“He’s not wrong.” She added softly. “We need to stop them. We know they’re going to try to capture the trinity on the red moon.”
“Facing them head on is dangerous. Fool hardy even.” Vincent stated, shaking his head. “I’ve seen them as a group, even with the trinty complete and the rest of us fighting, we would not win unscathed.” His warning was clear and I agreed. I remembered the dark magic and Mitchell’s overwhelming forces. Vincent was right. We needed to eliminate the threat Mitchell posed but a direct confrontation wouldn’t work.
“We need to cut off the head of the snake. Once their leader is gone, the coven will be weakened. We can pick them off one by one once Mitchell is out of the picture.” Milo was spoiling for a fight based on his clenched fists and the nearest outlet was Mitchell.
“We can’t go halfcocked.” Dane reminded him. “The trinity is complete, we all felt it and so did he. He’ll have a plan to use this to his advantage. You haven’t faced him, but you have someone to lose same as me.” He glanced at Kincaid pointedly. Milo glared, but held his tongue.
“I’ve faced some of his goons. I was able to get away and burned the place to the ground, but Dane’s right. Mitchell’s been planning this for years.” Kincaid added, her worry clear.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know us. Or really what we’re capable of, especially as the trinity.” I paced, the beginnings of an idea forming. Dane gave me a resigned look.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” He asked reluctantly.
“Something Milo said.” Milo perked up, his eyes curious even as Dane rolled his. “You said cut the head off the snake, but to do that we need to get him alone.” I met the eyes locked on me. “Which would be impossible, unless say someone here could teleport people.”
“Hell NO!” Dane roared, shaking his head as he grabbed my arm as if I was about to do it right then. “It’s too dangerous. You have no idea what you’d be getting into. Plus you don’t know where he is.” He said the last triumphantly as if it ended the argument.
“Technically, that isn’t true.” Sinclair said, rubbing her eyes. Her words silenced everyone as she continued. “When Kincaid said we were connected to every magic wielder she wasn’t kidding. We literally know where they are.”
“Including Mitchell and his asshole coven.” I added, the slimy feel of their dark magic on the edge of my conscious. If I focused I knew I could pinpoint their location and go there.
“Nope.” Dane hung on to my arm determinedly. “You have no idea what he could be capable of. Even being near him causes your skin to blister. Who’s to say you could hold on to him long enough to get him somewhere else? And where would you take him? Here?”
“Not here.” Gloria interrupted. “But there is a place.”
“What?” Dane wheeled on his grandmother incredulously. “You aren’t considering this?”
“Yes, Dane, I am. Your desire to protect Quinn is admirable. In fact it’s your job, but you have to understand she and her sisters are the most powerful witches to walk the earth in over five hundred years.” Her sharp reminder hit all of us as we considered her words. I didn’t really feel any different, especially not like some super witch, and trading glances with Sinclair and Kincaid I got the feeling they felt the same. “This idea has merit. It minimizes the danger for everyone.”
“Except Quinn.” Dane growled, still unwilling to back down. “She’s the one taking the biggest risk.”
“And if Mitchell succeeds, she’ll be in worse danger.” Gloria told him, her face tight, but she relented slightly in the face of his determination. “But you do have a good point. Quinn would have difficulty kidnapping Mitchell on her own.” Dane relaxed slightly as he thought Gloria would agree he should go with me. “It would be best if Milo went with her.”
“WHAT?” That was not the answer he wanted to hear and I wasn’t sure what her reasoning was.
“Explain.” I demanded, as Milo crossed his arms and nodded his agreement with the plan.
“Milo’s gift is strength. Physical strength. He could easily subdue Mitchell once he got his hands on him and he wouldn’t have the difficulty of his skin burning.”
“Neither would I.” Dane argued, tossing his hands up.
“Yes, but you would be more worried about Quinn and not concentrate fully on taking out Mitchell.” Gloria surmised accurately. “Would you protect Kincaid if she required it?”
“Of course.” He replied instantly, walking into her trap easily.
“And you don’t think Milo would do the same for Quinn?” Dane stopped the argument he clearly wanted to make for the sake of family relations as he glanced between me and my sisters.
“It would take seconds.” I told him soothingly, rubbing his arm as I tried to stop the butterflies in my own stomach. It was my idea, but the thought of actually doing it was something entirely different. Mitchell terrified me, his mere presence caused my skin to blister and being close enough to kidnap him? Hell no, was my first instinctive thought.
“Where would we bring him?” Kincaid asked working out the logistics to see if our plan could actually succeed.
“The circle your mother used to bind you.” Gloria replied determinedly.
“But we don’t know where it is.” Sinclair mentioned.
“Maybe we do.” My eyes narrowed as I wondered if I could do what I was thinking.
“I’m afraid to ask now.” Dane sighed, his shoulders tense, but he held my hand loosely.
“We were all there and our mother died there. So we’re linked to it.” I said carefully, working the idea out as I spoke. “If you focused on the place, your memory of it….I might be able to teleport us there.”
Sinclair threw up her hands. “I could barely remember Kincaid was in New Mexico. You really want to trust the memory of a scared six year old?”
“What’s the advantage of using the same circle?” Luke interjected as he rubbed his hands up and down Sinclair’s arms, soothing her. She looked panicked and I felt her panic at returning to the last place we were together as a family. Her emotions were open to me as were Kincaid’s and I had to forcefully block them before they overwhelmed me.
“Latent power. The magic she worked was a direct counter to Mitchell’s plan, basically a fuck you to him. It’s a position of power for us.” Gloria looked to Patrick for confirmation, and he nodded after having been surprisingly silent during our discussion.
“We’ll need to prepare the space before we bring him there.” Patrick commented distractedly, his mind already planning.
“Then the first order of business is finding it.” I surmised and Gloria nodded, as I exchanged glances with the others. Dane groaned, still clearly not pleased with the plan, but at the moment it was the best we had and we didn’t have much time. “Sinclair, I know you don’t want to do this, but I think our mother would be glad to know Mitchell was destroyed in the same place she was forced to bind us.”
“Poetic justice at its finest.” Kincaid drawled, her desire to see Mitchell taken down apparent.
“What if I guide us into a tree or something? Who knows if the circle is still there?” She asked pragmatically and I glanced over at Patrick and Gloria.
“It’s there.” They replied confidently.
“You won’t guide us into a tree.” I told her with equal confidence. “You just need to remember it. I’ll do the rest. Once I’ve been there I can bring the others and they can prepare. After that we just need to get Mitchell there.” I hoped I sounded way more confident than I felt because nervous sweat was trickling down my back.
Sinclair took my hand, her faith in me stronger than her fear. I reached for Kincaid’s hand and she gave me a curious look.
“It’ll be easier to find if we’re together.” I explained to her. “We were all in the circle at one point and if we’re together, I think I’ll be able to pinpoint it faster.” She grasped my hand and I nodded to Sinclair. “Focus on the memory.” I knew they had to feel my sweaty pa
lms, but they didn’t mention them as I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.
Sinclair’s memory played out behind my eyes and it was only when I smelled the sharp scent of pine did I realize we’d arrived. The normal sensation proceeding my teleporting had been so subtle I hadn’t felt it over my own nerves.
My eyes blinked open to see my sisters doing the same. We were smack dab in the middle of a circle in the woods, but it was only when I glanced down that I gasped.
Bones.
I swayed at the sight and only the hands grasped in mine kept me upright.
“Oh, God.” Kincaid whispered, her horrified eyes pinned to the skeleton under our feet.
“Mom…” Sinclair said quietly, unsurprised by the sight of our mother’s bones. I let go of them and stumbled back. I didn’t know why the sight of her body affected me so hard, but there was something distinctly real about bones. Every experience I’d had so far concerning my mother had been a memory or brought about by magic. The reality of her life and death hadn’t occurred to me, but staring at her bones it hit me she had been a real living breathing person. And I understood how absolutely stupid that thought was because of course she’d been a real person, but I’d never come face to face with it until now.
“Are you okay, Quinn?” Sinclair wrapped her arm around my shoulders as I attempted to nod. She seemed to understand I wasn’t okay and pulled me into an embrace. My hands shook and Kincaid came around and hugged me from behind. They made a sandwich out of me, their tight embrace keeping the storm of my emotions at bay as I came to terms with my mother’s death.
It took a few minutes but I finally straightened.
“What do we do with her? We can’t leave her here.” I didn’t want to bring up the fact that we were supposed to trap Mitchell here and I didn’t want to desecrate her bones with his presence.
“We’ll take her back with us.” Sinclair promised, smoothing her hand over my hair. “We’ll bury her with dignity.” I nodded and avoided looking at the bones laid out so carefully. It didn’t occur to me to ask why after all these years they’d never been disturbed, but really it didn’t matter.
“Do you have what you need?” Kincaid asked with a shiver. “This place gives me the creeps.”
I nodded, understanding what she meant. There was something dark about this place, not dark like Mitchell, but a place that had witnessed abject despair and the feeling lingered.
Sinclair gathered our mother’s bones with care, putting them in a bag she’d pulled out of nowhere. I wanted to offer to help her, but couldn’t. I didn’t want to touch our mother’s bones. Kincaid and I watched her silently until she’d picked up the last tiny bone.
“Ready?” I asked and with their nods brought us back.
Dane’s relieved face was the first thing I saw on our return. He drew me to him and as his lips met mine I felt the last of my grief ease. My fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, the soft waves curling around my hand as his mouth slanted across mine firmly. The tingle that always accompanied his touch distracted me, and I forgot where we were as my mouth parted to allow his tongue entrance. The kiss deepened as Dane’s hand found my hip and squeezed. He ran his other hand along the curve of my back and his thumb brushed my ass.
A throat cleared, but it was lost in the sensation that rushed through me.
Again, a throat cleared, louder this time along with muffled laughter, and then there was a jerk on my shoulder.
“I’d say get a room, but you might actually take me up on it.” Gloria grunted, poking Dane in the chest until he stepped back from me. “Hormones can wait.” She glared at us in exasperation. “Quinn wasn’t gone that long.” She harrumphed and turned to the others who were fighting back smiles.
“So you found it?” Gloria asked Sinclair and I frowned. Technically, I’d found it. Dane patted my waist as I opened my mouth to correct her and I subsided. No need to turn her sharp tongue back on to me.
“We did.” Sinclair answered, giving me a sympathetic smile. She patted the bag on her shoulder. “We gathered our mother’s bones while we were there.” She was kind to say we, when she was the one who’d had the strength to do it. “I’d like to lay her to rest before we do anything else.”
“Of course.” Gloria answered, stepping back. Sinclair marched off, the rest of us trailing behind her. She seemed to know where she was going so we followed quietly. We finally came to a tree whose limbs dipped low and hid a bench underneath it. The place was out of sight of the house, and peaceful. Sinclair set her bag down and opened it. Kincaid waved her hand and the bones drifted from the bag and formed back into a perfect skeleton.
“Burn or bury?” Kincaid asked her quietly.
“Bury.” Sinclair replied.
“Did you want to say anything?” Garvin asked, more serious than I’d ever seen him. He seemed familiar with this place and unsurprised that Sinclair would bring her mother’s bones here.
“No,” she answered, kneeling with her head bowed.
The ground shifted underneath the bones and we watched as they slowly sank into the earth. There wasn’t even the slightest disturbance when she was done and I was relieved. I wanted no reminder of her death, no stone engraved with her name or place to bring flowers. Her mortal bones had been interred in to the earth for protection and I no longer had to remember her death but instead the few memories of her life I had.
Sinclair stood, brushing dirt off of her knees. “Okay, let’s go kill Mitchell.”
What should have taken days or weeks requiring elaborate plans took us only a few hours. Mitchell had spent years planning on how he would take our power, but it didn’t take nearly that long to ruin them.
I teleported Gloria and Patrick, and finally everyone else to the circle. We argued that Garvin and Scott didn’t need to come since they were not witches, but they disagreed. We were in this together in their mind so I finally gave in, especially when Garvin provided food.
Gloria showed us how to change the circle so instead of binding our powers it would bind Mitchell’s once he was in it. I only had to teleport him and Milo to it and the circle would hold him powerless. Our plan had some risk, but it was better than waiting for a confrontation on his terms.
“You’re sure this is going to work?” Luke was trying to remain positive, but we could hear the doubt in his voice. I couldn’t blame him. We’d scratched a circle in the ground with the intention of it acting as a jail for a terrifyingly powerful enemy.
“Yes.” Gloria assured him. “It will render him powerless, a fate worse than death for one such as Mitchell.”
“If you’re sure.” Luke agreed, but he still patted his holstered gun for reassurance.
“Can we make an adjustment to the plan?” Portia asked, fingers wiggling in the air, and once she had our attention she continued. “Instead of just Milo and Quinn going to Mitchell’s lair what if she teleported several of us?” Portia’s waved her hand to encompass the witches there. “She and Milo can bring Mitchell back here for the trinity to take care of but the rest of us could stay behind and destroy his coven.”
“I need to stay here for when Quinn returns.” Dane broke the silence that had fallen over us as we considered Portia’s idea.
“Of course. You would stay with Quinn as would Luke and Sinclair. But the rest of us shouldn’t be needed here and we might be better served to go after his coven. They’ll be caught off guard. It could be our best chance.” Portia was trying to convince them, and I could see the merit in her idea.
“She has a point.” Vincent was the first to agree, not much of a surprise since he wanted the opportunity to fight the coven. “There will never be a better opportunity to take them by surprise. If they’re all with Mitchell?” He glanced at us questioningly so I nodded. They were together. Mitchell wouldn’t let his puppets stray far from him. There were a couple who were scattered but the majority were in one place.
“But can you take them all?” Sinclair asked, eyeing our
motley crew. “And will Quinn be too weakened transporting all of you?”
“Is it a good idea to separate?” Kincaid chimed in. “Quinn would be our link to you but we couldn’t assist until Mitchell is gone.”
“Are you willing to take the risk?” I finally asked, eyeing Portia, Vincent, Patrick, Tori, and Gloria. Five against a dozen or more seemed foolish. “There are more of them than us.”
“We need you here.” Sinclair declared, settling it. “I won’t risk any of you getting hurt. We fight together.”
Portia nodded, accepting the decision, and with a curt nod so did Vincent.
“Once we take care of Mitchell, we’ll go after them.” I promised, wanting revenge for all of the losses we’d been dealt. Mitchell may have ordered their deaths, but the man who’d killed them was still out there.
“Are we ready?” Milo asked, startling me. I glanced around and saw Gloria nod. The circle had been reinforced with our power, now we just needed to get Mitchell in it which meant I needed to get him here. My hands tingled, and I shook them to get rid of my sudden case of nerves. Really, I had the easiest job. All I had to do was get Milo to Mitchell and then bring them back. He would hold on to Mitchell which was the most dangerous part.
I was distracted when I noticed Kincaid’s eyes were glowing. Her expression was unfocused as if she wasn’t with us and I nudged Milo to point it out. He darted over to her once he realized, and answered my unspoken question.
“She’s having a vision.” His words drew everyone’s attention as we waited. I had no experience with her visions, but this one seemed to be taking a long time. With a gasp, she snapped out of it, and her eyes met mine immediately.
“He’s going to kill you.” She managed before collapsing in Milo’s arms.
Chapter Sixteen
Chaos reigned for the next few minutes as Sinclair and I rushed to Kincaid. I couldn’t process what she meant. She’d looked straight at me when she uttered her warning. Was Mitchell going to kill me then? Who else could it be?
The Trinity Sisters Page 50
