“That’s not all,” Liz said. “She was trying to save Harold after she sliced Delphine’s head clean off, and that woman came back in a mist of black smoke ready to kill us both.”
Danny cringed at the mention of his father and I clutched his hand, laying my head on his shoulder.
Catherine and Allison began to speak at the same time, then stopped and looked at me. They were having some sort of silent conversation and I wasn’t sure what was going on in their heads.
“What’s going on? What are you two thinking?” I asked them.
Allison ran her hand through her hair, looking pained. “Delphine has Harold. This is not good, Abby. What does she want from him?”
The question I had been dreading since Liz and I woke from our living nightmare. I glanced at her, then toward Danny. “Is there anything stronger than mimosas in this house? We’re gonna need it,” I sighed, looking about the room.
Danny continued to look at me expectantly, then Danielle jumped from her chair and grabbed a bottle of Bacardi rum she had stashed in the cabinet. “Will this do?” she asked, placing the bottle on the table.
“Yep. Danny, you might need this and please try to remain as calm as possible, okay?” I asked him, sliding the bottle of Bacardi his way.
Mom and Genevieve were still silent, waiting for the worst to come and I couldn’t blame them. I so didn’t want to have this conversation, but it was necessary, and if I was going to rescue Harold, I needed to spit it out and come up with a plan.
Liz opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head, silently telling her that I would handle it.
I looked at Danny who seemed worried and pissed at the same time. “It’s true, Delphine has your dad. She’s given me three days to turn myself over to her or she said she’ll kill him.” I paused taking a deep breath. “The thing is, I can’t kill her in an alternate plane, but my father’s magic has saved us twice.”
“She said she would kill him? Abby, you can’t allow her to take your soul and drain your magic!” Danny shouted way too close to my ear.
I placed my hand on his arm when the entire kitchen lit up with gasps. “Look, I don’t plan to, but we only have a short time to come up with a plan, one of those being finding Marcus. I’ve learned my power is much stronger now. I can find a way to distract her in some way and save your dad.”
“Abby, no. It’s much too dangerous. There has to be another way,” Mom said near sobbing.
Danielle came to stand next to me. “She won’t be alone, Mrs. B. I’m going with her.” Then she looked at me with fierce blue eyes, daring me to challenge her.
“Girls, you misunderstand. This will be nothing more than a trap,” Genevieve argued.
Danny sat next to me in silent protest. He had a look of determination in his eyes along with sheer anger. There was no way I could assuage his fears sitting at the kitchen table. We would have to discuss it in a more private setting.
“Genevieve, that’s exactly why I need you, Mom, Catherine and Allison to help me,” I said. “My newfound magic comes at my call and I’m able to break Delphine’s illusion easily. I’m also able to tap into Liz’s powers now.
“Once we detain Marcus, preferably today, I want all of you to witness how far it has progressed. Then, assist me in performing a spell to distract the old hag long enough to grab Harold and make a run for it.”
Mom sat silently in thought, brunch forgotten. She looked toward me with tears welling in her eyes. “If this is what must happen, then we’ll deal with it as it comes. But there’s one small detail you’re forgetting, Abby: Francesca. She’s a formidable witch and it seems she’s grown considerably more powerful over the years. Our attempt to take Marcus down will not be quite as simple as you think.”
“Mom’s right, Abby. It’ll take all of us and more,” Liz said then looked to Genevieve. “Do you think your coven will be able to assist us this afternoon?”
“Of course, Elizabeth,” she answered. “I only need to make the call.”
“I think it’ll be better if we attack in the cover of night,” Danny said. “It still gives us two days to save my dad.”
“All right then. Let’s figure out the logistics and what time we want everyone to meet back here,” I said, looking around the room. “With the help of the Hybrid Coven, we should have no problem taking Marcus down and retrieving the talisman.”
“I’ll take care of Francesca,” Mom muttered under her breath, then took a sip of tea. She had that look in her eyes again.
Everyone discussed the plans for tonight’s mission. We wanted to be in and out as soon as possible. Mom, Catherine and Allison were going to cast an illusion around the old house, making anyone who came near feel a sense of impending doom and be compelled to walk away immediately. A magical barrier to keep sight and sound from human eyes would need to be erected as well; that’s where Danny, Liz, Danielle and I came in. Once our spells were complete, we would ambush them under a cloak, hiding our magical signature. Genevieve and the Hybrid Coven would be waiting for our call across the street and join us when we crashed the place. We were to leave at nine p.m. sharp.
***
Catherine and Allison went home to rest and gather their things for the battle ahead. Genevieve did the same, making a call to James, her second in command, to ready the coven for tonight’s mission.
Mom went to her room to rest, while Danny, Liz, Danielle and I went to my room to go over our plans one more time. I had a feeling I was about to be hit with resistance from Danny and Liz about fighting off Delphine.
Danny closed the door behind him and everyone was settled in my room, taking a seat either on the bed or in a chair. He walked toward me and sat next to me on the bed.
“Abby, I don’t want you fighting Delphine alone. I know Danielle said she would go, but my dad’s trapped there. It’s only right that I come too,” he said with a pleading expression, taking my hands in his.
“Danny, I understand, but how do you suppose all three of us enter the illusion? I was only able to do it by entering Liz’s mind while she was trapped.”
“We’ll find a way, but I’m going with you. She can’t fight us all. I’m saving my dad.”
He was getting angry and I understood, but I didn’t know any other way around it.
“Danny,” Liz interrupted. “It might not be that easy. It’s different for Danielle because well, she’s dead.” She looked at her. “Sorry, Danielle, but it’s true and you have a few abilities that we don’t.
“Anyway, Danny, I’m not sure how you can do it unless you perform some kind of spell, connecting yourself to Danielle and Abby in a sleep state,” Liz said, moving from the chair to the bed.
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Danielle agreed. “It’s not impossible and worth a try.”
“Thanks, Danielle,” I said a bit sarcastically.
“Abby, it’s too dangerous for you to go it alone and you know it,” she replied. “Delphine wants you and she’s only been using Liz to lure you in, same as she’s doing with Harold. Wake up! You need all of the help you can get and we’re not gonna stand by and let you sacrifice yourself. So, you can just forget it.”
“Okay, fine. You win,” I conceded. “We’ll figure something out, but remember, it’s impossible to kill her. We have to distract her and grab Harold as quickly as possible. Then get the hell outta there.”
“Good. We’re all in agreement, then,” Danny said, looking around at everyone.
I was irritated that my family and Danny were willing to risk their lives in that damn illusion from hell, but I knew if the tables were turned, I would do the same. I just didn’t want any of them to get hurt. Asking for help was hard for me, but I realized that we were an amazing team and love would carry us through. We also had the power of God’s light and our ancestors backing us, but we needed to be careful.
Tonight’s mission was another thing altogether. While it seemed like a solid plan, I knew better than to take anything for granted. Th
ere could always be surprises and we needed to watch each other’s back at all times. Francesca was a wild card. I had no idea the extent of her powers, but I was ready to take her on even though Mom had said she was hers. I had no doubt my mother was a powerful witch, but if Francesca hurt her, it was game over.
I was also curious to learn about the man and woman in the attic. Were they friend or foe? I guessed we would find out soon enough.
“All right, Abby. We’re going to rest for a while, then get ready for tonight,” Liz said, heading for the door, breaking me from my thoughts.
I looked at Liz with fear in my eyes. “Danielle, please watch her. If she looks like she’s fighting in her sleep or if anything seems strange, come get me immediately.”
Liz turned to look at me before Danielle could answer. “Sis, I’ve got this. I don’t think Delphine will try anything again today, but thank you for saving my ass again. Love you.”
Danielle nodded toward me, silently telling me that she would watch over Liz and I felt a little better.
“Love you too, Sis.” I watched them as they turned and walked out the door.
I knew my sister was a big girl, a badass witch, but Delphine had trapped her twice now. I was more than a little concerned every time Liz went to sleep. In fact, it scared me to death. What if the next time I was too late? I wanted to rip that old witch to shreds for trying to harm my family and friends. I just needed to find out how. The more I thought about it, the angrier and more determined I became.
“Hey, where’d ya go?” Danny asked, looking down at me.
“Just thinking about Delphine again. I have to find a way to stop her from torturing my sister in an attempt to get to me. I don’t even know how she did it in the first place.”
As soon as I said the words aloud, I realized it was when Liz had given up and allowed a tiny bit of darkness to creep into her soul. Crap! The vampire’s bite, the possession, all of it. It finally made sense. Delphine preyed on darkness and that’s why she hadn’t been able to access me lately. It also explained why my magic was able to build the barrier and help us escape the illusion so easily—God’s light. I had to tell Liz right away.
I turned toward Danny and explained my new revelation and his mouth fell open. He knew I was right and went across the hall with me to tell Liz. We had to help her get rid of the darkness or it would only grow over time. I thought about how Mom had helped me and the key to overcoming it.
I didn’t even knock and walked straight through the door. “Sis! You need to hear this. Now. I know why Delphine is targeting you and not me,” I said fervently.
She sat straight up on the bed and looked at me wide-eyed. “Well, what is it?”
Danielle was sitting in the chair next to the bed. “Holy shit. The darkness,” she blurted out.
“Bingo,” I said. “Sis, when you were ready to give up, allowing the vampire’s bite to go untreated, and were possessed by that spirit, you also allowed a small amount of darkness to creep into your soul. That’s what Delphine feeds on—darkness and that’s how she was able to get to me.”
“Oh my gosh,” Liz said, standing from the bed. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“It’s okay. Mom helped me to get rid of mine and I can help you.
“You have to think of the defining moment, the one that made you want to throw it all away. Then search your soul and remember all of the good things in your life. Our power—the power of God’s light—is like no other. It comes from within our soul. You have to find the key. Mine was the love of my family and friends. I realized that I didn’t need to hang on to the darkness anymore. You can do the same. Sit back down and concentrate.”
Liz sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, folding her legs beneath her. She held her hands out, palms up and it looked like she was praying. The three of us waited several long minutes, then suddenly a bright white light encircled her, glimmering and touching the walls like the sun shining through the blinds in an early morning sunrise.
No one said a word. We just watched in awe, then tears began to slip from her eyes. She took long even breaths, then thanked God aloud for blessing her with His gifts and ridding her of the darkness staining her soul. Then she opened her eyes to look at us. She was radiant, still glowing with the light of God. It was one of the most beautiful sights that I’d ever seen.
“Oh, Abby.” She leapt from the bed and hugged me tight. “Thank you. I felt so lost and now, I just feel… blessed. I love you so much.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Then Danielle broke up the party. “Okay, enough of this crying business. Everyone back to their corners. We need to rest,” she sniffled.
I had to laugh. She hated crying and it wasn’t often that she did, but had been a lot lately. We all had. “Love you too, Danielle,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah. Get out. Me too.” She walked me and Danny toward the door, still sniffling. I was snickering to myself on the way out.
When Danny and I walked back to our room, he plopped on the bed with a grin on his face. “That was amazing,” he said, looking up at me. “I wish I could’ve seen it when you finally let go of your darkness.”
“It really was. Liz is a pure soul, always has been. Now that her darkness is gone, we don’t have to worry about Delphine trapping her again. Another good thing about it is she’ll be able to use the power of God’s light in the illusion once we find a way back in through the talisman. We just have to make sure we grab it tonight.”
“You know what else this means? We won’t have any problems going into the illusion together,” he said, resting his head on his hand. “No impossible spells—we bond our magic like before. Then we’ll be at our strongest and I can get to my dad.”
“You’re right, but we can’t allow ourselves to be distracted. Once Delphine learns she no longer has access to Liz, she’s gonna be pissed. We’ll have to act fast.” I laid down beside him, resting my head on his chest.
“I have no doubt it’ll all work out. We just have to keep the faith, Abby.” Then he leaned down and kissed my forehead.
“We need to rest for a couple hours. It’s already four o’clock. I’ll set the alarm this time,” I said, sitting up to switch it on to its loudest setting.
I snuggled up next to Danny and in no time at all, I was fast asleep.
Chapter 8
The alarm went off at seven thirty and Danny was already awake getting dressed. He must have peeled me off of him while I was asleep. I yawned and stretched, then threw the covers back. It felt like I’d slept for days.
“Hey, you’re awake,” Danny said from the bathroom doorway.
“Yeah. I’m gonna jump in the shower real quick, then grab something to eat. And coffee… I need coffee.”
“Look on the bedside table. I’m already ahead of you. I just brought it up.”
“Have I told you how much I love you today?” I picked up my steaming mug of delicious caffeinated goodness and sipped. Ahh…. Coffee.
“Yes, but it’s always nice to hear,” he said, walking toward me, then placed a kiss on my hair.
I looked up at him and smiled. “Is everyone else up and ready to go?” I asked.
“Yep. It’s just you we’re waiting on.”
“Great. I’ll hurry then,” I said, looking longingly at my coffee. I placed the mug back on the bedside table, then headed for the bathroom.
Once I was dressed in my leathers, tank and boots, I grabbed my athame, then rushed downstairs to the weapons closet to gather a few extra knives just in case. Liz and Danielle were there doing the same. Mom was bringing out protection potions from the greenhouse and passing them around. Catherine and Allison were responsible for the cloaking potion to hide our magical signature; they would be there any minute. It seemed everyone was meeting early to go over the plan one last time before execution. We couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
Mom looked badass dressed in all black. She even had weapons strapped to her black boots and throwing knive
s attached to her belt. Nope, she wasn’t messing around.
Liz and Danielle were dressed in our typical fighting gear: leathers, tanks and boots. Danny too, minus the leathers; he always wore jeans and a dark T-shirt.
The doorbell rang and Mom went to answer it. She welcomed Allison and Catherine into the kitchen for a quick snack before we left. She had made shrimp gumbo while we were all sleeping. It wasn’t exactly a snack, but I was starving and decided to eat a bowl with a half sandwich.
Everyone joined me in the kitchen a few minutes later after smelling my food, having the same idea. We ate in near silence until Catherine spoke up about the cloaking potion.
“The potion should mask our scent, making us undetectable, seeming only human without a magical signature,” she said, picking up her bowl and placing it in the sink.
“That’s very good,” Mom said. “We should take it at least a mile out from the house. We have no idea how far Marcus can track our scent.”
“What about the others in the house with him?” I asked. “Should we be worried about what kind of powers they have?”
“The potion should work against any and all magical creatures,” Allison replied, taking a sip of hot tea.
“Okay, well, that makes me feel better. When will Genevieve be here or is she meeting us there?” I asked, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“She should be here shortly, along with about twenty members of her coven,” Mom answered. “They will have to drink the potion as well because they carry a magical signature in addition to vampiric.”
“That makes sense,” I said just as the doorbell rang.
Liz left the kitchen to answer it. She and Danielle welcomed Genevieve and a good number of her coven into our home.
Danny stood to greet them all. “We’re so glad you guys could come and help us. Thank you,” he said, walking around shaking each one of their hands.
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