Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) (9 page)

“So, where are we going anyway?” Caroline asked, secretly hoping that Sabine would lead them to Katya.

“You don’t need to know that, now; it’s not important. Just walk with me.” Sabine walked off first, not bothering to check if Caroline was following or not. Caroline looked around for a minute trying to find where the others were hiding. She felt a warm rushing feeling in her ears and William’s voice spoke to her.

“We’re here, don’t worry. Nothing will happen, I promise.”

Caroline nodded, wondering if they could see her or not. Reluctantly she started walking after Sabine. She reached in and grabbed one of the charms and said the spell under her breath, while she put it around her neck under her shirt. She instantly felt the warmth against her skin from the charm; so she knew it was working and that made her breathe a little bit easier. She followed Sabine for what felt like forever before they reached what looked like an abandoned building.

Sabine turned to her, “We’re here. Wait there for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Caroline just nodded and stood where she was. She watched Sabine disappear into the decrepit building.

William appeared behind her silently. “We’re going to come in after you, don’t worry. We have all of Nik’s guys with us, too, so we should all be safe.” He squeezed her shoulder briefly and melted away into the darkness. Caroline let out a shaky breath as Sabine appeared in the doorway and motioned for her to follow her inside. She felt frozen to the pavement and she willed herself to move. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she picked up her feet and began walking.

Caroline gasped in surprise when they got inside. The building was surprisingly nice. There were crystal chandeliers on the vaulted ceilings and Persian rugs on the floor.

Sabine laughed a hollow and mirthless sound. “Caroline, my pet, did you really think I would make my home somewhere that people would easily find? Now follow me darling, there’s someone who would like to say, ‘hello’.”

Caroline followed her down the hallway and through a big door at the end. When they entered the room, Caroline immediately felt uneasy. This was more of a prison cell and less of a bedroom than she would have liked. There, sitting on a chair, was Katya. “Kat,” Caroline said, feeling immensely relieved that she was ok. Sabine smiled maliciously.

“If you ladies will excuse me, I have some other things to attend to.” Sabine said and Caroline whirled around to face her.

“Wait just a second, do you really think I’m just going to sit here and let you imprison me? Have you forgotten that I’m a witch?”

Sabine laughed. “I am not stupid. Do you honestly think I would let you in with your powers? The same witch who spelled the building added an extra binding spell that will strip powers upon entrance.”

Caroline sighed, “Fine, will you at least tell me what this is all about?” Her voice was stronger than she thought she was capable of at that moment.

“Isn’t it obvious, Caroline? I need you and Katya here for your power. Granted, yours is not trained well yet, but it’s strong. I can feel it when you’re near.”

“What do you need us for?” Caroline asked in a shaky voice, fear snaking its way up.

“I don’t want to give away all my secrets, my dear,” Before Caroline could say anything else, Sabine shoved her hard to the ground and walked out of the room, locking them inside. Caroline got up slowly and looked around their prison. It was not as nice as the rest of the house. Only a bed, a couple chairs, and a threadbare rug decorated the room. She turned to Katya.

“I’ve been so worried about you since Nik told us you were missing. I’m so glad you’re ok,” Caroline said, as she hugged her tightly.

“I’m fine; it’s actually been really boring. Sabine stuck me here yesterday, and all I’ve been doing is waiting for something to happen.”

“Well, I’m glad nothing crazy happened. Has she said what she wants us for, yet?”

“No, I’ve been in here since yesterday. You are the first person besides Sabine I’ve seen.”

“Well, get ready to go because William and Nik are outside with a bunch of guys. They’re going to break us out.”

“I never doubted I’d be out soon. Nik is very resourceful,” Katya said with a brilliant smile. They sat down in the chairs next to the window to wait for their rescue. They didn’t have to wait long. Five minutes later they heard a loud crash and lots of shouting. A few minutes after that, Jilly burst through the door looking slightly harassed.

“Sorry it took us so long. The boys were arguing about the best way to break in for way too long.” She ran over and hugged Caroline and Katya to her, breathing a sigh of relief, “Are you both ok?”

“We’re fine, Jill. How did you get in, anyway?” Caroline inquired.

Jilly held up a key. “Sometimes it’s the most obvious thing that works.”

“Jilly, so good of you to come join the party,” Katya said with a laugh.

Jilly chuckled. “Oh yeah. You know me, Kat, never one to be left out.”

“We should probably go, Nik is most likely going crazy,” Katya said with a smile.

Jilly’s eyebrow rose. “Crazy is an understatement.” Jilly led them out into the hall where they saw the debris from the scuffle. Nikolai ran to Katya and took her in his arms. He spoke to her softly in Russian and Jilly and Caroline smiled at them. William finally came over after he finished overseeing Sabine’s capture. He hugged Caroline and kissed her forehead. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You guys came just in time. Not that anything besides being held against my will was going to happen. She said she wanted us for our power, I’m thinking it has something to do with Patrick or Mary.” William nodded.

“Yeah, that’s probably true. I’ll find out when Nik and I question her, later. Right now, all I want to do is get everyone out of here and back to the hotel.” William gestured for the girls to go out ahead of him. He magically sealed off the door so no one would stumble in, accidentally, before he and Nikolai had a chance to go over all the rooms. The girls wandered off towards civilization to hail a cab as Nik and Katya were piling into a black SUV. They all said their good-byes and agreed to meet in the morning to discuss their next step.

Jilly woke up before anyone else. She took advantage of the silence and went out on the patio with a mug of coffee. She reflected back on the craziness of the last year and couldn’t believe where her life had taken her. She was engaged to be married to a man who made her weak in the knees every time he walked in the room and she had her sister back. Jilly had a sudden thought and padded back into the suite, gently closing the door so she wouldn’t wake anyone up. She called down to the front desk and asked the concierge to set up an appointment for her, Katya and Caroline at Kleinfeld’s Bridal that afternoon. Jilly was excited to try on dresses. The reality of actually getting married was finally hitting her and she felt giddy. After she ordered breakfast for everyone, she went back to her room to take a shower and get ready for the day.

Jilly emerged from her room forty-five minutes later and found William and Caroline seated at the table eating breakfast.

“Did you order breakfast?” William asked her when she sat down.

“Yeah, I got up a while ago; so I figured I’d order for us. What time are Nik and Katya coming over?” Jilly asked as she piled eggs and hash browns onto her plate.

“Nik called this morning and said they’ll be over in about an hour,” he replied.

“Ok, that’s fine,” Jilly said and then turned to Caroline, “I made us an appointment at Kleinfeld’s for this afternoon.” Caroline let out a scream.

“Oh, I’m so excited; I can’t wait to see you in those dresses.”

“It’s not just for me, Car, we need to find dresses for you and Kat, and maybe one for Em.”

“Well that’s exciting too, but not as exciting as seeing you in a wedding dress, Jill,” Caroline said. William grinned at Jilly, grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“I’m glad you get to do something fun on this trip. It shouldn’t be all business. Nik and I have to go back to Sabine’s place anyway, so we’ll just go during your appointment.”

William squeezed her hand again.

“It means a lot that you want to include Katya. She’s one of my best friends and I’m so happy you guys are close.” They all finished eating and Caroline excused herself so she could get ready. Jilly and William went back to their room and sat on the bed.

“When do you want to get married, Jill? We never really had a chance to set a date.”

“I think maybe October? I’ve always wanted a fall wedding. I love the colors of the trees. So that gives us a little over seven months to plan. Do you want a big wedding, or a small one?”

William laughed, “Honey, I don’t really care. As long as at the end of the day you’re my wife, I’ll be happy.”

She laughed back at him. “I don’t really think we’ll be able to get away with a small wedding. I know pretty much everyone in town and they’ll all want to come. Do you think we can afford a big wedding? I have some money saved up and I think my dad will want to help a little bit.”

“Jill, we’ll be fine. I want to pay for it. I’ve waited hundreds of years for you and during that time I’ve amassed quite a fortune. We’ll discuss that aspect of my life later; but just know that money is no object.” He fumbled in his pocket for his wallet, pulled out a card and handed it to her. It was an American Express black card. She took it and looked at the front. Jilly’s jaw dropped--her name was printed across the front.

“Will? This is too…I can’t take this.” Her hands flew to her mouth in surprise.

“Well, when I asked you to marry me, I figured you’d need to be added onto my accounts. You’re planning the wedding, so I added you. You have a few more cards, but they’re back home. I was hoping you’d get to have a little bit of wedding fun while we were here, so I brought this one along.” Jilly wiped at the tears that were desperately trying to leak out of her eyes.

“How on earth did I get so lucky? You are the most amazing man I have ever met. It’s not the money, although that’s a nice perk it’s the thought behind the gesture. I love you so much, Will.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him. He pulled her in tighter and deepened the kiss, enjoying the feeling of her skin against his hands. Jilly pushed him back on the bed, straddling his waist. After a few minutes, they both pulled away feeling a little breathless. Jilly slid off to the side, both lying on their backs.

“I love you too, Jill, more than anything in this world,” William said as he pulled her to her feet. They heard the doorbell chime and, as they were walking out to meet Nik and Katya, he turned back to her. “Everything I said before goes for Caroline, too. I want to make her feel safe now that she’s starting over. I don’t want her to worry about anything; I just want her to find out what’s going to make her happy. I have a few cards for her, too, but those are back home. So if any of you find dresses today, just put it on your card.”

She kissed him again and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “You really are amazing, Will.” They walked out to greet Nik and Katya, hand in hand.