It is similar, but I will not die if you do. At least, I don’t think I will. I prefer not to find out, so I will do my best to keep you alive. That is the best answer I can give you at this time.
It was enough. Not to change the subject, but can you tell what kind of barrier that is? Or sense anything past it?
I wondered when you were going to ask. I don’t think it’s being generated by witches. It feels old.
Maybe Ruthann was right and it was an Object or Item of some kind. Trixie, can you tell the difference between regular witch magick and blood magick? Does the barrier feel different than the magick we did earlier at the firm?
There was silence. It stretched to the point I thought she wasn’t going to answer, then, I’m not sure.
Well, that was more information than I had five minutes ago. I went below deck to tell the others what I’d learned.
Selma and Ruthann worked quickly, getting a potion base together, while Tess and Rayna were still trying to figure out the best way to infuse Rayna’s spell into that base. Danai was the one to finally figure it out, though I didn’t understand the mechanics behind how she’d managed it. She’d simply said healers often had to know what kinds of magicks worked together, what didn’t, and how best to combine them. That was good enough for me, so long as it worked.
In the end we had seven untested vials. Olen would take two vials, Shay and Jeremy could each shift and take one apiece, and Cappy would maneuver close enough that one could be launched from the Sea Witch. We’d keep two in reserve in case everything went south. Rand had one of the emergency flare guns to fire as a distraction for the other vessel. Cappy made Rand’s day when he opened a locker in the cockpit and began pulling out firearms.
“Pirates are still a thing in today’s world, lass,” was the response he’d given at my surprised reaction to the guns. “Best we be well-prepared, then not, eh?” With a twinkle in his eye, he added, “Or very lucky.”
None of this floored me more than seeing Sam retrieve a gun from her bag. “Is that a revolver? When did you start carrying?”
“I’ve had a concealed carry permit for over a decade, Rox. You knew that.”
I had, but I didn’t believe she actually carried. Getting into most courthouses was a nightmare with a weapon, no matter what kind of permit you had. Plus, she’d favored smaller efficient-looking handguns with easy-load cartridges back then, not beautifully detailed revolvers with wooden grips inlaid with silver.
“Besides, this isn’t mine. Technically, I think it’s yours.” At the incredulous look I gave her, she laughed. “Okay, it belongs to the firm. Stella used to have an R&D department up until about twelve years ago. This was left down in the basement. According to the files I found, I think she either Made this one or had a hand in it.” She flipped it around and held it out to me, grip first. “It has her initials on it.”
I took it from her and almost dropped it when I felt the faint buzz of magick. Recovering quickly, I checked to see if it was loaded. It was. I’d gone shooting with Sam back when she was in the process of getting her permit and had enjoyed it, though not so much that I felt the need to get one. I’d been a decent enough shot at the time, but that was a long time ago. As I turned it, I noticed it had good balance and fit my hand perfectly. Squinting in the low lighting, I caught the initials on the side. S.D. Bending over, I pulled the knife I wore in an ankle holster out and inspected it. There, on the end of the handle, were the same initials, in the same looping design. I tried to recall the letters on the band of the Citrine ring from Margo’s. Had they looked the same? I would have to figure that out later, I decided, handing the gun back to Sam.
Sebastian came bounding up the steps ahead of Danai. Between Rasta and the healer, they’d gone through everything in Danai’s bag and Danai had received a crash course in fae healing basics. Her excitement over everything she’d learned warred with the gravity of the situation, which was understandable.
Sebastian’s whiskers twitched when he saw the knife still in my hand. Ah, I remember that knife. Spellbreaker. Will you be using it against the enemy’s barrier?
At my expression, Danai stopped, looking from her familiar to me to the knife in my hand to Sam—who still held my aunt’s gun. “Roxanne, is everything all right?”
“Oh, yes, it’s fine. Your familiar just reminded me that I have a magickal knife capable of breaking spells in my hand. Right now.” My voice sounded a little hysterical, even to me. I held the knife up, as if to show her. Was this what some called a senior moment or had magick started to burn out my brain?
“Roxie, take a moment and breathe, okay?” Sam motioned for Danai to come closer. I didn’t catch whatever it was she mouthed to the healer, but Danai gently touched my shoulder and I felt instantly more calm.
Swallowing, I held up a hand—the one not holding the knife. “I’m fine. Thanks, sorry, and all that. I just feel really stupid considering how much time we’ve spent trying to figure out how to get past that stupid barrier only to realize I’ve been wearing the answer all night.”
I became aware that the coven, Jeremy, Shay, Rasta and her flight of pixies, and even Rand had all witnessed my mini-meltdown. Cappy was the only one oblivious, up in the cockpit, so that was something.
“Well, we don’t even know if it will work, so the vials are good backup. The important thing now is to get to those kids. Just out of curiosity, how would you get close enough to use the knife anyway?” Sam raised her brow, as if to drive her point across.
She was right. It’s not like I could swim over. I looked at the knife in my hand. Would it work for one of the fae? In the back of my mind, I pictured Olen piercing the barrier with the knife, the barrier breaking, and the knife falling into the depths of the ocean, or at least Lake Borgne, never to be found again. My hand tightened possessively around the hilt, then relaxed. Getting to those children was the most critical thing right now.
“Sebastian, call Olen over please.”
He must have been close, for he appeared within seconds. Leaning over, I dropped the knife to him. He caught it effortlessly.
“Use this to break the barrier spell. We’re going to drop a potion on it at the same time, just in case. That knife . . .” Would I insult him if I asked him not to lose it? I closed my eyes. The children were far more important than a knife, no matter how magickal it was. “It was my Aunt Stella’s. She’d be very proud to know it was used to help save your people’s children.”
“I will do everything in my power to be worthy of the great trust you’ve given me. I can feel the magick it holds.” The solemnity in his eyes assured me he meant every word. “Now, we have wasted too much time. Are you and your people ready?”
“Yes. Keep the knife in front of you. That should take care of the go-away spell or whatever it is turning your people away. You may have to hit the barrier, too, if the spells are separate. Shay and Jeremy will hit it from above at the same time and Rand will send flares in different directions to try to distract the pirates while the pixies fly over. Once we see what we’re up against, we’ll do our best to help in whatever way we can. Please remember, we need at least some of these people left alive. It may be the only way we’ll find out why the children were taken or what we’re up against.”
He said nothing to this, just disappeared beneath the dark water.
The tension mounted as we waited for the barrier to drop, not knowing what to expect to find hidden behind it. Shay and Jeremy had already shifted and were flying for the general vicinity of the vessel, each carrying a vial in their talons. Sebastian would give them the word on when to drop them. The pixies were so focused in the direction of the other ship, they were practically quivering with anticipation. Our coven shifted anxiously. This wasn’t their first battle and they’d proved they worked well together, but here, out on the water, it all felt different.
Sam and Rand stayed close by my side. Danai had her medical bag at the ready. She was the only one of us besides Cappy who l
ooked even remotely calm and collected. Sebastian’s tail swished back and forth rhythmically, his gaze intent on the area ahead of us. I looked up as the few clouds threading over the moon passed and the night sky suddenly brightened. With the reflection coming off the water, it was nearly as bright as day.
Now! Sebastian’s order reverberated in my mind. From somewhere high above, a screech sounded, followed by Jeremy’s raucous caws.
“There,” Rand pointed. The ship that appeared as if out of nowhere was huge, towering above us. “That looks like either a freighter or a research vessel.” He sprinted for the cockpit as Rasta lifted her sword with a blood curdling cry and flew for the other ship, eleven eager pixies racing behind her in formation, only Gryff remaining behind with Tess. Before the pixies crossed the span, the lights on the other ship suddenly cut out, leaving only the moonlight washing over it to lend any visibility.
Rand's words finally hit me. A research vessel? My blood felt like it had suddenly gone cold. What if we were too late? Just as quickly as that thought ran through my mind, anger pushed fire through my veins, chasing the cold away. If those children were hurt—or worse—I would rip that ship apart.
Our spotlight lit up the other ship as Rand and Cappy began maneuvering us closer to it. Toward the back of the ship, something flew up out of the water and landed on the lower platform. Three more forms followed in quick succession. Olen and several of his warriors. I heard shouted warnings and watched as they were met by men with guns. Before any could so much as take aim, the wrath of twelve pixies descended on them. The water fae streaked past them to search for their children. One of them—we were close enough to see it, was Dorn—took the butt end of his trident and knocked two of the men out cold before the pixies could damage them too much more. The third man ran, trying to escape the tiny, but fierce warriors, and dove off the back of the ship. A huge, black and white form leapt up before he even hit the surface. I watched in horror as the orca caught the man before falling back into the water with a splash.
“Roxie, get your shields up!” Rand yelled.
Without hesitation, I threw a shield up between our boat and the other ship—and not a moment too soon. A wickedly barbed harpoon hit the section protecting the cockpit and glanced off, falling harmlessly into the water. The shield wasn’t big enough to cover the entire side of the boat, but hopefully the people launching harpoons at us didn’t know that.
Another harpoon hit the shield, just a few feet away from where the first had, and also fell away. Gunfire followed and I could see—and feel—where each bullet struck. None made it past the shield, but I had no way of knowing if any unprotected areas of the Sea Witch were hit.
The bracelet on my wrist began glowing and I felt the push of more magick flowing through me and into the shield, expanding it. Trixie. There wasn’t time for more than a brief mental thank you, before we were under fire again. I tried to look for who was shooting at us, but even with the spotlight trained on the side of the ship, all I could make out were several shadowy dark figures hunkered down low, popping up from different areas to fire on us, then disappearing again. As we moved closer, I adjusted the angle of the shield so it was somewhat covering us overhead.
Rand reappeared at my side. “Cappy is going to get us as close as he can. I’ll board the other ship and do what I can to help.” His expression darkened. “And make sure they leave at least a few alive for questioning.” He held up a handful of zip ties.
Crap, crap, crap. There was no way I could go with him and shield the Sea Witch. I looked around for the others. Danai and Tess were standing with the rest of the coven on the opposite side of the cockpit, out of the line of fire in case my shield failed. Sam stood just a few feet away from us. She had her gun trained on the other ship, but knew not to shoot with my shield up. Where was Sebastian?
Look to the back of the enemy ship, Trixie said.
I searched that part of the vessel, but saw nothing. The back was considerably lower than the front end of the boat, and probably had a ladder or docking area that I couldn’t see from this angle.
Wait . . .
My eyes widened and my breath caught as an orca cut across the surface of the water, heading straight for the larger vessel—and a black cat leapt from its back onto the ship. As Danai’s familiar landed, he transformed into his battle cat form and ran for the front of the ship. The orca twisted its body, changing direction to keep from ramming into the ship before disappearing beneath the surface. Seconds later it breached again, falling back into the water with a tidal wave-sized splash. Water hit the shield, running over and off, while our boat rocked from the displacement. I was so shocked I almost dropped the shield as I grabbed for something to hold onto—which happened to be Rand. He steadied me easily, his arm going around my waist. It took more effort on my part not to cling to him than I cared to admit, even if only to myself.
“Does anybody else think we should be recording this? There’s no way Gloria and the guys are ever going to believe us.” Tess’s voice snapped me back into the moment. “And just for the record, I am seriously disappointed that thing isn’t even a real pirate ship.”
“I think modern day pirates traded their wooden-hulled galleons for speedier boats and ships like this decades ago, Tess.” Sam gave our friend a flat stare. “Would you really rather have them firing cannon balls at us?”
When the rocking finally subsided, Tess put her hand on her hip, her expression belligerent. “If it was Johnny Depp behind the cannon . . . maybe.”
“Will you two shut it? I’m having a hard enough time keeping this shield up!” Freaking out about Rand going on board the other vessel wasn’t helping my concentration, either.
Rand released his grip on my waist, only to move in front of me, pull me against him, and kiss me soundly enough to leave me breathless. When he finally broke the kiss, he took a step back, waiting for my reaction. Danai and the coven were watching the other ship, but Tess and Sam watched us. Lifting my chin, I figured there was no use blushing or making a fuss about it. I was a middle-aged woman—or I would be if I were human and not descended from a line of powerful witches—not some simpering, confused twenty year old with no life experience. I had loyal, steadfast friends to back me up, a kick-ass familiar, a newly-sentient fae Object I didn’t even know how to describe yet, and most of the paranormals in NOLA watching and waiting to see what I became.
Sam smiled and winked at me. Taking a deep breath, I said, “If you get killed or seriously injured over there, you’d better plan on staying in the gray for a few weeks, because angry will be an understatement for what I’ll be.”
He tipped an imaginary hat. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he turned and strode to the platform at the back of the boat, waiting for Cappy to get close enough for him to jump to the rear platform of the other ship. Could Cappy get us that close? I tightened the shield, bringing it in as much as I could around the Sea Witch, hoping it wouldn’t interfere.
“Maybe that orca could give him a lift,” Tess suggested.
I opened my mouth to retort, then closed it again. Would it allow that? There was still almost a boat length between us and the waves kept pushing us away. We were moving closer, but slowly. There was the chance the larger ship could take off. In fact, I was surprised it hadn’t attempted to.
“Danai? Can you ask Sebastian?”
“He’s a little preoccupied.”
I went to the side of the boat and searched the water. “Arella!”
Her red braids popped out of the water, only a few feet from the back of the other ship. She made eye contact with me and swam closer.
“That orca is one of yours, right?” I called out.
She nodded. “He is one of yours, too. A shifter from our colony.”
That was more than my brain could process at the moment, so I filed it away for later. “Can he help Rand get over to the other ship?”
She slapped the water twice and a huge, black and white head surfaced next to her. The two
must have communicated either telepathically or with hand motions, because the orca rolled, studying us with one gleaming eye. Righting itself, it nodded, its whole upper body moving with the motion. I looked back at Rand, who watched the exchange in silence. He was already removing his socks and boots. Tess hurriedly gathered something from three of the other witches and ran back to him, pressing whatever she had into his hands, before returning to her place with the coven. He frowned as he looked down at the vials in his hand, then nodded and tucked them securely into the pockets of his cargo pants.
“Tell your mate to move very close to the edge. You will have to stop the . . . engine to your boat.” She sounded as though she struggled for the right words, so I didn’t bother to correct how she’d referred to Rand.
Cappy must have heard her, because the engine idled down and then cut off without my asking him. In the sudden quiet around us, I heard yells and cries coming from the other ship. Arella spun, worry lining her face in the moonlight. A cloaked figure appeared on the upper deck of the other ship, watching us. The figure raised a hand, fire flaring from their palm. I pushed more magick into the shield, preparing for what I thought must be coming next. The figure didn’t throw the fire at us, though. They threw it at someone on the deck below. We all heard the agonized scream. Arella cried out and then she and the orca disappeared beneath the water.
Rand threw his boots down and ran to the back of the platform, just as the orca’s head resurfaced. “Get me over there, big guy, and I’ll do whatever I can to help get those kids back.” With that he stepped onto its back and grabbed for the dorsal fin to steady himself. The orca swam the twenty-five or so feet that still separated the two boats, twisting to give Rand more momentum as he jumped for the short ladder leading to the other ship’s rear platform. The orca waited as Rand scrabbled to get his footing on the bottom rungs, then climbed over and hunkered low as he made it to the platform deck. When he raced for the area directly beneath the deck of the cloaked figure, his back to the wall of the cabin, I remembered to breathe again. How the figure hadn’t seen him was completely beyond me, but the figure seemed to be focused on whoever had been hit by the fire. Rand made his way closer to the person, darted out to grab the screaming person and pulled them back with him. The figure leaned over the railing, trying to see what had just happened to their victim. Rand ripped his shirt off and tried to smother the flames. He should have known better. That fire was magickal and couldn’t be put out that way. The screaming subsided to a moaning whimper, then died out completely. Rand lifted his eyes to mine across the water and shook his head. The cloaked figure above him paced back and forth.
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