My hope shattered when a horrifying scream sounded from a bit farther ahead.
The sound echoed and clanged in my ears. My legs, quivering and weak, kicked back into motion. I skittered around the corner of the alley and peered into the darkness. Without thinking, I threw my hand into the darkness and sent a shower of sparks overhead in a wide arc. It was just enough light to make sense of the scene before me. Nick was pinned, his back flattened against a wall, a dark figure towering over him. Ben. My mouth opened, ready to hurl a powerful spell, but it was a sliver of a second too late. Ben’s clawed, half-paw, half-human hand came down with a powerful swipe. Nick cried out and tried to push Ben off of him but Ben didn’t so much as flinch at his effort.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the wound on Nick’s chest. Time froze, a snapshot of terror and dread, before Nick bellowed again, furious and in pain. The sound jarred me from the paralysis that gripped me and my vision tunneled. The buildings on either side of the alley blurred and all I could see was Nick and the half-beast bearing down on him. The spell shot from my mouth like a cannon ball and blasted into Ben. The spell hit and he roared, the sound primal and dangerous. Every hair on my arms and neck rose in response to the eerie sound. Ben faltered, stumbling back, but didn’t fall completely to the ground. Nick scrambled back as the ring of lights started to fade. I hurried to shoot up a new flurry of lights, higher this time, to signal for help, and then barreled forward to catch Nick as he swayed in place.
“Nick!” My eyes swept over him frantically. The pain was evident on his face. The wounds were deep and blood pooled on the front of his shirt. “We have to get you out of here.”
“Holly! Nick!” Evangeline caught up to me. Her wand drenched the alley in light. I turned and saw Ben, crouched on all fours along the opposite wall. His low growl filled the alley and vibrated through me. I raised my hand, ready to strike him again but stopped when I realized that he wasn’t looking in our direction. He was distracted. His body was morphing and changing before my eyes. From the look on his face—pained and tight—it wasn’t pleasant.
Good.
“Is he okay? What happened?” Evangeline asked, her voice laced with panic.
I ignored her long enough to set a protective ward around Nick. “Nick, stay right there. You’re safe. No matter what you see, you’re protected. You have to trust me. Don’t move! I’m going to get help.”
He nodded but then his head lolled back against the brick wall. His chest was rising and falling too fast.
“Nick, breathe,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “It’s going to be all right.”
Nick moaned and a fresh stab of pain bit into me. I looked at Evangeline. “Ben—” I paused and sucked in a gulp of air. “Ben got him.”
Evangeline’s eyes went wide. Her mouth opened and closed, then opened again although she couldn’t get anything out. She hand against her mouth and shook her head. “No,” she mumbled through her fingers. “No. No.”
“There’s a protective ward around Nick. When I get Ben out of here, break the ward and get Nick to the manor,” I told Evangeline out of the corner of my mouth. I couldn’t risk taking my eyes off the wolf for even a second.
Across the alley Ben lifted his strange face—his nose transforming into a long, full muzzle—and dark fur sprouted from everywhere. It was like watching plants grow on some kind of time-lapse video. It happened all at once. One minute, pale skin. The next, dark fur covering every inch. His yellow eyes were no longer glowing, but looked just as deadly as they had on the porch.
“Holly, no,” Evangeline protested, stooping down to tend to Nick. “You can’t ask that of me!”
“You have to,” I said firmly. “I can’t have anything else happen to Nick. Promise me, Evangeline. Promise me that you’ll get him out of here.”
I shifted, positioning myself to spring up and make a run for it. I didn’t have a specific plan in mind. All I knew was I needed to get Ben to chase me and give Evangeline and Nick enough time to escape.
“I promise, Holly. But please, don’t—”
A second, familiar growl sounded, and relief rushed through me.
“Adam!”
The huge black dog burst into sight at the mouth of the alley and my heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it might become permanently bruised. He surged forward and made his body a barrier between us and Ben. I pushed to my feet and looked at Ben again. His body was still mid-change, his hands and feet transformed into huge paws. Judging by the size of them, when he was fully wolf, he would be tough for even Adam to take on by himself.
What in the Otherworld were we supposed to do? Civilized werewolves had a plan, a place to change where they wouldn’t hurt anyone. They’d go into the mountains or lock themselves in a cement-encased room. Even if Adam could win the fight with Ben, what would we do then? He couldn’t kill him. He wasn’t some animal. He was a person. Our one-time friend.
Ben’s eyes locked onto Adam and he snarled. Long, three-inch canines peeked out from his drool-coated jowls. Adam replied with his own low, menacing growl.
Were they communicating?
Boots raced around Adam and burrowed into Nick.
“Evangeline, go! Get him to the manor! Tell Lacey what’s happening. Call Agent Bramble. Wake up the whole SPA! Tell them there’s a werewolf on the loose and that Sasha Pringle is behind it!”
Without waiting for her to agree, I raised my hand and sent another blasting spell into Ben’s side. He slammed back into the wall, stunned for a moment.
Evangeline hauled Nick to his feet as gently as she could and led him from the alley.
“Boots, go with them,” I said as his amber eyes swiveled up at me. He hesitated. “Go!”
The spell wore off too quickly. My magic was dwindling. Every spell was harder to bring forth. It was like digging for water at the bottom of a near-empty well—I was getting less and less with each scoop. I couldn’t hold out much longer. If I pushed things too far, I’d end up collapsing, turning myself into a liability instead of an asset.
Ben pushed up to his feet and stood fully. He swiped a large paw at Adam, who reeled back and then lunged forward. Loud sirens sounded in the background and I realized all the commotion had likely woken up half of Beechwood Harbor. Panic seized me, but I sagged back against the brick wall. My breathing was ragged and frantic, coming in like wheezes.
Adam stood on his own hind legs and pressed Ben against the wall. He growled low and looked over his hulking shoulder at me.
“What are we going to do with him? We can’t let him loose! There’re way too many humans around,” I asked, my voice frantic.
Adam couldn’t speak in beast form. He kept him pinned against the wall and stared at me. He’d be no match for him once Ben fully changed. We had to hurry.
“We’re going to have to lock him up somewhere.” I racked my brain. But where? The manor didn’t have a basement. The greenhouse was too easy to break out of. None of the bedrooms would hold him.
Ben’s eyes flashed again. There was something different about it this time. It wasn’t the urge to hunt. Or anger. It was fear.
Panic flared inside me, rising quickly and then bursting like a firework. My whole body trembled from the effect. I ground my teeth together to keep them from chattering and turned to Adam.
Before I could get out another word, the reason behind the fear in Ben’s eyes became clear.
A cold chill snapped at my bare legs, then a burst of green flashed.
I closed my eyes against the bright light and when I opened them again, Sasha Pringle was standing at the mouth of the alley.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“There you are!”
Sasha’s voice raked over my skin like a thousand pins digging in all at once.
“And it looks like you’ve made some friends,” she added, her voice cold. “Good dog.”
Ben lowered his head, an almost reverent gesture. Sasha snapped her fingers and Adam was blasted away from
Ben. The wolf loped forward to stand at Sasha’s side. Adam rallied and leaped forward, propelling himself off his massive haunches. He bared his teeth at Sasha, a crazy look in his dark eyes.
Sasha laughed. “Nice try, mutt.”
With a casual flick of her wrist, a blast of light surged from her palm and slammed into Adam. He hit the brick wall with a yelp and crumpled to the ground, whimpering.
“Adam!” I lunged forward, only to be swept aside by a powerful whip of a spell. I gasped at the impact and fell backward.
Ben cowered at his mistress’s feet, fully wolf. Standing tall, he would have reached her hip but with his posture tucked he was only half that size.
What kind of hold did she have over him?
“See, Holly, if you’re going to run with dogs, you have to teach them to respect you,” Sasha said with a twisted smile as she looked over at Adam’s limp body. “I’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s easier if they fear you.”
Every fiber of my being urged me to go to Adam’s side, but I knew there was no way Sasha would let me get close. I didn’t even know if he was breathing, but I didn’t dare to take my eyes off Sasha. Magic danced on her palm as she watched me. My own fingertips felt like they were on fire, every drop of my remaining magic pooling rapidly. I wouldn’t get more than one final shot. I’d used too much of it fighting Ben.
The sirens in the background were growing louder. The police station wasn’t far from where we stood. It would be mere seconds before the police—the human police—were in the line of Sasha’s wrath.
She cocked her head at the sound. “And here I thought we might have a private chat.”
“You need to go, Sasha! I won’t let you hurt anyone tonight.”
She laughed. “I’m not done with you, Holly Boldt. But you’re right, I don’t need humans mucking up my plans.” She raised her hands and a green shield surrounded us. For a moment I thought it was a ward or some kind of cloak, but then a blast of heat seared through me.
My eyes squeezed tight against the pain, then in a flash, it was gone.
When I pried my eyes open, everything was different. Sasha and Ben were there, their postures unchanged, but we were no longer in the middle of Beechwood Harbor, and Adam was nowhere to be seen. I could only hope that Evangaline had found them before the human police did, and that they were both alive.
We were surrounded by trees and it didn’t take me long to realize we were in the woods behind the manor. Deep in the woods. Far enough away that I couldn’t even see the lights from the house.
My heart pounded in my ears as a new, disparaging fear gripped me. What kind of magic had she used? It was unlike anything I’d seen, or even heard of before.
The shimmering green light sparkled out, leaving only the light from the half-moon and the scattering of stars peeking through the treetops. Sasha looked even more terrifying with her face half-bathed in starlight.
Ben whimpered and she gave him a kick. He yelped and sunk lower to the ground, nearly on his belly.
“Why do you need a werewolf?” I asked, snapping my eyes to hers. “What do you want with Ben? He obviously doesn’t want to be anywhere near you!”
“Ben here owes me a debt,” she replied with a disdainful look down at the lowly wolf. “Isn’t that right?”
Ben didn’t move or even lift his eyes.
“See, he got into some trouble with a few of my friends. So I cursed him. Once he’s paid his debt, I’ll release him from the curse. Simple as that.”
“You cursed him into changing mid-moon?” I spat, trying not to let my jaw hit the ground.
Sasha laughed as though it wasn’t a serious question. As though dynamically changing the effect of an ancient curse was mere child’s play, something first-year academy students could perform with their eyes closed. “As long as he’s in my debt, he will continue to change whenever I see fit. If he keeps me happy and does what I ask, we don’t have any problems.”
“Until tonight,” I said with a triumphant grin. “He got away from you!”
Sasha tilted her head. “Yes, and he will pay for that slip in judgment. Maybe I’ll leave him this way forever.”
Ben whined.
“What were you thinking?” she asked the wolf. “You thought she was your best shot?” Sasha threw her head back and laughed as though it were the funniest joke in the world. A shiver threaded down my spine as the moonlight glinted off her fangs.
So it was true. She was half witch and half-vampire.
If Harvey knew—or at least strongly suspected—the truth, why hadn’t he had her investigated? Surely he would have uncovered the ties to the Vampire Council. How had she managed to be on the council for my hearing? Was that why he’d left? He hadn’t expected her to be there?
Sasha took a calculated step closer, her mouth twisted into a wicked grin. “See, what Ben didn’t realize is that the reason I had him spying on you wasn’t because I was worried about you being a threat. Instead, it was a way for me to plot out the best moment to get rid of you. Just like I did with your little goblin friend, Harvey.” She laughed again. “This isn’t ideal timing, but it will have to do. I supposed I’ll have to make sure there isn’t enough of you left over for the SPA to find, since I don’t have time to find some stooge to glamour into doing the dirty work for me.”
My eyes widened. “You glamoured Dune Kasey into poisoning Harvey?”
“Aren’t you a clever little witch,” she said sarcastically. “If only you hadn’t wasted so much time chasing after Praxle and Mache.”
My heart sank, realizing my mistake.
Sasha threw her head back and laughed again. “Honestly, what were you thinking? Those two combined barely have an IQ high enough to keep their own scheme running, let alone plot a murder.”
So they were in cahoots, just not on this.
“You’re smarter than most, I suppose. You at least made the connection.” She cocked her hip and considered me. “Maybe you’d be of better use to me alive.” She looked down at Ben. “What do you think? You need a partner? Or would you rather have a chew toy?”
“If you think I’d do anything to help you after what you did to Harvey, then you’re the stupid one!” I exclaimed, disgusted. “You killed him just because he discovered what you are!”
“What I am is the most powerful witch you’ve ever met.” Sasha’s eyes flashed. A stream of light flung from her hand and whipped at my shins. “Have some respect, Holly. I’m trying to offer you a way out.”
Magic tingled along my palms. I called for more. Dug deeper and deeper. I’d get one shot. I had to make it count.
“See, Holly, I wasn’t going to kill you at first. I just wanted to keep you out of my way. But you proved to be more of a nuisance than I expected. When Ben reported that you were digging into the investigation and throwing around wild claims about Mache and Praxle, I knew you weren’t going to drop it and had to take matters into my own hands.”
I looked at Ben, still cowering at her feet. A flash of a memory surged back to me; the request for more hand salve. What about the day Evangeline and I told Lucy everything that was going on? Had he heard everything from behind the curtain?
He didn’t look me in the eye.
“How did you know Harvey would leave my hearing? How did Dune know to follow him when he was supposed to be in the Council Hall?”
“I had Ben call Harvey that day you were in court. He lured him into Seattle. From Ben’s surveillance, I knew he got a coffee whenever he passed through the portal at that human-infested coffee shop. All Dune had to do was slip him the potion.”
From there, he’d gotten into a cab, and by the time the potion went to work, the driver abandoned the cab in that alley way. The SPA hadn’t yet found the driver—the only witness to Harvey’s final moments.
Sasha gave me a knowing smile. “It didn’t take much to convince Dune. He was already more than willing to attack Harvey. All I did was facilitate the when and how of it all. And sure, may
be gave him a little nudge.”
I reared back at the coldness in her voice.
She found my expression amusing. “With Harvey out of the way, my secret would remain safe and I could convince my fellow council members to release my mother without exposing who she was.”
“What? You were going to glamour all the other members?”
She gave a slight shrug. “It worked in your hearing, didn’t it?”
My mouth dropped open as the final pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, and the rage gave me a little extra boost of power.
I’d dragged up as much magic as I possibly could and even with the boost, I’d never felt so drained before.
Sasha caught the glint of magic as it surged to the surface. She grinned. “You think you can win this fight, Holly? Maybe you’re not as smart as Harvey thought.”
I threw my hands forward, aiming right for the sneer on her face. The blast of magic ripped from me and I stumbled forward at the effort. Every drop flew toward Sasha. She took a step to the side but at the last second, Ben lunged up and pushed her directly into the path. Sasha was thrust into the spell like a rag doll. Surprise registered on her face just as it hit her full-blast. She froze in place for a few silent seconds, shock etched on her face, and then crumpled to the ground. Ben yelped as the magical blast grazed him, and he fell beside her.
The world went sideways and I dropped to my knees in the cold, wet grass. I dug my fingers into the ground, desperate for something to hold onto.
A loud screech pierced the sky. Hope surged inside me, and I looked up, expecting to see Evangeline’s familiar, Flurry, a hawk, sent to find me. He could lead me back to the manor. When I looked up, my heart sank. The dark shadow against the moon wasn’t Flurry. This bird was three times as big, the sharp talons extended in a menacing gesture.
Was this Sasha’s familiar? It certainly fit.
My magic was depleted. Completely dried up. I wouldn’t have been able to light a pile of fresh kindling if my life depended on it. With my options limited, I tried to get to my feet and lurched for cover behind a tree.
Witch Way Home: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 4) Page 17
