Protector (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 5)

by Christine Pope

  “Why Pluto?”

  “I’m not sure. Tell you what — when we find her, you can ask her.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  After that, he had to focus on maneuvering through the crowded streets around the mall, then pulling into the shopping center’s parking lot. Following the signs, he began to head toward where the movie theater was located. Right then his phone rang, and although he didn’t want to get distracted, he knew he couldn’t ignore whoever might be calling.

  That person turned out to be Miguel. He didn’t even give Alex time to say hello, but immediately said, “I talked to your father, and he told me what’s going on. I’m almost at the mall now, and so is Jack.”

  Thank God. That was probably the first piece of good news Alex had heard all day. “We’re here now. I’m about to park over by the theater.”

  “Okay. Do some recon, but if you do see those warlocks, don’t engage until Jack and I catch up with you. Comprendé?”

  Alex reflected that his cousin Miguel had watched way too many war movies, or played way too much Call of Duty. Still, his advice made sense. “No worries there. We don’t even know for sure if she’s still at the movies or not, but that’s the only information we have to go on right now. If I see anything, I’ll call you.”

  “Got it. I’m less than five minutes away now.”

  “Then we’ll see you in a few,” Alex said, just as Miguel ended the call. After sliding the phone into his jeans pocket, he told Caitlin, “The cavalry is coming.”

  “Thank the Goddess,” she breathed.

  “What, were you worried I couldn’t handle it on my own?”

  She didn’t respond to the half-smile he’d worn while asking that question. Those big sea-colored eyes were fixed on his face and filled with worry. “They’re killers, Alex. I’ve seen what they’re capable of. It’s not that I don’t believe in your power, but I know they’ll fight dirty if they get the chance.” Her gaze faltered, and beneath the worry, he saw the anger seething in her. “What I don’t understand is how they could even find Zoe. I mean, I doubt your family goes around broadcasting information about its prima-in-waiting’s whereabouts.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Alex replied as he pulled into an empty parking space. Since it was late on a Friday afternoon — almost evening, actually — the lot was filling up, and they’d had to park farther away from the theater than he would have liked. “I have a feeling that either Jorge’s or Tomas’s talent is finding people, witches specifically. My grandmother’s ability was similar, although in her case it was more knowing who was in her territory who shouldn’t be there, knowing what all her people were up to. But the talent for finding things is a pretty common one, so it’s not a big leap to go from that to being able to find particular people.”

  “That makes sense.” Caitlin picked up her purse from where it had been resting in the footwell and shrugged the strap over one shoulder. “It would also explain why Matías was hanging out with them. He’d only keep people around who had talents he thought were useful.”

  “Yeah, which begs the question, what talent does the other one of the gruesome twosome have? Nothing friendly, I’m sure.”

  “Probably not.”

  They both paused then, neither of them apparently eager to open their door, even though Alex knew they needed to get going, that time was slipping away. He really didn’t want to admit it to Caitlin, but he was scared. Never in his life had he gone up against anyone like Matías. There had been some scuffles with his older brother Diego…more roughhousing, really…and a few more with a couple of guys at school, but magic hadn’t been involved in any of those fights, low-key as they were. Matías wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to make sure he achieved his objective of making Zoe his.

  But they couldn’t wait. Maybe stall a little, until Miguel and Jack got here, but if Miguel was only five minutes behind them, he’d be here soon, too. He was the sort of person Matías wouldn’t spare a second glance for — slightly overweight, edging toward middle age. And Alex knew Miguel would make damn sure he didn’t get close enough for Matías to sense that he was a warlock. Maybe Jorge or Tomas would be able to figure it out, if locating witch-kind really was one of their talents, but Alex had to hope they’d be distracted by the crowds at the mall and wouldn’t be able to quite pin down who was pinging their radar.

  “All right,” he said, then opened his car door. “Let’s do this.”

  * * *

  Caitlin followed Alex as he walked toward the mall, and tried to ignore the frightened thumping of her heart in her chest. Without being too obvious, she kept glancing around, wondering if she would catch sight of the three warlocks, or of a girl with a pink streak in her long dark hair, but she didn’t see any of them. Just masses of people intent on their own business, some leaving the mall, some entering. There did seem to be a flush of people exiting the theater just as they came upon it, but whether that was because the particular show Zoe had gone to see had just gotten out, Caitlin couldn’t begin to guess. Her sight seemed to have deserted her for the moment, although, underlying her current agitated state, she could sense that this was where she was supposed to be.

  “No sign of her,” came a voice from behind them, and Caitlin jumped.

  But when she turned, she saw it was Miguel, Alex’s cousin, and with him a taller man, probably in his late thirties as well, although a good deal better-looking. In contrast to Miguel’s untucked bowling shirt and baggy khakis, the stranger wore a dark button-down and newish-looking jeans.

  “Hey, Miguel, Jack,” Alex said, a visible expression of relief on his face. Not bothering to introduce her to the newcomer, he went on, “Yeah, we haven’t seen anything, either. But we just got here.”

  Miguel nodded. “I have a feeling she was probably in the movie that just got out. It seems like the sort of thing she’d go for — teenage girl against the world, two guys fighting over her, all that.”

  He sounded almost amused, even though Caitlin didn’t find anything terribly amusing about their current situation.

  “But if that’s true, the question is, where would she go next?”

  Not being a mall-goer — before moving to Flagstaff, she’d never even set foot in a mall — Caitlin couldn’t begin to hazard a guess. Alex surprised her by saying,

  “Well, since it’s Zoe, I’d say either the food court or Hot Topic.”

  Jack grinned, and one or two of the women passing by sort of paused to get a better look at him. From the way his grin broadened, Caitlin got the distinct impression that he’d noticed the attention he was attracting and was pleased by it.

  “That’s probably a good guess. Has quite an appetite, our Zoe. I’m not sure where she puts it, but….” He shrugged. “And if she’s not eating, she’s buying another T-shirt that’s guaranteed to piss off my sister.” Apparently noticing the expression of puzzlement that passed over Caitlin’s face, he added, “Zoe’s my niece. Luis is my brother. His daughter is a good kid, but sort of contrary.”

  Maybe that was a good thing. If Zoe was stubborn and used to getting her own way, then possibly she had a chance of fighting back against Matías’ magic.

  “Okay,” Caitlin said. “So should we split up, or first try the food court, then Hot Topic?”

  Miguel shook his head. “First rule — don’t split up if you can avoid it. You two head over to the food court and we’ll follow, just not so close that it looks as if we’re together. Okay?”

  There didn’t seem to be much point in arguing with that. She had to admit that the four of them did make a sort of motley group, and would probably be less conspicuous if they walked far enough apart that it didn’t seem as if they were connected in any way. The other two warlocks would be in eyeshot, and Alex right next to her, and she thought that should be safe enough.

  Actually, even though it was sort of nerve-wracking to be surrounded by so many people — she’d never been that good in crowds — in a way it was comfort
ing as well. She had a hard time believing anything truly bad could happen in a place with so much surging, cheerful energy. How could Matías possibly hope to pull off another kidnapping under all these civilian noses?

  They came into the food court area, and a thousand sounds and smells seemed to assault her at once. She found herself pressing closer to Alex, and he slipped a comforting arm around her waist, pulling her against him. The warmth of his body gave her some courage, and she drew in a breath so she could look around and see if she could catch a glimpse of the warlocks. She knew this part was up to her; she was the only one who knew what Matías and Jorge and Tomas looked like.

  The first person she recognized, however, was none of them, but Danica, standing in front of a fast food place called Charlie’s Grilled Subs. She held a go-cup in one hand and was staring dreamily out at the crowd. Blood going cold, Caitlin realized that her friend wore the same glassy-eyed stare as she had in the hideous visions that had invaded Caitlin’s sleep…only this was no vision. She forced herself to focus and saw that Danica was flanked on either side by Tomas and Jorge, but there was no sign of Matías.

  What the hell? Where was he? And if he wasn’t even near Danica, then why did she still look so strung out? It was possible the spells he cast took awhile to wear off, or maybe she’d been under his influence long enough that he could still put her in that semi-trance even when he wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.

  Caitlin leaned against Alex, making sure her hair fell partly across her face, just in case either of the two warlocks might look in this direction at exactly the wrong moment. Under her breath, she said, “Jorge and Tomas are here — standing over in front of the sub shop, with the dark-haired girl in between them. That’s Danica.”

  His body went tense, but he kept his arm around her, maintaining the façade that they were just a couple out shopping at the mall, getting a little snuggly. “I see them.”

  Miguel and Jack stopped a few feet away and pretended to be scanning the food offerings.

  “Charlie’s subs,” Alex told them in an undertone. “The two guys with tats with the girl standing between them.”

  “Got it,” Miguel replied.

  In that moment, Caitlin’s view of the food court was blanked out, replaced by the parking lot, cars shimmering under the rays of the setting sun. A man and a young woman emerged from the glass-doored entrance to the mall, the woman lifting her arm and pointing, as if at one of the cars. The man nodded and bent toward her, smiling, and then Caitlin saw the flash of his teeth in the sunlight, the glimmer of hot pink in the girl’s long black hair, and she knew the couple was Matías and Zoe, slipping out, so close to getting away.

  Where are they? she demanded of herself. Just an entrance isn’t good enough. I need to know which one!

  She hadn’t really expected the scene to change. After all, her visions up until now had been terrible about providing any sort of actionable information, no matter how hard she’d tried to bend them to her will. But then it was as if she’d been watching the scene through the lens of a movie camera, one that seemed to swing on one of those boom devices, and the view panned to the right slightly, just enough to show her that the store behind them was Dillard’s. How that had happened, she wasn’t sure. Maybe she was just desperate enough to finally make her strange sight obey her, or maybe she’d now been using her power enough that it was becoming more malleable, more useful.

  “They’re leaving,” she told Alex. “I just saw them. The mall entrance by Dillard’s.”

  “Shit.”

  Miguel must have overheard, because he pointed directly ahead of them. “That way. You’re in luck — it’s the closest exit. You go after them, and we’ll take care of these other two.”

  How precisely they were going to manage that, Caitlin wasn’t sure, but Miguel didn’t look overly worried. Hadn’t Alex said earlier that Jack Sandoval was an expert at defensive magic? She’d have to let them handle the situation, as she and Alex had to catch Matías before the two runaways got in Zoe’s car and disappeared. What had happened to the prima-in-waiting’s civilian friends, Caitlin didn’t know, but she figured Matías had somehow maneuvered Zoe away from them so he could get her alone.

  Walking quickly, Alex led Caitlin through the crowded food court and out into the parking lot. They paused on the sidewalk to get their bearings, Alex scanning the lot to see if he could locate them, Caitlin doing the same.

  It was not her eyes that saved them then, however. A vision came to her again, this time an image of Matías and Zoe approaching a pale blue Fiat.

  “Three rows over. Blue Fiat,” she told Alex, and they took off at a run, ignoring the startled looks from the civilians in the area. Right now, attracting attention was something they didn’t have time to worry about.

  Even at almost seven o’clock in the evening, the heat rising from the asphalt felt merciless. How hot had it been here today? Caitlin supposed that it didn’t really matter, that her mind was distracting itself so it wouldn’t have to focus on the confrontation ahead. Because there they were, Zoe tossing back her head and laughing, Matías again leaning toward her with a smile on his face, all easy humor now that he thought he’d won.

  Because of the way he was bending toward Zoe, he didn’t see Alex and Caitlin approaching. It was Zoe who spotted them first, her laughter dying as she apparently recognized her cousin.

  “Alex? What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Get away from him, Zoe.”

  Her face was a study in puzzlement. “What’s your deal? Matías and I — ”

  The dark warlock straightened and turned in their direction, his expression growing black when he saw Caitlin. Just looking at him like that, seeing him walking in the sunlight when Roslyn was dead by his hand, made her almost physically ill. But she couldn’t give in to any weakness now.

  Before she had time to even worry about being afraid, a protective sphere shimmered into existence around them. Voice calm and cool, Alex said, “Zoe, you need to come in here with us. You have to get away from him.”

  The prima-in-waiting was a pretty girl, but in that moment her mouth pursed into a distinctly mulish pout. “You’re not my big brother, Alex. You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “That’s right,” Matías said, his tone coaxing, seductive. A tremor went through Zoe, and she turned back toward the warlock. “You don’t have to do anything they say. All you have to do is get in the car with me so we can leave.”

  She blinked, but Caitlin could already see the familiar hated glassiness in her big dark eyes. “Okay.” Reaching into the slouchy studded black leather bag she carried, she fished around for a few seconds, then pulled out a set of car keys. “My cousin always was a goody-goody.”

  “Zoe, please — ”

  The desperation in Alex’s voice was clear enough, but Caitlin didn’t know what he could say, not with Zoe outside the protective sphere and already under the influence of Matías’ dark talents.

  “He’s a murderer,” Caitlin said loudly, and Zoe blinked, then looked around uncertainly. Matías began to take a menacing step toward Caitlin, and then realized the dome Alex had cast would prevent him from silencing her. Scowling, he held back, hands clenched in fists at his sides, seeming to understand that he had to be careful here, or risk doing or saying something that would break his hold on the prima-in-waiting.

  “Yes, Zoe. He killed your prima. And my friend.”

  A shake of the head, the pink streak in her hair turning almost salmon-colored in the ruddy light from the setting sun. “No, that’s not possible. Maya is sick, but she’s not dead. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “It happened this afternoon,” Caitlin said. She hated to be so blunt, but she also knew she had to keep talking quickly while Matías’ hold on the other girl was wavering. “You were out with your friends. Your family’s been trying to reach you.”

  “I-I was at the movies. I had my phone turned off.” Tears formed in her eyes, an
d she said, “Maya is really dead? Then I’m — ”

  “Yes,” Alex said gently. “You’re the prima-in-waiting. That’s why he wants you. To take control of you.”

  That seemed to be the remark which sent Matías over the edge. “They don’t know what they’re talking about,” he growled. “They’re full of shit, chica. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to make you feel good.”

  “Like you made my friend Danica feel good?” Caitlin snapped, feeling bolder now that it was obvious Matías couldn’t do anything to penetrate the shield Alex had conjured. “Did you get tired of her that quickly, dump her so you could go after Zoe? I saw how you left her with Jorge and Tomas in the food court.”

  The oddest expression flickered in Matías’ black eyes. Anger, yes, but also a sort of confusion, as if he wasn’t quite sure what precisely he felt about Danica. It didn’t matter, though, because Zoe rounded on him, hands on her hips.

  “Is that true? You had another girl, right here in the mall, and you left her to come with me?”

  “I — ” Matías straightened, and his jaw set. “Zoe, chica, I told you they’re full of shit. Don’t listen to them.”

  For a second, she wavered, and Caitlin bit her lip, wondering what the hell they were going to do if they couldn’t extricate the girl from the warlock’s spell. But then Zoe shook her head, as if trying to rid herself of a persistent ringing in her ears. Comprehension seemed to dawn as she took in the implications of what Alex had told her, and she whirled away from Matías, began to run toward Caitlin and Alex, and the protective dome that enclosed them.

  As quickly as she’d moved, it wasn’t quickly enough. Matías’ arm snaked out, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her back toward him. At the same time, he reached into his pocket with his other hand, pulled out a switchblade, and pressed it against Zoe’s side. Caitlin wondered if it was the same one he’d used to stab her.