I clenched my fist in frustration. “Patrick’s foster mother, she’s Leader Elect of the Free Witches. She was pulled from the ocean as a little girl, screaming she needed to return to Wales to save her mother, and brought to the coven to be rehabilitated.”
“It took the coven years to convince her to use her magic because she was sure there were gods who wanted to punish her,” Aoife whispered.
My mouth was dry. “And last night, Patrick stayed at home with her in the Silent Quarter, but he couldn’t sleep because of the wailing. He thought it was a fox or a cat…”
“And this morning his foster mother used a rune to cure his pain, but now his mind is blind to all regarding the stolen moon children,” Snow finished. Her eyes burned like hellfire. “Go, child, we’ll follow.”
I darted out of the room and down the corridor. I was halfway to High Street before I realized Markus and Nick were running with me. I pushed myself harder, searching for a glimpse of Patrick’s lean frame. My heart contracted when I saw he’d already reached the door of Lynch’s castle and I tore across the street, catching my foot on an uneven cobblestone. Patrick whirled and caught me just before I hit the ground. I glared at him. “If you knew I was going to trip, you could have warned me.”
Patrick’s lips curved as he steadied me, his hands gentle on my waist. “If you didn’t fall, I couldn’t be the hero and catch you.”
I grabbed hold of his taut shoulders. “You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack, Patrick Joyce. I thought you were going to the Silent Quarter alone.”
“I’m not stupid enough to think I can outrun a red witch and a tiger shifter.” Patrick’s chin dropped and he stared into my eyes. “What has she done, Destiny?” I felt his agony as though it was my own and I pressed myself against his body as if I could ease his pain with my touch. His words were muffled by my hair. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”
Nick and Markus hovered on either side of the charmed door and they both stared down at the pavement. I pressed my squeezed together. “Trick—”
“I know.” Patrick broke free of my grip and nodded his head. “I know. I just don’t understand why she’d do it.” His gaze was pleading. “She’s a good person. I know she refused me a place in the coven, but she didn’t abandon me. She was never cruel.”
Patrick turned toward the door and Markus’ eyes widened as he caught sight of the rune token in Patrick’s hand. “Is that a—”
“Yes,” Patrick said. He grabbed hold of my hand and gestured for Nick and Markus to hold onto me so that all four of us were connected like a single unit—my past, my present, and my future. Or maybe something else. A shiver caressed my skin as my mind explored the possibilities but I pushed the thought aside as Patrick pressed the coin against the wooden door.
Instantly, we were standing on the same street in a different dimension. Nick let out a low whistle as he stared at the gas streetlamps and the old style shop fronts. “The fabled Silent Quarter.” He ran his hand over the wrought iron window bars. “I never thought I’d see this place.”
Markus buried his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket and scowled at the empty street. “All it took was thirty dead children.”
“They’re not dead.” Patrick’s face was devoid of all color. “I’d know if they were dead.”
Markus kicked at the ground. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Nick drew himself up to his full height and snapped at Patrick. “Where’s your foster mother’s home?”
“On the edge of the quarter, past Spanish Arch. Her house faces the water,” Patrick said.
“Okay. Does she have another property at her disposal? One she could have access to after hours?” Nick asked.
Patrick drew his fine brows together and shook his head. “No. Her office is in the town hall but Magnus holds the charms over the building and its cellar.”
“Okay.” Nick ran his eyes along the street, gathering his bearings. “Then it’s her home we need to search.” He fixed a gaze on Patrick. “Do you think you could distract her?”
“I don’t know. If you’d asked me yesterday, I would have been sure I could, but if she’s really responsible for taking the children, I don’t know Kathleen at all,” Patrick said.
Nick tapped his wrist. “I understand. We can try come up with a diversion, something to tide us over until Snow brings reinforcements.”
“We need to get help first. Aoife can only offer sanctuary to one person at a time, only the Coven Leader has the power to open the gateway to more people than that. And we don’t know who we can trust in the Quarter.” I pressed my fingers against my temples. “We can go to Peggy and Elizabeth, they’re Aoife’s friends. They’ll help us.”
“And we can trust them?” Nick asked.
I nodded. “I think so, yeah.”
Markus stared at the sky and narrowed his eyes. “Not to spoil anyone’s fun, but I’m not sure we have much time left.” He raised his hand and pointed one finger at the sliver of a silver crescent moon. “Tonight is the last night of the old moon. If this witch’s spell is tied to the moonlight…”
“He’s right.” Patrick lifted one arm to shield his ears. “It’s even louder than last night.”
Nick, Markus, and I exchanged a glance. I put my hand on Patrick’s shoulder. “What’s louder, Trick?”
“The crying,” he whispered. “Can’t you hear it?” He turned his head so he could see Nick and Markus. “Can none of you hear it?”
Markus’ brow creased. “Sorry, man.”
Nick grabbed my hand. “Okay, we needed to move. Destiny, take us to Aoife’s friends.”
“No.” Patrick flinched. “No. There’s no time. I need to go to the house. I need to stop her.” He started to run and Nick tried to grab him but I slithered between them.
“Trick’s right. I’ll go with him to the house while you two wake Peggy and Elizabeth. They live above the sweet shop on High Street. They’ll help you get the others in and we’ll distract Kathleen until you arrive.” Nick and Markus both reached for me but I shook them off. “Run, guys. And don’t forget your phones won’t work here. Stay together.”
Before either of the men could argue with me, I sprinted down the street after Patrick, feeling the weight of green and golden eyes on my body as I disappeared out of sight.
Chapter Twenty
“Hold up, it’s not a tiger shifter or a red witch chasing you now—you nearly lost my stumpy ass.” I clung tightly to Patrick’s sleeve, panting hard. Kathleen’s house was a neat, stone terrace overlooking the water and the fish market. Brightly colored window boxes adorned each sill and the front door was painted a warm purple. Purple. I pulled Patrick closer to me.
“Yeah, that was my intention, crazy witch.” Patrick wrapped his arm around my waist and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. “Please go back and wait with Nick and Markus, Destiny. They can protect you. I can’t even see what’s coming.”
I twisted out of his hold and grabbed his hand firmly in mine. “Shut up, Trick. You’ve saved my arse more times than anyone. And we’re going to rescue these children together, just like we told Magnus we would.”
Patrick flinched and covered his ears for a moment. “I’m not going to be able to change your stubborn mind, am I?”
“Nope.” I tightened my jaw and snatched his key out of his hand, forcing it into the lock. “So, how are we going to distract mummy dearest?”
“I hope your acting skills are up to scratch,” Patrick said. A grim smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he twisted the key and pushed the door open a crack. “We’re here to announce our engagement.”
My mouth was still hanging open when Patrick dragged me over the threshold and down the simple, elegant hallway. Classical music flowed from a doorway to the left of the corridor and Patrick pushed the door open as he called out. “Kathleen, I’ve got news—”
His words were swallowed by a sharp intake of breath as Kathleen stumbled from her armchair, struggling to
cover her bare chest with her cotton robe. The small wooden coffee table was covered with bottles and tubes of every description and, despite her best efforts, the thin cotton failed to conceal the tube protruding from Kathleen’s chest. She turned her back to us and secured the belt to keep her robe in place. “Patrick, young man, you mustn’t barge in on an old lady when she’s beautifying herself.” She turned to face us with a tight smile. “Now, let me see to some refreshments before you tell me to what I owe the honor of a late night visit from my vagrant son.”
“We have some news,” Patrick mumbled. He dropped my hand and lifted one of the small bottles of medication into the air. “Chemo.” His eyes were wide. “Kathleen, you’re sick. Why didn’t you tell me?” He turned the bottle in my direction, his cheeks flushed with relief. “Gods, Kathleen, I thought you’d—”
“Be the first we’d share our happy news with—we’re engaged.” I grinned manically at Patrick and dug my fingernails into his wrist.
Kathleen’s mouth fell open. “Engaged? To be married?” I nodded my head vigorously, squeezing Patrick’s arm with renewed force, and Kathleen plastered a smile on her pretty plump face. “How wonderfully unexpected.” Her smile stretched into a narrow line. “Well, this calls for something stronger than tea, would you mind helping to take down a bottle of champagne from the cabinet in the dining room, Patrick?”
Patrick lifted his head but I held fast to his arm. “No, no, Kathleen, don’t go to any trouble. A cup of tea would be lovely.”
“Of course, I’ll just boil the water.” Kathleen’s lips were pinched tightly as she left the room.
I exhaled in a rush of air, pressing my palm against my pounding heart. Patrick beamed at me and caught hold of my hand. “She’s sick, Destiny. That’s why the banshee was wailing, not because she’d taken the children. And I can get her help. Mac told me about his incredible experimental medical division the Guild have started.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Obviously, we’ve got the problem of our imaginary relationship to explain—”
“Patrick.” I ran my thumb over the curve of his lower lip to silence him but he leaned forward and placed a kiss on my mouth. For a moment, I was paralyzed. He pulled back and his eyes locked on mine, eyes the shade of sorrow and loneliness and strength and truth. I buried my hands in his hair and dragged his lips against mine, gasping in surprise at their insistence as his fingers slipped inside my jacket and caressed the bare skin underneath my shirt. In all the first kisses I’d imagined with Patrick, I’d never expected such heat. I wound my arms more tightly around his neck, willing his hands to travel further up my body, groaning into his mouth as his fingers grazed my nipples through my bra. I ground my body against his hips, lost in the moment until a sudden crack of the sea breeze against the window pane returned me to my senses. I jerked away from his mouth and touch, startled by the strength of my desire for him. I held both palms out. “Patrick, wait. Just because Kathleen is sick doesn’t mean—”
A burning flash of pain ripped through my body and I clutched at my chest in agony. The amulet Lan had given me sizzled under my touch for a moment, before cooling in my palm. “That was fucking weird.” I glanced at Patrick but he was frozen—eyes glazed, mouth slack. I waved my hand in front of his face and my pulse quickened. “Patrick?”
The sound of footsteps in the corridor sent a bolt of fear into my guts and I threw myself into the armchair and traced the rune for stillness onto my wrist. Kathleen’s fluffy purple slippers came into view but I stared straight ahead, unblinking, as she shuffled around the room.
She reached up and stroked Patrick’s motionless face gently. “Silly, silly boy. What were you thinking; bursting in on your old mum in such a hurry, hmm? At least you weren’t having a vision when I pressed pause. We don’t want you having any more of those turns, do we? You really did such a nasty job on yourself this morning, trying to save that lumbering fool of an artist’s child. Our gifts are not happy bedfellows, my boy, but not to worry, after tonight we won’t need to think about any of those little hiccups again.” She cut her eyes in my direction. “Mummy will erase all the problems, Patrick, and you’ll be able to come home and stay by her side.”
I held my breath as Kathleen bent down and rolled the heavy, Persian rug to one side, revealing a trapdoor in the oak floorboards. Her lips moved as she recited an incantation and a rectangular panel creaked open to reveal a winding staircase. I waited on the chair until seconds after her footsteps had echoed into silence, only daring to move when I was certain she had reached the bottom.
“Shit, shit, shit.” I eased myself out of the armchair and padded across the floor to the window. The street outside was empty. “Where the fuck are you, Snow?” I rested my forehead against the cool glass, eyeing the sliver of moonlight in the midnight sky. My hands curled into fists as I turned to face the trapdoor. For half a second, I contemplated running and hiding under the old Spanish Arch—I never wanted to be anybody’s hero. But the faces of the missing children flashed before my eyes, pleading for me to help them in Saoirse’s perfect little voice. I clenched my teeth and slithered through the trap door.
The stone staircase wound down into the earth, each step more damp and slippery than the one before. When I finally reached the bottom, I found myself in pitch black darkness. I pressed my hands against the wall and inched my way through what appeared to be a tunnel, too frightened to use my magic to light my path. The smell of the sea reached me before the glimmer of flickering torches did, and I froze as voices echoed through the tunnel.
“You’re certain, purple witch, this is the path you chose? There’s time yet to return things to the way they were before this year began.” I crept toward the cave at the end of the tunnel, crushing my back against the jagged rock as Kathleen shuffled into sight.
Her lips were pursed so tightly they had almost disappeared. “Return? Oh, no. I simply couldn’t. What would I be returning to? A terminal illness and certain death? A coven too weak to protect itself from the doom hurtling toward the supernatural a world? A life where my son has nobody to protect him from his enemies? No, I couldn’t possibly. I must continue what I started, and as the keeper of my bloodline you must honor your duty—I command you to summon Arawn.”
“If I summon him, there is no return. The god beneath the sea will not leave without his price and if your sacrifice is not worthy, your life will be forfeit in its place.” The speaker walked into the mouth of the tunnel, her back turned to me, and I squinted at the short, squat figure.
Impatience seeped from Kathleen’s pores. “I’m only doing what a mother must do. I command you to summon Arawn to collect his sacrifice and grant me immortality.”
“As you wish.” The stout figure raised her hands into the air and a rush of sea spray struck my face as I flung myself into the cave.
“No!” I landed on the jagged rock floor on my hands and knees, and Kathleen and her companion stared down at me as black magic trailed from my fingertips. My lips parted as I recognized the round face of the flower merchant. “You. Why?”
Kathleen grabbed my wrist and dragged me to my feet before the fairy could respond. She shook my arm. “What are you doing, child? How did you break the time charm? Even the Morrigan couldn’t weasel her way out of my ancestors’ purple haze.” Her stare landed on the pendant around my neck and she recoiled with a gasp. “Who gave you that?” She slipped further away from me, standing at the edge of the water. “No matter, you’re too late anyway, daughter of death. Arawn has been summoned. The time has come for the children to wake from their slumber.”
Following Kathleen’s gaze over my shoulder, I peered into the cave behind me and a whimper escaped from my mouth. Children’s bodies were arranged in neat rows on the cave floor, shrouded in white cotton except for their little faces. Their eyes were closed but their bodies were still—too still to mistaken for children in slumber. I cut my eyes toward Kathleen, rage boiling like poison in my blood. “What’s wrong with them?”
/> “My goodness, child, there’s not a thing wrong with them.” Kathleen shuffled across the rocky ground, her fluffy slippers turning a darker shade of pink as the sea water soaked into the soles. She leaned over to examine their faces. “They’re exactly as they were the moment I cast my spell on them—suspended in their childish dreams. They don’t feel any pain. They don’t even know they’re here.” She stood up straight and tightened her belt. “Such a pity to wake the poor things, but Arawn is on his way.”
I screamed aloud as Kathleen raised her arms and muttered an incantation, causing my pendant to blaze like a branding iron against my skin. “What did you do?”
Kathleen stared at me. “I simply unfroze all the moments of time I’d suspended.” She stared at the sleeping toddler at her feet as he sucked his thumb and nuzzled against his cotton shroud. “Little pets, they’ve been returned to the state I found them in now.”
“Found them?” I scrambled to my feet. “Found them? You didn’t bloody find them, you lunatic. You stole them from their beds. You abducted them.”
“Hush,” Kathleen hissed at me. “You’ll wake the children with that screaming and shouting.”
I turned to the fairy. “Can you hear this? Are you really going to let her go through with this insanity?”
“It’s done.” The fairy’s tone was somber. “Arawn is on his way.”
I stumbled away from Kathleen and the fairy, pressing my back against the sharp, cold cave wall as I tried to formulate a plan. I could drain the witch and the fairy of life, but it would take me hours to carry the thirty children up the stone staircase. I needed help. I needed—
“Destiny?” Patrick tore into the cave and grabbed me by the shoulders. His eyes were wild and his lips were pale. “You’re okay?” He looked over my shoulder into the cave and I flinched at the depth of pain in his eyes. His voice was low. “Kathleen, what is this?”
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