by Rhys Lawless
“I’ll add it to your tab of debts.” She chuckled and came to give me a hug. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”
“Always,” I replied and gave her an extra-reassuring emotional tug so she knew I meant it.
I put my spellbooks on my wrists, made sure they were loaded up with both defensive and offensive spells, and after giving Nora a quick kiss on the forehead, I ran down the stairs and got to the street.
As I got into a cab, I made sure to call Wade to meet me there.
How had this happened? Everything had been fine for three days. No new attacks, no witches dead, no new developments. Sure, the witches were growing agitated being on lockdown, and the whole operation was already starting to drain the coven resources, but it was a necessary evil.
How had the vampires found the Primrose Hill hideout?
I felt it before I saw it. The devastation. The death. The grief. The anger. They all lingered in the air like a bad smell you couldn’t get rid of. The paramedics’ cars washed the street in blue with their silent sirens.
What should have looked like a construction site that people couldn’t give a flying fuck about now appeared as the apartment complex it was. Winston’s power was one of the strongest and most complex and should have lasted on the building without him even needing to concentrate on it. How had his psychogeography failed?
The building stood relatively unscathed other than a broken window. It was what was inside that had been destroyed.
“Caleb, this way.” Graham grabbed me and led me past the main entrance and into the courtyard of the complex where the commotion was.
“How many?” I asked when I saw the white sheets covering the majority of the outer circle. Witches were staring out of the windows of the apartments, some were hugging others, some were hugging themselves, all solemnly respecting the fallen and scared for their own lives. I didn’t even need to stretch out my empathy to them to figure as much.
“Thirty-three,” Graham replied. “Plus, some injured. Those who tried to help.”
I looked around me and did a mental count. Not because I didn’t believe him. It was because I didn’t want to believe him. Why? Why would Christian do this?
After what Rune had told Wade, there was no doubt, if there ever had been, that Christian was behind all this. But he was still being as elusive as the fucking tooth fairy. That asshole knew how to cover his tracks and how to rally the vampires to his cause.
I felt a little pull at my heart, and I turned around to find Wade standing there, looking at the devastating effect of the attack. I reached out to him telepathically and he let me in.
We’ve got to stop him, Wade. We’ve got to, I said.
I know, came his simple reply.
“How did they know you were here? How did they get through Winston’s protections?” he asked Graham.
“We don’t know. My only guess is his power has its limitation and it expired. Either that or he—”
“My brother did not aid the vampires,” he shouted.
Some of the paramedics turned their heads to us and scowled. It was a terrible thing what had happened here and the least we could do was respect the victims.
“That’s not what I meant,” Graham said. “They’re on their way now. We’re hoping Hew can talk to the spirits of the witches. Maybe they know something the survivors don’t.”
So we waited. But I didn’t stand around passing my sympathies to the grieving families. I opened up my empathy to everyone and stretched my power to its limits.
Closing my eyes, I reached out to everyone’s psyche. Their fears, their memories, their secrets. Something to give us a clue. Anything to help us figure out what to do next.
“Have you called Nolan? Have you told him what his apathy has caused?” Wade asked Graham.
Graham opened his mouth, but at that moment Ash stepped in.
“There’s no need to reach out to Nolan. He has made his intentions very clear. And we’re not going to involve him in our affairs any further. He doesn’t wish to do business with the witches. The witches don’t need to do business with him and his wolves. Caleb, can I have a word?”
I stared at him and at Wade. Whatever it was he wanted to talk to me about, he could do so in front of Wade. I had no secrets from him, and Ash knew that. And so I told him.
“Fine. Follow me,” he said, and we walked behind him back to his car, a small Bentley limo that had its own driver.
We sat in the back and once the door closed, I felt the energy surge around it.
“I didn’t want to say anything out there. The limo is protected by spells no witches’ powers can penetrate—”
“Is there someone out there you don’t trust?” I asked.
“I don’t know who we can trust anymore, Caleb. Winston’s protection alone should have been enough cover for the complex. But we went the extra mile with all of them. We’ve put some of the strongest spells around the hideouts, and yet the vampires found us. It sounds crazy, but maybe there’s a traitor among us.”
“Why? Why would they side with the vampires?” Wade asked.
Ash looked at him and then at me.
“You guys know the implications of the battle. Not all witches feel that justice has been served. And even though we’ve done our best to imprison and punish the traitors who sided with the demons, it doesn’t mean we got them all. We’re at war. An active one. We have been since day one. And all those bodies out there? All the bodies that are to come? They are casualties of war. Don’t let anyone fool you.”
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
Results, of course. I knew the answer. I had delivered none. As usual.
“Any progress with your mission?” he asked.
I shook my head. “You know I’d tell you if I had.”
My research had turned out nothing. Mother Red Cap had no more answers than the rest of us. The Nightcrawlers I trusted had all turned their backs on me, and the witch division of MI5 didn’t have the resources to use on the vampires when they were fighting bigger threats—their words, not mine.
“I know. Well, I think I need to ask a favor of you.”
“Go on.”
“Your vampire contacts. Can you reach out to them? Is there anyone you used to trust?”
It didn’t take a genius to realize what he was asking of me. And if I thought there was anyone out there that could help, I would have reached out already. But when I’d died a vampire and woken up a human—thanks to my little Nora—all the vampire friends I’d made had turned their backs on me. Not that there had been many to start with.
Vampires were unlike any other species of Nightcrawlers. Everyone else was born the way they were. Vampires were made. That’s why everyone hated vampires. They had their own hierarchy, their own councils, their own rules. They refused to live by the rules of the “privileged” as they liked to call everyone else.
Which was why it was a shock that all the Nightcrawlers had come together to make reassurances with the vampire clan that they wouldn’t hurt them. They should have done the exact opposite: stand by the witches and help us defend ourselves against Christian and his lackeys.
“I can try. But I can’t make any promises.”
“Thank you,” Ash said, and he opened the car door again and let us all out.
“Excuse me,” someone, a guy with dark hair and some serious stubble game, said to Ash. “Do you know what happened here?”
Ash looked at the man and cocked his head.
“Just a simple accident. Nothing exciting to see here, folks,” Ash said.
Another man stepped forward and once I saw his ginger head next to the other guy, warmth and excitement took over as I recognized them both.
“Come on, dude. We know there’s something witchy going on here,” the foxy man said.
“Easton! Troy! What are you doing here?” I said.
It had been so long since Easton had come running to Java Jinx asking for my help, I’d almost
forgotten it had happened. I had wondered if they’d ever made it out alive. They had been on the run from BLADE hunters and had gone into hiding. I’d always assumed they had found their demise, but I secretly hoped they’d escaped. I was glad my wishful thinking had come true.
“Caleb? It’s been so long,” Easton said and came to give me a hug. Troy was next, but when I tried to wrap my arms around him, he paused, the blood drained from his face, and he stared at something behind me.
“You? What are you doing here?” he shouted at Wade and reached for his jacket buttons for a spell.
Wait a minute. A spell? Troy wasn’t a witch. When they’d come to me, he’d been a clueless human being who had found himself working for BLADE.
“Troy? It’s you!” Wade said. “I can explain.”
Ash took the words out of my mouth.
“What’s going on here? I’m so confused.”
“Ditto, man,” I agreed.
“He’s a witch hunter. What is he doing with you?” Troy shouted.
“Was. I’m not a hunter anymore,” Wade said, digging his hands deeper into the pockets of his leather jacket.
Easton grabbed Troy’s shoulder and asked him to take it easy.
“He’s the reason we went into hiding, Easton. How can I take it easy?” He growled.
“I’m sorry. I really, truly am. If you let me explain—” Wade said.
“Explain how you tried to kill us? Kill me when I had no idea what was going on? Explain what? How I couldn’t see or speak to my family without putting them or myself in danger? How you took everything Easton had away from him? From us?”
Troy’s voice was becoming increasingly louder until finally he pulled the button from his jacket and threw it at Wade.
“Bind,” he shouted.
The spell exploded into dust in front of Wade, only the dust fell off him like sand in an hourglass.
“What—”
“You’re a witch?” Wade asked.
“You’re a witch?” Troy asked at the same time.
“That’s why I said to take it easy, baby,” Easton said. “I just had a premonition. I think we need to sit down and talk.”
“I agree,” I said.
“Me too,” Wade added.
Troy looked from Wade, to me, to his mate until he gave up.
“Whatever. Truce. For now. At least until I find out what the fuck is going on,” Troy said.
“Sounds good to me.” Wade strained a smile, which was met with a scowl from Troy.
Since the animosity between the two was put aside for the time being, I introduced the couple to Ash as the new high council leader.
“Interim leader,” Ash corrected and then took over to explain what had happened.
“Have you checked the CCTV?” Troy asked. “It might give you a clue as to how they got in.”
Ash raised his head and pointed to the lack of cameras around the building.
“There’s nothing. We didn’t think we’d need cameras when so many spells were put there for security purposes.”
“Maybe you don’t have any cameras, but the area does,” Troy said. “Look, they’re all over the street.”
“We can’t access those. I’d need to pull some strings, and by the time we get the tapes, it might be too late. And they might not even have any valuable information,” Ash said.
Troy raised an eyebrow. “Pull some strings? Ha,” he said and unhooked his backpack off his back and pulled a laptop out.
“What? You’re going to hack into the local cameras? How?” Wade chuckled.
Troy gave him an evil glare that spoke volumes.
“Watch and shut up,” he replied and approached the nearest camera.
He sat down on the ground, opened his laptop, and typed furiously on his computer. Then, not two seconds later, he got off the ground and turned his screen to us.
“Here,” he said.
A video played out. It was black and white and grainy as fuck. There was a big group of people standing outside the hideout, and then it all blurred out, white noise followed, and the screen turned black.
“Oh, fuck,” Troy said. “Someone scrambled the feed.”
“It’s okay,” Ash said. “You did your best.”
Troy laughed.
“I did my—you ain’t seen nothing yet. Let me fix that.”
He closed his eyes and the screen came to life again. The video had rewound to the beginning.
“Now let’s fix the resolution,” he mumbled, and the feed started to clear out as if someone was fixing the antenna of a TV set, and when he opened his eyes the video was crystal clear and played out like a movie.
“How? What? I’m confused,” Ash said.
“I’m a technopath,” Troy said with a wide smile.
“A what path?” Wade asked.
Troy didn’t answer his question but glowered at him.
“He can control technology,” Easton explained.
“I don’t control it. I talk to it. In binary.” Troy corrected his boyfriend.
“How fitting,” Wade said and offered Troy a smile.
Troy turned his attention to the screen and so did all of us. We watched the big group of people inspect the complex. It looked like a construction site. Like it had meant to look with Winston’s help. And then in an instant, the magic fell apart and it revealed the true building. Two witches walked out casually, arm in arm, smiling. Until they came head to head with the vampire group, who killed them in a mere instant.
The vampires all turned into blurs and disappeared into the building. A window broke on the second floor and a witch came flying out, his body landing on the ground in an uncomfortable position. Then, as quickly as they’d got in, the vampires came out and dispersed into different directions.
“So…so it was a coincidence,” Wade said with hesitation in his voice.
“The two witches broke curfew and revealed the place to them by coming out of the protections. But the vampires knew something was here. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been here,” Ash said.
“But Winston’s magic would have held even if they came out and broke curfew,” I said.
I had spent enough time with the man to know how his powers worked.
“I don’t know, guys. I don’t know. What I do know is that we have to find out why they’re killing us and stop them before it’s too late,” Ash said.
Nine
Wade
Considering Ash had every witch of the coven actively helping with the scene, I wasn’t entirely sure why we were needed there, but we helped where we could until the other council members arrived and then we were officially dismissed.
Troy and Easton also gave a hand. Did that mean they had taken the witch side and didn’t agree with Nolan and the rest of the Nightcrawlers? They didn’t seem to know what was happening with the lockdown and the vampire attacks, but maybe once they found out they would also turn their backs on us.
When Winston and Hew arrived, they both sat down with Ash inside his car, probably being briefed about everything in the security of the spelled limo. Winston looked defeated when he came out with Hew in tail, who got busy talking to the witches’ spirits straight away.
“You okay, bro?” I asked him when Hew walked away.
“No. Of course I’m not. It was my protection that failed. It’s my fault they’re all dead.”
I reached for his arm, but he pulled away.
“No. Don’t try to convince me otherwise. There’s no point lying to me to make me feel better. I shouldn’t be feeling better. I need to feel like this. I need to turn my attention to this.”
“But, Winston, it’s not your fault the protection fell away. How could you know—”
“Ash showed me the video, Wade. It is my fault.”
“How?”
“Because at 8:46 p.m., when the witches walked out of the building, I was busy fucking,” he said.
“What?”
Winston seemed to lose some of the steam he
’d been carrying only moments ago as if he had tried to present a strong facade, and once he’d admitted his mistake, the facade collapsed with it.
“At 8:46 was when…Hew was… He made me orgasm,” he said. “And I felt the control slipping away from me. It was only for a few moments, but a few moments were enough for those assholes to kill everyone.”
Who knew Winston could give a whole new meaning to the acronym TMI? And what could I possibly tell him after what he’d just admitted?
“Even if that’s the case, someone told the vampires the hideout location. They were right outside. Yes, you lost control, but you didn’t tell them where the witches were hiding. Someone else has played a part in this,” I said.
“So what? If I hadn’t let Hew…”
“How could you possibly know it was going to happen? Come on, little brother. You’re being too hard on yourself.”
Winston looked away from me, biting his lip.
“It happens when we get intimate,” he mumbled. “I should have stopped him. We shouldn’t have been doing anything while I’ve got so many locations under my power. But…I couldn’t resist him.”
“We all have our weaknesses. You can’t change what’s happened,” I said.
Winston took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“I need to get the protections up and running again. We need to rehouse the witches in all locations. If they know about this one, chances are they know about the rest. I need to help Ash plan everything.”
“I’m here if you need anything.”
“It’s fine. Go home, Wade. I can take it from here.”
It hit me like a motherfucking bullet, and he was clueless about it. I didn’t know if he’d meant it like that, but the message was received nonetheless: “You’re useless if you can’t cast spells. How can you help when you can’t help yourself? It’s better if you go home where you won’t put anyone at risk.”
I left him to do his job and sulked at the thought that he had to fix everything himself, and I went to the next person in this area that felt the exact same way.
“Let’s go home, Caleb. Our job here is done.”
Caleb squeezed a witch’s hand and offered her a smile before he stood up and came to wrap his hands around my neck.