by Jane Hinchey
"Do you know which concealment he broke? That would give them an idea on where to start looking." Georgia asked her aunt.
"East of here. I concealed three houses on Calvern Street." Melissa leaned on Rhys and rose to her feet, pulling herself together.
Without a word Zak teleported. Did he know Calvern Street? Georgia knew he could only teleport to places he'd visited before...had he toured the whole town in preparation? She knew he'd been busy doing something while she'd been practicing witchcraft with her sister, but whenever she'd pressed him for details he'd been evasive.
"It's never a dull moment with you." Rhys cussed, striding to the door, knocking the blocks propping them open out of the way so they could be locked again.
"We need to go to the farmhouse first," Melissa insisted. "I need my supplies."
"I'll follow you." Rhys stalked to his car while the women piled into Georgia's truck. Georgia nodded, face grim. She couldn't believe this was happening, just when things started to look up. Booting the truck into life, she quickly reversed, slamming it into first gear and peeling up the street, drawing stares from the townsfolk. Shaking his head in resignation Rhys, jumped into his patrol car and followed, lights flashing and siren blaring. Might as well give the locals something to talk about.
7
At the farmhouse, Melissa packed her witchcraft supplies in one backpack and her clothes and toiletries in another. Rhys prowled outside, his sensitive nose checking for intruders. Nothing. Skye was on the phone to Frank.
"What do you mean, Zak’s in trouble?" she squeaked into the phone. Georgia snatched the phone from her sister’s hand.
"What's happened?" she demanded.
"The Hunter has somehow managed to incapacitate Zak," Frank admitted.
"How?"
"No idea. Zak called. Said you were on the way, to prep the team and you'd do your magic mojo on them, then Zak would zap in to collect them and return to deal with this damn hunter."
"So how do you know something happened to him?"
"Because I heard him scream. Then nothing. I haven't been able to get through to him. You need to get your butt back here now, Georgia, where we can protect you, and where you can cast that spell so the warriors can go help him."
Panic flooded through her. Zak couldn't be hurt. He was a vampire-angel hybrid. Indestructible. What had the hunter done? Heart pounding painfully in her chest, she turned with wild eyes to scan the room. Melissa was coming down the stairs, one backpack flung over her shoulder, the other in her hands. She strained under the weight. Skye stood watching Georgia, concern on her face.
"Is Zak okay?" she whispered.
"We don't know. We need to get to the house. Cast the spell for the warriors so they can go help him."
"It's no use. They're just fodder," Melissa muttered, head down.
"What do you mean?" Georgia frowned, snatching the backpack from Melissa's hands and throwing it over her own shoulder.
"Even though they're warriors, they're no match for the hunter. They might slow him down a bit, but they're not going to be able to stop him."
"What will stop him?"
Melissa shrugged uncomfortably. "We don't know."
"What?" Georgia's voice rose several octaves.
"I'm sorry!" Melissa cried. "I thought we had more time. I needed to bring you up to speed first, then I was going to take you to the coven. There's a spell we've been working on, but we need more witches."
"How many more witches?"
"Two."
Georgia and Skye. The two sisters looked at each other, then back at Melissa.
"Is this why you came?"
"Partly. And to reconnect with you. It's true what I told you. Your mother didn't want you involved in any of this, but after her death, when the hunter killed her even though she wasn't, nor ever had been a practicing witch, I knew eventually he'd come for you too. We were hoping for more time. He's woken early." Melissa was babbling, her hands fluttering in front of her.
Rhys strode inside, a frown pulling his brows down. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. Georgia quickly filled him in, all the while her mind whirling. So, the hunter was a super hunter the witches didn't really know how to defeat, so strong he'd managed to harm Zak with minimum effort and very little time. She suspected Melissa was right, that he'd dispatch the Warriors easily. Zak had been their best defense. Now they were out of options.
"You need to get out of here." Rhys cut through her thoughts.
"I'm not sure we'll be any safer at Zak’s house," Georgia said.
"No. I mean out of Redmeadows. You can't hide here. You're as conspicuous as a pimple on an ass."
"We need to get to Azure Falls," Melissa said. "The witches are hiding in the city—the coven always splits when the hunter is awake, but we're thinking that's been our mistake all along. We're stronger united."
"You're also a target."
"It's a risk we have to take. We can't keep running. We need to defeat him."
"Azure Falls is at least three days by car," Skye pointed out.
"I know a quicker way," Rhys volunteered.
"How?"
"My alpha. He owns a small light plane. I might be able to convince him to fly you there. It'll help hide you from the hunter, no passenger manifest."
"Do you think he'll do it?"
Rhys shrugged. "I'll do my best to convince him. He might since it's helping the witches."
Rhys stepped outside to make the call, leaving the three women to restlessly wait. He returned moments later.
"Well?"
"Good news and bad news. Yes, he's prepared to fly you."
"What's the bad news?"
"He can only take two of you. He's taking his mate with him, and it's a four-seater plane."
"Can't he leave her behind and take all three of us?" Georgia asked. Rhys shook his head.
"She's pregnant. There's no way he'll leave her side. She either goes with him, or he doesn’t go at all."
Georgia looked at Melissa then Skye. Yes. The two of them would go. She would stay and cast the daylight protection spell on the warriors. She outlined her idea to the others, astonished when Melissa shook her head.
"I need you to come with me Georgia. We need your magic. Skye's hasn't come in yet. She can't help us while she's still blocking."
"But we need to help the warriors too," Georgia protested.
"If it means you have a better chance of stopping this hunter, then yes, Georgia should go with you," Skye cut in. "I'll stay. I'll do my best for the Warriors. If my magic does come through, I'll know what to do."
"Good girl." Melissa hugged her, pressing a small bag into her hand. "Keep the stones. Keep trying. This just might be the push you need. If your magic comes in, cast a protection spell on yourself, got it?"
Skye accepted the stones, stuffing them into her pocket, nodding.
"No!" Georgia protested. "No. I'm not leaving you. And you said you needed both of us, right? Two witches."
"We do. But Skye can't help without magic. We can only hope that your vampire blood will boost your magic."
"You don't know for sure?"
"You're the first vampire witch."
"Oh my god. Why are you telling me all this stuff now?" Georgia cried. "It would have been helpful to know that before. Zak was telling the truth: vampires can't be witches."
"It's never happened before. But since it has with you, I'm confident it will work for Skye. You're from the same bloodline, and a very strong bloodline at that."
"Ladies we need to get moving. We're to meet the alpha at the airstrip. I hate to split you two up"—he nodded at Georgia and Skye—"but you need to make a decision and we need to get moving. This hunter is smart. He'll probably figure you'll want to get out of town and could be staking out the airport, although he'll most likely be watching the commercial flights, not private."
"Rhys is right. We need to go. Georgia I'm taking your truck to Zak’s. You two go with Rhys to the airport.
" Skye hurried to the door, determination in every step. Georgia felt Melissa's fingers wrap around hers.
"She's right. We need to move."
Giving in, Georgia allowed herself to be herded outside and bundled into Rhys's car. He sped them to the airport. This time the lights and sirens were off. No need to draw attention to them.
"She'll be okay," Melissa assured her, watching Georgia's pensive face as she gazed out the car window.
"How do you know?"
"A feeling." Melissa shrugged. "I suspect when Zak has recovered his powers, he'll teleport her to Azure Falls. You'll be reunited."
"Will her magic kick in?"
"I believe it will."
"Are you just telling me what I want to hear?" Georgia's eyes narrowed.
Melissa laughed. "Not at all. While I can't predict the future, I often get a sense, a feeling."
"And what about yourself? Are you going to survive this?"
"You know we can't sense our own futures, Georgia," she chided. It was true. Georgia had never been able to use her psychic abilities on herself.
They pulled up at a private hanger at the airport.
"It's small." Melissa gulped. "Tiny." On the tarmac stood a two-door white Cessna with a large yellow stripe down the side.
"We'll be okay. Hayden will take good care of us, I'm sure," Georgia reassured her, following Rhys toward the big man and slender woman standing by the plane.
"Hayden, Alison." Georgia nodded at them both in greeting. "Thank you for doing this."
"You're welcome." Alison smiled. "Any excuse to get some baby shopping in. It won't be a wasted trip." Her smile was serene as she rubbed a hand lovingly over the slight bump of her belly.
"Good thing we're dropping you there." Hayden laughed. "We're going to need those two seats to bring back all the shopping this one plans to do." He smiled at his wife, squeezing her into his side as he dropped a kiss on her head.
"We'll stay overnight," Hayden addressed Rhys. "She's going to be tuckered out. I'll give you a call and let you know what hotel we're at. Keep an eye on things while I'm gone."
"You bet." The two men shook hands.
8
It was cramped and claustrophobic in the plane. The seats were narrow; Georgia was pressed up against the side of the plane on one side, and her aunt on the other. Her aunt was already a lovely shade of green and was clenching her hands on her knees repeatedly. She was going to have bruises.
With their bags stowed behind their seats, their knees touching the two seats in front, it was a tight fit. Hayden started the engine and the whole plane vibrated. The noise precluded any chance of conversation, though Hayden and Alison had headsets on and were obviously chatting with each other. By the loving glances they exchanged Georgia guessed they were going to enjoy this little getaway. She smiled.
They reminded Georgia of her and Zak and her smile slipped, replaced by a frown. Was Zak okay? He wasn't dead—she would have felt that through their bond, both blood and mind. Maybe just unconscious, although Frank had said he'd heard him scream. Zak wasn't a screamer. What had the hunter done to him?
The plane shuddered forward, moving to its position on the runway prior to takeoff. Melissa clasped Georgia's hand, crushing it in her grip.
"It's okay. We'll be fine," Georgia told her.
They waited a couple of minutes for clearance and then they were off, hurtling down the runway, bouncing and jarring, and just when Georgia thought they were going to run out of runway they were off, launching into the air. Her stomach flip-flopped then righted itself. She glanced at Melissa, whose eyes were closed but her mouth was moving. Possibly uttering a prayer. Or a protection spell. Her eyes popped open and she looked at Georgia, grinning sheepishly and slowly releasing her grip on her hand.
Conversation was impossible, leaving them lost in their own thoughts. The higher they got, the colder it grew in the small cabin. Georgia pulled her jacket tighter around herself, glad she'd grabbed it before leaving the farmhouse. That was all she'd had time for though. Most of her stuff was still at Zak’s. She'd have to do some shopping herself in Azure Falls.
Melissa rummaged around in the backpack and pulled out a sweater, pulling it over her head and wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. Not before testing the seatbelt pulled snug over her hips.
They’d been traveling for an hour, slightly more. Melissa was dozing, her head resting against the frosty window, Georgia lost in her own thoughts of Zak and Skye and how they were going to defeat the hunter when a loud explosion from the cockpit wrenched her from her daydreaming.
Hayden and Alison were screaming in agony; hands bleeding and raw were raised to their faces, steam rising from their skin. Georgia sniffed the air. Wolfsbane. Someone had planted a wolfsbane bomb on the plane. There was a gaping hole in the instrument panel and the plane was now nose-diving toward the ground the engine whining.
Georgia tried to reach forward, to grab the controls, but her seatbelt held her back. Releasing the clasp, she wriggled in between the two front seats. Alison was unconscious, her face a red bloody mess, the wolfsbane acting like acid on her skin. Hayden was still conscious, trying to grip the plane’s controls with his injured hands.
"I've got it." Georgia pushed his hands away, trying not to hurt him further. "Tell me what to do!" she yelled over the noise of the straining engine.
"Pull it back towards you. Try and get it level—instruments are out, try and get it level to your best judgment." His voice was hoarse, wheezing. Georgia did as he instructed and the plane leveled out somewhat, although it was still descending at an alarming rate. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, sucking in a shocked breath. His mouth was almost eaten away from the wolfsbane. She could see him struggling to breathe and knew his airway must have been eaten away as well. How was he still conscious, let alone alive and talking to her?
"Alison," he rasped, reaching his hand in front of Georgia to try and find his wife. Georgia cast another look at the wife and gasped. She hadn't noticed earlier the chunk of metal stuck in the side of her neck, blood seeping down the front of her shirt to pool in her lap. Oh no. Straining her ears over the noise of the plane, she listened for a heartbeat. It was there. Faint. Fading. God, they had to land this plane now and heal them.
"Melissa, can you heal them?" she called back over her shoulder to her aunt, who surprisingly wasn't screaming her head off. No answer.
"Melissa?" She glanced back. Shit. Melissa was slumped back in her seat, her head lolling against the window. Out cold.
Turning her attention back to the controls, she fought to stabilize the plane. She could see the ground below them now that they'd cleared cloud cover. Trees. Lots and lots of trees and they were heading toward them fast. Too fast. The wheels clipped the treetops, a loud thwack, thwack, thwack, then they were lower, tangling with the trees. Trying to keep a hold of the controls that were jerking out her grip, she drew in a deep breath. They were going to crash.
The plane continued its destructive path through the trees, eventually catching on one and jerking, spinning off in a different direction, before hitting another tree and bouncing away again. Time stood still as they barreled through the forest before hitting the earth, sliding through the dirt in a giant plume of dust, sounds of metal tearing, the plane ripping apart and then suddenly they were no longer moving. The silence was deafening.
The pain was everywhere. Blinking open her eyes Georgia quickly closed them again, blinded by the sun blazing down on her. Drawing in a deep breath, then another, she managed to raise an arm and shield her eyes before opening them again. Over to her left was the wreckage of the plane. It had come to a halt with the nose pitched down into the dirt, the propeller ripped off, along with the right side wing. The windows on the right-hand side were also missing. Georgia assumed she'd been thrown out since she'd been the only one not wearing a seatbelt at the time of impact. The plane tilted to the left, resting on its one remaining wing.
Gingerl
y she got to her feet. A sharp nagging pain in her thigh alerted her to the piece of metal poking out through her jeans, blood seeping down, staining the denim and ground where she'd lain. She'd been out for a while judging by the pool of blood. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the metal free, clamping a hand tightly over the open wound. Ripping off a strip from the bottom of her T-shirt, she tied it around her leg. She'd heal, but in the meantime, she was losing too much blood and she had to help the others.
Shuffling over to the plane, she wrenched open the passenger-side door. The scent of blood and wolfsbane was heavy in the air, and she closed her eyes. She didn't think Hayden and Alison could have survived the bomb and subsequent crash, but she had to check. Holding her breath, she focused on what she could hear. A heartbeat. Singular. From the back of the plane. Opening her eyes she forced herself to look at Alison.
"I'm so sorry," Georgia whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. Alison and her baby were dead. She glanced across at Hayden. Dead. Guilt tightened her chest, making her skin crawl. If it wasn’t for her, this wouldn’t have happened. They’d been here, because of her. She’d asked Rhys for help and this was the result. His alpha and wife were dead, killed, because of her.
A sob tore from her throat as the enormity of it hit her. How was she going to tell Rhys? And his pack? They were going to hate her, blame her for all of this. And they’d be right to. Why had she let them become involved? It was selfish of her.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, wincing when her eyes landed on the bump of Alison’s unborn baby. Her heart ached at the senseless loss of life, at this beautiful little family who had their whole lives ahead of them. Gone, snatched away in an instant by the cruelty of another. Chin lowered to her chest she allowed herself a moment to grieve, then took a deep breath and pulled herself together. The hunter was still coming.
Releasing Alison's seatbelt, she pulled her from the plane and laid her carefully on the ground. She returned to the plane and flipped the seat forward to reach her aunt in the back seat. Her heartbeat was strong and steady, but the bloodstain on her sweater was a worry. Lifting the fabric, she cursed at the deep laceration just above her hip. A laceration that was going to need stitches. Or a healing spell, pronto.
