Ayotunde stared at them and giggled as they continued wrestling. “They be lookin’ weary from the struggle. I think they had enough.” She whipped her arm back, and they parted, stumbling away from each other. Shaking their heads, they seemed dazed as they gathered themselves. Ayotunde wound up her right arm several times, then the left, and Lucien and Tammi punched each other in the face so hard, they fell to the curb, unconscious. She turned to Sarah with a tentative grin, then they linked hands and hopped up and down in their victory.
“Let us return before they wake.” Sarah clutched Ayotunde by the hand, and they sprinted back to Hazel’s apartment.
* * *
Hazel stood at the window in her living room and glanced at the rising sun illuminating her neighborhood, hoping it would bring Sarah and Ayotunde home. What would’ve possessed them to go off by themselves in the middle of the night, knowing the dangers that lurked now that Lucien was aware of their presence and their plan? She stopped cold when something else occurred to her: What if Lucien and his two bad seeds were what had enticed them away in the first place? Just as she was about to wake Raven and Morgan in a panic, Sarah and Ayotunde walked in, their faces as effervescent as tourists back from a sightseeing adventure.
“Where the hell have you two been?” Hazel ran a hand through her messy hair as her heart thrummed against her chest. “Do you know how worried I was? And how hard it is to lie to a witch queen?”
“You lied for us?” Sarah said.
“Uh, yeah,” Hazel said. “At which point, Morgan strung me up on my own coatrack until I told her the truth. Not that she needed me to. She knew exactly where you guys were with her innate witch GPS, but apparently, watching me make a fool of myself was her idea of entertainment.”
“We spent time walking to clear our minds,” Sarah said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Until the portal drew us thither.”
“You went to the portal?” Hazel asked. “Sarah, what’s going on?”
Sarah stared absently at her as she sipped her coffee. “What becomes of Ayotunde and me after we’ve lured Samuel and the others back through the portal?”
Hazel opened her mouth to speak, but she could think of nothing that would remotely pass for a satisfactory answer. She’d never even considered what it would mean for them, only the critical need to send the demons back to 1692 and the catastrophic consequences if they’d failed. She glanced back and forth between them, her heart sinking at the expressions of despair on their faces and her inability to reassure them.
“Then it is as I feared.” Sarah walked to the couch and sat. Ayotunde followed and slipped her hand under Sarah’s.
“No, no,” Hazel said. “There has to be a way of making sure nothing bad happens to you afterward. Let me go talk to Morgan right now.”
She trudged down the hall and after a light knock, walked into her own bedroom. Morgan was sitting up in bed against a pile of pillows with her arms folded across her chest, almost as if she’d been expecting her, her resting bitch face reaching new heights. “Good morning,” Hazel sang in a sweet voice. “How did you sleep?”
“The best night’s sleep in a thousand years,” Morgan said as she stretched her arms in front of her. “You must tell me where you bought your mattress.”
“Really?” Hazel said, pleased.
Morgan rolled her eyes in practically a complete revolution. “What’s up with the Puritans?”
Hazel took the question as an invitation and rushed to sit on the foot of the bed. “Morgan, something terrible has come to my attention.”
Morgan raised her arm and levitated Hazel off the bed and over to the accent chair next to it.
“Oh. Sorry,” Hazel said.
“The problem, s’il vous plait, while I’m still interested.”
“Do Sarah and Ayotunde actually have to go back to 1692 to send the demons back?”
“Naturally. They have to open the portal and then get Lucien and company to pass through it.”
“Isn’t there another way to achieve that?”
Morgan cocked an eyebrow. “What do you propose, opening the portal and dropping a banana peel on the ground in front it?”
Hazel chewed the inside of her lip in frustration. She couldn’t decide what was more infuriating about Morgan, her condescension or her apathy toward Sarah and Ayotunde. “Well, do they have to stay there once they’ve lured them through?”
“Yes, they have to stay there.” Morgan flung the covers off and rose from the bed, seeming as annoyed with Hazel as she was with her. “They don’t belong here, Hazel. Need I remind you that it was their act of sheer recklessness that brought about this whole shit storm with Blaise in the first place?”
“No. You’ve already made that point abundantly clear. But you can’t really blame them for doing whatever was within their power to save their own lives. I would’ve done the same thing if I was in their shoes.”
Morgan looked pensive for a moment. “I suppose it is somewhat impressive of you mortals…this unrepentant drive not to die. That said, one simply does not leap across the time continuum willy-nilly and expect to be exempt from all repercussions.” She raised her arms in a flourish and changed into her day clothing.
Hazel put her hands on the back of her head and released a gust of breath in an effort to calm down and present her case more effectively. “Morgan, when they go back, Sarah will be trapped in a loveless marriage, and poor Ayotunde…for God’s sake, she’s gotta return to a life of enslavement. How can you be okay with that?”
“Not okay, more like desensitized.” Morgan examined her face in the mirror as she spoke. “I’ve witnessed you mortals do that and sometimes far worse to each other throughout the centuries, and you never learn from it. No matter what progress is made, there’s always another crop of you eager to oppress and subjugate.” She whirled around and offered an uncharacteristic stroke of comfort across Hazel’s cheek. “However, I’ve also observed true revolutionaries. Remember, your aunt and Ayotunde are not returning the same women they were before they left. Who’s to say they’ll have to face the same ultimate fates? At any rate, they have to go back and fulfill their assigned destinies.”
“But you’re shipping them back to a time when women had zero rights, when people’s fanatical devotion to religion and irrational fears made daily life a living hell for people like us. They should be allowed to stay here, especially in light of the chances they’re willing to take to help us.”
And as quickly as Morgan’s soft side had surfaced, it plummeted to back to its cavernous recesses. “Oh, Raven,” she called out without breaking her stare on Hazel. “Come get your girlfriend before she lives to regret working my last nerve before my first cup of nectar.”
Hazel maintained her gaze, too. “I don’t need a hero to rescue me. And neither does my aunt.” She stormed out of her bedroom and met Raven in the hall.
“You’re not doing anyone any favors pissing off Morgan.” Raven smiled and kissed Hazel on the nose. “I admire your gumption, but you need to understand that any deviation from Morgan’s plan will probably wreak even more havoc than Sarah and Ayotunde’s original blunder. I know it goes against every fiber of your being, but can you just relax and go with the flow?”
Hazel followed closely as Raven headed into the kitchen. “Raven, do you know that Sarah and Ayotunde have to stay in 1692 after they lure Blaise’s lackeys back?”
Raven poured a cup of coffee and sipped it black. “That’s how it usually works.”
Hazel leaned against the counter and sighed, slouching in defeat.
“Hazel, they can’t stay here. You know that.”
She nodded. “I’ve also known a lot of other things that I thought to be true only a month ago that I now realize were just illusions.”
“Look. I know it sucks that they have to finish out their predestined lives as Puritans, but that’s the way it is.”
“Raven? Hazel? Please join us in the parlor,” Morgan said.
&nb
sp; Hazel followed Raven into the living room, still stewing over the futility of her aunt’s situation. What was the sense of having the power of enchantment if she couldn’t even use it when she needed it most?
Morgan was perched on a throw pillow on the couch between Sarah and Ayotunde. “So, it appears our favorite rogue Puritans had an encounter with Lucien and Tammi on their early morning stroll.”
Raven’s head whipped toward them. “You guys went out on your own?”
“I already tore them new ones,” Hazel said. “They won’t be doing that again.”
“Aye. Indeed not,” Sarah said. “’Twas nearly my undoing.”
Ayotunde touched her forearm. “But my Sarah fight like the bravest of warriors.”
Sarah’s face blossomed in a smile. “No, Ayotunde. Your actions be that of a great hero.” She turned to Morgan, Hazel, and Raven. “It were she who be the bravest and saved my life when Lucien’s hand was but moments from ripping me from this world.”
“That’s terrific,” Morgan said, pursing her lips. She turned to Raven. “We know at least two of the stooges have arrived here in Salem, which I find rather unusual since Blaise usually opts for a full-on seek and destroy strategy.”
Raven began to pace as she contemplated the latest development. “Either there’s a calculated reason why only two of them accosted Sarah and Ayotunde, or Lucien had just foolishly underestimated their ability to defend themselves on their own.”
“Blaise makes no miscalculations,” Morgan said. “My guess is that it was an ill-conceived bid by Lucien to take initiative and prove himself indispensable to Blaise.”
“We need to figure out where Dirk is hiding,” Raven said.
“He can’t be far off,” Morgan said. “After Ayotunde cleaned the streets with them, they have to know that if they have any chance of taking out Sarah and Ayotunde, it’ll require the three of them joining forces.”
“Hey,” Hazel said, clutching her phone. “I think I have an idea where Dirk will be later this afternoon. There’s a big ‘resistance’ rally happening in Boston today.” She showed Raven her phone. “One of Dirk’s hate groups is undoubtedly going to be leading the counterprotest.”
Raven scanned the phone and then looked up with a grave expression. “We have to get there. Senator Harren is scheduled to attend, and I’m sure her people have no idea how much danger that puts her in.”
Hazel’s stomach tumbled into her slippers.
“Pray, what be the significance?” Sarah asked.
“She’s the front-runner,” Hazel said, “the only candidate who’s polling even remotely close to being able to defeat the president next November.”
Morgan stood and approached them. “Speaking of Blaise’s lackeys, the president is Blaise’s favorite one of all, his little golden boy, clueless, heartless, and more impressionable than overcooked jambalaya.”
Hazel glanced anxiously between Morgan and Raven. “Are you seriously suggesting the master of evil installed the President of the United States and is currently in control of our country?”
Morgan shrugged. “It’s not like this is the first time it’s happened.”
“I can’t believe this,” Hazel said, running a hand through her hair. “I mean how much more insane can things possibly get?”
“They’re going to attempt an assassination, aren’t they?” Raven said to Morgan.
“It’s going to be more than attempt if Lucien and company aren’t stopped.”
“Ugh. I think I’m gonna puke,” Hazel said and plopped down on the couch between Sarah and Ayotunde. “Be happy you have no concept of the implications of what they’re saying.”
“We sense the evil be upon us, Miss Hazel,” Ayotunde said. “Yet we fear not to fight him by your side.”
“It starts at one o’clock,” Raven said. “We better make a plan and get ready to head out, stat.”
“Shouldn’t you be calling Senator Harren’s office to warn her of the threat?” Hazel said.
“Why?” Morgan said. “So they can cancel her appearance at the rally and force Lucien, Tammi Lee, and Dirk back into hiding?”
Hazel sprang from the couch and approached them. “What if they succeed in assassinating her?”
“They’re not going to,” Morgan said. “That’s the whole reason you’re all here.”
“How did we suddenly go from stuffing three goons back through a portal to foiling a murder plot?” Hazel said.
“Hazel, today’s event is the culmination of everything Lucien, or Samwell Cranwell, has worked for since following Sarah through the portal and landing in 2008. If we fail to stop this assassination and this president wins a second term, our fate is sealed. Blaise will have attained full potency and be powerful enough to extinguish the white realm in its entirety. As for the fate of the mortals, evil will come full circle in its domination of the world. The whole of humanity will suffer the consequences until their species becomes so paralyzed by disease, violence, and despair, they’ll eventually cease to exist.”
“So, you’re saying this mission’s important,” Hazel said in a deadpan. She started to giggle a little maniacally at the sheer terror of what they were about to face that afternoon.
“Hazel, are you okay?” Raven’s forehead wrinkled with concern.
Morgan stepped between her and Raven, her face so close, Hazel felt the tingle of the ethereal vibrations of Morgan’s essence. “She better be. Every single person is an integral part of this mission. Nobody is ancillary. Whatever you need to do to pull your hypersensitive self together, do it now because we’re leaving in an hour and putting a stop to this madness once and for all.” She brushed past them both, leaving them in awe as she disappeared into Hazel’s bedroom.
Raven turned to Hazel. “She’s quite a motivator, isn’t she?”
Hazel wagged her hand in front of her own face, fearing she was about to hyperventilate. “Okay, okay,” she mumbled. Then after a deep breath, she glanced at Raven, Sarah, and Ayotunde. “Well, if today’s the day I meet my demise, I can’t imagine any other group of women I’d rather be annihilated with.” She raised the empowerment fist and walked toward the bathroom to perform the pregame ritual of retching her guts up she’d experienced during the state softball championship title series in high school.
After brushing her teeth, Hazel analyzed her reflection as she wiped her mouth with the hand towel. She suddenly felt ready for the fight…she had to be. Generations of Hutchinson women were depending on her.
She started at the light tap on the door. When she opened it, Raven was resting her head against the door frame, smiling.
“For what it’s worth, there’s nobody I’d rather be annihilated with either.” She kissed Hazel’s lips tenderly, slowly, and tantalizingly before walking toward the spare bedroom.
Hazel watched Raven saunter away until she reached the room, turned with another smile, and closed the door. She sighed and leaned her forehead against the door frame. Ironic that she’d never felt more invigorated with life than on the day on which her life was probably going to end.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucien tapped the cell phone against the car window and looked over at Tammi Lee. “I don’t know why you look so worried. This will work.”
Tammi stared out the window and shook her head. “I don’t know. It feels like we just threw this together at the last minute. We didn’t give ourselves long enough to prepare. If all of them are together, how are we supposed to beat them?”
“They won’t all be together. That’s why we’ve set up two different snipers. They’ll have to split up. If we can even take out one of them, their coven will be broken, and they won’t be able to access the portal.”
Tammi turned and looked at him. “Sarah accessed it all by herself; what makes you think she can’t do it again? Plus, we don’t even know if they’ll show up at this rally. This whole plan is a long shot.”
Lucien patted her leg. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty because
you aren’t very bright.” He smiled at her. “They know Dirk will be here, and they know what this blasted woman running for office means. They’ll want to protect her. As far as Sarah opening the portal by herself, she didn’t. We had a dozen women locked up, all praying for escape. They acted as a coven; they just didn’t know it.”
Tammi squinted at him, looking as if she was about to argue but changed her mind. “We should’ve sent demons; this could end badly for us, too.”
Lucien shook his head. “Blaise has ordered us to handle it, so we will. Besides, demons are sloppy, and they draw too much attention.”
Tammi choked on her laugh. “Sure, and seven witches battling in the streets will go unnoticed.”
Lucien wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her closer. “There will be no battle in the streets. If you have a problem with the way I do things, I suggest that you get out of the car, start walking, and don’t ever look for me again.”
She pushed him away. “When this fails, I hope for your sake neither Dirk nor I end up dead. Imagine how angry Blaise would be with you. You will have failed him.”
“If you keep talking, I may just kill you myself.” He glared at her. “Now get to your post and don’t fuck this up.”
She pushed open the door and disappeared into the building. Lucien cracked his knuckles and his neck, trying to relieve some of the building tension. He was feeling more unsettled than ever before. It was as if his nerve endings were on fire, and his anxiety was gnawing at his insides. He needed to end these witches and the white realm. It was more than a necessity at this point. It was an obsession.
He got out of the car and made his way down the street to a different building. All we need is one.
* * *
Raven rolled up to the curb on one of the side streets half a mile from the rally. She leaned her forearms against the steering wheel and stared at the tops of the buildings.
“Is there a problem?” Morgan asked from beside her.
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