by Lenore Wolfe
She’d decided to send the note—instead of contacting Justice directly in her mind—because she knew he wouldn’t give her the opportunity to explain anything before he sounded the alarm.
And Jes had a feeling that sounding the alarm was the last thing they wanted to do.
When the guard had gone, she waited for the feeling to let up, but a couple more hours had passed, and the feeling was worse than ever.
Mira and Dara had noticed right away that her thoughts were not on what she was doing. At first, they had left her alone about it. After all, none of them had been in the best of moods of late, locked up like they were every night, hunting the vamps with their minds.
But it wasn’t been long before Mira’d had enough and demanded to know what was plaguing Jes. Dara watched her, with darkening intensity, and Jes spilled her worries out in a rush of words, close to tears.
After that, the Sisters of Three tried to track Mia’s movements, instead of the vamps’. But it wasn’t long before they lost her. They chalked it up to her skills; after all, they would have all been highly disappointed if a warrioress as skilled as Mia could be easily tracked—even by the Sisters of Three.
But as the feeling that something was horribly wrong intensified in Jes, Dara and Mira both began to fret as well. They felt helpless to do anything, caught as they were in the room, so they got the Book of Shadows out and began looking for spells to help pool the protection around Mia.
When Justice didn’t show after nearly another hour, they knew they had to do more.
It was then that they used the invisibility cloak they had been practicing since Mia had begun teaching it to Jes. It might not work on Constantine again, but it would work well enough to find out what was going on around their own home—and in the surrounding compounds.
First, they checked on the guard.
The sisters had spied on him for nearly thirty minutes before they got their first clue as to why Justice hadn’t appeared.
He was sitting in a chair near their door. For a long time, he just sat there, hardly moving. That wasn’t new to the sisters; the guards were highly trained. But then, he did something unusual.
He must have felt uncomfortable, since they were in fact watching him, though they had been trying very hard not to stare at him—so as to not cause him to feel their eyes upon him. But then he lost his concentration enough to reach into his pocket—perhaps to assure himself that something was there.
It was then that he pulled out the note that Jes had given him. He grinned, sniffing the note. Jes stared. It was the one he was supposed to have delivered to Justice.
Jes immediately reached out in her mind for Justice and Dracon. She felt Dara do the same, and she berated herself for not doing so in the first place.
She quickly tried to tell Justice not to sound an alarm but to come straight to her, but of course she had no sooner sent him the message than she saw the lights flash and, within three seconds, heard the whistle.
The guard stood immediately, and Dara grabbed a vase. He had just a split second to look at the floating vase in complete surprise —before Dara knocked him out with it. Jes reached out to touch him to feel for a pulse.
“Do you think he had time to sound an alarm to whoever it was he was working for?” Mira demanded.
Dara shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure.”
By that time, Justice and Dracon were running down the hallway toward them. The three sisters all began talking at once. Mira and Dara took a deep breath, and Jes quickly explained what had taken place.
“Do you think anyone else on the compound was working with him?” Dracon demanded to no one in particular.
It was what they were all thinking. He was just the one who voiced it.
Justice was already busy trying to locate Mia. Other guards were approaching, but now the men didn’t know which of them they could trust. The sisters heard Dracon speak in their minds to not say anything, and then they heard him speak to Conrad, who was also approaching them.
Conrad ordered the guards to return to their posts, and he and Dracon picked up the unconscious guard and disappeared, Dracon still giving orders to the sisters as he left.
The sisters quickly disappeared into their room and began to chant, increasing the protection of the circle.
Within moments, Amar appeared in a puff of smoke.
It was the first time Jes had seen her appear like this, and she couldn’t stop the look of amazement that must have crossed her face.
Mira didn’t look at all surprised, but said instead, “I called her,” as if that answered everything. And Dara’s face was, as usual, encased in a mask that betrayed none of her feelings.
Amar walked straight to the Book of Shadows and opened it to the page that she sought. The sisters joined her, looking down to see what she had revealed.
She had opened it to a page entitled “to call a lost witch”.
A thousand questions entered Jes’s mind, but it was clear that no time was left for answers, so she just followed along as she and her sisters quickly joined hands and began to read the chant:
We call a witch across time and space
We call a witch to take her place
We call a witch, we beckon thee
Come to your place by the Sisters of Three!
Jes didn’t know what amazed her more—what she was reading out loud—or who suddenly appeared in the circle before them.
Chapter Forty-Four
Justice
Jes was reaching for the dagger on her hip, even as Mira was doing the same, and Dara nearly lunged at the creature that now stood before them. Amar had to step in front of all three of her granddaughters and, with quiet authority, stay their hands.
The witch, who was fully covered in body armor, complete with sword—which, by the way, was in her hand—did not look any happier than the Sisters of Three had been, and Amar had all she could do to control the four of them—before someone got hurt.
She finally said, “Enough!” And the shock of her voice reverberated off the walls and shook the room. That was when the three sisters knew the power of their grandmother.
The witch seemed neither surprised nor perturbed with Amar.
“Why did you bring me here, old woman!” she demanded of Amar, without taking her eyes off the sisters. Nor did she lower her sword.
Amar gave her a gentle laugh. “Morgi,” she said, evoking a snarl from the witch, “meet your granddaughters—a world or so removed, of course.”
Jes choked. She stared at Amar. “Are you telling me—we called a witch—from another planet!”
The witch laughed. Jes couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful she was. She was perfect. She had lovely, curly red hair, and the most beautiful, ivory skin Jes had ever seen.
“Well, now,” the woman laughed, “you didn’t tell them who they were calling?”
Amar just smiled at her, then looked back at Jes. “I said a couple of worlds removed. I didn’t say another planet. Morgi is from the Land of the Fae.”
“Oh,” Jes said. She knew she looked as disappointed as she felt. “Well, you could have just said that, Amar.”
Morgi laughed. “She loves messing with me,” she said. “Didn’t the red hair and green eyes give you a clue?”
Jes just shrugged, putting away her dagger. She noticed that Morgi had finally sheathed her sword as well.
“So why did you all summon me?” she asked, looking at the four of them expectantly.
“Our daughters need some help dealing with a very old enemy,” she said.
Morgi actually looked excited to hear this. “Don’t tell me—Constantine?”
Amar nodded. “The very one.”
Morgi giggled. She sounded like a schoolgirl in that moment—and it clashed severely with her battle garb—and the fierce look in her eyes. Now, all three of the sisters were staring at her—like she had lost her mind.
They looked to Amar for an explanation.
“She—knows Constantine.”
Dara raised a brow. “You think?” She pinned Amar with a sharp look. “The question is how she knows him—and why?”
Jes groaned. She didn’t want to know the details to exactly how Morgi knew him—or knows him—she wrinkled her nose at the thought. Jes stared at the woman. Morgi’s flushed face said it all. She waved a hand at Morgi in exasperation. “Well—then, isn’t it obvious that she isn’t going to want to do anything against him?”
Morgi looked affronted at that one. “Of course I will. I might be smitten with him,” she grinned, “but I’m not stupid. I most certainly know how evil he can be. And I most certainly would help to take him down,” she shrugged, “that is—if there actually was a way to take him down.”
The sisters had each started to gather her supplies, but that statement got their attention back onto Morgi. They looked at her, again—once more stunned.
She gave them a sweet smile, and then looked back to Amar.
Amar frowned at her. “Maybe it was a bad idea to summon…,” and at the dark look in Morgi’s eyes she amended, “er—invite you,” she huffed.
Jes frowned. She had never seen Amar amend anything.
“Why?” Morgi smiled. “What’s he done now?”
Jes glared at her. “He’s after my best friend.”
“As well as the fact that she is the sister to the Prince of Fire,” Mira growled.
“And if he turns her…” Dara snarled, her threat implied.
Morgi’s brows shot up. “Well, then,” she smiled at each of the sisters in turn, “That’s different. We’ll just have to keep that from happening.” She laughed. “Or, on the other hand,” she tapped her chin, “I have a better idea.”
Dara stared at her. Then, she looked at each of her sisters, and then, Amar. She looked back at Mira and Jes. “Am I missing something here?”
Jes shrugged, just as confused. “If you are—then I’ve missed it too.”
Mira stepped toward Morgi. It was clear that she was through playing games. “That is my sister’s best friend he’s threatening,” she snarled. “We most certainly are not going to allow that to happen! Now, if you know how to stop him—I suggest you speak!”
Morgi frowned, and then grinned. “My, my, Amar,” she fairly purred, “She is a feisty one, isn’t she? She walked around Mira, who only looked about half restrained from violence. She waved a hand. “You must be the one everyone is talking about in the Land of the Fae.” She stepped away. “Okay—how is it you know that he’s after her? Has he said as much?”
Jes shook her head. “Not exactly—I more… sensed the threat.”
Morgi walked over to her. She stood several inches taller than Jes’s own five feet seven inches. Morgi had to easily be close to six feet tall. Jes had only spent a small amount time in the Land of the Fae—and that only recently, for the discussions with the Queen of Darkness. Certainly, she hadn’t spent the same kind of time there as had Mira. But from what little she had seen while there, she believed Morgi’s height was unusual for the Fae. She was also muscular, and she had on a breastplate and shoulder pads, with some kind of old design hammered into the metal. The whole thing appeared heavy, but she moved as if they were weightless.
Morgi sniffed. “So you’re a sensitive.” She walked around Jes, now, in much the same way as she had walked around Mira.
“Yes.” Jes stood her ground, refusing—like her sister—to back down, glaring at Morgi, though she had to look up to see her eyes.
Morgi was again face-to-face with Jes, and she smiled down into Jes’s glowering stance. “Good. Well, come on then. How about you tell me where you have this girl now. And then, we’ll just have to see what we can do to keep Constantine from getting his hands on her—or perhaps….” She looked up from her musing to see the other two sisters glaring at her. “Or—maybe we’ll just stick to keeping her out of his hands.”
That didn’t stop her from revealing her other plan when she had all the right people assembled.
“You want to what?” Jes nearly yelled when Morgi revealed what she thought was her better plan later that evening.
Mia had been invited, as had Justice and Dracon. After all, Mia was the subject of all of this, and Justice was her brother.
Dracon wouldn’t be left out.
Morgi smiled patiently at all of them. But it was clear she’d been waiting to speak with Mia herself to reveal this plan, since it had been apparent the Sisters of Three hadn’t liked the direction she had been heading—when she had thought to bring it up before.
“Think about it. We would be the ones with the hand of power. We all know if he wants her—he’s going to get her.” She walked around the room, looking at each of them.
She came to stand in front of Mia. “It’s up to you. Just remember, if you choose to do this, we can keep the control! But—if he gets his hands on you his way—he will be the one in control!”
Mia actually appeared to chew this over.
Jes stood up out of her chair. “You can’t actually be considering….”
Justice had also stood. “You are not going!” he ordered.
Mia looked at him surprise. He never ordered her to do anything. She stood and crossed over to her brother. She gently laid a hand on his arm. “We must, brother.”
He shook his head, obviously not believing what he was hearing—or perhaps denying her permission to make such a choice.
Mia shook her head, sadly looking into her brother’s eyes. “You know she’s right. You know he’ll find a way, sooner or later. It may be the very reason he has not attacked yet. And—he has nothing but time on his side. But if we set this up—we will have an edge.” She looked around at the rest of the group, and her gaze came to stop on Jes. “An edge he would never expect. He’d never believe we would do this on purpose.”
Dara frowned. “He’ll turn you,” she rebuked quietly. “I know, because… he—turned me.”
The outburst that her revelation created had the room in an uproar for several minutes. Dracon looked as though he would like tear someone apart.
Dara quietly put her hands out and gestured for them to calm down. “We’re not going to solve anything like this,” she commanded. “We can all talk about how to get even with Constantine when this is over—but that doesn’t change the fact that he will turn her.”
Lucius had entered the room in time to hear the last of this. His pale eyes raked the room as Justice filled him in. He came to stand in front of Mia. For several long moments, he said nothing. After some time, he lifted his gaze and settled it on Mira. The love he felt for her shone brightly in his eyes at that moment.
“There is a way,” he said finally.
“I can’t believe we’re seriously contemplating this!” Jes hissed.
Lucius’s gaze settled on her with unsettling intensity. “It isn’t up to any of us,” he stated gently. “Only Mia can make this decision. But should she choose to make this choice, I think I may have a way.”
They all stared at him expectantly.
Mia reached out and placed her hand on his arm now. He looked back down, meeting her questioning gaze. “I have a sample of the vaccine.”
Mia frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“Well,” he said, “we all know that the vaccine we’ve been searching for was originally made for humans who had not yet been infected—in hopes to create an even better vaccine against vamps turning humans—and perhaps, one day, even provide a higher percentage of protection for the Jaguar People as well. Or at the very least, provide an antidote for a human, or Jaguar, who has been recently bit. And, as we all know, they had found out, quite by accident so it would seem, it proved to destroy the vamps altogether, not just protect humans against their bite.”
Lucius looked up now, taking in all of them. “They found this out when a vamp bit the human to whom they had given the vaccine, and apparently something happened to the vamp, something we’re still not completely clear
about. But it would seem—that it did more than just protect the human. It would seem that it created some kind of antibody in the human that gave his blood some kind of—unusual power—to do something to the vamp.”
Mia frowned, absorbing that. “But I’m—not human.”
“And so—it would seem—that we cannot be sure of how it will affect you.”
Dara was glaring at Lucius when she pointed out, “And we don’t know what it did to the vamp. From what you’re saying, we don’t know that it killed the vamp. Correct?”