Chapter 25

Atleast the damage from the latest attack is limited to my property. My neighborsare reasonable, but two attacks in as many days a bit much to have to swallow. Hank,Jose, and Ike are too injured to Shift back to human form. Az tries to set up atriage station, but the magic she’s absorbed has her too wired to be of anyuse.

“Passwhat you have around,” I instruct her. If Shifters are made of magic, as shesays, then an influx must do something for the healing process. “To the woundedfirst and then to the wards if you can.”

Sheprances around the yard, stops at each Shifter, and lays her hand on a furryhead like a queen bestowing an honor. She murmurs to them, but I can’t pick upthe words. When she reaches Tommy, she spends twice as long with her hand onhis unmoving form. By the time she works her way back to me, some of the frenziedlight in her eyes has dimmed and her steps aren’t quite as bouncy.

“Youwant some?” She pops up on her toes. Warm hands land on my hips when shewobbles. Her grin is just this side of manic. “Plenty more to share.”

Herlips are too close. Too inviting. I know the taste and feel of them. It’s notthe time or the place, but I’m not made of stone. One kiss won’t be enough. Selfishbastard that I am, I want more than the simple exchange she’s offering, and Iwant it to be more than just a convenient manner of transferring energy.

Iplace a finger across her lips, careful to avoid her busted nose, before shecan move any closer. “The next time my lips are on yours, Princess, it’s goingto be because it’s something we both want. And it’s damn sure going to mean morethan a magic transfer.”

Azblinks, nods. Drops back so that her heels are on the ground. As soon as myhand returns to my side, she launches herself at me. I automatically wrap anarm around her waist to keep her from her from falling on her ass. She curls anarm around my neck and crashes her lips to mine.

Herlips are warmer than I remember. Softer. Beneath the bitter tang of blood, Ican taste peppermint lipgloss and a hint of coffee. She makes no move to deepenthe kiss, and I don’t push. This is good. Slow. No magic flows between us – atleast not the sort that witches use. Her fingers rake through the short hair onthe back of my head before brushing across the shell of my ear.

Afteran eternity, and far too soon, she lifts her head and presses her lips to thetip of my nose. “It means that I am exceedingly fond of you, and I’m very, glad you’re all right. If you tellme you didn’t want that, then your pants are on fire.”

She’son her feet and back in the middle of the Shifter huddle before I can respond. Damnedkiss-and-run void. It’s just as well. I’m not entirely sure what I would havesaid.

Markand Oscar set up guard positions on either side of the driveway. Neither is anyposition to do any heavy fighting, but they’re all we have at the moment. Ifollow her to the driveway.

“Who were you on the phone with earlier, Az?”

“MommaFox. She’s on her way. She’s going to have Steve pick the kids up from schooland bring them home. Paul is going tomeet Steve at the school. Extra protection and all.”

“Good.”For a moment, I’d feared she’d called Greer. He has to be notified of theincident, but I need to get a handle on the situation before we bring him in.

Josecarries Az’s purse to her side and then sits behind her facing the street. Guardingher even though he has more blood on him than in him. Good man.

“Thoughtyou’d think so,” Az says. She rips a strip off the hem of her skirt and soaksit with water from one of the bottles in her purse. She gently cleans the worstof the blood off Hank’s broken arm. She keeps a hand on the back of his neck. Theair shimmers as she transfers more magic to our injured medic. Her prioritiesare correct. We need him to heal first so he can heal the others.

“As soon as you’re less furry, Hank, you aregoing to teach me Shifter first aid. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to give you aTylenol or a dose of catnip,” she says.

Itrust my Shifters with her life, but a wounded animal is unpredictable. Who’sto say that one won’t accidentally nip her if she approaches too fast ortouches a wound wrong? Triage means being near the front lines of a battle. That’stoo close for my peace of mind.

“Oh,stop growling at me, Ricky,” she chides without looking away from Hank’s face. “Much as you like to pretend I’m a princess,you can’t play the evil queen and lock me away from the world. If you want tokeep me out of the bloody stuff, then I can understand that. Appreciate it,even. My nose hurts.”

Damn.It’s probably broken. I need to look at her head, too. Fugly pounded it like a tetherball. “Let mesee your nose, Az.”

Shebats away my hands. “

. I’ll live.And quit distracting me by being sweet. You can’t stop me from being part ofthe cleanup crew. I’ll help where I can when I can. However I can.”

Fine.At least this way she’ll be protected by Hank and Jose. “How is Tommy?”

Sheglances down at the wolf near her knees. “Still out. He’s breathing. Slow andsteady. The bleeding has stopped. I don’t know what else to do for him.”

Hankpaws at the half-full water bottle. Az holds up her blood-stained rag. Hankshakes his head and nudges the bottle again. Az holds the bottle over Tommy’s face.Hank gives her a toothy cat smile.

“It’son you if he chokes, Hank,” she mutters. She splashes water across Tommy’sface. His eyes don’t open, but he wriggles. Opens his mouth. Az dumps the restof the water in Tommy’s open maw. He swallows and licks his mouth clean.

“Ricky,could you get Hank’s kit? I think he and I could work out a system until he’sready to Shift.”

Yeahright. Like I’m leaving her out here with the wounded when the rest of Olivet’snot-Shifters could appear at any moment. I send Mark and Oscar back inside toretrieve supplies. Not only do we need Hank’s kit, but we need rags and water. There’sonly so much of her skirt Az can rip up before I start growling for an entirelydifferent reason.

Anolder luxury SUV races up the street and squeals to a stop near my driveway. Sally,stiff with indignation and face pinched with anger, slams her door and stompsup the sidewalk. Our battered wards merely slow her down. They aren’t reallydesigned to keep measly witches out, either. That’s something we’re going torectify as soon as possible.

I move to meet her halfway. There’s no way in hell she’s getting close tomy wounded pack. Az pops to her feet and stands over Tommy like an avengingangel.

“You!You perfidious bitch!” Sally screeches, bony finger pointed at Az.

Az’sbrow furrows. She steps over Tommy to reach my side. Hank hisses at Sally butdoesn’t leave Tommy.

“Me?What did I do?”

“Twoof my witches are dead! Killed by Shifters!”

Saywhat? That’s not an accusation against Az. That’s an accusation against me. Istop directly in Sally’s path. “My people haven’t laid a finger on yourwitches, Sally.”

“They’remissing. Witnesses said something big and hairy carried them away.” Sallyplants her hands on her hips. She glares daggers at Az but makes no attempt toget any closer.

“Mypeople can be accounted for at times, Sally,” I assure her. “If you continue to slander the pack, I’ll have totake action.”

“Holdon here,” Az interrupts. “What does any of this have to do with ?”

“You’rethe Mage’s precious daughter. I didn’t think anything about it during thathorrible business with Claire, but this! This is just terrible! I should haveseen it coming!”

Azshrugs her shoulders and turns to me. I don’t have any answers for her. I can’tfollow Sally’s logic, and I don’t have the patience to even try. I shrug back.

“Thepoint, Sally?” I ask.

“TheMage of New Orleans sent her here to buddy up with you, and get you to take outmy coven. We’re the most powerful in the area. Once we’re out of the way, hecan send his people in to take over. It’s not enough that we’ve been loyal tohim for decades. He wants the power!”

“That’sinsane,” Az laughs. Classic pot and kettle accusation.

“Itis not!” Sally protests, voice rising with her hysteria. “You just watch, Rick.As soon as the Mage gets what he wants, he’ll turn his back on you. Your newlittle pet will stab you right between your furry shoulders. She’s the daughterof a Mage, after all.”

Azholds up a hand. Her face is scrunched up, and her nose has started bleedingagain. There is more lucidity in her eyes than there has been since her time asa hostage. “Wait a minute. You seriously think that my father sent me here tocozy up to the pack so that they could destroy your coven. And then once my fatherhas set up a coven he controls up in place of yours, I’m going to kill a packof Shifters. By myself.”

“Yes!’Sally gestures at the decimated yard behind us. “Look at what you’ve alreadydone! It’s started.”

Azsighs. She swipes at her nose with the back of her hand. “And you’ve come tothis conclusion because I’m the daughter of the Mage of New Orleans.”

“Yes!”

Sally’sgoing to be a problem. I don’t know how many people she’s told about Az. If shestarts running her mouth around Greer or to anyone else with a beef against thepack, we’re in for a boatload of trouble. She’s not the most reliable source ofinformation, but there are always fools who believe anything they hear.

Icould kill her. She’s stepped onto pack property shortly after an attack. Forall I know, she’s working with Olivet. I could sell Greer on it. No one wouldinvestigate her murder. Or… I arch an eyebrow at Az.

“No.I am not draining her,” Az states, crossing her arms resolutely. “I’d rathertake on another not-Shifter than a bitchy hag.”

Okay.Looks like we’re back to plan A. I won’t even have to Shift to do the deed. Sally’seyes grow wide when I take a step toward her. She stretches her curled fingerstoward Az. “Hiding behind your pet mongrel? Let me see what the daughter of thegreat Mage can do!” she taunts.

Azshrugs again. “If that’s what you want.” Before I can grab her to keep her outof Sally’s grasp, Az slams her fist into Sally’s bony face. Sally sways butremains on her feet.

“Ow!

, sweet mother of a two-horned...,”Az cries, cradling her hand against her chest.

“Letme see that.” I reach for her hand. She curls around the injury. Fortunately,familiar footsteps approach us from the rear.

“Youcan’t fold your fingers over your thumb, Az,” Greta advises. She holds up Az’shand and examines the swollen, red digits. “We’ll practice when the handheals.”

Gretasets Az’s hand onto my waiting palm. She sizes up Sally and pulls back herright arm. Greta’s punch drops Sally to the ground. Lights out for the witch. “Seehow mine was different?”

Azmakes a fist with her left hand and holds it up for inspection. Greta makes afew corrections before nodding in approval. Az studies her hand as ifmemorizing the finger positions. “Thanks, Greta.”

Gretabrushes the hair out of Az’s eyes. MommaFox at work. Who knew she was hiding a gooey, maternal center beneath all that blusterand leather? “Anytime, kiddo.” She tiltsAz’s head back to look over her nose. “We’ll have to straighten that out soon. Can’tbelieve it hasn’t been done already.” Over Az’s shoulder, she shoots me a mild,chastising glare.

“We’vebeen a little busy here, Greta,” I remind my beta.

“Andwe’re not done, yet,” Az says. “Can one of you scoop up everything that was inthe boxes Rick dropped and bring it here? It’s all still by the car.”

Gretastrides off to fetch the box. The fingers on my palm twitch. I gently bringthem up to eye-level. They look painful, but they aren’t broken. It’s nothingan ice pack won’t fix.

“What’reyou going to do, Az?”

“Shecan’t remember that I’m the Mage’s daughter. She’s going to tell the wrongperson and it’ll be a nightmare.”

“Ican kill her.”

“Sureyou can. ‘Course you can. Never said you couldn’t.” She rolls her eyes at me. “That’sa complication we don’t need. Besides, Olivet has commandeered three of herwitches. That’s as good a lead as any we’ve gotten. It could be an importantpart of the pattern.”

“So,back to my question, then. What are you going to do?”

Azlifts her hand out of my grasp. She gingerly kneels next to Sally’s prone body.“Actually, I can’t do anything. I need you to do it.”

“Dowhat?” I’m really tired of having to ask that question. If I have to ask itagain, Az will not like my method of inquisition.

“Eraseher memory.” Her hands flutter at her side. “Of me. Just of me. Not ofeverything. It’ll be similar to what Olivet did to Greer. Without the loop, ofcourse. That’s an unnecessary step. The loop’s only a backup, and only someonewith… confidence… issues needs a backup.” She blinks at me. “You don’t havethose kinds of issues, do you Rick?”

“I’venever wiped someone’s memory before.” And I’m not entirely sure that’s a step Iwant to take. Then again, how is it much different than killing Sally in coldblood? Either option runs the risk of biting me in the ass. This is just themore reversible option.

“I’lltalk you through it.” She smiles at Greta when the other woman carefully setsboth boxes between Az and me.

“Doyou need me?” Greta’s face is turned towards me but her eyes dart over to Az.

“No.Check on the others. See if Tommy is awake,” I instruct.

Azshuffles away from the box. Under her guidance, I mix together three differentherbs and rub them into Sally’s forehead. With a soft-leaded silver pencil fromthe box I write Astraea Vardan onto the saggy skin below Sally’s collarbone.The words disappear into her skin.

“Thename directs the spell. Sally will only forget anything that has to do withAstraea Vardan. Names have power,” Az explains. “Olivet likely had you touchsomething that had his name on it when he attempted to wipe your memory.”

“Hepassed around a fake plastic ID card.” And now I understand why he allowed meto touch it when he was so obviously Shifter-phobic.

“Bingo.”Az frowns and twines the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of Sally’sright hand. “I would like to state that I am, for the record, doing this underprotest.”

“Noted.”

“Ijust need to drain her enough so that she can’t read me again when she wakesup. Take the edge off the power.” Az’s lips thin. Her eyelids flutter shut. Theblood drains from her cheeks. “Oh, tell me Sally isn’t a seer.”

“Notthat I’m aware of, but then I thought all witches were a little clairvoyant.”

Az’seyes open long enough for her to scowl at me. “That’s like saying that all Shiftersare a little homicidal. Oh, wait, they are.” Her scowl softens into a smile. “Nevermind.”

“Payattention, Princess.”

Agiggle slips out from between her lips. “Light the blue incense cone. Make sureshe gets a good dose. Then blow out the cone and trace the letters of my namewith the cone.” Another giggle. “

” she sings.

It’sa creepy, familiar song. “You’ve said that before. On the night we met.”

Shedrops Sally’s hand as if were made of hot coals. “

,” she curses, wiping her hand on her dirty dress. “Hurry. Finish the ritual. I need distance. Space.Space to breathe and think and there are too many swirls in my head. Such apretty rainbow, but tie-dye was never my thing.”

Oncethe ritual is complete, I dump the supplies back in the box. Sally starts tostir, but I ignore her. I clamp my hands on Az’s shoulders. The blue eyes thatstare at me are glazed with madness.

“Keepit together, Princess. I need you.”

“Sucha sweet wolf,” she coos.

“Yousaid Claire was a seer.”

Shepresses a hand against her temple. “Black magic in that one. Dark and hateful. Twisted.Misguided. But there was more than a spark of the future in her. Olivet snuffedit out. Good on him.”

“Afteryou drained her, you wrote four pages of notes for me. Do you think there isanything useful in those notes?”

Azpats my cheek. “Everything is useful, silly Ricky. You just have to know how tolook at it.”

Perfect.“So we’ll look at the notes later and figure out what you picked up fromClaire.”

“Ofcourse. Whatever you say, Ricky.” She nods emphatically. “But I hope you canread my handwriting because right now everything is super swirly.”

Yeah.Perfect.