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  How could that be? Had he stumbled upon the cave? Maybe her subconscious mind saw him while she was in the vision. There was little explanation otherwise.

  He held up a hand as if to show he was unarmed. The other was holding a glass. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He set the glass down and kept his hands where she could see them. Little did he know her expression wasn’t one of fear, but disbelief mixed with pure embarrassment. For a moment she panicked. Could it have been it real? Had this man really given her an orgasm, or was it perhaps a vision of the future? Because those hands were the same ones she’d just come all over. She was sure of it. Her body responded to the thought with a tingle.

  He sat on the wooden chair. He wasn’t wearing the plaid shirt from the vision, but his feet wore the same mud-covered work boots. She shook her head. “This is weird.”

  “You passed out after using that blood magic, girl. For a minute there you weren’t even breathing.”

  “Shit.” She hadn’t considered that he might have seen her working that spell. “I…um…” She looked around again but still didn’t see the box.

  “It’s not here. And it’s far enough away that we’re not affected by the pull.” He nodded toward the water. “Have a drink.”

  “I need the box and I need to go,” she said as she looked down at her bare feet. “And my shoes, please.”

  “I didn’t see any shoes. That’s how you were when I picked you up. What the hell is a Halfling doing with a blood magic talisman and trying to cast spells?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

  His eyes, looking just as intense as they had in her fantasy vision, studied her. Fiddlesticks. What if that was a premonition? No. Couldn’t be. Her scars were gone in the fantasy. She ignored his question completely. “I just need the box.” She took a step forward. “I’m in a hurry here.”

  “I’m not.”

  Boy, he looked smug. His beard and his shaggy hair looked as if they hadn’t been washed in a couple days. She remembered how clean and silky his hair had looked in the vision. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but didn’t dare.

  “Who are you?” she demanded. “Never mind.” She held a hand up to prevent him from speaking before he could answer. “I don’t really want to know.” Because I’m embarrassed, even if you have no clue as to why. “Just return my property and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Ray Burgess.” He reached for the water glass again and pushed it toward her. “And I think you really need some of this. You look flushed.”

  Ray Burgess. She’d heard of him. He was the ex-cop who’d been tossed off the force down in Charlotte. She knew he’d been living somewhere out here. Just her luck to run into him in the middle of the damn night. If the kidnappers found out she was here…

  ”I need to go.” She put her hands on her hips and tried for her most stern look. “Now.”

  Ray looked over his guest. She was alternating between blushing and anger. He’d been a good judge of folks while on the force and this little lady was feeling flat out guilty. About what? He had no idea, but she didn’t have a hope in hell at hiding anything with that expressive face. Flushing then defensive. Very typical of the guilty. “Fine. Go right ahead.”

  “Fine.” She changed her weight from one hip to the other. “My box?”

  Yeah. That box. “You keep calling that kind of power, girl, and you’ll kill someone. Most likely yourself. From what I saw, that thing was way more than you’d bargained for.”

  Her mouth opened and closed a couple times. She was tall and her long brown hair was a tangled mess as it fell over her shoulders. But it made a nice frame for a pretty, round face and big, evocative hazel eyes. Those eyes made her look young and innocent, but he knew better.

  “Look, Ray, I need my stuff and I need to be on my way.” She glanced around as if looking for her belonging but all she had was the clothes on her back.

  “All your things are still out in the cave. I thought you were dying. I rushed you here without worrying about your altar kit or shoes.” He stood and headed for the kitchen. She seemed fine and he wanted no part of whatever she was mixed up in. He’d done his civic duty and saved her life. She was on her own now. If she insisted on playing with blood magic, who was he to stop her?

  A cop.

  No. Not anymore, he harshly reminded himself. Not that he really needed the reminder.

  His keys jingled when he grabbed them from the counter. From his overstuffed dog bed by the door, Art lifted is head with a sleepy, half-opened eye. The old dog gave Ray a hesitant whine. “No worries, boy. You’re done for the night.” He reached down and patted his big head.

  “That’s sweet and all, but I really am in a rush.” She was right on his tail.

  “You said that.” Real concern etched her face and shone in her eyes. The girl might be in more trouble than he’d first imagined. He headed out the door and she followed, jumping in the truck as he made his way to the driver’s side. She stared straight ahead. Her hands were in her lap and she was picking at chipped purple nail polish.

  Ray’s trouble radar was going off. The sound was so loud in his head he almost went back in and left her to walk back to the caves. Maybe he should arrest her. Well, he couldn’t do that anymore, but he could handcuff and hold her until the Prime could show up.

  But this wasn’t his case. He was no longer a cop. The pretty woman and her blood magic were none of his dang business. Ray hated to see anyone get into trouble and all, but if the Council found him mixed up with blood magic, he’d likely face a death sentence this time. He should have left her in that cave in the first place.

  When he pulled the truck up to the cave entrance, he sat in his seat, offering no further assistance.

  She got out and marched into the cave before marching right back out. She opened the passenger door and leaned in. “Where’s the box?”

  “Your illegal talisman is dangling from a bear trap in a shaft at the back of a different cave.” With a tilt of his head, he indicated another opening to her right. “I’d appreciate it if you got that thing off my property as soon as possible.”

  She shoved the door closed with a creaking slam before stomping away. He cringed at the way the little truck swayed from the force.

  Ray sighed. It’d been a long night of hunting and rescuing damsels from spells gone bad. Heck, she even hadn’t thanked him for that. Nope. Never even got her name. But he suspected he knew who she was. It was a small mountain community and there were only so many Halflings running around. She had to be one of the Ambercroft girls. And rumor said that the Prime was close to that family.

  He decided not to wait to follow her off the property. She was a big girl. He’d watch for her headlights leaving his land from the porch.

  “Wait!” She ran in front of his truck before he could get turned around. “It’s gone!”

  “What?”

  She moved to his window. “The only thing hanging in the shaft is the empty trap. My box is gone!”

  “Gremlins.” Ray shook his head. “Area’s thick with ’em this time of year. Sorry, honey.” No way was he going after Gremlins to get that box back. Nasty creatures. Best avoided. “Probably the best thing. You don’t need to be playing with that kind of magic anyway.”

  She stumbled a couple steps back. “Gremlins? I’ll never get it back!” Her shoulders sagged. She looked up to the stars. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  “I got you away from a blood magic talisman that was sucking the life out of you. You won’t tell me anything more. I’m not really sorry Gremlins stole your banned magic. That was the safest place I could manage to get it in the few seconds I had to act.” She didn’t say anything more. But she looked as though she was about to pass out. “It’s late. Go home. Get some sleep.”

  He felt for her. Seriously. He literally felt anguish rolling off her in waves. But he was still right. Blood magic was dangerous and she was lucky she hadn’t lost her mind—or more dangerously, her sou
l—after the blast she took. He’d seen blood magic do a lot of damage to a Witch trying to pull directly from a spelled amulet. The Halfling had really been lucky.

  “I can’t go home,” she whispered, then turned away without another word.

  Ray watched her in the rearview mirror as she made her way, head held low, back toward the cave where he’d left her belongings. He could feel the woman was in serious trouble, but knew he should just leave her to her own business. He should go home and get some sleep. He could not get wrapped up in her problems.

  No. He could not.

  Chapter Three

  Dear Goddess, her head was spinning. It was all she could do to keep from crying in frustration. What the hell had she been thinking, trying to do this on her own? And what’d she have to show for it? Nothing but a cheap fantasy about a scruffy guy and a killer headache.

  She shoved the altar items she’d borrowed from a friend back into her bag. She looked at her cell phone. No calls. How was she going to tell the kidnapper she’d lost the box? How was she going to tell Nell and Trent?

  Sonja was going to have to chase down the Gremlins. They may kill her but what choice did she really have? None.

  She headed into the other cave. Ray’s truck, she noted, was gone. A few steps in and she was already a little scared. Now that she knew they were around, she fancied she could smell the little beasts. A feeling not exactly like panic but close passed through her body. It was like anticipation and urgency all at once. She felt compelled to use her gift, to reach out and try. Maybe she could feel for the box.

  She dropped her bag, closed her eyes and let the compulsion take her. Immediately, she was sucked away. Because she knew what to expect, she felt a little more control this time. She saw herself deep in a cave, her feet wet and cold. Slick stone…

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Sonja could hear the grumbling and grunting of Gremlins echoing off the walls and the distant drip of water. She looked around for anything that might give her a clue as to where she was or something to indicate how she could get to the Gremlin’s cave.

  Nothing.

  The cave walls abruptly began to fade to blue. Her body started floating. She tried to hone back in on the vision, the cave. She needed more information but it was spinning out of her control…

  She found herself back in the clearing, naked and smooth-skinned under the warm sun. Ray was already positioned between her spread legs. His intense eyes still roamed her body. With no build up to the switch, she was immediately racked with wanting and aching for his attention. She knew it was a fantasy, knew she wasn’t in control of the vision, but she couldn’t stop it. Maybe she didn’t want to.

  This wasn’t what she needed to be doing. But what exactly was she supposed to be doing? Everything seemed so dreamy. Ray’s head dipped and he pressed his lips to that sensitive spot where her inner thigh met her ass cheek. The warmth of his lips sent waves of pleasure through her body. His beard brushed her skin, his tongue darted out and traced ever so lightly over her folds as he moved up, teasing her beyond her ability to remain still. She reached out to grasp all that hair, willing him to plunge his tongue deep into her pussy.

  Then she felt herself floating again, away from the body in her vision.

  No! Sonja struggled to hold on to the imagery, to the warmth of his touch. Her body screamed for it. She reached for him—

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Why was he shaking her? He should be licking her. “No. Don’t stop, Ray. Please!”

  “Come on, sweetness. Wake up,” he said with a good, hard shake.

  He grabbed her hand and Sonja realized she was trying to grab his package.

  She jerked out of his grasp and crab walked on her heels and hands away from him, her body still pulsing with need. But mortification quickly replaced the rush of sexual arousal and then worry took over.

  “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m freaking out a bit.”

  Ray smirked and looked away. “I hadn’t noticed,” he said dryly. By the bulge in his jeans, she knew better. His attempt at humor wasn’t helping her embarrassment.

  She suddenly realized the cave wasn’t the one from her vision. It was dry and smelled of the forest, not stinking Gremlins. “Are there other caves around here? Wet caves?”

  “You thinking of tracking Gremlins?” He cocked up one eyebrow. “No way.”

  “Just tell me, okay?” She was attracted to him. She had to admit that to herself. His eyes were so expressive. But why was she fantasizing about him? How could that be? In the first vision, she had never even met him before. If that was a premonition, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know that much about her future. And she had no time to deal with any of this.

  “What’s your name?” His features had softened a bit. His shoulders had dropped.

  She hesitated. “Sonja.”

  “Ah.” He nodded and walked over to her, retrieving his shotgun in the process. “Ambercroft?”

  She looked down. “Yes. Okay? Now, the cave?”

  He let out a big sigh. “Chasing around after Gremlins is like trying to herd a pack of crazed hyenas.” His expression saddened. “That box looked like real gold. I suspect it’s worth quite a bit, but is it worth your life? You owe money to someone? Steal that thing?”

  Sonja bit her lip. No, it wasn’t worth her life—but it was worth Kara’s. “It’s not my life that’s at stake.” She chose not to answer the rest of his questions.

  He crossed his arms and didn’t say a word.

  She looked up at him. “I can’t tell you anything else. Besides, this is your freaking fault. If you hadn’t hung it out as Gremlin bait, I’d still have it.”

  “Fine.” He turned toward the cave entrance. Over his shoulder he said, “You’ll have to find those buggers on your own. I suspect you have no weapons and no experience with Gremlins, either,” and started walking.

  “Crap.” He was right. She needed him. She bit at a ragged thumbnail in frustration. How had she managed to get herself into this situation? By trying to be a hero, that’s how.

  Bare minimum. Sonja would have to involve him but she could make sure it was the barest minimum possible. “I’ll buy that shotgun.”

  He turned back to her. The sun was coming up and he was backlit in the mouth of the cave. It showed off his physique. The man was broad but lean. “Sorry. One of my favorites. You can rent me if that helps.”

  And he was frustrating.

  “Do you have other weapons you’re not so sentimental over?” She crossed her arms.

  “Not really.” He looked over the stock of the shotgun. “I like all my toys.”

  “Okay. I hire you to help me retrieve that box. You don’t ask any questions. I leave as soon as we find it. Deal?” All she needed him for was to get the damn box. Then she’d be on her way to Asheville and could forget all this ever happened.

  “Tell me why you asked about the wet cave and what’s happening when you pass out like that.” He took a few steps closer. His brows were drawn. “It looks like you’re sleeping and dreaming really hard. You psychic?”

  Sonja put her hands on her hips. “Didn’t I just say no questions?”

  “I need to know ’cause you could get us both killed if you zone out like that when we’re in the middle of a Gremlin nest. I’m not getting chewed up by Gremlins for anybody.”

  “Fine. My Demon power is visions. But I’m a Halfling.”

  “So you can’t control them at all? They just sneak up on you and take you out of commission like that?”

  “Not exactly.” Not before I called the power from that box, they didn’t. Who knew now? She decided to leave it there. “But close enough. How much?” Time was passing. She only had ’til the afternoon to get the box back and get it two hours away to Asheville.

  “How much what?”

  Was he not paying attention? “To hire you to slay the Gremlins?”

  He chuckled. “Um. How much you got?”

  “On me? Maybe fifty bucks.”<
br />
  “Sold.” He held his hand out for payment.

  It looked just like it had on her thigh in her visions. Why did she see herself without scars and see Ray just exactly as he is now? Well, he had a different shirt, but his skin and hair and those dang gorgeous eyes were all the same. She dug through her bag and gave him the money. “That’s pretty cheap…considering.”

  “Like you said, I hung it in the cave to be gotten.” He shoved the bills in his pocket. “Now tell me what you saw in your vision.”

  She blushed at the thought of his eyes looking up at her from between her thighs, but ignored it. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Kara. Gremlins. Asheville. She tried to recall everything about the vision—the cave portion of the vision. “Um…the cave was somewhat narrow and I felt like I was down pretty deep. I don’t know why. Maybe the temperature? It was cool.” She put her hand on the stone beside her. “The walls were slick and damp. I was standing in water—shallow water—and my feet were muddy.”

  He nodded. “That’s easy enough. I can only think of one place in the area that’s deep enough for Gremlins and has water.” He looked her up and down then strutted to his truck, Sonja on his heels. He pulled his hunting vest from behind the seat. “But you’re not going to like it. Maybe you should stay here.”

  She yanked the door open and plopped down in the truck. “Yeah. Right.”

  Chapter Four

  Quentin watched the pair climb into the hillbilly’s tuck. He’d not gotten close enough to hear their conversation, but hoped he’d judged their actions and expressions correctly. Grinning at his own perverseness, he sank farther into the shadows of the trees along the road.

  His little sexual incitements seemed to be working on the Halfling. Silly girl. Since she’d called on the Chiwa Talisman to try to boost her own powers, she was even more susceptible to his mental intrusions.

  That’s why the box and its ugly necklace were so valuable. The jasmine stone on the talisman would offer great power to the right being, with the right knowledge. Many had sought out the Chiwa. Some very powerful men had found their own destruction from its power.