Deep Within The Shadows (The Superstition Series Book 1) (29 page)

Juliet grinned. “Not if I can help it.” She sat down on the area rug next to the bed in a lotus position and Miranda joined her.

Then Juliet’s face turned serious. In order to survive, they had to set aside the sackfuls of negative emotions they’d both lugged around for so long. “No more guilt for anything that happened, Miranda. You read the same passages about the shadows as I did. They’ll be waiting to extract any negative emotion from us any way they can, and that’s what increases their power.”

“I know.”

She leaned forward and grasped Miranda’s hands. “No more. We’ve paid for everything, and then some. Justice has been served.”

“I agree.”

Juliet studied her. “You’re saying it, but do you really believe it?”

Miranda’s face was earnest. “Yes, I do. But you have to promise me something. Whatever happens tonight, you won’t feel guilty. Vivian and her brother won’t hold back, and they won’t have any compunction about harming or killing us. We may have to use lethal force. If it comes to that, we leave it behind after it’s over.”

An it harm none, do what ye will
was more than a belief. It was etched into their souls. To go beyond it would be a terrible thing to live with. Miranda knew that better than she. “I agree.”

“I think a little meditation is exactly what I need. Then we’ll do the bonding spell and return to the library to prepare.”

Juliet nodded, then straightened into her lotus position and closed her eyes. They would do binding spells to limit the power of the creatures, but there was no guarantee they would work. Vivian would write more and renew their power. And then there were the spiders and several other nasty surprises mentioned in the book. But for now they would let it all go and prepare themselves for battle.

C
hase had never
felt more useless. He was supposed to be the one to capture and put away the bad guys. The Chalmers had committed a crime and left behind proof guaranteed to put them in prison, and he couldn’t arrest them. They probably wouldn’t be around to serve a day in jail, and there wasn’t a prison built that could hold them. They were responsible for five deaths. They deserved life behind bars.

The alternative Juliet and Miranda had come up with was just and damn clever—if they could pull it off.

From his position on the second floor, he watched Miranda work behind the checkout desk as though it were any other night. He’d been amazed at her composure when she and Juliet had emerged from her bedroom. Even if she had glanced at the clock a hundred times in the last hour, she was still holding it together.

Juliet and Hollis Garr exited the second floor elevator and sauntered over to stand with him at the railing. “How did it go?”

“They’re taking a long, restful nap in the lounge downstairs,” Hollis said.

“How can you be sure they’ll stay asleep?”

Juliet glanced up from under her brows. “Even if they don’t, they’re locked in and won’t get out until Hollis releases them.” Her mouth tightened and a line appeared between her eyebrows as she eyed the clock.

Chase rested a hand against the small of her back to comfort her and felt the revolver tucked into the waistband of her jeans. Dammit, there was just something hot about a woman who could both shoot a gun and zap someone with magic. When this was over, he was going to find out what it was like to spend some time with her without having psychotic killers trying to take her out before he could.

He grimaced at his own cop humor. It didn’t keep the tightness of concern from cramping his stomach. This had to be Juliet and Miranda’s show, and he didn’t like it one bit. His every protective instinct was screaming there had to be something he could do.

The midnight chime sounded and students wandered by, heading for the stairs. Needing something to do, he backed away from the railing. “I’ll go up on the third floor and check to make sure everyone is out.”

“Be watchful. There’s a chance she left some surprises behind we didn’t find,” Hollis cautioned.

“I’ll go with you. I need to keep moving.” She shot Hollis a look and he nodded.

He’d noticed how the two of them had fallen into partner stance as soon as they reached the library.

Juliet fell into step with him as they climbed the stairs to the third floor.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m more concerned for Miranda than myself. If they’ve hurt Caleb, or worse, she won’t be able to hold it together, and the emotion spell we’ve done might not be able to buffer everything.”

He realized what a responsibility both women carried to harbor so much power and yet force themselves to use it sparingly or not at all. If they turned it on the Chalmers in rage, the entire plan would come apart at the seams.

They reached the landing on the third floor. When she started to go one way and he the other, he turned and walked beside her. He wasn’t leaving her alone for a moment. These might be their last moments together. “How do you feel?”

She drew in a breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be. We’ve been practicing all afternoon. And we’ve been on the phone with Aubrey off and on all day. We didn’t want to drag her back into this. Miranda’s a little rusty, but she’ll be okay.”

“You didn’t really go all these years without using your abilities.”

“For the most part, yes. But there were times the pressure would build up inside me and I’d have to go out into the mountains, away from everyone, and let off some steam. More than a little. I’m a fire witch. I’m kind of like a solar panel, gathering energy all the time.” She pushed open the men’s bathroom door and went inside while he stood on the threshold. “Clear.”

“And Miranda?” He shoved open the ladies’ room door and saw at a glance it was empty. “Clear.”

“I think she really held herself to a higher standard and completely denied herself. Being a water witch, she was able to distance herself from her element a little better than I could.”

He had been focused on the dynamic between the two women the entire time he was with them. There was more to the story than they were admitting. “You mean punish herself.”

She remained silent for a moment. “We both did.”

They fell into a tense silence as they patrolled the rest of the floor.

“I’ve done a little digging. I discovered what a sleazebag your stepfather was. He’d pissed a lot of business associates off and cheated them out of money before he disappeared.” They walked down the stairs to the second floor.

“Yes.”

“There were other criminal allegations before he married your mother. Allegations of a different nature that were dropped from lack of evidence when the woman and daughter left the state and refused to testify.”

Juliet stopped at the foot of the stairs and braced her feet apart to face him. “They weren’t just allegations at our house. And our mother turned a blind eye.”

Jesus. Having what he’d suspected verified hit him with the force of a roundhouse punch. He wanted to take her in his arms and offer her comfort, but to do so now might undermine her resolve in the coming minutes.

He probed her eyes, her face. A man didn’t just disappear without any trace unless something permanent had happened to him. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. It would have been Miranda, protecting Juliet. The signs where there.

He was an officer of the law, and it wasn’t his place to sit in judgment, only to apprehend. But in this case he couldn’t divorce his feelings. And no evidence existed. He’d bet it had gone up in flames long ago. And without a body, he wasn’t interested in trying to build a case. Or air their childhood traumas for the world. They’d more than paid for anything that had happened.

Besides, they were putting their life on the line to take two murderers off the street. Juliet was right. Mother Nature had a way of balancing things out.

“Sometimes criminals like your stepfather get exactly what they deserve. I figure one of his business associates took care of him.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed, but she remained stiff with tension.

He reached for her and cupped her face in his hands. “You told me you were working on some things before you wanted to date again. And I know my timing sucks, but how long do you think those things might take?”

Her fingers looped around his wrists and she searched his face.

“No pressure. But I care about you, Juliet. If you never want to see me again after all this is over, I’ll go with that, but—”

“I want to.”

Those three words released his tension and hers, and they both took a deep breath. “How long?” He was being pushy, but dammit, he wanted this. Wanted her. And he wanted her to know he had her back.

“I don’t know. I have a lot of baggage.”

“I’m strong. I can help you carry it.”

Her eyes grew glassy with tears.

If she cried, he’d lose it. He covered her lips with his, and he was careful to keep the pressure soft, undemanding, just a comforting connection between them. Her hands slid from his wrists. She leaned into him and slipped her arms up his back to hold him.

This might be the only time they had together. He wanted more. He wanted her to want more. And then his wish was granted. Her lips parted, and his tongue reached for hers. The kiss flared, torrid with desperation. He tasted her passion, felt her need to be close. His hands dropped from her cheeks and he reached for her, molding her against him. She smelled like citrus and her. Her breasts nestled in against his ribs.

A cracking sound from downstairs intruded, and he raised his head. Every muscle clenched in sudden alertness.

Miranda’s sharp, alarmed, “Caleb!” tore them apart.

“If this goes south, don’t hesitate to use your gun, Chase. They’re too dangerous for human and witch alike. Stay hidden until it’s over. She’ll use you against me if she can.” Juliet ran for the stairs.

*     *     *

Juliet’s heart caught
at the sight of Caleb suspended in midair twenty feet from the ground. The entire room was nothing but hard surfaces, so if he dropped, it would kill him.

Miranda’s face glowed white with fear as she looked up at him. He appeared to be unconscious. His limbs hung limp and his chin rested against his chest. Dried blood darkened the front of his T-shirt, and bruises marred his forehead and jaw. One eye appeared to be swollen shut.

Vivian sauntered further into the commons area while Justin turned and closed the two large, wooden front doors. He twisted the lock and announced, “All snuggled in, secure and safe.”

Without his Goth makeup and gelled hair, the resemblance between him and Vivian was as striking as were the pair’s gleeful faces while they soaked in Miranda’s fear. She came out from behind the desk, knocking a book from the counter to the floor. She ignored it.

Juliet’s heart drummed against her ribs so hard it hurt. She slowed her pace and sauntered down the stairs in an unhurried gait, refusing to look up at Caleb’s body again. She shoved away the idea that he might already be dead and what it might do to Miranda and her. If he was…the two witches before them would pay with their lives.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and rested a hand on the wooden banister. She looked from Justin to the Vivian. “Why don’t you quit fucking around and get to it?”

Justin’s smile died, a small hint of uncertainty around his eyes. After a brief pause Vivian threw her head back and laughed. “If that’s what you want.” With a flick of her hand, Caleb’s body plummeted like dead weight toward the check-in desk.

Miranda shouted out a command and a large bubble encompassed him, catching him inches from the ground. She rushed toward him, only to have her way blocked by a slithering mass of black snakes. They hissed and rose to strike at her, and she staggered back.

Justin yelled as he was jerked toward the skylight by an invisible bungee cord, coming to a stop upside down, hanging by one foot only a few inches below the skylight. His eyes looked round with shock. “God dammit, put me down. Suz, get me down.”

Juliet squelched her momentary satisfaction. He was the follower, the weak link between them, but just as deadly. He’d hung around her trying to worm his way into a date. Had she agreed to go out with him, he and his sister would have killed her without a second thought.

“You know your physics theories, Vivian?” Juliet asked. “For every action there will be an opposite and equal reaction. There are descriptions used in other contexts. An eye for an eye. Karma’s a bitch. That kind of thing.”

Juliet gestured the symbol for snake. A tiny serpent crept out from behind Vivian’s ear and dropped to her shoulder. The woman yelped, jerked it free of her hair and tossed it to the ground. It curled around to face her and lifted up, ready to strike.

Justin continued to scream above them. They both ignored him.

“What kind of action do you believe should result from your killing Tanner?”

Vivian’s features turned sullen and angry. “I didn’t kill Tanner. You did. If you’d left him alone he’d still be here with me.”

“How was I supposed to know to leave him alone, Vivian? I’m a witch, not psychic. You never called. You never wrote. I wonder why? Could it be because you’d already done those things before and you were afraid he’d know you were stalking him again?”