Twenty-Nine

Iris paced back and forth through the alleyway as she waited. She turned to find Silos pulling up in the witches’ white Range Rover. Her stomach jumped as he rolled down the window and flashed a broad smile.

“Had a change of heart, did ya?” He smirked.

“I guess you could say that.” Iris stared at Silos. She was slightly hesitant to hop in the car with him, but not enough to hold back. Now that the warlock was here, Iris took her knife and destroyed her phone, leaving the crushed pieces on the street. She didn’t want the Hunters to track her. “Thanks for picking me up,” she said with a weak grin.

“It was my pleasure. So you’re coming to Wales, then?”

“Yes. To confront my father, and that’s it.” Iris wanted to be clear. Sure, she thought the warlock was incredibly hot, but she wasn’t running away to Wales with him to live some happily-ever-after fantasy. She was on a mission.

“Well, lucky me,” he said snidely.

Iris giggled and opened the door to the passenger seat. Silos brought a smile to her face, which was surprising considering she just got booted from the team.

“Wait. Would you like to drive?” Silos asked, taking out the keys and dangling them in the air.

“Me?” She pointed to herself. “You’d let me drive the witches’ car?”

“Well, why not? You know the area better than I do.”

“Hm.” The Hunters rarely allowed Iris to drive anywhere, and whenever they did, it was usually because someone else wasn’t available. She’d never had someone give her the keys, just for the hell of it.

“All right. I’d love to drive,” she said, snatching the keys from Silos. “Thanks. But just to let you know, I don’t mess around when I drive so you’d better buckle up tight,” she teased.

“Why?” He cleared his throat. “Am I in for a rough ride?” He raised his brow.

She playfully rolled her eyes. “Something like that.”

Iris let out a short breath, sinking into the driver’s seat as she gripped the wheel. It felt nice. “So I hear you found Helmer?”

“Indeed I did. He’s in Malibu, hiding in a house by the water. Fancy a stop at the beach?”

“Ha.” Iris laughed. “Do you really think we have time for that? I mean, we are in the middle of tracking down a powerful warlock.”

“True.” He bobbed his head. “But my theory is, there’s always time for a little fun. All work and no play is no way to live.”

“Easy for you to say. The work of a Hunter never ends.”

Iris rolled down the window as they drove down the Pacific Coast Highway. The salty air was cool and refreshing. Seagulls cawed in the distance and waves crashed to a sound of their own melody while hints of seaweed roamed through the air. Iris loved the smell of the ocean and though she couldn’t explain it, the sea always reminded her of her mother. It was comforting.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. “Do you see that?” Iris asked, quickly taking the car to the side of the road. She jumped out of the driver’s seat and raced toward the beachfront. The waves were huge, much larger than usual.

“What’s going on?” Silos asked, coming beside her.

“Something’s not right here. Those waves are way too high for Malibu this time of the day. I’m thinking there’s an Ethas here.”

“I think you may be right, love. There’s magic. I can feel it.”

Iris scanned the beach. There was a group of bikini-wearing women sunbathing and sneaking shots of vodka, a few children building sandcastles, and two guys throwing a football. Nothing out of the ordinary for Malibu.

Then, she noticed something odd: a beautiful young woman with long black hair and milky-brown skin stood in front of the sea, twirling her finger in the air like a maestro conducting an orchestra. The tide obeyed her every motion.

“Found her,” Iris said, motioning her head to the right. “But don’t look. I need to catch her off guard.”

Iris took a step forward and grabbed the knife from her back pocket.

“Wait.” Silos held out his arm. “What’s your plan?”

“My plan?” Iris said in an irritated tone. “To go over there and kill her?”

Silos drew back. “She’s just moving the waves. Are you so certain she’s here to hurt someone?”

“The witches in L.A. aren’t like you warlocks,” she asserted. “They’re under Belinda’s curse. They have to kill to survive. If she’s messing around with the water, it’s for a reason. She’s preparing for a sacrifice.”

As soon as the words left Iris’s mouth her eyes widened in fear. There was a wave coming that had to be over fifteen feet tall. Faster than Silos could protest, Iris started to run. The witch saw Iris and dropped her hand, crashing the large wave at the same time.

Iris leaped on top of her, taking the witch to the ground. “What are you doing here, Nomad?” Iris growled, holding her knife to the witch’s throat. Silos ran up by her side.

“I’m just playing around. I’m not here to kill anyone,” the witch said in a shaky voice.

“She’s telling the truth, Iris.” Silos came to her defense. “She’s just a drifter.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe considering this beach is full of rich brats.” She turned toward Silos. “And if she doesn’t kill someone now, she will later. That’s what witches do.”

“Please don’t kill me,” the witch pleaded. “I’m not under Belinda’s curse.”

Iris lowered her knife. “What are you talking about?”

“I—”

“Help!” a young boy that couldn’t have been a day over five years old screamed from the other side of the beach. He was sucked into a large wave and couldn’t keep his head above water.

“So you gonna kill me even though I’m innocent, or are you going to save the boy?” the witch whispered.

Iris reluctantly jumped to her feet, throwing off her jacket and glasses and kicking off her boots. She ran full speed toward the boy who was getting sucked into the wave’s undertow.

“Iris, wait!” Silos yelled.

But she didn’t stop. She dived headfirst into the ocean, swimming hard through the strong tide. She frantically looked for the boy and nearly panicked when she spotted a motionless head of blond hair bobbing in the water.

She grabbed the boy’s body and quickly swam to shore, trying her best not to drown in the process.

“Silos!” she panted, carrying the boy’s lifeless body. “He’s not breathing.”

She gently laid the boy on the sand and searched for a pulse. “People are staring. Where’re my glasses?”

“It’s okay. Just take a breath,” he said, handing Iris her aviators. “You got this.”

Iris nodded her head. She blew into the boy’s mouth and started compressions on his chest. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Immediately, the boy coughed, jolting upright as he spit out a mouthful of seawater.

Iris sighed in relief. “He’s okay,” she whispered as a smile grew across her face. “We did it.”

“No. You did it.” Silos grinned. “I didn’t use my Curas spells. It was all you.”

“What the hell is going on here?” A tan woman with light brown hair charged up and knelt beside the boy. She was with the sunbathing group who had been sneaking booze. Her breath smelled of liquor and she was definitely intoxicated. “What did you do to my son?” the woman demanded.

“What did I do?” Iris shot back. “He was drowning and I saved him!”

“Well, I didn’t see him drowning.” The woman grabbed the boy and pulled him close. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but I’m not giving you any money.”

“Money? I don’t want any money!” Iris shouted.

“Really? Well then, what are you after? Are you trying to get a green card or something?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Can you just look here for a second, please?” Iris said, pointing to her aviators.

“Why would I need to look at your—”

The woman stopped talking. “God. Finally,” Iris huffed. “Okay. Here’s what happened. Your son got caught in a wave, but he made it out fine. Now, you’re going to stay at the beach until you can sober up. Then you’re going to drive home. Oh, and no more vodka. Understood?”

The woman nodded her head and stared blankly at Iris.

“All right.” Iris turned to Silos. “Let’s go.”

They turned to walk away. “Wait!” the young boy yelled. He ran up to Iris and gave her a hug. “Thank you for saving me,” he said before running back to his mom.

Iris smiled. “You’re welcome,” she whispered, even though he could not hear it.

“Why didn’t you tell his mum the truth when you changed her memory?”

“What’s the point? You heard what she said. She thought I was looking for money or a green card. Why bother?”

Iris shivered and she suddenly became very aware she was soaking wet.

“Come here,” Silos said, holding out his arms. “Let me help dry you off.”

“How? You hiding a towel under that tight shirt?”

“Just come here.”

Silos grabbed her waist and pulled her close. The second their bodies touched, Iris felt warm. Her clothes started to dry and her hair followed. In a matter of minutes it was almost as if she was never in the ocean in the first place.

“Let me guess. More magic?” Iris said, gazing up into his blue eyes.

“I can’t help myself.” Silos leaned in slowly, touching his mouth to hers. A blanket of heat consumed her body and she melted into his arms, enjoying every brush of his soft lips. She slowly pulled away.

“Thanks for the help back there, by the way,” Iris said with a feigned scowl. “Luckily, I’m a good swimmer.”

“You were doing a fine job on your own. You didn’t need my help.” Silos brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Really?” Iris bit her lip.

“Aye. Besides, I was keeping an eye on the witch.”

“Oh ya? So where is she?” Iris looked around. “Because I don’t see her anywhere, which means you didn’t do such a good job.” She smirked.

“I let her go.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re impossible.”

“I know.” He leaned in for another kiss but Iris pulled back.

“My dad kicked me off the team today,” she said, looking down. “I’m not a Hunter anymore.”

He grabbed her chin, pulling her face up toward his. “Listen to me. Whether or not you’re on the team, means nothing. You’ll always be a Hunter. You were born to be one.”

Iris smiled and swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

Silos held her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes as chills filled her body. She lifted to her tippy toes, devouring his silky mouth and tasting his sweet breath. Any reservations she had were washed away with the tide.

She opened her mouth wider, meeting his tongue as it tickled her teeth. He grabbed the back of her neck and held her tighter.

His hands ran down her cheeks as they both came up for air. She didn’t want it to stop, but there was somewhere she needed to be.

“Come on, love. Let’s go.”