Chapter 32

Oneblock from the Patriarch’s mansion, a dark green minivan careens around acorner and plows into the rear of my truck. The fucking minivan hits the bumperat just the right damn angle to send the truck spinning out of control. Withthe parked cars, mailboxes, and thick-trunked trees lining the street, it’sonly a matter of time before we hit something and come to a sudden halt.

“Down!”I unlatch my seatbelt and drag Az under me. The delicate bones of her face,especially her still-healing nose, are no match for an airbag.

Thesickening crunch of metal hitting metal makes my ears ring. The driver’s sideairbag punches me in the hip. The passenger airbag slams into my shoulder. There’llbe bruises later, but nothing is broken.

Azpushes against my chest. It takes me a moment to sit fully upright. Okay, sothe shoulder maybe more than just a little bruised. I quickly run both handsacross her cheeks and ribs, but she doesn’t appear to be injured.

“Areyou okay?” I ask. Just because there are no visible injuries doesn’t mean thereisn’t internal damage. “Did I crush you?”

“AmI okay? Am okay?” Her voice hits ahigher octave. Hysteria. Fright brought on by the accident? Delayed reaction toseeing the Dowager Matriarch’s body?

“Areyou hurt, Az?”

“Ofcourse I’m not hurt.” Her jaw clenches and her nostrils flare. One bony fingerjabs me in the sternum. “Some crazy, over-protective threw himself over me like a lead blanket!”

“UngratefulPrincess.”

“IdiotCompulsive Hero.”

Trafficaccidents in Houston are to be expected given the volume on the roads, but thisdoesn’t feel like an accident. The minivan that hit us is only a few hundredfeet away. All the doors are open. There’s not a soul in sight.

Wewere deliberately hit. No coincidence that it happened so close to thePatriarch’s house, either. “Do you have your gun?”

Azextracts the Kahr P380 from her purse. I take from her and check the magazinebefore handing it back. “Seven shots. Use them well.”

“What’sgoing on, Rick? Do you need me to call anyone?”

WaltherPPK ready, I open the door and set one foot on the road. Az scrambles acrossthe bench seat to follow me out of the truck. “Call Greta. Leave the line open and yourphone on the seat. She’ll have one of the boys track my phone.”

Sixwomen, dressed in matching blue scrub sets, materialize from behind trees andcars to form a line in front of the minivan. The air around them crackles andsmells like burnt plastic. Witches. Of course.

Azinhales sharply. “Krista Hennessy and Jessica Castillo,” she murmurs, pointingat two of the witches. “Found ‘em.”

“Staybehind me. If any get by, shoot to kill,” I instruct her as we move toward therear of my truck. The bumper’s dented and a taillight is busted, but it’s notas bad as I expected. I don’t want to think about the front of my truck,though. “Afraid I’m going to have to file a claim with your insurance company,ladies.”

Noverbal response. They blink in unison and take a step forward. It’s creepy asfuck. Their faces have that glazed-over look I usually associate with drugusers or those under a vampire’s thrall.

“He’scontrolling them,” Az says from beside me. Beside me. Not behind me asinstructed. No surprise there. “I figured he was controlling the not-Shifters,but I didn’t think he could control his witches. I might actually be impressed.”

“Canyou break the control?”

“Ifthey get close enough, I’ll interrupt the magic.”

“Howclose do they need to get?”

Sheshrugs. “Depends on what he’s using.”

Idoubt they’ll politely stand by while she licks them to check the magic. Waitingfor Az to do her voodoo isn’t an option, then. If they’re as loyal as KookyClaire, they’re not likely to surrender easily if the mind control is broken. Sixwitches versus the two of us. Not bad odds. A bullet through the head will killa witch whether she’s under mind-control or not. There’s no evidence thatOlivet is a necromancer.

Sixarms lift toward the sky. The air grows thick like fog. Heavy. My arm jerks upand my finger squeezes the trigger. A neat hole mars the forehead of a short,plump witch. She falls, but the other witches don’t falter.

Ablast of scorching magic melts my rear tire. I retreat a step when it feelslike my jeans are going to catch fire. Az skirts around me to face the witchline. I hook a finger through her belt loop to drag her back. She digs in herheels. I could force her, but doing so would hurt her. Hurting her could leaveher vulnerable to the witches.

“Thistime you stay behind me,” she says, wriggling until I have to let go of herjeans.

“Nota chance in hell, Princess.”

Theglare she shoots over her shoulder is as hot as the magic fireball. “Youprotected me from the big, bad airbag because you can take the hit. Which oneof us is more likely to survive a magic whammy?”

UsingAz as a shield doesn’t feel right, but she has a point. Stupid Princess withher stupid void logic. “If they kill you, I’m going to be pissed as hell.”

“Noted.”She fidgets, rolls her shoulders. “Why aren’t they attacking again?”

Goodquestion. Their arms are extended and the atmosphere around them is teemingwith latent magic. They look like their waiting. Waiting for what?

“CanOlivet see what they see?”

“Ofcourse. It’s not very intimidating if they’re constantly walking into walls, isit?”

“Hewants to know what you can do. This is a test. Olivet is waiting for you toattack.”

Withoutwarning, Az quickly, unflinchingly pops off a shot. The witch between Jessicaand Krista falls. Fresh blood joins the pool spreading around the witches’feet. Az leans a hip against the side of the truck. The pose is deceptive. Shemay look relaxed, but I can see the tension in her muscles.

“It’snot worth my time, Mr. Olivet,” she says, head cocked and ankles crossed. “I’mnot wasting an ounce of power on your flunkies. If you want to see what I cando, we’re going to do it face-to-face.”

Isshe trying to get herself killed? I don’t even realize I’m growling until shereaches back to pat my chest. I grab her hand and fold my free one over it. Now,if I need to, I can pull her behind me.

“Ithought we were beyond formalities, Astraea,” the chorus of witches says.

Freakyas fuck.

“Thatwas before you kidnapped a child. Tell me where Daniel is, and I’ll give you apersonal demonstration.”

Thewitches shake their heads. “I cannot do that.” Damned if they don’t actuallysound regretful.

“Thenthis is as close as we’re going to get.” The magic builds. Laughter spills fromAz’s lips. I squeeze her hand in warning, but she just laughs louder. “Is thatsupposed to be a threat, ? Youwon’t kill me. You can’t kill me. It’s not part of the master plan. Oh, I’msorry, part of your master’s plan.”

Onmy hip, my phone buzzes. I release Az’s hand just long enough to check thetext. Greta’s ETA is five minutes. Greer’s is mere seconds. Great. Now, if weget the witches to attack while Greer is watching, then I won’t have to fillout quite so much paperwork when this over. Self-defense requires fewer formsthan any other type of shooting.

Thewitches laugh mockingly. “So impatient to meet my master, Starshine?”

Azreels as if slapped. The arm holding her gun falls to her side. “Wh-what didyou call me?”

Thelaughter swells. A searing blast of magic rolls across the road. The pavementbetween Az and the witches bubbles, but by the time the magic reaches us it’snothing more than a warm breeze. A familiar blue sedan screeches to a stop nearthe wrecked minivan. Greer and one of his officers exit the sedan buy stayhunched behind the open doors.

Aspark of bright red magic shoots from the line of witches to take out half ofthe sedan’s hood. Okay. Perfect. They’ve shown that they’re on the offensive sonow I can take them out without drowning in bureaucracy afterwards.

Isquash a still-stunned Az against the side of the truck while aiming my Waltherat the witches. Their movements are sloppier than before. Jessica and aredheaded, freckled witch turn to focus on Greer while Krista and a tall,Hispanic witch continue to fire invisible fireballs at Az and me. Olivet’slosing his concentration.

Thefirst two rounds I fire at the witches disintegrate in midair. My third shothits its target but does little damage to the Hispanic witch’s round face. Theduo moves a step closer. The magic that hits me is warmer than before. The hairon my arms feels singed and the metal of my gun is nearly too hot to hold. Thenext fireball that comes at us is blue and turns the round I fire into a puddleof liquid metal. A quick spark of purple energy slams into us. Az winces but Idon’t feel anything from it.

“Gottatime it right,” Az mutters, finally showing signs of life. “Can’t shoot into afireball. Wait for the lull.”

Ifollow her advice. The fireball-happywitch goes down after she melts my other rear tire. Az nudges me aside andraises her gun. Krista never gets a chance to retaliate.

Theroad still sounds like a warzone. Greer and his officer aren’t having much luckwith their witches. Though my instinct is to rush in to assist them, I glancedown at an ashen, wide-eyed Az.

“Areyou okay?”

Sheshakes her head to clear it. Faint color brushes across her cheeks, but thatstunned look remains in her eyes. “Yeah. I’m good.”

She’sa liar, but there’s no time to debate the topic. I have to pray that she’s okayenough to be my back up. “Ready to take down the last two?”

“Isuppose keeping one alive for questioning is out of the question.”

“Nopromises.” Even if we do manage to keep one alive, chances are Olivet will justkill her before the interrogation starts.

Ilead the way across the street, around the cooling bodies of dead witches, towhere Jessica and the other witch have the two cops cornered between the sideof the sedan and a busted brick mailbox. At my signal, Az skirts the ruined front endof the car to come up behind the cops. She’ll protect them from the magic whileI take out the witches.

Abullet through the brainstem takes care of the redheaded witch. Jessica is theonly one left. Silence settles like a shroud. Az hurdles over the two cops toblock Jessica’s body with her own. My heart leaps to my throat. I don’t trustGreer or his lackey not to accidentally put a round in my void. The youngofficer looks awfully shaken.

“No!No, wait!” She starts to grab Jessica’s shoulders but stops just shy of makingcontact. “I need answers. Are you still there, Joel?”

Jessicasways drunkenly. She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Wha’s? Wha’s?” Her eyesfix on Az’s face. Red, lush lips curl back in a snarl. “You! You took him awayfrom me!”

“Ibroke his mind control,” Az says. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Bitch!”

Azscowls and presses the barrel of her gun against Jessica’s forehead. “Youcalled me something earlier. Where did you get that name from?”

“Hecalls you that when he talks to the boss. Gets real moon-eyed and shit. I don’t know why he pants over your skinnyass.” Jessica’s bloodshot eyes rake Az from head to toe. “If you’re so great,why aren’t you the head of your own coven?”

“BecauseI hate witches.” Az tilts her chin up. Her eyes meet mine and then dart down toJessica’s arms. Never one to miss a hint, I close one hand around both ofJessica’s wrists. The witch bucks like a wet cat but doesn’t have a shot inhell of getting free.

“He’llkill your pet dog, bitch. Skin him like the animal he is. The Age of the Witchis coming.

is coming.” Jessicasurges for Az. I yank her back before she can headbutt Az. “You can’t win.”

Athin trickle of dark blood drips from Jessica’s ear onto her shoulder. Herstruggles grow weaker. She continues to rant at Az, but the words start toslur.

“Ageof the Witch,” Jessica repeats, slumped forward in my grasp. “Nothin’ to stopus.”

“Lether go, Ricky.” Az hastily backpedals Jessica. “She’s going to burn.”

Withoutmy hands holding her up, Jessica collapses onto the ground. Az curls a handaround my wrist and pulls me to her side. Flames ignite on Jessica’s scalp andquickly swallow up the witch’s thin body. She doesn’t make a sound.

“Salem’sFury.” Az leans her head on my non-bruised shoulder. “That’s not its originalname, but I don’t know if anyone has called it anything else in centuries.”

“Whatin the hell is going on, Rick?” Greer demands, struggling to his feet. He slapsat the hand the officer extends to him. “Greta calls and then I get reports ofshots fired. Whose witches were those?”

“Olivet’s.He knew we’d go to the Patriarch’s house. He was waiting for us. Six witchesunder his mind control. It was an ambush.”

Azpeers over her shoulder at the corpses on the ground. Her shoulders curve inunder the weight of her sigh. “I should go see if I can figure out what he usedto control them before he eliminates our evidence.”

Whileshe examines and licks the witches, Greer and I use our phones to photographthe scene. The officer, a distinct green tinge to his face, is tasked withscraping up the charred remains of Jessica Castillo. By the time Greta arrives,the witches have all melted into the asphalt and Greer’s started on his report.I tried to start a claim on my truck, but my insurance agent hung up on meafter I texted him a picture of the rear of the vehicle. I have the sinkingfeeling we’re going to get dropped.

“Damn,”Greta whistles, circling the remains of my baby. “This is worse than the timeyou pissed off that nest of Iron Sprites off Braeswood. Do you need to Shift?”

It’sthe polite way of asking if I am injured. “I’m fine. I’ve already called a towtruck. You can drop me off at the rental place. I’ve got to go with Greer tothe station.”

“Whatabout her?” Greta jerks her chin at the Princess curled on the curb. As soon asthe first witch started melting, Az sat and started doodling on her arm. Ihaven’t tried to figure out what she’s doing. As long as she’s quiet and out ofharm’s way, I’m happy.

“She’scoming with me.” I don’t know why that’s even a question. Az goes where I go.

“Quinnwas looking for some help on a project he has for school. Uriah’s started threefights with Hank. Jose’s starting to get antsy. It won’t be long before thehouse arrest starts to wear everyone down.”

“Andyou want her there to because it’s all a little too domestic for you.”

Gretadoesn’t cringe from my sarcasm. “Yes. She’s good at it.”

“She’llhave to fill out a report at the station. I need her help tracking down Daniel.She has a better idea of how Olivet thinks than I do.”

“Youjust like holding her hand.”

“How’dyou like to be on babysitting duty for the next six months? The school islooking for chaperones for the next dance, and Uriah wants to join the swimmingteam.”

Thistime Greta does cringe. She bows herhead and drags the toe of her boot across the ground. “I’ll figure somethingout until you get home. The gutters do need to be cleaned and someone needs tofigure out what that funk is in the attic.”

Smartfox.

“Hey!Princess! Time to go!”

Az’shead jerks up. Her left sleeve is pushed all the way up and her entire arm iscovered with blue ink. Her eyes are out of focus. I don’t know if she evenrealizes that I’m talking to her. When she speaks, her voice is a breathywhisper only a Shifter can hear. “Age of the Witch.”