The Force Majeure was a group of twenty-one of the most powerful magic-born who had ever lived. I knew that Merlin and Rasputin were members, but I didn’t know much else about them, except they were among the most powerful beings on the planet.
Llew shrugged. “No, I thought you might, since you’re one of the Ante-Fae.”
“There’s another matter to consider,” Wendy said. “You can bet once the news gets hold of this, the story will go nationwide. With as many victims as there are, there’s no way that the news stations won’t get hold of this story. Even if we manage to persuade the police to leave our names out of this, at some point somebody, somewhere, is going to write a book. When they start digging into things, you can bet that all our names will surface.”
I tapped my fingers on the table. “True, but we can’t just knock him off, hide the body, and let nature take care of itself. Eventually, somebody else is going to buy that house, and the entity will still be bound there, and all hell will break loose. Plus, we promised to help free the spirits.”
Llew shook his head. “And Herne said he couldn’t help?”
“Right. I have an idea, though,” I said after a moment. “Suppose nobody killed him? That is, nobody alive?”
Wendy cocked her head, staring at me. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” she asked.
I caught her gaze and held it. “I think so. Can we do it?”
“Oh, with your death magic and my ability to call on Artemis to avenge those women? I think that the three of us can make this happen.” She grinned. “Shall we get busy? We’ve got a lot of planning to do before we go in there.”
I glanced at the clock. “Yeah, and I want to get situated before Tag arrives. Especially if he decides to fly back early to find out what’s up with Lana.”
And with that, we got down to business.
Chapter Fifteen
We arrived at the house at five p.m. There was no sign of Tag yet, for which I was grateful, and we parked down the street so he wouldn’t notice the car in the driveway. None of the neighbors seemed interested in what we were doing. In fact, I doubted anybody would notice us at all. Most of the houses on the street were worn and weathered, their yards left to grow wild and overgrown. The pavement was cracked in places, with weeds forcing their way through the broken sidewalk.
As we swung onto the path leading to Tag’s house, Wendy glanced around, shuddering.
“There’s some seriously hinky energy around here,” she said. “Crap on a log, didn’t your girl Lana notice this when she came to live here?”
“She was in love with Tag, out of a job, and in need of a place to live. I think that those three things clouded any intuition she had going for her.” I glanced at the house. “Hopefully the creature will remember who we are,” I added. “I’d hate to have to go through everything again to gain its trust and cooperation.”
I unlocked the door. Nothing seemed out of place, and so—breathing a sigh of relief—I stepped inside, motioning for Wendy and Llew to join me.
Wendy glanced around. “This place could be gorgeous if somebody restored it. But given the history, I think it should just be bulldozed to the ground.” She paused. “I can feel it—the entity. It’s here.”
I nodded. I could feel it, too. As we stood in the hallway, the energy thickened around us, and now a faint mist rose from the floor.
“Do you remember me?” I asked, keeping my voice soft and non-threatening.
The mist swirled, surging into a vortex in front of me as the shadow began to form. But it didn’t reach out to attack. Instead, it waited, and I felt an odd sensation as though my thoughts were being probed. I hadn’t remembered that from before.
“Something is different. I’m not sure what, or how to describe it, but there’s something…not quite right about this,” I said, glancing at Llew. “Is the yohumabe working?”
He nodded. He had fitted the three of us out with the last of his yohumabe before we left, though it wasn’t likely to help us if Tag didn’t come home early. We didn’t bother with blightwort, since the time frame for it to work was extremely limited.
“There is something different,” he said. “I can feel it, but I can’t put my finger on it, either.”
The shadow pushed toward me in a sudden rush, and I sensed a frantic, pleading energy, but then it backed off and vanished, disappearing through the door to the basement.
“What the hell was that about?” I was disconcerted. The sudden shift in energy unsettled me. “It’s like it was trying to communicate, then something yanked it away.”
“I suppose we’d better have a look in the basement and get set up,” Llew said.
“Hold on.” I turned to Wendy. “Can you call Ginty and ask him to turn on Lana’s phone and check for Tag’s location on the Find Friends app again?”
She nodded. “That thought occurred to me, too.” Moving to the side, she pulled out her phone. As she waited for Ginty to answer, I tried to sense anything I could that might answer what felt off, but by the time she returned, I hadn’t been able to pinpoint anything.
“He says it shows Tag as still in Colorado, so we’re good on that count.”
“I guess I’m just jumpy,” I muttered. “Let’s get this show on the road.” I found the key and unlocked the door, then turned to Llew. “One of us has to stay upstairs, to lock the door and return the key to its drawer. Otherwise, when he gets home, Tag will know that something’s up. Once he heads to the basement—which he probably will as soon as he figures out Lana’s not here—lock the door behind him so he can’t escape.”
“I don’t like it. There are too many variables,” Llew said.
“Yeah, I know, but we don’t have any other choice. If we just call the cops, Lana will be walking around with a perpetual Target on her for the rest of her life. There’s no way to force Tag to remove it. Since we don’t know the full extent of his powers, we kind of have to go the ambush route.”
“She’s right. Once he finds Lana gone, he’ll know that he’s on borrowed time and who knows what the fuck he’ll do? We have to stop him tonight. As matters stand right now, he’s been calculating in his kills. Lana’s disappearance might trigger a change that we don’t want to be responsible for.” Wendy crossed her arms. “Unless, of course, you just want to rig the house to explode when he opens the door. We can do that, too.”
Llew blinked. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
Wendy laughed but her voice was deadly serious. “Yeah, I am. I don’t horse around when it comes to freaks like this.”
“And you think the two of you can take him down?” Llew asked.
I answered, glancing at Wendy. “I think together, Wendy and I can take him down, but first we have to dismantle his safe place, and that means tearing apart the ritual room and destroying his wards. When this is over, Wager will help. I called him before we left the store and explained the circumstances. He’s got contacts with both the vampires and the police department. He’s willing to call in a few favors. I’ll owe him big time, but this is worth it.”
“All right. Let’s get busy.” Llew held out his hand for the key. “I’ll lock you in once you head down the stairs, but for the sake of the gods, call me if you need help.”
“Will do.”
Wendy and I headed down into the basement. Once we were at the bottom of the stairs, Llew locked the door behind us. I listened as his footsteps crossed above us, heading back toward the living room.
“Shall we get busy?” I motioned toward the secret door leading into Tag’s ritual room.
She nodded. “I’m ready.” Looking around, she picked up a short-handled sledgehammer and tossed it around like Thor might toss Mjölnir. “This ought to work for breaking up some crap. Or heads.”
I snickered. “You like breaking things, don’t you?”
“I like breaking the knees of pervs like this freak. And bashing a few skulls.” She paused. “I suppose you want to know why I was exiled from
Themiscyra.”
I shook my head. “I’m curious, yes, but let’s save it for after the battle. War stories are best told after victory, and I have the feeling that yours is a war story.” I led the way over to the secret door. “Here we are.” I opened the catch and the door sprang open. As I entered the room, there was a sudden noise—a clicking of sorts. I knew that sound. I’d just triggered a trap or alarm.
“Fuck!” I whirled just in time to see a force field shimmer into place across the door. Wendy tried to push through it, but a loud flash threw her back across the room, the smell of ozone swirling in the air. I turned as I heard the sound of a door opening behind me. There, in the entrance to the slaughterhouse, stood Tag.
“Welcome to your nightmare,” he whispered, a sickly grin on his face.
“But you’re in Colorado!” I heard myself saying, as ridiculous as it sounded.
“No, I’m not.” He stepped into the room. “My phone is, but hey, I can always get another one.”
I lunged toward him, reaching for Venom, but Tag reached out, whispering “Freeze” and my body suddenly became heavy, as though I were trying to slog through mud. It took every ounce of my energy to move even one step and then, that was it. I was paralyzed, frozen. I tried to call out for Wendy, but even my mouth wasn’t moving.
“Let me in, you cocksucker!” Wendy’s voice echoed from behind me as she pounded on the force field.
Tag sauntered over to me, glancing past me. I heard something happen—I couldn’t see what was going on—but then Wendy shouted. Then I heard a thud.
I braced myself, hoping to hell she’d managed to get that sledgehammer through the force field and had applied it to his head. But another moment, and Tag returned to stand in front of me.
“Your friend won’t be going anywhere soon. So don’t plan on her help.”
I noticed he didn’t mention Llew. I prayed that Llew could hear the shouting from upstairs. On the other hand, if he came down here unprepared, Tag might take him out, too. I struggled to open my mouth but I was barely able to breathe.
Tag stared at me for another moment, then snorted. “Let’s get this show on the road. I hadn’t planned on another sacrifice so soon, but hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth, and one of the Ante-Fae? You’ll be a nice juicy addition to my energy pool.”
I focused all my will on conjuring my flame, but I couldn’t even get my mouth open to whisper the spell. Nor could I figure out how to break out of the paralysis. I couldn’t even tell if it was a charm or an actual spell. Either way, no matter how much I pushed against it, I couldn’t move. As I was desperately trying to figure out what to do, Tag scooped me up in his arms and I went limp. It took me a moment, but then I realized that his touching me had broken the spell. We were headed toward his slaughterhouse.
I decided to bide my time. I needed to be able to disable him before he could cast the spell again, and that meant getting hold of Venom. If I tried now, he’d be aware that I could move and I’d be out of luck. It took everything I had to force myself to remain limp, knowing where we were headed. I reached inward, calling on Arawn’s strength.
Lord of the Dead, I silently prayed, see me through this. Give me the strength to overcome this man who usurps your power and abuses it. Give me the power to overcome him, to obliterate his violent soul. Let me take him off the Wheel if it be your will.
I felt a tingle as Arawn’s energy began to flow in through my crown chakra. My worry evaporated as the Lord of the Dead filled me with a cold determination. Every sense seemed heightened. Every shred of remorse I might have had for Tag evaporated like water on a hot grill. Every concern about the ramifications of what we were attempting vanished. My energy began to coil like a snake, waiting for the right moment.
In the distance, I could hear Wendy shrieking, and from the thumping, I realized she was using the sledgehammer on the wall next to the door, trying to break through. Relieved, I flashed a prayer of gratitude that she was strong enough to be on her feet again.
As we entered the slaughterhouse, Tag turned toward the table.
“Your blood is strong,” he murmured. “It will be interesting to see what a bath in it brings to me.” He pressed his lips against my hair, kissing me gently. I tried not to shudder as he said, “You’re in for a treat, Raven. You get to dance with the bones you take your name from.”
As we approached the table, I realized I’d have one chance. I summoned the fire, feeling it building in my heart, in my lungs. I channeled it into my throat, into my mouth, focusing on one thing and one thing only: coaxing the fire hot enough to kill.
Tag slowly laid me down on the table. As he was shifting my weight, trying to lift my feet up, I kicked him hard, rolled off the table, and called the flame to my lips. I blew at him, shouting “Flame!” A harsh stream of fire blew out of my throat right at Tag’s face.
He screamed as I hit him right in his eyes. “Bitch!”
I took that moment to grab Venom. I couldn’t let him paralyze me again—I might have only seconds to act. I swung at him, bringing Venom down hard toward his thigh. It didn’t matter where I hit, she’d bite hard.
“Cunt! I’ll flay you alive for that!” Tag shrieked as I landed the blow. I ripped as hard as I could when I pulled Venom away, trying to widen the gash. Staggering away, I raised Venom overhead, meaning to go for another blow, when Tag, eyes wild, yelled, “Freeze!”
I froze in mid-leap, falling to the floor.
Damn it! He’d managed to paralyze me again. I tried to move, but once more, I was frozen. I’d have to wait until he moved me again in order to make my next attack, but unfortunately, Tag must have figured out what had happened, because he limped over to his desk and returned with two lengths of rope.
He was sweating by now, which told me that the poison from Venom was entering his system. Hopefully, he wouldn’t realize it until it was too late.
“Motherfucker bitch,” he glanced down at his leg, which was bleeding profusely. Unfortunately, I’d hit muscle rather than an artery so he wasn’t bleeding out.
“What the hell?” He leaned down, staring at the blood that was starting to boil. “What did you do to me?” He took the rope and grabbed my wrists. As the feeling began to flood my arms again, he wrapped the rope around both my hands before I was mobile enough to fight back.
I summoned up the fire again—I still had enough energy left for another round—but before I could bring the energy to my lips, he slapped a gag on me, so tight it was cutting into the sides of my mouth.
He dragged me off the floor, rolling me onto the table. I kicked at him again but he ducked out of the way. He was really sweating by now—the poison must be working its way into his bloodstream. I’d left Venom in the wound long enough for her to really saturate his system. But he managed to hold my legs down long enough to get the shackles around my ankles.
I rolled to a sitting position, thanking the fact that I did enough crunches to make my core rock solid, regardless of my size.
“Lie down!” He slammed me back, hitting me so hard that my head spun as I hit the concrete of the table.
At that moment, I noticed a noise coming from overhead. It was a steady thump thump thump. I blinked, trying to focus through the spinning haze that had taken hold of my head. It looked like pieces of the ceiling were splintering off, and I saw the glint of metal coming through the wood. Somebody was axing through the ceiling—it had to be Llew or Wendy.
Tag was so focused that he didn’t seem to notice. He tied my hands over my head to the top of the table so I couldn’t sit up again, not bothering to shackle them apart.
I tried to pull free, but he was good with his knots, and with my ankles shackled, I wouldn’t be able to run anyway. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on somehow bringing fire to my fingertips. If nothing else, maybe I could set the whole place ablaze and Tag would have to stop what he was doing to put it out. But then I realized that he was holding a massive cleaver overhead and began to panic.
“I usually make this more of a ritual, but you’re a special case.” His voice was raspy, his eyes glazed. The poison was taking effect, but would it be soon enough? I couldn’t keep my eyes off the blade that gleamed over his head.
The space behind his head suddenly went black as the shadow rose up behind him. Tag glanced over his shoulder with a maniacal grin.
“Good, you’re here. Absorb her when she bleeds out. I want every ounce of her juice.” He straightened his arms, preparing for the blow, but as he began to descend, the shadow enveloped him, sending him flying to the side. The cleaver went spinning toward me but the shadow swept it out of the way, sending it careening after Tag. A shriek nearly split my eardrums before the shadow moved out of view and Tag shrieked again.
I tried to free myself, but before I could move, Wendy came racing over to the table.
“Oh hell, motherfucker, no you do not get another one!” she screamed. Then, she froze, staring beyond me.
“Mmph!” I tried to yell from beneath the gag.
Wendy shook her head, then turned back to me. With quick, deft moves, she cut through the bonds holding my hands and the gag, then flipped the locks on the shackles and pulled me up to a sitting position.
I turned to see Tag on the floor, bruised from head to toe. The shadow was feeding on him, long tendrils of inky smoke buried in his mouth, his eyes, up his nostrils. He was still alive, gurgling something around the trails of smoke that filled his lungs. But as we watched, the movements slowed, then stopped as he collapsed. The shadow withdrew its feeders and moved back.
Wendy knelt by Tag and felt for his pulse. She looked up at me, shaking her head. “He’s dead.”
“Oh great gods, what happened?” Llew came stumbling in the doorway, an ax in hand. “I tried to break through the floor but couldn’t manage it. I’m so sorry I wasn’t down here sooner. Tag caught me—” He froze, staring at Tag’s body. “You killed him?”
Witching Hour: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 7 Page 20
