Ethan considered my words for nearly a minute, then nodded. "Just know that all it will ever take is one phone call and ..." He trailed off, letting my imagination take over the end of his sentence.
"Besides," Ethan added, regaining some of his usual dominant swagger as he started moving toward the pub, "I'll be back here in just a few weeks for the summit."
Falling into step beside him, I couldn't help but grin. I was working on the perfect, possibly flirty response when someone caught my eye.
There was a woman on the other end of the street, frantically waving at me. There was no magick surrounding her, and still she looked familiar.
When she saw me looking at her, the woman's hand stopped waving and went up to her mouth in a shushing gesture. Whatever she wanted, she didn't want Ethan to know about it.
"After you?" Ethan said, holding the door to the pub that our companions had gone into.
"Uh, one second, okay?" Awkwardly I stepped back, barely avoiding knocking into anyone. The woman was still looking straight at me but I forced myself to look away. "I’ll be in in a minute, okay?" I said, trying my best to look completely calm.
"I thought you were hungry. Besides, you've pissed off a lot of people today, you probably shouldn't be out here on your own."
"Powerful. Remember? I'll be on my own again soon enough anyway." Besides, I still had both my gun and my dagger on me. More than enough to take care of one human woman if needed. But I'd figured out where I recognized her from. It was the same woman Patrick had pointed out back at the castle. The human married to one of the lesser fae.
And for some reason, she needed to talk to me. I was admittedly curious.
"You're right. Can I at least order you a drink?
"Seventeen glasses of water," I said with a smirk, only half-joking. My body still hadn't quite recovered from its little journey and I was very much looking forward to refueling. I just had one more thing I needed to do first.
I started moving as soon as Ethan turned his back. But for some reason, the woman didn't do the same. Instead of waiting for me, she took off, walking but quickly. Not exactly the best strategy to win me over right then.
The woman disappeared down a side street, forcing me to pick up my pace or risk losing her. If she was who I thought she was, there was a chance she needed help. And another chance she had come to get me at Aoife's suggestion. There were probably a few other options I hadn't even considered, but as I picked up my pace, I didn't care. We were still out in the city in the middle of the day, though sunset would soon be coming.
For a second, I considered turning back and getting reinforcements. But if I did, I'd risk losing her and whatever lead she represented, possibly forever.
The longer we played these games, the longer it would be before my life could go back to some kind of normal. I was done playing games, including cat and mouse.
"Hey," I yelled, barely catching sight of the woman before she turned again, taking us farther away from the downtown core and close to the neighborhood I called home. "Stop!"
A few passersby shot me odd looks, but mostly people just moved out of the way as I rushed past.
The next turn took me out of the hustle of the shopping district and onto a narrow, empty street.
I've lost her.
It was my last thought before I swiftly and suddenly fell unconscious.
Chapter 21
I recognized the smell of my living room before I opened my eyes. Lavender, the cat who had lived here before I did, and a hint of butter from my nearly nightly bowl of popcorn. And something new. Like burning.
Candles. My mind made the connection just as my eyes popped open.
I was laying on the floor, looking up at my ceiling, but everything around me was illuminated with the soft glow of candlelight.
This was all wrong. If I was home, why could I smell candles?
"She's awake," a voice broke the silence from somewhere above me.
I tried to sit up but my body ached in protest. Unlike when I'd been tied up in the van, this time my wrists weren't bound, my feet weren't knotted together. And yet I still felt every bit as trapped as I had the last time, even if I couldn't quite figure out why.
Why did this shit keep happening to me?
"Who's there?" I called out, still struggling to move.
At first no one answered, then a face slowly came into view, hovering above me. Meg. And another. Someone I didn't recognize. Then Trina. Then another.
All witches.
In my apartment.
I forced my body the rest of the way up, standing to find myself in the center of a circle, not just from the coven surrounding me, but inside a literal circle that had been painted in the middle of my living room. All my furniture had been pushed aside so that a series of symbols, all connected took up most of the space on the floor. I was dead center; probably not a good sign.
Outside my window, the sky was dark. It looked like at least two hours had passed, and my body felt like it was coming into the world's worst hangover.
"Hello, little prophecy child," Meg said, her voice soothing. "It's so good of you to join us."
"What are you doing in my flat?" I asked as my eyes searched for a gap in the wall of witches where I could force my way through. "And what did you do to me?"
"So many questions. But the answers won't matter, not for you. What you're feeling now is your body coming out of a magical coma. The effects shouldn't last much longer. We needed you at your best."
"Tell me what you're doing here?" I demanded. There was no sign of Taya, but that didn't mean anything. This was already more witches than I'd seen in any one place, for all I knew there were a dozen more behind the first, taking up every last inch of space in what used to be my home.
The faintest trace of a dark smile nudged its way onto Meg's face, turning her otherwise pretty features cold. She had no intention of giving me answers.
In one swift movement, I ducked downward, pushing my body back toward the floor as I reached for what I'd hidden away in my boot, with every intention of sending my knife flying right into the center of Meg's face, knowing that even if I missed, so long as I hit her somewhere, I would drain every trace of power from her body.
My boots were still on me but my knife was gone. I fumbled for my belt, but my gun was gone too.
"Ah, ah. Your weapons won't do you any good. Not now." Meg stepped aside, revealing both of my prized weapons sitting on the dinette behind her.
"Shit."
I could have sworn I saw Meg and a few of her witches chuckle, but too soon their features hardened again.
"Just tell me what you want from me. Maybe we can come to an arrangement. I mean, I thought we were all going to try and be allies in this."
"Pretty words, and pretty ideas. But should the factions of Ireland unite with anyone, I can promise that you won't be alive to see it. It's a shame that you have proven yourself such a hindrance. It's clear that the unusual powers you've been gifted with most closely align with our faction. The magick you can work is phenomenal. But it's also unnatural. Magick like that can upset the balance of power. Instead, we will use your power to fuel our own."
"Human sacrifice?" I scoffed. "Really? Haven't any of you people moved beyond that by now?"
"I'll admit, the practice is a bit dated. But extraordinary circumstances call for those of us who wish to see real change in the world to go above and beyond. A war is coming, if not between the lesser and greater magicks, then between us and everyone else. Not everyone will be left standing in the end. By harnessing the power that flows through you, I can create protection talismans for my entire coven.
Shit. Damn. Fuck. Arse? I was still a little punchy.
"Okay," I drew out the phrase, trying to find something I could ask that would give me a chance here. "Then what exactly are we doing standing around talking?"
I waited until Meg opened her mouth, then lunged. The optimistic part of my brain hoping it would be enough of
a distraction to get me to my gun. The more pessimistic side at least wanted to go out fighting.
The force of a spell sent me flying backward as soon as I got up any momentum, a full foot before I would have been able to reach Meg or beyond.
I ended up on my ass. But at least no one laughed. From the look in the eyes of the women standing above me, they were content to feel pity for me before slitting my throat, or doing whatever it was they had in store.
"The moon is not yet high enough in the sky for our ritual to have its full effect," Meg answered as though I'd never attacked. "I suppose we could kill you earlier, but we've come this far, there's no need to rush."
"Someone will come for me," I said, hoping it was true. But all I could see from my vantage point was that it was dark, I had no idea how much time I had.
"Yes, the wolves and your friends are all searching a long Castle Elegan for any sign of you. By the time they realize what happened, it will be too late."
Nothing she was saying was particularly encouraging. But at least she was talking and that was a start. Without meaning to, she may have already given me more information than she'd meant. Or maybe she'd just assumed I wouldn't be alive long enough to do anything about it. "How do you know the castle's empty?"
"What can I say, luck was on my side." There was a wink in her voice, if not in her expression, telling me everything I needed to know.
"Aoife? Aoife helped you. You have been working together this whole time?"
"No, she created this mess all on her own. But plans are adaptable, and when her people approached Trina to make a deal, all I had to do was say yes."
"All Aoife wanted was freedom to get her people out without retaliation, in exchange for something I wanted very much. Something that so many have thought was out of our reach for decades now. The rest was too easy, though I don't think she quite expected the effect you would have. Perhaps she has her regrets now, but she held up her end, and lured you away. We took care of the rest. With a little push of good luck for us, and bad for you, it was no trouble at all."
"I can't possibly be worth that much to you. If any of the factions in Europe learn what things have gotten like here ..."
"What?" Meg asked with a shrug. "They'll move the summit? Cancel it. So be it. I never wanted it in the first place. Ireland has long been a realm of magick. The humans here coexisted with the magick once, elders still tell stories of the fae. The Irish people will learn to respect magick again when they see how much we can all benefit. You're far more valuable, and you belong to the witches by right. Haven't you ever wondered how you got to Ireland in the first place?"
Oh God how I wanted to take that bait, to demand she tell me what she knew.
But in the movies, usually when the hero gets the bad guy talking to learn exactly what their plan had been the whole time, it's because they need more time. This time, time was on the villain's side. The longer I talked, the closer we got to the moment Meg was waiting for, the moment she could kill me, and claim my power for herself. I couldn't risk playing into her hands, not when I was running out of time. "That's quite the utopia you've got planned there," I said, getting ready to spew whatever string of insults I could come up with. My only remaining plan was to get her as angry as possible, and hopefully disrupt her concentration, and her magick, long enough to escape.
It wasn't a great plan, but I was getting a little short on options.
As I took a deep breath, focusing my rage into my words, the front door to my flat opened.
Surprised, a few of the witches turned at once, breaking the circle just a little. Enough for me to see Taya, shocked expression and all, standing on the other side. "Mel!"
"What are you doing here?" Meg asked, breaking the circle to step toward the front door. I tried to shift backward and away, but came up against a vibration of magick that forced me back.
"I was with the others, looking for you," Taya said, talking to me instead of Meg. "But it was clear the others didn't want me there. They didn't trust me. I thought I'd come back here, in case you showed up, or called."
"Your friends grabbed me before I had the chance to do anything at all."
At last, Taya looked to Meg. "What's going on?"
"Her sacrifice will benefit all of our people," was the only answer. "Her bones will make powerful talismans, her blood will fuel our spells, each lock of her hair can imbue a charm with more power than you can imagine. And when we have that power, we will be free to reward you, to make you one of us."
For a second, I let myself believe that Taya would take this chance to run and find help. She paused, and I barely managed to breath. Then slowly, not speaking yet, Taya finished closing the front door behind her and stepped inside.
In her heart, she was one of them, she always had been. It didn't matter what this was going to cost me, she was about to get everything she always wanted in exchange for being a heartless, unfeeling bitch.
"It was you, you took her?" Her eyes were wide with confusion as she moved around the outside of the circle, always facing me, watching me, taking in the scene that her actions had led to. "I don't understand."
"You don't need to understand," Meg answered, starting to sound a little impatient. "You only need to trust that we have your best interest at heart."
"What do you need from me?" Taya said, her eyes following each of the witches in turn. Her eyes found mine as she continued to speak. "I want to help." She stopped once she reached the low archway that separated the kitchen from our small dining room. She leaned back, her face etched with worry.
"Nothing. You’ve already given us so much," Meg said, her voice soft and mothering.
"Yeah, well I've always had pretty terrible judgement."
What?
My mind barely registered the flash of movement as Taya's hands moved from where she'd been supporting herself against our table to the front of her body, my gun in one hand, a knife in the other. She didn't hesitate for a moment, lunging with my knife toward one of the witches. Trina, I realized.
Taya's movement missed, but it was enough. Something shimmered around me, making the air wobble and my ears ache, but I realized what had happened. Once again, Trina had been the one responsible for creating a barrier, this one different than the perception field at the park. Taya had broken her concentration, and with it, the field holding me in place.
As another of the witches tackled her, Taya tossed my gun upward, sending it arching in the air away from her, and right toward me.
With a satisfying snap, it landed in my outstretched hand, right back where it belonged.
Chapter 22
My gun wouldn’t have been my first choice for taking down witches, hell it wasn't my first choice ever, but since I didn't have much, I wasn't about to complain.
I had my gun, my fists, one hapless roommate who was already going down, and a whole lot of rage.
It would have to be enough.
My elbow knocked backward into the face of the first bitch who came for me, knocking her backward as I dove forward, landing in a roll where Trina had been standing a second ago. Taya was on the floor beside me, a set of hands around her throat.
I'd never killed anyone, and I didn't want to start, but I had to do something. I chambered a round, and aimed for the leg of the woman on top of my roommate.
My friend?
No. No time to think. I pulled the trigger and the shot rang out. A few voices shrieked around me, but that was nothing compared to the howl that followed.
Howling in pain was a good sign. It meant the woman I'd shot hadn't died. She rolled sideways, and to my endless relief, Taya scrambled sideways immediately, revealing my knife beneath her.
Why settle for one weapon when you can have two?
As the next witch moved toward me, catlike and graceful, I dove for the floor, praying I'd have enough momentum to propel myself up again once I'd accomplished my goal.
My fingers wrapped around my blade in the same moment that year
s of training paid off for a change.
I was on my feet again, a gun in my left hand, a magically infused knife in my right. And at least half of Meg's coven were in the process of fleeing. Gunshots seem to have that effect on people. Trina was still on the floor, not moving, Taya's attacker beside her, crumpled over but still crying.
Meg and two others stood on the other end of my flat, blocking my route to the front door.
I raised my gun as all three started mumbling, too low for me to hear. I didn't know what kind of magick they were about to work on me, but there was nothing technological close enough to me to let me return the favor.
Despite the nausea rising in my gut, I had no choice but to shoot.
A body slammed into me an instant before the shot rang out, sending my aim away from the trio and up toward the ceiling. I fell backward as the casing on our light fixture shattered all around us, sending shards of glass all around the living room.
The force of being knocked over was enough to knock the gun from my hands as I fell, but I managed to keep my grip on my knife. I hit the floor with a thud and a yell, a body slamming down on top of me, knocking the wind from my lungs.
With my one free arm, I pushed the struggling form far enough off my own body to get my leg between us and shove the witch who had just attacked me the rest of the way. At least she hadn't used magick, because I definitely hadn’t realized she was there.
Which meant I still had to deal with her now.
I'd only ever used my knife once before, the same day I found it. On that same day, I'd been warned that it wasn't a weapon to use lightly, it was a lesson I'd never forgotten.
I still remembered the sickening feeling of using it as well as all the promises I'd made to myself that I'd never have to use it again. But there was no time for hesitation. My hand came up, plunging the dagger into the closest piece of flesh I could find.
Magic in my Bones (Lesser Magicks Book 1) Page 16
