Smoke on the Water Read online

  “He comes?” Raye asked.

  “Eventually,” I answered.

  They caught sight of us and began to run across the grass in our direction. The lead minions flew sideways as if …

  “Henry’s here,” Raye said. “Which means the others will be soon. I should have shielded us, but I was out of rosemary. Either of you have any?”

  Becca and I shook our heads and Raye cursed. “We’d have to have a buttload to do the job right anyway. We need to hurry.”

  “Roland needs to hurry. If he doesn’t come, then how can we make him go?”

  “We could summon him again.” Becca frowned at the wall of minions that flowed in our direction.

  “Because that worked so well last time,” Raye said. “They’ll be on us before we get that spell done.”

  “I don’t think so.” Becca shot fire from her fingertips.

  I held my breath, waiting for the shrieks of the dying. There were shrieks but more of surprise than anything else. A wall of fire went up all around them, trapping the minions in a flaming playpen.

  “Nice,” I said.

  “Thanks,” Becca said, but she was even paler. Shooting that much flame had drained her.

  A movement at the edge of the forest drew my attention. Terrified the others had arrived ahead of Roland, I felt relief blossom at the sight of the demon himself.

  “Showtime,” I said.

  He started toward us at a leisurely pace, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. The glance he threw at the trapped minions was disdainful. The one he threw at us was feral. I couldn’t help it. A lightning bolt zapped down in front of him. He ignored it. The next one hit him in the head. He staggered, but he didn’t fall.

  “I hate this guy,” I muttered.

  “Stop,” Raye said. “Save your juice for the spell.”

  Roland pulled out a knife. The blade sparkled bright and shiny in the just-born sun. “Go ahead,” he said. “Your spell will not work.”

  He levitated, flying ten feet into the air, then free-falling and smashing into the ground. A grunt was the only indication that he’d hit pretty hard. He stood up. He still held the knife.

  “Should have brought a gun,” he said. “But I do so like the sound a knife makes when it goes in.”

  Henry lifted him again. This time he kept the guy in the air. Unfortunately, he could still talk.

  “If you allow me to kill you without any more fuss, your lovers can live. Keep this up and they die.” He waggled the knife. “They die ugly. The wolf too.”

  He dipped as if the final sentence had shocked Henry enough to make him lose focus. I glanced at Raye, who was now as pale as Becca. Considering the numbness of my lips, I had a feeling I was too.

  We’d come here alone to protect the ones we loved. If our deaths could guarantee that—

  “We can’t trust him,” Raye said. “He’s a demon. If we’re dead, so are they. Along with every witch in the world.”

  “Which is nothing less than they deserve.” His fingers tightened on the hilt of the knife. “My wife died screaming. My child never drew breath. Because of a witch.”

  “You’re delusional,” Raye snapped. “My mother tried to help your wife, to save your child.”

  “She did not. She used their deaths to give life to the three of you, and I will take those lives back.”

  “Don’t bother,” I said. “You can’t reason with cuckoo.” That much I knew.

  “What is your answer? Think, lassies. You cannot kill me, and you cannot send me back.”

  “He wouldn’t be making the deal if he truly believed the spell wouldn’t work,” Becca said.

  “It won’t work. You’re one witch short. The power of blood-linked elemental witches. There are four elements and only three of you. You be short an earth witch.”

  I felt a chill. He was right. Except—

  “There were only three crones.”

  “Were there now?” Roland murmured.

  I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t like his smirk, or his confidence, or his seeming knowledge of what I’d seen.

  “Finish this,” Raye said.

  “But—” Becca’s gaze went to the tree line as Bobby, Owen, Sebastian, Franklin, Elise, and Pru emerged.

  I could barely breathe. I didn’t know what to do. If dying would save him, I would.

  “If you try it,” Roland said, “you will be sorry.”

  My sisters were as uncertain and terrified as I was. A tear trickled down Becca’s cheek.

  Reality shimmied, and in that teardrop, I saw the truth. Three crones, but not really. The one who had held the chalice and the pentacle was more than a crone. I suddenly understood what had been different about her.

  “Do it,” I said.

  Together we spoke. “Go back from whence you came. Banished. Now and forever.”

  We picked up our items. As soon as we did, the pentacle around my neck lifted on its own. I leaned forward so we could touch the four of them together.

  The next instant zzzt happened. Roland hovered in the air, but the entire world seemed to have paused—waiting, listening. The demon’s gaze met mine. I smirked. His eyes widened. I gave him the finger an instant before he started screaming.

  He flew backward through the air, clutching at nothing. Then he dropped to the ground with a solid thud. His fingernails drew furrows in the earth as he continued to pick up speed toward the edge of the cliff.

  The three of us jumped up, ran after. The lake parted like the Red Sea, began to bubble and boil like a cauldron. Screaming, he dropped. The water closed over him, ending the sound, then flipped a single red-tinged wave up, smoothing out as if both Roland and the cauldron had never been.

  “Wow,” Raye said. “That was—”

  “Fricking fantastic,” I finished.

  “He’s really gone?” Becca asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “You’re sure?” Raye still looked worried.

  “Definitely.”

  “Why?” Raye said at the same time Becca said, “How?”

  I took both their hands in mine, then drew them to my stomach. “Hello, my little earth witch.”

  Chapter 26

  Sebastian and the others arrived at the edge of the cliff just as the girls joined hands and touched Willow’s stomach. Sebastian remembered what he’d forgotten the night before in a sudden burst of clarity, even before he heard her say, “Hello, my little earth witch.”

  “Dude.” Owen slapped him on the back.

  “Nice job.” Bobby shook his hand.

  Willow spun, eyes wide. “Sorry.”

  “I’m not.” Sebastian reached for her, and she came into his arms.

  “I told you you’d be the one to save me, to save us all.”

  “I thought you meant with my fists, my feet, a gun, my wits.”

  “Penis works,” Owen said.

  Sebastian shot him a glance, and Owen lifted his hands in surrender.

  “We were missing an earth witch,” Willow continued. “You gave her to me. To us. And now we’re safe.” She pressed her lips to the hollow of his throat and whispered, “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Would someone like to inform me just what is going on here?”

  A very tall, thin, old, once-blond man stood between them and the still flaming ring of fire that hemmed in the minions. His German accent and plethora of guns and ammo revealed his identity even before Owen blurted, “Edward,” at the same time Nic straightened as if he’d been goosed and said, “Sir!”

  “Where did he come from?” Sebastian asked.

  “Germany,” Elise said.

  “Today?”

  “Today I came from New Orleans, but I was already on the ground when Elise called.”

  He continued to peer at the people beyond the flames, who called out for help, even tried to reach out, only to snatch their hands back when they were singed.

  “Who did this?” Edward asked.

&nbs
p; Becca tentatively raised her hand. Owen drew it back down. “Do not tell him what else you can do.”

  Considering the man was a werewolf hunter, probably a good idea.

  “I will need you to put out the flames so I can deal with them.”

  “How’s he gonna deal with them?” Sebastian eyed the pistols on the old man’s hips and the rifle in his hand.

  “They’re killers,” Bobby said. “Do you care?”

  Sebastian released Willow from his embrace, but he kept his arm around her. “Roland whispered to them in their heads. That’s kind of hard to ignore.”

  “My mom heard him,” Owen said. “Maybe all her life.”

  “Your mom stopped listening to him.” Becca took Owen’s hand. “If she could do it they could too.”

  “Maybe.” Sebastian lifted a shoulder. “Maybe not. Everyone’s different.”

  “They’re different, all right,” Raye agreed.

  Edward scowled at the minions. “I suppose that means I cannot kill them.”

  “Yes,” Elise said. “That’s exactly what it means. We’ve had this talk. You can’t just go around shooting people.”

  “I can, but it does cause so many more problems than it used to.”

  “We’ll take them to our compound and evaluate them.” Elise waved at the fire, which still burned hot, bright, and eight feet high. “You mind?”

  “I—uh—” Becca bit her lip. “I know how to start a fire. No idea how to stop one.”

  “That’s because you’re the fire witch.” Willow pointed at a stray cloud with one finger. “I’m the water witch.”

  She fired her finger gun, and rain toppled from the sunny sky directly onto both the minions and the fire. A hiss rose as the fire died. As soon as the flames fell, those who’d been confined tried to run.

  A line of people with guns materialized out of the trees. The Venatores-Mali froze without even being told.

  “I also have minions,” Edward said. “Put them in the conveyance.”

  “They’re soaked,” shouted a petite blond woman with nearly as many guns as Edward. “And don’t call me a minion.”

  He sighed. “You’d think a water witch could control that better.”

  “I could.” Willow’s gaze settled on one particular minion. “I just didn’t want to.”

  Zoe saw Sebastian at the same time he saw her. “That’s him,” she shouted. “He kidnapped a patient.”

  “What patient would that be?” Edward asked.

  “The one he’s got his hands all over.”

  Deux pushed his way to her side. “He should be in jail.”

  “I should have tossed them farther,” Raye said.

  “Much,” Becca agreed.

  “I’m going to have to deal with this.” Sebastian sighed. “Technically they’re right.”

  “Not anymore,” Edward said. “As of yesterday, Willow was never a patient.”

  “But I … was.”

  “You were never crazy,” Edward continued. “You were magic. Therefore, no need to be a patient.”

  “Just because it shouldn’t have happened doesn’t mean it didn’t.” Sebastian rubbed Willow’s back. He wanted to touch her stomach, like her sisters had, but it would have to wait. Maybe a long time if he wound up in jail.

  “According to every record in the system, Willow Black not only didn’t reside at the psychiatric facility, but she no longer exists. Once all this is settled, we’ll give her a past that won’t cause any problems.”

  “My boss knows differently.” And Dr. Tronsted wasn’t the type to let things go.

  “You’d be surprised what people forget about when there’s no evidence to support it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Your superior has been told by her superiors that the situation has been dealt with higher up. If she continues to push the issue, if she tries to prove what there’s no longer any proof of…” Edward shifted one shoulder.

  “She’ll seem crazier than I was,” Willow said.

  Sebastian pulled her closer. “You weren’t crazy.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I broke a lot of rules.” Maybe all of them.

  “The rules of a world without magic don’t apply to those who live in a world full of it,” the old man said.

  Edward sounded pretty certain of that. Sebastian wished that he could be. Perhaps it just took some getting used to.

  “I have done this many, many times before,” Edward continued, “and it has worked every time. Those in authority actually follow orders with a lot less questions than you’d think.”

  “And if they don’t,” Elise said, affecting a very convincing German accent, “we have ways of making them.”

  Sebastian wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. He decided to behave like someone in authority and not ask.

  “What about them?” Sebastian lifted his chin to indicate Zoe and Deux, who weren’t going to shut up.

  “From the appearance of your face, Doctor, I think you were abducted. I think they did it. How does that work for you?”

  He thought of Zoe trying to smother Willow and Deux helping her do all sorts of other nasty stuff, including smacking him in the face while he was powerless to stop the blows. “I like it.”

  “Can he do all that?” Willow asked.

  Good question. The old man might be crazier than any of the minions—his or Roland’s.

  “I’m going to have to do all that,” Elise said. “But, yeah, consider it done.”

  *

  Things moved so fast I got dizzy. Edward, Elise, and Nic left with the other Jäger-Suchers and Roland’s minions, some of whom seemed to have woken from a trance with little memory of the past few weeks. Others, like Zoe and Deux, remembered everything and didn’t care what they’d done.

  I wasn’t sure which was worse—being possessed by evil, or actually being evil.

  “Is it really over?” I asked.

  “I think s—” Becca began, then frowned and glanced right, left. “Where’s Pru?”

  Raye caught her breath. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “What is it?” Bobby rushed to her, but she held out a trembling finger toward a space that appeared empty but must not be.

  “Look.” She beckoned for us all to join hands as we had before.

  As soon as we did, I saw Henry, his arms wrapped around the woman I’d seen in a vision, dying on a pyre for the sake of her children. The two only had eyes for each other, and why not? They hadn’t been together on the same plane for centuries.

  “I think it’s over,” Becca said.

  Henry’s gaze fell on each of us in turn. “Mo chlann, it has just begun.”

  Then he kissed his wife as his children watched. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

  “Mom.” Owen’s voice trembled.

  Mary stood between us and our parents, who continued to make out.

  “Baby boy,” she replied.

  “That’s what you called the dog.”

  “Not anymore.”

  She glanced at me. “Hi, sweetie.”

  “Mary—” My voice broke. She sounded so lucid, like the woman she could have been if not for … so many things.

  “You were the only friend I ever had, Willow. I’ll never forget that.”

  I nodded, but I still couldn’t speak.

  “Are you okay, Mom?”

  “Better than okay. Roland’s voice is gone. I feel more myself than I ever have.”

  “Then why are you still here?”

  “Same reason she is.”

  A young, thin girl, with long dark hair and Sebastian’s eyes materialized. From the familiar earrings—one of which still shone in Sebastian’s ear—I knew who she was even before Sebastian whispered, “Emma.”

  “You need to let me go, Bass.”

  “I—I can’t. I failed you.”

  “I failed me. You did everything you could.”

  “You were too young to die
.”

  “I was. But it’s over. Let it be over. Please. There are better places for me.” She reached for Mary’s hand. “For us.”

  He swallowed, nodded. The two remained.

  “Aren’t they supposed to fade?” I asked. “Vanish? Something?”

  “We will,” Mary said.

  “After the wedding,” Emma agreed.

  Epilogue

  “It’s fitting that we’re getting married on Halloween,” I said.

  “Samhain,” Raye corrected. “Henry keeps saying Old Hallowmas, which is what the Scots call it. The veil is thin tonight. The spirits can cross over more easily.”

  I hoped so. Sebastian’s sister and Mary needed to go on. It bothered both Sebastian and Owen to have them here, even though they couldn’t see them unless we were all connected. And Bobby—who’d felt spirits even before he met Raye—had gotten kind of twitchy.

  “Samhain is the witches’ new year,” Raye continued. “Perfect time to start a new life.”

  “This is a time of magic,” I said. “Can you feel it?”

  Raye and Becca smiled. Of course they did.

  We stood in front of the floor-length mirror in the largest bedroom of the cabin. We wore the same dresses—mermaid style—which flattered all of us and seemed apropos considering where our wedding would take place, as well as the otherworldliness of our lives. Right now they were a bland cream, but that wasn’t going to last.

  We each held a red rose. Around the stems we’d tied a strand of our hair. Three candles sat on the floor in front of us—yellow, red, and white, representing mind, heart, and soul. Raye lit the yellow, Becca the red, and I put a match to the white. We began to pluck the petals from our roses, outside to in, as we chanted.

  “Show yourself. Your own true heart will be revealed for all to see. So shall it be.”

  We tossed the petals into the air, and as they cascaded over us, our dresses reflected our true colors.

  Raye’s shifted to an icy blue-white. A crown of baby’s breath appeared atop her flowing black hair.

  Becca’s dress became brilliant yellow, her crown fashioned of orange irises, which should clash with her red hair but didn’t.

  My dress now reflected the depths of a tropical ocean, the circlet of flowers a twist of bluebells.