Page 41 of Gray Dawn

Unless…

Did the director have any pieces of the dark artifact Trinity and Markus Amherst had used to hide their black witch signatures? We suspected Luca used a shard from it to conceal her fae nature, which meant there was a chance the director had access to the pottery at some point as well.

“A black car is coming down the drive.” Dad swooped over me. “There are two motorcycles behind it.”

“This could be it.” I relished the jump in my pulse. “Where can I get the best view?”

“Come with me.” Dad hooked his hands under my armpits. “I’ll take you to the storage building.”

The roof he chose had a perfect view of the distillery, but it wasn’t Luca who stepped out of the sleek car after it parked. It was Nan. Her hacker. She was joined by two other women I could tell were black witches thanks to them being upwind of us. They positively reeked of dark magic.

With a twist of his wrist, Dad cast a sound amplification spell that allowed us to listen in on their conversation, making me wish I could cast long distance. Or at all.

Pity party, table for one.

You know what? No. I was done with moping.

I was more than my magic. I had a brain. It was time I put it to use. Starting with how to get my hands on Nan and putherto good use.

“This place is a dump and a half,” the escort on the right of Nan said. “How are they not killing people through poor hygiene alone?”

“Does hygiene apply to buildings?” the one on the left asked. “I thought that was a people thing.”

“Botulism then.” Righty tossed out the suggestion. “How about that?”

“The acidification during fermentation?—”

“Enough,” Nan snapped with a growl. “We’re not health inspectors.”

“How many people do you think she’ll kill this time?” Righty was at it again. “Like fifty?”

“A hundred is a nice round number,” Lefty countered. “The least she could do for my OCD is?—”

The door leading into the front of the distillery swung open, and two men exited with their wands out.

Not good. Their unexpected appearance changed things. For the worse.

The main building had a ward spell. Crap. It had concealed these new witches’ presence and who knows what else. It must have been old. Otherwise, the wargs would have mentioned it. As it was, I suspected they had mistaken the faint magic signature as foot traffic from yesterday’s skirmish.

“You’re not Luca,” the taller one said in lieu of a greeting. “Who are you?”

“I’m Nan.” She shouldered past her escorts. “I speak for Luca.”

“The deal is off,” the shorter man declared with a slice of his hand. “We deal with Luca or no one.”

Bold stance, considering he hadn’t confessed his coven was down half a dozen witches.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Lefty wet her lips. “Nan?”

“Hold.” She stared at the taller man. “Where is Lakesha?”

“Dead.” He rolled a shoulder, finally coming clean. “We were attacked last night.”

“Why didn’t you lead with that?” Nan growled, her hands balling into fists. “This operation has been compromised.” She backed up, gaze darting to her surroundings. “We have no business here.”

Temper getting the better of him, the shorter man stepped into her space. “Luca promised us?—”

“Now?” Righty pleaded with a pout in her voice. “I’m hungry.”