by Lisa Plumley
She stepped inside. Magically, the remaining keycards swept along in her wake, skittering like eager puppies. Great. Sumner had given her an irritating, thousand-piece magical entourage.
Francesca might have befriended her. Lily might be warming up to her. But Sumner? Sumner was obviously still a holdout.
Well, Dayna didn’t like Sumner much either. With an impatient gesture, she magiked the keycards toward the foyer wall. They piled up like a golden plastic snowdrift, shining beneath the penthouse’s automatically brightening lighting.
Trudging farther inside the suite, Dayna realized the place was bigger than her apartment in Phoenix. Inhaling deeply, she glanced at the lavish furnishings, the huge flat-screen TV, the remote-controlled sound system, the full bar, the dining table that seated twenty and boasted a direct line to an on-call butler…Shaking her head, she looked out the windows at the darkened view. In the daytime, she realized, this suite would overlook the canyon and red rocks, making it twice as desirable.
There was probably more—Dayna spotted double doorways to each side of the main penthouse, undoubtedly leading to a pair of bedrooms—but for right now, she had all she needed. With a sigh of relief, she dropped her backpack beside a leather sofa.
She dragged off her scarf, then her hoodie. With concern, she realized that her kitten familiar wasn’t with her. Sometime during the night, it must have slipped away. She hoped it hadn’t gone to be reunited with Garmin. It deserved better than that.
The thought of Garmin reminded her that she still had a lot to do—and not much time to do it in. Frowning, Dayna kicked off her Converses. She pulled off her socks. Barefoot, she headed toward the nearest bedroom. But ironically, now that she’d reached the penthouse, she wasn’t tired anymore.
First, she decided, a hot shower to revive her. That would help get her thoughts in order. After that, a call to Francesca.
No matter how busy Francesca was, she needed to know what was happening tomorrow—especially since it was happening here on Janus’s grounds. And no matter what Francesca had said about vixen solidarity, the news of the Followers’ scheme was not something Dayna could explain with Lily and Sumner around.
She still didn’t trust them. When she turned the corner to the bedroom, she realized she had a very good reason not to.
The bedroom was filled with boxes—boxes, crates, and entire shrink-wrapped pallets, all of them stacked haphazardly around the room and each filled with ingredients for witching potions.
A couple of boxes containing potion ingredients would not have been out of the ordinary, Dayna told herself as she sorted through them. Most witches kept such supplies on hand. Even her own mother did. But dozens of boxes—containing myriad vials of banned ingredients—were definitely suspicious. So was the fact that they were here, arrayed in a penthouse suite instead of a storeroom somewhere on a service level twenty floors down.
Even more awake now, Dayna sat on the floor and dragged over another box. The first one she’d glimpsed had been open already. After noticing its contraband contents, she’d felt no compunction about tearing open a second box—then a third, a fourth…a tenth. At first, she’d hoped she’d been mistaken about the boxes’ contents. But after opening most of them, she’d realized there was only one conclusion that made sense. Someone had been stockpiling banned ingredients in this penthouse suite.
Methodically, as only a researcher like her would have done, Dayna considered the contents of the nearest boxes. Some of the banned ingredients caused forgetfulness. Some boosted magic. Some suppressed caring and promoted ruthlessness; others amplified focus or increased mental agility. All the ingredients were on hand in quantities far too vast for ordinary use.
With dawning horror, Dayna stared at the multiple open boxes surrounding her. These were ingredients, she realized, for Francesca’s witchy invincibility potion. Taken together and served to witchfolk, they would make up the specially garnished, exclusively offered “cocktail” that Dayna had enjoyed earlier.
Taken together and given to humans, however…
They would make up a deadly conversion potion.
Dayna was sure of it. No wonder Sumner hadn’t wanted anyone else to stay in her penthouse suite! She’d discovered a lethal side use for Francesca’s cocktail. For all Dayna knew, Sumner had been dosing humans with it, trying to awaken them.
Francesca would be appalled. Obviously, Sumner had been keen to keep her activities a secret, and with good reason. She’d probably thought her keycard trick would be enough to keep Dayna from entering the penthouse suite. Given Dayna’s usual lack of magic, it was a reasonable assumption. Sumner had been able to do as Francesca had asked—without arousing suspicion and without surrendering the penthouse suite and its secret cache.
Or so she’d thought.
Unhappily alert, Dayna stared at the opened boxes and their poisonous contents. Everyone knew Francesca wasn’t an Old Ways sympathizer. She’d made that clear on their girls’ spa day, when she’d questioned Dayna about her potential myrmidon beliefs. So of course Sumner would have to hide the truth about herself.
Sumner was a Follower. Francesca wasn’t.
This was where their vixen friendship fell apart. This was where Dayna found the link to the Followers that she’d needed—right in the midst of Covenhaven’s most popular witchy trio.
There were enough banned potion ingredients there to dose everyone who came to graduation and the Hallowe’en Festival tomorrow. Dayna didn’t have a second to waste. Getting to her feet, she pulled out the card Francesca had given her.
Again, it tingled in her palm as she stared at it. She hadn’t wanted to use it to deliver this kind of bad news. But she didn’t have much choice. With her heart pounding, Dayna picked up her cell phone and dialed Francesca.
“I thought you were planning to sleep.” Wearing a frown that did little to mar her perfect appearance, Francesca entered the penthouse suite. “What’s this all about?”
Nervously clenching her fists, Dayna opened her mouth to explain. Then she thought better of it. “I’ll show you.”
With a bewildered Francesca on her heels, Dayna strode to the bedroom. She flung out her arm, indicating the boxes.
“These are all full of banned potion ingredients.” She named them, in order from most forbidden to most toxic, ticking off each one on her fingers. “There’s no legitimate use these ingredients can be put to.” Gravely, Dayna turned to Francesca. “Someone is using your penthouse suite to make lethal potions for a mass conversion attempt. And I’m pretty sure I know who.”
“At the moment, it looks like it’s you.” Francesca appeared amused. She waved her arm, then laughed. “Oh, don’t be so somber, Dayna! I’d wondered where Lily and Sumner had stashed all this stuff. These boxes will be out of here by morning. Just use the other bedroom. I’ve got to get back downstairs.”
Confused by Francesca’s blasé tone, Dayna blinked. She stepped nearer as her fellow vixen turned to leave. “Wait. Don’t you want to know who is getting ready to use these ingredients?”
“Well…I imagine it’s someone who wants to make sure that witchfolk will be able to live openly, in a world free of discrimination.” With her usual ease and confidence, Francesca stopped in the doorway. She gave Dayna a smile. “I imagine it’s someone who has the future of witchkind at heart. Someone who is willing to risk everything to make sure that ignorant dozers won’t hold us back any longer from the destiny we deserve.”
Feeling chilled, Dayna stared. “Someone…like you?”
“Of course.” Warmly, Francesca trailed her fingers over the nearest open box. She lifted a shimmering vial. “I was fated for this. From the time I was just an able child, everyone told me how special I was. Once I read the Book of The Old Ways, I knew what I was meant to do. It was only a matter of how and when.”
“You were always special,” Dayna agreed, her mind racing. Her heart thumped faster. She hadn’t expected this. And compared with Francesca, she was complete
ly outmatched in magic. She struggled to remain calm. “Everyone in Covenhaven could see it.”
“You’re special, too.” With a generous smile, Francesca nodded at her. “You’re a vixen, like me. You’re clever, like me. You’re rebellious, stubborn, and—suddenly—very gifted. Like me.”
“Not—not really,” Dayna stuttered. Francesca expected her to help with her scheme, she realized in shock. “My magic is still pretty balky. Especially when I’m not in class. So—”
Francesca laughed. “Are you really that innocent? Your magic was better in class because of your proximity to your fellow vixens. Remember when your kitten familiar morphed into a tiger? That was just one example. I can’t believe you didn’t know that.” Shaking her head, Francesca gave her another amused, knowing look. “Our magic is amplified when it’s together. Once we complete our quad vixen pact—you, me, Sumner, and Lily—we’ll be so powerful. It’s been centuries since witchfolk have experienced a quad vixen pact. It ought to be quite a show!”
Fighting not to reveal her fear, Dayna looked past the boxes of ingredients, past the penthouse itself, all the way to the view outside. “Somebody should have clued me in then. I’m not exactly prepared for a once-in-a-century show tomorrow.” She mustered up a shaky laugh. “Exactly what did you have in mind?”
“Oh, please.” Francesca gave her a playful look. “You’re the smarty-pants of the group. You must have guessed.”
“Nope.” Dayna shrugged. “I’ve been out of the witchy loop for a while though, remember? I’m still catching up.”
“I’ll give you the condensed version then.” Francesca moved languidly across the room, then sat on the bed. She patted the mattress, motioning for Dayna to join her, slumber-party-style.
Trembling, Dayna did. If she didn’t play this right, Francesca could reduce her to dust with a snap of her fingers. No one would know where she’d gone. Her parents would hang on, always hoping she’d merely run away again. T.J. would…brood, caught up in the darkness that always loomed around him.
T.J. Silently, Dayna gave an anguished groan. She wished T.J. were here now. He would know what to do. He would have the magic to defeat Francesca. As it was, she had only herself to rely on. And she’d never been good enough for the magical world.
“Okay. Here’s the thing.” Eagerly, Francesca tucked a hank of long dark hair behind her ear. She appeared to be settling in for a sisterly gossip session. “For a long time, we Followers have been looking for a way to shake up the status quo.” She broke off, then gave Dayna a shrewd look. “By the way, bravo on the way you answered my ‘myrmidon’ questions on our girls’ spa day! You saw the IAB bug hovering in the corner, too, right?”
She hadn’t. Mutely, Dayna nodded. “Of course.”
“Anyway, we’ve been trying to find a way to make sure that witchfolk are given the respect they deserve. There’s no good reason we should be persecuted and marginalized while humans rule the world.” Francesca made a face. “For too long, witchfolk have allowed their traditions to be eroded. Even otherwise good witchfolk have been abandoning their time-honored ways, using human-made devices instead of magic. Seriously, Botox? iPhones? Satellite GPS? Who needs them?” Aggrieved, Francesca flung out her hands. She shook her head. “If we keep adopting the dozers’ technology this way, witchfolk culture will disappear altogether. I say, if you have magic, use it.”
“And if you don’t…?”
“Get it. Exactly.” Like the proud parent of an able child, Francesca beamed at Dayna. “So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to give magic to all the dozers—with my conversion elixir. The latest version works even better than before. Once those humans see what they’re capable of, they’ll be sold.” She snapped her fingers. “Like that. And voilá! Once we’re all witches and loyal Followers, there’ll be no more harassment, no more discrimination…no more battles to fight.”
“It all sounds”—appalled, Dayna hesitated—“too easy.”
“Oh, it won’t be easy. Believe me. Without a huge collective of powerful cusping witches, a mass conversion like this wouldn’t even be possible.” Confidingly, Francesca put her hand on Dayna’s forearm. Magical tremors sparked between them. “But once the IAB rounded up all the cusping witches, it became a lot more manageable. The trick is, I know how to use them.”
“Use the cusping witches? How?”
“Wow.” Francesca shook her head, trailing her hand away from Dayna’s arm. “You really are innocent. You’d better stay away from my boyfriend, okay?” She laughed in a girl-to-girl way. “He’s kind of a freak for the naïve type.”
She meant Leo Garmin. Shocked, Dayna gave a weak chuckle.
“Cusping witches are especially open to becoming linked. It’s part of our cusping process—part of being at the height of our magical abilities,” Francesca said. “In the old days, linking was designed to make sure we bonded in close-knit groups instead of competing with each other. Funny, right? That biology has to ensure a way for witches to get along? It’s crazy.”
Obviously, Francesca had never been shunned by the other witches in her school, in her neighborhood…in her town. She had no idea how painful it had been for Dayna to be ostracized.
“Makes sense to me,” she said. “Everyone likes positive feedback. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and rewarded.”
“Right. Like with cusping-witch classes—our hard work should be recognized. Which is where the IAB’s graduation amulets come in. But you must have already guessed about them, right?”
Dayna murmured a denial. She gave Francesca what she hoped was an inquisitive—but not terrified—look. “What about them?”
“Seriously.” For the first time, Francesca seemed perturbed. “You were right there when I was engraving them.”
“I know, but—” Frantically, Dayna tried to think up an excuse for her lack of witchy acumen. “I was kind of freaked out, remember? Tonight was not my best-ever night.”
Francesca narrowed her eyes. Then her expression softened.
“All right, you’re right. Sorry! I must be getting paranoid after all this plotting with Lily and Sumner.” She gave Dayna a camaraderie-filled poke to the shoulder. “And now, with you! Who would have believed it, right? The two of us, best friends?”
“It’s…unbelievable, all right.”
Francesca sighed. “Well, it’s actually inevitable, is what it is. We’re vixens. We’re sisters, forever.”
Years ago, Dayna would have given anything to hear those words. To be accepted. To be linked. To truly belong in the witching world. Now she could scarcely contain her fear. She didn’t want to belong in a world ruled by witches who got their way by force. Witches who dominated through fear and prejudice.
Witches like Francesca.
It was clear that Francesca couldn’t conceive of any other way to be—couldn’t imagine that anyone, especially someone like Dayna, would disagree with her. Francesca hadn’t even questioned her assumption that Dayna was a Follower, like her. Apparently, Francesca was arrogant enough to believe everyone wanted to be like her—including unawakened humans.
“…so that’s how I’m going to spread my magic,” Francesca was saying. “Once I’ve given a piece of myself to every cusping witch who graduates, there’ll be no possibility of failure. My magic will be enhanced a thousandfold! The Old Ways will be here for good, bringing enlightenment to everyone.” She smiled broadly. “And we’ll form a fully united quad vixen pact to rule over all of it—you, me, Lily, and Sumner. We’ll be unstoppable.”
With a rush of despair, Dayna realized she’d said much the same thing to T.J. tonight. Only then she’d been planning on defeating the Followers—not helping them take over the world.
But that’s exactly what she was—accidentally—about to do tomorrow, if she didn’t stop this. Dayna had missed some of Francesca’s chatter, but overall, her plan seemed clear.
Francesca intended to spread her magic among the cusping witches who drank her invinc
ibility-endowing “cocktail.” That would ensure that witchfolk would be at their strongest tomorrow. Then she would give the same cocktail—now functioning as a conversion elixir—to unsuspecting humans all over Covenhaven, trusting in the combined powers of the newly linked cusping witches to make the conversion process work.
The humans would never survive their forced magical “endowment.” At least the unturned humans wouldn’t.
And if that happened…
Dayna felt frozen in place, totally unable to move.
“Hey.” Francesca frowned. “Are you all right? You look really pale again. Maybe you should take that nap after all.”
“Um, maybe I should.” Grasping at that opportunity, Dayna nodded. “It’s going to be a big day tomorrow.”
“You can say that again.” Seeming pleased, Francesca stood. She gave Dayna a fond look. “Hey, I’m sorry to keep you in the dark for so long. Sumner and Lily insisted you would freak out if you heard about the plan beforehand, so I was just going to make you form a vixen pact with us by force. But now that you’re in on everything…It will be so much better!”
Cheerfully, Francesca hugged her. Stiffly, Dayna pantomimed a return hug. She doubted it felt very convincing, but Francesca didn’t appear to notice. Her self-absorption seemed to make her oblivious to everyone else’s feelings…including Dayna’s.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow at graduation. ’Night!”
With a triumphant sparkle of magic, Francesca left.
Dayna just stood there, afraid and alone. There were only a few hours remaining until the graduation ceremony. Somehow, she had to stop Francesca and the Followers. But with T.J. and Deuce locked away, Leo Garmin and the IAB not to be trusted, and her own magic seriously unreliable, what could she possibly do?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Groggily, T.J. felt himself being gripped by unknown hands. He felt himself being lifted in strong arms, then carried…
Jolted awake, he swung his fist. It connected.
