Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches)

by Jessica Gibson

Jilly woke up early and tiptoed out of the room, so she wouldn’t wake up William. There was a note from Alex taped to her door. He said he had gotten an urgent phone call early in the morning and had to return to Russia, but he would be in touch in a few days. Jilly padded down to the kitchen and found Hannah already at the table. She looked up from her book and smiled when she heard Jilly come in.

  “You’re up early,” Jilly said as she started to make coffee.

  “Yeah, I’ve gotten used to getting up early, so I could be out before Walter opened the store back in London.”

  Jilly nodded. “What are your plans for the day?” she asked.

  “I don’t have any, seeing as I’ve been house bound since we got here.”

  Jilly smiled. “Well, baby doll, that’s going to change, today. First, we’re going shopping and then we’ll go explore the city a bit.”

  Hannah’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Yep, we’ll go when the guys leave.” She grabbed her mug of coffee and joined Hannah at the table.

  Hannah reached for Jilly’s hand and her eyes went blank. “Ones who have been lost will be found. But not all will be restored.” Her eyes cleared and she groaned. “Ugh, I really hate that. Did I at least tell you something good?”

  Jilly was pensive. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know.” She drank her coffee in silence, and Hannah returned to her book. Do I really even want to know what that’s supposed to mean? Jilly thought as she looked out the window. A few minutes later, they were joined by William, Nikolai and Katya. Nikolai smiled at them and headed straight through to the other room to make a call.

  “Morning, guys. There’s coffee in the pot, but I haven’t made anything for breakfast,” Jilly said apologetically. “Oh, and Alex is gone. He left a note taped to my door. He had to return to Russia for something. He said he’ll be in touch soon, though. I honestly think it has more to do with Patrick than anything pressing that he had to do in Russia.”

  “I agree, it would be difficult to see the man who destroyed your life every day,” Katya said.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll whip us up something in a jiffy.” She wandered around the counter and rummaged through the cabinets and made French toast, eggs and bacon for everyone.

  Nikolai came in from the other room a few minutes later and caught William’s eye. “We’re all set to take your brother to see Sabine this morning. When do you want to go?”

  “I’ll call Patrick after breakfast and see if he can come as soon as possible. I want to be done with this as quickly as we can.”

  Nikolai nodded and took a seat across from Jilly. “I think we should bring Liam with us. Hopefully Sabine will tell us where his wife is.”

  William agreed. “I just hope she’ll tell us what we want to know.”

  “I’ll have one of my men bring him by before your brother gets here.”

  After breakfast, William called Patrick to set up the meeting with Sabine. “Does an hour from now work for you?” he asked his brother.

  “That will be fine. I’ll be over shortly,” Patrick replied before hanging up. William sighed, resigning himself to the coming events. He found Jilly in the kitchen clearing the breakfast dishes from the table.

  “Need some help?” he asked.

  “Sure. When is your brother coming over?”

  “Soon.” The gloom he was feeling made its way into his voice.

  Jilly turned around from the sink and looked at him pointedly. “You need to just get over it, Will. This is happening. You said the same thing to me in New York--this is about the girls and their safety. I don’t trust Patrick with most things, but I do with this. I hate to keep repeating myself, but you keep making me.” The last bit was said with a laugh.

  William threw his hands up in defeat. “Okay, my love, I give up. I won’t be mopey about this anymore. So, what are your plans for today?”

  Jilly smiled brightly. “Kat and I are going to take Hannah shopping and to explore the city a bit.”

  William smiled. “I’m sure she’ll like that. Plus, she could really use some new clothes.”

  A few minutes later, when kitchen was spotless, Jilly and William went out to sit on the porch.

  “Can you imagine how nice it’s going to be when all of this is over?” he asked.

  “Yes, I can, because hopefully by that time we’ll be married. Where do you want to live after we get married?” Jilly asked him seriously.

  “I sort of just figured we’d live here,” he replied. “We can knock out a wall or two and enlarge your bedroom so it’s big enough for the both of us.”

  Jilly nodded. “Are you sure? You wouldn’t rather move to a new house?”

  “Yes, I’m sure, my darling. I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t sure. This is your home. I’m perfectly comfortable living here as well; so why wouldn’t we live here?”

  Jilly’s eyes shone brightly with unshed tears and she kissed him gently on the lips. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I promise I’ll love you until time ceases to exist, Jilly,” he whispered back. Their private moment was interrupted by Patrick’s car pulling up behind the house. Jilly put on a smile and stood up as Patrick joined them on the porch.

  “Jillian,” Patrick said with a nod in her direction. “William,” he said with another nod at his brother.

  “Won’t you come inside, Patrick?” Jilly asked as she held the door open. Hannah was standing at the counter flipping through a magazine when they came in.

  Patrick’s eyes lit with pleasure when he saw her. “Hannah, you look lovely. It’s so nice to see you.” Jilly could see that he wanted to embrace the young girl. She was proud of him for resisting the urge, Hannah wasn’t quite there yet, with him.

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” she said quietly. She glanced quickly at Jilly before retreating up the stairs to her room. Patrick sighed and sat down at the table.

  Jilly touched his arm and he looked up at her. “She’ll come around. It’s just a lot to take in.”

  He smiled. “I know, it’s just wonderful to see her after so many years apart.” William was surprised to see that the smile on Patrick’s face was sincere.

  “Listen to Jill, she knows about these things,” he said as he motioned for his brother to follow him into the other room.

  Nikolai came down the stairs just as they were entering into the living room. Hannah must have told him to come down. “All right, boys, are we ready?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Don’t forget we’re bringing Liam,” William replied.

  “He’s in the car already with my men out front,” Nikolai responded.

  Patrick nodded and walked out to get into the car. William gave Jilly a quick kiss. “Have fun, today. Buy lots of things you don’t need.”

  Jilly laughed. “We will, I’m sure. You guys be careful.”

  “Always,” he said and blew her a kiss on his way out the door.

  Thirty-five minutes later, Jilly, Hannah, Katya, Emily and baby Camille were perusing the racks at Old Navy. Jilly loaded Hannah down with more stuff than she could carry and sent her off to the dressing room.

  “You should have seen the look on Patrick’s face when he saw Hannah this morning,” she said to her friends, while they waited for Hannah to emerge. “His eyes lit up with such pleasure. He really looked like a different person.”

  Emily smiled. “Children will do that to a parent.” She thought about the profound affect Camille had on her life and she was only just born. “As awful as he is normally, where Hannah is concerned, he definitely loves her.”

  Jilly sighed. “I just wish we could trust him with everything else.”

  “We need to give him this chance to prove himself. Then we’ll talk about trusting him,” Katya said.

  “I know, I’ve just been lecturing William a lot about trying to trust him again.”

  Katya playfully bumped into Jilly. “You need to let him figure this Patrick situation out in his own time. He’s been dealing with guil
t and anger for a few hundred years.”

  “All right, I give up, I’ll leave him alone. I just hate that it’s bugging him so much,” Jilly said, clearly defeated by Katya’s logic.

  “At least your heart is in the right place. Still, be sure to give the poor guy a chance to come to terms with this,” Katya said with a laugh. Hannah came out dressed in dark denim skinny jeans and a purple V-neck sweater and all of the women ooohed and aaaahhhed over her.

  “Okay, so those are a definite yes,” Jilly said. “Now go and try the rest on. We have even more places to go after this.” Hannah laughed and went back inside. Twenty minutes later, they were all carrying bags out of the store. Jilly had purchased everything Hannah had tried on.

  “Okay, now let’s go and find some shoes for you,” she said with a wicked gleam in her eye.

  Nikolai’s black SUV pulled up outside of Sabine’s prison and all of the men emerged from the car. Nikolai went first and gave the order to let them in. They followed the same set of tunnels that William and Nikolai had used to visit Sabine, previously. Finally, after what felt like forever, they reached the door to her cell.

  Patrick began to open the door, but William stopped him. “We’ll be going in with you.”

  “Of course you will. I never thought I’d be going in alone.” William nodded and allowed Patrick to open the door.

  Sabine was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall. “Patrick, cherie, it is wonderful to see you, again. Have you come to free me from my prison?” There was laughter in her voice, as though she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Who are you really working for, Sabine?” Patrick asked in a lethal tone.

  Her smile faltered slightly. “What do you mean?”

  “Answer the question. I will not ask it again.” His face was devoid of emotion.

  Sabine appeared pensive as she planned her next move.

  “Why should I tell you?” she asked defiantly.

  Patrick smiled, but it was not a pleasant expression. “Just because you cannot die does not mean you cannot experience pain, my darling.” His voice was a whisper, but she had definitely heard him.

  “His name is Valdus. He is Vampire.” An expression of terror covered her face.

  William was slightly shocked to hear that a vampire was using an amaranthine for help. “What does he want with the women?” William asked, not waiting for Patrick to ask another question.

  “I know not what he desires them for; I was only hired to retrieve them.”

  William scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Where is Maggie?”

  Sabine smiled. “Is Liam here?” Nikolai opened the door, and Liam walked in trying to mask his worry.

  “Just tell me where she is, Sabine,” he said quietly. “I’ve done as you’ve asked.”

  She smiled again. “It is not I who possesses your Maggie. You should take that up with Valdus.”

  All of the color drained out of Liam’s face. “Where can we find him, then?” he asked in a shaky voice.

  “Oh, who knows where Valdus is; he’s probably somewhere in Europe. He always was partial to Germany and Romania. Vampires do love dreary weather and all that melodrama Eastern Europe is always dripping with.”

  “Explain to me why it is that we need you still?” Patrick asked impatiently.

  “Valdus will never let you find him,” she said with a smile.

  “Again, you don’t answer my question. You are trying my patience today,” Patrick said, as he took a step toward her. Her outwardly calm expression cracked a little and she shrank back against the wall.

  “I will take you to him.”

  He shook his head. “Just tell us where he is.”

  “No, either I go with you or you’ll never find him.” Her courage was back and she stuck out her chin.

  “Talk it over with them. I’ve heard all I need to hear,” Patrick said as he stalked out the door.

  Liam followed Patrick out and stopped him in the corridor. “Will you help me get my Maggie?”

  Patrick looked at him disdainfully. “Why should I do a thing like that? Isn’t that what my white knight of a brother is for? Take it up with him. I only desire to find and destroy Valdus.” Liam grabbed his arm but Patrick shook it off and continued walking.

  Jilly and Hannah were standing at the railing of the pier looking out into the ocean. “Thank you for today,” Hannah said.

  “Of course! You’re family now, sweetie. Anything we can do for you, we’ll do. I’m just glad we got you some new things that fit you properly.” Jilly’s cell phone rang, and she grabbed it out of her bag.

  “It’s William,” she said as she answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey, we’re pretty much done here. We’ll be home in an hour, maybe less.”

  “That’s good. How did it go?”

  “Not terribly great. We’ve got a name, but it looks like we’ve also acquired another travelling companion.”

  “What? You better not mean Sabine.”

  William sighed. “It’s not my first choice either, but we do what we have to.”

  “We’ll talk more about this when you get home. I need more details.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in an hour. I love you.”

  “Love you back,” Jilly replied before hanging up. “Well, we’ve got an hour before we need to be home. Want to grab some lunch?” Hannah nodded and they went to find Katya and Emily. Ten minutes later, they were all seated, eating salads at a local deli.

  “So, did Will call you?” Katya asked.

  “Yeah, I’m assuming you asked because Nik called you,” Jilly replied wryly.

  “I’m not super excited about Sabine coming with us, either; but I think we should hear the guys out,” Katya said. Jilly nodded in agreement.

  “Someone want to fill me in?” Emily asked.

  Jilly laughed. “Sorry Em. It looks like Sabine knows the location of the guy who’s after the girls. We’re going to have to take her with us if we want to find him.”

  “Well, that sucks,” Emily said.

  “It totally does, but we have no other choice.”

  Emily nodded. “That makes sense, I guess; I just don’t like it.”

  “None of us do, my friend. We all hate this,” Jilly said as she finished her sandwich.

  “Okay, ladies, let’s go talk strategy with the men,” Katya said as she pushed her chair back.

  Everyone was seated in Jilly’s living room forty-five minutes later. Patrick had called Caroline and she was there as well.

  “Okay, so tell us everything,” Jilly said.

  William spoke up first. “Sabine says the man she works for is named Valdus; he’s a vampire. It’s going to make things a bit trickier.”

  “Why does a vampire want us?” Caroline asked.

  “That’s a good question, Caroline. We have no idea. I’m assuming it has something to do with power. Nik got a call from his friend who was looking over those plans we found at Sabine’s place in New York. He says it’s an extractor of sorts, but he’s not entirely sure what it does, yet. We’re going to meet up with him when we get to Europe,” William replied.

  “Are we really bringing Sabine with us?” Caroline asked.

  “Yes, I’m afraid we have no choice.” William said. “She will not reveal Valdus’ location to us unless we bring her with us. Now, Nik and I both agree she’s going to try and pull something while we’re there; so don’t think we’re not worried as well.”

  Nikolai spoke next. “We’re planning on leaving in a day or so. Will that give everyone enough time to get what they need ready?” He looked around the room and everyone nodded. “Okay then, we’ll be heading to Germany first, to meet with my friend. Sabine will try and contact Valdus when we arrive. We’ll go from there.”

  “Are we through, here?” Patrick asked.

  “Yes, I suppose we are; unless anyone else has something to say.” No one spoke up, so Patrick got up and headed for the door.

  Caroline sto
od up as well and shot Jilly a small smile. “We should talk soon, okay?” she asked. Jilly nodded and Caroline followed Patrick out the door.

  “Well, that was abrupt,” Jilly laughed.

  “My brother is nothing if not succinct,” William replied.

  Hannah spoke up finally. “Am I going with you guys?”

  “Only if you want to. Emily said you could stay with her and Adam, if you’d like,” Jilly replied.

  Hannah shook her head. “I think I want to go, if that’s okay with everyone.”

  “Of course it is. This is about you as much as anyone else. So, if you want to go, then you’ll go.”

  “Ok, thanks. I guess I should start packing. I’ll see you guys later.” She walked upstairs with an armload full of bags. There were still numerous bags lined up against the wall by the stairs.

  “Want to help me take these up?” Jilly asked William.

  “Sure,” he said and they each grabbed as many bags as they could carry and marched up the stairs to Hannah’s room.

  Later that night, William was laying on Jilly’s bed watching TV while she gathered up her things for the trip.

  “What should I be packing?” Jilly called out from her closet.

  “You’ll want warm stuff. It gets pretty cold in Germany and Romania,” William replied.

  She emerged with her arms full of hangers and jeans. After tossing them on the chair by the TV, she returned to her closet to grab some more things. She snagged her suitcases and came out to start packing.

  “I think I’ve got enough for a few weeks. Should I bring more?”

  “What? No, that’s fine. We can always buy you more things if you need them,” William said, his attention clearly on Mythbusters and not on Jilly.

  She laughed and started throwing things into the bags on the floor. “When are you packing?”

  “Hm? I think tomorrow at some point. I need to go shopping for a new coat to bring. Plus there are a few odds and ends I want to pick up.”

  “Is the show really that good, Will?” Jilly asked with a laugh.

  He looked at her. “Have you never watched Mythbusters?” She shook her head. “Well, my darling, you’ve been missing out. It brings out my inner nerd. They do all sorts of crazy things.”