Bittersweet Magic to-2

by Nina Croft

  He turned to Graham. “The Little Sisters of Mercy. They have a mother house in Devon. Get them on the phone for me.”

  Ten minutes later, he slammed the phone down. He’d been put through to the Mother Superior when he’d said what he was phoning about. She’d asked what he knew about the convent and had claimed that Sister Maria had definitely not turned up last night.

  So the sister had vanished between leaving here and when he had picked up Roz.

  It had to be Jack.

  The vampire must have found them after she had slipped his men. Must have taken the sister and was using her as some sort of leverage. It made sense. The Key for the sister. And he’d no doubt been right about the conscience. She was going to get the sister away from there and then destroy the Key and herself with it. Shit. He turned to Jonas.

  “Can you find her?”

  The warlock shrugged. “Probably. I have her blood.”

  Piers regarded him for a minute. The fact was, if Jonas hadn’t intended them to find Roz, he would never have come here tonight.

  “You always meant us to go after her.”

  “Of course. I’ve never come across one with such raw power. I’d hate it to go to waste.”

  “Is the spell you gave her real?”

  “Oh yes. I don’t give out bogus spells; it would ruin my reputation. If we don’t get to her, she will die and destroy the Key and anyone within a ten meter radius.”

  “Well, you’d better find her then.” He pushed himself to his feet and strode around the desk to stand in front of the werewolf. “Get as many of your men as you can and meet me in the weapons room.” He turned to Graham. “You get hold of Christian, tell him we could do with his help—sooner rather than later.”

  He was going to have to save the stupid little bitch.

  And she’d better be suitably grateful.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The condemned woman ate a hearty meal.

  She’d slept for a good eight hours and woken up starving. There was absolutely nothing she was going to even attempt to eat in Ryan’s fridge, but there were cold beers, so she phoned for a pizza and sipped a beer while she waited.

  The pizza was delicious, though it was slightly spoiled by the fact that Jack called while she was half way through it. Enough to ruin anyone’s appetite.

  “One a.m. On the embankment by Tower Bridge.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to say anything, just cut off the call. It was up to her now. She knew they were unlikely to let Ryan or Sister Maria go if they could get away with killing them off or keeping them for snacks. She had to persuade them that course of action really wasn’t in their best interests. Jonas had thrown in what he referred to as “a few cheap tricks” for the price of her spell. She was hoping it was enough.

  Her appetite had gone with the phone call, and she put the rest of the pizza in the fridge. Maybe Ryan would be hungry if—or preferably when—he got home later.

  She decided to walk to the meeting. It was a good hour, but really, what else did she have to do? It was a beautiful evening, warm and balmy, and at past midnight, the streets were quiet. She headed toward the river and then walked along the embankment, remembering her walk with Piers the previous evening. She’d never do that again, and regret niggled at her mind.

  The water looked deep and dark, and the occasional boat chugged past her on some pleasure cruise or heading back to its moorings. Everything seemed so ordinary.

  It was hard to believe anything bad could happen on a night like this. Though it had been July when her mother had died. A beautiful summer evening. Not a good month for her.

  The tall towers of the bridge loomed just ahead. Glancing at her watch, she realized she had fifteen minutes until the meeting. Perching on the wall that ran along the embankment, she went over in her mind one last time what she would do. What she would say. She’d always reckoned she was a good actress—in fact, back in the nineteenth century, she’d been pretty famous for a short while, before she’d had to change her identity. Now she was going to test that acting. There were a few holes in her story, but if she was convincing enough, she might just avoid slipping through them.

  She felt their approach before she saw them, like the threat of an electric storm. The atmosphere prickled with energy, throbbing with power. Asmodai had told her that it took an enormous amount of energy to open a portal between the Abyss and the Earth. That was no doubt why the Key was so valuable. She fingered it in her pocket. Such a little thing to hold so much power.

  To the right of her, the air shimmered as though the world was splintering. She’d seen it a few times now—first when Asmodai answered her prayers—but the sight still filled her with a sense of awe. For a second, the black gaping maw of the portal stood empty, and then Jack stepped through. He appeared way too happy for Roz’s liking, a smarmy smile pasted on his face as he caught sight of her. Maybe tinged with a little relief. He hadn’t been entirely sure of her. That fact might help her later.

  He was followed by a clutch of demons, similar to those that had attacked the convent. Half-man, half-beast, with very little intelligence reflected in their crimson eyes. Soldiers, she guessed—just hired muscle.

  Through the swarm, she could make out Ryan and Maria. The breath she hadn’t realized she was holding oozed out of her in a sigh; they were still alive. Then her teeth clamped together as the group parted and she got a better look at them.

  Ryan’s face was a mass of bruises, one eye almost shut, and he was holding his left arm clutched against his chest. The other wrapped around Maria’s shoulders, supporting her. He caught sight of Roz, and relief flooded his face. Another one who hadn’t been entirely sure she would turn up. He’d probably put his keen detective mind to work and deduced that if she had failed at her side of the bargain, their end was likely to be messy and unpleasant.

  Roz turned her attention to Maria; there was no sign of any damage, but despite that, she looked worse than Ryan. Her shirt was ripped, so she clutched it to her chest, and her skin appeared pale, almost white. Bloodless.

  “Bastard,” she muttered under her breath.

  Without giving herself time to think, she stalked toward Jack. He just stood there with that asinine grin on his face as she pulled back her fist and punched him in the nose. She put all her strength behind the blow, but he hardly swayed under the force. She did manage to split his lip, though, and a bead of blood welled up. He licked it slowly, and his eyes narrowed.

  “I told you not to touch them,” she said.

  “It was just a snack. She’s alive isn’t she?” His tone was laced with amusement.

  She wanted to rant at him. But what good would that do?

  Maria’s eyes held a blank, dead expression, and black hatred welled up inside Roz. Sometime very soon, she was going to make Jack pay. She was just sorry that his death would be a quick one and she wouldn’t be around to gloat afterward.

  She turned away from him as a wave of power rippled through the air. A woman stood poised in the entrance to the portal, pale against the darkness.

  Her head rose as though she was sniffing the night. Long blond hair, eyes so dark they appeared black, and pale, pale skin, almost luminescent and marked with swirling runes that pulsated with power. She was both beautiful and repellent. Roz’s skin prickled and she had to fight the urge to shuffle back as the woman stepped out.

  Jack’s boss, she presumed.

  She was a demon, that much was obvious; Roz could feel it in the power that thrummed in the night air. Asmodai had told her that there were many different kinds of demons, some more powerful than others. Some were merely scary monsters, like Jack’s friends, with little potential other than carnage. Others had incredible powers. Asmodai had never admitted it, but she’d always gotten the impression that he was one of the more powerful creatures of the Abyss. Maybe because he was such an arrogant bastard—she couldn’t imagine anyone telling him what to do, and he must have gotten that attitude from somewhere
.

  The woman looked around her, her gaze locking on Roz, and a cold, hard lump of fear formed in Roz’s gut.

  “I am Andarta,” she said.

  Roz shrugged. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed. “The Key,” she said. “Give it to me.”

  “Let them go, and I will.” Roz waved toward Ryan and Maria.

  A slow smile curled her beautiful lips. “Jack’s taken a fancy to your little friend. I think he’d like to keep her. So why don’t we just take the Key and you with it?”

  Roz curled her upper lip and rolled her eyes. “You think I’m that stupid?”

  Andarta’s gaze ran down over her, then back up to her face, and Roz had to fight the urge to squirm.

  Pure evil.

  “I don’t actually know. In fact, I have no clue what you are. There’s fae in there, I think, but you’re shrouded, hidden…”

  “Does it matter? Could we get back to the point of this meeting?”

  “So tell us how bright you are. Give me a reason not to take the Key and hand you over to Jack.”

  Roz took a deep breath. Let the lies begin. “There’s a spell on the Key. If I don’t remove it then it will go bang when it leaves my person.”

  “Really? A spell?”

  “A big powerful one.”

  Andarta turned to Jack. “You believe her?”

  He shrugged. “Where did you get the spell?”

  “A man I met at the Order. Jonas—he’s a warlock.”

  “She’s telling the truth—about the warlock at least. I’ve heard of him—very powerful.”

  Andarta let out a long-suffering sigh. “Let them go.” She waved a hand at Ryan and Maria, and the demons around them parted.

  Roz strode across, trying to appear confident. She came to a halt in front of Ryan. “Is she okay?”

  “No. That bastard—”

  “Could I have my Key now?” Andarta interrupted.

  God, the woman was impatient, but she’d have to wait a little while longer. “No. They need to get away first, and thanks to your asshole friend there”—she waved a hand in Jack’s direction—“she’s not in a condition to walk anywhere.”

  Jack took a step toward her. Roz whirled to face him and snarled. “Back off, or I will destroy it.”

  Roz usually went to amazing lengths to hide her powers. Now, a little show might do some good, help with the next part of the plan. She reached out a hand. Ryan flinched and she realized that beneath his show of strength, he was terrified. It made her think more of him. “Let me help,” she said.

  She rested a hand on his bruised cheek and allowed the magic to flow through her and into him. His lashes lowered for a moment. When he raised them, some of the terror was gone, and the bruises began to fade. She shifted her touch to the arm cradled across his middle. She could tell by the way he held it that the wrist was broken.

  “You tried to protect her?” she asked, nodding at Maria.

  “Yeah, for all the good it did her.”

  “You tried, and that’s what matters.”

  “You really believe that?” He glanced behind her. “We can ‘try’ all we like and it will make no difference.”

  Roz didn’t answer. What could she say? Instead, she sent out a pulse of magic and healed the fracture, saw the last of the pain clear from his eyes.

  “What are you?” he asked.

  “Yes, what are you?” Andarta added. Her impatience had faded, and now she studied Roz as though she might be something interesting after all.

  “I’m a witch,” Roz said. She realized as the words popped out that she’d never actually said them aloud. “Let me look at her,” she said to Ryan.

  He still held Maria tight against his side. Her eyes were closed now, and she hadn’t reacted in any way to their conversation. Reaching out, Roz touched Maria’s cheek lightly. Her lashes flickered up, her eyes dead.

  Roz could do this. After all, she’d helped Jessica; she could help Maria. Closing her eyes, she searched for the door, and this time she found it easily. Her palm rested on Maria’s forehead, and she sent the power down, like liquid light along the connection between them. For a minute, nothing happened; there was no answering spark from Maria.

  Roz pressed her fingers harder into the other woman’s forehead.

  “Come on, Maria,” she muttered. “Don’t let the bastard get the better of you. He’s an insignificant piece of shit scum, not worth it.”

  Soft laughter drifted up from behind her; at least Andarta found her amusing.

  She felt a small flicker of response from Maria and flooded her mind with warmth, sending her power into the other woman’s mind. She could sense the fear and pain, but it was more than that—a deep, dark despair, the loss of everything she had believed in. Had Maria prayed to her God? At what point had she accepted that he wouldn’t save her?

  Where had Maria’s God been when she needed him against the demons from Hell? Roz understood how she felt—she’d been there, but it was worse for Maria. The sister had devoted her whole life to that God and in a short time, she had lost everyone and everything she held dear. And now she had lost her faith.

  “There are other things to believe in,” Roz whispered. “There is evil in the world, but there are also beings who fight that evil, who keep the world safe.” She thought of Piers but didn’t think he would make a good God substitute for Maria. “You can help others, Maria. Don’t let the bad guys win.”

  Maria’s eyes opened, and there was someone home. Halleluiah.

  “Welcome back,” Roz murmured.

  “Are you telling the truth? Are there people out there, fighting for us?”

  “Of course. Now, you two have to get out of here. Go as quickly as you can.”

  “We can’t leave you,” Ryan answered.

  “You have to get Maria away. She’s still weak, and you can’t help me.” She gave him a smile. “Don’t be so worried. I have a plan and you being here won’t help—they’ll just be able to use you against me, and all this will be wasted.”

  He gave her a long look before nodding once.

  “Good.” She turned to Maria. “You must go to the Order. Tell Piers what happened. Tell him…” She shook her head. Hopefully, she didn’t have to tell him anything else. He would know. Soon both she and the Key would be destroyed.

  She hoped he felt guilty for spoiling her last night alive. He should, the bastard.

  Lowering her arm, she stepped back. “Go.”

  Maria paused as she passed and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you—you’re a good person, whatever you may think.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” But she couldn’t prevent a small smile creeping over her face.

  Ryan hugged her. “Keep safe.”

  She watched as they hurried away along the embankment, then closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Turning, she surveyed the small group. On to phase two.

  Ryan and Maria needed a few more minutes to get clear of the area. She shoved her hands in her pockets, tried to appear cool, and strolled over to where Andarta stood beside Jack. The lesser demons formed a semi-circle around them, but as she drew closer, they shifted to form a ring, which circled her inside them.

  She halted just in front of Andarta and looked up. Why the hell was everyone taller than she was? “I want in,” she said.

  “In?”

  “To be part of what you’re doing. I want a place in your new world.”

  “And why would we want you?”

  “You saw a little of what I can do, and I’m also a Seeker. I can be of help to you.”

  “Hmm, you have power, that’s true. You healed those two with no effort whatsoever. But the problem is, I don’t trust you. I don’t understand you—why give over something as valuable as the Key for a couple of humans who’ll be dead in a few years anyway?”

  She shrugged. “I’m loyal to my friends. I could be a good friend.”

  “And you seek to be friends with me? Why?�
��

  “I need your help.”

  “In doing what?”

  Roz unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it down off her shoulder to reveal the sigil wrapped around her upper arm. “I’m enslaved to a demon, and I’d prefer to be free.”

  Andarta pursed her lips. “A powerful demon, but I think we can get rid of that with a little effort. Now show me the Key.”

  Roz reached into her pocket. She peered over her shoulder; Maria and Ryan had vanished. They’d be safe by now.

  Phase three.

  The part she really wasn’t looking forward to.

  …

  “Well, we can be pretty sure she’s somewhere close by,” Christian said.

  “What?” Piers had been thinking about what he was going to do to Roz once he found her. He had a few options; it was which one would come first he couldn’t decide upon. Christian was driving, but now he slowed the vehicle and pulled up at the side of the road. Through the side-mirror, Piers could see the black van with Carl and his men pull in behind them.

  He glanced up ahead as Christian gestured toward the couple who were heading their way. Sister Maria he recognized immediately even without the habit, but the tall man beside her, helping her along, he didn’t know.

  They saw them at that moment and came to an abrupt stop about fifteen meters away. Piers climbed out of the car. Sister Maria obviously recognized him. She spoke quickly to the man and hurried up to them.

  Piers examined her closely; she had a bite mark on the side of her neck, her skin was pale, but otherwise she appeared unharmed. The man had an impressive set of bruises that were healing fast, fading as Piers stared.

  “Mr. Lamont—” Sister Maria began.

  “Where’s Roz?” he interrupted her.

  “We need to call the police, get back-up,” the man beside her said. “I’m Detective Ryan of the Metropolitan police.”

  Piers turned to him. “Do you really think the police can help here, detective? Now where is Rosamund?”

  The detective opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but they didn’t have time for this. Christian stepped forward. “We have to get Roz first. Afterward, we can call the police, if they’re needed. I can assure you we’re better equipped for this than the police. You’ve seen what we’re up against.”