“Mom, I don’t have time to explain everything,” I said, speaking quickly so I didn’t waste a precious moment. “Genoveva Castillo is dead, and I’m almost positive Simon Escobar did it. I’m really worried that he’s going to try something with you and Dad next. You need to make sure you’re as shielded as you possibly can be.”
“Genoveva is dead?” my mother asked, incredulity clear in her voice. “When?”
“Just a little while ago,” I replied, impatient that I was wasting time with details when we had more pressing matters to deal with. “Just promise me that you and Dad will be careful. Have the elders cast whatever spells of protection they can.”
“All right,” she said. “We’ll be careful. But Miranda — ”
I didn’t know what she’d intended to say next, because the phone’s tiny speaker suddenly emitted a horrible screeching noise, one so loud that I had to pull it away from my ear before it did any permanent damage. As I stared down at it, the screen went blank.
What the hell?
I swiped my finger over the “redial” button, but nothing happened. The screen remained black.
Rafe came hurrying into the sitting area. “What was that noise?”
“I have a feeling it was Simon Escobar, trying to make sure I couldn’t get the word out,” I said, then held the phone out to Rafe. “I think your phone is fried.”
He took it from me, consternation clear in his face. A few abortive swipes of his finger over the screen, and he shook his head. “You’re right. The goddamn thing is totally bricked. How could Escobar even do something like that?”
“I don’t know,” I said, fear running cold through me. Had Simon gone to Arizona, despite my belief that he wouldn’t directly attack my parents? My voice shook as I added, “I still know so little about what he can and can’t do. At least I was able to warn my mother before he killed the phone.”
Cat had left the group standing by the bed and now paused at the entry to the sitting area. Clearly, she’d heard something of our conversation, because she extended one hand, which held her own phone. “Try mine.”
With some reluctance, I took it. If Simon had intervened directly with my parents, I didn’t see what using Cat’s phone would prove. On the other hand…. “I don’t want to break it — ”
“We need to know,” she said, her voice firm.
With a mental sigh, I entered my parents’ number into her phone. I’d barely begun to raise it to my ear when it made that same shrieking sound and the screen went black.
“That’s a hell of a spell,” Cat remarked as she stared down at her ruined phone.
Despite the wreck of her phone, relief coursed through me. If Cat’s phone was being blocked as well, then that almost certainly meant the spell was working from our end here in New Mexico, and nowhere near my parents. “Sorry — ” I began, but she shook her head.
“It’s not your fault.” She turned to her brother. “What now?”
“Well, it seems pretty obvious that Simon doesn’t want us to reach out to the McAllisters,” he said, looking very grim. “I have a feeling he’s trying to prevent us from getting any outside help.”
“Well, he can’t block all of us,” Cat protested.
I wished I could be as sure as she seemed to be. Right then, I didn’t know what to expect, what Simon might try next.
From the other room came a sudden flurry of whispered conversation. Rafe and Cat and I all looked at each other, and then hurried back to the bedroom. Although Malena and Eduardo still maintained their vigil at Genoveva’s bedside, Louisa now stood at the door that opened onto the hallway. An older man stood there, having some kind of fierce but sotto voce convo with his new prima.
As Cat and Rafe and I approached, Louisa turned away from the man who stood at the door, her expression one of consternation. “Miguel just got a call from his daughter, who lives in Gallup. She was going to head over the border into Arizona, because she has a friend who lives in Window Rock. But she never got there.”
“What happened?” I asked, cold beginning to run through me.
Miguel looked down at me. His hair was iron gray, and I guessed he must be in his mid-sixties, at least ten years older than the prima he had just lost. In his dark eyes, I saw the kind of fear I’d felt building in me ever since I’d stopped to wonder how far Simon Escobar’s vengeance might go.
“They say it was a car accident, but no one knows what really happened,” he said. “The front end of her car was smashed in, as though she had driven at full speed into a brick wall, but there was no wall, only the open freeway. They took her to the hospital. I am waiting to hear whether she needs surgery.”
Louisa reached with a reassuring hand to touch Miguel’s arm, but the gesture barely registered with me. I was too busy trying to push back a sense of growing horror.
No phone calls getting out. No vehicles driven by Castillos allowed to leave the state. I had no evidence to back up my suspicions, but I had a feeling that any McAllisters or Wilcoxes who’d attempt to come to the rescue from the Arizona side of the border would meet the same fate.
Simon wanted to make sure none of us had any outside help.
We would have to do this on our own…no matter what happened.
2
Plotting
After Louisa murmured some soothing words to Miguel and told him to let everyone know that she’d be downstairs shortly, I reached for Rafe’s hand. I desperately needed the reassurance of his touch, even though I knew his physical strength was only an illusion. Simon was so much stronger than he — so much stronger than anyone I’d ever heard of.
Yes, possibly stronger than his father as well, although I didn’t want to face that possibility. Working together, my parents had just barely defeated Joaquin Escobar more than twenty years earlier, and only because Isabel Castillo had given up her own life to lend them her strength as well. If it turned out that Simon commanded powers which dwarfed even his father’s, I didn’t know what in the world we were supposed to do.
Especially now that I couldn’t count on any help from my parents. I’d briefly considered teleporting myself to Arizona to let them know what was going on, but I realized the risk was far too great. If Simon’s magical barrier was strong enough to crumple a car driven by a witch, I really didn’t want to think about what it might do to someone using magic to try to get through it.
“Simon’s walling us off,” I said, speaking not just to Rafe, but to Cat and Malena and Eduardo and Louisa. Especially Louisa. As the new prima, she would be responsible for getting the word out to the rest of the clan. “He’s doing everything he can to make sure we’re on our own. I don’t think anyone can dare leave the boundaries of the state, at least not until we can find out for sure whether what happened to Miguel’s daughter was the direct effect of a dark spell, or whether it was just some kind of horrible coincidence.”
Louisa’s cheeks were pale, but she nodded. “I’ll make sure everyone knows. And the phones?”
“It’s probably okay to call each other,” I said. “Simon’s spell broke both Cat’s and Rafe’s phones because I was reaching out to my parents. Then again, he might not want you Castillos communicating with each other as well.”
“That’s easy enough to find out,” Eduardo said. He reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a slim, gunmetal-gray phone. A few swipes over its screen, and I heard a faint chiming sound coming from somewhere near. As I watched, he went to the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed from where he stood and extracted a phone from the top drawer, one that appeared to be the mate of his. “Genoveva’s,” he said briefly. “She left it in here because she knew she would not need it during Marco’s wake.”
Well, that answered one question. It seemed as though calling one another should be safe enough for the members of the Castillo clan. I was fairly certain that if any of them tried to reach out to any of the Arizona witch families, their phones would immediately get nuked, but I didn’t think that was
going to be much of an issue. The New Mexico and the Arizona clans in general didn’t have much to do with each other. Maybe the situation would begin to change once Rafe and I were married, but I sure as hell didn’t know when that was going to happen. We might have committed to one another for real, but we needed to solve this problem with Simon — and allow the clan time to mourn the loss of their prima — before we could even think about having an actual wedding.
Louisa didn’t attempt to hide her relief. “Well, thank God for that, anyway.” She hesitated, then looked over at me. “We have so many members of our clan gathered here, and I can’t help but think there’s some strength in numbers. Should we encourage those who’ve come from out of town to stay, rather than go back home?”
The question made me uncomfortable, mostly because I wasn’t sure how I should react to the Castillos’ new prima asking me for advice. Then again, I’d had more experience with Simon than anyone else. I hated being the expert when it came to such a miserable excuse for a human being, but it seemed I was, for better or worse.
“I don’t know for sure,” I confessed. “But Simon was still able to strike at your mother, even when surrounded by so many other Castillo witches and warlocks. If everyone’s spread out, gone back to their own homes, they’ll make for a more diffuse target.” I pulled in a breath and crossed my arms, wishing that Louisa hadn’t put me on the spot. What if I gave the wrong advice? What if my suggestions led to more deaths? I didn’t know whether I’d be able to handle the guilt.
Rafe put a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently. I could practically feel his concern flowing toward me, and it did help me feel a bit better. “I think Miranda might have a point,” he said. “I mean, if Simon wanted to get rid of a whole bunch of Castillos at once, we’d only be helping him out by all staying in one place. I think it’s better if we have everyone go home. But anyone who’s capable of casting spells of protection needs to do that for the people in their towns back home.”
“I can do it for the people here in Santa Fe,” I said. “I’ve already cast one around this house.” If only I’d been here to do it earlier. But then, I’d had no idea that Simon would reach out to attack Rafe’s family. I’d thought he would come after me and Rafe, which was why I’d done what I could to protect us as soon as we got to Rafe’s house.
“There are a great many of us here,” Eduardo pointed out. His tone was gentle, but he shook his head and gave me a somewhat indulgent smile. “Far more than you could protect on your own, Miranda. There are those in the clan who know defensive magic, and they will lend their skills to this fight.”
“I can do it,” Malena said. “Mother taught me. Louisa’s talent is knowing when magic has been used, and what kind, but I’ve always been able to block magic, in addition to my talent with growing things.”
“Then you’ll come home with me and cast the spells of protection on my house,” Louisa told her. “And then you and Miranda and anyone else with that gift can work together to make sure we’re all protected.” Her voice was firm; I could tell she felt better now that we had a plan of action, even if it was still a somewhat nebulous one. Of course, it was important to make sure that no more Castillos lost their lives because of Simon Escobar, but I also knew that at some point we’d need to take the fight to him. We couldn’t live forever under siege.
“And I will contact the bishop,” Eduardo said, gaze straying to Genoveva where she lay on the bed. “And José can take her to the funeral home. I think it is better if she does not remain here.”
A shiver went through me. I’d never been around anyone who’d died before, but of course I knew that the body would need to be taken away to be prepared for burial or cremation. At the same time, I wondered whether Genoveva would be safe at the funeral home. Maybe it wasn’t enough that Simon had murdered her. Maybe he also had designs on the body, wanted it for some horrible ritual that would bring him even more power.
I told myself not to be ridiculous, that Simon had already done his worst, but I didn’t know that for certain. I’d seen the fevered glitter in his eyes as he pushed me down onto the couch at the house in Tesuque, told me that he needed me to be his completely. That had been the look of a man who was willing to do whatever it took to get what he desired. He didn’t think about right or wrong. The evidence of dark magic I’d found in the shed on the back forty of the estate was all the evidence I needed as to his desperate state of mind. Someone who would go to those lengths, who would allow himself to delve into that kind of depravity, was capable of crimes I couldn’t begin to comprehend.
More than anything, I wished I could talk to my parents. My father especially, because I would have begged him to tell me what he knew of his own brother’s experiments with dark magic, even if that was a subject he’d avoided for as long as I’d been alive. We couldn’t avoid the topic any longer, though, not if we wanted to prevail against Simon Escobar.
Unfortunately, Simon had been several steps ahead of me, just as he had been for the past week. He seemed to know what I’d try before I even thought of it myself.
Rafe nodded, that calm yet grim expression back on his face. Would he ever truly acknowledge the hurt of losing his mother? I couldn’t begin to guess, not when I knew they’d been at each other’s throats for more than twenty years. “Just remember…a quiet service. Not at the cathedral. Choose some other church. And I really think you should have someone other than the bishop officiate.”
This suggestion didn’t sit well with Eduardo, judging by the way his lips pressed together and his eyes narrowed slightly. I could tell it pained him that his wife — his consort — wouldn’t be given the respectful send-off she deserved. But at least he didn’t argue, only nodded. “I’ll see to it.”
Louisa fiddled with the silver cross she wore around her neck. Would she now inherit the large coral piece that her mother had worn every time I’d seen her? I thought so; it seemed to be a family heirloom, and should go to the eldest daughter. “Well, I suppose that’s all we can do for now,” she said. “I’ll send everyone home, and then make sure we get started with casting the spells of protection.”
“Starting with your house,” Malena said, her tone not allowing any argument.
“Starting with my house…although I guess it won’t be my house for much longer.”
No, I figured that Louisa would have to bring her family to live in the mansion that was the prima’s residence. That seemed to be a tradition with the Castillos, just as it was with my own McAllister clan. This house, though, was much older than the Victorian mansion that had gone to my mother when her Great-Aunt Ruby died. How old the Castillo home was, I wasn’t completely certain, because, as with a lot of the old buildings in Santa Fe, it had been added to and remodeled as the years passed, and probably bore little resemblance to the original structure it had once been.
“We can worry about that later,” Rafe said, shooting a quick glance at his father, who looked unnerved by Louisa’s comment. Would he have to move out when his daughter’s family came here to live, or would he stay, maybe out in the casita that had been my temporary residence when I first came to town? That didn’t seem very fair, but I honestly didn’t know how all this was supposed to work.
And then there was Cat. She still lived at home, mostly because her mother had been intractable on the topic, and didn’t want her daughter moving out before she was married. I supposed she would get displaced, too. Or maybe not; the house was huge, and I still didn’t quite know how many bedrooms it had, or how many square feet it encompassed.
But those were all worries for the future. I doubted anyone was going to be moving anywhere until we’d worked out our problem with Simon Escobar.
“Right,” said Louisa, who tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and suddenly looked distressed, as if she’d just realized what a can of worms she was opening by discussing her eventual move here. “Of course. I just went on autopilot there for a minute.”
“It’s all right,” Malena
said. She laid a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We all know what we need to do, so we should go ahead with our plans.” A glance over at me, and she added, “We should probably divide up the city, just so we can concentrate on our own areas as we work on making sure everyone’s home is protected.”
“We’ll take the south side,” Rafe said promptly. As Malena looked at him in some surprise, he went on, “Well, it makes the most sense, just because that’s where all the shopping is. Both Miranda and I need phones — ”
“And so do I,” Cat broke in.
Not letting this interruption put him off balance, Rafe nodded. “Right. And all of Miranda’s belongings got left behind at that estate where Simon is holed up, so she’s going to need to get a few essentials, too. Not like we’re going on a shopping spree,” he added, as Louisa sent him a warning glance, as though she was concerned that our shopping trip might take up too much valuable time, “but we can take care of the basics and take care of our people down in that part of town at the same time.”
“Of which there aren’t as many, thank God,” Louisa said, in tones that seemed to infer she knew that was part of the reason why Rafe had chosen that section to cover. “We should be able to get everyone here in Santa Fe taken care of today.” Her gaze moved to a small antique clock on the mantel, and she shook her head. “I can’t believe it’s not even two o’clock yet.”
Neither could I. It felt as though roughly a century had passed since I woke up that morning. Even Rafe’s rescue of me — or maybe my rescue of him, since I was the one who’d teleported us out of the estate in Tesuque after he attacked Simon — seemed to have happened in another lifetime. And if it felt that way to me, I could only imagine how this horrible chain of events must seem to Rafe and his sisters.
After that, there were awkward hugs all around. I could tell the Castillos weren’t a very demonstrative family, but they seemed to understand that they needed to embrace one another now. Louisa went downstairs first, while Eduardo got on the phone with the bishop. As Rafe, Cat, Malena, and I headed to the ground floor of the house, it seemed that word had spread fairly rapidly, because a large part of the crowd who’d assembled there had already begun to disperse. I saw Louisa pause to murmur something to a tall, thin man who looked around Eduardo’s age, and he gave a sad nod and went toward the staircase, even as he pulled a phone from his jacket pocket. José, the owner of the funeral home? I supposed I’d have to ask Rafe later on.
The Witches of Canyon Road, Books 1-3 Page 52