange. Would you like me to find your correct cards?” Faust asked.
    “No. We’re outta here. I’ll deal with that later,” I replied.
    He handed me my hat, and I groaned with pain as Lex carried me away. It was going to be a long drive home.
     
     
    I healed the worst of the damage by the time we got to Lex’s place. I was still banged up, scratched and bruised, but I was able to walk from the car into the house under my own power. Once inside, I unbuckled my belt and let the weapons fall onto the coffee table with a heavy thunk , tossed my hat onto the pile and collapsed onto the leather couch. I didn’t care if I bled on it because I’d never liked it. I wanted a new couch anyway. I’d just have to remember to clean the mess up before the real estate agent showed up tomorrow.
    Here, the twenty-four-hour Harrison channel was quieter, like the soft buzz of white noise. The connection was usually fainter inside, thanks to the wards around the building. We had so many wards