“No, I’m telling you he doesn’t.”
I rubbed my head. The number of people after my mate and her sisters was ridiculous, and sitting here with her ex-fiancé, after finding out he’d been basically betraying her for years, pissed me off. “Then what the hell are you saying?”
“Mitchell has her. I didn’t betray her. I didn’t even know the trinity was formed, until this morning when my father called and told me.”
“Where did you go last night after she broke it off with you?” It was hard to believe it’d just been last night all of this had started. A look at lover boy, though, reminded me this had been in the works for years.
“A bar.” He held up a hand. “Look, I’m not proud of myself. I knew what my father would do to me when he found out she’d dumped me. Just another one of my failures to him. But I was also afraid he’d go after her. When he called me this morning, talking about how the trinity was complete and Mitchell was ready to make his move, I got worried.”
“You went to work.”
“Yeah, because I knew that’s where Kincaid would go. She’d told me her sister was coming and that when she did; she’d show up at her work. It’s the only reason Kincaid stayed." He waved his arms in the air. “I wanted to warn her, but she was with you and Evan. I knew what you were, the second I saw her with you. There’s no mistaking the bond. Minutes later, her sister showed up. When I figured out you had snuck out of the conference room, I tried to follow, to find her. I knew she was in danger.”
“Is Evan part of this?” I asked the one question that had been bugging me. If Scott was telling the truth, and as reluctant as I was to accept it, I thought he was, then that left Evan. My dad had been there, but would he have had the time and opportunity to lay the trap?
“I don’t know. I’ve never met him outside of work. Is he a warlock?”
The confused expression on Scott’s face had me believing he had no idea the relationship between Kincaid and Evan.
“He’s her grandfather, Mitchell’s father.”
The horror on Scott’s face did nothing to quell the sick feeling in my stomach.
“I don’t know anything about him, but if he’s related to Mitchell than he’s a part of this. There’s no way he can’t be.”
“Then I guess we need to figure out if he’s actually one of the good guys, like he claims to be.” I spooned some of my concoction into the cup I held. “Here, drink this. It’ll keep Evan out of your head. Hell, it’ll keep anybody out of your head.”
“Seriously? That’s amazing. My adopted father would kill for this.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s one of the ways Mitchell controls them. He reads their minds.”
“Abilities are inherited. Of course.” I slapped the ground next to me. “Fucking great.”
The sudden sensation of pain coursing through my head had me groaning. I grabbed my head, confused, as my sight distorted. It was as if I was seeing two images; the forest in front of me, and the inside of a bedroom. The double images faded after a second, leaving behind a drugged sensation.
“I think I know how they’re controlling her.” I rested my hand on Kai for support as I pushed myself up. “They drugged her. She’s in a bedroom somewhere, but I have no idea where.” Scott gave me a sick glance, confirming my suspicions. “You knew this would happen to her? Didn’t you?” I slammed him against a tree as I yelled at him, my enhanced strength breaking two of his ribs from the cracking sound.
“I know that was my father’s plan. To keep her drugged with a combination, so she couldn’t fight back. She wouldn’t be able to focus her magic long enough. It’s something they’ve done to seers for centuries.”
“Not MY seer,” I growled, flinging him to the ground, where he curled into a ball. “Can you find her? Use your father, his contacts. Mitchell would use his coven. He has an end game. I need to know what it is.”
“I can try.”
“You’ll do more than try if you want to live.” I stopped myself before I actually kicked him. He was our only advantage at the moment.
“I’m human. Not a drop of magic ability in me. The only reason they had anything to do with me was because I found Kincaid and was able to keep an eye on her. A fact only my father knew, until now. If anyone else found out, they’d kill me in a second.”
“Then make sure they don’t find out.” I gestured to Kai. “We need to go. Make sure everyone takes the blocking spell. We don’t have any proof Evan is the one, but we’ll need to keep an eye on him. He might lead us to her.” I pointed at Scott, still curled up on the ground. “You find anything, let me know.” His nod satisfied me as I left with Kai.
“Two weeks. It’s been two fucking weeks, and we don’t have a thing. I’m about to lose it, Kai.” He rested his head on my leg, and I rubbed the fur behind his ears. I missed his conversation more than I would have imagined.
For the last two weeks, I’d had vague glimpses of what Kincaid could see. There had been visions as well, one of Quinn with what appeared to be a coven elder. They gave me hope. Quinn was safe at least, and nothing would happen to Kincaid, as long as they thought she was under their sole control. I knew she was fighting whatever drug they were giving her, though. We needed to find her soon.
Scott hadn’t been able to find anything. He’d managed to eliminate some places, but he’d been right when he’d said no one trusted him. We were running out of options, and Evan continued to play the innocent. I had no proof he was the one who’d betrayed us, and the waiting was driving me slowly insane.
“Her magic is growing. If I can’t help her control it … she could be in real danger.” The part of the story about protectors keeping the trinity magic in check hadn’t really registered with me when she’d told the story, but I’d been feeling surges of power lately: Uncontrollable magic that needed an outlet. Kincaid controlled a huge amount of magic, and together we could keep it balanced, but apart, well, there was no telling the risk. It didn’t help matters that I missed her. The need to touch her was crushing, but she wasn’t there.
Kai rubbed his chin against my leg, in an attempt to comfort me, I thought. He was as worried as I was. He was her guardian, and he’d never spent this much time away from his charge. We were both feeling the effects.
“I have another spell to try. Patrick and I went through the books.” Sinclair was determined to find her sister. She’d never really learned how to cast spells, but she seemed to have an innate gift for creating them. She and Portia had tried different types of locator and tracking spells, each one failing. I managed an encouraging smile as Luke walked in behind her. He was never more than an arm’s length away from Sinclair, and I couldn’t blame him. He seemed to understand the agony I was in, at being separated from Kincaid.
A text had me checking my phone. It was from Scott.
“I have information. Can you meet?”
I was about to reply, “Where?” when Sinclair said, “I’ll need you for this spell. You and Evan. Blood and bonded. I can find her that way. I know it.”
I nodded. I trusted Sinclair, and I wasn’t eager to let Evan out of my sight. A nudge had Kai following me into the next room.
“Portia.” She peeked at me from the book she was studying, another book of spells it looked like. I jerked my head, and she got up.
“I need you to go with Kai and meet Scott. He says he has information on Kincaid.” I’d finally told Portia about Scott and my suspicions about Evan. She’d even heard my doubts about our father with no judgement. She’d met with Scott once when I hadn’t been able to, and her opinion was that he was telling the truth. Our father’s determined quest to locate Kincaid gave me hope that he was innocent in this, but there were lingering doubts. Evan and Patrick were the only ones who truly knew what happened that day.
“Okay.” She glanced at the other room. “They don’t need me for the spell, but Sinclair will be out of it, while she does the spell.” Her look was a warning. “She’ll be vu
lnerable.”
I nodded. “I’ll keep her safe. As will Luke.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kincaid
“Do you think she’s as strong as they say? She looks pretty pathetic to me. One of the mighty trinity. Easy enough to subdue.”
The voice pierced the haze in my mind, and I wanted to tell him he’d be the first one I killed, but the drugs made my tongue thick, and it was impossible.
“She killed seven guys when they took her. They’re keeping her drugged so she can be controlled. Don’t underestimate her. She is Mitchell’s daughter after all.”
“Ha.” I felt a hand stroke my thigh and knew his death would be painful. “She’s a pretty, little thing.” Another hand slapped the one stroking me away.
“You looking to die?”
Yes, he was.
“She’d kill you in a second, and if wasn’t her, it’d be her dad. Leave her alone.” The one who spoke had my gratitude, but it wouldn’t be enough to save him. The brief moments of lucidity hadn’t been enough for me to formulate an escape plan, but they’d revealed the basics of the situation I found myself in. It appeared I was being held captive by my father, a man I’d yet to see. As soon as I showed any sign of alertness, they gave me an injection. Whatever was in it seemed to trigger visions and kept me in a state of oblivion. There was no doubt someone had betrayed me, and as much as I wished to believe it wasn’t yet another member of my own blood, he was the only person that fit.
The frantic urge to warn Milo and my friends of the snake in their midst wouldn’t leave me, but the drugs made it impossible. I could feel Milo’s presence on the edges of my mind. He was connected to me, and I tried to grasp onto him, but he slipped away each time.
My magic was another issue.
It was growing.
The drugs were buffering its’ power, but it was only a matter of time before it broke through, and when it did … I would welcome it.
“Let’s get out of here. She creeps me out.”
The other guy laughed and said, “Scared of a little witch? I’ve seen dolls scarier than her.”
I forced my eyes open. It was only for a split second, but I managed to catch a glimpse of them. One of them caught sight of my opened eyes and blanched. The other one was too busy laughing. My eyes slipped closed, but I had seen what I needed. His face was etched in my mind, and I would have him.
Time passed in odd waves, the visions I had distorted it further. I saw Quinn at one point, standing with an elder. It appeared she had been adopted by a coven. Relief rushed through me at the sight. She was okay for now.
Other visions were not so pleasant: storms and fires raged through towns; waves crashed over roads; and a ring of fire with blood soaking the ground inside of it burned. Those visions sent fear down my spine. They were dark and violent, and forced me to question if we would succeed; if we could form the light as my prophecy seemed to predict.
I drifted toward consciousness again, and felt Milo’s mind touch mine. I clung to it, desperate to escape the dark visions I’d been drowning in. Our link strengthened, and suddenly I was seeing through his eyes.
Sinclair sat across from me, chanting as she waved her hand above a map. Luke was standing by the door, keeping watch, but not interfering. Evan sat next to her, and I hissed at the sight of him. Milo sat still, no sound escaping him, and I realized I could only see through his eyes, my presence wasn’t felt in any other capacity. I wasn’t even sure Milo was aware I could see what he could see. There was a cut along his palm, and as I listened to Sinclair’s words, I figured out she was trying to locate me using the bond I had with Milo and the blood she and Evan shared with me. It was a clever spell, but I wondered if it might not have worked as she intended. It appeared to have drawn my consciousness to them instead of showing them where I was.
Quick as the snake he was, Evan jumped up, a knife in his hand, and even as I screamed a warning, he slit her throat. Blood sprayed across the table, and Milo leapt up, lunging for Evan. A flick of Evan’s fingers though had Milo slamming into the wall. A quick glance showed Luke collapsed on the floor in front of the door, his stillness igniting the rage inside of me.
The rage burned through me, and suddenly, so did magic. It raced through my veins, electrifying me and destroying the drugs used to control me. My connection to Milo broke as I found myself back in my body, floating above the bed, the blue glow from my eyes bathing the room in its’ light. A glimpse in the mirror showed a woman suspended in the air, her golden curls floating around her face, as her eyes burned with the light of magic. A moment later, my feet thudded to the ground as I dropped into a crouch, the slight click as the doorknob turned, warning me someone was foolish enough to enter.
A smile broke through the rage as I saw him. He looked appropriately terrified now, I thought, as I proceeded to break every bone in his body. Moments later, I stalked out of the room, my destination unclear, my only thought to kill every single person there, because they’d played a part in my sister’s death.
It only took twenty minutes to kill the two dozen men I discovered in the house. Some attempted magic, but I burned through the spells they cast at me, and others I flipped the magic forcing it back onto the one who cast it. Power surged through me, wild and uncontrollable, as I decimated my way through the house. When I couldn’t find anyone else living, I walked out.
The magic burned inside of me, reflecting from my eyes, and utterly consuming me with its strength. A muttered spell had the house behind me going up in flames. I felt the heat push against my back as I marched down the drive. I had to get to Milo, with Sinclair and Luke dead, he was in danger. Evan was more powerful than I’d given him credit for, and if he’d managed to steal the magic from Sinclair’s blood, he’d only be stronger.
My own magic beat inside of me, causing my heart to hammer in my chest from the sheer force of it. I knew it wouldn’t be long before it burned me from the inside out, and I didn’t even care, so long as I took Evan with me.
As I reached the gate, I heard my name being called. Instantly, I directed magic toward the sound, my only thought to destroy anyone attempting to stop me.
“Wait! It’s me, Portia! We’re here to rescue you.” Her panicked words broke through the rage that consumed me, and I paused, pulling the magic back inside of me. Truthfully, I’d never felt power like this before in my life. It was seductive, terrifying, and dangerous. Without some type of check, it would consume me, turning me into someone I didn’t recognize, before taking my life.
“Not that you look like you need rescuing.” Her words penetrated the haze, and I focused, trying to maintain some control. “Your eyes are glowing, like really bright. Spotlight bright.”
That might explain the blue tinge everything had, I thought to myself. I wanted to stop the glow, but it was impossible. The magic was too strong. Kai appeared next to me, and I wanted to bury my head in his fur and sob, but I had to remain strong, until I’d destroyed Evan.
“Milo.” I croaked the word out, my throat painfully dry, making speech difficult. His name echoed when I spoke it, and I saw through his eyes for a second. Blood surrounded him, a knife cradled in his hand, and then I was staring at Portia and Scott again.
“He sent us! Well, he sent me to find out what info Scott had, and we came to investigate. We wanted to make sure we had the right house. There have been a lot of false leads the past two weeks.”
“Go to Milo.” The words were barely legible, but they understood me. Two weeks … I hadn’t missed when she said two weeks had gone by. I hadn’t come across my father in that house of horrors, so I could only wonder where he’d disappeared to. The memory of Quinn and her coven flickered through my mind, but there was no way he could have found her, based on that vision.
They directed me to Scott’s car, neither one coming close enough to touch me. I spared a momentary thought of what Scott’s role was, but the power drumming through, me combined with the need to see Milo and kill Evan, dist
racted me. I stared straight ahead, ignoring their occasional sideways glances. Kai rested his head on my thigh, not speaking, but offering what comfort he could.
I sat in the back, my hands clenched tightly as I focused on holding the power in. The magic wanted out, and I knew if I let it for even a second, my visions of death and destruction would come true.
“Drive faster.” Portia’s whisper was frantic as she slid another glance at me.
“I’m going over the speed limit as it is,” Scott muttered back, but then he peeked at me in the rearview mirror, and the car was accelerating.
“Kincaid, we’re almost there okay.” She tried to remain cheerful, but there was a slight crack in her voice.
The Trinity Sisters Page 30