by C. C. Wood
"It doesn't matter," I replied. "Selene can't be more than ten or eleven. I'm not leaving her behind."
"But her mother—"
"It doesn't matter if her mother is involved," I interrupted. "Selene is a child. Just because she has abilities doesn't make her any less of one. She has no control over her life or what her mother or anyone else does. She's frightened. Even I can see that."
Teri had been uncharacteristically silent, even after Angie's request not to speak. I couldn't even get her to shut up and I could control her. I never would have expected her to comply with Angie's request.
"We can't leave yet," Teri said.
Angie and I both turned to gape at her. I couldn't believe she'd said it. Teri had been adamant since day one that coming to Austin was a bad idea.
"Zoe's right. Selene doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her, whether her mother is involved or not. She didn't ask for this."
Angie sighed. "The two of you haven't dealt with many covens. I can promise you that Selene will probably turn out exactly like her mother and Jezebel."
Teri scowled at her. "Is that because she's bad or because she doesn't know there's another way to be?"
"I'm not here to debate nature versus nurture," Angie said. "My main goal is to protect Zoe, Jonelle, and even you, Teri. We're in over our heads here. The Austin coven isn't as big as Fort Worth but there's only three of us here. We won't be able to take on the entire group of witches. Especially Rafe and Beatrix. The two of them are incredibly strong together. Maybe if I had a few of my own witches here, we could manage it, but. . . "
Teri and I looked at each other. She nodded at me and I understood exactly what she was telling me. She would abide by whatever decision I made.
"We're staying," I told Angie. "I would love it if you would stay and help us, but I understand if you choose not to."
Angie opened her mouth, probably to argue, but she never got to finish her thought.
The door that led to the hall flew open and slammed against the wall. A woman slumped against the frame, her tangled hair hanging over her face and her grimy clothes hanging off her body.
Angie was on her feet before I could fully comprehend what was happening. She lifted her hand but Teri materialized between her and the woman in the hall.
"Don't!" she cried. "It's Francesca, Selene's mother!"
Chapter Eighteen
Teri caught Francesca before she collapsed on the floor. I was frozen in place as she dragged her across the room to the sofa.
"A little help would be nice," Teri said, her tone dry.
Before I could do anything, the door that separated the living area from the bedroom opened abruptly. Mal came running out of the bedroom, wearing nothing but his briefs.
He skidded to a stop when he saw Angie helping Teri drag a dirty, half-conscious woman to the couch. "What's going on?"
Teri nearly dropped Francesca on the floor when she looked up and saw Mal half-naked. She grunted and shifted the woman to the couch before turning to me. "You are one lucky bitch," she grumbled.
"I agree," Angie murmured beneath her breath.
"Is anyone going to answer me?" Mal asked, coming closer.
"This is Francesca, Selene's mother," I explained as I leaned over the prone woman to check her pulse. Her heart was beating quickly but she was breathing deeply. I didn't think she was on Death's doorstep. My thoughts screeched to a halt. Jeez, I couldn't use that expression anymore. Not now that I knew who I really was. Who my ancestor was.
"Is she injured?"
I glanced back at him and saw Teri edging around Angie to stand behind him. "I'm not sure. She just burst through the door. I don't even know how she got here." I nodded toward Teri. "Maybe you should grab some clothes before Teri mauls you," I whispered.
He twisted toward her in alarm, his eyes widening when he saw how close she was standing. "I'll be right back."
Angie knelt by Francesca and laid her right hand on the woman's forehead. A faint golden glow emitted from her hand, spreading across Francesca's scalp.
"She's dehydrated and starving. We need to get her some water and something to eat, preferably soup. Her stomach won't be able to handle anything too heavy," Angie said.
I hurried over to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and twisted the lid off it. Angie took it from me when I returned to the couch and held it to Francesca's lips.
"I'm not completely sure," she murmured. "But I think she was tortured as well."
Mal returned to the living room, wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt.
"Could you order some soup from room service?" I asked him. "Maybe see if they can send up some chicken broth. Angie thinks Francesca's been starved."
He nodded and moved over to the phone.
I hovered by the sofa, watching as Angie worked on Francesca. The unconscious woman's eyes fluttered and she took a deep, gasping breath.
"Selene!" she cried out, trying to sit up.
Her eyes were still glazed but at least they were open.
Angie shushed her softly. "You're okay. You're safe."
"My daughter. She's in danger." Francesca tried to push Angie's hands away so she could stand. "We have to save her."
"We will," Angie replied. "We have to help you first."
"No. We have to go!" she argued. "I shouldn't have left her there. I shouldn't have run without her!"
"Francesca." Angie's voice was sharp and it pierced the fog of panic around the older woman. She stopped trying to rise and looked at Angie. "We will help your daughter very soon. But we need you to give us all the details you can and let us heal your body before we do that. If you pass out in the middle of the rescue, you won't be helping Selene, you'll be putting her in more danger."
Angie stared Francesca in the eye and held the water bottle up to her lips once again. The other woman took a few careful sips before Angie took the bottle away.
"Let's wait a few more minutes before you drink more. Will you let me try to heal you a bit more before the food gets here?"
Francesca nodded.
"Lay back and try to relax. It won't take long. I just want to make sure you don't have any serious internal injuries."
She did as Angie instructed. Her eyes flicked to me. "You're the one they want, aren't you? The necromancer."
"Yes," I replied. I guess that answered any questions we had about whether Selene's kidnapping was related to my magic or not.
Francesca grimaced as Angie laid a hand on her chest and the warm light of her healing energy spread over her torso. "Do you have any idea what they'll do to you?" she asked.
I really didn't. And I wasn't sure I wanted to.
Francesca winced again. I wondered if the healing hurt her. She licked her dry lips. "You shouldn't have come here," she whispered.
I vaguely heard Mal speaking into the phone again and glanced at him. Francesca's statement unnerved me.
Mal hung up and walked over to me. "Jonelle and the guys are on their way to our room."
I ignored the little thrill that went through me when he said "our room" and focused on the important information.
"Something's wrong," I whispered.
"What do you mean?"
I put my hand on his arms and led him a few steps from the couch. "I'm not sure this is what it appears to be."
"I don't understand," he replied. "Are you saying that she wasn't held captive?"
I glanced over my shoulder at Angie and Francesca again but Selene's mother was lying on the couch with her eyes closed as my friend tried to heal her.
I turned back to Mal. "I think she was but I'm not sure she escaped."
"You think they let her go?"
I shook my head. "I think they sent her here."
There was a knock on the door and I went to open it. Jonelle and Stony stood in the hall, their eyes sleepy and their clothing rumpled.
Well, well, well. Maybe my friends would work everything out after all.
Now wasn't the time to talk about it, so I kept my thoughts to myself and let them into the room.
"What's going on?" Jonelle asked, her voice low.
"Didn't Mal tell you?"
"Not everything. He mentioned that Selene's mother was here and that she collapsed but that was it."
I nodded. "That's what happened, but I think something's up."
Jonelle came closer. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Just a feeling I have. Just be vigilant, okay?"
"I will."
Stony gave me a short nod but didn't speak.
We walked further into the room. Angie no longer had her hand on Francesca's chest and the other woman was propped up against the arm of the couch, drinking water.
Francesca looked at me, her eyes no longer glassy. "Who are they?"
Her tone was off, almost resentful.
Taken aback, I answered without thinking. "This is my friend, Jonelle, and her boyfriend, Stony."
Jonelle nudged me with her elbow. Hard enough to make me flinch.
I glared at her and shrugged. "What?"
She didn't say anything to me but I knew she was going to give me an earful about the boyfriend comment later.
"We're here to help you," Jonelle assured her.
Francesca didn't appear convinced.
Angie got to her feet and collapsed on one of the chairs. I could see the strain that healing had put on her.
"She needs some more water and food," she murmured. "But she's almost as good as new."
There was another knock at the door but Stony was the one who answered. It was a hotel employee with a bowl of soup. Stony tipped him and took the tray. From the angle, the man wouldn't be able to see Francesca and it was better if he didn't. Too many questions would arise.
I didn't think at all about the fact that he could see Teri until he nodded to her and said, "Have a good night."
She just winked at him. At least she didn't verbally flirt with him. She was sitting back and watching the events unfold rather than jumping right in. That was unlike her, but I appreciated the fact that she was restraining her usual color commentary. Maybe now that she knew people could see and hear her, she would be a bit more circumspect.
"I shouldn't be sitting here, eating," Francesca argued when Stony set the tray in front of her and handed her the bowl. "We need to be out, saving my daughter."
Mal came over and crouched next to the couch. "I promise you that we will look for your daughter. We will find her and bring her back safely. You need to fuel your body so you can help us do that."
Francesca stared at him, her eyes sad. "You don't understand."
Jonelle moved to sit next to her on the couch. "We can't. Not completely. None of us has children so I doubt we can imagine what you're going through, but we care about you and your daughter. We don't want anything else to happen to you or her."
A moment before it happened, I realized what Francesca was about to do. It was as if I watched it in slow motion.
Francesca's hands shot out, one clasping on Jonelle's arm and the other on Mal's shoulder.
She said something, a word I didn't understand, and a brilliant flare of red light filled the room. I jerked back, shutting my eyes against the painful glare. I heard Angie shout and felt a surge of power fill the room. It created so much pressure that my ears popped. My chest ached and I struggled to breathe.
When the light faded, all three of them were gone.
I closed my eyes, convinced that I was imagining this. But when I opened them again, they were still gone.
Angie was on the floor, her body sprawled awkwardly between the chair and coffee table.
I ran over to her and crouched beside her. "Angie. Angie!" I patted her cheek and rubbed her shoulder. "Angie, wake up."
Her head rolled toward me and her eyelids twitched but she didn't open her eyes. Her face was so pale that her skin was nearly white. Her lips were also bloodless and slack.
Stony came over and squatted to my level. His gaze was sharp and nearly panicked. "Do you have any idea what just happened?"
I shook my head. No clue. God, as soon as this was over, I was dedicating the next few months to learning everything I could about witches, magic, spells, and anything else that popped into my mind. My ignorance made me helpless and it was pissing me off.
"Angie," I repeated, tapping her cheek again.
Finally, she groaned and rolled her head the other way so I wouldn't pat her face any longer. Her body shifted and she moaned again.
"That hurt," she croaked.
I glanced at Stony. "Will you grab some water for her?"
It was Teri that went to the fridge and brought the bottle over before he could even get up.
I looked up at her. "Thank you."
She nodded, her expression grave.
I grabbed one of the napkins on the tray with the soup and wet it with the cool water. I laid it over her forehead. I had no clue if that would help, but I needed to do something.
"I'm okay," Angie whispered. "I just need a few minutes."
I lifted her head and put the water to her lips. She drank a few sips before she leaned back and took a deep breath. Her skin was no longer as pale. A light flush slowly returned to her cheeks.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"She teleported them out. I should have known. Astral projection is closely related to teleportation. If her bloodline is full of that sort of magic, she would be able to do it much more easily than other witches."
"But why did it hurt you?" I asked.
Angie coughed and pushed herself to her elbows then finally sat all the way up. She moved slowly, as if her entire body ached.
"I tried to stop it," she explained. "But I was too late. There was blowback from her spell and when it clashed with my magic..." She trailed off and took the bottle of water I offered her, drinking deeply.
"Francesca took them back to her captors, didn't she?" I asked.
It was a stupid question because I already knew the answer. I didn't have a daughter, but I had a mother and a father and I knew that either one of them would do whatever it took to save my life. Whatever it took.
Angie nodded. "She was the baited hook."
"And I'm the prize trout, aren't I?"
Angie's expression was dark. "Yes, you are."
"Do you truly believe Beatrix could have had anything to do with this?" I asked her.
"Yes, she did."
Stony jumped to his feet and whirled toward the sound of the small voice. Angie and I both twisted and stared at Selene.
The girl stood in front of the opposite wall. Next to Teri, who wasn't all that tall, she looked even tinier. She was also crying.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized as she sobbed. "I didn't want this to happen."
"I know," I murmured as I stood. "So it was Beatrix that arranged all this?"
Selene nodded.
"What does she want?" I asked.
More tears slid down her cheeks. "Your magic."
Angie's hand curved around mine and squeezed tightly.
"You have to come to the coven house," Selene continued. "Or your friend and boyfriend will die." Her eyes shifted to the side as though someone was speaking to her. "You have one hour."
That gave us no time to formulate a plan. It took nearly thirty minutes to get from the hotel to the coven house when we went the day before yesterday. In the early morning hours, it would be a little faster, but not much.
"Tell Beatrix I'm coming."
Selene studied me for a long moment. She didn't say anything, but I was certain she read my intentions in my facial expression. With a nod, she vanished from sight.
I would go to that coven house and I would get my friends back.
If Beatrix Fury wanted my magic, I would shove it so far down her throat she would choke.
Chapter Nineteen
After Selene disappeared, Angie tried to rise. Her legs didn't want to hold her, but Stony helped her up.
Someone knocked on the door and we all stared at it. Teri held up a hand to Stony when he took a step toward it.
"Let me. If they aren't friendly, they won't be able to hurt me."
Stony looked toward me and I nodded.
Teri twisted the handle and paused. She yanked the door open. Blaine jumped at the sudden movement.
"Holy shit!" He came into the room and looked around. "Where's Mal and Jonelle?"
Stony took the opportunity to get him up to speed and by the time he was done, Blaine looked pissed as hell. They were both laid back guys and I had only seen Blaine remotely angry once before. This was a different level. It wasn't anger. It was rage.
"When do we leave?" he asked.
"As soon as I put my clothes on."
Fifteen minutes later, the van was on the road with Blaine behind the wheel. Angie insisted on coming with us even though she was still weak. We were talking strategy but it wasn't going well.
"There's only one spell that Beatrix could be planning to use. If that's the case, she can't take your power unless you willingly give it to her," Angie explained. "It's usually used by witches on their deathbed. A way for them to bequeath their power to the next generation. It requires the death of the person giving their magic to someone else."
"No way in hell," Stony stated. "I'm not letting that bitch kill Zoe and I know Mal and Joni wouldn't want that either."
"We aren't going to let it happen," Angie said. "I only want Zoe to have all the information she'll need when we go in there."
"So what's my best option for getting both Mal and Jonelle out of there alive?" I asked.
"You aren't going to like it," Angie answered.
I knew then exactly what she was going to tell me to do. "You want me to use my magic to suck the life out of Beatrix, don't you?"
Angie's jaw flexed as though she were grinding her teeth. "It won't be Beatrix alone. Not all of the witches here are bad, but she does have her core group of followers. If you try to take her down, they will come after you and they aren't weak, individually or collectively."
"So you're saying I'll have to fight off Beatrix, who's an extremely powerful dark witch, plus her minions who are also strong? That's just great."