Damnam pushed her aside. “Let me. Nullsilver doesn’t affect me.” He walked past two of the doors, pausing in front of each, but declared that they were both empty.
“This one,” he said at last. “I think.” He touched the handle, and the door popped open.
A catatonic seawitch huddled on the floor, paler, thinner, and sicker than ever. The nullsilver was back on her wrists. Damnam bent and picked her up, placing her carefully on the bench.
“Who did this to her?” His voice thundered round the cell, low and dangerous. The walls vibrated. Small flashes of blue light surrounded his head.
Rann wasn’t impressed. He didn’t need all this drama. “I told you on the phone. We don’t know. We still need to find Jewel.”
He left Damnam with the seawitch and headed to the last cell. The door stood open, and as soon as he walked in, he knew that Jewel had been here. He stopped in the middle of the small cell and inspected it carefully.
“Where will they have taken her?” He grabbed Maya’s arm.
“Ritual?” Her face paled. “Tara said ritual. The big meeting room. It has a spell circle. Come on.”
She jogged towards the door at the far end of the corridor. Pushing it open, she tripped over something on the floor, sprawling full length on the concrete.
“Ow. What the fuck . . .?”
Rann grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, looking down at the obstacle. The body of a woman lay across the corridor. It looked like the one he’d seen last time he was in the mansion, with Jewel. The not-so-pregnant one. Gwen. She appeared to be dead, so he tugged on Maya’s arm. Horror spread over her features as she recognised the dead woman.
“What have they done?”
“Come on. Hurry. We haven’t time for this.” He urged Maya into movement.
“It’s Gwen. She’s dead.” Her voice quavered, and her arm trembled in his grip.
Lila bent down as they moved away. “I’ll stay here.”
“Not by yourself. We can come back later.” Lykos pulled her away. “There’s nothing we can do for her now.”
Maya pushed on a door, and it swung soundlessly open, to reveal a disturbing scene. A few meagre candles flickered from sconces on the walls. The dim light revealed carved wood, dark stone floors, and a low ceiling. Rann took in the room in one comprehensive glance, before focussing on the low stage at the opposite end.
A circle glowed on the floor, a disc of pulsating pale green light. Outside the circle Alberic stood, eyes half-closed, reciting some sort of incantation. In one hand he held a glass filled with a red liquid and, in the other, a long, wickedly sharp-looking knife. He gave off pulses of visible energy, flashing with the same green glow as his circle.
Inside the circle, Kara waited, chanting similar words to Alberic’s. He handed her the glass; she tossed the contents down her throat, grimacing visibly. He drew the knife across the palm of his hand and held it over the cut, before taking Kara’s hand and covering the knife with her blood as well. He handed it to her, and she lifted it over the pale figure sprawled motionless in the circle. The circle flared with light.
Jewel. What have they done to her?
Rann’s heart stopped for an instant.
Chapter 24
Rann didn’t think. He hurtled towards the platform as Kara’s arm flashed downwards. A frisson of awareness swept through him as he crossed the perimeter of the circle; for a moment, a sensation of unbearable pressure squeezed the breath from him, but he was inside. He knocked the knife from Kara’s hand. The circle pulsed, and the green light dimmed. Kara gasped and gulped in a breath of air. She looked much smaller now, and a little bewildered.
“What are you doing?” Outrage mixed with her confusion. “You’ve broken our circle.”
Rann knelt beside Jewel. Thinking she might already be dead, he heaved out a sigh of relief as her eyes blinked. Nothing else showed she was conscious. He touched her arm. Still she didn’t move, and he was vaguely aware of Kara backing away from him. He’d let the others deal with the old witch; he needed to do something about Jewel. Sliding one arm underneath her, he pulled her to a sitting position, cradling her head and shoulders against his chest.
A movement at the edge of his sight distracted him. “No.” He lowered Jewel back to the ground.
Alberic snatched at the knife that Kara had dropped. He stepped into the dull light of the circle and raised the knife above his head. Rann had no idea what he planned to do with it, but it didn’t matter. A wind rose from the floor, gusting through the room and extinguishing the candle flames. The only light came from the fading spell circle. Alberic’s hair whipped across his face, and he shook his head violently. Rann spun round, coming to his feet effortlessly. He knocked the knife out of Alberic’s grasp with a blow from one hand. The second blow knocked the mage’s head back, and a ripple of satisfaction ran through Rann as he heard the crack of breaking vertebrae.
Jewel stirred slightly. Rann looked down at her and then up again as a dark vortex whirled and grew round Alberic’s body. With a deep mournful groan, it began to suck him in, feet first, the darkness crawling up his ankles and covering his body. The wind howled round the room, stirring up the shadows.
Kara wailed like a wild animal.
Rann wanted to cover his ears as the mixture of sounds tore the air.
The black hole swallowed Alberic, but before he disappeared completely, a ball of sickly green fire shot from his body and into Kara. For a second she stood frozen in place, a halo of light playing round her.
Rann’s skin crawled.
The halo faded, but her eyes shone green and luminous. She screamed again and whirled round, running for the door.
Before Rann turned his attention back to Jewel, he saw Fergal sprint after her.
Jewel drew in a breath, and her lips twitched slightly, but whatever spell held her prisoner hadn’t worn off.
The wind still flurried in the corners of the room. Rann took a deep breath, then another. Slowly the room settled. The candles flickered and sprang back into life.
“Maya?” He pulled Jewel up into a sitting position, and Maya knelt down next to them. “What’ve they done to her?”
Jewel’s pale, naked body sagged sideways in his arms, terrifyingly fragile. Her eyes pleaded with him.
“An immobility spell.” Maya touched Jewel’s face gently as she reassured her. “You’ll be fine.”
“Will she—”
“I think it’s wearing off,” she said. “Look.”
Rann looked. Jewel still didn’t move, and he frowned at Maya.
“Her eyelashes flickered. Alberic must have cast the spell. Now he’s dead, it should wear off fairly quickly. A couple of hours.”
“Thank the gods we were in time,” Rann said. Nausea rose from his stomach. “Another few seconds and . . .”
Maya patted him on the shoulder as she pushed herself to her feet. “She can hear you. Don’t think about it.”
Rann glared at her. Not think about it?
His feelings must have been obvious because she added, “It didn’t happen. We got here in time.”
Rann picked Jewel up and carried her out of the circle. The unclean light had faded, and all that remained of the ritual was a dark stain on the platform.
“We’ll have to get rid of that.” Maya sounded mildly irritated.
“What about Gwen?” Lila spoke for the first time. “We can’t just leave her there.”
“We should go. Now.” Lykos was imperious.
Lila shot him a nervous glance, obviously recognising his I-must-be-obeyed mood.
“Call the coven. Get them to sort it out,” he continued. “We’re going home.” He took Lila’s arm and tugged her towards the door, before coming to a sudden halt.
Damnam loo
med in the entrance, Seawitch cradled in his arms. Lykos drew himself up to his full height, and a hint of lightning flashed round his head.
Damnam ignored him and spoke to Lila. “There’s a dead witch in the hallway.”
Lila looked up at Lykos. “Shouldn’t we—”
“No.”
“There’s something happening to her.” Damnam carried Seawitch over to Rann. “Her eyes are aware. Maybe I should take the nullsilver off.”
“No.” The words flew from Rann’s lips. “Not here. She’s still carrying death magic. I think she’s why the witch in the hallway died.”
“Seriously?” Damnam looked down at the slight figure in his arms. “Someone used one of my people as a black magic vessel. As a familiar? Someone’s going to pay.” His eyes flashed blue.
“I thought you were going to make the seawitches into miserable slaves anyway?” Lila had pulled away from Lykos and moved to look at the seawitch.
“I will, once she’s recovered.” He smirked at Lila before glancing at Rann. “But no one abuses my people, without my say so. Who was it?”
Rann shifted Jewel carefully in his arms. She sagged like an empty bag. “We should go back to the flat. Give Jewel a chance to recover.” He nodded at Damnam. “Perhaps you should bring the seawitch along as well.”
Damnam’s sapphire eyes narrowed. “I want to know who did this.”
Lykos growled, but Rann paid no attention.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Rann nodded at the door. “Come on.”
“Rann . . .” Blue lightning flashed round Damnam’s head.
“Alberic.” Damnam’s temper didn’t frighten Rann, but maybe his half-brother was genuinely worried. “So the paralysis should wear off.”
Damnam opened his mouth, but Rann held up one hand.
“I don’t know about the death magic. You’ll have to sort that out.”
“What about Kara?” Maya reminded everyone that the coven leader was still missing.
“Fergal . . .” Rann stopped as the mage pushed Kara ahead of him into the room. She wore nullsilver bracelets and a furious expression. Her eyes were blue again.
“He caught her.” Maya sounded surprised. “She’s the strongest—”
“Our father was always one of the best spellcasters,” Lila interrupted. “And I don’t know how much energy Kara had already used in the ritual.”
“Did you see what happened when Albert disappeared?” Maya sound worried.
“That energy transfer thing?” Lila had obviously noticed it.
“Flash of light?” Lykos, too.
“It’s a bit worrying. Something transferred to her.” Maya regarded Kara. “What are we going to do with her?”
“She can spend tonight in one of the cells,” Fergal said. “I’ll take responsibility for her. The nullsilver should keep her safe.”
“But—” Maya wasn’t convinced.
“We’ll spend the night here.” Fergal had regained his confidence with the return of his memory. “If I remember, there’s plenty of room. We shouldn’t leave her unguarded.” His face contorted with distaste as he looked at Kara.
Rann really didn’t want to spend a night in the coven mansion. The place still made his skin crawl.
“Could one of you go and find the servants?” Fergal looked at Maya, who didn’t look at all thrilled to be told what to do.
“We’ll go.” Lila pulled on Lykos’s hand. “Come on. We can find that maid we passed, at least.” Lykos followed her, with one last backward, narrow-eyed glance at Damnam.
Chapter 25
“Let’s get her in the cells.” Fergal pulled on Kara’s arm.
She glared at him. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
Fergal carried on dragging her to the door.
Rann paused. He needed to get Jewel somewhere more comfortable than this room.
The place reeked of used magic. It reminded him of the ashtrays in pubs at the end of the night.
“Maya? Do you know this place?”
She nodded.
“Can you take us somewhere more comfortable than this?”
She nodded again and glanced at Damnam. “You’d better come as well.”
Rann followed her to a door at the farthest side of the room, the opposite side to the door they’d come in by, and distant from the platform. She muttered some words and placed her hand, palm first, on the door. It swung open on a flight of stairs. Rann followed Maya up them and into another corridor, carpeted this time. She performed the same ritual on a door at the end of this. It swung open into another identical corridor, and once they were all through, it swung closed again.
“We’re in the house now.” Maya turned her head to talk to them. “The living quarters, I mean.”
She pushed a door open with no need of magic and led them into a large drawing room. Rann glanced around. It wasn’t the one they’d been in before, and a group of three large squashy sofas were arranged in front of a large fireplace. Despite the room’s emptiness, the fire had been lit and burned low in the grate. Rann lowered Jewel onto one of the sofas and sat down next to her. Her head moved slightly; she did seem to be coming out of the paralysis, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t think he could have stood it if she’d ended up in the same state as Seawitch.
He glanced at Maya. “Can you find her a blanket? Or something to wear?”
She looked so vulnerable.
Maya left the room and came back a moment later with a rug. “Wrap her in this.”
Seawitch lay on the opposite sofa with Damnam watching over her, arms folded and eyes flashing sapphire.
Rann guessed he was unhappy. “Do you think you’ll be able to do anything for her?”
Damnam sat down on the end of the sofa and placed one hand on the woman’s thigh. “I think the catatonia’s wearing off,” he said. “It’s got that filthy mage’s signature all over it. So now he’s dead, it should fade. Like you said.” He glanced down at her. “Good thing for him he’s already dead.”
“Yeah.” Maya moved from where she had been watching Jewel to look down at the seawitch. “What about the death magic? That wasn’t Alberic, was it?”
“Not according to Connor.” Rann pulled Jewel so that her head rested in his lap. Her eyelids flickered.
“I’ll take her back home to Jersey,” Damnam said. “I can probably work out how to let the death magic disperse without killing anyone.” He smiled at Maya. “No one important anyway.”
Maya rolled her eyes.
Rann hoped he was right. Damnam had the ability to handle magic; his ancient title was “The Spellcaster.”
“Come back with me?” Damnam addressed Maya.
She hesitated before answering him. “In your dreams.”
Lila came into the room followed by Lykos, and Rann hoped neither of them had heard Damnam’s invitation. He didn’t want to have to watch the situation deteriorate into violence.
“I asked one of the kitchen staff to sort out some food,” Lila said. “None of them had any idea what Kara was spellcasting tonight, but I think all of them suspected she was up to no good.”
“Witches.” Lykos’s expression showed his intense disapproval of the whole thing.
Lila ignored him. “One of the maids told me she thought Tom was probably dead.”
Rann had to think hard before he remembered that Tom was Gwen’s husband and the other half of Kara’s sidekick team.
“Really?” Maya didn’t sound too concerned, and Rann wondered how well she’d known Gwen and Tom.
“I think he was probably the sacrifice that restored Kara’s fertility,” Lila said. “And the baby gave its life to Kara’s child.” Her voice shook.
“Filthy work.” Lyk
os glared at Damnam as though challenging him to disagree.
Damnam smiled and straightened his cuffs.
Beside Rann, Jewel stirred slightly. Or twitched. She was showing some signs of movement, and Rann pushed the long layers of her fringe away from her face. Her eyes darkened in recognition.
Fergal walked into the room as though he owned it. All trace of his curse appeared to have vanished.
“Kara?” Maya turned to him.
“She’s safely confined,” he said. “Nullsilver bracelets, nullsilver in the cell walls. And I’ve guarded the whole cell block with one of my spells.”
“Is that enough?” Maya sounded a little sullen.
“I’d like to see anyone get through them.” He eyed her consideringly. “We need to convene the coven. Find out what they want to do with her.”
“Soon?”
“Yes.” Fergal balanced on the arm of the nearest sofa. “Although obviously any sentence can’t be carried out while she’s pregnant.”
“What will happen to the baby?” Maya asked. “Maria called it an abomination.”
“Mmm.” Fergal shook his head. “It is really. It shouldn’t exist. The question is—”
“My sister.” Jewel’s weak voice had everyone turning to look at her.
Rann pulled her into a position where she reclined against him, tucked the rug round her, and waited for her to say something more.
She took a couple of shallow breaths. “Not her fault.”
“We’ll have to see.” Fergal exuded authority, and Rann wondered how he was going to fit back into the coven, or indeed, if he planned to stay. “I’ll call the coven tomorrow. It’s too late now.”
Children of Poseidon: Rann Page 27