The Witch's Mates

Chapter Three

Once my cloaking spell is in place, I open the door to my bedroom and slip out quietly. I slowly make my way down the hallway and toward the nearest exit, making sure not to run into anybody. The spell keeps me hidden from sight, but if someone were to run into me, they would still feel it. So, I keep my eyes peeled for anybody lurking around the halls, but there isn't anybody. It is two in the morning, after all.

I make it to the exit in less than a minute, but once I am there all I can do is stand here. This is a big deal. We aren't allowed to leave the Base except for pre-approved hunting trips. I have never even heard of a witch or warlock running away before. And I can't even imagine what my punishment will be when I get back.

I shake my head, hoping to shake those thoughts loose as well. I'll deal with the punishment when it comes, right now I just need to focus on getting out and then getting somewhere safe for the night.

I quickly grab the door handle and open the door as silently as possible. I glance behind me, just to make sure, but there is nobody there. I slip out the door and softly close it behind me. As I walk out, I can feel the protection spell again. But it doesn't stop me from leaving, so I take that as a good sign.

As soon as the door is closed, I take off at a light jog, trying to put as much distance between myself and the Base as possible before they figure out that I'm gone. They might send a couple of people out to look for me. But I know that they won't want to put more lives at risk, so I kind of doubt that they will do that.

I take a winding path through the city, looking for a place I might be able to stay for the night along the way. I don't have much money, just the small amount of cash that I keep in my purse to buy drinks at the bars and clubs while hunting.

After about thirty minutes of jogging, I am starting to tire. So, I slow down to a walk. I'm on the other side of town now, where all the high-class businesses are.

Finding a place to stay might be my biggest challenge. All of the abandoned places are on the same side of town as the Base. And I would ideally want to stay somewhere that is a good distance away from there. But I know that I don't have enough money for a hotel, and probably only enough for one night at a motel.

As I am walking, I start to feel my feet dragging. My energy is slipping way too quickly. I've done too much magic tonight, and it probably doesn't help that I can't even remember the last time I ate something.

I slip into the next alley I come across and move a little way down until I am out of the streetlights.

"Gratias tibi. Te dimittam." I mutter under my breath, to take off my cloaking spell.

As soon as the spell lifts off of me, I feel my knees give out.

I fall back a little until my back hits the wall of the building behind me. I let my body slip down until I am sitting on the cold, filthy ground of the alleyway.

Okay, this is fine. I will just sit here for a moment and rest. And then I will get up and find a place to stay for the night.

My hand goes to the silver dagger in my boot and I pull it out and just hold it in my lap. Just in case.

I am so tired that I can feel it in my bones, so I don't resist when I feel my eyelids slip closed. A second later I am falling into darkness.

***

The sound of voices rouses me from my sleep.

I'm confused at first, unsure where I am.

And then I remember that I passed out in an alleyway. My eyes snap open, and my right-hand tries to tighten around the knife I was holding. Only the knife is no longer there.