All the Pretty Witches (A Hannah Hickok Witchy Mystery Book 6)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Hannah hoped beyond hope that was true.

  THE SUN WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY GONE by the time they arrived at the creek. The only light was of the ambient variety and it offered very little illumination. On a whim, Hannah waved her hand and let loose a blanket of sparkling dust. It hovered in the air, almost invisible, and brightened the surrounding area.

  “Well, that is just ... all kinds of awesome,” Cooper noted as he took in the scene on a chuckle. “I mean ... that right there puts me in a romantic frame of mind.”

  “It’s interesting,” Bettina agreed, leaning close. “It’s magical fragments that can’t be collected and used against us. Amelia will be furious when she sees it. Well done.”

  “It makes me hungry,” Clement noted. “I saw this advertisement on the television the other day and there were sparkly things on doughnuts. That’s what this reminds me of.”

  Hannah shot him a dirty look. “Does your entire life revolve around what you’ve seen on television?”

  “Pretty much.” Clement flashed a smile that had Hannah grimacing. “You’re going to miss me when I’m gone.”

  “Not likely.” Hannah gestured toward the small hill to the east. “You guys should head over there,” she instructed Jackie and Danielle Garrett, the other member of the coven. “You’ll be semi-protected and out of the immediate line of fire.” She hesitated and then focused on Cooper. “You should go with them.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Cooper was firm. “I’m sticking with you.”

  “But ... you’ll be safer with them.”

  “I’m sticking with you,” he repeated.

  “But ... .”

  “No.” His eyes flashed with annoyance. “We’re in this together, from beginning to end.”

  Because she knew it was a waste of time to argue, she simply nodded. “If I tell you to do something in the heat of the moment ... .” She trailed off, uncertain.

  “I’ll do it,” he promised. “I trust your instincts. We’re still sticking together.”

  Hannah had no idea how that was going to work if she told him to run, but she opted not to think about it. “How long?” she asked, turning to Clement. “When will she be here?”

  “I’m not her keeper. She just said dusk.”

  “And she just volunteered this information out of nowhere?” Cooper challenged, a niggling pulse of worry coursing through him. He couldn’t help but feel he should’ve asked the question before they’d left the saloon. Heck, maybe he should’ve asked a multitude of questions.

  “Of course not. She’s expecting me to be here to help her. Opening the door takes a tremendous amount of effort. She needs me to help bolster her.”

  Hannah faltered. “So ... why not just tell her no?”

  “Because I want to live to tell the tale of this strange land,” Clement replied, unruffled by Hannah’s accusatory tone. “I want to go home. She has enough power to kill me. Granted, in the attempt, she might drain her own powers to the point of no return. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s more than willing to do it just to say she beat me.”

  Hannah shook her head. “You guys could keep a hundred therapists busy with your family crap. You know that, right?”

  “Oh, without a doubt,” Clement agreed. “If we get a therapist, I want that one on the show with the criminals. The ones named after singers.”

  It took Hannah a moment to grasp what he was referring to. “Again, most television is fantasy. That includes The Sopranos.”

  “You’re zero fun,” he lamented.

  “Yes, well ... .” Hannah didn’t get a chance to finish what she was going to say. Something sparked at the back of her mind, a recognition of sorts. When she lifted her chin, on the other side of the creek, magic ignited into a large flare.

  She reacted before the others could speak and get into position. She raised her hand and cast out a red net of magic, one that she hadn’t practiced but had suddenly appeared in her mind. It smacked into Amelia the second she landed, causing her limbs to get tangled.

  “What is that?” Jackie asked, straightening.

  “It’s a net,” Hannah replied as she moved closer to the creek. “It’s going to make sure Amelia doesn’t take one look at us and poof out of here.” She kept her gaze on the other woman as she moved closer. “Hello, Amelia.”

  The witch wearing Stormy’s face made a sputtering sound as she tried to throw off the net. Hannah designed the magic so the more effort Amelia put into her escape, the more the net worked against her. While it didn’t turn out to be a perfect trap — there were some holes quickly developing — Hannah was more than happy with her first attempt. “We meet again.”

  “What is this?” Amelia made a growling sound as she attempted to use her magic on Hannah. She seemed none the worse for wear despite getting shot by Boone a week before, which meant she was likely impermeable to non-magical weapons. “What are you doing here?”

  “Father brought us,” Bettina replied as she moved to a position where Amelia would have no choice but to look at her. “It seems he’s not thrilled at the prospect of working with you.”

  “So he allied himself with you?” Amelia looked positively apoplectic at the notion. “Why am I not surprised that he turned on me? You can’t think that he’ll remain loyal to you.”

  “I don’t expect him to be loyal to me,” Bettina replied dryly. “He’s only ever been loyal to himself. I trust that his loyalty to himself will stick around long enough for us to put an end to you. That’s all I really care about.”

  Amelia’s eyes were dark slits of hate. “So, after all this time, you want him to win, do you? I always knew you were more sympathetic to him than you let on.”

  Bettina’s laugh was hollow. “You’re trying to bait me. It’s a waste of time. I’m well past that now.”

  “We can take him down together,” Amelia offered. “It will be like old times.”

  “He’s already down. He’s simply not out. His fate is no longer my concern.” Bettina was matter-of-fact. “You’re the last thing I have to grapple with on this side. Then I can move on.”

  “And what makes you think I’ll let you move on?” Disdain dripped from Amelia’s tongue. “You’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place. You decided our fate. I won’t let you do it a second time.”

  “You’re not going to have a choice in the matter.” Bettina straightened and slid her eyes to Hannah. “Do you understand what you have to do here?”

  Hannah swallowed hard but nodded. “I have to kill her.”

  “No.” Bettina shook her head. “You have to seal the nexus. That means you have to absorb our power to do it.”

  Amelia started struggling harder. “What are you telling her?”

  “What are you telling her?” Clement queried, seemingly surprised by the conversational shift. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

  Bettina’s countenance was weary as she held up a hand to silence her father. “I will give you my magic willingly,” she said. “You will have to take Amelia’s magic. Once you wield our power, you will be able to close the nexus.”

  “Forever?” Hannah’s mouth was dry. “And what happens when I take your power? Will Angel and Stormy be killed in the process?”

  Bettina sounded downright exasperated as she sighed. “You need to stop worrying about the shells. They have no bearing on what you need to do.”

  “They’re not shells. They’re people.”

  “There are more people who will be hurt if you don’t do this.”

  “I won’t hurt Angel.” Hannah was adamant. “I would let Stormy go if it came to it. She’s done a lot of evil. I wouldn’t be happy, but I would do it. Angel is a different story. She’s innocent. I won’t do this if she’ll be hurt in the process.”

  Amelia let loose an exaggerated cackle. “Then you can’t do this. The shells will die if you try to strip me of my powers.”

  “She’s lying,” Bettina countered. “The shells wi
ll survive.”

  “Then why not just say that?” Hannah hedged. “Why make a game out of it?”

  “I don’t care about the shells. That’s you. They’ll return to what they were, though. Amelia’s shell will likely be more evil than she was before and desperate to wreak havoc on your world. This shell will be confused, maybe traumatized a little, but she will survive.”

  Hannah took a moment to consider what Bettina was saying and then nodded. “Fine. Then we’ll do it. How does it work?”

  “You need to drain me first.” Bettina’s voice was cold, calculating. “Amelia is full of negative energy. My energy will counteract that and make sure that she doesn’t take you over.”

  “Wait ... you’re not full of negative energy?” Clement queried. “When did that happen?”

  Bettina rolled her eyes. “Once I’m inside you, you’ll know what to do. You’ll take Amelia’s magic and funnel it into the nexus. You can’t stop until it’s done. Even if it hurts ... or burns ... or you have last-second doubts. If you don’t finish it out, Amelia will come back eventually.”

  “What about you?” Cooper asked. “Will you come back again if she doesn’t finish it?”

  “No. This is it for me.” Bettina hardly looked broken up at the prospect. “When I give my magic to you, I will briefly live on in energy form, but only until you start closing the nexus. That’s where my magic truly started, and that’s where I will be laid to rest.”

  “Right.” Hannah absently scratched her cheek and gave Amelia a sidelong look. “And her?”

  “She will fight the effort. Between the magic you have from me and what you rightfully possess, though, you should be able to contain her.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Amelia growled. “She’s trying to trick you into giving her the power of the nexus. Once she has it, she’ll be unstoppable. She’s the true enemy.”

  Hannah knew that wasn’t true. Bettina might’ve seemed indifferent about life — longevity draining the humanity from her — but she wasn’t evil. The darkness that lived in Amelia’s eyes was pronounced. There was no mistaking it for anything other than what it was.

  “Then I guess we should get started.” Hannah took a deep breath and then extended her hands. Somehow, she knew what to do. “I’m ready.”

  Bettina immediately reached out to grasp the other woman’s hands but Clement stopped her with a finger on her wrist.

  “How did you finally learn to do what’s right?” he asked, genuine curiosity lining his features.

  “I stopped asking myself what my father would do,” Bettina replied simply, placing her hands in Hannah’s and nodding. “Here it comes.”

  Cooper licked his lips as he watched Bettina, the teenage face contorting as the witch inside began funneling energy into the woman he loved. He wanted to move closer to Hannah, serve as some sort of shield, but he knew he was out of his depth. All he could do was watch ... and pray.

  On the small hill behind them, Danielle and Jackie joined hands and began to chant. They were helping, Hannah realized. They were serving as a funnel, making sure none of the magic escaped.

  Hannah gasped as the raw power started to fill her, her eyes going wide as her breath grew ragged. She held it together because it was expected, but she struggled with the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. If she didn’t know better, she would think she’d eaten a rather large meal — or ten of them — and needed some time to digest. She did know better, though, and it took everything she had not to panic and break the connection with Bettina.

  Across the creek, Amelia began struggling harder. She was desperate to escape the net. Hannah thought she had plenty of time, even as the magic started vacating Angel’s body ... and then it happened. A new person joined the fray.

  “What is this?” Astra’s tone was accusatory.

  “Oh, geez.” Cooper started toward the water, as if he was going to wade across the expanse and somehow stop Astra from intervening.

  Bettina stopped him with a wave of her hand, freezing him in his place.

  “Let me go,” Cooper gritted out, furious.

  “No.” Bettina never moved her eyes from Hannah’s face. “It’s too late to stop this.”

  “What are you doing?” Astra’s eyes were wide as she looked from face to face. “Stop ... whatever this is.”

  Worry that Astra would somehow derail what was to come filled Hannah, but Jackie was already moving to intercept.

  “I’ve got this,” she said, momentarily meeting Hannah’s gaze and nodding. Even though the woman wasn’t as strong as Astra, she had enough magic to hold her off and she didn’t refrain from throwing it.

  Astra, caught off guard by what she was witnessing, didn’t see Jackie until it was too late. She threw up a hand to protect herself, but the shield spell was weak and with Danielle’s added magical heft, they easily broke through the barrier and brought Astra to her knees.

  “Keep going,” Jackie ordered.

  “No!” Astra’s eyes practically bugged out of her head as she tried to fight the magical grip Danielle and Jackie had on her. She didn’t have the strength, though. “If you close the nexus, we can never tap into it again.”

  “That’s the plan,” Hannah said grimly as she watched Bettina deflate. At the exact moment the other woman’s magic failed, Angel’s body toppled backward. Cooper, suddenly free from the spell, hopped to his right to catch the girl before she could hit her head.

  In his spot next to her, Clement let loose a little sigh. “She’s gone.”

  “Not quite,” Hannah replied as she lifted her hands and studied them. They glowed an odd orange color. She felt somehow detached from herself, unsure how to reclaim who she was, and yet also present in a weird sort of way. Then Cooper spoke.

  “Baby, finish it out.”

  She jerked her eyes to him, momentarily worried that he actually believed she might fail. She saw nothing but love reflected there, though. “Right.” Turning, she watched with dispassionate contempt as Amelia tried to claw her way out of the magical net.

  They were well beyond that.

  “Here it comes,” Hannah intoned.

  “No!” Astra was desperate to escape the magic holding her in place, but she didn’t have the strength. A sob clogged in her throat as Hannah began absorbing Amelia’s magic.

  On the ground, Cooper brushed Angel’s hair away from her face and pressed his fingers to the girl’s neck. He was relieved to find a pulse, although the fact that she hadn’t yet roused worried him.

  Across the water, Amelia let loose one more terrible scream and then Stormy’s body thudded to the ground.

  “Amelia is inside her, too,” Clement said softly. “They’re both in there.”

  “And they’re both going back into the ground,” Hannah responded, closing her eyes.

  The nexus wasn’t a physical thing. It was there ... and yet she couldn’t see it with her human eyes as much as the magical one that lived inside of her. She lifted her hands to the sky and began to vent the magic she’d absorbed. All the while, Astra wailed for her to stop.

  The clouds above absorbed the magic, and then something inside — perhaps it was the sisters, something Hannah would always wonder about — redirected the magic at the ground. It hit with a resounding echo, causing the earth to shake.

  The explosion was profound, and Cooper rolled on top of Angel to protect her even as he was desperate for Hannah to finish the ritual. Every second he was away from her was pure torture.

  The ground opened up, showing a dark world below and earning a smile from Clement.

  “Home,” he said simply.

  “You can go now,” Hannah said, weariness threatening to take her legs out from under her. “You don’t belong here any longer.”

  “I don’t,” Clement agreed as he began to shimmer and detach his battered soul from Carl’s body. “You did a great job here, Granddaughter.”

  Hannah made a face. “I’m not your granddaughter.”

  �
��You are, and you protected the land. You did what I couldn’t, and for that I will never forget you.”

  Whether he meant the words to be warm, Hannah couldn’t say. She just wanted him gone. “Go in peace.”

  Clement saluted as he watched Carl’s body drop. “Live with hope,” he said before jumping into the chasm.

  Hannah watched to see if he would return for what felt like a long time and then collected what little strength she had left. “I don’t want you to worry,” she said to Cooper as she helped whatever was above direct the magic to the spot below.

  “Worry about what?” Cooper asked, confused.

  “I’m just tired.”

  “I don’t understand.” He momentarily looked terrified that she was going to fall into the hole. “Baby ... .”

  “I just need a nap.” With that, Hannah finished directing the magic and listed to her side. A moment before she was supposed to hit the ground, Jackie caught her.

  “I told you I would do it,” Hannah said as she closed her eyes and tried to shut Astra’s wails out of her head. “You had nothing to worry about.”

  Jackie managed a smile but she looked as tired as Hannah felt. “You did good. Now ... rest. There will be plenty of mess to clean up once you wake.”

  “That sounds like an absolutely fabulous idea.”

  19

  Nineteen

  Hannah slept hard. The first thing she saw when she woke the next morning was Cooper watching her. He was shirtless, his hair a mess, and stubbled to perfection. Her initial instinct was to smile. Her next was to bolt to a sitting position.

  “Ow!” She immediately reached for her back and shoulder at the same time, grimacing. “Did I get in a fight or something?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Do you think you got in a fight?”

  She shrugged. “I have no idea. I can’t remember anything after ... well, after the chasm closed.”

  Cooper frowned. “What chasm?”

  “The one beneath us. The one that sucked up all the magic from the sky.”

  He looked genuinely perplexed. “Is that what you saw?”