A Little Blood Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 10)

by Kessler, A. L.

  Merick shook his head. “Really, I’m along for the ride at this point. I’m curious to see what you have because the Cult could never touch her.”

  Oliver nodded and started walking further into the house. “Nor would they. She’s well protected, powerful as all get out, and she’s formed an army of believers to protect her.”

  “You sound like you admire her.”

  Oliver glanced at me with a smirk. “She’s something to admire for sure. Beautiful, soft.” He made a sound low in his throat that startled me.

  “You know her personally?”

  “A one-month stand.” Oliver shrugged a shoulder. “Power attracts power, Abigail.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Great, can you tell me where she is or why Liz would go after her?”

  “Liz is stupid if she went after the woman alone. This is the case that Levi is working with Detective Mason, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, now I need to know information on Hyde before I go out to a location.”

  Oliver paused. “Niece, you shouldn’t go after her. Liz is as good as dead, and if she’s not dead, she’ll be damaged.”

  “Liz has survived this once. I’m not leaving her out there to die.”

  “Adrianna is immortal, in the truest sense of the word, Abigail. You can’t kill her, you can’t contain her, and you’ll become another victim on a long list,” Oliver snapped. “That is not how you are meant to die.”

  I raised a brow. “Beats being changed into a vampire.”

  Oliver jerked like I had slapped him. “That would be against your wishes.”

  “Glad someone agrees. But seriously, I’m not leaving her there.”

  Oliver threw open the door to his office, not his library as I expected. “Sit down.”

  Merick took a step back.

  “You too, cat.”

  This was a new side of Oliver’s anger I rarely saw. Merick and I both sat in front of his desk. Oliver sat down across from us. “Adrianna plays with blood magic, the blackest kind you can get. She enjoys the torture and the death of each of her victims. If Liz has survived her once, then I highly doubt she’d go back.” He looked at Merick. “Has Liz survived her?”

  He nodded. “She and her sisters were young, but she was there.”

  “How young?”

  “Liz was six, maybe seven.” Merick shrugged. “I don’t know the full story.”

  He wasn’t much older than me, and Liz and I were about the same age, so he would have been young as well.

  “We found a child at one of the sights. She’s at the hospital right now.” A sickening thought came to me. “She had no name, how long had she been there?”

  Oliver shook his head. “Don’t dwell on it.”

  “Adrianna is a monster, and she needs to be stopped.” I glared at Oliver. “And you slept with her? For a month?”

  “I didn’t know exactly who she was. I was young, stupid, and greedy. I thought that she had the key to life, Abigail.”

  And I knew where the rest of that thought went. One of my uncle’s goals in life was to bring my mother back to the land of the living. They had been really close, and he never quite moved forward from her death.

  “Okay, so if I can’t defeat her, I’m going to rescue Liz.”

  Oliver let out a sigh. “We’re talking an army, Abigail.”

  “Liz left a dozen dead bodies at one site. Between Merick and I, I think we’ll be okay.”

  “And Detective Mason,” Merick added.

  Oliver shook his head. “Taking the detective is stupid. He’s human. Leave him back here. I’ll go.”

  Merick and I stared at him. We’d make a powerhouse trio if we could get anywhere near Adrianna. “We might actually have a chance if you go,” I muttered.

  Merick nodded. “Call the detective. Tell him to be ready for whatever we find.”

  I pulled my phone out and called Mason.

  “What is it, Abby? I’m a bit busy,” he answered.

  “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to go to the location with magical backup tonight. Just be ready for what we find.”

  There was some muffled grumbling like he was holding his hand over the phone. “Okay, that’s fine. I’m at the hospital dealing with the little girl.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She’s told her therapist some terrifying things, Abigail. I have to go.”

  The line went dead in my hand, and I closed my eyes. I hoped that the little girl would be okay. There were tools and ways to work through trauma, and she would get there.

  “He’s busy anyway. So let’s do this.” I stood.

  Merick and Oliver nodded and stood as well. “I’ll drive,” Oliver stated and walked out of the office. Typically, when Oliver drove, it was a fancy sports car, or we rode in a limo like the first time I had met him.

  Tonight, the vehicle waiting for us in the garage was a jeep that looked like it’d recently been through a mud bath.

  “Climb in and give me the location.” Oliver climbed up into the driver’s seat. Merick clamored into the back seat, and then I took the front passenger. I buckled up and then gave Oliver the location.

  I hoped whatever we were going to find there was going to lead us to Liz or at least a clue that she was still alive.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The jeep bounced as it rolled over the hilly ground near the clearing in the forest. Oliver brought it to a stop and climbed out. “We walk from here. The jeep will alert any supernatural creature.”

  I climbed out, and my hand instinctively went to my gun. Oliver raised a brow. “Gun against magic?”

  “Most things die when you shoot them in the head and heart. Magic or not. I like to have it as back up.”

  Merick chuckled. “She’s come a long way, Oliver, but she’s still a PIB agent. Killing with magic is forbidden and has a long list of consequences.”

  “One of which is death. I’ve already almost come close to being tried for murder. I’d hate to have to explain a situation where I used magic.” I shrugged and started hiking over the bumpy ground.

  Oliver and Merick joined me. Oliver pulled out a fancy GPS that led us to the coordinates. After a couple minutes of hiking, we came into a clearing, and I looked at Oliver. “You can put it away. I think we’re here.”

  We looked at a large house. Three peaked roofs made it look almost like three smaller houses stuck together. The windows had bars on them, and even though the house itself was brightly colored, it didn’t look inviting.

  The dark wood of the front door stood out against the obnoxious colors of the house.

  “Hansel and Gretel anyone?” Merick whispered.

  “Come in my, children,” Oliver answered back.

  I wasn’t going to give in to their weird banter. I moved around the clearing to see if I could get another view of the house. There had to be a weakness somewhere. Only the waning moon illuminated the darkness of the night. I tried to think through the situation.

  In the other scenes, the torture room had been upstairs. My eyes glanced up to where the bars were. We could chance popping in there and instantly being caught, or we could devise a different plan.

  I jerked my head back to the forest to tell them to follow me. If we were lucky, we hadn’t been spotted yet. We’d stuck to the treeline, so maybe the shadows hid us from view from above. Or maybe the house was empty.

  We waited for a moment. “I don’t know if anyone is home,” Oliver stated.

  Merick nodded. “I don’t feel any magic.”

  “So, you think we just pop on in?”

  Oliver shook his head. “That’s blocked, I’m sure.”

  “Good old breaking and entering then?” I asked.

  They both nodded, and we crept back to the clearing. The windows remained dark, and I couldn’t hear any noises from inside. We walked around the back and found a porch with a back door. I went up to the door, but Oliver put a hand on my wrists and stopped me.

  He produced a lock picking k
it from his pocket and went to work until there was a satisfying click of a tumbler.

  I raised a brow at him, and he merely shrugged as he opened the door. We walked in, and the smell of blood hit my nostrils strong enough that I could taste it on my tongue, almost making me gag.

  I pulled out my gun as we moved through the kitchen. Spotless. Like no one lived in it, or it was kept very clean. We moved into a hallway that led to stairs. I could hear screaming and noises from above. Oliver motioned for me to take point. I trusted him and Merick to have my back. The hall the stairs led to was empty, no army, no bodies, but the noises continued. Sounds of pain and struggling. Occasionally, I could feel little flares of magic.

  In my experience, any random flares of magic were bad. Typically, it meant a witch or warlock was reaching out for help as their magic started to fade.

  I crept down the hallway, checking door by door to find each room empty. The last house I explored had the torture chamber in the back room. I took a deep breath before I tried the handle of the door.

  It didn’t budge.

  Oliver moved up with his trusty lock picking kit again, and I turned to look down the hall to guard his back. The moment the lock clicked, we switched spots again, almost like a practiced dance. I toed the door open. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw inside the room.

  Just like the other scenes, blood coated the floors, dried brown patterns everywhere, which explained the smell. But this time there was a living person struggling against chains on the table and sending out little magic bursts.

  The hair was matted with blood, but I knew the face. Liz.

  I holstered my gun and ran to the table, examining the chains. I could melt them. There were no other witnesses, and at the moment, I wouldn’t have cared if there were. I met Liz’s gaze. Her eyes were wide with fear, and I took a moment to assess the damage. Her lips had been sewn shut, and they were swollen with crusted blood on them. Various cuts covered her body, but each one had been stitched up expertly.

  “I’m going to get you out here.” I put my hands on the chains and called on my elemental power. The chain broke at the weak part of the link. I repeated it and was working on the third chain when Oliver hissed.

  “Hurry, Abigail.”

  I didn’t like the way he said it, but I sped up a little bit. The last chain snapped, and Merick come to help me get her off the table. “Let’s go. Oliver’s.”

  Oliver nodded, and the world around us disappeared.

  We reappeared in Oliver’s office, and Liz collapsed next to me. Oliver and Merick took her to a room, and I sighed. I’d have to let them take care of her for the moment. Oliver had the ability to heal, so hopefully he could take of the damage. Or at least some of it.

  I pulled the phone out and texted Mason. “Found Liz, not our culprit.”

  “She okay?” Was what I got back.

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” I sent it and leaned my head against the wall. I couldn’t get the image of her out of my head. Her lips sewn shut, her body cut and stitched.

  My stomach churned at the thought of a child going through the same torture. What kind of person would do such a thing?

  One that was crazy with power. Wasn’t that the way it always seemed to go. Power corrupted.

  “She’s going to be okay.” Merick’s words made me open my eyes.

  “Mentally?”

  “I don’t know, Abby. That type of damage was done deliberately to cause pain. Liz is awake and would like to see you.”

  I pushed off the wall. “Did Oliver heal her?”

  “A little, yes.”

  Always like Oliver, just enough so he wouldn’t be caught. “Okay.” I walked into the room.

  Oliver was sitting by the bed with a bowl of water, talking softly to Liz. “You need to stay still. Abigail will be here in a moment. You can give her instructions.”

  “I’m here now.” I walked up to the bed and looked at Liz. “You look like shit.”

  She snorted and then cringed. “I’ll need to go to the hospital. To keep the integrity of the case.”

  “Which is why Oliver only healed you a little bit.”

  Oliver stood and walked out of the room. “Liz, what the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was going to get her, Abby. I was going to kill her for what she’d done. As soon as…” She stopped and coughed a little bit. “As soon as I saw that first scene, I knew she was back. But…” She hung her head. “I wasn’t expecting her to have so many followers. I took out what I could, but each time she wasn’t at that location. Then I went to the third location, and it was like she was waiting for me.”

  Another red flag.

  “I was given your location.” I locked my jaw. “By your sister.”

  “Gabby? Or Jude?”

  “Gabby. Jude’s phone has been disconnected.”

  She nodded. “Jude went into hiding. Gabby was supposed to.” She sat up. “Call her now.”

  I called Gabby’s phone and put it on speaker. “Agent Collins, was I right?”

  “Where did you get my location Gabby?” Liz asked, without letting me answer.

  The phone disconnected, and Liz cursed. “Once I get released from the hospital, I’ll fill you in on the rest. But right now, I have to act the part of a victim. Do not do anything stupid without me, Abigail.”

  I snorted. “I can’t do anything stupid. I get back from vacation on Monday, and Nick will be glued to me.”

  “That bastard is back?”

  I nodded. “Said he was undercover.”

  “O’Donald?”

  “Going along with it. Let’s get you to the hospital.”

  “O’Donald can’t know that you’re near this.”

  I nodded. “I’m going to let Oliver and Merick work that out. I await your call.” I stood up. “I’m glad we found you.”

  “But what’s the cost?” She whispered before closing her eyes.

  I tried not to think about her words as I walked out of the room. Merick stood there. “I’ll be taking her to the hospital. Your uncle would like to speak with you.”

  “I’m sure. Thank you for having my back tonight.”

  Merick put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll always have your back, Abigail.” He walked into the room.

  I made my way to Oliver’s office and knocked.

  “Come in, Abigail.”

  I walked in and took a seat. Part of me felt like I was in trouble, but the other part of me was just exhausted as the adrenaline faded. “Merick said you wanted to see me.”

  “Yes, I’ll have to take you home tonight, but first, I want to talk about that little comment about you being changed.”

  I sighed. “Mario said it was up for discussion to change me now or wait until Samuel kills me.”

  “Why was Mario talking to you about that?”

  I took a deep breath. “Because I threw secrets in his face and pissed him off.”

  Oliver folded his hands and put them on the desk. “That was a point of discussion at the council meeting the other night.”

  “It’s my choice. It shouldn’t be up for discussion by a council.”

  “The idea was how to keep you safe, that was just brought up. If Samuel was to take you and change you, you’d be his fledgling.”

  I cringed. “Which means that he would be able to control me.”

  “Exactly. The other worry was if Levi changed you. His blood runs in your veins, and there’s some worry that Samuel could still control you now, even as a witch.”

  I shook my head. “Samuel has had the chance to try that.”

  “So it was discussed that Mario change you.”

  “No.” The objection came out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. “Hannah is his maker. That’s not much better of a choice.” I shook my head. “I can keep myself safe. I did with Ira…”

  He raised a brow.

  “Okay, I had help from you.”

  He chuckled. “Only because I acted as a d
istraction. I feel that you would have been able to take him out either way. The council is agreeing that changing you is too far. That you better serve the King as a witch and not as a new vampire. A new vampire requires work. They are a danger to themselves, and Levi doesn’t need the extra distraction.”

  “Good. Now, I’d like to go home and get some sleep. I have a feeling Mason will be calling early tomorrow.”

  Oliver nodded and stood. “I won’t let them change you, Abigail.”

  “If they do, you have to promise to stake me.”

  There was no answer as he put his hand on my shoulder and took me back home.

  After Oliver dropped me off at home, I texted Simon that I was home safe and then texted Levi saying I needed the Hummer. Two seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

  I let Levi in. “Before you decide to yell at me for not having a guard at my back, I’ve only been home for two minutes.”

  “I know. Oliver called me and told me you were home and that Merick was dealing with Liz.” He paused for a moment. “How is she?”

  “She’ll live, which is good. I need the Hummer.”

  “No.”

  I jerked at that. “What?”

  “No Hummer. You’re on vacation, you don’t have a crime scene to go to, and you aren’t going anywhere alone.”

  “I will go rent a car if you don’t want me to borrow the Hummer.” I shook my head and walked into the living room.

  Levi followed me. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s just that I don’t trust you to not go anywhere without back up.”

  “I almost always take back with me.”

  “I don’t trust you to not go after Adrianna as revenge for Liz.”

  “I really wasn’t planning on it. And like you said, I have no crime scene to go to, Liz is in the hospital, and PIB doesn’t want me.” I held my hands up. “Maybe I’ll go to pack lands or stay with Simon for the night instead of him here.”

  Levi chuckled. “Spending time with Simon would certainly pass the hours.”

  I blushed and turned away. “You and Mario should learn to call before you come in, or knock before you walk right in.” I frowned. “Speaking of, where is your little shadow?”