I raised a brow. "How so? And why the show of publicly saying you think I have something to do with this."
"Because that's exactly what the coven is going to do. They will send a witch hunt after you, and you…you will contain all of them until I can take them out."
I jerked. "Take them out how?"
"I'll be binding their magic so this town can heal."
I pressed my lips together. "Binding is black magic."
"It's a gray area, and right now, I think we need a bit of gray, don't you?"
I tried to consider the situation. "And how exactly do you expect me to contain them? There's only one place the majority of the coven gets together, and that's at the meetings. There are also innocent people in this town, and I refuse to rope them into this."
"No one in this town is innocent, Collins. Don't let your newbie illusions fool you."
"Newbie? Newbie?" I stood up and leaned forward on his desk. "I'm far from a newbie. I have seen things that would make most PIB agents run screaming."
"And that's why they put you on leave."
It was a smack in the face. I sucked in a deep breath. "If you want my help, then you better play nice. I don't agree with doing it to the whole town, but those making contracts with the demons, yes."
He looked at me. "You don't make that choice here."
"Except I do, because I'm the only witch in this town that's willing to do this for you. Therefore you can only bind the ones that I trap."
He watched me for a moment. "What's the largest number of people you have trapped in circles?"
"Single circles or one big one?"
"Both."
"At least a hundred in single circles, and I've trapped two packs of fighting werewolves in a circle, and I've taken over a circle of a high priest attempting life magic." I sat back in my seat as if none of those things were a big deal.
He shook his head. "None of those are in your files."
"Actually, if you look, the priest one is. That was a case in Mesa City. The other one might be beyond your clearance level for searches because it was on a case with the King's Guard." I couldn't keep the smugness from my voice.
He thought for a moment. "So here's the plan. You go in, trap them, take over the circle, and I come in and bind them."
"And what's to keep you from binding me?" I still had the recipe for a potion to keep my magic from being bound, but I wasn't going to trust him blindly.
"You'll just have to trust me."
That wasn't going to happen. "I'll have to take over the circle from the outside."
He looked like he wanted to argue. He glanced at Simon. "Why are you even here?"
The sudden change in subject was a bit jarring, like he had just noticed that Simon came with us.
"I'm a bit like Abby's partner." He shrugged. "Where she goes, I go." He looked down at his watch. "And we have another meeting to get to. So, we'll take our leave."
Simon and I both stood up.
"Tonight, Abigail. It has to be tonight."
I glanced at him. "Why the urgency?"
"Either that or PIB sends in SWAT, and anyone who remotely looks like they have performed black magic will be shot on sight."
It wasn't like PIB to shoot now and ask questions later, at least not typically. I pressed my lips together. "Talk to them and tell them to give us seventy-two hours."
"Why?"
"Because there are some things I want to try and people I want to talk to first." Like Ana. He didn't seem to know about her.
He nodded. "I'll get you the time you need."
"Thank you."
"Oh, and Abby, this is off the record."
I shrugged. "I'm on leave. Nothing is on record."
Simon and I walked out together and headed toward the restaurant we were meeting Curt at. Simon held my hand but remained unusually quiet. Maybe he didn't want to speak about the situation in public, or maybe he was just digesting what was said.
∞
Simon and I walked into the restaurant together, still not having said anything to each other. I was trying to formulate a plan in my head that would let me save Ana and not have to trap at least fifty people in a circle where they'd be summoning a demon. And could probably kill me with some magic. I swallowed, and Simon squeezed my hand.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just trying not to throw up is all. The gravity of the situation just kind of hit me."
Simon kissed my cheek. "You'll get through it."
So I hoped. We found Curt in the back of the dining area, a glass of water in front of him. Simon sat down in the booth across him, and I scooted in. "Curt."
"Abigail." He nodded. "Simon. Good to see you alive."
Simon nodded. "I'd certainly be one of the sacrifices had Abigail not come for me."
Something unsaid went between the two, almost as if they were having a staring contest and the one who blinked would die. I could feel the tension march up my skin and I shivered. "Are you two done with your pissing contest? Or are we going to sit here while the coven kills the rest of your wolves?"
Curt turned his gaze to me, and I saw yellow flash in his eyes.
I locked my jaw. "Get control over your wolf, or we leave. I'm tired of dealing with people who can't control their damn actions."
"You think you can save my wolves?" he snarled at me. "What on earth could you do that would stop this?"
I looked at him. "Tell me why you stay here."
"I told you, Nathan has us all tagged, he has my queen."
"Before that. Before Nathan and all of this. The city wasn't like this before. Why not leave when the black magic started taking over?"
He shook his head. "This is our home. It was our city, until the coven moved in. We lived in harmony with the witches that were here before, but even the witches and warlocks who refused to join the coven were cast out. We worked together until the coven came."
I leaned back. "What do you plan on doing if the coven is taken care of?" It seemed to be the main goal here, and I was starting to have a bad feeling about how things were going to play out.
"Restore the town. It'll be a wolf town once more." He shrugged.
I glanced at Simon, and he nodded. "We need a couple wolves to watch our back, and not the one you've had watching us."
Curt paused. "I haven't had one watching you."
My stomach fell at that.
Simon spoke up, "There's been someone tailing us since we arrived here."
"Not one of my wolves. I simply wanted you here to mourn the loss of Brittany with us. What you two do is none of my concern." He glanced at me. "Is there someone else that would want to track you two?"
The assassin. I hadn't told Simon about it because he already had other issues on his plate and I didn't want to worry him any more.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, so yeah, a couple wolves to watch our back?"
"If that's the case, I want an alliance with Simon's pack." Curt looked at him. "If I need aid later on."
Simon took a moment before he answered. "I'll have to talk it over with my second. We just patched up a big rift in our pack." Though there were basically two alphas now that the pack was back together, as far as I knew it was working well, but Simon was still taking the lead on a lot of things.
"Let me know. Abigail, I sent Simon those pictures."
I nodded. "I've seen them, thank you. I have an idea of what is going on now. All I need to do is figure out how to stop it, and we'll be good to go."
"One lone witch against an entire coven?" He laughed. "What good can you do?"
"I can't really call in back up, but don't worry, I have my own tricks." Of course, they were mostly magically formed weapons and fire, and now that Nathan knew I was an elemental, I was guessing fire would be out of the question.
He snorted. "If you survive this, we owe
you one."
I nodded. "If I survive this, I expected a goddamn party."
Simon rolled his eyes. "I'm going to step out and call Travis."
I scooted out so Simon could leave to make his call. I sat back down and folded my hands on the table. "Your queen, do you think she'll be okay with your alliance with Simon?"
He nodded. "I do. Once you take out the coven, she'll be safe. Her biggest issue with alliances is she doesn't like to put others in danger."
She sounded like a good woman. "Okay, so we find a way to take out the coven, keep Simon and me alive, figure out what is going on with Ana, and not let anyone else get killed."
"Sounds easy enough."
I was about to snap at Curt, but then I realized he was being sarcastic. I smirked. "Simple enough."
Curt let out a small laugh. "May God have mercy on us."
I stood. "I worship the goddess, but my thoughts are the same."
"Where are you going?"
"I have a phone call of my own to make real quick, and then I'm going to let you and Simon discuss the details of the wolves while I go handle something else."
He raised a brow. "You're the girlfriend of the alpha, and you're not going to sit in on the negotiations?"
"I'm respecting your wishes about staying out of pack business, and I only know enough to get myself in trouble when it comes to pack politics." I shook my head. I walked out just as Simon walked in. "I'll meet you back at Riley's."
Simon nodded. "No problem." He kissed my cheek. "This might take a bit."
"I trust you to do what you can."
He met my gaze, nodded, and took a seat as I walked out.
∞
I walked further away from the restaurant, pulled my phone out, and called Merick. The phone rang a few times before he answered.
"Yes?"
"Hey, I have a picture, you wanna see?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Depends on what it is."
"A pretty little symbol. I thought you'd be interested in it." I didn't want to flat out say what it was. "It'll be coming from a different number."
"Got it. I'll look forward to it. I've made sure my phone is clear. Hang in there, Abby."
The line disconnected. Not being able to use my phone was becoming a pain in the ass. I made my way to the only big box store I'd seen in the city. The automatic doors whooshed as I walked in and looked around, trying to take in the locals. Agent Lawrence seemed to think everyone in the town was corrupt, but I didn't see it that way. Riley and her grandmother were innocent, the wolves were innocent, even if Curt's choice were questionable.
The store seemed like a typical superstore. People walked around with carts full of groceries and other items. This was probably the only store of its kind here, where people could just about everything all in one spot. I walked back to electronics to grab a phone but saw Nathan rounding the corner with someone. I ducked behind a display and prayed he didn't see me or happen to go down that aisle.
"So, the visiting witch?"
"Ana assures us that she's not going to be a problem. She has no connection to PIB right now. She's on leave and has all connections cut off," Nathan said.
I held my breath. Ana hadn't sold me out, that was good.
"You don't know this woman. I saw her cast out a demon with two bullet holes in her. I doubt she'll let her leave status keep her down." The voice belonged to Carson.
My hand itched to take him down now, but I didn't know the whole situation, not yet. I forced myself to take a breath and calm my twitching hand.
"She's nothing without PIB behind her. A weak elemenatalist and a mediocre witch whose morals will get her killed. You're worrying for nothing. The underground is lying about her powers. She's nothing more than a simple PIB agent." Nathan spat the words out. "Let her come at us."
With pleasure, you little worm. I duck-walked further down so that I could move to the other end of the display and wait for them to pass. They were idiots for talking about this in public. Of course, if most the town were under Nathan's influence, then they may not care who overheard. Once I was safely at the other end of the aisle tucked behind the endcap, I stayed in my squatted position and pretended to be looking down at the items on the bottom shelf.
"Make sure that you have everything prepared. We sacrifice her to the demon, we get the secret to that spell," Carson spoke, his voice closer than it had been. I kept my head bowed, praying to the goddess that they wouldn't see me. At this point, standing and running away would draw more attention.
I sifted through the items, picking one up, looking at it. Clearance headphones, nothing exciting.
"We will, we're prepared for her, don't worry. We'll get the last piece of your spell. Do we know why the demon even has it?"
"Yes, Abigail's father raised this one. I believe he gave Tobias the answer to the tablet."
I locked my jaw at the news. I knew that Tobias had risen a demon, but no one knew why. Just that my mother had been in trouble. But if it was for the translation of the tablet, it was when my mother was still with Levi, before I was born. I had thought he had summoned the demon afterward.
"She won't be able to use her magic unless she's found a way around our circle's abilities, and there's no one willing to tell her how to do that."
I wouldn't have put my money on that. I put the headphones down and looked at the next clearance item. A pay-as-you-go phone. Sweet. Nothing fancy, just a basic smartphone, perfect.
"You're that confident in the coven you've built around you?"
"I've done exactly as you've instructed," Nathan responded. They were right at the end of the aisle, a foot away from me now. I continued to sift through the items, keeping the phone in my hand and not daring to looking up.
Carson let out a low growl, almost like he was warning Nathan. "You better hope that Abigail finds no weak links in your defense. I can't afford for this to go wrong, and I can't afford for all this information to get back to PIB."
Oh, you little asshole. I was going to find those weak links, and I already had an eye on one of them. They passed me without even giving me a second look. I waited until they were out of sight and then darted to the front of the store, picking up a prepaid minute card as I went. I made sure to pay in cash so no one could track the transaction. I glanced up at the security camera and thought about my stalker. Were they working for Carson, or had someone else put a price on my head?
No, from the sounds of it, Carson wanted me alive to sacrifice to the demon. I walked out of the store and back to Riley's coffee shop. The problem was, the entrance wasn't showing, which mean it wasn't safe for me to get in.
"Abby?" Ana's voice came from behind me.
I spun around and looked at her. "Yes?"
"I think we should probably talk."
I nodded. "Yeah, I think so too, but first you have to promise that you're not going to kill me or betray me."
She nodded. "A truce for now?"
"Is there a safe place that we can talk?"
"Yeah, there's a magical sanctuary just around the corner. We can talk there." She motioned for me to follow. A magical sanctuary was a place guarded against harming people inside. It was purely protective magic.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I followed Ana to the sanctuary and looked at the old gray bricks. There was a sense of safety and home around it that welcomed us in. Ana walked in ahead of me, and I simply followed. A tingle of magic flowed over me, and I felt it mingle with my own, almost as if it was testing me.
"I've never been to an actual sanctuary before." I looked around at people sitting at tables, many of them had their heads down almost as if in prayer.
"There aren't many left." Ana took me to a table, and we both sat. "You need to go home. Leave here, and you might have a chance of surviving this case."
I shook my head. "What does Nathan
have over you?"
She sat there in silence, staring at me as if she didn't hear the question.
"Ana?"
"Yes?"
"What does Nathan have over you? Why are you still with the coven if you have enough information to give to PIB?"
Again, she just sat there in silence for a few moments and then she blinked at me. "Yes, Abby?"
What the hell was going on? I rubbed my eyes. Maybe it was the same spell that kept us from talking about the demon summoning to strangers. "I talked to your dad."
"And he told you that our family is in danger." She nodded. "And had Simon kidnapped and lured you into a trap." She stated it as if it was just a typical day.
I nodded. "So, let me help you, tell me what is going on so that I can help."
She pulled down her shirt, and I saw the rune etched into her collarbone. There were no words needed, she was tied to someone or something that could be her instant death.
"What's it tied to."
"Not what, who." She pressed her lips together. "Nathan."
Well wasn't that a slap in the face. "You kill him, I die. You strip his magic, you strip mine."
Well wasn't that a fun little pain in my ass. "That's why you tried to protect him. But why have PIB bring me in?"
"That wasn't my idea. I told them I didn't want any backup, and they said they'd send someone in undercover. Then I got news that you were showing up, and I assumed that you were my backup. At first I thought we could handle it. Then I realized that they cut you off from every possible resource that you had."
"There's another PIB agent in town. He might have been your backup." I shrugged. "I honestly don't know what the hell I'm doing here at this point, other than trying not to get my ass killed."
"That's news to me. Let me tell you something that might help?"
I nodded.
"Nathan didn't willingly get his mark. It's not a failsafe. It's a punishment."
"Who is behind all of this? Carson?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Nathan runs the coven."
It was almost like she was programmed to give a default answer.
Between the Lines (Here Witchy Witchy Book 7) Page 11