by Jamie Magee
“What are you over there thinking about?” Blackwater asked.
“How I’m going to kill you and send you to hell. When I visit I might ask to see you just so I can smile at you and let you know that you’re a stupid, greedy fuck who landed right where you always belonged.”
“You? You think you’re in a spot to say that right now?” Blackwater asked with a laugh.
Reveca held his stare but out of the corner of her eyes she was watching. Watching the fire that Talon had made in his cell, the flame that he had sent Thrash’s way. How now they both had a flame, they both had an object and they both had herbs harvested with vengeance; ones both Bastion and Gwinn had sent their way via spell, because that’s how they roll.
“At this exact moment, no.” She looked down, used her strength to snap the cuffs on her then stood in one fluid motion. Blackwater jarred back and aimed his gun at her. Her energy grabbed it, pulled it to her then aimed it at him.
Right then she heard a scream, someone else curse, and she grinned.
Blackwater looked wide-eyed to the new sounds.
He saw Talon with his arm braced on Tisk’s neck. He saw Thrash restraining Holden the same way.
“Are you scared yet, Blackwater? You should be.” Reveca grinned. “You’re going to sit right there and listen to me tell you every way you fucked up so when you’re rotting in your pit you can think back over it.”
Revenge. Reveca was feeling the rush ease into her. And she fucking loved it.
Chapter Four
Reveca stepped forward, holding the leaf that was sent her way. “I wasn’t sure if you had the balls to do this part, Blackwater. If you’d have someone else do your dirty work.” She reached for her earrings, the button ones Echo had made her from one of Blackwater’s suits. “You would have been here either way though.”
He trembled on.
“Does this seem ironic to you, Blackwater? Me holding a gun on you? My hand is steadier than yours, isn’t it? Yeah, it is. When you aimed your gun at me all those years ago, you weren’t sure that you could kill me. And I don’t mean that you didn’t think you had the guts to pull the trigger. You had that. But you weren’t sure if the rumors about me were true. If I was a witch, if I would come back for you, curse you.” She grinned. “Confused? Let me clear that up. I’m a fucking immortal witch. You can’t kill me. Every word you have said, every deed, has further sealed your fate this day.”
Reveca walked over to the cell Talon was in. She jerked the door open and nodded to Tisk. “This is not a witch,” she said, looking back to Blackwater. “Not really. She lacks gratitude, the true understanding of how the magic works.”
Tisk was struggling for breath as Talon squeezed her neck with his arm. Reveca grinned at her. “You should have listened to him, Tisk. He told you every fucking time you put your ass in his face that you would never survive fucking him.” She lifted her chin. “You were dead already, but all the same you should have listened.”
Reveca looked back to Blackwater as she moved to Thrash’s door and opened it. She glared at Holden who looked like hell ran over, terrified because he already lived through Reveca’s magic, the gentler side of course.
She looked back to Blackwater. “You started working for the Devil’s Den. And they were approached to sell a wicked drug by a wealthy investor. They did their best to find the perfect witch to help them with their exploits. That’s how they came across Tisk. She was good at finding the ingredients for the drug. But she sucked at the spells, wasn’t quiet fluent enough in the language. She would say the wrong shit, and she’d end up with some haunt instead of any real power.”
She waved the gun at Blackwater. “Then you find a loon that can read the text, and who has a vengeance against allies of the Sons. You start sweet talking this one,” she said with a nod to Tisk, “the same way you did when you called me Maren. You didn’t want to work for the Devil’s Den, not that close. It kept putting you and O’Brian in the hot seat. You wanted them to deal, and you wanted Newberry to make the drug. Tisk brought you what you needed and Holden ran the money and drugs back and forth. That way if he was ever caught you’d say it was his undercover job, that he was running drugs for the Sons.”
Reveca stalked closer, feeling the aggression outside building, keeping her eye on Cashton. She needed him to focus, needed his energy to help her send these souls to Crass. He looked like he was coming around but it was a slow process.
That was the only reason she was taking the time to explain any of this. Why she hadn’t done her deal and moved on to fight that war she felt outside, all that power she felt closing in around her.
“You didn’t care that Tisk was kidnapping little witchlings or that Newberry was pulling their blood. You didn’t care that the Devil’s Den was trying to do the same with the others that they called Rouges. You just wanted your payday. And when one of the witchlings finally had enough and gave Newberry a well deserved death and Holden found the body and a girl—you didn’t know what the fuck to do. The only link you really had left to the Devil’s Den at that point was Tisk.”
Reveca glared back at the whore as Tisk tried to claw at Talon’s arm.
“You did argue with her, though. Tell her that setting the Sons up was suicidal. But then she told you she could get the gun on the property, that the law would take them down and as long as Holden took out GranDee, it would look as if revenge was set for the Devil’s Den.”
Reveca pursed her lips before she spoke again. “Then Tisk came to you and told you that you had to cover other murders, that she was cleaning house for Mr. Black, the man that wrote your check, and you did it by framing me. All the while promising the Devil’s Den that the Sons were going down.
“You know the rest. You know how we fucked you at every turn and led you right where you wanted to be. You thought you had us when Tisk told you that Talon and I were falling apart, didn’t you? Thought that you had to strike then before we got over our tiff.”
“You fucking bitch,” Tisk yelled when she got a breath.
“You’re a stupid one,” Reveca said. “Did you like shifting? How much of that drug did you take to do so?”
Tisk grinned with a gasp. “I didn’t have to take shit to get Talon to fuck me,” she said, reaching back and grabbing his dick. Talon slammed her against the wall then went at her again, holding her arms behind her, pulling her hair back until she screamed.
“What the fuck, Vec, let’s go! Enough with the chit chat,” Talon bellowed. He surely felt the war outside and knew the coven and their boys were struggling with the Rouges. It felt chaotic to say the least.
Right as a wave of energy was felt to enter the building, there was a measured clap heard.
Zale had appeared in the center of the room. In doing so, he nearly gave Blackwater a heart attack which was not good. Reveca needed them all to die at once.
“A good fuck and brilliant, Reveca, you are dazzling,” Zale said.
He nodded to Talon and with his force he pried Tisk from his arms. “Come here, pet,” Zale said to her.
Reveca looked right at Talon and told him to let it be. She knew Zale was on limited power. She could feel the coven outside pulling from him. It was a slow go but it was happening.
All hell was breaking loose outside.
Reveca knew that Zale’s plan, as always, was to arrive, show power, get every one to cower and be too afraid to come at him later when he was low on energy.
“No doubt she’s not nearly as good a fuck as you,” Zale said, pulling Tisk to his side. “But she is my kind of dirty.” He laughed. “Knows just enough mortals on the wrong side of the law,” he nodded to Blackwater, “and the right side apparently. Knows the witches and the Rouges. She knew enough to bring me all I needed, and she was smart enough to listen to every word I told her, every target.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Blackwater managed to say.
“Your master, you sick fuck, and you will realize that all the more as we let this c
lock run out.”
Reveca nearly rolled her eyes. Zale was trying to make them all believe he was Mr. Black. That was a lie. Zale was still hunting the mortal. He was still alive, or at least he was when his name appeared on Crass’ list just under Zale’s.
Zale smiled at Reveca then glanced at Talon. “I know you’re pissed at him, but surely not badly enough to move in with Crass.” He winked. “But darling, if that is what you want, so be it. Looking back I should have thought of that before you made the stupidest barter ever made.”
Talon pulled his shoulders back, hating that Reveca was holding him back and not understanding what the fuck Zale was talking about.
“She tell you?” Zale asked Talon. “She freed him. King is long gone. No memory of her and no reason to return.” He winked at Talon. “That’s not the fun part, though. The fun part is that if she does not deliver her payload to Crass before this moon rises, then she and King will both be in the care of Crass forevermore.”
Both Thrash and Talon tensed at once.
“You can thank me later,” Zale said to Talon. “If they’re both with him they can’t fall much further into death. They’ll stay nice and deep in his pit so that no God will find them, new or old,” he said with a glance to Cashton on the floor.
Reveca was glancing at Cashton, too. She knew when Zale entered the room he had to break the hold he had on Cashton. She knew right now the only thing that was holding Cashton back was whatever was in his system which should be next to nothing at this point.
“We get to live on,” Zale said to Talon. “Raise our own hell.” He petted Tisk’s wild hair as he spoke. “Tisk was very eager to test our drug Black, and you know what? She did well with it. Very well. She shifted at will. I managed to get a mortal to shift,” he said with a proud smile.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it to my Rouges, too, see how that worked out.” His listened for a second. “I’m sure that’s why Jamison is having such a hard time controlling them. I don’t think your immortals are faring well with them either.” Zale laughed. “I had them shift into your images. Confusing as fuck out there.”
Tisk grinned at Reveca. “I got you, bitch.”
Reveca aimed the gun in her hand right at Tisk’s cunt and fired. It wasn’t going to kill her but it sure as hell felt good to Reveca.
Tisk wailed and went to the ground, blood pouring down her legs.
Zale laughed, Talon smirked.
“Well, there went that,” Zale said dismissively.
Blackwater went to run but Reveca aimed her gun back on him.
“Evanthe knew you were in on this,” Reveca said to Zale.
“Oh she did,” Zale agreed. “She tried every way to stop me. I will be damned; I didn’t expect her to go as far as she did. It will take me some time but I will get her out of the book of shadows,” Zale said, stepping away from Tisk not wanting her blood on him. He was prowling the room as if he owned it, as if he had no fear in the world, and from the sounds of things outside he was surely right.
“You have the book?” Reveca asked.
“In plain sight, dear. Not a matter for you to concern yourself with.”
“You think I’m done?” Reveca asked. “That I came this far, did what I did, and I’m done?”
“I think you’re a stubborn bitch. I think that even if I sat here and watched you kill all three of these souls on Crass’s grocery list and you managed to pull some spell together with the two brutes you have left standing, that you can’t get past the energy dome I have over this building. You’ll send them away but they will just fall back down. No prize for Crass and you tucked away. I win.”
“Awful eager to get me in a prison.”
“It’s called survival, darling. First and foremost, I don’t want you to have more power than me, which you would if King lingered near you for too long. Secondly, I don’t want your cocky ass to go to war with Gods that are better left alone. When you’re locked up all will be safe and happy. Think of it this way, you’ll get to fuck King all day long and Crass will enjoy the show. I did hear he was into ménage.”
“You’re sick.”
“No, I’m brilliant. You go away, the Sons will fall apart like they nearly did in the past when you left them to pout about something, and I make my drug, give my Rouges power, make new ones, and dominate the world. Simple as that, darling.”
Blackwater made a run for it right then. Reveca shot him in the leg and gave zero thought to it as he fell next to Tisk.
“Just get it over with. Let them die. Go home and pack a bag, something sexy Crass will adore,” Zale taunted.
“You’re on his list. First fucking name.”
“I’m sure I am,” Zale said with a laugh. “I’ve been pulling power from that foul smelling fucker since day one. Took him forever to even figure it out. Pissed a lot of people off, too. But it is what it is.”
Reveca held his stare with a harsh glare, kicked Tisk when she started to moan something to Zale. Reveca knew what Tisk was trying to tell him—that Cashton was rising to his knees just behind Zale. He looked pissed and shaky but he was standing. If he could focus long enough to do this spell, if Reveca could pull from somewhere deep inside she might be able to break Zale’s dome of energy around this building.
It was a slim hope, but it was a hope, and that is all any fool needs. The only issue was making sure that Zale didn’t interfere with the spell as it went down.
Before Reveca could begin to plot her way around that one, Cashton was stable on his feet. The look in his eyes was murderous.
Reveca kicked Tisk again when she moaned and pointed. Zale assumed she was asking for help and was quick to ignore her like the cold ass he was. Before he could open his mouth and spit out another word, Cashton came up behind him and pulled him into a choke hold.
“You can’t be fucking serious,” Zale said with a laugh as he went to move out of Cashton’s embrace—but he couldn’t. He was surprised, to say the least. Reveca was, too. It looked like Cashton could barely stand on his own much less choke the life out of a powerful witch.
Then with eyes still glazed over, looking weak as hell, Cashton bit his wrist. Blood didn’t come out—dark whispers did, along with a shadowy purple light.
“Windsome you fucking whore,” Zale said as he struggled to get away.
Cashton held him in place and forced his wrist against Zale’s mouth. Even though he had his mouth closed, the energy went inside of Zale’s nose.
Zale dropped to his knees. Cashton grabbed Zale’s neck and twisted it. One sharp pop and Zale fell. Before he hit the ground, the energy that went into Zale came out and encircled him then ushered him away into a dark divide that opened out up out of thin air.
Just like that he was gone.
Where and how, Reveca didn’t know. She just knew that wherever it was, Windsome had sent him there and used Cashton to do so.
Cashton let a boyish grin come to him as he met Reveca’s stare. “I hated that fucker.”
Reveca popped a brow.
“Son of a bitch,” Talon said with wide eyes.
“You think I’m awesome. I bloody knew it. I get a patch or something right?” Cashton asked, pointing at Talon.
“He’s fucking high,” Thrash said, pulling Holden forward and then throwing him on the ground next to Tisk and Blackwater.
“Fire,” Reveca said to Talon as she walked over to Cashton and put her hands on his face.
“Bloody favorite fucking witch,” he said, cupping her face and leaning his forehead to hers.
“Cash,” she said calmly. “Focus. We’re not yet done. Can you do this?”
“Fuck yeah,” he said, looking around. “Where’s the shit, did you kill them yet?”
It was almost funny how nonchalant he was about it all, almost.
“Should you get Jamison or something?” Thrash asked.
“No time. Do you not feel that war out there?” Reveca asked.
She
took a stone from her pocket, the stone from Crass’s throne, and put it in the ring of fire that Talon had made around Holden, Tisk, and Blackwater. Then she took the herb she had in her hand and nodded for the others to circle the fire.
“Cash, look at me,” Reveca said. “We’re pulling the souls. You gotta keep them in the fire. You got that, right?”
“Done,” he said with a lazy wink.
“Fuck this, Reveca,” Talon said.
“Shh,” she said. She looked down at Holden then moved her eyes to Tisk who surely knew what was about to happen. Then she moved her stare to Blackwater. “I’ll see you in hell.”
Right then Talon, Thrash, and Reveca pulled Tisk, Holden, and Blackwater’s souls from their bodies.
He did have a slight delay, but Cashton managed to trap them in the fire with his energy.
In the fire, black smoke was swirling around the flames. Their screams could be heard, and it was music to Reveca’s ears.
“Ready, Cash?” she said to him.
“Rock and roll, baby,” Cashton said as he extended his arms up. Reveca did the same. Only she was whispering the words, the ones that would send the souls soaring to Crass.
The room vibrated with a surge of power. The doors blew open and rain and leaves swirled around the fire.
Then all at once the screech of the souls soared away. It knocked both Reveca and Cashton off their feet, but Reveca was up in a heartbeat watching the flames; they were now a looking glass.
They all watched as the souls soared through the Edge, then the tip of the Veil, as they moved past the docks at Crass’s then down through his cave landing squarely on his lap.
Reveca watched as his men seized the souls and Crass looked up, meeting her eyes through the flames. He nodded once and gave her wink.
As his image faded, the list of names emerged then all at once the fire went out.
Zale’s was still there. The fucker wasn’t dead but trapped somewhere. That only confused Reveca more, but she knew sooner or later his mystery would be hers to unravel.
