by Aileen Erin
I turned back to my bed, surveying the mess all over it. The white sheets were barely visible under the books and notes. I’d surrounded myself with every resource I had, determined to find some sort of magic spell to make all this go away. So far, I’d come up with nil.
I pulled my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck. “I have no idea. I’m trying to figure out how to counter Luciana, but without knowing what she’s up to….” I’d been thinking of doing something totally batshit the past couple of days. Maybe it was because Claudia had brought up the idea, but now, I couldn’t get it out of my head.
Or maybe it was all the waiting around. But whatever it was, I couldn’t do this anymore. I had to do something. “I have an idea. Something Claudia said on the phone the other day… But it’s super dangerous—I mean it’s stupid dangerous—and Dastien is going to freak out… But I mean—I’m not getting anywhere here.”
“Oh, boy.” She crossed her arms. “What kind of crazy idea is in your head now?”
I braced myself for her to flip, and then spit the words out. “Believe me. This is the last place that I want to go. Really. But Claudia said that there could be something in Luciana’s craft room and if we go—”
“What!” Meredith screeched.
And there it was.
“Have you completely lost your mind? No! Under no circumstances will you ever be going back there. Not only is it incredibly dangerous and stupid, but you’re right—Dastien would freak out.” Her eyes flared from glass blue to electric. “You weren’t here when he lost it last time. You weren’t holding him down to get sedated. You didn’t help drag him off to the feral cages. And you certainly didn’t watch him throwing himself against the door over and over and over, trying to escape and get you back. And you didn’t see yourself when you came back here. Broken.” She poked my breastbone hard enough to knock me back. “So, no. That’s not fucking happening. Not on my watch.”
All of a sudden, my room got much more crowded, as Chris, Donovan, and Dastien burst through the door.
Shit. She must’ve told Donovan on me.
Dastien came to stand in between us, facing Meredith so that he could protect me. Little did he know that he was about to be on Meredith’s side. “What’s going on?”
“Your mate over there thinks it’s a good idea to go back to the compound and dig around Luciana’s stuff. For what? Some kind of clue as to what she’s up to?”
Dastien’s pain, anger, and fear ran though our bond before he turned. “Non.” He started yelling and gesturing wildly in French. I didn’t understand what he was saying—I knew only three phrases and a handful of words in French—but the meaning and intention were clear enough even without the emotions pouring through our bond.
I took a breath, praying for patience. “I know. I don’t want to go back there—please know that I don’t want to. The thought terrifies me. But I’ve been at this for days, and if we don’t start going on the offensive, we’re always going to be one step behind. We will lose this fight. It’s a war, and we’re always reacting. Never acting. And we can’t do that. Not anymore. When she did that to Daniel—her own son—she crossed a line. She has to be stopped. And after what I’ve seen—”
“Wait,” Chris cut in. “You had a vision? Of the future? What did you see? And why haven’t you said anything to us?”
Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes, but I quickly swiped them away. I’d been trying to live on the assumption that the vision wouldn’t come true. Dastien hadn’t gone near an Orangina in days. So, that first part hadn’t happened, and maybe it never would. “It’s bad. Really bad.” The words were so strained, they barely came out. “Please. I’m not saying that I want to go alone. I’m not that stupid. But if we come up with a plan, then I’m just saying that it’s an option.”
“I agree,” Donovan said.
“What?” Meredith whirled around. “You can’t be serious! I don’t care what she saw. It’s not worth the risk.”
“Love. Please. I’m not saying going back to the compound is wise, but maybe it’s time we wake up the witches we’ve got. We were so worried about Luciana using them that we sedated them before doing any real questioning. It’s been days. Maybe the danger’s passed.” He turned to me. “Let’s wake them up.”
With that last sentence, it was like I was weightless. The stress lifted. I didn’t have to go to the compound and risk going into that room again. I could do something, and not leave the safety of St. Ailbe’s.
This—this was a good idea. Finally. A real way to make some progress. “I agree. Let’s do it.”
“Me too,” Chris said. “I’m all in for waking up the witches.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
We all kept quiet as we crossed campus. Dastien hadn’t said a word to me. It killed me. I wasn’t going to go anywhere without you.
You should’ve told me first, not Meredith. I’m your mate.
I know. I know. But I wasn’t sure you’d hear me out. I thought Meredith might, but turns out—not so much.
It was a stupid idea, cherie.
That stung. Did he really just call me stupid?
He pulled me to a stop. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just—I can’t see you get hurt like that again. I won’t let you do something that could put you in that kind of situation.
Okay. It’s okay.
That’s usually my line. He bent down, running his nose along the side of my neck. Je t’aime, cherie.
The second we started down the hallway to the feral cages, I smelled it.
Something foul. Rotted.
Dead.
I strode down the hallway and unbolted the first door. The smell was even worse.
One of the brujas lay inside on a bed with rails. The covers were tucked up to her armpits and a clear tube ran from her withered arm to the IV stand hanging beside her head.
She’s not breathing. Her skin was gray and wrinkly. It looked like she’d aged a century.
I stumbled back. “Are they all…?”
Dastien pushed past me to test the girl’s pulse. After a few long moments, he gently set down her wrist. “Yes. Chris, get Dr. Gonzalez.”
“I’m on it.”
I grabbed the clipboard that hung from the door. “The papers say that Dr. Gonzales checked on them an hour ago. Their vitals were fine. Her handwriting is a little messy—” Typical doctor scratches. “But they were stable and still sedated.”
What could’ve done this? It couldn’t be the drugs. They could’ve died from a wrong dose, but that wouldn’t make them look like bones covered in shriveled skin.
Not all of them. Not in the space of an hour.
Dastien lifted the girl’s eyelid. The socket held what looked like a raisin.
I gagged and backed into the hallway before I threw up. “Luciana did this.”
“How?” Meredith peeked into the room. “She hasn’t been on campus. We would’ve known.”
It hit me then. Yvonne had said that Luciana could do a lot through the blood oath they’d all taken. That oath tied the witches together, almost like the pack bonds tied us Weres.
I shivered as cold dread ran up my spine.
I needed to talk to the other witches on campus before I said anything. If Luciana had—
The sound of Dr. Gonzales’ high heels clacking against the floor dragged me from my thoughts. Without a word, she went into the rooms and checked each witch.
The rest of us waited for her evaluation.
She zipped her messenger bag closed, settling it on her hip before starting. “My first fear was that something was wrong with the drugs I administered, but I was here an hour ago, and they didn’t look like this. There’s nothing I could give them that would do this.” A little wrinkle formed between her eyes as she thought. “My best guess is that witchcraft was used to drain their life-forces…”
She kept going on about her findings, but I tuned her out.
They’d been drained, but maybe
not of life-force…
What if Luciana had drained them of their magic? She’d drained my magic, but stopped before I died. I hadn’t had time to wonder why, but it wasn’t because she liked me. It was quite clear the opposite was true. She hated me.
So, I’d been kept alive because she still wanted something from me. With Luciana, it always went back to power.
Maybe with time, my abilities would’ve come back on their own? Then Luciana could’ve drained me again and again.
But what if she wanted as much power as she could get in one shot? She could drain someone—or lots of someones—to the point that they died.
Little dots speckled my vision as I followed that train of thought.
What was stopping her from doing the same to everyone in the coven? Not the witches who were still loyal to her, but the ones who’d left…
No. She couldn’t do that. Could she?
I started down the hall. I needed to talk to the rest of the brujas now.
“Tessa!” Dastien yelled after me. “Where are you going?”
I didn’t take the time to answer. I just started running. Fear coursed through my veins, making me run faster than I ever had before. The others ran behind me, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t slow. I had to see.
Because if Luciana had done what I feared, then—
I couldn’t even go there. I had to find out.
As soon as I hit the quad, I took a breath.
“What’s wrong?” Dastien asked. He touched my shoulder, but I wasn’t ready to explain.
Cosette’s scent hit me strongest, leading me across the quad to the cafeteria. Maybe they’d gotten hungry.
“Do you think she killed all the witches that left the coven? Could she do that?” Chris asked.
“Yes.”
I knew something was wrong. With certainty. A pit formed in my gut.
Still, I hoped I was wrong. I plowed through the cafeteria doors. They crashed into the wall with a boom. The few Cazadores froze mid-meal to stare at me in surprise or curiosity.
But no witches.
I spotted Cosette sitting alone and flipping through a magazine as she picked at a bowl of strawberries. She stood as soon as she saw me, pushing her magazine aside. “What’s wrong?”
“Where are the witches?”
“I left them in the library a few hours ago. What’s…” Her eyes slipped out of focus and she paled. “What am I sensing?”
The library. Shit. Why hadn’t I checked the library first? “Something really bad.”
She moved past me. “Let’s go.”
Dastien and the rest followed behind us. I moved faster, jumping the three steps to enter the admin building. I burst through the doors and ran down the hallway to the right.
When I reached the library, I finally stopped. If they were in there, I didn’t want to scare them.
But one breath was all it took. I knew what I feared was true. I could smell death. And I didn’t want to open those doors. Because then it’d be real.
I backed away slowly.
Dastien squeeze my shoulder. “Why don’t you wait here, Tess?”
“Yeah. Please. Just tell me I’m wrong.”
“I wish you were.”
“We didn’t protect them.” Tears welled, and blinked them away. “I said they’d be safe here. I promised.”
“We don’t know what Luciana’s done. Just…” He leaned down until he was eye-level with me. “Don’t go in yet.” He turned to Dr. Gonzales, and waved her forward, but Cosette moved in front of her.
I should’ve moved down the hallway, but my body didn’t want to move at all. As soon as Dastien opened the door, I saw two of them. Yvonne lay collapsed on the table. She faced away from me, but there was only one reason she’d stay that still.
Elsa’s tiny body lay on the ground, her arms at an odd angle. Her skin was gray and wrinkled…
I’d seen enough. I couldn’t… I didn’t…
I turned to press my forehead against the cool wall.
They were dead. All of them.
All of them.
Fear rolled through me so fiercely that I could hardly breathe.
Oh shit. Claudia. Oh shit.
I needed my cell phone. She had to be okay.
Please, God. Let her be okay.
Chapter Nine
I raced back to my room and snatched my cell off the nightstand. My hands shook as I searched my contacts for Adrian’s number. I hit it and started pacing the room.
The phone rang. And rang. With each ring, my lungs grew tighter.
Until, it stopped ringing. “Tessa?”
“The witches—”
“Raphael’s fine.” Relief made my legs weak. I reached back, finding the edge of the bed, and collapsed as I tried to get control of my breathing. “Your cousin is a total badass. She came in with a bag of tricks—I have no idea how she got from Peru to Costa Rica in basically five minutes flat—but dude, she’s awesome.”
I swallowed. “And Shane and Beth… Their oaths—”
“Broken. The three with me are all sworn to Claudia now, although I’m not sure she wanted any part of that.”
A broken laugh slipped free. “Thank God.”
I finally looked up at Dastien, who’d followed me the whole way here. He sat next to me, wrapping me in his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured.
I nodded as a tear slipped free. They were okay. It was going to be okay.
“What’s going on?” Adrian said. “I hear Dastien. What happened?”
I told him in as few words as I could.
He cursed when I was finished. “How am I supposed to tell them…”
“Don’t. Just don’t. They’re going to come back to one big nightmare and a whole lot of heartbreak. Let them relax for a little bit and enjoy this victory. They deserve it.” I let out a breath. “Get back here on the first flight you can get tomorrow. I’ll take care of breaking the news.”
“So what do I tell them in the meantime?”
“Just say Luciana’s up to something, which is sort of true and expected.”
He agreed, promising to send me flight details when he had them, and then hung up. Some of my anxiety melted, but one giant question nagged at the back of my mind. I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to put an end to the night’s craziness, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t follow the thought.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Dastien asked, breaking the silence.
“I’m…” God, I was tired. I just wanted to curl up in my bed. I rubbed my fingers along my temples dreading where this would go once it was out of my mouth. “I’m just wondering how far she went with this spell.”
I stood and started to pace. The problem was that I kept coming to the same conclusion. Unless I went to the coven’s compound, there was no way to know what Luciana had done, or how far she’d gone with the power drain.
I stopped pacing as a horrifying thought crossed my mind. “Do you think…” No. She couldn’t possibly be that awful.
She wouldn’t kill her entire coven? Would she?
But she could’ve. That was something she was totally capable of. Especially if it got her more power.
The answer had to be yes. To open her gateway to hell, Luciana was going to need a royal fuckload of power that she didn’t have. Since she’d lost access to both Claudia and me, she’d have to get that power somewhere else. Her coven was an easy target. They were there—linked to her by blood—practically begging to be drained.
I had to go check it out. “Don’t freak, but I don’t think there’s a way around it. We have to go to the compound.”
“What? Why?” Dastien half shouted.
“Because we need to know how far she went. If she drained her entire coven of magic, we’re going to have to a bigger fight on our hands than we thought.” Just thinking that scared the crap out of me. We hadn’t been prepared before, and if she’d really just done what I feared, then we
were screwed.
“Even if she did drain the coven, why risk going there? We’re not ready to fight her.”
“So we sneak onto their land. If she didn’t drain anyone, then we get out fast. If she did…” I had a feeling Luciana wouldn’t stick around with the bodies. “I just need to know. We need to know.” I grabbed my cross-body purse, jammed in all my potion vials, and headed for the door.
“Fine.” He stepped in front of me, his eyes glowing orbs of amber. “But the second we’re in danger, we run.”
“Of course.” We were definitely on the same page. “Let’s get the others.”
We’d barely made it to the middle of campus before Mr. Dawson, Donovan, Meredith, Chris, and Dr. Gonzales strode toward us.
“We need to check out the compound,” Mr. Dawson said. “See if anyone’s still alive out there.”
“Totally agree.” And I couldn’t be happier everyone was actually agreeing for once. “I’ve got some potions in case Luciana’s still there, but we need a full plan.”
“I summoned a few quads of Cazadores for backup,” Mr. Dawson said.
“What about campus? Shouldn’t they stay in case she tries to attack?”
“We’ve enough wolves to protect the campus,” Donovan said. “If Luciana is still on the compound, she has power to burn. Nothing wrong with bringing backup.”
“Okay. Probably a good idea.” I thought for a second. “The main problem is the warding on the compound. We can deal with the repulsion part, but the spell also alerts the coven of intruders. If Luciana or any of the coven is still there we’re going to have to run fast.”
“I can help with that.” Cosette raised her hand and I almost did a double take.
I would’ve sworn she wasn’t standing there ten seconds ago, but if she was going to appear out of nowhere, she’d picked a good time to do it. “You can?”
“Yes. I’m sure I can still cross the wards without setting off the alarm.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Or I can get you across them easily enough. Either way, I’m going along for the ride.”
I managed not to gape at her, but it was close. Cosette volunteering to help? Whatever her reasons were now, I wasn’t going to question them. “Okay. Cosette and I will deal with the wards. What next?”