by Unknown
“Oh hell. Blood to blood. Sympathetic magic. She’s scrying for her family.” Chris hunched down where the women wouldn’t see him.
Good idea. Zach tugged Gareth down with him. Daniel silently made his way to Chris’s other side. Together they watched Gen perform her ritual.
The crystal sprang to life with the first drop of Gen’s blood.
“Enjoying the show, boys?”
All four turned, hands at their crotches, to find Annabelle Evans standing behind them. She stood there in jeans and one of her Shania Twain T-shirts, hands on hips, feet planted firmly on the ground.
“How the hell did you sneak up on four wolves?” Chris gasped.
“Language, Christopher.”
The rebuke was almost absent, the answer instantaneous. “Sorry, Grammy.”
Zach’s cheeks heated as she studied each of them in turn. “What are you boys up to?”
Zach wasn’t the only Beckett to risk a peek down to make sure he wasn’t “up” in front of Annabelle. “We came back from our run and saw them spellcasting. We were curious.” He gave her his best Bambi eyes.
She wasn’t buying it. “Mm-hmm. Where are your clothes?”
“Over there.” Zach risked his dignity with one hand, pointing toward the back of the house, right past where the girls were dancing.
Grammy’s eyes went over their heads. A strange sort of satisfaction lit them before she looked back down at the four cowering men. “Go get them.”
“Yes’m.” Zach shifted, unwilling to show his naked ass to Annabelle any more than he already had.
His brothers followed suit. Together they slinked through the woods, tails between their legs. He wasn’t certain what they’d done wrong, but he was certain from Annabelle’s tone it was something.
Now he just had to figure out what.
“Okay, what did you find out?”
Gen settled on the ground wearily, her hand cradled in her lap. “They’re somewhere on an island, not that far from Philadelphia. Possibly within the city limits.”
Lana frowned. “An island in the city?” Her head tilted. “They might be on one of the islands on either the Delaware or the Sure-Kill.”
That startled a laugh out of both Jo and Gen. “The what?”
Lana chuckled. “The Schuylkill River. We call it the Sure-Kill.”
Jo shook her head. “Just the place for some rogue warlocks to play.”
“Could you see anything else in the vision?”
Gen shrugged. “Just a bridge.”
Lana leaned forward. “What kind of bridge?”
“A double-decked bridge, lots of iron struts. One of those that looks like a toy bridge for a wooden train set, but a pale gray color instead of bright red or blue.”
Lana sat back, a strange look on her face. “I need to hit the Internet, but I think I might know where that is.”
“Do we tell the men?”
Gen shook her head. “This is mine to deal with.”
Jo stood and brushed the dirt off her jeans. “Sorry, but this is Zach’s gig as well.” Every instinct she had screamed that Zach would be involved whether Gen wanted him to be or not.
Gen sighed. “Then we tell them.”
“Let’s take down the circle and cart everything back in. Once they’re back from their run we’ll let them know what’s going on.” Jo turned and shrieked.
Four pairs of eyes watched them with varying degrees of annoyance. The only ones she was concerned with glared at her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Um. Picnic?”
Those blue eyes narrowed. His foot tapped on the grass. “Jo. Tell me you’re not hunting bad guys.”
“I’m not hunting bad guys.” She wasn’t lying to him. Gen was hunting bad guys. Jo was just providing support.
He growled at her.
She picked up a stick and tossed it. “Fetch, boy! Fetch!”
His lips twitched, but those blue eyes of his remained hot.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Make yourself useful and cart some of this stuff back, okay?”
Zach’s stomach rumbled. His expression turned from furious to pleading in a heartbeat. “Tell me you at least left us some burgers.”
Jo hightailed it back into the house, leaving Lana and Gen to face the hungry Beckett brothers. She slipped into Chris’s office and booted his computer. “Damn.” He’d put a password on it.
“Let me.” Lana settled behind the desk and began typing as soon as the computer was done logging her in. “Schuylkill River bridges. Hmm. Double-decker, gray, near some islands… Gen, any idea where in Philly it was?”
“I saw lots of big ships, if that helps.”
“The Philadelphia Naval Yard.” Lana rubbed her hands together with glee and began typing once more. “Bingo!” She pointed toward the bridge on the screen. “The Girard Point Bridge.”
“Yes, that’s the one.” Gen tapped the screen. “What islands are near there?”
“Hmm.” Lana brought up Google Maps and began moving the screen around.
Jo pointed toward the screen at a long, thin island that had to be visible from the airport and possibly from that bridge. “What about there?”
“It’s a little before the bridge, but let’s check it out.” Lana brought up the long, thin island and read off the name. “Little Tinicum Island.”
Gen walked around the edge of the desk to stand on Lana’s other side. “No. That’s not it. It was fat and much smaller.” Gen took hold of the mouse and began maneuvering it. She landed on a tiny little island on the New Jersey side of the Delaware, right where it looked like the Delaware and Schuylkill met. “There. That’s the one.”
Lana’s brows rose as she zoomed in on it. “That’s so small it doesn’t even rate a name on the map.”
“But you can see it clearly from the bridge.” Gen leaned against the desk. “That’s the one.”
“Isolated, small, covered in trees.” Zach entered the room and dropped an absent kiss on Jo’s head as he circled behind her. “Sounds about right.” He stared at the island. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“What are you talking about?” Jo snuggled into him. This was it, what her instincts had been screaming at her about. The hex had been a small part of it, but here was the real danger.
“I had a vision last night during the ritual. It was the same one I’ve been having over and over, but with different outcomes. But all of them tell me the same thing. You’re in danger.” He patted Jo’s shoulder. “You’ll be staying here behind as many layers of protection as we can place around you.”
“But—”
His finger landed on her lip. “That’s not up for negotiation.” He tilted her chin up. His expression was hard and unyielding, but fear lurked in his eyes. “I saw you strapped to an altar, ready to become Davis’s next victim.”
“Next victim of what?”
Gen blanched. “That’s how they’ve gotten so much power so quickly.”
“Victim of what?” Jo yelled.
Gen’s serenity descended around her like a cloak. “Human sacrifice. They’re feeding their pact with living souls.”
Jo was so shocked she laughed. “No way. That’s B-grade horror-movie shit. No one actually does that.”
Gen nodded. “Yes. They do.” The horror in her eyes showed she’d seen it before.
“Crap.” Jo shivered. She liked her soul where it was, thank you very much.
“Which is why you stay here and Gen and I go.”
“Not without us you don’t.” Zach, Daniel and Gareth stood in the doorway, arms crossed, identical expressions on their faces. It was like looking at triplets, except Gareth was slightly taller and broader than any of the other Becketts and Daniel still had a smirk teasing the corners of his mouth.
“Then who stays here and guards my mate?”
“I do.” Annabelle pushed past the brothers and into the room. “I think I can keep one small witch in line.”
Jo matched A
nnabelle glare for glare. “No. I’m not placing myself in your hands.”
“Why not?” Now Lana sounded offended.
“Because a, she hates my ass, b, she was able to force me from Chris’s house and that freaks me the fuck out, and c, she hates my ass. I’m sorry, but I don’t trust her.”
Annabelle nodded, but Jo could tell her answer pissed the other witch off. “Understood. Do you trust Lana?”
Jo’s jaw clenched. The only one she trusted completely was Zach.
She blinked. Of course. “Zach, you put me under protections.”
He looked shocked. “What?”
“You’re an Own, right? And my mate? Who better to protect me from Davis than you?”
“She’s right.” Everyone turned at the soft sound of Gen’s voice. “It should be Zach protecting her.”
“I can place spells on her, but I won’t be here to deal with anything that shows up.” He rubbed his hands through his hair, and Jo knew he was getting frustrated. “What happens if something comes after you that the protections can’t handle?”
Her brows rose. “When the hell did I become a cupcake?” He blinked, shocked. “Zach, I’m next in line to rule my coven. I’m stronger than I look.” She had to be to teach all those kids and not lose her mind. “I can make sure I at least stay put until you can get to me.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to be two hours away, sweetheart. Can you hold on that long?”
She bit her lip. As a witch, if she had to go up against extremely strong magic, she’d tire out before those two hours were up. She’d have to throw everything she had into staying on Chris’s land. “If I pass out from exhaustion I won’t be walking anywhere.”
“There are other ways to get from place to place without using your feet,” Gen started, then stared at Jo. “I’ll place my own protections on her as well. They might counteract the warlock magic thrown at her.”
“Thank you.” Jo could tell from Gareth’s tone that he wasn’t convinced.
Jo was. Gen had proven herself. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it.” The young warlock blushed when Jo hugged her. “One of these days you’ll have to explain to us exactly how a warlock’s magic works.” Jo patted Gen’s arm when the woman paled. “We need to know so we can counter it.”
Gen sighed and walked around the desk. She sat in the chair facing it and crossed her hands in her lap. “A warlock’s magic comes from without, not from within as it does with witches and wizards. We are…attuned from birth to forces outside ourselves. When a warlock hits puberty, it begins.”
“What does?” Jo was fascinated. She’d never had the opportunity to talk to a warlock before. The so-called “good” ones were few and far between, and she wanted nothing to do with the bad ones.
And there she went again, lumping all warlocks in the bad category when a truly good one sat across from her. She’d have to be careful of that in the future.
“The seducing.” Gen took a deep breath. “The powers begin to vie for the warlock. They entice us with promises of power, riches, fame. Whatever we wish can be ours, if we just submit.” Gen shuddered. “We’re so young when it starts that most of us agree before we understand the full implications of what we’ve done, and by the time we do we’re so corrupted it doesn’t matter anymore. We have what they’ve promised us, and that’s all that matters.”
“Is it always dark forces that try to seduce the warlocks?”
She nodded. “Always. Other forces exist, but it takes tremendous will for a young warlock to seek them out while someone whispers in your ear about all of your fantasies being fulfilled.”
“What other forces?” Gareth moved forward, looking fascinated despite himself.
“The elementals are one way a warlock can gain power without having to succumb to the dark, but you always run the risk that the elementals will burn you out before you can learn to control their magic. They are powerful, but untamable. Only an epic will can withstand their magic.”
“And?” Because Jo knew there was more to it than that.
Gen smiled, and something lit her from within. “And there are the gods themselves, but so few of us go that route.”
“And thus is born a warlock Own?”
“Not quite. An Own is born if the Goddess accepts the plea of one born to be hers. There are those who follow the God instead, and channel from him. They are…unique.” Gen’s lips twitched. “I’ve only met one, and he was… Hmm.” She shook herself. It was probably a good thing that only Jo was looking at Gareth, because the shock and jealousy that flashed across his face would have been cause for serious teasing among the brothers, teasing she didn’t think Gareth could withstand. “Lastly, a warlock could choose to bond with another magic user, a sort of symbiosis. The combination can be strong, because the witch or wizard must be a willing participant in the sharing of magic. As you can imagine, those are the rarest of all.”
“What do the entities get in exchange for giving a warlock power?”
Good question. Why does it not surprise me Gareth asked it?
“For the dark ones, it’s the acts that warlocks perform. Warlocks are almost always psychopaths, sociopaths, what have you. They seem to function in the normal world just fine, but deep inside they’re cold-blooded, ruthless. They will do whatever they have to in order to get what they want. For the elementals?” Gen shrugged. “I’m not certain, but from what I’ve heard warlocks who do manage to bond with elementals become guardians of the earth itself. Some of them have gone insane and we were forced to hunt them down before they could hurt anyone.” She sighed. “Not all magic users we hunt are evil.” She shivered, as if she were remembering something she’d much rather forget. “The Own do the bidding of the Goddess, just as all Her Own do. As for those who choose symbiosis?” She shrugged. “It’s so rare that I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone involved in it. But who’s to say what two people would get from such an arrangement?”
“So if we cut the warlock off from his source, he’s powerless?” Daniel leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his expression turned inward.
“Yes, or you could do what Chris did and turn the warlock’s spell against him in such a way that the dark entity could consume him earlier than planned.”
It was Chris’s turn to shudder. “Not something I would recommend.” He turned to Lana and held out his hand. “The price wasn’t worth it.”
Lana moved into her mate’s arms. “Maybe, maybe not. We know now that the Godwins are, no offense Gen, meshed in darker forces than most warlocks.”
“We have to keep Davis from getting hold of Jo.” Zach’s arms tightened around her until Jo gasped. “How many of your brothers are likely to be on that island with your father?”
Gen’s shoulders straightened. “I have no clue. They no longer speak with me.”
“I can’t imagine why.” Jo winked at Gen. “All right. We need to put some serious protections around me and the property.” She yawned. “But not now.” The past hour of spellcasting had taken a lot out of her. She was beat. “I need a nap.”
Lana echoed her yawn. “Ditto.”
“We can put up protections while the two of you sleep.” Zach brushed a kiss across the top of her head.
“Why aren’t you exhausted?” Lana leaned against Chris and glared at Zach. “You did major spellwork to take down that hex, then you went running today.”
“I eat right?”
Lana sighed.
Zach flexed his muscles. “I exercise?”
“The elements saw fit to grant him the strength to deal with the hex. Zach used his own power to channel that which was given him, but the majority of it came from fire.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Now I’m getting confused.” Gareth rubbed his forehead. “Zach isn’t a warlock. How can he channel power from the elements?”
Gen smiled. “Because he’s an Own, and was acting as an agent for the Goddess at that time. The rules for us are slightly different. If Zach had been perform
ing a routine spell, he would have been on his own. But he specifically asked fire to grant him energy in the commission of removing a dark hex. Fire apparently agreed and granted his request.”
“Remind me to thank it later.”
It was nice that even Zach sounded shaken.
Jo yawned, more than ready to take that nap. “Damn. I’m more tired than I thought.” She rubbed her forehead, willing away the slight headache that was building behind her eyes.
She found herself the focus of four pairs of Beckett eyes yet again. “You’re hurting?” Before she could answer Zach swept her up in his arms like she weighed nothing. “Damn. I keep forgetting about that fucking concussion.”
“I don’t,” Jo muttered. “Besides, I’m pretty sure it’s mostly gone now.”
He snorted. “Sure. Sorry, sweetheart, I’m not buying that. How about a nice, soft bed in a nice, quiet room?”
“Quiet? In this house?”
Lana began to laugh. “Tell me about it.”
Chris picked up his own mate, quieting her laughter with a kiss. “Bed, little witch.”
“I’ll smudge the house while you get the women settled.” Gareth left the room first, probably headed straight for Chris’s workroom.
“I’ll run the perimeter, make sure nothing seems out of place.” Daniel followed his brother, stripping his shirt off as he went. It said something about how sleepy Jo was that she didn’t even try to look.
“What should I do?” Gen stood, her fingers moving together. Jo knew the Own was agitated, but didn’t know why.
“Wait for me.” Zach strode out of the room, Jo cradled in his arms.
He was an odd mix, her mate. One moment he was all grimy little boy. The next he was a strong, confident man capable of taking on the world.
No doubt about it. Zach will keep me on my toes.
Jo cradled her head against her man’s chest and allowed him to take care of her.
Chapter Fifteen
Zach settled Jo down on the bed, surprised to see her eyes already drooping shut. “Sweetheart?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you need anything before I go fight the bad guys?” He pulled off her shoes, socks and jeans, knowing she’d sleep better without them on. When she lifted her arms he reached under and undid her bra. He helped her slip it off, keeping the T-shirt on. He barely resisted groaning at the sight of her puckered nipples in the cool air.
