by Jana Leigh
“I should have gone with him.” Her mother muttered and then she took Lacy"s hand.
“No, we are needed here. If she is hiding away from the Rogues, we will catch her.” Lacy said and then listened once again as the chatter on the radios lessened as the time came for her father to do his job.
The farm house was about six miles from where they were. The Enforcer who was driving them had positioned them at the entrance of the neighborhood closest to the farm house. Sabrina would have to be here. Any farther and her powers would not work with that large of a spell.
They felt the hairs on their arms begin to tingle and Lacy knew her father had begun. It would not be much longer for him to punch a hole in the spell and then things would move quickly.
***
Sevi and Shawn followed Timothy as he ran through the trees surrounding the house.
They were going to try to get as close as they could, they could feel the power coming from the house.
Timothy paused and waited. He closed his eyes and then whispered, “Shit. I don"t think she"s here. There are at least two witches holding the spell in place. They are not the ones who cast it though.”
“Should we warn Lacy?” Shawn whispered and looked around; making sure that no one noticed them. The rest of the people were surrounding the house and the Pack compound, looking for Rogues who were guarding. They knew that they were there; they just had to find them.
Slowly, Timothy crept forward until he was as close as he would be able to get. If they exposed themselves too much, they could alert them to their plan. They called their position across the radio and then waited for everyone to check in and say they were in place.
Finally, Timothy stepped forward and raised his hands. Shaw and Sevi flanked him so they could protect him should someone try to come and stop them. They felt the power beginning to come off of Timothy and stood as close as they could to him without being sucked into the spell he was weaving.
“Slowly spirits I ask of you, take the spell I must undo. Protect the ones who are inside, from the spell used to hide. Guide me so I find the cause, of the cloud we try to pause, from spreading to the Chosen ones, before the harm can"t be undone.” Timothy said.
From the house, they heard a cry of pain. Whoever was inside was effected by the spell that Timothy started. Shawn and Sevi braced themselves as the door to the house flew open and men poured out of it.
They stepped in front of Timothy and shifted, their clothes flying from the force of the fast shift. The Rogues also shifted and Shawn groaned when he saw they were wolves, a lot of them. The brothers ran forward and began swiping the wolves as they charged after Timothy.
Soon, the others who had surrounded the house, wolves, cougars, bears, joined them and even birds fought the Rogues as they tried to get to Timothy who was still trying to break through the spell. Shawn could feel the power coming from the house weaken and finally snap and he knew the spell around the compound came down. To get to the Pack house it was only a mile.
He growled and grunted at his brother and they took off to get the help from the Pack.
Timothy continued to break the spell completely and the rest of the shifters protected him.
They had made it only a half mile when they saw the fighting. The Rogue who had surrounded the Pack compound attacked when the spell came down. But they had not known that help had arrived and the shifters Sevi and Shawn brought had attacked from behind while the Pack attacked from the front. They were making headway, pushing back the Rogues.
Sevi and Shawn ran around the fighting, determined to get to the Alphas. They needed to know they found their mate who was one of the Chosen. As the huge house drew near, they could see that the familiar Enforcers were guarding the doors.
Sevi shifted quickly and yelled to the guards to call the Alphas. The one closest to them yelled back. “They are defending the Pack.”
Shawn shifted and ran to the door and threw it open. “Cami!” He called and listened for a response. At the top of the stairs she appeared with her friends next to her.
“Shawn, Sevi!” The small Alpha cried and ran down the stairs. “Did you bring help?”
“Yes, but we don"t have time. I need help to get our mate back here. She is one of the Chosen.” Shawn said urgently.
Cami and the others gasped and the Alpha took over. She called for the Enforcers and then closed her eyes and called her mates. Before long, the New Council was all assembled in the foyer, demanding that Shawn and Sevi explain themselves.
“We don"t have time. I promise we will explain later. Lacy is with her mother and the Enforcers from the Denver Pack. They are sitting outside of town. The person who was responsible for the spell was not where we thought. That means that Lacy and her mother are going to find her and try to take her out.” Sevi said grimly.
Quin nodded and ordered for the cars to be brought around. They all piled into the large SUV"s and followed Shawn"s directions on where they were to go.
***
Lacy and her mother sat and waited. They could feel her father start the spell, and then they could feel when he broke through a part of it. The power they had felt before was lessening. She looked around trying to see if there was any movement in the subdivision that should not be happening.
Her mother gasped when she felt the final part of the spell drop and then they heard her father on the radio. The sounds of fight in the background. “She"s not here.” Was all he said and Lacy shuddered.
The Enforcers looked at them and her mother nodded and stepped from the car. Lacy followed and they joined hands and began to try to find Sabrina. Quietly speaking the spell they had agreed on.
“Hear us in our time of need, to find the one who did impede, the Council Pack we must protect, from the Rogues we suspect. Time for them to reveal, the people they do shield, find the witch who turned her back, on her coven and the craft.” Lacy closed her eyes and pushed out her powers to try to find Sabrina. The spell was intended to find the power that created the spell around the Pack compound. It only took a few moments for them to detect her. She was in a house a block away.
Lacy and her mother began walking with the Enforcers surrounding them and taking their direction. Soon they stood in front of a nice house that sat in the middle of a nice neighborhood. Children played around them and men worked on cars and lawns. They needed to get the people inside. This was a spell she could not do, although her mother could.
Adele closed her eyes and willed for the people around them to go back to their houses and lock their doors. Lacy sighed in relief when the children ran inside and the men followed. Once the last door shut, Lacy stepped forward and pushed herself around the tall men that were around them.
They stood aside easily, and growled when Lacy walked to the door. She raised a hand and knocked. It couldn"t hurt, she thought. Maybe they would just answer the door and make it easy on them.
She waited and then stepped back when no one came to the door. Well they were going to do it the hard way. Lacy went back to her mother"s side and took her hand. Adele asked the Enforcers to surround the house and give them some room. They complied, though one of them stayed in back of them.
Lacy looked up and saw the curtains in the second floor bedroom move. “She knows we are here.”
“Of course she does, she is waiting for someone.” Adele said. “I would guess the man from New Orleans. I can feel his presence here too, but it is faint, like he has not been here in a while.”
Lacy shuddered and then closed her eyes. She focused on the people inside. There were at least three witches, and maybe a few shifters. They could take them, she thought and then remembered the promise she made her mates. They were going to have to forgive her; she may get a little scratch.
Adele called out loudly. “Sabrina, open the door.”
“I don"t think so, old woman. There is nothing for you here. I suggest you leave before this gets real serious.” A faint female voice said from inside.
“It is way beyond that now. You attacked the New Council, do you really think they are going to let you live after this?” Adele yelled.
She heard the female laugh and then reply. “Of course Adele, you would think like that.
The New Council is a farce; they will not find all the special little children. There are already plans for a Council, one that will be led by the Master. With me at his side, we will not fail.”
“Shit, she is delusional too.” Lacy muttered and then waited. She was going to let her mother take the lead, which was until they got the witches in the open.
Lacy felt the first spell designed to knock them off their feet come out of the house. Her mother and she held firm and sent one back. A window in the side of the house burst from the power they were emitting.
They sent another spell into the house trying to weaken the women, make them tired so they would be able to enter the house without too much resistance. If they went in too early, it could be a trap.
Sabrina laughed loudly and then responded with another spell that was more powerful than the last. Lacy staggered a little under the weight of the spell. She was strong; Lacy knew it was going to take a while. She held back her power from coming out fully. Her mother wanted them to surprise Sabrina. She did not know about Lacy"s power. She did not know that she had found her mates and joined with them.
Adele nodded briskly and then Lacy whispered a spell intended to suck power out of the weaker witches. She heard a cry and knew that it had worked at least a little. Soon they would be able to get in the house.
The spell that came back was weaker than the previous ones. They had lost some of their power, and it was obvious that Sabrina was pissed about it because the spell she sent was intended to cut in their skin. Lacy and her mother refused to make a sound when they felt the slice of heat run across their arms and chest.
This was going to have to end soon, or she was not going to be able to sit down for a week. Her mates were going to be pissed at her. She could feel the blood seeping through her clothes; she glanced at her mother and saw blood coming through her mom"s clothes.
Adele looked at her and nodded. They used their powers to blow the doors open. They heard fighting in the back yard. Lacy and Adele went in the front door to find the person they were seeking. It wasn"t hard. Sabrina was standing in the middle of the room with all of her minions. Dressed in black, how predictable.
Slowly, Adele walked with Lacy until they were standing a few feet from the witch. Lacy knew what she was going to have to do. Her mother had talked to her about this.
Sabrina would think that Adele would be the one to attack. That is why they are doing the unexpected. While Adele drew her attention, she was going to bind their powers.
“Sabrina.” He mother said and grinned like she was greeting an old friend.
“Adele, good of you to come. I really did not want to go back to the hell hole you call home to deal with this.” Sabrina said. “I had no clue that people were trying to find the Chosen. If I had, I would have given your precious, little girl up a long time ago.” Adele glared at her and then said, “Sabrina, really. Do you seriously think that you can take me?”
Sabrina laughed, and then her eyes widened in shock when she felt Lacy"s power begin to wrap around her. She tried to push Lacy back, but she had gotten the jump on her.
Adele was working on the other women in the room, who seemed confused about what was going on.
When Lacy was finished, she stepped forward and smiled. “Well, let me introduce myself, please. I am Lacy, her daughter, and you are a powerless, spiteful bitch who is gonna rot in hell.”
Sabrina yelled in frustration, swept her arm out, and slapped Lacy across the face. It stung and she felt the fingernails claw at her face. Lacy cried out and the Enforcer stepped around her and grabbed the woman. She grabbed her face at the scratches, she had gouged to several lines.
“Bitch.” She said to the woman who was struggling against the large man that was holding her.
Her mother finished her spell and the other women fell to their knees, finding that without their power they had little energy left. They had been holding the spell for Sabrina, one that was obviously more powerful than they should have done. Sabrina was a disgrace when it came to being a coven leader. She should have protected her coven before herself. That is what her mother had done all her life, she learned it early on. Knowing that she was going to be one of the New Council and probably the only witch on the Council, she knew that other witches were going to look to her for leadership. She was going to protect her people. That was her job now.
Lacy turned when she heard the squeal of tires outside. She closed her eyes because she knew her mates were going to walk through the door and she was going to get smothered. Not the first impression she wanted to give the Alpha of the New Council.
She looked at her mother and smiled but she saw the expression of horror on her mother"s face and turned quickly. Sabrina had somehow gotten loose form the Enforcer and was running for her. Lacy stepped forward in an aggressive stance and of course, tripped. Damnit, why now?
She flung out her arms and grabbed ahold of the woman who was charging her and they went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Lacy did not see the knife the woman held in her hand until it was too late. With a scream of rage, the woman brought her arm up and swung it down.
Lacy rolled to the side and it glanced her side. She kicked out and hit the woman in the face. Then she heard her mates roar. They had walked in and saw their mate rolling on the floor covered in blood. She cringed as she felt an unfamiliar power flow into the room.
A man stepped in, walked to Sabrina, and grabbed her by the hair. The woman squealed and grabbed the arm that was lifting her so painfully. “You bitch.” The man snarled and held her up with one arm until they were face to face.
“Fuck you.” The woman laughed and spat in his face. “The Master will be here soon and you will learn your true place.”
Lacy"s mates ran to her side and rolled her over gently. The room was full of shifters and if she was not mistaken, a Sidhe and another bear. She looked and saw the threads connecting the mates in the room together. She sighed, they were all true mates. She could feel their love and concern.
“Jaden, watch the door.” The man who held the woman ordered. Lacy watched as a man who was connected to the first went to the door and stood, blocking the doorway for anyone who tried to enter.
“Oh, sweetheart, look at you.” Shawn said and pushed her hair back. She tried to smile but the scratch on her face hurt, so she just squeezed his hand in reassurance.
Sevi growled and leaned down to check out her injuries. “Bubble wrap.” He said and she tried not to laugh. But if it hadn"t been for her tripping, she would have been wounded worse.
Lacy looked beyond her mates and saw her father sit with her mother on the only chair in the room. He was wiping up her cuts and kissing her gently. Ahh how cute, she thought as the room began to spin a little. She was going to pass out.
“Guys, let me take a look please.” A tall woman said. Lacy tried to clear her vision, the woman was an Amazon, full of tattoos and piercings. Her mates moved at her order.
Lacy frowned and wondered who the hell she was.
“Hey there, witchy, my name is Cloe, I"m the Pack doc. I"m going to just look you over.
My mate, Teagan, is with your mom right now. He is a good first responder. Now let"s see what we have.” The woman said and gently pulled her shirt to the side.
She saw the marks from the spells that were bleeding, slowly pushing her on her side she checked the knife mark that Sabrina had made. Then finally looked at her arms and face.
“Well, you"re gonna need some stitches.” The woman declared. “And bed rest. Boys, let"s get your mate home.”
Shawn nodded and bent to pick her up. Lacy finally cleared her head enough to protest for a minute. “Wait, she said the Master guy was coming. I think he is the one from my house, who is he?”
Quin was in the corner, questioning the powerless witch and Cloe yelled, “He Quin, witchy wants to know who the hell the Master is.”
“Don"t we all.” A small woman walked over to Lacy, put her hand on her shoulder, and smiled. “I am Cami, the Alpha female.”
Lacy nodded and looked back to the man Cloe called Quin and waited. He turned and grimly looked at them. “She won"t tell me.”
“Dad, can you help?” Lacy asked and watched as her father stood and put his wife down while she was being tended to. Timothy slowly walked across the room and Sabrina laughed again.
“Please, he can"t do anything.” Sabrina hissed.
Her father smiled and raised his hands and said a simple word. “Reveal.” Sabrina gasped form the power her father exerted.
Sabrina cried and struggled against the man that was still holding her. “I don"t know his name.” She cried. “I only know him as Master. He was supposed to come back here today and help. We were going to attack the compound. He was pissed about something. I swear, I don"t know his name.”
Lacy frowned and looked around the room. He was supposed to be back today? That meant that he could have been the man outside of her apartment. She said quietly,
“What did he look like?”
“He was a wolf, I was going to be his mate and rule at his side. You took that away from me!” She screeched and struggled again to get to her. “I hate you. He only wants you and the other one. I told him I would make a better mate, but he thinks if he mates with you and the other one, that you will give him more power than he will ever need.”
“What?” Shawn roared and Sevi stepped forward as if to fend off some attack.
“What other one?” Quin said and shook the woman.
Sabrina laughed and looked around the room with hatred. “The other one, who can…” There was a small pop and the front window shattered, then she slumped against Quin who staggered at the sudden weight.
“What the hell?” Quin said and laid Sabrina on the floor and saw a small hole in the center of her forehead.