"I should have brought my new athame."
Both Greta and Olivia frowned, then Olivia laughed.
"Oh, that"s right. Coven witches still use their tools. You"ll find we"ve moved beyond that. We all still have an athame as a keepsake-a reminder of our past. As I"m sure you know, the tools aren"t actually required for casting."
"My mom used them," Savannah said.
"That"s because she was raised Coven. It takes a while to shake the old ways. I clung to my tools for years, like a security blanket. You"ll find we only use tools that are imperative for casting."
"The same goes for materials," Greta said. "We"ve done away with all the nonessentials. Gemstones with symbolic meanings. Incense for mood. Candles for atmospheric lighting. All they do is complicate and prolong a ceremony."
"Maybe," Savannah said. "But don"t you think they make it kinda. . . fun?"
Greta laughed. "Cabals don"t have a budget for fun."
"Modern witches have made witchcraft modern," Olivia said. "You"ll come to appreciate that, Savannah. It makes things much easier if we discard the baggage, both literal and figurative."
"And here we are," Greta said.
She stepped off the path, then pulled back a bush and waved us through. Savannah stepped into the clearing first. Through the bushes, I saw her walk forward, eyes on the towering trees. Then she stopped short and yelped. I dove through the bushes to find her standing over a p.r.o.ne figure. It was a boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen. I hurried forward, then saw the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"He"s sleeping," Savannah said. "Weird. He must live around here, huh? Guess we should find someplace else-"
"He"s supposed to be here," Greta said.
Savannah stared at the young man. He wore a faded denim jacket and jeans. He had light brown hair tied at the nape of his neck and the kind of soft, pretty face that markets so well to teenage girls.
"Who is he?" Savannah asked.
"Prince Charming," Greta said. "You"ve heard of Sleeping Beauty? Well, this is the girl-power version."
Savannah gave a half-laugh, turning away as her cheeks went scarlet. "No, really, who is he? A sorcerer?"
"He"s n.o.body. Just a human boy." Greta grabbed a small bag from the side of the clearing. "Now, as I"ve said, we skip all the ritual preliminaries, so you can just go right ahead and kneel beside him."
"What? Why?"
My gut went cold. "What"s going on here?"
"The protection ritual, as we said. Savannah, kneel beside the young man and put your hand on his chest."
Savannah hesitated, then started to kneel.
"No," I said. "Get up, Savannah." I turned to Greta and Olivia. "We aren"t doing anything until you tell us exactly what this ritual entails."
Greta turned her back on me.
"Hey-!" I said.
I was cut off after the first word, frozen in a binding spell. Savannah started scrambling to her feet, but Anton put his hands on her shoulders and pressed her down.
"Hey! Don"t-! Paige!" Savannah swung her gaze up to Olivia, who stood behind me and was undoubtedly casting the binding spell. "Let her go! Now!"
"Paige is a Coven witch," Greta said. "She doesn"t understand."
She pulled a thin-bladed knife from her bag and knelt on the other side of the boy.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Savannah asked.
"A top-level protection spell requires an exchange. A life protected for a life lost. You should know this, Savannah. Your mother did."
"No! My mother never-she wouldn"t-" Savannah looked at the boy, then wrenched her gaze away and struggled against Anton"s grip. "You can"t do this! I forbid it."
"You forbid forbid it?" Greta"s lips twisted. "Did you hear that, Mother? She"s giving orders already. Well, "princess," it"s your father who gives orders around here, and he told us to do whatever was necessary to keep his little girl safe. Anton, put her highness"s hand on the boy"s chest. Over the heart, please." it?" Greta"s lips twisted. "Did you hear that, Mother? She"s giving orders already. Well, "princess," it"s your father who gives orders around here, and he told us to do whatever was necessary to keep his little girl safe. Anton, put her highness"s hand on the boy"s chest. Over the heart, please."
Anton forced Savannah"s hand to the boy"s left breast. Greta moved the blade to the boy"s throat.
"No!" Savannah said. "You can"t do this! You can"t! He didn"t-he didn"t do anything."
"He"s a n.o.body, Savannah," Olivia said from behind me. "A runaway. The only meaning his life has is in protecting yours."
"Don"t bother, Mother," Greta said. "It"s obvious Eve coddled the girl. What do you think dark magic is, Savannah?"
"It"s not this. I know it isn"t. My mother never did this."
"Of course she did. She just never let you see it." Greta pressed the blade against the boy"s throat. "No!" Savannah struggled harder, forcing Anton to put all of his weight into holding her down.
"He"s a pretty boy, isn"t he?" Greta said. She put her left hand behind the boy"s head and lifted it. "Would you like to give him a kiss, Savannah? A last kiss? No? All right then."
She slashed the knife over the boy"s neck so fast that it seemed not to have left a mark. Then his throat split open. Anton shoved Savannah"s head forward. Blood jetted into her face and she started to scream.
Chapter 45.
Brotherly Love I won"t detail the next few minutes; I can"t, it broke my heart the first time, and even thinking about it is enough to bring me to tears. Savannah"s terror and rage were indescribable. All I could do was stand there and watch, trapped in a binding spell.
Twenty minutes later I was in the bedroom, tucking Savannah into bed. Ringed around us were Nast, Sandford, and Leah.
On hearing the screams, Leah had come running. In the chaos that ensued, no one had escaped Savannah"s blind fury. Leah had a bloodied nose and even I had a scratch across my upper arm. Eventually Shaw managed to sedate Savannah, and she"d collapsed where she stood. Then Sandford had carried her back to the house.
Once I"d finished getting Savannah into bed, Nast waved for everyone to leave the room. When I tried to stay, he motioned for Leah to remove me. I brushed her off and followed Nast and Sandford into the hall.
"I can"t believe they did that," Nast said.
"They say you gave them carte blanche," Sandford said.
"Not for this."
"It"s a common spell, Kris. Not too common, given the risk that comes with kidnapping and killing humans, but it"s common enough." risk that comes with kidnapping and killing humans, but it"s common enough."
"But to take her, unprepared, without a word of warning, of explanation. . ."
"I did warn you, Kris," Sandford said, lowering his voice so Leah couldn"t hear. "They expected Greta"s daughter to succeed her."
"You think they did this intentionally?"
"Duh, no, really?" I said, stepping forward. "Of course it was intentional! I can"t believe you placed Savannah in the hands of women who had every reason to want her gone. I"m surprised they didn"t kill her instead of the boy." I looked from Sandford to Nast. "Oh, I see. You figured they"d toe the party line because they"re witches. Too stupid, or too cowed, to plot against you."
"Are we done with her yet?" Sandford asked, jerking his chin at me.
Nast looked at me, but his gaze was unfocused, distracted. "Just get her out of here. I"ll decide what to do with her later. I haven"t time for this right now."
The moment Sandford asked his question, I"d started whispering the fog spell. I flicked my hand and a cloud of smoke burst from my fingertips, swirling up like a smoke screen. I raced into the bedroom, slammed the door, and cast a lock spell. Then I ran to the window and tugged on the frame. It was painted shut. I grabbed a chair and threw it through.
"Savannah!" I said, shaking her shoulder.
She gave only a low groan. I grasped her around the waist and pulled her off the bed. Then I looked out the window. We were on the second story. Maybe I could jump, but I could hardly throw Savannah out.
Leah pounded at the door. Sandford shouted orders, calling the others. I thought fast. Did I know any spells for getting Savannah down? No. Either I could find a way to lower her to the ground or I"d have to carry her. The first would take too long. I tried lifting her, but could barely get her off the floor.
The door flew open. Friesen burst through and grabbed Savannah from me. Leah followed at his heels.
"See, guys?" she said. "No rush, like I said. She wasn"t going anywhere."
"Take her to the secured room," Nast said.
Leah leaned over me and said in a mock-whisper, "Just a tip. Next time, run for the front door."
Friesen and Sandford laughed.
They put me in a secured bas.e.m.e.nt room, but bound and gagged me, leaving me incapable of spell-casting. Then Shaw shot a dose of sedative into my arm. I was unconscious before they left the room.
I don"t know how much time pa.s.sed, but when I awoke, I found myself staring into Cortez"s eyes. I struggled to sit upright, smiling behind my gag. The eyes blinked and I saw within them something so cold I shuddered and skittered backward. Somewhere in the room Gabriel Sandford laughed.
"Scared of her own shadow," Sandford said. "Just like a witch."
The man bending over me blinked and the illusion shattered. They were Cortez"s eyes, but older. Older and soulless. He moved back and I saw that the resemblance ended at the eyes. This man was in his early forties, shorter than Cortez, with a severe, patrician look that might have been handsome if he smiled, but with frown lines that suggested he never did.
"You"re certain?" he said. "About the relationship?"
"Certain?" Sandford said. "What do you want? A videotape of your brother banging her?"
The man turned a cold stare on Sandford, who straightened and cleared his throat.
"I can"t be absolutely certain, as she"s not likely to admit to it," Sandford said, his tone formal. "Yet all evidence points to that conclusion. Your brother is searching frantically."
"Frantically?"
"Very."
The other man"s brows lifted. "I don"t think I"ve ever seen Lucas frantic about anything. That seals the matter, then. Kill her."
"And put her head in his bed?"
The man"s lip curled ever so slightly. He only shook his head, as if Sandford"s quip wasn"t worthy of an answer. Sandford stiffened, then dropped his gaze.
"Would you prefer I sent a videotape, then?" Sandford said. "Of her death?"
"That should do."
"Degree of suffering?" Sandford asked.
"Average. Enough to hurt him, not enough to convince him it was overtly personal."
"I"ll send my best."
"No, you"ll send your most expendable. An independent contractor. That will be more cost-effective and will make it more difficult for Lucas to trace it back to you. You"ll involve no one else from the Nast organization in this matter, and you"ll eliminate the contractor once he"s finished the job. As soon as I leave, you"ll move her to a second location. From there you"ll arrange for the contractor to kidnap and kill her. You"ll then include this note with the videotape."
The man handed an envelope to Sandford. When Sandford looked down at it, the man went on, "The note simply makes it clear that her death is his fault, that had she not become involved with him, and his "crusade," she"d still be alive."
Sandford smiled. "A little guilt"s always good for the conscience."
"Now make sure this cannot be linked to you or the Nast Cabal. As for me, I was never here."
"That goes without saying. We have a deal, then?"
The man nodded.
"Just to, uh, be clear. . ." Sandford continued. "If I do this, I"m guaranteed a position in the Cortez Cabal, at a twenty-percent salary increase."
"That"s what I said, isn"t it?"
"I just wanted to be sure. I"m taking a big risk here. It would have been easier if I could have persuaded Kristof to get rid of her, but he"s still stalling, worried about that witch-brat of his. When he finds out this one disappeared on my watch, I"ll probably be out of a job, friend or not. So, of course, I want to be sure-"
The man"s gaze hardened. "Did I give you my word?"
"Y-yes, sir. Forgive me."
"I appreciate your having brought this. . . unique opportunity to my attention, Gabriel. You will be very well compensated for it." The man turned toward me, lips curving in a humorless smile. "I must say, it"s almost a shame she has to die. My father"s been worrying that Lucas will never provide him with grandsons. It"s hard to perpetuate a dynasty when the current heir shows no inclination to father future heirs. He"d be so pleased to hear that Lucas has finally found someone. Then he"d meet her. . . and probably drop dead of shock." The man shook his head. "A witch? Unbelievable, even for Lucas."
"Not just just a witch," Sandford said. "The head of the American Coven." a witch," Sandford said. "The head of the American Coven."