A Little Blood Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 10)

by Kessler, A. L.

  “More maps.” He gave a dramatic sigh, and I smiled.

  “How’s Travis?”

  “He needs a break. I’m going up to pack lands.”

  I leaned back on my hands and looked up at him. “Duty calls.”

  He nodded. “That it does. Now, since Levi threatened to kill me if you leave, please stay here?”

  “I don’t plan on going anywhere today, and if I choose to leave, I’ll make sure I let Levi know that it is of my own free will.”

  He leaned down and kissed me. “Seriously, Abby.”

  “I’m not going to leave. Mason is going to email me what I need, and Liz is still in the hospital.”

  He straightened and chuckled. “Good, besides, Levi hid all the keys, including the ones to the Hummer.”

  “He better be thankful that I haven’t mastered the transportation spell yet.” I shook my head. “Then he wouldn’t be able to keep me locked up.”

  “I wouldn’t put him to that challenge. Remember, he has Oliver on his payroll too.”

  I frowned. That was true. I stood, and Simon kissed me again. “I’ll check in when I get back to pack lands.”

  “Thank you.”

  I watched him go back up the stairs before I went back to my map.

  When dusk fell, I still hadn’t had an email from Mason, and I was going stir crazy in the house. I’d paced the mansion, visited the back yard, came back in, tried to distract myself with television, went back to the map, but without anything from Mason, there was nothing I could do to move forward.

  Liz had given me little updates through text messages. She’d been discharged from the hospital, but she wanted to check out a few things before she came up to the mansion.

  When Levi found me, I was nursing a cup of coffee in the kitchen, playing a game on my phone.

  “Glad to see you’re still here.” He sat down in front of me. “Without me having to call another person to make sure you stayed.”

  “I’ve been trying to work on the case all day, but Mason hasn’t sent an email or answered my text messages. Liz should be up here in a little bit, though.”

  “They let her out this early?”

  I nodded. “Oliver healed her a little bit before Merick took her to the hospital.” I swirled my coffee. “Liz wants to go after Adrianna.”

  Levi took a deep breath. “I can’t let you leave the mansion until after your party.”

  “That sounds like a fairy tale threat.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

  He didn’t answer me.

  “Levi?”

  He glanced up at me.

  “He can’t say, Abigail. But I can.” Mario walked in, and Levi looked at him.

  “Mario, you swore to stay out of this.” Levi looked at me. His gaze went to my hip, where my gun wasn’t.

  I raised a brow. “Would it help if I promised to not shoot the messenger?”

  “Yes,” they both said at the same time.

  “I don’t have my gun. It’s in the safe in my room.” I folded my hands on the table.

  “No circles,” Mario added.

  “You take the fun out of this. Fine, no circles.”

  “Samuel has demanded Levi keep you in the mansion. Levi has no choice but to comply.”

  I locked my jaw. “So the whole we’d reassess when Liz got out?”

  “I was hoping that she wouldn’t be out until Monday.”

  “What happens if I leave?” I met Levi’s gaze.

  He swallowed. “You’ve seen what he does to warlocks and witches that go against his wishes.”

  Torture.

  I closed my eyes for a moment. “I have a question.”

  Levi motioned for me to go on.

  “What’s to keep Samuel from commanding you to kill me or change me?”

  Both Levi and Mari cringed.

  “Nothing then?” I looked into my coffee. “What happens if I kill him?”

  Levi jerked. “He could command that I stop you.”

  I nodded. “But if you’re not around for that command?”

  “Samuel has never had contact with his maker, it’s likely the death would go unpunished,” Levi stated and looked at Mario.

  I smirked. “Fine, we play his game. For now.”

  “What are you planning, Abigail?” Levi asked.

  I shook my head. “Oh no, there’s no way I’m sharing with you. On that note, I’m going to go take a long bath and relax until Liz gets up here.” I drank the rest of my coffee. “To be clear, it was stated that I had to stay here until after my birthday party, correct?”

  Levi nodded. “Correct. It’s a game to him.”

  “Then he’s going to show up.”

  “There will be no weapons at your party,” Mario stated. “We negotiated for that for a reason.”

  I looked over my shoulder at him while I was walking out of the kitchen. “I’m a witch, Mario. I don’t need weapons.”

  I didn’t miss the smirk on his face, but there was also the worry and stress on Levi’s face.

  I rounded the corner and headed to the main bathroom that had a soaking tub. A hot bath would help me relax and think through the idle threat I had just made.

  I killed Ira.

  But could I kill Samuel?

  I got into the bathroom and stripped down while I ran the tub. It meant freeing Levi from the one and only fear he’d ever shown.

  Dipping into the bathtub, I decided I could kill Samuel because it would make everything better.

  I snorted and closed my eyes as the water sloshed around me. When did I become that person where killing became the one thing that solved all my problems?

  By the time I got out of the bath, Liz had shown up, and I found her chatting with Levi in the media room. She smiled at me when I walked in.

  “You look pretty damn good for just being released today.” I sat down on the overstuffed chair.

  She shrugged. “Helps when you know a healer or two. Levi filled me in on everything. We have time. I found Gabby.”

  “What about Jude?”

  “She’s safe for now too. I jumped the gun, thinking that Adrianna had them. I’m glad they’re both safe.”

  There was a tightness to her words and her face that didn’t convince me she was speaking the truth. I glanced at Levi, and he nodded either to confirm what I thought or to tell me to just go with it.

  I went with it. “Good. We have time to plan then. Leaving the mansion isn’t an option for me without putting everyone in danger. We plan, we get through my birthday party, and then we go back to business as usual.”

  Assuming we survived the birthday party.

  Liz nodded. “I asked O’Donald for extra help on the case.”

  I cringed. “He’s sending Nick, isn’t he?”

  “He’s sending Nick, but that’s okay for now. He doesn’t know that you’re involved, so he’s sending Nick in good faith. If Nick wants to keep his cover, whatever that is. He’ll work as a proper PIB agent.”

  I smirked. “Make him do research. He hates doing research.”

  “I already have him on it since he has access to the PIBs database. He’ll be able to get the images you need.”

  “Have you heard from Mason?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, he’s working on something for me. Sorry to take him away from you as a resource, but I needed him to go sit with the little girl.”

  “Okay, as long as I can get the crime scene pictures, we’ll be good.”

  Levi stood. “Now that I know you two aren’t going to just run off, I have business to attend to. Abigail, the council has requested you later tonight.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Okay.”

  Much to my delight, Levi didn’t roll his eyes. He just walked out of the room.

  Liz looked at me. “Council meeting, must be important.”

  “Probably just making sure that I’m going to comply and not put the king in danger.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s already been drilled into me how important it is that I stay.
And I plan on staying until the deal is up.”

  “Good. I’ll be staying up here too. Levi has agreed to it, and it’s safer for me here until we can figure out a plan to take out Adrianna.”

  I sighed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I meant mentally. Liz, you went through torture and came out of the hospital barely twenty-four hours later, ready to go back after her.”

  Liz paused for a moment. She wouldn’t meet my gaze. Finally, she sighed. “No, Abby. This woman has haunted my dreams. She’s the reason I’m a PIB agent. She’s the one thing I haven’t manage to take down in my career. When I found out she was back in town, I had to go after her. I had to take my chances with her.”

  “I understand. I wish you would have let me know.”

  “So you could talk me out of it?”

  I snorted. “No, so I could have gone with you. I know what it’s like to want that revenge.”

  “Your parents,” she stated.

  I nodded. “Exactly, and I’ll get it when the time is right. Your time is now. She’s in town. We’ll get her.”

  “Or die trying.”

  I laughed. “Or die trying.”

  “Okay, I’m going to go call Nick. I’ll meet you downstairs?”

  “Yep. Levi will come get me when it’s time for the council meeting, but let’s work up until then.”

  She nodded in agreement before walking out of the room. I stood and stretched. At least I wasn’t going to be trapped in the mansion alone or with Mario following me around all the time.

  I shook my head and left the room, heading to the chamber.

  “And where are you off to, Princess?” Mario asked the moment I left the room.

  “To my chamber. Liz and I are going to work through some pictures tonight.” I glanced at him over my shoulders. “How are the vampires that were recovered from the crime scene, by the way?”

  “That’s what the council will discuss with us tonight. So be patient, and you’ll get your answers.”

  I took a few more steps.

  “I wanted to say thank you, Abigail.”

  Well, that was nothing I expected to hear from him. I turned around. “For?”

  “Listening to Levi and me this evening. The order from Samuel has been tearing him up. He fights it, but there’s still that small thread of connection that makes him follow the powerful orders. You staying here eases that pain.”

  I nodded. “Thank you for telling me what was really going on and not hiding it from me.”

  “Levi was commanded not to tell you. Samuel forgot that I’m around and exist, so he didn’t put that in the order.”

  I chuckled. “So, he doesn’t know everything.”

  “Or he thinks I’m simply a nobody.”

  “No one would ever give you that title, Mario.” And I meant it. Mario had been a valuable asset to Levi, even if he was a pain in the ass.

  He laughed. “Go, figure out your case with Liz. I will see you later tonight.”

  I left it at that and continued to the chamber. If we could get a break in the case tonight, then when I was free of my Samuel forced lock-in, and we could go right after Adrianna.

  Liz and I sat in the middle of the chamber will all the images printed and spread around us.

  “I feel like this woman knows exactly what she’s doing. There’s not enough here to connect the dots or track her down.”

  Liz nodded. “She’s been at this a very long time, so I’m sure she’s learned a trick or two.”

  “How did you track her down in the first place?”

  “I might have had a tracking spell active.” She glanced at me and shrugged. “I mean, you don’t spend a month being tortured by someone and not come back with some sort of physical evidence.”

  I frowned. “What did you use?”

  “The stitching thread.” She dug in her bag. “And I came back with some fresh ones.”

  I cringed and tried to figure out how she was so calm about the situation.

  She motioned to the map. “Shall we figure it out?”

  I nodded. “Might as well. We aren’t getting anywhere with anything else.”

  “Will you do the honors?”

  I nodded. “I’ve been itching to do some magic.”

  She helped me clean up the photos and put them in an envelope. I grabbed a piece of chalk out of the desk and started to draw the circle.

  “Physical circle? Typically you don’t need one.”

  “Right, but because we’re dealing with another witch and I have no idea where her abilities lie, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  “Fair. There’s two of us, so it’ll be stronger if she tries anything.”

  I finished drawing the circle and dusted my hands off. I invited Liz in. I closed my eyes and invited the elements and the goddess into the circle and pushed my magic out. The circle closed with a snap of magic, and when I opened my eyes, purple washed over us in protection.

  Liz smiled at me. “Still purple.”

  “When it suits me.” I motioned to the map. “String down there, please.”

  She put the string on the map, on Colorado. I picked up my blessed knife and pricked my finger. I dropped the blood onto the string and the map, but it was Liz that started chanting.

  I hadn’t expected it, but I let her take control. The world around us changed as she completed her spell. Visions of a house in a forest appeared. It could have been any house, but I knew this one. I’d walked by it before. The regular world came back, slamming into me with a shove of painful magic.

  I looked at Liz, and she grinned. “There.”

  “What the fuck kind of tracking spell is that?” I tried to catch my breath.

  “A visual one. I’ll teach it to you later.”

  Man, that spell would have been so helpful before. “Okay, I know the house.”

  “That’s good. Where exactly is it?”

  We looked down at the map, and the string had broken into fibers and surrounded an intersection.

  “About four city blocks away from my house. I’ll see if Merick can check it out, scout it before we get out of here.”

  She nodded. “Good idea.”

  I pulled the circle down and looked at her. “I thought you wanted me to do the spell.”

  “Just the blood part.” She didn’t say anything else as she started erasing the circle with her foot.

  I wasn’t going to push for an explanation. I could trust her. For all I knew, she didn’t want to see her own blood again for a long while.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Liz went to bed to rest. She seemed exhausted after the spell. I, on the other hand, went to my room to get dressed to meet the council. The first time Levi took me to meet them, I’d worn a fancy dress. Luckily the dress expectations had died down by now, and I could get away with a pair of slacks.

  I pulled on the red dress shirt, buttoned it up, and tucked it into the slacks. I felt more like I was going to a business meeting than meeting a room full of vampires, but it worked.

  I opened my door to see Levi getting ready to knock. “Hey.”

  “Are you ready?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get this over with. I’d like to get to bed before midnight tonight.”

  “Big plans for tomorrow?” He asked, and there was a playful tone back in his voice.

  “Oh yes, lots of television watching and introducing Liz to how vampires shop for humans. I do hope you stocked the fridge up enough for two of us.”

  “I’ll have someone go out tomorrow to make sure I have enough coffee.”

  I chuckled until I saw Mario turn the corner. I knew he’d be coming, and though the tension between the two of us seemed to have lightened earlier in the evening, I didn’t really want him by my side.

  “Princess.” He bowed his head.

  “Mario.” I didn’t nod or anything. I didn’t want to deal with politics tonight. Levi put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Ready?”<
br />
  “Yeah.” I closed my eyes when he transported us to wherever the chosen meeting place was.

  When I opened my eyes, we weren’t in the dark stone hallways of an ancient castle like I was used to. We were in the hallway of a house that had light pink wallpaper with white teapots.

  I glanced at Levi and Mario. “What?”

  “Catalina’s summer home,” Levi whispered, and he couldn’t keep the smile from crossing his face.

  “Huh, she doesn’t strike me as a pink and tea kind of person.”

  Catalina’s voice came from behind me. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Princess.”

  I turned to face her. “That is very true.”

  She motioned for us to finish walking down the hallway. “Meeting room is the last door on the right.”

  We all walked down the hall on the pristine wood floor and stopped at the door. Levi opened it.

  Most houses didn’t have a freaking command center just chilling out in a room. Catalina’s did.

  Monitors covered one wall, and the window had a custom steel shutter over it. Oscar, Tabitha, Warren, and Helena sat at a table across from the screens in chairs that swiveled. Catalina went and sat in another one while Mario and Levi led me to sit at the head of the table.

  I resisted the urge to swivel in my chair like I did at the office when I sat down. I looked at everyone but waited for Levi to speak.

  “Good evening, everyone.” Levi motioned to the screens. “And thank you to Catalina for the use of her command center.”

  Currently, all the screens were black.

  “Princess Abigail’s safety is the highest concern right now. As many of you know, Samuel is making himself known.” He glanced at me, and I didn’t make a face or anything to show my dislike for the situation.

  “We are using this time to try and work through some of the recent events. The shooting, Abigail’s partner returning from the dead, and the case that we recovered the vampires from.”

  I wasn’t going to correct him that Liz technically recovered the vampires. The monitors flickered to life, and on each screen was a different image. The first screen held the lady I’d seen the day of the shooting. “This woman was found watching the chaos of the shooting. As if she knew she was safe from being hit. She showed no fear.” Catalina pointed to the screen.