Page 28 of Forty Deaths Till Us Part

William entered the front door with two teams of PSO officers. They apprehended the mercenaries, and in under a minute, they were walking back to the front door. I turned away from Brigid to watch them leave. The momentary distraction cost me, and a stabbing pain pierced my skull before the shroud wrapped around Brigid and she disappeared.

Cass bolted toward the dark witch’s location, but when her spear swung through the air, it was empty. “Where is she?”

I grabbed my skull. “She pierced my protection. It’s like an ice pick in the brain, but she used most of her magic. She needs time to recuperate. We will worry about her later. We need to getthe Star Canyon and Powerful Petals is the only place in town that has all the ingredients.”

I shook off the fire in my brain and gave Rene a quick kiss on the cheek before jogging from the building with Cass. We grabbed a small black sports car and were roaring down the road as the PSO officers continued to load the mercenaries into the vans they had driven to clan property in.

The road blurred by as Cass drove at dizzying speed.

“How are you going to get Deanna to give you the ingredients?” she asked.

“I am not asking her. She will be unconscious in ten seconds if she so much as sneezes in my direction. I have had it with the coven.”

Cassara’s lips pursed. “Good.”

She screeched to a stop in front of the store. It was early, but Deanna was already there creating the arrangements. I used magic to unlock the door and stormed in with my power crackling around me.

Deanna rushed from the back room and sucked in a breath when she saw me. “Raven?”

“Don’t speak. Just give me the Star Canyon and everything else I need. If you so much as look at me the wrong way, I will burn this building to the ground.”

Deanna glanced down. “Ursula said to help you in any way we can. Nobody knew what Brigid was doing. The humans are siding with the vampires. The witches will be destroyed.”

“Hatred and idiocy are a deadly combination. Give me the flower.”

Deanna rushed to the back and returned with a canister. “I don’t have any mature flowers. Brigid took those a few days ago, but here are all the seeds I have.”

I took the canister unceremoniously. “I need a few more things, but they aren’t rare.” I went to the flowers and picked thepetals I needed as well as a fern Rene had noted as part of the antidote. The ingredients were benign on their own but had a deadly effect when combined.

“Can you save him?” Deanna asked.

I grunted. Ursula had obviously told the coven what happened to Rene. “Fine time to worry about Rene. He was the only thing keeping the conclave stable. You are all idiots. The coven will be responsible for the deaths of millions if Rene dies.

Deanna looked like she was about to throw up. “I know.”

I collected the last of the ingredients. “Let’s go, Cass.”

CHAPTER 11

We exited the store and got into the SUV as Cass got a text on her phone. “Shit.”

“What is it?”

“Dimitri is riling the natives. The clan is losing confidence in Rene. A blind man can see he will be incapacitated soon. Val isn’t sure it is safe to treat him at the mansion.”

I swore under my breath. “There is a small stove in the store. Let me... ask Deanna to leave, and I will prepare the antidote here. Can you make arrangements to have Rene brought here while I tell Deanna she is lending me the store for an hour? Just come a minute or two after she leaves.”

Cass nodded. “That works. Get rid of your ex-partner. I may lose my shit if I confront her.”

The interior light flashed on as I opened the door. “I figured.”

The door slammed shut before I returned to the store with my supplies. The door chimed as I entered, and Deanna rushed to the front.

“Do you need something else?” she asked.

“Yeah. The store. You will give me an hour alone to make what I need, and I will lock up when I am done.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but her fingers moved to the black apron with the logo for Powerful Petals on the front. “Of course. I am almost done with the arrangements. I can grab a coffee and a bagel before I come back.”