Page 3 of Adepts and Alchemists

I didn’t have an excuse for what I did next, except to claim insanity. I was just so utterlyfuriousat his presumption—so furious that he was doubting me that I had to act. I didn’t mean to summon shadows from the deepest corners of the room, using them to form a noose, yanking him forward with them until we were nearly nose to nose. What little goodwill he’d earned from me was going to be quickly squandered if he wasn’t careful.

“Don’t you dare,” I hissed at him. “Don’t youdareinsinuate that you care about her more than I do! You aren’t glued to her twenty-four-seven. You don’t know her the way I do. And you don’t get to look down your nose at me as if I’m any more of a parasite than you are. Open your eyes, incubus. Look at what I did on accident withjust my voice.”

“Yes,” he started, glaring at me. “I’d like to know how you did that.”

“It was a byproduct of the kelpie I absorbed. It could use its voice offensively, if need be. Do you really think that if I wanted to support Murrain in this, you’d be alive?” I looked at the rest of them, who were all staring at me. “Do you think any of you would still be alive if I were on Murrain’s side?”

I cast my gaze around the room, though I didn’t have to be a prophet to know what I’d find. Smashed furniture. Throw pillows and blankets plastered to the wall from thegale. Anything not fastened down had moved at least a few inches. Picture frames were smashed, and paperweights had been reduced to powder when they hit the ground. It was a scene of pure destruction within five feet of where I’d fallen, and the damage got less gradual from there. Now that I was in full possession of my magic, it would take time to adjust to fighting with it. I’d been out of practice with the foreign power since joining up with Lydia. I’d have to re-learn my limits quickly if I wanted to save her life.

Angelo took in the destruction with a scowl. “You’re proving my point. You’re dangerous, and I don’t trust you.”

“And I don’t like or trust you either,” I shot back. “But we have the same goal now. I’m getting her back. You can either get on board or get the fuck out, but you better not stand in my way.”

Poppy cleared her throat, casting a strained glance upward once more. I belatedly realized I’d sworn in front of her boy. Absurdly, it made me feel more guilty than manhandling Lydia’s mate. I almost muttered an apology but thought better of it. The kid didn’t look traumatized. I was sure he’d heard worse in his mundane school. I mean, shit, he was a teenager, for crying out loud.

“Mom...” Finn said, casting his glance around the room uncertainly. “I don’t think we have time. She’s not lying. It’s going to be bad.”

Out of the mouths of babes. At least one person outside of my inner circle was taking this as seriously as it was meant to be taken. I’d been split into assorted parts the last time Murrain had targeted me. The thought of the same happening to any of these witches was unbearable. It wasn’t something he could perform without preparation or from a distance. But if we dallied, he could start aiming that evil spell at us. He only had to be within a mile for it to hit its mark. I still wasn’t sure how he’d gotten that close to me without me sensing him. Perhapsanother add-on, courtesy of all the rendering they’d been doing. Regardless, it didn’t bode well for my future. If Andrea was here, I doubted her master would be far behind. I needed to be gone long before that happened.

Wanda, Olga, Betanya, and a few others that I didn’t recognize turned toward me uncertainly. They were being turned in the right direction, at least. I belatedly realized I was still holding a struggling incubus in the grip of my shadowy hands and set him loose. He fell, impacting the hardwood on his (admittedly nice) ass, cursing me the whole way down. Well, served him right.

“What do you suggest?” Wanda asked.

“I’m suggesting we need to hide. And we need to leave now.”

“And go where?” Wanda demanded.

“There’ s a motel about thirty minutes from Haven Hollow. It’s safe. At least for a night or so. Then we keep moving.”

“We can’t just up and leave everything,” Wanda said, shaking her head. “We have jobs. Families.”

“And you won’t have to worry about them when you’re dead,” I replied curtly. “I’m asking for a week of your time, max. That’s the maximum amount of time Lydia can survive without damage in that woman’s stomach. If I can’t drag her out in that time, she’s gone for good.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I’m not willing to accept that. Are you?”

Wanda frowned. “No. But I still don’t understand what you’re proposing. If you’re right and someone is heading here as we speak, what chance do we stand of outrunning it or them? They’ll probably sabotage our cars. Hell, they probably have every supernatural citizen you’ve interacted with under surveillance.”

“So...” Poppy said slowly. “We don’t go to any of the monsters.”

Betanya shook her head, sending the scarlet tresses bouncing around her shoulders. It looked like a waterfall gliding down her back. “My grandson and his null friend will also be watched. They may not technically be monsters, but they’re important to all of us. Once again, they’d be fodder if we involved them.”

“And I can’t go either,” Anthony said slowly, making a face as though the words tasted sour. “Someone from our organization has been sneaking information to Murrain’s people. If I go, Mother will demand updates. Those updates will reach his ears.”

My stomach clenched in sudden and visceral fear. I hadn’t even thought of that. Anthony was recognizable. As much as I wanted him to hold my hand through this mission and tell me everything was going to be okay, it was too dangerous. Yes, Anthony would be better in a supportive role, using his mother’s resources to get me what I needed, instead of shoving his body between me and Murrain.

“I wasn’t thinking of Henner or Marty, actually,” Poppy said in a small voice. “I was thinking we could ask RJ. I know we’ve been trying to keep him out of the supernatural side of things for years, but now...”

“But now he’s one of the only people we know who would swallow the strangeness and help us, even if he thought we were suffering a group delusion,” Wanda finished for Poppy.

I held up a hand, brow scrunching. “Wait a minute. Are you really suggesting we ask a mundane man with no knowledge of our world to ferry us away into the unknown?”

It would be like feeding a newborn lamb sous vide to the Big Bad Wolf. It was even less advisable than dragging Anthony along for this journey. At least Anthony could defend himself.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many other plans that didn’t jeopardize more supernaturals. I was counting on Murrain targeting me and the coven (and sundry family members) ratherthan focusing on what the Council was up to. If I could keep Murrain chasing me, there was a chance that Anthony and the rest could put a stop to the Masked Lords’ naked power grab.

It was dangerous for us in the short-term, but infinitely less so than letting Andrea seize power here.

Anthony gave me a small nod when our eyes met. I didn’t have to express any of my thoughts aloud. He knew me well enough to read them in my body language. We were perfectly suited battle buddies. But that relationship had bled into a more personal entanglement after months together. I loved him. I just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. There were so many reasons we shouldn’t be together, and only one reason we should. Chemistry. We worked well together. Always had, and probably always would. Unless I got him killed.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Wanda countered.