Amanda nodded, throwing a handful of files back onto the bed. “Every one.”
“But you followed protocol and archived a copy with the Order?”
“I did.”
“Good. However, the thieves may not be aware of that.”
“Surely they’d expect me to make copies,” Amanda objected. “It cost me a lot to put that ceremony together.”
“Did you make other copies?” Blackstone asked. “Placing one in a safe-deposit box, perhaps?” He glanced at Kyle. “Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, but do you keep a copy at Kyle’s home?”
“No, sir,” Amanda answered. Kyle was pleased to see that she displayed no embarrassment about their relationship.
“Once I gave the Order a copy, I didn’t see a need for more,” she added. “And yes, in answer to your unasked question, Kyle and I are a couple. Is that a problem?”
“Thank you for telling me,” Blackstone said with a slight bow of his head. “And, no, it’s not a problem unless the two of you make it a problem. So far, what I’ve seen of your working partnership is promising.”
A boom rattled the house and an ear-splitting shriek came from the direction of the moon shrine. The light in the room dimmed as a shadowy stream flowed in through the doorway. It circled once and fled through the window, stirring the curtains as it passed.
As Kyle watched the shadow exit the room, the hairs on his neck and arms tingled. Four months previously, the sight would have thoroughly freaked him out. He still couldn’t help his body’s natural reactions to all the weird paranormal stuff that surrounded Amanda, but he was becoming more used to it.
Blackstone gave Amanda a grim smile. “It seems Master Hunter Thornquist has broken the dark coven’s bindings on your casting circle. I can deal with the figurine now, and I’m sure she will want your help cleansing the circle.”
As if on cue, Noreen yelled from the moon shrine. “Amanda! Get up here and help me. It’s your damned casting circle.”
“Direct and literal, as always,” commented Blackstone with a chuckle.
Kyle had done what he could to help Amanda with her office. He would be of no use to her in the moon shrine. He hated to abandon her at the farm, but he’d had enough magic and shadows for one day.
“I feel like I’m in the way here,” Kyle said glancing at his watch. “And I have a project I’m supposed to be working on, so maybe I should head home for now. Amanda, give me a call when you want me to come pick you up.”
Kyle could see in her eyes that Amanda wished she could leave with him. She’d told him that his little house in town was like an oasis of normalcy in her unrelentingly paranormal existence. When he brought her home later, he would escort her to the couch and put a glass of wine in her hand. A little snuggle time in front of the fireplace would make her feel better.
But Blackstone had other plans. “That would not be a good idea.”
Kyle waited for Blackstone to continue, but the master hunter’s expression prompted him to figure it out for himself. Why would going home be a bad idea?
Thinking through it, Kyle frowned and said, “They don’t know how many copies you made or where you put them. And they can’t know for sure that the black frog worked as planned.”
Amanda put her hand to her mouth. “They could be waiting for us at your house.”
“Probably not waiting,” Blackstone said, “but they may have left something nasty behind. We’ll check it out with the entire team when we’re done here.”
Kyle reached out and squeezed Amanda’s arm. “You do what you need to do. I’ll try to make myself useful downstairs. Like Lucille says, there’s always work to do on a farm.”
“Speak to Hunter Pesce,” Blackstone ordered. “We are going to use this sanctuary as our base of operations, so I want it secured. When we visit your home later, you and Amanda will gather what you need for an extended stay here.”
“Yes sir,” Kyle answered.
Kyle didn’t mind staying at the farm for a while. Being with Amanda was the important thing—the location didn’t matter. He could do his contract programming work from anywhere as long as he had his computer and an Internet connection. His training with the Order would undoubtedly be put on hold until the investigation was over.
The big problem was that he and Amanda would be under constant supervision, making it tough for either of them to work on Amanda’s personal project. However, the dark-coven attack appeared to be related to Amanda’s lupusdaemon exorcism. That connection might prove to be exactly the cover they needed to implement Amanda’s plan to exorcise Reggie.
Jonathan’s dark-green Toyota Sequoia led the procession that escorted Kyle’s Explorer through town. Blackstone’s enormous black Suburban filled his rear-view mirror.
Kyle tapped a finger on the steering wheel and said to Amanda, “If any of my neighbors see this, they’ll think the FBI is busting me for something.”
Amanda rubbed his shoulder. “They’ll forget all about it when things return to normal.”
Kyle glanced at her. Sure. Like that will ever happen.
She seemed to read his thoughts and laughed. “Okay. I mean normal in a relative sense. Or maybe in an as-far-as-they-know sense.”
It was midday, so there was plenty of room along the curb for all three vehicles to stop together. Jonathan’s rig blocked Kyle’s driveway. As soon as the green SUV came to a stop, the doors opened and two men went swiftly around to the back. Jonathan and one other man approached the front. Kyle, Amanda, and Blackstone all stayed in their vehicles.
After peering through the windows, Jonathan signaled Blackstone as they’d arranged. Blackstone exited his Suburban and joined him at the front door. Once there, Blackstone bowed his head and put his palm on the door. After a few seconds, he nodded to Jonathan, who let them both in with the key Kyle had given him.
Kyle watched the shadows of the two men as they moved around in the house. After a quick tour, Jonathan came back outside and waved to Kyle and Amanda.
At first, Kyle thought all of their paranoia had been for nothing. Everything on the ground floor looked undisturbed. He ran up the stairs, skipping every other tread. Blackstone stood at the door to his bedroom.
“I’m guessing you had a safe here,” he said, pointing toward the closet floor.
The question made Kyle’s pulse race as he moved forward to take a look. Sure enough, someone had shredded the wooden closet floor and removed the small safe that used to be there. The lag bolts that fastened the safe to the floor weren’t intended to stand up to a determined thief with a pry bar.
Kyle groaned. “Yes, sir.” His landlord, Bob Daily, was going to throw him out for sure. First a fire in the bathroom and now this. The worst part was that none of it was his doing.
“Anything important in it?”
Kyle shook his head. “Nothing important to the Order. I had some spare cash, my passport, the title for my SUV … stuff like that.”
“Do you have a computer here?”
“Of course,” Kyle answered. “At least, I used to …”
Kyle hurried to the tiny second bedroom, which he had converted to an office when he started working from home. He had also added a second desk for Amanda to use when she visited on weekends.
Amanda was already in the room, surveying the damage with her hands on her hips. She looked over her shoulder as he entered the doorway. “They took both our computers.”
“Dammit!” Kyle exclaimed. “Why are they doing this? I had nothing on my laptop that anyone else would care about. Replacing all of it is going to be a pain in the ass, not to mention expensive.”
Amanda nodded in commiseration. “I know. Our notes on the exorcism were hand written. I intended to type them into my computer, but hadn’t gotten around to it. They got nothing useful.”
“Ah, but they did,” Blackstone said from the doorway. “They learned that you probably didn’t digitize the ceremony, which means you couldn’t have disseminated it widely via ele
ctronic means. If you kept unprotected financial records on your computer, they also know where and when you spend money. They can deduce your habits, predict your movements, and find out who you spend time with.”
Kyle gave Amanda a significant look. “It sounds like they don’t have a specific plan yet. They’re still collecting information.”
Amanda’s wry smile told him that she didn’t miss the irony. She and Kyle were taking the same approach with regard to Reggie.
“That theory is consistent with what we’ve seen so far,” Blackstone agreed. “Their immediate goal appears to be confiscating all records relating to the ceremony. To do that, they must figure out where all of the copies might be and who might be capable of reproducing it from memory.”
Jonathan appeared behind Blackstone in the hallway. “We didn’t find any evidence of electronic surveillance or timed explosives. I don’t think this group is very high tech.”
“Agreed,” said Blackstone. “What they lack in technology, they make up for with determination and an unscrupulous use of magic.”
Kyle shuddered at the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to the house exploding around him. His landlord would be really mad if that happened, but old Bob would have to satisfy himself with kicking Kyle off the premises in chunks.
It was as if Blackstone was reading his mind. “We’re too exposed here,” he said to Jonathan. “We need to get Kyle and Amanda back to the sanctuary. I think it’s best if Noreen were to stay at the farm as well. I would also like you to double our tactical support.”
Jonathan nodded and waved for Kyle to follow him. “Let’s get you packed up.”
On the drive back to Hayworth Farm, Kyle tried to make sense out of what was happening. On the surface, it was a straightforward problem. The Selkirk Pack, with the help of a dark coven, was trying to make sure a lupusdaemon exorcism never happened again. That meant eliminating all information sources related to it. At some point, they would have to figure out that the Order already had a copy, and going after Amanda would be pointless. Unless this was all about vengeance. But if that were true, why involve a dark coven?
There were too many variables in play. They needed to learn more about the motivations of their enemies. Until they did, they’d always be one step behind. When it came to Amanda’s safety, being one step behind was unacceptable.
Chapter 7
Contingency
Dr. Adolphus Rutlinger stepped into the conference room Marcella had taken over in the Foundation’s west wing. She stood at the table with a pile of papers laid out before her. Cyrus Fleming, her former coven’s fire crafter, tapped away at the keyboard they’d attached to the computer they’d stolen.
Marcella glanced up at Rutlinger as she thumbed through Amanda’s notes and diagrams related to the exorcism. “This is all very creative. I’m impressed with the bitch’s ingenuity. If it weren’t necessary to kill her, I’d have tried to convince her to join us.” Something on one of the sheets caught her attention. She stopped to take a closer look, and then shook her head with disappointment. “She’s an earth witch with a celestial affinity for the moon. Such a waste. She could have been useful.”
Rutlinger was quite certain that Amanda Clark, the “bitch” in question, would never consider joining a dark coven, particularly one led by a werewolf. Amanda had proven that she was dedicated to the mission of recovering her brother, and that mission put her in direct opposition to Marcella, much to the young woman’s misfortune. If Marcella’s diabolical trap hadn’t already killed her, it was only a matter of time.
“Have you found anything useful, Cyrus?” Marcella asked.
“No,” the warlock answered in a surly tone as he opened up another document and started skimming it. “She has plenty of document files, and some of them relate to spells. Her coven is apparently called the Gold Ridge Coven. I’m finding almost nothing about the exorcism or the Order.”
Marcella gathered Amanda’s papers and straightened them before slipping them into a manila envelope. “That’s promising. If the laptops are equally devoid of information about the exorcism, it’s possible we’ve arrived in time.”
Rutlinger pursed his lips and gave her a doubtful look. “It’s been nearly two months. Do you really think she hasn’t transcribed them? Surely, her report to the Order would have included details of the ceremony, and if so, it’s already too late.”
Marcella curled her lip in disdain. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? If it’s too late, then I’m wasting my time and might as well give up like the rest of you.” She strode around the table and positioned herself in front of Rutlinger. “Don’t get your hopes up. Even if the Order has made a copy of her notes, it may not be too late. The Order’s paranoid secrecy and ponderous bureaucracy sometimes work in our favor.”
Rutlinger’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the implication. “You have spies in the Order?”
Marcella tapped her fingers on the thick envelope, apparently deciding how much to confide in him. “Spies might be too strong a word,” she finally admitted. “Let’s just say that one can often buy a breach of loyalty for the right consideration.”
Reaching out his hand, Rutlinger asked, “Would you like me to dispose of that for you? It would make satisfying fuel for the fireplace.”
Marcella stepped back, possessively tucking the envelope under her arm. “Absolutely not. If everything goes as planned, this will be the only remaining documentation. I will destroy it only after it no longer has value to me as leverage.”
“Leverage for what?” Rutlinger asked, dropping his hand. It made him uncomfortable just having the papers in the building, much less seeing them in the possession of the dark witch. Would Iledaste allow Marcella to use the ceremony against her own kind if she perceived them as enemies? Could Marcella use it on herself to escape whatever bargain she’d made with Iledaste? It was all very confusing, and he didn’t understand the situation well enough to predict the answers to either of those questions.
“Contingencies, Adolphus. I’ve been playing cat-and-mouse with the Order for a long time now, and it’s always a dangerous game.” Marcella tilted her head toward the envelope. “It would be foolish to throw away such a potentially valuable playing piece.”
Rutlinger’s discomfort grew in response to her cold and mercenary logic. Iledaste had always been a bit of a hot head, even for a demon. Now Marcella was the ice to Iledaste’s fire. Together, they were bound to produce a flood of difficulties.
“I found something, Mistress,” Cyrus interrupted. Marcella stepped behind him to look over his shoulder. He pointed at the screen. “Here is a list of everyone in her coven, along with contact information.”
“Excellent,” Marcella purred. “Figure out where those addresses are. If you have trouble, I’m sure Deputy Arpin can help you.”
“I can save you some time,” Rutlinger said. “Only Amanda Clark and Noreen Thornquist were present for the ceremony. The rest of the coven has no association with the Order that I’m aware of.”
Marcella looked up and gave him a patronizing smile. “Let me worry about strategy. As you pointed out, it’s been two months. Who knows what the witch shared with her coven. For all we know, they might have helped her research it.”
Rutlinger nodded and casually left the room before Marcella could see the panic he felt building inside. If she murdered everyone in Amanda’s coven and managed to destroy the Order’s copy of the ceremony, the Order would be out for blood. And all of the clues Marcella was leaving behind would lead them straight to the Selkirk Pack. Her own mission accomplished, Marcella would probably disappear when things went out of control, leaving his pack as the only target of the Order’s wrath.
Chapter 8
Protective Custody
Amanda pushed aside the curtain at the sound of a car engine outside. Noreen’s silver sedan came up the driveway, the tires picking up mud and spraying it along the side panels. Given her fastidious nature, Noreen would be cringing
at the splattering noises. She was as bad as a recent California immigrant when it came to keeping her car clean.
Most North Idahoans quickly learned that it was a pointless effort, particularly if you lived on a dirt road. Idaho had four seasons: spring mud season, summer dust season, fall mud season, and winter slush season. If you timed a washing just right, your car could be clean for the two weeks in late spring when the roads had solidified but weren’t yet dry enough to be dusty.
Amanda had been expecting Noreen—about an hour earlier, Lucille had rung to warn her what was coming. Lucille had received an anonymous phone call that claimed the entire Gold Ridge Coven was a target of the same group who destroyed her moon shrine. Lucille was with customers at her shop, Rainbows and Butterflies, so she couldn’t go into too much detail. The bottom line was that Noreen was picking up the entire coven and bringing them to the farm.
The place was going to get crowded.
Amanda met the car at the front lawn where its passengers were unloading their traveling bags. “Welcome to Hayworth Farm,” Amanda greeted them.
“You mean Hayworth Prison,” Cara complained as she dragged her heavy suitcase out of the trunk.
“Don’t be melodramatic,” Jessie said. “We’ve all been placed in protective custody by the Order for our own good.”
“I think I should be the one to decide what’s good for me,” Cara snapped.
Noreen stepped up behind Cara and ripped the suitcase from her hand. Heaving it back into the trunk, she said, “No one is forcing you to accept sanctuary. You should have said something earlier rather than pouting the entire drive here. It would have saved us both a lot of time.” Noreen walked back around to the driver’s side and opened the car door. “Get in.”
Kyle had come onto the porch and opened the screen door. He stood at the top stair taking in the scene.
Cara looked from Noreen to Kyle and then back to Noreen. With an embarrassed duck of her head, she went around to the trunk of the car. “I’m sorry, Mistress. This is all just so sudden. If you really think I’m in danger, I’ll take your word for it.” She dragged her suitcase out of the trunk and flashed an apologetic smile at Noreen.
Demon Witch (The Ternion Order Book 2) Page 5
