Bittersweet Magic (The Order #2)

“She’s not answering,” Carl said. “I’ve left messages, but so far nothing.”


“We’ll just have to hope that we can find her before she hands it over.”

The door opened, and Jonas slipped into the room, Graham behind him. The old man’s expression was blank. Was he hiding something? And if he was—would he tell? Piers was quite aware that the warlock had his own reasons for working for the Order; it gave him access to things that might otherwise have not been available, but despite that, he believed Jonas wouldn’t work directly against them.

“Roz came to see you this morning. Why?”

“That’s between us.”

Piers flung himself into the chair behind his desk and tried to work out the best way to get Jonas to talk. “Are you aware that she has the Key?”

“She does?” Jonas came farther into the room and sat down on one of the upright chairs. He stroked his chin as he considered the information.

“I think it’s time you decide where your loyalties lie,” Piers said. “We employed you here at your own request, but I won’t have people working for me that I can’t trust.”

“I want a place on the Council.”

Piers studied him. He should have known the warlock was after something; Jonas never did anything without good reason. “Swear a blood oath of loyalty to the Order and the position is yours,” he replied.

“Done.”

“Now what did Rosamund ask of you?”

“To make a spell of destruction.”

“And did you?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe she wants to make sure she is free of this demon for good,” Piers mused out loud.

“Well, she’ll certainly be that.”

Piers glanced at him sharply. “What do you mean?”

“She’ll be dead. The only way to trigger the spell is up close and personal. And the spell wasn’t for a demon—well, not purposefully, though it might take one out if he were very close by. It was for a magical object.”

“The Key? But why?”

“Maybe, as you say, she wants this demon off her back. But if she has the Key, why not just hand it over to him and complete the period of debt? It was what she always planned to do.”

“Conscience?”

“Maybe.”

Piers thought back to last night. There had been an edge of desperation to her. Had she known even then what she planned to do? He had a feeling there was more to it than getting the demon off her back. She had lived with the threat of the demon for five hundred years. Why would she suddenly decide to kill him now?

What else had happened last night? She’d left here with the nun and come back without her.

He turned to Graham. “The Little Sisters of Mercy. They have a mother house in Devon. Get them on the phone for me.”

Ten minutes later, he slammed the phone down. He’d been put through to the Mother Superior when he’d said what he was phoning about. She’d asked what he knew about the convent and had claimed that Sister Maria had definitely not turned up last night.

So the sister had vanished between leaving here and when he had picked up Roz.

It had to be Jack.

The vampire must have found them after she had slipped his men. Must have taken the sister and was using her as some sort of leverage. It made sense. The Key for the sister. And he’d no doubt been right about the conscience. She was going to get the sister away from there and then destroy the Key and herself with it. Shit. He turned to Jonas.

“Can you find her?”

The warlock shrugged. “Probably. I have her blood.”

Piers regarded him for a minute. The fact was, if Jonas hadn’t intended them to find Roz, he would never have come here tonight.

“You always meant us to go after her.”

“Of course. I’ve never come across one with such raw power. I’d hate it to go to waste.”

“Is the spell you gave her real?”

“Oh yes. I don’t give out bogus spells; it would ruin my reputation. If we don’t get to her, she will die and destroy the Key and anyone within a ten meter radius.”

“Well, you’d better find her then.” He pushed himself to his feet and strode around the desk to stand in front of the werewolf. “Get as many of your men as you can and meet me in the weapons room.” He turned to Graham. “You get hold of Christian, tell him we could do with his help—sooner rather than later.”

He was going to have to save the stupid little bitch.

And she’d better be suitably grateful.





Chapter Fifteen


The condemned woman ate a hearty meal.

She’d slept for a good eight hours and woken up starving. There was absolutely nothing she was going to even attempt to eat in Ryan’s fridge, but there were cold beers, so she phoned for a pizza and sipped a beer while she waited.

The pizza was delicious, though it was slightly spoiled by the fact that Jack called while she was half way through it. Enough to ruin anyone’s appetite.