The Sorceress Screams (32 page)

“You better
get in the shower then.”

Yeah, I’d better
.

I scrubbed the
memory of my near death off as best I could beneath the heated water. But my
neck was a ring of wicked looking bruises. I could have
Healed
them, but Max knew I’d been strangled. He would wonder how in Hades I’d lost
the bruises overnight. I didn’t want him to know I could Heal, too. Not yet.

I tried to
cover them with make-up, but I didn’t have Hollywood grade stuff so it only
looked like softened bruises. I washed it all off and then looked for something
that would hide my neck without being suspicious in July.

I found a high
mandarin collar, cap-sleeved tunic in macchiato that I paired with black
leggings. Instead of spiking my hair, I pulled the edges into black clips just
above my ears. A dusting of make-up finished my sedate and almost professional
look.

After slipping
my feet into my ballet flats, I joined Ali Mac in the living room. He dropped
into place behind me like a proper bodyguard.

We were both
startled when Desmond appeared around the corner. And Desmond’s wide eyes were likewise
surprised to discover us walking his way. The high priest cleared his throat, gaze
shifting away before shifting back.

“I came to
make sure you didn’t sleep through the meeting,” he said.

Should I be
ticked or grateful? I’d have hurt myself if I’d slept through the meeting. But
his reminder that I’d nearly slept through yesterday’s trip didn’t give me warm
fuzzies
.

“I can drive
her,” he said.

“No offense,
Dr. Marino, but she was attacked last night,” Ali Mac said. “Max has me on
orders to guard her with my life every second of the day.”

“Attacked?
What happened?”

Desmond didn’t
sound quite as surprised as I thought he should. Maybe it was because I
knew
what had happened. And I knew it
had been terrifying. Or maybe he’d already known about the attack.

“You’ll have
to ask her,” Ali Mac said. “But right now we
gotta
get her to that appointment so she
ain’t
late.”

When the Water
witch nodded begrudgingly, I decided having the wolf scare me half to death in
my living room was worth it. He was guarding me from more than Nadir’s people
and he didn’t even know it.

Ali Mac guided
me through the courtyard behind Desmond’s retreating figure. I didn’t argue
when he put me in his pick-up truck. He could drive since I was still a little
shaken up about last night. I probably shouldn’t have been taking advantage of
him considering I’d be taking my ring back tonight. But why not use what had
been offered while I still could?

“We got a few
minutes,” Ali Mac said. “
Wanna
stop for coffee?”

“Gosh, yes,” I
said with a small laugh.

Maybe coffee
would get me through the most important meeting of my life.

I stepped into
the town hall’s main chamber with my latte in hand. An aisle cut between empty
audience chairs. At least there’d be few witnesses to this morning’s spectacle.

Tables were
arranged in the shape of a horseshoe on a raised dais. Several familiar
personalities sat behind them. But the one at the center caught my attention.

Desmond
watched me beneath hooded aqua eyes. Beside him were a gavel and its sound
block. How could anyone doubt who was in charge when the Centralized Coven
Coalition was arranged like
this
?

My gaze
tracked over the others around the space. To Desmond’s left (and thus my right)
sat the regal Alina
Kranz
—Nell’s mother. She and the
man with the salt and pepper hair in the seat on the corner ruled over
Aer
Association. But I’d been told Curtis
Hawksley
only attended weekend sessions. Why was he here?

Dea
Woods was at the perpendicular
table to his left, restored in her position as the Earth witch monarchy’s ambassador.
Beside
Dea
sat the dark hunk
Eamonn
Cary—the head of the Coven of Nyx.

Viho
Hiamovi’s
sat nobly in the chair to Desmond’s right. The head of the Healers of America
was the purest of his race left in the world. And with his dark brown-black
hair and toasted skin,
Viho
looked as though he might
also be the purest Native American in the country, too. Beside
Viho
in the corner seat was stately Rhys
Martland
, one of the representatives of the Western Phoenix
Coven. The Cult of Osiris rounded out the coalition. Their members were crazy-haired
Andoni
Arima
and his Death
witch co-leader—the African American woman at the table to Desmond’s right.

Behind the
horseshoe shaped table was a wooden pedestal holding a massive leather-bound
book. The deep carvings in the cherry wood snagged my attention. In all of my
research on
Wipuk
, witches, and the coalition, I’d
never once turned up mention of any books on pedestals. It was worrying.

“Please sit,”
Desmond said in his blank, professional tone. His smooth cadence carried well
over the space.

Halfway
between their tables and the audience seats was a single empty wooden chair
like some sort of hot seat. I didn’t like the implication of that spot but
could find no reason not to sit in it. I stepped forward, lowering myself onto
the chair.

“State your
name.”

The irritated
shifting of the body behind me went ignored by Desmond but not his cohorts. Ali
Mac had been allowed in the room and told to keep quiet. Apparently he’d give
his opinion with body language alone.

“Rebecca
Kora
Walsh.” My voice echoed in the wooden chamber louder
than Desmond’s had. The witches focused on me again.

“What is your
faction and occupation, Ms. Walsh?”

Why does this feel like a trial
?
I haven’t done anything
!
I inhaled a quick breath. “I’m a sorceress and owner of the shop called
Rarities.”

“Do you know
why you’ve been called here today?”

Desmond’s
question made me want to snarl an answer about how I would have known if he’d
warned me when he’d extended the invitation. Instead, I shook my head.

He nodded to
Dea
.

She took up
the reins. “We’ve heard six witches’ testimonies, who swear under oath, that
you rescued them from the vampire who had been keeping them in Las Vegas
against their will. The six covens you helped would like to extend their
sincerest gratitude. Your bravery and selflessness is an inspiration to us all.
On behalf of myself, I would also like to extend my deepest thanks for the part
you played in curing me of my blood bond. Consider yourself beneath our
protection should other factions react badly to the discovery. We think of you
as an honorary Earth witch, Ms. Walsh.”

I gaped at her
sweet face, stunned. Had I just won over one of the schools of magic? If so, I
was
finally
on the road to
infiltrating the coalition as my mother had demanded—the whole reason I was in
Wipuk
in the first place.
One down, six to go
.

Dea
nodded toward the Healer.
Viho
took up the mantle of speaker. His tenor voice sounded
younger than the thirty-seven or so years he appeared. “Dr. Vanessa Yates
reports that you contacted her last week for information regarding a potential
treatment for enthralled individuals.” He glanced to a set of pages in his tan
hands. “Her written report details that at your
urging,
Priestess Woods gave a sample of her blood. And you showed Dr. Yates the
foreign antibodies you believed to be the cause of Priestess Woods’ affliction.
After initial tests, you agreed it would be safe to offer the treatment to
Priestess Woods. Dr. Yates writes that you taught her how to spot the
antibodies in the bloodstream herself. And that the treatment was a success.

“Priest Marino
testified the vampire Nadir Khan was unable to call on his blood bond following
Priestess Woods’ treatment. Though treatments have been carried out on the
remaining witches, Nadir’s absence means we don’t have confirmation they
worked. Regardless, I think the report speaks for itself.” He fixed his sober
gaze on me. “Ms. Walsh, you may have done the world an immense favor. You may
have given us the tools to fight one of the vampires’ most destructive powers.
If this is the case, then words cannot describe what debt of gratitude we owe
you.”

I could only
offer a deferential nod. More tests would need to be done before we’d confirm if
the treatment worked. They couldn’t be done on the seven Nadir had enthralled
now that he was dead.

But
Viho
wasn’t finished. “The Healers of America humbly
request you teach us your method for spotting blood pathogens.
And if possible, how you are able to do so without touch.”

I swallowed
down unease as every eye in the room seemed to sharpen on me.
Bacchus’s blue balls.
In not so many words
Viho
had announced I had access to the Healing school of
magic. I should have known better than to think I could get away with that
information remaining secret.
I never get
a break
.

With another
swallow for good measure I nodded.
“Of course.”

“The Healers
of America accept the mantle of knowledge for this treatment’s benefits and the
risks that come with it,”
Viho
said. “We will carry
it word of mouth, guarding its secrets with our lives until which time it is
agreed the world is ready for it to be publicized.”

He nodded back
to Desmond.

Desmond’s head
lifted from his chest. I hadn’t realized he’d dropped it low. Now that I had,
and now that it was no longer jabbing into his collarbone, there was no missing
the narrow slits of his eyes. He wasn’t happy. I needed to escape before he
caught me.

“If there is no other business?”
Desmond’s
question was voiced in tight efficiency. He glanced at each witch in turn
before slapping the gavel down on the sound block. “This body is adjourned.”

I swiveled on
my heel, gesturing frantically for Ali Mac to get up.

“Ms. Walsh.”

I pretended not
to hear Desmond’s frosty voice as I hurried out the door with a snarl at the
werewolf to
go
. We’d made it to the
front sidewalk by the time Desmond caught up. He grabbed hold of my forearm. A
spark of latent power shocked us both—a side effect I generally compensated for
if I knew it was coming. I hadn’t known it was coming. He never touched me.

A low growl
ripped through Ali Mac’s throat.

Desmond’s cool
gaze switched to him. “I will drive her home. Go back to your master.”

The swelling
scent of a crisp mountain stream proved my fear as Ali Mac turned away. Desmond
had magically manipulated the werewolf into leaving. I considered using my own
magic to make Ali Mac stay but decided it would only hurt him. No doubt Desmond
would fight me
through
Ali Mac.

A second
later, the leather jacket disappeared around the corner. My safety net went
with it.

Desmond tugged
me toward the BMW parked out front—in a space that had his name painted on the
pavement as well as a signpost at the head. Yanking open the passenger door, he
pushed me inside, heedless to my stumble into the seat. Despite this aggressive
gesture, he waited until I’d pulled my arms and legs in before closing the
door. Only then did he stalk to the driver’s side.

I didn’t need
an empathic link to know he was irate. The barely perceptible shaking of his
shoulders proved that. What would an unpredictable Desmond Marino do?

He put the car
in reverse with uncharacteristic jerky motions. The vehicle bounced back enough
for him to peel out of the space and down the street. But we weren’t going in
the direction of my apartment. And we also weren’t going to his house.

“Where are we
going?” I asked uneasily.

He ignored me
much as he’d done to
Veronika
all the way to Phoenix.
I folded my arms in front of me until I realized that had been what she’d done.
Dropping them to my sides, I glared out the window.

Desmond pulled
the car down a dusty road. The spot lacked a sign and was in the middle of
nowhere heading further into No-man’s-land. Did he mean to kill me and leave me
for the buzzards?

But I was more
powerful than he was. And
he
knew
that. He’d be foolish to try anything.

He drove a
quarter mile from the main road and then put the car in park, twisting the keys
with a punctuated jerk. Desmond jumped out of the car without a word, stalking
around the hood. He wrenched open my door. His fist curled around my forearm
and tugged me out. I stumbled on the dusty ground, a move he didn’t note
because he was too busy slamming the door.