“Don't!” Adam yelled, grabbing hold of Rose, who began to struggle. For someone so small, she was more than capable of putting up a huge fight. He was tempted to tug on her hair; it had worked when they were younger, as it distracted her. They hadn't always been amicable with one another.
“I don't care! Without me, he can't use you!” Rose yelled. “This is too important, Adam!” She was adamant, scratching at his arms and causing him to yelp in pain. He hadn't expected her to hurt him, but it only made him far more determined to keep hold of her. Grabbing her around the waist, he threw her over his shoulder, holding the back of her thighs to prevent her kicking him. It didn't stop her pummelling her fists against his back.
“I won't lose you, too!” he shot back. The room was chaos; Liam, Lila, Troy and Grace had been in full fighting mode, which they were reeling back from, unsure what was happening, Adam and Rose were fighting each other, and Jeffrey had settled his tunnel vision on Liam, torn between absolute fury and satisfaction.
“Liam.” he drawled, pushing up his sleeves to show off the tattoos which adorned his muscular frame. “So nice to see you again.”
Elsie flickered into view at the end of the hall, and moved forward to take Liam's hand, squeezing tightly. She knew, and forgave him for not telling her. Liam opened his mouth to begin explaining the situation to the others, but was interrupted by Jeffrey, who was not outing him.
“So. To my newest guests, allow me to lay down the situation...” he began, but there was too much noise. A vein pulsing in his forehead, he pulled out his gun and shot it at the ceiling, careful not to hit the floor beneath them. “Shut. Up!” he rose his voice, not quite a shout, but the room fell into virtual silence, only the sound of heavy breathing assuring them that they had not gone deaf.
“Thank you.” he forced a smile, the gun coming down to train itself at Grace's head; he'd worked out her secret and singled her out as the weakest link. His biggest concern was Elsie, who was something entirely unknown, something he wasn't sure he was supposed to fight, a force of nature. “Now, as I was saying; this little box in my hand is the reason I'm in charge here. That is, unless you would like Rose to die a horrifically painful death.”
Jeffrey looked up, and Lila realised that he was signalling the guards on the camera at the end of the hall. There was no way they could get out of this, and she felt incredibly naïve; how could she have assumed this would work? It had been Liam's idea, and she had just trusted him because he was older. Maybe once you reached a certain level of seeing life's failures, you just stopped ageing mentally. She didn't blame Liam; each of them had been given the chance to say no, or to leave, but they also all had a personal stake in this, whether it was someone who was captured, or someone on the rescue team they wanted to protect.
“I've already been over this with Sadie and Adam, but if I push this button, she'll be injected with poison, and you can guess the rest. I'm not going to explain if you can't be bothered to show up on time.” Jeffrey's voice contained barely concealed glee, he was enjoying this. “Oh, and drop the gun, little girl. I can push this button and shoot you at the same time. You should be ashamed of yourself. Your blood is entirely free of their corruption, yet you fight beside them? Disgusting.”
“Woah, someone sounds like a religious fanatic.” Troy observed, his gaze hard and angry, fixed on Jeffrey's.
“Troy!” Noah sounded pained at his willingness to say what he felt, even to lunatics, taking a step towards his boyfriend, only to find the gun trained on him.
“Stay.” Jeffrey warned, and he froze, holding up his hands. He heard the sound of footsteps, and the corridor flooded with bodies, mostly athletic and all in black. A few nods from Jeffrey, and collars were slipped around Grace and Troy's neck. It seemed that the tattooed witch hunter had a knack for finding the weakest links in a group, the people who would inspire the most loyalty when threatened.
“Liam, why don't you take your place?” Jeffrey's grin was slow and sure, and Liam's stomach dropped to his feet.
“Screw you.” he retorted, cursing the tremble in his voice.
“Tsk. How rude. I'm only being polite, after all.” Jeffrey stepped closer, brazenly placing himself in front of Liam. “After all, this was all your idea...” He stepped so close they were almost touching.
“...Nephew.”
Chapter Twelve
Liam's eyes were closed, pain written all over his face. Around him, everyone was shouting, demanding answers, but it was Lila's face he saw in his mind. Surely, she was the only voice quieter than the others, not yelling but asking why, disappointment and pain in her eyes. She always expected the best from people, and now she had found out he was a lying, double-crossing monster.
It wasn't entirely true, but Liam couldn't speak loud enough to make that clear. Opening his eyes, he faced his fears and the looks of betrayal he was receiving. Jeffrey fired off another shot, reminding them that he was still in charge of this situation.
I hope they budgeted for holes in the ceiling.
Liam laughed nervously, his inappropriate thought only making things worse. In the silence, it sounded twice as loud. Finally, he had the chance to speak.
“He's right. This was all my idea.” he admitted, then held up his hand, begging them to reserve judgement. “I was sick, infected with their twisted belief that all witches were bad – I included myself in that. He persuaded me that the only way I could redeem myself was to fight for them, to use magick in the right way. What a lie that was.”
“How can he be your uncle?! Is he a witch?” Rose burst out; she was personally offended by this new information after what had been done to her and the risk she faced now.
“No. He was born without the witch gene. It's rare, but it happens. Throwbacks to when we used to intermingle a lot more.” Liam continued, and Jeffrey gave a loud cough.
“That's enough.” he snapped, obviously not happy about having his personal life discussed. When he had outed Liam, he clearly expected to break them apart, making them easier to bring down – he hadn't banked on it revealing his own issues, particularly since his own men were in the room. Muscles tensed, hands balled into fists, he turned, leaving the hallway and trusting his men to hurry them along. “If you attempt to attack me, I will press the button. If I fail to do so, two of my men have other buttons attached to the other collars. They will press them if prompted, poison will be injected, you will die. The end.”
The tension in the group was palpable – Troy kept looking at Liam, his eyes narrowed. They had been betrayed before, so their faith in people was shot. Sadie was particularly quiet, sympathetic with Liam no doubt due to her ostracism from their community after her name was tarnished. Liam's fingers twitched on the gun he had in his belt, angry eyes fixed on Jeffrey's back, and Lila knew that he had no allegiance with this group.
Grace was finally on the brink of cracking; the collar was tight around her throat, and she was breathing heavily, soft shuddered breaths which conveyed fear. Lila moved forward and took her friend's hand tightly.
They walked through boring stone corridors which looked exactly alike, and Lila wondered how anyone ever found their way from A to B. She would be lost, particularly without her magick to guide her. It was back now, but she daren't even reach out a tendril to feel out her surroundings in case someone could sense it and would hurt her friends in retaliation. Guilt crippled her; as much as she wanted to believe that this was fate and they would all be here regardless of personal choices, Grace's personal danger hit her like a hurricane – it was her fault the civilian was here; she'd chosen the worst possible time to induct the girl into her world, and now she had a collar around her neck which all but guaranteed she would die slowly and painfully. Lila had thought that a witch hunter would never hurt a civilian, too prejudiced against witch blood to even consider her, but it had never occurred to her that they might view her association with them as an insult to everything they fought to achieve, the 'protection' of non-witches again
st magick.
Eventually, they reached a large stone room with huge screens occupying an entire wall, which was impressive given that the ceiling suddenly seemed to rival a cathedral in its height. The floor was stone again, and Lila realised that the reason there was no more black onyx was because they never expected anyone who wasn't on their side to get this far. It was clearly the purpose of the prison corridor – which appeared to be the only access to this room. Any witches would have to pass over that floor and could be easily overcome and captured. It was genius, and she wondered quietly if Liam had been involved in any part of the planning.
The judgement would get them nowhere. It was clear that isolation had been the reason Jeffrey had pointed out Liam's involvement, and she wasn't having it. She stepped forward and took Liam's hand. Surprise, wonder and gratitude flashed through his eyes. He squeezed her hand, and looked to where her other hand connected to Grace. Holding hands was often something a witch would do to share power, so it was natural to them.
“If I could have everyone's attention.” came a woman's voice, surprisingly pleasant. A short, grey-haired woman stepped forward, and Lila was given another shock – Gloria stood beside her. Her jaw dropped, and she made a sound of distress. Her heart felt like it had stopped inside her chest. Adam stepped forward and squeezed her shoulder, leaning forward to whisper two words in her ear.
“Double agent.”
Stress seeped out of Lila's shoulders, but only slightly. So Gloria wasn't working against them, but she was definitely in danger. As the last person she considered family, Lila was not okay with this. She gave a nod, reaching out with her power to wrap it around Gloria's, making her pay attention to her. Gloria looked up and met her eyes, guilt written all over her face, then looking away before she incriminated herself. Lila almost burst out in annoyance, but felt Gloria's power wrap around her own reassuringly. It was enough. Lila was burning with questions and irritation, but she could wait. One way or another, this would be discussed.
The woman in front glanced over them, and Lila felt like she was being stripped bare. Troy tensed, Noah pulled Troy into his arms, and Adam took Rose's hand. Behind them, there was a soft thump as Sadie's legs gave out, finally. Elsie knelt down and hovered with her hands above Sadie's ankle, glancing over at the woman and Jeffrey, who nodded with a roll of his eyes, like their injuries were far too tedious for him to bother with.
Elsie pressed her hand to the injury, a blinding light emanating from her fingertips. Lila looked away, seeing spots, and didn't look back until Sadie let out a pleased sound. While Elsie had healed her, she had also undone the blocks to her magick.
“Thank you, Elsie.” Sadie sounded like she might cry; this was the girl who she was responsible for murdering due to her carelessness in trying to master a different skill. Elsie looked up at her.
“I forgive you. It wasn't your fault.” she answered, then held out her hand in a gesture akin to offering an olive branch. Sadie took it, rising to her feet again.
“Finally. May we continue?” The woman didn't give them a chance to interrupt. “My name is Cassandra Maehler. You may simply address me by my surname, as I have no intention of being your friend.” Great, was every witch hunter a jerk? Lila huffed out a sigh, earning the attention of Maehler. Adam deflected it.
“At least you didn't take as long as Jeff to introduce yourself!” he sassed. Jeffrey growled.
“It's Jeffrey. Do not shorten it.”
“Okay, Jeff.” Adam showed no sign of repentance, and Jeffrey stepped forward, only stopping at a hand placed on his chest by Maehler. She was his superior. Lila wondered what it was she had done to distinguish herself; she looked like a grandmother, not like a kick-ass witch killing fighter.
“I had no idea I was dealing with a group of preschoolers.” Maehler sounded irritated, and Lila had the feeling she didn't want to see her really angry.
“Shut up, guys. None of us want to stay here, right?” Lila asserted softly. Thankfully, that was all it took for them to pay attention to her. For some reason, they thought she had the best ideas – she'd done her best to discourage that, but their faith in her was unflinching. She was grateful, but couldn't help but think they were a little naïve.
Maehler looked at her with a thoughtful impression of respect, then turned to the screen, pointing a remote at them. Immediately, they formed a picture of massive destruction, what appeared to be a scorched and drowned civilisation.
“You did this.” Maehler growled, then glanced behind herself. “You bound five covens together, and others followed suit. Others with no respect for the balance, suddenly mad with power. This particular picture is from the United States, but we have intelligence that this coven of black magick users are infiltrating our territory. Since you started this, and we do not have the man power to end it, we must work together. Make no mistake, we will kill you if you fail to cooperate, or attempt to band with them.”
She twisted, looking them in the eye.
“So, ally with us, and we will let you leave here right now, with all of the information you need The collars will remain; we have no desire to kill any of you, unless you use dark magick. Well, most of us have no desire.” She glanced at Jeffrey, who looked irritated, hiding it beneath a facade of calm. “Others have less self control.” A pause.
“So, what will it be?”
Chapter Thirteen
True to her word, when they'd agreed to the terms, they'd been allowed to leave – as long as they vacated to a nearby hotel. As soon as they'd gotten in, Rose had collapsed on a bed and was now snoring softly, her worries forgotten for the time being. Noah curled up with his laptop, kissing Troy's forehead softly as the younger boy cuddled close to watch him work on the computer, squeezing his hand with a tired smile. Sadie appeared to be asleep in her chair. Grace had moved into another room, intending to share with Lila and Elsie. Elsie had no need of sleep, yet followed her and promised to watch over Grace for Lila.
Lila and Liam were left alone for the time being, heading down to the bar. Finally old enough to drink, Lila ordered a cocktail and Liam ordered a whisky. They both sat down, nursing their drinks without actually drinking them.
“You planned this?” Lila asked softly – she wanted, no, needed to know the full story. She drummed her fingers against her glass, chewing on her lower lip and avoiding his eyes.
“Yeah.” he answered, obviously uncomfortable. “Before, though. I had nothing to do with actually carrying it out. I saw you guys fighting Beth, and I knew you weren't evil like they said. I was so angry with my parents for abandoning me when all I wanted was to keep Elsie safe. Maybe they saw how dangerous I was to her.” he drained his whisky in one, and ordered another. Lila took a sip of her drink simply so that she was doing something with it. It tasted bitter, like sour berries, with a heat which warmed her cheeks and throat.
“Don't talk about yourself like that.” Lila scolded. She reached over, taking his hand, and found herself toying with his fingers as they laced together. “No one's perfect, trust me.”
Liam gave a faint smile, focusing on their hands. “You are.” he insisted, his thumb brushing over the back of hers over and over. “Though you're a total enigma.” he added. “Miss mysterious. No one can figure you out, and as it turns out, that's pretty awesome in the line-up of traits we need in our lives.
Lila laughed out loud, drawing the attention of the other patrons. She mouthed a sorry to them, then ducked her head a little in embarrassment. She had never been particularly good at accepting compliments, and when they came from someone she now realised she liked, it was worse.
“You have got to be kidding. I'm incredibly awkward. Apparently this is a trait that's doubled in restaurants and bars. I'm awful. I keep trying to be what you guys need, but I fall flat on my backside every single time.” she sighed. “Plus, this is all my fault. I said we should join the covens, and I started these uprisings. I should have known there'd be covens who would use it as an excuse to dominate h
umanity.” Lila frowned. It was so easy for her to trip from high to low in seconds right now, a fact which they were obviously all struggling with. Being told that uniting the covens, something which allowed them to continue their friendships, was having such a dire effect on the world was hard to hear – they hadn't intended to hurt anyone.
“You didn't start this.” Liam assured her. “Beth did. This is just a knock-on effect. She tried to take over the world with spirits. That kind of guarantees people are going to notice. That's why the witch hunters are active again. The plan they're implementing right now was always supposed to be a last ditch attempt to win. It's why they kept witches in their employ.. to infiltrate covens.” he sighed. “I swear, if I had met you guys earlier, I never would have made a suggestion like this. I was just so caught up in trying to impress my uncle...”
“What's the deal with Jeffrey?” she asked, taking another sip of her cocktail. It was far more pleasant the more she drank, but that wasn't a surprise. She almost never drank alcohol, and its effects worked on her quickly. Perhaps she'd have more of a tolerance if she were ever allowed to be a normal teenager. Maybe next year, or ten years down the line, she'd get to make up for lost time. Her mid life crisis was certainly going to be interesting, to say the least.
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