The Dutiful Witch (The Ward Witches) Read online

  “What if we do a dreaming connection like Justin did to Melanie when she was kidnapped?”

  “Those always work with the other person entering the air witch's body. Leave her a note on the bedside table, and if by some chance she dreams her way into you, you'll have a message for her. But I wouldn't count on it because I'd bet that the Dark Order caught how Melanie communicated with Justin and prevented that from happening again.”

  “You're right. Give me the pills.”

  While he waited for the pills to take effect, he wrote a short note to Fiona saying that he loved her and was in Washington to find her. Then, with both the pills and Brian's magic working on him, Seb fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Seb woke up with the alarm, surprised that he had, in fact, slept a full night.

  “Thanks for the help last night,” he said to Brian as he got dressed.

  “No problem. Did she visit you?”

  “No. But now that we're rested, we can fight stronger to rescue her.”

  “Exactly.”

  At eight thirty, they all convened in the hotel's dining room for breakfast. Since they had established that Fiona was taken between the magazine interview and the hotel, they didn't feel the need to ask the hotel any more questions than Melanie had the day before. The hotel was already on notice to call Melanie if any messages arrived for Fiona or if they knew anything else.

  Mark was going to drive around town, starting from the magazine office and circling outward around the city as best he could manage. Theresa and Martin would be with him, using their air magic in shifts to cast feelers for Fiona's presence. They took her hairbrush to amplify their ability to sense her. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything of Tim's to use to look for him.

  Skylar, Seb, and Brian would go to the magazine and re-interview the people there to see if they remembered anything like the direction Fiona and Tim were headed when they left. Then they would do a thorough search of the ways Fiona and Tim might have used to get back to the hotel.

  It didn't take Seb long to figure out that the people at the magazine didn't know anything else. They were in an office building, and all they knew was that Fiona and Tim went downstairs at around eleven.

  The security guard in the lobby couldn't help either. He apparently saw so many people that he couldn't recognize Fiona and Tim from their pictures. The security cameras all turned off from around ten thirty to noon. The guard couldn't explain it and tried to apologize, but the witches knew that the Dark Order was responsible. At least that meant they were probably on the right track.

  Seb walked the perimeter of the building, casting about with his air magic. He couldn't sense Fiona, Tim, or any blood magic users, but there had been so many people through the area that he wasn't surprised. The three then began a thorough search of the area, looking everywhere for signs of a struggle.

  Seb got lucky in an alleyway near the office building. He felt a small hint of Fiona's magic, and he followed it to a pile of garbage bags. Nestled under the stack was the emerald necklace he had given Fiona just a few days earlier. The clasp was broken, which must have been why it had been left behind. His heart clenched. She wouldn't have left this behind if she had a choice or a chance. He called the others over to see his find.

  “So they were probably taken from here,” Skylar surmised, looking around.

  Brian saw two water bottles that caught his attention in particular. He held them up to the light. “These have both got traces of rohypnol.”

  “Date rape drug. So someone they trusted enough to give them drinks drugged them,” Seb said, looking at the bottles “I can't get a reading off of them.”

  “But now we know where they were taken,” Skylar pointed out. “And if they were drugged like that, they wouldn't have made it far on foot, so they must have gone by car.”

  “Unfortunately, there's been a lot of cars through here over the last day,” Brian said glumly.

  “But it's still something,” Skylar insisted. She called Justin with the news, and he agreed with Skylar that something was better than nothing. He also brought up the question of why witches used rohypnol to incapacitate Fiona and Tim when they had magic at their disposal. Justin also said that as of the last update, Martin and Theresa hadn't found anything of note but were still looking.

  “What's our next step?” Brian asked.

  Seb pulled out a list on his phone. “I've got the suspected Dark Order hideouts here. Since the local Coven has refused to look at them, we're going to go take a peek. They're all farms, like the places we found back in Boston and Maine. Hopefully we'll be able to sense some blood magic coming from one of them, and hopefully they will have imprisoned our missing witches there.”

  “Good enough for me,” Skylar said, getting back in the car. “Give me your phone, and I'll be the GPS navigator.”

  “You realize it has voice commands,” Seb said lightly.

  “Yes, but I need to do something, so I'll be the interpreter for the GPS.”

  “Fair enough,” Brian said, getting in behind her.

  “Fair enough,” Seb agreed, passing over his phone.

  Justin had put the list in an order that would reduce driving time as much as possible, so Skylar cued up the first address and set the GPS to get them there.

  Across town, Fiona woke up in another different location. At least she was still wearing the white robe, so someone hadn't changed her again. This room was also a nicely decorated prison. There was no window, and the room had a farmhouse appeal.

  That idea made Fiona sit up straight, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. If this was, indeed, a farmhouse, that meant they were likely in another Dark Order property. She had read the reports on the places that Justin's team had shut down as sites of ritual sacrifice. If she was in another one of those sites, that couldn't mean anything good. Hopefully, Skylar was still safe in Boston, but that didn't mean that Redman wasn't going to try to get her to participate in a sacrifice anyway. After all, Tim was here.

  She was careful not to make any noise, even try the certainly locked door, but Redman must have known she was awake anyway. The key turned in the lock to admit Eric.

  “Good to see you're awake.”

  “Where are we?”

  “You know I can't tell you anything until we've proven that you're one of us. My witches were able to sense that of all the luck, Skylar is here in D.C. Apparently the bastard who has the nerve to call himself your husband brought her to help rescue you. He clearly doesn't understand that you're better off here with me than you'd ever be with him.” How untrue that was. But Fiona's heart sank at the news that Skylar was in D.C. She was glad that Seb had come, but unhappy that by coming, he'd put himself and Skylar in danger. But she was certainly touched that her new family would take the risk that came with coming straight to the lion's den for her. It meant a lot.

  Fiona was realistic, though, and she knew that if she had rescuers on the way that she needed to do whatever was in her power to facilitate them. For now, that meant that she needed to find out where she was in case she could contact them, she needed to keep herself as safe as possible, and she needed her captors to think that she was on their side so they might let down their guard.

  “Eric, I'm so hungry. Do you think I could get something to eat?”

  “Oh of course. How neglectful of me.” He kissed her cheek, and Fiona forced herself to smile. “Unfortunately, your parents are unavailable since they're setting up the sacrifice area. I'll send Linda up with something for you to eat.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It's almost time for me to contact Eusebius again so I can tell him how to break your bond. Then I need to go take care of some things at the main house, where we were earlier. But don't worry, my dear, I'll be back this evening to make our relationship final. You'll be on my mind all day until I can come back and make you mine. I'll bring you home in your full glory.”

  “Then I'll see you this evening.”

  She hoped despe
rately that Seb and Skylar would be safe. She would likely need them to help her get out, but she would rather stay Eric's prisoner than have either one of them in any danger.

  A woman who looked to be about her parents' age came in with a tray. “Hello, Allegra, I'm Linda.”

  “It's good to meet you. Whatever you've got there smells great.”

  “Thank you. I made it myself, so Eric said that I could bring it up to my future queen.”

  “Are you Linda Crowley?” Fiona asked, naming Skylar's aunt.

  “Yes I am. How did you know?”

  “I've heard Skylar mention you.”

  “Ah, that bitch. I hear that we'll be sacrificing her tonight as part of your coronation, and her brother Selby and I couldn't be happier. She's been a thorn in our side since she was born. She had her powers at birth, and Selby and I have had to harvest ours. But I'm sorry, that's enough of my family drama. You must be starving. I've got chicken noodle soup and fresh bread.”

  “Thanks.”

  Linda left, and Fiona dug into the food. She took a look with her water magic, and she didn't detect any kind of drug, so she needed to take care of her physical needs and eat as much as she could. Cooking must run in Skylar's family more than kindness did because the food was great. Though she was so hungry that likely anything would have been delicious. She also needed to keep her strength up for later. She had a strong feeling that something big was going down tonight, and she needed to be on top of her game to make sure that it all ended up in her favor. So after eating, she did some Pilates exercises to loosen her muscles and to pass the time.

  Seb pulled the car over to a rest stop around one forty five. Redman said he'd be in contact twenty four hours after their last talk, so it made sense to get off the road before that happened. The three of them sat down at a picnic table, and Seb took care to link to Skylar and Brian's mind in such a way that if Redman wasn't looking he wouldn't be able to sense their presence. But hopefully Skylar and Brian would be able to listen in on his conversation with Redman.

  No one said anything as they waited, just picking at the picnic they had bought back in town. It wasn't long after two when Seb felt Redman enter his mind again. He saw Skylar and Brian tense and was confident that they could hear. But after making sure of that, he turned all of his attention to the unwanted intrusion.

  “Hello again, Eusebius.”

  “Hello Redman. Do you still have my wife?”

  “Of course I do. She's doing very well, and she's getting ready for her coronation tonight.”

  Seb experienced a moment of panic when he thought that Redman might be what Fiona wanted. But he wised up soon and remembered that Fiona loved him and wouldn't be excited about leaving him. If she was smart, she was biding her time until they could make good her escape. If Seb was smart, he'd do the same thing.

  “Where is she?”

  “You don't think I'm stupid enough to tell you that, now do you?”

  “It was worth a try. What do you want?”

  “In order for me to cement our relationship tonight, you have to break your relationship with her.”

  “I've never heard of a way to do that.”

  “You wouldn't have. It's a blood magic spell to do that. Do you have a pen to take down the instructions?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “What you're going to do is you are going to find a tree and dig until you can see a root. Cut a gash into the root, then let three drops of your blood fall into the cut. Think of Allegra while you do and repeat the phrase 'I free you, Allegra' three times, one as each drop of blood falls. Pile the ground back over the root, and you'll feel the bond break within you. Then go back to Boston where you belong.”

  “I understand.”

  “And are you going to do it?”

  “I'll do whatever needs to be done to keep both Allegra and my family safe.” He'd never sever the bond, though. The only way to keep Fiona and his family safe was to rescue her, and that's what he'd do.

  “I'm glad to hear it. I will await the news of her freedom as I take care of a few other things. Goodbye, Eusebius.”

  “Goodbye.”

  Seb reeled as he recovered, but it wasn't as bad as it was the first time.

  “Are you alright?” Brian asked.

  “I'll be fine.”

  “I tried to listen for background noises that would tell us where he was,” Skylar said solemnly, “But all I could hear was his voice.”

  “It wasn't like a phone conversation,” Brian added, “and he was all there was.”

  “I had expected as much.”

  “What now?” Brian asked, gathering up their lunch trash. They hadn't eaten all of it, but no one had any appetite anymore.

  “We get right back in the car and keep looking. There's been no sign of Dark Order activity yet, but I'm still hopeful that we'll find her before she can get hurt.”

  They all got back in the car and Skylar punched in the address for the next location.

  Three hours later, they drove by one of the locations and felt something different. They didn't even have to get all that close to the farmhouse to feel the wrongness.

  “Am I the only one who felt that?” Skylar asked, pale-faced.

  “No, you're not,” Brian confirmed.

  “Let's hide the car and get closer on foot,” Seb said, parking the car in the brush while Skylar called to update Justin. He promised to pass the message along to the other agents in Washington, but they weren't going to wait for them to assess the situation.

  He passed out walkies, and they checked to make sure they were working. Then they disappeared into the trees to approach the side of the house that was nearly in the tree line. Each of the witches knew that this was a dangerous situation and that they'd need their heads and luck about them.

  If the pattern held, the sacrifice room would be in the barn's basement. Seb kept his magic open to see if he could sense his wife. He didn't, but he expected as much. The Dark Order would have fixed their security problems and prevented him from finding her that easily. But he'd find her by goodness, and Redman would pay.

  “Where to first?” Skylar whispered.

  “Most of them will probably be in the house. In previous stings, they like to do the sacrifices at midnight. So we'll search there first and clear it before we move on to the main house. We don't have enough people to split up and there's only one entrance, so we're going in together,” Seb said, his eyes not leaving the barn.

  “I'm going in first,” Brian said. “Coven Protection is my job, and I've got more experience with my gun than either one of you do.”

  “Alright,” Seb said. He could tell Brian wasn't going to budge. He was close to Tim, and Brian would want his bite at the rescue.

  They stayed in the tree cover for as long as possible then crouched as they approached the door. Brian swung it in and pushed forward. Seb and Skylar were right behind him.

  But when they all got in, Brian was stunned and fell to the ground. About ten people were facing them, all dressed in black or white robes. They were clearly anticipating the rescue attempt and were ready for them.

  “Welcome,” a tall woman in a black robe said, opening her arms wide. “Drop your weapons.” Considering that five of the ten people in front of them were holding firearms pointed at Seb, Skylar, and Brian on the floor, Seb and Skylar slowly put their pistols down. “Don't even think about using your magic.”

  “Hello, Linda,” Skylar snarled. “It's been a long time.”

  Seb glanced over at her. Skylar's aunt had made her life miserable for as long as she could, and she was implicated as a leader in witch trafficking for sacrifices. As he watched Skylar, her face went even more white.

  “I'm here too, Little Sister,” a man who looked a lot like Skylar said. He was also dressed in a black robe.

  “Selby.”

  “But you see, we're both even better than you remember us,” Selby said. “You remember us as weaklings, while you were the only one
with magic. But thanks to Redman, we have magic too, and our magic isn't hampered by physical limitations like yours. As long as we have more blood, we can do whatever we want to do. We have him,” and Skylar's brother pointed to the side where Tim was bound and gagged, “and him,” indicating Brian on the ground, still unconscious while two white-gowned men tied him up, “and we will use them to strengthen our magic.”

  Seb quickly assessed the situation. They were out-gunned, both with firearms and magic. But Seb and Skylar had the element of surprise. While Skylar was talking to her relatives, he took measure of the people in front of them. The five white-robed people who were holding guns were all non-witches, and the five in black robes were witches. But they must not have had their blood magic dose in a while because they weren't reading as strong as blood witches could be with a recent sacrifice. That was good for him and Skylar.

  “We were so glad you came,” Seb heard Linda say vaguely while he tried to piece together what he was going to do. “Allegra will be the one to do your sacrifice, and that will pave the way for her coronation as our queen. She's going to be an excellent Queen of the Dark Order, you'll see. Well actually you won't, because you'll finally be dead. Allegra will get the majority of your magic, and Selby and I will get some of it as well. I've been waiting for this day for your entire life.”

  “Why?” Skylar asked, and Seb wasn't sure if she was stalling to give him time or if she was really wondering. He thought it was probably the latter.

  “You bitch. You pretend you don't know,” Selby said, slapping his sister. Seb flinched, but knew he couldn't do anything. Yet. “You had everything growing up. You were Mom's favorite, and you had a bright future as a powerful fire witch.”