She didn’t want to tip their hand, and she didn’t want to be knocked off her feet. “On my whistle?”
He nodded. “I’ll accept a scream or a yell as well.”
Good thinking.
Without waiting, Paige raised her right hand, called on the power of the elements and the demons’ gate, and blew the door inward.
A tall man—dark hair and eyes, easy to look at—stood up and brushed his red tie down. “Honestly, it took you long enough. I thought I would have seen you a while ago. I have to admit, Ms. Whiskey. I expected…more.”
Not quite what she expected. “Derrick Blackman?”
“If the flesh.”
Time to figure out what the Blackmans were doing in Texas. “I didn’t kill them.”
The man raised his eyebrows. “Interesting choice.”
What was going on here? Leah looked fine, aside from the fact that she was scared. Leslie appeared to have gone a few rounds with a fist. And Mandy?
She lifted her bloodied face and tried to smile.
What the fuck was going on here? He didn’t seem upset. Just surprised. “Interesting choice?”
“Don’t you get it?” Derrick chuckled. “That was a test.”
“A test?”
Several people stood in the shadows, each thrumming with a power she could feel. With that came a smell. There it was. A smell. Like jasmine and sandalwood.
“Though, saving the shifters?” He frowned, giving her a confused head shake. “Bad form.”
Paige shrugged. Eight witches in total. Against one.
Well, against four when Lucius took down the ward.
The ward…that seemed to affect everyone. She extended her inky black witch hands. Everyone except her.
“Look.” Derrick twisted with a grin on his face. “She seems to catching up. Finally.”
Catching up? To what?
“You’re probably asking yourself, ‘Is he trying to start a war?’”
She retracted her witch hands—hands made of the same inky blackness as the wards. Her father had been a Blackman. Was it possible that the reason she wasn’t affected was because the wards worked on anything that wasn’t Blackman magick? If that was the case, what was Blackman magick? What was Whiskey magick? Were they different families because they—because what? They controlled different elements.
No. That was stupid. Witches controlled the elements that came naturally to them.
Or was it more than that?
Why couldn’t Paige see Leah’s door when she’d let the spirits back to the other side?
Why could Paige see the Blackman wards and still use her magick?
Well, if that was the case, then, couldn’t Leah?
“I don’t really want to start up a full-fledged war.”
Huh? Oh, fuck. He was still talking.
He smiled, reminding her of Penguin in the comic books. “No. We just want the Whiskeys to finally meet their demise and this seems like an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone. End the shifters who are growing in numbers, which is unacceptable, and get rid of the Whiskeys.”
So, he was working with the Eastwoods.
“And, thank you for making it easier. You managed to get all the Whiskeys into the same state. Do you have any idea how long we’ve been trying to do that?”
She should be angry at his words, but something was off.
A shadow shifted in his green aura.
What was really going on here? “So you’re going to…what?” Paige flexed her witch hands, watching as the boundary fluctuated.
“Ah,” he said, his smile widening. “I see you finally figured it out. I was beginning to give up on you, Paige.”
“Who are you?”
“Derrick. Derrick Blackman.”
“I know that, asshole. What are you to me?”
Derrick stilled, his smile slipping. “Your brother.”
Paige took in a quick breath. The idea that she had other siblings, another brother? “How many of us are there?”
“Only you and me, sis.”
She raised a hand to her face, but dropped it. “What gifts do you have?”
“Only this one.”
“And what is that?”
He chuckled. “Honestly, sis, do I have to explain everything?”
She tipped her head. “Obviously, you do.”
“We are the melding of worlds. We are the doors, you and I.”
“Worlds?”
“Yes.”
A slow-trickling dawn rattled through her brain. Her with Hell’s gate inside her soul. Leah, able to reach across into Heaven to retrieve souls that had passed. “And what door are you?”
He ducked his head. “I’ll let you figure that out for yourself, demon summoner.”
Paige met Leah’s gaze and held it for a long, blistering moment. “Then if that’s the case, then let’s open one you won’t soon forget.”
Leah’s eyes widened.
Derrick stared at Paige in surprise, then his head whipped toward Leah. “She’s your—but—”
“Now, Lee!”
Paige closed her eyes and reached inside herself to the gate that resided inside her soul. She touched on the inky blackness, so like the material of the boundary. It flared within her, the ink seeping from her soul, out to her limbs, connecting with the boundary, the wall, the shield, the barrier.
And the world began to shake.
“Stop!” Derrick held up his hands, crouched. His expression immediately changed, almost as if he was a completely different person.
Leah froze, her mouth hung open.
Leslie stilled, her eyes roaming from Derrick to Paige and back.
Mandy stopped straining against the ropes binding her to the chair.
Paige kept her witch hands out, but stopped their advance.
Derrick glanced to his left.
A woman stepped out from the shadows. Short. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, plump in the hip. Her black pencil skirt barely allowed her the area needed to take a full step, though how she walked in those heels was beyond Paige. The woman released the gold button on her suit jacket as she stopped beside a leather chair.
Derrick straightened, fingered his red tie as he righted his expression. “Paige Whiskey, meet my mother, Eldora Blackman.”
Paige narrowed her eyes at the woman.
“She is the new matriarch of the Blackman witches.”
“Congratulations,” Paige said, low in her throat.
Eldora Blackman raised her chin, her dark eyes narrowed.
“Perhaps you could tell me what you’re doing here,” Paige said.
Derrick opened his mouth.
Eldora lifted her hand to her waist, palm down.
A coppery tang settled over Paige’s tongue. “My sister has internal bleeding.”
“I apologize for that.” Eldora glanced at someone over Paige’s shoulder and gestured with her chin to Leslie. “That was unintentional.”
“Are you trying to tell me you had no intention of harming my family?”
Dropping her gaze, Eldora relaxed her shoulders minutely. “No. We did not.”
“Aunt Paige,” Mandy said. “Don’t—”
“Mandy,” Leslie barked, “stay out of it.”
Derrick knelt in front of Leslie, removing a knife from his belt, and cut the ropes holding her to the chair.
Another man pulled up a chair beside her, reaching out his hands, magick—green healing magick—humming through him like a tuning fork.
Paige turned her focus to Eldora. “What’s going on here?”
“Can you ask your children not to attack us?”
Paige grabbed hold of Leah’s bright blue gaze. “Lee.”
She shrugged as one of the other witches cut her ropes.
“Mand.”
Mandy stewed, the hint of flames dancing in her eyes.
“It is remarkable,” Eldora said quietly, “how their gifts remain unwarded.”
That got Paige’s attention.
“We don’t ward gifts.”
“Alma warded yours.”
Yeah. She had. “We don’t do that. Normally.”
Eldora nodded, returning her attention to Leah. “Such a powerful girl. So young. So inexperienced.”
True.
“And in a world of mundanes.” Eldora looked at Paige. Not trying to overpower her, or stab her. Just looked at her as if they were equals. “That could be disastrous.”
“We teach them control,” Leslie said with a hiss. “Ow!”
“Sorry,” the man beside her said.
Paige took a half-step toward her sister. “How’d she get hurt?”
“We are to blame, I’m afraid.” Eldora closed her eyes for a long moment, then reopened them. “We did not expect her to be so protective of her children.”
“Well, congratulations. You’ve just met Leslie Whiskey.”
“Yes. And well met.”
The man beside Leslie leaned back. “You are healed, but do try to take it easy. Remember, you did just break your ribs.”
What in the crazy damned fuck was going on? This entire situation was weird.
Eldora gestured to Paige’s witch hands. “You won’t be needing those.”
Maybe. Maybe not, but she felt better with them extended, like having a loaded gun in her hand as she headed into a fight. She could retract them, like keeping a cocked gun in her holster. Swallowing, she pulled them back. “I really don’t understand what’s going on here.”
Derrick muttered something to Mandy.
“Please,” Eldora said. “Sit.”
Leslie stood, rubbing her arms. She glanced at her daughter, but walked to Paige.
Derrick continued muttering low to Mandy.
Leah got up and followed her aunt. She leaned against Paige.
Something she would normally have loved, except that she was leaning on Paige’s gun arm.
Eldora’s smile wavered. “We had to test you.”
“The shapeshifters were a test, but what about when I came in here? What was that?”
“A continuation of the test. I had to see how you would react when under the stress of seeing your family in peril.”
Paige seethed. “Does this have anything to do with Merry Eastwood?”
“You are very perceptive, Paige.”
“So, are you testing to see what kind of enemy we are? Is Merry concerned about us?” Does she know we broke the treaty?
Derrick stood, Mandy rising with him. “We’re testing to see how well you’d be as an ally against her.”
Whoa.
“We’ve been under the Eastwood control for years. Since the treaty was signed.”
“I’m really sorry.” Paige help up a hand to silence him. “But you just said you wanted to kill us all a moment ago, and you did so pretty convincingly.”
He grinned, the evil version of him gone. “I excelled in drama club.”
Eldora sighed.
“Drama club? I was going to kill you.”
His smile lessened and his eyebrows rose.
“We’ve been watching the Whiskeys, checking on your progress.” Eldora settled her hands on her knees. “We were happy you escaped. Believe me. We were. But…” She let that thought drop and licked her lips.
The other witches didn’t appear threatening. If anything, they looked to be the very opposite. Their expressions contrite, their body language subdued.
Paige blinked, wrapping her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “You need help in Portland.”
“We do.”
Paige stared at the matriarch.
“Merry…” Eldora lowered her head. “Well, Merry has killed one of our own, my daughter. And now her blood magick taints the land. There are entire sections of land where life is…well, where no vegetation will grow. It is as if the land is sick.”
Great. “You said your magick is door magick. Can’t you just, I don’t know, ship her somewhere?”
“Our magick is death magick. Your magick appears to be door magick.” Eldora shook her head. “Somehow. We haven’t figured it out.”
“Death magick.”
Eldora nodded.
“The black ooze.”
“Is death’s energy.”
So, her witch hands were death? That didn’t make sense.
“Merry only started killing the surrounding lands after she used my daughter’s blood in her blood magick.”
Leslie wiped her face with her hand. “My grandmother was stabbed. You had my grandmother stabbed.”
“We had to see how you would operate under pressure.” Eldora’s voice grew firmer. “If you stand against Merry Eastwood, she will attack your family first. I had to see how you would react.”
“Why did you attack Grandma?” Leslie demanded. “She’s our matriarch.”
“Your wards say otherwise,” Derrick murmured, stopping close to Paige. His dark eyes studied her with wonder.
Paige felt like an animal in a zoo.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
She wasn’t about to tell him that. Brother or not.
He flinched and glanced at the man who had healed Leslie. “I lied, by the way.”
Paige frowned at him. “No shit. As far as I can figure, you and your ‘drama excellence’ lied about everything.”
He shrugged. “We have more siblings. Four of them, to be precise.”
“Why would you lie about that?” This all bordered on stupid.
“In case the gamble failed.” His expression slipped, becoming serious. “In case you summoned a demon to kill any remaining Blackman relatives. I wanted to make sure you only killed one.”
“How noble.” And, also, they knew she’d summoned a demon to kill before. How? “So, why tell me this now?”
“So you’ll understand what this means for us, how you’re invested in this as well.”
“Because you’re my half-brother.”
“Because you have more where I came from.” He took a step closer to her. “And because your half-sister was killed.”
A half-sister she didn’t even know. She turned her attention to Eldora. “I’m loving the family reunion, but you threatened my sister, my niece, and my daughter. You stabbed my grandmother, and you were going to have me kill a whole pack of shifters.”
Derrick raised his eyebrows and took his step back. “Why didn’t you, by the way?”
“Why would I?”
“They’re the reason the war started in the first place.”
It was good to know she wasn’t the only witch who didn’t know the story. “No, Derrick—” She so wanted to call him Meathead in that moment, but refrained. “—Merry started it because she didn’t want the witch lines to be tainted by shifter blood.”
“More lies from the Eastwoods,” Eldora said to her son. She shook her head. “We should have expected it. Then, shifters are not bad?”
Was she being sincere? “No. They’re not.”
“Well, then I am glad you did not kill them.”
“You still killed two.” Or at least Paige was pretty sure.
Eldora blinked rapidly.
“I’ll talk to the alpha and see for sure, but I doubt he’ll take this lightly.”
“Can we consider them to be allies?”
“The Whiskeys can.” Paige wanted to emphasize that point and nail in. Hard. “Because we haven’t killed them. At all.”
“Mmm.”
The healer stepped up to Paige, offering his hand. “Gustav.”
Paige paused, but took it. “Nice to meet you. I think.”
Gustav took in a deep breath. “We need the Whiskeys in Portland.”
Blessed Mother! First, she was told she had to get to Texas and once she’d made it, she was being told she had to be in Portland. Just how dire was the situation there?
“You don’t understand. I can no longer heal the lands. Entire areas are dying. Trees. Vegetation. Wild life. Fish.”
Paige frowned. “What if I don’t want in on t
his battle?”
“We hear,” Eldora said softly, “that the point of Merry’s visit is to assess the Whiskeys.”
Doubtful. Otherwise, Merry would have sussed out what they’d been trying to hide from her.
“She knows Alma is weak and that the family will be changing matriarchs.” Eldora leaned on her right elbow. “We believe she plans to strike your family when she determines you are the weakest.”
Merry Eastwood was going be surprised. The Whiskeys weren’t weak. “I need her out of Texas.”
“We need you in Portland.”
“I have to be here for at least another two months.”
“For what reason?”
She really didn’t want to explain it to a woman she barely knew.
“Because of me,” Leah said, taking a step forward. “Pai—Mom is trying to regain custody of me.”
“Oh.” Eldora raised her eyebrows and gripped her knees. “We will be of little help there.”
Few were.
“We will draw Merry back to Portland.”
Paige nodded.
“If you agree to join us in two months.”
Fuck. “We were already planning on returning.”
Surprise shown across Eldora’s face. “Why?”
“Why should we trust you?” Leslie demanded.
Eldora was silent for a long moment, studying Leslie. “Because…” She took in a shallow breath. “Last month, I had four sons and a daughter.”
Sad story. Paige thought on it for a moment. “I thought you two were allies.”
“We were never allies. Not really. She’d nearly wiped out our line during the wars. We only remained by her side because we were in the same city and it was safer. I will not lose more of my coven to her selfish whims.”
Interesting.
“Why were you going to return to Portland?”
Well, Merry was already there to threaten Paige’s family. And when they made it to Portland, Merry would find out soon enough. This would be a good test of her own. “We’re taking the fight to her.”
The next few days passed without incident.
All of the shifter survived, though three were critically injured. They were pulling through nicely.
The Galsborys were arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder.
Alma was released from the hospital.
Chuck reclaimed his pack and strengthened his borders.
A Barrel of Whiskey - (An Urban Fantasy Whiskey Witches Novel) Page 31