by K. J. Emrick
“Herman,” Belladonna said in a low warning.
“I mean, really,” the man went on, oblivious to anything but his own rant. “I’m the man for her. Everybody knows it. Well, I know it. I’m the only one who counts.”
“Herman.”
“Whatever. She’ll see when this is done. You promised she would be with me, and I’m going to hold you to it—”
“Herman!”
That word reverberated across the distances connected within the Scrying Circle, creating ripples in the magic and giving off an ear-wrenching squeal. Herman’s mouth slapped shut and his hands came up to cover his ears to prevent his eardrums from bursting.
The other two were wisely silent.
When the Scrying Circle settled, silence came back into the room. Belladonna took a deep breath. “There. That’s better. Now, to answer your question, there was no risk to me in this little excursion. We were outside of the protective shield that Shadow Lake gives the Kilorian sisters. That means Addie was weaker because she was away from her town, and from Stonecrest, and from their Well of Essence. But me?” She laughed wickedly. “I’m stronger no matter where I go.”
In the Circle, Domovyk cleared his throat. “That was a bit too much wicked witch, no? Mirror, mirror on the wall, and all that?”
Belladonna shot him a glare. “I happen to like that movie, thank you very much. The point is that I needed a way to get past the defenses of Stonecrest, which protects the Kilorians. I need to get into the tunnels that run underground to the Well. I have to be physically standing there in order to take all the Essence stored within. I needed a way to get there, and tonight gave me that way.”
The man at the bottom of the Circle finally spoke. “What way? What did you do?”
Belladonna’s smile showed off her perfect teeth. She’d been waiting for that question.
“I did… this.”
With a flourish, she rolled her hand through the air. A white handkerchief appeared in her palm. On the cloth was a single, dark spot.
All three faces squinted down at that bit of cloth.
“What is it?” Domovyk asked, sniffing at the screen as if the Scrying Circle transmitted smells as well as images.
Belladonna turned her hand to look at the little stain. She took a moment to appreciate what she had done, knowing she was that much closer to fulfilling her dreams. “This,” she said to them, “is blood. Addie Kilorian’s blood, to be precise. The poor girl pricked her finger on a suit of armor. With a little help from me, of course. She was so busy solving the whodunit du jour that she didn’t even notice. I mean, seriously. It was just one Typic. The girl needs to get her priorities straight.”
“You’re telling me!” Herman blurted out. “She needs to see what’s right in front of her and just accept that we were meant to be together before she makes a big mistake—mph!”
With a glance, Belladonna glued the man’s mouth closed. It wasn’t real glue, of course, but she had no doubt that it felt like it was. If he was lucky then she would undo the spell before the end of this little chat. On the other hand, she might just leave it in place and let him stew in silence for a few days. It would be better for everyone all around.
Domovyk lowered his head, putting one paw over the end of his face protectively. He didn’t want the same thing to happen to him.
Belladonna rolled her shoulder. She was working with imbeciles. Thankfully, she had enough brain power to go around. “As I was saying. Why do you think I guided them toward finding that police baton by triggering my spell within Lucian Knight? Hmm? It was because I knew where it was, and I had that suit of armor spelled to prick her skin when she reached for it. That silly girl really needs to up her game. Some days, she doesn’t even make it a challenge. I needed a Kilorian’s blood to cast a spell and get past their protective magic, into the tunnels, to the Well of Essence, and now… I have it!”
“Why?” the man at the bottom asked.
Annoyed at being interrupted again, Belladonna shrugged. “It’s blood magic, honey. You wouldn’t understand.”
“But all you needed was her blood, right? Why couldn’t you just cut her tonight at the awards ceremony and take some?”
She sighed. Her dramatic moment was ruined. “I can’t take the blood, or the spell won’t work. It has to be given freely or lost by accident. I don’t make the rules, but when it comes to magic I have to follow them like everybody else. Now, can we all agree that none of the Kilorian sisters were going to give me a sample of their blood if I asked them pretty please with a cherry on top?”
All three of the faces looking back at her from the Scrying Circle nodded their heads.
“Good. Then at least we can agree on something. The magic I need will be hard to create, and it will take me some time, and to that end I will need help from each of you. The Kilorian sisters need to think that everything is business as usual, so to speak. Each of you will have a part to play. Do exactly what I tell you to, and soon the Kilorian sisters won’t know what hit them.”
Herman strained to say something from behind his closed mouth, but it only came out as “Mph mfruttle jum?”
The man in the bottom of the Circle coughed. “I agree.”
“You understood that?” Belladonna asked in surprise.
“Yes. He was asking what the next step is.”
“Oh. Oh, that.” Belladonna nodded seriously. “For you, the next step is to wait, and do as I ask. For me, I’m going to be spending a week, maybe two, preparing this spell.”
“So,” Domovyk asked, “you want we should keep Kilorian sisters busy all that time?”
“Exactly. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“And then?”
“Then…” Belladonna laughed again, balling the cloth and Addie Kilorian’s blood into her fist. “Then, we’re going underground.”
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Edited by Adam C-S
Formatted by L.E. Crase
Cover Design by Melody Simmons
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
K.J. Emrick
Kathrine Emrick writing as K.J. Emrick is the author of the popular Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series and the Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery series.
Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick dreamed of being an author for the majority of her life.
She never quite gave up on the idea of being a published author and at the age of 51, thanks to the self-publishing explosion, she finally realized her dream. Her maturity allows her to
bring a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.
She lives in beautiful South Australia with her family, including several animals. Kathrine can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal and like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.
Her goal is to regularly produce entertaining and noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.
To find out more please visit the Kathrine's website at kathrineemrick.com or her Amazon author page.
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S. Joseph Wells
S. Joseph Wells is a native of Northern New York, where his gift for writing was born and raised not far from the Canadian border. He spent several years there working in law enforcement before returning to his true passion…writing.
It seems his imagination has always run on a short leash, bringing him to places where fantasy and reality mix, places where the most interesting characters live and love and play and tell him their stories with a cheeky grin or a malevolent smirk.
When he isn’t completely losing track of time while walking down the twisted pathways of plotline and prose he is hanging out with his family, nurturing the imaginations of his three sons and repeating every Canadian joke he hears to his very patient and very beautiful wife (who happens to be from Canada).
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Free Book!!
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
More Info
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
