Free Love's a Witch by Roxy Mews Page A

conversation centered totally on food. Kari had traveled to Australia at some point in her life and the two were going on and on about Tim Tams, some kind of cookie Amber used to stash back home, but never shared with me. I sat over-chewing my food trying to prevent it from hitting my stomach like lead. Amber’s flippant words wouldn’t leave me alone. She said I was Craig’s mate. Was it possible? Was it okay? Would he turn me? Had he been trying to bite me?
    My fork bumped my plate and let loose a screech that had me jumping from my seat. My water spilled and because it’s me, I didn’t just end up with a small puddle of water on my lap. I watched as the chair rebounded into the hutch behind me. The last piece of glass in the house that hadn’t been trashed by Kari’s break-in shattered.
    “I am so sorry.” I started to clean it up. Glass tends to slice skin when you grab it by the handful. I let loose a string of curses. Craig came rushing in, and the broken glass crunched beneath his cowboy boots.
    “Are you okay?” Giving me time to answer would have been nice. Instead I found myself in his arms. I would have held on, but I was gripping my throbbing hand and trying not to bleed all over him. He turned sideways to get through the smaller entry to the kitchen.
    Kari moved aside the food she had been plating and looked genuinely freaked out. “Are they okay? You told me Amber’s newly turned. Do we need to take Mary out of here?”
    “They won’t bite me. Ow!” I jostled my palm when Craig dropped me on the countertop. Fresh pain shot up my arm.
    Craig grabbed my hand and pulled it towards him to see how badly I had cut myself.
    “You don’t need to worry about her safety with us. We’ll protect her. The only thing we need to worry about is your murderous werewolves coming back.” Craig looked like he was yelling at my palm. His eyes didn’t lift as he started opening drawers to look for supplies.
    “Oh, they weren’t looking to kill me. They were coming to take me away. I was up for harvest.” Kari let the statement drop. From the way Craig tensed, I knew something she said was a big damn deal.
    Her words sat heavy, and I stopped fighting with what Craig was doing. Her colors changed. She wasn’t in a panic, but a grey fear was beginning to trickle into her aura. Whatever she was talking about she had accepted, but it scared her. I forgot about my pain for a moment to try and figure out what was going on.
    “What does that mean?” I directed my question at Kari. She seemed to be okay explaining things to me. Maybe I could get someone to let me in on a few secrets of the world that was so big and bad.
    The grey in her aura darkened. “You need to ask your travel companions about their heritage sometime.” Her eyes darted to Craig before she continued. “Harvesters are those who capture witches for the vampires. They can be vampires themselves, or any other creatures who value money over their consciences.”
    “So, they’re kidnappers? How do they keep all those disappearing people a secret? Wouldn’t they be reported missing?” Craig was dabbing my hand, and stayed quiet as I spoke. I was a bit surprised he let Kari do the talking. Craig knew a lot, and was usually the first one to jump in on this kind of thing.
    “If vampires are involved they can compel people. But that is not usually necessary. True witches aren’t exactly the most public figures. We tend to keep our lives quiet to avoid the whole witch trial thing from repeating itself. Harvesters also prefer solo practitioners whenever they find them. It’s easier to snatch us up than it is to harvest from a coven. They take us whenever they can find us.” Kari drew herself up. “It’s why I bathe in the salts mixture I do. It helps keep me off their radar. Before you came I packed my body with mud to keep it in place since I wouldn’t have time to reapply.”
    “That’s what smelled so bad?” I had to ask.
    Kari frowned.