“Or me,” Patrick interjected. “Although, I don’t like the idea of you all fighting the Organization without me, either…”
The person walking into the Organization’s clutches would be at risk, no matter what either of them said. They might not die, but there were things worse than dying…
I shook my head, opening my mouth to speak, but Zoe cut me off.
“Look, let’s not be hasty. It’s dark out already. We’ll get some rest, think it through, and talk about it in the morning. I’ll try another batch before I go to bed that will hopefully lengthen the effects by a third, and we can test them tomorrow. I’m exhausted,” Zoe said, shaking her head sadly. “I think everyone will do better after a good night of rest and a day of preparation, anyway.”
I knew she was right, but I also knew that—like Maude said—the clock was ticking. That deep, ever-growing ember of magic in my belly felt it now, like a steadily increasing heartbeat.
Something needed to happen, and fast. Our very lives depended on it.
Chapter 21
I woke up in a pool of sweat, my whole body as hot as a furnace. Careful not to wake Patrick as I disengaged from his embrace, I pressed the button on my cell phone.
Only five thirty in the morning but there was no way I’d be able to sleep through all this heat and, unlike a regular hot flash, it wouldn’t just pass with time.
Typing on Maude was the only way I’d get rid of this horrible feeling inside me, and I was thankful for it. Despite all the magic flying around at the bakery lately, I hadn’t made a single prediction in days and I was desperate for some guidance before carrying out our bold plan later in the day.
I padded quietly past Mee-maw and Zoe, avoiding the creaky board in the middle of the room even in the darkness, and grabbed Maude from the desk before slipping out the door and into the bakery storefront room.
I set Maude on the table and pushed my hair back, allowing myself to enter the trance-like state that came along with my predictions. The words came, fast and furious, without prompting or delay. A few minutes later, I left the fugue state, feeling like I’d just woken up for the second time in the day, though at least this time I didn’t feel like I was about to combust.
I held my breath as I glanced down at the paper in front of me.
While the plan to lure the enemy from their nest and strike at their leader is sound, the cost of victory will be high and one of your comrades will never return. Though the possibility of failure is greater, you will have to enter the belly of the beast alone to have any chance of your numbers remaining whole. Choose wisely, for still-greater challenges await you.
My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the words until they blurred in front of me.
This was bad. The plan we’d hatched could result in someone I loved being killed. But, if I went alone, I faced a greater chance of failing, which might see us all dead in the long run.
This was a critical decision. Making the wrong one could haunt me for the rest of my life, however long or short it might be. And still, it was one I made easily.
I couldn’t sacrifice anyone in my group—I wouldn’t—no matter the price. I’d rather be dead than live with that on my conscience. I needed to take this golden opportunity to take down Finneas, and I needed to do it solo.
I pulled the paper out and sat still, reading and re-reading, for a long while, making sure I didn’t miss a single word or nuance. Without Mee-maw with me to activate her compass, it would be useless to me. And, even if I could find Finneas on my own, I couldn’t exactly go waltzing in there. I’d get taken down instantly by a dozen male guards armed with weapons and magic, and find myself on the wrong end of a noose again.
Which meant there was only one viable option that would allow me to “enter the belly of the beast alone”. One I relished about as much as the thought of sticking a rusty fork in my eye, but my path was clear.
I nodded, feeling the weight of our mission resting on my shoulders in a way that was strangely comforting. I pocketed the paper and padded to the refrigerator to snag one of Zoe’s lemon bars. Then, I headed quietly back into the office and stood over the daybed where Mee-maw lay.
Her wrinkly face was relaxed in sleep, and I resisted the urge to lean down and kiss her cheek...just in case.
With a silent prayer, I shoved the bar into my mouth whole and chewed, sparing a glance at the clock.
After six. Mee-maw would be up no later than seven, and I’d have to be gone before then.
I spared sleeping Patrick and Zoe quick looks, silently saying my goodbyes before heading back into the kitchen.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for the magic to kick in as I felt myself begin to shrink. My vision slowly blurred, my muscles grew soft and achy, my hip throbbed. Worst of all, my magic faded into the background, like a low, static hum just out of reach.
It was probably for the best. I would need to be back to myself—both physically and magically—before I made a move once in captivity. Mee-maw’s body couldn’t withstand the kind of battle I’d likely be facing. Not having easy access to my magic would keep me from drawing on it instinctively out of fear.
But, damn, did it leave me feeling vulnerable. Like an armadillo flat on its back.
When it was over, I pulled up my phone’s camera, using it as a mirror and nodding in satisfaction at how much I looked like Mee-maw.
Zoe was an absolute genius. If I wasn’t staring down the barrel of my own possible demise, I’d have been gobsmacked by the breadth, scope, and power of her witchery.
But I had work to do. For a few minutes, I practiced my gait and posture as I walked around the room, feeling like a newborn foal as I struggled to get used to the new body. Then, I changed from my now too-large clothes into Mee-maw’s smaller ones.
I was halfway to the door when the enormity of what I was setting off to do hit me like a train.
I was going to fight a giant, international conglomerate of evil men with magic at their disposal by myself and there was a serious chance that I’d never make it back. The least I owed my family was some type of explanation in case they never saw me again.
I shuffled back inside, pulling the prophecy out of my pocket, and searching for a pen. I found one, after a few moments of looking, next to the cash register, and made my way back over to the prediction I’d just made, scribbling a short explanation of my plans onto the bottom of it:
I’m sorry, but I love you all too much and I won’t risk any of you, even if it means putting the mission in jeopardy. I’ve gone to face the organization and to retrieve Mee-maw’s item so we can make the coven whole. Don’t try to follow me.
-Cricket
I folded the note and stuck it into the fridge, leaning it against the tray of lemon bars. I turned around, not giving myself time to think about whether it was a mistake or not, and walked out the door.
I’d kind of hoped it would happen fast. That I’d walk outside and someone would just snag me right in the parking lot, before the dread fully kicked in.
But that didn’t happen. Instead, I had to hotfoot it all the way to Mee-maw’s house. I was out of breath by the time I got there, though it was just a handful of blocks away. And I’d thought age had taken a toll on my body?
I took a few deep breaths as I ambled up to the walkway, trying to resist the urge to look around for the Organization member that would no doubt be watching the house. I made it all the way to the stoop, untouched, though. Trying to act natural, I let myself into the house using the key under the mat, trying not to flinch away from the blow that would surely come.
But again, nothing.
Had I been wrong? Had they given up watching 24/7 now that they knew we’d set up camp in the bakery?
I had trudged into the entryway and was setting the key down when I heard it.
Footsteps.
I slapped the sides of my face, forcing myself to focus as I padded into the kitchen on creaky knees. I was capable of this. In order to keep th
em from suspecting anything, I’d have to put on a good show. I grabbed a broom from the corner of the room and raised it, facing the door.
Seconds later, a man in a black ski mask charged in, raising a pistol. I swung the broomstick at him, striking him in the face as I shouted with rage. “Get the hell out of my house, you vagabond!”
He grabbed the broom and yanked it, and me, forward, grabbing me by the shoulders. A sense of relief washed over me as I struggled, thrashing violently, and uselessly, against his firm grip. I’d been expecting to take a few punches or kicks before they managed to subdue me, but this was much easier.
“Let me go!” I yelled.
“Stop struggling and you won’t be harmed, old woman,” the man muttered.
I’d assumed they wouldn’t simply kill Mee-maw without waiting for her to bond with a magical item that they could steal from her, but it was music to my ears to hear that I was right.
“Stay still, damn it,” he commanded, sounding almost sorry for me as he duct-taped my wrists and ankles together.
“Help!” I screamed, hoping he wouldn’t hit me. I couldn’t give them any reason to doubt that I was who I seemed to be, and nobody would just give up on trying to escape when being kidnapped.
“Be quiet,” he said, stretching out another piece of duct tape and wrapping it around my mouth. He laid me on the ground and pulled out his phone. The call didn’t take long, he just explained the situation and asked for them to send a car. I did my best to keep my mind on the plan and off the panic caused by the bonds while we waited. It felt like an eternity later when his phone rang again.
“Copy that, headed outside now.” He threw me over his shoulder and tossed a blanket on top of me to hide what he was carrying as he made his way back through the house.
Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to try and use my magic to escape as I struggled and writhed, partially for show and partially with real fear. As he pulled open the car’s door a moment later, though, no acting was needed.
“Good work,” a gravelly voice said from the front seat as he tossed me into the back, “we should be able to use this one to lure the clairvoyant in, no problem. Can’t wait to get my hands on that witch.”
A cold sweat broke out on my neck as my captor, who now sat next to me, pulled the blanket away from my face. What I’d already suspected was affirmed as I stared at the man in front of me, unable to take my eyes away from the jagged cut on his right cheek.
A wound I had made.
It was the Organization’s jailor, who had tortured me beyond what I’d thought possible with the horrible magical item he wore around his neck and haunted my dreams.
“Hello, Granny,” he said, nodding before turning back to his partner. “We’ll have this damned coven stamped out by the end of the month. I’ll put in a good word for you with the bossman, but you’d better stay behind. The rest of them might come looking for their granny and we’ll have ourselves a trifecta.”
I was almost thankful as the person in the back seat pulled the blanket back over my face, obscuring my view of the man in front of me.
I spent the rest of the car ride in a panic, trying to catch my breath. For some reason, I thought I’d mentally prepared myself for this eventuality. I’d even ran through a number of scenarios in my head about how I’d keep myself calm with mantras and affirmations.
But the reality was far different than my imaginings, and while my body had healed, my mind was still a bit broken from what I’d suffered.
The fact was that I’d never gone through anything as hideously painful as I had at that moment. I’d rather have experienced the pain of giving birth for a hundred hours than feel even one second of the agony from that demon necklace, yet I had dropped myself right back into his hands and at his mercy. There was no turning back now.
I flinched as the car lurched to a stop and the front door clicked open.
“We’re here!” Necklace said cheerily, opening my door. A shudder of revulsion rolled over me as he grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Granny. You’ll be nice and comfortable soon enough.”
Despite his encouraging words, as he walked with his necklace jingling with each step, I could barely keep my bladder from emptying. If he again became my guard, how could I possibly defeat him to even get a shot at Finneas? I could barely keep from peeing myself, never mind beat him in a battle of magic.
As fear tightened its stranglehold on me, the cold hard facts became clear, almost breaking me completely right then and there.
The second Zoe’s doppelganger magic gave out, this man was going to torture me in the most hideous fashion possible.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
Chapter 22
“You know, I don’t usually let myself get all worked up about ridding the world of witches like Finneas and the others, glassy-eyed, with the chanting and all that garbage,” Necklace said, grinning coldly, “but that granddaughter of yours has me really fired up. This old face of mine wasn’t all that hot to begin with, but things are going to get a lot tougher with the ladies after what she did to me.” He pointed at the sloppily stitched gash on his cheek with his index finger.
“Not to mention, getting me into trouble with the boss. We’ve got some squaring up to do, her and I.”
I’d been locked up in a makeshift cell that actually looked like some sort of storage room in an office building for the past ten minutes with him, but this was the first time he’d spoked to me since we’d arrived. Before that, he’d been busy tapping away on his phone, probably in contact with other members of the Organization. It had given me a little much-needed time to pull myself together, but I was still hanging on by a string.
Now, he’d set the device aside to give me his full attention. Apparently, he was in the mood to chat.
Lucky me.
Still, if chatter was what he wanted, that was what I’d give him, in hopes that he’d get his fill of me—or Mee-maw, to his mind—and go away for a few minutes. It was only a matter of time until I turned back and, as I’d never taken this potion before, I didn’t have a good gauge of how vulnerable I’d be during the transition or how long it would take.
“Why do this, if not for the witches?” I replied in Mee-maw’s voice, which was still rather jarring.
He stared at me pensively for a long moment before answering my question. “I guess it’s about the power. If someone’s gotta have it, it might as well be me, no?”
No.
“After you have your fun and your boss kills my granddaughter, what happens next?” I rasped, not allowing myself to fall apart again as I stared back at him.
My breath caught in my throat as I realized that somewhat-blurred vision was clearing, ever so slightly, and the aching in my bones began to fade. I reached tentatively for my magic, but it still felt like trying to grab a handful of mist or smoke from the air, dispersing and scattering every time I tugged for it.
“Worried about your own hide, eh?” he said, smiling. “I can respect that. First, we’ll let the cousin develop more so we can take her magical item. And then we’ll give you yours, Granny. I’m not sure on the time frame at your age. Could take longer for you to charge yours, so you might be able to make it a few months. Better get to work on that bucket list.” His phone beeped and he looked down, cocking his head as he read a message.
A deep chill ran through me as I considered what he’d said. How could I give up trying when the rest of my family would be next? My racing thoughts slowed to a near stop as I noticed that my line of sight was rising ever so slightly, as if I was growing. Still crippled by fear, I reached back into my well of magic, grabbing at any of the wisps I could get my hands on, using thoughts of my family for strength as I willed it not to dissipate.
He set his phone aside and I knew it was now or never. I took the meager scraps of power I’d gathered and pushed with all I had. Necklace shot off his feet like he’d been popped by an unseen sniper and landed
flat on his back.
Unfortunately, the blast had been impotent and I was still in limbo between my own form and Mee-maw’s. Aside from having the wind knocked out of him, my captor hardly even seemed fazed as he got back to his feet.
“Well, hot damn,” he muttered. “You wily little so and so. It was you the whole time?” He grinned, a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.
I shuddered as he reached for the chain around his neck, pushing all thoughts of fear from my mind. There was no way I could allow this man to beat me. I dug deep for my magic again, finally feeling like myself as it came bubbling closer to the surface, but he was faster.
The pain, like a thousand unimaginable tortures all at once, gripped me in its clutches and my brain went offline even as my body convulsed. It was somehow more than the simple experience of pain, as if my entire consciousness had become agony itself.
“You should’ve just went down easily the first time. You brought this on yourself.”
I could hear the words perfectly fine but my brain was slow to parse them into any kind of sense as I tried not to go insane in my agony.
“I’ve always wondered what that feels like,” he said, stepping closer to me. “I guess I’ll have to ask your cousin and granny when I use it on them, huh? Think of how much easier things could’ve been for all three of you if you weren’t so stubborn.”
After a long moment of struggling to decipher his words, a fiery anger rose inside of me. I couldn’t just resign to the pain if this man was going to torture Zoe and Mee-maw as a result of something I had done. I had to figure out a way to fight. With images of my coven, Patrick and Trudy included, shimmering in my mind like a beacon, I pried at the door to my magic once again, forcing it to come out rather than simply reaching for it.
I would not allow it to refuse me.
Suddenly, a great wave of light came streaming through me, not overtaking the pain, but keeping it at bay. If one half of my experience was pure pain, the other was filled with an overwhelming calmness and serenity.
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