A Final Touch: The Complete Series, page 33
Jace was open with information. He didn’t seem to ever hold back. Ask that question, and I already knew what he’d do. Stare at me with those blank eyes and turn away.
If I wanted to find out how he felt about Virginia, I’d have to wait and see.
Chapter 6
Jace was gone. I was on my own. And I kind of felt like a little kid who’d been left by their parents. You know, in a blast-proof pack compound with a thousand biscuits, hungry shifters, and a whole lot of angst. The latter emotion climbed me like a ladder, squeezing my stomach, plucking at my spine, and frying my brain.
I was in the kitchen, the only place I felt safe. Wolves and other shifters came, spinning through the room like a roulette wheel. They’d grab cookies, mutter thanks, and be gone. Who wanted to spend too much time with the creature who could strip magic with a single touch?
Kelsey, apparently. She wandered in when I was watching the clock. Jace had left at six. The function would last until midnight. It was only 7:10.
Maybe Kelsey didn’t like the fact I didn’t look up at her entrance. Clucking her tongue, she sighed. “Get it out of your system right now. If I were you, I’d think of something more useful.”
“Like the fact a good friend of mine is rotting in a King’s jail, her kidneys falling into pieces in her body as she waits to be sold?”
I wasn’t deliberately trying to be pessimistic. The words bubbled up out of me like bile from a split belly. What was I doing, cooking biscuits, watching the clock, thinking about Jace? Lisa was out there. And I got the fact the pack couldn’t act too early and that we didn’t have any more leads. She was still relying on me.
Kelsey miraculously walked over to me and grabbed me. It was a little tough, but maybe I needed that right now. “You can’t wish away feelings like that. You’ve got to do something.”
Blinking, I hissed, “What?”
“Figure out a plan of attack. Maybe you know something about her that you can tell Jace when he gets back. Though don’t expect he’ll do much.”
“Sorry?”
“He’ll be distracted for the next couple of days.”
I got that Virginia was important, but this sounded terrible. “The King’s—”
“They’ll come up with an attack plan together. But Virginia isn’t the kind to act quickly, unless she senses someone moving in on her territory.”
“You mean like the old Alpha?” I bit back. Then I sighed a deep, “Sorry. This isn’t your fault.”
“I think that’s the first time you’ve apologized to me.”
“Feel free to add an apology of your own,” I suggested. It was automatic, but I was done baiting Kelsey. Once you met her where she was, she wasn’t that bad.
The usually abrasive wolf somehow knew not to bite back. Leaning against the bench, she crossed her arms. “What do you know about your friend?”
“Good person. Shacked up with a creep,” I spat, remembering that idiotic wizard. “And she’s a hidden water witch.”
“Does she have a long lineage?”
I nodded. “In fact, everyone thought she’d be a seriously powerful water witch growing up.” I frowned. “I wonder how she hid it.”
“It wouldn’t be easy. Water witches can divine one another.”
“Huh?”
Lifting a hand, Kelsey slapped it on her chest and half-bowed. “While I’m a shifter, I do have a strain of witch in me. My long-dead grandmother was a water witch.”
There wasn’t much I could do but stand there and blink.
“It means I know a lot about their magic and traditions. It’s pretty hard to hide that kind of force. Water witches speak to one another. They jump in a public pool, and any nearby witches will hear the song. They touch water flowing out of a tap, and the really potent ones will be able to divine their location in the city, based on the feeling moving through the municipal pipes.”
Was she serious? I’d never had any idea witches could be that powerful.
Kelsey leaned in. “Think about how long your friend must have hidden her powers for. She would have had help from someone other than your sister.”
“Lisa didn’t hide her magic entirely. She just hid the extent of her powers. Everybody knew she was a basic witch.”
“Then you ignored everything I told you. Water witches are essentially a network. They can kind of find one another.”
The spatula I held tilted forward in my fingers, leaning dangerously toward the floor. But the quick Kelsey snatched it up, placing it on the bench beside me.
“I reckon I know what you’re thinking,” she said.
“That I’ve been a complete idiot. Somebody figured out that my sister was magical. What if they figured out Lisa was magical first and then tracked her back to my sister?”
Kelsey shrugged. “It could work. But you’re still asking the wrong question. You fundamentally want a way to find Lisa, right?”
I nodded.
“Then you need powerful water witches. Preferably ones that are related to her. They’ll have an easier time tracking her. Are any of her female relatives alive?”
“Her aunt and her grandmother.”
“Are they in the city?”
I nodded.
“Then contact them.”
“Now?”
Kelsey snorted. “It’s just a phone call. You’ve got to do something. Or you’ll feel like you’re floundering.”
“I don’t want to get them in trouble, though.”
“It’s just divining magic. And they can do that from the comfort of their own homes. But they’re going to need a strong water source associated with her. Something she used on herself, hopefully something magical.”
“Her bathtub,” I announced quickly. “Of all the water in her apartment, it was the only one that came from a magical source. I still don’t even know how she did it. But it was powerful stuff.”
“Then we get her aunt and grandmother a bit of water from that bathtub. Gold standard, we take them there. But that will require a bit of careful planning. Like you said, we don’t want to bring heat to them.”
All this talk of Lisa got me thinking of those two strange eyedroppers I found in her apartment. Jace and Velos had whisked them away, and neither had spoken of them since. What if those eyedroppers were important? They certainly had a source of water. Was it sufficiently connected to Lisa that it could help track her?
“Think out loud,” Kelsey warned.
“I’ll stick with the bathwater for now.” I didn’t have to go far for my phone. I’d left it by the sink.
Better, I had Lisa’s aunt’s number. Feeling a little cold, it took a minute to gather the gumption. The aunt would know by now, and she’d be going out of her mind. I owed her a phone call anyway.
“Come on,” I hissed at myself under my breath. Then I stabbed my finger against the call button.
The tone rang in my ear as I waited. Squeezing my nail into my mouth, I chewed on it, assuming she wouldn’t answer. She did, with a dull click. “Serena?” she asked in a voice laden with emotion. It was someone who’d picked themselves up from deep sorrow to do a simple task – then they’d get back into the throes of grieving.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, clamping a hand over my mouth, sobbing tones barely reaching the receiver.
“It’s not your fault, child. Have you called to check in on me? I have no information—”
“Did you know that Lisa was a strong water witch?” I came right out of the stalls, running as fast as I could. Because if I didn’t shoot through this conversation, I’d chicken out.
The aunt took in a long, hard breath, and appearing to hold it, she waited.
“You still there?” I whispered.
“I always suspected she had strong magic. But her mother hid it from all of us. My dear little Lisa was a prodigy. She mastered water spells early. But as is the case with some witches, she appeared to grow out of it. In retrospect, she never did. For some reason, my sister simply decided to hide her child’s power.”
“Can you think of any reasons why?”
Dead silence filtered over the phone.
“There are many reasons you’d want to hide your powers,” the aunt said.
Yeah. Just ask me.
I didn’t want to make this phone call about me, though. So I waited until the aunt opened up again. “Thank you for checking up on me—”
“You’re a strong water witch, and so is Lisa’s grandma. Could you divine her location? If I got you some water connected to Lisa, some of the magical stuff she practiced on, could you find out where she is?” I shoved my nails so far into my mouth, I could have cut my tonsils.
For several seconds, the aunt didn’t respond.
God, I’d pushed her too far.
“It would have to be water she practiced powerful magic on. It would have to be deeply connected to her.” Her tone hardened then quickened.
“I’ve been to her apartment. She had water coming out of the faucet in her bath that was almost pure magic. I don’t know where she got it from, but I swear she practiced on it.” That wasn’t a guess. Lisa had told me my sister had pulled her out of the bath after a spell gone wrong.
Silence met my assertion. I wanted to reach through the phone and grab the aunt, to hold her, to help her do the right thing.
She needed no encouragement. “We’ll take a cab directly to her apartment now. We should be able to use it to divine her location quickly.”
I couldn’t hear anything. Heart ramming in my ears, the world started to slip away. There was finally a chance to find Lisa.
Kelsey hadn’t left the room. She stood, propped up on the bench, shoulders tense, eyes never blinking.
“We’ll do this right now. I’ll meet you there,” the aunt snapped. “I’ll bring my mother.”
I winced, brow crumpling. Slapping a hand on it, I hissed, “I can’t get there tonight.”
“No need. We’ll do it without you.”
Crap. What had I done?
Maybe it was time to open up about my exact predicament. I didn’t know what the aunt thought about Jace and the pack, but once she found out where I was, maybe she’d leave this.
… Like hell. I’d revealed key information about her niece. Both her and her mother would move mountains to save Lisa now.
“Once we’ve finished the spell, we’ll tell you—”
“Wait, people kidnapped Lisa. They could be watching the apartment,” I spluttered.
“I’m an eighth-generation water witch. I can look after myself.”
Oh god. What had I done?
I couldn’t leave her alone like this.
“I’ll call you when I have something,” she said. Then abruptly she finished the call.
Pale cheeked, I stared over at Kelsey. It’d be wrong to blame this on her, but it was terrible. I’d dumped two older women right into the Kings’ mess.
And I had to do something about it.
“What do I do? Call Jace? He’ll be able to send a member of the pack over to the apartment,” I tried.
Kelsey reached out, and for the first time ever, the usually acerbic wolf looked kind. “I’ll go.”
She seemed honest.
“They’re nice people—” I began.
“And what am I?” An eyebrow rose challengingly. “A witch?”
I had to snort at the bad joke. “No. You’re a powerful shifter. Please make sure they’re okay.”
She threw a mock salute. And thankfully she left fast. Two seconds later, I heard the blast door open and close.
I was stuck here as a wave of itchy nerves climbed my back and sank into my stomach. I wanted to flop onto my knees and tie my arms around my body, wrap myself up, make a smaller target of myself. Then maybe it’d all go away.
As if. Here I was, spending the day baking cookies, obsessing over Virginia, when out there, nothing had changed. The Kings had simply paused their attack.
Kelsey was right. The only way to make these feelings go away was to do something. But now I was stuck.
My eyes kept ticking toward the doors. Wolves continually came and went. They weren’t necessarily careful. A lot of them kept the blast door open. It always swung shut on its own, and there were guards outside. But they wouldn’t be there forever. They’d switch over at 7:30. Glancing at my phone, I realized that was in two freaking minutes.
Racing upstairs, I got dressed. Nobody noticed. Nor did they have any clue what I was about to do.
Break every pack rule, maybe even get Kelsey in trouble. But I couldn’t stand here and let Lisa’s relatives put themselves in harm’s way. They were water witches, dammit. They’d stop at nothing until they found Lisa. Then they’d likely go right after her location. That would put them smack-bang in this mess. They needed someone strong by their side.
I didn’t even think about the possibility I might actually find Lisa tonight.
Racing downstairs, I took my opportunity, putting a whole bunch of biscuits in a bag and hanging around the front door as the guards changed. Then I handed the cookies out.
The two new guards were slightly slow. So I inched out of the door.
My heart pounded in my throat, but not because of this subterfuge. I couldn’t stop thinking of how Jace would react when he found out. But that thought couldn’t match the heavy weight of Lisa’s family getting in trouble.
I’d turned my nose up at the rest of the magical council, especially when they’d downgraded the Kings’ threat. I’d like to think I’d never do that. But hadn’t I? People who know Armageddon is on the horizon don’t bake biscuits all afternoon.
Trying not to chastise myself too much, I realized getting out of the compound gardens would be hard. Until I remembered that one of the trees overhung the side wall. The guards would be watching the gates, anyway. All I’d have to do was wait for somebody to come, then drop over the wall.
This was only possible because I had intimate knowledge about how the compound ran. I also watched it quite a bit from my bedroom window. Now I deployed all of that knowledge.
Climbing trees wasn’t my strong suit, but I soon scampered up the rough bark, shimmied along a branch, and took my time. Five whole minutes later, the gates opened. Knowing everyone was distracted, I took my freaking life in my hands, shimmied over the wall, and dropped down the other side. A combination of luck and sheer grit saw me roll.
It still hurt my ankle, but I’d come prepared. There were two braces in my deep bomber jacket pockets, and I yanked them out, strapping up my ankles.
Then I ran. Not too much. I was still in the magical district.
Yanking my hood down, I disappeared through crowds. It wasn’t that hard to reach Lisa’s. Rather than use public transport or a taxi, I hired an E-scooter.
It wasn’t exactly dignified, but in 20 short minutes, I found myself outside of Lisa’s apartment.
As soon as I tilted my head up and stared at it, my heart hit rock bottom. Something about the apartment screamed danger. It might be paranoia. Perhaps my instincts were getting better, though. Knowing I had to trust them, I jumped off the e-scooter. Then I headed around to the apartment’s back door.
The rear exit was in an alleyway. And though it was enshrouded by two large overhangs from nearby buildings, it felt safer. Fewer prying eyes. That suggested someone would be watching the front of the apartment.
I didn’t see Kelsey or the aunt and grandmother. But I sharpened my senses, focusing on smell. I’d let it fall back today, but now I threw myself into every scent, relishing the fact no one was around to judge me. Not that Jace cared. Every time I revealed this ability in front of him, he got that fixed, encouraging smile. It didn’t amuse him. It was like he wanted me to become more like him. I wished I had a fraction of his ability now.
There was definitely a dense knot of different magical scents in the air. Some of them vampires, some of them shifters, a lot of witches. But this was a busy apartment block. A lot of people lived here. The question was, did anything stand out?
Throwing myself into sniffing the air allowed me to ignore the fact I’d escaped Jace’s compound. It took little effort to imagine what he’d say. The way he’d look at me. The disappointment. The anger. Maybe the repressed attraction, though that was probably wishful thinking.
Slapping my cheek lightly, I whispered, “Put it out of your mind,” as I rose up the fire escape.
I was glad I used this rather than the main stairs. Nobody could disrupt me. It was silent. And this stairwell was connected to the entire apartment block. People obviously used it regularly, too. The scents were everywhere.
Stopping on the fourth floor, knowing Lisa’s apartment was just beyond there, I got ready to burst through. My whole body froze. A distinctly different scent met my nostrils. Sharp, violent, it was almost like a paring knife being jammed up into my brain.
My back seized, and a burst of adrenaline shot through my blood.
I’d smelled that exact scent before. It was the Engelos who delivered me to Patrick.
I couldn’t think. Nothing in my body worked. I knew academically there was fight, flight, and freeze. I’d never experienced the latter as much as I did now. It was like every bodily process stopped, never to return. My primal brain warned me if I made a sound, the Engelos would find me.
I could question what he was doing here. But this was the fourth floor. He’d be in Lisa’s apartment.
I’d sent everyone there like a complete idiot. Of course the place would be watched.
For the first time, I thought of calling Jace. But that would make a sound. It didn’t mean I couldn’t send a text.
Though my body roared at me not to move, I slid my phone from my pocket. Smart enough to switch it to silent mode, in case Jace texted or called, I banged out a quick message. “Made the biggest mistake of my life. Went to Lisa’s. Slipped past the guards. Patrick’s Engelos is here. Everybody is screwed.”
I didn’t have the brain power to explain any of those thoughts. Jace might think this was a joke text. But as soon as I was done, I went to slip the phone into my pocket but froze.
A gurgle escaped from somewhere. Loud, it almost sounded like a tidal wave crashing into a wall. It must be Lisa’s apartment. The Engelos had found her family.
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