“You haven’t said a word since hello. What’s wrong?” Was he pissed off because Mack hadn’t gotten him off? Jude had been the one to leave the shop. And Mack hadn’t asked him to suck and swallow—though he hadn’t said no either. And now he was in Jude’s debt. He didn’t know much about witches, but owing one a favor seemed dangerous.
“I spent the day researching.” Jude picked at an artful tear in his jeans.
“And?” Had he discovered something awful? Worse than having their lives interlaced for the moment?
“I went to a dark coven site.”
“Oh. You know they aren’t reliable, and anyone can add to them.” But they were useful if looking for things that the Coven wouldn’t readily share, including the kind of magic that shouldn’t be practiced, ever. What was Jude messed up in?
What was Mack now messed up in?
Jude nodded and stared out the window and didn’t respond. The sun sat low, but there were still a few hours of daylight left. He didn’t like the way silence blanketed Jude. He’d grown used to the sound of the witch’s voice and grudgingly admitted that Jude was growing on him. He might have offered to drive him out because he wanted to spend time with him. Getting further involved with Jude would be hazardous. He shouldn’t have let Jude unzip his jeans, but at the time he hadn’t been able to resist. He really needed to get out more frequently and do more than just hook up. He wanted more than that, but he didn’t want this. He wasn’t anybody’s belonging or magical helper.
He may have read too much about the ways witches could abuse the power imbalance.
“Why did you want to come back here?” Mack pressed. If Jude didn’t want to talk about what he’d found out, there must be a reason he wanted to revisit North. “You want to play with lightning again?”
If that were the case, Mack wouldn’t mind watching. Jude had been wild, and for a moment, Mack had seen who he was behind the designer labels and sculpted hair.
That almost drew a smile from Jude. “No. If I want to do that, I’ll go farther out.”
“I’ll take you camping.” The offer fell from his lips.
“You don’t have to.”
But he wanted to. It wasn’t just the bond; he enjoyed Jude’s company. Probably because he didn’t have to hide what he was, that was the only reason. While there were traces of Jude’s aftershave left, Mack could smell Jude’s skin and soap, and it was a vast improvement. A lesser witch might have given up or even run away given the situation, but Jude had looked at the cow and done the research. He was determined to stop the creature and do the right thing.
“Drive up to the end,” Jude said.
Mack drove through the town. It had never been big even when lived in. The shops and houses were for the permanent residents. The hopefuls and many of the miners lived in tents and shacks. He parked and for a few heartbeats sat. The engine ticked as it cooled. “I thought there was nothing here.”
“There’s old magic. Nothing bad. No dark summoning or hexes. But I want to know what it is.” Jude got out of the car and started walking toward the mine.
The entrance was supposed to be blocked off, and every so often someone would come out and bang up a few new boards, but they’d get torn down by teens wanting to test their bravery down the haunted shaft. It wasn’t haunted. Mack had never seen a damn thing, and he’d gone farther than most because his eyes were better in the dark. Jude wouldn’t share that advantage.
“I’ll grab a torch.” Mack called out as he reached for the glove box.
Jude turned. A ball of white light crackled on his palm. “No need.”
Okay, then. They went into the mine like a couple of juiced-up teens. Not quite how he’d planned on spending the night, but still better than being home alone or gossiping with Ned.
He followed Jude over the remains of the barricade and into the mine where he paused to sniff. All he smelled was the sharp tang of Jude’s magic, old beer, and rotting wood. “The beams holding this up are fragile.”
“Scared?” Jude glowed, his skin luminescent and sparking like he was made of electricity.
Mack wanted to touch him but didn’t know if it was safe. “This is not my first time down the mine.” Under the rubble on the floor were the old metal tracks from the buckets they’d used to haul the ore up. Farther on there was a shaft that seemed to drop straight to Hell.
“Well, it’s my first time, and I’ve decided I don’t like being underground.” Jude stopped walking and shivered.
“You don’t have to do this. Old magic, new killer. Probably not related.”
Jude shook his head. “Can’t you taste it?”
“No.” Mack glanced behind them to where the entrance was a small patch of light. When they rounded the bend, there would be nothing, only darkness. “What does it taste like?”
“Chamomile tea and lavender.” Jude took a few more steps. “It gets stronger the deeper we go.”
“Are you sure it won’t affect us?”
There was a pause, as if Jude was thinking about the answer.
“We shouldn’t go any farther.” Mack couldn’t smell or taste the magic, and he didn’t like things that he couldn’t sense. He was used to having better senses that everyone around him. Now he was blind.
“But you’ve done this before.” The orb illuminated Jude’s face. His eyes were lit from within, glowing. The effect unnerved him. Jude looked every part the storm god—it was a more fitting description than electro-mage. A more terrifying description.
Mack’s heart beat faster, and he reminded himself that Jude was his witch, so it wasn’t in his best interest to do anything to harm Mack. They had to protect each other until the bond could be broken. “But I didn’t know there was sleepy magic down here.”
He
