Spirits, Stilettos, and a Silver Bustier

by Deanna Chase

  “What are we—” a woman said. “Eric?” Her voice turned high-pitched and then she started hyperventilating.

  “Don’t worry about it, Em. In about ten minutes, this will all be over.” Brant advanced on her.

  The large room was expansive, with very little furniture—only one dining table on the far end and another smaller one next to Nissa. No chairs.

  Em backed up timidly, too terrified to move.

  “Run!” I cried. “Or fight. Do something, anything!”

  She glanced at me but then shut her eyes tight as if that would make everything go away.

  “Be quiet, Pyper. It’s your fault these two are here. If you hadn’t meddled in things that were none of your business, I’d never have had to resort to this. Now shut up or I’ll be forced to knock you out again, and you’ll miss the entire show.”

  “Meddled? None of my business? You tried to kill me!”

  “I said shut up!” His face was a mask of anger, and he stormed toward me.

  Em let out a terrified squeak.

  “You incredible bastard!” Nissa kicked out, catching the small table. It toppled over, breaking two of the legs when it fell.

  He stopped mid-step and glared at Nissa. “That was an antique.”

  “Like I give a shit? Look at what you’ve done to us.” She pushed herself up, staring him down.

  I eyed the table legs, wondering if I could reach one. It was the only weapon in sight.

  Anger flashed in Brant’s eyes, but instead of punishing Nissa, he grabbed Em by the hair and lifted her up. “One more word out of you, Nissa, and this one’s going to find out what it means to piss me off.”

  Nissa eyed the trembling girl and clamped her mouth shut.

  “That’s better.” He loosened his grip on Em and asked, “What about you? Are you going to behave?”

  Her lower lip quivered as she nodded her head. “You… you don’t need… to… bind me.”

  “Good girl,” he said and brushed her hair off her forehead. “You’ll do as I say?”

  She nodded again, her entire body shaking.

  “Get on your knees.” His tone was cold, devoid of any emotion.

  My stomach rolled. The rage deep in my gut propelled me toward the broken table legs.

  Em lowered herself to the floor, tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  “Why would I want to do that? You’re the obedient one.” He reached out and gently wiped the glistening tears from her cheeks. “But I do need to make sure you stay put.” In one swift movement, he whipped out handcuffs and secured her to a ring bolted to the wall. Holy crap. That iron ring was not normal. Had he done this before?

  I moved closer to the table leg, my fingers just barely brushing the wood.

  “Now,” he said addressing us all. But when his eyes landed on me, he scowled and stormed over. His foot came down on my wrist hard and fast.

  Snap.

  I screamed, pain shooting through my left arm.

  “Try that again and next time it will be your neck.”

  Liar. If the spell worked the way Marc said it did, I’d be last in line on his killing spree. “Why are you doing this?” I forced out through gasps of breath. “Why is it so important to prolong your life?”

  Brant’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in surprise.

  “You didn’t realize we knew all about your little plan to extend your life? Yeah. We’re on to you. What we don’t know is why?”

  His features morphed into the cool, no-nonsense cop persona he’d perfected. “Have you ever had to deal with cancer, Ms. Rayne?”

  I was momentarily stunned into silence. Where had that come from? “Not on a personal level, no.”

  “Well, I have. Since I was five years old. Thousands of treatments. Years of being sick. Then by some miracle, something seemed to work. The word cure was mentioned, and for the past three years, I let myself believe. Then just when a promotion is on the line and I’m finally able to start living a life free of poison, a new diagnosis. One virtually untreatable.”

  I swallowed, my compassion warring with my revulsion. “You’re telling me you’re doing this to beat cancer? Three lives… or in this case, five, for one?”

  “I’m doing this to live. To serve this wonderful city. To make a contribution worthy of something in this world. Every single one of you has lived a life. One free of death and heartache and loneliness. It’s my turn now. The world owes me this!”

  His blue eyes flashed black as magic crackled at his fingertips. It wasn’t as strong as Jade’s or Lucien’s. It sputtered and sparked in short, sickly bursts. He held his hands up. “My magic is already slipping. If I don’t do this now, it’s over.”

  “Go to a freaking doctor like everyone else, you sick bastard,” Nissa called from her position a few feet from me.

  He ignored her and turned to me. “I know your friend is a witch. If you were dying and came across a family spell that would save you, wouldn’t you use it?”

  I shook my head violently. “No. Neither would any of my friends. They’d sacrifice themselves before they’d do anything to harm another.”

  He let out a loud cackle of disbelief. “People only say that when they aren’t staring death in the face.”

  “He’s right, Pyper,” Nissa said sarcastically. “I’m staring death in the face right now, and I’m sure as hell not willing to sacrifice myself for this selfish bastard.”

  Brant took two steps and backhanded her.

  She let out a cry and landed on her shoulder with a thump.

  “Stop it!” I begged, desperate now. “You don’t need to do this. I know powerful healers. They can help. This isn’t the answer.”

  “Healers don’t help the damned,” he said coldly. Then he kicked the broken table pieces out of the way and stormed over to the table on the far side of the room. He busied himself with something that looked a lot like the herbs Jade worked with.

  I rolled up onto my side, cradling my wrists against my chest. Despite the blow she had taken, Nissa had managed to climb to her knees and was peering around the room. Em was crumpled against the wall, completely defeated. The situation seemed completely hopeless, but I couldn’t just lie there waiting for what I knew was coming.

  “How do you know Tyler? And why did you bring us here?”

  He froze and then very carefully turned to stare at me. He hesitated for a moment and then stalked across the room, stopping inches from my prone form. “My half brother is an idiot. I told him to stay the hell away from you. But I guess he got what he deserved for not listening to me.”

  Jeez. They were related? A totally different kind of horror gripped me. What if Tyler was an innocent bystander in all this? “Was he in on it with you? Did he help you kill Shelby and Ruby?” My voice was steady, full of confidence, but on the inside my nerves were all over the place.

  “Tyler? Kill someone?” He laughed, an obnoxious sound that echoed through the empty room. “He couldn’t even put his dog down when it was too old to see anymore.”

  “Just because a dog goes blind doesn’t mean he has to be put down.” I hated him more by the second.

  “The dog was useless. That’s not the point. Tyler was just in the way.”

  A piece of my heart cracked. Tyler was a nice guy, like Jade had said, and because of me he was locked away in some witch’s prison. “Is he even magical?” I asked in a small voice.

  His laugh turned sinister. “He doesn’t deserve his power. And now that the council has him, he’ll be stripped of it anyway.”

  Stripped? I’d never heard of that before. But then the witches I knew wouldn’t dream of abusing their power. “So you just let them take him? Knowing he was innocent?”

  “Pfft. You’re so naïve. Of course I did. After what they found here, someone had to tak
e the fall, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me. I’ve already suffered enough while Tyler sat back and breezed through life, never worrying about a thing.” He stalked back over to the table. “And once this is done, I’ll go back to being the pillar of the community. Respected by the entire police force.”

  “Pillar of community, my ass!” Nissa shot back from her spot near me. “You’re a sick, sadistic bastard, and I’ll make sure everyone knows it if it’s the last goddamned thing I do.”

  He turned and calmly picked up one of the bowls of herbs. And as he walked over to her, he chanted, “Life for life, soul for soul, your light’s now mine forevermore.”

  The herbs erupted into red sparks of dark magic and quickly turned into a sludgy paste.

  Disgusting.

  “Get the hell away from me.” Nissa seethed.

  Brant smiled evilly down at her and dipped his fingers into the paste. His entire hand turned black with the magic.

  He’s here, Pyper! Lily yelled in my mind.

  “Who?” I said, drawing Brant’s attention to me.

  “Who what?” The sadistic cop stood between Nissa and me, glaring in my direction.

  I clamped my mouth shut and willed Lily to continue.

  “Your guides are here,” he said, eyeing me. His face turned red with anger. “What are they saying?”

  “Nothing.” I glanced at Nissa, who had crawled up on her knees and was slowly moving toward Brant.

  “Don’t lie!” he bellowed. “I can sense them. What do they want?”

  “I don’t know. She said you’re here. That’s all.” It was almost the truth. She’d said he’s here, but I had no idea who he was.

  “Get up,” Brant ordered.

  I was still on my side, doing everything in my power to not move. My wrist hurt too much, along with the rest of my battered body.

  “Do it.”

  I tucked my feet under me and rolled into a sitting position.

  Brant stood over me, holding the black sludge over my head. “Answer me, or I’ll curse you first.”

  I stared up at the thick goo and lost all faith that I was last on his list for the spell. Maybe Marc had gotten it wrong. Maybe I didn’t need to go last. “I don’t know. She just said he’s here. I don’t know who he is, and she didn’t say.”

  The adrenaline had taken over, and I no longer felt anything. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was in shock, but it hardly seemed to matter at that moment.

  Brant spun toward the only door that led to the front of the large apartment. The black sludge splattered from his fingers, and I jerked to the side, barely avoiding being hit.

  “Reveal yourself!” Brant demanded.

  A spark of magic flew from the opposite corner directly at me, hit my bindings, and burned them into ash. At exactly the same time, Nissa jumped, tackling Brant. The surprise of the attack took them both down, but she still managed to elbow him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. The blow didn’t stop him from flipping over and reaching for her though, and she kicked out as hard as she could, catching him in the face.

  I didn’t hesitate. I jumped to my feet, and holding on tight to my broken wrist, I rushed over. Using all my force, I jabbed my stiletto into his neck. He twisted violently, knocking me off my feet, my ankle twisting in the process.

  I screamed as I went down but was drowned out by his roar of pain.

  “You bitch! What have you done?” He grabbed my shoe, which was still stuck in his neck, and yanked. Blood splattered across me and the beautiful silver-beaded dress. I slid backward on the floor, watching as his face went stark white.

  Then, before he could do anything else, another bolt of magic shot from the other side of the room, engulfing him in a magical restraint. Julius stepped out of the shadows, his magic lighting him up like a knight in shining armor.

  He strode toward Brant, his shoulders and face tense with concentration. The closer he got, the more intense the magic became. The streams flowing from his fingers widened and lifted Brant right off the floor, then held him high in the air.

  “You’ll never hurt anyone again,” Julius growled and slammed him into the ceiling. Plaster rained down over us.

  I grabbed Nissa with my good arm and pulled her over to Em, who was huddled by herself against the wall.

  “Stay here.” I rushed back to Julius, wincing when I jostled my arm.

  He stood in the middle of the room, his arms raised and a crazed look on his face. He’d just thrown Brant against the wall and had him suspended again. The cop’s head lolled to the side, blood staining his white shirt.

  “Julius,” I said from behind him, not daring to touch his magically charged body.

  He let out a grunt and slammed Brant back onto the floor. The cop landed with his leg bent at an unnatural angle. His eyes were blank, staring at nothing.

  “Julius! Stop!” This time I darted around him, positioning myself between him and Brant.

  Magic still pulsed at Julius’s fingertips, but as he focused on me, he came back to himself. The stream of power winked out and he stood there, staring at me in shock.

  I walked slowly toward him, my heart in my throat. “You found us.”

  He let out a low grunt of relief, took two steps, and carefully folded me into his arms. “I almost lost you,” he whispered into my ear.

  “You saved me.” I clung to him, my legs trembling from the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

  He shook his head. “You and your friend saved yourselves. I was almost too late.”

  Footsteps shuffled over the hardwood, startling me. I pulled back and caught Nissa moving toward Brant.

  When she got to his side, she glared down at him and then kicked him in the ribs. Hard. “Bastard.”

  It was then I noticed her bindings were gone as well. Julius’s spell must have freed us both at the same time.

  Nissa kneeled next to Brant. With her face scrunched up in pure hatred, she rummaged through his pockets until she found the key to the handcuffs. Without saying a word, she crossed the room and freed Em.

  Em broke down, sobbing in Nissa’s arms. My friend held her tight, rocking her back and forth. The sight was heartbreaking. They were both so young, and that night their world had been changed forever. I knew deep in my soul Nissa would never again be the same carefree woman with an easy smile.

  Chapter 29

  It didn’t take long for Marc and the Witch’s Council to show up once Julius found my phone in Brant’s car. A forensic witch was busy dusting the place while one of the investigators peppered us with questions. I sat against a wall, wearing Julius’s sweatshirt over my blood-splattered dress, and let everyone else answer while I stared at Brant.

  He was still alive, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that. He’d killed people. Tried to kill us. And as much damage as Julius had inflicted, he was still breathing. I’d never in my life wished another person dead, but I did in that moment. It didn’t matter that his illness would likely take him soon. He was too evil to keep breathing.

  “Pyper?” Julius called.

  “Yeah.” I turned and caught him studying me.

  “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head. “No. But I will be.”

  He held his hand out to me, and I took it without reservation. Leaning into him, I asked the question that had been rolling around in my head for the past hour. “How did you know I was here?”

  He pulled me in tighter. “I didn’t. But when you didn’t show up back at your apartment, I got worried. I called Jade, who called Lucien, who went back to the gallery and found your car there. You’d been missing for over three hours by that point, and when no one could get you on the phone, Jade got ready to do a finding spell.”

  I glanced up at him. “Did she?”

  He shook his head. “There w
as no need. Remember when I told you before that we’re connected in some way?”

  “Yeah.”

  He ran his hand lightly down my good arm. “All I have to do is focus on you and the universe connects us.”

  “That’s a pretty neat trick I keep forgetting about.”

  “It’s helpful.” He turned me so he could look me in the eye. “It’s also not something I feel comfortable using. I don’t want to invade your privacy.”

  I think my heart melted right there.

  “But when it became apparent something was very wrong, well… there was no waiting around when I knew I could find you with little effort.”

  Tears stung my eyes and I blinked them back. “Thanks for caring enough to come find me.”

  He pulled me back into his arms and rested his chin on my head. “I’ll always be here to find you.”

  “Good,” I mumbled into his chest, fighting to hold myself together.

  “You’re okay now,” he said soothingly. “No one’s ever going to hurt you as long as I’m around.”

  I took his words as an oath, and for the first time, I actually believed someone I loved besides Kane would stay.

  “You can all go now,” the investigator said to us. “We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.”

  I lifted my head and caught the investigator’s eye. “What does this mean for Tyler? Brant admitted to me Tyler’s innocent. Will he be released?”

  He frowned and made a note in his notebook. “That’s not up to me to decide.”

  Guilt bubbled up and almost choked me. “But he stood here and told me Tyler—”

  He held his hand up to stop me. “I’ve noted your statement. I imagine once this is all sorted out, your friend will be released. But like I said, that isn’t up to me. The council leaders will need to determine that outcome.”

  Marc walked over and jabbed his head toward the door. “Let’s talk about this outside.”

  I nodded. Anything was better than the party line.

  With Nissa and Em leading the way, we shuffled through the door into a large foyer full of more council witches. A healer was waiting at a small table for the three of us.