Page 33

Chapter 33

“ H ec!” I couldn’t bear to see her suffer under the effects of those torturous little stones.

But Hecate leaped out of the way and Thornton pressed all five of the stones to his bloodied face instead.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head, blood trickling across his lips and into his open mouth as his entire body convulsed. Hecate leapt onto my lap and pressed her paws to my chest, leaning up to give my nose a lick.

Tears streamed down my cheeks and I smiled weakly at Hecate as I nuzzled her back, Thornton toppling onto the floor behind her.

“We knew they’d kidnapped you ,” Hecate said, continuing to lick my face. I couldn’t have tasted very good, covered in a thick sheen of sweat. “You promised me salmon.”

I choked out a laugh. “Sorry. I didn’t have much time to go to the market.” Hecate licked at my tears and nuzzled me, making me cry all the harder. "How did you get in?"

"Asher blew up the front door."

So that was what Pearl had gone to investigate. Seemed like overkill.

"You guys came to get me?" I muttered.

The grateful part of me drowned in the fear of the danger they had put themselves in by coming.

"Of course we did." Hecate nuzzled my cheek. "It didn't take a genius to figure out who took you and we wouldn't just leave you here."

The thought of Asher exploding his way in had me swallowing hard, my dry throat chafing. He was here. To help me. No, not to help me. He had probably only come because someone had asked him to. Maybe Laura or Priya. An extra pair of hands and someone with knowledge in home security to aid them. There was no way he was here for me.

If Hecate had sneaked down here but the others hadn't, maybe they were in trouble. Maybe they needed help.

I looked past Hecate at Thornton who lay on his back, motionless on the ground. His eyes were closed, his chest rising and falling evenly. Still alive. I couldn't decide whether that was good or not.

"We need to get you out of these chains." Hecate jumped down from my lap and trotted around the room in search of what, I didn't know. The padlocks were way down by my feet and last time I checked, Hecate wasn't exactly handy with keys. Stealing them, yes. Using them? Not so much.

But then, the glove on Thornton's hand caught my eye. "Hec, can you get that glove off him? Maybe we can use that."

Thornton hadn't quite gotten around to the crystal on his pinky finger yet, but I knew what it was from looking at it. Cinnabar, which in that quantity would have caused burns when it touched my skin. Maybe there was enough of it to sear through the chains.

Hecate jumped, her legs splaying as another series of thuds rumbled upstairs, and yet more dust rained down from the ceiling. After a moment, she regained her composure and trotted over to Thornton.

Another series of bangs and shouts came from upstairs, and I looked up at the swinging lampshade. Whatever was happening up there, I really hoped nobody was getting hurt. Nobody who had come here to save me, anyway.

But Hecate carried on inspecting the glove. Even though the crystal still smoked at the end of the forefinger, she grabbed it in her jaws and tugged the glove off Thornton's hand.

" Careful Hec," I muttered.

The last thing we needed was for her to incapacitate herself for my grandmother to find. She already had a pretty large grudge against Hecate for helping me escape the first time. Hecate and Asher were deep in the Bishop family shit list as it was without also accidentally killing Thornton.

With a few little butt wiggles and some clawing, Hecate yanked the glove off Thornton's hand and trotted over to me with it in her mouth. She dropped it next to my ankle and pawed at the exposed skin there.

"Now what?"

"Can you get the cinnabar crystal against the chain?" I wriggled to try and get the chain closer to the glove, but I barely moved it an inch.

"Oh!" Now realising what I was trying to do, Hecate grabbed the glove in her jaw again and pressed the glowing crystal to the chain.

I winced as sparks flew from the metal and an unnerving sizzling sound filled the air. Even if I walked away from this with a few burns, it would be worth it just to be able to walk away.

When the chain snapped I pulled my ankle away from the glove at the same time as Hecate dragged the glove away. Ignoring the slight burning sensation there, I moved my foot around and the chain unravelled, allowing freedom to move my leg.

"Yes," I whispered, and tried wiggling some more.

Freeing my legs, my arms had a little more room to move and I squeezed them both out of their bindings before unwrapping the entire length of chain from my body and tossing it onto the ground. I didn't care who heard; it sounded like they were too busy up there anyway.

Hecate leapt into my arms and I caught her.

"I was worried about you ," Hecate said, pawing at my face.

"I was too. Thank goodness for you." I kissed the top of her head and she mewled. "Come on. We need to help the others.”

Whatever was happening upstairs, it didn’t sound peaceful, and I would happily punch a few Bishops in the face to get out of here.

I wobbled my way toward the stairs on legs that felt like they were made of rubber. Hecate jumped out of my arms to allow me to grab onto the banister and padded up ahead of me. Occasionally, she looked back to check on me.

But I had barely made it up two steps when a roar sounded behind the door at the top.

“Come near me with that and I’ll punch you in your tiny Adam’s apple!”

No way. Was that Penny ?

The cracking of splintering wood had me retreating back down the steps, clinging to the banister for dear life. Hecate shot down the stairs as the door ripped off its hinges, a giant crack shooting up the middle as it tumbled toward us.

The door clattered down the stairs and slammed flat on the ground, and on top of it lay an unconscious Paul. His limbs splayed, one of his arms stuck out at an awkward angle. An athame slipped between his fingers of the same hand and struck the floor blade first.

Penny hurried down the stairs, fists raised, and her face arranged into something a Maori warrior would charge into battle with. But her ferocity vanished the second she laid eyes on me.

“Bea!” She threw her arms around me and my legs buckled.

We collapsed into a heap on the floor and I groaned as every ache and pain flared back to life.

“Be careful. They’ve hurt her.” Hecate stepped on top of Paul on her way to get to us.

“Those bastards.” Penny clambered off me and helped me sit up, grasping both my hands. “We’ve been so worried about you. Come on, we need to go, now.”

“Where is everyone?” I croaked, trying to breathe through the lancing pains.

“Holding your family off upstairs,” Penny said, looping an arm under my armpits and heaving me to my feet.

Wow, maybe that week of rock climbing had paid off.

“Penny, wait.” I grabbed the banister and leaned on it for support. “I can’t leave.”

She balked, her face turning pale. “What are you talking about? You’re coming home with us. There’s no two ways about it.”

“And I want to, but Pearl gave me a potion. I don’t know what it was, but she gave me the impression that… it won’t let me leave this place.”

“Oh, that evil…” Penny hoisted me up to the next step, but I kept my ears pricked for whatever word she was searching for. “We’ll deal with that in a minute. Right now, I’ve got to get you up to the others so we can help them.”

“One drama at a time,” I mumbled.

Penny helped me up the stairs while Hecate hurried on ahead. Out in the corridor, pictures hung askew on the wall and the rugs were bunched up. A hole in one of the wall panels suggested someone had taken a fist to it. Maybe even Penny, if she had been as much of a badass as I had seen her.

A yell up ahead made me jump and I stumbled, clinging to Penny. That sounded like...

"Edward." Penny's strides outdid my own so that she almost dragged me along.

Once we drew level with the open living room door, the sight had my knees buckling once more. Penny gasped, struggling to hold me and we both tumbled to our knees. For a split second I worried about landing on Hecate, but it took a moment for me to realise she had disappeared.

Against curtains on the far wall, Lucille held Laura by her flaming hair, pressing an athame to her throat. Louisa had Edward's collar in both hands, which he had slipped his fingers in to ease the pressure, his face redder than a beet. On the side of his neck, a welt had risen where Pearl had touched the end of the cinnabar wand she held to his skin. Priya and Asher both stood with their hands up in front of the fireplace in surrender.