Richard Castle 37
Three days later Rick and Mathias were leaving yet another town that Meredith had visited weeks if not months ago. They were finding out that she'd attacked a number of small towns blaming Richard Castle for the damage. But then she'd just stopped.
"Your witch has probably decided on a new plan since what we're finding has happened some time ago," Mathias commented.
Rick needed to get this over with so he could go home. "It still leaves us with no way to find her."
"We're going where she has already been. When you were a witch hunter what did you do then? We need to do what you used to do." Mathias may have been a hunter of men but his targets would hide inside a town, not outside of it.
"We need to go to a town that she hasn't attacked and ask questions. Find out if there are any witches in the area. Hunt them down – capture them if we can – and ask questions. Most of them will have something in their homes that will help us. You would be amazed at what some of these witches are capable of," Rick remarked.
"Like the tent we're using?" Mathias asked dryly. He was amused at the look his friend gave him. "The night air is cool and yet inside the tent it's comfortable." Of course he had noticed.
"That and other items, some of which are far more useful than others," Rick admitted.
"It also explains why your tent is so hard to find once it's set up." Mathias had gotten himself lost more than once after going outside to relieve himself, or so he had feared since he couldn't see the tent.
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The next town had given them a lead on a witch house without having to identify themselves or asking the mayor to pay them to kill her.
It was a little over a day's journey outside of town. Rick had finished setting up the tent and was just completing the trench for when it rained since it felt and smelled like it would.
"Now let me show you a trick," Mathias offered. He proceeded to set up the fire pit far away from the tent. "The fire draws them in and they think they are going to get the drop on you. Now we just need to create a dummy for each of us. They don't have to look perfect since if they want to catch you by surprise they will try and sneak up on you from behind." He took Rick back out into the woods and had him back next to the fire pit working on his dummy.
After their dummies were complete and doing their best to sit near the fire pit, Rick said, "My turn." He reached into his backpack and began taking out the traps he used to use.
Mathias was impressed with two of them but had a question about the third. "I think I get this one. Your witch flies down this little path right into these lines. We want her alive to question, though, so how do we do that when she's in countless little pieces?"
"I've killed more witches than you might think and captured several of them. None of them ever talked and the next one probably won't be any different. Most of what I learn is found in their house, anyway. I breech it before the sun goes down, catching them off guard and not ready for me," Rick explained.
Rick was the witch hunter so Mathias didn't question his methods. Mathias understood that if a witch did show up they needed to surprise her so that she tried to escape into one of Rick's traps. Whichever one that turned out to be.
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Alexis was sitting in her bed all nice and comfortable after her mother had come to tuck her in and kiss her cheek. The little girl was waiting for Grams to show up since she still needed her to tell her what to do. They had only done this a couple of times and the words were still new to her.
"Hello, sweetheart," a voice called out. Alexis lifted her wand and made the curtains part so she could see her. "You're getting very good at that," Martha praised. It was evident that it had become second nature to the little girl.
"Have you got the book?" Martha hated having Alexis steal the book only to put it back later, but this needed to be done without Kate noticing. Alexis nodded and reached under the pile of pillows that made up part of her bed.
Martha was soon sitting on her bed instructing her how to fold each page and when to turn to a new page along with getting her to say each word till she had spoken that word perfectly.
"You remember the words?" Martha questioned. Alexis nodded again. "Good, now close your eyes, place your hands on your pillow, and pretend that it's a cut that you want to heal. Still with your eyes closed, concentrate on the pillow and speak the words softly over and over again."
She just smiled as she watched Alexis, her eyes closed and holding onto one of her pillows, softly murmur the words of the spell over and over again. "Remember sweetheart, the longer you cast this spell the more you can heal. No matter how bad it looks this spell will fix all that." Alexis closed her eyes again and went back to murmuring the words.
She stopped to look at Martha. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." Martha so wanted to hug and kiss her like she used to, but of course, she couldn't. Being dead had its own pain. Seeing her granddaughter smiling only made her heart swell.
"Now go put the book back where you found it. Then I want you to come back here and keep practicing while you still remember the words." The little girl quickly took the book back to where Kate kept it hidden and returned it to its secret place.
Alexis didn't understand how Martha knew where the book was, but she was teaching her spells and so was her mama. She didn't want that ever to stop.
She didn't see Martha when she crawled back into bed, however, that didn't stop her. She held onto one of her pillows, closed her eyes, and spoke the words softly over and over again.
"She's getting to be really good," Johanna said softly as they watched Alexis practice. They were hovering just outside her window.
Martha still had her concerns. "Pray she never has to use this spell or that the sight of blood doesn't scare her too much."
Johanna nodded her agreement. Her Katie had had her own problems the first time she saw blood. "And one of us will be there to urge her on if ever she does need to cast this spell." It was one of the benefits if it could be called that. Being dead meant they didn't need to sleep.
"Richard?" Martha asked. Her friend acquiesced and both of them were gone in an instant only to show up where Rick was sitting, waiting.
Johanna didn't understand what she was seeing. "What's he doing?" His fire pit was over there and even from where they were it looked like there were two people sitting at it. Martha shook her head since she had no idea.
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There was one thing that Mathias forgot to mention to Rick – how to stay awake during the night after traveling all day. But what Mathias didn't know was that he was wearing his goggles that allowed him to see in the dark, almost like it was daylight. Though to be honest, Rick was finding it hard to stay awake. "I've gotten soft," he murmured. When he got back it was time to start exercising again.
Mathias watched as one of the dummies fell over. He was thinking about leaving his hiding place to reset it when suddenly Royal began softly growling and watching one direction. He saw Rick racing flat out. A quick look at where he was headed showed another person hurtling toward the dummies. That was it. Mathias was up and running. One of them had to get whomever or whatever it was to run straight for one of Rick's traps.
Mathias soon heard the sound of gunfire and recognized that Rick was using his 3-barreled hand gun. It had the desired affect as the supposed witch started running in a new direction. A few shots from Mathias and she was being herded to right where they wanted her to go.
In only moments she screamed and they both watched her fly up into the air, feet first. Or more accurately one foot. It allowed them to both move in more slowly.
She was clearly struggling, her arms flailing about. Mathias knew better though, and when one of her hands settled down, he shot what was in her hand away from her. No sooner than he'd shot what was in her hand out of it, a shotgun blast blew the same hand off of her arm. Mathias had always worked alone before, however, he was starting to see the benefits of working with someone who was at least his equal if not better.
"Listen up, witch." Rick pulled his goggles off his head and both he and Mathias watched her hiss and spit at him. This, however, earned her the butt end of his shotgun straight to her nose. Now she was coughing blood as it flowed down the back of her throat, choking her.
"Answer my questions and I promise not to kill you." Mathias was a little shocked at what Rick had said but remained silent.
The witch laughed, knowing that he was lying. "My name is Richard Castle. Tell me what I want to know and I promise not to kill you." Both recognized that she knew that name.
"Castle." She knew was dead, still Castle was one of those goody-goody guys who always told the truth. His word was his bond.
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Rick was satisfied with the information she had given them and started walking away.
The witch's name was Paula Haus. She had been commanded by Meredith to find him and report back to her. The witches still had another three months left of their six months to find him and his whore. That sent a chill down his spine. Meredith wanted Kate just as dead. He now had no choice but to find Meredith before she figured out where they lived and attacked Kate who was alone.
They had also found out that there was only one other witch hunting for him. Her name was Jacinda; she had blonde hair and tattoos on both arms. Only problem was the witch didn't know exactly where Meredith was located. All she knew was where she and Jacinda had been called to to meet her and receive their orders.
"Release me," Paula demanded shrilly as she yelled at Rick who was walking away.
"He promised not to kill you, not to release you," Mathias countered coldly, then swiftly pulled out his weapon and emptied it into her head.
He slowly reloaded his weapon before putting it away. "He didn't promise that I wouldn't kill you," he said calmly to the dead witch who was now missing the top of her head along with everything inside it.
Death didn't bother Mathias. His or anyone else's. He had dealt with death for a very long time it seemed. Plus this witch wasn't the first woman he had ever killed, if a witch could be called a woman.
He rejoined Rick who was mounting Donas. "I presume we're going to this meeting spot they had with Meredith?" Mathias asked as he mounted his horse. It was still dark but would be light in a few hours.
"I'm not familiar with the area, but yes, it seems the most likely location to begin searching." It was the only lead they had. Actually Rick still couldn't believe that the witch had talked. She was the first to do so in all his time witch hunting.
"So this Meredith has just the one witch left." Mathias meant Jacinda.
Rick shook his head, making Mathias uneasy. "Last time she had twelve witches. No, make that thirteen – plus an ogre. But at that time she was ready to do some kind of ritual that involved a planetary alignment and required the use of children in what was most likely a sacrifice." Rick was just starting to worry that she had yet another thirteen witches.
"And what pray tell is an ogre?" Mathias had never heard of such a beast.
"Picture a man twice your size and ten times more ugly than you are." Rick tried to hide his smile since he was teasing Mathias.
"Thanks." Mathias knew he wasn't handsome but he wasn't ugly either. Unless you counted the number of scars that were hidden under his clothes. He had earned each and every one. Including the two bullet wounds.
"He also boasts at least five times our strength," Rick added.
"That's great, just great." Mathias was beginning to visualize a big brute twice his size, incredibly ugly, and bulging with muscles. It was not a pretty picture.
"Ogres are also uncommonly stupid and very slow because of their size. And they only serve witches," Rick continued, hoping that might help with Mathias's picture of one.
"Big, strong, slow, and stupid… Sounds like someone I know," Mathias teased back, meaning Rick.
"Maybe I should have brought Kate with me after all," Rick said with a halfhearted grin. He knew just who Mathias was referring to. Mathias chuckled.
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Rick and Mathias had set up a system for each campsite. Thanks to Rick's traps they had meat each day which was more than enough to share with Royal who didn't complain based on how fast he ate what they gave him.
It was their second night out when the sound of Royal growling softly had both of them up and armed to find out what had alerted him. Only they saw and found nothing. "A nocturnal visitor? A fox or badger maybe?" Rick suggested when they stopped at the tent.
Mathias had noticed that Royal appeared to be calm at the moment. Whatever it was wasn't there now. "Perhaps."
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Jacinda decided that entering what was left of this town might be worth it. Being this close to humans irritated her to the point that it took a lot of willpower to stay. It was apparent that this town had been partly burnt to the ground not that long ago and appeared to have very few people in it.
She kept her eyes open and saw a human male enter what she took to be a small cottage. It was small enough to tell her that he might be alone. That or only one other person would be with him. In either case she was sure she could handle whoever was inside. She approached the building carefully and listened before stepping inside. She couldn't help but hide a small smile as she caught him taking his clothes off to get ready for bed.
One quick spell later and she was down on her knees with his cock in her mouth as she worked to get him hard. In only a short time she had him on his back; she straddled him with his cock deep inside her. She was soon enjoying herself as she ground herself on his erection.
Jacinda started with her questions. "Do you know Richard Castle?" She needed to be quick for a number of reasons. This fellow sounded like he was going to climax fast – a little too fast – so she had to catch up to him. Another was that her spell would end soon and after she ended him he couldn't help her any longer.
"Yes." Was her answer which didn't surprise her any.
"Why was your town burnt?" She was curious.
"Witch, said… was… Rich…ard Ca…stle's fault," he panted.
Jacinda didn't think that sounded like anything Paula would do which only left Meredith. It told her that Meredith had already searched here. That news only pissed her off so she placed both hands around his neck, leaving her knife behind and began to squeeze.
"Have you seen a witch hunter?" Would he even know a witch hunter when he saw one?
"Three… days. Asked… questions about… WITCH!"The look of shock and fear was all over his face and it pissed her off since neither the human nor she had climaxed yet.
He drew his last breath and a moment later she took her hands away from his neck. She usually liked to use her knife since it was quick and didn't subject her to any unwanted complications like the human gaining the upper hand over her. However, the feel of him dying with her hands around his neck was a new high for her. She was going to have to do that again. "Three days." It meant there was a witch hunter fairly nearby. Now the only question was which way he could have gone?
Jacinda was quick and sliced his still partially erect penis off of his body and put it with the others. Just a couple more and she could cast her spell. She was looking forward to that day.
She was soon flying away from the charred remains of the town and was looking around, trying to determine where the witch hunter could possibly have gone.
Flying wasn't helping so she was soon down on the ground searching. She got down on her hands and knees, crawling around while sniffing the ground. "Horses." She was pleased. "Two of them." That confused her. The human hadn't said the witch hunter was with someone. "His white witch whore?" she wondered aloud. "Dog," she shrieked. A witch hunter, a companion, and a dog meant she needed to be careful. The dog would alert them to her presence unless she was careful or got lucky. Though she had an idea on what to do with it. She just needed to trap a wild animal, gather some specific plants, poison the carcass, then throw it near the dog. It would eat it and die… horribly.
She needed to keep her distance until the dog was taken care of. Now she had a problem. If this was Richard Castle and his whore she needed to tell Meredith. But if it wasn't the right witch hunter the Witch Queen would kill her for bringing her there for no reason. Meredith would kill her like she had the previous witch.
She needed to be absolutely certain before calling for Meredith. First, though, she had to follow the trail, capture her wild animal and collect the plants she would need. Followed by brewing her potion.
Jacinda now had a plan and started to wonder if Paula was anywhere near. Did she have to kill Paula so that she alone could receive the reward from Meredith?