Crushed (City of Eldrich Book 2)

by Laura Kirwan

  “How,” Meaghan said, her voice shaking with fury, her pretended fear gone, “could you do this to another woman? How?”

  The witch laughed. “She wanted it.”

  “Thank you,” Meaghan said, through gritted teeth. “You’ve made it very easy for me to kill you when the time comes. Cooper’s girlfriend. Pathetic. You can’t even be evil in your own right.”

  “She’s stupid in her own right, though,” Natalie said behind her. “So is he.”

  Meaghan turned to look.

  Patrice stood in her circle of golden light, smiling at Natalie. “Nice trick, Nat. I can’t believe they fell for it.”

  “Fell for what?” Cooper sneered.

  “My light-dimming trick,” Natalie said, as a blinding flash of golden light filled the space.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  The world lurched, like somebody had jammed on the brakes.

  When the blinding light faded, the space in which they stood had changed.

  It was smaller and grimier. Dust motes danced in the rays of morning sunshine beaming through the huge arched window—now empty of glass—that sat high in the stone wall. Cardboard file boxes lined the wall adjoining the solicitor’s office. Debris and office supplies lay scattered across the floor.

  They were in the unfinished attic of city hall. For real this time.

  Cooper shouted at the minions and two of them stepped toward Natalie and Patrice.

  And disappeared, leaving only their screams and a cloud of plaster dust.

  Patrice laughed. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. These floors are like Styrofoam.”

  “Unreinforced,” Natalie said. “Except for a few key spots.”

  “Here?” Patrice said.

  “No, this is magic,” Natalie said. “And it’s getting heavy. Would you—”

  “Oh, right.” Patrice closed her eyes and after a moment said, “Better?”

  “Thanks. Would you grab Marnie and Jhoro, too?”

  The ropes binding Jhoro’s arms dissolved like cotton candy. He crawled over to Marnie and put his arms around her. Marnie stared blankly over his shoulder. Wherever she had gone inside herself, she wasn’t ready to come out.

  Meaghan felt the floor vibrate underneath her.

  Patrice looked at Natalie. “I reinforced the floor.”

  “All of it?”

  Patrice shook her head. “No, I had to pull . . . I don’t know . . . stuff from other parts of the floor. So they’re even thinner.”

  “You can do that?”

  Patrice nodded. “Apparently.”

  “Thin it out over there.” Natalie waved toward Cooper and the witch. “That’s one of the reinforced spots.”

  Patrice squinted in concentration, then shook her head. “I can’t. Jamie’s too close to them and he’s throwing off too much power.”

  “Good to know,” Cooper snarled.

  Meaghan looked a question at Natalie. She grimaced in response. Meaghan could tell by the look on Natalie’s face and the way she moved her hands that she was trying to set up a barrier around John and Jamie.

  With a loud cry and flourish of his hands, Cooper gestured toward Jamie.

  “Patrice,” Meaghan shouted. “Stop him.”

  Patrice shook her head, her face twisted in anguish. “I can’t. There’s too much magic in the sigils.”

  John threw himself on top of Jamie, but it was no use. Cooper flicked a hand and John cried out in pain and rolled off his son. He jerked a few times as if struck, then lay still. Jamie’s body rose, with a jerk, into the air and flew, as if thrown, landing in a heap at the feet of the leather-clad witch.

  “For me?” she said, in mock surprise. She leered at Jamie. “How thoughtful.”

  “Now that we have the original,” Cooper said, “we don’t need the other.”

  “But you promised I could play with the new one,” the witch said, pouting. “Before you killed him.”

  “With the other one back, we won’t have to kill the new one. You can keep him as a pet. But now we have work to do, and we still need the whore,” Cooper hissed. He stepped forward, past Jamie, and lifted his hands again.

  This time Patrice was ready. Cooper’s hands were thrust back. This time, it was Cooper who cried out in pain. He stepped back, doubled over, but stayed on his feet. He jammed his left wrist under his right armpit.

  “My turn,” Patrice said. “Remember? You broke my wrist, back in June.” Her look grew dark. “When you forced your way into my home, terrified my children, and kidnapped my husband.” She scowled and when she spoke it was in a different voice. “When you hurt my family.”

  Meaghan shivered. Whatever impelled Patrice now, it wasn’t human. Her eyes were a solid, shiny black, like polished obsidian, with no white or iris visible.

  “Justice will be done,” Patrice said. Her voice echoed with tones Meaghan had never heard in a human voice.

  She was no longer Patrice. Up until now, even at her scariest, Patrice’s essential nature, her humor, her compassion, had shone through. But a stranger now stood in her place.

  Meaghan looked at Natalie, but Natalie had her eyes closed in concentration, muttering.

  “You are alone,” Cooper hissed. “In an untried vessel.”

  Patrice smiled. “This child is strong. This vessel will serve. I will have justice for the wrongs you have done her.” But, despite her strong words, she staggered and fell to one knee.

  Cooper smiled. “Told you so.”

  The blonde witch turned to Cooper. “Who the hell is this? I thought you had the only one. And where the hell did it go? The mob broke up half an hour ago.”

  “Shut up, Orinda,” Cooper said, still cradling his broken wrist. “Heal this. We need to get back on schedule.”

  “Heal it yourself,” Orinda said, annoyance in her voice. She gestured at Patrice. “Who is this bitch and how do you know her?”

  “We have no time for your ridiculous jealousy,” Cooper said through gritted teeth. “I’ll explain later. They’re waiting and the window will close soon. Would you like to explain to them how your petty female complaining caused us to miss this opportunity?”

  Orinda grew visibly pale. She shook her head, chastened. “No. I’ll fix it now.” She held his broken wrist between her palms and murmured a spell.

  With a grunt, Cooper pulled his hand away from her. “Better.” He smiled at her. “Isn’t it better when you obey me?”

  Orinda nodded and stepped away, her head bowed.

  Meaghan could almost imagine feeling a tiny spark of compassion for the woman. If Orinda wasn’t such a bitch.

  “Cheer up, my love,” Cooper cooed. “You’ve given me an idea.”

  “I have?” Orinda flipped her hair with a silver-ringed hand, her moment of unease forgotten. “I love it when I do that.”

  Meaghan rolled her eyes and said, “Pathetic.”

  Cooper ignored her. “Yes, you have.” Cooper closed his eyes, concentrating. “We have the perfect vessel right here. It can bring the whore right to us.”

  Marnie shoved Jhoro away. “Get off me, you faggot. I should have killed you when I was in your father.”

  Cooper smiled. “About time you showed up. The mob tired you?”

  Marnie stood up and looked down on herself. “Too many good things to eat. I needed a little time to digest. A post-meal nap.” She ran her hands up and down her body. “The shame is tasty, but I assume this is merely a snack, and you have a task for me.”

  The Power was back.

  Cooper nodded. He held out his hand. “Bring her to me. She’s more than a snack. She’s a sacrifice to our masters.”

  Marnie’s breath quickened and she smiled. “Thank you for this honor. I will serve you well.”

  Jhoro grabbed her from behind. She swept her arms up, breaking his grasp, drove an elbow back into his nose, then turned and jammed her knee into his groin. He fell to his knees with a grunt and curled into a ball.

  Marnie straddled him, grabbed a ha
ndful of his golden hair, and pulled his head back. She jammed her knee into his neck, pinning him and partially choking him with the weight of her body, then wrapped her hands around his throat and squeezed. “Don’t try your shamanic crap on me, boy. It didn’t work on me in Fahraya and it won’t work now.”

  “No,” Patrice shouted. “Stop!”

  “Your crap won’t work on me either, bitch,” Marnie said. “Not without your sisters.”

  Patrice grunted and collapsed. Natalie, still trying to cast a spell, ignored her.

  “Marnie,” Meaghan called to her. “I know you’re still in there.” Compassion had worked to undermine the Power in the past. “Don’t let this thing take you. Don’t let them win.”

  Marnie rolled her eyes. “You again? Going to drown me in another wave of maternal instinct? All I smell now is big fear. Ooh, and the doubt. That was there before, but it’s had time to marinate.” She licked her lips. “Magic makes it much easier to consume someone, but for you, I’ll make the extra effort.” Jhoro’s pawed ineffectually at Marnie’s hands as she throttled him. “Let me finish up here.”

  Meaghan scrambled to her feet and threw herself at them.

  Marnie lost her balance and fell, giving Jhoro the opportunity he needed to escape. He rolled onto his side, coughing spasmodically, his face brick red. He tried to pull himself onto his knees.

  Marnie, now on the floor with Meaghan, kicked out hard with her heel and hit Jhoro square on his temple. He collapsed, unconscious.

  Meaghan was a good fighter when she had to be, but the Power, with the strength of Marnie’s youth, was better.

  Now she straddled Meaghan, wrapping her hands around Meaghan’s throat, and choking her. With a big grin, Marnie said, “I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I met you.”

  Meaghan’s hands scrabbled in the detritus on the floor, searching for something, anything, she could use to defend herself. Blackness surrounded her field of vision and everything else was covered in a yellow haze.

  She felt something cold and metallic under her hand and lifted it. A stapler. The new, sleek, lightweight, ergonomic stapler Jamie kept on his desk. The stapler Meaghan had seen levitate.

  With her remaining strength Meaghan slammed the stapler into the side of Marnie’s head.

  Marnie snarled, but hung onto Meaghan’s throat with both hands. The stapler was ripped from Meaghan’s hand and flew out of her reach.

  Not steel, Meaghan thought, as the darkness took her.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  With her last shred of conscious awareness, Meaghan heard a sizzling sound and felt Marnie roll off her. Small hands touched her face, then shook her.

  “Meg, Meaghan. Come on, come back.”

  Meaghan’s head felt like it was about to explode. Swallowing was even worse. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes.

  Owen was leaning over here. “There you are. C’mon. On your feet. Natalie can’t keep the misdirection spell going much longer. They’ll figure it out in a second.”

  With his help, Meaghan sat up and then made it to her feet. She almost fell, but Owen propped her up. She leaned her elbow on his head.

  “This one time you get to use me as an armrest, Meg. Move.” He tugged at her.

  “Where were you?” she rasped.

  “Hiding in plain sight.” He smiled. “Where did you think I’d be?”

  “Did you hex her?”

  Owen shook his head. “Nope. Used a Taser. Move.”

  Meaghan heard Cooper shouting. “Uh oh,” she said. “He sees you.”

  “He sees you, messing up the magic again.”

  Hands reached out of the doorway and pulled her forward.

  Annie and Brian wrapped their arms around her and carried her through the file room into the copy room, then out into the hall.

  Meaghan looked at Brian. “You were on the roof,” she said, her voice small and squeaky. “Nice shootin’, Tex.”

  Brian grinned. “Saved your ass.”

  “You sure did. Thanks.” Meaghan took a few deep breaths. “Oh God, my head hurts.” She thought about it a moment as she took another deep breath. “More than everything else.” She looked down at Owen. “I’m too old for this shit.”

  “So you keep saying. Come on. We have to get you out of here.”

  Meaghan’s head cleared more with each breath. “No. I can’t leave them back there. Natalie’s the only one still fighting. We can’t leave her on her own.”

  Annie grabbed Meaghan’s hand. “She’s not alone. There are about twenty witches right under her feet in Tony’s office backing her up. The bad guys are outnumbered. Your job is to pull back and set up a second front out here.”

  “But those things . . .”

  “Break it into smaller problems,” Annie said, smiling. “Right? Sweet memory, by the way. I tried not to peek, but you took me along for the ride.”

  The doorway from the attic to the file room exploded.

  “Oh, shit,” Brian said. “Time to move.”

  Meaghan looked around. Where Jamie’s office used to be, the hallway opened to empty sky. A similar view greeted her from her office, but part of the circular room was still there, like a pie with big slice cut from it.

  “Front office,” she said.

  They clambered over the wreckage and debris that filled the hallway to the front area. With the return of the natural light, Meaghan could see the full extent of the damage. The plaster ceiling was gone, leaving a grid of pipes, wires, and exposed iron girders. Puddles of water on the floor confirmed what her feet had told her earlier. The fire sprinklers had gone off.

  “Nobody move,” Meaghan said. Now that she could see the standing water on the floor, she realized the risk. “There aren’t enough outlets out here so we use a lot of extension cords, which might be live.”

  Brian shook his head. “Power’s off.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I shut it off, then monkey-wrenched the backup generator and the transformer box outside so nobody can turn it back on.” He smiled. “That’s where I ran into Annie. And how she ended up on the roof telling me which wizards were bad and which were possessed kids.”

  “Sid,” Meaghan said. “Annie, is Sid with you?”

  Annie shook her head. “No. He’s not with you?”

  Meaghan shook her head. “He slipped away the same time you did. Did he come in with the witches?”

  “I didn’t see him.” Annie took a close look at Meaghan. “Don’t worry. Sid’s tough.”

  Meaghan nodded. She’d spent much of the last twenty-four hours angry with him, but right now she’d give anything to see his little blue face. “Where are Russ and Emily?”

  “None of the witches trust Emily,” Annie said. “She’s outside with Russ handing out juice boxes and Chex-Mix from the stash he found in that ghastly pink truck parked in the lobby. All those Order kids were adamant that they had to have a juice box and a snack or the golden lady would get mad.”

  In spite of everything, Meaghan managed a small laugh. “Patrice. Long story.” She looked down at Owen. “You’re the only magical operator here. What’s the plan?”

  “Get you out of the attic,” he said. “We didn’t really think much past that. We figured you’d tell us.”

  “Of course you did. Because I was doing such a good job.” She sighed. Every inch of her body hurt. Marnie had really kicked her ass.

  Marnie. They still had to get Marnie and Jamie away from Cooper. “Marnie’s in bad shape, the Power has her, and they’re going to kill her first and then activate the sigils on Jamie to let whatever those things are into our world. They scare Cooper’s pet witch, and she’s pretty powerful in her own right, so I think it’s safe to say we don’t want them getting loose.”

  “Natalie and the coven will hang onto Marnie for now,” Annie said. “The Taser broke that thing’s concentration enough for Natalie to get a foot in the door. Plus, whatever they did to Marnie broke the love spell. I can’t feel it anymore.
” She shrugged. “At least not that love spell.”

  “There’s more than one?” Brian asked.

  “Yes,” Meaghan, Annie, and Owen said at the same moment.

  “What is it with him?” Brian shook his head. “They do know he’s gay right?”

  “No time to worry about it now,” Owen said. “Meg, what do we do?”

  Meaghan stood silent. This felt wrong. Standing in the front office was not where she belonged. Patrice had told Meaghan she had a role to play before the end, and she’d know what to do when the time came.

  She had to get back in there.

  “I’m not leaving them,” Meaghan said. “If those things get through, we won’t need a second front.”

  “But,” Annie said, “the witches—”

  “Are better equipped than I am to fight these things if they get through,” Meaghan answered.

  “What the hell are you gonna do in there?” Owen glared up at her. “Besides get killed?”

  “If we don’t keep Cooper from getting this door of his open, we’re all dead anyway. Let me think a second.”

  She’d been hearing it all day. How being able to see things the way they really were gave her power. How she had the gift of plain sight. How she could see these things’ true faces.

  Meaghan began to laugh. She looked down at Owen. “You were the first to say it.”

  “What?”

  “When you told me about the fair folk and why they hated Matthew so much—he could see their true faces. Eliot said the same thing. He said I’m the only one whose head they can’t screw with. Cooper said they were magic itself and that’s why everyone was afraid of them.”

  Owen stared at her a moment. “And magic doesn’t work on you.”

  “Bingo. Why do the fair folk hate showing their true faces? Because they aren’t very imposing. If people could see them as they really are, if they could see through the trick, then the trick wouldn’t work anymore, right?”

  Owen nodded. “Go on.”

  “So, what if these things are like that, too? They use magic to make themselves appear terrifying. What if they aren’t? How would we know unless we could see them as they really are?”