"No!" Tierra rushed toward Moira and came up quick when Dru yanked Moira's hair, pulling her head back and exposing her throat to the sharp blade of his sword. He nicked the thin skin above her jugular and Tierra froze.
"Hey!" Nick yelled. "Watch the blade! She's mine to taunt, not yours."
"Seems he's got a pretty big sword," Moira said. "Who knows? I might enjoy it more than your itty bitty arrow."
"Why the fuck would you want a few minutes alone with this witch is beyond me," War said.
Rain started to fall in fat drops and quickly turned into a curtain of water.
"Stop it, Moira," Nick muttered through clenched teeth, wiping water from his eyes.
"If you're afraid of a little water, asshole," Tierra said, "let me provide you with some shelter." The earth trembled, and Tierra split open the asphalt under Nick's feet. He jumped aside as if expecting her to try and bury him. She hadn't thought Killian had shared his humbling defeat months ago with his fellow Horsemen. She should have known better.
Lucy reached out her hand and Tierra's airway closed off as if Lucy had her fingers physically wrapped around her throat. "Don't, Tierra. I'm much stronger than you, and the earth is mine. I fell from Heaven to make sure of it." Lucy's arm flew out to the side, and Tierra soared through the sky, landing on her side in the middle of the street a hundred yards away, the air knocked out of her as her ribs and shoulder took most of the impact.
"Tierra!" Moira screamed, straining in War's unbreakable hold. Water flooded from the sky, and waves pitched violently on the ocean, cresting over the pier.
"I told you two to get her out of here," Lucy growled at Nick and Dru. "What the fuck are you waiting for?"
Dru said something under his breath that Tierra didn't catch. He grasped Moira's arms, and restrained her hands behind her while Moira screamed Tierra's name. Her voice raised the tide, and seawater spilled over the wharves into the parking lots and inched toward them.
Horses suddenly appeared galloping down the road, one red, one white. Water splashed from their hooves and they pounded the earth in a symphony of cymbals and war drums heralding the end of days.
Tierra reached under the soaked fabric of her skirt and freed her wand.
"Oh, no, you don't, you upstart little witch." Lucy rushed forward and stomped on Tierra's wrist. "Want to play like that, do you? Let's see how you like this."
She slipped a chain over Tierra's head and secured it around her neck like a leash.
Suddenly the world went dark, lifeless, and deafening screams of the damned rang in Tierra's ears.
"Get it off!" Choking, Tierra lost her hold on the wand, and rivulets of water carried it out of reach. She clawed at the chain that seemed to have sealed itself to her skin, gasping for breath. A large stone the size of a peach pit hung from the chain, burnt, black, with a sulphuric stench. It acted like her own personal kryptonite and smothered, exhausted, and rendered her powerless the more she fought to free herself from it.
Lucy yanked Tierra's hair, pulling her head back. "Look. I don't want you to miss this. Watch and know that you can do nothing to save your sister. She will be dead by nightfall."
Moira.
Spirited away on Conquest's horse, she was gone in a flash of snowy mane and razor-sharp hooves.
The rain stopped, and the ocean receded.
"It's just you and me now, Tierra," Lucy whispered in her ear.
"W-what...is this?" Tierra fought the choker and tried to send another urgent message to Aerin and Claire. It was hard to focus, to string her thoughts together, but she had to get through.
"Don't you recognize it?" Lucy asked. "You've been living with this and ingesting it for, dare I say, a while now. If we had the time, I would love to see what long-term effects brimstone would have to that brat you're brewing. But time, sadly is one thing that has always been in short supply."
Brimstone? Oh good goddess.
"Ingesting—how?" Tierra choked, her heart sinking at the thought of the damage the brimstone might have already caused her child. She knew the smell and the physical reactions, but this was much, much worse than the response to what had been placed in the house.
"Brimstone is one of my favorite weapons as you never know how it will react with the chosen target. Its earth without life, stone that has burned in the fires of Hell until it fuses and becomes a small part of Hell itself. And obviously debilitating to you, which is interesting. I ground some of it into a powder and added it to your teas. All those precious teas you love so much and push on your coffee-loving sisters. I did have Justine add some to the coffee for good measure." Lucy chuckled. "She wasn't even aware of what she was doing. Impressionable, that aunt of yours. Now, Aerin, she seems to have responded well, don't you think? I couldn’t be happier with the results. I haven't noticed its effects on Moira, yet. I will need to experiment more now that I have her under my care. But Aerin and Claire, they'll make a great addition to the Sisters of the Serpent. Yes, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that the coven has been renamed and restructured under my expert tutelage."
If Moira came into further contact with brimstone, it would surely kill her. At the manor, Moira had been full of tears, leaking moisture until she was exhausted. Tierra couldn’t let that happen. Somehow she needed to overcome the effects and warn Aerin and Claire. They needed to rescue Moira before the brimstone destroyed her.
And Aerin and Claire had to be warned that the Horsemen were working with the Devil. At least War and Conquest were.
Tierra couldn't stomach it, couldn't believe that Killian had consorted with the Devil. Not the man she'd given herself to, had created a new life with.
She retched until she dry-heaved. Her head pounded as if there were a thousand hammering zombies inside it mashing her brains into oatmeal.
Silently she prayed for the Goddess, for her sisters, for...Death.
"Now it's time for my favorite part of my plan." Lucy grabbed Tierra's arm and wrenched her to her feet as though she weighed nothing.
Tierra stumbled, and Lucy yanked her arm until it felt torn from its socket.
"Keep it together a little longer, Tierra. You're today's main attraction, and we don't want to disappoint the coven. You've stalled me long enough."
Lucy dragged Tierra past the crumpled Sunny and into Ambrosia's. The door shut with a tinkling of bells. The sound belied the darkness of the souls that turned toward them. Lucy supported Tierra in front of her with an arm across her chest while her other hand splayed over Tierra's slightly rounded stomach.
Another wave of sickness threatened to consume Tierra when Lucy licked her tongue up the side of her neck and nipped her ear. "You can blame Death for what's about to happen next. He's been a very, very bad boy, and his actions must be punished. The quickest way to do that is take away the one thing he has always coveted. Life." Lucy's hand flexed over Tierra's belly, and her nails dug into her skin.
"No," Tierra growled, finding strength from somewhere deep inside her. She tore Lucy's hand away and struggled in her hold.
Lucy merely laughed at Tierra's useless attempts to free herself.
The gathering responded to her laughter, and they began to chant in a language Tierra had never heard before. They swayed and writhed, naked, outside a circle of crushed brimstone where a Leviathan cross had been painted in blood. An infinity serpent eating its tail was anchored at the bottom with an inverted crucifix above. At the top of the cross, a thick wooden post had been bolted into the bamboo floor with wide steel plates.
Each of the twelve women—Lucy made thirteen—had the Leviathan cross tattooed on their right breasts. The marks were angry and red as if recently tattooed. A closer look revealed that the symbol had come from a hot iron branding their flesh.
"Meet the Sisters of the Serpent," Lucy announced, tossing Tierra to the greedy hands of the chanting coven. "Tie this witch to the stake and burn her."
Chapter Twelve
Tierra!
Killian rushed for the front door and
yanked it open.
"Where the bloody hell ya off to?" Julian hollered, glancing up from gazing into another bottle of booze. He'd been drinking the cabin dry since he'd returned from Africa.
"Tierra's in trouble."
"Bugger. Aren't we all?"
Killian was airborne before his wings completely unfurled. Tierra's screams echoed in his head, and her pain clutched at his neck and scalded up his legs.
Honing in on her tortured cries, Killian flew toward Ambrosia's, dread filling his heart. Smoke spiraled into the sky, and he knew she was locked inside the burning building.
She couldn't die. He'd bound her to him. No one could take her life but him. As long as he lived, she did, but that didn't mean she couldn't be hurt, or the child.
He flapped his great wings, surging forward, praying to the Goddess that he wouldn't be too late.
****
Tierra screamed again.
Imprisoned within the ring of fire, she frantically fought against the chains binding her to the stake. She tried connecting with the iron like she'd so easily linked with the golden crown, but all that she could make out were horrific, nonsensical mutterings and shrieks.
"The chains were forged in the fires of Hell," Lucy supplied with a knowing smile. "You can't break them. Don't you think I thought of that, too, you ill-equipped, pitiable excuse for an earth witch. I had hoped this would be more challenging. You see, the victory is so much sweeter when it is."
The coven started to slowly recede, their chanting growing a little panicked as the flames shot higher, licking toward the four corners of the café, creeping up the walls in wicked strokes, and flinging ash and sparks to the floor only to be regurgitated by the fire.
Lucy laughed, her arms flung wide, directing the fire like a conductor in front of an orchestra. It flared, hissed, and smoldered, much like a beloved pet. The flames crackled and spat, reaching for Tierra with destructive fingers. Taunting and tormenting as it inched closer only to retreat and then hungrily begin again and again.
Smoke seethed and billowed across the antique tin ceiling. Heat intensified until the commissioned paintings on the walls melted, creating grotesque nightmarish images. Tierra gasped for breath in the smoke-heavy air, her lungs rejecting the pollution, producing rib-wracking coughs.
How did Claire stand this?
The windows burst and flames bellowed, greedily devouring the additional oxygen. The Sisters of the Serpent screamed and yelped, running outside to safety.
Lucy's laugh turned to a sadistic cackle.
"Why are you doing this?" Tierra gasped, fighting to breathe. "Why not just kill me?" Why did she have to be burned?
"You have no idea, do you? Let me educate you, witch." Lucy stayed outside the burning circle, but dampened the flames in order to taunt Tierra further, dragging out the torture.
If Tierra could keep her talking and the flames from consuming her, she might be able to think of something to save herself.
"Burning a witch at the stake is traditional," Lucy said, "and in my opinion, not practiced near enough these days. It works amazingly well for destroying earth witches. Especially a pregnant witch." She spat the word pregnant as though it was offensive.
"Did you really think you could keep the father a secret from me?" she continued. "That I would let you live once I knew?" she sneered, sounding like a woman betrayed.
Confusion must have shown in Tierra's face, for Lucy suddenly changed tactics, her tone a mix of pity and scorn. "Are you aware that Death and I have a long and tempestuous history? Once upon a time, we were lovers, collaborators. We have followed and led each other through the Ages. Even Revelations speaks of our special bond in chapter six, verse eight: 'And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth...'" she quoted, satisfaction shining in her face as the barb took root inside Tierra.
Tierra had never asked Killian about his past relationships. Why would she, when she knew there was no future for them. Baby or no baby, he was an immortal. But to know that he had lain with the Devil, had done some of the same things to Lucy's body as he had to hers...
That, she couldn't stomach.
Anger and fear and the need to lash out stirred inside Tierra. The wooden beam she was tied to suddenly sprouted leaves and branches. Roots plowed into the floor, breaking through the foundation until it reached the soil under the building and burrowed into the earth.
Lucy's eyes widened in shock and surprise, but she couldn't be more so than Tierra. The power came from her core, her womb chakra, and her child.
The branches and leaves grew rapidly until the wooden beam resembled a weeping willow and cocooned Tierra inside the circle, providing much needed oxygen and crying tears of sap over the flames, causing them to sizzle and die.
"No," Lucy growled. "You tree-hugging bitch, you will not defeat me!" The fire flared, becoming a beast with teeth and claws. It attacked. Licking and slicing at the tree, swiping at Tierra and sizzling the leaves until they curled in on themselves, only to have new ones take their place.
The tree whipped its willows in defense at the advancing flames, and a frenzied dance began.
New branches grew between the links of the chains securing Tierra to the post until the iron groaned and the links gave way, freeing her of the bonds. She fell to her knees, coughing and clutching at the brimstone leashed around her neck.
"You can't do this!" Lucy screeched. "You don't have the power to resurrect the dead. That wood was dead. There is no heart core, no sap. I made sure it was kiln dried and dead. So how the fuck are you doing this?"
"She isn't doing it." Killian emerged from the billowing smoke like a dark angel from a horror film. "Our child is." Pride and satisfaction weighed heavy in his voice and reflected in his arrogant stance.
"That isn't possible," Lucy said, spittle flying from her mouth.
"Theoretically neither was the babe's conception." Killian marched through the perpetual flames and grabbed Tierra, helping her to her feet. His raven wings enfolded her, adding another layer of protection against the furious flames that soared higher as Lucy's mood darkened. Killian's black eyes searched Tierra and his nostrils flared with anger. "You will pay for this, Lucifer."
"You dare to threaten me?" Lucy roared. Flames snapped and snarled up the walls to the ceiling, eating through to the second story.
"There is nothing I wouldn't dare for this woman and our child. You can't kill her, so give it up. She is bound to me. She is mine, and I am the only being who can take her life in this world or any other."
"Mark my words, Killian Bane, you have made an enemy on this day. You might have saved that witch from burning, but that brat is still in play, and the Devil always gets her due." Lucy flared, becoming one with the flames. The fire rumbled and the earth shook.
Killian tightened his hold on Tierra and shot through the fire-eaten cavity in the ceiling, bursting through the roof into the sky. He angled right and dove toward the ocean as Ambrosia's exploded in a black ball of fire.
Chapter Thirteen
Tierra went from blistering flames to freezing water.
Not just cold water, but saltwater that acted like acid, washing over the burns on her arms and legs. Just as quickly as she was dumped in the ocean, she was back in the sky, gasping for air. Killian shook the moisture from his wings, and Tierra squealed at the violent movement.
His hold tightened around her and he whispered in her ear. "I've got you. You're safe. Hang on to me a little longer. That's right, just like that." His lips brushed against her cheek.
She shut her eyes and let him take over. She'd have to deal with the fallout of today, but for a few moments she could float weightless in his arms and think of nothing.
Too soon they landed, and carefully he set her on her feet. She'd lost her shoes at some point, which wasn't surprising. More often than not, she was barefoot anyway.
Killian's voice rumbled over her. "Here, let me." His hands were at her throat, and he tore the brimstone choke collar from around her neck and threw it far, until it disappeared into the ocean.
Tierra inhaled with overwhelming relief. Power surged inside her and washed away the stench and sickness the brimstone had invoked. The earth embraced her as she connected with it.
Her head fell back on her shoulders and she closed her eyes in ecstasy.
"God, I love watching you do that." Killian drew her in to his chest, one hand cupping her face, tracing the tracks her tears had made, while the other rubbed the marks on her neck left by the brimstone. His lips lowered to within an air's brush of taking hers, a groan escaping him.
"What the fuck, Tierra?" Aerin yelled. "Ambrosia's is burning to the ground, and you're out here sucking face with Death!"
Tierra jerked in Killian's embrace and tried to move away, but he grabbed her arm and held her next to him, keeping that connection between them as though he couldn't bear to let her go.
Aerin and Claire ran up, their brooms clutched in their hands. Killian had landed Tierra just outside the wards. Her sisters came to a stop just inside.
Once again a line had been drawn between them.
"Are you okay?" Claire took in Tierra's sooty and singed clothing, the angry second degree burns on her exposed arms and legs. She narrowed her eyes at Killian. "Where's Moira?"
"She's not here?" Killian asked. "Tierra needs to be healed, now!"
"They have Moira," Tierra revealed. "War and Conquest took her. They were lying in wait for us, along with Lucy—"
"Lucy?" Aerin questioned. "You must be mistaken."
"I'm not. She's Satan, Aerin, as in the Queen Bitch of Hell. She possessed Sunny, and she's the one who smuggled brimstone into the manor and laced the tea and coffee with it. She's been poisoning us with evil, and the other Horsemen are working with her. They also have Aunt Justine." She turned to Killian. "We have to get them back."
Slowly, he shook his head as though in regret. "I can't help you with that."
Which Witch is Wicked? (The Witches of Port Townsend Book 2) Page 25