“You remind me of wee.” Her smirk dropped, and I laughed. “I also love that you’re so scared of me that you had to disable my magic. Feel like it wasn’t a fair fight before?”
“She doesn’t like to lose, and she knew she’d lose if you had all your magic.” I loved it when Will joined in. Maybe if we prodded her enough, she’d make a mistake out of anger.
Her hand flicked out. I couldn’t feel any magic because mine had been cut off, but she was up to something for sure. “Watch out, Will!”
A zap of magic hit the dangling light fitting above Millicent, and it came crashing down. Will deflected it just before it hit my sister-in-law, and she didn’t even flinch, still caught up fighting whatever was in her head.
With Will distracted, the thug shot at him, the crack sending a mouse scurrying across the floor.
I screamed.
Will must have had a shield up because the bullet deflected and hit the barn wall.
My breath came fast, and my heart raced.
Millicent groaned. I spared her a glance. She clawed at her chest. What the hell was she doing?
“Enough!” Dana approached Millicent and put her hand on her head. She looked at Will. “Let Lily go peacefully, and I won’t kill Millicent.” I didn’t know what she was doing, but Millicent cried out, then whimpered. Adrenaline warmed my throat, and it was all I could do not to run over there and slam Piranha out of the way with my body.
There was only one other option—going with them. Surely, I’d figure something out on the way. I refused to believe I couldn’t work out how to escape later. Goodness knew I had a talent for accidentally killing people… and she couldn’t be worse than someone born to kill other witches, aka the vampire witch. I’d survived him, and I’d survive her.
“It’s fine, Will. I’ll go with her. She’s got nothing on that vampire witch I killed last month.” I gave Piranha a self-satisfied grin, as if nothing was too hard. It gave me pleasure to see her eyes widen before she quickly resumed her snarly demeanour.
“Please don’t, Lily.”
“Have a little faith, future husband of mine.” I grinned. Anger singed Piranha’s gaze. He he, I sure knew how to push her buttons. I looked at her. “What are you waiting for? Are you still scared of me, even with my hands cuffed?” I stomped a step towards her, and she flinched. “Ha! I knew it. Scaredy-cat.”
“I’m not scared of you.” She let her hand slide off Millicent’s head and took a step closer to me.
“Great, nice to know. I don’t believe you, though. In any case, I’ll come with you on the condition that I get to give Will a kiss goodbye and Millicent a hug, well, as best I can with these cuffs on.”
“Since when did I say I was taking last requests?”
I shrugged. “You didn’t, and I guess I’d expect it from a loser like you. I bet your mother would be so proud.” Bingo. I’d hit the jackpot.
A crazed flash lit her eyes. “Don’t you dare bring my mother into this. She loved me, and if it wasn’t for your mother, she’d still be here.”
“Blah, blah, blah. Whatever you want to believe. You’re a horrible person, and your mother, had she still been here, would agree with me.”
“She has got a point,” Will said. Wow, it surprised me that he’d cottoned onto my line of needling. It was all I had left. “I have no idea how any mother could love someone as depraved as you.” Ooh, low blow, but I highly approved. “It’s probably good she’s dead. You would’ve broken her heart.”
Her nostrils flared. She shook her head slowly. I couldn’t tell if she was drawing power, but she raised her arm, and her associate shook his head.
His deep voice was measured. “Remember what your father said.” Hmm, interesting.
She clenched her fists. “Argh! You’ll pay for that comment, William. Once I have Lily, I’ll torture her and film it, just so you can watch later. I might even keep her alive long enough so you can watch some of it in person.”
“Well, in that case, I’m not going with you. Screw that.” I couldn’t be too agreeable, or she’d figure out I had a plan. Okay, so it wasn’t a great plan, but the fact that it existed was a bonus, considering how my brain wanted to flake and run from the situation.
She snarled and gripped Millicent’s hair and yanked her head back. A knife appeared in Piranha’s hand. She placed it at Millicent’s throat. My normally fairly unflappable sister-in-law’s eyes were filled with terror. “Oh, yes you are. You pull out and this witch gets it.” She sneered. “Just to prove I’m a good sport, have your idiotic kiss and cuddle, then. I can wait another two minutes for victory.”
Will watched his adversaries warily as I made my way to him, my cockiness squashed by fear. If Piranha cut Mill’s throat…. If it wasn’t for my plan, I’d be a screaming mess. But I only had one chance.
Will gave me a fierce hug, and I whispered, “Make a bubble of silence.” He did, although my nape prickled at the thought of pissing Dana off further while she had a knife at Millicent’s neck. “I’m about to free Millicent’s magic.”
“But how?”
“You’ll see. Just be ready.”
The thug was yelling at us, but we couldn’t hear him. Will dropped the bubble of silence. “Sorry, but Lily and I wanted to have a few private words goodbye.” He looked at me. “I don’t like you doing this. Please don’t.” I was sure he meant it but was also putting on an act for Dana’s benefit.
I shook my head. “I have to. If anything happens to Millicent, James will never forgive me. She’s a mother now. I’m not. It’s better I go than she dies. Besides, you know I’ll figure it out. They won’t hold me for long.” The bravado was important, lest Piranha figure something was up. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she wasn’t stupid either… cunning was a kind of intelligence, and she was all over that personality trait. Plus, she had no conscience. I didn’t doubt she wanted to kill Millicent. The only reason she didn’t is it gave her leverage. Even she knew all bets were off if Millicent died.
Piranha barked a laugh. “Yeah, right. Dream on. You’re the weakest witch I know.” She flicked her gaze at her henchman. “And that’s saying something.” He gave her a deadpan look but said nothing. Way to make friends and influence people. Hmm, maybe I was a bit out with the cunning assessment. Upsetting your hires was bound to cause resentment. I’d file that information for later use.
Thankfully, Dana dropped Millicent’s hair, but she kept the knife. I had to walk close to Piranha on my way to Mill, and I did my best not to flinch, but it wasn’t easy. Hate radiated off her, and it was all for me. Deep down, I knew I could beat her, but it would also take a bit of luck… and magic. She had way more experience than me, especially at attacking people. Without my magic, it was as if I walked naked. I’d never felt so vulnerable, and I hated it. Add that to the reasons you want her dead. Those reasons were piling up faster than a multi-vehicle accident on an icy highway.
Millicent had curled back up in the foetal position. This was going to be tricky. I looked around in an automatic precursor to asking for help. Piranha’s evil gaze met mine. Ah, yeah, nah. I’d have to do this myself. I dropped to the ground, slamming onto my knees. Pain speared through them. I ground my teeth together rather than cry out. I took a deep breath, trying to regain my concentration. “Millicent, honey, it’s Lily. Can you sit up? I want to say goodbye.”
She curled in tighter to herself like an armadillo. I turned an angry gaze on Piranha. “For goodness’ sake. Stop torturing her. I want to say goodbye properly, dammit.”
She grinned. “Ooh, cranky, cranky. What if I don’t?”
“Well, don’t, then. I’ll just add it to the accruing list of stuff I have to take revenge for. Be my guest. Oh, and I’ll tell your father how cruel you’ve been. From what I understand, he wants to use me for something—he doesn’t actually hate me.” I cocked my head to the side. “Hmm, are you jealous of me? That your dad wants something from me you can’t give him?”
Sparks flew from her eyes as rage stiffened her shoulders. I swear she wore a button on her forehead that said Push me, Lily. It totally wasn’t my fault. Who could resist that kind of temptation?
“Enough!” Her raised voice told me I had hit a bullseye. I held back my grin—no need to push her over the edge so that she said no goodbye cuddle for me and Millicent. Let no one say there was no finesse to this.
Millicent relaxed enough to look up at me through teary, bloodshot eyes. It looked like the real Millicent was there.
“Can you sit up? I want to say goodbye.”
A tear rolled down her face as she uncurled. She groaned and shut her eyes for a moment. What had they done to her? Finally, she sat up, then made it to her knees and met my gaze. “No, Lily.” Her hoarse voice was quiet, and I had to lean in to hear. “Let her kill me. We need you.”
I shook my head and gave her a meaningful look. “I just need to give you a hug. Please? We don’t have much time. I have to go, and I’ll be devo if I don’t get to say goodbye properly.”
“Devo?”
“Devastated. It doesn’t matter. Just put your arms around me. I’m kind of tied up.” I gave her a “whaddaya gonna do about it” smile.
Her brow wrinkled, but she said, “Okay.” She shuffled closer and put her arms around me. I buried my face in her neck, burrowing like a pig searching for truffles. I had to get my tongue under the collar of her sweater. Please don’t react to me licking you.
There, got my tongue under. I resisted the need to blow a raspberry—having wool in your mouth wasn’t fun. I dug around a bit, and she shifted slightly, probably wondering what the hell was going on, but she said nothing. She trusted me, and that meant everything.
There it was, something textural and cold. I gathered it with my tongue and placed it between my teeth. Then I chomped down and pulled back. It silently snapped, and Millicent relaxed against me. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Any time. Now, be a good sister-in-law and make a shield around us so you can unlock my handcuffs.”
“It would be my pleasure.” We each sat back, and she gave me a nod. I had to assume her shield was up because I couldn’t feel anything. We stood, and I turned my back to Millicent so she could free me.
Piranha’s mouth dropped open. She must be able to see Mill’s shield. Yay! This time I allowed myself a smug smile, all for her.
Will grinned and gave me a nod. He turned and shot twice at the thug—he would’ve had to drop his shield to do that but would surely have snapped it back in place. Both bullets ricocheted, but the thug bent at the waist, as if someone had punched him. His magic had taken a real hit.
Millicent’s cold hands on mine were reassuring. I felt more than heard the tiny click, and then I was free. My magic was back! “Woohoo!” I grinned and looked at Piranha. “Care to play?” I drew as much magic as I could hold—she likely could see the ridiculously bright glow of my aura and realised I wasn’t mucking around… even though I was. I assumed she’d run. If she didn’t, maybe I’d blow her up. “Mill, drop the shield on three.”
That’s all it took for Piranha to hiss and make her doorway. Before she left, she pointed at one of the boxes we’d brought back from Mont Saint-Michel. Her magic stabbed icky fingers into my scalp, and the box disappeared. Crap. “One, two, three.” As the shield fell and I let loose a bolt of lightning, she stepped through her doorway. Damn! My lightning kept going and blew a hole in the side of the barn. Timber fragments exploded everywhere. Oops.
Her thug gave Will an angry glare. Will shot at him again. The man staggered backwards, scrambled to make his doorway, and jumped through.
Will swore. “What the hell?” I looked at Will and shook my head. What had they wanted that was in that box? We hadn’t gone through everything yet. Grrrr.
Millicent grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. “I’m so sorry, Lily.” She shook her head. “I— I don’t know what happened. I was being compelled. Oh, God, I almost got you killed.” Her face collapsed in sorrow and shame.
“You were almost killed too. It’s the necklace from your cousin. He’s one of them, Mill.”
She dug under her sweater and pulled out the broken rose-gold chain, the little heart still attached. She stared at it, her brows drawing down.
Will strode over and looked at me. “How did you know?”
“She was clutching her chest, and last time I saw her cousin, he was making sure she was wearing it. He doth protest too much, me thinks. And I know you had lunch with him the other day. I bet he made sure you were wearing it.”
She stared at the necklace in her hand for a moment, then looked up. “He was there with a colleague… another witch. But I can’t remember much.”
Will and I shared a horrified look. He swore again. “They must have coerced you to wear it. Show me your phone.” She unlocked it and handed it to him. “Damn. Look at the message you sent.”
She’s here. Hurry.
Millicent paled. “I— I— Oh my God, James is never going to forgive me.” She started hyperventilating.
Will put a firm hand on her shoulder. “Look at me, Mill.” He waited until she’d complied, her panicked gaze meeting his reassuring one. “James is going to do nothing of the sort. He loves you. This isn’t your fault. I fell for it too. I went to the morgue, and there was no one there. I was a bit pissed, but then I figured maybe they had to rush out, so I came back… and just in time, it seems.”
“And, hey, everything turned out okay. Plus, we know about the necklace now, and you won’t be wearing it anymore.”
She shuddered and held it out to Will. “Please take this. I never want to see it again. As for my cousin….”
Will’s predatory grin almost made me feel sorry for her cousin, but not quite. “James and I will take care of him when this is all over. Don’t you worry about that, Mill. We’ll leave him for last so he can rot in jail later. I’d hate for him to die as soon as we arrest him. Once we’re done with RP, he’s the first priority on our list.”
She nodded and sniffed, another rush of tears trailing down her face. I slid my arms around her and pulled her to me. “You’re just as much a victim as me, Mill. You are not responsible, and I love you. Please forgive yourself. Don’t let them break you. We stand together now and always.”
She spoke through her tears. “But I’m an agent, Lily. I’m supposed to be aware and capable. I’ve failed spectacularly this time.”
“You haven’t failed. Your cousin set you up. They knew the only way to get to you would be through someone you trusted. Don’t beat yourself up about trusting a relative. You can’t be on guard 24/7.”
Will put his hand on my back. “Come on. Why don’t you take Mill home? I’ll hold the fort here. I might call Agent Roche and see if there’s anyone he trusts to provide back up. Once you’ve spoken to James, go home, and stay safe. We need to rethink everything. We can’t leave this stuff here—we’re too exposed.” He didn’t need to voice his concern over what they’d taken. Had all this just been a ruse to take what was in that box? Surely not. If it was, why did they wait till I was here without Will or James?
“Hmm…. I might have just the person.” Someone owed me a favour—not that I thought they owed it to me, but they thought they did, so same thing. I hated asking anything of anyone, but things didn’t get any riskier than this, and it could be my last chance to ask anything of anyone, so I might as well take it. Who knew? It might just help protect my loved ones. The fewer distractions we had right now, the better.
“Since when do you know people?”
“I wouldn’t want to give anything away.” Will had cast a bubble of silence earlier, but I had no idea if there were any privacy wards on the barn. In light of what just happened, I wasn’t going to blurt things out in a place I didn’t know well. “I’ll tell you later.”
His forehead lines deepened. “Don’t go anywhere without me, James, or Imani.”
“I won’t. Don’t worry. I’m thinking I ca
n probably call this person to come to me, and before you panic, it’s someone I trust.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like this.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell James who it is, okay? I’ll even get them to come to his place. Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes. Since you’re taking it all away, I’ll make sure it’s all catalogued. I’ll need another twenty-four hours; after that, we’ll store it. Now, you both look after each other. I’ll see you later.” He gave me a firm hug and a fierce goodbye kiss on the lips. Even after everything that had just happened, he made me feel like it was all going to work out, and even if it didn’t, he gave me butterflies and made my heart happy. Whatever the future brought, I was still the luckiest girl in the world.
“Come on, Mill. Let’s go.” I took her hand, made a doorway, and pulled her through.
Thankfully, James managed to talk some sense into Millicent, but she wasn’t fully recovered. Every time she looked at me, her eyes were apologetic. Hopefully it wouldn’t last long because it would drive me crazy. She’d look at me like that and I’d feel compelled to tell her it was fine. I guessed whatever it took to make her feel better, and if that meant I was telling her for the next few months, well, so be it.
James had okayed me calling Mr Sorokin, the father of one of Tommy’s victims. Alena had been an agent, yet she’d succumbed to his attack. Killing the vampire witch had come with a huge thank you and an offer that if I ever needed him, he’d be there to help. I wasn’t sure exactly what he did. I think someone had mentioned something about owning a successful business, and I didn’t think he was into anything criminal, but I got the feeling he commanded respect and people would do anything for him. Which meant he probably had strong witches on hand to protect his stuff. He’d promptly answered my call and was now sitting on James’s couch, a cup of tea in hand.
I’d just finished giving him a rough rundown. I didn’t want to tell him everything, of course. He also let James ask him a couple of questions and judge his honesty. If James was happy, I was happy. I drained my cappuccino and magicked the cup away. “So, these are the proceeds of crime, and we’ll need them for evidence later, but we know the people we stole them from want them back. And we don’t want to store them at head office because….” Gah, how to say it without insulting the PIB, seeing as how his good friend was one of the directors.
Witch War in Westerham Page 13
