“You are the weirdest pastor I have ever met,” she said.
“Amen to that. If I wasn’t, I’d be worried I wasn’t being me,” he said. He stood slowly. “You think on what I said.”
“I will,” she promised.
She watched him leave the room, then bowed her head and tried to pray. Her thoughts were too chaotic, though. She forced herself to take several deep breaths as the pastor’s words went round and round in her mind. She thought of how he had compared what they could do to people’s other natural abilities.
She remembered meeting her toddler self. She had used her powers as simply and naturally as breathing. There had been nothing evil there, nothing premeditated even. It had just been a part of who she was. Then she thought about her three-year-old self, upset that her mom was going to retrain her because she was “doing it wrong” when in reality she was terrified that her daughter was already far more powerful than she was.
And while she might have been born with more gifts and talents than some, a great deal of that power came from not overthinking it, from just being and letting the energy swirl through her and around her and bending it with the merest thought.
For so long she had thought that it was all evil. In the past few days, though, she had met so many good and decent people with the power who didn’t shun it but who used it to fight evil and bring blessings to others. It was so contrary to how she had been raised, and again she wondered how things would have been different if she’d been raised by someone else.
Her two-year-old self had told her that her father wanted to take her away. What had he been like? Had he been a good man or evil like her mother? What would she have turned out like if she’d been allowed to go with him? She shuddered, wondering if the part about him going away was a lie and that her mother had actually killed him instead. She’d likely never know the truth. She was just going to have to live with that. The pastor was right; she’d spent too much time living in her past already. It was time to embrace the future and the good possibilities there.
Like Anthony. If they made it out of this alive, she would have to make sure he knew just how much he meant to her. Of course, right now that seemed like a pretty big “if.”
She rubbed her shoulder, still not fully healed, which was odd. Lilith had to be doing something to keep the wound fresh and painful. If she had recovered the cross necklace, she could certainly be using it to continue hurting Samantha. But if she had it, why not just kill Samantha instead? After all, that’s what she’d tried to do in the first place. Could something have changed her mind?
The hoodoo woman. Maybe something she had told Lilith had caused her to be doing this instead of killing Samantha. But what could that possibly be?
Her head was beginning to throb. She definitely needed to get some sleep. She’d pushed her body way too hard and she wasn’t resting enough, given the types of injuries she’d sustained.
If only she could find Lilith’s coven, she was sure she could find more answers and hopefully even Lilith herself.
The information that she had gotten from Albert was there, inside her head. It just kept dodging slightly out of reach. She was pushing too hard; that was for certain.
She tried to still her mind, empty it of thoughts. The quieter it became, the more she felt her body slump over and begin to relax. Finally she was quasidozing, drifting in and out as her unconscious mind worked hard to sift through all the data that it had been collecting for days.
She was vaguely aware that something was happening, like a giant jigsaw fitting together. Her research, Ed’s research, the images she’d pulled from Albert’s mind right before he died, Anthony’s research.
Anthony’s research.
There was something there, something to it, something that connected Anthony and Albert. She could feel it, a common thread between the two. A memory perhaps? No, more than that. A place? No, that wasn’t right, either. She drifted deeper, her mind almost dreaming now.
• • •
Albert and Anthony. Anthony and Albert. The two kept meshing together in her mind. They had shared something in the last couple of days. What could it have been? She’d heard about it from Anthony and seen it in Albert’s mind.
No! Albert had seen Anthony.
When?
Where?
The images meant nothing. They ran together, jumbled and scattered, until one thing came together with crystal clarity.
A person.
A Wiccan.
One of the people Anthony knew and had interviewed was part of Lilith’s coven.
And that wasn’t all.
• • •
She snapped wide-awake as her phone rang.
She had found Lilith’s coven.
17
Samantha snatched up her cell phone. It was Ed calling. “You might want to get over here, now,” he said, his voice tense, strained.
“There in seconds,” she said before ending the call and dialing Anthony.
“Hello?” he asked, sounding completely awake.
“I need you to get over here.”
“I thought you’d never ask. I’m at a coffee shop down the street. I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he said, and hung up.
Seconds later, she was running into the gym. She reminded herself that she had to give the password. “Anthony if I had one and I think I do and he’s on his way here,” she said all in one breath.
“’Bout time you finally admitted it. Now get over here. These things are moving around by themselves and scaring the hell out of me,” Ed barked.
The poppet had moved to a particular position close to a candle that she had used to signify the St. Louis Cemetery Number One. She had several candles burning, each representing a major landmark.
“That certainly narrows it down,” she said. Someone, somewhere, had let their guard down and it had provided the information she needed. Now they just had to move on it before the coven dispersed again or changed location. She was going to need all the help she could get.
She picked up two more candles out of her bag and set them on the gym floor. “Me,” she said of the white one. Then she thought of the Druid. “I name thee Thomas,” she said of the red candle. “Come to me.” She lit the candle with her mind, set it in motion with a flick of her wrist, and turned back to Ed.
“We’ll be leaving soon to go after the coven.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“It will be dangerous, but I don’t think I can stop either you or Anthony. And frankly, you’re the two people I trust the most. I want you, need you there.”
“Whatever you need, you got it,” he said.
Her phone rang. “Where are you?” Anthony asked when she answered.
“I’m in the gym.”
“I’m in the church. I’ll come get you.”
She ran outside and seconds later saw his familiar silhouette. She kissed him hard on the lips, then grabbed his hand and pulled him back toward the gym.
As they ran through the door she said, “This is my boyfriend, Anthony.”
“Finally calling things like they are,” Ed snapped.
“What is wrong with both of you?” Anthony asked, completely bewildered, but still looking pleased.
“Believe it or not, you’re our code word,” Ed said, still staring fixedly at the candles. “And that red candle’s almost here.”
A moment later the door flew open and Connor entered, Thomas in tow. “What is going on?” Connor demanded. “You know this guy? He said he’s here to see you.”
“He is. It’s time to gather the troops. I know where the coven is.”
“What?” both Connor and Thomas asked in chorus.
She nodded. “We need to move now, before they change their location.”
Connor frowned. “We just got a tip from a credible source, one we’ve used before.”
“Awfully convenient. I wouldn’t trust it. Especially not with the timing. I’d say it’s a way of throwing us off t
he scent. They could know Albert’s dead and they’re nervous.”
“Who’s Albert?” Thomas asked.
“The mole inside this organization,” Ed spoke up.
“What have you got on your location?” Connor asked.
“Frankly, I don’t have time to explain. But I believe I found information on Lilith’s lieutenant in some of the images from Albert’s mind.”
“I thought that was all a jumble,” Connor said.
“It was, but one thing came clear for me.” She turned to Anthony. “I realized there was a connection between you and him and that he’d actually seen you.”
“When?” Anthony asked, looking startled.
“When you were visiting one of your contacts in the city. That contact is part of Lilith’s coven.”
“Who?” everyone in the room asked at once.
“One of the Wiccan women that you said was scared to death.”
Anthony turned pale. “I knew there was something wrong with Jo,” he said. “She was just acting so much stranger than usual. And it was the first time I’ve ever known her to be scared of anything. I mean, Helena, sure, but not Jo.”
“We find Jo, we find the coven. They’re together now. I can feel it.”
“I can’t go on your feeling,” Connor said.
“Why not? It’s been working so far,” Ed pointed out.
“I have to trust my source.”
“Fine, you follow your wild-goose chase, but give me five agents,” Samantha said.
“I’ll give you two.”
“Okay, but one of them needs to be Trina. Let her pick the other one.”
“Done,” Connor said. “I’ll go alert her and then we’re heading out.”
“So are we,” Samantha said, glancing at the table. She didn’t like that they were dividing their forces like this. It was the fastest way to be conquered. But short of hijacking his mind, she wasn’t going to be able to get Connor to see things her way, she could tell. Best to just let him go and do his thing. At least she’d get Trina, whom she was sure she could trust.
“How about someone tell me anything that’s going on?” Thomas said.
“You said there were others with powers willing to rise and fight. Anyone you can get here in the next ten minutes?” Samantha asked.
“No,” he admitted.
“Okay, we will need them later, though, if Lilith isn’t with the rest of the coven.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure we’re going to need them now if Lilith is with the rest of the coven,” Ed interjected.
“No time,” Samantha said. “We have to go now.”
The door opened and Trina and one of the guys whose name Samantha didn’t know walked in.
“We’re with you,” Trina said.
“Excellent, then the gang’s all here. Time to go,” Samantha said. “I’ve narrowed the location of the coven down to a four-block radius that encompasses St. Louis Cemetery Number One.”
“Jo’s shop is in that area,” Anthony said.
“Then I’m certain that’s where they are. Lead the way. We have no time to get there and try to figure out where the power is coming from. We’ve got to hit fast and hard.”
“We’re with you,” Thomas said.
Samantha turned and headed outside.
“There’s six of us. We’ll take my car,” Trina said, pointing to the dark sedan.
They all piled in, Anthony and Samantha in the front with Trina and the other three in the back. Samantha was about to go into battle with a Druid she hardly knew, a complete stranger, a woman who didn’t remember her, and two people without powers. It was far from ideal, but it was what it was.
“No time like the present,” she muttered to herself.
They peeled away from the curb and Trina floored it after muttering a spell designed to put a glamour on the car so they could pass unseen. They were soon doing over ninety on streets designed for less than half that speed. Trina turned out to be an excellent driver, though, and she knew how to handle her car.
Anthony began barking directions. From the backseat she could feel the tension building.
“What’s the plan?” the other agent finally spoke up.
“What’s your name?”
“Pat.”
“Pat, you, Trina, and Thomas are going to guard the exits, make sure no one gets in or out. Ed, you and Anthony are going to be keeping a lookout, call one of them if you see anything. I’ll be going in alone.”
“That’s crazy!” Trina protested.
“This whole thing is crazy. We can’t let anyone escape, though. Also, we have no idea if Lilith is there and I’m not willing to risk anyone else inside that building with her if she is.”
“We have no way of knowing how many witches will be in there. You can’t possibly kill them all yourself,” Thomas protested.
“If everything goes according to plan, I won’t have to kill them all, just the ringleaders. Trina, you remember Santa Cruz? Not everyone there was evil. A lot of them were naive and duped or just stupid. It was the same in Salem. Hopefully some of these people can be shown the error of their ways and let go. We can sort that out when it’s all over. If I willingly let a person leave the building, I will burn a mark on his skin.”
“What mark?” Trina asked.
“You will know when you see it,” Samantha assured her.
“This plan sucks,” Ed said.
“I agree,” Anthony echoed.
“This is not open for negotiation,” she snapped.
They were getting close; she could feel it. “Ed, your dog’s name is the password. Anyone comes out of that building looking like me who doesn’t know his name, you shoot him, got it?”
“I got it,” he said grimly.
“Turn left. We’re almost there,” Anthony said through gritted teeth.
Trina spun the wheel, sending the car into a slide that she recovered from quickly.
“When we get there, everyone scatter. Move as fast as you can before anyone can break and run,” Samantha said. “There is no backup coming. It’s just us. We have to get this job done.”
She was grateful that Trina and Pat didn’t even question whether they were headed to the right site. That, at least, made things easier.
“Straight ahead, two blocks on the left,” Anthony said. “Red neon sign of a moon out front.”
“Here we go,” Samantha said.
A moment later the energy wave hit and she could hear the gasps from the other three magic users in the car. There were a lot of people dead ahead of them. They were most certainly in the right place.
Trina slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt directly in front of the building. Samantha leaped out, seeing the others doing the same in her peripheral vision. She ran straight for the front door, flinging it open from three feet away.
She raced toward the back of the shop where there was a curtain and flung it aside. There, in a large room lit with overhead lights, were about forty people, gathered together into a circle.
She had found Lilith’s coven, and she could tell in a moment Lilith wasn’t there. She stepped forward, trying to push her disappointment out of her mind. It was enough for now that they disband her coven, remove this power base from her.
She had caught them in the middle of performing some sort of ritual. A portly middle-aged woman stood in the middle of the circle, hands raised.
“Jo, I presume?” Samantha asked, demonstrating that she knew the woman’s name already.
Jo slowly lowered her arms, an arrogant look plastered on her face. The members of the coven fidgeted, some clearly shocked by the interruption, others angry, others frightened. It was as Samantha had expected.
“It was stupid of you to come here.”
“It was stupid of you to try and send me somewhere else.”
“Not so much,” the woman said. “I understand most of your friends are wasting their time far away where they are of no help to you.”
; “I have all the friends I need right here,” Samantha said.
She looked around the room. Some of the witches were wearing cloaks; others were not. She met every eye that she could see. “I will give each and every one of you one chance, and one chance only, to leave this place in peace. Anyone who chooses to stay will die.”
There was sudden, anxious muttering among the ranks. She could see a couple of people struggling to break free, but those on either side were holding them fast, refusing to let them break the circle.
Just as her mother and Mr. Black had once refused to let her leave.
She blinked as that memory came clear. Anger built in her as she saw those who would prevent the ones who had the good sense to leave and save themselves.
Jo laughed, loud and long. Her confidence was starting to get on Samantha’s nerves.
“Let those people go who wish to go or you will feel my wrath,” she warned.
“Oh, I very much doubt that. You’re the lame witch after all, the one who can’t harm anyone, the one who won’t use her powers. I’ve heard all about you,” Jo said, sneering. “Magic and faith can’t abide in the same person. You have chosen your pitiful God over true power. There’s nothing you can do to us here.”
Samantha shook her head. “You know nothing of me and the things I’ve done to stop witches like you. It doesn’t matter, though, because what you say is a lie. That I have to choose between my powers and my faith. It’s not true. I don’t have to choose. I can be who God created me to be and praise Him through what I do with the gifts He gave me.”
And in her mind she let go of the fear, the pain, and even the knowledge of how the energy and power worked. She opened her mind, embraced everything she had known as an infant by instinct. She could feel God deep in her soul, and she opened her mouth and fire spewed forth, setting the entire room ablaze in one single instant.
There were screams of fear and people began fleeing past her. She held out her hands so that they had to push past her. She could feel their essence, the good, the evil, everything. She let a man and a woman run by her, but not before she had reached out and seared crosses into their flesh. Then she ripped the powers from the next man because his heart was black as night. He collapsed in an instant, dead, and the power shimmered through her, merging with her own.
Circle of Blood: A Witch Hunt Novel Page 20