Their place of hiding reveal to me.
To reclaim the prana, of which you asked,
Location revealed, and foe unmasked.
So mote it be.
The second time Shona recites the spell, my shield wakes up. It’s not an itch or a burn so much as a niggle. For the eleventeen-millionth time, I wish there was an owner’s manual on my Fianna shield.
What’s the difference between a niggle and a tingle? A tingle and an itch? An itch and a burn? A burn and a flare?
No idea. Thankfully, this is only a niggle.
“It’s working.” Sarah smiles over at us. “Everyone, stay focused. Let’s all say the spell with Magis the third time through.”
I know from my days watching Prue, Piper, and Phoebe on Charmed that the power of three is important to witches. And yeah, as they start the chant the third time, my shield gears up from a niggle to an itch.
Goddess of the sun and earth,
We hear your plea and prove our worth.
Unseen and unknown the enemies be,
Their place of hiding reveal to me.
To reclaim the prana, of which you asked,
Location revealed, and foe unmasked.
So mote it be.
The pendulum swings in an unnaturally jerky motion as if two opposing forces are battling for control. Do the witches we’re after know we’re searching for them?
Is that what my shield is trying to tell me?
I wince and shift in place, my back’s reaction growing uncomfortable. Dillan notices me squirming and shrugs. I point at my back and Emmet and Sloan both catch on. Sloan presses a hand on my back and sends me healing energy.
It does nothing.
Should I stop the ceremony? We’re so close.
But if I ignore the danger to innocent witches to catch a group of monster witches, doesn’t that make me a monster too? I frown and step forward. “I think we need to stop. I sense danger, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“We’re close,” Shona says. “If I can stabilize the pendulum we’ll have them.”
Emmet strikes off across the floor as silently as a cat. “I’m a buffer. I can boost your power if that helps.” He stands directly behind Shona, and when she gives him her approval, he clasps her shoulder.
The pendulum’s battle is won within minutes.
The tip of the shard locks onto the map, and Sarah smiles. “Got them! They’re in Limerick.”
Sarah’s words are barely spoken when my shield flares hot. I launch forward, rushing to intercede. “Stop! Back away from the table. We need to shut this do—”
An incredible force bursts through the center of the table.
The crack is deafening.
Wood splinters.
Witches are thrown.
The force of the blast hits like a wrecking ball and knocks me off my feet. Bodies fly, and arms and legs flail through the air.
I can’t make sense of it.
I hit the floor as the world explodes.
Then I black out.
Chapter Sixteen
I wake in darkness, and every part of me is screaming for attention. My chest is crushed, and I can’t breathe. My legs are pinned, and I can’t move. My head is pounding, and I can’t think. What. The. Fuck. Stupid witches.
Not the white witches—the other ones.
Through the distant buzz fritzing in and out of focus, I hear my name…and crying…and growling.
“Sloan? Fi? Would one of you please fucking talk to us?” The panic in Dillan’s voice hurts my heart.
I try to speak. Dirt and bits of debris coat my tongue. I taste copper pennies. Shifting my tongue around the filth in my mouth, I find the raw flesh on the inside of my lip where I must’ve bitten myself.
Either that or something slammed me in the face.
“Fiona Kacee Cumhaill, where the fuck are you?”
Where am I? I don’t know. Where am I?
Something about the worry in my brother’s tone keeps me fighting against the undertow of oblivion. “Mar…co.”
“Polo. Thank fuck. I’m coming, Fi.”
I wake a second time when Dillan excavates me from the rubble of the explosion. He pulls off the building that fell on me. No. Wait. The weight crushing me isn’t a building. It’s Sloan. The building was on top of him.
“Is he alive?” I roll to the side but can’t get up.
Emmet lays him out and checks for a pulse. They’re both covered in blood, and I’m not sure which one of them looks worse off.
“Emmet? You hurt?”
He offers me a forced smile. “Not as much as most. I was behind Shona and sheltered from the brunt. I lived.”
I hear his meaning. Others didn’t. Someone’s dead. Maybe several someones. “Who?”
“Later.” Dillan scoops under my knees and lifts me free of the wreckage. “Let’s get you two into the other room so we can see what’s what.”
My head lolls to the side and rests against his arm. I’m looking at cars in the parking lot. Where did they come from? “Where’s the wall?”
“Mostly on top of you two.”
“Oh, that’s what that was.”
When he sets me down in the next room, the world spins, and I hang my head forward. “For a minute there, I thought a hurricane hit us, and the mill decided to touch down on my chest.”
“Nope. Mostly that was Sloan.”
“How is he?” My heart races with all the emotions I never wanted to feel again. After losing Brendan, I swore I would keep everyone safe. I’d bundle my entire family in bubble wrap and cotton and Kate Spade micro-plush blankies if I had to, but nobody else would die on me.
I like to think that I’m a strong woman.
I’m not. I hurt and bleed and feel a loss as deeply as anyone else, if not more.
“Hey, now.” Dillan wipes my tears. “It’s okay, Fi. Sit here with Sarah, and I’ll check. Emmet and I will bring him right out, I swear.”
Sarah squeezes my shoulder, and everything about this feels wrong. These women were hurt because of us, but she’s comforting me.
I give myself a shake and smile at her. “What happened? I get the part about the explosion, but what was it?”
“As near as we can tell, it was a reversal on our tracking spell. I’ve never seen so much power harnessed to a reversal, but from what ye said about the stolen prana, I suspect they’re puttin’ it to good use.”
“Or bad use in this case.”
She sinks into the seat beside me and runs her fingers through her matted blonde hair. “Bad use fer sure.”
Dillan returns with Emmet, the two of them each tucked under one of Sloan’s shoulders. I launch to my feet, but I’m as unsteady as a drunken fifteen-year-old and pretty much plow into them.
“Wow, okay Fi.” Emmet scrambles to catch me with his free hand. “Good job on testing our strength and reflexes. Gotta keep us on our toes.”
I focus on locking my knees and pulling my shit together. “Sorry, I’m a bit wonky.”
Sloan straightens in their arms and flashes me an uneven grin. “Weak in the knees from heartin’ me hard or from the kiss I laid on ye?”
I exhale a huge sigh of relief. “Dream on, Mackenzie. It takes more than a stolen moment of hot and heavy to turn this girl’s head.”
“As yer brothers say, challenge accepted.”
When the boys set him down on a chair, I drop to my knees and hug him around the waist. “Thanks for not being dead on me.”
“Ditto.”
I squeeze his hand and stand to check on my brothers. “That goes for you too. No more losses. Not now. Not ever.”
Dillan and Emmet both smile and hold out their pinky fingers. I link mine with theirs, and we make it official.
“What are we dealing with?” I look at Sarah and honestly, I don’t know what to say to her that will help. “I’m so sorry. If I had any idea that this would happen, we never would’ve involved you.”
She wipes her damp cheeks, her tears smudgi
ng the silt and debris across her face in black swipes. “This doesn’t fall on you, Fi. If it weren’t fer yer warning more of us would’ve died. If it weren’t fer yer brother takin’ me to the floor, I’d likely be one of them.”
It doesn’t surprise me one bit that Emmet is a hero. It’s too bad she learned about it this way. “What can we do?”
Sloan sits up straighter and scowls. “We do what we planned to do. We take the location of the witches, and we track them down and end this. As much as it pains me to have played a part in the suffering here, letting the witches responsible get away serves no one.”
Sarah nods. “Come with me. I’ll show you where we can wash up so we can be on our way.”
Emmet cants his head and regards her with a gleam of admiration. “We? Are you joining our little justice league, Sarah Connors?”
“Ye bet yer finely dimpled ass, I am. Hurry now. I’ll not have these bastards gettin’ away while we lick our wounds. As Sloan said, that serves no one.”
“Limerick is the fourth most populous city on the island of Ireland,” Sloan says as the five of us take form. “It lies on the River Shannon, at the head of the Shannon estuary, where the river widens and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.”
I study the lay of the land as we step to the edge of a copse of trees. In the distance, the ruins of a castle with a five-story tower dominate a rocky crag.
Huh, another Irish fortress. Imagine that.
“Let me guess. This castle has seen tales of history our Canadian buildings could never dream of. It’s bursting with character and smells like a rotten root cellar.”
Sloan sends me an ocular middle finger, but there’s no heat in the look. “The city dates back from 812 CE, and yes, it has seen the violence of Viking raids, English wars, religious uprisings, and now Wiccan fugitives.”
“Nailed it.” I raise my palm to smack Dillan in a triumphant high-five, then catch Emmet’s censure. “Sorry, Sarah. I tend to deal with difficult situations with humor and smartass comments. My bad.”
Sarah nods. “Shona was not only my Magis, she was my aunt and my friend. Norah, Delia, Ginny, and Gwen were all friends. I owe it to all of them to bring these witches to justice and honor the goddess.”
“We will. I promise.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I check the text. “Yeah, Patty says he wants to join the fun. He’s ready when you are, hotness.”
Sloan winks. “Oh, I like that one more than surly. All right, I’ll pop over to the lair and get him.”
Dillan raises a finger. “Can I tag along and make a quick pitstop at Granda’s to pick up my cloak? I think it’ll come in handy for infiltrating the ruins.”
“Good idea.” Sloan leans in and kisses my cheek. “Be right back. Don’t die while I’m gone. Emmet and Bruin, yer in charge. Bear, are ye on yer guard?”
The flutter in my chest is my signal to let him out. I release my hold on our bond, and he materializes beside me. “On duty and ready to shred.”
Sarah squeals beside me, and Emmet catches her as her eyes roll back and she crumples to the ground.
I make a face. “Oops.”
Dillan chuckles. “You handle that. We’ll be right back.”
When they poof out, I drop to my knee and brush Sarah’s hair out of her face. Her eyes flutter as consciousness takes hold and I squeeze her hand. “Sorry. I should’ve warned you. I’m bonded to a spirit bear. He looks big and ferocious—”
“And he is,” Emmet interjects.
“He is,” I agree, “but he’s also on our side and is one hundy percent reliable. Would you like to meet him?”
Sarah sits forward and puts her head between her knees. “Give me a moment.”
“Sure thing.” I straighten and leave her in Emmet’s capable care.
“A bit timid, is she?” Bruin says.
“She’s a white witch, and she’s had a day. Considering what life has thrown at her, I think she’s doing well.”
“Emmet seems smitten.”
I glance back and smile. “Emmet is a caregiver, and right now, Sarah needs TLC. That works for both of them.”
“What did we miss?” Dillan says as he, Sloan, and Patty join us.
“In the three minutes you were gone? Nothing. Bruin appeared. Sarah keeled. It’s been quiet ever since.”
Patty comes over, and I bend down to hug him. He’s pulled himself together since I saw him last. No longer the angry leprechaun of Facebook memes and lore, he’s once again the loveable imp who taught me the Jailhouse Rock pole dance. “How’s our queen?”
His smile is wide and infectious. “Och, she’s in fine form. She’s suckin’ diesel but itchin’ to have her revenge. Despite being a benevolent beauty by nature, being drained of her lifeforce put her in quite a mood. I wouldn’t want to be anyone involved in this mess once she sorts out the kids and gets down to business.”
I think about the torched Barghest bodies we found in the Doyle grove. “Agreed. I’ve seen what happens to people who upset her. It doesn’t end well for them.”
Emmet helps Sarah to her feet, and I wave them over.
“Sarah, this is my dear friend Patty. He was the one who alerted us to the trouble of the ley lines being siphoned.” I consider telling her about the dragon queen but decide she’s had enough revelations for one day. “Patty, this is Sarah, one of the white witches of Blarney. I assume Sloan and Dillan filled you in on what happened?”
Patty takes Sarah’s hand and kisses her knuckles. “Condolences, wee one. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; Love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
If Sarah’s shocked by receiving caring condolences from a leprechaun, she hides it well. “Go raibh maith agat.”
After thanking him for his words, she looks at me. “Yer a remarkably interesting woman, indeed.”
Patty rests his hand on the top of his hatchet and gets back to the situation at hand. “What do we know?”
“Not much, sadly. We brought you into this the moment we had a target. The Blarney witches tracked the culprits here using a scrying spell, and here we are.”
Dillan pulls the hood of his cloak up. “Sloan. Poof me into the shadows at the base of the ruins there and let me do some recon. I’ll text when I’m ready to return.”
“Be careful, D.” I peg him with a serious gaze. “No more death.”
He winks. “Would I go back on a pinky swear? Hells no. See you in a few.”
Sloan nods, grips his shoulder, and poofs off. In another beat of my heart, he’s back. Emmet and Patty are busy chatting about something while Sarah is sifting through the leaves on the forest floor and picking up stones.
Sloan pulls me around a tree to hug me. “How are ye holdin’ up? Ye look tired.”
I cling to him and bolster myself with his strength. “When life slows down, I really need a movie night. Flannel jammies, you, my brothers, Da, and Bruin, chicken nachos, the whole deal.”
He chuckles. “I love it that that’s yer perfect night.”
I brush at the scrape beside his eye. It’s stopped bleeding but hasn’t started scabbing yet. “That’s my PG perfect family night. Like Dillan says, I’m an onion. Lots of layers here.”
“Would ye care to share on yer non-PG perfect night? Maybe it involves some Xs in the rating and someone I know?”
“I do, and it does. See, I said you were smart.”
“I try.”
“But you’re also a dumbass.”
He frowns. “What did I do now?”
“You shielded me from the explosion, didn’t you?”
He sighs and shrugs. “A lot happened in a few seconds. It’s over now.”
I won’t let him dismiss my concerns. “Don’t get killed keeping me safe. Seriously, it will wreck me.”
“You make it sound like it’s inevitable.”
“I hope not. Still, I don’t want you hurt. Be more protective of your safety.”
“Don’t worry about me, Fi. Soon, this chaos and dan
ger will take a back seat. Then we can have movie nights and chicken nachos and use up that box of latex yer Gran bought.”
I cover my face. “Oh, gawd. Why did you bring that up? I’m seriously scarred.”
He presses his forehead to mine as his body vibrates with laughter. “That was the most awkward moment of my life.”
“Mine too.”
“It came from a good place though.”
I cast a glance at where the other three are still milling around. “Oh, it absolutely did. They’re quite a pair, my grandparents.”
“They are.” As he’s speaking, he fishes out his phone and nods. “Dillan’s ready. Back in a flash.”
I shake off the embarrassment of overprotective grandparents and head back to the others. Thankfully, Emmet hasn’t said anything about the condom-tastrophe, so maybe he didn’t retain all the particulars from when he was a kangaroo.
One can only hope.
“What are you guys up to?”
“Sarah’s making us protection stones,” Emmet says. “As a white witch, her attack is a non-lethal spell to immobilize and subdue.”
“He calls them my nappy sacks.” Sarah pulls a couple of the little jiggly pouches out of her bag and holds them up to show us.
“She doesn’t want it to take us out, so she’s preparing us counterspell stones.”
“Okay, cool. Yeah, we welcome any help you can offer. Thank you.”
Sarah sets a handful of stones on a clear patch of dirt and holds her hands over them. When her eyes roll closed, a white glow bursts free from her hands.
Seekers of justice, righteous and true
These stones that I bless will protect you.
Doers of evil will drop and sway
To face the goddess on judgment day.
So mote it be.
Her words hold power, and I find myself drawn in by the energy she emits when she’s casting. White magic feels very different from what I’ve encountered before. Maybe it’s me being new to things, but when she’s finished, I feel stronger, more optimistic. “That was cool. Thank you.”
Sarah dips her chin and color flushes her cheeks. “I may not wield a sword in battle, but my powers can help, and I want to do my part.”
A Witch’s Revenge (Chronicles of an Urban Druid Book 4) Page 17
