Free Witch Bound (Twilight of the Gods) by Eleri Stone Page A

side of the fault. I’ll come out and power it up in the morning. It should keep a portal from forming unexpectedly.”
    “Lois says it may make a split more likely to form somewhere else.”
    She nodded.
    “And there’s no way to predict where it will happen? Or when?”
    “Not with any certainty. I used to walk the fault with my grandmother and can usually feel the weak spots, but they can also form quickly.” She crossed her arms in a classic defensive pose and he wondered at it until she said, “Lois isn’t sensitive enough to feel the changes. She tries to hide that from your Odin, but she can’t hide it from me.”
    It didn’t surprise him one bit that Lois would put her pride before the safety of the clan. The note of bitterness in Raquel’s voice did surprise him, however. Lois must be riding her pretty hard. “I’ll let Aiden know...discreetly.” No point in adding any more tension to the mix between Lois and her apprentice. He did his best to ignore the warm thrill of pleasure that she trusted him enough to confide in him. “Thanks for telling me.”
    She waved it aside and he hefted the crate into his arms, trying to pretend it wasn’t heavy. It had to be at least a hundred pounds of rocks. She came around the counter to open the door for him.
    “If you have any trouble with those, let me know.”
    His shoulder brushed against her hand and she startled. Afraid he’d accidently hurt her, he paused. But he hadn’t hurt her, that wasn’t it. There was a faint blush at the crest of her cheek and when she looked up, he saw something in her eyes that shouldn’t be there, felt something inside himself rouse sleepily awake.
    She wouldn’t admit she felt that strange little connection if he waited a hundred years, which was just as well. She was Christian’s and this—whatever this was—would fade. It had to.

Chapter Seven
    Lois picked Raquel up first thing in the morning to set the rune stones. After the last rogue surge, everyone was on edge. She’d been told the surges were becoming more frequent and unpredictable as time passed. Usually, the winters were a little bit slower, at least in this hemisphere. Usually, the surges didn’t occur outside the new and full moons. No one had a good answer as to what was causing the irregularity other than that the wards had reached the end of their life expectancy. Everyone looked to the clan witch and her new apprentice to solve the problem. The first step was strengthening the wards that surrounded the fault.
    About two miles in length and located dead smack in the center of acres of Æsir-owned farmland, the fault cut through a large stretch of woods that surrounded a lake. The portal could open anywhere along it and the wards hemmed the entire thing, so Raquel had dressed for a hike.
    No snow yet, which was good, but there was a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground she knew from experience could be slippery as hell, especially since there were no real trails maintained through the trees. The clan did its best to discourage trespassers as much as possible.
    Parking at Aiden’s farm, which adjoined the property, they rode horseback to the edge of the woods. It was a beautiful day. Blue sky, high and cloudless. The farmland was long since cleared but still stubbly with the remains of harvest. Yellow grass, brown brush, black crows peppering the empty fields looking for lunch.
    Lois was silent. She’d been pretty quiet since picking Raquel up, but when they passed through a break in the brush, she turned slightly. “You’ll set the runes. I’m here to observe. I want to see exactly how much power you have to work with.”
    Raquel raised her brows but didn’t comment. Lois should be able to sense that without having to see her in action. Raquel could sense Lois’s power—middling for a clan witch but nothing to sneeze at. Nearly on a par with Kathy, who was very competent and who Raquel respected immensely. Raquel hoped that once Lois saw she