“You’re alright now, sweetheart,” he said, his voice soothing. He then grabbed me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me protectively.
I sighed in his embrace, closing my eyes, drained and a little impressed by my orc for his ability to calm me so quickly. “How’d you learn to do that?”
“Learned it from an elder. He had to do that to Marcus a few times growing up. With Marcus being used as one of our hitmenand being so young, he’d get out of control from time to time. A lot of aggression for him at that young an age. Me, too. Helps to recenter you.”
“It did. Thank you.”
Harris kissed the top of my head. “Are you okay? What did he do to you? What did he say?”
“I have no idea what he wanted, but he knew my name. He definitely wants something from me. He’ll be back if another portal opens up in here. I know it.”
“Why were you in here?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said into his chest, feeling a tad smothered.
He loosened his grip on me. “You should have woken me up.”
I looked up at him. “I didn’t want to be inconsiderate.”
“It’s too dangerous to worry about things like that. I’m going to put in a call to my witch, Kaylor. There has to be another portal mage out there who can make sure this doesn’t happen, or at least a witch who can tell when your powers are fully back if she can’t. If this thing isn’t getting through your portals, do you think someone could force a portal open through our wards?”
I shook my head. “I doubt it. They can’t push magic through a working ward. It’d have to be down. Unless one of your guards is letting it down and putting it back up, but I’d hope they were trustworthy.”
He pulled back and took my hand. “I’m going to rotate them all out of here.”
My eyes widened in alarm, thinking the worst. “Don’t kill them. We don’t know if any of them are behind this.”
He looked down at me with a scrunched face, seemingly offended. “I’m not a monster; there are levels to my ruthlessness. I’m just going to reassign them. I do this often when things get shaky.”
I tapped my forehead onto his chest. “I was terrified, but I should have forced answers out of him.”
“We have enough answers. He wants me dead, and he just wants you.”
I looked up at him again, and his face was twisted in annoyed anger, his mouth in a snarl.
“But why? Where does he come from? How did he find me?”
“All good questions. Let’s see if we can find someone who can give us answers.”
***
It turned out that Kaylor knew a local, powerful witch who was more of a psychic. He was about an hour away from us by car, and we spent a quiet drive late the next morning with Harris’ new guards. Harris really wasted no time on anything, and I had to admit, he was an impressive and effective leader, even if it was for some shady work.
The witch was not what I expected. He lived in a dark, rundown two-story house with an overgrown yard and a rusted out truck in the parking path. It looked like no one was home, all the blinds and curtains closed. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t what looked like the house of a serial killer. If Kaylor hadn’t recommended it, I would have stayed in the car.
“Stay close,” Harris stated as we walked up the cracked, dirty porch steps, most likely feeling the same as me.
“Absolutely,” I murmured in response, grabbing his now outstretched hand.
He lifted his other hand to open the ripped screen door, which looked like it was hanging off one hinge, before the front door opened.
A man who looked too large to fit through the door answered. He was tall and wide, but not in shape. He wore a leather apron over a dingy blue shirt and dark jeans. He appeared older,maybe in his sixties, with long, greasy white hair and an unkept white beard that touched his chest. He peered down at us with dark eyes under thick, busy brows.
“Kaylor’s friends?” he said more than asked.
Harris tightened his grip on my hand. “Yes. And you are…” he trailed off, not finishing his sentence. He knew the name of the witch, but he wanted to confirm and give nothing away.
I could get behind that logic. This guy looked like he shot people who mistakenly wandered on his property. This was Florida, after all.
